Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole versus norfloxacin in the prophylaxis of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis in cirrhosis.

Background: The prognosis of patients with chronic liver disease and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis is poor, being of great importance its prevention.

Aim: To compare the effectiveness of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole versus norfloxacin for prevention of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis in patients with cirrhosis and ascites.

Patients And Methods: Fifty seven patients with cirrhosis and ascites were evaluated between March 1999 and March 2001.

Overview of rabies in the Americas.

Between 1993 and 2002, the number of human and canine rabies cases in the Americas Region fell by approximately 80%. There were 39 human cases in 2002, 63% of them transmitted by dogs. Furthermore, human rabies transmitted by wildlife, mostly by bats is a risk to inhabitants in many countries in the Region.

[Longitudinal study of pituitary-thyroid axis in pregnancy].

The thyroid undergoes important changes during pregnancy. In order to evaluate changes of the hypophyseal-thyroid axis during this period we studied the thyroid function in 587 pregnants by determining serum TSH, free T4, TPO antibodies and betahCG in the 1st trimester and serum TSH, free T4 and TPOAb in to 2nd and 3rd. We observed a progressive rise in average serum TSH in the 2nd (2.

Monitoring of the dissemination of Salmonella in the chicken Frankfurt-sausage production line of a sausage factory in the state of São Paulo, Brazil.

Poultry meat and its derivatives are among the foodstuffs considered by environmental health authorities to present the highest risks to the public. A total of 185 samples were collected in five monthly batches, from different processing stages in a sausage plant that uses mechanically-deboned chicken meat (MDCM), and tested for the presence of Salmonella. Enrichment was carried out in both Kauffman's tetrathionate broth and Rappaport-Vassiliadis broth and isolation on Salmonella-Shigella agar and brilliant-green agar.

Virulence characteristics and epidemiology of Yersinia enterocolitica and Yersiniae other than Y. pseudotuberculosis and Y. pestis isolated from water and sewage.

Aims: To determine the species, bio-sero-phagetypes, antimicrobial drug resistance and also the pathogenic potential of 144 strains of Yersinia spp. isolated from water sources and sewage in Brazil.

Methods And Results: The 144 Yersinia strains were characterized biochemically, serologically and had their antibiotic resistance and phenotypic virulence markers determined by microbiological and serological standard techniques.

Characterization of Fuji apples from different harvest dates and storage conditions from measurements of volatiles by gas chromatography and electronic nose.

Volatile compounds in Fuji apples harvested at two different maturities were measured at harvest and after 5 and 7 months of cold storage (1 degrees C) in four different atmospheres. When the samples were characterized by both chromatographic measurements of volatiles and responses of an electronic nose, the analyses showed a clear separation between fruits from different storage conditions (a normal cold atmosphere and three controlled atmospheres). During poststorage, the apples were left to ripen for 1, 5, and 10 days at 20 degrees C before analytical measurements were done involving headspace-gas chromatography methods and electronic nose type quartz crystal microbalances.

Psychometric assessment and clinical application of the Correa-Barrick Depression Rating Scale.

This article reports on the psychometric results of a new sef-report depression rating scale from three separate methodological research studies (pilot, main, and replication). Based on classical test theory, psychometric findings supported preliminary validity and reliability in the original study (N = 503), which consisted of a pilot study of 116 participants and a main study of 337 faculty and staff at a mid-Atlantic metropolitan university and 50 outpatients being treated for depression in a private psychiatric practice. The validity and reliability of the new scale was further supported in the replication study (N = 121), which consisted of 96 outpatients and 25 inpatients under treatment for depression.

Thrombin is present in the lungs of patients with primary extremity osteosarcoma and pulmonary metastases.

Osteosarcoma is a rare cancer, which metastasizes to the lung in up to 80% of cases. Thrombin is involved in metastasis and is present in the lungs of patients with pulmonary metastases (PM). To identify its role in PM and osteosarcoma, we measured thrombin levels in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of 15 patients.

Color sensitivity and mood disorders: biology or metaphor?

Background: A familiar but overlooked symptom in affective disorders is patient self-report of alterations in color sensitivity. Anecdotal and empirical evidence have suggested an association between mood and color sensitivity. The purpose of this pilot study was to test three hypotheses concerning the relationship between mood disorders and color sensitivity.

Uranium determination in samples from decommissioning of nuclear facilities related to the first stage of the nuclear fuel cycle.

Large amounts of waste materials are generated during the decommissioning of nuclear facilities. Clearance levels are established by regulatory authorities and are normally quite low. Determination of those activity concentration levels becomes more difficult when it is necessary to quantify alpha emitters such as uranium, especially when complex matrixes are involved.

Effects of short-term zinc supplementation on cellular immunity, respiratory symptoms, and growth of malnourished Equadorian children.

Objective: To assess the effect of zinc supplementation on respiratory tract disease, immunity and growth in malnourished children.

Design: A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial.

Setting: A day-care center in Quito, Ecuador.

[Chronic phase of Chagas disease. Clinical aspects and course of the disease].

Purpose: To evaluate the clinical and evolutive aspects of chronic chagasic patients.

Methods: Three hundred chronic chagasic patients, 180 females, with age ranging from 19 to 81 years (55.6 +/- 13.

Cyclophosphamide affects the dynamics of granuloma formation in experimental visceral leishmaniasis.

We observed histopathological and ultrastructural hepatic changes following the intracardiac inoculation of Leishmania donovani amastigotes into inbred LHC hamsters (group I). Since granuloma formation is known to be T-cell-dependent, we also examined infected hamsters under cyclophosphamide immunosuppressive treatment (group ICy) and evaluated the production of interleukin-2 (IL-2) by their cells. Group I showed more intense hepatocyte and endothelial cell clasmatosis as well as hepatocyte degeneration and necrosis, deposits of connective tissue fibers, granulomas with multinucleated giant cells (MGCs) of foreign-body and Langhans' types and reduced production of IL-2 by spleen cells.

Effect of hydralazine on vascular mechanics in a canine lobar preparation of pulmonary embolism.

We studied the effect of hydralazine (H) on pulmonary vascular mechanics in an isolated, in situ, canine lobe model of normal and increased pulmonary vascular resistance (Rp) produced by Gelfoam embolization (GE). Pulmonary pressure-flow (P-Q) curves from 24 lobes were obtained at baseline and after each intervention. Hemodynamic parameters for analysis included: the mean critical closing pressure (Ppai), vascular conductance (1/Rp), lobar flow (QL), and the pulmonary inflow pressure (Ppa) at different levels (50, 100, 200, 400, and 600 ml/min) of a fixed flow.

Left ventricular contractility is depressed in IgE-mediated anaphylactic shock in dogs.

To determine whether myocardial dysfunction contributes to vascular collapse in anaphylactic shock, we examined left ventricular (LV) contractility, coronary blood flow, and myocardial lactate metabolism during antigen challenge in eight dogs that were sensitized to ragweed pollen extract (anaphylaxis group). Findings in the anaphylaxis group were contrasted to those in another group of dogs in which mean blood pressure was decreased to the same extent by arteriolar vasodilation with nitroprusside. The animals were examined under nonhypoxic conditions while anesthetized and ventilated.

hemofiltration reverses left ventricular dysfunction during sepsis in dogs.

Depressed left ventricular (LV) contractility in sepsis has been ascribed to the presence of circulating cardiodepressant substance (filterable cardiodepressant factor in sepsis [FCS]); however, this finding is controversial. The authors hypothesized that if a decrease in LV contractility indeed occurred due to a circulating depressant substance, then removal of this substance by hemofiltration would reverse by dysfunction. In this study, LV mechanics were examined before and after hemofiltration in anesthetized dogs during continuous intravenous infusion of live Escherichia coli.

The tobacco-specific nitrosamine 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone is an active transplacental carcinogen in Syrian golden hamsters.

The tobacco-specific nitrosamine 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) is a potent carcinogen in adult laboratory rodents. Our previous studies have shown that NNK crosses the placenta in pregnant hamsters and is metabolized into DNA-methylating and clastogenic intermediates by fetal respiratory tract tissues. Based on these findings, we have tested the transplacental carcinogenicity of NNK in this species.

[The effect of gelfoam embolism in vascular conduction and critical pressure in the isolated canine lobe].

Pulmonary pressure-flow curves, hemodynamic and blood gas parameters in West's zone II condition were obtained in nine isolated in situ left lower lobes (LLL) before (condition A), and after 15, 30 and 60 minutes of lobar gelfoam embolization (GE) (condition B) in order to know the natural history of this model. After GE a decrease in PaO2 and lobar O2 were noticed (p less than 0.05).