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Notes: The treatment of venous ulcers must start with compression and if the ankle brachial index is greater than 0.8 high compression bandages can be applied. Despite edema control, there are a number of venous ulcers that do not heal at the expected rate. Patients with venous ulcers of greater than 4 weeks duration were treated with a prolonged release absorptive nanocrystalline silver dressing (Acticoat 7) under the 4 layer bandage, Profore for 12 weeks, or until healing. Biopsies were obtained from the ulcer base at week 0 for histology and bacterial burden. Duplicate biopsies for quantitative bacteriology were performed with one submitted whole and the second bisected into superficial and deep components. The paired biopsies were then repeated after a median of 6.5 weeks (range 2 to 12 weeks). The histological specimens were examined by the histopathologist (SR). Inflammatory infiltrates were identified in the superficial, middle and deep segments of the biopsies. Acute infiltrates were identified through the concentration of neutrophils and chronic infiltrates by the presence of lymphocytes. Each biopsy and each segment was graded for infiltrates on a four point semi quantitative score. A total of 15 patients (9 male, and 6 female) were enrolled into the study. The median age was 63 years (range 30–83 years). The median duration of current ulceration was 17.3 weeks (range 4 weeks to 11 years) and the median ulcer area was 4.8 cm2(range 1.8–43.9 cm2). The median exposure to Acticoat 7 was 82 days (range 8–86 days).There were 12 sets of paired biopsies that were analyzed. There was a statistically significant reduction (p = 0.0114) in the log10(total bacterial count) between the baseline and final biopsies (median 4.48 and 3.00, respectively). Four patients healed, 8 patients continued to the end of the 12-week study period and three patients were discontinued early. For all patients, the median percentage reduction in ulcer area was 94.4% and the median final ulcer area was 0.4 cm2. Analysis of the histology and bacteriology data demonstrated that the presence of a high neutrophilic infiltrate in skin biopsies was associated with high bacterial counts (superficial compartment of the quantitative biopsies) at week 4 and delayed healing (p = 0.037). In the week 0 biopsy, increased lymphocytic infiltrates within the superficial and middle segments were associated with accelerated healing in the first 4 weeks (p = 0.26 and 0.09). The nanocrystalline silver dressing has demonstrated an anti-bacterial and permissive but selective anti-inflammatory action allowing lymphocytic infiltrates to increase associated with an accelerated reduction in ulcer size.

Notes: Often chronic wounds have an increased bacterial burden that can impair healing without the classical clinical signs of infection. Silver dressings may provide an alternative topical method to control bacterial burden.The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of 2–4 weeks therapy with the Silver Containing Hydrofiber® dressing on quantitative bacterial burden and clinical improvement in chronic wounds not healing at the expected rate.This was a single centre, four-armed study which included a total of 30 patients with diabetic foot ulcers, leg ulcers, pressure ulcers and miscellaneous wounds that did not fit into any of the above categories. Patients had a baseline quantitative bacterial biopsy and this was repeated at weeks 2 to 4. The wound size was recorded along with a semi quantitative estimate of exudate and the periwound temperatures. Repeat measurements were performed at the follow-up visits and the decrease in wound size calculated. The underlying cause of the ulceration was be treated and corrected. This was followed by application of silver containing hydrofiber® dressing. There was a significant delay in healing of the leg ulcers associated with increased bacterial burden in the quantitative biopsy bacterial burden results at week 0 and healing at week 2. (p = 0.01). Other subgroups had a similar association that did not reach statistical significance. The presence of an increased exudate in the leg ulcers at week two was associated with delayed healing at week 4 (p = 0.05). There was also a significant increase in skin surface temperature of the surrounding skin with an increased quantitative bacterial biopsy of the deep wound compartment for venous, diabetic neurotrophic foot ulcers and pressure ulcers with p values of 0.05, 0.01 and 0.01 respectively. There was no significant decrease in exudate or increased healing of the wounds with the application of the silver hydrofiber dressing in this difficult to heal population. The population studied in this case series had increased bacterial burden in the deep compartment as measured with increased exudate and or an increased temperature of the periwound skin. These patients have an increased bacterial burden in the deep wound compartment that does not respond to topical ionized silver in the dressing studied.

Notes: In persons with venous ulcers and an absence of arterial disease, high compression as exemplified by the four layer bandage (Profore) has been demonstrated to be effective by a meta-analysis of existing studies. Despite optimized compression, some venous ulcers do not heal at the expected rate and persistent inflammation or infection may delay or prevent healing. We report the results of a case series that demonstrates an ionized silver dressing with prolonged release of nanocrystalline crystals (Acticoat 7) can decrease bacterial burden and accelerate healing in venous ulcers not healing at the expected rate. Patients with venous ulcers were treated with a prolonged release absorptive nanocrystalline silver dressing (Acticoat 7) under a four layer bandage (Profore) for 12 weeks, or until healing. The primary efficacy objective measured the effect of the silver dressing on the wound microflora. Biopsies of the wounds were taken at baseline and after treatment with the silver dressing (Acticoat 7) and were analyzed for the bacterial species and number of bacteria present. In addition, serum silver levels were assessed at baseline, weeks 4, 8 and week 12 or final assessment. A total of 15 patients (9 male, and 6 female) were enrolled into the study. The median age was 63 years (range 30–83 years). The median duration of current ulceration was 17.3 weeks (range 4 weeks to 11 years) and the median ulcer area was 4.8 cm2(range 1.8–43.9 cm2). The median exposure to Acticoat 7 was 82 days (range 8–86 days). There was a statistically significant reduction (p = 0.0114) in the log10(total bacterial count) between the baseline and final biopsies (median 4.48 and 3.00, respectively). Four patients healed, 8 patients continued to the end of the 12-week study period and three patients were discontinued early. Of those patients who did not heal, 4 had more than a 94% reduction in wound area by the end of the 12-week study period. For all patients, the median percentage reduction in ulcer area was 94.4% and the median final ulcer area was 0.4 cm2. Statistical analysis showed a significant increase (p = 0.054) in serum silver concentration during the treatment period. At baseline, prior to the silver dressing treatment (Acticoat 7), the median silver concentration was 0.3 μg/L (range: 0.20–1.90 μg/L). The median within patient change from baseline serum silver concentration was an increase of 0.15 μg/L (range: −0.3–2.8 μg/L). Although this small increase was observed it was not considered clinically significant. This study illustrates the use of prolonged release nanocrystalline silver dressing to decrease the bacterial burden of chronic venous ulcers not healing at the expected rate.

Notes: Abstract: Recent studies have shown that the pharmacologicaltolerance observed after prolonged exposure to synthetic or plant-derivedcannabinoids in adult rats is accompanied by down-regulation/desensitizationof brain cannabinoid receptors. However, no evidence exists on possiblechanges in the contents of the endogenous ligands of cannabinoid receptors inthe brain of cannabinoid-tolerant rats. The present study was designed toelucidate this possibility by measuring, by means of isotope dilution gaschromatography/mass spectrometry, the contents of both anandamide(arachidonoylethanolamide; AEA) and its biosynthetic precursor,N-arachidonoylphosphatidylethanolamine (NArPE), and2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) in several brain regions of adult male ratstreated daily with Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol(Δ9-THC) for a period of 8 days. The areas analyzed includedcerebellum, striatum, limbic forebrain, hippocampus, cerebral cortex, andbrainstem. The same regions were also analyzed for cannabinoid receptorbinding and WIN-55,212-2-stimulatedguanylyl-5′-O-(γ-[35S]thio)-triphosphate([35S]GTPγS) binding to test the development of the wellknown down-regulation/desensitization phenomenon. Results were as follows: Asexpected, cannabinoid receptor binding and WIN-55,212-2-stimulated[35S]GTPγS binding decreased in most of the brain areas ofΔ9-THC-tolerant rats. The only region exhibiting no changesin both parameters was the limbic forebrain. This same region exhibited amarked (almost fourfold) increase in the content of AEA after 8 days ofΔ9-THC treatment. By contrast, the striatum exhibited adecrease in AEA contents, whereas no changes were found in the brainstem,hippocampus, cerebellum, or cerebral cortex. The increase in AEA contentsobserved in the limbic forebrain was accompanied by a tendency of NArPE levelsto decrease, whereas in the striatum, no significant change in NArPE contentswas found. The contents of 2-AG were unchanged in brain regions fromΔ9-THC-tolerant rats, except for the striatum where they dropped significantly. In summary, the present results show that prolonged activation of cannabinoid receptors leads to decreased endocannabinoid contents and signaling in the striatum and to increased AEA formation in the limbic forebrain. The pathophysiological implications of these findings are discussed in view of the proposed roles of endocannabinoids in the control of motor behavior and emotional states.

Notes: The clinical features of idiopathic stabbing headache (“jabs and jolts syndrome”) were studied in 38 patients who were diagnosed throughout a 1-year period. Mean age at the onset of symptoms was 47.1 years ± 14.5 (SD), and a clear female preponderance was demonstrated (female/male ratio=6.6), Painful attacks were ultrashort, i.e. virtually all attacks in more than two thirds of cases lasted only one second. The frequency of attacks varied immensely, ranging from 1 attach per year to 50 attacks daily. The pain paroxysms usually occurred with an irregular or sporadic temporal pattern. The localization of painful attacks was reported frequently as unifocal, usually in the orbital area, but also multifocal patterns were observed, the attacks frequently changing location from one area to the next. The majority of attacks occurred spontaneously, and accompanying phenomena were reported only rarely. Indomethacin treatment (75 mg daily) seemed to have a complete or partial effect in most patients treated as such (n = 17).

Notes: This paper focuses on a fresh way to determine quality of ham according to sensorial analysis. It is an application of latent traits theory to biometry. “Quality of Iberian Ham” can be considered a latent variable defined by a set of sensorial analysis factors (items). The theoretical background is Item Response Theory (IRT), which suggests that if we can understand how each item in a set of items operates with an object, then we can estimate a measure for the object. The Rasch model is the most common model for that theory. This technique has been applied to data from 8 different hams assessed by 15 expert judges tasting ham in order to obtain Rasch measurements for hams and calibrations for the items.

Notes: In previous works, the size-consistent self-consistent matrix dressing method has been applied to single reference as well as to complete active space singles and doubles configuration interaction. The wave function of the dressed state was assumed to be dominated by a closed shell determinant. Here, the method has been extended to systems where the dressed state is a single-configurational doublet. The method allows for the accurate calculation of energies and wave functions of other electronic states of the same system, having or not the same symmetry, as well as in the case of closed shell systems. This statement has been thoroughly assessed by the calculation of vertical ionization energies corresponding to a few low lying states of HF+ that are compared to full CI results obtained with the cc-pVDZ basis set. The method has been applied, using larger basis sets, to the calculation of vertical ionization potentials (VIP) of HF, H2CO, N2, and NH3. The results are compared to experimental VIP values. The effects of selecting different CAS spaces and using pseudonatural adapted MO's obtained from the CASSCF matrix densities are shown and discussed. Mean absolute error (MAE) for the calculated states is about 0.07 eV. The difficulties to improve this precision limit are shown. However, the mean signed absolute errors, that measure accuracy, can be made smaller. Small MAE can be obtained using simultaneously VTZ basis sets and intermediate levels of calculation. The possibility of this effect to be assigned to a fortuitous cancellation of errors is pointed out. © 2000 American Institute of Physics.

Notes: The flow and structural characteristics of concentrated milk were analyzed between concentrations of 12.5 and 46.7% solids content at room temperature. The rheological behavior of milk concentrates was represented by parameters corresponding to Newtonian, Power Law, or Herschel-Bulkley equations depending on the solids content level. The resulting flow behavior indices and consistency coefficients were correlated to concentration by a single-term exponential equation, with only milk concentrates above 40% solids content exhibiting yield stress. Milk concentrates were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), complemented by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and image analysis (IA). Casein micelles appeared as granular particles (0.1–0.3 μm) with a rough surface. Fat globules, noted as small holes in the SEM pictures, appeared to be major spherical components (0.5–10 μm) in the transmission electron microscope images as well as in the image analysis inverted micrographs. Fat globules in the milk concentrates were surrounded by a membrane which was thicker in the concentrated milk than in the fresh milk. TEM images were very helpful in observing the interparticle interactions, as well as the thickness of the fat membranes that corroborated with the SEM observations. The IA pictures allowed the identification and characterization of the fat globule features.