Morphologic characterization of early ligation-induced acute pancreatitis in rats.

Background: Bile-pancreatic duct ligation in rats causes acute pancreatic inflammation. We performed serial morphologic evaluation of the exocrine pancreas after duct ligation to facilitate further investigations using the model.

Methods: The pancreas was excised from 74 rats after 0, 1, 3, 5, 24 or 48 hours of duct ligation or sham surgery.

The orbitofrontal cortex, real-world decision making, and normal aging.

The present series of three studies aims at investigating the hypothesis that some seemingly normal older persons have deficits in reasoning and decision making due to dysfunction in a neural system which includes the ventromedial prefrontal cortices. This hypothesis is relevant to the comprehensive study of aging, and also addresses the question of why so many older adults fall prey to fraud. To our knowledge, this work represents the first of its kind to begin to identify, from an individual-differences perspective, the behavioral, psychophysiological, and consumer correlates of defective decision making among healthy older adults.

Young obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome have evidence of early coronary atherosclerosis.

Context: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is associated with comorbidities that may contribute to increased risk of cardiovascular disease. PCOS is associated with increased risk of metabolic syndrome, dyslipidemia, and diabetes, but it remains unclear whether traditional cardiovascular (CV) risk factors can help predict coronary artery disease in this population.

Objective: The objectives of the study were to detect early-onset subclinical coronary atherosclerosis (using coronary artery calcium as a marker) in young women with PCOS, compared with age- and body mass index-matched controls, and to compare traditional CV risk factors and inflammatory markers in the two groups.

An open-label trial of escitalopram in the treatment of pathological gambling.

Background: The effectiveness and tolerability of escitalopram was tested in the treatment of pathological gambling (PG).

Method: Nondepressed outpatients with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition PG received flexibly dosed escitalopram in a prospective, 10-week, open-label trial after a 2-week observation period. Subjects were evaluated at baseline and at 2-week intervals for assessment of gambling behavior, mood symptoms, and adverse experiences.

Respiratory syncytial virus decreases p53 protein to prolong survival of airway epithelial cells.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a clinically important pathogen. It preferentially infects airway epithelial cells causing bronchiolitis in infants, exacerbations in patients with obstructive lung disease, and life-threatening pneumonia in the immunosuppressed. The p53 protein is a tumor suppressor protein that promotes apoptosis and is tightly regulated for optimal cell growth and survival.

Relationship of sex to symptom severity, psychiatric comorbidity, and health care utilization in 163 subjects with borderline personality disorder.

Objective: The objective of the study was to compare symptom severity, frequency, and pattern of psychiatric comorbidity, quality of life, and health care utilization in men and women with borderline personality disorder (BPD).

Methods: The analysis is based on a sample of 163 subjects with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition BPD recruited for participation in a clinical trial at an academic medical center. Subjects were administered structured interviews and questionnaires of known reliability.

Constitutive NADPH oxidase and increased mitochondrial respiratory chain activity regulate chemokine gene expression.

Alveolar macrophages, which generate high levels of reactive oxygen species, especially O(2)(*-), are involved in the recruitment of neutrophils to sites of inflammation and injury in the lung, and the generation of chemotactic proteins triggers this cellular recruitment. In this study, we asked whether O(2)(*-) generation in alveolar macrophages had a role in the expression of chemokines. Specifically, we hypothesized that O(2)(*-) generation is necessary for chemokine expression in alveolar macrophages after TNF-alpha stimulation.

Clopidogrel desensitization protocol for the treatment of thienopyridine hypersensitivity.

The antiplatelet agent clopidogrel has become a mainstay of treatment of patients with acute coronary syndromes and strokes, and to reduce ischemic complications after percutaneous coronary and peripheral interventions. As the use of this agent has become more widespread, hypersensitivity reactions to clopidogrel have been increasingly recognized. This problem can be difficult to manage, especially in patients who are in need of or have recently undergone intracoronary stenting, as therapeutic alternatives are limited.

Multicenter evaluation of the BD Phoenix Automated Microbiology System for antimicrobial susceptibility testing of Streptococcus species.

This multicenter study evaluated the BD Phoenix Automated Microbiology System STREP panel (BD Diagnostic Systems). Antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) with 13 agents was performed on 2,013 streptococci (938 Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates; 396 group B streptococci [GBS]; 369 viridans group streptococci [VGS]; 290 beta-hemolytic streptococcus groups A, C, and G; and 20 other streptococci) with the Phoenix system and a broth microdilution reference method. Clinical and challenge isolates were tested against cefepime, cefotaxime (CTX), ceftriaxone (CTR), clindamycin (CLI), erythromycin (ERY), gatifloxacin, levofloxacin, linezolid, meropenem, penicillin (PEN), tetracycline (TET), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and vancomycin.

Differential expression of stress-inducible proteins in chronic hepatic iron overload.

Introduction: Oxidative stress can trigger a cellular stress response characterized by induction of antioxidants, acute phase reactants (APRs) and heat shock proteins (HSPs), which are presumed to play a role in limiting tissue damage. In rodents, hepatic iron overload causes oxidative stress that results in upregulation of antioxidant defenses with minimal progressive liver injury. The aim of this study was to determine whether iron overload modulates expression of other stress-responsive proteins such as APRs and HSPs that may confer protection against iron-induced damage in rodent liver.

Effect of aging, MnSOD deficiency, and genetic background on endothelial function: evidence for MnSOD haploinsufficiency.

Objective: The goal of this study was to compare vascular function, superoxide levels, and MnSOD protein expression in young (4 to 7 months) and old (22 to 24 months) MnSOD+/+ and MnSOD-deficient (MnSOD+/-) mice.

Methods And Results: Relaxation of aorta in vitro to the endothelium-dependent dilator acetylcholine (ACh) was similar in young MnSOD+/+ (n=9) and young MnSOD+/- (n=6) mice. This response was impaired in old MnSOD+/+ (n=8) mice and old MnSOD+/- mice (n=14), with dysfunction being greater in old MnSOD-deficient mice (eg, 100 micromol/L ACh produced 77+/-3% [mean+/-SE], 77+/-3%, 70+/-4%, and 57+/-4% relaxation in young MnSOD+/+, young MnSOD+/-, old MnSOD+/+, and old MnSOD+/- mice, respectively).

Differential expression and oxidation of MKP-1 modulates TNF-alpha gene expression.

Monocytic cells are integral in the pathogenesis of inflammatory disorders. We have shown previously that asbestos-induced p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase activation and TNF-alpha expression are mediated by H(2)O(2) in blood monocytes. Due to the high expression and activity of catalase and glutathione peroxidase, normal alveolar macrophages do not respond in a manner similar to that of blood monocytes.

Satisfaction of search in multitrauma patients: severity of detected fractures.

Rationale And Objectives: Satisfaction of search (SOS) occurs when an abnormality is missed because another abnormality has been detected. This research studied whether the severity of a detected fracture determines whether subsequent fractures are overlooked.

Materials And Methods: Each of 70 simulated multitrauma patients presented examinations of three anatomic areas.

Selective cochlear degeneration in mice lacking the F-box protein, Fbx2, a glycoprotein-specific ubiquitin ligase subunit.

Little is known about the role of protein quality control in the inner ear. We now report selective cochlear degeneration in mice deficient in Fbx2, a ubiquitin ligase F-box protein with specificity for high-mannose glycoproteins (Yoshida et al., 2002).

Medical students' perceptions of emerging learning communities at one medical school.

Purpose: In 1999, the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine (UICCOM) established a student management model consisting of four student-style learning communities (LCs), each comprising one quarter of the students from each class, with the goal of fostering student connection, excellence, learning, leadership, and service.

Bupropion in the treatment of pathological gambling: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, flexible-dose study.

We tested the efficacy of bupropion in the treatment of persons with pathological gambling (PG). Nondepressed, healthy subjects with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition PG were randomly assigned to placebo or flexibly dosed bupropion in a 12-week double-blind trial. Outcome measures included the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale modified for PG, the Gambling Severity Assessment Scale, the Clinical Global Impression Improvement and Severity Scales, the Global Assessment Scale, the Timeline Follow Back, the Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Rating Scale, and the Sheehan Disability Scale.

Structural investigations of the ferredoxin and terminal oxygenase components of the biphenyl 2,3-dioxygenase from Sphingobium yanoikuyae B1.

Background: The initial step involved in oxidative hydroxylation of monoaromatic and polyaromatic compounds by the microorganism Sphingobium yanoikuyae strain B1 (B1), previously known as Sphingomonas yanoikuyae strain B1 and Beijerinckia sp. strain B1, is performed by a set of multiple terminal Rieske non-heme iron oxygenases. These enzymes share a single electron donor system consisting of a reductase and a ferredoxin (BPDO-FB1).

A review of compulsive buying disorder.

Compulsive buying disorder (CBD) is characterized by excessive shopping cognitions and buying behavior that leads to distress or impairment. Found worldwide, the disorder has a lifetime prevalence of 5.8% in the US general population.

Compulsive buying disorder: a review of the evidence.

Compulsive buying disorder is characterized by excessive or poorly controlled preoccupations, urges, or behaviors regarding shopping and spending that lead to subjective distress or impaired functioning. Compulsive buying disorder is estimated to have a lifetime prevalence of 5.8% in the United States general adult population.

Ultrasound-assisted repair of a unique case of distal vaginal agenesis.

Objective: To describe a unique vaginal outlet obstruction and its ultrasound-assisted surgical correction.

Design: Case report.

Setting: An academic medical center.

Which device should be considered the best for lung isolation: double-lumen endotracheal tube versus bronchial blockers.

Purpose Of Review: This review is a clinical comparison between double-lumen endotracheal tubes and bronchial blockers to determine which device is considered the best for lung isolation.

Recent Findings: Double-lumen endotracheal tubes and bronchial blockers have been found to be clinically equivalent in terms of performance in providing lung collapse for patients with normal airways. In the last five years, however, numerous reports have indicated a preference for the use of bronchial blockers in patients with airway abnormalities.

In vitro evidence for role of ERK, p38, and JNK in exocrine pancreatic cytokine production.

Elucidation of mechanisms of acinar cell cytokine production is essential for a better understanding of acute pancreatitis pathogenesis. We hypothesize that the stress kinases ERK, p38, and JNK play an important role in acinar cell cytokine production. Rat pancreatic fragments were incubated with 100 nM concentration of the cholecystokinin analog caerulein or 100 nM caerulein and specific ERK inhibitor (100 microM PD98059), specific p38 inhibitor (10 microM SB203580), or specific JNK inhibitor (20 microM SP600125).

DSM and the death of phenomenology in america: an example of unintended consequences.

During the 19th century and early 20th century, American psychiatry shared many intellectual traditions and values with Great Britain and Europe. These include principles derived from the Enlightenment concerning the dignity of the individual and the value of careful observation. During the 20th century, however, American psychiatry began to diverge, initially due to a much stronger emphasis on psychoanalytic principles, particularly in comparison with Great Britain.