Lack of sialidase activity in Candida albicans and Candida glabrata.

Because several micro-organisms having close contact to animal hosts and man produce sialidase (EC 3.2.1.18) as a tool for adhesion and invasion, we investigated two Candida species for the presence of this enzyme. Two sensitive assays, a fluorometric test with 4-methylumbelliferyl-alpha-D-N-acetylneuraminic acid and a radiometric test with 3H-labelled sialyllactitol as sialidase substrates, were applied to detect sialidase activity. None of 40 Candida albicans and 10 C. glabrata strains grown in three different media exhibited sialidase activity, but the positive control Ophiostoma stenoceras produced sialidase under comparable conditions. Our surprising negative findings are divergent from an earlier positive report, which may be due to strain selection or bacterial contamination. These results indicate that sialidase is probably of no relevance in cutaneous or mucosal candidoses.

Support for patients with hepatitis C: an exploratory qualitative study of medical specialists' perceptions.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the range of meanings about the role of support for patients with hepatitis C by examining medical specialists' perceptions. METHOD: The study employed a qualitative, open-ended interview design and was conducted in four major teaching hospitals in Adelaide, South Australia. Eight participants (three infectious disease physicians, four gastroenterologists, one hepatologist), selected through purposive sampling, were interviewed about general patient support, their role in support provision, the role of non-medical support and their reasons for not using support services. RESULTS: Main themes included a focus on support as information provision and that patient education is best carried out by a medical specialist. The use of support services was defined as the patient's decision. Participants identified four key periods when patients would benefit from support; during diagnosis, failure to meet treatment criteria, during interferon treatment and following treatment failure. CONCLUSIONS: It was concluded that while barriers exist to the establishment of partnerships between specialists and other support services, this study has identified clear points at which future partnerships could be established. IMPLICATIONS: A partnership approach to developing support for patients with hepatitis C offers a systematic framework to facilitate the participation of health professionals and the community in an important area of public health.

Hepatitis C: A Socio-cultural Perspective on the Effects of a New Virus on a Community's Health.

Since the emergence of diagnostic medical tests in Australia in 1990, hepatitis C (HCV) has been shown to account for over 90 percent of all non-A non-B hepatitis, revealing it to be a widespread and major public health problem. The diagnosis of HCV involves a diverse range of issues for affected persons, introducing identity and lifestyle changes, which are commonly articulated through psychological concepts. In this article we argue that it is important to examine the broader social and cultural contexts that contribute to the experiences of persons affected by HCV. The thematic analysis of qualitative data from six individuals diagnosed with HCV is included to exemplify some of the processes that are involved in the changing identity of a person following a positive diagnosis. The theoretical framework for the interpretation of these processes is interpretive interactionism. In this research, we are attempting to extend the understanding of the effects of HCV diagnoses beyond internal, psychological processes by examining how these diagnoses transform some of the processes of self-formation and expression. The participants' experiences indicate that there are at least four dimensions of self that were significant to their changing sense of self: relationship of self to others; the emotional self; self-stories and identity; and self-scrutiny and relationships. We conclude that a socio-cultural perspective contributes to the explanation of the transition period following a HCV-positive diagnosis and the redefinition of self towards a HCV status.

[Dermatophytes do not produce sialidase in vitro]. / Dermatophyten bilden in vitro keine Sialidase.

Sialidase (EC 3.2.1.18) is a pathogenicity factor of many microorganisms, and may also play a role in adhesion of dermatophytes to the epithelia of their hosts by the hydrolytical cleavage of terminal, negatively charged sialic acids of glycoconjugates on the cell surfaces, thus allowing fungal lectins to bind to the subterminal sugars. Therefore, 116 strains of seven species of dermatophytes were investigated for sialidase production. Two highly sensitive, quantitative sialidase assays were applied to cell homogenates and culture supernatants from seven different media of the fungi, but were always negative for sialidase activity. However, sialidase activity was always detected in Ophiostoma stenoceras used as a positive control cultivated in parallel; the enzyme was inducible by sialylated mucins. A sialidase-dependent pathomechanism for dermatophytes appears unlikely based on the results presented.

[A profound stress reaction during epidural opiate analgesia in combination with weak neuroleptanalgesia in comparison with neuroleptanesthesia Type II alone]. / Profunde Stressreation unter epiduraler Opiatanalgesie in Kombination mit flacher Neuroleptanästhesie im Vergleich zur alleinigen Neuroleptanästhesie Typ II.

The modifying influence of anaesthetic procedures on stress reaction linked to operating trauma was observed by measurement of plasma concentration of beta-endorphin. In a prospective study 54 patients undergoing a radical gynaecological operation were allocated to either neuroleptanaesthesia type II or epidural morphine analgesia combined with slight neuroleptanaesthesia. The observation period was extended from the first preoperative day to the first postoperative day and included 11 measurements. The plasma concentration of beta-endorphin was determined by radioimmunoassay technique. At the beginning of the operation both groups of patients showed a significant increase in the plasma concentration of beta-endorphin, with the peak value occurring at the end of the operation. The patients undergoing epidural morphine analgesia in combination with slight neuroleptanaesthesia reached about five times higher levels of plasma concentration of beta-endorphin than the patients receiving neuroleptanaesthesia type II. The results show that the systemic administration of opiates suppresses the excessive activation of neuroendocrine stress systems to a greater extent than epidural administration. These results may be explained by the assumed worse quality of antinociception by epidural administration of morphine. This is thought to be caused by the late administration of the drug, by the non-selective occupation of the spinal opioid receptors and by the inadequate activation of the diffuse descending inhibitory control systems. The role of supraspinal mechanisms involved in opiate analgesia is discussed.

[The molecular biology mechanism of action of benzodiazepine]. / Zum molekularbiologischen Wirkmechanismus der Benzodiazepine.

The central GABAA synapses contain specific benzodiazepine binding sites thought to modulate the receptor allosterically for the transmitter. The benzodiazepine receptor represents a modulating site which is located on the GABA-A receptor/chloride channel complex and mediates both positive and negative modulation of the chloride channel. The effects of the benzodiazepines lie in an increase in the receptor-coupled conductivity of chlorides. Different stressors induce changes in the benzodiazepine receptor complex regarding hypersensitivity. There are indications that these stress-induced changes are mediated by an endogenous peptide. The modulation on these receptors is of functional significance in stress-relevant behavioural reactions and in conflict situations. The research results have led to new concepts of the receptor function and of the effects of compounds which are the basis of potential pharmaceuticals. The neuro-pharmacology of the future promises new pharmaceutical targets on the mechanisms of the allosteric modulation of the receptor function.

[Beta-endorphin and substance P in the perioperative period]. / Beta-Endorphin und Substanz P in der perioperativen Periode.

The modifying impact of anaesthesia on the stress reaction related to surgical trauma was investigated on the basis of the neuropeptidergic parameters of 66 patients who had to undergo a gynaecological radical operation. Anaesthesia was either performed as neuroleptanaesthesia or as epidural analgesia by using bupivacaine in combination with general anaesthesia. The plasma concentrations of substance P and beta-endorphin were taken as neuropeptidergic parameters. Both regulatory peptides show numerous corresponding synergisms. An acceleration of these neuropeptide systems is assumed to be present in severe disturbance of homeostasis. Plasma concentrations of substance P and beta-endorphin were examined at 11 measuring points in the perioperative and intraoperative periods. The plasma concentration of substance P significantly declines in the preoperative period while the concentration of beta-endorphin in the plasma remains at a relatively constant level. In the dynamics of beta-endorphin in the plasma significant differences between the two anaesthetic techniques become apparent in the intraoperative period. Those patients given epidural analgesia have a significantly higher maximum concentration at a later date. This difference is attributed to the possible loss of the adrenal medullary function due to partial sympathetic blocking. Single observations in patients pregnant in the last trimester testify to an extraordinary adaptability at the end of pregnancy.

[The quality of analgesia in relation to the plasma concentration of beta-endorphin during neuroleptanalgesia and epidural analgesia]. / Die Qualität der Analgesie in Beziehung zur Plasma-Konzentration von Beta-Endorphin unter Neuroleptanalgesie und Epiduralanalgesie.

In 66 patients who had to undergo radical abdominal hysterectomy because of cancer of the cervix uteri, the plasma concentrations of beta-endorphin were observed intra- and postoperatively. Two anaesthetic techniques were used: neuroleptanalgesia and thoracolumbar epidural analgesia with sedation and controlled inhalation of a mixture of oxygen and nitrous oxide. While the higher dosage of analgesics administered intraoperatively resulted in markedly lower plasma concentrations of beta-endorphin, there was no such effect in the postoperative phase. Patients with epidural analgesia who were absolutely painless postoperatively had, during that stage, higher concentrations of beta-endorphin in the plasma than those patients who had been given neuroleptanalgesia. They had received no analgetic treatment during the postoperative observation period. These differences are attributed to an increased adaptability of patients subsequent to neuroleptanalgesia. The neuronal block can result in a decrease in functional activity of the suprarenal medulla and impair adaptability. The stress-induced opioid analgesia can be suppressed by circulating enkephalin from the suprarenal medulla.

[The dynamics of beta-endorphins in plasma in the peri- and intraoperative phase of radical gynecologic surgery]. / Die Dynamik des beta-Endorphins im Plasma in der peri- und intraoperativen Phase bei gynäkologischen Radikaloperationen.

Stress produced by anaesthesia and operation results in the activation of regulatory processes aimed at maintaining homoeostasis. Numerous studies point to the opioid system acting in the adaptation process as a reserve force in homoeostatic maintenance. We made peri- and intraoperative radioimmunological measurements of the beta-endorphin, a c-terminal fragment of the pro-opiomelanocortin. In spite of the latent stress prevalent in patients before the operation, there was no change in the concentration of beta-endorphin in the plasma before the operation. As soon as the operation began a marked increase in the beta-endorphin concentration was observed, reaching a peak at the end of the operation. Postoperatively, the beta-endorphin level rapidly decreased and the initial value was attained within 24 hours. Our studies provide evidence that there is a protective mechanism guarding the organism against external disturbing factors in stress situations.

[Substance P--results of observing the course of plasma levels during heart surgery]. / Substanz P--Ergebnisse der Verlaufsbeobachtung der Plasmaspiegelkonzentrationen bei kardiochirurgischen Eingriffen.

Observing substance P plasma level changes, we examined the adaptation capacities of the human organism in hypothermia during cardiosurgical operations. It was our aim to observe stress-induced changes of substance P concentrations and to find ways of using them as indicators of good or bad adaptation capacity. Plasma level controls were made on 40 cardiosurgical patients. In all cases the substance P concentration varied in correlation to operation-induced periods of stress. There was a clear tendency for all patients to react similarly, although some individual deviations were found, too. Obviously stress provokes a consumption of substance P in plasma which is expressed in decreasing concentrations. Its rapid increase, however, indicates a good adaptation capacity. Since the need for an exogenous substance P substitution was not recognizable at the beginning of the operation, at present only the possibility of prophylactic substitution is given.

[Biochemical parameters of blood plasma, and body and organ weights of Wistar rats with dietarily-induced experimental obesity]. / Untersuchung von biochemischen Parametern des Blutplasmas sowie von Körper- und Organgewichten bei experimenteller diätetischer Fettsucht der Wistarratte

The authors investigated in rats with dietarily-induced obesity certain biochemical parameters of the blood plasma as well as body and organ weights during the dynamic and the static phase of obesity development. They determined total cholesterol, total protein, albumin, creatinine, urea nitrogen and transaminases. After 4-5 weeks, the animals on a high-diet (50% of fat) had body weights which were, on an average, by 90% higher than those of the control animals. This difference persisted during the static phase. In the animals on a high-fat diet, body length was greater. The high-fat diet (which contains a great proportion of sunflower oil) leads to a decrease of the plasma cholesterol level in obese rats. The plasma-protein bodies, creatinine and urea nitrogen values as well as those for transaminases permit, as parameters for function and damage, to draw conclusions as to kidney and liver damages in the animals on high-fat diet. There were no differences in plasma protein between the control and experimental animals. On the contrary, obese rats showed in some cases high creatinine concentrations during the dynamic phase. Differences in urea nitrogen were not observed between the two groups of animals. Increases in alanine aminotransferase were found in the animals on high-fat diet as a manifestation of fatty degeneration of the liver. A synopsis of weight curves, biochemical parameters and histological findings permits the conclusion that, besides of dietarily-induced metabolic alterations, no additional organic lesions occurred during the present animal experiment on dietarily-induced obesity.

[Spectrophotometric investigations on aflatoxin B1 and aflatoxin G1 (author's transl)]. / Spektrophotometrische Untersuchungen an Aflatoxin B1 und Aflatoxin G1

UV-spectrophotometric and fluorescence-spectrophotometric investigations have been performed on the aflatoxins B1 and G1 with the aim of their unequivocal identification and quantitative estimation in the routine examination. The lower limits of the quantitative and semiquantitative estimations have been found to be 0,4 ng (thin layer chromatography, semiquantitative), Imug/ml (UV-spectroscopy) and 10 ng/ml (fluorescence spectroscopy) for the aflatoxin B1 and 0,3 ng (TLC, semiquantitative), 1 mug/ml (UV-spectroscopy) and 1 ng/ml (fluorescence spectroscopy). Quinine sulfate in 0.1 n sulfuric acid was successfully utilized as a convenient standard substance for quantitative fluorescence spectroscopic estimations of the aflatoxins B1 and G1. In an extensive series of estimations the fluorescence intensity of aflatoxin B1 in chloroform in the range of 0,01-10 mug/ml has been compared with that of equally concentrated solutions of quinine sulfate in sulfuric acid. The ratio of the intensities was 0.5 : 1(0.509 : 1). Similar comparative estimations of aflatoxin G1 in chloroform in the range of 0.001 bis 1 mug/ml and quinine sulfate in sulfuric acid resulted in a ratio of 5 : 1 (4.99 : 1). These ratios have been found using a fluorescence spectrophotometer Beckman SF 1078.