Population pharmacokinetics of nitroglycerin and of its two metabolites after a single 24-hour application of a nitroglycerin transdermal matrix delivery system

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether oxytocin exists in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of dogs and whether the amount of oxytocin in the CSF of dogs with neck or back pain caused by spinal cord compression is significantly different than that in the CSF of clinically normal dogs. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective controlled study. ANIMAL POPULATION: A total of 15 purpose-bred beagles and 17 client-owned dogs. METHODS: CSF was collected by needle puncture of the cerebellar medullary cistern after induction of general anesthesia. Oxytocin levels within the samples were determined through radioimmunoassay. RESULTS: Dogs with spinal cord compression had significantly more oxytocin in their CSF than the clinically normal dogs (13.76 +/- 2.0 pg/mL and 3.61 +/- 0.63 pg/mL, respectively; P < .0001). Dogs with chronic signs (>7 days) had significantly more oxytocin in their CSF than dogs with acute signs (<7 days) (21.60 +/- 0.86 pg/mL and 6.80 +/- 0.81 pg/mL, respectively; P < .0001). Both acutely and chronically affected dogs had significantly more oxytocin in their CSF than the controls (P < .005 and P < .0001 respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Dogs with neck and back pain caused by spinal cord compression have significantly more oxytocin in their CSF than clinically normal dogs. Dogs with chronic clinical signs have significantly more oxytocin in their CSF than dogs with acute clinical signs. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: In humans, intrathecal injection of oxytocin is effective in treating low back pain for up to 5 hours. Intrathecal oxytocin may be a logical choice for perioperative analgesia in dogs undergoing myelography because the intrathecal space is accessed for injection of contrast agent.     

Stability preservation analysis in direct discretization of fractional order transfer functions

In this paper, a class of the direct methods for discretization of fractional order transfer functions is studied in the sense of stability preservation. The stability boundary curve is exactly determined for these discretization methods. Having this boundary helps us to recognize whether the original system and its discretized model are the same in the sense of stability. Finally, some illustrative examples are presented to evaluate achievements of the paper.     

UNICORE 6 — Recent and Future Advancements

UNICORE is a European Grid Technology with more than 10 years of history. Originating from the Supercomputing domain, the latest version UNICORE 6 has turned into a general-purpose Grid technology that follows established standards and offers a rich set of features to its users. The paper starts with an architectural insight into UNICORE 6, highlighting the workflow features, standards and the different clients. Next, the current state of advancement is presented by describing recent developments. The paper closes with an outlook on future planned developments.     

Highlighting the base zone effect on the compression and recovery properties of the rugs with innovating Double-Base Persian rug

This paper investigates the compression and recovery properties of the rugs by highlighting the base zone effect. To fulfill this purpose, a new type of rug named Double-Base Persian Rug was prepared. In the new rug, the warping was done such that we have two sets of warp sheets (back base and front base warp yarns). So that, a gap between these two bases were created that could be filled with various types of fillers. A total of seven rug samples; a conventional Persian rug as the base of comparison and six new types of rug samples were produced. Then, the compression and recovery properties of the rug samples were investigated by static loading test. Generally, the results indicated that the rug base structure and the inherent characteristics of the materials used in the rug base as a filler positive affect the rug compression and recovery properties.     

Methods of combined antenatal diagnosis of maturity

A combined diagnosis of maturity is described, which is harmless in a correct technique. The method can be carried out in each of obstetrical hospital together with a routine laboratory. By means of the combined diagnosis a "maturity-index" is performed, which permits a certain assessment of the survival-chance of the praemature delivered children. In connection with the ultrasound-cephalometrie also there is an exact evidence to the duration of pregnancy and the tendence of intrauterine growth of the fetus.     

Metallothionein and its relationship to the metabolism of dietary zinc in rats

Metallothionein (MTN), a low molecular weight cytoplasmic metalloprotein has previously been implicated in the metabolism of Zn. Experiments were conducted with rats to determine the effect of feeding varying levels of dietary Zn for short periods on the increase or decrease in MTN-bound Zn. The results indicated that MTN-Zn in both liver and intestinal mucosal cytosol responded rapidly to an altered dietary Zn level and that serum Zn was directly related to the appearance of MTN. 65Zn absorption also responded rapidly to a change in dietary Zn and was inversely correlated with intestinal mucosal MTN-Zn. Hepatic 65Zn uptake appeared to be directly correlated with liver MTN-Zn. A 24 hour fast increased MTN-Zn in rats fed two different levels of Zn except in those rats that were previously treated with actinomycin D. The antibiotic, which blocks DNA-dependent RNA synthesis, appeared to block Zn uptake from blood to the liver. These findings offer support for the involvement of MTN in zinc metabolism.     

Defining the precapillary sphincter

Influence of denervation on phospholipid metabolism in the vas deferens and effect of phospholipase C treatment on sensitivity of the vas deferens for noradrenaline were studied. The incorporation of 32P-orthophosphate into phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylcholine was markedly increased by denervation. Incorporation of 32P-orthophosphate into proteolipid was accelerated more than that of 3H-leucine. Sensitivity of the denervated vas deferens for noradrenaline was strongly reduced by phospholipase C treatment. These data suggest that the supersensitivity of the denervated vas deferens for noradrenaline was mainly due to the increase in phospholipids.