The long-term biomechanical and viscoelastic performance of repairing anterior cruciate ligament after hemitransection injury in a goat model.

To test the healing of the partially torn anterior cruciate ligament, we transected the posterolateral bundle in 11 adult female goats and tested the ligaments at 12, 24, and 52 weeks and 3 years after surgery. As early as 12 weeks after surgery translucent fibrous tissue covered the wound. The differences in anteroposterior laxity between right and left knees measured at 45 degrees and 90 degrees of flexion were not significantly different at each period.

Serum antibodies to Trichomonas vaginalis in invasive cervical cancer patients.

Objective: To evaluate, by seroepidemiology, the possible role of the sexually-transmitted flagellate, Trichomonas vaginalis, in invasive cervical cancer.

Subjects And Method: Sera from 121 invasive cervical cancer patients and 242 random age-matched female controls. Antibodies to T.

Agonist-induced desensitization of dopamine D1 receptor-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activity is temporally and biochemically separated from D1 receptor internalization.

The regulation of the dopamine D1 receptor was investigated by using c-myc epitope-tagged D1 receptors expressed in Sf9 (fall armyworm ovary) cells. Treatment of D1 receptors with 10 microM dopamine for 15 min led to a loss of the dopamine-detected high-affinity state of the receptor accompanying a 40% reduction in the ability of the receptor to mediate maximal dopamine stimulation of adenylyl cyclase activity. After 60 min of agonist exposure, 45 min after the occurrence of desensitization, 28% of the cell surface receptors were internalized into an intracellular light vesicular membrane fraction as determined by radioligand binding and supported by photoaffinity labeling, immunocytochemical staining, and immunoblot analysis.

Myocardial infarction in young adults: angiographic characterization, risk factors and prognosis (Coronary Artery Surgery Study Registry).

Objectives: This study examined the angiographic characteristics, coronary risk factors and prognosis in young men and women with a history of myocardial infarction compared with that in older patients.

Background: There are few data regarding myocardial infarction in young adults. It is undetermined whether the development of myocardial infarction at a young age represents a form of coronary heart disease with an adverse prognosis.

Biomechanics of patellar tendon autograft for reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament in the goat: three-year study.

This study examined the biomechanics of anterior cruciate ligament-patellar tendon autografts for as long as 3 years after surgery. Twenty-seven adult female goats were tested; four served as controls and the others received an autograft to the right knee with each left knee serving as an additional control. The animals with grafts were tested at 0 week (n = 4), 6 weeks (n = 4), 12 weeks (n = 4), 24 weeks (n = 3), 1 year (n = 5), and 3 years (n = 3) after surgery.

When is it futile for ambulance personnel to initiate cardiopulmonary resuscitation?

Objective: To determine whether patients with unexpected prehospital cardiac arrest could be identified in whom ambulance resuscitation attempts would be futile.

Design: Review of ambulance and hospital records; detailed review of automated external defibrillator rhythm strips of patients in whom no shock was advised.

Setting: Scottish Ambulance Service; all cardiopulmonary resuscitation attempts after cardiorespiratory arrest during 1988-94 included in the Heartstart Scotland database.

Dopamine D1 receptor distribution in Sf9 cells imaged by confocal microscopy: a quantitative evaluation.

A c-myc epitope-tagged human dopamine D1 receptor (c-myc D1 receptor) was expressed in Sf9 cells and its cellular distribution under basal conditions and after exposure to the agonist dopamine was examined. In the basal state, immunofluorescently labeled c-myc D1 receptors imaged by confocal microscopy appeared as a bright ring of label predominantly on the cell surface, and to a lesser extent as intracellular clusters of label. This pattern of receptor distribution was confirmed by radioligand-binding assays on plasma membrane and light membrane fractions using the D1 receptor-antagonist [3H]-SCH-23390.

Low endogenous dopamine function in brain predisposes to high alcohol preference and consumption: reversal by increasing synaptic dopamine.

Using inbred strains of mice that differ widely in their innate preference for and consumption of ethanol, we demonstrate, in ethanol-preferring C57BL/6J (C57) mice, decreased dopamine (DA) content and turnover in the terminals of the mesolimbic and mesostriatal dopamine neurons, compared with ethanol-avoiding DBA/2J and BALBc mice. These data suggest that genetically determined hypodopaminergic function in these pathways plays a role in the predisposition to high voluntary intake of ethanol. DA turnover in these areas was selectively increased by ethanol in C57 mice, which suggests that these DA neurons are among the central substrates of ethanol action in brain.

Effect of trunk flexion speed on flexion relaxation of erector spinae.

Flexion relaxation of erector spinae (ES) has mainly been studied during slow trunk movements. Due to the viscoelastic properties of spinal ligaments, the ES activity may change at different movement speeds. Twenty-one normal females (20-25 years) were examined during slow, intermediate and natural speeds of trunk flexion.

Ageing does not affect flexion relaxation of erector spinae.

Erector spinae (ES) activity during trunk flexion in 22 young (20-25 years) and 16 older (60-92 years) normal females was examined with surface EMG. The trunk movements and simultaneous EMG oscillograph of ES were recorded with two synchronised video cameras. The ES relaxed at the critical position (CP) which was 67 and 82 per cent of full trunk flexion for young and older subjects respectively.

Tubulovesicular elements in Blastocystis hominis from the caecum of experimentally-infected rats.

By transmission electron microscopy (TEM), tubulovesicular elements were seen in Blastocystis hominis obtained from the caecum of experimentally-infected rats. These appeared to arise from the peripheral cytoplasm and were rounded, oval or elongate in sections. It is suggested that these elements form a network for transfer of nutrients to the periphery during the process of encystation.

Infiltration of the kidney by alpha beta and gamma delta T cells: effect on progression in IgA nephropathy.

We have studied renal biopsies from three groups of patients to determine if alpha beta T cells or gamma delta T cells are present, and whether their presence is correlated with disease progression in IgA nephropathy (IgAN). Group one comprised thin basement membrane disease biopsies (non-immunological control, N = 7); group two were patients with IgAN and stable renal function one year following biopsy (stable, N = 7); and group three were IgAN patients with rapidly declining renal function after one year (progressive, N = 7). Immunohistochemical staining using monoclonal antibodies (CD3, TcR beta, TcR delta) and molecular studies utilizing polymerase chain reaction amplification of cDNA transcribed from biopsy RNA, with primers specific for either the alpha beta TcR or gamma delta TcR, were undertaken.

Elucidation of the life cycle of the intestinal protozoan Blastocystis hominis.

This paper elucidates the status of the different morphological forms of Blastocystis and reports the existence of thin- and thick-walled cysts in B. hominis on the basis of current experimental evidence. It is suggested that the thin-walled cysts are autoinfectious, leading to multiplication of the organism in the intestinal tract.

Dopamine receptor agonist reduces ethanol self-administration in the ethanol-preferring C57BL/6J inbred mouse.

This report experimentally examined whether the genetically determined low nigrostriatal/mesolimbic dopaminergic activity in the C57BL/6J (herein referred to as C57) inbred mouse mediated the congenital high risk for ethanol abuse (ethanol consumption and ethanol preference) in this model. C57 mice pretreated with dopamine D1 receptor agonist ((+)-SKF-38393) or dopamine D2 receptor agonist (bromocriptine) to augment synaptic dopamine availability exhibited marked 76% and 38% reductions in voluntary ethanol intake in comparison to untreated controls. Dopamine receptor agonist administration resulted in changes in dopamine D1 and D2 receptor mRNA in the cell bodies and dopamine D1 and D2 receptor densities principally in the afferent targets of nigrostriatal/mesolimbic dopamine neurons.

Genotypic differences in brain dopamine receptor function in the DBA/2J and C57BL/6J inbred mouse strains.

The propensity for high ethanol preference and high ethanol consumption (herein referred to as ethanol abuse) may be a consequence of a congenital deficit in central dopaminergic activity. This hypothesis was examined in the ethanol-avoiding DBA/2J (DBA) and ethanol-preferring C57BL/6J (C57) inbred mouse strains. Endogenous dopamine D1 and D2 receptor functions differed between strains in the nigrostriatal/mesolimbic dopamine system.

Phosphorylation and palmitoylation of the human D2L dopamine receptor in Sf9 cells.

We have expressed and biochemically characterized the human D2long (D2L) dopamine receptor isoform using the baculovirus/Sf9 cell system. The expressed receptor bound ligands with a pharmacological profile similar to that reported for neuronal and cloned D2L receptors expressed in mammalian cell lines. Dopamine binding to D2L receptor was sensitive to guanine nucleotides, indicating receptor coupling to endogenous G proteins.

Predominance of T cell receptor V delta 3 in small bowel biopsies from coeliac disease patients.

Increased numbers of T cells bearing the gamma delta antigen receptor (gamma delta T cells) have been reported in small bowel biopsies of patients with latent, active or treated coeliac disease. We have studied jejunal biopsies from seven children with coeliac disease and 10 children with normal gut histology to characterize gamma delta T cell receptor (TCR) variable region gene subfamily expression in resident gamma delta T cells and compared the results with the findings in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) obtained on the same day as the gut biopsy. Molecular analysis of RNA extracted from PBMC and biopsies was performed by reverse transcription and amplification with the polymerase chain reaction using primers specific for six TCR V delta families and four TCR V gamma families.

Differentiation of the various stages of Blastocystis hominis by acridine orange staining.

Acridine orange staining differentiates the cystic and the central body forms of Blastocystis hominis and offers a very convenient and easy method to observe the internal structure of the parasite. Acridine orange stains the nuclei and the central body of the rounded vacuolar forms of the parasite bright and dull green, respectively. The colour changes to yellow and then to flaming red-orange when the rounded central body forms of the parasite become cystic.

Desensitization, phosphorylation and palmitoylation of the human dopamine D1 receptor.

The regulation and post-translational modifications of the human dopamine D1 receptor were studied in the baculovirus-eukaryotic cell expression system. Baculovirus constructs containing either the DNA encoding the dopamine D1 receptor or a DNA encoding a c-myc epitope tagged dopamine D1 receptor (c-myc-dopamine D1 receptor) were used to infect Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf9) insect cells. Expressed dopamine D1 and c-myc-dopamine D1 receptors bound agonists and antagonists with affinities and a rank order of potency characteristic of a classical dopamine D1 receptor pharmacological profile.

The identification of NP25: a novel protein that is differentially expressed by neuronal subpopulations.

A novel gene encoding a 25-kDa neuronal-specific protein, here named 'NP25', has been isolated as a cDNA clone from rat brain. The sequence of the NP25 cDNA reveals a single open reading frame that encodes a primary translation product of 206 amino acids. A search of the protein sequence databank indicates that NP25 is significantly homologous with three recently discovered muscle proteins: SM22 alpha, mp20 and calponin.

Ultrastructural changes during in vitro encystment of Blastocystis hominis.

The morphological changes occurring in Blastocystis hominis at different time points following in vitro encystment were studied by electron microscopy. The following stages of the parasite were sequentially seen: (a) the amoebic form, which was irregular in shape, with a majority of the organelles being concentrated at the condensed cytoplasmic region; (b) the pre-cystic form, which was rounded and had an electron-dense material forming a homogeneous wall around the central body; and (c) the cystic form, which had a very prominent, thick osmiophilic electron-dense wall, within which there were many inclusions and possibly reproductive granules. The amoebic form appeared to be an intermediate stage between the vacuolar form and the pre-cystic form, as this stage allowed the parasite to ingest bacteria to enhance encystment.