Clinical performance of Alcon SA30AL and SA60AT single-piece acrylic intraocular lenses.

Purpose: To report the clinical performance characteristics of single-piece acrylic Alcon SA30AL and SA60AT intraocular lenses (IOLs).

Setting: A private practice in Marshalltown, Iowa, USA.

Methods: In a review of 2630 consecutive cases operated on from January 2000 through July 2001, ease of IOL insertion and integrity of the haptic architecture were evaluated in a prospective fashion at implantation.

Remodeling of DNA methylation and phenotypic and transcriptional changes in synthetic Arabidopsis allotetraploids.

The joining of different genomes in allotetraploids played a major role in plant evolution, but the molecular implications of this event are poorly understood. In synthetic allotetraploids of Arabidopsis and Cardaminopsis arenosa, we previously demonstrated the occurrence of frequent gene silencing. To explore the involvement of epigenetic phenomena, we investigated the occurrence and effects of DNA methylation changes.

Clinical outcomes of pregnancy in women with type 1 diabetes(1).

Objective: To evaluate predictors of neonatal hypoglycemia and macrosomia in 107 consecutive pregnancies in type 1 diabetic women.

Methods: We conducted a case record analysis of singleton type 1 diabetic pregnancies between January 1994 and January 1999 following institution of standardized management.

Results: The duration of diabetes in the women was 12.

The tripeptide feG reduces endotoxin-provoked perturbation of intestinal motility and inflammation.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced intestinal endotoxaemia perturbs motility and causes activation and influx of inflammatory cells into the muscle tissue. Because rat submandibular gland peptide T (SGP-T; Thr-Asp-Ile-Phe-Glu-Gly-Gly), its carboxyl-terminal fragment tripeptide, FEG (Phe-Glu-Gly) and its D-isomeric analogue, feG, modulate intestinal anaphylactic reactions, we examined whether these peptides also modulate LPS-induced intestinal endotoxaemia in conscious rats. The disruption of the fasting pattern of intestinal MMCs (migrating motor complexes), induced by intravenous LPS (20 microg kg-1) injection, was prevented by all three peptides.

Clavicular fracture non-union surgical outcome and complications.

Symptomatic clavicular fracture non-union is rare. When it does occur, however, it may pose a difficult problem causing pain and functional impairment. The emphasis of this paper is on preopertive disabilities and the postoperative outcome and complications.

Genetic tools for pseudomonads, rhizobia, and other gram-negative bacteria.

Gram-negative bacteria are extraordinarily diverse microorganisms that present a wide variety of characteristics worthy of genetic investigation. For historical reasons, the application of recombinant DNA technology to gram-negative bacteria in general has always lagged behind that of E. coli and its close relatives.

The role of arginine vasopressin in human labour: functional studies, fetal production and localisation of V1a receptor mRNA.

Objective: To investigate labour-associated changes in: 1. the myometrial contractile response to arginine vasopressin compared with oxytocin in vitro 2. fetal production of arginine vasopressin and 3.

Submandibular gland tripeptide FEG (Phe-Glu-Gly) and analogues: keys to structure determination.

This study examined the structure activity relationship of NH(3)-Phe-Glu-Gly-COO(-) (FEG), a potent inhibitor of intestinal anaphylaxis. The inhibition by FEG analogues of antigen-provoked contractions of isolated ileal segments obtained from ovalbumin-sensitized rats was determined and molecular modeling performed. A combination of aromaticity of the first residue, minimal extension of the carboxyl group on residue 2, and underivatized N and C termini were essential for biological activity.

Performance comparison of the Alcon Legacy 20000 straight and flared 0.9 mm Aspiration Bypass System tips.

Purpose: To compare the efficiency of surgical procedures using 2 phacoemulsification tips.

Setting: Wolfe Clinic, Marshalltown, Iowa, USA.

Methods: A randomized prospective study of 256 consecutive cases was conducted.

Relative efficacy of a brief motivational intervention for college student drinkers.

The authors evaluated the efficacy of Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS - L. A. Dimeff, J.

Glomerular heteroporous membrane modeling in third trimester and postpartum before and during amino acid infusion.

Human pregnancy is associated with substantial increments in glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and renal plasma flow (RPF). We have previously demonstrated that permselectivity to neutral dextrans is altered in pregnancy, theoretical analysis of the dextran sieving curves suggesting that elevated GFR is due to increased RPF and decreased glomerular oncotic pressure (pi(GC)) with no evidence of increased transglomerular hydrostatic pressure difference (DeltaP). These conclusions have been challenged, with claims that the rise in GFR is primarily a result of a decrement in pi(GC).

Cannabinoids inhibit emesis through CB1 receptors in the brainstem of the ferret.

Background & Aims: Marijuana and other cannabinoids are effective anti-emetics. Despite ongoing controversy over their usage, the receptor distribution and the site of the anti-emetic action of these compounds are not known. Our aim was to investigate whether the cannabinoid 1 receptor (CB1r) and endocannabinoids play a role in the anti-emetic action of cannabinoids.

Regulation of leukocyte adhesion to heart by the tripeptides feG and feG(NH2).

The role of the D-isomeric form of the salivary gland tripeptide FEG (feG) and its carboxyl-amidated derivative, feG(NH2), in regulating leukocyte adherence to nonfixed atrial slices from Sprague-Dawley rats was examined under static conditions. Optimal binding of the leukocytes was seen if the leukocytes were treated with platelet activating factor (PAF; 10(-9)M). The increased adherence of PAF-treated peripheral blood leukocytes was totally inhibited by both feG and feG(NH2) (10-9M), as well as by antibodies against CD18 and CD49d.

Hypocalcemic and normocalcemic hyperparathyroidism in patients with advanced prostatic cancer.

PTH and ionized calcium levels were measured in 131 patients with advanced prostate cancer, all of whom had received at least first-line hormone therapy. Patients were classified into those in remission, those with stable disease, or those with progressive disease according to their prostate-specific antigen response and their clinical status. Thirty-four percent of all patients had PTH levels above the upper level of normal for controls of similar age (7.

A new polymorph, form C, of [1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane]-dichloronickel(II).

The title compound, [NiCl2(C26H24P2)], has arisen as a result of the unexpected reduction (hydrogenation) of the trans-1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethene ligand. The hydrothermal reaction conditions have produced a third polymorphic form of the compound which has twofold symmetry, crystallizes in an enantiomer-selective manner and contains an unexpectedly short C-C (ethane) bond. Contacts of the form C-H.

Altered osmotic thresholds for arginine vasopressin secretion and thirst during superovulation and in the ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS): relevance to the pathophysiology of OHSS.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that decreases in and maintenance of a new steady state in plasma osmolality and sodium level in ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) are due to altered osmoregulation of arginine vasopressin secretion and thirst.

Design: Prospective study.

Setting: IVF-ET program in a university-based assisted reproductive treatment center.

Repetitive high-dose topotecan, carboplatin, and paclitaxel with peripheral blood progenitor cell support in previously untreated ovarian cancer: results of a Phase I study.

Objective: In view of the significant activity of topotecan in ovarian cancer with dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) of myelosuppression, we evaluated the addition of topotecan to carboplatin and paclitaxel with peripheral blood progenitor cell (PBPC) support.

Methods: Patients with previously untreated stage IIIC or IV ovarian cancer with macroscopic residual disease following primary debulking surgery were eligible. Patients received two cycles of carboplatin AUC = 5 and 175 mg/m(2) of paclitaxel with collection of PBPCs after the second cycle.

Management of a pregnant patient with Graves' disease complicated by thionamide-induced neutropenia in the first trimester.

A 31-year-old woman presented with neutropenia due to thionamide drug therapy for Graves' disease. She also reported 8 weeks of amenorrhoea and had a positive pregnancy test. Her drug therapy was discontinued and her neutropenia resolved uneventfully.

Renal disorders in pregnancy.

This update discusses the mechanisms responsible for gestational augmentation of renal haemodynamics, the role of urinary tract infections in preterm labour and paediatric development, and the importance of post-delivery infection and its relationship to previous catheterization. Pregnancy in women with chronic renal disease, on dialysis or with a kidney transplant, is reviewed emphasizing the risks in those women who already have problems pre-pregnancy, the problems associated with medication used during pregnancy and the impact of pregnancy on long-term prognosis. New information about altered glomerular physiology in pre-eclampsia is assessed.

Bexarotene capsules and gel for previously treated patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma: results of the Australian patients treated on phase II trials.

Bexarotene (Targretin, LGD1069) is a novel synthetic retinoid analogue that binds selectively to retinoid X receptors. We describe eight previously treated patients who entered phase II international multicentre studies examining the role of bexarotene in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Patients received either the oral formulation (n = 7) or the topical gel (n = 1).

Inhibition of allergic inflammation by C-terminal peptides of the prohormone submandibular rat 1 (SMR-1).

Background: The C-terminal of the prohormone submandibular rat 1 protein (SMR-1) contains several small peptides that reduce the severity of allergic inflammation and septic shock, and are part of the cervical sympathetic trunk-submandibular gland (SMG) axis of neuroendocrine immunology. These peptides include the heptapeptide, submandibular gland peptide-T and the tripeptide FEG. The D-isomeric form of this tripeptide, feG, which is active when administered orally, reduces LPS-provoked leukocyte rolling on mesenteric venules and influx of inflammatory cells into the peritoneum and intestinal muscle.

Treatment for displaced intracapsular fracture of the proximal femur. A prospective, randomised trial in patients aged 65 to 79 years.

We performed a prospective, randomised trial comparing three treatments for displaced intracapsular fractures of the hip in 280 patients aged 65 to 79 years. The mean patient survival was significantly higher in the group undergoing reduction and internal fixation (79 months) compared with that with a cemented Thompson hemiarthroplasty or a cemented Monk bipolar hemiarthroplasty (61 months and 68 months, respectively). After three years, 32 of 93 patients (34.

Ontogeny, phylogeny and the origin of biological information.

Accepting the evidence that evolution is largely finished and that sexual reproduction is incapable of supporting macroevolution, indicates that macroevolutionary changes were produced presexually through the cytological events associated with the first meiotic division. This reproductive mode is ideally suited to the production of new structural rearrangements of preexisting genetic information in instantaneous homozygous form. These new arrangements (position effects) produce new and discrete species.