Metabolic changes following oral exposure to tetrachloroethylene in subtoxic concentrations

Mice were exposed to very small quantities of Per (0.05 and 0.1 mg Per/kg body weight per day) administered orally for 7 weeks. It was shown that Per was transported through the body by two separate mechanisms and was finally stored in the adipose tissue. On the one hand, Per reaches the interior of the membranes of red blood cells, leading to changes in the entire erythropoietic system. The membranes of the red blood cells are destroyed prematurely and its fragments are increasingly phagocytized in the spleen. The result is a high level of Per stored in the spleen. The increase in haemolysis was also demonstrated by showing an increase in LDH activity and the accumulation of haemosiderin in the macrophages in the spleen. Only 8 weeks following discontinuation of Per, these changes were reversible. On the other hand, Per is also transported with the chylomicrons. Since the lipoprotein lipase is inhibited by Per, these molecules are broken down to a lesser degree. The concentration of triglycerides (the major component of the chylomicrons) in the serum was elevated, and the chylomicrons were increasingly integrated into the adipose tissue, Per also reached this depot fat. It took as long as 16 weeks after discontinuation of Per until these changes were fully reversed and the experimental mice no longer differed from those in the control group.Abbreviations Per Perchloroethylene (1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethylene) - SGPT serum glutamate-pyruvate-transaminase - TCA trichloroacetic acid - TCE trichloroethanol - NAD nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide - PBS phosphate buffered saline - LDH lactate dehydrogenase - LDL low density lipoproteins - VLDL very low density lipoproteins     

Use of two parallel oxygenators in a very large patient (2.76 m2) for an acute "A" dissecting aortic aneurysm repair

The very large patient (weight 142 kg, height 197 cm, body surface 2.76 m2) was referred to acute operation with dissecting type A ascending aortic aneurysm. The calculated blood flow was 6.63 l/min. To anticipate potential difficulties with perfusion and oxygenation two oxygenators connected in parallel were incorporated into the circuit. Bentall procedure with ACB to the RCA was performed. The perfusion was uneventful. Bypass time was 259 minutes, cross clamp time 141 minutes, circulatory arrest 7 minutes. The highest oxygenators gas flow was 2.6 l/min with maximum FiO2 0.42. The use of two in parallel connected oxygenators is a very effective, easy and safe method in such extreme perfusions, offering to the perfusionist a great reserve of oxygenator output.     

The polypore mushroom Irpex lacteus, a new causative agent of fungal infections

Irpex lacteus, a wood-decaying basidiomycete, was isolated from a pulmonary abscess of an immunosuppressed child. This medical strain was compared morphologically and by sequencing of the ribosomal intergenic spacers with specimens from both culture collections and herbarium desiccated material. The patient was treated successfully with amphotericin B.     

Involvement of Toll-like receptor 4 in the embryogenesis of the rodent filaria <Emphasis Type="Italic">Litomosoides sigmodontis</Emphasis>

To examine the role that lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-like molecules from the filarial intracellular endobacteria Wolbachia might play in the development of filarial infections, a natural infection in the LPS-nonresponsive C3H/HeJ mouse strain was compared to that of the LPS-responsive C3H/HeN mouse strain. C3H/HeN mice have been shown to be susceptible to the rodent filarial nematode Litomosoides sigmodontis, with the development of adult worms including females containing mature microfilariae (first stage larvae) in the uterine tubes. However, free microfilariae are not detected. In this study the worm burden and worm length were not significantly different between the C3H/HeN and C3H/HeJ mice. However, the fertility of worms from CeH/HeJ mice was found to be higher than those from C3H/HeN mice. Significantly, mature microfilariae were found at the site of infection only in C3H/HeJ mice. These results indicate a role for TLR4 signaling in the immune response that inhibits worm embryogenesis and prevents the release of microfilariae or directly kills released microfilariae.     

Detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and simultaneous confirmation by automated nucleic acid extraction and real-time PCR

A molecular assay for the simultaneous detection of a Staphylococcus aureus-specific gene and the mecA gene, responsible for the resistance to methicillin in staphylococci, was evaluated. The assay included an automated DNA extraction protocol conducted with a MagNA Pure instrument and real-time PCR conducted with a LightCycler instrument. The performance and robustness of the assay were evaluated for a suspension of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strain with a turbidity equivalent to a McFarland standard of 0.5, which was found to be the ideal working concentration. The specificity of the new molecular assay was tested with a panel of 30 gram-negative and gram-positive bacterial strains other than MRSA. No cross-reactivity was observed. In a clinical study, 109 isolates of MRSA were investigated. All clinical MRSA isolates gave positive results for the S. aureus-specific genomic target, and all but one were positive for the mecA gene. In conclusion, the new molecular assay was found to be quick, robust, and laborsaving, and it proved to be suitable for a routine molecular diagnostic laboratory.     

Phenotypic dynamics of tumor progression in human malignant melanoma

The phenotypic changes in human melanoma cells during the course of tumor progression were studied with monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against the melanoma-associated antigens (MAA) M.2.2.4, H.2.8.10, K.1.2, A.1.43, and A.10.33, and HLA-(A,B,C and D). Cryostat sections of 172 primary melanomas of the skin, 157 melanoma metastases and 56 nevi were investigated with an indirect immunoperoxidase method. Phenotypic heterogeneity was observed within lesions at all stages, and also within different tumors of the same patients. Despite this heterogeneity, principles of antigen expression were found. From the reaction pattern of MAbs, the following classifications of antigens were derived: "constitutive" markers of nevomelanocytic cells (M.2.2.4 and H.2.8.10) were found expressed over a wide range of local and systemic tumors. One MAA, K.1.2 (Suter et al., 1985), that declines with progression of melanoma, was classified as an "early" antigen, whereas MAA that appear in primary melanoma in proportion to invasiveness, and which are expressed in metastases of lymph nodes and visceral organs (A.1.43, and A.10.33), were classified as "late" markers of tumor progression. HLA-antigens were classified as "intermediate" markers, HLA-A,B,C, as an "early-intermediate", and HLA-DR as a "late-intermediate" marker. The occurrence of class II HLA, A.1.43-, and A.10.33-positive tumor cells in primary melanoma indicates a high metastatic potential of tumors, independent of tumor thickness. The data show that local and systemic progression of melanoma is associated with qualitative changes in tumor cells which can be recognized by MAbs.     

Anterior vs Posterior Hippocampal Subfields in an Extended Psychosis Phenotype of Multidimensional Schizotypy in a Nonclinical Sample

Numerous studies have implicated involvement of the hippocampus in the etiology and expression of schizophrenia-spectrum psychopathology, and reduced hippocampal volume is one of the most robust brain abnormalities reported in schizophrenia. Recent studies indicate that early stages of schizophrenia are specifically characterized by reductions in anterior hippocampal volume; however, studies have not examined hippocampal volume reductions in subclinical schizotypy. The present study was the first to examine the associations of positive, negative, and disorganized schizotypy dimensions with hippocampal subfield volumes in a large sample (n = 195) of nonclinically ascertained young adults, phenotyped using the Multidimensional Schizotypy Scale (MSS). Hippocampal subfields were analyzed from high-resolution 3 Tesla structural magnetic resonance imaging scans testing anatomical models, including anterior vs posterior regions and the cornu ammonis (CA), dentate gyrus (DG), and subiculum subfields separately for the left and right hemispheres. We demonstrate differential spatial effects across anterior vs posterior hippocampus segments across different dimensions of the schizotypy risk phenotype. The interaction of negative and disorganized schizotypy robustly predicted left hemisphere volumetric reductions for the anterior and total hippocampus, and anterior CA and DG, and the largest reductions were seen in participants high in negative and disorganized schizotypy. These findings extend previous early psychosis studies and together with behavioral studies of hippocampal-related memory impairments provide the basis for a dimensional neurobiological hippocampal model of schizophrenia risk. Subtle hippocampal subfield volume reductions may be prevalent prior to the onset of detectable prodromal clinical symptoms of psychosis and play a role in the etiology and development of such conditions.