The effect of taurine on the carbohydrate metabolism of diabetic animals]

A study was made of a new antidiabetic preparation--taurin in various methods of its administration to rats and rabbits with alloxan and ditisone model of diabetes. A short-term restoration of carbohydrate metabolism was seen after intraperitoneal and intravenous injection in a dose of 200 mg/kg. Oral use of aqueous taurin solution in the same dose failed to produce the desirable result. Microcapsulated taurin with acetylcellulose in the capacity of a filler given per os in a dose of 300 mg/kg restored to the normal glycogen content in the liver and leukocytes, blood and urine sugar level, and the insulin-like activity of blood plasma. Taurin (in a concentration of 3 mg/ml) possessed an insulinogenic action in experiments on fragments of the pancreas isolated from diabetia animals.     

Reversibility of glycolysis in leaves of C4-plants

A conversion of the reaction of two cytoplasmic glycolysis enzymes, phosphoglycerate mutase and phosphopyruvate hydratase, is necessary for sucrose synthesis from pyruvate in leaves of C4-plants in the light, when phosphoenolpyruvate synthesis from pyruvate and phosphoglycerate reduction can be carried out by chloroplasts. Leaves of C4-plants differ from those of C3-plants in a higher activity of cytoplasmic glycolysis enzymes, which are distributed irregularly in two assimilatory tissues. The ratio of pyruvate kinase and enolase reaction activities is high in parenchyma linings of vascular fascicles (where mitochondria are concentrated), and it is low in mesophyl tissue, where phosphoglucerate in equilibrium phosphoenolpyruvate reaction is included into photosynthetic metabolism. The data obtained on isolated mesophyl protoplasts have shown that the reaction equilibrium is sharply shifted into the direction of phosphoenolpyruvate formation from phosphoglycerate. However, the incorporation of 14C into sugars is not completely inhibited in the atmosphere of N2-A possibility of incorporation of tri-carbon fragments into sugars in photosynthesizing leaves via conversion of enolase reaction and via alternative pathways is discussed.     

The effect of dimethyl sulfoxide on the changes in the lymph microcirculation induced by staphylococcal toxin

The effect of dimethyl sulfoxide (dimexid, DMSO) on the lymph microvessels of the rat mesentery was studied by vital biomicroscopy. It was found that 30% DMSO increases the tonus of intact lymph microvessels and stimulates their phase contractions. Action of the agent for more than 15 min leads to the development of lymphostasis. DMSO has a pronounced corrective effect on disorders of lymph microcirculation caused by the staphylococcal toxin. It removes the main lymphopathogenic effects of the poison and normalizes the drainage function of the lymphangions. The correcting effect of DMSO on lymph circulation is attended with attenuation of the fatal effect of the toxin.     

Morphologic rearrangement of lymphoid organs of birds and tailless amphibia during surgical intervention on internal organs

There are reports that suggest cryosurgical techniques may be a useful adjunct or even a viable alternative to surgical resection for hepatobiliary malignancies. Our objective was to evaluate the clinical results following cryoablation in conjunction with surgical resection for advanced hepatic tumors. Cryosurgical techniques were used in 25 consecutive patients with advanced liver tumors (1) to achieve a > 1-cm tumor-free margin when standard surgical margins were close, (2) to manage multiple tumor nodules with or without standard surgical resection, or (3) to increase chemotherapy response rates in conjunction with hepatic arterial portocath placement. In these 25 patients cryoablation was applied to 44 of 91 lesions--independently in four patients and in combination with hepatic resection in 21 patients. Cryoablation was used in seven patients because of close surgical margins. In 18 patients cryosurgery was used for complete lesion ablation. In 14 of the 18 patients cryosurgery and resection were used for different lesions; in four cryosurgery alone was used. Transient changes in hepatic enzymes, PT, PTT, and platelets were at maximum on postoperative days 1 to 3. Surgical mortality and morbidity rates were 4% and 68% respectively. Coagulation abnormalities were common; at least 30% reduction in platelets occurred in all patients and a > 50% reduction occurred in 15 of 25 (60%). Sixteen patients had a PT > 15 sec and five of these 16 also had platelet count < 50,000. Associated complications included one wound hematoma, one GI hemorrhage, one intracranial hemorrhage, and one hepatic hemorrhage from the cryosurgical site. 96%, 66%, 49%, 35%, and 20% of patients were surviving respectively at 6, 12, 18, 24, and 36 months. This report helps define the risks and results of cryosurgical ablation in conjunction with surgical resection for very advanced hepatobiliary tumors. Management of lesions contiguous to major blood vessels can include the Pringle maneuver or total hepatic vascular isolation. Cryoablation can be applied carefully as a complement to resection to achieve total tumor ablation in selected otherwise unresectable patients.     

Anticonvulsant activity of novel derivatives of 2- and 3-piperidinecarboxylic acid in mice and rats

The relative ability of derivatives of 2-piperidinecarboxylic acid (2-PC; pipecolic acid) and 3-piperidinecarboxylic acid (3-PC; nipecotic acid) to block maximal electroshock (MES)-induced seizures, elevate the threshold for electroshock-induced seizures and be neurotoxic in mice was investigated. Protective index (PI) values, based on the MES test and rotorod performance, ranged from 1.3 to 4.5 for 2-PC benzylamides and from < 1 to > 7.2 for 3-PC derivatives. PI values based on elevation of threshold for electroshock-induced seizures and rotorod performance ranged from > 1.6 to > 20 for both types of derivatives. Since preliminary data indicated that benzylamide derivatives of 2-PC displace [3H]1-[1-(2-thienyl)-cyclohexyl]piperidine (TCP) binding to the phencyclidine (PCP) site of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor in the micromolar range and such low affinity uncompetitive antagonists of the NMDA receptor-associated ionophore have been shown to be effective anticonvulsants with low neurological toxicity, the 2-PC derivatives were evaluated in rat brain homogenates for binding affinity to the PCP site. Although all compounds inhibited [3H]TCP binding, a clear correlation between pharmacological activity and binding affinity was not apparent. Select compounds demonstrated minimal ability to protect against pentylenetetrazol-, 4-aminopyridine- and NMDA-induced seizures in mice. Corneal and amygdala kindled rats exhibited different sensitivities to both valproic acid and the nonsubstituted 2-PC benzylamide, suggesting a difference in these two models. Enantiomers of the alpha-methyl substituted benzylamide of 2-PC showed some ability to reduce seizure severity in amygdala kindled rats.     

Properties of recombinant bacteriophage T4 tail sheath protein and its deletion fragments

We aimed to determine whether our results were any better or worse than other published reports and to examine the efficacy of the West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) policy of applying cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and manual ventilation to all unwitnessed cardiac arrests in preference to immediate defibrillation. All cardiac arrests were studied from October 1994 to September 1996. In all unwitnessed arrests, crews undertook CPR and manually ventilated the lungs via a mask or an endotracheal tube with a bag and valve or a mechanical resuscitator using an FIO2 of 1 or 0.21 for at least 2 min before defibrillation was attempted. There were 3403 diagnosed cardiac arrests but, in these, the diagnosis was not certain. CPR and advanced life support (ALS) were applied in 3380 patients and return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) was obtained in 554, giving a success rate of 16.4%. A total of 364 patients were accepted into hospital, 90 patients died in A&E but 274 patients were admitted to ICU/CCU. Seventy died within 24 h, 69 died after 24 h and 135 were discharged alive and well without cerebral damage. The final success to discharge rate was 49.27%. Of those discharged, 69 had a circulatory arrest period of more than 4 min but in only 10 was a bystander available to start CPR. The European Resuscitation Council Guidelines recommending immediate defibrillation for unwitnessed arrests are not supported by these results. The apparent lack of cerebral damage and the percentage success suggests that resuscitation considerations should be as brain orientated as they are heart orientated. The elapsed time periods reported challenge several shibboleths.     

Treatment effectiveness of patients with ocular tuberculosis at specialized sanatoria

The bloodflow is decreased in myopic eyes with dystrophic changes in the center and at the periphery, this decrease being in proportion with the severity of the changes. Our study was aimed at elucidating the contribution of the scleral and hemodynamic factors to the genesis of myopic and chorioretinal dystrophies. A total of 295 patients with progressive myopia were examined. The sagittal and frontal sizes of the eye were reliably increased and the rheographic coefficient lowered in complicated progressive myopia as against the condition without complications. The biomechanical factor plays the main role in the pathogenesis of dystrophies.     

Transscleral ciliary sulcus fixation of a posterior chamber lens in an eye with congenital aniridia

A 30-year-old man with bilateral congenital aniridia presented with a subluxated cataract in the right eye. He wore a soft contact lens for aphakic correction in the fellow eye after lensectomy for a subluxated cataract. We performed pars plana lensectomy and vitrectomy with implantation of a transscleral ciliary sulcus fixated posterior chamber intraocular lens in the right eye. Good postoperative visual acuity was obtained.