The Coriolis Interaction between the v2 = 1 and v3 = 2 States of Nitrosyl Bromide: Anomalous Quadrupole Patterns and Interstate Transitions in the Millimeter-Wave Spectrum

The millimeter-wave rotational spectra of 79BrNO and 81BrNO in the v2 = 1 and v3 = 2 vibrational states have been reinvestigated. Measurements of the rotational spectrum in the region of maximum c-type Coriolis interaction between the two states allowed the previous analysis to be extended to account for some uncommon effects. For the most perturbed transitions the nuclear quadrupole hyperfine structure arises from coupling of not only the bromine nucleus, but also the nitrogen nucleus with the rotational angular momentum. These effects were satisfactorily fitted with a Hamiltonian describing Coriolis coupling in a molecule with two quadrupolar nuclei. The successful analysis of pure rotational transitions then allowed accurate prediction of rovibrational transitions, six of which were measured for 79BrNO and four for 81BrNO. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.     

Determination of glucose with glucoseoxidase-UV, using hexokinase as the reference method (author's transl)

Results obtained with the commercial test-set "GOD-UV" (Dr. Haury, München) are reported. This method permits the determination of serum-glucose within 3 minutes. The procedure is satisfactory in normal and hyperglycaemic patients. In the hypoglycaemic state, however, there is a danger of misinterpretation. The glucose oxidase-UV is compared with the hexokinase reaction.     

Metallothionein-I-transgenic mice are not protected from acute cadmium-metallothionein-induced nephrotoxicity

Mice pretreated with Zn have increased renal metallothionein (MT) levels and are protected from CdMT nephrotoxicity. To determine whether MT is important in this Zn-induced protection against CdMT-induced nephrotoxicity, MT-transgenic mice that have high levels of MT in their kidneys (10-fold over control mice) have been studied to determine whether they are resistant to CdMT-induced nephrotoxicity. Mice were injected with CdMT (0.1-0.6 mg Cd/kg, iv) and kidney injury was evaluated 24 hr later. CdMT produced renal toxicity in a dose-dependent manner. At a nephrotoxic dose of CdMT (0.4 mg Cd/kg), urinary protein and glucose excretion were increased 30- and 60-fold, respectively, in control mice. However, similar increases in protein and glucose excretion were also observed in MT-transgenic mice. CdMT also induced a similar dose-dependent proximal tubular cell necrosis in both control and MT-transgenic mice in a dose-dependent manner. Treatment of control mice with Zn (100 micromol/kg, sc x 2 days) increased renal MT to levels similar to those of untreated MT-transgenic mice and protected against CdMT-induced renal injury. Furthermore, when Zn (25-100 micromol/kg, sc) was given immediately before CdMT injection (i.e., without preinduction of MT), it was still effective in preventing CdMT nephrotoxicity. We conclude that Zn-induced protection against CdMT nephrotoxicity does not appear to be due to induction of renal MT.     

Serial measurements of body composition in obese subjects during a very-low-energy diet (VLED) comparing bioelectrical impedance with hydrodensitometry

Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) is a convenient, inexpensive, and noninvasive technique for measuring body composition. BIA has been strongly correlated with total body water (TBW) and also has been validated against hydrodensitometry (HD). The accuracy and clinical utility of BIA and HD during periods of substantial weight loss remain controversial. We measured body composition in moderately and severely obese patients serially using both methods during a very-low-energy diet (VLED). Mean initial weight in these patients was 116 (+/-30) kg (range, 74-196 kg). Mean weight loss was 24 (+/-13) kg with a decrease in fat mass (FM) by HD of kg (p < 0.001) and a decrease in fat-free mass (FFM) of 3.6 kg (p < 0.05). Loss of FFM is best predicted by the rate (kg/wk) of weight loss (r2 = 0.86, p < 0.0001). FFM, as predicted from BIA equations, was highly correlated with FFM as estimated by HD during all testing sessions (r = 0.92-0.98). Although highly correlated, BIA overestimated FFM relative to HD and this difference appeared to be more pronounced for taller patients with greater truncal obesity. Although the discrepancy was no greater during weight-loss treatment, the level of disagreement was considerable. Therefore, the two methods cannot be used interchangeably to monitor relative changes in body composition in patients with obesity during treatment with VLED. The discrepancy between BIA and HD may be caused by body mass distribution considerations and by perturbations in TBW which affect the hydration quotient for FFM (BIA) and/or which affect the density constants for FFM and FM (HD).     

Experience with reduction mammaplasty following breast conservation surgery and radiation therapy

Little is known about the outcome of breast reduction in the previously radiated breast. With the increased popularity of breast conservation in the management of breast cancer, it is inevitable that more women with breast cancer who have had a breast radiated will be seeking breast reduction. Although it would be expected that reduction of the radiated breast would be more challenging and would yield less-pleasing results, it has been unclear whether reduction in the radiated breast could be safely performed without interfering with mammography and cancer surveillance. Our experience using different techniques in three patients demonstrates that such reductions can be effectively and safely done if certain principles are followed. Pedicles should be designed to be broader and shorter than usual, and breast flaps should be undermined or elevated either minimally or not at all.     

Pharmacokinetics of 2-oxothiazolidine-4-carboxylate, a cysteine prodrug, and cysteine

The pharmacokinetics of both 2-oxothiazolidine-4-carboxylate (OTZ), a prodrug of cysteine, and total blood cysteine (cysteine plus cystine) were investigated in 18 healthy volunteers. OTZ was given either as a single, 2-hour intravenous infusion (56-66 mg/kg) or similarly infused (70-100 mg/kg) every 8 hours for four doses. Blood was assayed for OTZ, total blood cysteine, and glutathione. The pharmacokinetics of OTZ were analyzed alone and simultaneously with total cysteine using the NONMEM software package (University of California at San Francisco. The pharmacokinetics of OTZ were best described by Michaelis-Menten kinetics with parallel first-order elimination. OTZ was efficiently removed from the plasma. The Michaelis-Menten route of elimination was attributed to conversion of OTZ to total cysteine. At plasma OTZ concentrations equal to the Michaelis constant Km, 84% of OTZ was converted to total cysteine. These findings suggest that OTZ administered intravenously is an efficient means of increasing total blood cysteine.     

Enantioselective, mechanism-based inactivation of guinea pig hepatic cytochrome P450 by N-(alpha-methylbenzyl)-1-aminobenzotriazole

N-Aralkylated derivatives of 1-aminobenzotriazole are well-established, mechanism-based inhibitors of cytochrome P450 (CYP or P450). In this study, the kinetics of inactivation of CYP2B-dependent 7-pentoxyresorufin O-depentylation (PROD) and CYP1A-dependent 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylation (EROD) activities by enantiomers of N-(alpha-methylbenzyl)-1-aminobenzotriazole (alphaMB) were compared. The racemic mixture (+/-)-alphaMB, as well as the enantiomers (-)-alphaMB and (+)-alphaMB, produced a time-, concentration-, and NADPH-dependent loss of PROD and EROD activity in hepatic microsomes from phenobarbital-treated guinea pigs. The rates of PROD inactivation by (-)-alphaMB were significantly faster than for (+)-alphaMB. Consistent with this, the derived maximal kinact was also significantly greater for (-)-alphaMB than for (+)-alphaMB (0.49 vs. 0.35 min-1). In contrast, the concentrations required for the half-maximal rate of inactivation (Ki) were equivalent for (-)-alphaMB and (+)-alphaMB, whereas the degree of competitive inhibition of PROD activity was greater for (+)-alphaMB. No significant differences were found among (-)-alphaMB, (+)-alphaMB, and (+/-)-alphaMB with respect to mechanism-based inactivation (kinact = 0.18, 0.16, and 0.17 min-1, respectively) or competitive inhibition of EROD activity. No differences were found for the maximal extent of PROD or EROD inhibition or the loss of spectral P450 after an extended 30-min incubation with the inhibitors. We conclude that mechanism-based inactivation of guinea pig CYP2B, but not CYP1A, isozymes by alphaMB occurs in a stereoselective manner, most likely as a result of a difference in the balance between metabolic activation and deactivation for the alphaMB enantiomers.     

Comparative genomic hybridization: a comparison with molecular and cytogenetic analysis

A comparative analysis of the differentiation pattern, the proliferative behaviour, and the level of apoptosis between human benign and malignant neoplasms of smooth-muscle (SM) tissue is lacking. The clinical, histopathological, immunochemical, and immunocytochemical features of leiomyomas (LM) and leiomyosarcomas (LMS) were investigated by a panel of monoclonal antibodies specific for some differentiation markers of SM tissue (SM myosin and alpha-actin, desmin, and SM22) and for markers of non-muscle tissue (vimentin and non-muscle myosin). Proliferating normal and neoplastic cells were identified by proliferating-cell nuclear antigen (PCNA)/Ki67 immunostainings and the apoptotic cells were revealed by means of the terminal-deoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labelling technique. Gel electrophoresis and Western blotting, performed with anti-(SM1/SM2 myosin isoform) antibody, indicated quantitative differences between LMS and LM, which mirrored higher positive to negative nuclear ratios for PCNA, Ki67 and apoptosis in malignant as opposed to benign neoplasms. With LM, however, a similar SM1 to SM2 ratio could be associated with different proliferation levels. Uterine, gastric and intestinal LMS displayed specific patterns of SM1/SM2 and/or non-muscle myosin expression that were not paralleled by different levels of proliferation/apoptosis. While the level of PCNA/Ki67 correlated with the level of apoptosis in normal SM tissues and LM, that of LMS did not. In vivo at the cellular level, LM and uterine LMS displayed a near-uniform SM tissue differentiation, whereas the other LMS displayed a lesser or a heterogeneous immunoreactivity. In vitro, cultured LMS cells showed a limited and peculiar expression of SM myosin. In conclusion, there is no reciprocal relationship between degree of differentiation and the level of proliferation, as exemplified by the finding that the less differentiated intestinal LMS displays the lowest proliferative behaviour and that the relatively more differentiated gastric LMS/metastasis is more proliferative.     

Cognitive ability and cerebral lateralisation in transsexuals

INTRODUCTION: The application of high-frequency current to the AV junctional area results in a temperature rise in the myocardium and may cause accelerated junctional rhythm (AJR). The aim of the study was to characterize heat-induced AJR in an in vitro animal model. METHODS AND RESULTS: Studies were performed in isolated perfused pig and rabbit hearts. Using a small heating probe, we could induce AJR from a discrete area located in the middle of the triangle of Koch, which was smaller than the area from which RF energy application could elicit AJR. Histology showed that the heat-sensitive area was located over, or close to, the compact AV node. It did not correspond with the areas where double potentials were found or with the site(s) of earliest atrial activation during VA conduction. Microelectrode recordings revealed that AJR arose in nodal-type cells. Heat increased the slope of the phase 4 depolarization and shortened the action potential duration. Two types of AJR were observed: the first one was regular and the second one showed irregularity in the intervals. Interaction of multiple foci and the presence of conduction block between the foci and the His bundle caused the irregularity of the His-His intervals during the second type of AJR. CONCLUSION: AJR observed during heat and RF application in the AV nodal area results from the effect of heat on AV nodal cells with underlying pacemaker activity. The heat-sensitive area is located over, or very close to, the compact AV node.