MEDOS HIA-VAD biventricular assist device for bridge to recovery in fulminant myocarditis.

Successful weaning from biventricular mechanical support with full recovery of the myocardial function is extremely rare in fulminant myocarditis. We report on our experience with the MEDOS HIA-VAD ventricular assist device. The device worked for 17 days and provided adequate hemodynamics.

[Successful treatment of fulminant myocarditis with the biventricular MEDOS Assist System (MEDOS HIA-VAD)].

Background: Successful weaning from biventricular mechanical support with full recovery of the myocardial function is extremely rare in fulminant myocarditis. We report on our experience with the new MEDOS HIA ventricular assist device.

Methods And Results: We used the MEDOS assist system to support a 30-year-old woman with profound circulatory impairment caused by acute myocarditis.

Immunohistochemical localization of the somatostatin SST2(A) receptor in the rat brain and spinal cord.

The neuropeptide somatostatin is widely distributed in the CNS and is believed to play a role as a neurotransmitter or a neuromodulator. Somatostatin mediates its actions by the binding of the peptide to high affinity membrane receptors. The genes for five somatostatin receptor types have been cloned recently and Northern blotting and in situ hybridization studies have shown that the transcripts of all five types are expressed in the CNS.

Strategies to prevent chronic neonatal lung disease.

The pathogenesis of chronic neonatal lung disease involves the combined iatrogenic insults of oxygen toxicity and barotrauma in addition to lung inflammation. Newer ventilator strategies using smaller tidal volumes (3-7 mL/kg) in order to avoid overdistension, higher positive end-respiratory pressure and lower peak inspiratory pressures decrease barotrauma. Earlier reduction of FiO2 through the use of surfactant, high frequency ventilation and nitric oxide reduce oxygen toxicity.

Outcome of out-of-hospital cardiac or respiratory arrest in children.

Background: Among adults who have a cardiac arrest outside the hospital, the survival rate is known to be poor. However, less information is available on out-of-hospital cardiac arrest among children. This study was performed to determine the survival rate among children after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and to identify predictors of survival.

Physiological control of cholecystokinin release and pancreatic enzyme secretion by intraduodenal bile acids.

Background: The physiological relevance of duodenal bile acids in the control of cholecystokinin release and pancreatic enzyme secretion is still unknown.

Aims: To provide a near physiological situation by perfusing a bile acid mixture mimicking the individual endogenous bile acid composition of the person under investigation. For maximal reduction of endogenous bile output the CCK-A receptor antagonist loxiglumide was infused intravenously.

Different inducibility of expression of the two xylanase genes xyn1 and xyn2 in Trichoderma reesei.

Regulation of formation of the extracellular xylanase system of Trichoderma reesei QM 9414 during growth on xylan, cellulose, and replacement onto a number of soluble inducers was investigated by Northern analysis of xyn1 and xyn2 transcripts and by the use of the Escherichia coli hph (hygromycin B-phosphotransferase-encoding) gene as a reporter. Whereas the xyn1 promoter is active in the presence of xylan and xylose, and virtually silenced in the presence of glucose, the xyn2 promoter enables basal transcription at a low level, but is enhanced in the presence of xylan and xylobiose and also of sophorose or cellobiose. The respective regulatory nucleotide regions were localized on a 221-base pair fragment and a 55-base pair fragment of the xyn1 and xyn2 5'-upstream noncoding sequences, respectively.

[O2 sensitive L-lactate biosensors with enzyme membranes based on L-lactate-2-monooxygenase and L-lactate-oxidase with electroanalytic comparison].

O2-sensitive biosensors using oxidase membranes have acquired considerable electro-analytical importance. Since some of these O2-converting enzymes also produce H2O2, the use of additive reagents for the O2-free breakdown of the H2O2 in the second reaction has repeatedly been reported. In contrast to L-lactate oxidase, L-lactate-2-monooxygenase converts its substrate without producing H2O2.

Somatostatin receptors in the central nervous system.

Somatostatin was first identified chemically in 1973, since when much has been established about its synthesis, storage and release. It has important physiological actions, including a tonic inhibitory effect on growth hormone release from the pituitary. It has other central actions which are not well understood but recent cloning studies have identified at least five different types of cell membrane receptor for somatostatin.

Carbon catabolite repression of xylanase I (xyn1) gene expression in Trichoderma reesei.

The filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei forms two specific, xylan-inducible xylanases encoded by xyn1 and xyn2 to degrade the beta-1,4-D-xylan backbone of hemicelluloses. This enzyme system is formed in the presence of xylan, but not glucose. The molecular basis of the absence of xylanase I formation on glucose was the purpose of this study.

The effect of single-dose and continuous skeletal muscle paralysis on respiratory system compliance in paediatric intensive care patients.

Objective: To investigate the effect of single dose and continuous skeletal muscle paralysis on respiratory system compliance in 53 paediatric intensive care patients.

Design: Prospective clinical study.

Setting: Multidisciplinary paediatric intensive care unit.

Defective pH regulation of acidic compartments in human breast cancer cells (MCF-7) is normalized in adriamycin-resistant cells (MCF-7adr).

Alkalinization of normally acidic intracellular compartments or acidification of a mildly alkaline cytoplasm by biochemical or genetic manipulation has been demonstrated to inhibit both endocytosis and secretion (Tartakoff, 1983a; Cosson et al., 1989; Mellman et al., 1986; Davoust et al.

Auxins and Cytokinins as Antipodal Modulators of Elasticity within the Actin Network of Plant Cells.

The cytoskeleton of plant and animal cells serves as a transmitter, transducer, and effector of cell signaling mechanisms. In plants, pathways for proliferation, differentiation, intracellular vesicular transport, cell-wall biosynthesis, symbiosis, secretion, and membrane recycling depend on the organization and dynamic properties of actin- and tubulin-based structures that are either associated with the plasma membrane or traverse the cytoplasm. Recently, a new in vivo cytoskeletal assay (cell optical displacement assay) was introduced to measure the tension within subdomains (cortical, transvacuolar, and perinuclear) of the actin network in living plant cells.

Cellular localisation and co-expression of somatostatin receptor messenger RNAs in the human brain.

Genes for five high affinity somatostatin receptors, named sst1-5, have been cloned recently. In this study we describe the tissue distribution and cellular localisation of mRNA encoding sst1, sst3 and sst4 receptors in the human cerebellum, frontal cortex (Brodmann's area 11) and hippocampus. RT-PCR and in situ hybridisation studies indicated a distinct, but partially overlapping pattern of expression of the receptor mRNAs.

Increased respiratory system resistance and bronchial smooth muscle hypertrophy in children with acute postoperative pulmonary hypertension.

Following surgery for congenital heart disease, there is often an increased reactivity of the pulmonary vasculature to stimuli, resulting in rapid increases in pulmonary artery pressure and a clinical impression of stiff lungs. Lung mechanics were measured in 30 children, mean age 6.7 +/- 4.

Aluminum Induces Rigor within the Actin Network of Soybean Cells.

Aluminum is toxic to both plants and animals. Root growth and pollen-tube extension are inhibited after aluminum stress in acidic environments. Incubation of cultured neurons with aluminum results in the formation of neurofibrillar tangles reminiscent of the neural pathology observed in Alzheimer's disease.

Expression-activity profiles of cells transfected with prostaglandin endoperoxide H synthase measured by quantitative fluorescence microscopy.

Transfection of cos-1 cells with either prostaglandin endoperoxide H synthase-1 (PGHS-1) or -2 (PGHS-2) results in a mixed population of cells containing a diverse range of expressed enzyme. The use of fluorescent substrates and antibodies, in conjunction with fluorescence microscopy, provides the means to quantitate expression and activity of the enzyme within individual cells. Data obtained from individual cells can be utilized to construct enzyme activity curves for a population of transfected cells.

Different intracellular locations for prostaglandin endoperoxide H synthase-1 and -2.

The subcellular locations of prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase-1 and -2 (PGHS-1 and -2) were determined by quantitative confocal fluorescence imaging microscopy in murine 3T3 cells and human and bovine endothelial cells using immunocytofluorescence with isozyme-specific antibodies. In all of the cell types examined, PGHS-1 immunoreactivity was found equally distributed in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and nuclear envelope (NE). PGHS-2 immunoreactivity was also present in the ER and NE.

Expression of messenger RNA for somatostatin receptor subtype 4 in adult rat brain.

The distribution and cellular localisation of somatostatin receptor subtype 4 (SSTR4) was investigated in the adult rat brain using the technique of in situ hybridisation with subtype specific oligonucleotide probes. Somatostatin receptor subtype 4 was found mainly in the hippocampus CA1 > CA2 > CA3 pyramidal cells and in the pyramidal cells in layers (IV-VI) of the cerebral cortex. Reverse transcription-PCR with SSTR4 specific primers confirmed the tissue distribution revealed by in situ hybridisation.

Expression of somatostatin receptor 3 mRNA in the motorneurones of the rat spinal cord, and the sensory neurones of the spinal ganglia.

At least five different types of somatostatin receptors (SSTRs): SSTR1-5 have been recently cloned. Here, we report the distribution of somatostatin receptor 3 (SSTR3) mRNA in spinal cord and spinal ganglia by in situ hybridization. We demonstrate the presence of this transcript in motorneurones of the spinal cord and other motor nuclei of the brain stem, and in the sensory neurones of the spinal ganglia.

Computer integrated drug prevention: a new approach to teach lower socioeconomic 5th and 6th grade Israeli children to say no to drugs.

Drug prevention education provides an important first line of defense against future drug use. Many drug prevention strategies have been developed which teach youngsters of all ages how to say no to drugs. Nevertheless, the problem of drug use and abuse continues to escalate, and younger children, particularly those undergoing harsh psychosocial stress (e.