Comparison of the effects of three different combinations of general anesthetics on the electroretinogram of dogs

The objective of this study is to compare the effects of three different anesthetic combinations on the electroretinogram in the same animals under similar laboratory conditions. Thiopental–isoflurane (TI), medetomidine–ketamine (MK), and xylazine–ketamine (XK) were used on each of 12 healthy miniature schnauzer dogs (MS) with a period of at least 3 weeks in between subsequent anesthesia protocols, using the Dog Standard Protocol. The scotopic ERGs consisted of scotopic low stimulus strength (S) responses designated S1, S2, S3, S4, and S5, at 1, 5, 10, 15, and 20 min after dark adaptation, respectively, and scotopic standard stimulus strength (S-ST) responses. The photopic ERGs consisted of a photopic single flash (P) response and 31 Hz flicker (P-FL) responses. For S-ST (2.5 cd s/m²), the amplitude of the a-wave using TI was significantly lower than that using MK (adjusted P = 0.05) and XK (adjusted P = 0.03), and the implicit time of the a-wave was significantly shorter than that using MK (adjusted P = 0.04). For P (2.5 cd s/m²), the amplitude of the b-wave using XK was significantly higher than that using MK (adjusted P = 0.01). The implicit times of the b-wave using TI was significantly longer and shorter than that of MK for S1, S2 and P-FL and for S4 and S-ST, respectively, and than that of XK for S2 and P-FL and for S5 and S-ST, respectively. The results of the present study showed that TI affected both the amplitude and the implicit time of the a-wave for S-ST and the implicit time of the b-wave relatively more so than was the case when using XK or MK. Therefore, it appears that either XK or MK could be advantageous to use rather than TI for clinical studies.     

Development of a decision support system for cost analysis.

Korean hospitals are experiencing an increasing amount of financial difficulty due to government control of hospital rates since national health insurance has been implemented. The decision support system (DSS) was developed to provide cost and revenue information for the services rendered by each department in an effort to reduce costs. This information may be used to identify the causes of financial loss if cost exceeds revenue and to develop budgets for the next year. The DSS was developed using a micromainframe interface approach where the mainframe computer collects and summarises daily cost data and the micro computer allocates the data to each department.     

Detection of nuclear factor-kappaB and inducible nitric oxide synthase in the lungs of pigs naturally infected with Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae

Activated nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) were detected immunohistochemically in pleuropneumonic lungs from 20 pigs naturally infected with Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae. NF-kappaB was detected mainly in nuclei of inflammatory cells, confirming its activation. Intense immunolabelling for NF-kappaB and iNOS was seen within the lung lesions, but labelling was minimal in unaffected portions of the lung of infected pigs and in normal lung from uninfected (control) pigs. Examination of serial sections from the 20 infected lung samples demonstrated a close association between NF-kappaB and iNOS. This suggests that NF-kappaB plays a key role in triggering the activation of iNOS in porcine pleuropneumonia.     

Preoperative chemoradiation and pancreaticoduodenectomy with portal vein resection for localized advanced pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is a common disease that is rarely cured. Surgical resection remains the only treatment modality that has a curative potential, although the majority of patients are unsuitable for resection at the time of diagnosis. Chemoradiation therapy prior to a pancreaticoduodenectomy ensures that a patient who undergoes a complete resection multimodality therapy, avoids a resection in patients who have a rapidly progressive disease, and allows radiation therapy to be given to well oxygenated cells before, surgical devasculation. This permits the chance of resection of an unresectable pancreatic cancer by downstaging. A patient with cytologic proof of localized adenocarcinoma of the pancreatic head received an intravenously chemoradiation (Taxol, 50 mg/m2 intravenously for 3 hours week on 5 cycles, of Gemcytabine 1000 mg/m2/day intravenously for 3 days week on 2 cycles, of 4500 cGy) with the intention of proceeding to a resection operation, restaging was performed by computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging from 5 weeks every months due to ongoing decreasing of tumor size after the chemoradiation. At laparotomy, the patient didn't have suspected metastatic disease, the tumor size was 2 X 3 cm on the pancreas head and was infiltrating into the portal vein for about 3 cm length on right side. A pancreaticoduodenectomy along with a portal vein and superior mesenteric vein resection was done and then reconstruction of a vascular anastomosis by using the right side of the internal jugular vein. Perioperative complications didn't occur. In conclusion, preoperative chemoradiation of a localized advanced pancreatic tumor has no added risk to the operative complications and the prospects for resectability are enhanced.     

Pulmonary damage by Vibrio vulnificus cytolysin.

Vibrio vulnificus is an estuarine bacterium that causes septicemia and serious wound infection. Cytolysin produced by V. vulnificus has been incriminated as one of the important virulence determinants of bacterial infection. Cytolysin (8 hemolytic units) given intravenously to mice via their tail veins caused severe hemoconcentration and lethality. Cytolysin treatment greatly increased pulmonary wet weight and vascular permeability as measured by (125)I-labeled albumin leakage without affecting those factors of other organs significantly. Blood neutrophils were markedly decreased in number after cytolysin injection, with a concomitant increase in the level of pulmonary myeloperoxidase activity, indicating that cytolysin-induced neutropenia might be due to pulmonary sequestration of neutrophils. By microscopic examination, severe perivascular edema and neutrophil infiltration were evident in lung tissues. These results suggest that increased vascular permeability and neutrophil sequestration in the lungs are important factors in lethal activity by cytolysin.     

Comparison of the nucleotide sequences of 16S rRNA, 444 Ep-ank, and groESL heat shock operon genes in naturally occurring Ehrlichia equi and human granulocytic ehrlichiosis agent isolates from Northern California

We examined 11 naturally occurring isolates of Ehrlichia equi in horses and two human granulocytic ehrlichiosis agent isolates in California for sequence diversity in three genes. Ehrlichia equi isolates were from Sierra (n = 6), Mendocino (n = 3), Sonoma (n = 1), and Marin (n = 1) counties, and human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE) agent isolates were obtained from Humboldt county. PCR with specific primers for 16S rRNA, 444 Ep-ank and groESL heat shock operon genes successfully produced amplicons for all 13 clinical samples. The 444 Ep-ank gene of the HGE agent and E. equi isolates from northern California is different from the eastern U.S. isolates BDS and USG3. The translated amino acid sequence of the groESL heat shock operon gene fragment is identical among E. equi, the HGE agent, and E. phagocytophila, with the exception of the northern Californian equine CASOLJ isolate. Microheterogeneity was observed in the 16S rRNA gene sequences of HGE agent and E. equi isolates from northern California. These results suggest that E. equi and the HGE agent found in California are similar or identical but may differ from the isolates of equine and human origin found in the eastern United States.     

Infected infradiaphragmatic retroperitoneal extralobar pulmonary sequestration: a case report

Infradiaphragmatic extralobar pulmonary sequestration is an extremely rare congenital malformation. It is more frequently diagnosed in the antenatal period due to routine ultrasonic examination of the fetus or in the first 6 months of life, though on rare occasions it is discovered incidentally in adults. A 32-yr-old man presenting with epigastric discomfort and fever was referred. Computed tomographic scanning showed that a 16-cm, multiseptated, dumbbell-shaped, huge cystic tumor was located beneath the diaphragm. On the next day, 850 mL of thick yellowish pus was drained by sonography-guided fine needle aspiration for the purpose of infection control and diagnosis, but no microscopic organisms were found in repeated culture studies. Surgical removal of the cyst was performed through thoracoabdominal incision and most of these pathologic lesions were removed but we could not find the feeding arteries or any fistulous tract to surrounding structures. Histopathologic study revealed that it was extralobar pulmonary sequestration and culture study showed that many WBC and necrotic materials were found but there were no microorganisms in the cystic contents. We report the first case of an infected infradiaphragmatic retroperitoneal extralobar sequestration which was administered a staged management and achieved an excellent clinical course.     

Differential involvement of GABA system in mediating behavioral and neurochemical effect of acupuncture in ethanol-withdrawn rats

In our previous study we demonstrated that acupuncture at Shenmen (HT7) points suppressed a decrease of accumbal dopamine (DA) release in ethanol-withdrawn rats. Furthermore, here we found that it inhibited behavioral withdrawal signs of ethanol. In an effort to better understand the mechanisms underlying this inhibition, the potential role of GABA receptor system in acupuncture was investigated. Male Sprague–Dawley rats were treated with 3 g/kg/day of ethanol (20%, w/v) or saline by intraperitoneal injection for 21 days. Following 48 or 72 h of ethanol withdrawal, acupuncture was applied at bilateral HT7 for 1 min. The selective GABA_A antagonist bicuculline and the selective GABA_B antagonist SCH 50911 were injected intraperitoneally 20 min before acupuncture, respectively. Importantly, suppressive effects of acupuncture on DA deficiency were completely abolished by SCH 50911, but not by bicuculline, whereas ameliorating effects of acupuncture on ethanol withdrawal syndrome were completely blocked either by SCH 50911 or bicuculline. These results suggest that acupuncture at specific acupoint HT7 may normalize the DA release in the mesolimbic system and attenuate withdrawal syndrome through the GABA_B receptor system in ethanol-withdrawn rats.