Liquid-liquid systems for acid hydrolysis of glycoalkaloids from Solanum tuberosum L. tuber sprouts and solanidine extraction.

Background: Potato sprouts (Solanum tuberosum L.) contain steroidal glycoalkaloids containing solanidine, an important precursor for hormone synthesis. Glycoalkaloids are reported to inactivate the Herpes simplex, Herpes zoster and Herpes genitalis viruses in humans, while Aglyones, including solasodine, may protect against skin cancer.

Comparison of genomic damage caused by 5-nitrofurantoin in young and adult mice using the in vivo micronucleus assay.

The antibiotic 5-nitrofurantoin (5-NF) has been used widely for the treatment of urosepsis in children during the last 20 years. Recent experimentation suggests the need for reevaluating its genotoxic potential. Because of possible differences in the metabolism and clearance of 5-NF in young and adult animals, we conducted a study to determine whether micronuclei caused by 5-NF were age-related.

[Long-term results after elective and emergency surgery of abdominal aortic aneurysm].

Introduction: Abdominal aortic aneurysm can be repaired by elective procedure while asymptomatic, or immediately when it is complicated--mostly due to rupture. Treating abdominal aneurysm electively, before it becomes urgent, has medical and economical reason. Today, the first month mortality after elective operations of the abdominal aorta aneurysm is less than 3%; on the other hand, significant mortality (25%-70%) has been recorded in patients operated immediately because of rupture of the abdominal aneurysm.

Glioblastoma-induced attraction of endogenous neural precursor cells is associated with improved survival.

Neural precursor cells contribute to adult neurogenesis and to limited attempts of brain repair after injury. Here we report that in a murine experimental glioblastoma model, endogenous neural precursors migrate from the subventricular zone toward the tumor and surround it. The association of endogenous precursors with syngenic tumor grafts was observed, after injecting red fluorescent protein-labeled G261 cells into the caudate-putamen of transgenic mice, which express green fluorescent protein under a promoter for nestin (nestin-GFP).

Ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms: factors influencing early survival.

In this study we aimed to define relevant prognostic predictors for the outcome of surgical treatment of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms. The study included 406 consecutive patients treated between January 1991 and December 2003. There were 337 (83%) male and 69 (17%) female patients aged 67 +/- 7.

Aortobifemoral grafting: factors influencing long-term results.

We present the results and respective determinant factors of 283 consecutive aortobifemoral bypasses. This prospective study included 283 patients with aortoiliac atherosclerotic occlusive disease treated by aortobifemoral reconstructions. Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) grafts were used in 136 patients and Dacron grafts in 147 patients.

Carotid artery aneurysms.

We present the treatment of 17 extracranial carotid artery aneurysms in 16 patients (1 patient had bilateral lesions). There were 15 (93.75%) male patients and 1 (6.

Polysulfones: solid organic catalysts for the chemoselective cleavage of methyl-substituted allyl ethers under neutral conditions.

The solid polysulfone made of SO2 and methylidenecyclopentane catalyzes the cleavage of methyl-substituted allyl ethers and liberates the corresponding alcohols.

Regulation of corticotropin-releasing hormone receptor type 1alpha signaling: structural determinants for G protein-coupled receptor kinase-mediated phosphorylation and agonist-mediated desensitization.

Attenuation of CRH receptor type 1 (CRH-R1) signaling activity might involve desensitization and uncoupling of CRH-R1 from intracellular effectors. We investigated the desensitization of native CRH-R in human myometrial cells from pregnant women and recombinant CRH-R1alpha stably overexpressed in human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells. In both cell types, CRH-R1-mediated adenylyl cyclase activation was susceptible to homologous desensitization induced by pretreatment with high concentrations of CRH.

Allyl, methallyl, prenyl, and methylprenyl ethers as protected alcohols: their selective cleavage with diphenyldisulfone under neutral conditions.

Diphenyldisulfone is a mild and efficient reagent for selective cleavage of methylprenyl (2,3-dimethylbut-2-en-1-yl), prenyl (3-methylbut-2-en1-yl), and methallyl (2-methylallyl) ethers. These reaction conditions are compatible with the presence of other protecting groups such as acetals, acetates, and allyl, benzyl, and TBDMS ethers. Exposure of 2,3-dimethylbut-2-en-1-yl and 3-methylbut-2-en1-yl ethers to diphenyldisulfone led to the formation of 2,3-dimethylbuta-1,3-diene and isoprene, respectively.

Relationship of fluorescence and thermal emission from isolated thylakoids under light stress conditions.

Simultaneous measurements of fluorescence and thermal emission have been made by a combined fluorescence and photoacoustic techniques on isolated thylakoids pretreated by a prolonged illumination of saturating light. The traces of the signals are used to calculate four characteristic parameters, energy storage, half-saturation intensity, number of photons to close reaction center, and a constant for quasi-equlibria between (re)oxidized and reduced quinone acceptors. These parameters are used to study the response of photosynthetic apparatus functioning under photoinhibition stress.

Expression of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3-1alpha-hydroxylase in pancreatic islets.

A number of studies have suggested that Vitamin D has a potential role in the development/treatment of diabetes. These effects may be mediated by circulating levels of 1alpha,25(OH)(2)D(3), but local production of 1alpha,25(OH)(2)D(3), catalysed by the enzyme 25-hydroxyvitamin D(3)-1alpha-hydroxylase (1alpha-OHase), is also likely to be important. RT-PCR analyses demonstrated that both isolated rat islets and MIN6 cells (mouse insulin-secreting cell line, characteristic of beta cells) expressed 1alpha-OHase mRNA.

[Role of nitric oxide in treatment of acute lung injury after surgery with extracorporeal circulation].

Postoperative acute lung injury (ALI) compromises oxygen transfer across alveolar-capillary membrane with consecutive hypoxia, one of its indicators being reduction of oxygenation index PaO2/FiO2 below 40 kPa (300 mm Hg). Management of ALI includes different procedures like mechanical lung ventilation (MLV), drugs and others. One of the new possibilities for treatment of ALI is nitric oxide (NO) inhalation.

[Effect of smoking on resorption of residual alveolar ridges in complete denture wearers].

Introduction: Based on literature data it is obvious that there is a connection between smoking and periodontal diseases. Alveolar bone loss increases with smoking. Tobacco smoking affects the proportion of subgingival bacterial flora by influencing oxidoreduction potential of dental plaque and thus making conditions for development of anaerobic bacteria.

[Reconstruction of the supra-aortic branches].

The authors present surgical techniques and distant results of the operative treatment in patients with occlusive lesions of the supraaortic branches. The study included 29 men (55.8%) and 23 women (44.

The hetero-Diels-Alder addition of sulfur dioxide: the pseudo-chair conformation of a 4,5-dialkylsultine.

Even unsubstituted butadiene adds to sulfur dioxide in the hetero-Diels-Alder mode more rapidly than in the chelotropic mode. The sultine can be observed in equilibrium with the diene and the sulfur dioxide only at low temperature and in the presence of CF(3)COOH. Crystals of 4,5-dialkyl-sultine resulting from the SO(2) addition to 1,2-dimethylidenecyclohexane have been obtained at -100 degrees C and analyzed by X-ray diffraction.

SNP haplotype tagging from DNA pools of two individuals.

Background: DNA pooling is a technique to reduce genotyping effort while incurring only minor losses in accuracy of allele frequency estimates for single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers.

Results: We present an algorithm for reconstructing haplotypes (alleles for multiple SNPs on same chromosome) from pools of two individual DNAs, in which Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium conditions or other assumptions are not required. The program outputs, in addition to inferred haplotypes, a minimal number of haplotype-tagging SNPs that are identified after an exhaustive search procedure.

Subclavian artery aneurysms.

We report the management of 14 subclavian artery aneurysms (13 true, one false) occurring in seven male and seven female patients (average age, 48 years). The aetiology of the aneurysms included thoracic outlet syndrome in eight, atherosclerosis in five and infection in one patient. Twelve aneurysms were of extrathoracic location, while two aneurysms were intrathoracic.

Generation of hepatitis C virus-like particles by use of a recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus vector.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV), a major etiologic agent of hepatocellular carcinoma, presently infects approximately 400 million people worldwide, making the development of protective measures against HCV infection a key objective. Here we have generated a recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), which expresses the HCV structural proteins, by inserting the contiguous Core, E1, and E2 coding region of HCV into the VSV genome. Recombinant VSV expressing HCV Core, E1, and E2 (VSV-HCV-C/E1/E2) grew to high titers in vitro and efficiently expressed the incorporated HCV gene product, which became fully processed into the individual HCV structural proteins.

Genetic background of Huntington disease in Croatia: Molecular analysis of CAG, CCG, and Delta2642 (E2642del) polymorphisms.

This study presents the first molecular data on the basis and the origin of Huntington disease in Croatia and is the first such analysis performed among a Slavic population. We analyzed three trinucleotide polymorphisms in the HD gene: CAG, CCG and GAG Delta2642 (E2642del) triplets. Analysis of the CAG repeat size among 44 Huntington patients (39-66 CAGs) and 51 normal individuals (9-34 CAGs) showed that the range of the repeats was similar to previous findings.

An optimum anti-melanoma response in mice immunized with fibroblasts transfected with DNA from mouse melanoma cells requires the expression of both syngeneic and allogeneic MHC-determinants.

Most neoplasms do not induce antitumor immune responses that can control tumor growth. Tumor associated antigens (TAAs) are insufficiently immunogenic. A vaccine that augments the immunogenic properties of TAAs could be of importance in the treatment of cancer patients.

Recompression therapy of mountain sickness.

This paper describes the treatment of a severe case of acute mountain sickness with a portable hyperbaric chamber. A 37-year old climber was treated for acute high altitude pulmonary oedema, which developed on the North Col of Mount Everest, at an altitude of 7,060 m. The treatment in the portable Gamow bag hyperbaric chamber lasted two hours, with a bag pressure of 103 mm Hg (0.

Variation in the ESR1 and ESR2 genes and genetic susceptibility to anorexia nervosa.

There is significant evidence for genetic factors in the susceptibility to anorexia nervosa (AN). Previously genetic variation in the estrogen receptor 2 gene (ESR2) has been studied, however no strong evidence of association with AN has been found. In the present study variation in the estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1) and ESR2 genes was examined.

A simple and rapid analysis of triplet repeat diseases by expand long PCR.

It is now known that 15 monogenic, mostly neurological, disorders are caused by the same type of mutations that occur in trinucleotide repeat sequences in certain genes. Since they share a nonspecific and variable phenotype, the accurate diagnosis could be made only by DNA analysis. We developed an Expand Long PCR assay that provides more reliable molecular diagnosis of such disorders.