Review article: Practical considerations for fluid resuscitation in cirrhosis.

Background: Standard clinical methods of assessing volume and providing resuscitation are not always applicable to patients with advanced or decompensated cirrhosis. Despite this being well known from a clinical perspective, there remains relatively little evidence to guide clinicians though fluid management in patients with cirrhosis and, often, multi-organ system dysfunction.

Aims: This review summarises the current understanding of the circulatory dysfunction in cirrhosis, modalities for assessing volume status, and considerations for fluid selection.

Factors Affecting Transfer of the Heavy Metals Arsenic, Lead, and Cadmium from Diatomaceous-Earth Filter Aids to Alcoholic Beverages during Laboratory-Scale Filtration.

Filtration methods for alcoholic fermented beverages often use filter aids such as diatomaceous earth (DE), which may contain elevated amounts of the heavy metals arsenic (As), lead (Pb), and cadmium (Cd). Here, we evaluated factors affecting transfer of these heavy metals from DE to beer and wine. A laboratory-scale filtration system was used to process unfiltered ale, lager, red wine, and white wine with three types of food-grade DE.

Evaluation of bone mineral density among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients in South Karnataka.

Background: Diabetes is one of the world's biggest health problems and the disease affects almost all organ systems. The relationship between type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and bone mineral density (BMD) has been controversial. Early identification of reduction in bone mass in a diabetic patient may be helpful in preventing the bone loss and future fracture risks.

Modulation of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in active and latent tuberculosis by coexistent Strongyloides stercoralis infection.

Helminth infections are known to induce modulation of both innate and adaptive immune responses in active and latent tuberculosis (TB). However, the role of helminth infections in modulating systemic cytokine responses in active and latent tuberculosis (LTB) is not known. To define the systemic cytokine levels in helminth-TB coinfection, we measured the circulating plasma levels of Type 1, Type 2, Type 17, other pro-inflammatory and regulatory cytokines in individuals with active TB (ATB) with or without coexistent Strongyloides stercoralis (Ss) infection by multiplex ELISA.

Effect of upper extremity exercise in people with COPD.

Background: Exercise for people with COPD has focused on leg training, such as walking and cycling. The role and effectiveness of arm training has not been investigated in detail. This review was undertaken to examine the literature for the effectiveness of upper extremity exercise on arm exercise capacity and arm strength in people with COPD.

Basilar tip aneurysm - adenosine induced asystole for the treatment of a basilar tip aneurysm following failure of temporary clipping.

We report on a giant basilar tip aneurysm in a 48-year-old woman that could not be clipped despite temporary occlusion of the basilar trunk. Adenosine induced cardiac asystole reduced the aneurysm's wall tension and coupled with increased exposure resulting from brain relaxation allowed for the aneurysm to be satisfactorily occluded via an extended right pterional craniotomy. In difficult vascular cases, adenosine induced cardiac standstill is a useful technique which may allow for technical success when other methods such as temporary clipping fail.

Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand-mediated apoptosis in established and primary glioma cell lines.

Object: Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is a member of the TNF cytokine family, which mediates programmed cell death (apoptosis) selectively in tumor cells. The selective tumoricidal activity of TRAIL is believed to be modulated by agonistic (DR4 and DR5) and antagonistic receptors (DcR1 and DcR2), which appear to compete for ligand binding. Because TRAIL is expressed in a wide range of tissues, including brain, kidney, and spleen, and seems consistently to induce cell death in tumor cells, the cytokine has been identified as a promising approach for selectively inducing tumor cell death.