Zoo-FISH delineates conserved chromosomal segments in horse and man

PURPOSE: Evaluation of dynamic Gd-DTPA enhanced MR imaging in the staging of bladder cancer. METHODS: We studied 40 patients with histologically proven bladder cancer. All patients were examined with routine T1- and T2-weighted MRI and late Gd-DTPA enhanced T1-weighted MRI. Additionally, a dynamic study was performed with 10 subsequent short FLASH-2-D gradient echo sequences without delay immediately after bolus injection of Gd-DTPA. Signal intensities of the tumour and of the surrounding tissue as well as image contrast parameters were quantified. RESULTS: The dynamic study showed a higher accuracy in the evaluation of stage pTa to pT2 cancer compared to spin echo MRI (63% and 46%, respectively) and no difference regarding the sensitivity (87.5%). However, overstaging was a problem with both modalities. The contrast-to-noise ratio of bladder tumour and muscle was equal or significant higher with the dynamic study compared to spin echo MRI. A higher signal-to-contrast ratio of bladder tumour and bladder muscle was calculated for the dynamic study compared with the spin-echo MRI (p < 0.01; Mann-Whitney U test). CONCLUSION: Dynamic Gd-DTPA enhanced MRI is recommended to be used additionally in the preoperative staging of bladder neoplasms.     

Comparison of different methods for the recovery of horse oocytes

The object of this study was to compare 4 different methods of oocyte recovery from mares; 1) transvaginal follicle aspiration in vivo; 2) follicle aspiration in vitro; 3) oocyte recovery by isolation of follicles in vitro and 4) follicle scraping in vitro. Oocyte recovery was highest after follicle scraping (71.1%) and follicle isolation and rupture (61.3%). Follicle aspiration in vitro and in vivo yielded oocytes on 31.2% and 19.3% of occasions, respectively. The output of different types of cumulus-oocyte-complexes was different among the methods; the portion of compact cumulus-oocyte-complexes was significantly higher with follicle scraping (50.7%) and follicle isolation (44.5%) than with aspiration in vivo (31.9%) and in vitro (23.7%). The recovery rate of oocytes from small follicles (<15 mm) was significantly higher than from larger follicles (P<0.05) using transvaginal follicle aspiration. The proportion of oocytes that were degenerate (exhibited shrunken, dense or visibly damaged ooplasm) ranged from 1.2% after follicle scraping, to 17.2% after aspiration in vivo. These results indicate that, for the recovery of horse oocytes in vitro, follicle scraping and follicle isolation give the highest recoveries of cumulus-intact oocytes.     

Comparison of the acetylation of procainamide and sulfadimidine in man

The acetylation of procainamide and sulfadimidine has been measured simultaneously in plasma and urine in 20 healthy human volunteers by a specific G.L.C. method, after single and multiple oral dral doses of procainamide retard tablets. A distinct bimodality (9 rapid and 11 slow acetylators) was apparent from the concentrations of procainamide and N-acetylprocainamide both in urine and plasma, which was in complete agreement with data about sulfadimidine acetylation. The influence of acetylator phenotype on the relative concentrations of procainamide and N-acetylprocainamide in plasma as cn 5 additional healthy subjects after a single oral dose of procainamide. The present results show that acetylator phenotype can now be determined using procainamide as the test substance, and for this purpose multiple doses offer hardly any advantage over a single dose of the drug. However, because the separation between rapid and slow acetylators is less pronounced for procainamide than for sulfadimidine, precise criteria must be established for the conditions of the test, and the influence of diseases, such as renal insufficiency, should be taken into consideration.     

Free, autologous, skin transplantation in the horse

Seven pieces of autologous skin were transplanted onto freshly created, full thickness skin defects on the limbs and back of a one-year-old, male, piebald, Shetland pony. The transplantations were completed in two operative sessions, the transplants on the left side were done in the first session and the right side in the second. The sizes of the transplants varied from 20 sq cm to 2 sq cm and their thicknesses from whole skin to very thin, split skin. Donor sites were both rumps and the right side of the neck. Six of the seven grafts and two thirds of the remaining graft, were accepted. Both whole thickness transplants grew hair, whereas no hair growth was detected at the 26th and 16th week following surgery on the split thickness transplants placed on the left and right sides respectively. The full thickness donor sites healed by granulation, contraction and epithelialisation. Healing at the split skin donor sites was rapid and uneventfull, epithelialisation being completed within one week and hair growth manifest by one month.     

Comparison of active and passive manoeuvres on the pattern of airway closure in man

The effect of active and passive manoeuvres on closing volume was studied in conscious subjects. There were no significant differences in closing volume in nine of 10 non-smokers. There was a significantly greater closing volume with the passive manoeuvre (airway pressure +3 kPa to --2 kPa) in seven of nine smokers and one non-smoker with evidence of mild obstructive airway disease. The sensitivity of the closing volume to airway pressure could not be reproduced in three non-smokers exposed to a histamine aerosol. In two of three smokers the effect of airway pressure on closing volume was abolished by salbutamol. The results suggest that subjects with irritable airways may show an increase in closing volume with a change in airway pressure.     

Rats, man, and the welfare state.

The possible relationship between social securities and the incidence of various noncurable diseases is discussed. Paralleling the development of the welfare state there is a great incidence in the occurrence of a variety of physical and mental diseases. Sometime between 1840 and 1850 albino forms of the Norway rat were introduced into the research laboratory; it thus was subject to domestication. Comparisons between the domesticated and the wild Norway rat are summarized; typically the differences favor the wild rat. In the domesticated animals adrenal glands are smaller and less effective, the thyroid less active, the brain smaller and perhaps less effective as indicated by evidence of greater susceptibility to audiogenic seizure. In the protected environment it is the tamer, more gentle, that survive; "'natural selection' does not always operate to eliminate weaker individuals." In the domesticated state "a greater variety of abnormal strains may appear and propagate themselves." Parallels in man are cited: as a consequence of legislation, increased energy resources and medical advances, less strong and less vigorous individuals are aided to survive and perpetuate their special defects in increasing numbers of individuals. It is possible that "the process of evolution can be influenced, that man has reached the state at which he can do something about his destiny." 60 refs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of the effects of atrial and ventricular stimulation on sinus node function in man

Although sinus node function has been evaluated during premature atrial stimulation, no study of retrograde ventriculoatrial sinus node activation following premature ventricular stimuli has been reported. The purpose of this study was to investigate the production of compensatory and noncompensatory pauses by premature ventricular contractions through a comparison of the effects of atrial and ventricular stimulation on sinus node function. Eleven patients in sinus rhythm were studied with programmed introduction of premature atrial and ventricular stimuli outside the ventricular vulnerable period. The onset of sinus node reset, duration of return sinus cycle (A2-A3) during reset, and estimated sinoatrial conduction times were recorded. Sinus node function during premature ventricular stimulation was approximated by utilizing the interval between the last sinus beat and onset of retrograde atrial depolarization (A1-A2 interval). The return cycle length (A2-A3) during sinus reset compared at equal A1-A2 intervals was significantly less with ventriculoatrial conduction (1,145 +/- 52 msec. atrial vs. 1,076 +/- 52 msec ventriculoatrial; P less than 0.01 by paired t test) and the estimated sinoatrial conduction time was significantly less with ventriculoatrial conduction (71 +/- 7 msec. atrial vs. 25 +/- 7 msec. ventriculoatrial; P less than 0.01 by paired t test). Ventriculoatrial sinus reset occurred later in the sinus cycle than atrial reset in three of seven patients with sinus reset produced by both atrial and ventricular prematures. This study shows that the effects of ventriculoatrial conduction on sinus node function are significantly different from those of atrial stimulation alone. The return sinus cycle length during reset and estimated sinoatrial conduction time are significantly reduced with ventriculoatrial conduction. Although the zones of sinus reset with atrial and ventricular stimulation are approximately equal, ventriculoatrial depolarization may produce sinus reset later in the sinus cycle in some cases.     

Comparison among the effects of arginine, a nitric oxide precursor, isosorbide dinitrate and molsidomine, two nitric oxide donors, on hormonal secretions and blood pressure in man

A bulky tumor of the first lumbar vertebra is described. The case is the 21st to be reported. The tumor resembled an aneurysmal bone cyst radiologically. It was resected without incident. The previously reported cases are reviewed and the literature discussed.     

Disposition, bioavailability and clinical efficacy of orally administered acepromazine in the horse

The pharmacokinetics and pharmacological efficacy of orally (p.o.) administered acepromazine were studied and compared with the intravenous (i.v.) route of administration in a cross-over study using six horses. The oral kinetics of acepromazine can be described by a two-compartment open model with first-order absorption. The drug was rapidly absorbed after p.o. administration with a half-life of 0.84 h, tmax of 0.4 h and Cmax of 59 ng/ml. The elimination was slower after p.o. administration (half-life 6.04 h) than after i.v. injection (half-life 2.6 h). The bioavailability of the orally administered drug formulation was 55.1%. After p.o. administration of 0.5 mg/kg acepromazine, the parameters of the sedative effect were similar to those obtained after i.v. injection of 0.1 mg/kg. The effect of the drug on blood cell count and haemoglobin content was similar after both p.o. administration and injection, while the effects on the parameters of penile prolapse and on the mean arterial blood pressure were less pronounced after p.o. administration than after injection. After p.o. administration, no significant effects on haematocrit-level as well as on the heart and respiratory rates were observed, while these parameters were significantly affected after injection. It is concluded that the high initial plasma level of the drug after i.v. injection may play a role in producing adverse effects of acepromazine.     

Urinary metabolites of p-hydroxyamphetamine in man, rat and guinea-pig

1. The metabolism of (+/-)-p-hydroxy[14C]amphetamine has been studied in the rat, guinea-pig and man. 2. Most of the administered 14C was excreted in the urine within the first 24 h (64-92%), and was present mainly as free and conjugated p-hydroxy[14C]-amphetamine. In the female rat and female guinea-pig the conjugate was a glucuronide, but in man, who received a much smaller dose, the conjugate was a sulphate ester. A sex difference in conjugation was found in the rat, the female partly conjugating the drug but not the male. 3. Small quantities (1-6% of dose) of p-hydroxynorephedrine, a putative false neurotransmitter, were found in the urine of the three species. 4. Some oxidative degradation of the side chain of p-hydroxyamphetamine occurred in rat and guinea-pig since small amounts of p-hydroxybenzoic acid (1-3%) were detected in the urine.     

Metabolism of debrisoquine sulphate in rat, dog and man

1. The metabolism of debrisoquine sulphate in the dog has been studied and is similar to that in rat and man. 2. Two acidic urinary metabolites, shown to be present in rat, dog and man, have been isolated from rat urine. After derivatization they were characterized by n.m.r. and mass spectroscopy as methyl 2-[2-(4,6-dimethylpyrimidylamino)-methyl]-phenylacetate and 2-[2-(4,6-dimethylpyrimidylamino)-ethyl]benzoate.     

Choline acetyltransferase in ocular tissues of rabbits, cats, cattle, and man

The variation of choline acetyltransferase activity in ocular tissues of four mammalian species, rabbits, cats, cattle, and man, was determined. Enzyme activity of irides and ciliary bodies, i.e., parasympathetically innervated structures, tended to be similar in all four species. Two exceptions were bovine irides and human ciliary bodies; these two tissues had higher enzyme activities. Choline acetyltransferase activity was present in the corneal epithelium of rabbit, bovine, and human eyes, but little or none could be detected in that of cats. Feline retina and pigment epithelium-choroid also contained far less choline acetyltransferase activity than the same tissues in the other three species.