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Biomedical subjects

B Jung

Publications and source records attributed to B Jung.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2000

[Pediatric nursing in pain therapy].

KEY POSITION: Pediatric nursing owns a key position in pain therapy, due to its patient centered tasks and special kind of labor repartition between medicine and nursing. However, it is to admit that this key position obtains various forms of appearance in the different settings of pediatric nurses's practice. PAIN QUESTIONNAIRES: The difficulties within the correct assessment of children's pain by nurses refer to the application of valide pain questionnaires and continuous documentation. A prototype of pain prevention in nursing is the 'minimal handling' concept. Effective psychologic measures of pain prevention and relief are not only intrinsic and extrinsic focussing of awareness but also just holding the patient's hand. 'Cutaneous stimulation' and 'counterirritation' should be mentioned as physical techniques. COPING ABILITY: Close contact with friends or parents is one of the most important factors enhancing the patient's coping ability. If confronted with their own child in pain, parents often feel helpless which may result in anxiousness, overprotection, and inadequate support. Thus both parents and children need professional training to face painful procedures and behave in a supportive manner. There are numerous non-medical techniques which either by themselves, or in combination with analgetics, have the potential to substantially add to quality of life of the paediatric patient in pain.

English Abstract↗
PubMed2000

Effects of high salt diets and taurine on the development of hypertension in the stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rat.

Taurine is present in high concentrations in mammalian tissues and has been implicated in cardiovascular control mechanisms. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the ability of taurine to attenuate salt-induced elevations in blood pressure and markers of damage to the kidney and cardiovascular system in stroke prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SPSHR). Male SPSHR (6 weeks old) were placed on high salt diets that contained 1% (w/w) NaCl added to their normal chow for 84 days and then were switched to 3% added NaCl for the remaining 63 days of the study. SPSHR was given 1.5% taurine in the drinking water (n = 8), a taurine free diet (n = 8) or normal chow (n = 8). A final control group (n = 6) was not given high salt diets. High salt diets caused an acceleration in the development of hypertension in all groups. Taurine supplementation reduced ventricular hypertrophy and decreased urinary excretion of protein and creatinine. The taurine free diet did not alter serum or urinary excretion of taurine, but did result in elevated urinary nitrogen excretion, increased serum cholesterol levels, and impaired performance in a spatial learning task. Alterations in dietary taurine intake did not alter urinary or serum electrolytes (Na+, K+), but taurine supplementation did attenuate a rise in serum calcium seen with the high salt diets. Urinary excretion (microg/24h) of epinephrine and dopamine was significantly reduced in SPSHR given 1% NaCl in the diet, but this effect was not seen in SPSHR on taurine free or supplemented diets. Taurine supplementation showed cardioprotective and renoprotective effects in SPSHR given high salt diets.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Crystal structure of human survivin reveals a bow tie-shaped dimer with two unusual alpha-helical extensions.

Survivin is a mitotic spindle-associated protein involved in linking mitotic spindle function to activation of apoptosis in mammalian cells. The structure of the full-length human survivin has been determined by X-ray crystallography to 2.7 A. Strikingly, the structure forms a very unusual bow tie-shaped dimer. It does not dimerize through a C-terminal coiled-coil, contrary to sequence analysis prediction. The C-terminal helices contain hydrophobic clusters with the potential for protein-protein interactions. The unusual shape and dimensions of survivin suggest it serves an adaptor function through its alpha-helical extensions.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2000

Practical aspects to realize data transfer between a patient administration mastersystem and clinical subsystems using ProtoGen/HL7.

At the Medizinische Einrichtungen Bonn the module IS-H of SAP R/3 is used for patient administration. All clinical subsystems will be provided with patient data using HL7 2.3 messages. These messages are generated from HCM messages a proprietary format of IS-H by means of a communication server. Interface application for subsystems which are not capable of processing HL7 messages are written using the open source C++ class library ProtoGen/HL7. First experiences and remaining problems are discussed.

Data Collection↗
PubMed1999

Effect of p21waf1/cip1 transgene on radiation induced apoptosis in T cells.

The cyclin kinase inhibitor p21WAF1/Cip1 is upregulated by the tumor suppressor p53. While p21 is central for the G-1 arrest mediated by p53, it is still unclear if p21 also functions as a downstream effector of p53 dependent apoptosis. Apoptosis induced by DNA damage but not dexamethasone is p53 dependent in thymocytes. To investigate the physiological role of p21 in apoptosis, we have generated transgenic mice in which the p21 transgene is targeted for restricted expression in the T cell lineage. Thymocytes from p21 transgenic mice were hypersensitive to cell death induced by DNA damaging agents such as ionizing radiation and UV, but not be dexamethasone. Irradiated p21 transgenic thymocytes had approximately twofold more apoptotic cells as compared to irradiated age matched littermate control mice. Radiation induced death is comparable in thymocytes from p21 + Bcl2 + double transgenic mice and age matched littermate controls, indicating that the Bcl2 transgene rescues the radiation hypersensitivity imposed by p21. However, thymocytes from p53-/- mice even when they expressed the p21 transgene, were resistant to death induced by radiation. Together these results show that thymocytes from p21 transgenic mice are hypersensitive to radiation induced programmed cell death and suggest that the radiation hypersensitivity of p21 transgenic thymocytes involves p53 dependent pathway and signals in addition to p21.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Non-invasive observation of acetyl-group buffering by 1H-MR spectroscopy in exercising human muscle.

The observation of a previously unidentified peak in localized 1H magnetic resonance (MR) spectra of human muscle during and after a work load is reported. Basic NMR properties of this resonance, as well as physiologic circumstances of its observation, suggest that it is due to the acetyl group of acetylcarnitine. The relatively large pool of muscular carnitine acts as a buffering system stabilizing the ratio of acetylated to free coenzyme A. Free carnitine can be acetylated to a large extent whenever a mismatch occurs between the fluxes through pyruvate dehydrogenase and the TCA cycle. Results of initial applications of 1H MR spectroscopy in several muscles and under different exercise regimens are in agreement with earlier invasive measurements of acetylcarnitine. It is demonstrated that the detailed dynamics of acetyl group formation are now likely to be observable non-invasively in humans by localized 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy on standard MR imaging systems, and that acetylcarnitine buffering as a function of exercise type, oxygenation states, diet and pathology could thus be studied repeatedly and in various muscle groups with much improved temporal resolution.

Acetylation↗
PubMed1999

Restoration of electrophysiological signals distorted by inductive effects of magnetic field gradients during MR sequences.

A generally applicable method for almost complete suppression of signal artifacts on electrophysiological signals caused by B0-gradient switching (gradient noise) is presented. The method is demonstrated for electrocardiograms (ECGs) but can also be used for other electrophysiological signals. It takes advantage of the fact that under certain conditions, the effect of switching the B0-field gradient upon an electrophysiological signal can be modeled as a linear time-invariant system and fully characterized by pulse response functions. It is shown how the system's pulse response functions of the X, Y, and Z gradients can be determined and how gradient noise can be eliminated efficiently. The elimination of gradient noise by the proposed method causes in the current arrangement a constant delay of 128 msec, which is acceptable for patient monitoring and magnetic resonance sequence triggering.

Artifacts↗
PubMed1999

Methods and reproducibility of cardiac/respiratory double-triggered (1)H-MR spectroscopy of the human heart.

Localized (1)H-MR spectroscopy is sensitive to motion and has mostly been applied to the brain. For the human heart, cardiac and respiratory motion lead to displacements on the order of the localized voxel and lead to substantial variations of voxel content, lineshape, water suppression, and signal phase and amplitude. Combined respiratory and cardiac double triggering can avoid these complications to a large extent. Three methods of double triggering are evaluated, with reproducibility established in nine subjects for a method based on respiratory modulation of the ECG amplitude and a visual feedback mechanism. Quantitated with respect to water, within-subject reproducibilities for this setup were 9% for trimethylammonium compounds, 10% for creatine/phosphocreatine, and 13% for lipids. ANOVA showed significant differences between subjects which may relate to natural variability between subjects or exact location within the heart. Unresolved issues for this technique are its susceptibility to precise placement of ECG electrodes and the reasons for failure in 20% of examination. With this technique it is possible to investigate open questions in cardiac pathophysiology, such as the creatine content in chronic heart disease. Variants of this triggering method may also improve cardiovascular MRI methods relying on data acquired in several heartbeats. Magn Reson Med 42:903-910, 1999.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Effect of exercise on the creatine resonances in 1H MR spectra of human skeletal muscle.

1H MR spectra of human muscles were recorded before, during, and after fatiguing exercise. In contrast to expectations, it was found that the spectral contributions of creatine/phosphocreatine (Cr/PCr) were subject to change as a function of exercise. In particular, the dipolar-coupled methylene protons of Cr/PCr were found to be reduced in intensity in proportion to the co-registered PCr levels. Recovery after exercise and behavior under ischemic conditions provide further evidence to suggest that the contributions of the CH2 protons of Cr/PCr to 1H MR spectra of human muscle in vivo reflect PCr rather than Cr levels. Variation of experimental parameters showed that this effect is not due to a trivial change in relaxation times. At present it can only be speculated about why the Cr resonances have reduced NMR visibility. If temporary binding to macromolecules should be involved, the free Cr concentration-important for equilibrium calculations of the creatine kinase reaction-might be different from what was previously assumed.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

[Filmless magnetic resonance tomography. Advantages and disadvantages in comparison with film reports].

At our hospital, an average MRI examination comprises 170 images. These examinations were evaluated exclusively on digital reporting systems with two high-resolution monitors for a period of 1 year. A retrospective analysis of this reporting method in comparison with films on a conventional viewing wall was performed with subjective and objective data. Radiologists and technicians were requested to evaluate the system on a subjective scale from 1 to 5 for seven topics (image analysis, inspection, time for reporting, handling, comparison with previous reports, quality of PC laser prints, training period). Moreover, personal interviews were conducted and protocols taken. Patient and image frequency, film costs, data transfer time and amount of system failures were evaluated as objective data. The most important results were: Two thirds of the film checking radiologists prefer the conventional viewing walls over the computer monitors. However, 70% of the residents prefer using the computer monitor for reporting. Seventy percent of the interviewed radiologists considered comparison with former examinations on film very difficult. Digitizing of former MRI examinations was not a convincing method; printing on a standard PC laser printer was considered to yield insufficient quality. The different acceptance between radiologists and residents seems to be related to different experiences. The reduction in film costs (48.6%) will improve further with complete PACS installation in the whole hospital. Data transfer rates are still poor; further improvement of network performance is necessary for convenient work. One whole MRI examination and report could be stored on CD-ROM for a cost of less than 2 euros. This could be a future means of cheap archiving and documentation suitable for viewing on any PC with DICOM III viewer. Images and reports could stay with the patients as in the past.

Computer Peripherals↗
PubMed1999

Differential increase in Fos immunoreactivity in hypothalamic and septal nuclei by arginine8-vasopressin and desglycinamide9-arginine8-vasopressin.

Subcutaneous or intracerebroventricular injection of either arginine8-vasopressin or desglycinamide9-arginine8-vasopressin has been shown to facilitate memory, reduce or reverse the effects of amnesic drugs, and maintain tolerance to some effects of ethanol. These actions of vasopressin (and, by inference, of desglycinamide9-arginine8-vasopressin) are mediated by vasopressin V1 receptors in brain, via a c-fos-dependent mechanism, but the receptors at which the desglycinamide analog acts have not been identified. The precise central sites are also not known, but evidence of several types suggested the anterior hypothalamus and septum as probable loci of vasopressin action. In the present work, this question was studied by immunocytochemistry, using antibodies against Fos and Fos-like proteins. The numbers of Fos-immunoreactive nuclei were counted in several related brain regions and structures, after administration of arginine8-vasopressin, des-Gly9-[Arg8]-vasopressin or saline. A subcutaneous injection of vasopressin, but not of saline, enhanced Fos expression in the paraventricular, supraoptic and suprachiasmatic nuclei of the hypothalamus, but the desglycinamide analog stimulated Fos expression only in the suprachiasmatic nucleus. Vasopressin injection significantly increased the number of Fos-immunoreactive cells in the intermediate lateral septum, medial septum, and dorsal and ventral divisions of the lateral septum. In contrast, the desglycinamide analog increased the numbers of Fos-immunoreactive cells in the dorsal and intermediate portions of the lateral septum, but caused no change in the medial septum, and a decrease in the ventral portion of the lateral septum. Increased Fos expression was also found in the subfornical organ after subcutaneous injection of either vasopressin or the desglycinamide analog. Double labeling with antibodies against Fos protein and against vasopressin revealed that most of the vasopressin-induced Fos-immunoreactive cells in the supraoptic, paraventricular and suprachiasmatic hypothalamic nuclei are also vasopressin immunoreactive, i.e. they are vasopressin-producing neurons. These findings suggest that a circuit involving V1 receptors in the subfornical organ, connecting fibres to the suprachiasmatic nucleus, and vasopressinergic projections from the suprachiasmatic nucleus to the lateral septum, may play a central role in mediating the actions of both vasopressin and its desglycinamide analog in the maintenance of ethanol tolerance.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Potential gains using high-energy protons for therapy of malignant tumours.

High-energy protons have physical properties that virtually always will result in geometrically better dose distributions than can be achieved using photons or electrons. The clinical gains in terms of the probability of higher tumour control and/or the reduced probability of normal tissue complications are, however, not completely known. Comparative model dose planning studies using real patients offer the possibility of estimating the potential gains using a new technique. Several recently completed model studies, including clinically relevant endpoints, indicate that protons may have advantages, even when compared with the conventional treatment that is likely to be introduced at the most advanced hospitals world-wide within the next decade. These advantages can be seen not only in well-demarcated targets close to risk organs, but also when irradiating extended irregular tissue volumes at risk of containing tumour cells.

Humans↗
PubMed1999

Synapses/SynEx goes XML.

This paper describes the first approach to use the Extensible Markup Language (XML) as a data interchange/delivery format in the Synapses and SynEx healthcare environment. It will ease the semantic mapping between healthcare systems (server-server, server-client) and make them more interoperable.

Computer Systems↗
PubMed1998

Non-stoichiometric reduced complexity probes for cDNA arrays.

A method is presented in which the reduced complexity and non-stoichiometric amplification intrinsic to RNA arbitrarily primed PCR fingerprinting (RAP-PCR) is used to advantage to generate probes for differential screening of cDNA arrays. RAP-PCR fingerprints were converted to probes for human cDNA clones arrayed as Escherichia coli colonies on nylon membranes. Each array contained 18 432 cDNA clones from the IMAGE consortium. Hybridization to approximately 1000 cDNA clones was detected using each RAP-PCR probe. Different RAP-PCR fingerprints gave hybridization patterns having very little overlap (<3%) with each other or with hybridization patterns from total cDNA probes. Consequently, repeated application of RAP-PCR probes allows a greater fraction of the message population to be screened on this type of array than can be achieved with a radiolabeled total cDNA probe. This method was applied to RNA from HaCaT keratinocytes treated with epidermal growth factor. Two RAP-PCR probes detected hybridization to 2000 clones, from which 22 candidate differentially expressed genes were observed. Differential expression was tested for 15 of these clones using RT-PCR and 13 were confirmed. The use of this cDNA array to analyze RAP-PCR fingerprints allowed for an increase in detection of 10-20-fold over the conventional denaturing polyacrylamide gel approach to RAP-PCR or differential display. Throughput is vastly improved by the reduction in cloning and sequencing afforded by the use of arrays. Also, repeated cloning and sequencing of the same gene or of genes already known to be regulated in the system of interest is minimized. The procedure we describe uses inexpensive arrays of plasmid clones spotted as E.coli colonies to detect differential expression, but these reduced complexity probes should also prove useful on arrays of PCR-amplified fragments and on oligonucleotide chips. Genesobserved in this manuscript: H11520, U35048, R48633, H28735, M13918, H12999, H05639, X79781, M31627, H23972, AB000712, R75916, U66894, AF067817.

DNA, Complementary↗
PubMed1998

Comparative treatment planning between proton and x-ray therapy in esophageal cancer.

PURPOSE: Conformal treatment planning with megavoltage x-rays and protons for five patients with esophageal cancer has been studied in an attempt to determine if there are advantages of using protons instead of x-rays. METHODS AND MATERIALS: For each of the five patients, two different proton plans, one x-ray plan, and one mixed plan with x-rays and protons were made. A three-dimensional treatment planning system, TMS, was used. The evaluation of the different plans was made by applying the tumor control probability (TCP) model proposed by Nahum and Webb and the normal tissue complication (NTCP) model proposed by Lyman on the dose distributions in terms of dose-volume histograms (DVHs). RESULTS: The comparison shows advantages of using protons instead of x-rays for all five patients. The dose-limiting organs at risk are the spinal cord, the lungs, and the heart, but the proton plans also spare the kidneys better than the x-ray plan does. At 5% NTCP in any risk organ, the calculated mean TCP value for the five patients is increased by an average of 20%-units (from 2 to 23%-units) with the best proton plan compared with x-rays only. However, if we assume maximally a 1% risk in the spinal cord and a total NTCP for the two lungs of 100%, the mean TCP value for the five patients is increased from 6 to 49% with the best proton plan compared with x-rays only. The corresponding figure for the mixed plan is 27%. These gains are relatively insensitive to variations within reasonable limits in the biological parameters. CONCLUSIONS: Protons appear to have clear therapeutic advantages over conventional external radiotherapy when treating esophageal carcinoma.

Aged↗