Bioavailability of ranitidine in healthy Mexican volunteers: effect of food

Is well known that food can affect the bioavailability of several drugs, its impact is major for those drugs that have to act near of drug absorption. Documentation about alterations of ranitidine bioavailability by effect of food is poor. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the effect of food over the bioavailability of ranitidine. Twenty healthy Mexican volunteers were included for the study. The study was made in two stages, in the first one the volunteers had 12 hour fast and took a 300 mg of oral dose of ranitidine (without food, WOF) and blood samples were drawn. Two weeks later, the volunteers took a normal diet just before ranitidine intake (with food, WF). The area under the curve (AUC) was 30% greater in WOF, Cmax was 921.5 ng/ml (WF) vs. 1685.2 (WOF), and t1/2 was 2.70 +/- 1.38 (WF) h vs 3.66 +/- 1.34 (WOF). The AUC, Cmax and t1/2 were statistically different. It is evident that there are differences in the drug disposition due to the presence of food, then, it is possible that the efficacy of ranitidine as inhibitor of gastric secretion being limited by food.

Disturbance of cellular iron uptake and utilisation by aluminium

Aluminium (Al) affects erythropoiesis but the real mechanism of action is still unknown. Transferrin receptors (TfR) in K562 cells are able to bind Tf, when carrying either iron (Fe) or Al, with similar affinity. Then, the aim of this work was to determine whether Al could interfere with the cellular Fe uptake and utilisation. K562 cells were induced to erythroid differentiation by either haemin (H) or sodium butyrate (B) and cultured with and without Al. The effect of Al on cellular Fe uptake, Fe incorporation to haem and cell differentiation was studied. H- and B-stimulated cells grown in the presence of 10 microM Al showed a reduction in the number of haemoglobinised cells (by 18% and 56%, respectively) and high amounts of Al content. Al(2)Tf inhibited both the (59)Fe cellular uptake and its utilisation for haem synthesis. The removal of Al during the (59)Fe pulse, after a previous incubation with the metal, allowed the cells to acquire Fe quantities in the normal range or even exceeding the amounts incorporated by the respective control cells. However, the Fe incorporated to haem could not reach control values in B-stimulated cells despite enough Fe acquisition was observed after removing Al. Present results suggest that Al might exert either reversible or irreversible effects on the haemoglobin synthesis depending on cellular conditions.

Effect of Mangifera indica L. extract (QF808) on protein and hepatic microsome peroxidation

The antioxidant activities of QF808, a steam bark extract of Mangifera indica L., were studied on hydroxyl-mediated oxidation of bovine serum albumin (BSA) and in a hepatic microsome system. The extract was effective in reducing the oxidation of BSA, since its half- maximal inhibition concentration (IC(50)) was 0.0049% w/v in the inhibition of carbonyl group formation and lower than 0.0025% w/v in the inhibition of sulfhydryl group loss. QF808 inhibited lipid peroxidation which was initiated enzymatically by reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH), IC(50)= 0.00075% w/v, or non-enzymatically by ascorbic acid, IC(50) = 0.0126% w/v. The extract tested did not inhibit NADPH-dependent cytochrome P-450 reductase activity, since it had no effect on the oxidation rate of NADPH. These results suggest that QF808 has an antioxidant activity, probably due to its ability to scavenge free radicals involved in microsome lipid peroxidation. In addition, QF808 antioxidant profile in vitro is probably similar to its principal polyphenolic component, mangiferin, a glycosylated xanthone.

Clinical significance of donor-unrecognized bacteremia in the outcome of solid-organ transplant recipients

We evaluated the clinical significance of unrecognized bacteremia in the organ donor (i.e., blood culture results that were reported to be positive after transplantation) on the outcome of transplant recipients. Twenty-nine of 569 liver and heart donors (5%) had bacteremia at the time of organ procurement, but there were no documented instances of transmission of the isolated bacteria from the donor to the recipient. Unrecognized bacteremia in the donor does not have a negative clinical impact on the outcome of organ transplant recipients.

Relationship between monokaryotic growth rate and mating type in the edible basidiomycete Pleurotus ostreatus

The edible fungus Pleurotus ostreatus (oyster mushroom) is an industrially produced heterothallic homobasidiomycete whose mating is controlled by a bifactorial tetrapolar genetic system. Two mating loci (matA and matB) control different steps of hyphal fusion, nuclear migration, and nuclear sorting during the onset and progress of the dikaryotic growth. Previous studies have shown that the segregation of the alleles present at the matB locus differs from that expected for a single locus because (i) new nonparental B alleles appeared in the progeny and (ii) there was a distortion in the segregation of the genomic regions close to this mating locus. In this study, we pursued these observations by using a genetic approach based on the identification of molecular markers linked to the matB locus that allowed us to dissect it into two genetically linked subunits (matBalpha and matBbeta) and to correlate the presence of specific matBalpha and matA alleles with differences in monokaryotic growth rate. The availability of these molecular markers and the mating type dependence of growth rate in monokaryons can be helpful for marker-assisted selection of fast-growing monokaryons to be used in the construction of dikaryons able to colonize the substrate faster than the competitors responsible for reductions in the industrial yield of this fungus.

[Positron emission tomography (PET): application in urogenital system oncologic diseases]

OBJECTIVE

To review and discuss the applications of positron emission tomography (PET), with special reference to genitourinary tumors.

METHODS

Our experience and the relevant literature on PET are reviewed. The principles and technical aspects of PET, the different parameters analyzed, its clinical indications, applications in genitourinary tumors and research are discussed.

RESULTS/CONCLUSION

Positron emission tomography (PET) permits visualization and determination in vivo of a number of tissue and organ physiologic and biomolecular parameters. PET is also used for biomedical research and is especially useful for research and development of new drugs, tumor biomolecular phenotyping and for monitoring gene therapy. It has also proved to be a useful non-invasive diagnostic imaging technique in the clinical setting with an excellent cost-effectiveness in cancer patients. Fluor-deoxyglucose-F18 or FDG is the only radiotracer with a clinical application. PET detects the intense tumor uptake of FDG due to the higher glycolytic index of tumor cells. The PET tomograms allow performing a complete study of the whole body in the same session. The clinical indications of FDG PET that are currently accepted and established are: diagnosis of benign versus malignant solitary lung nodule, pre-treatment study to determine the extent of non-small cell lung cancer, localization and re-staging of colorectal cancer recurrence, extent and post-treatment assessment of lymphomas and extent of recurrent malignant melanoma. The application of FDG PET in genitourinary cancer is controversial. It does not appear to be useful in the initial diagnosis of primary prostatic, bladder and kidney tumors. Its clinical yield appears to be better for localizing recurrence and re-staging patients with increased prostatic specific antigen (PSA) levels after treatment of a primary prostatic tumor. Furthermore, it can also be used to determine the extent of hypernephroma and malignant bladder tumor suspected to be metastatic at the initial diagnosis. In testicular germ cell tumors, FDG PET can be a very useful tool for pre-treatment staging and to evaluate post-treatment residual masses.

Stochastic analog to phase transitions in chaotic coupled map lattices

Stochastic dynamical systems are shown to exhibit the same order-disorder phase transitions that have been found in chaotic map lattices. Phase diagrams are obtained for diffusively coupled two-dimensional (2D) lattices, using two stochastic maps and a chaotic one, for both square and triangular geometries, with simultaneous updating. We show how the use of triangular geometry reduces (or even eliminates) the reentrant behavior found in the phase diagrams for the square geometry. This is attributed to the elimination (via frustration) of the antiferromagnetic clusters common to simultaneous updating of square lattices. We also evaluate the critical exponents for the stochastic maps in the triangular lattices. The strong similarities in the phase diagrams and the consistency between the critical exponents of one stochastic map and the chaotic one, evaluated in an early work by Marcq et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 77, 4003 (1996); Phys. Rev. E 55, 2606 (1997)] suggest that the "sign-persistence," defined as the probability that the local map keeps the sign of the local variable in one iteration, plays a fundamental role in the presence of continuous phase transitions in coupled map lattices, and is a basic ingredient for models that belong to this weak Ising universality. However, the fact that the second stochastic map, which has an extremely simple local dynamics, seems to fall in the 2D Ising universality class, suggests that some minimal local complexity is also needed to generate the specific correlations that end up giving non-Ising critical behavior.

Inequalities in mortality by social class in men in Barcelona, Spain

Most of the studies of inequalities in mortality carried out in Spain have been ecological, due to the difficulty of obtaining good quality socioeconomic information at individual level. The objective of this study was to describe inequalities in mortality by social class, based on occupation, among men residents of Barcelona in 1993. A representative sample was obtained of men residents of Barcelona who died during the year 1993, aged between 15 and 65 years. It was a retrospective interview given to relatives of the deceased, or other closely related persons. The variables analysed were: age, education level, underlying cause of death, and social class based on occupation (manual and non-manual workers). Rates, relative risks (RRs) and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) are presented by age groups and cause of death. The main results show that among young people, the excess of mortality due to infectious diseases is notable (RR: 1.9; 95% CI: 1.6-2.2), and also due to external causes (RR: 2.1; 95% CI: 1.8-2.4) among manual workers with respect to non-manual workers, mainly due to AIDS and drug overdose. No significant differences were found in mortality due to tumours. For respiratory and cardiovascular causes, there is an increase in mortality in the less favoured social classes, as also occurs for mortality due to diseases of the digestive system, particularly among young manual workers, with an RR: 2.6 (95% CI: 1.5-3.6) compared to non-manual workers. This study shows that it is necessary to continue exploring inequalities in health, but above all it is necessary to implement efficient preventive measures addressed mainly at young people in situations of disadvantage, in order to avoid the excess of avoidable mortality which is found.

Psychometric properties of the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) questionnaire in a Spanish psychiatric population

OBJECTIVE

The psychometric properties of the Spanish version of Cloninger's Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) were examined in a psychiatric population.

METHOD

Internal consistency, factor structure and concurrent validity were studied in a sample of 416 psychiatric patients.

RESULTS

A moderate to high internal consistency for all personality dimensions was found, except for Persistence. A confirmatory factor analysis of the TCI performed at the subscale level revealed an uncertain factor structure. However, when analysed separately, both the 11 temperament subscales (plus Persistence) and the 13 character subscales shaped four and three factors, respectively, in agreement with the biosocial model of personality. Finally, concurrent validity analyses were conducted using EPQ, SPSR and SSS questionnaires showing results consistent with theory.

CONCLUSION

The Spanish version of the TCI is a reliable and valid instrument, although the Persistence dimension might require further revision.

Genetic linkage map of the edible basidiomycete Pleurotus ostreatus

We have constructed a genetic linkage map of the edible basidiomycete Pleurotus ostreatus (var. Florida). The map is based on the segregation of 178 random amplified polymorphic DNA and 23 restriction fragment length polymorphism markers; four hydrophobin, two laccase, and two manganese peroxidase genes; both mating type loci; one isozyme locus (est1); the rRNA gene sequence; and a repetitive DNA sequence in a population of 80 sibling monokaryons. The map identifies 11 linkage groups corresponding to the chromosomes of P. ostreatus, and it has a total length of 1,000.7 centimorgans (cM) with an average of 35.1 kbp/cM. The map shows a high correlation (0.76) between physical and genetic chromosome sizes. The number of crossovers observed per chromosome per individual cell is 0.89. This map covers nearly the whole genome of P. ostreatus.

Evaluation of the in vitro antioxidant activity of Mangifera indica L. extract (Vimang)

An extract of Mangifera indica L. (Vimang) was tested in vitro for its antioxidant activity using commonly accepted assays. It showed a powerful scavenger activity of hydroxyl radicals and hypochlorous acid and acted as an iron chelator. The extract also showed a significant inhibitory effect on the peroxidation of rat-brain phospholipid and inhibited DNA damage by bleomycin or copper-phenanthroline systems.

[Exactness of mortality statistics by external and natural causes of death with medico-legal intervention in Catalonia, 1996]

OBJECTIVE

Deaths due to external and natural causes with forensic intervention require medical-legal autopsy. In order to be included in the mortality statistics the results are reported in the statistical document MNP52. The accuracy of cause of death depends on the characteristics of the document, the point at which it is completed (after the death or after the autopsy) and the person that completes it. The objective is to determine the accuracy of external and natural causes of death with forensic intervention, reported in the official statistical documents by a medical-legal autopsy report of these deaths occurred in Catalonia in 1996.

METHODS

Two samplings were undertaken--one for natural causes and another for external causes--that were stratified by sex and judicial district. The information sources were the Mortality Register of Catalonia for the statistical documents and the criminal courts for the medical-legal autopsy, toxicological and pathological reports. We calculated the index of agreement, the sensitivity or detection rate (DR) and the positive predictive value of confirmation rate (CR), and their respective 95% confidence intervals.

RESULTS

The index of agreement was 72.3% (IC 95%: 68.7-75.9). The DR for external causes groups was 65.9% (60.6-71.2) and the CR was 69% (63.6-71.2). For natural causes the DR was 79.4% (74.7-84.2) and the CR was 75.5% (70.7-80.5).

CONCLUSION

In deaths with forensic intervention, the official statistical documents do not correctly report external causes of death, and statistics for natural causes of death approach acceptable levels of accuracy. The results are mainly due to deficits in reporting and certifying these causes in the official statistics.

[Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation as salvage treatment in patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma]

BACKGROUND

The indication of early hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (LNH) is controversial.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Retrospective analysis of 86 patients with aggressive NHL treated with MACOP/VACOP-B chemotherapy. HSCT was performed as salvage treatment to patients under 65 years of age with progressive disease or chemosensitive relapse. Progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were determined by the Kaplan-Meier method. Rates of response and survival functions were compared between the International Prognostic Index (IPI) groups using the Chi-square and log-rank tests, respectively.

RESULTS

Patients median age was 48 years; 22% had T cell NHL and 57% had intermediate-high and high risk (high risk) IPI. There were 6 toxic deaths (7%), and treatment failure was observed in 42 patients (48.8%). Thirty one of them were candidates for TPH due to age under 65 years, although 21 were finally transplanted (including 13 with high risk IPI). A significant association between PFS and IPI was observed, 61.9% for low risk (low and low-intermediate) versus 28.2% for high risk groups (p = 0.0007). With a median follow up of 4.8 years, OS was 64%; 80.5% for low risk versus 52.6% for high risk IPI groups (p = 0.01), and 83.7% versus 62% for the same groups in patients under 65 years of age (p = 0.02). The median follow up after failure to chemotherapy was 42.7 months.

CONCLUSIONS

In this retrospective study, OS rate in high risk IPI patients with NHL using HSCT as salvage treatment is similar to that reported using HSCT during earlier phases of treatment.

Chagas' disease of the cervix uteri in a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

A 27-year-old woman with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and endocervical Chagas' disease is reported. The patient was a cocaine addict, and her sexual partner was also human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive. Her past medical history included a son who died 3 days after birth due to congenital Chagas' disease. Seven years later, through a cervical biopsy, a reactivation of Chagas' disease was diagnosed. Giant cells with typical amastigotes were seen; they strongly stained with antibodies against Trypanosoma cruzi. The patient died 5 months later of an acute chagasic myocardiopathy. To our knowledge, this is the first report of this parasitosis in the cervix uteri.

Characteristics of Myocardial Infarction Episodes in Two Distant Communities: From the REGICOR Registry in Girona, Spain and the MITI Registry in Greater Seattle, USA

Background: The objective of the study is to compare patient characteristics and outcome after myocardial infarction (MI) between two geographically and socially different communities. Methods/Results: The study was designed as an ecological comparison between a 1-year hospital registry of consecutive MIs in Seattle (1,400,000 inhabitants and a predominantly urban and suburban distribution) and nine hospitals in Giroma (500,000 inhabitants in a predominantly rural distribution). Hospitalization rates for MI are higher in Seattle (standardized rates of 2.5/1000 for men and 0.8/1000 for women) than in Girona (1.5/1000 for men and 0.2/1000 for women). In both registries men under age 60 accounted for 45.5% of cases. Women accounted for 25% of all MI episodes in Seattle and for only 16% in Giromi. Treatment with thrombolytic and beta-blocking drugs was twice as common in Seattle hospitals as in Girona. Hospital mortality in tertiary care hospitals was similar in both registries, but mortality in local hospitals (having no coronary care unit) in Giroma was significantly higher than other hospital mortality rates for MI. Conclusions: The higher in-hospital mortality rate may in large part be explained by the absence of a coronary care unit. However, the dispersion of Girona's population and the lack of specific programs to provide emergent specialized care to possible MI patients may also contribute to the higher in-hospital mortality rate in Girona.

[Calcium intake among school children in Badajoz]

BACKGROUND

The intake of calcium has been studied in the diet of adolescents from a school in Badajoz (Spain) determining their BMI and their living habits (sport, consumption of tobacco and alcohol).

METHODOLOGY

By means of an aleatory sampling, a sample n was selected = 207 (49.76% males and 50.24 females) with an average age of 14.14 +/- 2.08 years. They were weighed and measured to calculate their BMI. A questionnaire was carried out on consumption of products rich in calcium: milk and dairy produce, vegetables, fruit, chied fruits. The statistical analysis was carried out by means of Student t and ANOVA.

RESULTS

The results was BMI < 25 (thin or standard) in 86.47%; BMI 25-30 (overweight) in 10.63% and BMI > 30 (overweight) 2.9%. The consumption of daily calcium was of 1304 +/- 702 g/ppd, higher (p < 0.001) in boys (10.45 +/- 5.51) than in girls (7.82 +/- 3.84). There is not correlation between BMI and calcium consumption. The boys observe the NIH recommendations. But girls usually don't. Milk products provide 87% of the consumed calcium. The boys who practice some sports consume 9.88 +/- 5.23 g/pps, the other ones 7.09 +/- 2.95 g/pps.

CONCLUSIONS

1. The weekly intake of calcium by surveyed students is 9.13 g/pps, smaller in girls than in boys. 2. Milk products provide 87% of the consumed calcium. 3. A 10.63% of them is overweight and a 2.9% is very overweight. 4. A 10.63% usually smokes and a 20.29% consumes alcohol. 5. A 26.27% doesn't practice any sports and consumes less calcium (p < 0.001) than the recommended quantity.

Differences in mortality between patients attending the emergency room services for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Asthma has a more favourable prognosis than chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), based on studies including few asthmatics and few women with COPD. We assessed differences in mortality between people attending the emergency room for asthma and for COPD in a population-based cohort. We recruited all the men and women, who were residents of Barcelona (Spain) over 14 years of age, who attended emergency room services for an obstructive lung disease during the period 1985-1989. Vital status was followed up to the end of 1995. A total of 15,517 individuals (including 4555 asthmatics and 2194 females with COPD) were studied. Mortality was ascertained using a record linkage with the regional Mortality Registry. Overall, 43.6% people died during the follow-up period. Mortality was higher among individuals with COPD than with asthma, in males and females, for all causes of death, as well as for cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory causes. After adjusting for age, the relative risk (RR) of dying of a male attending for COPD and discharged home was 1.50 (1.29-1.74) in comparison with a male attending for asthma, and 3.06 (2.66-3.51) for a male attending for COPD and admitted into the hospital. Similar figures were found for females. The increased risk for patients with COPD was significantly higher than for asthma in all age groups. Both males and females with asthma have a more favourable prognosis than patients with COPD, for all age groups.

[Parkinson disease of juvenile onset with systemic lupus erythematosus in a pre-symptomatic stage]

INTRODUCTION

Parkinson's disease of juvenile onset is known to be rarely seen in clinical neurology. Occasionally it may be secondary to other pathological processes which have to be excluded by investigation of such cases, since the clinical, therapeutic and prognostic significance varies considerably depending on whether the condition is idiopathic or secondary.

CLINICAL CASE

We present the case of a patient whose illness started when she was 16 years old. She complained of rigidity, tremor and akinesia. Her condition was studied to find whether the syndrome was secondary. Thus, on four occasions, at annual visits during a period of five years, immunological changes suggestive of systemic lupus erythematous were observed. Neuroimaging, magnetic resonance and computerized axial tomography studies were completely normal on all four occasions over the five years during which the patient had annual follow-up reviews.

CONCLUSION

We considered whether the rigidity-akinesia-tremor syndrome might have been secondary to systemic lupus erythematous, due to a probable pathological focus of cerebral vasculitis, in this clinical case which we report.

[Accident and emergency department inappropriate utilization. An evaluation with explicit criteria]

BACKGROUND

Several studies have shown a growth in the number of visits to accident and emergency (A&E) hospital departments with a high proportion of inappropriate utilization. Methods to identify improper use based on implicit criteria limit the comparisons between hospitals. The aim of this study is to know the proportion of inappropriate attendance's in an A&E department and their associated factors, using a method with objective criteria.

METHODS

An instrument based on diagnosis-independent explicit criteria was used to identify inappropriate visits in a random sample of 1845 14-year-old greater patients attended to A&E medical services, and the factors associated with improper demand were analysed.

RESULTS

The proportion of inappropriate attendance's was of the 26,8% (495/1. 845). The unadjusted analysis show that the smaller age, absence of comorbidity, spontaneous visit and some diagnostic groups (diseases of the skin, muscle-skeletal, mental, and bad defined symptoms) were associated to a greater proportion of improper use. Upon adjusting the variables through logistics regression, the age, associated pathology, the spontaneous attendance's and diagnostic groups, maintained the association with improper use, but other variables as woman gender, and night hours were also associated to inappropriate utilization.

CONCLUSIONS

At least the fourth part of the attendance's in the A&E medical services do not require urgent attention. Inappropriate utilization is associated to characteristic of the patient and the attended process.

Interference of aluminium on iron metabolism in erythroleukaemia K562 cells

It has been suggested that aluminium (Al) has a deleterious effect on erythropoiesis. However, there is still uncertainty as to its action mechanism. The present work was designed to determine how Al could affect the iron (Fe) metabolism in the human erythroleukaemia cell line K562. These cells, that express surface transferrin receptors (TfRs), were induced to erythroid differentiation by either haemin or hydroxyurea in 72 h cultures in media containing apotransferrin (apoTf). In the presence of aluminium citrate, the number of benzidine-positive cells decreased 18% when the cultures were induced by haemin, and 30% when hydroxyurea was the inducer. Cell viability was always unaffected. From competition assays, surface binding of 125I-Tf-Fe2 was found to be inversely related (p < 0.05) to Tf-Al2 concentration (from 2.5 to 10 nM). The dissociation constants (Kd) of the binding reaction between TfRs and the ligands Tf-Fe2 and Tf-Al2 were calculated. Kd values of the same order of magnitude demonstrated that TfR has a similar affinity for Tf-Fe2 (Kd = 1.75 x 10(-9) M) and Tf-Al2 (Kd = 1.37 x 10(-9) M). The number of surface TfRs, measured by kinetic 125I-Tf-Fe2 binding assays, was higher in induced cells cultured in the presence of Al. Nevertheless, in spite of the inhibition of cell haemoglobinization observed, 59Fe incorporation values were not different from those measured in control cultures for 72 h. As a consequence, it can be suggested that cellular Fe utilisation, and not Fe uptake, might be the main metabolic pathway impaired by Al.

Morphologic and functional alterations of erythroid cells induced by long-term ingestion of aluminium

Anaemia has been associated with aluminium (Al) accumulation in plasma and/or bone tissue in patients with chronic renal insufficiency. Nevertheless, in previous works, we have found shortened red-cell life span, increased osmotic resistance and inhibition of colony-forming units-erythroid (CFU-E) development in Al-overloaded rats with normal renal function. To elucidate further the action of Al on in vivo erythropoiesis, aluminium citrate was provided to Sprague Dawley rats (n = 18) in the drinking water for 8 months. Significant decreases in haematocrit (38.8 +/- 4.29 versus 43.1 +/- 3.58%, p < 0.05) and blood haemoglobin concentration (137 +/- 10.1 versus 148 +/- 8.5 g/l, p < 0.05), reticulocytosis (1.8/1.3-4.2 versus 1.2/0.4-3.7%, p < 0.05), and severe inhibition of CFU-E growth (670/120-950 versus 1530/810-2440 CFU-E/2 x 10(5) cells, p < 0.005) were found. Anysocytosis, poikilocytosis and schistocytosis were detected in peripheral blood stained films. Scanning electron microscopy revealed the presence of erythrocytes with abnormal shape, including crenated and target cells. Aluminium was localised specially inside the schistocytes by EDAX analysis. Decreased haptoglobin concentration (107/83-127 versus 139/89-169 mg/l, p < 0.05) supports the assumption of haemolytic nature of the anaemia. Rats were not iron depleted, as plasma iron concentration and total iron binding capacity were found in the range of control values, and sideroblasts and haemosiderin deposits were observed in bone marrow smears. Total 59Fe uptake and 59Fe incorporated to haem by the bone marrow cells were found decreased. In conclusion, the erythropoiesis impairment induced by Al may be a combined effect of direct action on circulating erythrocytes and interference with the cellular iron metabolism in erythroid progenitors.

Molecular karyotype of the white rot fungus Pleurotus ostreatus

The white rot fungus Pleurotus ostreatus is an edible basidiomycete with increasing agricultural and biotechnological importance. Genetic manipulation and breeding of this organism are restricted because of the lack of knowledge about its genomic structure. In this study, we analyzed the genomic constitution of P. ostreatus by using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis optimized for the separation of its chromosomes. We have determined that it contains 11 pairs of chromosomes with sizes ranging from 1.4 to 4.7 Mbp. In addition to chromosome separation, the use of single-copy DNA probes allowed us to resolve the ambiguities caused by chromosome comigration. When the two nuclei present in the dikaryon were separated by protoplasting, analysis of their karyotypes revealed length polymorphisms affecting various chromosomes. This is, to our knowledge, the clearest chromosome separation available for this species.