Determination of opiates in urine by capillary electrophoresis.

A method for the separation of a mixture of opiates comprising pholcodine, 6-monoacetylmorphine, morphine, heroin, codeine and dihydrocodeine by capillary electrophoresis using a running buffer of 100 mM disodium hydrogenphosphate at pH 6 is described. The characteristics of an analytical method based on this separation for the determination of these drugs following extraction from urine and using levallorphan as internal standard are reported. Detection limits in the region of 10 ng cm-3 are achieved when using electrokinetic injection.

Plant alkaloids, tetrandrine and hernandezine, inhibit calcium-depletion stimulated calcium entry in human and bovine endothelial cells.

Depletion of internal Ca2+ stores causes capacitative Ca2+ entry which occurs through non-selective cation channels sensitive to blockade by SK&F 96365. Recently, alkaloids of Chinese herbal medicinal origin, tetrandrine and hernandezine, have been shown to possess actions including inhibition of Ca2+ channels in non-excitable cell types. In this study, we compared the actions of these novel inhibitors to those of SK&F 96365 in fura-2-loaded endothelial cells from human umbilical vein and bovine pulmonary artery.

The effect of high-molecular-weight guar gum on net apparent glucose absorption and net apparent insulin and gastric inhibitory polypeptide production in the growing pig: relationship to rheological changes in jejunal digesta.

The present study was designed to determine the quantitative effects of starchy meals containing guar gum on rates of net apparent glucose absorption and net apparent insulin and gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) production in growing pigs. The effects of these meals on the viscosity of jejunal digesta were also examined and correlated to changes in glucose absorption. Four growing pigs were each given either a low-fat semi-purified diet (control) or the same diet supplemented with a high-molecular-weight guar gum at concentrations in the diet of 20 or 40 g/kg.

Analysis of common opiates and heroin metabolites in urine by high-performance liquid chromatography.

A separation of heroin, 6-monoacetylmorphine, codeine, pholcodine, dihydrocodeine and morphine using a 200 x 2 mm I.D., 3 microns silica column with dichloromethane-pentane-diethylamine-methanol mobile phase is described.

[Bile duct injuries after laparoscopic cholecystectomy].

Injuries to the extrahepatic bile duct present a severe complication in laparoscopic cholecystectomy occurring in 0-2.6%. From June 1991 to September 1994 four patients were treated to the Department of Surgery at Bonn University with bile duct injuries after laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Interactions of chloroethylclonidine with rauwolscine- and prazosin-sensitive adrenoceptors in dog saphenous vein.

1. alpha 1-Adrenoceptors have been classified pharmacologically into four subtypes (alpha 1A, alpha 1B, alpha 1C and alpha 1D) on the basis of their differential affinity for novel antagonists such as chloroethylclonidine (CEC). While CEC is considered an alpha 1B-adrenoceptor antagonist, our earlier studies revealed that it also acted like an agonist in the dog saphenous vein (DSV).

Cyclic hexapeptide NK-2 antagonists.

The synthesis of 11 cyclic hexapeptides, some of which contain a carbohydrate side chain moiety, is described in this paper. A glycosylamine was coupled without hydroxyl protecting groups either directly or via a butyric acid spacer to the side chain of glutamic acid, leading to beta-N-glycosylated peptides. All peptides described are selective NK-2 antagonists.

Effect of baked beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) on steroid metabolism and non-starch polysaccharide output of hypercholesterolaemic pigs with or without an ileo-rectal anastomosis.

The plasma-cholesterol-lowering effects of some dietary legumes are now well established from animal and human studies, but the mechanism is not completely understood. The present study investigated the effect of baked beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) on steroid metabolism of hypercholesterolaemic pigs. Three groups of four pigs were studied: baseline (BL), normal pigs (NP) and those previously prepared with an ileo-rectal anastomosis to nullify the function of the large intestine (IR).

Sensitivity to protein kinase C inhibitors of nicardipine-insensitive component of high K+ contracture in rat and guinea-pig aorta.

1. In the rat and guinea-pig aorta, we observed that the contraction to hypertonically-added K+, unlike the isotonic K(+)-induced contraction, was only partially sensitive to nicardipine (0.1, 1 and 10 microM), an L-type Ca2+ channel blocker and occurred in Ca(2+)-free medium containing 50 microM EGTA.

[Isolated mesenteric fibromatosis].

Isolated mesenteric fibromatosis is a rare form from the group of intraabdominal fibromatoses which often accompany Gardner's syndrome. It consists in a benign proliferation of fibroblasts with infiltration of muscles and fat tissue. It is diagnosed by ultrasound and CT-scans.

Calretinin-immunoreactive neurons and their projections in the guinea-pig colon.

The distribution of nerve cells and fibres with immunoreactivity for the calcium-binding protein, calretinin, was studied in the distal colon of the guinea-pig. The projections of the neurons were determined by examining the consequences of lesioning the myenteric plexus. Calretinin-immunoreactive neurons comprised 17% of myenteric nerve cells and 6% of submucous nerve cells.

[Abdominal emergencies in patients with AIDS].

This is a report on five patients suffering from AIDS who underwent emergency abdominal surgery: One patient with gangrenous appendicitis, three with a small bowel perforation and a third with a colonic bleeding. The first outlived the appendectomy by seven month; the second and the third the small bowel resection by eight weeks resp. by 10 weeks.

Traveller's diarrhoea; a controlled study of its effect on chloroquine and proguanil absorption.

The potential for traveller's diarrhoea to impair proguanil and chloroquine absorption and cause chemoprophylaxis failure was investigated in a study involving recently returned travellers who were either asymptomatic or presented with diarrhoea. A routine dose of chemoprophylaxis was administered to 12 travellers with diarrhoea and 12 asymptomatic subjects. The subjects undertook a lactulose-mannitol intestinal permeability test and were bled hourly after prophylaxis ingestion.

Behaviour patterns which may predispose to HIV infection or further transmission and possible intervention strategy in the City of Harare. Part II.

The proportion of people with AIDS is increasing rapidly in Zimbabwe. Several strategies have been adopted to check the further spread of the disease. This paper discusses the behaviour patterns which may predispose to HIV infection and possible intervention strategies that may be taken in the City of Harare.

Adaptation to the digestion of non-starch polysaccharide in growing pigs fed on cereal or semi-purified basal diets.

Pigs (25-45 kg) were fed on either cereal or semi-purified basal diets supplemented with either high or low levels of sugar-beet pulp or wood cellulose (Solka-floc). The apparent digestibility and retention of N and apparent digestibility and metabolizability of energy (GE) and the apparent digestibility of non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) and their constituent monomers were measured during weeks 2, 4 and 6 of the trial. N and GE were less well-digested, retained or metabolized from cereal basal diets than from the corresponding semi-purified diets during all three periods.

The effect of graded inclusion of baked beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) on plasma and liver lipids in hypercholesterolaemic pigs given a Western-type diet.

The aim of the present study was to measure the effect of graded inclusion of baked beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) on plasma and liver lipids in hypercholesterolaemic pigs fed on a Western-type diet. Twenty-four Large White x Landrace pigs of about 30 kg body weight were made hypercholesterolaemic by feeding a semi-purified diet, high in saturated fat and supplemented with 10 g cholesterol/kg, for 14 d. After that, six pigs were randomly assigned to one of the four experimental groups.

Influence of internal calcium stores on calcium-activated membrane currents in smooth muscle.

Agonist-induced activation of second messenger systems that increase inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate concentration plays an important role in the mobilisation of stored Ca2+ in smooth muscle. Release of Ca2+ which occurs spontaneously or by agonist stimulation causes activation of Ca(2+)-sensitive currents. Experiments using selective modulators of the Ca2+ uptake and release mechanisms of the sarcoplasmic reticulum provide evidence that depletion of the internal Ca2+ store triggers an influx of Ca2+ from the extracellular space.

[Carbohydrate building blocks for the construction of tumor-associated antigens. Synthesis of Lewis Y determinants].

The synthesis of the ethoxycarbonyloctanyl glycoside of the Lewis-Y (Ley) tetrasaccharide, a part of complex glycosphingolipids, was based on the trichloroacetimidate method for glycoside synthesis. The regioselective introduction of protective groups and the high yield of epimers of the azidonitration reaction applied to O-[2,3,4-tri-O-acetyl-6-O-[dimethyl-(2,3-dimethyl-2-butyl)silyl]-beta-D- galactopyranosyl]-(1-->4)-3-O-acetyl-1,5-anhydro-6-O-[dimet hyl-(2,3- dimethyl-2-butyl)silyl]-D-arabino-hex-1-enitol led to a lactosamine acceptor molecule. The double specific introduction of an alpha-L-fucosyl group in high yield gave a protected Ley-tetrasaccharide.

Affinity labeling of c-H-ras p21 consensus elements with periodate-oxidized GDP and GTP.

The amino acid sequence motifs of human c-H-ras p21 involved in the interaction with guanosine nucleotides were cross-linked to in situ periodate-oxidized [alpha-32P]GDP or [alpha-32P]GTP. Site-specific reaction was achieved by cross-linking conserved lysine residues close to the G-nucleotide binding site of p21 with the 2',3'-dialdehyde derivatives of GDP or GTP under kinetically controlled conditions. After endoproteinase Asp-N digestion, HPLC separation of 32P-labeled peptides and N-terminal microsequence analysis, two single lysine residues, namely, K117 and K147, which are parts of the N-K-X-D and S-A-K/L consensus elements of ras proteins, respectively, were identified.

Functional alterations in the aorta of the spontaneously hypertensive rat: pharmacological assessment with cyclopiazonic acid.

One of the changes in vascular smooth muscle membranes associated with hypertension is an alteration in Ca2+ handling. It has been unclear as to whether changes occurred at the plasma membrane or at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) or both. Recently, cyclopiazonic acid (CPA) has been reported to inhibit selectively the ER Ca2+ pump.

The potential requirement for HIV counselling and voluntary testing in women of childbearing age.

This paper compares estimates of the potential HIV counselling and testing requirements in a genito-urinary medicine (GUM) clinic, where a formal HIV counselling service is provided, and in an antenatal clinic (ANC), where there is no formal HIV counselling service. Data were collected by means of questionnaires completed by women attending both clinics. Only 31% and 16% of counselling needs were being met at the GUM clinic and antenatal clinic respectively.

Nucleotide binding and GTP hydrolysis by the 21-kDa product of the c-H-ras gene as monitored by proton-NMR spectroscopy.

Proton-NMR signals in the downfield region (below approximately 10 ppm) have been shown to provide a useful spectroscopic window to monitor the binding of guanine nucleotides to the active site of GTP/GDP-binding proteins via H-bonds, as specified here by the 21-kDa product of the c-H-ras gene (p21). The time course of the intensity change of certain peaks upon addition of GTP to nucleotide-free p21 corresponds to the GTP hydrolysis rate as determined by HPLC. Though there are fewer potential H-bond acceptors in the GDP-bound protein than in the GTP complex, more downfield peaks are found in the former complex, suggesting tighter binding of GDP.

Comparative effects of four legume species on plasma lipids and faecal steroid excretion in hypercholesterolaemic pigs.

The effect of four species of legume seeds on plasma cholesterol levels and faecal steroid excretion was studied in pigs. Thirty-six growing boars were randomly allocated in groups of six to six diets which they ate continuously for 42 d. The diets fed were: 1, a semi-purified (SP; control group 1) diet; 2, SP + 10 g cholesterol/kg (control group 2); 3, 4, 5, 6, SP + cooked legumes (70:30, w/w; respectively baked beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), peas (Pisum sativum), lentils (Lens culinaris Medik.

Knowledge and attitudes on AIDS relevant for the establishment of community care in the city of Harare.

Part I: Because of the increasing number of people with the HIV infection or AIDS, health resources and facilities are becoming over burdened. Many projects are looking towards involving communities more in caring and supporting those living with HIV/AIDS. In view of this, features of knowledge and attitudes have been drawn out of a main study on knowledge, attitudes and practices on 2 109 respondents in the City of Harare, to demonstrate areas where urgent preparation is needed to facilitate community care.