Free and protein-bound tryptophan in serum of untreated patients with chronic renal failure

Free and protein-bound tryptophan in serum of untreated patients with chronic renal failure. In fasting sera from 46 untreated patients with chronic renal failure and in 22 normal subjects, non-protein-bound tryptophan, F, was separated by pH-controlled equilibrium dialysis. Total tryptophan, T, and F were measured by HPLC. Results in patients were related to gender, severity of chronic renal failure (as measured by radioisotopic glomerular filtration rate), protein intake (as measured by 24-hr urinary urea N excretion), and protein nutrition (as measured by serum concentrations of albumin and transferrin). T was subnormal in 59% of the patients. In seven hypoalbuminemic patients, F/T was markedly increased (approaching unity) but F was normal. In 39 non-hypoalbuminemic patients, F was again normal but F/T was often increased at glomerular filtration rates below 30 ml/min/3 m2 of height2, especially in females. T was significantly correlated with estimated protein intake (r = 0.54, P = 0.0004), even though neither F nor serum protein levels were correlated with it. We conclude that the serum level of free tryptophan is well-maintained in chronic renal failure, being uninfluenced by severity of renal insufficiency, voluntary protein intake, or serum protein concentrations. On the other hand, protein-bound tryptophan varies with protein intake, decreases markedly in hypoalbuminemic patients, and also decreases in many non-hypoalbuminemic patients (especially females) when the glomerular filtration rate falls below approximately 30 ml/min/3 m2 of height2

A crossover comparison of progression of chronic renal failure: Ketoacids versus amino acids

A crossover comparison of progression of chronic renal failure: Ketoacids versus amino acids. Rates of progression of chronic renal failure were compared in patients receiving alternately an amino acid supplement (AA) and a ketoacid supplement (KA) to a very low protein (0.3 g/kg), low phosphorus (7 to 9 mg/kg) diet. The first supplement was randomly chosen. Bias due to carryover effects was minimized by delaying the regression analysis until one month after starting or changing supplements. In order to minimize possible bias caused by initiating the two supplements at differing levels of severity, a multiple crossover design was used (ABA, BAB, ABAB, or BABA) with at least four GFR's in each treatment period (except for three GFR's in one instance). Sixteen patients completed the protocol; five dropped out. Average starting GFR's were nearly identical for the two supplements (15.4 and 15.9 ml/min). For each patient, mean progression on KA was compared with mean progression on AA. Thirteen out of 16 patients progressed more slowly on KA than AA. On the average, progression on KA was significantly slower (95% confidence limits = -0.36 to 0.09 ml/min/month) than on AA (-0.91 to -0.41 ml/min/month; P = 0.024). There was no significant difference in estimated protein intake, phosphate excretion, or mean arterial pressure between KA and AA periods. Serum triglyceride concentration was significantly lower on KA (P = 0.0026). 17-hydroxycorticosteroid excretion was also lower (P = 0.031). We conclude that KA slow progression, relative to AA, independently of protein or phosphorus intake, in patients on this regimen

The Stanley Foundation Bipolar Network: Results of the naturalistic follow-up study after 2.5 years of follow-up in the German centres

The Stanley Foundation Bipolar Network (SFBN) is an international, multisite network investigating the characteristics and course of bipolar disorder. Methods (history, ratings and longitudinal follow-up) are standardized and equally applied in all 7 centres. This article describes demographics and illness characteristics of the first 152 German patients enrolled in them SFBN as well as the results of 2.5 years of follow-up. Patients in Germany were usually enrolled after hospitalisation. More than 72% of the study population suffered from bipolar I disorder and 25% from bipolar 11 disorder. The mean +/- SD age of the study participants was 42.08 +/- 13.5 years, and the mean SD age of onset 24.44 +/- 10.9 years. More than 40% of the sample reported a rapid-cycling course in history, and even more a cycle acceleration overtime. 37% attempted suicide at least once. 36% had an additional Axis I disorder, with alcohol abuse being the most common one, followed by anxiety disorders. During the follow-up period, only 27% remained stable, 56% had a recurrence, 12.8% perceived subsyndromal symptoms despite treatment and regular visits. 27% suffered from a rapid-cycling course during the follow-up period. Recurrences were significantly associated with bipolar I disorder, an additional comorbid Axis I disorder, rapid cycling in history, a higher number of mood stabilizers and the long-term use of typical antipsychotics. Rapid cycling during follow-up was only associated with a rapidcycling course in history, a higher number of mood stabilizers and at least one suicide attempt in history. Copyright (c) 2003 S. Karger AG, Basel

Noise spectroscopy of optical microcavity

The intensity noise spectrum of the light passed through an optical microcavity is calculated with allowance for thermal fluctuations of its thickness. The spectrum thus obtained reveals a peak at the frequency of acoustic mode localized inside the microcavity and depends on the size of the illuminated area. The estimates of the noise magnitude show that it can be detected using the up-to-date noise spectroscopy technique.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figur

On the parametrization of optical particle counter response including instrument-induced broadening of size spectra and a self-consistent evaluation of calibration measurements

Optical particle counters (OPCs) are common tools for the in situ measurement of aerosol particle number size distributions. As the actual quantity measured by OPCs is the intensity of light scattered by individual particles, it is necessary to translate the distribution of detected scattering signals into the desired information, i.e., the distribution of particle sizes. A crucial part in this challenge is the modeling of OPC response and the calibration of the instrument in other words, establishing the relation between instrumentspecific particle scattering cross-section and measured signal amplitude. To date, existing methods lack a comprehensive parametrization of OPC response, particularly regarding the instrument-induced broadening of signal amplitude distributions. This deficiency can lead to significant size distribution biases. We introduce an advanced OPC response model including a simple parametrization of the broadening effect and a self-consistent way to evaluate calibration measurements using a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method. We further outline how to consistently derive particle number size distributions with realistic uncertainty estimates within this new framework. Based on measurements of particle standards for two OPCs, the Grimm model 1.129 (SkyOPC) and the DMT Passive Cavity Aerosol Spectrometer Probe (PCASP), we demonstrate that residuals between measured and modeled response can be substantially reduced when using the new approach instead of existing methods. More importantly, for the investigated set of measurements only the new approach yields results that conform with the true size distributions within the range of model uncertainty. The presented innovations will help improving the accuracy of OPC-derived size distributions and the assessment of their precision

Impact of the council of europe resolution on quality and safety assurance requirements for medicinal products prepared in pharmacies for the special needs of patients

Introduction and objective: The regulation of pharmacy preparations, especially for standards for quality assurance and safety, is not harmonised across Europe and falls under the national competencies of individual states. There are concerns about quality control and safety for the medicinal products made in pharmacies, which is widespread in European countries. There are, however, good reasons to continue this practice, which is able to tailor preparations to the specific needs of a particular patient or patient group and to provide a supplementary source of supply when an industrially manufactured product, which is authorised for marketing is not available or when there are temporary shortages of licensed medicines. In seeking to provide guidelines for legislation and acting on the advice of an expert group dealing in pharmaceutical practices, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe passed a resolution in 2011. The Council of Europe Resolution provides authorities and pharmacists with the means to reinforce safety measures for medicinal products prepared in pharmacies and to harmonise quality assurance and safety standards. It dealt with aspects of pharmacy preparation such as quality standards for preparation and distribution, marketing authorisation, product dossiers, labelling, reporting, and safety. In 2013 and 2014 the Committee of Experts carried out a survey to evaluate the impact of the resolution within a cross section of member states,Methods: In the resolution of 2011 the member states were recommended to adapt their legislation in line with its provisions. The survey that was carried out in 2013 and 2014 followed the recommendations in the reso-lution. A questionnaire was made and sent to across section of member states.Results: Among the member states involved, the results of this survey show a clear commitment to imple-ment the recommendations of the resolution.Conclusions: This report presents the results of the survey with a discussion of outstanding issues

A microscopic quantum dynamics approach to the dilute condensed Bose gas

We derive quantum evolution equations for the dynamics of dilute condensed Bose gases. The approach contains, at different orders of approximation, for cases close to equilibrium, the Gross Pitaevskii equation and the first order Hartree Fock Bogoliubov theory. The proposed approach is also suited for the description of the dynamics of condensed gases which are far away from equilibrium. As an example the scattering of two Bose condensates is discussed.Comment: 8 pages, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Regional differences and trends in breast cancer surgical procedures and their relation to socioeconomic disparities and screening patterns

Background Important regional disparities in patterns of care in breast cancer have recently been described. In Switzerland, nationwide data on hospitalisations have been collected since 1998. They have not been used up to now to explore space–time patterns and trends of breast cancer healthcare-related procedures for control and health planning purposes. We aimed to assess geographical and temporal variation of mastectomy rates. Methods Bayesian negative-binomial spatio-temporal models have been applied. Covariates included patient characteristics as provided in the hospital data, data on mammography screening programme duration, and surgeon and gynaecologist density. Results We analyzed more than 70,000 patients. Mastectomy rates declined from 43% to 30% in Switzerland between 2000 and 2012 for patients aged 50–69 and from 61% to 43% for those 70+, and remained stable for those under 50. Important geographical differences in rates were present. Rates were significantly influenced by age [relative rate ratio (RR) 50–69: 0.92, RR 70+: 1.25], differences in co-morbidity (RR one co-morbidity: 1.17, RR more than one: 1.35), higher surgeon or gynaecologist density (RR surgeons: 1.01, RR gynaecologists: 1.06). Regions in the French-speaking part (RR: 0.72) and/or with mammography screening programmes showed significantly lower rates (RR: 0.87). No difference was found for patients in different socio-economic groups or with different insurance types. Conclusion This research unveiled important differences in mastectomy rates in Switzerland. The results play an essential role in the identification of regions where special attention is required, and indications for extensive surgery in breast cancer should be revisited

Resonance Superfluidity: Renormalization of Resonance Scattering Theory

We derive a theory of superfluidity for a dilute Fermi gas that is valid when scattering resonances are present. The treatment of a resonance in many-body atomic physics requires a novel mean-field approach starting from an unconventional microscopic Hamiltonian. The mean-field equations incorporate the microscopic scattering physics, and the solutions to these equations reproduce the energy-dependent scattering properties. This theory describes the high-$T_c$ behavior of the system, and predicts a value of $T_c$ which is a significant fraction of the Fermi temperature. It is shown that this novel mean-field approach does not break down for typical experimental circumstances, even at detunings close to resonance. As an example of the application of our theory we investigate the feasibility for achieving superfluidity in an ultracold gas of fermionic $^6$Li.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figure