Regulation of fibroblast-induced collagen gel contraction by interleukin-1β

Fibroblasts incorporated within collagen gels induce a cell-mediated contraction of the gel to form a three-dimensional, tissue-like structure by a mechanism thought to mimic wound contraction in vivo . In this study a gel contraction model was used to investigate the ability of fibroblasts derived from adult gingiva, adult skin and fetal skin to organise a collagen matrix. In addition the effects of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) on the contraction process was also investigated. Over the concentration range 5-50 U/ml, IL-1β induced a statistically significant inhibition of gel contraction in all fibroblast cell types ( P <0.05), although fetal fibroblasts appeared least responsive and gingival fibroblasts most responsive to the inhibitory effects of this cytokine. Comparison of gel contraction by the different fibroblast strains indicated that fetal and gingival fibroblasts shared similar contraction kinetics. For the adult skin fibroblasts, three of five strains studied showed significantly diminished levels of gel contraction compared to fetal and gingival cells. This apparent difference in fibroblast phenotype may, at least in part, explain the fetal-like wound healing pattern seen in the oral mucosa.     

顺铂聚乳酸微球的药物释放特性及肝动脉栓塞研究

对顺铂聚乳酸微球进行了体外药物释放和家犬肝动脉栓塞研究。该微球粒径范围为50～200μm,平均粒径为115.76±35.94μm,顺铂含量为37.16%(W/W);体外药物释放机制符合Higuchi方程;肝动脉栓塞后8h,肝组织顺铂浓度高达21.55±12.18μg/g,明显高于肝动脉灌注顺铂组:3.16±0.09μg/g(P<0.05);肝动脉栓塞组的顺铂血浓峰值、各取血点浓度及曲线下面积AUC皆低于肝动脉灌注顺铂组。可望达到提高栓塞部位的药物疗效,降低全身毒副反应的作用。     

Primary tuberculous nasal polypi—A case report

Primary tuberculous pathology in nasolpolypi is a rare condition. A case of bilateral ethmoidal polypi with tubercular lesion diagnosed on histopathologlcal examination is being reported and the available relevant literature has been reviewed.     

Effects of instruction by practice assistants on inhaler technique and respiratory symptoms of patients. A controlled randomized videotaped intervention study

BACKGROUND: Many patients with asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary diseaseuse their medication inhalers incorrectly. General practitioners,pharmacists and other health care providers do not always havethe opportunity to instruct patients in correct inhaler technique. OBJECTIVE: To find out whether the inhaler technique and respiratory symptomsof patients can be improved after instruction by practice assistants. METHODS: Single blind, randomized intervention study in which 48 patientswho had been using a dry powder inhaler for at least one monthtook part. Their inhaler technique was videotaped on two visitswith a two-week interval between visits. The inhaler techniqueon the videos was subsequently scored by two experts on ninecriteria. At both visits the patients completed a questionnaireabout their respiratory symptoms. After the first video, 25patients were randomly chosen to receive instruction from oneof six practice assistants who had followed a one evening courseabout inhaler instruction, and who had been issued an instruction-set. RESULTS: The patients who received instruction had a significantly greaterreduction in number of mistakes at the second visit than thepatients who did not (P = 0.01). The instructed patients alsoreported less dyspnoea at the second visit (P = 0.03). No effectof instruction was found on wheezing, cough and sputum production. CONCLUSION: The inhaler technique of patients can be improved significantlyby the instruction of patients by trained practice assistants,possibly resulting in less dyspnoea. Keywords. Administration-inhalation, obstructive lung diseases, airways symptoms, patient-education, general practice.     

In situ saphenous vein bypass grafts: angiographic evaluation and interventional repair of complications

In situ saphenous vein grafts are being used with increasing frequency for bypass procedures involving the femoral and popliteal arteries. Complications of these procedures include anastomotic stenoses and persistent arteriovenous fistulae that may result in failure of the graft. Balloon angioplasty and embolotherapy with detachable balloons were employed successfully in three or four recent cases of patients with complications from in situ grafts. Tailored angiography is essential for evaluating in situ grafts, and interventional techniques are extremely useful for managing complications.     

Digital radiography of subtle pulmonary abnormalities: an ROC study of the effect of pixel size on observer performance

Forty conventional radiographs with examples of mild interstitial infiltrates and subtle pneumothoraces and 40 normal studies of the chest were selected and digitized, with pixel sizes of 1.0, 0.5, 0.2, and 0.1 mm. Observer performance tests were carried out using receiver operating characteristic analysis. Conventional radiographs and digitized images were compared. The results indicate that, in such cases, diagnostic accuracy increases significantly as the pixel size is reduced, at least to the 0.1-mm level. We conclude that, for digital systems using screen-film or similar image receptors, use of a pixel size substantially larger than 0.1 mm may result in some loss of diagnostic accuracy.     

Isovergence surfaces: the conjugacy of vertical eye movements in tertiary positions of gaze

Conjugate gaze is often defined as the equal angle rotation of the two eyes. For fixation at far distances, the optical axes are parallel and conjugacy is defined irrespective of the coordinate system. For nearby or finite fixation distances, the evaluation of conjugacy for many gaze postures depends on the coordinate system used to measure it. For example, if the eye is elevated or depressed and the eye is rotated about a vertical axis, the intersections of lines of sight with a tangent screen will describe either straight lines for arcs depending on whether the vertical axis is fixed with respect to the head or to the eye. Because of the horizontal separation of the two eyes, the binocular fixation of near targets at tertiary positions of gaze will require a vertical vergence component for head-referenced but not eye-referenced measurements. The vertical gaze alignment of three human subjects was measured as they viewed targets placed at secondary and tertiary eye positions at two different distances. Vertical vergence was either held open or closed-loop. The lines of sight were found lo intersect (i.e. vertical gaze was aligned) regardless of target position or viewing condition.     

Coronary heart disease and depression in the elderly--a population- based study

BACKGROUND: Growing interest is nowadays focused on the quality of life of elderly people who survive with chronic diseases. Coronary heart disease (CHD) is one of the most common diseases among the elderly and may have an unfavourable impact on the patient's emotional well-being. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to describe the prevalence of depression and the occurrence of depressive symptoms among elderly CHD patients, with a special emphasis on the relations between depression and the severity of CHD, and to find out the possible association between CHD and depression. METHODS: The study was carried out at the health centre of the municipality of Lieto, in south-west Finland. The study population consisted of 488 community-dwelling men and 708 women, over 64 years old, from among whom the participants with CHD (89 men and 73 women) were selected, and for whom 178 male and 146 female sex- and age- matched controls (free of CHD) were drawn from the population. CHD patients were selected on the basis of the presence of angina pectoris or a past myocardial infarction. Depressive symptoms were measured with the Zung Self-rating Depression Scale. Depression was described in relation to the severity of dyspnoea and chest pain among patients. The associations between depression and age, health, health behaviour, drugs, functional ability and social, psychosocial and environmental factors were analysed by logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: The prevalence of depression was 29% among male patients and 20% among female patients. Depression was significantly more common among male CHD patients than among male controls (P = 0.011). Among women, depression was not associated with CHD. Earlier, depression had gone undiagnosed among many CHD patients and controls, especially male patients. Among male CHD patients, depression was associated with more severe dyspnoea, but no similar association was found among female CHD patients. Among men the occurrence of CHD, physical disability, widowhood or divorce, and among women previous clinical depression, physical disability and the use of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, were associated with depression. CONCLUSION: Depression is common among patients with CHD. It seems that CHD is not an independent factor in the aetiology of depression among the elderly. The association of CHD with depression among men is explained by the acute or chronic psychic stress caused by CHD. It may be that the more complicated the patient's CHD, the more probable is the presence of depression.