Isolation of silica-dependent protein from rat lung with special reference to development of fibrosis

Silicosis was produced experimentally in rats by single intratracheal injections of various doses of SiO2 dust. The weight of the lungs as well as the contents of total nitrogen, collagen, nucleic acids (especially RNA), and lipids increased in accordance with the dose and the time interval. Fibrogenic stimulation in vitro was shown by the supernatant of the homogenized lung in the incorporation of proline into incubated granulation tissue or lung fibroblasts. The fibrogenic factor-activity depended more on the time interval after the injection than on the SiO2 dose. Electrophoresis of the soluble proteins in the silicotic rat lungs showed a protein of 16,000 Da, which was dependent on the time interval following SiO2 administration as well as on the dose itself, and which originated from macrophages. This protein was purified by repeated gel-filtration chromatography. It stimulated collagen synthesis in granulation-tissue cells at a concentration of about 10(-10) M in a dose-dependent way. It was acidic by amino acid composition but differed from calmodulin which also increased collagen synthesis in granulation-tissue cells in vitro. The ability of non-fractionated macrophage preparations to stimulate the incorporation of proline into collagen correlated inversely with the gross alkaline RNase activity.     

Impact of a community pharmacy transitions-of-care program on 30-day readmission

Objectives

The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of a transitions-of-care (TOC) program on both all-cause and related 30-day hospital readmission. The secondary objective was to evaluate which patient-specific factors, if any, are predictive of 30-day hospital readmissions.

Older rehabilitees’ life-course agency in Finnish gerontological rehabilitation

Aims: This study investigates gerontological rehabilitation sessions of Finnish rehabilitees in the framework of life-course agency from the perspectives of temporal orientation and agency. Methods: The research data were obtained by non-participatory observation in 11 individual goal-setting sessions between 11 rehabilitees and their personal counsellors. The data were analysed in accordance with data-driven, qualitative content and narrative analysis, with an emphasis on the life-course agency approach. Results: Four temporal orientations of older rehabilitees were identified in the rehabilitation sessions: (i) timeless, (ii) past, (iii) present, and (iv) life course. For each temporal orientation, the rehabilitees displayed different kinds of agency. Fractured agency was intertwined with the timeless orientation, frozen agency was related to the past orientation, practical agency to the present orientation, and transitional agency emerged in relation to the life-course orientation. Conclusions: The article contributes to the discussion of how older adults’ rehabilitation should be reformed within the Finnish context. The study suggests that a person-centred gerontological rehabilitation process should be conceptualized in terms of an agency-based approach with a personally constructed and temporally embedded life-course perspective. This kind of conceptualizing could promote empowered cooperation and innovative interventions with flexible schedules in the rehabilitation processes of older adults.     

Alcoholic Liver Damage is Provoked by 4-Methylpyrazole, which Prolongs the Influence of Ethanol but Reduces Acetaldehyde Levels

Rats chronically fed ethanol developed liver injury only if they also received low doses of the alcohol dehydrogenase inhibitor, 4-methylpyrazole, suggesting that the consistency of the influence of ethanol and its metabolism, rather than the level of acetaldehyde or the degree of the metabolic effects, contributes to the pathogenesis of alcoholic liver damage.     

Hepatic copper in primary biliary cirrhosis: biliary excretion and response to penicillamine treatment.

Excessive hepatic copper accumulation occurs in long-lasting cholestatic liver disorders especially in primary biliary cirrhosis. As in Wilson's disease, penicillamine has recently been introduced for the treatment of primary biliary cirrhosis. In Wilson's disease there is decreased biliary excretion of copper. The present study shows that as compared with controls the biliary excretion of copper is not decreased in primary biliary cirrhosis; instead it may be increased in some patients. However, when compared with high hepatic copper concentration biliary copper excretion was low. In contrast with copper, biliary secretion of bile acids was decreased in eight of the 17 patients. Treatment with oral penicillamine (600 mg/day) for one year resulted in a significant decrease of hepatic copper concentration, but had no consistent effect on the biliary excretion of copper or on the amount of histologically stainable orcein-positive copper-binding protein. The results suggest that excessive hepatic copper accumulation in primary biliary cirrhosis may not be primarily caused by a decreased biliary excretion, or that a new equilibrium is achieved in advanced primary biliary cirrhosis. D-penicillamine appears to improve significantly the biliary excretion of bile acids.