Efficacy and safety of procalcitonin guidance in reducing the duration of antibiotic treatment in critically ill patients: a randomised, controlled, open-label trial.

Background: In critically ill patients, antibiotic therapy is of great importance but long duration of treatment is associated with the development of antimicrobial resistance. Procalcitonin is a marker used to guide antibacterial therapy and reduce its duration, but data about safety of this reduction are scarce. We assessed the efficacy and safety of procalcitonin-guided antibiotic treatment in patients in intensive care units (ICUs) in a health-care system with a comparatively low use of antibiotics.

Trends in practice of blood glucose control in critically ill patients in the Netherlands.

Background: Publication of the Normoglycemia in Intensive Care Evaluation and Survival Using Glucose Algorithm Regulation (NICE-SUGAR) trial in 2009 and several observational studies caused a change in the recommendations for blood glucose control in intensive care patients. We evaluated local trends in blood glucose control in intensive care units in the Netherlands before and after the publication of the NICE-SUGAR trial and the revised Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC) guidelines in 2012.

Methods: Survey focusing on the timing of changes in thresholds in local guidelines for blood glucose control and interrupted time-series analysis of patients admitted to seven intensive care units in the Netherlands from September 2008 through July 2014.

Gastric feeding intolerance is not caused by mucosal ischemia measured by intragastric air tonometry in the critically ill.

Background: Gastric mucosal ischemia may be a risk factor for gastrointestinal intolerance to early feeding in the critically ill.

Aims: To study intragastric PCO2 air tonometry and gastric residual volumes (GRV) before and after the start of gastric feeding.

Methods: This is a two-center study in intensive care units of a university and teaching hospital.

Vasopressin receptor antagonists: pharmacological tools and potential therapeutic agents.

The present survey deals with the development and applications of non-peptidergic vasopressin receptor antagonists. The existence of at least three vasopressin receptors (V(1), V(2) and V(3) respectively) is firmly established. V(1)-receptors play a relevant role in the regulation of vascular tone, whereas V(2)-receptors are known to mediate the antidiuretic activity of vasopressin at the level of the renal collecting ducts.

Vasopressin facilitates presynaptic sympathetic nerve activity in humans.

Objective: It was the objective of this study to investigate whether a facilitatory role of vasopressin (AVP) on sympathetic nerve activity can be demonstrated in humans at the peripheral level.

Methods: Eight subjects (32 +/- 2.3 years) participated in this study.

Vasopressin-induced vasoconstriction is dependent on MAPKerk1/2 phosphorylation.

To investigate the involvement of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) family of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1 and 2 (MAPKerk1/2) in the vasopressin-mediated vasoconstriction in the rat aorta. Vasopressin-induced vasoconstriction was measured in isolated rat thoracic aortae in the presence or absence of MAPKerk1/2 kinase (MKKmek1/2) inhibitors. Thereafter the MAPKerk1/2 phosphorylation in the rat aorta was quantified using Western blot analysis.

Endothelium-dependent, vasopressin-induced contractions in rabbit renal arteries.

Objectives: To identify and quantify the stimulatory and inhibitory activity of endothelial factors on Arginine vasopressin (AVP)-induced contractions.

Methods: In a standard organ bath set-up for isometric force recording, rabbit isolated renal artery rings were exposed to cumulative concentrations of AVP. Experiments were performed in the presence or absence of functional endothelium, or in the presence of N-Nitro-L-Arginine 10 microM (L-NNA) (NO-synthase inhibitor).

Vasopressin-induced facilitation of adrenergic responses in the rat mesenteric artery is V1-receptor dependent.

1. The present study was designed to analyse the possible involvement of V1- and V2-receptors in vasopressin (AVP)-induced facilitation of the sympathetic nervous system. Furthermore, we aimed to determine whether the site of facilitation by AVP is located pre- or postsynaptically.

Influence of the nature of pre-contraction on the responses to commonly employed vasodilator agents in rat-isolated aortic rings.

The relaxing properties of vasodilator drugs in vitro may depend on the characteristics of the contractile state of the vessel investigated. Rat-isolated thoracic aortas were exposed to different types of pre-contraction. The following vasoconstrictor agents were used: phenylephrine (PhE), a selective alpha1-adrenoceptor agonist; St 587, a partial alpha1-adrenoceptor stimulant; U46619 (U-46).

Vasopressin-induced presynaptic facilitation of sympathetic neurotransmission in the pithed rat.

Objective: Several studies have shown that arginine vasopressin (AVP) potentiates the sympathetic nervous transmission in isolated vessels. The present study investigates such a potentiation in the pithed rat model.

Methods: Male Wistar rats weighing 270-310 g were used.

Radiosensitization by iodo-deoxyuridine in cultured SW-1573 human lung tumor cells.

To investigate radiosensitization by halogenated pyrimidines in human cells, SW-1573 lung tumor cells were grown in absence or presence of 4 mu M of iododeoxyuridine (IdUrd). Cell survival after irradiation with gamma-rays from a Cs-137 source with single doses up to 8 Gy, was determined by clonogenic assay, Radiosensitization by IdUrd was observed in both exponentially growing and plateau phase cells. Linear-quadratic analyses of the radiation survival curves demonstrated that radiosensitization was mainly expressed by an increase of the value of alpha (determining the initial slope of the survival curve) which can be interpreted as an enhancement of fixation of potentially lethal damage (PLD).

Development of T and B cell areas in peripheral lymphoid organs of the rat.

In the present study the early development of peripheral lymphoid organs (spleen, popliteal lymph node, mesenteric lymph node and Peyer's patches) is described in terms of homing patterns of T and B cells, demonstrated with immunohistoperoxidatic detection of characteristic membrane antigen in normal rats and with routine histology in neonatally thymectomized rats. In the first days after birth the peripheral lymphoid organs are almost exclusively populated by T cells. After neonatal thymectomy lymphocytes appear in the dome areas of Peyer's patches from four to six days after birth, in mesenteric and popliteal lymph nodes lymphocytes are found in the outer cortex from day 6 and day 8 respectively and in the marginal zone of the spleen from eight days onwards.

Periodate or glutaraldehyde for preparing peroxidase conjugates?

Conjugates of horseradish peroxidase with antibodies (anti-human IgG (H + L)) or their Fab' fragments were prepared according to the newest modification of the periodate (P-) method or the two-step glutaraldehyde (G-) method. The conjugates were analysed by gel chromatography and subsequently tested in three different applications. For tissue immunohistochemistry on sections of lupus erythematosus skin, G-conjugates were preferred to polymeric P-conjugates.