Different effects of fractionated irradiation on potassium efflux and exocytotic amylase release.

Irradiation of head-neck cancer influences the salivary glands with dryness and discomfort for the patients as a consequence. In the present study we used in vitro secretory models and morphological characterization of rat parotid gland. Irradiation was given as a 5-day schedule with total doses from 20 Gy to 45 Gy.

Bilateral irradiation of head and neck induces an enhanced expression of substance P in the parasympathetic innervation of the submandibular gland.

Substance P and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) are present in nerve fibers innervating the submandibular gland. Radiotherapy of tumors in the head and neck region usually embraces the salivary glands in the irradiated field and consequently a dramatic decrease in salivary function is seen. In this study, the submandibular glands and ganglia of rats subjected to fractionated irradiation were examined by use of immunohistochemical techniques for demonstration of substance P and CGRP.

Platelet-activating factor (PAF-acether) formation in neonatal intestinal mucosa and in cultured intestinal epithelial cells.

We report the presence of platelet-activating factor (PAF-acether; 1-O-alkyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine) in small-intestinal and colonic mucosa of neonatal rats. The PAF-acether content was higher in the colon than in the small intestine, and was lower in the small intestine of 30-day-old animals than in 14-day-old animals. We also report that cultured intestinal epithelial cells (INT 407) produce PAF-acether when stimulated with the calcium ionophore A23187, and that homogenized INT 407 cells can degrade PAF-acether with the formation of lysoPAF-acether.

Prevention of irradiation-induced bowel discomfort by sucralfate: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study when treating localized pelvic cancer.

Sucralfate, an aluminum hydroxide complex of sulfated sucrose used in the treatment of gastric ulcer, was shown to prevent irradiation-induced diarrhea and bowel discomfort significantly in patients treated for pelvic cancer with external radiotherapy with intent to cure. The double-blind placebo-controlled study included 70 patients with carcinoma of the prostate and urinary bladder without distant metastasis (T1-4NO1xMO) and performance status of greater than or equal to 90% Karnofsky scale. Radiotherapy was administered in a conventional manner with MeV photons and a four-field technique.

Directed chloroplast transformation in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii: insertional inactivation of the psaC gene encoding the iron sulfur protein destabilizes photosystem I.

The chloroplast gene psaC encoding the iron sulfur protein of photosystem I (PSI) from the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has been cloned and characterized. The deduced amino acid sequence is highly related to that of higher plants and cyanobacteria. Using a particle gun, wild type C.

Experimental mast cell activation improves connective tissue repair in the perforated rat mesentery.

The participation of mast cells in connective tissue repair was studied using the perforated-rat-mesentery model. Perforation of mesenteric membranes was performed during laparotomy of anesthetized Sprague-Dawley rats. Laparotomy significantly reduced the histamine content of the mesenteric membranes on day 1 postoperatively and perforation as such reduced the histamine content even more on days 1-10.

Planning of radiotherapy for patients with hip prosthesis.

The effects of a hip prosthesis on the dose distribution when treating pelvic cancer have been evaluated. A prosthesis of titanium alloy in a water phantom was used as a model. Photon radiation beams with energies of 6, 20, and 50 MV and with a focus phantom distance of 100 cm were directed against the prosthesis.

Enhancement of re-epithelialization with topical zinc oxide in porcine partial-thickness wounds.

We investigated the effect of locally applied zinc on the healing of partial-thickness skin wounds in the domestic pig using two zinc compounds (zinc oxide and zinc sulfate) in two different vehicles (a gauze compress and a collagen sponge). The rate of re-epithelialization was determined morphometrically 48 and 64 hr after infliction of standardized square wounds (4.8 cm2 and 400-microns deep) with an electrokeratome.

Fractionated irradiation and early changes in salivary glands. Different effects on potassium efflux, exocytotic amylase release and gland morphology.

Irradiation is a potent treatment modality of head and neck cancer. However, the irradiation is usually associated with an influence on salivary glands with ensuing dryness and discomfort for the patients. In the present study we used different in vitro secretory models and morphologic characterization of rat parotid gland.

The effect of severe contusion on the vessels of the femoral region. An experimental morphological study.

Forty-one rats were subjected to a single blow in the femoral region from a heavy falling object. The contusion was directed towards the palpated femoral vessels in a standard manner. Transverse sections of the femoral artery and vein with branches, including adjacent muscle, were taken at 30 min, 24 hours, 2 weeks and 1 and 3 months after the injury and evaluated by light microscopy.

Phospholipase A2 activity of colonic mucosa in patients with ulcerative colitis.

Activation of enzyme phospholipase A2 (EC 3.1.1.

Acute radiation effects on saliva composition in rats with different vitamin A levels in serum.

Irradiation of the head and neck often causes loss of salivary gland function which may lead to severe oral discomfort. The effects of a single dose of 25 Gy given to rats with different serum levels of vitamin A were studied. The salivary secretion rate as well as concentrations of protein, hexosamine, amylase and electrolytes, and the activities of two antibacterial glycoproteins were measured.

Release and absorption of zinc from zinc oxide and zinc sulfate in open wounds.

The pharmacokinetic behaviours of zinc oxide and zinc sulfate when applied as single doses to full-thickness excised rat skin wounds were studied. In the zinc oxide group, the wound fluid zinc concentration increased slightly over the 48-h postoperative period due to increased solubilization of zinc oxide, attributed to increased protein concentration of the wound fluid. When zinc sulfate was applied to the wounds, the wound fluid zinc concentration decreased rapidly during the first 4 postoperative h and then at a slower rate.

Antibody responses to hepatitis C virus and its modes of transmission in dialysis patients.

Five of 72 patients dialysed at the same dialysis unit developed elevated alanine aminotranspherase (ALT) levels attributed to acute non-A, non-B hepatitis (NANBH). Histopathologic findings consistent with NANBH were present in four of them. Serological screening for antibodies to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) was performed in all 72 cases.

Increased angiogenesis during wound healing in rats with streptozotocin-diabetes.

The neovascularization that occurs during wound healing in the perforated mesenteric membrane was quantitatively studied in rats with streptozotocin induced diabetes. The virtually avascular mesenteric windows in both controls and diabetic rats were perforated with a scalpel during laparatomy. At designated intervals during days 1-63 postoperatively, the mesenteries were excised, fixed, and cut perpendicularly through the wound margin or the central part of a closed wound.

Influence of zinc deficiency on breaking strength of 3-week-old skin incisions in the rat.

The effect of dietary zinc deficiency on the breaking strength of abdominal skin incisions was studied in rats 21 days postoperatively. Zinc deficiency was induced with a low-zinc diet (1.4 mg zinc/kg diet) 14 days preoperatively.

Effects of smoking and irradiated volume on inflammatory response in the lung of irradiated breast cancer patients evaluated with bronchoalveolar lavage.

Quantitative measurements of the effects of irradiation on normal tissues in humans have been hard to obtain because most tissues are inaccessible and/or direct responses are difficult to quantify in a nondestructive manner. Pneumonitis and fibrotic lung disease are adverse effects seen in varying intensity in patients treated with radiotherapy for carcinomas of the thorax, e.g.

Chloroplast transit peptides from the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii share features with both mitochondrial and higher plant chloroplast presequences.

Chloroplast transit peptides from the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii have been analyzed and compared with chloroplast transit peptides from higher plants and mitochondrial targeting peptides from yeast, Neurospora and higher eukaryotes. In terms of length and amino acid composition, chloroplast transit peptides from C. reinhardtii are more similar to mitochondrial targetting peptides than to chloroplast transit peptides from higher plants.

Long-term survival of patients with paranasal sinus carcinoma.

The survival rate for all patients with a squamous cell carcinoma of the paranasal sinuses (n = 77) diagnosed in 1960-1985 in a population of approximately 1 million inhabitants was analysed without any selection of cases. This population is geographically restricted to the most northern part of Sweden. The 5-year survival rates of patients with T3 and T4 carcinomas were 42 and 14%, respectively (corrected survival), and the 10-year survival rates were 40 and 14%, respectively.

Beneficial effects of sucralphate in radiation induced diarrhea. An open randomized study in gynecological cancer patients.

In an open randomized study including 51 consecutive patients with gynaecological malignancies sucralphate was daily administered to patients receiving pelvic irradiation. Sucralphate, an aluminium hydroxide complex of sulphated sucrose used in the treatment of gastric ulcer, seems to be of value in preventing radiation-induced bowel discomfort. The most objective parameter, frequency of diarrhoea was almost 50% less in the sucralphate groups as compared to the controls.

[Oral contraceptives and blood diseases are the most common causes of Budd-Chiari syndrome].

Two cases of young patients with the chronic form of Budd-Chiari syndrome are reported. The first concerns a 22-year-old woman with a 6-month history of hepatomegaly, who had used oral contraceptives almost continuously during the five years preceding diagnosis. In a thorough diagnostic work-up, thromboses were detected in all but one of the hepatic veins, and a possible non-occluding thrombosis in the retrohepatic portion of the inferior vena cava.