The role of lipocalin-2 in liver regeneration.

Background & Aims: Various immune mediators such as interleukin-6 (IL-6) have been implicated in the process of liver regeneration. Lipocalin-2 (LCN2) has been recently characterized as a prototypic immune mediator produced by various cell types being involved mainly in host defence. In addition, numerous studies have demonstrated its clinical value as a biomarker.

Regional frequency analysis of extreme groundwater levels.

Flood risk is generally perceived as being a consequence of surface water inundation. However, large damage is also caused by high groundwater levels. In surface hydrology, statistical frequency analysis is a standard tool to estimate discharge with a given return period or exceedance probability.

Adipose tissue and liver expression of SIRT1, 3, and 6 increase after extensive weight loss in morbid obesity.

Background & Aims: Severe obesity is associated with a state of chronic inflammation. Sirtuins (SIRT) are a family of conserved enzymes which are able to affect many metabolic and inflammatory pathways thereby potentially improving health and increasing lifespan.

Methods: We investigated the effect of weight loss on subcutaneous adipose tissue and liver mRNA and immunohistochemical expression of SIRT1, SIRT3, and SIRT6.

Mode couplings and elasto-optic effects study in a proposed mechanical microperturbed multimode optical fiber sensor.

A step index multimode optical fiber with a perturbation on a micrometer scale, inducing a periodic deformation of the fiber section along its propagation axis, is theoretically investigated. The studied microperturbation is mechanically achieved using two microstructured jaws squeezing the straight fiber. As opposed to optical fiber microbend sensors, the optical axis of the proposed transducer is not bended; only the optical fiber section is deformed.

A combination of caffeine and taurine has no effect on short term memory but induces changes in heart rate and mean arterial blood pressure.

Red Bull energy drink has become extraordinarily popular amongst college students for use as a study aid. We investigated the combined effects of Red Bull's two active ingredients, caffeine and taurine, on short term memory. Studies on the effects of these two neuromodulators on memory have yielded mixed results, and their combined actions have not yet been investigated.

Estimating subglottal pressure using incomplete airflow interruption.

Objective/hypothesis: Subglottal pressure (SGP) measurements are often used to assess laryngeal function; however, current methods to measure SGP are invasive or do not estimate SGP during phonation. The purpose of this study was to devise a noninvasive technique to estimate SGP without interrupting phonation.

Study Design: This was a methodologic study designed to calculate the SGP of a human subject.

Prevention of perinatal morbidity by tight metabolic control in gestational diabetes mellitus.

In a prospective controlled trial, we studied the effect of tight metabolic control on the outcomes of 102 gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) pregnancies compared with outcomes of 102 matched nondiabetic control pregnancies. Women with GDM were treated to achieve and maintain a blood glucose concentration of less than 130 mg/dl at 1 h after breakfast. Treatment consisted of a diet low in oligosaccharides and fat and, if necessary, once daily insulin.

[Normalization of perinatal morbidity in gestational diabetes by strict metabolic adjustment].

A prospective study compared the perinatal morbidity of 141 normal pregnancies (group I) with that of 108 pregnancies in whom gestational diabetes had been treated early (group II) and 35 with unsatisfactorily treated gestational diabetes (group III). The therapeutic goal in gestational diabetes was to have a postprandial blood-glucose level of less than 130 mg/100 ml. If this was not achievable through diet alone, insulin was injected once daily.

[Fetal erythroblastosis in Kell incompatibility].

The case study reported here concerned an intrauterine death as a result of a Kell erythroblastosis. Allergization had been caused by the administration of Kell-positive banked blood. Irregular antibodies are on the increase as a result of the increasing number of blood transfusions.

Determination of neopterin in serum and urine.

Concentrations of neopterin, a product of activated macrophages, in serum from 662 apparently healthy individuals (ages 1 to 97 years, median 22 years) were measured by radioimmunoassay and the results statistically analyzed. Consistent with prior investigations on the urinary excretion of neopterin, we found no significant sex dependence, but values for subjects younger than 18 or older than 75 years were significantly higher. Renal clearance of neopterin in nine healthy individuals was 218 (SD 44) mL/min, which suggests that the kidneys have an active role in neopterin excretion.

Neopterin as a prognostic indicator in patients with carcinoma of the uterine cervix.

In vitro, neopterin, a pyrazinopyrimidine compound, is excreted by human monocytes-macrophages after induction by supernatants from activated T-lymphocytes or by recombinant gamma-interferon. In vivo, it represents a noninvasive test for activation of cellular immune reactions. To evaluate the prognostic value of pretherapeutic urinary neopterin levels and of serial neopterin measurements during follow-up in women with cervical cancer, 1088 urine specimens from 186 consecutive patients were analyzed.

Neopterin, a biochemical indicator of cellular immune reactions, in the detection and control of patients with neoplastic diseases.

The incidence of elevated neopterin levels is presented for 748 patients with various malignancies. The mean urinary neopterin levels varied directly with stage and in patients with carcinoma of bladder according to histological grade of disease. In 178/208 patients with subsequent treatment for gynecological cancer, neopterin levels returned to normal within 3 weeks when tumor remission was achieved but remained high or even raised when persistent or recurrent cancer was later diagnosed.

[Diagnosis of diabetes in pregnancy. Accuracy and prognostic value].

Pregnancy can impair glucose tolerance severely enough to increase the perinatal mortality rate. In the presence of easily recognizable signs pointing to diabetes mellitus we have performed an oral glucose tolerance test. Among 634 patients who were investigated, 151 or 23.

Significance of urinary neopterine in gynecological oncology: follow-up of patients with ovarian cancer.

In patients with genital cancer (N = 108) significantly higher mean neopterine levels were found than in a healthy control group. Prior to therapy elevated neopterine levels were seen in 60% of the patients with cancer of the genitals varying between 90% (ovarian cancer) and 54% (cervical cancer). Nine patients with ovarian cancer (stages IIb-IV) were followed for a period of 16 months to date.

Measurement of urinary neopterin in normal pregnant and non-pregnant women and in women with benign and malignant genital tract neoplasms.

Urinary neopterin was measured in healthy women (n = 209) and men (n = 208), in patients with benign gynecological tumors (n = 53), in women with precancerous lesions of the cervix and the endometrium (n = 24) and in women with cancer of the genital tract (n = 108). In addition urinary neopterin measurements were made in 109 pregnant women and 20 women in the puerperium. No significant difference was found between mean neopterin values in patients with benign gynecological tumors, in women with precancerous lesions and in healthy women.

Urinary neopterine excretion in patient with genital cancer.

Urinary neopterine values in 96 healthy women were compared with those in a group of 63 patients with cancer of the genitals who had not yet undergone treatment. Significantly higher median neopterine levels were found in the patients with carcinoma (p less than 0.001).

[Pregnancy after renal transplantation].

Since the number of women with renal cadaver transplantation is increasing, the obstetrician seems himself more often confronted with the situation: pregnancy after renal transplantation. The purpose of this paper is to report about our own case, to give a review of international studies written on this subject, and to inform the obstetrician, the surgeon and the pediatrician about the following points: - Common aspects of renal transplantation in fertile women and the information to be given to the patient. - Selection criteria and anticonception.

[Clinical experience with sulprostone (author's transl)].

Sulprostone (SHB 286, Schering) was used for the induction of abortion mainly in patients with missed abortion, but also in cases of intrauterine death and hydatid mole (total number: 226). In the first trimester a single injection of 25 or 50 mcg into the cervix ("intramural" injection) in order to obtain preoperative dilatation of the cervix was favoured. In the second and third trimester Sulprostone was administered by the intravenous (mean dosage 925 mcg), the intragluteal (mean dosage 540 mcg) or the extra-amniotic (mean dosage 660 mcg) route.