Effect of alanyl-glutamine on leucine and protein metabolism in endotoxemic rats.

BACKGROUND: Branched-chain amino acids (BCAA; valine, leucine, and isoleucine) have a regulatory effect on protein metabolism and are the main donor for synthesis of alanine and glutamine in the skeletal muscle. This study was performed to investigate whether exogenous alanine or glutamine would affect leucine and protein metabolism in intact and endotoxemic rats. METHODS: Rats were injected with endotoxin of Salmonella enteritidis or saline. Thirty minutes later, the effects of endotoxemia and L-alanyl-L-glutamine (AG) on leucine and protein metabolism were evaluated using a primed constant infusion of [1-14C]leucine, endotoxin, and AG (200 mg/mL) solution or an infusion of [1-14C]leucine without endotoxin or AG. The specificity of the effect of exogenous alanine and glutamine was evaluated by a single infusion of alanine, glutamine, and glycine in a separate study. RESULTS: Endotoxin treatment induced more negative net protein balance caused mainly by an increase in whole-body proteolysis. Protein synthesis increased in kidneys, colon, and spleen, while a decrease was observed in skeletal muscle. The impressive effects of AG were the decrease in plasma branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) levels, decrease in leucine oxidized fraction, and improvement of protein balance associated with a decrease in whole-body proteolysis. Similar changes in leucine and protein metabolism were induced by infusion of alanine or glutamine but not by infusion of glycine. CONCLUSIONS: IV administration of alanine or glutamine improves protein balance and decreases leucine oxidized fraction in postabsorptive state and in endotoxemia. Decreased proteolysis is the main cause of decreased plasma BCAA levels after AG treatment.

The value of bone marrow biopsy in the prognosis of hairy cell leukemia (HCL).

Histological findings in the bone marrow and their changes in the course of the disease and therapy were evaluated with respect to the prognosis in a group of 32 patients with hairy cell leukemia (HCL). Two types of bone marrow infiltration by hairy cells (HCs), the diffuse type and the interstitial type, respectively were found. The diffuse type of infiltration and the minimal or absent residual hematopoiesis (RH) at presentation were found with statistical significance to be unfavorable prognostic findings when compared with interstitial infiltration and persisting RH (p < 0.01). Reticulin fibrosis is a characteristic finding in HCL and was found in all but 2 patients.

Use and evaluation of the Czech version of the SF-36 questionnaire self-reported health status of medical students.

SF-36 questionnaires were completed by 231 medical students of the Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Králové (1997, 1998). Results of measurements of eight health dimensions are presented here. Significantly lower values for bodily pain were found in the group of overweight students. Students with some reported cured diseases have significantly lower values for bodily pain and general health dimensions in comparison with students without any reported disease. In our sample a high rate of non-smokers (86.4% men and 93.6% women) and low rate of students with BMI > 25 (18.4% men and 3.8% women) were found. About 30% of respondents reported one or more cured diseases. In addition to the SF-36 questionnaire, students in 1998 completed also a special one-page form (3). The one-page form enabled direct estimates of the eight dimensions of the health status on a scale from 0% to 100%. This study compares the results of measurement of the health status for both instruments. Differences found here are compared and discussed with similar comparisons in an American study (3). Results in both studies are similar but not the same. An indirect measurement of health status with specific questions in the SF-36 is more objective than a direct measurement with the one-page form. Nevertheless, the SF-36 is limited in the number of possible answers for some dimensions (RP, RE). In that case, our results indicate that a percentage scale from the one-page form seems better. Additionally this study compares the results of the SF-36 in Czech medical students with comparable samples from other three European countries. On average, the health dimensions of SF-36 in Czech medical students achieved the worst values in comparison with samples from Switzerland, Germany and Great Britain.

Children pain during dental treatment.

This research work was done on the set of 69 children and adolescents 6-14 years old at the children's department of the dental clinic, university hospital in Hradec Králové. We found their expectancy of dental pain inadequate to reality: 67% children overestimated expected pain, 12% underestimated it. It does not see that children feelings prior to very performance would signalize in advance how much unpleasant or painful the dental procedure is going to be. We have not found any significant difference in either understanding the instruction or sticking to them, or general cooperation of children. The average time interval of dental procedures fluctuated between 18 and 40 minutes, children were not given any anesthetics (with exception of two cases of extractions) which could be one of the causes of distress. From all the children 35% experienced pain in the dental chair and were able to assess it by VAS and verbally characterize its quality. According to the view of children assessing the subjectively experienced pain intensity there exist two types of dental procedures: the first type being represented by painless but demanding patience procedures, the second group of painful treatment (making fillings or extractions). There were no statistical difference between girls and boys in their experiencing pain but there was some difference between girls and boys as went for an approach of health workers: these much more often tried to support girls.

[Growth of the neurocranium]. / Rust neurokrania.

The present study demonstrates the results of evaluation of growth changes of the neurocranium in a set of 98 human skulls of immature individuals aged 6-18/20/ years from the XIII.-XVIII. century. Craniometric values were matched with the corresponding values measured on the skulls of the same age groups from the IX. century and IX.-XII. centuries.

[Use of linear logistic regression in classification of observations]. / Pouzití krokové logistické regrese pro klasifikaci pozorování.

In the present paper the prediction method using the logistic regression is explained, and the range of problems for its use is deliminated. The example is presented of mentioned method's application on how to predict the dog survival in a radiolobiological experiment. The obtained results are compared with the prediction of outcome using the linear discriminant function. Both models are identic in a proportion of erroneously classified subjects. This method may be diagnostically supportive in ranging individuals to one of two groups delimitated previously.

[Comparison of the quality of diagnostic approaches using the characteristic (ROC) curve test]. / Porovnání kvality diagnostických postupu pomocí charakteristické (ROC) krivky testu.

The method is described to compare the quality of two diagnostic approaches as based on comparing surfaces under the ROC test curve. Apart from small deviations, this method may be applied on independent samples and paired observations carried on identical individuals. Experimental data are issued from comparing two methods of prediction of the survival in dogs on the radiobiologic experiment.

[Use of multidimensional data analysis in the processing of results from a gerontological study]. / Pouzití vícerozmerné analýzy dat pri zpracování výsledku v gerontologickém výzkumu.

Relationship between the examined signs were searched for in a group of 428 persons selected in retirement dormitories in the East-Bohemian Region by means of cluster analysis of variables and factor analysis of chosen quantities. The stage of physical health, self-sufficiency, activity, adaptation, idea of the stay in the dormitory and cooperation with the staff are associated one with another. The age and data concerning social situation prior to entering the pensioners' dormitory (living conditions, education, occupation) have probably no direct effect on main characteristics of persons living there.

[Comparison of the characteristics of aged people in geriatric institutions in the Eastern Bohemia Region]. / Porovnání charakteristik starých lidí v zarízeních geriatrického typu ve východoceském kraji.

The representative trial has been performed in four types of East Bohemian geriatric institutions. Following totals were investigated: 193 patients of the long-term care institutions, 492 subjects residing in homes for aged, 96 in homes for pensionaries and 105 in homes with day-care. Various social and health characteristics have been scrutinized as follows: age, sex, residence, employment, reason for the admission, duration of stay, subjective complaints, vision and hear disorders, speech defects, denture status, incontinency, mobility, self-sufficiency, occurrence of chronical diseases, complexive evaluation of somatic and psychic conditions as well as the dependence on environs. Mentioned institutions are stated as varying in the majority of studied characteristics with relation to the pattern of persons admitted. The home for aged became a final institution from which the complexive care is awaited including its provision for elderly people, both patients and those self-unsufficient. The complexiveness of long-term institutional care results from the analysis of obtained data as well as its better and comprehended resolution in the future.

[Evaluation of the quality of a decision-making rule in discriminant analysis]. / Hodnocení kvality rozhodovacího pravidla v diskriminacní analýze.

Logistic regression (LR) and concept of the beta-confidence allocation rule were applied to predict the survival of dogs within the radiobiological experiment. The biochemical and haematological investigations in 86 dogs on the 2nd, 5th and 8th day post-external gamma-neutron irradiation (4.8-7.2 Gy) were used as explanatory variables for the prediction of more than 64 days survival. The influence of experimental conditions was monitored. Correctly predicted cases with LR models were proportioned as 81%, 85% and 93% on 2nd, 5th and 8th day respectively. Using beta-allocation rule, those correctly allocated with 0.50 confidence on the individual days were 75%, 81% and 85% of cases, that adds valuable information on the stability of the estimated classification rule. Method of beta-allocation also allows testing of whether individual observations are correctly assigned at a given significance level.

[Reasons for extraction of permanent teeth in a health community dental centre]. / Príciny extrakcí stálých zubu na obvodním stomatologickém pracovisti.

The authors assessed the diagnostic reasons for extraction of 1170 teeth in 565 patients treated in a health community dental centre. They recorded data on the patient's sex and age, on the extracted tooth and reason for extraction. They found that under the age of 30 years permanent teeth were extracter mostly on account of extensive damage by caries and its sequelae. On account of destruction of the periodontium permanent teeth were extracted in patients older than 31 years. At the age of 31-40 years on account of extensive caries and its complications significantly more teeth were extracted in women than in men, at the age above 71 years significantly more teeth were extracted on account of this diagnosis in men, as compared with women. On account of caries and its sequelae 75.7% upper premolars, 69.7% upper molars and 69.9% lower molars were extracted. On account of advanced destruction of the periodontium in the investigated group 80.5% lower incisors were extracted. In other groups of teeth this diagnosis was less frequent.

[Epidemiologic aspects of neoplasms and prognosis of their incidence in the Czech Republic]. / Epidemiologicke aspekty zhoubnych novotvaru a jejich incidence v Ceske Republice.

"In this article development of the incidence [of] and mortality [from] neoplasms in the Czech Republic during [the] forty year period (1951-1989) has been analyzed." The authors assess the influence of cigarette smoking, high alcohol consumption, and poor nutrition. Projections for the years 1995 and 2000 are included. (SUMMARY IN ENG AND RUS)