Noncardiac thoracic surgery in children. A retrospective study

Assisted reproduction techniques (ART) are modern medical methods which should help infertile couples to resolve their problems. With the introduction of ART new ethical and technical problems arise. The authors wish to demonstrate on the submitted two case-histories the need of interdisciplinary collaboration of the specialist in internal medicine and gynaecologist when dealing with a serious complication of ART--ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS).     

Genetic polymorphisms in glutathione S-transferase mu and theta, N-acetyltransferase, and CYP1A1 and risk of gliomas

The simultaneous determination of betamethasone dipropionate (BD) and salicylic acid (SA) in both ointment and topical solution was developed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The method was standardized using a LiChrospher 100 RP-18 (125 x 4 mm, 5 microns) column, acetonitrile-tetrahydrofuran-acetic acid 1% (25:20:55 v/v), apparent pH 3.3, as mobile phase, and UV detection at 254 nm. The peak area response versus concentration was linear in a concentration range from 5.0 to 50.0 micrograms/ml of BD and from 20.0 to 200.0 micrograms/ml of SA. The correlation coefficients were 0.9997 for BD and 0.9987 for SA, and the relative standard errors of estimates were 1.38% for BD and 3.27% for SA. The coefficient of variation and the recovery average were, respectively, 0.41-1.15% and 100.09% for BD, and 0.57-0.95% and 99.79% for SA.     

Comparative results of surgical treatment for perforating and bleeding pyloroduodenal ulcers

Results of treatment of 1309 patients with perforated and bleeding pyloroduodenal ulcers for 20-years period have been analysed. Resection of the stomach performed in 85 cases resulted in high postoperative lethality which made up in bleeding ulcers 14.8%. Drainage operations of the stomach with excision or suturing of ulcer combined with bilateral truncal vagotomy was performed in 60 patients, postoperative lethality rate being 8.4%. 128 patients underwent selective proximal vagotomy together with pyloro- and duodenoplasty, lethality rate being 1.6%. Combined vagotomy (posterior truncal and anterior sero-muscular) with excision of ulcer, transversal pyloroplasty and duodenoplasty was carried out in 1036 patients (postoperative lethality--2.4%). Excellent and good functional results were achieved in 79.6% of the patients.     

A novel assay for examining the molecular reactions at the eukaryotic replication fork: activities of replication protein A required during elongation

Studies to elucidate the reactions that occur at the eukaryotic replication fork have been limited by the model systems available. We have established a method for isolating and characterizing Simian Virus 40 (SV40) replication complexes. SV40 rolling circle complexes are isolated using paramagnetic beads and then incubated under replication conditions to obtain continued elongation. In rolling circle replication, the normal mechanism for termination of SV40 replication does not occur and the elongation phase of replication is prolonged. Thus, using this assay system, elongation phase reactions can be examined in the absence of initiation or termination. We show that the protein requirements for elongation of SV40 rolling circles are equivalent to complete SV40 replication reactions. The DNA produced by SV40 rolling circles is double-stranded, unmethylated and with a much longer length than the template DNA. These properties are similar to those of physiological replication forks. We show that proteins associated with the isolated rolling circles, including SV40 T antigen, DNA polymerase alpha, replication protein A (RPA) and RF-C, are necessary for continued DNA synthesis. PCNA is also required but is not associated with the isolated complexes. We present evidence suggesting that synthesis of the leading and lagging strands are co-ordinated in SV40 rolling circle replication. We have used this system to show that both RPA-protein and RPA-DNA interactions are important for RPA's function in elongation.     

Molecular and functional evidence for calcineurin-A alpha and beta isoforms in the osteoclast: novel insights into cyclosporin A action on bone resorption

We provide the first molecular evidence for the presence of a functional serine/threonine phosphatase, calcineurin-A (CN-A), in the osteoclast. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of an osteoclast cDNA library, together with restriction mapping, revealed two isoform sequences, alpha and beta. We then examined the functionality of the detected CN-A by assessing the effect of a classical antagonist, cyclosporin A (CsA), in the osteoclast resorption (pit) assay. CsA (0.1 and 1 microg ml-1) potently inhibited bone resorption. The presence of lymphocytes, with or without prior exposure to CsA in vivo, failed to reverse the CsA-induced resorption-inhibition. Expectedly, CsA had no direct effect on cytosolic Ca2+ levels in fura-2-loaded osteoclasts. These studies are a prelude to further investigations into the possible role of CN-A in osteoclast regulation. Finally, mechanistic studies on the bone effects of CsA, a widely used immunosupressant, should proceed from these observations.     

Corneal transplantation in antibody-deficient hosts

PURPOSE: To examine the role of donor-specific antibodies, with or without complement, in rejection of orthotopic corneal transplants by using mice as recipients in which the genes for the heavy chain of immunoglobulin or the third complement component have been eliminated by homologous recombination. METHODS: BALB/c corneas were transplanted into eyes of B-cell-deficient (n=17) or wild-type control C57BL/6 (n=30) mice and into eyes of complement (C3)-deficient (n=15) or wild-type control 129-C57BL/6 (n=13) mice. After surgery all grafts were evaluated over 8 weeks in a masked manner by biomicroscopy for signs of rejection. RESULTS: The rates of corneal transplant rejection were similar among B-cell-deficient and C3-deficient mice compared with rejection rates in their respective wild-type control subjects. This similarity applied to the time course of rejection and to cumulative survival rates. CONCLUSIONS: Neither donor-specific antibody nor the third component of complement play essential roles in acute rejection of orthotopic corneal allografts in mice.     

Repeated intracerebroventricular administration of glucagon-like peptide-1-(7-36) amide or exendin-(9-39) alters body weight in the rat

Central nervous system glucagon-like peptide-1-(7-36) amide (GLP-1) administration has been reported to acutely reduce food intake in the rat. We here report that repeated intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection of GLP-1 or the GLP-1 receptor antagonist, exendin-(9-39), affects food intake and body weight. Daily i.c.v. injection of 3 nmol GLP-1 to schedule-fed rats for 6 days caused a reduction in food intake and a decrease in body weight of 16 +/- 5 g (P < 0.02 compared with saline-injected controls). Daily i.c.v. administration of 30 nmol exendin-(9-39) to schedule-fed rats for 3 days caused an increase in food intake and increased body weight by 7 +/- 2 g (P < 0.02 compared with saline-injected controls). Twice daily i.c.v. injections of 30 nmol exendin-(9-39) with 2.4 nmol neuropeptide Y to ad libitum-fed rats for 8 days increased food intake and increased body weight by 28 +/- 4 g compared with 14 +/- 3 g in neuropeptide Y-injected controls (P < 0.02). There was no evidence of tachyphylaxis in response to i.c.v. GLP-1 or exendin-(9-39). GLP-1 may thus be involved in the regulation of body weight in the rat.     

Diversity and food quality properties of farmers' varieties of sorghum from Bénin

Farmers' varieties of sorghum from three communities in different regions of northern Bénin were analysed for their food quality and agro‐morphological properties, and also for their genetic diversity using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP). Farmers' varieties of sorghum differed greatly with respect to their morphology and agronomic and food traits. Most of the varieties had long (>200 cm) stems (87%), loose panicles (79%) and a red or pink colour (52%). Most were susceptible to drought (54%) and to attacks by striga (79%), insects (99%) and birds (77%). Farmers evaluated the quality of the seeds for preparing porridges as being high for 60% of the varieties and 26% of the varieties were regarded as suitable for making beverages. Late‐maturing, large‐seeded, red or pink varieties are preferred by farmers for porridges and beverages. Gene diversity among varieties within regions, as measured by neutral markers, was similar for the three regions (0.211–0.240). However, across regions the short (<150 cm) stem varieties showed relatively high genetic diversity compared with long or medium stem varieties (0.378 vs 0.184–0.216 for long–medium stem varieties). Genetic differentiation (F_st) among regions and among stem lengths of varieties was significant and ranged between 0.086 and 0.135. Grain colour, stem length and panicle shape varied significantly with the region/stem length and correlated with the genetic differentiation of regions. No relationship could be detected between the genetic differentiation of the varieties and their food quality as expressed by the farmers. Implications of the findings for crop conservation and breeding are discussed. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry     

Recognition memory ROCs for item and associative information: the contribution of recollection and familiarity

Receiver-operating characteristics (ROCs) were examined in three recognition memory experiments. ROCs for item information (i.e., was this word presented?) were found to be curvilinear. However, ROCs for associative information (i.e., were these two words presented together?) were found to be linear. The results are in agreement with the predictions of a dual-process model that assumes that recognition judgments are based on familiarity and recollection. Familiarity reflects the assessment of a continuous strength dimension and is well described as a signal detection process, whereas recollection reflects the retrieval of qualitative information about the study episode and behaves like a discrete threshold process. The results showed that memory judgments about items relied on a combination of recollection and familiarity, but that judgments about associations relied primarily on recollection. Further examination of the associative ROCs suggested that subjects were able to recollect that old pairs of items were in the study list, and, under some conditions, that new pairs were not in the study list.