A multicenter, randomized study comparing the efficacy and safety of intravenous and/or oral levofloxacin versus ceftriaxone and/or cefuroxime axetil in treatment of adults with community-acquired pneumonia.

Five hundred ninety patients were enrolled in a prospective, multicenter, randomized trial comparing the efficacy and safety of 7 to 14 days of levofloxacin treatment with that of ceftriaxone and/or cefuroxime axetil in the management of community-acquired pneumonia in adults. Patients received either intravenous and/or oral levofloxacin (500 mg once daily) or the comparative agents, parenteral ceftriaxone (1 to 2 g once to twice daily) and/or oral cefuroxime axetil (500 mg twice daily). Erythromycin or doxycycline could be added to the comparator arm at the investigator's discretion.

Mechanosensitive cation channels in aortic endothelium of normotensive and hypertensive rats.

In response to humoral and hemodynamic stimuli, vascular endothelium regulates vascular tone by releasing endothelium-derived vasoactive factors. Stretch-activated cation channels have been postulated to act as endothelial mechanosensors that respond to changes in hemodynamic forces. We report the presence of a nonselective (n=98) and K+-selective (n=53) stretch-activated channel in rat intact aortic endothelium and isolated aortic endothelial cells.

Exchange of protein molecules through connections between higher plant plastids.

Individual plastids of vascular plants have generally been considered to be discrete autonomous entities that do not directly communicate with each other. However, in transgenic plants in which the plastid stroma was labeled with green fluorescent protein (GFP), thin tubular projections emanated from individual plastids and sometimes connected to other plastids. Flow of GFP between interconnected plastids could be observed when a single plastid or an interconnecting plastid tubule was photobleached and the loss of green fluorescence by both plastids was seen.

[Orthopedic treatment of scoliosis: new technique using impression by optic procedure].

The authors present a new procedure for acquiring the whole external trunk shape. The construction of braces starts with corrected a positive mold using computer-assisted design software connected to a digital tooling machine. The computer-assisted design and construction of braces enable the determination, measurement, and modification of a three-dimensional image of the trunk, which allows the positive to be corrected.

The green fluorescent protein as a marker to visualize plant mitochondria in vivo.

To determine how to utilize the green fluorescent protein (GFP) as a marker for subcellular localization and as a label for plant mitochondria in vivo, transgenic suspension cells and tobacco plants expressing GFP with and without a mitochondrial localization signal were generated. The first GFP form used, GFP1, is easily observable in cells with low autofluorescence, such as suspension cells or trichomes, but masked in green tissue. For the visualization of GFP in cells and tissues with high autofluorescence, such as leaf, the use of a very strong promoter (35S35SAMV), a highly expressed modified mGFP4 coding region and a brighter mutant form of GFP (S65T) was necessary.

Up-regulation of pressure-activated Ca(2+)-permeable cation channel in intact vascular endothelium of hypertensive rats.

In endothelial cells, stretch-activated cation channels have been proposed to act as mechanosensors for changes in hemodynamic forces. We have identified a novel mechanosensitive pressure-activated channel in intact endothelium from rat aorta and mesenteric artery. The 18-pS cation channel responded with a multifold increase in channel activity when positive pressure was applied to the luminal cell surface with the patch pipette and inactivated at negative pipette pressure.

Stability under vacuum of silicon trap detectors and their use as transfer instruments in cryogenic radiometry.

The stability of the responsivity of trap detectors under vacuum has been studied by means of a special chamber designed for the test of photodetectors at low pressure. The first experiments at a wavelength of 647 nm show that the responsivity variations are smaller than the uncertainties of the measurements, approximately 3 parts in 10(5), when the detector operates successively in air, under vacuum, and then again in air. Calculations based on experiments with single windowless photodiodes indicate that the change in trap responsivity that is due to vacuum effects should be smaller than 1 part in 10(5), at least in the visible part of the wavelength range.

Diffraction effects in the radiometry of coherent beams.

High-accuracy radiometry requires an optical beam in which all the light is contained within the radius of the smallest detector to be calibrated. We analyze a common configuration of the optical components used to prepare such a beam and show that diffraction rings are formed in the far field although the irradiance is zero along the limiting aperture's edge. The beam profile is calculated and used to find the radius of the smallest detector that can be calibrated with this beam.

Anti-peptide immunoglobulins from rabbit and chicken eggs recognise recombinant human dihydroorotate dehydrogenase and a 44-kDa protein from rat liver mitochondria.

Mitochondrially bound dihydroorotate dehydrogenase catalyses the fourth sequential step in the de novo synthesis of uridine monophosphate. 312-bp and 983-bp regions of the human dihydroorotate dehydrogenase sequence (1496 bp) were amplified by the polymerase chain reaction, and subcloned into the expression vector pQE 32. The identity of the PCR products was verified by dideoxynucleotide sequencing.

[Rôle of growth hormone therapy in the genesis of slipped capital femoral epiphysis].

The authors report two cases of children treated with growth hormone who had a secondary slipped capital femoral epiphysis. Endocrine disease, radiotherapy are some well-known etiological factors reported in literature, but growth hormone influence is still discussed. This hormone could have an indirect incidence on this pathology because of its effects on growth cartilage.

Monomeric and dimeric forms of soluble receptors can differ in their neutralization potential.

Recombinant soluble forms of transmembrane receptors can be produced in monomeric and dimeric versions. Binding affinity and neutralization potential of these different forms of soluble receptors depend on the quaternary structure of their ligands. Monomeric ligands will be bound with equal affinity by both forms, whereas trimeric ligands, e.

The effects of desipramine on thyroid hormone concentrations in rat brain.

The effects of the antidepressant desipramine on the tissue concentrations of thyroxine and triiodothyronine in 9 different regions of the brain and also in the pituitary and liver were investigated in male rats. The investigations were carried out at three different times of the light/dark cycle: 5 a.m.

[Cervical spondylolysis in children. Apropos of 4 cases. Review of the literature].

Purpose Of The Study: A clinical and radiological study of four cases of spondylolysis in children. Literature review shows the congenital origin of the disorder and how it is to be treated.

Material And Methods: We report on four children with cervical spondylolysis.

[Treatment of osteoid osteoma by CT-controlled percutaneous drill resection. Apropos of 27 cases].

Purpose Of The Study: Osteoid osteoma is a benign tumor requiring excision due to pain, usually severe and invalidating. Surgical "en bloc" resection is not always easy. Complete resection of the nidus is required to prevent recurrence while at the same time a limited resection should also be used to avoid a pathological fracture or a growth plate injury in children.

Hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis in chronic alcoholism. II. Deiodinase activities and thyroid hormone concentrations in brain and peripheral tissues of rats chronically exposed to ethanol.

Thyroxine (T4), triiodothyronine (T3) concentrations, and the activities of the three deiodinase isoenzymes were measured in different brain regions and peripheral tissues of rats. According to an animal model of alcohol addiction, "behaviorally" dependent rats having lost control over their intake of ethanol were compared with alcohol-naive controls and ethanol-experienced, but "controlled" consumers. The two kinds of alcohol-experienced rats were investigated either 24 hr or 3 months after ethanol withdrawal.

The influence of desipramine on thyroid hormone metabolism in rat brain.

The effect of the antidepressant desipramine (DMI) on the activities of the three iodothyronine deiodinase isoenzymes involved in the central metabolism of thyroid hormones were investigated in 11 brain regions and 3 peripheral tissues in the rat. The investigations were carried out at three different times during the light/dark cycle: 5 A.M.

The influence of sleep deprivation on thyroid hormone metabolism in rat frontal cortex.

The effects of 24 h sleep deprivation (SD) on central thyroid hormone metabolism were investigated in rat frontal cortex. SD induced a significant rise in the activity of iodothyronine type II 5'-deiodinase (5'D-II), which catalyzes the conversion of thyroxine (T4) to triiodothyronine (T3) in the rat central nervous system (CNS). Tissue concentrations of T4 remained unchanged, whereas levels of T3 increased to more than 150% of the corresponding levels measured in control rats.

[Osteosarcoma].

Osteosarcoma is the most frequent bone tumor in children and young adults. It represents 8% of all tumors in children. Pain and bone tumefaction are the clinical signs.