Serum procalcitonin and cerebrospinal fluid cytokines level in children with meningitis.

AIMS: To determine the level of serum procalcitonin and cerebrospinal fluid cytokines in children with bacterial or viral meningitis and to document the use of these parameters in differential diagnosis. RESULTS: Before the start of antibiotic treatment, serum procalcitonin and tumor necrosis factor alpha levels were found to be higher in acute bacterial meningitis compared with viral meningitis and with the control group. Similarly, cerebrospinal fluid interleukin-6 levels were found to be significantly higher in children with acute bacterial meningitis compared with viral meningitis. However, no significant difference was determined between groups in respect to the cerebrospinal fluid interleukin-8 level. CONCLUSION: Serum procalcitonin and cerebrospinal fluid tumor necrosis factor alpha levels can be used in the early diagnosis of bacterial meningitis. Similarly, they may be useful adjuncts in differential diagnosis of bacterial and viral meningitis

Evaluation of the anatomical and electrical axis of the heart after pneumonectomy

Aim: To investigate the position of the heart after pneumonectomy and, also to find out how the changes in the electrical axis of the heart contribute for the possible electrocardiographic and echocardiographic changes. Methods: Ninety-eight patients with pneumonectomy were included to this observational study. To calculate the rotation of the heart and angle measurement two perpendicular lines, one septal and another atrioventricular, were drawn on the images acquired from thoracic computed tomography. Thoracic CT were taken at every 3 months for the first two years. On electrocardiograms net QRS vectors, amplitudes of p waves, findings of right and left ventricular hypertrophy, and other possible changes were recorded. Results: The mean age of all patients was 55.51 ± 8.9. Right pneumectomy was performed in 40 (57%) and left pneumonectomy in 30 cases (43%) cases. There was no significant change regarding both the angle of rotation and the amount of pleural effusion between the findings of the second and first year after the operation. The QRS shift was significantly more pronounced in patients with left pneumonectomies than right pneumonectomies. On echocardiography these cases showed right ventricular hypertrophy and increased pulmonary artery pressures in the second year when compared to the preoperative period. Conclusions: The current study showed that many significant changes occurred in the electrocardiographic and echocardiographic parameters of the heart after pneumonectomy

Rapid Distribution Of Tasks On A Commodity Grid

The global internet is rich in commodity resources but scarce in specialized resources. We argue that a grid framework can achieve better performance if it separates the management of commodity tasks from the tasks requiring specialized resources. We show that the performance of task execution on a commodity grid is the delay of entering into execution. This effectively transforms the resource allocation problem into a routing problem. We present an approach in which commodity tasks are distributed to the computation service providers by the use of a forwarding mesh based on randomized Hamilton cycles. We provide stochastically weighted algorithms for forwarding. Mathematical analysis and extensive simulations demonstrate that the approach is scalable and provides efficient task allocation on networks loaded up to 95% of their capacity. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005

Somatic embryogenesis in apomict Boechera holboellii

In this study we establish an efficient method for the regeneration for Boechera holboellii via somatic embryogenesis. Immature cotyledons from siliques of 4–6 month-old plants were cultured on MS medium supplemented with plant growth regulators (BA — 6-benzylaminopurine; NAA — α-naphthaleneacetic acid; TDZ — 1-phelyl-3-(1,2,3-thiadiazol-5-yl) urea: 2,4 D-2,4-dichlorophenoxy-acetic acid). A high frequency of embryogenic callus was produced after two weeks in culture. The somatic embryos were obtained with a frequency of 10% of explants on MS medium supplemented with 1.34 μM NAA + 8.87 μM BA and 2.68 μM NAA + 17.74 μM BA within 3 weeks in culture. The alternative regime of MS medium supplemented with 1.34 μM NAA + 4.44 μM BA produced somatic embryos at a frequency of 38%

Balance Performance and Recovery After Exercise With Water Intake, Sport Drink Intake and No Fluid

The objective of the present study was to determine the effects of exercise with water intake, sport drink intake and no fluid on balance performance and recovery. Seventeen physically active men (age, 22.29 ± 1.61 years; height, 176.24 ± 5.18 cm; weight, 69.47 ± 9.20 kg) volunteered to take part in this study. The Biodex Balance System was used to evaluate balance performance and Overall Stability Index (OSI) scores were used to assess balance performance. The exercise protocol consisted of a 1-hour exercise session at 75% and 85% of maximal heart rate. The recovery period was 20 minutes of rest without fluid intake. In all experiment conditions, balance tests were applied three times as pretest, posttest and recovery. In each one of the three experimental conditions, balance tests were consecutively performed with eyes open and eyes closed. All the measurements and exercise protocols were performed in the morning (between 9 AM and 12 PM), in a specially designed and equipped room, with room temperature at 21–24°C. Repeated-measures ANOVA was used to examine all the conditions. OSI post-exercise was significantly higher than pre-exercise (p < 0.01) and recovery (p < 0.05) for exercise with no fluid and eyes open. There was a non-significant difference in OSI between pre-exercise and recovery. No significant differences in OSI for exercise with sport drink intake and water intake were observed among pre-exercise, post-exercise and recovery. The results of this study show that balance performance decreases after prolonged exercise without fluid intake, and that fluid ingested during sport activities could prevent the decrease in balance performance

<em>In vitro</em> screening for antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of five commercial <em>Origanum </em>species from Turkey

568-575The present study was conducted to evaluate the antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of methanol extracts of the five Origanum species, which are commercial importance in Turkey. Antioxidant activity was measured employing three methods namely, DPPH free radical scavenging activity, ABTS+ radical cation scavenging activity and ferric reducing antioxidant/power activity, including total phenolic and total flavonoid contents. In addition, antimicrobial activities of methanol extracts from five Origanum species aerial parts were investigated against Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus mirabilis and Candida albicans test organisms using the disk diffusion and microdilution methods. Antioxidant studies suggested that methanol extracts behaved as a strong DPPH free radical, ABTS+ radical cation scavenging activity and ferric reducing antioxidant/power activity. The antimicrobial test results showed that the methanol extracts of all Origanum species had great potential of antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus. As a conclusion of this study, the methanol extracts of five Origanum species showed strong antioxidant and antibacterial activity and therefore, they can be used as a natural preservative ingredient in food and/or pharmaceutical industry