Comment on "Electron collisional excitation of argon-like Ni XI using the Breit-Pauli R-matrix method" [Eur. Phys. J. D 42, 235-241 (2007)] - Electron impact excitation of Ni XI

In a recent paper, Verma et al. [Eur. Phys. J. D 42, 235 (2007)] have reported results for energy levels, radiative rates, collision strengths, and effective collision strengths for transitions among the lowest 17 levels of the (1s(2)2s(2)2p(6))3s(2)3p(6), 3s(2)3p(5)3d and 3s3p(6)3d configurations of Ni XI. They adopted the CIV3 and R-matrix codes for the generation of wavefunctions and the scattering process, respectively. In this paper, through two independent calculations performed with the fully relativistic DARC (along with GRASP) and FAC codes, we demonstrate that their results are unreliable. New data are presented and their accuracy is assessed.

Behavioural and histopathological analyses of ibuprofen treatment on the effect of aggregated AB (1-42) injections in the rat

It has been suggested that inflammatory processes may play a role in the development of Alzheimerâ??s disease (AD), and that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug treatments may provide protection against the onset of AD. In the current study male Wistar rats were trained in two-lever operant chambers under an alternating lever cyclic-ratio ratio (ALCR) schedule. When responding showed no trends, subjects were divided into groups. One group was bilaterally injected into the CA3 area of the hippocampus with 5 μl of aggregated β-amyloid (Aβ) suspension, and one group was bilaterally injected into the CA3 area of the hippocampus with 5 μl of sterile saline. Subgroups were treated twice daily with 0.1 ml (40 mg/kg) ibuprofen administered orally. The results indicated that chronic administration of ibuprofen protected against detrimental behavioural effects following aggregated Aβ injections. Withdrawal of ibuprofen treatment from aggregated Aβ-injected subjects produced a decline in behavioural performance to the level of the non-treated aggregated Aβ-injected group. Ibuprofen treatment reduced the numbers of reactive astrocytes following aggregated Aβ injection, and withdrawal of ibuprofen resulted in an increase of reactive astrocytes. These results suggest that induced inflammatory processes may play a role in AD, and that ibuprofen treatment may protect against some of the symptoms seen in AD.

A Multicenter, Randomised Open Study of Early Corticosteroid Treatment (OSECT) in Preterm Infants With Respiratory Illness: Comparison of Early and Late Treatment and of Dexamethasone and Inhaled Budesonide

AIM: To compare early (15 days) steroid therapy and dexamethasone with inhaled budesonide in very preterm infants at risk of developing chronic lung disease. METHODS: Five hundred seventy infants from 47 neonatal intensive care units were enrolled. Criteria for enrollment included gestational age 30%. Infants were randomly allocated to 1 of 4 treatment groups in a factorial design: early (15 days) dexamethasone, and delayed selective budesonide. Dexamethasone was given in a tapering course beginning with 0.50 mg/kg/day in 2 divided doses for 3 days reducing by half until 12 days of therapy had elapsed. Budesonide was administered by metered dose inhaler and a spacing chamber in a dose of 400 microg/kg twice daily for 12 days. Delayed selective treatment was started if infants needed mechanical ventilation and >30% oxygen for >15 days. The factorial design allowed 2 major comparisons: early versus late treatment and systemic dexamethasone versus inhaled budesonide. The primary outcome was death or oxygen dependency at 36 weeks and analysis was on an intention-to-treat basis. Secondary outcome measures included death or major cerebral abnormality, duration of oxygen treatment, and complications of prematurity. Adverse effects were also monitored daily. RESULTS: There were no significant differences among the groups for the primary outcome. Early steroid treatment was associated with a lower primary outcome rate (odds ratio [OR]: 0.85; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.61,1.18) but even after adjustment for confounding variables the difference remained nonsignificant. Dexamethasone-treated infants also had a lower primary outcome rate (OR: 0.86; 95% CI: 0.62,1.20) but again this difference remained not significant after adjustment. For death before discharge, dexamethasone and early treatment had worse outcomes than budesonide and delayed selective treatment (OR: 1.42; 95% CI: 0.93,2.16; OR: 1.51; 95% CI: 0.99,2.30 after adjustment, respectively) with the results not quite reaching significance. Duration of supplementary oxygen was shorter in the early dexamethasone group (median: 31 days vs 40-44 days). Early dexamethasone was also associated with increased weight loss during the first 12 days of treatment (52 g vs 3 g) compared with early budesonide, but over 30 days there was no difference. In the early dexamethasone group, there was a reduced incidence of persistent ductus arteriosus (34% vs 52%-59%) and an increased risk of hyperglycemia (55% vs 29%-34%) compared with the other 3 groups. Dexamethasone was associated with an increased risk of hypertension and gastrointestinal problems compared with budesonide but only the former attained significance. CONCLUSIONS: Infants given early treatment and dexamethasone therapy had improved survival without chronic lung disease at 36 weeks compared with those given delayed selective treatment and inhaled budesonide, respectively, but results for survival to discharge were in the opposite direction; however, none of these findings attained statistical significance. Early dexamethasone treatment reduced the risk of persistent ductus arteriosus. Inhaled budesonide may be safer than dexamethasone, but there is no clear evidence that it is more or less effective

Homocysteine and B-group vitamins in renal transplant patients

Increased plasma homocysteine is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. We have investigated homocysteine and B-group vitamin levels in renal transplant patients. Fasting blood was collected from 55 renal transplant recipients with good renal function and 32 age/sex matched control subjects. Total homocysteine was increased in transplant recipients in comparison to controls (10.9+/-1.5 vs. 6.7+/-1.3 micromol/l, P < 0.001). There was no difference in homocysteine between patients receiving cyclosporin (n = 39, homocysteine 11.0+/-1.5 micromol/l) and patients receiving prednisolone + azathioprine (n = 16, 10.8+/-1.6 micromol/l, mean+/-S.D.), although there was a significant correlation between homocysteine and serum cyclosporin concentration in the sub-group of patients receiving that immunosuppressive regimen (r = 0.42, P < 0.05). Levels of B-group vitamins were similar in patients and controls. Plasma homocysteine is increased in renal transplant recipients even in the presence of minor degrees of renal impairment and normal levels of B-group vitamins.

Prevalence of childhood abuse in mothers taking part in a study of parenting their own children.

This paper describes the incidence of maltreatment histories in a community sample of mothers of one-year old infants in Northern Ireland. The occurrence of five subsets of childhood maltreatment is examined: emotional abuse, emotional neglect, physical abuse, physical neglect and sexual abuse. Of the 201 women who completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), 70 mothers (35%) reported experiencing one or more types of maltreatment during childhood. Forty-eight mothers (24%) gave a history of being emotionally abused, 43 (21%) of emotional neglect, 27 (13%) of physical abuse, 20 (10%) of sexual abuse, and 19 (10%) of physical neglect. Physical abuse was the only type of maltreatment which showed an association with maternal socio-economic status, with higher incidence reported amongst Occupational Classes 4 and 5 (lower supervisory and technical occupations and semi-routine and routine groups). More than half of those with a history of abuse experienced more than one type of maltreatment (42 mothers or 60% of those reporting maltreatment). Differences in rates of incidence to more recent studies on younger adults are discussed, as well as implications for prevention and intervention.

Effects of sub-chronic exposure to naturally occurring N-terminally truncated metabolites of glucose-dependent insulinotrophic polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), GIP(3-42) and GLP-1 (9-36)amide, on insulin secretion and glucose homeostasis in ob/ob mice

Glucose-dependent insulinotrophic polypepticle (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) are important enteroendocrine hormones that are rapidly degraded by an ubiquitous enzyme dipeptidyl peptidase IV to yield truncated metabolites GIP(3-42) and GLP-1 (9-36)amide. In this study, we investigated the effects of sub-chronic exposure to these major circulating forms of GIP and GLP-1 on blood glucose control and endocrine pancreatic function in obese diabetic (ob/ob) mice. A once daily injection of either peptide for 14 days had no effect on body weight, food intake or pancreatic insulin content or islet morphology. GLP-1(9-36)amide also had no effect on plasma glucose homeostasis or insulin secretion. Mice receiving GIP(3-42) exhibited small but significant improvements in non-fasting plasma glucose, glucose tolerance and glycaemic response to feeding. Accordingly, plasma insulin responses were unchanged suggesting that the observed enhancement of insulin sensitivity was responsible for the improvement in glycaemic control. These data indicate that sub-chronic exposure to GIP and GLP-1 metabolites does not result in physiological impairment of insulin secretion or blood glucose control. GIP(3-42) might exert an overall beneficial effect by improving insulin sensitivity through extrapancreatic action.

Evidence that the major degradation product of glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide, GIP(3-42), is a GIP receptor antagonist in vivo

The incretin hormone glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) is rapidly degraded in the circulation by dipeptidyl peptidase IV forming the N-terminally truncated peptide GIP(3-42). The present study examined the biological activity of this abundant circulating fragment peptide to establish its possible role in GIP action. Human GIP and GIP(3-42) were synthesised by Fmoc solid-phase peptide synthesis, purified by HPLC and characterised by electrospray ionisation-mass spectrometry. In GIP receptor-transfected Chinese hamster lung fibroblasts, GIP(3-42) dose dependently inhibited GIP-stimulated (10(-7) M) cAMP production (up to 75.4 +/-5.4%; P

Effect of interleukin-6 polymorphisms on human longevity: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Several studies have assessed changes in frequency of -174 interleukin (IL)-6 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) with age. If IL-6 tracks with disability and age-related diseases, then there should be reduction, in the oldest old, of the frequency of homozgyous GG subjects, who produce higher IL-6 levels. However, discordant results have been obtained. To explore the relationship between this polymorphism and longevity, we analyzed individual data on long-living subjects and controls from eight case-control studies conducted in Europeans, using meta-analysis. There was no significant difference in the IL-6 genotype between the oldest old and controls (Odds Ratio [OR]=0.96; 95% C.I.: 0.77-1.20; p=0.71), but there was significant between-study heterogeneity (I(2)=55.5%). In a subgroup analyses when male centenarians from the three Italian studies were included, the frequency of the IL-6 -174 GG genotype was significantly lower than the other genotypes (OR=0.49; 95% C.I.: 0.31-0.80; p=0.004), with no evidence of heterogeneity (I(2)=0%). Our data supports a negative association between the GG genotype of IL-6 SNP and longevity in Italian centenarians, with males who carry the genotype being two times less likely to reach extreme old age compared with subjects carrying CC or CG genotypes. These findings were not replicated in other European groups suggesting a possible interaction between genetics, sex and environment in reaching longevity.

Utilization of analgesics, sedatives, and pain scores in infants with a prolonged hospitlaization: A prospective descriptive cohort study

Aim
Describe the utilization of analgesic and sedative medications and documentation of pain scores in a cohort of critically ill infants in a neonatal intensive care unit.

Method
A prospective, longitudinal, cohort study of infants with a predicted length of stay =28 days. Dosages and routes of administration of analgesic and sedative medications and documentation of pain scores were collected on a daily basis.

Results
55 infants were enrolled into the study. Oral sucrose was administered to all 55 infants, 51 infants (93%) were administered enteral acetaminophen and 50 (91%) infants were administered morphine during their hospitalization. Sedatives were administered to 42 infants (76%); 36 (65%) were administered chloral hydrate and 32 (58%) were administered intravenous midazolam. With the exception of the first week of admission, when there was highest utilization of opioids and lower use of sucrose, acetaminophen and sedatives, the pattern of administration of analgesic and sedative agents remained relatively constant throughout the hospitalization. Pain scores were documented for 36 (65%) infants during their hospitalisation, however for these 36 infants, pain scores were infrequently recorded.

Conclusion
There was substantial and varied analgesic and sedative use in this cohort of infants, yet infrequent documentation of pain assessment scores. These practices highlight important clinical implications for sick infants requiring careful consideration of pain and distress management.