Vestibular Function Measurement Devices

Vestibular function laboratories utilize a multitude of diagnostic instruments to evaluate a dizzy patient. Caloric irrigators, oculomotor stimuli, and rotational chairs produce a stimulus whose accuracy is required for the patient response to be accurate. Careful attention to everything from cleanliness of equipment to threshold adjustments determine on a daily basis if patient data are going to be correct and useful. Instrumentation specifications that change with time such as speed and temperature must periodically be checked using calibrated instruments.     

Effect of Race and Ethnicity on Risk of Radiotherapy Toxicity and Implications for Radiogenomics

AimsPatient factors affect the risk of radiotherapy toxicity, but many are poorly defined. Studies have shown that race affects cancer incidence, survival, drug response, molecular pathways and epigenetics. Effects on radiosensitivity and radiotherapy toxicity are not well studied. The aim of the present study was to identify the effects of race and ethnicity on the risk of radiotherapy toxicity.Materials and methodsA systematic review was carried out of PubMed, Ovid Medline and Ovid Embase with no year limit. PRISMA 2020 guidelines were followed. Two independent assessors reviewed papers.ResultsOf 607 papers screened, 46 fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Papers were published between 1996 and 2021 and involved 30–28,354 individuals (median 433). Most involved patients with prostate (33%), breast (26%) and lung (9%) cancer. Both early and late toxicities were studied. Some studies reported a higher risk of toxicity in White men with prostate cancer compared with other races and ethnicities. For breast cancer patients, some reported an increased risk of toxicity in White women compared with other race and ethnic groups. In general, it was difficult to draw conclusions due to insufficient reporting and analysis of race and ethnicity in published literature.ConclusionsReporting of race and ethnicity in radiotherapy studies must be harmonised and improved and frameworks are needed to improve the quality of reporting. Further research is needed to understand how ancestral heritage might affect radiosensitivity and risk of radiotherapy toxicity.     

Biochemical consequences of 5-fluorouracil gastrointestinal toxicity in rats; effect of high-dose uridine

Selective protection of the normal host tissues from the toxic effects of anticancer agents would allow the use of higher, probably more effective, doses of the drugs. It has been demonstrated that delayed high-dose uridine administration after 5-fluorouracil decreases the extent of myelosuppression and causes faster regeneration of the bone marrow. We studied the biochemical consequences of the gastrointestinal toxicity caused by 5-fluorouracil and the potential of high-dose uridine treatment to influence these adverse effects. 5-Fluorouracil caused dose-related decreases in the biochemical parameters (thymidine kinase, sucrase, maltase, alkaline phosphatase) selected as early markers of the impaired metabolic activity of the intestinal mucosa. The nadir of the biochemical changes was reached between 24 h and 72 h after 5-fluorouracil treatment, and complete regeneration of the mucosa took 6–7 days. Delayed high-dose uridine administration failed to mitigate the severity of the gastrointestinal damage that ensued after 5-fluorouracil treatment, but caused significantly earlier regeneration of the mucosa.     

甲醛对小鼠致突变作用的研究

目的　研究甲醛对小鼠的致突变作用。方法　选择健康昆明种小鼠 5 0只 (雌雄各半 ) ,随机分为 3个剂量组 :甲醛高剂量组 (2 0 0 0mg/kg·bw)、中剂量组 (2 0 0mg/kg·bw)、低剂量组 (0 2 0mg/kg·bw) ,1个阴性对照组 (生理盐水 )和 1个阳性对照组 (环磷酰胺 5 0mg/kg) ,采用腹腔注射染毒 ,每天 1次 ,连续 5d。于第六天处死雌性小鼠进行骨髓细胞微核试验 ,于第三十五天处死雄性小鼠进行精子畸形试验 ,显微镜下观察并计数微核及畸形精子数。结果　甲醛中、高剂量组骨髓细胞微核数显著高于阴性对照组 (P <0 0 5 ;) ,同时低、中、高剂量组精子畸形率显著高于阴性对照组 (P <0 0 1)。结论　甲醛对小鼠具有致突变作用     

胡塞尔现象学本质直观理论初析

胡塞尔继承了西方哲学史上的本质主义路线，严格区分事实和本质、形式本质和实质本质，提出了他的现象学本质观。本质观使我们对“本质”的了解获得了从柏拉图主义和洛克主义、实在论和唯名论非此即彼之争中挣脱出来的可能。     

The prevalence of autonomic neuropathy in the primary glaucomas

The results of systemic autonomic nerve function studies in patients with closed-angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension are reviewed. Autonomic neuropathy has been demonstrated in 58% of patients with closed-angle glaucoma and 42% of ocular hypertensive subjects, with significantly increased prevalence in ocular hypertensives with narrow iridocorneal angles. The implications are discussed, with particular reference to the pathogenesis of raised intraocular pressure.     

Stimulus functions of drugs and the assessment of abuse liability

The development of a unifying framework for conceptualizing the commonalities in various forms of substance abuse must encompass the data base focused upon the stimulus functions of drugs. In the first instance, for example, the research on drug self-administration has provided convincing evidence of a remarkable concordance between laboratory animals and human substance abusers in the reinforcing stimulus functions of a range of chemical agents. The recognition of these cross-species and cross-drug generalities has radically changed conceptualizations of substance abuse from a reactive to a more active process and has encouraged the kind of functional analysis of drug-seeking and drug-taking that has proven productive and useful in the study of other behavioral interactions. In this regard as well, recent refinements in the analysis of the discriminative stimulus functions of drugs have provided a more comprehensive basis for characterizing a chemical agent's spectrum of action and evaluating its abuse liability. While the correlation between the discriminative stimulus functions and the reinforcing stimulus functions is remarkably high for some drug classes, there are notable exceptions. Finally, the assessment of abuse liability requires an analysis of the eliciting stimulus functions of drugs as reflected by the physiological and behavioral changes, both acute and chronic, that follow drug administration. The methods used to evaluate both physiological dependence and behavioral toxicity in relationship to sensory and motor effects for a range of abused drugs have depended heavily upon an assessment of the eliciting stimulus functions of such compounds.     

The effect of fluconazole and ketoconazole on the metabolism of sulphamethoxazole

1 Cytochrome P450-mediated bioactivation of sulphamethoxazole to a hydroxylamine has been implicated in the hypersensitivity reactions associated with co-trimoxazole administration. Inhibiting the formation of the hydroxylamine may be one method of preventing the high frequency of toxicity which is observed in HIV-infected patients. Therefore, in this study, we have investigated the ability of fluconazole and ketoconazole, known cytochrome P450 inhibitors, to inhibit the formation of sulphamethoxazole hydroxylamine.
2 Ten healthy male volunteers were given co-trimoxazole (800  mg sulphamethoxazole and 160  mg trimethoprim) alone or 1  h after either fluconazole (150  mg) or ketoconazole (200  mg) in a randomized fashion with a washout period of at least 1 week between each phase. Urine was collected for 24  h, and sulphamethoxazole and its metabolites were quantified by electrospray LC-MS.
3 Ketoconazole had no effect on the urinary recovery of sulphamethoxazole or any of its metabolites. In contrast, fluconazole significantly ( P <0.001) inhibited the formation of sulphamethoxazole hydroxylamine by 50.0±15.1%. Fluconazole also inhibited the oxidation of sulphamethoxazole to the 5-methylhydroxy and 5-methylhydroxy acetate metabolites by 69.9±15.8% and 64.0±12.0%, respectively, but had no effect on the amount of sulphamethoxazole, N₄-acetyl sulphamethoxazole, or sulphamethoxazole N₁-glucuronide excreted in urine.
4 The potential clinical benefit of using fluconazole to prevent hypersensitivity to co-trimoxazole in patients with AIDS needs to be assessed in a prospective study using both metabolite formation and the clinical occurrence of adverse reactions as end-points.     

联合抗青光眼手术治疗不易控制眼压青光眼的研究

采用板层下巩膜床双咬切、睫状体剥离合并睛状体上腔植入硅橡胶条的抗青光眼联合手术治疗不易控制眼压的青光眼46例52眼，其中继发性青光眼27眼，原发闭角青光眼10眼，原发开角青光眼6眼，先天、青少年型青光眼7眼，虹膜角膜内皮综合征2眼。手术总有效率达94％。本术式具有小梁切除、睫状体剥离、睫状体扁平部引流的功能。作者认为用硅橡胶条作植入物，比异体或自体组织作植入物更为理想。