The Ratio of 6β‐Hydroxycortisol to Cortisol in Urine as a Measure of Cytochrome P450 3A Activity in Postmortem Cases

Poisoning can occur with chronic accumulation of a drug due to reduced metabolic capacity; conversely, under‐treatment may occur due to an increased metabolic rate. Over half of all drugs are metabolized by the cytochrome P450 3A complex (CYP3A). The activity of CYP3A can be assessed by the urinary ratio of 6β‐hydroxycortisol to cortisol. The aim of this study was to determine the usefulness of this ratio as a postmortem marker for determining whether altered CYP3A enzyme activity occurred prior to death. In a series of 244 postmortem cases, this ratio ranged from 0.014 to 78.6 (median 3.50). The median was significantly higher (5.14) in a subgroup of 28 cases that exhibited the presence of CYP3A‐inducing drugs. In cirrhosis, the median ratio was 1.69. This pointed to a reduced metabolic capacity of CYP3A. Thus, the ratio may constitute a rough indicator of the CYP3A metabolic capacity, which could be of value in special cases.     

Death Due to Complications of Anhidrotic Ectodermal Dysplasia

Ectodermal dysplasia comprises a group of disorders affecting ectodermal tissues. Severity depends on the genetic aberration; hyperpyrexia secondary to absence of sweat glands is a common complication. Treatment is supportive. This case report describes a 1‐month, 27‐day‐old male infant with a diagnosis of X‐linked recessive anhidrotic ectodermal dysplasia. On the day of his death, his mother swaddled him in a blanket and placed him on the couch at 5:30 am. When she picked him up at 8:00 am, he was unresponsive. At the emergency department, his rectal temperature was 40°C. Postmortem blood culture was positive for group B streptococcus, a possible etiology for fever. It is vital to teach parents that close monitoring of children with ectodermal dysplasia is necessary, as an increase in body temperature can become life threatening.     

Establishing a Social-Darwinist Mentality in Japan’s Paternalist State: The Potential of Resistance by a Counter-Public

ABSTRACT

From a historical perspective, the welfare net in Japan was established from above without democratic participation and expanded only slowly. This expansion in many cases was aimed at enhancing national cohesion, especially during war time. During the current neoliberal era, Japan’s paternalistic welfare state has been able to put into practice the dismantling of national pension and health-care systems without the need for any theoretical re-orientation. In response, counter-publics have engaged in protest and resistance. By doing so, the victims of modernization and those who are socially weak and disadvantaged in multiple ways are able to regain their self-esteem and personal integrity.     

Bacterial Cross‐contamination Potential Associated with Contaminated Currency

Previous studies have shown a significant amount of contaminants on paper currencies. It is important to study the transfer of microorganisms between paper currencies to determine whether it meets the level of a human health threat. This cross‐contamination potential was analyzed by seeding new US 1‐dollar bills with Bacillus thuringiensis, and pressing or rubbing them against clean currency to determine the amount of bacteria transfer to the unseeded currency. The transferred amount of bacteria was recovered, plated, incubated, and the colony‐forming units were quantified. Among the recovery methods tested, the most efficient method, vortexing for 10 min with a recovery efficiency of 40 ± 8.1%, was used in this analysis. The resulting transfer rates were 4.8%, 8.6%, and 14.3% when pressed for 24 h, 72 h, and rubbed together, respectively. These transferred amounts of bacteria are significant and have the potential to spread infectious diseases.     

Justifications for Non-Consensual Medical Intervention: From Infectious Disease Control to Criminal Rehabilitation

A central tenet of medical ethics holds that it is permissible to perform a medical intervention on a competent individual only if that individual has given informed consent to the intervention. Yet it occasionally seems morally permissible to carry out non-consensual medical interventions on competent individuals for the purpose of infectious disease control (IDC). We describe two different moral frameworks that have been invoked in support of non-consensual IDC interventions and identify five desiderata that might be used to guide assessments of the moral permissibility of such interventions on either kind of fundamental justification. We then consider what these desiderata imply for the justifiability of carrying out non-consensual medical interventions that are designed to facilitate rehabilitation amongst serious criminal offenders. We argue that these desiderata suggest that a plausible case can be made in favor of such interventions.     

细菌素在动物疾病防治中的作用和机理研究进展

从细菌素的性质、生产与制备、在动物疾病防治中的作用、抑(杀)菌机理及安全性评价等方面概述了此类由细菌分泌的高效抗菌蛋白类物质的研究进展。认为,细菌素不仅在体外对各种致病菌具有较强的抑杀作用,而且经口服能显著抑制动物胃肠道内的有害菌,腹腔或静脉注射后可防治动物全身性细菌感染,无任何毒害作用,是一类可用于动物疾病防治的理想的抗生素替代品。     

一种新禽病——禽卡氏杆菌病的研究进展

概述了禽卡氏杆菌的病原特征,阐述了该病原在分离培养、流行病学、诊断方法、防控措施以及流行现状等方面的研究进展,包括组织学、免疫学、分子生物学等方面所取得的进展,旨在为研究该病提供理论参考.     

Antibiotics and probiotics in chronic pouchitis:A comparative proteomic approach

AIM:To profile protein expression in mucosal biopsies from patients with chronic refractory pouchitis following antibiotic or probiotic treatment,using a comparative proteomic approach. METHODS:Two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry were used to characterize the changes related to antibiotic therapy in the protein expression profiles of biopsy samples from patients with chronic refractory pouchitis.The same proteom...     

FSH对仔猪睾丸支持细胞增殖和GDNF表达的调节

以原代培养的仔猪睾丸支持细胞(SC)为试验模型,研究了FSH对SC胶质细胞源性神经营养因子(GDNF)表达及其增殖的影响。结果显示,外源性添加FSH可促进GDNF蛋白表达,而且这种促进作用具有浓度和时间依赖关系,GDNF蛋白水平随着FSH浓度的增加而升高,当FSH浓度为50 ng/mL时,GDNF水平达到最高,然后逐渐降低;FSH(50 ng/mL)作用30 min,可显著促进GDNF蛋白的表达(P<0.05),当FSH作用1 h时,GDNF蛋白水平达到最高,随后逐渐降低。FSH可以时间-剂量依赖性促进SC增殖细胞核抗原(PCNA)的表达,FSH(50 ng/mL)作用30 min时,PCNA的表达显著增加(P<0.05),作用1 h达极显著水平(P<0.01),至2 h时,PCNA蛋白的表达水平达到最高,随后逐渐降低。提示,FSH可在体外条件下通过刺激SC表达GDNF进而促进其增殖。     

鸡传染性腔上囊病病毒Gt株全基因组序列分析及真核表达载体的构建

采用一步法长距离RT-PCR克隆了IBDV Gt株全基因组,对其核苷酸和氨基酸序列进行了系统分析。在IBDV Gt株全基因组中引入分子标签,且在基因组两端分别引入锤头状核酶结构(HamRz)和丁肝病毒核酶结构(HdvRz)。将带有分子标签和核酶结构的IBDV基因组插入载体pCAGGS的β肌动蛋白启动子下游,构建了IBDV真核表达载体pCAGGmGtAHRT和pCAG-GmGtBHRT,为IBDV新型高效拯救平台的构建及基于此的病毒基因功能奠定了基础。