Intimal hyperplasia and coronary flow reserve after heart transplantation: association with big endothelin-1

BACKGROUND: Endothelin, a peptide with strong vasoconstrictive and mitogenic properties, has been found to increase after cardiac transplantation. We therefore assessed the association between its precursor peptide, big endothelin-1, and intimal hyperplasia and coronary flow reserve after heart transplantation. METHODS: Thirty-five patients without hemodynamically significant coronary artery disease after heart transplantation were investigated: Average peak flow velocity in the left anterior descending artery (LAD) was assessed by intracoronary Doppler at baseline as well as after injection of adenosine; coronary flow reserve was calculated as a ratio of both and was corrected for patient age and baseline average peak flow velocity. Lumen, intima + media and total vessel area were measured by intracoronary ultrasound. The plasma concentration of big endothelin-1 in venous blood was determined by radioimmunoassay. RESULTS: Patients with elevated big endothelin-1 levels (>2 fmol/ml) tended to have a decreased corrected coronary flow reserve (2.60 +/- 0.9 vs 3.21 +/- 1.0, p = 0.078). They also had a significantly larger intima + media area (5.82 +/- 2.9 vs 2.37 +/- 2.9 mm(2), p = 0.004) and total vessel area (18.36 +/- 5.8 vs 12.81 +/- 4.8 mm(2), p = 0.012) than those with normal plasma concentrations. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests an association between elevated big endothelin-1 plasma levels and the development of intimal hyperplasia and reduction of coronary flow reserve after cardiac transplantation.     

A historical overview of spirituality in nursing.

The following article is an attempt to encapsulate an historical overview of spirituality in nursing. Despite a plethora of information relative to spirituality in nursing, the decision was to do an eclectic overview that was not reflective of any one spiritual/religious group. The authors at times found this goal difficult when writing about the Pre-Christian and Christian eras. Most of the major religions have their own perspective on the concept of spirituality, and historical personalities recorded maybe reflective of that particular religion. Another factor that impacted on the writing of this article was the concept that spirituality was not always linked specifically to religion. Spirituality was an experiential component of the wonders of nature and life, a domain that the authors took into account but did not expound upon. Finally the authors realized that spirituality has almost always been an aspect of African-American life and certainly of those in nursing. To this end the authors realize that there is a need for more research in this area.     

Family nurse practitioner students utilization of Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs): implications for practice.

Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) are a readily accessible source of information to aid in the delivery of patient care. A pilot group of five Family Nurse Practitioner students used PDAs to organize data and access information relevant to patient care. Utilization of the PDAs in the clinical setting provided practice guidelines, textbook information and protocols that were readily accessible. The PDA made it possible for students to utilize preexisting knowledge with additional learning resources. The PDAs were purchased with funds provided from a United States Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant.     

A personal computer database system for head and neck cancer records

The computerized database system described was initially developed in 1986 to facilitate analysis of retrospective head and neck cancer data from the Royal Adelaide Hospital Department of Otolaryngology. This has now been expanded to become an on-going patient information management system. It is based on the dBase-III-Plus database package and is implemented on an IBM XT compatible computer. The system was designed to be used by staff without specialist computer skills and is therefore largely “menu-driven.” The main functions include patient record creation, update, and retrieval, and the production of reports including graphical presentations. There is also a powerful but easy to use query facility. The system has already provided much useful epidemiological material but is now beginning to fulfill an even more important role in patient follow-up and in assisting evaluation of alternative treatment protocols.     

Investigation of an outbreak of Salmonella enteritidis gastroenteritis associated with consumption of eggs in a restaurant chain in Maryland

Salmonella enteritidis ser. enteritidis was isolated from patrons and employees of three restaurants in a restaurant chain in Maryland during August and September 1985. Isolates from all three restaurants had identical plasmid profiles; this profile was present in 13 of 40 randomly selected S. enteritidis isolates received by the Maryland state health department laboratory during a comparable time period. The outbreak in one restaurant resulted in at least 71 illnesses, with 17 persons known to have been hospitalized. Scrambled eggs served on a "breakfast bar" were implicated as the vehicle of transmission in this restaurant, with eggs a possible vehicle in another of the three restaurants. The data point out the risks associated with improper handling of eggs in food service establishments, provide further evidence for the observed association between S. enteritidis and eggs in the northeastern United States, and demonstrate the utility of plasmid analysis in investigation of outbreaks involving common Salmonella serotypes.     

Mouse homologues of the human AZF candidate gene RBM are expressed in spermatogonia and spermatids, and map to a Y chromosome deletion interval associated with a high incidence of sperm abnormalities

An RNA-binding motif (RBM) gene family has been identified on the human Y chromosome that maps to the same deletion interval as the 'azoospermia factor' (AZF). We have identified the homologous gene family (Rbm) on the mouse Y with a view to investigating the proposal that this gene family plays a role in spermatogenesis. At least 25 and probably >50 copies of Rbm are present on the mouse Y chromosome short arm located between Sry and the centromere. As in the human, a role in spermatogenesis is indicated by a germ cell-specific pattern of expression in the testis, but there are distinct differences in the pattern of expression between the two species. Mice carrying the deletion Yd1, that maps to the proximal Y short arm, are female due to a position effect resulting in non-expression of Sry ; sex-reversing such mice with an Sry transgene produces males with a high incidence of abnormal sperm, making this the third deletion interval on the mouse Y that affects some aspect of spermatogenesis. Most of the copies of Rbm map to this deletion interval, and the Yd1males have markedly reduced Rbm expression, suggesting that RBM deficiency may be responsible for, or contribute to, the abnormal sperm development. In man, deletion of the functional copies of RBM is associated with meiotic arrest rather than sperm anomalies; however, the different effects of deletion are consistent with the differences in expression between the two species.