Xylitol and glycine fillers increase permeability of PMMA to enhance elution of daptomycin.

The elution of antibiotics from hand mixed antibiotic-laden polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) must be increased to achieve clinical performance equivalent to commercially manufactured antibiotic beads (not available in the USA) in the management of musculoskeletal infections. Adding fillers such as glycine and dextran to polymethylmethacrylate increases the elution of antibiotics from antibiotic-laden PMMA. We propose xylitol, a naturally occurring sweetener with direct antibiofilm properties, as a filler material.

Myeloma and bone disease: "the dangerous tango".

Osteolytic bone disease is the most debilitating manifestation of myeloma. However, myeloma-induced effects on the bone-active cells in the bone marrow are more than just a manifestation of disease--the myeloma derives essential support from the changed balance between bone-forming and -resorbing cells. This observation has lead to the notion that effective control of myeloma bone disease by reducing osteoclast activity and restoring osteoblast activity will contribute to long-term control of myeloma progression.

Enoxaparin inhibits fibrin sheath formation and decreases central venous catheter colonization following bacteremic challenge.

Objective: Inhibition of fibrin sheath formation by enoxaparin decreases catheter colonization. Fibrin-binding radioactive tracer and catheter weights quantify fibrin reduction.

Design: Controlled experimental study of central venous line colonization.

Altering TV viewing habits: an unexplored strategy for adult obesity intervention?

Objectives: To review literature evaluating whether television (TV) viewing reduction is a promising behavioral target for obesity treatment programs for adults.

Methods: Studies examining associations between TV viewing and obesity in adults were reviewed, as well as relevant pediatric literature. Interventions to reduce TV viewing among children were examined to inform adult interventions.

Working memory in the Ts65Dn mouse, a model for Down syndrome.

This study used a matching-to-position schedule of reinforcement to examine working memory in Ts65Dn and littermate control mice. Initially there appeared to be a memory deficit in the Ts65Dn mice, which disappeared with extended practice. Thus, what appeared as a memory deficit may actually be the result of a delay in learning the concept of matching.

Video methods in the quantification of children's exposures.

In 1994, Stanford University's Exposure Research Group (ERG) conducted its first pilot study to collect micro-level activity time series (MLATS) data for young children. The pilot study involved videotaping four children of farm workers in the Salinas Valley of California and converting their videotaped activities to valuable text files of contact behavior using video-translation techniques. These MLATS are especially useful for describing intermittent dermal (i.

Carbohydrate mimotopes in the rational design of cancer vaccines.

The task of rationally designing vaccines that can effectively impact on the survival of cancer patients remains challenging. Monoclonal antibodies and T cell receptors have proven to be viable templates for the application of pharmacophore design principles to develop antigens and immunogens as these immune system molecules recognize a variety of sequentially and structurally unrelated ligands. This structural information combined with immunological assessment has contributed to the development of strategies to elicit effective humoral and cellular responses to cancer cells.

Is aseptic loosening truly aseptic?

Surgeons who treat osteomyelitis or infected implants think that microorganisms can live on and around implanted biomaterials and necrotic bone without clinical manifestations of infection. Gristina and Costerton, in their seminal work, suggested that such bacteria persist within biofilms and that they are often overlooked when diagnosis is based on standard microbiologic culture techniques. Subsequent studies using specialized techniques including sonication to remove adherent bacteria and direct detection using various forms of microscopy have confirmed that bacteria are present in many culture-negative cases.

The current status of material used for depot delivery of drugs.

The ideal local antibiotic delivery system has not been created. Antibiotic-laden bone cement has become the gold standard in the treatment of infected orthopaedic implants and there are confirmatory laboratory and clinical data that support the use of these materials. Heat-stable antibiotics elute from antibiotic-laden bone cement and do not have a notable influence on the compressive strengths of bone cement if the antibiotics are used in appropriate amounts.

Skull base surgery for benign skull base tumors.

The use of skull base techniques in the treatment of benign skull base tumors has allowed access to areas of the brain once considered inaccessible. The most common benign skull base tumors encountered in neurosurgical practice are benign meningiomas, schwannomas, and glomus jugulare tumors. Gross total resection of these lesions gives patients the best possible chance of a cure.

Stepped-care, community clinic interventions to promote mammography use among low-income rural African American women.

Few studies have investigated community clinic-based interventions to promote mammography screening among rural African American women. This study randomized older low-income rural African American women who had not participated in screening in the previous 2 years to a theory-based, personalized letter or usual care; no group differences in mammography rate were evident at 6-month follow-up. Women who had not obtained a mammogram were then randomized to a tailored call delivered by community health care workers or a tailored letter.

Air-gun injuries: initial evaluation and resultant morbidity.

Severity of injuries from air-powered weapons can be underappreciated. Transformation of these weapons into toys makes them available to children. Our experience reveals the underestimated injury severity and emphasizes need for prompt trauma evaluation.

Arousal mechanisms related to posture and locomotion: 2. Ascending modulation.

An intrinsic function of the reticular activating system (RAS) is its participation in fight vs. flight responses such that alerting stimuli simultaneously activate thalamocortical systems, as well as postural and locomotor systems, in order to enable an appropriate response. The P50 midlatency auditory-evoked potential appears to be an ascending manifestation of the cholinergic arm of the RAS in eliciting changes in arousal state.

Arousal mechanisms related to posture and locomotion: 1. Descending modulation.

Much of the controversy surrounding the induction of locomotion following stimulation of mesopontine sites, including the pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN), appears based on procedural differences, including stimulus onset, delay preceding stepping, and frequency of stimuli. The results reviewed in this chapter address these issues and provide novel information suggesting that descending projections from the PPN may exert a frequency-dependent effect. Stimulation at approximately 60 Hz (which induces prolonged tonic firing) may exercise a "push" towards locomotion (activation of pontine interneurons) as well as a "pull" away from decreased muscle tone (inhibiting giant pontine reticulospinal cells).

Does electron beam computer tomography provide added value in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease?

Purpose Of Review: Electron beam computer tomography (EBCT) is increasingly being used to diagnose coronary artery disease (CAD) in the asymptomatic patient. The aim of this review is to assess the current findings concerning EBCT in the diagnosis and prognostication of CAD.

Recent Findings: Review of the English language peer-reviewed medical literature for EBCT was done with emphasis on the diagnosis and prognosis of CAD.

Food allergies in children affect nutrient intake and growth.

Objectives: To identify if specific food allergies, elimination diets, or other variables associated with food allergies have an impact on the growth and nutrient intake of children with food allergies.

Design: Measurements of height, weight, and body mass index were used to determine potential growth problems. Estimates of energy and nutrient intakes were based on 3-day diet records.

The effect of sampling method on the elution of tobramycin from calcium sulfate.

Release rate is a critical property of all drug delivery vehicles, including antibiotic-laden bioerodibles. In vitro elution studies, used to evaluate release rates, use different sampling methods, including changing the entire amount of buffer and partial exchanges each day. Two groups of 10% calcium sulfate-tobramycin pellets were eluted in 20 mL of buffer for 30 days.

The treatment of experimental osteomyelitis by surgical debridement and the implantation of calcium sulfate tobramycin pellets.

Calcium sulfate was used as a biodegradable delivery system for the administration of antibiotics in musculoskeletal infection. New Zealand white rabbits were infected with Staplylococcus aureus, debrided, and randomized to one of four treatment groups: calcium sulfate pellets with 10% tobramycin sulfate, placebo calcium sulfate pellets and IM tobramycin, placebo calcium sulfate pellets, or debridement. Serum and wound exudate tobramycin concentrations and serum calcium levels were measured.

Prion diseases: copper deficiency states associated with impaired nitrogen monoxide or carbon monoxide transduction and translocation.

Literature concerning prion diseases and Cu metabolism was examined to determine merits of various suggestions concerning the relationship between these diseases and altered Cu metabolism. There are a number of recent suggestions that the normal non-pathogenic form of the prion protein (PrP(C)) contains Cu while the abnormal pathogenic form of this protein, PrP(SC), lacks Cu. Results of experiments showing oxidant sensitivity in the presence of ionically bonded Cu and millimolar concentrations of hydrogen peroxide were found to lack relevance.

Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, food allergy challenge to olestra snacks.

Following approval of the fat replacer olestra for use in preparing savory snacks, Procter & Gamble implemented a postmarketing surveillance program to monitor marketplace introduction. Three and one-half percent of all health effects reported by consumers to the surveillance toll-free number were allergy-type symptoms (e.g.

A "cure" for chronic combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder secondary to a right frontal lobe infarct: a case report.

A 48-year-old combat veteran sustained a right frontal cerebral infarct at the age of 45 years. The patient's family reports that prior to the infarct he had a preoccupation with memories of combat, as well as nightmares, avoidance of reminders, and multiple arousal symptoms. Since his recovery from the infarct, the patient and his family continue to relate significant arousal symptoms but deny any continued history of preoccupation with traumatic memories, reminder avoidance, or nightmares.