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PURPOSE: Hippocrates was a famous physician of Kos in ancient Greece (c. 460 B.C.). His works were later described in the Hippocratic Collection, in which I studied disorders of urination. MATERIALS AND METHODS: I collected mentions of disorders of urination in the Hippocratic Collection (Roeb, Otsuki and Kon editions) to compared description of disorders of urination between the Kos and Knidos Schools. RESULTS: Disorders of urination were mentioned in 67 parts (sentences or sections): difficult urination in 50, retention of urine in 15 and urinary incontinence in two or three (presumably complicated by difficult urination in one). sigmastrangourih (strangourih) and deltadusourih (dusourih) were counted in 20 and 30 parts, respectively. sigmastrangourih was used in 12 (60%), 5 (25%) and 3 (15%) respective descriptions by Kos, Knidos, and unspecified School, while deltadusourih was used in 13 (43%), 17 (57%), and no descriptions; the correlation was not significant, (chi-squared test, p > 0.05). Descriptions of "stoppage of the urine or bladder", "blockage of the urine", "inability to pass urine", and "check" in classic Greek may mean retention of urine, which also is suspected in the case of severe deltadusourih and sigmastrangourih. Retention of urine only appeared in descriptions by the Kos School, except for one of origin not specified between the Kos and Knidos Schools. The terms "deltadusourih" and "sigmastrangourih" are the origins of the English terms "dysuria" and "strangury". Dysuria ("dys + urine + ia") denotes painful or difficult urination, while strangury ("drop + urine") denotes slow and painful discharge of urine. Deltadusourih and sigmastrangourih with severe pain appear in descriptions by the Kos School. However, in classic Greek, these words by no means always meant painful urination, which differed partially from present-day meanings of dysuria and strangury. There were deltadusourih, sigmastrangourih, and retention of urine accompanied by severe, slight or no pain. The former degree of pain may have included urinary tract infection and/or prostatitis, with the latter, including prolape of uterus or bladder. Sigmastrangourih was a chronic disease of a nonfatal natures, unless complications occurred. "Unconsciously passed a copious discharge of urine" may refer to urinary incontinence, which was seen in one description by Kos and two by Knidos. Two types of urinary incontinence were described, copious and drop urine wise urinary incontinence; the former may represent neurogenic bladder caused by brain dysfunctions, while the latter may represent overflow incontinence. Urethral catheterization and diuretics already were mentioned in the Hippocratic Collection. Bleeding and anodyne were used in treatment of deltadusourih and sigmastrangourih. CONCLUSIONS: Disorders of urination appeared in four categories, namely difficult urination or dysuria: dropwise urine or strangury; urinary retention : and urinary incontinence. Severe disorders of urination appear frequently in descriptions by the Kos School.
This study assessed the effectiveness of operant conditioning in training three species of captive callitrichid primates (Leontopithecus rosalia, Callithrix geoffroyi, and Saguinus imperator) to urinate on demand. There were three goals to the study: 1) to develop a system for quantitatively assessing positive reinforcement training; 2) to ascertain whether or not positive reinforcement techniques can be used to train callitrichid monkeys to urinate on demand, and if so, how many training sessions are required; and 3) to determine the effect on urination behavior of the trainer entering the cage to collect a urine sample. Positive reinforcement with a continuous reinforcement schedule was used to capture a natural behavior: urination. Training sessions (30 min each) were conducted at dawn thrice weekly during five consecutive phases: habituation, control, training (animals were rewarded for urinating), maintenance (animals had reached a defined training criteria and continued to be rewarded for urinating), and collection (animals were rewarded for urinating, and the trainer entered the cage to collect the sample). The numbers of 30-min training sessions required to train the three monkey species (L. rosalia, C. geoffroyi, and S. imperator) were five, six, and eight, respectively. For the three species, the mean number of urinations per animal was significantly greater during the training, maintenance, and collection phases compared to the control phase. However, the three species differed significantly in the manner in which the rates of urination changed across the five phases. A higher proportion of subjects urinated during the training, maintenance, and collection phases compared to the control phase. Latency to first urination varied significantly across the five phases, with significantly reduced latencies to urinate during the training, maintenance, and collection phases compared to the control phase. The entry of the trainer into the cage to collect the urine sample did not appear to alter urination behavior. We demonstrate that operant conditioning techniques, which typically incur minimal cost, time investment, and disturbance, can be used to increase the quantity of urine samples collected for physiological analysis, the proportion of animals that urinate, and the speed of sample collection.
Previous research has shown that a urinary pheromone of female mice acts via the vomeronasal organ of the accessory olfactory system to elicit rapid release of luteinizing hormone (LH) in conspecific males. Several experiments were conducted to examine the importance of sexual experience for gonadotropin responses in male mice to female urine, male urine, saline, or mixtures of these stimuli. Both sexually naive and sexually experienced male mice had significantly higher plasma LH levels after presentations of female urine than after presentations of male urine. However, sexual experience appeared to increase the reliability of the short-latency gonadotropin response to female urine relative to a sexually neutral component of urine such as sodium chloride, and male urine appeared to suppress spontaneous LH secretion episodes in both naive and sexually experienced males. Subsequent experiments with sexually experienced subjects demonstrated that male mouse urine is a powerful suppressant of LH release in other males. Specifically, female mouse urine mixed with male urine failed to elicit LH responses in male subjects, whereas female urine mixed with saline was highly effective. Urine obtained from castrated male donors was as potent as urine from intact males in suppressing the gonadotropin response to female urine. The suppressive activity in male mouse urine thus does not appear to be critically dependent on gonadal hormones. The existence of a potent stimulatory pheromone in female urine and a potent suppressive pheromone in male urine makes male mice an excellent model system for studying the neural regulation of LH secretion.
As the population ages rapidly, we need to establish a cost-effective system to assess and treat urination problems of the elderly. Recently, criteria have been developed for urologists to assess benign prostatic hyperplasia using the International Prostate Symptom Score (I-PSS), QoL index, urination function (maximal flow rates and residual urine volume) and prostate volume. It is suggested that patients with moderate to severe urination problems as measured by these criteria need to be treated but those with mild problems have no need for treatment. We examined whether these criteria can be applied to the general urination problems of elderly men and women, with 112 men and 21 women aged 50 and over as subjects. Furthermore, we set Level I criteria for the elderly themselves, their families or nurses taking care of them, using I-PSS and QoL index, and Level II criteria for general practitioners, using I-PSS, QoL index and residual urine volume, in addition to Level III criteria for urologists (omitting prostate volume in women). Correspondence rates among severities of urination problems at Level I, II and III, and sensitivities and specificities of Level I and II criteria were investigated. One hundred twenty-one patients of 124 with moderate to severe urination problems at Level III needed to be treated and eight of nine with mild urination problems did not. As a whole, our findings suggested that 129 of 133 patients (97.0%) were correctly assessed at Level III. We found that Level III criteria were valid for general urination problems of the elderly, not just benign prostatic hyperplasia. While 102 and 111 patients were judged as having moderate or severe urination problems, respectively, at Level I and Level II, and all of these were diagnosed as having moderate or severe problems at Level III, 22 (71.0%) of 31 and 13 (59.1%) of 22 patients judged as having mild urination problems at Level I and Level II were diagnosed as having moderate problems at Level III. Although specificities of Level I and Level II criteria were 100%, sensitivities improved from 82.3% (102/124) to 89.5% (111/124), adding residual urine measurement to the I-PSS and QoL scores. Polyuria of more than 2,000 ml per day was noted in 33 patients (24.8%). At Level I, residual urine of 50 ml or more was noted in 9 (29.0%) patients with mild urination problems, in 22 (24.2%) with moderate problems and in 4 (36.4%) with severe problems. Assessment criteria for general practitioners should include a frequency-volume chart and measurement of residual urine. When the elderly are judged as having moderate or severe urination problems according to either Level I or II criteria, they need treatment. However, more than half of the elderly, judged as having mild problems according to those criteria, need treatment from the standpoint of urologists.
Renal excretion mechanisms are xenobiotic-specific; therefore, accurate exposure assessment requires an understanding of relationships of xenobiotic biomarker concentration and excretion rate to urine flow, specific gravity and creatinine concentration. Twenty-four-hour urine collection for xenobiotic exposure assessment is considered the "gold standard" procedure. Random spot-urine collection is convenient and minimizes subject compliance concerns but requires that normalization techniques be employed to account for diuresis and diurnal variation in xenobiotic biomarker excretion. This paper examines and makes recommendations concerning normalization techniques and conditions under which spot-urine results most accurately reflect 24-h urine results. Specific gravity, creatinine, and xenobiotic biomarkers were determined in smokers' spot and 24-h urines. Normalization techniques were applied, variance-component analyses were performed to estimate variability, spot urines were pooled mathematically to simulate 24-h urines and analyses of variance were performed to evaluate spot urines' ability to reflect 24-h urine concentrations. For each xenobiotic biomarker concentration, log-linear relationships were observed with urine flow, specific gravity, and creatinine. For most xenobiotic biomarker excretion rates, log-linear relationships were observed with urine flow; creatinine, however, was unaffected by urine flow. The conventional creatinine ratio-normalization technique demonstrated greater variability (within-day, between-day and between-subject) than other normalization techniques. Comparisons of simulated 24-h urines to spot urines suggest that spot-urine collection be performed only between 2 p.m. and 2 a.m. and that the modified specific-gravity-adjusted-creatinine ratio-normalization technique and the creatinine-regression normalization technique yield the best agreement between spot- and simulated 24-h urine results.
BACKGROUND: In some children with acute gastroenteritis and acidosis, the urine pH may be abnormally high thus simulating distal Renal Tubular Acidosis (dRTA). This inability to acidify urine properly in the presence of metabolic acidosis has been shown to be due to poor delivery of sodium to the distal nephron which prevents full excretion of a hydrogen ion load, instead of an intrinsic defect in the ability of the distal tubule to acidify urine. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of transient urinary acidification defect in children aged two months to two years with acute gastroenteritis, dehydration and acidosis, and the relationship between urine pH and urine sodium concentration. METHOD: A prospective study of children aged two months to two years admitted for the treatment of acute gastroenteritis and dehydration at the Children's Emergency Ward (CHEW) of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Rivers State. RESULTS: Of the 196 children (140 males and 56 females) studied with spontaneous acidosis which developed as a result of acute gastroenteritis, seventy-three of them had impaired acidification of urine, giving a prevalence of 37.2%. There was no significant difference in the age, duration of symptoms, degree of acidosis, degree of dehydration and serum potassium concentration between the children with impaired and those with proper urine acidification. Those with impaired acidification of urine however had a significantly lower serum sodium and urine sodium concentrations and a significantly higher urine potassium concentration and urine anion gap than those children with proper urine acidification. All urine samples with sodium concentration less than or equal to 25 mmol/L (52) had urine pH greater than 5.5. CONCLUSION: Mere presence of acidosis and high urine pH should not lead to a diagnosis of Distal Renal Tubular Acidosis (dRTA). The urine anion gap (UAG) should be calculated using the formula: urine [Na+] + [K+] [Cl], and if negative, it suggests a high ammonium excretion, which makes the diagnosis of dRTA unlikely.
AIM: To evaluate the relationship between IL-18 levels in urine and parameters of renal pathological changes in patients with lupus nephritis (LN). METHODS: IL-18 levels in morning free urine and 24-hour's urine in 19 normal persons and 55 patients with LN were measured by ELISA. The correlation between IL-18 levels and parameters of renal pathological changes, namely activity index (AI) and chronicity index (CI), were analyzed by liner correlation analysis method. RESULTS: IL-18 levels in morning free urine and 24-hour's urine in LN group were elevated significantly compared with control group. In both groups IL-18 levels in morning free urine were (247.1+/-317.5) ng/L and (20.3+/-14.5) ng/L, respectively, P<0.001; those in 24-hour's urine were (192.1+/-170.1) ng/d and (21.0+/-3.8) ng/d, respectively, (P<0.001). There was close positive correlation between IL-18 levels in morning free urine and 24-hour's urine and LN patient's AI (for morning free urine: r=0.602, P<0.001; for 24-hour's urine: r=0.461, P<0.005) but there was no correlation between IL-18 levels in morning urine and 24-hour's urine and CI (P>0.05). Patients with LN were divided into three groups (high, moderate and low) according to AI value. There was distinct difference of IL-18 levels in urine among the three groups: IL-18 levels in morning urine were (69.2+/-82.7) ng/L, (193.5+/-106.1) ng/L and (580.7+/-453.1) ng/L, respectively, (P<0.001); those in 24-hour's urine were (103.5+/-141.4) ng/d, (188.8+/-124.0) ng/d and (333.1+/-183.2) ng/d, respectively. CONCLUSION: It is very simple and convenient to detect IL-18 levels in morning free urine, so it is a good method for evaluating renal pathological activity of LN.
PURPOSE: I studied mentions of urine in the Hippocratic Collection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: I collected mentions of urine in the Hippocratic Collection (Roeb, Otsuki and Kon editions) to compare descriptions between the Kos and Knidos schools. RESULTS: Urine was mentioned in 396 passages. Descriptions by Kos, Knidos, and unspecified schools accounted for 355 (90%), 24 (6%), and 17 (4%), respectively. Of the 396, 386 (98%) referred to urinary findings, 9 (2%) to significance of urine in diagnosis, 3 to treatment according to urinary findings, and 4 to vapor baths with urine used by the Knidos school. Findings in urine were mentioned in 39 categories in total as thick or thin, clear or turbid, "concocted" or "unconcocted", watery, colorless or "good colored", bloody, clotted, purulent, and others. Colors of urine were mentioned in 27. Black ([symbol: see text]) and white ([symbol: see text]) were observed frequently, followed by red ([symbol: see text]) and yellow or yellowish ([symbol: see text]), and others. Urinary sediment was mentioned in 30 as smooth, uniform, cloudy, branny, or others. White urine tended to be thick, and black urine to be thin. Urine was "good" when white ([symbol: see text]) or yellow ([symbol: see text]), and the sediment was white, smooth and uniform: it was "bad" when black and thin, fetid, watery, or with branny. CONCLUSIONS: Urinary findings were mentioned in the Hippocratic Collection, most frequently by the Kos school, and findings varied. Color descriptions by Hippocrates differed from those in present-day Japanese. White ([symbol: see text]) urine may be pale yellow, since ([symbol: see text]) actually means neither white nor colorless, but pale-yellow as white ([symbol: see text]) port-wine. Thick white ([symbol: see text]) and thick yellow ([symbol: see text]) urine may represent yellow and yellow-brown concentrated urine of healthy persons. Black ([symbol: see text]) urine may indicate gross hematuria, as red ([symbol: see text]) port-wine and thin blackish ([symbol: see text]) urine may indicate hematuria together with dilute urine, presumably as in renal failure.
OBJECTIVE: Measuring specific gravity of urine is a simple means of self-monitoring for urolithiasis patients. METHODS: We evaluated the reliability of two test strips (N-Multistix and Combur-Stix) and determined the relationship between urine specific gravity and crystal formation in first morning urine in 179 patients with calcium oxalate lithiasis. Urine hydrometry was used as the reference method. RESULTS: There was a good correlation between urine density read on the test strips and hydrometry (r = 0.733 for N-Multistix and 0.697 for Combur-Stix). Hydrometry showed little pH effect but the test strips gave results correlated with urine pH (r = 0.764 and 0.813 respectively). When urine pH was below 6.5, the specific gravity of the urine was overestimated; inversely for pH > 7, it was underestimated. Correction factors were obtained by comparing test strip values with specific gravity measurements for pH level between 4.5 and 8. There were crystals in 66% of the urine samples with a density > or = 1012 g/l. In contrast, 75% of the samples below this value were crystal free. There was a close relationship between 24-hour urine volume and specific gravity (n = 124; r = 0.778): a specific gravity of 1.012 corresponded to 2100 ml urine output. For 24% of the patients, specific gravity of the morning urine was > or = 1.012 despite a 24-h urine output > or = 2100 ml, indicating insufficient urine dilution during the night. CONCLUSION: Measurement of specific gravity with test strips with correction for pH can be a simple way to measure the specific gravity of urine and assess whether urine dilution is sufficient to reduce the risk of crystal formation, the main risk factor in urolithiasis patients.
The aggression-promoting property of bladder urine in adult male mice was investigated. Under a newly developed stimulus application procedure (i.e., camel hairbrush applicator). Experiment 1 determined the minimal volume at which bladder and voided urine educed agonistic behavior in agressors. It was found that at least 0.05 ml of bladder urine and 0.03 ml of voided urine, both from intact males, were needed to induce significantly more attacks and uro-anal sniffs than respective urine types from castrated males. Also, bladder urine educed significantly less agonistic behavior than voided urine, both from intact males. Hence, the presence of a weak bladder urine chemosignal was confirmed. From these and previous findings, it was hypothesized that the chemocommunicative property of the weak bladder urine chemosignal could be accentuated by releasing the prochemosignal(s). Using 0.03 ml as the urine volume in Experiment 2, it was shown that heating bladder urine at 37 degrees C educed significantly more agonistic behavior than freezing bladder urine. The heating of bladder urine, however, effected significantly fewer attacks than the freezing of voided urine. It was concluded that bladder urine contains a latent and a free chemosignal, both of which are weak relative to voided urine chemosignal activity.
This Position Paper was prepared using the methodology agreed by the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology (AACT) and the European Association of Poisons Centres and Clinical Toxicologists (EAPCCT). All relevant scientific literature was identified and reviewed critically by acknowledged experts using set criteria. Well-conducted clinical and experimental studies were given precedence over anecdotal case reports and abstracts were not considered. A draft Position Paper was then produced and presented at the North American Congress of Clinical Toxicology in October 2001 and at the EAPCCT Congress in May 2002 to allow participants to comment on the draft after which a revised draft was produced. The Position Paper was subjected to detailed peer review by an international group of clinical toxicologists chosen by the AACT and the EAPCCT, and a final draft was approved by the boards of the two societies. The Position Paper includes a summary statement (Position Statement) for ease of use, which will also be published separately, as well as the detailed scientific evidence on which the conclusions of the Position Paper are based. Urine alkalinization is a treatment regimen that increases poison elimination by the administration of intravenous sodium bicarbonate to produce urine with a pH > or = 7.5. The term urine alkalinization emphasizes that urine pH manipulation rather than a diuresis is the prime objective of treatment; the terms forced alkaline diuresis and alkaline diuresis should therefore be discontinued. Urine alkalinization increases the urine elimination of chlorpropamide, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, diflunisal, fluoride, mecoprop, methotrexate, phenobarbital, and salicylate. Based on volunteer and clinical studies, urine alkalinization should be considered as first line treatment for patients with moderately severe salicylate poisoning who do not meet the criteria for hemodialysis. Urine alkalinization cannot be recommended as first line treatment in cases of phenobarbital poisoning as multiple-dose activated charcoal is superior. Supportive care, including the infusion of dextrose, is invariably adequate in chlorpropamide poisoning. A substantial diuresis is required in addition to urine alkalinization in the chlorophenoxy herbicides, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, and mecoprop, if clinically important herbicide elimination is to be achieved. Volunteer studies strongly suggest that urine alkalinization increases fluoride elimination, but this is yet to be confirmed in clinical studies. Although urine alkalinization is employed clinically in methotrexate toxicity, currently there is only one study that supports its use. Urine alkalinization enhances diflunisal excretion, but this technique is unlikely to be of value in diflunisal poisoning. In conclusion, urine alkalinization should be considered first line treatment in patients with moderately severe salicylate poisoning who do not meet the criteria for hemodialysis. Urine alkalinization and high urine flow (approximately 600 mL/h) should also be considered in patients with severe 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and mecoprop poisoning. Administration of bicarbonate to alkalinize the urine results in alkalemia (an increase in blood pH or reduction in its hydrogen ion concentration); pH values approaching 7.70 have been recorded. Hypokalemia is the most common complication but can be corrected by giving potassium supplements. Alkalotic tetany occurs occasionally, but hypocalcemia is rare. There is no evidence to suggest that relatively short-duration alkalemia (more than a few hours) poses a risk to life in normal individuals or in those with coronary and cerebral arterial disease.
Female urinals are designed to enable women to empty their bladders while not on the toilet and are therefore potentially useful in preventing incontinence. However, there is little published information to guide product selection. Therefore, an evaluation of these products was undertaken by the Continence Products Evaluation Network (funded by the Medical Devices Agency). All 13 reusable female urinals available in the UK in March 1997 were evaluated. Each urinal was evaluated by 28-32 community-based women. Preliminarily, each subject tested all urinals by trying to place them in one or two of their preferred positions, to establish if the urinals were suitable for full testing. Each of the urinals that were selected for full testing were then used for 1 week each. During this week the subjects kept a diary to record leakage or spillage when using the urinal. At the end of the week a product evaluation form was filled in to record product performance. The results from full testing indicate that all urinals were successful for some subjects. However, some urinals were found to be successful for all four main positions (e.g. Petal Female Urinal) while others were successful mainly in one or two positions (e.g. Bridge Saddle Pan and Subaseal). Many urinals were successful in the standing/crouching and sitting on the edge (of chair or bed) positions, while comparatively few urinals were successful in the lying position. It was found that the chances of finding a suitable urinal increased with levels of independence. This means that subjects with higher levels of dependency found fewer urinals to be suitable for their needs when used without assistance. The results of this evaluation provide guidance for product selection. However, it is recommended that continence specialists keep samples of the full range of female urinals to enable women to experiment with urinals in order to find one that best suits their needs.
BACKGROUND: The lung injury in adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) has been associated with increased expiratory hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) concentrations. Furthermore, patients with sepsis and ARDS are reported to have greater serum scavenging of H2O2 than patients with ARDS only. We hypothesized that the systemic presence of H2O2 would be detectable in the urine of these two groups of patients and that, in the case of ARDS sepsis, the relative contribution of each disease to the production this analyte would be discernible. Accordingly, we used an in vitro radioisotope assay to follow the weekly course of urine H2O2 levels in ARDS patients with and without sepsis, and in samples from control non-ARDS patients with sepsis with indwelling urinary catheters and in samples provided by healthy volunteers. METHODS: Thirty patients with ARDS were included in the study: 23 had sepsis and 7 were sepsis free. An indwelling catheter was used to collect urine from each patient over a 24-h period, first within 48 h of ICU admission and then every seventh day over the course of their illness. Urine H2O2 was measured by competitive decarboxylation of 1-14C-alpha-ketoglutaric acid by H2O2. Urine samples were provided by 20 healthy volunteers while, in 10 non-ARDS patients with sepsis, urine was collected over one 24-h period following a 5-day minimum with an indwelling urinary catheter. RESULTS: Urine H2O2 concentration in healthy control subjects (88 +/- 4 mumol/L) and non-ARDS patients with urinary catheters (96 +/- 5 mumol/L) was not significantly different. During the first 48 h in the ICU, urine H2O2 in patients with ARDS only (295 +/- 29 mumol/L) was significantly lower (p < 0.05) than patients with ARDS and sepsis (380 +/- 13 mumol/L); however, the lung injury scores of these two groups did not differ. Furthermore, within the first 48 h, the urine H2O2 of the patients with ARDS and sepsis who did not survive (427 +/- 19 mumol/L; n = 7) was significantly higher than that in patients who survived sepsis (352 +/- 14 mumol/L; n = 15). Thereafter, the lung injury scores and urine H2O2 levels of the nonsurvivor ARDS-sepsis group remained significantly higher compared with the other two groups. At lung injury scores of 3 and 2, regardless of days in ICU, the patients with ARDS only had significantly lower urine H2O2 (266 +/- 30 mumol/L and 167 +/- 24 mumol/L, respectively) compared with the survivor ARDS-sepsis group (376 +/- 19 mumol/L and 250 +/- mumol/L). When the patients with ARDS (both ARDS only and with sepsis) recovered, their urine H2O2 concentration did not differ from the control groups (healthy donors and patients without ARDS). CONCLUSION: Lung injury scores did not differentiate patients with ARDS and sepsis from patients with ARDS only during the first 10 days in the ICU; however, urine H2O2 levels were significantly greater in the patients with ARDS and sepsis. Moreover, despite no initial difference in lung injury, patients who did not survive ARDS and sepsis had consistently greater urine H2O2 concentration than patients who survived sepsis. The urine H2O2 level in the ARDS-only group was about 70 percent of the level in the survivor ARDS and sepsis group, suggesting that ARDS alone is the major contributor to the H2O2 oxidant processes during combined ARDS and sepsis. Furthermore, these studies demonstrate that urine H2O2 may be a useful analyte to differentiate the severity of oxidant processes in patients with ARDS and sepsis albeit the prognosis appears to be survival or nonsurvival.
The aim of this study was to identify a specific substance [a Low-Molecular-Weight Chromium binding substance (LMW Cr)] in normal urine and also to clarify the various factors affecting chromium to bind this substance in urine. The results obtained were as follows: 1. Normal human and rat urines contained unsaturated LMW Cr similar to that found in the liver or other organs of rabbits and dogs. The amount of chromium bound in vitro to the unsaturated LMW Cr in normal human urine was 14.81 +/- 1.84 microgram/ml urine when urine was incubated with trivalent chromium for 30 minutes at 37 degrees C. 2. Higher amounts of chromium were bound to LMW Cr in normal urine a 37 degrees C than at 24 degrees C, in acidic state of urine than in alkaline state, and when trivalent chromium was added to the incubation mixture than when hexavalent chromium was added. Chromium contained in LMW Cr was supposed to be trivalent. Furthermore, boiling urine at 100 degrees C for 10 minutes did not reduce the chromium binding capacity of LMW Cr in urine. These results indicate that LMW Cr in urine binds chromium by a chemical reaction. 3. Amounts of chromium bound to LMW Cr in urine obtained 3 hrs after intraperitoneal injection of 200 mumole K2Cr2O7 to a rat were much higher than amounts of chromium bound in vitro to LMW Cr in normal urine during 3 hrs incubation of the urine with K2Cr2O7. This suggests that most of excessively absorbed chromium is excreted into urine after being bound to LMW Cr in organs. 4. Urine from patients with chronic nephritis excreted a part of added chromium bound to high molecular weight fractions corresponding to peaks of UV absorption.
The objective of the study reported here was to investigate three factors that may affect the amounts of water consumed and urine excreted by a rat in the metabolism cage: water dilution, housing, and food. Young F344/N rats (eight per group) were used for all experiments. Food was withheld from rats before each 16-h urine collection, then rats were transferred into a metabolism cage. For trial A (water dilution), urine was collected from rats supplied with dyed water (0.05%, vol/vol). This was repeated three times over a 2-week period. Dye in water or urine was quantified, using a spectrophotometer. For trial B (housing), rats were individually housed in wire cages for 3 weeks before the first urine collection. Then they were group housed in the solid-bottom cage (four per cage). After 2 weeks of acclimation, urine collection was repeated. For trial C (food), one group of rats was provided with food, the other was not, during urine collection. About 8% of urine samples of small volume (< or = 3 ml) from trial A were contaminated with drinking water up to 13% of volume. The average urine volume associated with individual housing was approximately twice as large as that associated with group housing. When food was provided during urine collection, rats consumed similar amounts of water but excreted significantly smaller amounts of urine than did rats without food. It was concluded that water dilution of a urine sample from a sipper bottle is relatively small; rats individually housed in wire caging before urine collection can consume and excrete a larger quantity of water, compared with rats group housed in solid-bottom cages; and highly variable urine volumes are, in part, associated with lack of access to food during urine collection.
The objective of this experiment was to determine if continuous exposure to bull urine alters resumption of ovarian cycling activity of primiparous, suckled beef cows. We tested the hypotheses that interval from urine exposure to resumption of luteal activity and proportions of cows that resume luteal activity by the end of the urine-exposure period do not differ between cows exposed to mature bull urine or steer urine. Thirty-eight Angus (A) x Hereford (H) cows, 4 mature A x H bulls and four 10-mo-old A x H steers, were used in this study. Cows were stratified by calving date, cow BW, calf BW, calf sex, dystocia score, and BCS; fitted with a controlled urine delivery device 2 wk before the start of treatments; and assigned randomly to be exposed continuously (24 h/d) to bull urine (n = 19) or steer urine (n = 19) beginning 40 d after calving. Urine was collected from bulls and steers every third day of the experiment. Blood samples were collected from cows starting on d 0 and every third day thereafter until the end of the exposure period (approximately 64 d). Likewise, controlled urine delivery devices were filled and refilled on the same schedule. Neither interval from urine exposure to resumption of luteal activity nor proportions of cows that resumed luteal activity during the urine-exposure period differed between cows exposed to bull urine or steer urine. We concluded that continuous exposure to mature bull urine does not affect resumption of luteal activity of primiparous, suckled beef cows.
OBJECTIVE: To test whether a urine bag technique, previously shown in circumcised male infants 1 month to 1 year of age to yield no false-positive cultures, would give similar results in newborns (females and circumcised and uncircumcised males). DESIGN: Prospective study in which periurethral and urine specimens were obtained from healthy newborns. After the periurethral specimen was obtained, the perineum was washed and a urine bag applied. The urine bag was removed immediately after voiding and the urine was cultured. SETTING: Normal newborn nursery and pediatric hospital. SUBJECTS: Ninety-eight healthy full-term newborns (49 female and 49 male) admitted to the normal nursery during a 4-month period. MAIN RESULTS: Isolation of a pathogen from the bag urine reflected periurethral flora. In 20 (95%) of the 21 urine specimens from which a pathogen was isolated, the same pathogen was detected on the periurethra. Sixteen of the 21 urine cultures were falsely positive (> 10(4) colony-forming units of pathogen per milliliter). In 50 (98%) of the 52 urine samples that yielded no growth, the periurethral culture was also negative. In the remaining 25 urine samples in which nonpathogens were detected, the periurethra yielded nonpathogens or no growth. Thus, if a pathogen was isolated from a bag urine sample, the same pathogen was detected on the periurethra 95% of the time. Conversely, if the bag urine sample was negative for a pathogen, the periurethral culture was negative 100% of the time. The presence of a pathogen on the periurethra was more common in female than male neonates (16 of 49 vs four of 49; P = .004), and none of the 14 circumcised male neonates had a pathogen detected on their periurethra or in their urine. CONCLUSION: This study explains the finding of false-positive cultures with the bag technique. Pathogens detected in bag urine samples reflected pathogens on the periurethra. Until a bag collection technique that avoids contamination by periurethral flora can be developed, urethral catheterization and suprapubic aspiration remain the methods of choice for obtaining a urine specimen in female and uncircumcised male neonates.