Restoration of blood pressure by choline treatment in rats made hypotensive by haemorrhage

1. Intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection of choline (25-150 micrograms) increased blood pressure in rats made acutely hypotensive by haemorrhage. Intraperitoneal administration of choline (60 mg kg-1) also increased blood pressure, but to a lesser extent. Following i.c.v. injection of 25 micrograms or 50 micrograms of choline, heart rate did not change, while 100 micrograms or 150 micrograms i.c.v. choline produced a slight and short lasting bradycardia. Choline (150 micrograms) failed to alter the circulating residual volume of blood in haemorrhaged rats. 2. The pressor response to i.c.v. choline (50 micrograms) in haemorrhaged rats was abolished by pretreatment with mecamylamine (50 micrograms, i.c.v.) but not atropine (10 micrograms, i.c.v.). The pressor response to choline was blocked by pretreatment with hemicholinium-3 (20 micrograms, i.c.v.). 3. The pressor response to i.c.v. choline (150 micrograms) was associated with a several fold increase in plasma levels of vasopressin and adrenaline but not of noradrenaline and plasma renin. 4. The pressor response to i.c.v. choline (150 micrograms) was not altered by bilateral adrenalectomy, but was attenuated by systemic administration of either phentolamine (10 mg kg-1) or the vasopressin antagonist [beta-mercapto-beta,beta-cyclopenta-methylenepropionyl1, O-Me-Tyr2,Arg8]-vasopressin (10 micrograms kg-1). 5. It is concluded that the precursor of acetylcholine, choline, can increase and restore blood pressure in acutely haemorrhaged rats by increasing central cholinergic neurotransmission. Nicotinic receptor activation and an increase in plasma vasopressin and adrenaline level appear to be involved in this effect of choline.     

Diabetes education infrastructure and capacity in hospitals and home health agencies in Maryland and Pennsylvania

Sex-peptide (SP), which is secreted by the accessory gland of Drosophila males, is transferred to the female during copulation, thereby reducing her sexual appetite (receptivity to males) and stimulating ovulation/oviposition. SP is known to be taken up into the hemolymph of mated females, but it is not clear whether there are two separate target tissues, for behavioral changes and ovulation or only one target for both responses. We have employed the GAL4-UAS system to express SP transgene constructs, both in different tissues and in different cellular components of virgin females. A cytoplasmic form of SP lacking a signal sequence did not evoke any responses, even when expressed ubiquitously. In contrast, a membrane-bound form of SP induced typical post-mating behavior, indicating that SP must be outside the cell in order to exert its biological effects. A total of 204 randomly selected P[GAL4] enhancer-trap lines were screened for their ability to induce SP responses in combination with the membrane-bound SP expressed under GAL4 control. Thirty-three lines were associated with both behavioral change and stimulated ovulation. No line was associated with only one of the two responses, implying that the SP target(s) mediating the two responses are either identical, very closely located, or present in two distinct tissues with a common set of genetic determinants. Western blot analysis of head, thorax, and abdominal extracts revealed that the biological activity was correlated with expression in the head fraction.     

Synergistic interactions of etoposide and interleukin-1 alpha are not due to DNA damage in human melanoma cells

Family nursing, always a component of nursing, has been recently receiving increased attention through publications, educational programs, clinical practice settings and family nursing research. Nurses are in the best position to assist families experiencing the illness of a loved one, but often lack the skills and confidence necessary to assist with the psychosocial needs. The purpose of this paper is to describe the development and implementation of a family nursing program within a large, tertiary care facility. The program's evaluation is ongoing but early outcomes indicate that day-to-day nursing practice has been positively influenced and improved job satisfaction may result.     

Childhood fibrous dysplasia presenting as blindness: a skull base approach for resection and immediate reconstruction

Fibrous dysplasia is an abnormal fibroosseous process of bone of unknown cause. The incidence of skull involvement varies, painless enlargement being the most common presenting symptom. Change in vision is a rare but recognized finding. We report a 3-year-old boy with extreme fibrous dysplasia involving the skull base, who presented with blindness. He underwent exposure osteotomies of the frontal bones and orbits to provide access for skull base tumor removal. The orbital roofs were reconstructed with microplate-fixed cranial grafts. One and one half years after tumor excision followed by immediate reconstruction, the boy retains facial symmetry, and his ocular function has not deteriorated.     

Transport of K in PVC matrix membranes containing valinomycin

We report impedance measurements on PVC matrix membranes which contain KBPh₄ with varying proportions of valinomycin. In agreement with our earlier measurements the value of the bulk membrane resistance (R_b) is much larger in the presence of valinomycin, indicating that the mobility of K⁺ is greatly reduced by the valinomycin. R_b shows a linear variation with valinomycin/K⁺ ratio between 0 and 1, but it is invariant at higher valinomycin/K⁺ ratios. Thus there is no evidence for a special transport mechanism for K⁺ in these membranes.     

汽车电子系统要求低静态电流

如今的汽车电子系统越来越复杂。同时，汽车环境对任何电子产品来说都是很大的挑战，因为汽车电子系统要求运行电压很宽，并且有很大的瞬态电压和温度变化。另外，性能要求也越来越高，需要多个供应电压以满足系统的不同要求。典型的