Highlights • A randomized controlled trial of 2 types of peripherally inserted central catheter lines on the outcomes is described. • No difference was noted in outcomes among the 2 types of ...peripherally inserted central catheter lines. • Larger randomized controlled trials should be conducted to test these results.
Electrophysiological studies have revealed that the properties of voltage-gated Na+ channels can be modified by phosphorylation. Na+ channels have multiple sites for phosphorylation by protein ...kinases A and C (PKA and PKC). A change in the phosphorylation state of Na+ channels is an important mechanism of neuromodulation for both central and peripheral neurons. In isolated primary afferent sensory neurons, application of an inflammatory mediator, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), causes an increase in excitability associated with a hyperpolarizing shift in the activation curve of the tetrodotoxin-resistant (TTX-R) Na+ currents. The experimental evidence indicates that the effect of PGE2 is mediated by an elevation in cAMP levels and activation of PKA. This potentiation of TTX-R Na+ channel activity is in marked contrast to the inhibitory effects of PKA and PKC on tetrodotoxin-sensitive (TTX-S) currents in central neurons. Infection of dorsal root ganglion neurons with Herpes simplex virus (HSV) results in an abolition of excitability associated with a selective loss of both TTX-S and TTX-R Na+ currents: voltage-gated Ca2+ and K+ channels are unaffected by HSV infection. The loss of Na+ current is due to a virally induced internalization process and requires extracellular Na+.
This dissertation examines the critical role that expressions of judgment play in the everyday negotiation of social and political belonging. In the sociopolitical thought of Immanuel Kant, judgments ...of taste provided a way of asserting one's presence and contesting one's place in society, through a unique kind of claim for status as a judge embedded in those judgments. Through engagements with Hannah Arendt, Martin Heidegger, Jacques Rancière, and others, I argue that Kant's theory of taste makes possible a radically egalitarian rethinking of some of the most foundational institutional boundary-markers of belonging - including state citizenship, social class, and national identity - by relocating the social bases for political membership.
The course of infection with Dipetalonema viteae in mice shows marked genetically-determined strain variation. Subcutaneous implantation of 5 female D. viteae into C57BL/10 (B10) mice results in a ...short term, low level microfilaraemia compared with that seen in similar infections in BALB/c mice. Adult worm survival is similar, thus the different patterns of infections reflect responses directed against the microfilariae larvae (mf). A number of immunological parameters have been monitored during infection in an attempt to identify strain differences which may be correlated with levels of resistance. Blast cell activity in the spleen and lymph nodes showed little strain difference, peaking on day 10 and declining as mf disappeared from the circulation. Total serum IgG levels doubled in both strains during infection, the response being more rapid in B10 mice. Serum IgM levels increased threefold in BALB/c mice but fourteen-fold in B10. Radiosorbent assays identified comparable anti-adult antibody and anti-mf homogenate IgM antibody responses in both strains. Immunofluorescent assay showed that the appearance of IgM antibodies directed against the mf surface correlated with the clearance of mf from the blood of B10 mice, whereas similar antibodies were not detected in BALB/c mice. It is proposed that the efficient clearance of mf in B10 is mediated through an IgM-dependent mechanism and that the chronic microfilariaemia seen in BALB/c mice is facilitated by the absence of a specific IgM response to mf surface antigens.
Dipetalonema viteae (Filarioidea) infections were established in inbred strains of mice by the s.c. implantation of adult female worms and the resulting microfilaraemia and adult worm survival ...monitored. BALB/c mice were the most susceptible strain examined, showing a high level microfilaraemia of approximately 6 month's duration. C57Bl/10, CBA/Ca and C3H/He mice were all equally resistant to infection, showing a low level of microfilaraemia of approximately 1 month's duration. The response of NIH mice was intermediate. Relatively little strain difference was seen in adult worm survival although worms lived slightly longer in C57Bl/10 mice than in BALB/c mice. The adult females became depleted of microfilariae over a period of approximately 1 month before becoming encapsulated in host tissue. Challenge infections given to mice previously implanted with worms resulted in lower level, shorter lasting microfilaraemias than those seen in the initial primary infections. All strains showed immunity when challenged. High responsiveness (resistance) was inherited as a dominant trait in F1 hybrids produced by crossing high and low responder strains. Genes linked with the major histocompatibility complex (H-2) were found to have no effect on the response phenotype as demonstrated by the similar responses of H-2 congenic mice on the BALB/c or C57bl/10 backgrounds. The response phenotype of radiation chimaeras was determined by the phenotype of the donor from which bone marrow (BM) cells were taken for reconstitution. Susceptible BALB/c mice reconstituted with resistant B10D2/n BM behaved identically to the donor strain, indicating that the genetic variation which exists between mouse strains in their responses to D. viteae is expressed through a population of BM derived cells and is not simply a consequence of host structure or physiology.
Between 1965 and 1984, 139 pregnancies in 125 women were complicated by obstetric cholestasis (OC). Prevalence increased from 0.1% in the first 10-year period to 0.2% in the second (p less than ...0.001), following recognition of the adverse fetal risks of this condition. Perinatal data from both series, 1965-1974 and 1975-1984 have previously been published. Mothers in the latter series were more likely to be of Anglosaxon than Mediterranean origin (p less than 0.001) and did not have underlying haemolytic conditions. Diagnostic criteria changed considerably over the 20 years, such that liver biopsy was no longer needed, gastroenterological consultation was sought less frequently (p less than 0.001) and newer diagnostic criteria of increased bile acids with negative hepatitis serology were increasingly employed. Biochemical data were broadly similar in the 2 groups. An understanding of the clinical and laboratory features of this disease facilitates early diagnosis, which is imperative if intensive fetal surveillance is to reduce the high stillbirth rate in OC.
Our objective was to evaluate the efficacy of cold coagulation in the treatment of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. The study design consisted of a retrospective review of case records of all ...women treated with cold coagulation from the colposcopy clinics inception in 1980 to 1994. A total of 725 women received treatment with cold coagulation. All grades of CIN were treated. 632 (87.1%) had long term negative follow up. 93 (12.6%) of patients had abnormal cytological follow up, but only 45 (6.2%) required re-treatment. Within the first year after treatment 52 (7.1%) patients presented with persistent cytological abnormalities, 32 (4.4%) required repeated treatment for persistent dyskaryosis. 41 (5.6%) of patients had recurrent cytological abnormalities, 13 (1.8%) required repeated treatment. Recurrence developed between two and 12 years from initial treatment. One case of cervical carcinoma following treatment with cold coagulation was recorded. Our data suggest that cold coagulation appears to be safe, efficient treatment for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia.
Thirty unselected patients with chronic granulocytic leukaemia (CGL), age range 22-59 years, were treated with intensive chemotherapy and G-CSF to mobilize peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPC). ...Chemotherapy was well tolerated and PBPC were collected by leukapheresis early during white cell recovery. PBPC collections considered adequate for engraftment were collected in 21 patients. Cytogenetic analysis of all collections in these patients showed >75% Ph negativity (range 79-100%) in 10. Successful collections, ie those >75% Ph negative and with total cell count of >1 x 10(6) CD34+ve cells/kg or >20 x 10(4) CFU-GM/kg were further analysed by Southern blot or RT-PCR. All samples were positive for the bcr/abl transcript. Patients with a low Sokal score (<0.8) were more likely to achieve a successful collection. In contrast, there was no association between transcript expression and likelihood of successful collection. We have confirmed that it is possible to mobilize and collect Ph-negative enriched PBPC in unselected patients with CGL. This procedure is more likely to be successful earlier rather than later in the course of the disease. Whether such collections will give an advantage over unmanipulated autologous bone marrow transplantation in CGL requires further study, but our experience suggests that suitable material for autologous rescue can be obtained from approximately one third of eligible, unselected young patients.
We report a fluorometric technique for determination of albumin-titratable bilirubin in the jaundiced neonate. Although bilirubin alone has very little native fluorescence, considerable emission is ...observed in the presence of albumin under acid conditions. Analysis of the plasma sample alone and in the presence of excess human serum albumin solution appears to reflect the bilirubin tightly bound to albumin and the total serum bilirubin, respectively. The difference between these two values has been designated as "albumin-titratable bilirubin". Where the concentration of albumin-titratable bilirubin is considerable, a typical saturation effect is observed. In samples where the circulating bilirubin is strongly bound to endogenous alumin, no change in fluorescence is seen when exogenous albumin is added. Results correlate well with the clinical picture.
Primary cultures of adult mouse sensory neurons maintained for 8 days in vitro (8 div), in both the presence of non-neuronal cell (NNC) outgrowth and in NNC-reduced cultures, were exposed to doses of ...ethanol, propanol, acetaldehyde and acrolein. The effects on cell viability were monitored: LD50's of 600 microM acrolein and 100 mM propanol were obtained after 24 h exposures and after 48 h with 1 mM acetaldehyde and 500 mM ethanol. Morphological effects were evident by scanning electron microscopy with sub-acute doses for each agent, using both lower concentrations and shorter exposures. Membrane pitting of the perikaryon and a reduction in the proportion of neurons bearing neurites were common signs of toxic insult. The neurites of treated cells were thicker and more irregular than those of untreated cells; this proved a good indicator of specific neurotoxicity rather than merely a cytotoxic response. Fetal calf serum in the medium lessened the response of neurons to ethanol treatments. Comparison with other in vitro studies suggests these primary cultures are a more sensitive system than established cell lines of neuronal origin for use in neurotoxicity testing.
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