Endogenous and copper-induced lipid peroxidation and antioxidant activity of serum in hypercholesterolemic subjects

In order to observe the transport ability of peritoneum to small molecular substances, peritoneal equilibration test (PET) was performed in 52 CAPD patients. By analysing the relationship between peritoneal transport function and dialysis adequacy, we found the average urea KT/V and Cr were significantly lower in high and low transport groups (n = 6 and n = 2) than in high average and low average groups (n = 35 and n = 9). According to the results of PET, we adjusted the dialysis program of 11 patients and the dialysis adequacy was markedly improved. We concluded that PET was helpful for selecting and adjusting CAPD program, and discussed some questions which should be payed more attention in PET operation.     

Effects of 17 beta-estradiol on nitric oxide and ventricular myocardium metabolism

BACKGROUND: Arrhythmias are frequent pathology in patients with chronic hemodialysis. We evaluated whether a relatively new technique, signal averaging, could be useful in predicting the development of complex arrhythmias in these patients. METHODS: Thirty-three patients, 18 male and 15 female, subjected to thrice weekly chronic hemodialytic treatment with various dialysis techniques, were studied. Exclusion criteria were the presence of antiarrhythmic and inotropic treatment. The following examinations were carried out in all patients: a Holter dynamic electrocardiography for a duration of 24 hours, begun on the day of dialysis, high resolution ECG pre- and post-dialysis to find out if there were any ventricular late potential (VLP). Four hundred beats were examined in order to obtain a background noise of less than 0.7 microV and a better definition of the signal. The following parameters were considered significant for the presence of VLP: a) filtered QRS duration > 120 msec; b) the root mean square of the signal expressed in the terminal portion of QRS (RMS) < 25 microV) high frequency low amplitude signals duration (HFLA) > 40 msec. A positive value in two of these parameters was considered indicative of the presence of VLP. In addition various pre and post-dialysis indices of dialytic efficiency and a mono and two-dimensional echocardiogram with pulsed and color Doppler were carried out. Of the 33 patients studied, ten were excluded because they presented too high a background noise at the high resolution ECG. Of the remaining 23 patients, 13 (56%) presented VLP and nine of these (69%) presented complex arrhythmias. Of the ten patients without VLP, 5 (50%) presented complex arrhythmias. The incidence of arrhythmias was highest during the last two hours of dialysis and in the two hours following it. The patients were then divided into two groups (A and B) according to the ejection fraction (EF) found at the echocardiogram. Group A was composed of 17 patients of whom 8 (47%) presented complex arrhythmias; group B (EF < 45%) was composed of the remaining six patients, who all presented complex arrhythmias. In group A nine patients (53%) out of 17 had LVP, in group B four out of six (66%) had it. All the patients except one presented an increase in the thickness of the ventricular wall and alterations of Doppler transmitral filling rate. Left ventricular hypertrophy was diagnosed in 22 out of the 23 patients. Four patients also had chronic ischaemic heart disease; of these three had LVP. There was no correlation between the presence of LVP and the hemodialytic indices and between the latter and complex arrhythmias. CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed that arrhythmias are more frequent in patients with LVP before dialysis than in those without. The difference was statistically significant (p < 0.006); the incidence of arrhythmias was higher in patients with FE < 45% (p < 0.001). The majority of patients (95%) had left ventricular hypertrophy; only four (17%) had ischaemic heart disease too. It is highly probable that the presence of LVP in our patients can be attributed to hypertension and subsequent left ventricular hypertrophy. As patients with LVP at the end of dialysis had a greater incidence of arrhythmias than those without LVP, we suggest that this method could be useful as a first screening in dialysed patients.     

Low temperature delamination of plastic encapsulated microcircuits

Plastic encapsulated microcircuits (PEMs) are increasingly being used in applications requiring operation at temperatures lower than the manufacturer’s recommended minimum temperature, which is 0°C for commercial grade components and −40°C for industrial and automotive grade components. To characterize the susceptibility of PEMs to delamination at these extreme low temperatures, packages with different geometries, encapsulated in both biphenyl and novolac molding compounds, were subjected to up to 500 thermal cycles with minimum temperatures in the range −40 to −65°C in both the moisture saturated and baked conditions. Scanning acoustic microscopy revealed there was a negligible increase in delamination at the die-to-encapsulant interface after thermal cycling for the 84 lead PQFPs encapsulated in novolac and for both 84 lead PQFPs and 14 lead PDIPs encapsulated in biphenyl molding compound. Only the 14 lead novolac PDIPs exhibited increased delamination. Moisture exposure had a significant effect on the creation of additional delamination.     

Site and query scheduling policies in multicomputer databasesystems

We study run-time issues, such as site allocation and query scheduling policies, in executing read-only queries in a hierarchical, distributed memory, multicomputer system. The particular architecture considered is based on the hypercube interconnection. The data are stored in a base cube, which is controlled by a control cube and host node hierarchy. Input query trees are transformed into operation sequence trees, and the operation sequences become the units of scheduling. These sequences are scheduled dynamically at run-time. Algorithms for dynamic site allocation are provided. Several query scheduling policies that support interquery concurrency are also studied. Average query completion times and initiation delays are obtained for the various policies using simulations     

On the design of dynamic associative neural memories

We consider the design problem for a class of discrete-time and continuous-time neural networks. We obtain a characterization of all connection weights that store a given set of vectors into the network, that is, each given vector becomes an equilibrium point of the network. We also give sufficient conditions that guarantee the asymptotic stability of these equilibrium points.     

Serum antibody opsonic activity against Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans in human periodontal diseases

Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans is frequently associated with severe periodontitis. Many periodontitis patients have elevated levels of serum IgG antibodies to A. actinomycetemcomitans, but the role of these antibodies is unknown. This study evaluated the functional capacity of anti-A. actinomycetemcomitans IgG antibody to enhance phagocytosis of A. actinomycetemcomitans by polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Chemoluminescence assays were done using sera from 64 subjects, 61 of whom had severe periodontitis; results were compared with the subject's anti-A. actinomycetemcomitans IgG titer and avidity. There was a strong correlation between chemoluminescence and antibody log titer (P < .00001) and a weak correlation between chemoluminescence and antibody avidity (P < .05). The results support the hypothesis that anti-A. actinomycetemcomitans IgG antibodies are important in promoting phagocytosis and killing of A. actinomycetemcomitans. Subjects who develop high levels of highly avid antibodies against A. actinomycetemcomitans may have greater resistance to continued or repeated infection by this pathogen.     

A linkage map of human chromosome 21:43 PCR markers at average intervals of 2.5 cM

A genetic linkage map of human chromosome 21q (HC21q) containing 43 markers genotyped by the polymerase chain reaction in the CEPH pedigrees is presented. The markers placed on this map are highly polymorphic with an average heterozygosity of 61%. The average interval size of the markers localized at 1000:1 odds is 2.5 cM. The map has a total length of 65.5 cM, with male and female lengths of 47.7 and 83.3 cM, respectively. The genotypes used in the construction of this map were subjected to rigorous error checking, which is reflected in the shorter map length compared to previous maps; the estimated error rate in genotyping is less than 0.04%. As noted in previous linkage maps there is increased recombination in females on proximal HC 21q and in the male in a region near the telomere. This map of HC 21 represents a highly informative and dense meiotic linkage map and will be useful in linking disease phenotypes to loci on this chromosome.     

Polymorphonuclear neutrophil granulocyte chemotactic hyperresponsiveness in a case of canine acromegaly

Growth hormone (GH) has recently been shown to affect polymorphonuclear neutrophil granulocyte (PMN) function and to be secreted by mononuclear cells, indicating that the hormone may be active in an immunophysiologic network, acting as an endo- or paracrine priming agent. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the chemotactic responsiveness of canine peripheral PMN in a dog with acromegaly, caused by spontaneous, progesterone-induced hypersecretion of GH and, secondary to this, a seven-fold increase in insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I). The chemotactic responsiveness towards zymosan-activated serum (ZAS) and leukotriene B4 (LTB4) was evaluated at a time when the dog suffered from acromegaly and again 57 days after corrective surgery (ovariohysterectomy). The experiments showed that PMN from the patient exhibited enhanced chemotactic migration that appeared to be associated with the hypersomatotropic condition as judged from the reversibility of the phenomenon. The glucose intolerance and elevated serum alkaline phosphatase that were observed in the acromegalic dog were also shown to be reversible following surgery.     

Vasodilation with adenosine or sodium nitroprusside after coronary artery bypass surgery: a comparative study on myocardial blood flow and metabolism

The effects of adenosine and sodium nitroprusside (SNP) on central hemodynamics and myocardial blood flow and metabolism were investigated postoperatively after elective coronary artery bypass (CABG) surgery in ten sedated and mechanically ventilated patients in the intensive care unit. During three consecutive 15-min periods, SNP (0.8 +/- 0.1 micrograms.kg-1 x min-1), adenosine (88.9 +/- 13.3 micrograms.kg-1 x min-1), and then again SNP (0.7 +/- 0.1 micrograms.kg-1 x min-1) were infused to control postoperative hypertension at a mean arterial pressure of approximately 80 mm Hg. Systemic and pulmonary hemodynamics and global (coronary sinus flow, CSF) as well as regional (great cardiac vein flow, GCVF) myocardial blood flow and metabolic variables were measured. During adenosine infusion, in comparison to SNP, heart rate was unchanged, stroke volume index and cardiac index increased (24% and 32%, respectively), and the systemic vascular resistance index decreased (-26%). Mean pulmonary arterial pressure (24%) as well as pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (27%) and central venous pressure (18%) were higher with adenosine compared to SNP. Adenosine also increased CSF and GCVF (108% and 103%, respectively) without altering the CSF/GCVF flow ratio compared to SNP. Furthermore, adenosine increased the coronary oxygen content (51%) and decreased the arterio-great cardiac vein oxygen content difference (-48%) without changing regional myocardial oxygen consumption, indicating a more pronounced hyperkinetic myocardial circulation compared to SNP. In addition, adenosine infusion decreased arterial PO2 (-11%) and increased the intrapulmonary shunt fraction (57%). The PR interval time of the electrocardiogram was prolonged (12%) and the ST segment was more depressed during adenosine infusion compared to SNP.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)