Blockade of the specific lethal effects of narcotic analgesics in the mouse

The capacity of the narcotic antagonists naloxone and nalorphine and the benzodiazepine derivatives diazepam and oxazepam to increase the LD50s of the narcotic analgesics morphine and methadone administered at convulsant doses was eveluated in the mouse. Naloxone produced a dose-related increase in the LD50s of both morphine and methadone. Iiazepam and oxazepam were also effective in increasing the LD50s of the narcotics; this effect was additive with that of naloxone. However, the maximal increase in the LD50s of the narcotics produced by pretreatment with naloxone alone was not increased further by the combined pretreatment of naloxone and a benzodiazepine. The anticonvulsant trimethadione did not elevate the LD50s of methadone, nor did it potentiate the effects of naloxone. These results suggest that the benzodiazepines may reduce the lethality of narcotic analgesics administered at high doses by a mechanism other than by an anticonvulsant effect alone. Therefore, the present results support the conclusion that the capacity to increase the convulsant LD50 of the narcotic analgesics is a general property of the narcotic antagonists.     

Involvement of 4-hydroxymandelic acid in the degradation of mandelic acid by Pseudomonas convexa

A microorganism capable of degrading DL-mandelic acid was isolated from sewage sediment of enrichment culture and was identified as Pseudomonas convexa. It was found to metabolize mandelic acid by a new pathway involving 4-hydroxymandelic acid, 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, and 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid as aromatic intermediates. All the enzymes of the pathway were demonstrated in cell-free extracts. L-Mandelate-4-hydroxylase, a soluble enzyme, requires tetrahydropteridine, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate, reduced form, and Fe2+ for its activity. The next enzyme, L-4-hydroxymandelate oxidase (decarboxylating), a particulate enzyme, requires flavine adenine dinucleotide and Mn2+ for its activity. A nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-dependent, as well as a nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-dependent, benzaldehyde dehydrogenase has been resolved and partially purified.     

Dependence of centriole formation on protein synthesis

Electron microscope observations were made of rat peroneal nerve after crushing using intravenously injected horseradish peroxidase (HRP) as a tracer protein to indicate changes in vascular permeability. At 1/2 h and 2 d after the crush there was gross leakage of HRP from damaged capillaries at the site of injury but none from vessels above or below this. Ultrastructurally vessels at the site of crush showed broken and separated endothelial cells. Proximally and distally there was little abnormal in the vessel walls; vesicles containing HRP were absent and tight-junctions between cells remained intact. Twenty-one days after the crush, leakage of HRP was found both at the site of crush and along the distal segment. The only change in vessel walls was an obvious increase in vesicles filled with HRP. Tracer was also found both in perivascular locations and throughout the endoneurial space.     

Oral absorption and pharmacokinetics of rebamipide and rebamipide lysinate in rats

Rebamipide is an anti-ulcer agent exhibiting a low aqueous solubility and a poor oral bioavailability. This study was conducted to examine if the rebamipide lysinate salt form would exhibit improved solubility profiles and higher oral bioavailability compared with rebamipide free acid. Both compounds showed pH-dependent solubility profiles, with the solubility of rebamipide lysinate dramatically improved at a median pH of 5.1 (17-fold increases) over free acid, but the improvement in the solubility was not as pronounced in artificial gastric and intestinal fluids (1.4- and 1.9-fold increases, respectively). The Cl, V_ss and t_1/2 in rats after i.v. injection of rebamipide (0.5 mg/kg) averaged 21.0 ± 3.2 ml/min/kg, 0.3 ± 0.0 L/kg, and 0.4 ± 0.1 hr, respectively. No significant difference was observed in these parameters between rebamipide and rebamipide lysinate. Despite improved solubility profiles, the absolute oral bioavailability of rebamipide lysinate was not increased (5.1 vs. 4.8%) nor did AUC (407.8 vs. 383.6 ng^.hr/ml) and C_max (87.4 vs.77.0 ng/ml) compared with rebamipide free acid. Rebamipide lysinate, however, showed a more rapid absorption, and initial serum drug concentrations were higher than those found for rebamipide free acid.     

Acute renal failure in patients with acute pancreatitis

We describe five patients with acute pancreatitis in whom acute renal failure developed in the absence of hypotension. Pancreatitis was diagnosed clinically, with mean serum and urinary amylase levels of 766 +/- 197 (SE) and 2,378 +/- 572 units/100 ml, respectively. Acute renal failure developed within 24 hours after admission in all patients. It was manifested by oliguria, elevated levels of serum creatinine (mean, 6.9 +/- 1.1 mg/100 ml) and BUN (105 +/-28 mg/100 ml); a urinary sodium level of 72.0 +/- 6.6 mEq/liter; and isosmotic urine (355 +/- 31 mOsm/liter). The mean uric acid level was 18.6 +/- 1.6 mg/100 ml. Blood pressure was recorded frequently, and the lowest mean diastolic pressure was 96 +/- 6 mm Hg. The duration of the oliguric phase of acute renal failure was 8.2 +/- 1.7 days, and all patients recovered from both the acute pancreatitis and acute renal failure. In summary, acute pancreatitis, per se, can precipitate acute renal failure. It occurs early in the course of the pancreatitis, and extreme hyperuricemia is frequent finding that does not adversely affect the recovery of renal function.     

Emergent textural contours: a new technique for visual monitoring in nystagmus, oculomotor dysfunction, and accommodative disorders

Emergent textural contours, the perceptual effect seen during continuous rotation of symmetrical arrays of uniform pattern elements, provide a unique source of visual feedback for eye movements and resolutional states and have potential for use as a new clinical tool. The phenomenon is produced by a combination of factors including the effects of visual persistence and differential resolution. A total of 28 subjects including 17 normals, 4 nystagmus, 4 oculomotor dysfunction, and 3 accommodative facility cases were shown an emergent textural contour with an instrument (the Goldrich Contour Rotator) for its display. Subjects were enabled to monitor their own eye movements and accommodative training. Nystagmus subjects were provided with a continuous source of visual input reflecting their ocular oscillations and a determination of the null point of nystagmus was made with the instrument.     

The factors affecting the backward-transfer of Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) from sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (AOT) reverse micellar solutions

The factors affecting the back-extraction efficiency of Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA, 65kDa, pI 4.9) solubilized in an AOT reverse micellar solution, prepared by the injection method, to an excess aqueous phase were investigated. In particular, effects of pH, the type of salt and its concentration in the excess aqueous phase were examined. Furthermore, by comparing CD spectra of the back-extracted BSA with the feed BSA, the structural changes of the protein during the extraction process were determined. The addition of 1:1 salt such as KCl or NaCl to the aqueous phase resulted in a 100% recovery of the protein to the aqueous phase at a pH higher than its isoelectric point pI. This high efficiency of the back-extraction might be due to the change in the interactions between the protein and micellar aggregates driven by the added salt. For 1 : 2 salts like MgCl₂ or CaCl₂, BSA was back extracted with lower than 20% extraction efficiency. Maximum efficiencies were achieved at about pH=7 and pH=8 for monovalent and divalent salts, respectively. From the C D spectra of back-extracted BSA, it was observed that denaturation of BSA was not significant during the extraction process.     

The distribution of osteocalcin, degree of mineralization, and mechanical properties along the length of Cyprinus carpio rib bone

This study examined the spatial distribution of selected biochemical and mechanical properties along the length of carp rib bone. Carp rib bone was chosen because of its unusually high osteocalcin content relative to other extractable proteins. The amount of osteocalcin was significantly lower (p<0.01) at the most distal section, relative to all other sections. The amount of phosphate (p<0.05) and the elastic modulus in the longitudinal plane (p<0.0001) were found to be significantly higher in the most distal section, relative to the most proximal section. There was no significant difference in the calcium distribution, molar Ca/P ratio, or elastic modulus in the transverse plane. It was speculated that the distal section contains less mature bone. The methods illustrate the potential usefulness of nanoindentation to characterize the mechanical properties of bone, relative to its biochemical composition. © 2001 Kluwer Academic Publishers     

Bridging the semantic gap in multimedia emotion/mood recognition for ubiquitous computing environment

With the advent of the ubiquitous era, multimedia emotion/mood could be used as an important clue in multimedia understanding, retrieval, recommendation, and some other multimedia applications. Many issues for multimedia emotion recognition have been addressed by different disciplines such as physiology, psychology, cognitive science, and musicology. Recently, many researchers have tried to uncover the relationship between multimedia contents such as image or music and emotion in many applications. In this paper, we introduce the existing emotion models and acoustic features. We also present a comparison of different emotion/mood recognition methods.