Capital financing along the integration highway

In the process of reshaping the entire nation's health care delivery system, it is only natural that financing vehicles which we once considered "standard" are evolving as well. The purpose of this article is to explore some of the creative and nontraditional vehicles available to emerging health care organizations and integrated systems to access capital. This brief overview focuses on the organizational structures, financial characteristics, and financial structures of emerging health care delivery networks and providers. Select case studies provide examples of the more creative financial structures currently being employed to meet rapidly growing fund needs.

Ameloblastic fibrodentinoma: report of case

The classification, progression, and treatment of the mixed odontogenic tumors remain controversial. In the case reported here, examination of a patient who presented with delayed eruption of a primary central incisor led to the discovery of an impacted incisor and an associated isolated radiolucency.

N,N'-dimethylthiourea dioxide formation from N,N'-dimethylthiourea reflects hydrogen peroxide concentrations in simple biological systems

We hypothesized that measurement of a specific product from reaction of N,N'-dimethylthiourea (Me2TU) and H2O2 would provide a good indication of the H2O2 scavenging and protection seen after addition of Me2TU to biological systems. We found that addition of H2O2 to Me2TU yielded a single stable product, Me2TU dioxide. Me2TU dioxide formation correlated with Me2TU consumption as a function of added H2O2 concentration and was prevented by simultaneous addition of catalase (but not boiled catalase), superoxide dismutase, dimethyl sulfoxide, mannitol, or sodium benzoate. Me2TU dioxide formation, Me2TU consumption, and H2O2 concentration increases occurred in mixtures containing phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and normal human neutrophils but not in mixtures containing PMA and neutrophils from patients with chronic granulomatous disease or in mixtures containing PMA and normal neutrophils and catalase. Me2TU dioxide formation also occurred in isolated rat lungs perfused with Me2TU and H2O2 but not in lungs perfused with Me2TU and elastase, histamine, or oleic acid. In contrast, Me2TU dioxide formation did not occur after exposure of Me2TU to 60Co-generated hydroxyl radical or hypochlorous acid in the presence of catalase. The results indicate that reaction of Me2TU with H2O2 selectively forms Me2TU dioxide and that measuring Me2TU dioxide formation from Me2TU may be useful for assessing the presence and significance of H2O2 in biological systems.

Effects of diuretic and propranolol on plasma lipoprotein lipids

Ticrynafen (TCNF), a nonthiazide diuretic, has been reported to be nonhyperlipidemic. To define the effects of these drugs on plasma lipoproteins, experiments were performed in hypertensive subjects after placebo therapy, 4 wk after therapy with either hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) or TCNF, 3 mo after diuretic with propranolol, and 1 mo after therapy with propranolol alone. Plasma lipoproteins were separated by ultracentrifugation and the lipid fractions isolated by extraction and silicic acid thin-layer chromatography. Plasma low-density lipoprotein (LDL) total cholesterol fell and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) total cholesterol rose in subjects receiving TCNF. TCNF had no effect on plasma low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) triglyceride or phospholipid. There was no significant changes in LDL or HDL total cholesterol in subjects on HCTZ. HCTZ tended to increase plasma VLDL triglyceride and phospholipid. The addition of propranolol to either diuretic had no effect on LDL or HDL total cholesterol but increased VLDL triglyceride, especially in subjects on HCTZ. Propranolol alone had no effect on any of the lipids measured.

Isolation of Aeromonas species from clinical sources

In a period of one year, in a general hospital, Aeromonas hydrophila was isolated from 13 patients and Aeromonas shigelloides from one patient. Eight of the patients had superficial infections, two had urinary tract infections, and four had bacteriaemia. The association of Aeromonas bacteriaemia with cirrhosis of the liver and malignant disease, which has been previously reported, was observed in three of the four bacteriaemic patients. The key to laboratory diagnosis of this genus is the routine performance of the oxidase test in bacteriological procedures for the identification of Gram-negative bacilli.