[Incidence and prevalence of postoperative acute confusion in heart surgery patients after coronary artery bypass and heart valve replacement surgeries].

Compared to foreign countries, Germany does not have data about the occurrence of acute confusion following heart-surgery. However, the occurrence of acute confusion does extend the hospital length of stay for up to 13 days. Thus, this phenomenon is of high relevance to nursing.

Proteomic analysis of human biopsy samples by single two-dimensional electrophoresis: Coomassie, silver, mass spectrometry, and Western blotting.

Proteomic analysis of myocardial tissue from patient populations is critical to our understanding of cardiac disease, but has been limited until now by the small size of biopsies (approximately 20-50 microg), and complicated by the difference in relative abundance of contractile proteins over other cellular components. Here we describe an approach to analysis of myocardial biopsies from patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery. First, individual biopsies are selectively extracted, producing subfractions that correspond to the contractile proteins and the cytosolic proteins.

Solubilization, two-dimensional separation and detection of the cardiac myofilament protein troponin T.

Proteomics strongly relies on the separation of complex protein mixtures, with two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) being a commonly used technique. However efficient separation requires adequate solubilization of the original sample which will determine whether all proteins are accurately represented. Cardiac muscle has presented a particular challenge to solubilization.

Involvement of Candida albicans NADH dehydrogenase complex I in filamentation.

The gene encoding the 51-kDa subunit of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) dehydrogenase complex I, a principal component of the mitochondrial electron transport chain, was cloned in Candida tropicalis. The homolog in C. albicans, CaNDH51, was identified, and each allele was successively disrupted by PCR-mediated gene disruption.

The dose-response effects of repeated subacute sarin exposure on guinea pigs.

The present study assessed the effects of repeated subacute exposure to the organophosphorous nerve agent, sarin. Guinea pigs were injected five times per week (Monday-Friday) for 2 weeks with fractions of the established LD(50) dose of sarin (42 microg/kg sc). The animals were assessed for the development of cortical EEG seizures.

Postgestational lymphotoxin/lymphotoxin beta receptor interactions are essential for the presence of intestinal B lymphocytes.

Lymphotoxin (LT), a cytokine belonging to the TNF family, has established roles in the formation of secondary lymphoid structures and in the compartmentalization of T and B lymphocyte areas of the spleen. In this study, we examine the role of LT in directing the composition of intestinal lymphocytes. We report that mice deficient in LT have a normal composition of intestinal lamina propria (LP) T lymphocytes, and an absence of intestinal LP B lymphocytes.

An evaluation of the assembly of an approximately 15-Mb region on human chromosome 13q32-q33 linked to bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

The human 13q32-q33 region has been linked to both bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Before completion of the draft sequences, we developed an approximately 15-Mb comprehensive map for the region extending from D13S1300 to ATA35H12. This map was assembled using publicly available mapping data and sequence-tagged site (STS)-based PCR confirmation.

Intramuscular diazepam pharmacokinetics in soman-exposed guinea pigs.

Intramuscular (i.m.) diazepam is included by the US military as an anticonvulsant in the standard therapeutic regimen for organophosphorus nerve agent intoxication.

Combination anticonvulsant treatment of soman-induced seizures.

These studies investigated the effectiveness of combination treatment with a benzodiazepine and an anticholinergic drug against soman-induced seizures. The anticholinergic drugs considered were biperiden, scopolamine, trihexaphenidyl, and procyclidine; the benzodiazepines were diazepam and midazolam. Male guinea pigs were implanted surgically with cortical screw electrodes.

Linear dimensions of the upper airway structure during development: assessment by magnetic resonance imaging.

The upper airway undergoes progressive changes during childhood. Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), we studied the growth relationships of the tissues surrounding the upper airway (bone and soft tissues) in 92 normal children (47% males; range, 1 to 11 yr) who underwent brain MRI. None had symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing or conditions that impacted on their upper airway.

Fractal analysis of eye movements during reading.

We present a new method for the analysis of reading eye movements based on the methods of nonlinear dynamics. In this preliminary study, the eye movements of normal and abnormal readers were analyzed for evidence of chaotic, nonlinear dynamical behavior. Both power spectral density analysis and fractal dimension determination showed evidence of nonlinearity as manifest in chaotic behavior.

Comparative treatment planning between proton and X-ray therapy in pancreatic cancer.

With the utilization of new biologic agents and experimental chemotherapy in the treatment of pancreatic cancer, the issue of local-regional control will become increasingly important. This study was undertaken to determine the feasibility of dose escalation using proton therapy, as compared to conventional 3-dimensional conformal radiation, by minimizing the dose to normal tissues. The photon treatment plans of 4 patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer treated on a biologic therapy trial were utilized.

Chloroquine-induced neuronal cell death is p53 and Bcl-2 family-dependent but caspase-independent.

Chloroquine is a lysosomotropic agent that causes marked changes in intracellular protein processing and trafficking and extensive autophagic vacuole formation. Chloroquine may be cytotoxic and has been used as a model of lysosomal-dependent cell death. Recent studies indicate that autophagic cell death may involve Bcl-2 family members and share some features with caspase-dependent apoptotic death.

Magnetic resonance imaging of the upper airway structure of children with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.

The anatomical relationships between lymphoid, bony, and other tissues affecting the shape of the upper airway in children with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) have not been established. We therefore compared the upper airway structure in 18 young children with OSAS (age 4.8 +/- 2.

Oral delivery of biologically active parathyroid hormone.

Purpose: Parathyroid hormone (PTH), the only drug known to stimulate bone formation. is a peptide therapeutic indicated in the treatment of osteoporosis. Unfortunately, PTH is only effective when dosed by injection because it has no oral bioavailability.

Isoflurane anesthesia for guinea pigs (Cavia porcella) in a stereotaxic surgical apparatus.

Isoflurane (1-chloro-2,2,2-trifluoroethyl difluoromethyl ether) is a potent general anesthetic agent that is highly adaptable to use in small laboratory animal species. Respiratory delivery is easily accomplished in these animals, even during restraint in a stereotaxic apparatus. The ease of administration, high predictability of action, and ability to finely control the depth of anesthesia make isoflurane anesthesia far superior to regimes involving injectable anesthetics.

Spontaneous and continuous cyclooxygenase-2-dependent prostaglandin E2 production by stromal cells in the murine small intestine lamina propria: directing the tone of the intestinal immune response.

The mechanisms allowing the gastrointestinal immune system to avoid an inappropriate inflammatory response to nonpathogenic luminal Ags are poorly understood. We have previously described a role for cyclooxygenase (COX)-2-dependent arachidonic acid metabolites produced by the murine small intestine lamina propria in controlling the immune response to a dietary Ag. To better understand the role of COX-2-dependent arachidonic acid metabolites produced by the lamina propria, we examined the pattern of expression and the cellular source of COX-2 and COX-2-dependent PGE(2).

Magnetic resonance imaging of the upper airway in children with Down syndrome.

As compared with control subjects, children with Down syndrome have different size and shape relationships among tissues composing the upper airway, which may predispose them to obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). We hypothesized that Down syndrome children without OSA have similar subclinical differences. We used magnetic resonance imaging to study the upper airway in 11 Down syndrome children without OSA (age, 3.

Cardiac troponin I is modified in the myocardium of bypass patients.

Background: Selective proteolysis of cardiac troponin I (cTnI) is a proposed mechanism of contractile dysfunction in stunned myocardium, and the presence of cTnI degradation products in serum may reflect the functional state of the remaining viable myocardium. However, recent swine and canine studies have not demonstrated stunning-dependent cTnI degradation.

Methods And Results: To address the universality of cTnI modification, myocardial biopsy samples were obtained from coronary artery bypass patients (n=37) before and 10 minutes after removal of cross-clamp.

Improved branching ratio measurement for the decay K(0)(L) --> &mgr;(+)&mgr;(-).

We report results from Experiment 871, performed at the BNL AGS, of a measurement of the branching ratio K(0)(L)-->&mgr;(+)&mgr;(-) with respect to the CP-violating mode K(0)(L)-->pi(+)pi(-). This experiment detected over 6200 candidate &mgr;(+)&mgr;(-) events, a factor of 6 more than that seen in all previous measurements combined. The resulting branching ratio gamma(K(0)(L)-->&mgr;(+)&mgr;(-))/gamma(K(0)(L)-->pi(+)pi(-)) = (3.

Regulation of transcription in the neuronal nicotinic receptor subunit gene cluster by a neuron-selective enhancer and ETS domain factors.

Expression of neurotransmitter receptors encoded by the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAchR) subunit gene cluster depends on coexpression of the beta4, alpha3, and alpha5 subunits in certain kinds of neurons. One way in which coexpression might be achieved is through the regulation of promoters in the cluster by neuron-selective enhancers. The beta43' enhancer is located between the beta4 and alpha3 promoters and it directs cell type-specific expression in cell lines.

Efficacy of biperiden and atropine as anticonvulsant treatment for organophosphorus nerve agent intoxication.

The ability of the nerve agents tabun, sarin, soman, GF, VR, and VX to produce brain seizures and the effectiveness of the anticholinergics biperiden HCl or atropine SO4 as an anticonvulsant treatment were studied in a guinea-pig model. All animals were implanted a week prior to the experiment with cortical electrodes for electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings. On the day of exposure, the animals were pretreated with pyridostigmine (0.