PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

B Schulz

Publications and source records attributed to B Schulz.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

Two outbreaks of multidrug-resistant Salmonella serotype typhimurium DT104 infections linked to raw-milk cheese in Northern California.

CONTEXT: Salmonella serotype Typhimurium definitive type 104 (DT104), with resistance to 5 drugs (ampicillin, chloramphenicol, streptomycin, sulfonamides, and tetracycline), has emerged as the most common multidrug-resistant Salmonella strain in the United States. However, illnesses resulting from this strain have not been associated definitively with a source in this country. OBJECTIVE: To determine the source of 2 outbreaks of Salmonella Typhimurium DT104. DESIGN: Matched case-control study conducted between March 24 and April 5, 1997 (outbreak 1), enhanced surveillance for new cases dating from February 1, 1997 (outbreak 2), and environmental and laboratory investigations. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: The case-control study included residents of 2 adjacent counties in northern California infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Typhimurium var Copenhagen and age-matched controls. For enhanced surveillance, a case was defined as Salmonella Typhimurium infection in a person exposed to fresh Mexican-style cheese. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Risk factors for infection and source of implicated food. RESULTS: Outbreak 1 peaked in February 1997; 31 patients were confirmed by culture as having Salmonella Typhimurium var Copenhagen infection, isolates of which showed indistinguishable pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns. The outbreak strain was phage type DT104 with the 5-drug resistance pattern. Sixteen cases and 25 controls were enrolled in the case-control study; 15 of 16 Salmonella Typhimurium var Copenhagen cases compared with 14 of 24 matched controls reported eating unpasteurized Mexican-style cheese, (matched odds ratio, 7.9; 95% confidence interval, 1.1-354.9). Enhanced surveillance uncovered outbreak 2, which peaked in April 1997 and was caused by a non-Copenhagen variant of Salmonella Typhimurium. During outbreak 2, Salmonella Typhimurium was isolated from 79 persons who ate fresh Mexican-style cheese from street vendors and from cheese samples and raw milk. The PFGE pattern of the milk isolate matched 1 of the 3 patterns recovered from patients; all strains were phage type DT104b with the 5-drug resistance pattern. CONCLUSION: Raw-milk products pose a risk for multidrug-resistant Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 infections.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Geniculol, a new biologically active diterpene from the endophytic fungus geniculosporium sp.1

An endophytic fungus of the genus Geniculosporium was isolated from Teucrium scorodonia. The EtOAc extract of this isolate exhibited antialgal activities, as well as demonstrating an interesting profile during chemical screening. After mass cultivation of this fungus, in an optimized agar medium, two of the compounds responsible for the observed biological activity were isolated, the new diterpene geniculol (1), and the known fungal metabolite cytochalasin F (2). Geniculol is an unprecedented and irregular diterpenoid. For 1 and 2 complete 1H and 13C NMR data are reported. Both metabolites exhibit algacidal properties. Additionally, cytochalasin F was shown to be an inhibitor of photosynthesis, suggesting an ecological function in the plant-symbiont relationship for this secondary metabolite.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1999

Biologically active secondary metabolites from fungi. 12.(1) oidiolactones A-F, labdane diterpene derivatives isolated from oidiodendron truncata

Two known (1 and 2) and four new (3-6) diterpenes named oidiolactones A-F, respectively, and the antibiotic cladosporin were isolated from the fungus Oidiodendron truncata. The structure determination was mainly based on 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy. The structures of compound 4, displaying an equilibrium between open-chain and cyclized form, and of cladosporin were confirmed by X-ray analysis.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1999

[Leiomyoma of the female urethra].

Extrauterine leiomyomas of the female urogenital tract are seldomly described in the present literature. We report on a 47-year-old patient with a large suburethral leiomyoma, which was misinterpreted as a vaginal descensus. Aspects of diagnosis and treatment are discussed.

Cystoscopy↗
PubMed1999

Role of Küpffer cells and PMN leukocytes in hepatic and systemic oxidative stress in rats subjected to tourniquet shock.

Küpffer cells (KCs) have been implicated in leukocyte recruitment and microvascular dysfunction associated with liver inflammation. The overall objective of this study was to assess the role of KCs and polymorphonuclear (PMN) leukocytes on the oxidative stress elicited in the liver as a consequence of hind limb reperfusion in rats subjected to tourniquet shock, a shock model that differs from other models in that hepatic injury is a consequence of remote organ damage. Colloidal carbon clearance from blood and its incorporation into KCs demonstrate that these cells are activated after the 2 h hind limb reperfusion period and that they are responsible for the observed oxidative stress and for PMN leukocyte recruitment and activation. Liver oxidative stress in this model is evidenced by increased liver tissue GSSG/GSH ratio, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), an index of lipid peroxidation, myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, an index of tissue-associated neutrophil accumulation, and a significant loss in total tissue superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. Mean arterial blood pressure (MAP), as well as plasma levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), an index of hepatic tissue injury, total SOD activity, plasma levels of alpha-tocopherol and beta-carotene, and total plasma nitrite are also affected as a consequence of KC activation after the 2 h hind limb reperfusion period. Inhibition of KC activity by gadolinium chloride (GdCl3) reverted most of the above alterations to values that do no differ from those found in control animals. These results support the hypothesis that hepatic and systemic oxidative stress elicited by hind limb reperfusion in rats subjected to tourniquet shock is both KC and PMN leukocyte dependent.

Alanine Transaminase↗
PubMed1998

Compensation of decreased triose phosphate/phosphate translocator activity by accelerated starch turnover and glucose transport in transgenic tobacco.

Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) plants were transformed with an antisense construct of the chloroplast triose phosphate/phosphate translocator (TPT). Three transformant lines of the T4 progeny, which showed a large decrease in the transcript level of the TPT were used for further biochemical and physiological characterisation. In all antisense lines tested, TPT transport activity was diminished by 50-70% compared with the wild type (WT). Despite this high reduction in the transport capacity, alpha TPT plants lacked any visible phenotype. Hexokinase and alpha-amylase activities were increased in alpha TPT plants compared with the WT, whereas activities of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase and ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGPase) were not affected. At the end of a 14-h light period, leaf starch contents in alpha TPT lines were similar to those of the WT and controls, indicating that a decrease in the TPT had no effect on starch accumulation. Sucrose contents were diminished by more than 50% in alpha TPT lines compared with control plants. The time course of starch accumulation revealed a transient increase in the starch content in a selected alpha TPT line after 6 h in the light, followed by a decrease towards the end of the light period. Labelling with 14C indicated that during the dark and light (late afternoon) periods starch is mobilised at higher rates in alpha TPT lines than in the controls. Glucose/fructose ratios at the end of the dark period were increased from 1.2 in control plants to 2 in alpha TPT lines indicating increased amylolytic starch degradation. Initial rates of [14C] glucose transport in isolated chloroplasts were increased by a factor of 2-3 in alpha TPT plants compared with the WT. Rates of CO2 assimilation were substantially diminished in the alpha TPT lines in high CO2 and low O2, but remained unaffected in ambient CO2. The rate of photosynthetic electron transport during the induction of photosynthesis in saturating CO2 exhibited pronounced oscillations only in WT and control plants. Oscillations were less pronounced in alpha TPT plants, indicating that phosphate limitation of photosynthesis is lowered in alpha TPT plants compared with the WT. It is proposed that photoassimilates are more readily directed into starch biosynthesis in alpha TPT plants. This is supported by determinations of 3-phosphoglycerate levels (an activator of AGPase) during the transition from dark to light in high CO2.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1998

[Strategies for coping with complex problems. Importance of an integrated practice to the quality of life in patient care].

Due to the demographic shift, increasing care needs of elderly and chronically ill people have growing impact on the health care services. With complex needs to meet, the quality of life of patients depends on multiple factors, of which the continuity of care plays an important role. Integrated care requires the exchange of information and close coordination on the concept of care between all participants in the care process. Yet, collaborative care is often seriously jeopardized by lack of knowledge about the concepts, scope of action and requests of the involved health professionals and services. Information on the past and present health state and on self care resources are prerequisites for adequate rehabilitation efforts that are patient-oriented and of high quality. To make sure that interventions promote or stabilize the quality of life, the participation of the client is inevitable in all stages of the process of care planning and coordination. The results of a research project concerning cooperative quality improvement carried out at the Agnes Karll Institute for Nursing Research stress these assumptions.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

[Patient-oriented quality assurance. Information and cooperation of the health services as a condition for integrated care].

The increasing care needs of the elderly and chronically ill have a growing impact on health care services. With complex needs to meet, the patient's quality of life depends on multiple factors, of which the continuity of care plays an important role. Information on the past and present health state and on self care resources are prerequisites for adequate rehabilitation efforts that are patient-oriented and of high quality. Institutionally induced "cascade episodes of incompetence" (Ulmer & Saller, 1994) have to be avoided. To make sure that interventions promote or stabilize the quality of life, the participation of the client is crucial in all stages of the process of care planning and coordination. Integrated care requires the exchange of information and close coordination on the concept of care between all participants in the care process. Yet, collaborative care is often seriously jeopardized by lack of knowledge about the concepts, scope of action and requests of the involved health professionals and services. At the Agnes Karll Institute of Nursing Research an action research project aiming at cooperative quality assurance was carried out. It became obvious that there is a large amount of intersectoral knowledge necessarily needed by all professionals and services to ensure seamless professional care. But often they have no access to the information needed. Therefore a client's accompanying booklet was developed to pass on basic information. It is kept by the client and shall be used and filled out by them, their relatives and the different health professionals and health care services involved.

Communication↗
PubMed1996

Arabidopsis AUX1 gene: a permease-like regulator of root gravitropism.

The plant hormone auxin regulates various developmental processes including root formation, vascular development, and gravitropism. Mutations within the AUX1 gene confer an auxin-resistant root growth phenotype and abolish root gravitropic curvature. Polypeptide sequence similarity to amino acid permeases suggests that AUX1 mediates the transport of an amino acid-like signaling molecule. Indole-3-acetic acid, the major form of auxin in higher plants, is structurally similar to tryptophan and is a likely substrate for the AUX1 gene product. The cloned AUX1 gene can restore the auxin-responsiveness of transgenic aux1 roots. Spatially, AUX1 is expressed in root apical tissues that regulate root gravitropic curvature.

2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid↗
PubMed1996

Amino acid composition of food products used in the treatment of patients with disorders of the amino acid and protein metabolism.

The amino acid composition of food products frequently used in the diets of amino acid and protein disorders-including tryptophan- was estimated using ion-exchange column chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography. It includes fruits (different varieties of apples, pears, ananas, bananas, peach, strawberries, honey melon, water melon, kiwi, plums, grapes), vegetables (different varieties of potatoes, potato products, cauli-flower, broccoli, cabbages, spinach, olives, lettuce, cucumber, peas, mushrooms) and commercially available or home-made food products (meat broth, fine gravy paste, ketchup, liquid seasoning, soja sauce, different varieties of Chinese noodles, sausages for phenylketonuria patients), and different new fiber concentrates.

Amino Acid Metabolism, Inborn Errors↗
PubMed1996

Omega-3 fatty acids and low carbohydrate diet for maintenance of remission in Crohn's disease. A randomized controlled multicenter trial. Study Group Members (German Crohn's Disease Study Group).

BACKGROUND: There is no established therapy for maintaining remission in patients with Crohn's disease. Following different suggestions from the literature, two potential interventions for maintaining remission were tested against placebo, using either 5 g/day of a highly concentrated omega-3 fatty acid compound or a carbohydrate-reduced diet (84 g/day). METHODS: A total of 204 patients were recruited after they had had an acute relapse. After remission (CDAI < or = 150) was attained with steroid therapy, patients were randomized to receive either omega-3 fatty acids (n = 70), placebo (n = 65), or diet (n = 69). Low-dose prednisolone was given to all patients for the first 8 weeks of intervention. CDAI and an acute-phase protein (CRP) were used as criteria for a relapse. RESULTS: The proportion of patients without relapse within a year were similar in the placebo and active treatment group (intention-to-treat analysis: placebo, 30%; active treatment, 30%; protocol-adhering patients, 29% versus 28%). Patients did gain benefit (53%; p = 0.023) for as long as they maintained the diet. However, intention-to-treat analysis (diet group, 40%) did not show a noticeable difference when compared with placebo. CONCLUSIONS: Omega-3 fatty acids did not show an effect on extending the remission in Crohn's disease. For the diet patients the question remains whether the noncompliant patients dropped out early because they sensed a relapse approaching or whether their condition deteriorated because they failed to comply with the diet.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Computers conquer hospital wards in Germany.

As a result of the Health Reform Act (1993) German hospitals have to prepare for fundamental changes in their accountability to the health insurance companies. For example, the introduction of diagnosis-related groups and competitive elements into the health care sector necessitate thorough recording of patient-related costs by each individual hospital. Consequently, the work done by nurses is to be measured in a more refined manner in order to obtain a correct picture of the overall costs for a particular treatment. Computer technology is seen as a suitable tool to meet the challenges of this new development. The Agnes Karll Institute of Nursing Research (German Nurses' Association) conducted a study in the hospitals of Hesse, Germany, in order to investigate the present state of nursing informatics and related questions. Some results will be outlined in this paper.

Germany↗