Effect of albumin on neonatal serum ionized magnesium in vitro.

BACKGROUND: Human serum albumin (HAS) is used to treat hypoproteinaemia in neonates and as a volume expander. The aim of this study was to quantify the decrease in serum concentration of ionized magnesium ([Mg2+]) when human serum albumin is added to neonatal serum in vitro. METHODS: Human serum albumin was added to 20 cord serum samples of term infants to reach incremental concentrations of 0 to 20.0 g/l and [Mg2+] were measured. RESULTS: Serum [Mg2+] decreased significantly with the addition of serum albumin. At incremental serum albumin concentration of 10 to 20 g/l, which is within the range of the desired aim in the treatment of hypoalbuminaemia, the magnitude of the decrease in serum [Mg2+] was approximately 0.041 to 0.052 mmol/l (10 to 13 per cent) from the average baseline value. CONCLUSION: The addition of albumin causes a decrease in [Mg2+]. From this in vitro study we speculate that fast infusion of albumin in human neonates may potentially cause a clinically significant decrease in serum [Mg2+].     

Epidural block for obstetrics: Comparison of bolus injection of local anesthetic with gravity flow technique

Study Objective: To test the hypothesis that slow administration of local anesthetic into the epidural space by gravity flow reduces the incidence of signs and symptoms of unintended injection.

Design: Prospective, randomized study.

Setting: Teaching hospital.

Patients: 600 ASA physical status I and II parturients scheduled for labor and delivery or elective cesarean section.

Interventions: After identification of the epidural space with pulsations of an air-fluid column, parturients for vaginal delivery (n = 380) were randomized to receive a test dose of 3 ml 3% 2-chloroprocaine with epinephrine 20 μg, two doses of 7 ml bupivacaine 0.03 % with sufentanil 1 μg/ml and epinephrine 2 μg/ml by either gravity flow (Group 1) given over 30 seconds or by bolus injection (Group 2) given over 5 seconds through the epidural needle; parturients for Cesarean delivery (n = 220) were randomized to receive a test dose and two doses of 6 ml lidocaine 2 % with sufentanil 1 μg/ml and epinephrine 2 μg/ml by either gravity flow or by bolus injection through the epidural needle. Changes in maternal heart rate (HR) and blood pressure, signs of intravascular injection, and adverse effects of epidural bupivacaine-sufentanil were recorded after each dose.

Measurements and Main Results: Gravity flow administration (Group 1) was associated with a smaller increase in mean maternal HR (p < 0.001), less hypotension (p < 0.01), sedation (p < 0.01), nausea (p = 0.01), and segmental spread (p < 0.0001) than were corresponding doses given by traditional bolus injection (Group 1) for vaginal or Cesarean deliveries. The incidence of systemic toxicity was zero of 300 (0%) with gravity flow and 4 of 300 (1.3%) by bolus injection, p = 0.12, Fisher's exact test. No patient in either group had an accidental intrathecal injection.

Conclusion: Gravity flow administration of local anesthetic-opioid solution during epidural block for obstetrics was associated with fewer signs of systemic drug absorption and cardiovascular perturbations than was the traditional bolus injection. This study supports the current opinion that slow administration of local anesthetic during epidural black contributes to fewer adverse events.     

FM sonography in diffuse liver disease: prospective assessment and blinded analysis

FM sonography - a signal-processing technique that uses frequency and phase information as well as amplitude data - shows promise in evaluation of patients with diffuse liver disease. In a prospective blinded review of 37 patients with biopsy-proved liver disease and 42 healthy volunteers, FM sonography was clearly superior to traditional amplitude-based (AM) sonography in distinguishing healthy from diseased subjects. Statistically significant differences were seen in accuracy (FM, 98.7%; AM, 84.8%), sensitivity (FM, 97.3%; AM, 70.3%), and negative predictive value (FM, 97.7%; AM, 78.8%). Our data also suggest that current FM sonographic techniques cannot differentiate among histologic findings associated with different hepatic parenchymal abnormalities. It is unclear, therefore, whether FM imaging can reduce the numbers of patients who require biopsy for diagnosis or the frequency of biopsy procedures in patients with known disease.     

用于筛选天然产物中脲酶抑制剂的脲酶活性测试方法的建立

抑制幽门螺杆菌产生的脲酶具有治疗胃炎和消化性溃疡的作用。用酚红指示剂和Ｂｅｒｔｈｅｌｏｔ试剂在９６孔培养板上检测重组脲酶活性，其灵敏度指标酚红法每ｍｇ酶蛋白引起的每分钟吸光度变化。△Ａ为６．９，而Ｂｅｒｔｈｅｌｏｔ法每ｍｇ酶蛋白引起的每分钟吸光度比值变化△Ａ为３１３。结果表明用Ｂｅｒｔｈｅｌｏｔ试剂检测重组脲酶活性适宜在９６孔培养板上大规模筛选天然产物中的脲酶抑制剂。     

Changes in the African American female profile as depicted in fashion magazines during the 20th century.

This study evaluated changes in the profiles of African American women presented in fashion magazines during the 20th century. Twenty-six variables were measured on a total of 119 profile photographs collected from various fashion magazines published in the 1940s through the 1990s. The photographs were divided into 6 groups corresponding to the decade in which they were published. A 1-way analysis of variance was performed, and between-group differences were examined with a Tukey multiple comparison procedure. Significant between-group differences (P <.01) were found for anteroposterior lip position, nasolabial angle, and interlabial angle, with increased fullness and more anteriorly positioned lips in the more recent decades. No significant differences were found for the frontonasal angle, the nasal tip angle, and the relationship of the chin to the upper face (total facial angle). Esthetic standards for the African-American female profile changed during the 20th century and, similar to the standards for the white profile, show a trend toward fuller and more anteriorly positioned lips.     

Laparoscopic transhiatal surgery of the esophagus.

OBJECTIVE: Esophagectomy is an operation with high morbidity and mortality. Its adoption as a minimally invasive operation worldwide has been slow, but the potential benefits of reducing the trauma of surgery need to be considered. Our 30-month experience with transhiatal esophagectomy in a district general hospital is presented herein. METHODS: Patients were considered for surgery after radiological staging had excluded inoperable disease. Laparoscopic staging was initially performed. Patients with tumors of the esophagus and high-grade dysplasia in a Barrett's esophagus were included. RESULTS: Twenty-nine patients were referred for consideration for resectional surgery. Nine underwent outpatient laparoscopy only. Twenty patients (age range, 34 to 78, 15 males:5 females) underwent resectional surgery. Seventeen transhiatal resections were completed, 2 were converted to open procedures, and 1 transhiatal resection of a benign tumor was performed. Median time of surgery was 415 minutes (range, 320 to 480) and blood loss was 300 mL (range, 200 to 350). The median length of post-operative ventilation and critical care stay were 1 (range, 1 to 4) and 4 (range, 2 to 8) days. Median duration of hospitalization was 17 days (range, 10 to 28). Thirty-day mortality was 0; 1 patient who was converted to an open procedure died after a cerebrovascular event on day 34. CONCLUSION: A zero mortality rate for laparoscopic resection and a low-morbidity rate compare well with morbidity and mortality in reported series using this method and open surgery. Laparoscopic transhiatal esophagectomy is an advanced, complex procedure that can be performed safely in a district general hospital setting.     

Inositol 6 g daily may be effective in depression but not in schizophrenia

Inositol is an important precursor for second messenger synthesis and has been reported to be reduced by lithium treatment in rat brain and in human CSF in depression. An open trial of 6 g/day in 11 depressed patients resistant to previous treatment led to major improvement in nine patients. The enzyme synthesizing inositol has been reported to be elevated in schizophrenia, suggesting an attempted compensation for possible inositol deficiency. A controlled double-blind crossover trial in 10 chronic schizophrenic patients of 6 g/day of inositol for 30 days did not reveal any benefit.