Intellectual performance in multi-infarct dementia and Alzheimer''s disease a replication study

A comparative study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of a metal or flexible plastic 8 mm cannula for artificial abortion by vacuum aspiration for patients at six to 10 weeks' gestation. Complication rates, amounts of retained tissue (obtained with a curette check), frequencies of cannula obstructions and procedure times were used as criteria for determining the efficacy of the two types of cannulae. Two physicians participated in the study: one was responsible for the preliminary examination and performance of the abortion, and the other physician, who was kept unaware of the type of cannula used, was responsible for patient care after completions of the abortion to the time of the follow-up visit. Paracervical block anesthesia was used in all cases. Differences in complication rates (controlled for gestational age) between groups of subjects aborted with either the metal or flexible plastic cannula were not significantly different (p less than .05). For both patient groups shock was the most frequently reported immediate complication (2.7% in the metal cannula group, 4,7% in the flexible plastic cannula group), and leukorrhea was the most frequently reported complication at the time of follow-up (3.3% metal, 5.3% flexible plastic). Amounts of retained tissue and frequency of cannulae obstruction were similar for both groups. Procedure times were also similar for both groups (means of 5.7 minutes and 5.5 minutes, respectively, for procedures performed with the metal and flexible plastic cannulae).     

Comparative physiology of the replication of RNA-containing bacteriophages MS2 and Q beta

The yield of the phage QB is always less than the yield of the phage MS2, the conditions of cultivation being similar. This is due to the fact that the yield of the phage QB from an infection centre is lower by a factor of 5--10 than the yield of the phage MS2. The yield of the phages may be increased by optimizing conditions of cultivation. The RNA-containg phages MS2 and QB were cultivated in the peptone-yeast growth medium in fermenters with the working volume of 30 and 50 litres. The yields were 2--5-10(13) particles/ml and 1--4-10(12) particles/ml for the phages MS2 and QB, respectively. The specific infectiveness of purified phage preparations was 2--4-10(12) particles/OD260 (MS2) and 2--4-10(11) particles/OD260 (QB).     

Spasmogenic and potentiating actions of some amino acids on the guinea-pig myometrium

Ectothiorhodospira shaposhnikovii, Chromatium minutissimum and Thiocapsa roseopersicina were grown in the dark under anaerobic conditions on media containing glucose or fructose and organic acids. Their cell contained the following enzymes of the fructose diphosphate pathway: phosphofructokinase, fructose diphosphate aldolase, and 3-phosphoglyceraldehyde dehydrogenase. The activity of fructose diphosphate aldolase was higher in the cells grown in the dark than in the cells grown in the light. The same enzymes of the tricarboxylic acid cycle were found in the cells cultivated in the dark on media containing organic acids as in the cells grown in the light, though the activity of some enzymes was lower. Only the activity of isocitrate lyase increased in the cells cultivated in the dark on a medium containing acetate.     

SCH 45752--an inhibitor of calmodulin-sensitive cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase activity

A highly potent inhibitor of calmodulin-sensitive phosphodiesterase (PDE) activity was isolated from the culture broth of an unidentified fungal isolate, SCF-125. A chemically defined medium was developed for production of this compound. The PDE inhibitor was isolated from the fermentation filtrate by adsorption on a macro-reticular resin and further purified by gel filtration chromatography and reverse-phase HPLC. The major PDE inhibitor was identified as cephalochromin, a bis-naphthopyrone, by spectral data analysis. The compound, SCH 45752, inhibited calmodulin-sensitive PDE activities with IC50 values of 40-47 nM. It inhibited the activities of calmodulin-independent PDE and various protein kinases with higher IC50 values (2-40 microM). SCH 45752 does not appear to be a calmodulin antagonist. Furthermore, SCH 45752 affects smooth muscle contraction at a concentration of 30 microM; it potentiated the relaxing effect of sodium nitroprusside on carotid artery media contracted by histamine. Thus SCH 45752 is one of the most potent inhibitors of calmodulin-sensitive PDE activity known, and it is capable of exerting a pharmacological effect in at least one intact tissue model.     

Angiographic analysis and results of endovascular therapy of aneurysm of vein of Galen

A computer program was developed in conjunction with a musculoskeletal modeling scheme to determine lower extremity joint angular velocity profiles which allow specific muscles, if activated tetanically, to generate their greatest power. As input the program requires subject anthropometric and joint configuration data. Muscle-tendon (MT) attachment location data and a straight line MT model are used to calculate MT lengths for each joint configuration. The shortening velocity which allows an active muscle to generate its greatest power is calculated based on muscle architecture and a relationship between power and shortening velocity. A finite difference technique is used to calculate the time between sequential joint configurations which will produce the optimal muscle shortening velocity. This time is then used to calculate optimal joint angular velocities for each muscle and and for each joint configuration. The utility of this program is demonstrated by calculating optimal joint angular velocities for fifteen muscles and comparing calculated knee extension velocities with experimental results cited in the literature.