Mixed-ligand complexes of palladium [II] involving tricine, girard's T and amino acids

Complex formation equilibria of [Pd[GT][H[2]O[2]][2+] and [Pd[Tn] [H[2]O[2]][+] [GT = girard's T reagent, Tn = tricine] with amino acids have been investigated. Stoichiometries and stability constants of the complexes were determined at 25 [degree sign] C and 0.1 M NaNO[3] ionic strength. The participation of different ligand functional groups in the complex formation was examined. The concentration distribution of the complexes in solution was evaluated as a function of pH

Significance of circulating intercellular adhesion molecules [sICAM-1] and thrombopoietin [TPO] in hepatitis C vinis related liver cirrhosis

Chronic hepatitis C is a major health problem that causes mortality in the worldwide distribution. The systemic levels of many soluble adhesion molecules and cytokines are altered in autoimmune diseases and liver infection. Among mediators that show altered serum levels are sICAM-1 expressed by immunocompetent cells and thrombopoitin [TPO]. The aim of this study was to evaluate the serum sICAM and TPO and their correlations with clinical and laboratory data in patients with hepatitis C-related cirrhosis. 40 patients with HCV-related cirrhosis and 20 healthy subjects were enrolled in this study. They were subjected to the following investigations: complete blood picture, liver and kidney functions, prothrombin time[PT], abdominal sonography and estimation of serum TPO and sICAM-1. Compared to controls, the patients group showed significant increase in spleen size [P<0.025], portal vein diameter [P<0.0025], ALT, AST, bilirubin, sICAM-1 [P<0.0005], and PT [P<0.05]. However there was significant decrease in serum albumin levels [P<0.01], platelets count [P<0.0005], RBCs count, haemoglobin concentrations [P<0.025] and serum TPO levels [P<0.0025]. The serum creatinine levels and WBCS count showed insignificant changes with control. The serum TPO levels were negatively correlated to ALT [r=-0.97, P<0.0001], PT [r=-0.96, P<0.0001], spleen size [r=-0.95, P<0.0001], and portal vein diameter [r=-0.96, P<0.0001] and positively correlated to platelets [r=0.84, P<0.0005]. While serum sICAM-l were positively correlated to ALT [r=0.99, P<0.0001], PT [r=0.94, P<0.0005], spleen size [r=0.95, P<0.0001], and portal vein diameter [r=0.85, P<0.005] and negatively correlated to platelets count [r=-0.7l, P<0.005]. Our results suggested that impaired synthesis of TPO by cirrhotic liver may contribute to the development of thrombocytopenia and related to liver cirrhosis together with increased splenic sequestration of platelets by the enlarged spleen. So recombinant human TPO should be evaluated in the treatment of thrombocytopenia in HCV-related cirrhosis. In addition, sICAM-1 elevation in plasma of patients suffering from HCV-related cirrhosis was related to the degree of cirrhosis and portal hypertension. So, sICAM-1 may be used as a marker of the disease activity and may provide diagnostic and prognostic information. However this needs to be further studied to detect the cut off level of sICAM-1 in Egyptian HCV-related liver cirrhosis

Treatment of post operative lumbar discitis

Between 1993 and 1998, 34 patients with postoperative lumbar discitis were treated at Assiut University Hospital. These patients had lumbar discectomy done at one level, 15 cases at Assiut University Hospital and the other 19 cases had their surgery performed at district hospitals. Twenty-four cases were treated conservatively and 10 were treated surgically by anterior debridement and fusion. The follow up period ranged between 2 and 5 years with an average of 3.5 years. The clinical results were very good and good in 29 cases and fair in 3 patients. Two cases treated conservatively were lost to follow-up. There was no statistical significant difference between the conservatively and surgically treated groups as regards the overall result at the latest follow-up, but the complications were higher in the surgical group

Femoral Head Fractures: a report of outcome including two rare presentations

This report included 6 patients with femoral head fractures, all were associated with posterior hip dislocation except one. All patients were young adults injured in motor car accidents. Two cases in this study are considered rare as these are mentioned very occasionally in the literature, femoral head fracture without dislocation and posterior fracture dislocation of the femoral head associated with ipsilateral trochanteric fracture. The protocol of management, indications of surgery and guidelines for result evaluation were mentioned

Desmosomes in psoriases

Two male psoriatic patients, aged between 22 and 27 years and one healthy control, aged 26 years, were studied. Skin biopsies were taken from psoriatic plaques on the right forearms for ultrastructural study of the epidermal desmosomes in an attempt to find a role for this important structure in the psoriatic abnormality. In this regard, four important changes were found in this study: Marked reduction and endocytosis of desmosomes, presence of cytoplasmic microvilli and widening of the intercellular spaces. The pathogenetic role of these changes were discussed

Surgical treatment of aortic valve endocarditis: the use of mechanical disc [sorin] valve

We report 16 cases, [14 males, 2 females, with a mean age of 32. 7 + 5. 3 year], of aortic valve endocarditis treated surgically by aortic valve replacement [Sorin] mechanical disc valve. Native valve endocarditis was present in 9 cases, and artificial valve endocarditis in 7 cases. Four patients had aortic root abscess in addition, treated with debridment, exteriorization and obliteration. In this series we have two mortalities, and patients who survived the procedure showed marked haemodynamic and clinical improvement after surgery as well as subsidence and clearance of infection at follow up of 6 months to 2 years [two patients were lost in follow up]. We conclude that [sorin] disc mechanical valve is a good choice in presence of infection provided that we follow the precautions to clear the bed of the valve completely before insertion

role of periodontal receptors during learning period of denture wearing

A study was conducted to investigate the role of periodontal receptors in sensory input and muscles activity during a learning period of denture wearing. Six volunteers were treated at first with maxillary complete dentures and m and ibular overdentures with canine or premolar serving as abutments on each side. The abutment teeth were then extracted, reimplanted and submerged. EMG activity of the muscles and proprioceptive studies were carried out within the first week of dentures insertion before and after reimplantation of teeth. Results showed that there was a significant decrease in EMG activity of the muscles and a reduction in sensory input of the patients after reimplantation of teeth

effect of curing time upon the molecular weight of acrylic denture base resin cured by microwave energy

This work was performed to study the effect of microwave curing time upon themolecular weight of acrylic denture base resin. Twelve test specimens wereprocessed from a heat cured acrylic resin, all the specimens were cured withmicrowave energy and were classified according to the curing time into 3equal groups [6, 10 and 14 minutes]. Their molecular weights were determined. It was found that there was a direct relation between the microwave curingtime of the specimens and their molecular weights

Post-operative hemodynamic study for evaluation of intracardiac repair of tetralogy of Fallot

Between 1987 and 1989, 36 patients with tetralogy of Fallot underwent total correction operation. Post-operative cardiac catheterization and Doppler echo studies were performed during the follow-up period that ranged between 3 to 24 months. The post operative catheterization revealed the intracardiac pressure improvement in comparison to the pre-operative pressures, residual VSD was detected in 7 patients; 5 patients with VSD were asymptomatic, post-operative tricuspid incompetence was detected in 2, and the residual right ventricular outflow tract pressure gradient [RVOTG] was measured. Catheterization was superior to Doppler echo in detecting and calculating the residual shunt. Functional state of the patients was graded according to the catheterization data. 22 patients showed excellent functional results, 7 showed fair results, and in 7 patients the functional results were poor; of them 2 late post-operative mortalities were encountered. Post-operative catheterization or Doppler echo study are essential for assessment of the results of surgical repair of tetralogy of Fallot

Residual monomer in denture base acrylic resin cured by microwave energy for different periods in comparison with conventional method

In this investigation, infra red spectrophotometer was used to study the level of residual monomer in denture base acrylic resin cured by microwave energy for different periods[6,IO,I4 minutes] in comparison with that cured by conventional water bath method. The results of this study indicated that the level of residual monomer decreased with increase of microwave curing time. It was minimal when the total time was I4 minutes and was maximal when the time was 6 minutes. On the other hand, the residual mon-omer content of the acrylic resin cured by conventional method was higher than that cured by microwave energy for I4 minutes and lower than those cured for 1o and 6 minutes

Relationship between maxillary central incisor length, philtrum length and occlusal vertical dimension

The selection of denture teeth and determination of correct vertical dimension for edentulous patients are very essential steps in denture construction from the standpoint of both esthetics and function. The measurements of maxillary central incisor length and occlusal vertical dimension of 100 subjects [60 males and 40 females] were recorded. The measurements of this study were greater for males than females, and similar ratios were found between maxillary central incisor length, philtrum length and occlusal vertical dimension in both sex, which were 1:1.4: 6.7, RESPECTIVELY .These findings quite possibly play an important role in tooth selection and determination of occlusal vertical dimension in prosthodontic treatment

Using tissue conditioning material for functional contouring of the palatal vault for improving speech with complete dentures

A new method for using tissue conditioning material to physiologically contour the palatal vault of maxillary dentures was described. This study was carried out on 5 patients, 2 indentical maxillary complete dentures were constructed for every patient against mandibular one. The first denture had its palatal surface contoured functionally using tissue conditioning material, while the second denture was conventional with highly smooth and polished palatal surface. The speech of every patient was tested at one hour, one week, one month, and two months after insertion of each denture. The results showed that the immediate speech achieved by the modification of the palate was much more normal and the training period after its insertion was eliminated

Quality attributes of Egyptian coriander seeds and oils

Coriander seeds produced in four different locations were evaluated. Variations existed in seed properties and their chemical compositions Maximum volatile oil content was noticed in seeds planted in Kanatter. GLC analyses of the volatile oils revealed that Linalool is the main constituent. Four hydrocarbons, namely alpha-pinene, camphene, beta-piene and p-cymene were determind besides camphor, borneol, geranial and gerany acetate. Crude fixed oil of coriander contained seven fractions including considerable amount of unsaturated fatty acids. Coriander marc contained 12.79% protein which contained relatively high levels of valine, lysine, threonine and phenylalanine Coriander proteins are of high quality compared with casein and fenugreek protein

Chemical characterization of tomato seed proteins [Var Pritchard]

Tomato seed meal [TSM] remaining after oil extraction was chemically evaluated. It contains 44.8% protein and is completely free from trypsin inhibitor and hemagglutenin activities. The meal is rather rich in lysine compared to other plant proteins physicochemical properties of the TSM resembles those of other vegetable proteins, gel electrophoresis pattern showed 3 bands with different mobilities. Water and fat absorption, emulsification capacity and solubility of the protein were high but foaming properties were very poor. In general tomato seed protein is quite good source for proteins in foods from the nutritional and functional properties point of views

Effect of different technological methods on the quality of soybean oil and meal

Soaking of soybean seeds in 2% NaOH solution up to 24 hours inactivated the trypsin inhibitor activity [TIA] by 90%. The alkaline treatment was more effective than soaking in pure water for the same period. Also, TIA was effectively destroyed by heating in boiling water up to 30min. Refractive index, acid value, iodine value and peroxide value of soybean oil were not affected by water soaking treatment. Soaking the soybeans in alkaline solution increased peroxide value and decreased acid value. Heating in boiling water [30min.] caused an increase in the acid value, peroxide value, unsaponifiable matter and total saturated fatty acids, while decreasing a total unsaturated fatty acids of soybean oil. Palmitic acid, which represents the major saturated fatty acids showed remarkable decrease in seeds soaked in alkaline solution for 24hrs. Boiling the beans for 10min. caused an increase in palmitic acid and a decrease in the major unsaturated fatty acid [Linoleic acid]. Also, odd number fatty acid [C[17.0]] was detected upon boiling for 30min. or soaking in alkaline solution for 24hours. Fractionation of the hydrocarbon and sterol components revealed n-tricosane and beta-sitosterol to be respectively the major components. Percentages of such a forementioned compounds were drastically changed due to different treatments. Boiling treatments caused some hydrocarbon and sterol compounds to disappear such as C[20], C[21], C[28] and delta 7-avenasterol