Respiratory symptoms and bronchial responsiveness are related to dietary salt intake and urinary potassium excretion in male children

Six men were accidentally exposed to NO2 when they were changing a propeller using a gas burner in the poorly ventilated hold of a ship. All of them were admitted to hospital with shortness of breath and cough. Chest X-ray on admission revealed diffuse, patchy and infiltrative shadows, leading to the diagnosis of pulmonary edema in all five patients. Steroid therapy was effective and followed by a quick recovery in all patients. None developed third phase manifestations characterized pathologically by bronchiolitis obliterans.     

Finite element computation of electromagnetic fields [hyperthermiatreatment]

A three dimensional finite element solution scheme is developed for numerically computing electromagnetically induced power depositions. The solution method is applicable to those problems for which it can be reasonably assumed that the magnetic permeability is homogeneous. The method employs an incident field/scattered field approach where the incident field is precalculated and used as the forcing function for the computation of the scattered field. A physically logical condition is used for the numerical boundary conditions to overcome the fact that electromagnetic problems are generally unbounded (i.e., the boundary condition is applied at infinity) but numerical models must have a boundary condition applied to some finite location. At that numerical boundary, an outgoing spherical wave is simulated. Finally, an alternate to a direct solution scheme is described. This alternate method, a preconditioned conjugate gradient solver, provides both a storage and CPU time advantage over direct solution methods. For example, a one-thousand fold decrease in CPU time was achieved for simple test cases. Unlike most iterative methods, the preconditioned conjugate gradient technique used has the important property of guaranteed convergence. Solutions obtained from this finite element method are compared to analytic solutions demonstrating that the solution method is second-order accurate     

Residues essential for the function of SecE, a membrane component of the Escherichia coli secretion apparatus, are located in a conserved cytoplasmic region

Protein export in Escherichia coli is absolutely dependent on two integral membrane proteins, SecY and SecE. Previous deletion mutagenesis of the secE gene showed that only the third of three membrane-spanning segments and a portion of the second cytoplasmic region are necessary for its function in protein export. Here we further define the residues important for SecE function. Alignment of the SecE homologues of various eubacteria reveals that they all contain one membrane-spanning segment, compared with three in E. coli SecE, and that the most conserved region among them lies in their putative cytoplasmic amino termini; little homology exists in their membrane-spanning segments. The SecE homologue of the extreme thermophilic bacterium Thermotoga maritima was cloned and found to complement a deletion of secE in E. coli. Deletion or replacement of the cytoplasmic region of E. coli SecE eliminated SecE function, indicating that this sequence is essential for a functional secretion machinery. Mutant analysis suggests that the most important function of the third membrane-spanning segment is to maintain the proper topological arrangement of the conserved cytoplasmic domain.     

Thyroid doses resulting from the Ukraine Chernobyl accident--Part I: Dose estimates for the population of Kiev

In the context of the radiation exposure of the Ukrainian population resulting from the Chernobyl accident, the quantification of the thyroid doses due to iodine incorporation is of special interest. This first part of a series of planned publications deals with the dose and risk estimation for Kiev citizens. Although these doses are expected to be considerably lower than those for some other regions of Ukraine, the investigations started with this population because the quantification of the thyroid doses due to iodine incorporation is of special interest. This first part of a series of planned publications deals with the dose and risk estimation for Kiev citizens. Although these doses are expected to be considerably lower than those for some other regions of Ukraine, the investigations started with this population because of the availability of rather reliable measurements and because of the size of this population. The methods developed allowed the estimation of individual thyroid doses. The average values of individual thyroid doses for five age groups (birth years 1983-1986, 1979-1982, 1975-1978, 1971-1974, and < 1971) are 104, 62, 19, 18, and 41 mGy, respectively. The collective thyroid doses were estimated as 83 x 10(3) person-Gy for those born before 1971 and as 38 x 10(3) person-Gy for younger inhabitants. The numbers of expected thyroid cancers in the whole Kiev population are 66 and 130, respectively.     

Envelope glycoprotein gp120 of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 alters ion transport in astrocytes: implications for AIDS dementia complex

Infection by human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is often complicated by a variety of neurological abnormalities. The most common clinical syndrome, termed acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) dementia complex, presents as a subcortical dementia with cognitive, motor, and behavioral disturbances and is unique to HIV-1 infection. The pathogenesis of this syndrome is poorly understood but is believed to involve interactions among virally infected macrophages/microglia, astrocytes, and neurons. In this study, we show that exposure of primary rat and human astrocytes to heat-activated HIV-1 virions, or to eukaryotically expressed HIV-1 and HIV-2 envelope glycoproteins (gp120) stimulates amiloride-sensitive Na+/H+ antiport, potassium conductance, and glutamate efflux. These effects are blocked specifically by amiloride, an inhibitor of Na+/H+ antiport and by the selective removal of gp120 with immobilized monoclonal antibody. As a result of modulation of astrocytic function by gp120, the ensuing neuronal depolarization and glutamate exposure could activate both voltage-gated and N-methyl-D-aspartate-regulated Ca2+ channels, leading to increases in intraneuronal Ca2+ and neuronal death. These findings implicate the astrocyte directly in the pathogenesis of AIDS dementia complex.     

Differential contractile response of cultured microvascular pericytes to vasoactive agents

OBJECTIVE: Microvascular pericytes may contract in two different ways: In the first, a circumferential or radial mechanical force applied at right angles to the long axis of the vessel may constrict the underlying vessel affecting blood flow and transmural pressure. Retraction and elongation of pericyte processes may also occur tangentially and at right angles to the vessel axis and alter microvessel permeability by changing the amount of ablumenal surface covered or the openness of interendothelial junctions. In this study, cultured pericytes were utilized as a model experimental system to determine if vasoactive stimulation changes their shape in a manner consistent with this hypothesis. METHODS: Pericytes cultured from isolated rate capillaries were subjected to angiotensin II and histamine. Their response was monitored by measuring the area of non-yielding substrate covered by the pericytes and the manner in which their shape changed. Shape changes were quantified by calculating the surface area: perimeter perimeter ratios. RESULTS: Histamine significantly reduced surface area covered and the surface area:perimeter ratio. The pericyte processes retracted, resulting in elongated, spindle-shaped cells. These effects were nullified by the H1 blocker diphenhydramine suggesting a receptor-specific response. Angiotensin II also elicited contraction and reduced surface area, but the cells contracted laterally and longitudinally. The surface area: perimeter ratios also decreased. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that pericytes are capable of two types of contractile responses in culture, depending on the specific vasoactive stimulus.     

Reduction and uptake of methylene blue from rat air spaces

The use of methylene blue (MB) to estimate dilution of epithelial lining fluid, which occurs during bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), is complicated by loss of this redox dye from the air spaces. The rate of MB uptake from the air spaces of isolated rat lungs and the effects of oxidation and reduction on this process were investigated in this study. Movement of MB from the air spaces to perfusate was compared with the corresponding transport of 125I-labeled albumin, [14C]-dextran, 99mTc-labeled diethylenetriaminepentaacetate, [3H]-sucrose, and 3H2O. By the end of 2 min, MB concentrations in the BAL had fallen by 58 +/- 4% (SE; n = 11) and 3H2O by 78 +/- 2% (n = 13), whereas concentrations of the other indicators decreased by approximately 6%. All but 10% of the 3H2O lost from the air spaces was found in the perfusate, whereas 19% of the lost MB was not recovered in the perfusate, suggesting retention of MB in the pulmonary tissues. Absorption of MB from the air spaces was slowed by 20% when the lungs were left unperfused, and absorption was accelerated threefold by reduction of MB to leukomethylene blue with Na2S2O4. In contrast, MB losses from the air space were slowed by the oxidizing agent K3Fe(CN)6 and by addition of superoxide dismutase or ascorbic oxidase. It is therefore possible that ascorbic acid and O2- entering the air spaces reduce MB to the uncharged leuko form. Lowering the pH of the BAL fluid to 3.5 also slowed MB reabsorption. This suggests that acid aspiration may stimulate release of oxidants into the air spaces.