[From the "knight stronghold" into the 21st century. Chronology of the dermatology department of the Spandau Hospital].
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Berlin↗
Biomedical subjects
G Albrecht
Publications and source records attributed to G Albrecht.
[Christ-Siemens-Touraine syndrome].
The Christ-Siemens-Touraine syndrome (CST syndrome) is the rare an- or hypohidrotic form of the ectodermal dysplasia. During embryonic development, the formation and maturation of the central nervous system and the epithelia of the sense organs, skin, teeth, hair (and less frequently the nails) are disturbed. In addition to the cosmetic impairment, insufficient or absent secretion of sweat and sebum is particularly discomforting as it leads to extreme heat intolerance. The decreased number of apocrine sweat glands and mucous glands in the upper nasopharynx results in diminished resistance to respiratory infections. We describe typical features of the disease in a 60 year old female patient, distinguishing this disease from other forms of ectodermal dysplasia. Diagnostic criteria as well as therapeutic options are discussed.
Diagnosis, Differential↗
Complexity and human health: the case for a transdisciplinary paradigm.
Transdisciplinary thinking is an emerging philosophy underpinning health social science. We advance a definition of transdisciplinary thinking and link it with complexity theory. Complexity theory's concern with non-linear relationships, interactive causality and emergent properties of systems compels researchers to adopt a transdisciplinary perspective. We construct a generic framework for analyzing health processes from diverse disciplines and apply it to coronary heart disease in the Australian Coalfields. Insights from this analysis support our argument that transdisciplinary thinking maximizes understanding of the complexity of human health.
Adult↗
Work place characteristics, work stress and burnout among Dutch dentists.
Work stress among dentists has been described several times, indicating a diversity of causes of stress. Professional burnout among dentists has been the subject of empirical study only occasionally. The aim of the present study was to investigate which occupational factors are related to levels of burnout among Dutch dentists. A distinction was made between actual work place characteristics and experienced pressure from specific aspects of dental work. With a response rate of 75%, a representative group of 709 Dutch general dental practitioners responded to a questionnaire containing a Dutch version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI-NL), the Dentists' Experienced Work Stress Scale (DEWSS), and a collection of items on work place conditions. No actual work place condition could be demonstrated to be correlated with high burnout levels. Lack of career perspective appeared to be the stress factor most strongly related to burnout. Mean burnout levels of all dentists were found to be favourable in comparison with Dutch norm scores: dentists showed less Emotional Exhaustion, less Depersonalization, and more Personal Accomplishment. It is concluded that the relation between lack of career perspective and burnout should stimulate serious attention for career planning among dentists.
Adult↗
Satisfaction as a determinant of compliance.
In this study the relation between satisfaction and compliance is examined in terms of specificity and predictive value. Satisfaction is assumed to be a determinant of compliance, especially if both concepts are measured at the same level of specificity (i.e., a dental level). A total of 176 subjects reported their satisfaction with dental visits and the dental practice, their dental compliance and their general tendency to comply. The results show a relation between satisfaction and compliance and that compliance can be predicted by satisfaction. Surprisingly, the relation between dental satisfaction and general compliance is stronger than the relation between dental satisfaction and dental compliance. This finding can be explained by the possible relation between different levels of compliance and the complexity of the concept dental compliance.
Adult↗
Three classes of mammalian transcription activation domain stimulate transcription in Schizosaccharomyces pombe.
Representatives of three distinct classes of mammalian protein domain activating RNA polymerase II were fused to the yeast GAL4p DNA-binding domain. The resulting fusion proteins were tested in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe for their ability to activate transcription of different reporter constructs containing GAL4-binding sites in positions close to or far from the TATA box. The acidic-rich activation domain of VP16 stimulates transcription in S.pombe from proximal and distal positions, suggesting that the mechanism of activation is conserved from man to budding and fission yeasts. Unlike in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the glutamine-rich activation domains of Sp1, Oct1 and Oct2 activate transcription in S. pombe when tested in a proximal TATA box context. Similarly to mammalian cells, these domains are inactive or weakly active when tested in a distal position. Moreover, the proline-rich activation domains of AP-2 and CTF/NF1 display strong transcriptional activities from a TATA box-proximal position, and weak activities when tested in a remote position. Consequently, proline-rich and glutamine-rich activation domains act differently in S.cerevisiae and mammalian cells, but similarly in S.pombe and mammalian cells.
Animals↗
[Systemic treatment of acne with isotretinoin: current status].
Introduced in 1979, isotretinoin remains a major advance in acne therapy. Both hospital- and community-based dermatologists have experience with this valuable drug, which, owing to its causal principle of action, offers a large proportion of patients the prospect of a cure. Isotretinoin is now in use in more than 80 countries and has been prescribed for some six million patients. Based on accumulated clinical findings with the drug, more comprehensive recommendations can now be made with respect to indications, dosing and duration of treatment than was possible when the drug was launched. Experience with the drug also provides a basis for reevaluating its safety profile. Finally, at a time when healthcare resources are limited, it is important to examine the cost-benefit ratio of this acne treatment versus other options. This paper is accordingly intended to provide a critical status report as well as a detailed and balanced set of recommendations for clinical practice.
Acne Vulgaris↗
The Aspergillus niger GCN4 homologue, cpcA, is transcriptionally regulated and encodes an unusual leucine zipper.
The general control transcriptional regulator gene cpcA of Aspergillus niger was cloned by complementation of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae delta gcn4 mutant strain. The encoded protein conferred resistance to amino acid analogues when expressed in yeast. Disruption of cpcA in A. niger resulted in a strain which is sensitive towards 3-aminotriazole and fails to respond to amino acid starvation, cpcA encodes a transcript of approximately 2400 nucleotides in length that includes a 5' leader region of 900 nucleotides. The 5' leader region contains two small open reading frames, suggesting translational control of gene expression. Steady-state mRNA levels of cpcA increase by a factor of three upon amino acid starvation. The coding region of cpcA is interrupted by a 57 bp intron and the deduced amino acid sequence displays an approximately 30% overall identity to yeast GCN4p and Neurospora crassa cpc1p. Critical amino acid residues of the transcriptional activation domains of GCN4p are conserved in cpcAp. The basic DNA-binding domain shows up to 70% amino acid sequence identity to other basic zipper (bZIP)-type transcriptional activators. cpcAp binds specifically to a GCN4p recognition element in gel retardation experiments. The C-terminal dimerization domain encodes a leucine zipper with only a single leucine residue.
Amitrole↗
Women and disability.
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Persons with Disabilities↗
Using subjective health assessments in practice and policy-making.
This paper discusses the use of subjective health assessment in medical practice and social policy-making. The importance of recognising patients' perceptions of their health when attempting to improve patient-practitioner relationships and formulate effective health care policies is stressed. The paper describes some of the tensions that exist between objective and subjective assessments of health. It is argued that there is a need for unifying theory to underpin the use of subjective health perceptions. Suggestions are made for the effective employment of these indicators.
Health Policy↗
[Nail-patella syndrome].
The nail-patella syndrome is an autosomal dominant trait characterized by abnormalities of the nails, patella and radial head, iliac crest and, in some cases, nephropathy. The genetic defect is localized on chromosome 9q34.1. The clinical features in affected individuals vary greatly. The nephropathy may progress to end-stage renal failure, leading to decreased life expectancy. We report a woman with bilateral hypoplastic thumbnails, who also had aplasia of both patellae and subluxation of the left elbow joint with hypoplasia of the radial head. The mother and the sister of the patient had similar changes and also suffered from nephropathy.
Aged↗
Electrostatic pressure and line tension in a Langmuir monolayer.
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Journal Article↗
Phrenic neuropathy in chronic renal failure.
BACKGROUND: Peripheral neuropathy and alterations in diaphragmatic muscle function are frequently caused by uraemia. Phrenic nerve function in patients with end stage renal failure, however, has not been examined to date. METHODS: An electrophysiological study of the phrenic nerve was performed to determine its possible involvement in 32 nondiabetic patients with end stage renal disease undergoing chronic haemodialysis. RESULTS: Seventeen patients had electrophysiological signs of peripheral neuropathy in at least one of the investigated nerves and 14 of the 17 showed pathological phrenic nerve latencies. Delayed phrenic nerve latencies correlated clearly with pathological peroneal nerve conduction velocities. CONCLUSIONS: Phrenic neuropathy is a frequent complication of uraemia.
Adolescent↗
PRE5 and PRE6, the last missing genes encoding 20S proteasome subunits from yeast? Indication for a set of 14 different subunits in the eukaryotic proteasome core.
The 20S proteasome of eukaryotes is an abundant multicatalytic/multifunctional proteinase complex composed of an array of nonidentical subunits which are encoded by alpha- or beta-type members of the proteasomal gene family. In budding yeast, 14 subunits had been detected and 12 proteasomal genes had been cloned and sequenced so far. Starting from peptide sequences of purified subunits of the yeast 20S proteasome, we cloned two additional proteasomal genes, PRE5 and PRE6, which both encode essential alpha-type subunits. Sequence comparison of all known eukaryotic proteasomal proteins show the presence of a total of 14 subgroups, which can be divided into seven alpha- and seven beta-type groups. Including the Pre5 and Pre6 proteins, every subgroup contains a single yeast member. We anticipate that the 14 genes encoding subunits of the yeast proteasome represent the complete set of proteasomal genes of this organism. The ancestral archaebacterial proteasome is composed of four stacks of rings, the two outer rings containing seven identical alpha-subunits and the inner rings containing seven identical beta-subunits. We speculate that, in analogy to the archaebacterial proteasome, every eukaryotic proteasome is made of two halves of 14 distinct subunits, each half consisting of seven different alpha-type and 7 different beta-type subunits. In higher eukaryotes, subunit isoforms may contribute to variability in the subunit composition of the 20S proteasome allowing functional modulations.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
A noninvasive functional evaluation following peripheral nerve repair with electromyography in a rat model.
A new bipolar surface electrode array was designed and constructed for a noninvasive "closed" functional evaluation with electromyography following sciatic nerve transection in a rat model. This "closed" method was compared with a conventional one-shot "open" measurement. Nerve conduction velocity and distal latency were calculated. Data obtained from the recordings from different animals as well as from the same animal at different points in time yielded excellent reproducibilities. There is no difference in the mean values whether nerve conduction velocity and distal latency are obtained by "closed" or "open" measurements. Correlation was significant (p < 0.01; rNCV = 0.77, rDL = 0.63) between these two methods. The results lead to the conclusion that the noninvasive functional evaluation with the parameters of nerve conduction velocity and distal latency introduced in the present study could be employed as a reliable method for serial functional evaluations following nerve transection in a long-term study in a rat model.
Animals↗
[Effect of HLA compatibility on kidney transplantation].
The influence of the HLA system on the success rate of kidney transplantations was evaluated in a worldwide collaborative study. The results confirm the influence of the HLA chromosome on transplants from related donors. Moreover, a highly significant effect of compatibility for the HLA-A, -B, -DR antigens was observed in cadaver transplants (p < 0.0001). The great importance of a good quality of tissue typing was emphasized by a) the observation that a significant influence of compatibility for the HLA-A, -B antigens was evident only if donors and recipients were typed for 'split' specificities and not when they were typed for 'broad' antigens, and b) an improved effect of HLA-DR compatibility when serological typing errors were corrected by molecular (DNA) typing. Computations show that kidney allocation according to the best possible HLA compatibility results in a gain of 800 transplant function years per 1,000 transplantations over a 10-year period.
Cadaver↗
Interaction of human mast cell tryptase and chymase with low-molecular-mass serine proteinase inhibitors from the human respiratory tract.
Mast cell degranulation results in the release of serine class proteinases with trypsin- and chymotrypsin-like specificity. While looking for natural protein inhibitors of these enzymes, we studied their reactions with the double-headed Kunitz-type inhibitor, bikunin, and the human bronchial secretion inhibitor (BSI), which are the only known low-molecular-mass proteinase inhibitors of the human respiratory tract. Both trypsin and chymotrypsin can be inhibited by these inhibitors. However, human BSI is unable to inhibit human tryptase and is the physiological counterpart of chymase in the upper respiratory tract. Human bikunin is unable to inhibit human chymase and human tryptase. Furthermore, human tryptase is also not inhibited by a fragment that consists only of the trypsin-specific C-terminal inhibitor domain of human bikunin. This finding contradicts reports that claim the occurrence of a tryptase-specific proteinase inhibitor in rat mast cells.
Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid↗
[Local lipohypertrophy in insulin treatment].
Local lipoatrophy and lipohypertrophy at injection sites are well known side effects of treatment with insulin. Conditions favouring these local complications are created when repeated or continuous injections are given into the same areas. We report on a 27-year-old female patient who suffered from persistent local swellings after use of an external pump which continuously injected human insulin via indwelling cannulas.
Adipose Tissue↗