Isolation, crystallization and preliminary crystallographic data of aspartate aminotransferase from chicken heart mitochondria

A series of 238 hydronephrotic kidneys in 219 children is reported. The condition was more common in the male than in the female subject and occurred more frequently on the left side. It was often bilateral, especially in infants, with an abdominal mass as the common presenting feature. Loin or abdominal pain was the most frequent complaint in older children. In some cases hydronephrosis presented as a ruptured kidney following trauma. Only 1 patient was hypertensive. The lesion was asymptomatic in 18 cases and the incidence of urinary infection was low. Dismembered pyeloureteroplasty was the procedure of choice for reconstruction. Preliminary nephrostomy was used rarely and nephrectomy was done in 10 per cent of the kidneys. Of the 7 reoperations 4 were for persistent obstruction and 3 were because stones had formed after the pyeloplasty. The late results, assessed clinically and radiologically, have been entirely satisfactory. Many kidneys of initially doubtful value showed useful improvement after reconstructive operation and no secondary nephrectomies were performed. The only death in the series occurred 2 1/2 years postoperatively and was unrelated to the urinary tract.     

Expression of the rat arginine vasopressin gene in transgenic mice

A line of mice has been developed which are transgenic for an 8.2-kilobase (kb) genomic clone of the rat vasopressin (VP) gene. Using a polymerase chain reaction technique, the rat VP (rVP) transgene was shown to have tissue-specific mRNA expression in the hypothalamus, temporal lobe, parietal cerebral cortex, cerebellum, and posterior pituitary, similar to the tissue distribution of endogenous mouse and rat VP expression. Expression of transgenic rVP mRNA was also found in the lung and pancreas of the transgenic mice, sites of known ectopic expression of VP. Using two methods, Northern blot analysis with species-specific cRNA probes and a quantitative polymerase chain reaction technique, the quantity of rVP transgene mRNA was shown to regulate appropriately in response to an osmotic stimulus. After 72 h of water deprivation, the quantity of transgenic rVP mRNA increased 6.8 +/- 3.0-fold. This was not significantly different than the fold increase in mouse VP mRNA quantity seen in nontransgenic mice (4.8 +/- 1.5) but was significantly different (P < 0.05) than the 1.2 +/- 0.03-fold increase in rat VP mRNA seen in normal rats after water deprivation. In the rat hypothalamus, VP mRNA poly(A) tail length increases with osmotic stimulation, while in the mouse it does not. The poly(A) tail of transgenic rVP mRNA expressed in mouse hypothalamus did not increase in length after osmotic stimulation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Proactive effects in pigeons' memory for event duration: Evidence for analogical retention.

An intratrial proactive interference design was used to examine the nature of pigeons' memory for duration in a delayed matching task. Short (2 s) or long (10 s) target samples were preceded on test trials by a short or long presample. The durations were consistent on some trials (short-short or long-long) and inconsistent on others (short-long or long-short). Contrary to predictions based on prospective or categorical coding, accuracy was not related to duration consistency. Instead, accuracy was reduced on short-short and long-short trials and somewhat enhanced on short-long and long-long trials, suggesting that the Ss "summed across" the durations. This occurred even with a 10-s interstimulus interval (Experiment 1) and even when the presample and target sample were physically distinct (Experiment 2). Results suggest that pigeons remember event durations in an analogical and retrospective fashion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The evolutionary relationship among Caucasian MS patients and controls

Previous observations suggest that the mitochondrial (mt)DNA may confer susceptibility to multiple sclerosis (MS). However, the proportion of affected individuals and the range of contributing mtDNA abnormalities are unknown. To help clarify this question, we analyzed the first hypervariable D-loop sequences of the mtDNA in a group of randomly selected Caucasian MS patients, in MS patients with prominent optic neuritis (PON) and in controls. Phylogenetic analysis of these D-loop sequences revealed that individuals in both groups of patients are generally scattered in the Caucasian phylogeny. However, a small cluster of unrelated MS patients identified by this analysis suggests that a maternal lineage with MS relevant mtDNA sequences may exist, and merits a more comprehensive study.     

New focusing and dispersive planar component based on an opticalphased array

A novel focusing and dispersive component is presented which is based on a phased array of bent optical waveguides. It combines good optical properties with small dimensions and can be realised with (high-quality) optical lithography. Applications are (de)multiplexers, wavelength filters and polarisation splitters     

A phase II study of paclitaxel in heavily pretreated patients with small-cell lung cancer

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) are major complications associated with total knee arthroplasty. The American College of Chest Physicians recommends twice-daily, fixed-dose low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) as routine prophylaxis in this patient population. This study represents a cost analysis of ardeparin and enoxaparin, the two LMWHs currently available for this indication in the United States. Costs for treating DVT, PE, and major bleeding episodes were derived from values reported in the literature. Both ardeparin and enoxaparin were found to produce significant cost savings when used routinely as DVT prophylaxis after knee replacement surgery compared with no prophylaxis. Based on the currently available data, enoxaparin 40 mg once daily appears to be the least costly LMWH for routine pharmacoprophylaxis of DVT in patients undergoing knee replacement surgery.     

Triple therapy with ursodeoxycholic acid, prednisone and azathioprine in primary biliary cirrhosis: a 1-year randomized, placebo-controlled study

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Treatment with ursodeoxycholic acid has been shown to decrease the rate of disease progression in patients with primary biliary cirrhosis, although the effect is modest. Since primary biliary cirrhosis has many features of an autoimmune disorder, immunosuppressives added to ursodeoxycholic acid may be of value in the treatment of primary biliary cirrhosis. METHODS: A 1-year randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was carried out in 50 patients with primary biliary cirrhosis, who had already been treated with ursodeoxycholic acid for at least 1 year, but had not achieved complete disease remission. Patients were randomized to additional prednisone (30 mg per day initially, tapered to 10 mg daily after 8 weeks) and azathioprine (50 mg daily) or placebo. A subgroup of patients received cyclical etidronate and calcium. The principal aim of the study was to assess the short-term benefits and risks of the combined bile acid and low-dose immunosuppressive regimen. Primary endpoints were effects on symptoms, liver biochemistry, liver histology, bone mass and the occurrence of adverse events. RESULTS: Pruritus (p=0.02), alkaline phosphatase, aspartate aminotransferase, IgM and procollagen-III-propeptide improved significantly (all p<0.002) in the combined treatment group as compared to the placebo group. Histological scores for disease activity and disease stage decreased significantly within the combination treatment group (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with primary biliary cirrhosis receiving ursodeoxycholic acid, there is an additional beneficial effect of 1-year treatment with prednisone and azathioprine on symptoms and biochemical, fibrogenetic and histological parameters. These results strongly encourage the evaluation of this triple treatment regimen in long-term controlled trials of adequate size to document its effect on clinical events.