The donor stage of orthotopic liver transplantation

First clinical experience of the harvesting (donor) stage of orthotopic transplantation of the liver in Russia is represented. During 5-year period in National Research Center of Surgery RAMS 16 orthotopic transplantations of the liver were carried out. Surgical modes of harvesting of the donor liver are detailed ("standard" and "fast"), the regimes and methods of preservation of the liver were determined. The influence of various parameters on function of the graft in postoperative period was established. Adequate selection of donors, correct and proper choice of donor-recipient pair, limited time of preservation allow to decrease the number of graft function failure and to eliminate primarily nonfunctioning grafts.     

Clinical biochemistry, haematology and body weight in piglets

Reference ranges for clinical biochemical parameters commonly investigated in pigs were determined in one- (day 1), 21- and 35-day old piglets. The mean and standard deviation were also estimated for body weight, and haematological and clinical biochemical parameters at these ages. The piglets were divided into 2 investigation groups according to whether they had a haemoglobin concentration < or = 80 g/l ("anaemic group") or > 80 g/l ("normal group") on days 14, 21 and 28. The "anaemic group" was compared to the "normal group" on days 21 and 35. Many of the clinical biochemical parameters varied according to age. Some of the enzymes had high average values and wide reference ranges in piglets, especially on day 1, compared to the reference ranges for sows given in the literature. The reference ranges for some of the metabolic parameters were broader on day 1 than later in the preweaning period. The reference ranges for albumin, total iron-binding capacity and serum iron were, however, lower and more narrow on day 1. On days 21 and 35, relatively high values for phosphorus must be considered "normal" compared to the figures given in the literature for adult pigs. The other minerals seemed to be quite unaffected of age, but some were affected by anaemia. The anaemic piglets had lower average serum iron but higher total iron-binding capacity than the "normal" piglets on days 21 and 35. However, variation between piglets gave wide reference ranges, indicating that these parameters will only have limited usefulness in detecting iron deficiency anaemia in piglets. The electrolytes seemed also to be affected by the existence of anaemia. The body weight and leukocyte counts were significantly lower in the "anaemic group" than the "normal group" on day 35, while the greatest differences in clinical biochemical parameters between the groups were found on day 21, when the piglets in the "anaemic group" were most severely anaemic. Although these piglets suffered from severe iron-deficiency anaemia, only a few clinical biochemical parameters were affected, and the differences between groups were mostly small.     

Contribution of proteasomal beta-subunits to the cleavage of peptide substrates analyzed with yeast mutants

Proteasomes generate peptides that can be presented by major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules in vertebrate cells. Using yeast 20 S proteasomes carrying different inactivated beta-subunits, we investigated the specificities and contributions of the different beta-subunits to the degradation of polypeptide substrates containing MHC class I ligands and addressed the question of additional proteolytically active sites apart from the active beta-subunits. We found a clear correlation between the contribution of the different subunits to the cleavage of fluorogenic and long peptide substrates, with beta5/Pre2 cleaving after hydrophobic, beta2/Pup1 after basic, and beta1/Pre3 after acidic residues, but with the exception that beta2/Pup1 and beta1/Pre3 can also cleave after some hydrophobic residues. All proteolytic activities including the "branched chain amino acid-preferring" component are associated with beta5/Pre2, beta1/Pre3, or beta2/Pup1, arguing against additional proteolytic sites. Because of the high homology between yeast and mammalian 20 S proteasomes in sequence and subunit topology and the conservation of cleavage specificity between mammalian and yeast proteasomes, our results can be expected to also describe most of the proteolytic activity of mammalian 20 S proteasomes leading to the generation of MHC class I ligands.     

An intelligent recommendation system using gaze and emotion detection

Recently, recommendation system has become popular in many e-commerce websites. It helps users by suggesting products which they could buy. Existing work till now uses past feedback of user, similarity of other users’ buying pattern, or a hybrid approach in which both type of information is used. But the pitfall of these approaches is that there is a need to collect and process huge amount of data for good recommendation. This paper is aimed at developing an efficient recommendation system by incorporating user’s emotion and interest to provide good recommendations. The proposed system does not require any of aforementioned data and works without the continuous and interminable attention of the user. In this framework, we capture user’s eye-gaze and facial expression while exploring websites through inexpensive, visible light “webcam”. The eye-gaze detection method uses pupil-center extraction of both eyes and calculates the reference point through a joint probability. The facial expression uses landmark points of face and analyzes the emotion of the user. Both methods work in approximate real time and the proposed framework thus provides intelligent recommendations on-the-fly without requirement of feedback and buying patterns of users.

     

Carisoprodol abuse: a report from India

Carisoprodol, a centrally acting muscle relaxant, has recently been noticed to be abused. A series of 16 cases with carisoprodol abuse or dependence is described. Carisoprodol was started by the majority of patients as a substitute for opiates, although its independent distinct effects, similar to the features of hypomania, were recognized and described by most users. The drug is currently available freely over the counter and is a much cheaper substitute for the legally prohibited "harder" drugs. Unless awareness spreads and cautionary measures are taken, carisoprodol abuse might become a great menace in the near future.     

SOLID STATE PROPERTIES AND LEACHING OF MECHANICALLY ACTIVATED TETRAHEDRITE

The mechanical activation of tetrahedrite Cu_12Sb_4S_13 was carried out in a planetary mill.The changes in the surface.and bulk properties produced in mineral by mechanicalactivation were detected by infrared,photoelectron and Mossbauer spectroscopy.The rateand selectivity of tetrahedrite acid leaching depends on conditions of mechanical activation.     

Projections from the lateral mammillary nucleus to the anterodorsal thalamic nucleus in the rat

There has been an abundance of research on the connections of the mammillary bodies but the projections from the lateral mammillary nucleus to the anterodorsal thalamic nucleus has remained a gray area due to a dearth of material which directly addresses the details of this pathway. This study seeks to further define the nature of this particular nerve connection within the mammillothalmic tract. The technique employed is fluorescent nerve tract tracing using two fluorescent tracers implanted separately into each anterodorsal thalamic nucleus then followed retrogradely to the soma of the neurons in the lateral mammillary nucleus. Fluorescent photomicrography allowed us to document the single and double labeled cells of the lateral mammillary nucleus. The single labeled cells can be categorized into ipsilaterally projecting neurons and contralaterally projecting neurons. About half of all labeled cells were bilaterally projecting double-labeled, a third was ipsilaterally projecting single-labeled and the remainder were contralaterally projecting single labeled-cells. There were no labeled cells traced to the medial mamillary nucleus. The mammillary bodies play an important role in the limbic circuitry and a part of the so-called "Papez Circuit". The pathway by which the mammillary body projects to the other structures of the limbic system and the way it connects the limbic system to other parts of the brain like the tegmentum is not fully understood. This clarification of the connection between the lateral mammilary nucleus and the anterodorsal thalamic nucleus is but one of the contemplated pathways.     

The high-affinity sulphonylurea receptor regulates KATP channels in nerve terminals of the rat motor cortex

The coexpression of sulphonylurea binding sites and ATP-sensitive K+(KATP) channels was examined in the rat motor cortex, an area of the CNS exhibiting a high density of sulphonylurea binding. These channels were not detected on neuronal cell bodies, but sulphonylurea-sensitive KATP channels and charybdotoxin-sensitive, large-conductance calcium-activated K+ BKCa channels were detected by patch clamping of fused nerve terminals from the motor cortex. Subcellular fractionation revealed that high-affinity sulphonylurea binding sites were enriched in the nerve terminal fraction, whereas glibenclamide increased calcium-independent glutamate efflux from isolated nerve terminals. It is concluded that neuronal sulphonylurea receptors and KATP channels are functionally linked in the motor cortex and that they are both selectively expressed in nerve terminals, where the KATP channel may serve to limit glutamate release under conditions of metabolic stress.     

Effect of prenatal haloperidol administration on anxiety patterns in rats

Haloperidol (0.1 mg/kg, i.p.) treatment was given from day 12 to 20 of gestation to pregnant rats, this being the critical period for neural development in this species. The pups born were subjected to open-field exploratory behaviour, tunnel-board exploratory behaviour, elevated zero-maze and elevated plus maze behaviour tests at 7-8 weeks of age. The results indicate that prenatal haloperidol treatment induces a significant increase in open-field ambulations and rearings, decrease in scratching and licking/washing behaviours whereas grooming and faecal droppings remain unchanged. Significantly reduced activity in the centre and increased activity in the periphery of the tunnel board was noted. These suggest presence of anxiety in these animals. Significant anxiogenic behavioural patterns were also observed on elevated zero-maze and plus-maze in the prenatally haloperidol treated offsprings. The results suggest that prenatal exposure of haloperidol leaves a lasting effect on offsprings resulting in hyper-emotional responsiveness and anxiety state.