The effect of fluoride on the resorption of dentine by osteoclasts in vitro.

Osteoclasts were isolated mechanically from bones of prehatch chicks and cultured on dentine for 24 or 39 h in medium without or with added sodium fluoride at concentrations of 0.15, 1, 15, or 30 mg/liter. Fixed and toluidine blue-stained specimens were examined by light microscopy and osteoclasts were counted, all cells were removed and resorption pits were counted.

[Antinuclear antibodies as early diagnostic criteria of developing collagen disease in quartz dust exposure--a case report].

One and a half years antinuclear autoantibodies (ANA) against Scl-70 and U1-RNP were found in the serum of a quartz dust exposed worker before the clinical manifestation of the progressive systemic sclerosis (PSS). Only a discrete lung fibrosis and an enlargement of the heart was seen at the time of the first autoantibody detection. Because workers with an intensive and long-lasting quartz dust exposition take a high risk to develop PSS a sensitive ANA-screening is indicated at minimum suspicion of chronic collagen disease.

[New endosonographic examination technic for improving the assessment of small rectal tumors].

Conventional endosonographic techniques of examination in early carcinoma and sessile rectal adenoma have shown unsatisfactory results. We therefore fill the rectal cavity directly with water. Using this technique the anatomy of the rectal polyp is preserved, and the separate layers are easier to differentiate, especially when the 10-MHz scanner is used.

The Erlangen micro-lightguide spectrophotometer EMPHO I.

The Erlangen micro-lightguide spectrophotometer EMPHO 1 was designed for fast diffuse reflection (remission) spectrophotometry in small tissue volumes. The aim was to construct a compact, modular instrument with a high repetition rate which can be adapted to moving organs, e.g.

Measurements of angular distributions of Rayleigh and Mie scattering events in biological models.

Remission spectroscopy in living tissues can only be performed because scattering processes induce a pronounced amount of backscattered light. New types of scattering chambers were constructed in order to investigate the angular distribution of light intensities caused by scattering events typical for living tissues. Different solutions and suspensions containing microspheres, haemoglobin molecules, erythrocytes and liver homogenate were used in order to gain basic information applicable to remission spectrophotometry in tissue.

Primary glucocorticoid receptor defect with likely familial involvement.

A 29-year-old woman with moderately elevated blood pressure and signs of hyperandrogenism (hirsutism and acne) but without typical Cushing's syndrome symptoms has been followed for almost 6 years. Steroid and glucocorticoid receptor studies indicated a primary glucocorticoid receptor defect. Elevated androgen values were of special interest.

Endoluminal sonography in follow-up of rectal carcinoma.

Fourteen patients who had undergone local excision, anterior resection or low anterior resection for rectal carcinoma were examined by endoscopic ultrasonography. In two of three cases of local recurrent carcinomas, endoscopic sonography was superior to computed tomography in determining the depth of tumor infiltration. There were difficulties in differentiating scar tissue from local tumor formation when the mucosa appeared normal upon endoscopic examination.

[Screening and studies of the specificity of antinuclear antibodies in lupus erythematosus and scleroderma sera in the tumor cell monolayer substrate].

The comparative study of the human tumour cell line HeLa and rat liver sections for the detection of antinuclear antibodies by the indirect immunofluorescence technique demonstrates the superiority of HeLa monolayer in sensitivity and specificity. Use of monolayers is essential for the diagnosis of antinucleolar and anticentromere ANA specificities and permits differentiation between anti-Sm/RNP, anti-SS-B and anti-Scl-70. ANA profiles are evaluated in 142 sera of 72 patients with different forms of lupus erythematosus and scleroderma and in 216 sera of healthy subjects.

Endoluminal ultrasonic examination of sessile polyps and early carcinomas of the rectum.

The results of conventional endosonographic techniques in the assessment of early carcinomas and sessile polyps of the rectum have been unsatisfactory. We therefore developed a new technique in which the rectal cavity is filled directly with water. Using this technique, the anatomy of small rectal tumors is preserved and the layers of the rectal wall are easier to differentiate, especially with a 10-MHz scanner.

Antiviral activities of 2'-deoxyribofuranosyl and arabinofuranosyl analogs of sangivamycin against retro- and DNA viruses.

Eight sugar-modified pyrrolopyrimidine nucleoside analogs related to the antibiotic sangivamycin were evaluated in cell culture against herpes simplex types 1 (HSV-1) and 2 (HSV-2), cytomegalovirus (CMV), adenovirus, and visna virus. Five of the compounds were highly active against most of the viruses with 50% inhibition (ED50) values of 1-10 microM. The selectivity of the agents was low, with inhibition of uninfected cell proliferation occurring within 5-fold that of the virus ED50 for most of the viruses.

Prune-belly syndrome with prostatic hypoplasia, bladder wall rupture, and massive ascites in a fetus with trisomy 18.

An association has been noted between trisomy 18 and genitourinary abnormalities, with six previous reports of the prune-belly syndrome occurring in patients with trisomy 18. We have observed a 120-g fetus of 18 weeks' gestational age at autopsy in whom there was severe prune-belly syndrome and trisomy 18. Serial histologic sections and reconstruction of the lower urinary tract demonstrated severe prostatic hypoplasia with a dilated, angulated prostatic urethra.

Ambulatory care centers: a unique opportunity for nurse practitioners.

Nurse practitioners continue to struggle to find avenues for professional fulfillment. Urgent care or ambulatory care centers (ACCs) may, because of their need to respond to consumer demands for more comprehensive services, offer nurse practitioners a unique opportunity to establish productive primary care practices based on the concepts of total patient care. A model for such a practice has operated successfully since 1983, establishing that both professional and business success can result from the collaborative efforts of nurse practitioners and physicians in an ACC setting.