Wasserstoffzahl und Säuregehalt des Schweißes bei chirurgischen Kranken

Zusammenfassung Die Wasserstoffzahl des Schweißes, der Gehalt an freien Wasserstoffionen, sagt nichts aus über die vorhandenen Säuren und Basen. Die Titrationsacidität, der gehalt des Schweißes an sauren und alkalischen Molekülen, wird durch Titration festgestellt. Wasserstoffzahl und Titrationsacidität im Spontanschweiß von Kranken unterscheiden sich wesentlich von P_H und Titrationsacidität im Wärmeschweiß von Gesunden. Der Spontanschweiß enthält bedeutend mehr Säure und alkalische Substanz; sein P_H bewegt sich in stätker sauren Bereichen und liegt oft tiefer als im Harn. Die Schweißfunktion ist eine Stoffwechselfunktion. Ursache der Schweißsekretion ist eine Stoffwechselstörung. Durch Schwitzen wird bei Bedarf das Stoffwechselgleichgewicht wiederhergestellt. Maßgebend für den Verlauf der Schweiß-P_H-Kurve ist die Intensität des schweißtreibenden Reizes und die Wirksamkeit des inneren Schwitzeffektes. Maßgebend für die Titrationsacidität ist der Allgemeinzustand, insbesondere die Leistungsfähigkeit der übrigen Stoffwechselorgane. Aus Qualität und Quantität des Schweißes können zuverlässige Schlüsse auf die vegetative Gesamtlage gezogen werden. Plötzlicher Absturz und ungewöhnlich hoher Anstieg der P_H-Kurve zeigen kritische Wendepunkte im Krankheitsverlaufe an. Kritische Schweiße und Nachtschweiße enthalten als titrierbare Substanz vorwiegend Säure, Todesschweiße und andere Erstickungsschweiße vorwiegend alkalische Stoffe in hoher Konzentration. Im einstündigen kritischen Schweiß können von Kranken mehr Säuren ausgeschwitzt werden, als im 24 Stundenharn durch die Nieren abgegeben werden. An der Heilwirkung der Schweißfunktion bei Krankheiten hat neben dem inneren Schwitzeffekt, der Vernichtung von Stoffwechselprodukten und Giften im Körper, der äußere Schwitzeffekt, die Ausscheidung von Säure, Toxin, Wasser und Salzen entscheidenden Anteil.Mit 10 Textabbildungen.     

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha in whole blood cultures of preeclamptic patients and healthy pregnant and nonpregnant women.

OBJECTIVES: Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) is recognized as a likely mediator of the excessive endothelial activation and injury that is a key pathogenetic mechanism of preeclampsia. We used whole blood cell cultures from 12 patients with severe preeclampsia and from 12 healthy pregnant and nonpregnant women to determine the release of TNF-alpha by unstimulated leukocytes as a measure of their state of activation, and their response to stimulation with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) as an indicator of their state of priming. METHODS: Blood was cultivated without and with LPS, and TNF-alpha release was measured after six and 24 hours of cultivation by enzyme-linked immunoassays. Differential leukocyte counts were performed, and TNF-alpha values calculated per 10(5) monocytes. RESULTS: In unstimulated whole blood cultures, TNF-alpha release after six hours of cultivation was similar in all three groups; but after 24 hours, TNF-alpha concentrations in culture supernatants from preeclamptic patients were significantly higher than were values obtained in blood from normotensive pregnant women. In LPS-stimulated blood cultures with a maximum of TNF-alpha release at six hours cultivation time, TNF-alpha concentrations were significantly lower in preeclamptic women than they were in both control groups. We showed in an additional experiment that a strong LPS challenge following preactivation with high doses of LPS resulted in reduced release of TNF-alpha compared with release of TNF-alpha following preactivation with low doses of LPS. CONCLUSIONS: The observed high capacity for spontaneous TNF-alpha release by leukocytes in preeclampsia indicates activation of TNF-alpha producing leukocytes by the disease process. Preactivation and exhaustion of leukocytes by leakage of TNF-alpha could lead to the reduced response to TNF-alpha inducer LPS as observed in blood cultures from preeclamptic patients.     

Hemisynthesis of antineoplastic conjugates with nitrogen-mustard proteins

The synthesis of new conjugates with inhibitory action on tumour growth is investigated by linking amino functions of proteins compounds (lysozyme and alpha s-casein) through an amide linkage at the carboxylic function of nitrogen mustards (chlorambucil and melphalan). The polychlorambucil amides of lysozyme and alpha s-casein derivatives prepared showed experimental antitumour activity when these conjugates were screened against the experimental P388 leukemia. In the case of the conjugates lysozyme-melphalan, an antitumour activity is observed when the amino function of the drug is combined with the carboxylic functions of the protein contrary to the situation of the free amino function of the drug described into the literature.     

Effectiveness of a Multidisciplinary Education Protocol in Children with Asthma (0-4 Years) in Primary Health Care

This paper describes the results of an asthma self-management protocol delivered to parents of children aged 0-4 years. The protocol was delivered by general practitioners (GPs), community nurses, asthma nurses, and doctors in child health centers. It consisted of 16 educational modules developed after an initial needs assessment of parents and a task analysis of primary care practitioners. The program was evaluated by means of an experimental design. Parents participating in the program had significantly more knowledge, a more favorable attitude toward asthma, and a higher self-efficacy score with respect to performing asthma self-management behaviors. Also, they reported performing self-management behaviors more frequently than parents in the control group. One-year follow-up results, which were collected for parents in the treatment group only, showed that the described changes were sustained. Further, the treatment group was found to have decreased its emergency and nonemergency use of the physician's office and to have a reduction in (reported) asthma severity. Process evaluation indicated that most modules were provided by the GPs to nearly all parents. After parents had read the modules at home, almost all the information was discussed in the next contact. GPs seldom referred patients to the community nurses, although this was suggested in the protocol.     

Probiotics as flourishing benefactors for the human body.

This article provides a comprehensive review of the beneficial effects of various strains of probiotics in preventing and treating certain diseases. Currently, changed lifestyles as well as the increased use of antibiotics are significant factors challenging the preservation of a healthy intestinal microflora. The concept of probiotics is to restore and uphold a microflora advantageous for the human body. Probiotics are found in a number of fermented dairy products, infant formula, and dietary supplements. In the presence of prebiotics, which are nondigestible food ingredients favorable for probiotic growth, their survival in the intestine is ameliorated.     

Plasma concentrations of epidural bupivacaine in mother and newborn: 0.125% versus 0.375%

Central venous plasma concentrations of bupivacaine were determined in two groups of 15 parturients each who were given epidural analgesia for labor and vaginal delivery. One group received 10 ml of 0.125% bupivacaine plus epinephrine 1:800,000, the other group received 7 ml of 0.375% bupivacaine plus epinephrine 1:800,000. Plasma concentrations of bupivacaine in the umbilical venous (UV) and the umbilical arterial (UA) blood of their babies were also determined. The mean UA, UV, and maternal central venous (MV) plasma concentrations of bupivacaine differed significantly between the two groups: in patients given 0.375% bupivacaine UA values were 63% higher (P less than 0.01), UV values were 57% higher (P less than 0.01), and the MV values were 34% higher (P less than 0.05) than in patients given 0.125% bupivacaine. The measured plasma concentrations speak in favor of the less concentrated solution of bupivacaine in epidural analgesia for obstetrics. Seven milliliters of bupivacaine 0.375% is suitable for epidural analgesia in obstetrics but a low concentration-low dose technique, using 10 ml of bupivacaine 0.125% plus epinephrine 1:800,000 is safer. It provides good analgesia with minimal or no motor block and is associated with low maternal and neonatal plasma concentrations of bupivacaine, well below toxic levels and, to our knowledge, lower than in any other study.     

The effect of the interferon-gamma-inducible processing machinery on the generation of a naturally tumor-associated human cytotoxic T lymphocyte epitope within a wild-type and mutant p53 sequence context

The human wild-type (wt) p53.264-272 peptide is a universal tumor antigen and recognized by HLA-A*0201 (A2.1)-restricted CTL. Generation of this epitope by constitutive 20S proteasomes is prevented by a p53 R to H hotspot mutation at the C-terminal flanking residue 273. We report on the impact of the interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma)-inducible proteasomal activator PA28 (11S regulator) and the immunoproteasome on the in vitro and cellular processing of wt and mutant (mut) p53 substrates. We found that production of the antigenic 264-272 peptide from wt p53 by constitutive as well as immunoproteasomes is accelerated and amplified by the PA28 activator. PA28 and (immuno)proteasomes were not capable to reconvert the resistance of epitope release from mut p53. Maximum and accelerated antigen production in vitro and on the cellular level required the IFN-gamma-inducible interaction of immunoproteasomes and PA28. We conclude that efficient processing of p53.264272 from wt p53 is governed by the proteasome/PA28 complex. These studies have important implications for p53-specific cancer immunotherapy and demonstrate that the effects of the immunoproteasome and PA28 are influenced by the individual epitope and its flanking sequence context.     

Deletion of the ferric uptake regulator Fur impairs the in vitro growth and virulence of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae

In order to investigate the role of the ferric uptake regulator Fur in the porcine lung pathogen Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, we constructed an isogenic in-frame deletion mutant, A. pleuropneumoniae Deltafur. This mutant showed constitutive expression of transferrin-binding proteins, growth deficiencies in vitro, and reduced virulence in an aerosol infection model.