Phenotypic variability and therapeutic implications of Candida species in patients with oral lichen planus

We investigated the prevalence and phenotypic variation of Candida species in oral lichen planus (OLP) and the therapeutic implications of our findings. Eighty patients with clinically and histopathologically confirmed cases of OLP (64 non-erosive, 16 erosive) and a control group of 80 healthy individuals with no predisposing factors for oral candidiasis were examined for evidence of Candida infection. Oral swabs and smears were obtained for cytology and culture. Identification, speciation and antifungal susceptibility tests of Candida isolates were performed using an automated microbial identification system. Fifty percent of erosive OLP cases, 28% of non-erosive cases and none of the controls showed evidence of Candida. Candida albicans was found predominantly in non-erosive OLP, while other Candida species were predominate in erosive OLP. Non-Candida albicans isolates (C. glabrata, C. krusei) were resistant to the commonly used antifungals, clotrimazole and fluconazole. Candida infection is common in cases of OLP. We recommend antifungal sensitivity testing prior to antifungal therapy for the erosive form of OLP.     

The use of zootherapeutics in folk veterinary medicine in the district of Cubati, Paraíba State, Brazil

Background

Viewed through the micro focus of an interpretive lens, medical anthropology remains mystified because interpretivist explanations seriously downplay the given context in which individual health seeking-behaviours occur. This paper draws upon both the interpretivist and political economy perspectives to reflect on the ethno medical practices within the Korean-Australian community in Sydney.

Methods

We draw on research data collected between 1995 and 1997 for an earlier study of the use of biomedical and traditional medicine by Korean-Australians in Sydney. A total of 120 interviews were conducted with a range of participants, including biomedical doctors, traditional health professionals, Korean community leaders and Korean migrants representing a range of socio-economic backgrounds and migration patterns.

Results and Discussion

First, the paper highlights the extent to which the social location of migrants in a host society alters or restructures their initial cultural practices they bring with them. Second, taking hanbang medicine in the Korean-Australian community as an illustrative case, the paper explores the transformation of the dominant biomedicine in Australia as a result of the influx of ethnomedicine in the era of global capitalism and global movement.

Conclusion

In seeking to explain the popularity and supply of alternative health care, it is important to go beyond the culture of each kind of health care itself and to take into consideration the changes occurring at societal, national and global levels as well as consequential individual response to the changes. New social conditions influence the choice of health care methods, including herbal/alternative medicine, health foods and what are often called New Age therapies.     

Evaluation of the prevalence and economic burden of adverse drug reactions presenting to the medical emergency department of a tertiary referral centre: a prospective study

Background  

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are now recognized as an important cause of hospital admissions, with a proportion ranging from 0.9–7.9%. They also constitute a significant economic burden. We thus aimed at determining the prevalence and the economic burden of ADRs presenting to Medical Emergency Department (ED) of a tertiary referral center in India     

Antibiotic Susceptibility of Helicobacter pylori Clinical Isolates: Comparative Evaluation of Disk-Diffusion and E-Test Methods

Antimicrobial susceptibility of 25 Helicobacter pylori strains isolated from patients with acid peptic diseases were tested for in vitro sensitivity to commonly used antibiotics using disk-diffusion and E-test, methods. All strains tested were susceptible to tetracycline by E-test, with the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values being <0.125 μg/ml for all strains except for 6 (<0.023 μg/ml). However 1 strain was resistant by disk-diffusion method. One strain was resistant to clarithromycin both by disk diffusion and E-test (MIC <48 μg/ml), and 1 strain was resistant only by disk diffusion. Only one strain was resistant to amoxicillin by disk diffusion and E-test (MIC >256 μg/ml). For ciprofloxacin, three strains were resistant by disk diffusion and two by E-test (MIC <32 μg/ml). Sixteen strains were resistant to metronidazole by disk diffusion and E-test (MIC ≥ 8 μg/ml), and 1 was resistant only by E-test (MIC <48 μg/ml). Overall, 64% of the strains were resistant to metronidazole. The MIC for metronidazole was also tested by agar-dilution method, and metronidazole resistant strains had an, MIC >8 μg/ml. The disk-diffusion method showed excellent correlation with E-test results; there was 100% agreement for amoxicillin a other antibiotics showed 90% to 95% accuracy. Disk diffusion is cheaper than E-test (approximately 2.6 cents vs. US$2.60), is easy to perform, and is a reliable method for testing H. pylori susceptibility to antimicrobial agents in the clinical microbiology laboratory.     

Hypothalamic response to leptin changes during a hormonally induced estrous cycle in rats

The leptin system regulates body fat mass through a feedback loop between adipose tissue and the hypothalamus. To test if leptin responsiveness may be regulated we assayed hypothalamic response to leptin during the estrous cycle; when changes in food intake are known to occur. Immature rats were treated with pregnant mare’s serum gonadotropin (PMSG) to induce synchronized follicular development, ovulation and corpus luteum formation. Leptin response was estimated by measuring the in vitro induction of tis11, a primary response gene activated by STAT3-dependent cytokines in hypothalamic explants after leptin stimulation. In addition, mRNA levels of the suppressor cytokine signaling-3 (SOCS-3), a possible mediator of leptin resistance, were analyzed. Serum leptin levels did not change between days 2 and day 3 (corresponding to proestrus and estrus, respectively) but the response to leptin was higher on day 2 than on day 3 (p=0.05). Food intake displayed a tendency towards downregulation between day 1 and day 2 (p=0.057), and a tendency towards upregulation between day 2 and day 3 (p=0.072), although the body weight increased on day of the study (p<0.0001). There was no significant difference in hypothalamic expression of SOCS-3 between day 2 and day 3. In conclusion, we have shown that leptin responsiveness changes during a hormonally induced estrous cycle in rats. Our data suggest that a change in the hypothalamic response to leptin may cause the cyclic feeding behavior seen in rats.     

The Cutting Balloon--a new technology?

The Cutting Balloon consists of a standard balloon dilatation catheter with four microtome-sharp blades that incise the plaque and minimize arterial wall trauma. It was used in 31 patients; nine had calcified arteries, ten had non-compliant lesions, three had in-stent restenosis and nine had aorto-ostial lesions. Seventeen lesions were predilated, 28 were post-dilated and 18 required stent implantation. The procedure was very effective in aorto-ostial lesions, non-compliant lesions that were not responsive to high-pressure balloon dilatation, and was partially successful in calcified arteries. It has a very specific niche in selected lesions.     

Enzymatic synthesis and modification of polymers in nonaqueous solvents

Enzymes catalyse several reactions that are difficult to perform with chemical catalysts and that are important in the synthesis and modification of different polymers in organic solvents. In enzyme-based synthesis, alteration of the reaction medium can have a significant influence on the molecular weight, polydispersity, yield and architecture of the polymers that are produced. Modification of these macromolecules for industrial applications requires an understanding of the different reaction strategies involved.     

Okazaki fragment maturation in yeast. II. Cooperation between the polymerase and 3'-5'-exonuclease activities of Pol delta in the creation of a ligatable nick

To address the different functions of Pol delta and FEN1 (Rad27) in Okazaki fragment maturation, exonuclease-deficient polymerase Pol delta-01 and Pol delta-5DV (corresponding to alleles pol3-01-(D321A, E323A) and pol3-5DV-(D520V), respectively) were purified and characterized in this process. In the presence of the replication clamp PCNA, both wild-type and exo(-) Pol delta carried out strand displacement synthesis with similar rates; however, initiation of strand displacement synthesis was much more efficient with Pol delta-exo(-). When Pol delta-exo(-) encountered a downstream primer, it paused with 3-5 nucleotides of the primer displaced, whereas the wild type carried out precise gap filling. Consequently, in the absence of FEN1, Pol delta exonuclease activity was essential for closure of simple gaps by DNA ligase. Compared with wild type, Okazaki fragment maturation with Pol delta-exo(-) proceeded with an increased duration of nick translation prior to ligation. Maturation was efficient in the absence of Dna2 and required Dna2 only when FEN1 activity was compromised. In agreement with these results, the proposed generation of double strand breaks in pol3-exo(-) rad27 mutants was suppressed by the overexpression of DNA2. Further genetic studies showed that pol3-exo(-) rad27 double mutants were sensitive to alkylation damage consistent with an in vivo defect in gap filling by exonuclease-deficient Pol delta.     

Atrophic macular degeneration mutations in ELOVL4 result in the intracellular misrouting of the protein

Elongation of very long chain fatty acids 4 (ELOVL4) is a novel member of the ELO family of genes that are involved in fatty acid metabolism. ELOVL4 encodes a putative transmembrane protein of 314 amino acids that carries a possible endoplasmic reticulum (ER) retention/retrieval signal (KXKXX) at the C-terminus. Two distinct mutations, a 5-bp deletion and a complex mutation from the same region in exon 6 of this gene, have been reported so far and are associated with autosomal dominant atrophic macular degeneration (adMD/STGD3). Both of these deletions could result in C-terminal truncation and loss of the ER retention signal in the mutant protein. We expressed the wild-type and mutant proteins in COS-7 and CHO cells to study the intracellular distribution of ELOVL4 and to identify possible implications of the above mutations in its localization. Immunofluorescence analysis of these proteins along with organelle marker antibodies revealed predominant ER localization for wild-type ELOVL4. Targeted deletion of the dilysine motif at the C-terminus of the protein resulted in the loss of ER localization. Immunoelectron microscopy and immunofluorescence analysis revealed a similar ER localization pattern for the protein in human photoreceptors. These data indicate that ELOVL4 is an ER-resident protein, which supports its suggested function in fatty acid elongation. We also demonstrate that the localization of both mutant proteins was dramatically changed from an ER to a Golgi distribution. Our observations suggest that the consequences of defective protein trafficking could underlie the molecular mechanism associated with degeneration of the macula in the patients with adMD/STGD3.