Ischemic Stroke in the Setting of Tuberculous Meningitis

The clinical syndrome of tuberculous (TB) meningitis leading to ischemic strokes is rarely seen today in immunocompetent adults native to North America. This entity is also notoriously difficult to diagnose because the presenting symptoms are often nonspecific. The authors describe a case of a man with TB meningitis which progressed to recurrent ischemic cerebral infarcts.     

拉萨地区冠心病与幽门螺杆菌感染相关性研究

目的探讨西藏拉萨地区幽门螺杆菌（Helicobacter pyloric，Hp）感染与冠心病及多种危险因素的关系。为该地区冠心病的防治提供依据。方法分为冠心病组46例和非冠心病组51例，应用检测血抗HpIgG及-C-尿素呼气试验方法检测Hp感染情况，并分别测定各组血脂、血糖、餐后2h血糖、C反应蛋白、纤维蛋白原、白细胞总数。结果冠心病组患者血清抗HpIgG阳性率为50．0％（23／46），明显高于非冠心病组的23．5％（12／51），P〈0．05；冠心病患者Hp现症感染率为54．3％（25／46），明显高于非冠心病组的31．3％（27／51），P〈0．05；冠心病组Hp感染患者血脂、空腹及餐后2h血糖、C反应蛋白、纤维蛋白原较非感染患者明显升高（P〈0．05）。结论Hp感染与冠心病相关，可能是拉萨地区冠心病发病的独立危险因素。     

The plastic envelope method, a simplified technique for culture diagnosis of trichomoniasis.

Although culture of Trichomonas vaginalis is more sensitive than wet mounts in the diagnosis of trichomoniasis, the lack of convenience of culture prevents it from being widely used. To improve the acceptability of diagnosis by culture, a plastic envelope method (PEM) was devised. PEM permits both immediate examination and culture in one self-contained system. The medium consists of dry ingredients that are reconstituted with water before use. The effectiveness of immediate examinations by PEM was compared with that of wet mounts, and the effectiveness of culture by PEM was compared with that of culture in Trichomonas Medium No. 2 (Oxoid). Of 710 vaginal secretion specimens from symptomatic and asymptomatic women that were tested by the four methods, 62 (9%) were positive for T. vaginalis. The sensitivity was 66% by wet mount, 66% by immediate examination by PEM, 89% by cultures in Oxoid medium, and 97% by culture by PEM. The two culture methods had equivalent sensitivities but were significantly (P less than 0.0001) more sensitive than the two immediate methods. The combined immediate examination by PEM plus culture was more convenient to use than wet mounts plus culture in Oxoid medium. The long shelf-life of PEM's dry medium and its anticipated low cost are additional advantages.     

Synovial sarcoma of abdominal wall: a case report and study of tumor fine structure

A case of synovial sarcoma in the abdominal wall of a 50-year-old Iraqi woman is reported. The ultrastructure of the tumor has been studied. Eight other cases of synovial sarcoma in the abdominal wall reported in the English literature up to 1978 have been reviewed. Synovial sarcomas in the abdominal wall tend to occur with a much greater frequency in women, whereas such tumors occurring in the extremities or the neck are more common in men than woman. No ultrastructural studies of abdominal wall synovial sarcomas could be found in the English literature. The ultrastructural characters of this tumor are similar to those of such tumors arising in the usual sites and the neck. However, the present study has indicated that the light and dark cells reported by earlier workers are not limited solely to the epitheloid areas but are also present in the spindle cell zones.     

Comparative mouse skin tumorigenicity and induction of Ha-ras mutations by bay region diol epoxides of 5-methylchrysene and 5,6- dimethylchrysene

We compared the tumor-initiating activities toward mouse skin of two structurally related polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon diol epoxides: racemic anti-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-5,6-dimethylchrysene-1,2-diol-3,4- epoxide (5,6-diMeCDE) and racemic anti-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-5- methylchrysene-1,2-diol-3,4-epoxide (5-MeCDE). Tumors induced by these diol epoxides were analysed for mutations in the Ha-ras gene. 5,6- diMeCDE is derived from the non-planar parent compound 5,6- dimethylchrysene, and reacts to approximately equal extents with dA and dG in DNA, whereas 5-MeCDE is derived from a nearly planar parent compound, 5-methylchrysene, and reacts mainly with dG in DNA. 5,6- diMeCDE, at initiating doses of 33, 100 or 400 nmol per mouse, induced 1.2, 2.2 and 6.2 skin tumors per mouse, respectively. It was significantly less tumorigenic than 5-MeCDE which induced 3.1, 7.5 and 9.1 skin tumors per mouse at the same doses. Tumors induced by 5,6- diMeCDE had a large number of CAA-->CTA mutations in codon 61 of the Ha- ras gene: 50, 55 and 75% of the tumors analysed had this mutation at the 33, 100 and 400 nmol doses. No mutations were found in codons 12 and 13 in the tumors induced by 5,6-diMeCDE. In contrast, CAA-->CTA mutations in codon 61 were rarely seen in tumors induced by 5-MeCDE. At the highest dose of 5-MeCDE, 20% of the tumors analysed had mutations at G of codons 12 and 13. The results of this comparative study support the hypothesis that mutations in the Ha-ras gene in mouse skin tumors induced by PAH diol epoxides occur as a result of their direct reaction with the gene. However, pathways other than the commonly observed Ha- ras codon 61 mutations are clearly important in mouse skin tumorigenesis by these diol epoxides.      

Allelopathic activity of the norharmane-producing cyanobacterium Synechocystis aquatilis against cyanobacteria and microalgae

The cyanobacterium Synechocystis aquatilis was observed growing as a monospecies in enriched phytoplankton samples in the laboratory, indicating its allelopathic activity on coexisting phytoplankton species. Therefore, the present study screened the culture medium of an axenic strain of this cyanobacterium for the presence of allelechemicals with algicidal properties by thin-layer chromatography (TLC). The allelopathic effect of S. aquatilis was evaluated by co-cultivation of target species of toxic cyanobacteria and green algae with this cyanobacterium, as well as by evaluation of norharmane (β-carboline 9H-pyrido(3,4-b) indole) crude extract prepared from the culture medium of Synechocystis. The growth of target algal species was measured as a cell density after 6 days incubation. The results showed that S. aquatilis produced the indole alkaloid norharmane with large quantities in the culture medium (86 μg l^?1). In co-cultivation experiments, S. aquatilis inhibited the growth of all tested cyanobacteria and green algae. Norharmane crude extract exhibited stronger inhibition of cyanobacteria (EC₅₀ = 4.6–4.8 μg ml^?1) than green algae (EC₅₀= 6.3–6.4 μg ml^?1) in a concentration-dependent manner, indicating its apparent role in the allelopathic activity of S. aquatilis. The possible applicability of the allelochemical, norharmane, as an algicide to prevent the formation of harmful algal bloom was discussed.