Degradation of EDTA and DTPA in chlorine dioxide bleaching conditions.

The decomposition of EDTA and DTPA was studied in simulated chlorine dioxide bleaching conditions. Under the investigated conditions EDTA and DTPA decomposed readily. Accordingly, feeding the chelating agents to the first chlorine dioxide stages (D0) should be reconsidered, when successful metal removal is desired.

Organic matter balance in ECF kraft mill fiberline.

Organic matter balances of an ECF kraft mill fiberline were studied in three different operational conditions of the oxygen delignification stage by implementing mill measurements, collecting routine mill data and combining them in a modified PROCELL steady state model. Dissolved volatile solids was the basic measurement for organic matter in liquid streams. Normal operation of the O2D0E(O)D1E(OP)D2 fiberline was described successfully.

P fimbria-specific B cell responses in patients with urinary tract infection.

Local immune response may be important in defense against urinary tract infection (UTI). P fimbria, an important virulence factor of Escherichia coli, is a noteworthy candidate for use in a vaccine against pyelonephritis (PN). Eleven patients with PN and 14 patients with lower urinary tract infection (LUTI) caused by E.

The role of organic matter lost in kraft pulping material balances .

Efficiency improvement in a pulp mill includes minimisation of environmental discharges simultaneously with the development of pulp quality and production economy. Material balances in production processes, including fate of sidestreams, are key in proceeding these matters. Different approaches of determining the material balances increase understanding of process behaviour.

Prevention of bone loss by clodronate in early postmenopausal women with vertebral osteopenia: a dose-finding study.

This double-masked, placebo-controlled study was undertaken to determine the efficacy and safety of oral clodronate in the prevention of bone loss in early postmenopausal women with vertebral osteopenia. Altogether 610 women with a mean age of 53 years were recruited for the study. They were 1-5 years postmenopausal and their lumbar spine bone mineral density (BMD) was at least 1 standard deviation below the mean of premenopausal women ( T-score < or =-1).

Insulin sensitivity in a long-term crossover trial with celiprolol and other antihypertensive agents.

The effects of a vasodilating beta-blocker, celiprolol, on insulin sensitivity and cardiovascular risk factors were compared with those of another beta1-selective adrenoceptor blocker, calcium channel blockers, and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors. A randomized 21-month crossover trial was carried out with 25 patients with dyslipidemia receiving antihypertensive monotherapy. The study consisted of a 3-month active run-in period and two treatment periods, during which the patients received celiprolol (200-400 mg daily) or the control drug for 12 and 6 months in a crossover manner.

Enterochromaffin cell density in the gastric mucosa of patients with chronic renal failure.

Thirty patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) and 30 age- and sex-matched controls were assessed for gastrointestinal diseases by gastroscopy, serum gastrin determination, and routine clinical and laboratory evaluation. Biopsy specimens from their gastric oxyntic mucosa were immunohistochemically stained with monoclonal antibodies against serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine) and chromogranin A, the latter staining all gastric endocrine cells, the former disclosing serotonin-containing enterochromaffin (EC) cells only. The average EC cell density (cells/mm2) in the CRF patients was significantly lower than in the controls: 2.

Antibody-secreting cells in acute urinary tract infection as indicators of local immune response.

Mucosal immune mechanisms are believed to be important in host defense against urinary tract infection. To study the human immune response in the urinary tract, peripheral blood antibody-secreting cells (ASC), believed to originate from the mucosal surfaces, were investigated with the enzyme-linked immunospot assay. Pathogen-specific ASC were found in 17 (89%) of 19 patients with pyelonephritis and in 12 (70%) of 17 with LUTI (lower urinary tract infection); for infections caused by Escherichia coli, the respective figures were 17 (100%) and 10 (71%).

Gastric Helicobacter and upper gastrointestinal symptoms in chronic renal failure.

We studied histologically antral biopsies from 89 consecutive patients with chronic renal failure for Helicobacter pylori (previously Campylobacter pylori). A dose-response gastric secretion test was also performed. The frequency of Helicobacter-positive subjects was low (15/89, 17%), corresponding to figures reported in the literature for young symptomless volunteers.

Gastric parietal, chief, and G-cell densities in chronic renal failure.

We calculated morphometrically the amount of antral gastrin-producing (G) cells and body parietal and chief cells in gastric biopsy specimens from 30 undialysed patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) and from sex- and age-matched controls. The CRF patients had raised fasting serum gastrin levels, whereas these were normal in the controls (mean, 290 +/- 283 (+/- SD) ng/l (n = 27) versus 33 +/- 36 (n = 30)). Serum gastrin values of the patients and controls correlated positively with G-cell density (r = 0.

Serum gastrin in chronic renal failure: its relation to acid secretion, G-cell density, and upper gastrointestinal findings.

The interrelations among fasting serum gastrin, serum creatinine, gastric acid secretion variables, and G-cell densities were analyzed in 47 patients with chronic renal failure (CRF). The patients also underwent gastroscopy and radiologic upper gastrointestinal barium examination. It is suggested that the hypergastrinemia seen in CRF is related to several factors: gastric acidity, grade of renal failure, G-cell density, and basal gastrin secretion rate.

Reduced thickness of gastric mucosa and retarded progression of chronic gastritis in patients with renal failure.

Conflicting results are reported in the literature on the structure and function of gastric mucosa in patients with chronic renal failure (CRF). In the present endoscopic study of 68 CRF patients on conservative treatment (regular dialyses or transplantations had not yet been undertaken), we sought to clarify whether CRF leads to hypertrophic or hypotrophic phenomena in gastric mucosa, as interpreted by the presence and grade of gastritis and by the thickness of the gastric mucosa. We found that the mean progression of gastritis in both antrum and body was significantly slower than expected in CFR patients, and that the thickness of both antral and body mucosa was significantly lower in CFR patients than in non-CRF controls.

Increased incidence of duodenitis in chronic renal failure.

Forty-six consecutive patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) were assessed radiographically, endoscopically and histologically for duodenal inflammation. Their gastric secretion was also examined. Thirty-eight patients with non-ulcer dyspepsia served as controls.

Gastric secretion kinetics in chronic renal failure.

A dose-response gastric secretion test was performed in 87 nondialyzed patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) and in 87 age- and sex-matched controls without renal disease. Twenty-six of the CRF patients were reexamined, 18 undergoing regular hemodialysis and 8 after successful transplantation. The gastric acidity, acid output, and volume output of the nondialyzed CRF subjects were decreased when compared with those of the controls or of patients in the posttransplant phase.

Sensitivity of gastric acid secretion in patients with chronic renal failure.

By means of a dose-response secretion test the sensitivity of gastric acid secretion was investigated in 85 patients with chronic renal failure and in 85 age- and sex-matched controls. The renal patients were also gastroscoped, with biopsy specimens taken from the gastric body. The examinations were repeated on 18 patients undergoing regular dialysis and 8 patients after successful transplantation.

Upper gastrointestinal findings in chronic renal failure.

Twenty-nine patients with chronic renal failure were examined both during the predialytic stage and after active treatment (dialysis, transplantation) for upper GI diseases. They underwent a gastric dose-response secretion test, gastroduodenoscopy, radiologic upper GI series, and fasting serum gastrin determination. Upper GI diseases increased in the active treatment stage.

The gastric secretion profile of patients with chronic renal failure.

The secretion of gastric juice, HCI, and sialic acid was investigated in 45 patients with chronic renal failure, 13 patients with gastric ulcers, 52 with duodenal ulcers, and 27 control patients during the dose-response pentagastrin test. The renal patients had low gastric juice and HCI secretion both in the basal condition and during pentagastrin stimulation. It was almost of the same magnitude as in patients with gastric ulcers.

Sialic acid secretion of patients with gastric and duodenal ulcers in the dose-response pentastrin test.

The secretion of HCl and sialic acid into the gastric juice was investigated in 13 patients with gastric, 52 with duodenal ulcers and 27 control patients, during the dose-response pentagastrin test. The basal output of sialic acid was clearly highest in patients with gastric ulcers, and the differences between these and other groups of patients were significant. During pentagastrin stimulation a significant initial decrease was found in patients with gastric ulcers with small doses, and the minimum was reached with a dose of 0.

Effect of calcium p-chlorphenoxyisobutyrate and calcium carbonate on plasma lipids and lipoproteins of patients with hyperlipoproteinaemia.

Since dietary calcium had been reported to reduce plasma lipids, the effects of calcium carbonate (CaCO3, 2 g/day) and the calcium salt of p-chlorphenozyisobutyrate (Ca-CPIB, 2 g/day), both singly and in combination, were studied in outpatients with primary hyperlipidaemia. Three groups of five patients were followed in a double-blind cross-over study, in which placebo and the drugs were given alternately during four-week periods. The main results were: 1) CaCO3 alone did not produce any significant changes in plasma lipids.