Target controlled infusions: targeting the effect site while limiting peak plasma concentration.

Background: Target controlled infusion (TCI) systems are available commercially worldwide, except in North America. Existing systems target the plasma drug concentration, which may be less than ideal because the plasma is not the site of drug effect. The commonly accepted existing algorithm to target the site of drug effect results in high plasma concentrations, which may increase the acute hemodynamic effects of intravenous anesthetic drugs.

Possible synergistic prostate cancer suppression by anatomically discrete pomegranate fractions.

We investigated whether dissimilar biochemical fractions originating in anatomically discrete sections of the pomegranate (Punica granatum) fruit might act synergistically against proliferation, metastatic potential, and phosholipase A2 (PLA2) expression of human prostate cancer cells in vitro . Proliferation of DU 145 human prostate cancer cells was measured following treatment with a range of therapeutically active doses of fermented pomegranate juice polyphenols (W) and sub-therapeutic doses of either pomegranate pericarp (peel) polyphenols (P) or pomegranate seed oil (Oil). Invasion across Matrigel by PC-3 human prostate cancer cells was measured following treatment with combinations of W, P and Oil such that the total gross weight of pomegranate extract was held constant.

The role of photochemical quenching and antioxidants in photoprotection of Deschampsia antarctica.

Deschampsia antarctica Desv. (Poaceae) is the only grass that grows in the maritime Antarctic. Constant low temperatures and episodes of high light are typical conditions during the growing season at this latitude.

13C-urea breath test for Helicobacter pylori in young children: cut-off point determination by finite mixture model.

The 13C-urea breath test (UBT) is currently regarded as one of the most important noninvasive diagnostic methods for detecting Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection in adults and children. However, for infants and young children, the standard for UBT interpretation has not been validated, and its reliability has not been established for diagnosing H.

Age at acquisition of Helicobacter pylori infection: comparison of two areas with contrasting risk of gastric cancer.

Background: Helicobacter pylori infection is usually acquired during childhood and is a known risk factor for the development of gastric malignancies in adulthood. It has been reported that early age at first infection may determine a neoplastic outcome in adults. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in children residing in areas with high (Pasto) and low risk (Tumaco) of gastric cancer in Colombia to evaluate whether differences in the age of acquisition of H.

Calcium interacts with antifreeze proteins and chitinase from cold-acclimated winter rye.

During cold acclimation, winter rye (Secale cereale) plants accumulate pathogenesis-related proteins that are also antifreeze proteins (AFPs) because they adsorb onto ice and inhibit its growth. Although they promote winter survival in planta, these dual-function AFPs proteins lose activity when stored at subzero temperatures in vitro, so we examined their stability in solutions containing CaCl2, MgCl2, or NaCl. Antifreeze activity was unaffected by salts before freezing, but decreased after freezing and thawing in CaCl2 and was recovered by adding a chelator.

Determination of malondialdehyde by liquid chromatography as the 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazone derivative: a marker for oxidative stress in cell cultures of human hepatoma HepG2.

Malondialdehyde (MDA) is considered a presumptive biomarker for lipid peroxidation in live organisms and cultured cells. The present study adapts an accurate and reproducible method to measure MDA by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) as its 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazone derivative in human hepatoma HepG2 cells in culture. Since MDA is assumed to increase in conditions of cellular oxidative stress, two compounds that induce pharmacological oxidative stress in cell cultures, hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) and tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BOOH), have been used in HepG2 cells.

Bond strength of brackets bonded with an adhesion promoter.

Objective: Enhance-L.C. is an orthodontic adhesion promoter.

A positive assay for identification of cagA negative strains of Helicobacter pylori.

A new PCR protocol was developed for the positive identification of cagA negative Helicobacter pylori strains. Amplification of a portion of the genome across the insertion point of the cag pathogenicity island (the ES-"empty site") generated a 106-bp fragment, which produces a positive signal for cagA negative strains. Combined with the results of the cagA assay, the signals for ES allowed the complete characterization of the patients' cagA status.

Impact of Helicobacter pylori infection on growth of children: a prospective cohort study.

Objective: The aim of this study was to prospectively follow a cohort of children without Helicobacter pylori infection and to compare growth velocity in the children who become infected during follow-up with that of children who remained infection-free.

Methods: Three hundred forty-seven children in general good health, aged 12 to 60 months, who tested negative for H. pylori by the 13C-urea breath test, from three daycare centers in a lower-middle class borough of Cali, Colombia, were monitored for 2.

Identification and characterization of three novel cold acclimation-responsive genes from the extremophile hair grass Deschampsia antarctica Desv.

Deschampsia antarctica Desv. is the only monocot that thrives in the harsh conditions of the Antarctic Peninsula and represents an invaluable resource for the identification of genes associated with freezing tolerance. In order to identify genes regulated by low temperature, we have initiated a detailed analysis of its gene expression.

MUC1 polymorphism confers increased risk for intestinal metaplasia in a Colombian population with chronic gastritis.

Gastric cancer (GC) stands as the second most common cause of cancer death for males worldwide, and intestinal metaplasia (IM) is a lesion that precedes GC development. In previous works it was shown that polymorphisms of MUC1 gene are associated with increased risk for GC and IM. The aim of the present study was to evaluate MUC1 gene polymorphism in patients with chronic gastritis from Colombia.

Histopathology of gastritis in Helicobacter pylori-infected children from populations at high and low gastric cancer risk.

Infection with Helicobacter pylori has been recognized as a cause of gastric carcinoma. Although the neoplasia is always detected in adults, the infection starts in childhood. It has been reported that early age at first infection is a determinant of gastric cancer risk.

Clinical evaluation of mitoxantrone and piroxicam in a canine model of human invasive urinary bladder carcinoma.

Purpose: Cyclooxygenase inhibitors show promise in chemoprevention and therapy of certain carcinomas, an effect that may be additive to that of standard chemotherapy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of combined therapy using the cyclooxygenase inhibitor, piroxicam, and mitoxantrone against a relevant canine model of human invasive bladder cancer.

Experimental Design: Fifty-five dogs with transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder were enrolled in this nonrandomized one-armed prospective multi-institutional clinical trial.

Detection and typing of Helicobacter pylori cagA/vacA genes by radioactive, one-step polymerase chain reaction in stool samples from children.

The detection and molecular typing of Helicobacter pylori virulence genes in human stool specimens by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) require an adequate amount of bacterial DNA and an appropriately adjusted PCR protocol. DNA was isolated from stool samples of 39 H. pylori-infected and nine uninfected Colombian children using the QIAamp Kit following the manufacturer's instructions but with modifications.

Virulence-associated genotypes of Helicobacter pylori: do they explain the African enigma?

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the distribution of virulence-associated genotypes of Helicobacter pylori in two Colombian populations with contrasting gastric cancer risk but with similar H. pylori infection prevalence.

Methods: Gastric biopsies were taken from 241 subjects from the high gastric cancer risk area of Pasto and from 93 subjects from the low risk area of Tumaco.

Differential gene expression in proteoid root clusters of white lupin (Lupinus albus).

Proteoid root clusters are induced by P deficiency in white lupin. In their mature stage, these roots excrete organic acids (mainly citrate), thus allowing this species to acquire P from sparingly soluble sources. To screen for P-regulated genes expressed during the period of citrate efflux, an experimental model based on proteoid root clusters contrasting in citrate efflux was developed.

Ecophysiology of Antarctic vascular plants.

Most of the ice and snow-free land in the Antarctic summer is found along the Antarctic Peninsula and adjacent islands and coastal areas of the continent. This is the area where most of the Antarctic vegetation is found. Mean air temperature tends to be above zero during the summer in parts of the Maritime Antarctic.

Simvastatin improves endothelial function in spontaneously hypertensive rats through a superoxide dismutase mediated antioxidant effect.

Background: Hydroxymethylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMGCoA) reductase inhibitors have beneficial effects beyond their cholesterol-lowering properties. The antioxidant mechanism of HMGCoA reductase inhibitors is not completely understood.

Objectives: To elucidate the antioxidant effect of simvastatin.

Morphometric evaluation of gastric antral atrophy: improvement after cure of Helicobacter pylori infection.

Objective: Our purpose was to find out if morphometric techniques can document long term changes in gastric antral atrophy after curing Helicobacter pylori infection with or without dietary supplementation with antioxidant micronutrients.

Methods: Study subjects were 132 adult volunteers from a Colombian region with high gastric cancer rates. Participants were randomly assigned to ascorbic acid, beta-carotene, and anti-H.

Anti-inflammatory and tissue-protectant drug effects: results from a randomized placebo-controlled trial of gastritis patients at high risk for gastric cancer.

Background: The inflammatory process involving Helicobacter pylori-associated gastritis is thought to lead to epithelial damage and contribute to the development of gastric cancer. Evidence exists from animal and in vitro studies suggesting that tetracyclines have both anti-inflammatory and tissue-protectant effects unrelated to their antimicrobial activity. We attempted to modulate components of H.

Dietary modulation of bacterial fermentative capacity by edible seaweeds in rats.

The effect of edible seaweeds [nori (Porphyra tenera) and wakame (Undaria pinnatifida)] on the modulation of colonic microbiota was studied in adult male Wistar rats. Each alga was fed to rats as the only source of dietary fiber and compared with cellulose. After 12 days, animals were sacrificed and cecal contents used as inoculum to ferment lactulose, citrus pectin, cellulose, nori, and wakame in vitro.

Surgical solutions to periodontal complications of orthodontic therapy.

Collaboration of various specialists has become essential in pediatric dental practice. In orthodontics, this collaboration is completely necessary when the patient presents periodontal problems. Even in healthy patients, who do not suffer from periodontal disease, periodontal complications may occur during treatment with fixed appliances.