A trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) perfusion model approach to elucidate the role of blood removal for lipid oxidation and colour changes in ice-stored fish muscle

Whole body saline-perfused rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) was ice-stored for 4\ua0weeks and compared with unwashed/washed minces from unbled and bled trout in terms of rancid odour, peroxide value (PV), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and redness loss. Muscle from saline-perfused fish, which had 72% less total haem, was deficient in rancid odour during the whole storage, while bled (54% less haem) and unbled samples developed rancid odour already after ~4 and 2\ua0days; higher intensity without bleeding. PV/TBARS also developed in the order unbled\ua0>\ua0bled\ua0>\ua0perfused samples; however, PV/TBARS were not as completely prevented as rancid odour after perfusion. Saline washing (3\ua0 7\ua03 volumes) of unbled mince removed 84% haem and yielded the second most stable sample while saline washing (1\ua0 7\ua01 volumes) destabilised unbled mince, despite 64% haem removal. Concurrent antioxidant removal during washing of minces obviously counteracted the effect of blood removal and washing fish mince with small volumes of solution should be used with great care

Performance evaluation and relevance of the CellaVision™ DM96 system in routine analysis and in patients with malignant hematological diseases

The CellaVision™ DM96 is an automated image analysis system dedicated to locating and preclassifying the various types of white blood cells in peripheral blood smears. The system also partially characterizes of the red blood cell morphology and is able to perform platelet counts. We routinely analyzed the blood samples from 440 patients with quantitative and/or qualitative abnormalities detected by the XE-2100 Sysmex™. Only 2.6% of cells are not identified by DM96™. After classification of the unidentified cells very good correlation coefficients are observed between DM96™ and manual microscopy for most hematological parameters and accuracy is judged excellent up to 98%. For most common parameters, false positive and false negative ratios are also very good. Whatever the pathology and the number of blasts on smear, all patients were positive for blast detection on DM96™. The system is a useful tool for assisting in the diagnosis and classification of most acute or chronic leukemia. Automatic cell location and preclassification, along with unique cell views on the computer screen, could reduce the time spent performing differentials and make real-time collaboration between colleagues a natural part of the classification process. The workstation also provides an ergonomically correct and relaxed working environment. We suggest its use in routine analysis; the system could be very helpful for the accurate morphological diagnosis of samples from patients with malignant hematological disease

Mastocytosis: a Rare Case of Anaphylaxis in Paediatric Age and Literature Review

The term “mastocytosis” denotes a heterogeneous group of disorders characterised by abnormal growth and accumulation of mast cells (MC) in one or more organ systems. Symptoms result from MC chemical mediator’s release, pathologic infiltration of neoplastic MC in tissues or both. Multiple molecular, genetic and chromosomal defects seem to contribute to an autonomous growth, but somatic c-kit D816V mutation is more frequently encountered, especially in systemic disease. We present a literature review of mastocytosis and a rare case report of an 18 month-old-girl with a bullous dermatosis, respiratory distress and anaphylaxis, as clinical manifestations of mastocytosis. The developments of accepted classification systems and novel useful markers allowed a re-evaluation and updating of the classification of mastocytosis. In paediatric age cutaneous forms of disease prevail and may regress spontaneously. SM is more frequently diagnosed in adults and is a persistent(clonal) disease of bone marrow. The clinical course in these patients is variable.Today diagnostic criteria for each disease variant are reasonably well defined. There are, however, peculiarities, namely in paediatric age, that makes the diagnostic approach difficult. Systemic disease may pose differential diagnostic problems resulting from multiple organ systems involvement. Coversly, the “unexplained” appearance of those symptoms with no skin lesions should raise the suspicion of MC disease. This case is reported in order to stress the clinical severity and difficult diagnostic approach that paediatric mastocytosis may assume

Therapeutic potential of active components of saffron in post-surgical adhesion band formation

Background Abdominal adhesions are common and often develop after abdominal surgery. There are currently no useful targeted pharmacotherapies for adhesive disease. Saffron and its active constituents, Crocin and Crocetin, are wildly used in traditional medicine for alleviating the severity of inflammatory or malignant disease. Purpose The aim of this study was to investigate the therapeutic potential of the pharmacological active component of saffron in attenuating the formation of post-operative adhesion bands using different administration methods in a murine model. Material method saffron extract (100 mg/kg), Crocin (100 mg/kg), and Crocetin (100 mg/kg) were administered intraperitoneally and by gavage in various groups of male Wistar rat post-surgery. Also three groups were first treated intra-peritoneally by saffron extract, Crocin, and Crocetin (100 mg/kg) for 10 days and then had surgery. At the end of the experiments, animals sacrificed for biological assessment. Result A hydro-alcoholic extract of saffron and crocin but not crocetin potently reduced the adhesion band frequency in treatment and pre-treatment groups in the mice given intra-peritoneal (i.p) injections. Following the saffron or crocin administration, histological evaluation and quantitative analysis represented less inflammatory cell infiltration and less collagen composition, compared to control group. Moreover, the oxidative stress was significantly reduced in treatment groups. Conclusion These findings suggest that a hydro-alcoholic extract of saffron or its active compound, crocin, is a potentially novel therapeutic strategy for the prevention of adhesions formation and might be used as beneficial anti-inflammatory or anti-fibrosis agents in clinical trials. Taxonomy Abdominal surgeries/post-surgical adhesions

Självständiga Bankgarantier - Vad innebär de och när kan betalningskrav under dem vägras?

Föreliggande uppsats syftar till att, ur framförallt ett svenskt perspektiv, belysa vad s.k. självständiga bankgarantier egentligen innebär och när betalningskrav under dem kan vägras. Med tanke på att denna internationella rättsfigur ännu är tämligen oreglerad i Sverige sökes dock i betydande utsträckning ledning i engelsk och tysk rätt samt olika internationella regelverk, framförallt olika standardavtal från Internationella Handelskammaren. Inledningsvis behandlas grundläggande mekanismer och funktioner hos de vanligaste typerna av självständiga garantier. Härvid visas att utöver den grundläggande funktionen att utgöra säkerhet, är den självständiga garantin i praktiken ett effektivt medel för att i större eller mindre utsträckning allokera risker mellan beneficienten och uppdragsgivaren. Vidare visas att hur stor denna riskallokering blir beror huvudsakligen på vilken typ av betalningsmekanism som väljs. Således kan betalningsmekanismen anses utgöra garantins egentliga kärna, då denna i mångt och mycket bestämmer vilka fördelar garantin medför för beneficienten, och vilka risker den innefattar för uppdragsgivaren. Ifråga om garantins rättsliga karaktär påvisas att den närmast kan klassificeras som en rättslig hybrid mellan borgen och rembursen, och att det således bör, med vederbörligt beaktande av garantins specifika natur, vara möjligt att söka ledning i såväl borgens- som rembursreglerna. Vidare behandlas tolkningen av garantiåtaganden, varvid inledningsvis fokuseras på gränsdragningsproblematiken mellan accessoriska och självständiga åtaganden. Därefter granskas närmare den konkreta utformningen av den vanligaste och för självständiga garantier mest utmärkande typen av betalningsmekansim, den s.k. on demand-mekanismen. Härefter diskuteras de grundläggande formella villkoren för utbetalning av garantisumman samt de olika inblandade parternas regressrätt gentemot varandra vid såväl direkta som indirekta garantier. Härvid visas att ett för svensk rätts del särskilt problematiskt förhållande är utgångspunkten - vid indirekta garantier - att den instruerande bankens motgaranti skall anses vara i princip oberoende av den utfärdande bankens primärgaranti. Anledningen till att denna i sig komplexa fråga blir än mer problematisk för svensk rätt, är att den för självständiga garantier fundamentala principen om ''pay first, argue later'' inte kan genomföras gentemot den utfärdande banken, på grund av begränsningarna i svensk skadeståndsrätt ifråga om utomobligatoriskt ansvar för rena förmögenhetsskador. Konsekvensen härav kan bli att om uppdragsgivaren inte omedelbart, utan först senare, kan styrka att den utfärdande banken brustit i sina åligganden, kan den utfärdande banken helt undgå ansvar för sin försumlighet. Vidare utreds i vilken mån betalning under garantier kan vägras då de därunder framställda betalningskraven visserligen uppfyller de formella kraven enligt garantierna, men är materiellt ogrundade såtillvida att de saknar berättigande enligt det underliggande basavtalet mellan uppdragsgivaren och beneficienten. Det visas härvid att det finns relativt klart rättsligt stöd för att inskränkningar i abstraktionsprincipen principiellt kan ske även i svensk rätt, men att det däremot ännu inte råder klarhet kring exakt under vilka närmare omständigheter så kan ske. Det klarläggs att den lämpligaste matriellrättsliga utgångspunkten för att vägra ogrundade betalningskrav bör vara 36 § avtalslagen under hänvisning till att kraven kan anses utgöra rättsmissbruk. Vidare visas att rättsmissbruk i detta sammanhang torde anses föreligga då det är uppenbart att betalningskravet saknar tänkbar grund enligt basavtalet. Det påvisas även att denna rättighet för banken att vägra betalning, under vissa omständigheter, torde övergå till en skyldighet för banken att vägra betalning, såtillvida att banken annars riskerar att förlora sin regressrätt gentemot uppdragsgivaren. Avslutningsvis visas att, åtminstone enligt svensk rätt, torde banken anses ha en skyldighet att upplysa sin uppdragsgivare om att betalningskrav har rests under garantin, innan banken verkställer utbetalning av garantisumman. Vidare påvisas att denna upplysningsskyldighet är av stort praktiskt värde, då banken överhuvudtaget inte kan anses ha någon egen plikt att utreda huruvida betalningskravet de facto är materiellt berättigat under basavtalet, utan endast har en skyldighet att verifiera de formella kraven enligt garantin. Således åligger det istället helt och hållet uppdragsgivaren att upplysa banken om ett eventuellt missbruk av garantin, och prestera så mycket bevisning som krävs för att banken rätteligen skall kunna vägra ett ogrundat betalningskrav

Effects of growth hormone and steroids on human osteoblast-like cells

Bone tissue is a metabolic active organ and is continuously remodulated. The regulation of bone resorption, bone formation and interactions between different hormones and cytokines in human osteoblasts is not completely understood. Growth hormone (GH) is important in determining final body height and for normal bone physiology. High levels of cortisol result in osteoporosis, while estrogen has a protective effect on bone mass. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-1 (IL-1) are two cytokines which are believed to be of importance for the local regulation of bone remodeling. This thesis investigates the effects of GH, estrogen and cortisol and their interactions with each other and with interleukins in vitro in primary isolated human osteoblast-like (hOB) cells. The specific aims were to investigate if hOB cells express functional GH receptors, if GH regulates the expression of IL-6, if estrogen and/or cortisol regulate the expression of GH receptors and GH-responsivness and, finally, if cortisol regulates the expression of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), IL-6, or IL-1b in hOB cells.It was demonstrated that hOB cells express the GH receptor transcript. Binding studies showed that the transcript is translated and that the cells have approximately 2000 GH-binding sites/cell. GH-stimulation resulted in increased thymidine incorporation, demonstrating that the GH receptors are functional. High levels of IL-6 were expressed by hOB cells, and the expression was increased with GH. It is speculated whether GH-induced bone resorption is indirectly mediated via increased IL-6 production and/or if GH via autocrine produced IL-6 exerts an anabolic effect on hOB cells. Under specific culture conditions, neither GH nor estrogen alone had any effect on osteoblast proliferation, but they induced cell proliferation if given together. Estrogen increased GH receptor expression in osteoblasts. Thus, it is speculated that estrogen enhances GH-activity via an estrogen-induced increase in GH receptor expression. Furthermore, cortisol increased GH receptor mRNA levels and GH-binding. Thus, the mechanism for cortisol-induced GH-insensitivity in osteoblasts is not via decreased GH receptor expression. It could be speculated that the inhibitory effect of high levels of cortisol on GH-responsivness could be a post-receptor effect. HOB cells express IGF-I and IGF-II mRNA transcripts. Cortisol decreases IGF-I mRNA levels in hOB cells. This finding may explain the mechanism of the negativ effect of cortisol on bone formation. Other effects of cortisol on hOB cells were decreased IL-6 and IL-1 expression. IL-6 and IL-1 are believed to participate in bone resorption. Therefore, it is difficult to explain if, or how cortisol-induced bone resorption could be mediated through reduced, IL-6 and IL-1 expression. However, there are indications that these interleukins exert autocrine anabolic effects on hOB cells and this anabolic effect might be reduced by high levels of cortisol.This thesis contributes to the increased knowledge of the interplay between GH, estrogen, cortisol, IGF-I/II and cytokines in bone physiology. Increased knowledge about basal mechanisms in bone physiology is important for the development of new treatment strategies for patients with osteoporosis and other metabolic bone diseases