Pulmonary hypertension in patients with end stage renal disease undergoing hemodialysis.

Background: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a serious cardiovascular complication in patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD) undergoing hemodialysis (HD) via arterio-venous fistulas (AVF).

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR), AVF flow volume (AVF-FV) and cardiac output (CO) and to highlight the impact of their augmentation, as well as of the duration of HD, on the occurrence of PH in patients with ESRD.

Methods: Our study group consisted of 51 dialyzed patients, with ESRD, without history of PH.

Biomechanical tensile strength analysis for medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction.

Background: Medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) reconstruction is a surgery for acute and chronic dislocating patella. Several surgical techniques have been described. No biomechanical study has compared suture anchors, interference screws, and suspensory cortical fixation for MPFL reconstruction using human gracilis allograft.

Magnetic resonance imaging-based classification for ulnar collateral ligament injuries of the elbow.

Background: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) arthrography has been considered the gold standard for imaging ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) injuries. No classification system has been described for UCL tears to help discuss and guide treatment options. We propose that an MRI-based UCL classification system would correlate with valgus laxity and help predict surgical management.

Serum potassium in stage 5 CKD patients on their first presentation in a dialysis service of a county hospital in western Romania.

Unlabelled: CKD patients present deficient elimination of potassium. Ambulatory treatment with hypotensors, mainly angiotensin-renin system inhibitors, can be associated in these patients with potassium retention and risk of hyperkalemia. In pre-dialysis stage-5 CKD patients, the use of medication accompanied by hyperkalemia increases risks of developing it.

Assessment of arterial stiffness in patients with CKD stage 5 when initiating chronic hemodialysis for vascular access and for preventing cardiovascular events.

We consider that re-assessment of the vascular status is necessary, even mandatory, in patients with CKD when initiating dialysis because of two reasons:--assessment of vascular remodelling is important for establishing the artery-venous fistula as it can supply appreciative data on its success and duration;--vascular remodelling plays an important part in cardio-vascular pathology of patients dialysed, with the required consecutive prophylactic measures. In chronic kidney disease, calcium deposits at extra-skeletal level also affect the vessels, determining calcifications of both the vascular intima and media. Atherosclerosis and arteriosclerosis are present in patients with CKD and they contribute to diminishing the elasticity of the artery wall by vascular remodelling.

A video ethnography approach to assessing the ecological validity of neurocognitive and functional measures in severe mental illness: results from a feasibility study.

Background: The ecological validity of neurocognitive and functional measures in severe mental illness is poorly understood because of a lack of validated research methods to study community life-as-lived. We describe the development of a video ethnography method that measures naturalistic behaviors with codes called community performance indicators (CPIs). The method could provide a strategy to test the ecological validity of neurocognitive and functional assessments.

Mitochondrial DNA damage is involved in apoptosis caused by pro-inflammatory cytokines in human OA chondrocytes.

Objective: Pro-inflammatory cytokines play a pivotal role in cartilage destruction during the progression of osteoarthritis (OA). Additionally, these cytokines are capable to generate reactive oxygen and nitrogen species within chondrocytes. Mitochondrion is a prime target of oxidative damage and an important player in aging and degenerative processes.

[The placement of Tenckhoff peritoneal dialysis catheter by laparoscopic approach--our experience].

Unlabelled: Ambulatory peritoneal dialysis is an alternative to haemo dialysis for patients with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). This study evaluates our experience in laparoscopic placement of Tenckhoff Catheter (TC) for peritoneal dialysis.

Methods: Between december 2000 and december 2007 in the II Surgical Clinic of Timisoara the laparoscopic implantation of the Tenckhoff catheter was performed in a lot of 56 patients with ESRD with mean age 53.

Effects of hyaluronic acid on mitochondrial function and mitochondria-driven apoptosis following oxidative stress in human chondrocytes.

Hyaluronic acid is widely used in the treatment of osteoarthritis and exerts significant chondroprotective effects. The exact mechanisms of its chondroprotective action are not yet fully elucidated. Human articular chondrocytes actively produce reactive oxygen and nitrogen species capable of causing cellular dysfunction and death.

Products of the Escherichia coli acid fitness island attenuate metabolite stress at extremely low pH and mediate a cell density-dependent acid resistance.

Escherichia coli has an ability, rare among the Enterobacteriaceae, to survive extreme acid stress under various host (e.g., human stomach) and nonhost (e.

CXCR3, IP-10, and Mig are required for CD4+ T cell recruitment during the DTH response to HSV-1 yet are independent of the mechanism for viral clearance.

Sensitized CD4+ T cells play an essential role in delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) elicited by HSV-1 antigen. As activated CD4+ T cells express CXCR3, we investigated whether this chemokine receptor was involved in their recruitment. Antibody blockade of CXCR3 suppressed DTH, whereas ear pinna swelling was not impaired in mice lacking the gene for CCR5, another frequently expressed chemokine receptor.

The use of pastoral and spiritual support in bereavement care.

For many people, the death of a loved one can result in feelings of shock, numbness or denial, even though they may have been expecting it for some time. Pastoral and spiritual care is a vital part of an authentic, holistic health care service. Nurses need to be aware of the needs of relatives and friends of the deceased and understand their role in practical matters such as death certificates, cremation forms and last offices.

The development of best practice in breaking bad news to patients.

There can be few tasks that a health care practitioner has to undertake that impact more upon patients and their relatives, than that of breaking bad news. Consideration needs to be given to the people involved, the communication process, and the environment. This article highlights the issues that make for best practice in this important area of care--including who gives the information, how it is presented, and the nature of the environment where it is given.

Immunologic response to a single dose of tetanus toxoid in older people.

Objectives: Several studies have demonstrated that a large percentage of older people are inadequately immunized against tetanus. The aim of this study was to assess the immunity against tetanus in a group of individuals aged 69 and older and to examine the immune response to a single dose of tetanus toxoid.

Design: A convenience sample of 115 residents of a large retirement home, aged 69 and older, was studied.

Antimicrobial resistance trends in Shigella serogroups isolated in Israel, 1990-1995.

From a total of 31319 Shigella strains isolated in Israel between 1990 and 1996, 17574 were sent to the National Shigella Reference Center for typing. Of these, 15287 were identified as Shigella sonnei, 1833 as Shigella flexneri, 327 as Shigella boydii and 127 as Shigella dysenteriae. In all, 4395 strains were tested for sensitivity to ampicillin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, tetracycline, chloramphenicol, nalidixic acid and ofloxacin.

A double-selective tissue culture system for isolation of wild-type poliovirus from sewage applied in a long-term environmental surveillance.

We describe a simple, cost-efficient, double-selective method for isolation of wild-type poliovirus from sewage samples containing vaccine polioviruses and other enteroviruses, with a detection limit of 18 to 50 PFU per 1 to 2 liters of sewage. By this method we were able to process 1,700 sewage samples collected between 1991 and 1996, from which 10,472 plaques were isolated, 41 of them being identified as wild-type polioviruses.

A 10 year survey on Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates in Israel and their drug resistance.

An increased incidence of tuberculosis has been observed in Israel in 1985, 1986 and since 1990--years of large waves of immigrations. A very similar trend of disease was observed in the Mycobacterium Reference Laboratory of Israel, and consequently a survey was undertaken among the 1,181 bacteriologically confirmed tuberculosis cases newly registered there in 1983-92. The overall percent distribution of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis during this period was 12.

Quantitative determination of Candida albicans in sea water.

Candida albicans counts were assessed in Mediterranean sea water using MCA media. From 116 seawater samples C. albicans was detected in 22 samples of 100 ml sea water.

Improved m-Enterococcus agar for counting faecal streptococci in sea water.

An improved medium for counting faecal streptococci in sea water is described. The medium was based on m-Enterococcus agar with the addition of 20 mg/l colistin sulphate and 10 mg/l oxolinic acid. There was no inhibition of faecal streptococci counts from sea water by the addition of these antibiotics.

Seroprevalence of antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii among two rural populations in northern Israel.

The prevalence of antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii was measured in two rural populations in northern Israel--Jewish kibbutz members and Arab villagers. The respective prevalences in these two populations were 22.2% and 55.

Seroprevalence of antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii among recently immigrating Ethiopian Jews.

Sera from 144 Ethiopian immigrants who arrived in Operation Solomon, 1991, living in three absorption centers in the Jezreel Valley were tested for antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii. Antibodies were found in 34% of the test group, with a rise in prevalence with age from 0% in the first decade to 46% in the > 40 age-groups. The prevalence in the Ethiopians was higher than in Jewish kibbutz members (22.

Prevalence of antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in the Tel-Mond area.

Sera from 1,315 inhabitants of the Tel-Mond area were tested by the indirect immunofluorescent and Sabin Feldman tests for Toxoplasma antibodies. The overall prevalence of antibodies was 29.3%.

Mycobacterium xenopi, a potential human pathogen.

Mycobacterium xenopi is infrequently recognized as a cause of pulmonary disease. During a 12-year survey (1978-89),. 108 strains of this Mycobacterium were isolated from 90 persons and 6 hot water samples.

Uniformity of serotype and electropherotype in local human rotavirus isolates during each of three successive cold seasons.

Each of three consecutive cold seasons (November-March) in the town of Tiberias, Israel, was dominated by one particular rotavirus serotype causing acute diarrhoea in the community: the 1987/88 season by serotype-2; 1988/89 by serotype-1 and 1989/90 by serotype-4. Each season was also characterized by a particular pattern of rotaviral RNA when visualized using electrophoresis in gels. RNA profiles of identical rota serotypes and serotypic prevalence for any given cold season were unique for the town of Tiberias and different from other localities throughout Israel.