Inpatient mortality of hip fracture patients in the Veterans Health Administration.

Hip fractures among elderly people frequently result in permanent disabilities, nursing home placement, and death. The bulk of hip fracture research focuses on elderly women. Within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the majority of patients are men. There are no published national reports on hip fractures with large male samples, or on related inpatient mortality among veterans. This retrospective study of 13,546 veterans with hip fracture discharges from 1998-2002 found unadjusted mortality rates are higher in the VHA, compared with the general population. VHA patients tend to be older men in poor health who stay in the hospital longer Increased knowledge about the risks and outcomes associated with hip fractures in men could lead to improved primary and secondary injury-prevention programs. Rehabilitation nurses in acute care can be catalysts in proactively incorporating protective devices, screening for osteoporosis, and initiating lifestyle changes in their plans of care to optimize outcomes for hip fracture patients.     

Prognostic significance of cytochemical analysis of leukemic M2 blasts

Cytochemical analysis of leukemic blasts from 46 patients with acute myeloblastic M2 leukemia (according to the FAB classification) was performed before and after cytostatic therapy, and compared with findings obtained in 20 age- and sex-matched control subjects. Cytochemical findings for myeloperoxidase (MPO), Sudan black B, acid phosphatase and alpha-naphthyl-acetate esterase (ANAE) were related to the achievement of the first complete remission (CR),i.e. data were compared after the patients had been divided into CR and non-CR groups. The analysis clearly showed that a high proportion of myeloperoxidase- and, to a lesser extent, Sudan black B-positive blasts before treatment may have constituted a significantly unfavourable prognostic factor.     

Prevalence of primary late-onset focal dystonia in the Belgrade population.

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to estimate the prevalence of different subtypes of idiopathic focal dystonia in the population of Belgrade (Serbia), Yugoslavia. On December 31, 2001, the crude prevalence of all studied types of dystonia (focal, segmental, and multifocal) in Belgrade was 13.6 per 100,000 population (11.8 per 100,000 for men and 15.2 per 100,000 for women). Type-specific prevalence for focal dystonia was 11.2 per 100,000. The prevalence for cervical dystonia, blepharospasm, writer's cramp and laryngeal dystonia were 5.9 per 100,000, 1.9 per 100,000, 1.9 per 100,000, and 1.1 per 100,000, respectively.     

Protective effect of interferon-α on the DNA- and RNA-degrading pathway in anti-Fas-antibody induced apoptosis

Aim: Fas membrane-associated polypeptide antigen is a receptor molecule responsible for apoptosis-mediated signals. In animal models of acute viral hepatitis, apoptosis of hepatocytes is mediated by Fas-death receptors; therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of interferon (IFN)-alpha on apoptotic markers and nuclease activity against different coding and non-coding single and double stranded RNAs during Fas-induced liver apoptosis. Methods: An in vivo experiment was performed with simultaneous administration of anti-Fas (CD95) antibodies and IFN-alpha, and an in vitro experiment was performed in hepatocyte cultures treated with anti-Fas antibodies and IFN-alpha. Results: Detection of apoptosis using Annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide, Bcl-2 and Bax expression in hepatocyte cultures confirmed the appearance of early apoptotic events and progression toward late apoptosis after anti-Fas antibody treatment. IFN-alpha had a tendency to retard the apoptosis process in Fas-induced apoptosis by increasing the number of viable cells and decreasing the number of cells in late apoptosis, by increasing the percentage of Bcl-2 positive cells, by decreasing the percentage of Bax positive cells, and by decreasing the nuclease activity compared to the anti-Fas antibody treated group. Total DNA and RNA concentration was much reduced in the Fas group and DNA fragmentation assay provided evidence for increased DNA degradation. Enhanced nuclease activity against DNA, rRNA, poly(A), poly(C), poly(U), poly(I:C), and poly(A:U) was manifested in the anti-Fas antibody treated group, except for the inhibitory-bound alkaline RNase. Conclusions: The results demonstrate that the RNA-degrading pathway in Fas-induced apoptosis can accelerate the liberation of the latent enzyme from the inhibitor complex. IFN-alpha prevented enormous, Fas-ligand induced degradation of all the substrates used in this experimental study, most probably due to similarities in the signal transduction pathways. Investigations of death receptor-induced apoptosis may lead to novel treatment combinations for patients with acute or chronic liver diseases.     

Production of prostaglandin e by squamous carcinoma of the head and neck and adenocarcinoma of gastrointestinal tissue

The production of prostaglandin Eex vivo was studied in samples of 31 squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck (SCCHN) and 12 adenocarcinomas of gastrointestinal tract (ACGI). As a control, the PGE production was measured in 22 samples of noninvolved mucosa in patients with SCCHN and 12 samples of gastrointestinal mucosas. The mean PGE production by SCCHN was significantly higher than in normal mucosa. Furthermore, the PGE production by tumors which recurred or spread to regional lymph node within 18 months after surgery was higher than in tumors which did not recur within that interval. Also, production of PGE by noninvolved mucosa was significantly higher in patients in which tumor recurred after surgery than in patients which were tumor free. On the other hand, the mean production of PGE by ACGI was not different from that of normal mucosa. These data show that determination of PGE production might have prognostic significance in SCCHN.     

The effect of single and repeated UVB radiation on rabbit cornea

Background Cumulative effect of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is an important aspect of UV corneal damage. The purpose of this study was to apply high resolution magic angle spinning proton nuclear magnetic resonance (HR-MAS ¹H NMR) spectroscopy to evaluate the effect of single and repeated UV radiation exposure of the same overall dose on the rabbit cornea.Methods Corneal surfaces of 24 normal rabbit eyes were examined for the effects of UVB exposure (312 nm). In the first group (UVB1), animals were irradiated with a single dose (3.12 J/cm²; 21 min) of UVB radiation. The animals in the second group (UVB2) were irradiated three times for 7 min every other day (dose of 1.04 J/cm²; days 1, 3, 5) to give the same overall dose (3.12 J/cm²). The third group served as an untreated control group. One day after the last irradiation, the animals were sacrificed, and the corneas were removed and frozen. HR-MAS ¹H NMR spectra from intact corneas were obtained. Special grouping patterns among the tissue samples and the relative percentage changes in particular metabolite concentrations were evaluated using modern statistical methods (multivariate analysis, one-way ANOVA).Results The metabolic profile of both groups of UVB-irradiated samples was significantly different from the control corneas. Substantial decreases in taurine, hypo-taurine and choline-derivatives concentrations and substantial elevation in glucose and betaine levels were observed following the UVR exposure. There was no significant difference between the effect of a single and repeated UVB irradiation of the same overall dose.Conclusions For the first time, the effects of single and repeated UVR doses on the metabolic profile of the rabbit cornea were analysed and compared. The combination of HR-MAS ¹H NMR spectroscopy and modern statistical methods (multivariate analysis, one-way ANOVA) proved suitable to assess the overall view of the metabolic alterations in the rabbit corneal tissue following UVB radiation exposure.     

Specific binding of [3H]mepyramine to histamine H1-receptors in vascular smooth muscle membranes

The antagonist-sensitive binding of [³H]mepyramine to beef aortic membranes was as expected for binding to histamine H₁-receptors. [³H]mepyramine binds rapidly and in saturable fashion to the specific receptor sites, specific binding reaching equilibrium in 3 min at 37°CScatchard's analysis of the binding data gave a dissociation constant of 3.0 nM for the radioligand-receptor complex and maximal number of binding sites: 31 fmol/mg protein. In the competition studies histamine H₁-antagonists are more potent inhibitors of radioligand binding than H₂-antagonist. They inhibit [³H]mepyramine binding in the following order: mepyramine >triprolidine     

Construction and characterization of Listeria monocytogenes mutants with in-frame deletions in the response regulator genes identified in the genome sequence

Two-component systems are widely distributed in prokaryotes where they control gene expression in response to diverse stimuli. To study the role of the sixteen putative two-component systems of Listeria monocytogenes systematically, in frame deletions were introduced into 15 out of the 16 response regulator genes and the resulting mutants were characterized. With one exception the deletion of the individual response regulator genes has only minor effects on in vitro and in vivo growth of the bacteria. The mutant carrying a deletion in the ortholog of the Bacillus subtilis response regulator gene degU showed a clearly reduced virulence in mice, indicating that DegU is involved in the regulation of virulence-associated genes.