Comparative dynamics of self-consciousness of schizophrenic patients and patients with acute and transient psychotic disorders in the process of compulsory treatment.

Article presents the materials of empirical research of life sense orientations, self-relation and level of claims of schizophrenic patients and patients with acute and transient psychotic disorders, who have committed socially hazardous actions and to whom forced measures of medical character are temporarily applied. Changes in the self- consciousness of patients with schizophrenia in dynamics were examined: in com­paring the results obtained at first and fourth stages of patients' stay in mental hospital with strict supervision (the first stage – adaptation and diagnostics, the fourth stage – the consolidation of treatment results and preparation of patient to be discharged). Research was done by D. Leontiev’s test of life sense orientations (LSO), by S. Pantileyev – V. Sto­lin’s techniques and by Shwarzlander’s “Motor test”. Statistical processing of the obtained results of differences by indices of life sense orientations, of selfattitude and level of claims between the group under study with Student's t-criterion was used

Risk factors for wound infection in surgery for spinal metastasis

Wound infection rates are generally higher in patients undergoing surgery for spinal metastasis. Risk factors of wound infection in these patients are poorly understood. Purpose To identify demographic and clinical variables that may be associated with patients experiencing a higher wound infection rate. Study design Retrospective study with prospectively collected data of spinal metastasis patients operated consecutively at a University Teaching Hospital, adult spine division which is a tertiary referral centre for complex spinal surgery. Patient sample Ninety-eight patients were all surgically treated, consecutively from January 2009 to September 2011. Three patients had to be excluded due to inadequate data. Outcome measures Physiological measures, with presence or absence of microbiologically proven infection. Methods Various demographic and clinical data were recorded, including age, serum albumin level, blood total lymphocyte count, corticosteroid intake, Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) score, neurological disability, skin closure material used, levels of surgery and administration of peri-operative corticosteroids. No funding was received from any sources for this study and as far as we are aware, there are no potential conflict of interest-associated biases in this study. Results Higher probabilities of infection were associated with low albumin level, seven or more levels of surgery, use of delayed/non-absorbable skin closure material and presence of neurological disability. Of these factors, levels of surgery were found to be statistically significant at the 5 % significance level. Conclusion Risk of infection is high (17.9 %) in patients undergoing surgery for spinal metastasis. Seven or more vertebral levels of surgery increase the risk of infection significantly (p < 0.05). Low albumin level and presence of neurological disability appear to show a trend towards increased risk of infection. Use of absorbable skin closure material, age, low lymphocyte count, peri-operative administration of corticosteroids and MUST score do not appear to influence the risk of infection

Multi-Band Exotic Superconductivity in the New Superconductor Bi4O4S3

Resistivity, Hall effect and magnetization have been investigated on the new superconductor Bi4O4S3. A weak insulating behavior has been induced in the normal state when the superconductivity is suppressed. Hall effect measurements illustrate clearly a multiband feature dominated by electron charge carriers, which is further supported by the magnetoresistance data. Interestingly, a kink appears on the temperature dependence of resistivity at about 4 K at all high magnetic fields when the bulk superconductivity is completely suppressed. This kink can be well traced back to the upper critical field Hc2(T) in the low field region, and is explained as the possible evidence of residual Cooper pairs on the one dimensional chains.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Immunohistochemical features of the bone tissue of the lower extremities in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Background: Diabetic neuroosteoarthropathy is a serious disabling complication of diabetes mellitus, which, in the absence of timely correct treatment, can lead to high amputations of the affected limb. At present, the reasons and mechanism of the development of Charcot’s foot are not completely clear. It is extremely important to determine the pathophysiological mechanisms of DNOAP formation and to search for reliable markers-predictors of this pathology.Aim: To study the immunohistochemical characteristics of the bone tissue of the lower extremities in patients with diabetic neuroosteoarthropathy in comparison with patients with diabetes mellitus without this pathology.Materials and methods: During the foot surgery, a bone fragment of the foot was harvested for immunohistochemical study of receptor markers for PINP, PIIINP, and RAGE in the group of patients with DNOAP compared with the control group.Results: The study included 20 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and were divided into 2 groups: 10 patients with DNOAP made up group 1, 10 patients without DNOAP — group 2.Patients in both groups were comparable in AGE, experience with type 2 diabetes, and glycemic control.During the immunohistochemical study, a significant increase in the staining intensity of receptor markers for PINP, PIIINP, and AGE was recorded in the group of patients with DNOAP compared with the control group (p &lt;0.05).Conclusion: For the first time, an immunohistochemical study of markers of bone resorption and AGE was carried out in persons with DNOAP. The results obtained indicate impaired collagen formation and, as a consequence, impaired bone formation and bone resorption in patients with DNOAP: in group 1, a statistically significant increase in the expression of PINP, PIIINP, and RAGE was revealed

Case Report Acanthosis Nigricans Associated with an Adrenocortical Tumor in a Pediatric Patient

Malignant acanthosis nigricans (AN) is a rare paraneoplastic syndrome seen primarily in adults with an underlying diagnosis of gastrointestinal adenocarcinoma. Malignant AN is characterized by hyperpigmentation and velvety hyperplasia of the epidermis. This condition is generally not associated with tumors in pediatric populations or in the adrenal gland. We present a case of malignant AN in a pediatric patient with a nonmalignant, functional adrenocortical tumor

Formation age of the lunar crater Giordano Bruno

Using the Terrain Camera onboard the Japanese lunar explorer, SELENE (Kaguya), we obtained new high-resolution images of the 22-kilometer-diameter lunar crater Giordano Bruno. Based on crater size-frequency measurements of small craters (<200 m in diameter) superposed on its continuous ejecta, the formation age of Giordano Bruno is estimated to be 1 to 10 Ma. This is constructive evidence against the crater's medieval age formation hypothesis.The Meteoritics & Planetary Science archives are made available by the Meteoritical Society and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform February 202

Involvement of promoter methylation in the regulation of Pregnane X receptor in colon cancer cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Pregnane X receptor (PXR) is a key transcription factor that regulates drug metabolizing enzymes such as cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A4, and plays important roles in intestinal first-pass metabolism. Although there is a large inter-individual heterogeneity with intestinal CYP3A4 expression and activity, the mechanism driving these differences is not sufficiently explained by genetic variability of PXR or CYP3A4. We examined whether epigenetic mechanisms are involved in the regulation of PXR/CYP3A4 pathways in colon cancer cells.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>mRNA levels of PXR, CYP3A4 and vitamin D receptor (VDR) were evaluated by quantitative real-time PCR on 6 colon cancer cell lines (Caco-2, HT29, HCT116, SW48, LS180, and LoVo). DNA methylation status was also examined by bisulfite sequencing of the 6 cell lines and 18 colorectal cancer tissue samples. DNA methylation was reversed by the treatment of these cell lines with 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-aza-dC).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The 6 colon cancer cell lines were classified into two groups (high or low expression cells) based on the basal level of PXR/CYP3A4 mRNA. DNA methylation of the CpG-rich sequence of the <it>PXR </it>promoter was more densely detected in the low expression cells (Caco-2, HT29, HCT116, and SW48) than in the high expression cells (LS180 and LoVo). This methylation was reversed by treatment with 5-aza-dC, in association with re-expression of PXR and CYP3A4 mRNA, but not VDR mRNA. Therefore, PXR transcription was silenced by promoter methylation in the low expression cells, which most likely led to downregulation of CYP3A4 transactivation. Moreover, a lower level of <it>PXR </it>promoter methylation was observed in colorectal cancer tissues compared with adjacent normal mucosa, suggesting upregulation of the PXR/CYP3A4 mRNAs during carcinogenesis.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p><it>PXR </it>promoter methylation is involved in the regulation of intestinal PXR and CYP3A4 mRNA expression and might be associated with the inter-individual variability of the drug responses of colon cancer cells.</p