Computerized automatic non-invasive blood pressure monitoring system.

A non-invasive, fully automatic blood pressure monitoring system was developed to make the diagnosis of hypertension more accurate and to help individualizing antihypertensive therapy. The system consists of two subunits: the automatic microprocessor-controlled blood pressure monitor (Nippon Colin Co. BP 203) and a microcomputer system (Commodore 64).

Clinical studies with captopril treatment of hypertensive patients.

Haemodynamic and humoral effects of captopril were studied in patients with essential and renovascular hypertension. Captopril decreased significantly both systolic and diastolic blood pressure and moderately, it reduced also the heart rate. On the basis of the haemodynamic effects our patients could be divided into two groups: in patients where the total peripheral resistance (TPR) exceeded 2000 dyn x sec x cm-5 during rest, captopril exerted its hypotensive effect by decreasing TPR.

Serious complications of congenital antithrombin III (AT III) deficiency in a 7-year-old girl.

A 7-year-old gypsy girl developed venous and arterial thromboembolism. In this case AT III deficiency of hereditary nature was demonstrated as the cause of thromboembolism.

The kinetics of repair in mouse lung after fractionated irradiation.

The kinetics of repair of sublethal damage in mouse lung was studied after fractionated doses of 137Cs gamma-rays. A wide range of doses per fraction (1.7-12 Gy) was given with interfraction intervals ranging from 0.

Structure of the chicken link protein gene: exons correlate with the protein domains.

The structure of the chicken link protein gene has been determined from a series of genomic clones that cover the entire coding region as well as the complete 3'-untranslated region and a small portion of the 5'-untranslated region. The gene is greater than 80 kilobase pairs long and is present in a single copy in the chicken genome. The link protein gene contains at least five exons with four encoding the entire protein.

The McGill Pain Questionnaire--German version. A study on cancer pain.

The McGill Pain Questionnaire, widely used in English-speaking countries, has been translated into German. The objective in translating the questionnaire was to produce a translation of the words while keeping the expression of the pain quality and intensity. The results of our present study with a German-speaking cancer pain population, concerning the choice of words and pain rating values, are comparable with those of similar English-speaking patients.

Morphological studies on the articular cartilage of old rats.

Age-dependent morphological alterations of the tibial articular cartilage were studied in 26-month-old Wistar rats of both sexes. Young and adult rats (6 and 10 months of age, respectively) served as a basis for comparison. Light microscopic histology, polarization optical analysis (toluidine-blue staining with or without the addition of 0.

Structural features of cartilage matrix protein deduced from cDNA.

cDNAs encoding the Mr 54,000 chicken cartilage matrix protein (CMP) were selected from a cartilage cDNA expression library by immunological means. Antibodies elicited against insert-encoded protein purified from one of the clones reacted specifically with chicken CMP in immunoblots of total cartilage extract, providing positive identification of the cDNA clones isolated. The cDNAs detect a 3.

Complete amino acid sequence of chicken cartilage link protein deduced from cDNA clones.

cDNA clones coding for chicken cartilage link protein were isolated and sequenced. The DNA sequence for the entire core polypeptide of the mature link protein and the predicted signal peptide consists of 1065 nucleotides. The deduced primary translation product (355 amino acids) has a molecular mass of 40.

Protection of mouse jejunal crypt cells by WR-2721 after small doses of radiation.

The ability of WR-2721 to protect jejunal crypt cells after single doses and multifractionated doses of radiation was studied. Effective dose survival curves for jejunal crypt cells were constructed over the dose range of 230 to 1600 cGy. WR-2721 was given 30 minutes before each fraction, in a regimen consisting of 200 mg/kg before the first radiation fraction, followed at 3 hr intervals by 100 mg/kg for a total of 12 drug doses for the largest number of fractions.

Investigation on the substrate specificity of human plasmin using tripeptidyl-p-nitroanilide substrates.

The hydrolysis of 35 tripeptidyl-p-nitroanilides was studied with human plasmin and the kinetic parameters were determined. The individual contribution of the various side chains to the kinetic parameters was calculated by regression analysis. Considering Km, substrates having Z-D-Ile-Phe-Lys as well as H-D-Ile-Phe-Lys sequences were found to be the best, while Bz-Ile-Leu-Lys and pGlu-Leu-Lys sequences are the best for kcat.

Late functional and biochemical changes in mouse lung after irradiation: differential effects of WR-2721.

The radioprotective effect of WR-2721 on late damage after whole thorax irradiation has been studied after split doses of radiation using the standard death and breathing rate assays at monthly intervals between 3 and 15 months after irradiation, as well as two biochemical measurements of injury at 15 months, hydroxyproline (HP), an indicator of tissue fibrosis, and DNA content, an indicator of tissue cellularity. A comparison of HP/lung and breaths per minute (BPM) in each dose group in the WR-2721 and non-WR-2721-treated mice 15 months after irradiation showed that the relationship between these two assays of late lung injury was not the same. There were large dose-related increases in breathing rate corresponding to relatively small changes in HP in the lungs of mice given radiation alone.

[Thoracic peridural opiate-analgesia].

In patients with cancer pain caused by tumours in the upper thorax, shoulder or neck area the thoracic approach for peridural opiate analgesia is indicated. The thoracic puncture technique is more difficult and the possible complications are more serious than puncture in the lumbar area; it therefore belongs, as pain therapy generally, in the hands of an anaesthesiologist experienced in regional anaesthesia. In selecting the puncture level appropriate to the site of pain, it is necessary to take account of the fact that the vertebral interspace does not correspond with the spinal segment.

Primary structure of the telopeptide and a portion of the helical domain of chicken type II procollagen as determined by DNA sequence analysis.

A comparison of the nucleotide sequences of three new cDNA clones for chicken type II procollagen with the sequences of the other three types of chicken fibrillar procollagens reveals that the most conserved regions correlate with the positions of hydroxyproline, hydroxylysine, cysteine and lysine residues. On the basis of replacement-site-divergence calculations it is concluded that alpha 1(II) and alpha 1(I) procollagens diverged later than alpha 1(I) and alpha 2(I) procollagens.

[Insulin production of isolated fresh and cryopreserved islands of Langerhans of rats].

The effect of glucose and Domperidon (R 33812, pharmaceutical factory Gedeon Richter, Budapest) on the insulin secretion were investigated in the isolated islets of Langerhans of rats. The insulin secretion was increased by glucose and also by Domperidon, however, in a smaller size. The insulin secretion of cryopreserved islets--stored in liquid nitrogen of -196 degrees C during 2-6 months--was equal with the secretion of fresh isolated islets.

Effect of new organophosphates on the membrane of identified central neurons of Helix pomatia L. (Mollusca, Gastropoda).

Effects of two newly synthesized organophosphates were studied on identified neurons of Helix pomatia by microelectrophysiological methods. The single intracellular spikes were processed by computer using a "phase-plane trajectory" method. Dimethoate was also involved as reference substance.

Catalytic utilization of eIF-2 and mRNA binding proteins are limiting in lysates from vesicular stomatitis virus infected L cells.

Infection of mouse L cells by vesicular stomatitis virus results in the inhibition of cellular protein synthesis. Lysates prepared from these infected cells are impaired in their ability to translate endogenous or exogenous cellular and viral mRNAs. The ability of initiation factors from rabbit reticulocytes to stimulate protein synthesis in these lysates was examined.

[Effect of chronic vitamin D deficiency on joint cartilage].

The effect of six-months rachitic diet on the articular cartilage of 12 white Whistar male rats has been studied using light, polarisation, and electronmicroscopes. On the basis of our observations radical changes could be noticed. The intracellular accumulation of glycogen and lipid and the necrosis of cells in the proof/inner/zone indicate the modifications of the cell's structure.