What decides: high mortality in paediatric acute renal failure?

Forty paediatric cases of A.R.F. (Acute Renal Failure) of various aetiology were included in the study. 60% of patients were less than 4 years of age with male predominance. 80% cases reported to us very late with oligoanuria of more than 24 hours (2-7 days). Diarrhoea, vomiting and fever were other dominant symptoms. Maximum cases were severely anaemic (87.5%) with mean Hb 7.73 +/- 1.9 gm%. 40% cases were of underweight while only one case (2.5%) was of over weight, inspite of volume excess in 40% cases. All 24 cases, who were estimated for serum albumin, found to have marked hypoalbuminemia. Mortality was found to be as high as 65% inspite of effective peritoneal dialysis in all cases. High mortality seems to be due to profound anuria of many days (because of marked delay in reaching the hospital), fever and malnutrition besides other factors as aetiology.     

Lipoprotein(a) in patients with carotid atherosclerosis and ischemic cerebrovascular disorders

Two novel peptides, named PACAP (pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide) containing 38 (PACAP38) and 27 residues (PACAP27) were recently isolated from ovine hypothalami. In order to investigate the pituitary cell type(s) that bear a receptor for PACAP, PACAP38 was biotinylated and used for cytochemical examination of binding. The cells were also identified by immunocytochemical methods using the antisera against each of the rat anterior pituitary hormones or an antiserum against S-100 protein, a marker for pituitary folliculo-stellate (FS) cells. Biotinylated PACAP38 (biot-PACAP) exhibited adenylate cyclase stimulating activity (ACSA) comparable to PACAP38 in rat pituitary cell cultures, and displaced the bound 125I-PACAP27 to the rat pituitary membrane preparation to the same extent as PACAP38. After 2-4 days of culture, dispersed rat pituitary cells were incubated with varying concentrations of biot-PACAP at room temperature or 4 degrees C. The bound biot-PACAP38 was visualized by avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex (ABC) method with nickel intensification. Biot-PACAP-positive and pituitary hormone or S-100-positive cells were counted. More than 90% of S-100-positive cells bound biot-PACAP38. A considerable number of GH and PRL cells and a lesser number of ACTH cells also bound biot-PACAP38, whereas only a few identified LH, FSH, or TSH cells bound biot-PACAP38. These results suggest that FS cells are a major target cell type for PACAP. A recent study from our laboratory demonstrated that PACAP stimulated the release of interleukin (IL)-6 in rat pituitary cell cultures. FS cells are known to produce IL-6.     

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.     

A test piece for mechanical testing of fiber composite materials

This article describes a test piece that minimizes the spread of the results of testing of composite materials on a metal base by extension in the direction of a reinforcing fiber and, from the results, determines the mechanical properties of intermediate and finished products made of these materials.Translated from Izmeritel'naya Tekhnika, No. 10, pp. 39–40, October, 1993.     

Control Mechanisms in Network Structures

Formulation of the problem of designing the optimal structure of an active system was considered within the framework of the game-theoretical model of interaction of its participants. Solution and the results of studying the control mechanisms in applications such as in-house management and multiagent systems were presented.     

Sex stereotyping in Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins..

Comments on the article by S. T. Fiske et al (see record 1992-07509-001) praising the American Psychological Association's (APA's) amicus brief intended to inform the Supreme Court of current scientific thinking regarding gender stereotyping. A balanced perspective, it is argued, should include both research supporting an argument and findings that are inconsistent with that argument. The APA brief gave no indication of contradictory findings. Moreover, review of the research cited indicates that more than half of the studies do not support the argument for which they were cited. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A protein required for secretion of cholera toxin through the outer membrane of Vibrio cholerae

Calcitonin, the serum calcium-lowering hormone, has been used in the treatment of hypercalcemia of malignancy and postmenopausal osteoporosis in humans for several years without any adverse effects. Recent studies in rats have indicated that calcitonin may be associated with morphologic effects on the pituitary. A large study was performed on 2 strains of rats, Sprague-Dawley (SD) and Fischer-344 (F-344), with 2 types of calcitonin, salmon-derived (sCT) and porcine-derived (pCT) calcitonin to evaluate possible effects on the pituitary. Sixteen groups of 42 male and 42 female SD or F-344 rats were given 0 (vehicle control), 1.25, 5.0, or 80.0 IU/kg/day of sCT or pCT, once daily, subcutaneously, for 1 yr. An increased incidence of adenomas of the adenohypophysis was observed in male SD rats at all dose levels of sCT, female SD rats given 80 IU/kg/day of sCT, male SD rats at the high dose level of pCT, and male F-344 rats at the high dose level of sCT. Also, an increased incidence of total proliferative lesions, due mostly to an increased incidence of focal hyperplasia of the pars distalis, occurred in female F-344 rats given the high dose of sCT. These pituitary proliferations were histologically similar to those that occur spontaneously, and the incidences observed were comparable to those that could occur in rats on 2-yr or lifetime studies, indicating that the injection of calcitonin had decreased the latency period.     

Catechol-O-methyltransferase-deficient mice exhibit sexually dimorphic changes in catecholamine levels and behavior

Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) is one of the major mammalian enzymes involved in the metabolic degradation of catecholamines and is considered a candidate for several psychiatric disorders and symptoms, including the psychopathology associated with the 22q11 microdeletion syndrome. By means of homologous recombination in embryonic stem cells, a strain of mice in which the gene encoding the COMT enzyme has been disrupted was produced. The basal concentrations of brain catecholamines were measured in the striatum, frontal cortex, and hypothalamus of adult male and female mutants. Locomotor activity, anxiety-like behaviors, sensorimotor gating, and aggressive behavior also were analyzed. Mutant mice demonstrated sexually dimorphic and region-specific changes of dopamine levels, notably in the frontal cortex. In addition, homozygous COMT-deficient female (but not male) mice displayed impairment in emotional reactivity in the dark/light exploratory model of anxiety. Furthermore, heterozygous COMT-deficient male mice exhibited increased aggressive behavior. Our results provide conclusive evidence for an important sex- and region-specific contribution of COMT in the maintenance of steady-state levels of catecholamines in the brain and suggest a role for COMT in some aspects of emotional and social behavior in mice.