Tissue specific expression of FMR-1 provides evidence for a functional role in fragile X syndrome

Prostaglandin E2 levels in isolated rat islets were increased from 64 +/- 11 pg/30 islets when incubated in medium containing 2 mM glucose to 115 +/- 9 pg/30 islets in medium containing 20 mM glucose. In contrast, glyceraldehyde (10 mM) reduced prostaglandin E2 levels to 29 +/- 6 pg/30 islets. Inhibition of glucose metabolism by mannoheptulose (10 mM) abolished the stimulatory effect of glucose on prostaglandin E2 levels and inhibited glucose-induced insulin release. The cyclooxygenase inhibitor, flurbiprofen (20 microM), did not affect insulin release caused by glucose or glyceraldehyde. In the presence of 1 mg/ml bovine serum albumin, insulin secretion induced by 20 mM glucose (6.9 +/- 1.1% of islet insulin content) was reduced by the lipoxygenase inhibitor BW755 C (20 microM) to 3.1 +/- 0.6%, and by the phospholipase A2 inhibitor, p-bromophenacyl bromide (10 microM), to 2.1 +/- 0.8%. In the absence of bovine serum albumin the inhibitory action of BW755 C and p-bromophenacyl bromide on glucose-induced insulin release was significantly more pronounced. These drugs whether in the presence or absence of bovine serum albumin, did not affect glyceraldehyde-stimulated insulin secretion. Glyceraldehyde (10 mM), potentiated glucose-induced insulin release in the presence of 2-8 mM glucose, but not for 10-20 mM glucose. Although the phospholipase A2 activator, melittin, initiated insulin release in the presence of 2 mM glucose and enhanced 10 mM glyceraldehyde-stimulated insulin secretion it had no effect on 20 mM glucose-induced insulin release. These two stimulatory effects of melittin on insulin release were totally abolished by p-bromophenacyl bromide.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Reproducibility of brachial ultrasonography and flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) for assessing endothelial function

Minimally invasive plastic surgery has expanded beyond the original confines of aesthetic applications to encompass all our endeavors in an attempt to restrict the size of surgical scars, limit postoperative discomfort, and hasten recovery of function. This evolution has already delineated methods to raise our workhorse muscle flaps and has negated the risks of laparotomy for various visceral flaps. It is then only a logical progression to use these endoscopic techniques to harvest fascial flaps so as to avoid the notorious donor site morbidity of the fasciocutaneous flap, which has certainly hindered the rapid acceptance of these otherwise valuable flaps. Endoscopic-facilitated elevation of a local adipofascial flap is described for which little or no additional skin incisions need ever be made.     

Effect of prepartum bovine somatotropin in primigravid ewes on mammogenesis, milk production, and hormone concentrations

Twenty-five primigravid ewes were used to investigate the effect of bST, between 97 and 124 d of gestation, on mammogenesis and subsequent milk production. Five ewes (reference group) were slaughtered at 96 d of gestation, and the remaining ewes were injected daily with saline (control group: n = 10) or .1 mg/kg of BW of bST (bST group: n = 10). Following bST treatment, 5 control and 5 bST group ewes were slaughtered (slaughter group). The remaining ewes were slaughtered after lambing and being milked for 8 wk (production group). Weekly blood samples were obtained from both slaughter and production group ewes. Slaughter group ewes were also subjected to 8-h serial blood sampling at 98 d (period 1) and 123 d (period 2) of gestation. Milk production was 42% higher in ewes treated prepartum with bST than in those treated with saline. Results suggest that the increase in milk was due to an increase in mammary parenchymal cell number rather than to an increase in cellular activity. The high rate of [3H]thymidine incorporation into parenchymal tissue in reference group ewes suggests that the increase in parenchyma during the second trimester of gestation is due to cellular hyperplasia but that cellular hypertrophy may be more important during the last trimester. Plasma IGF-I concentrations were significantly higher during bST treatment and remained elevated between daily injections; the increase was greatest in period 2.     

Dynamic thermographic imaging for estimation of regional perfusion in the tuberculin reaction in healthy adults

A sensitive method for measurement of the volume of blood flow through the skin, based on the kinetics of reheating after localised cooling, is described in this paper. This method has been used to study the tuberculin reaction as a model of cutaneous delayed-type hypersensitivity (DHS) in man. Over the positive reaction there is accelerated reheating similar in kinetics and extent to that seen after maximal hyperaemia induced by intradermal injection of histamine or prostaglandin E2. The earlier phase of reheating (10-100 s) is more dependent on blood flow, whereas the later phase (100-300 s) is apparently more dependent on non-perfusion heat exchange mechanisms, including conduction. The reheat kinetic method is largely dependent on blood flow in the deep dermal vessels (diameter > 50 microns), whereas the alternative approach of measurement of the velocity of flow of erythrocytes in the microcirculation by laser Doppler (LD) flowmetry gives results biased towards the most superficial dermal circulation. Previous studies with LD flowmetry have shown that the blood velocity is greatest at the centre of weak and strong reactions, while in the most intense reactions it is raised at the centre but maximal at the periphery (central relative slowing, CRS) raising the possibility of central ischaemia. The reheat kinetics approach has now indicated that the deep dermal circulation is not impaired in CRS reactions. It is concluded that there must be partial obstruction of the parts of the microcirculation communicating between the deep and superficial dermal plexuses, presumably from the accumulation of exudate oedema in the most intense tuberculin reactions.     

Effect of insulin versus sulfonylurea therapy on cardiovascular risk factors and fibrinolysis in type II diabetes

1. The synthesis and release of nitric oxide may play a role in the pathogenesis of peripheral vasodilatation and hyperdynamic circulation observed in liver cirrhosis. In this work, we analysed the synthesis of nitric oxide by the lympho-mononuclear cells of peripheral blood from patients with chronic alcoholic and non-alcoholic liver disease and we identified the isoform of nitric oxide synthase involved in the increased nitric oxide synthesis. 2. Patients were classified following clinical and histological criteria in non-alcoholic cirrhotic, alcoholic cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic chronic liver disease. We studied clinical and analytical characteristics, haemodynamic parameters and endotoxin levels in these patients. 3. Cirrhotic patients showed an increase of cardiac output and a decrease of peripheral vascular resistance. These patients had higher levels of plasma endotoxin than those observed in the control group. N omega-Nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME)-inhibitable nitrite production from mononuclear lymphocyte cells was higher in patients than in the control group, the highest levels being in non-alcoholic cirrhotic patients, and the lowest levels in patients with non-cirrhotic alcoholic liver disease. 4. Immunocytochemistry studies revealed a positive immunoreactivity for the inducible isoform of nitric oxide synthase in lympho-mononuclear cells that was more evident in non-alcoholic than in alcoholic cirrhotic patients. By Northern blot, inducible nitric oxide synthase mRNA expression was observed only in lymphomononuclear cells from non-alcoholic cirrhotic patients. 5. Our patients show a correlation between nitric oxide synthesis, endotoxin levels and haemodynamic parameters. 6. These findings indicate that lympho-mononuclear cell stimulation may play a role in elevated nitric oxide production in hepatic cirrhosis. Thus, this increased nitric oxide synthesis could be implicated in the pathogenesis of the haemodynamic disturbances frequently found in cirrhotic patients. This increase seems to be induced, at least in part, by activation of an inducible isoform of nitric oxide synthase.     

The trans-syn-I thymine dimer bends DNA by approximately 22 degrees and unwinds DNA by approximately 15 degrees

Chromium metabolism of lactating women was evaluated by measuring diet, breast milk, urine, and serum chromium in 17 subjects 60 d postpartum. Breast milk chromium concentration was similar for the 3 d of collection with a mean +/- SE concentration of 3.54 +/- 0.40 nmol/L (0.18 ng/mL). Dietary intake and urinary chromium values were also similar for each of the 3 collection days. Total chromium intake of lactating mothers (0.79 +/- 0.08 mumol/d) was greater than that of reference female subjects (0.48 +/- 0.02). There was a significant correlation (r = 0.84) between serum chromium and urinary chromium excretion. If a breast milk volume of 715 mL is assumed, chromium intake of exclusively breast-fed infants is < 2% of the estimated safe and adequate daily intake of 10 micrograms. In summary, breast milk chromium content is independent of dietary chromium intake and serum or urinary chromium values. Chromium intake also did not correlate with serum or urine chromium but there was a significant relationship between serum and urinary chromium concentrations.     

Method for error recovery of line spectral frequencies

The authors have exploited the ideas used in vector quantisation for error recovery of scalar quantised LSFs. The good performance of this method has provided high resistance of the LSFs to channel errors, outperforming other schemes by, possibly, a considerable margin. Better objective and subjective performances were obtained with this new method which obviates the need for more powerful FEC schemes for transmission over noisy channels.<>