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Biomedical subjects

A Vincent

Publications and source records attributed to A Vincent.

At least 469 records · Page 26Linked to original sources

Mass spectral and pyrolytic behavior of the two main products of phenylbutazone degradation: simulation of unusual mass spectral fragmentation.

The two major routes of degradation of phenylbutazone (I) are oxidation and hydrolysis. Hydrolysis gives rise to n-butylmalonic acid mono(N,N'-diphenyl)hydrazide (II). Oxidation at the C-4 position yields 1,2-diphenyl-4-n-butyl-4-hydroxpyrazolidine-3,5-dione (III), which is readily hydrolyzed to n-butyltartronic acid mono-(N,N'-diphenyl)hydrazide (IV). Whereas the mass spectra of I, III, and the methyl esters of carboxylic acids II and IV all demonstrate major peaks corresponding to their respective molecular ions, the mass spectrum of II is essentially identical with that of I, suggesting facile dehydration. In the mass spectrum of IV, the peak of highest mass is found at m/e 205; no peak could be perceived corresponding to the molecular ion or to loss of water, carbon dioxide, or both of these elements from the molecular ion. Under normal pyrolytic conditions, II is decarboxylated to N-caproylhydrazobenzene (V) and IV is readily dehydrated to yield III. The mass spectral fragmentation of IV was successfully simulated in the laboratory to give an excellent yield of aniline and alpha-keto-N-caproylaniline (VI) (mol. wt. 205). The probable course of this unusual transformation was elucidated from studies of the accelerated decomposition of IV and derivatives considered as possible intermediates in the degradation process.

Carboxylic Acids↗

Acetylcholine receptors.

Alpha-Bungarotoxin is one of a class of proteins, isolated from snake venoms, which antagonize the action of acetylcholine at vertebrate neuromuscular junctions and 'electroplaques' of electric fish. Alpha-Bungarotoxin blocks acetylcholine action irreversibly and may be labelled with either 125I or 3H. This irreversible binding is used as the basis of an in vitro assay for acetylcholine receptors, whether in intact tissue, membrane fragments or solubilized preparations. Acetylcholine receptors from Torpedo and denervated skeletal muscle have been solutilized and substantially purified using affinity chromatography. The distribution of acetylcholine receptors in several tissues has been determined, and an auto-immune response, induced by injection of purified Torpedo receptors, has been studied.

Acetylcholine↗

New polymorphism and a new chromosome breakpoint establish the physical and genetic mapping of DXS369 in the DXS98-FRAXA interval.

Recently some of us cloned a new probe RN1 (DXS369), which appears a close marker for the fragile X locus (FRAXA) [Oostra et al.: Genomics 1990]. We present here new evidence for its physical and genetic mapping in the DXS98--FRAXA interval. We used 2 different somatic cell hybrid lines with breakpoints in the Xq27-q28 region: L10B Rea and PeCHN, and we established the order: (DXS105, DXS98)-L10B Rea-DXS369-PeCHN- (DXS304, DXS52). We detected an additional TaqI RFLP at the DXS369 locus which increases its informativeness up to 57%. Two point linkage analysis in a large set of families gave high lod scores for the FRAXA-DXS369 linkage (z(theta) = 10.1 at theta = 0.044) and for DXS369-DXS304, a marker distal to FRAXA (z = 19.2 at theta = 0.070). By multipoint analyses we established the localization of DXS369 in the DXS98-FRAXA interval. DXS369 is a much closer proximal marker for FRAXA than DXS105 or DXS98 and any new probe mapping between the breakpoints in L10B Rea and PeCHN will be of potential interest as a marker for FRAXA.

Adult↗

Congenital myasthenia: end-plate acetylcholine receptors and electrophysiology in five cases.

The nature of the defect in congenital myasthenia was investigated in biopsy specimens of intercostal muscle from 5 male patients whose symptoms presented between birth and 2 years of age. Miniature end-plate potentials were reduced in amplitude in all 5 patients. The number of acetylcholine receptors as determined by alpha-bungarotoxin binding was normal in case 1 and reduced in cases, 2, 4, and 5. The shape of the end-plates as shown by autoradiography and cholinesterase staining was normal in case 1 and elongated in cases 2, 4, and 5. In cases 3, alpha-bungarotoxin binding was slowly reversible, and there were some muscle fibers with multiple end-plate regions. The acetylcholine content of the muscle was normal in all 5 cases. None of the patients had serum antibody to human acetylcholine receptor as measured by immunoprecipitation or inhibition of alpha-bungarotoxin binding. We conclude that congenital myasthenia is a heterogeneous condition of nonimmune etiology in which both presynaptic and postsynaptic defects can be found.

Acetylcholine↗

Sexually dimorphic effect of an acute smoking manipulation on skin resistance but not on heart-rate during a cognitive verbal task.

In a two-day, two-session experiment where smokers male and female college-student subjects worked on a cognitive verbal task during either the first or second day, and on a cognitive spatial task on the second or first day, smoking was manipulated as an acute independent variable by requiring 10+ hours of pre-experimental abstention, and providing a cigarette during the 15-minute rest period between the two sessions. Non-smoker female and male subjects underwent the same experiment, and hence served as controls for the effects of this acute-smoking manipulation. Overall adaptation (decreased arousal) to the experiment was manifested in a significant increase in skin resistance level (SRL) in all subjects, but when this adaptation effect was statistically controlled, there was a significant smokers by sex interaction during the verbal task only, such that SRL was increased by the cigarette in males, but decreased in females. In contrast, the same analysis indicated only a marked increase in heart-rate (HR) due to smoking, which was unaffected either by sex or by whether the task was the verbal or the (easier) spatial one. We interpret the SRL results as reflecting a sex difference in the direction of transient psychological arousal, and discuss it in relation to evidence in the literature based on self reports, and to evidence (based on HR in this study and on blood pressure in other studies) on physiological (cardiovascular) arousal. Key Words: Electrodermal activity, heart-rate, psychological vs. physiological, verbal and spatial cognitive tasks.

Adolescent↗