Analysis of the brain bioavailability of peripherally administered magnesium sulfate: A study in humans with acute brain injury undergoing prolonged induced hypermagnesemia.

Objective: Based on preclinical investigations, magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) has gained interest as a neuroprotective agent. However, the ability of peripherally administered MgSO4 to penetrate the blood-brain barrier is limited in normal brain. The current study measured the passage of intravenously administered Mg into cerebrospinal fluid in patients with brain injury requiring ventricular drainage.

Recent paleoanthropological excavations of in situ deposits at Makapansgat, South Africa--a first report.

The Makapansgat Limeworks is a significant Pliocene site both for its sample of 35 hominin fossils as well as its wealth of fossil fauna. The lithological and paleontological successions reveal local environmental changes that are important for understanding the context of hominin evolution in southern Africa. Yet most of the site's fossils were found in dumps left behind by quarry operations, and the paleoecological interpretations rest upon debatable assumptions about the original fossil provenience.

Clonal population of adult stem cells: life span and differentiation potential.

Adult stem cells derived from bone marrow, connective tissue, and solid organs can exhibit a range of differentiation potentials. Some controversy exists regarding the classification of mesenchymal stem cells as bona fide stem cells, which is in part derived from the limited ability to propagate true clonal populations of precursor cells. We isolated putative mesenchymal stem cells from the connective tissue of an adult rat (rMSC), and generated clonal populations via three rounds of dilutional cloning.

Lamotrigine as adjunctive therapy in patients with refractory epilepsy and mental retardation.

This study evaluated the effects of lamotrigine as adjunctive therapy for refractory epilepsy in patients with mental retardation. Patients with epilepsy and mental retardation having uncontrolled seizures despite treatment with other antiepileptic drugs were eligible (n=67). The open-label study comprised a Baseline Phase, an Escalation Phase during which lamotrigine was titrated to a target dose, an 8-week Maintenance Phase during which doses of lamotrigine and concomitant antiepileptic drugs were maintained, and a 12-week Optimization Phase during which doses of lamotrigine and other antiepileptic drugs could be adjusted.

The microbiological quality of beef tripe using different processing techniques.

The microbiological quality of routinely processed tripe and rumen pillars were compared with those derived after emptying the rumen (paunch) without using water (dry dumping) and after deliberately bursting the paunches before processing. Prior to packing the mean log(10) aerobic plate counts (APC) for the routinely processed tripe and rumen pillars were 3.55±1.

Back pain, the uncomfortable truth - assurance and activity problem.

Back problems are common, expensive, and the few patients who are the crux of the problem are uncomfortable but also an uncomfortable frustration for clinicians and employers alike. We now know that clinicians can greatly improve the patient's response to back symptoms by admitting our diagnostic limitations, demedicalizing the issue, providing assurance, and encouraging a more reasonable approach to improving comfortable activity tolerance.

Discovery of a novel murine type C retrovirus by data mining.

Analysis of genomic and expression data allows both identification and characterization of novel retroviruses. We describe a recombinant type C murine retrovirus, similar to the Mus dunni endogenous retrovirus, with VL30-like long terminal repeats and murine leukemia virus-like coding sequences. This virus is present in multiple copies in the mouse genome and expressed in a range of mouse tissues.

The nucleotide sequence of koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) retrovirus: a novel type C endogenous virus related to Gibbon ape leukemia virus.

A novel retrovirus, morphologically consistent with mammalian C-type retroviruses, was detected by electron microscopy in mitogen-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cell cultures from 163 koalas and in lymphoma tissue from 3 koalas. PCR amplified provirus from the blood and tissues of 17 wild and captive koalas, and reverse transcriptase-PCR demonstrated viral mRNA, viral genomic RNA, and reverse transcriptase activity in koala serum and cell culture supernatants. Comparison of viral sequences derived from genomic DNA and mRNA showed identity indicative of a single retroviral species-here designated koala retrovirus (KoRV).

Reduction of Walsh-transformed electrocardiograms by double logarithmic coding.

This work presents an electrocardiogram ECG data reduction method based on Walsh spectrum double logarithmic quantization. The technique is theoretically justified for a simulated ECG and its practical efficiency confirmed using MIT/BIH arrhythmia database signals. By classifying a "good" compression as one with MSE < or = 0.

Detection of Na(+) transporter proteins in urine.

Previous studies have established that the vasopressin-regulated water channel of the collecting duct, aquaporin-2, is excreted in the urine, providing a means for assessment of regulation and dysregulation of aquaporin-2 in humans. This article addresses the hypothesis that membrane transporters from upstream nephron segments are normally detectable in urine. The experiments employed rabbit polyclonal antibodies against the major Na transporters of the proximal tubule (the type 3 Na-H exchanger [NHE3]), the thick ascending limb of Henle's loop (the bumetanide-sensitive Na-K-2Cl cotransporter [NKCC2]), and the distal convoluted tubule (the thiazide-sensitive Na-Cl cotransporter [NCC]) in immunoblotting experiments.

Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy in adults with mental retardation.

The medical records of residents of a facility for persons with mental retardation from January 1, 1978, through December 31, 1997, were analyzed to identify incidence of sudden unexpected death for groups of 180 individuals with and 125 without comorbid epilepsy. Eighty deaths were identified, with 55 occurring in the epilepsy group and 25 in the nonepilepsy group. The rate of sudden unexpected death was 1.

A comparison of time-and-motion and self-reporting methods of work measurement.

Objective: To compare results obtained from a time-and-motion study with those obtained using self-reporting.

Summary Background Data: Nurse executives are often required to provide additional patient care services with limited personnel resources. As a result, nurse executives must evaluate the appropriate allocation of nursing personnel resources.

Surgical complications from hemostatic puncture closure devices.

Background: For securing immediate hemostasis following percutaneous arterial catheterization, the Food and Drug Administration has approved three hemostatic puncture closure devices. We reviewed our institutional experience with one device (Angio-Seal).

Methods: A retrospective, single-center, nonrandomized observational study was made of all vascular complications following femoral cardiac catheterization.

Outcome after distal vascular reconstruction in women.

Although women are less likely to develop symptomatic atherosclerosis, little data exists on the long-term outcome of women undergoing infrainguinal arterial reconstructions. This study analyzes the operative mortality rate, complications, and the short-term and long-term results after these procedures in both men and women who had symptomatic vascular disease. From 1984 to 1997, 3956 infrainguinal arterial reconstructions were performed at Albany Medical Center.

Costs of epilepsy in an intermediate care facility for persons with mental retardation.

Epilepsy is a significant comorbid condition in institutionalized persons with developmental disabilities and may contribute significant additional costs. This study was conducted to provide an estimate of the costs of epilepsy from the institutional perspective. Costs were measured retrospectively for 50 persons with epilepsy and 50 persons without epilepsy matched by severity of developmental disability.

Development of virtual CT cholangiopancreatoscopy.

Endoluminal virtual computed tomographic (CT) cholangiopancreatoscopic views of the pancreatic and common bile ducts were generated in 16 patients by using helical CT data sets and endoscopic three-dimensional reconstruction images. In all patients with ductal dilatation, virtual images were obtained and findings correlated with those at helical CT and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. Virtual CT cholangiopancreatoscopy is a feasible technique, and initial experience shows promising results.

Prevalence and risk factors of chorioamnionitis among adolescents.

Objective: To identify the prevalence of chorioaminionitis and unique risk factors for this disorder among adolescents under 18 years of age.

Methods: At their first prenatal visit we interviewed 352 adolescents who received prenatal care and delivered an infant at our institution between April 20, 1992, and November 10, 1994, to elicit information on demographic characteristics and behavioral risk factors. Retrospective chart review confirmed the presence of chorioamnionitis using accepted clinical criteria.