A comparison of the W-stapled ileal reservoir with hand-sewn reservoirs for orthotopic bladder replacement

Activated calpain I immunoreactivity (76 kDa band) was detected in membranes prepared from rat brain hippocampal slices using a polyclonal antiserum raised against an N-terminus peptide of the cleaved subunit of calpain I. While basal levels of activated calpain I were stable over incubation times, 1 nM dopamine (DA) produced an initial 32% increase (5 min) in the 76 kDa protein followed by a 53% decrease in this band at 20 min of incubation. The DA-induced changes in activated calpain I immunoreactivity were blocked by the calpain inhibitor peptide, N-acetyl-Leu-Leu-norleucinal(100 microM) or by EGTA. Basal levels of the 76 kDa band were not affected by the calpain inhibitor. These changes in activated calpain I, elicited by DA, are in accord with the DA-induced decreases in the levels of the calpain substrate, gamma PKC (Yurko-Mauro and Friedman; J Cell Biochem [Abstr] 180:80, 1994; J Neurochem 65: 1622-1630, 1995) and suggest that DA activates this Ca(++)-dependent protease in its regulation of neuronal signal transduction.     

Detection and quantification of endolymphatic hydrops in the guinea pig cochlea by magnetic resonance microscopy

The experiments carried out on the model of immobilization stress permit establishing the antiulcer effect of preventive introduction of sodium succinate solution, milk serum solution and solution of milk serum with sodium succinate. A decrease in the degree and number of ulcers and in the integrative indices characterizing the ulcer process after introduction of the studied drugs was accompanied by a fall of the intensity of lipid peroxidation processes.     

Kinetic analysis of the in vitro inhibition, aging, and reactivation of brain acetylcholinesterase from rat and channel catfish by paraoxon and chlorpyrifos-oxon

In rats, the phosphorothionate insecticide parathion exhibits greater toxicity than chlorpyrifos, while in catfish the toxicities are reversed. The in vitro inhibition of brain acetylcholinesterase (AChE) by the active metabolites of the insecticides and the rates at which these inhibitor-enzyme complexes undergo reactivation/ aging were investigated in both species. Rat AChE was more sensitive to inhibition than catfish AChE as demonstrated by greater bimolecular rate constants (ki) in rats than in catfish. In both species, chlorpyrifos-oxon yielded higher ki's than paraoxon. The higher association constant (KA) of chlorpyrifos-oxon than paraoxon in both species and the lack of significant differences in the phosphorylation constants (kp) suggest that association of the inhibitor with AChE is the principal factor in the different potencies between these two inhibitors. In catfish, the ki of chlorpyrifos-oxon was 22-fold greater than that of paraoxon, while in rats it was 9-fold greater, suggesting that target site sensitivity is an important factor in the higher toxicity of chlorpyrifos to catfish but not in the higher toxicity of parathion to rats. No spontaneous reactivation of phosphorylated catfish AChE occurred and there were no differences in the first oder aging constants (ka) between compounds. For phosphorylated rat AChE, there were no differences in the first order reactivation constants (kr) but the ka for chlorpyrifos-oxon was significantly greater than that for paraoxon. This difference suggests that the steric positioning of the diethyl phosphate in the esteratic site is not the same between the two compounds, leading to differences in aging.     

Caring for patients with liver cancer

An audit of the clinical use of EEG in mentally handicapped patients was performed over a three-year period. EEG requests seemed inappropriate in more than one-quarter of cases. Changes in clinical practice during the 10 months following presentation of these audit results were examined. There was a marked reduction in EEG requests, which were subsequently used in a more cost-effective and clinically appropriate way. There was also a reduction in the time taken to process requests.     

In vivo nitrate tolerance is not associated with reduced bioconversion of nitroglycerin to nitric oxide

BACKGROUND: In vitro data suggest that reduced bioconversion of nitroglycerin (NTG) to nitric oxide (NO) contributes to the development of vascular and hemodynamic tolerance to NTG. We examined the in vivo validity of this hypothesis by measuring NTG-derived NO formation by in vivo spin-trapping of NO in vascular tissues from nitrate-tolerant and -nontolerant rats. METHODS AND RESULTS: Five groups (n = 6 to 8 each) of conscious chronically catheterized rats received NTG (0.2 or 1 mg/h IV) for 72 hours (nitrate-tolerant groups). Four other groups received either NTG vehicle (placebo, for 72 hours) or were left untreated (control). Nitrate tolerance was substantiated by a reduced (55% to 85%) hypotensive response to NTG in vivo and a reduced relaxation to NTG in isolated aortic rings. NTG-derived NO formation in aorta, vena cava, heart, and liver was measured as NOFe(DETC)2 and NO-heme complexes formed in vivo during 35 minutes combined with ex vivo cryogenic electron spin resonance spectroscopy. NO formation was significantly (P < .05) increased in all tissues in nitrate-tolerant rats in an NTG dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, the amount of NO formed from a bolus dose of NTG (6.5 mg/kg over 20 minutes) was similar in nitrate-tolerant and -nontolerant rats. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that vascular and hemodynamic NTG tolerance occurs despite high and similar rates of NO formation by NTG in tolerant and nontolerant target tissues. This finding is compatible with the assumption that reduced biological activity of NO, rather than reduced bioconversion of NTG to NO, contributes to in vivo development of nitrate tolerance.     

Classifying rehabilitation inpatients by expected functional gain

OBJECTIVES: To create a more suitable payment system for medical rehabilitation, the authors developed a companion classification system to the original functional independence measure-function-related groups (FIM-FRGs), which classify patients having similar lengths of stay in a rehabilitation hospital or inpatient unit. The companion system presented here groups patients according to their gains in functional status during the rehabilitation stay. METHODS: Data from 84,492 patients discharged from 252 rehabilitation facilities in 1992 were provided by the Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation. Classification rules were formed using clinical judgment and a recursive partitioning algorithm. The gain-FRGs system used four predictor variables: (1) diagnosis leading to disability, admission scores on the (2) motor and (3) cognitive subscales of the FIM, and (4) patient age. RESULTS: The gain-FRGs system contained 74 patient groups and explained 21% of the variation in functional gain for patients in a different set of records withheld for validation. CONCLUSIONS: The gain-FRGs system should be considered for prospective payment systems because it gives the provider an incentive to improve patient outcomes, which is missing in a payment system based on FIM-FRGs alone.     

Genotypic relationships among strains classified under the (Pasteurella) haemolytica-complex as indicated by ribotyping and multilocus enzyme electrophoresis

Two-hundred and one strains classified under the (Pasteurella) haemolytica-complex isolated from cattle, sheep, deer, pigs, hares and rabbits were investigated by ribotyping. Fifty-nine of these strains were selected for further studies using multilocus enzyme electrophoresis (MEE). A correlation between the clusters identified by ribotyping and MEE was demonstrated and the results furthermore indicated that a genetic basis exists for most clusters previously outlined by the use of quantitative evaluation of phenotypic data. The taxonomic relevance of ornithine decarboxylase and fermentation of L-arabinose, D-sorbitol and glucosides for taxonomic delineation within the (P.) haemolytica-complex was supported. A taxonomic importance was further indicated for ONPG, ONPX, ONPF, meso-inositol, D-xylose, maltose, dextrine and NPG in relation to some of the taxa. Within the porcine taxon 15, however, differences in ornithine decarboxylase did not correspond to genetic clusters. Six lineages were revealed by MEE. Lineage A contained electrophoretic types (ETs) representing biogroups 1, 3A-3H, 8A and 9, indicating a genetic relationship between these groups--an observation which was supported by ribotyping. Lineage B included biogroup 8D, 3 strains from biogroup 10 and a single strain from biogroup 1 and taxon 18/biovar 1. Lineage C contained strains allocated to biogroup 6 from ruminants and the porcine taxon 15. The similarity between these two groups was accentuated by ribotyping. Lineage D and the single isolate in lineage E contained strains allocated to biogroups 7, 10, 8B and 8C, in addition to single strains from biogroups 6 and 9. The same strains were found in the heterogenous ribotype cluster 17. Lineage F contained strains representing the leprine taxon 20 and the ruminant (P.) granulomatis. Ribotyping indicated that the ruminant biogroup 3J was affiliated with both taxon 20 and (P.) granulomatis.