[Foreign body removal with Roth-Net®]. / Endobronchiale Fremdkörperentfernung mittels Roth-Net®

There are different tools for the removal of endobronchial foreign bodies. The Roth-Net® is a further development of the Dormia basket. It enables an easy and sure retraction of a foreign body from the bronchial system. This will be presented in a case report.

Dependence of exhaled breath composition on exogenous factors, smoking habits and exposure to air pollutants.

Non-invasive disease monitoring on the basis of volatile breath markers is a very attractive but challenging task. Several hundreds of compounds have been detected in exhaled air using modern analytical techniques (e.g. proton-transfer reaction mass spectrometry, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry) and have even been linked to various diseases. However,the biochemical background for most of compounds detected in breath samples has not been elucidated; therefore, the obtained results should be interpreted with care to avoid false correlations. The major aim of this study was to assess the effects of smoking on the composition of exhaled breath. Additionally, the potential origin of breath volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is discussed focusing on diet, environmental exposure and biological pathways based on other's studies. Profiles of VOCs detected in exhaled breath and inspired air samples of 115 subjects with addition of urine headspace derived from 50 volunteers are presented. Samples were analyzed with GC-MS after preconcentration on multibed sorption tubes in case of breath samples and solid phase micro-extraction (SPME) in the case of urine samples. Altogether 266 compounds were found in exhaled breath of at least 10% of the volunteers. From these, 162 compounds were identified by spectral library match and retention time (based on reference standards). It is shown that the composition of exhaled breath is considerably influenced by exposure to pollution and indoor-air contaminants and particularly by smoking. More than 80 organic compounds were found to be significantly related to smoking, the largest group comprising unsaturated hydrocarbons (29 dienes, 27 alkenes and 3 alkynes). On the basis of the presented results, we suggest that for the future understanding of breath data it will be necessary to carefully investigate the potential biological origin of volatiles, e.g., by means of analysis of tissues, isolated cell lines or other body fluids. In particular, VOCs linked to smoking habit or being the results of human exposure should be considered with care for clinical diagnosis since small changes in their concentration profiles(typically in the ppt(v)­ppb(v) range) revealing that the outbreak of certain disease might be hampered by already high background.

Dipyridamole inhibits hydroxylamine augmented nitric oxide (NO) production by activated polymorphonuclear neutrophils through an adenosine-independent mechanism.

Polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) are thought to play a role in reperfusion injury and ischemia. These effects are partly mediated by toxic oxygen species (superoxide anion, hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radical) acting at the level of the endothelium. It was demonstrated recently that the superoxide anion reacts with nitric oxide (NO) and that interaction leads to the generation of highly toxic peroxynitrite. Several drugs were tested so far in order to affect PMN function. It was demonstrated that dipyridamole (2,6-bis-diethanolamino-4,8-dipiperidinopyrimido-(5,4-d)-pyrimidine) can influence neutrophil function by inhibiting adenosine uptake. However, this action can not fully explain all of the observed effects of dipyridamole action on PMN metabolism. The aim of our study was to evaluate the influence of dipyridamole on nitric oxide production by activated polymorphonuclear neutrophils. Incubation of PMNs with hydroxylamine (HA) and phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) generated nitrite (36.4+/-4.2 nmol/h 2x10(6) PMN), dipyridamole at 100 micromol/l, 50 micromol/l and 10 micromol/l caused a considerable drop in nitrite production (11.8+/-1.8, 19.7+/-2.7 and 27.4+/-3.2 nmol/h, respectively). Neither adenosine nor the adenosine analogue could mimic the dipyridamole effect. Moreover theophylline, an adenosine inhibitor could not reverse the dipirydamole action on PMN metabolism. We also found that dipyridamole inhibited hydrogen peroxide release from neutrophils. Catalase that scavenges hydrogen peroxide also largely abolished nitric oxide release from PMN. It is evident that dipyridamole inhibits hydroxylamine-augmented nitric oxide production by activated polymorphonuclear neutrophils through an adenosine-independent mechanism.

Otomycosis: prevalence, clinical symptoms, therapeutic procedure.

Local lesions observed in otitis, create favourable conditions for the growth of fungi and development of mycoses both in the external and middle ear, as well as in post-operative cavities, especially in cases of open-type surgery. The objective of this study was: (1) to determine the prevalence of mycotic infections in inflammatory conditions of the ear; (2) to evaluate the relationship between the presence of fungi and clinical symptoms of inflammation; and (3) to construct a model of therapeutic procedure. The study concerned 345 individuals, including 295 patients (381 ears) who presented with symptoms of otitis. The mycological examinations revealed presence of fungi in 30.4% cases (116 ears). Positive culture results were obtained predominantly in patients with post-operative suppuration (52.8%). Otomycosis was more often associated with fungi of the genus Candida (3/5) than with fungi of the genus Aspergillus (2/5). The analysis of symptoms in otomycoses showed that in bacteria-induced otitis, pruritus, discharge, post-operative defective hearing and headaches are most common; the analysis of signs showed that reddened epidermis and lining of the tympanic cavity are statistically more frequent. The therapeutic protocol adopted in otomycoses yields good results: 89%--complete cure.

Effects of zinc on lipids of erythrocytes from carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) acclimated to different temperatures.

We compared the effect of zinc (0.01, 0.1, 0.5 and 1 mM) at two temperatures (5 and 20 degrees C) on erythrocytes from summer and winter acclimatised carp. An increase in temperature from 5 to 20 degrees C increased the unsaturation index (UI) and relative proportion (UI/SFA) of unsaturated to saturated fatty acids in total lipids of the red cells. At 5 degrees C, the unsaturation index of phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylserine (PS), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and phosphatidylinositol (PI) decreased (30-40%) in the presence of 1 mM zinc. The change in unsaturation of phospholipids in the presence of zinc at 5 degrees C is probably responsible for the alteration in structural integrity of erythrocyte membrane as observed by hemolysis and the decreased thiol group content in the erythrocytes. In light of this result, zinc may be considered an environmental hazard for these fish at low temperatures.

Effect of amino acid peroxides on the erythrocyte.

The effect of amino acid peroxides, relatively stable products of irradiation of amino acid solutions, on erythrocyte components was studied. Interaction of proline, lysine, valine, and leucine peroxides (100-300 mu M) with erythrocyte membranes brought about a decrease of membrane protein -SH group content and of activities of (Na+, K+)-ATPase and Ca2+ -ATPase, and induced aggregation of membrane proteins, due mainly to the formation of interpeptide disulfides. Interaction of amino acid peroxides with hemoglobin brought about hemoglobin oxidation to methemoglobin. The effects of amino acid peroxides are similar to those of t-butyl hydroperoxide. These results indicate that peroxides of amino acid and proteins, which can also be formed under physiological conditions, may be mediators of the cellular action of reactive oxygen species.

1-Amino-2-phenylethylphosphonic acid: an inhibitor of L-phenylalanine ammonia-lyase in vitro.

L(-)-, and D(+)-enantiomers of 1-amino-2-phenylethylphosphonic acid (PheP), a phosphonic analogue of phenylalanine, inhibit the activity of L-phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (EC 4.3.1.5) of potato tuber tissue in vitro. The apparent type of inhibition depends on concentration of PheP; as the concentration of D-PheP is raised from 10(-5) M to 2.5 X 10(-3) M, the type of inhibition shifts from competitive through mixed and non-competitive to uncompetitive. L-PheP exerts either a competitive or mixed-type inhibition at low (10(-6)-10(-5) M) or moderate (5 X 10(-5)-2 X 10(-4) M) concentration. Ki for the concentration range of competitive inhibition were 6.5 X 10(-6) M, 5.3 X 10(-5)M and 1.6 X 10(-5) M for L-, D-, and D,L-PheP, respectively. These Ki values are valid for a relatively narrow range of L-Phe concentration (0.2-4 mM) as L-phenylalanine ammonia-lyase does not follow the Michaelis-Menten kinetics of the reaction.