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Biomedical subjects

H Werner

Publications and source records attributed to H Werner.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

[The effect of air pollutants on the incidence of lung tumors in the GDR].

On the basis of the data from the National Cancer Registry in the GDR an investigation was made, concerning the relationship between exposure to different levels of air pollution and lung cancer incidence. Estimates for the exposure to major factors of air pollution as sulfur dioxide, sedimentation dust and a global air index were calculated for each county of the GDR. The statistical comparison of these data with respect to the age-adjusted incidence rates of the corresponding counties for the time period 1978 to 1982 have not shown any differences neither in man nor in woman. On the other side a positive correlation to the per caput consumption of cigarettes was found.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed1988

Steroid regulation of somatostatin mRNA in the rat hypothalamus.

The participation of gonadal steroid hormones in the regulation of the expression of the somatostatin gene in the hypothalamus and cerebral cortex was studied by using a quantitative densitometric hybridization assay which allows the direct measurement of specific somatostatin mRNA levels. The levels of somatostatin mRNA in hypothalamus were found to be significantly decreased following gonadectomy in both male and female rats (67% in males and 75% in females). Moreover, with in situ hybridization histochemistry somatostatin mRNA was similarly reduced following gonadectomy in the dorsal portion of the periventricular region and in the ventromedial nucleus. Estradiol dibenzoate treatment reversed the decrease in somatostatin mRNA in females within 24 h and testosterone treatment reversed the decrease in castrated males. In contrast, there was no significant change in cerebral cortex somatostatin mRNA levels after gonadectomy. These results suggest that sex steroids are involved in the regulation of the somatostatin gene in the hypothalamus, possibly at the transcriptional level.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Growth hormone releasing factor and somatostatin concentrations in the milk of lactating women.

The concentrations of growth hormone releasing factor (GRF) and somatostatin, two hypothalamic neuropeptides involved in the regulation of growth hormone secretion, were measured in human milk samples. The study was performed in healthy women within 48 h of delivery or during established lactation (between 1 and 64 weeks post delivery). No statistically significant correlation was found between the levels in milk of either of the neuropeptides and the gestational age at birth. However, lower values of GRF (23 +/- 4.7 pg/ml vs. 40.5 +/- 4.9 pg/ml) were found in milk obtained during established lactation than in milk obtained close to delivery. A positive correlation was observed between somatostatin and GRF concentrations in milk. The possible involvement of milk neuropeptides in the control of growth hormone secretion in the neonate, as well as in the regulation of other physiological processes, are evaluated.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Evaluation of the Cobas Bact automated system for susceptibility testing of Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterococcus faecalis to azlocillin, mezlocillin, and ciprofloxacin compared to NCCLS and DIN standards.

The aim of automated susceptibility testing systems like the Cobas Bact is to provide the clinicians with rapid and reliable results for the care of patients and to decrease the work load in microbiological laboratories. Because data about accuracy on mezlocillin, azlocillin and ciprofloxacin were lacking, we investigated 184 bacterial strains and compared the results of the Cobas Bact susceptibility testing to standardized agar dilution and agar diffusion methods. Essential correlations for all methods compared exceeded 90% for the three chemotherapeutics and all species investigated, with the exception of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. On an average only 1.5% very major errors were observed with the several species of Enterobacteriaceae, whereas P. aeruginosa and Enterococcus faecalis were characterized by the complete absence of very major errors when Cobas Bact was correlated to NCCLS agar diffusion.

Autoanalysis↗
PubMed1988

New developments in medical microbiology: computer-assisted diagnosis and automated instruments.

Time and accuracy required for diagnosis are two of the most important factors in medical microbiology. Computer-assisted diagnosis is one tool to overcome these problems. The software of such systems, much more than the hardware, is of utmost importance and both have to fulfill several items. 1) High flexibility and integration within the already existing working schemes of the laboratory. 2) Terminals in every laboratory. 3) High speed of calculation. 4) Online data transfer from automated instruments. 5) External terminals on intensive care units. 6) Epidemiological and etiopathological investigations have to be possible at any time. In the laboratory the burden of simple, repeating tasks is diminished, inquiries can be made in a minute and precise information about the epidemiological situation can be gained within a few hours. Thus, calculated antimicrobial therapy depending on the incidence of certain pathogens in given specimens in different departments is possible. In the case of fast-growing bacteria, preliminary reports, including susceptibility testing available within the first 24 h, are possible and will be of great help to the clinician in monitoring the calculated antimicrobial regimen. External terminals will allow continuous flow of data from the laboratory to wards and vice versa.

Autoanalysis↗
PubMed1988

Comparison of four commercial microdilution systems for susceptibility testing of anaerobic bacteria.

The reliability of four commercially available broth microdilution systems (ATB ANA, MHK-Anaerob-Biotest, Dynatech MIC system, Sceptor Anaerobe MIC system) for routine susceptibility testing was evaluated using agar dilution and broth macrodilution as reference methods. Using the categories "susceptible", "moderately susceptible" and "resistant", the rate of essential agreement (complete agreement plus minor errors) of all four systems compared to the two reference methods was satisfactory, ranging from 93% (Dynatech system and agar dilution) to 98% (Sceptor system and agar dilution). The rate of complete agreement compared to the agar dilution and broth dilution method respectively was 61% and 60% for the MHK-Anaerob-Biotest, 65% and 63% for the Dynatech system, 72% and 72% for ATB ANA, and 85% and 80% for the Sceptor system. The Sceptor system was thus superior to the other systems. The systems were easy to operate and inoculate, although arrangement of antimicrobial agents in the Dynatech panels was apt to be confusing.

Bacteria, Anaerobic↗
PubMed1988

Suitability of in-vitro xenodiagnosis: development of Trypanosoma cruzi in Triatoma infestans depending on larval stage of bugs and number of trypomastigotes taken during in-vitro blood meal.

A study on artificial xenodiagnosis was carried out for the identification of T. cruzi, the causative organism of the American Trypanosomiasis (Chagas Disease) using the natural vector T. infestans. It was investigated whether one single T. cruzi (strain B) is sufficient for successful infection of T. infestans. Since the infection took place by artificial feeding, the average amount of blood taken by larval stages I-V in one meal was determined. On the basis of these results the feeding solution (defibrinated cattle blood) containing the corresponding T. cruzi-concentration/ml was prepared and twenty-one days after the infection feces were investigated for the presence of T. cruzi. It could be shown that one T. cruzi is sufficient for infection of larval stages I-V, although the rate of infection in larval stages IV and V was much lower than in larval stages I-III. These experiments demonstrate that xenodiagnosis can also be performed in-vitro. The possible negative effects due to biting of bugs for in-vivo xenodiagnosis of patients can be avoided. Using this method, far more bugs can be used than in conventional xenodiagnosis increasing the likelyhood of detecting at least one infected T. infestans. Additional experiments simulating postal dispatch during three days at 4 degrees C and 27 degrees C proved that blood samples from far distant places may be sent to be examined at laboratory.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Rapid identification of Escherichia coli by Fluorocult media and positive indole reaction.

To assess the specificity and sensitivity of Fluorocult media for the identification of Escherichia coli, the beta-glucuronidase activities of 1,258 bacterial strains, as well as 20 strains of Candida spp., were investigated. Fluorescence of colonies combined with positive indole reaction resulted in specificities of 99.6 to 99.8%. Sensitivities were 59.1% (MacConkey agar), 69.9% (brolacin agar), 85.5% (Columbia agar), and 85.8% (ECD agar).

Enterobacteriaceae↗
PubMed1988

Dexamethasone reduces steady state insulin-like growth factor I messenger ribonucleic acid levels in rat neuronal and glial cells in primary culture.

Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) mRNA was demonstrated in primary cultures of neuronal and glial cells from rat brain. On Northern blots, a rat IGF-I cDNA probe hybridized to RNA species of 7.5, 1.7, and 0.8-1.2 kilobases in total and poly(A)+ RNA from both cell types. Solution hybridization/RNase protection assays were performed using an antisense riboprobe complementary to the 5'-untranslated region as well as part of the coding region of rat IGF-I mRNA. These studies indicated that two of the previously described three possible alternative 5'-untranslated splicing variants (classes A and C) were expressed in neuronal and glial cells, with class C transcripts predominating. Neuronal cells also possessed extremely low levels of class B transcripts. Treatment of neuronal cell cultures with the synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone reduced IGF-I mRNA levels by 60%. Glial cell IGF-I mRNA levels were reduced by dexamethasone by up to 40%. These results suggest that glucocorticoid-induced reductions in IGF-I production could occur at the level of transcription and may underlie some of the actions of glucocorticoids in causing growth retardation and inhibition of cell proliferation.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

[The effect of a combination of ampicillin and sulbactam against clinical anaerobic isolates].

Effect of a Combination of Ampicillin and Sulbactam on Clinical Isolates of Anaerobic Bacteria. The antimicrobial susceptibility of 182 recent clinical isolates of anaerobic bacteria to ampicillin alone, ampicillin plus 1 mg/l sulbactam, ampicillin plus 5 mg/l sulbactam, and cefoxitin was studied by means of agar dilution tests. The ampicillin-sulbactam combination (Unacid) was most effective against species of the Bacteroides fragilis group, the MIC90 of ampicillin plus 5 mg/l sulbactam for B. fragilis being less than or equal to 1 mg/l, compared to 256 mg/l of ampicillin, 4 mg/l of ampicillin plus 1 mg/l sulbactam, and 8 mg/l of cefoxitin. No significant difference between ampicillin alone and in combination with sulbactam was observed against gram-positive anaerobic rods or cocci.

Ampicillin↗
PubMed1988

In vitro activity of flomoxef compared to moxalactam, cefoxitin, cefotaxime, and clindamycin against anaerobes.

To assess the in vitro activity of flomoxef (6315-S), moxalactam, cefoxitin, cefotaxime, and clindamycin against anaerobes 197 clinical isolates (27 Bacteroides fragilis, 42 B. thetaiotaomicron, 10 B. vulgatus, 7 B. ovatus, 6 B. uniformis, 6 B. distasonis, 7 Bacteroides melaninogenicus group, 11 Bacteroides oralis group, 21 Clostridium difficile, 7 C. perfringens, 3 C. sporogenes, 3 Clostridium spp., 33 Propionibacterium acnes, 14 Peptococcaceae) were studied by means of agar dilution tests. The MIC90 of B. fragilis was less than 2 micrograms/ml for flomoxef, less than 4 micrograms/ml for moxalactam, less than 16 micrograms/ml for cefoxitin, less than 128 micrograms/ml for cefotaxime and less than 2 micrograms/ml for clindamycin. The respective MIC90's of B. thetaiotaomicron were less than 64, less than 128, less than 32, less than 256 and 8 micrograms/ml. Strains of the other Bacteroides species and groups were more susceptible to flomoxef and the other antibiotics than B. thetaiotaomicron. Against Clostridium difficile flomoxef (MIC90 less than 4 micrograms/ml) proved to be superior to the other agents tested. Most of the Clostridium strains other than C. difficile were also susceptible to flomoxef; anaerobic grampositive cocci and Propionibacterium acnes were very sensitive (MIC90's less than 1 and less than or equal to 0.125 micrograms/ml, respectively). Its anti-anaerobic activity, together with its efficacy against aerobes, should make flomoxef a useful adjunct to the arsenal of modern antibiotic therapy.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1988

Effects of nontoxic lipid A and endotoxin on resistance of mice to Toxoplasma gondii.

Mice were administered nontoxic monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL) or refined standard bacterial endotoxin (RSE) prior to, simultaneously with, or after infection with Toxoplasma gondii. MPL and RSE given before or with the toxoplasma infection induced significant resistance. Administration of toxic RSE, but not nontoxic MPL, after the establishment of toxoplasma infection significantly shortened the survival time of mice.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

[Termination of treatment in inpatient psychotherapy].

There are relatively few studies on the subject of dropping out of psychotherapy. This lead us to study before, during and after treatment all patients, who had been referred to our hospital for psychotherapeutical treatment over a time of one year. We compared a posteriori those patients, who had completed psychotherapy in our hospitalized setting in a regular fashion (n = 362) to those, who had dropped out (n = 43). It was found that the latter group showed (statistically significant) properties, which could be used to direct our attention to the danger of dropping out even before treatment. If our findings and first hypotheses concerning the reasons for dropping out of psychotherapy can be confirmed by future studies, we can derive from them relevant suggestions for the handling of this risky group of patients during treatment.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

[The determination of clonidine by charge-transfer-complex formation with iodine].

The donor clonidine (1) forms a charge-transfer-complex of stoichiometric composition 1:1 with the sigma-acceptor iodine. The association constant was determined by means of the Hildebrand-Beneshi equation being 38,000 l/mol. At first it forms an outer complex, characterized by charge-transfer band at 285 nm and the blue-shifted iodine band at 393 nm. From this complex the inner ionic complex results depending on time in which iodine iones arise reacting with unconnected iodine to triiodiones. These show absorptions at 291 and 364 nm. Resulting from it an assay of 1 worked out. The regression line is y = (4.370 +/- 0.256) x + (0.411 +/- 0.053), Srel = 1.3% (n = 10) and the linear range is placed between 0.01-0.25 mg/10 ml solution.

Chemical Phenomena↗