Luminal short-chain fatty acids and postresection intestinal adaptation.

Background: Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) reportedly have a trophic effect on the small intestine. However, it is unclear if this is a local or primarily systemic effect. Loss of the ileocolonic junction (ICJ) may result in increased SCFAs and bacteria in the small intestine from colonic reflux.

The effect of caffeine on pregnancy outcome variables.

The American public consumes a wide array of caffeinated products as coffee, tea, chocolate, cola beverages, and caffeine-containing medication. Therefore, it seems of value to inform both the scientific community and the consumer about the potential effects of excessive caffeine consumption, particularly by pregnant women. The results of this literature review suggest that heavy caffeine use (> or = 300 mg per day) during pregnancy is associated with small reductions in infant birth weight that may be especially detrimental to premature or low-birth-weight infants.

High-dose chemotherapy and autologous peripheral blood progenitor cell transplant for the treatment of Hodgkin's disease.

This paper evaluates a comprehensive strategy of chemotherapy mobilization of peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPCs) followed by high-dose chemotherapy for the treatment of refractory or relapsed Hodgkin's disease (HD). Patients with relapsed or refractory HD were enrolled to receive cyclophosphamide, etoposide +/- cisplatin (CE +/- P) and rhG-CSF mobilization of PBPCs. Patients achieving < or = 2.

The relationship between plasma potassium, muscle membrane excitability and force following quadriceps fatigue.

To examine the simultaneous changes in plasma [K+], muscle excitability and force during fatigue, ten male adults (mean age = 22 +/- 0.5 years) held an isometric contraction of their right quadriceps muscle at an intensity of 30% maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) for 3 min. Femoral venous and brachial arterial [K+] were determined from serial samples drawn before, during, and for 15 min following the 3-min contraction.

An analysis of engraftment kinetics as a function of the CD34 content of peripheral blood progenitor cell collections in 692 patients after the administration of myeloablative chemotherapy.

The CD34 antigen is expressed by committed and uncommitted hematopoietic progenitor cells and is increasingly used to assess stem cell content of peripheral blood progenitor cell (PBPC) collections. Quantitative CD34 expression in PBPC collections has been suggested to correlate with engraftment kinetics of PBPCs infused after myeloablative therapy. We analyzed the engraftment kinetics as a function of CD34 content in 692 patients treated with high-dose chemotherapy (HDC).

Non-sarcoid granulomatous disease with involvement of the lungs.

Pulmonary granulomatous disease can severely damage the lungs and represents a rather uniform response of the lungs to a multitude of different stimuli. Histologically, granulomatas can be broadly classified as either hypersensitivity-type or foreign-body-type. A wide variety of infectious and non-infectious etiologies discussed in this review have been identified as causes of granulomatous inflammation of the lungs.

Stimulus effects of d-amphetamine II: DA, NE, and 5-HT mechanisms.

Activation of dopaminergic (DA) systems is a necessary component of the behavior effects of d-amphetamine, but other neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine (NE) and serotonin (5-HT) appear to modulate DA input; thus, they might have an important role in the stimulus (subjective) effects of this drug. Therefore, rats were trained to discriminate d-amphetamine (1 mg/kg) from saline and given combination (antagonism, potentiation) or substitution (generalization) tests with drugs that act through DA, noradrenergic, or serotonergic (5-HT) mechanisms. In the first of two experiments, the D1 antagonist SCH 39166 blocked the effects of d-amphetamine (1 mg/kg) at doses of 0.

Assessment of the discriminative stimulus effects of the optical isomers of ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine; MDMA).

The discriminative stimulus effects of the stereoisomers of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) were studied in rats trained to discriminate 1.25mg/kg of (+)-MDMA or 3.5mg/kg of (-)-MDMA from saline, in a two lever, water-reinforced, drug discrimination situation.

Meditation as an adjunct to a happiness enhancement program.

This study investigated the impact that meditation has on Fordyce's (1977, 1983) Personal Happiness Enhancement Program (PHEP). Experimental subjects were divided into two groups, both of which received instruction on the PHEP. Subjects in one experimental group were taught a meditation exercise in addition to the PHEP.

Asymptomatic cardiac involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Cardiologic and laboratory parameters were studied in 21 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with cardiopulmonary symptoms (CPS), 20 SLE patients without CPS and 45 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. The most frequent cardiac abnormalities in patients with CPS included pericardial effusion (24%), ventricular enlargement (20%), mitral regurgitation (19%) and tricuspid regurgitation (14%). No structural abnormalities were observed in SLE patients without CPS.

The relationship between voluntary electromyogram, endurance time and intensity of effort in isometric handgrip exercise.

The relationship between relative force, electromyogram (EMG) and time to fatigue was examined in seven male and seven female subjects [mean (SD) age, 21.7 (3.2) years] during isometric handgrip exercise.

Biological activity, binding site and affinity of monoclonal antibodies to the fusion protein of respiratory syncytial virus.

The neutralizing activity and fusion-inhibition activity per unit weight of immunoglobulin were determined for each of a panel of 20 monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to the fusion (F) protein of respiratory syncytial (RS) virus. Neutralization did not correlate with fusion-inhibiting activity, suggesting that the F protein plays at least two independent, antibody-sensitive roles in viral infection. Antibodies with the highest biological activity against A2, a subgroup A strain of RS virus, neutralized a subgroup B strain (8/60) poorly, suggesting a degree of antigenic variation that may be important in human infection.

Aneurysm of the gluteal artery.

One case of atherosclerotic gluteal artery aneurysm (GAA) is presented. The diagnosis was made preoperatively, and treatment involved ligation and division of the internal iliac artery only. This therapeutic option is discussed as the preferred one compared to the conventional two-step procedure.

Maternal low level lead and pregnancy outcomes.

We examined the relationship between the concentrations of blood lead and pregnancy outcomes in a subset of 349 African American women who enrolled in the program project, "Nutrition, Other Factors, and the Outcome of Pregnancy." Vitamin-mineral supplement users had significantly higher serum levels of ascorbic acid and vitamin E. Also, in supplement users, there were significantly lower mean concentrations of maternal blood lead.

Relationships of serum illicit drug concentrations during pregnancy to maternal nutritional status.

Findings reported are for a subset of African American subjects, residing in the urban area of Washington, D. C., who participated in a Program Project designed to study nutrition, other factors, and the outcome of pregnancy.

Biochemical profile of African American women during three trimesters of pregnancy and at delivery.

The data presented are the results from a prospective observational study which was conducted to investigate the effects of nutrition and other related factors on the outcome of pregnancy in nulliparous African American women 16-35 years old. Fasting blood samples were collected from the women during the first, second and third trimesters of pregnancy. At delivery, both maternal and cord samples were collected.

Demographic profile, methodology, and biochemical correlates during the course of pregnancy.

This five-year prospective, observational study of urban women during their pregnancies was initiated in 1985 with the recruitment of women between the ages of 18 and 35 years in the prenatal clinics of Howard University Hospital and the District of Columbia Department of Human Services. The objective of the investigation was to characterize African American women by nutritional, biochemical, medical, sociocultural, psychological, lifestyle, and environmental parameters which could be used to formulate interventions to improve pregnancy outcomes. The women were all nulliparous, free of diabetes and abnormal hemoglobins, such as sickle cell disease, and no more than 28 weeks pregnant.

Maternal stress and pregnancy outcomes in a prenatal clinic population.

A two-fold decrease in the incidence of infant low birth weight, from 20.6% to 8.3%, occurred in Africa American women enrolled from 1985 to 1988 in this interdisciplinary research project conducted in an urban prenatal clinic.

The Rapunzel syndrome. Report of a case and review of the literature.

The Rapunzel Syndrome, a rare manifestation of trichobezoar, occurs when bolus gastrointestinal obstruction is produced by an unusual trichobezoar with a long tail that extends to or beyond the ileocaecal valve. A five-year-old Jamaican girl presented with this abnormality and was found at laparotomy also to have an ileo-ileal intussusception. For the Rapunzel Syndrome, we recommend bezoar extraction at laparotomy via multiple enterotomies.

Evaluation of transabdominal ultrasonography for ectopic pregnancy.

Ultrasound examination was performed on 66 patients with suspected ectopic pregnancy. Of 23 women who had the diagnosis confirmed at laparotomy, 16 (69.6%) were correctly identified on ultrasound, 4 were reported as unlikely ectopic pregnancies and 3 were undetermined.

An immunocytochemical marker for hamster retinal ganglion cells.

We examined the specificity and developmental time course of the labelling of retinal ganglion cells in Syrian hamsters by a monoclonal antibody AB5. In adult hamsters, AB5 selectively labelled somata in the ganglion cell layer, dendrites in the inner plexiform layer and axons in the nerve fibre layer. When retinal ganglion cells were retrogradely labelled with DiI prior to AB5 immunocytochemistry, all of the retrogradely labelled retinal ganglion cells in the ganglion cell layer were AB5 immunoreactive, indicating that AB5 labels all classes of ganglion cell in that layer.