Identification of nearly fatal suicide attempts: Self-Inflicted Injury Severity Form

We studied the interaction of n-octyl-beta-d-glucopyranoside-solubilized VIP receptors (VIPR) with wheat germ agglutinin and found that the addition of the lectin to the detergent extract led to the formation of aggregates that could be pelleted by high speed centrifugation. Resuspension of the pellet in the presence of the competing trisaccharide, N,N', N"-triacetylchitotriose (TAC), dissociated the lectin from the complex without altering the precipitability of VIPR. The final pellet (referred to as TAC pellet) contained an average of 12% of total protein and 96% of total VIP binding activity with a typical rank order of potency for VIP-related peptides. Lipid analysis and electron microscopic examination indicated that the precipitated material was composed of lipid vesicles. VIPR molecules were shown to be integrally inserted in the liposomes because they could not be dissociated from the vesicles at pH 11 or with high salt concentration. By comparing the liposome-associated VIP binding activity in the presence and absence of detergent and by showing accessibility of VIPR to PNGase F, it was concluded that VIP binding sites were not simply trapped within the reconstituted vesicles but likely exposed at the external surface of the liposomes.     

A prospective crossover randomized trial of novobiocin and rifampin prophylaxis for the prevention of intravascular catheter infections in cancer patients treated with interleukin-2

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of novobiocin and rifampin as oral antibiotic prophylaxis for the prevention of catheter-related infection in melanoma patients treated with interleukin-2 (IL-2) plus interferon-alpha and chemotherapy (biochemotherapy). METHODS: Patients with advanced melanoma who were treated with biochemotherapy at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center were randomized in a crossover study to receive either oral antibiotic prophylaxis consisting of novobiocin and rifampin or observation alone over a 35-day course period. Patients were subsequently "crossed over" to the opposite arm of the study for an additional 35-day period, with each serving as his or her own control. RESULTS: Twenty-six patients were enrolled. Nine patients (35%) failed to tolerate oral antibiotics because of severe nausea and vomiting; 17 patients (65%) were crossed over and considered evaluable. During the control patient courses, 71% of evaluable patients had infectious complications, 41% had a catheter-associated bacteremia, and 53% had a local catheter infection. In contrast, of the patients treated with antibiotic prophylaxis, only 12% had an infectious complication (P = 0.001), 12% had a local catheter infection (P = 0.008), and 6% had catheter-associated bacteremias (P = 0.04). Thirty-six episodes of catheter infections occurred during the 17 control courses, whereas only 3 episodes occurred during antibiotic prophylaxis (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Although more than one-third of patients receiving IL-2 treatment with biochemotherapy failed to tolerate novobiocin and rifampin, this oral antibiotic regimen was efficacious in preventing the infectious complications, especially those associated with vascular catheters, in this high risk patient population.     

The misuse of cardiopulmonary resuscitation

Over a 41-month period, 1,233 "Code Blues" were retrospectively reviewed. Twenty-five codes on infants and children < 16 years of age were eliminated from the study group. The adult survivors of 1,208 codes numbered 243 (20.1%). Clinical chart review revealed that 49 (4.0%) did not involve cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or intubation and were "non-codes." Of the remaining 1,159 codes, there were 194 (16.7%) survivors. Of these survivors, 102 (52.5%) were patients with respiratory distress or failure and required intubation only. No CPR was needed. Thus, only the remaining 92 survivors of the 1,057 codes were cardiac cases for which CPR was appropriate (8.7% survival). Ventricular tachycardia and fibrillation, promptly defibrillated, was the most important rhythm factor for survival. Underlying ischemic heart disease (acute myocardial infarction and chronic ischemic heart disease with arrhythmia) was the most common underlying disease entity among the survivors. CPR performed in the group of patients unlikely to survive was expensive.     

Renal renin output during continuous intracarotid infusions of iso- and hypertonic sodium chloride solutions in the rat

1. Unreduced human subcomponent C1q was shown by electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gels run in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate to be composed of two types of non-covalently linked subunits of apparent mol.wts. 69 000 and 54 000. The ratio of the two subunits was markedly affected by the ionic strength of the applied sample. At a low ionic strength of applied sample, which gave the optimum value for the 54 000-apparent mol.wt. subunit, a ratio of 1.99:1.00 was obtained for the ratio of the 69 000-apparent mol.wt. subunit to the 5400-apparent-mol.wt. subunit. The amount of the 54 000-apparent-mol.wt. subunit detected in the expected position on the gel was found to be inversely proportional to increases in the ionic strength of the applled sample. 2. Human subcomponent C1q on reduction and alkylation, or oxidation, yields equimolar amounts of three chains designated A, B and C [Reid et al. (1972) Biochem. J. 130, 749-763]. The results obtained by Yonemasu & Stroud [(1972) Immunochemistry 9, 545-554], which showed that the 69 000-apparent-mol.wt. subunit was a disulphide-linked dimer of the A and B chains and that the 54 000-apparent-mol.wt. subunit was a disulphide-linked dimer of the C chain, were confirmed. 3. Gel filtration on Sephadex G-200 in 6.0M-guanidinium chloride showed that both types of unreduced subunit were eluted together as a single symmetrical peak of apparent mol.wt. 49 000-50 000 when globular proteins were used as markers. The molecular weights of the oxidized or reduced A, B and C chains have been shown previously to be very similar all being in the range 23 000-24 000 [Reid et al. (1972) Biochem. J. 130, 749-763; Reid (1974) Biochem. J. 141, 189-203]. 4. It is proposed that subcomponent C1q (mol.wt. 410000) is composed of nine non-covalently linked subunits, i.e. six A-B dimers and three C-C dimers. 5. A structure for subcomponent C1q is proposed and is based on the assumption that the collagen-like regions of 78 residues in each of the A, B and C chains are combined to form a triple-helical structure of the same type as is found in collagens.     

Correlation between motility of testicular spermatozoa, testicular histology and the outcome of intracytoplasmic sperm injection

Many studies have demonstrated the postoperative analgesic efficacy of fentanyl delivered i.v. by patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) devices at demand doses ranging from 10 to 50 microg, but none has sought to define the optimal fentanyl PCA dose. In this randomized, double-blind, multicenter study, we compared the safety and efficacy of three administered demand-dose sizes of fentanyl (20, 40, and 60 microg) in 150 patients after major surgery. Efficacy was dose-dependent; positive response rates (i.e., a global assessment score of "very good" or "excellent" and the absence of severe opioid adverse effects) were 42%, 52%, and 68% for the 20, 40, and 60 microg demand-dose groups, respectively, and were significantly higher in the 60 microg demand-dose group. The number of doses administered and missed attempts were significantly smaller in the 40 and 60 microg demand-dose groups compared with the 20 microg demand-dose group. This suggests that the 20 microg demand dose provided inadequate pain relief. Adverse respiratory events were more frequent and mean respiratory rates were significantly slower with the 60 microg demand dose, compared with the 20 or 40 microg demand doses. These results indicate that, of these three doses, the 40 microg demand dose was optimal for fentanyl PCA management of moderate to severe pain after major surgery. IMPLICATIONS: The postoperative analgesic efficacy of fentanyl delivered i.v. by patient-controlled analgesia devices has been demonstrated for demand doses ranging from 10 to 50 microg, but the optimal fentanyl dose remains unknown. In this randomized, double-blind study, we compared three demand dose sizes of fentanyl (20, 40, and 60 microg) and found that the 40 microg demand dose was the most appropriate for fentanyl patient-controlled analgesia management of postoperative pain.     

Detection of point mutations by solid-phase methods

Several techniques exist that permit the efficient distinction among characterized DNA sequence variants. In this review we discuss a number of such analytic procedures. These techniques all take advantage of a variety solid supports to prepare and analyze reaction products. The described diagnostic principles are now being applied for the development of miniaturized assay formats, suitable for automated detection of large sets of sequences in clinical samples.     

Folate status response to controlled folate intake in pregnant women

A metabolic study (84-d) was conducted to investigate the folate status response of pregnant subjects (n = 12) during their second trimester and nonpregnant controls (n = 12) to folate intakes approximating the current (400 microg/d) and former (800 microg/d) recommended dietary allowance (RDA). The overall goal of the study was to provide metabolic data to assist in the interpretation of the current RDA for folate. Subjects were fed a controlled diet containing 120 +/- 15 microg/d (mean +/- SD) folate and either 330 or 730 microg/d synthetic folic acid. Outcome variables between and within supplementation groups were compared at steady state. Serum folate was higher (P 0.05) were detected in serum folate between pregnant and nonpregnant women within the same supplementation group. Urinary 5-methyl-tetrahydrofolate excretion was greater (P 0.05) in 5-methyl-tetrahydrofolate excretion were detected between pregnant and nonpregnant women within supplementation groups. Differences (P 相似文献   

Identification of the amino terminus of neuronal Ca2+ channel alpha1 subunits alpha1B and alpha1E as an essential determinant of G-protein modulation

We have examined the basis for G-protein modulation of the neuronal voltage-dependent calcium channels (VDCCs) alpha1E and alpha1B. A novel PCR product of alpha1E was isolated from rat brain. This contained an extended 5' DNA sequence and was subcloned onto the previously cloned isoform rbEII, giving rise to alpha1Elong whose N terminus was extended by 50 amino acids. VDCC alpha1 subunit constructs were co-expressed with the accessory alpha2-delta and beta2a subunits in Xenopus oocytes and mammalian (COS-7) cells. The alpha1Elong showed biophysical properties similar to those of rbEII; however, when G-protein modulation of expressed alpha1 subunits was induced by activation of co-expressed dopamine (D2) receptors with quinpirole (100 nM) in oocytes, or by co-transfection of Gbeta1gamma2 subunits in COS-7 cells, alpha1Elong, unlike alpha1E(rbEII), was found to be G-protein-modulated, in terms of both a slowing of activation kinetics and a reduction in current amplitude. However, alpha1Elong showed less modulation than alpha1B, and substitution of the alpha1E1-50 with the corresponding region of alpha1B1-55 produced a chimera alpha1bEEEE, with G-protein modulation intermediate between alpha1Elong and alpha1B. Furthermore, deletion of the N-terminal 1-55 sequence from alpha1B produced alpha1BDeltaN1-55, which could not be modulated, thus identifying the N-terminal domain as essential for G-protein modulation. Taken together with previous studies, these results indicate that the intracellular N terminus of alpha1E1-50 and alpha1B1-55 is likely to contribute to a multicomponent site, together with the intracellular I-II loop and/or the C-terminal tail, which are involved in Gbetagamma binding and/or in subsequent modulation of channel gating.     

江西省地质灾害防治指挥中心空调系统设计方案分析

本文主要介绍了数码涡旋中央空调系统设计中应注意的事项,阐述了数码涡旋中央空调系统的特点。     

Engineering trimeric fibrous proteins based on bacteriophage T4 adhesins

The adsorption specificity of bacteriophage T4 is determined by genes 12and 37, encoding the short tail-fibers (STF) and the distal part of thelong tail-fibers (LTF), respectively. Both are trimeric proteins with roddomains made up of similar tandem quasi-repeats, approximately 40 aminoacids long. Their assembly requires the viral chaperones gp57A and gp38.Here we report that fusing fragments of gp12 and gp37 to another trimericT4 fibrous protein, fibritin, facilitates correct assembly, therebyby-passing the chaperone requirement. Fibritin is an alpha-helical coiledcoil protein whose C-terminal part (fibritin E, comprising the last 120residues) has recently been solved to atomic resolution. Gp12 fragments of109 and 70 amino acids, corresponding to three and two quasi-repeatsrespectively, were fused to the C-terminus of fibritin E. A similar chimerawas designed for the last 63 residues of gp37, which contain four copies ofthe pentapeptide Gly-X-His-X-His and assume a narrow rigid structure in theLTF distal tip. Expressed from plasmids, all three chimeras form solubletrimers that are resistant to dissociation by SDS and digestion by trypsin,indicative of correct folding and oligomerization.