Eye gaze and dominance hierarchy in profoundly mentally retarded males

A new method to measure gastric functions after meal-stimulation without infusion of bicarbonate into the stomach is presented. Six healthy volunteers were investigated after stimulation of the gastric functions with a 300-ml fluid test meal with and without cimetidine infusion. Cimetidine reduced the acid output substantially but had no effect on gastric emptying.     

The effect of an infusion of low molecular weight dextran on peripheral resistance in patients with arteriosclerosis

Low molecular weight dextran is frequently given to improve the flow of blood to the periphery, but its mode of action is uncertain. We measured the effect of an infusion of 500 ml of Dextran 40 on the peripheral resistance in 12 patients undergoing reconstructive surgery for atherosclerotic occlusion of the superficial femoral artery. After the infusion, values of packed cell volume and blood viscosity indicated haemodilution. There was a consistent increase in mean flow and a fall in peripheral resistance. There was no correlation between change in viscosity and change in peripheral resistance, but there was a good correlation between the percentage change in resistance and the initial resistance. This suggests that the increase in flow of blood was due to reflex vasodilatation rather than to any reduction in viscosity.     

葡萄糖酸钠对萘系高效减水剂塑化水泥浆体流动性的影响(英文)

研究了掺萘系高效减水剂浆体中同时掺入葡萄糖酸钠时,对水泥浆体流动性和流动性损失的影响。适量的葡萄糖酸钠可显著提高浆体初始流动度,并降低流动度损失。采用紫外分光光度计、zeta电位仪、X衍射仪和扫描电子显微镜测试了浆体对萘系高效减水剂的吸附量、水泥颗粒表面电位、水化产物钙矾石X衍射峰值强度和微观形貌。结果表明:在同等萘系高效减水剂掺量下,葡萄糖酸钠延缓了钙矾石的生成,并与萘系减水剂在水泥颗粒表面形成竞争吸附,导致了水化过程中萘系高效减水剂消耗量的降低,增加了高效减水剂在水泥颗粒表面的有效吸附量。     

Single-center randomized trial comparing tacrolimus (FK506) and cyclosporine in the prevention of acute myocardial rejection

BACKGROUND: To compare the efficacy and safety of tacrolimus and cyclosporine in heart transplantation, this single-center, prospective, randomized, open-label clinical trial was undertaken. METHODS: Seventy-three adult patients were randomly assigned at the time of transplantation to receive either tacrolimus (n=43) or cyclosporine (n=30) as the primary immunosuppressant. Ten of the 43 patients in the tacrolimus group received the drug intravenously in the perioperative period; all other patients received only oral tacrolimus. RESULTS: With a mean follow-up of 27 months, patient survival rates (tacrolimus 83%, cyclosporine 81%) were similar. Fewer patients experienced acute rejection in the tacrolimus group (79%) than in the cyclosporine group (100%), but the difference was not statistically significant. The number of infections and dialysis and insulin requirements were similar for the 2 treatment groups, but the proportion of patients requiring multidrug antihypertensive regimens was lower in the tacrolimus group (12.5% vs 50.0% at month 6; p=.025). The interpatient variance in pharmacokinetic parameters in a subset of 10 patients was much higher after the first oral dose of tacrolimus than at steady-state (eg, first-dose time at which maximal concentration is reached (t(max)): 3.5+/-2.5h, steady-state t(max): 2.0+/-0.7h), and patients treated with intravenous tacrolimus (n=13) rather than oral tacrolimus (n=30) reached target concentrations faster and with less interpatient variability (eg, at day 0: 9.72+/-10.9 ng/mL intravenously vs 3.31+/-8.1 orally). CONCLUSIONS: Tacrolimus was associated with similar efficacy and safety profiles compared with cyclosporine. The higher interpatient variance in absorption associated with oral tacrolimus during the first few days after transplantation would suggest that intravenous tacrolimus should be used during the perioperative period.     

Rationale, design, and baseline characteristics of a trial comparing aggressive lipid lowering with Atorvastatin Versus Revascularization Treatments (AVERT)

This study describes the design, methodologic features, and baseline characteristics of an open-label randomized trial to determine whether aggressive lipid-lowering therapy with atorvastatin is an alternative to angioplasty or other catheter-based revascularization procedures in patients with significant coronary artery disease. Three-hundred forty-one patients with low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol > or = 115 mg/dl and > or = 1 defined narrowing of a major coronary artery were randomized to atorvastatin or the indicated catheter-based revascularization and conventional care (including lipid-lowering therapy if prescribed). Ischemic events are tracked for 18 months. The primary efficacy parameter is the incidence of an ischemic event, defined as 1 of the following: cardiovascular death, cardiac arrest, nonfatal myocardial infarction, the need for coronary bypass grafting or angioplasty, cerebrovascular accident, and worsening angina verified by objective evidence requiring hospitalization (including unstable angina).     

Alternative strategies for the long-term preservation of spermatozoa

The thermodynamics of RNA secondary structure formation in small model systems provides a database for predicting RNA structure from sequence. Methods for making these measurements are reviewed with emphasis on optical methods and treatment of experimental errors. Analysis of experimental results in terms of simple nearest-neighbor models is presented. Some measured sequence dependences of non-Watson-Crick motifs are discussed.     

Interstitial fluid concentrations of glycerol, glucose, and amino acids in human quadricep muscle and adipose tissue. Evidence for significant lipolysis in skeletal muscle

To determine the relationship between circulating metabolic fuels and their local concentrations in peripheral tissues we measured glycerol, glucose, and amino acids by microdialysis in muscle and adipose interstitium of 10 fasted, nonobese human subjects during (a) baseline, (b) euglycemic hyperinsulinemia (3 mU/kg per min for 3 h) and, (c) local norepinephrine reuptake blockade (NOR). At baseline, interstitial glycerol was strikingly higher (P < 0.0001) in muscle (3710 microM) and adipose tissue (2760 microM) compared with plasma (87 microM), whereas interstitial glucose (muscle 3.3, fat 3.6 mM) was lower (P < 0.01) than plasma levels (4.8 mM). Taurine, glutamine, and alanine levels were higher in muscle than in adipose or plasma (P < 0.05). Euglycemic hyperinsulinemia did not affect interstitial glucose, but induced a fall in plasma glycerol and amino acids paralleled by similar changes in the interstitium of both tissues. Local NOR provoked a fivefold increase in glycerol (P < 0.001) and twofold increase in norepinephrine (P < 0.01) in both muscle and adipose tissues. To conclude, interstitial substrate levels in human skeletal muscle and adipose tissue differ substantially from those in the circulation and this disparity is most pronounced for glycerol which is raised in muscle as well as adipose tissue. In muscle, insulin suppressed and NOR increased interstitial glycerol concentrations. Our data suggest unexpectedly high rates of intramuscular lipolysis in humans that may play an important role in fuel metabolism.