OXA-14, another extended-spectrum variant of OXA-10 (PSE-2) beta-lactamase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa 455, isolated in Ankara, Turkey, produced a pI 6.2 beta-lactamase determined by plasmid pMLH53 and resisted all beta-lactams except carbapenems. This beta-lactamase, named OXA-14, corresponded to OXA-10 (PSE-2) except that aspartate replaced glycine at position 157 and thus is intermediate between OXA-10 and OXA-11, which has aspartate at position 157 and a further substitution at position 143.     

A sexually dimorphic ratio of orbitofrontal to amygdala volume is altered in schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND: Neuroanatomic sexual dimorphisms have been correlated with behavioral differences between healthy men and women. We have reported higher orbitofrontal cortex to amygdala ratio (OAR) in women than men. Although gender differences in schizophrenia are evident clinically and correlate with neuroanatomic measures, their relationship to OAR has not been examined. METHODS: Magnetic resonance imaging was performed in 31 neuroleptic-na?ve schizophrenic patients (16 men) and 80 healthy volunteers (34 men), aged less than 50 years. An automated tissue segmentation procedure was combined with expert-guided parcellation of orbitofrontal and amygdala volumes. RESULTS: Men with schizophrenia had increased OAR relative to healthy men, whereas women had decreased OAR. Increased OAR in men with schizophrenia reflected abnormally low amygdala volumes, whereas decreased OAR in women reflected abnormally low orbitofrontal volumes. Less severe negative symptoms were associated with increased OAR in men but with decreased OAR in women. In men, increased amygdala volume was associated with greater symptom severity, whereas in women higher volumes of both amygdala and orbitofrontal regions were associated with lesser severity of negative symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: These opposite OAR abnormalities, whereby men show feminization and women masculinization, suggest gender-mediated effects of the underlying neuropathologic processes. The correlations with symptom severity suggest that neuroanatomic abnormalities in OAR reflect compensatory brain changes.     

Orbital Hydatid Cyst: CT and MRI

Orbital hydatid cyst is rare. We present a case with CT and MRI, emphasizing the superiority of the latter. Received: 19 August 1996 Accepted: 9 September 1996     

Does work with visual display units impair visual activities after work?

It is well established that visual display unit (VDU) operators complain of visual fatigue and visual stress during after-work hours. The present study was divided into two parts. In the first part, standard eye examinations were performed on a group of VDU workers (n = 32) and a control group (n = 15); those subjects who were found to have correct vision (n = 16 and 13, respectively) participated in the second part. The eye examinations revealed that on the average, the VDU workers suffered more than twice as many visual impairments as the controls. In those with correct vision, the near point of accommodation was measured at the beginning of the workday at the start of the week, and at the end of the workday, four days later. In the VDU group, the decrease in accommodation was uniformally distributed between zero and 1.0 diopter, whereas among the non-VDU workers, 77% of the decrease was between zero and 0.25 diopter. The dynamic range of accommodation in the VDU workers on the second examination was smaller than on the first. We conclude that some of the visual stress and visual fatigue that developed at work hindered visual activities after work.     

Helicobacter pylori infection in haemodialysis patients and renal transplant recipients

Background. It is known that Helicobacter pylori (Hp) plays an important role in gastritis and peptic ulcer disease in the general population. Although dyspeptic complaints are frequent in haemodialysis (HD) patients and renal transplant recipients, there are few reports regarding the prevalence of Hp and its possible effects on this group of patients. This study was performed to examine the prevalence of Hp infection in patients on regular HD treatment and to detect its role in the pathogenesis of dyspepsia in this group of patients. Methods. Two hundred and one patients with dyspeptic complaints were included in the study. The groups consisted of 47 HD, 54 renal transplant recipients, and 100 non-renal disease patients. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopies were performed and gastric antral biopsies were obtained for urease test in all patients. Results. Twenty-eight (60%) of the 47 HD and 28 (70%) of the 54 RTR were positive for Hp. Sixty-four (64%) of the 100 patients with various gastrointestinal complaints and known to have no renal dysfunction were positive for Hp. The Hp prevalences among the three groups were not significantly different (P <0.05). The prevalence of Hp infection did not correlate with the haemodialysis duration nor the post-transplantation duration (P <0.05). There was no correlation between the prevalence of Hp infection and duration of haemodialysis therapy or time post-transplantation. Conclusion. These findings suggest that HD patients are not protected against Hp infection as the Hp prevalences are as high as that for the non-renal disease group. The increased dyspeptic complaints may be partly related to Hp infection.