Biomedical subjects
M Schärer
Publications and source records attributed to M Schärer.
[Painful shoulder in the elderly--not always of degenerative nature].
A 81-year-old man suffered, without any preceding trauma, from progressive pain of his left shoulder since 3 weeks. The left upper arm was warm and swollen with a palpable solid mass. Mild normocytic anemia and an increased erythrocyte sedimentation reaction were determined. X-ray showed an osteolytic lesion of left humerus with pathological fracture and involvement of soft tissue. Multiple myeloma was diagnosed from the biopsy of this lesion, detection of paraprotein IgA Kappa in the serum, and a 15-20% plasma cell infiltration of the bone marrow. The patient responded well to radio-therapy and intravenous application of biphosphonates--the fracture healed by conservative therapy. The treating physician--on the basis of clinical experience and by intuition--has to decide considering medical history and clinical findings whether musculoskeletal pain must be investigated further. Diagnosis of multiple myeloma requires monoclonal protein (paraprotein) in the serum or urine, plasma cell infiltration of the bone marrow, and evidence of end-organ damage (anemia, renal insufficiency, bone lesions or hypercalcemia).
[Egg intake and cardiovascular risk].
Egg yolk has the highest content of cholesterol observed in different types of food. Intake of one egg per day increases the serum concentration of LDL cholesterol by 0.10 mmol/l. In healthy people eating a Western diet, egg consumption does not correlate with cardiovascular risk. However, a significant increase of the risk was observed in diabetic subjects starting from an intake of 5-7 eggs per week. However, dietary pattern rather than a single component of nutrition influences cardiovascular risk. The egg - rich in proteins, unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins and minerals - should be part of our nutrition, and it is not justified to recommend a general limitation of egg intake. However, we do not advice unbalanced high egg consumption. A cardioprotective diet is characterized by high variability and contains plenty of fruits, vegetables, and complex carbohydrates.
Quantification of dissolved natural organic matter (DOM) mediated phototransformation of phenylurea herbicides in lakes.
For many important classes of pesticides including phenylurea herbicides (PUHs) and triazines, photosensitized transformation may be the only relevant elimination process in surface waters. In this study, the dissolved organic matter (DOM) mediated phototransformation of PUHs has been investigated in laboratory and field experiments. The results indicate that, in surface waters, the photosensitized transformation of PUHs may be significant and occurs primarily by an initial one-electron oxidation most likely involving excited triplet states of DOM (3DOM*) constituents. Using isoproturon and diuron as model compounds, it is shown that for a given DOM, quantum yield factors determined in the laboratory at a few selected wavelengths can be used to quantify the overall DOM- mediated phototransformation of a given PUH under sunlight irradiation. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that this process can be modeled for a given surface water, by applying the program GCSOLAR and a simple algorithm for cloud cover for quantification of average daily light intensities. Finally, the model has been successfully applied to predict vertical concentration profiles of isoproturon and diuron in a small lake in Switzerland. To our knowledge, this is the first study in which DOM-mediated phototransformation of organic pollutants has been quantitatively validated in the field.
[Migration of Kirschner wires after surgical stabilization of injuries in the area of the shoulder--4 case reports].
Internal fixation is recommended for displaced and unstable fractures of the lateral clavicle and fractures involving the proximal humerus. Kirschner wires, although recommended in the orthopedic literature bear the risk of wire breakage and migration. 4 cases with serious and potentially hazardous complications are presented. All reported complications occurred years after the operative treatment without clinical symptoms. Regular postoperative follow-ups and early hardware removal after fracture healing is recommended.
[Swiss education for operating room nursing].
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[Cerebrospinal fluid protein electrophoresis in non-inflammatory central nervous system diseases].
Cerebrospinal fluids (CSF) (N = 365) from patients with non-inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system were analyzed for protein distribution by agar gel microelectrophoresis. After subdivision into diagnostically well defined groups, these patients were compared with 79 normal controls. Most of the diseases investigated were found to follow the "plasma-type" pattern. In some of them the deviations from normal were so extensive that a CSF-protein pattern similar to the "acute-phase reaction" in the serum occurred. Moreover, the following characteristics were found: a considerable increase in total protein and the gamma-globulin fractions in neurinomas; a reproducible increase in the alpha1-globulins in metastases of the central nervous system; and a statistically significant difference of CSF protein findings between male and female patients with protrusion of lumbar intervertebral discs.