Selenium content in the blood cattle from Venezuela. I. Central and Portugueste zones

Whole blood concentrations of selenium were determined in 776 dairy cows and calves from 28 farms located in three States (Aragua, Carabobo and Guárico) of the central zone of Venezuela and in Portuguesa State. Selenium levels largely varied according to both the geographic distribution and animals breed. Cattle from Guárico State showed the lowest average concentration (0.21 ppm) and those from Portuguesa the highest one (0.67 ppm). A group of animals from Turén (a District of Portuguesa State) showed the highest average concentration (1.64 ppm, range 1.02 +/- to 3.24 ppm). Concentrations of this magnitude in animals under grazing conditions could be related to high levels of selenium either in the soil or in the pasture. It is concluded that such animals are localized inaseleniferous zone (Turén). It must be noted that Jaffé et al. (op. cit.) found high levels of selenium in sesame seeds (Sesamum indicum) from this area and in blood and urine samples of children from Villa Bruzual, a little town of Turén. The results of this wok significantly differ from those obtained in other countries (of Europe and North America), where animals are managed under conditions very different from those of the tropical areas like Venezuela. The role this factor is discussed. This is the first report on blood levels in large animals of economical importance in Venezuela.     

Voluntary muscle involvement in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. A study of eleven patients

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is generally considered to be a primary disease of cardiac muscle, although several clinical observations suggest that the pathologic process might be more diffuse. To further examine this possibility, electromyography and voluntary muscle biopsies were done on 11 patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. In 10 of 10 patients electromyography showed reductions in mean potential amplitude and duration, with an increased incidence of short-duration polyphasic deflections (findings traditionally accepted as indicative of a myopathic process). Light and electron microscopic studies of the biopsy material showed abnormalities in eight of 11 patients: four had central core or target fibers, or both, and two of these, plus four others, had subsarcolemmal mitochondrial proliferation with or without abnormal ultrastructure. These findings indicate that hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is only one aspect of a larger disease spectrum, with abnormalities in both voluntary and cardiac muscle.     

The secretory characteristics of dehydrocholate in the dog: comparison with the natural bile salts

1. During dehydrocholate administration in the taurine replete dog, the maximum excretory rate of total bile salt (almost entirely dehydrocholate derivative, mostly conjugated) was 3-84 +/- 0-53 (S.D.) mumole/min. kg body wt. (eleven experiments). This was much less than the excretory maximum previously obtained for taurocholate (8-64 +/- 1-31 (S.D.) mumole/min. kg total cholate, mostly conjugated). 2. The superimposition of taurocholate infusion did not cause any significant change in the 'dehydrocholate' maximum but taurocholate itself was excreted into bile at no more than about half its normal maximum. When taurocholate maximum excretion was established first, it was reduced by dehydrocholate administration. In both types of experiment the joint bile salt excretory maximum was of the same order as that of taurocholate alone, provided taurocholate made up at least 40-50% of the total bile salt. 3. When taurocholate administration was stopped, the maximum excretory rate of 'dehydrocholate' rose to values up to 63% above the initially determined excretory maximum; the enhanced 'dehydrocholate' excretory maximum, when calculated for optimal conditions, approached that of actively conjugated vholate, even though the effective 'dehydrocholate' concentration in bile was ten to twenty times the critical micellar concentration of taurocholate. This suggests that the effective bile salt concentration in bile is not an important determinant of the secretory performance of a bile salt. 4. To explain findings (2) and (3) it is necessary to postulate that taurocholate has both a facilitatory and an inhibitory action on 'dehydrocholate' excretion. The facilitatory action, which persists after taurocholate has left the animal, may consist either of an increase in the maximum rate at which modification of dehydrocholate takes place within the liver cell, or an increase in the number of functioning 'carriers' for 'dehydrocholate' transfer. The data suggest that the inhibitory effect is due to the competitive interaction that also appears to exist between the two bile salts. 5. The increase in bile flow rate per unit increase in 'dehydrocholate' excretion (15 ml./m-mole) was about twice that obtained for taurocholate. There was no significant formation of micellar aggregates during 'dehydrocholate' excretion, as judged from the total electrolyte concentration of bile and its osmalality. 6. During the excretion of 'dehydrocholate'-taurocholate mixtures (approximately 1:1) at submaximal rates the associated bile flow rate was not less than the sum of the separate components, thus suggesting that 'dehydrocholate' was not being incorporated in taurocholate mixed micelles.     

中国城市土壤重金属污染研究进展

随着城市现代工业的高速发展以及城市化进程的不断加快,人们越来越关注城市土壤重金属污染问题.介绍了城市土壤的概念,阐述了城市土壤重金属污染的特点和危害,分析了城市土壤重金属污染的来源,并对下一步的研究进行了展望,希望为实现重金属污染土壤的有效生态整治与安全高效益利用提供参考.     

Advanced MR imaging techniques for evaluation of the heart and great vessels

A "one-stop shop" for evaluating cardiac disease with magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is progressing toward clinical reality and promises to have a major effect on the care of patients with cardiac disease. T1-weighted conventional spin-echo imaging gated to the cardiac cycle yields good anatomic detail but requires long imaging times and provides only static images of a single cardiac phase. Fast MR imaging with electrocardiographically (ECG) gated, low-flip-angle, segmented k-space gradient-recalled-echo (GRE) sequences provides excellent image quality with sufficiently high temporal resolution to "freeze" cardiac motion. Segmented k-space sequences improve on standard ECG-gated GRE sequences by allowing many cardiac phases, or frames of a cine sequence, to be imaged in a single breath hold with prospective cardiac gating. As commercial implementations of segmented k-space imaging become more widely available, the applications of this technique are expanding from research protocols to include many clinical applications in the heart and great vessels. Such applications include evaluation of vascular anatomy (coronary angiography, aortic disease, aberrant vessels, vascular access), cardiac anatomy (congenital anomalies, right ventricular dysplasia, constrictive pericarditis, valvular function), myocardial perfusion, and myocardial wall motion.