A quality improvement program to reduce the time on the lung transplant waiting list at the Nantes University Hospital.

Background: In 2010, the time on the lung transplant waiting list in Nantes University Hospital (NUH) was 9.2 months, compared to a French national median of about 4 months. The NUH transplant unit performs both heart and lung transplantations, which can be seen as competing activities.

Synthesis and in vitro antioxidant activity of glycyrrhetinic acid derivatives tested with the cytochrome P450/NADPH system.

Five glycyrrhetinic acid (Ib) derivatives have been synthesized to try to improve the antioxidant activity. Their in vitro antioxidant activities were studied using a cytochrome P450/NADPH reductase system from rat liver microsomes. The generation of microsomal free radicals was followed by oxidation of the DCFH-DA probe, while evaluating the capacity to inhibit reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation.

Molecular pharmacophore determination of lipid lowering drugs with the receptor mapping method.

Hypolipidemic pharmacophoric moieties of statins, fibrates, ACAT inhibitors and beta-sitosterol analog series were identified by computational modeling, and compared with the computed structure of new potential glycyrrhetinic acid derivatives lipid-lowering drugs. Their electronic and geometric domains, similar to those of fibrates, suggest a fibrate -like mechanism matching biochemical data.

Implication of cell wall constituents in the sensitivity of Kluyveromyces lactis strains to amphotericin B.

In Kluyveromyces lactis, the cell wall compositions of Kl (ATCC 96897), a wild sensitive strain, and Klm (ATCC 96896), a strain resistant to amphotericin B (AmB), were shown to be very different, since the walls in the latter were significantly enriched in hexosamine, but had a reduced content in phosphate and amino acid. In both strains, the cell walls limited their sensitivity to this antifungal agent. The absence of cell wall increased the sensitivity of the cells to this polyene by 5 to 10-fold.

Monometoxytrityl derivatives of uridine as inhibitors of a human recombinant UDP-glucuronosyltransferase: UGT1*6.

A series of inhibitors of the human liver recombinant UDP-glucuronosyltransferase 1*6 derived from uridine were synthetized as probes of the binding site of the cosubstrate, UDP-glucuronic acid. If triphenylmethanol or uridine alone failed to inhibit the glucuronidation of 4-methylumbelliferone, the trityl derivatives of uridine were found to be very effective inhibitors of the enzyme (Ki 4.4 to 73 microM).

Structure of the phosphopeptidomannans from flocculent and non-flocculent yeast Kluyveromyces lactis.

After extraction from whole cells, and purification by gel filtration, the chemical composition and molecular mass estimation of the cell-wall phosphopeptidomannan (PPM) showed no significant difference respectively between flocculent, weakly, very weakly and non-flocculent Kluyveromyces lactis yeast strains. However, when PPMs were tested as ligands of a lectin, extracted from the flocculent strain, the PPM isolated from the flocculent and weakly flocculent strain were recognized to a higher degree than those isolated from the non and very weakly flocculent strains. Acetolysis of PPM extracted from the four strains produced five oligosaccharide fractions corresponding to mono-, di-, tri-, penta-and hexa-saccharides.

Acetolysis and 1H NMR studies on mannans isolated from very flocculent and weakly flocculent cells of Pichia pastoris IFP 206.

Growth of the yeast Pichia pastoris IFP 206 in methanol- and glucose-containing media led respectively to very and weakly flocculent cells. Mannans from both kinds of cells were extracted and compared. Chemical analysis and molecular mass estimation showed some differences between the mannans from very and weakly flocculent cells, especially in quantitative amino acid content.

2-Benzodioxinylaminoethanols: a new class of beta-adrenergic blocking and antihypertensive agents.

Various 2-benzodioxinylaminoethanol derivatives were synthetized and investigated for beta-adrenergic blocking activity. Most compounds demonstrated a beta-blocking activity of a competitive type when evaluated in guinea pig atrial and tracheal preparations. Three compounds were more potent than practolol and propranolol.

Drug interference in clinical chemistry: studies on ascorbic acid.

The expert group "Drug Interference in Clinical Chemistry" of the Bureau of Reference, Directorate General for Research, Science and Education of the Commission of the European Communities, consisting of one participant of each member of the European Communities, presents this first report on the final results of its activities. Within the framework of a first stage basic program, the paper describes interferences of therapeutic and elevated doses of ascorbic acid on commonly used clinical chemical methods. This is the result of a bipartite study that was jointly planned, carried out and evaluated.

Protein and enzyme release from human leukocytes: influence of phenothiazine derivatives.

We studied the influence of chlorpromazine on the release of enzymes (beta-glucuronidase, EC 3.2.1.