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Biomedical subjects

J Panos

Publications and source records attributed to J Panos.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Combined converting enzyme inhibition and angiotensin receptor blockade reduce proteinuria greater than converting enzyme inhibition alone: insights into mechanism.

Patients with various renal diseases receiving an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (CEI) were enrolled in a protocol to determine whether adding an angiotensin type 1 receptor blocker (ARB) reduces urinary protein excretion (UPE). All patients had significant proteinuria (range 517-8,562 mg/24 h) despite administration of CEI for at least 4 weeks. Following baseline measurements, losartan (50 mg/d) was started and testing was repeated at 1 month. Compared with CEI alone, combined CEI plus ARB reduced UPE by 45 +/- 8% (p < 0.005). Compared with CEI alone, CEI + ARB lowered UPE in each patient independent of baseline protein excretion or renal diagnosis. Reduction in proteinuria occurred independent of changes in mean arterial blood pressure (MAP), suggesting that the mechanism involved local changes in glomerular dynamics. If renal angiotensin II (ANG II) formation occurred despite CEI, the ANG II formed would suppress plasma renin activity (PRA), and adding an ARB would cause PRA to rise. In 7 of 10 subjects, addition of ARB to CEI increased PRA (p < 0.03) suggesting that intrarenal ANG II formation occurred in CEI-treated subjects. As a second marker of ANG II tissue activity, we measured the effects adding ARB on plasma aldosterone (ALDO). In 9 of 10 subjects, ALDO was acutely lowered (p < 0.009) suggesting that ANG II levels were incompletely blocked by CEI. We conclude that: combined CEI and ARB reduces UPE greater than CEI alone; reduction in proteinuria is independent of changes in MAP or renal diagnosis; and the additive effects of CEI and ARB are due at least in part to greater inhibition ofANG II action at the tissue level in the kidneys and adrenal glomerulosa.

Adult↗

Crossed aphasia in a dextral: a test of the Alexander-Annett theory of anomalous organization of brain function.

A case of crossed aphasia is presented in a strongly right-handed 77-year-old white female without history of familial sinistrality or prior neurological illness. She developed a right middle cerebral artery infarction documented by CT and accompanied by obvious clinical signs of a conduction aphasia with some resolution but continuing obvious language defect after 9 weeks in rehabilitation. Comprehensive neuropsychological and aphasia testing suggested anomalous lateralization of phonologic-output aspects of language, emotional prosody, motor planning and body schema modules with usual lateralization of lexical-semantic aspects of language and visuo-spatial functions. Experimental validation of the uncrossed lexical-semantic aspects of language using tachistoscope methods found support for the Alexander-Annett theory that different aspects of language can be dissociated in their lateralization. The subject had difficulty identifying a semantic associate of a picture presented to the left visual field (7 errors out of 10) relative to right visual field presentation (2 errors out of 10). Bilateral free naming errors (6 and 5 errors in the left and right visual fields, respectively) occurred consistent with the aphasic presentation, suggesting phonologic-output dysfunction from the right cerebral vascular accident. Implications of the results for aphasia classification are discussed.

Aged↗

The effects of the atypical antipsychotic amperozide on vacuous jaw movements in rats: a novel dose response profile.

Classic neuroleptic drugs produce a syndrome of vacuous jaw movements in rats, and this syndrome has been offered as an animal model of early onset extrapyramidal side effects. The atypical antipsychotics do not produce elevations in vacuous jaw movements, or do so only at very high doses. The purpose of the present study was to determine the impact of the putative antipsychotic, amperozide, on vacuous jaw movements in rats. Groups of rats received daily injections of haloperidol (0.2, 0.4, or 0.8 mg/kg), clozapine (2.0, 4.0, 8.0 mg/kg), amperozide (2.0, 4.0, 8.0 mg/kg) or vehicle for 4 weeks. Once per week, rats were observed for the presence of vacuous jaw movements. Haloperidol increased vacuous jaw movements with increasing doses. Clozapine only produced elevations in vacuous jaw movements at the highest dose. In contrast, increasing doses of amperozide resulted in decreasing vacuous jaw movements for this portion of the dose-response curve. This is the first report of the effect of amperozide on vacuous jaw movements and results are discussed in terms of a potentially unique behavioral profile with respect to this behavior.

Analysis of Variance↗

Effect of growth rate on ethanol tolerance of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

delta 5,7-Sterol-accumulating Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells growing in chemostat at a specific growth rate of 0.075/h exhibited higher ethanol tolerance measured as ethanol-induced death and anaerobic growth inhibition than the cells growing at 0.2/h, the difference being dependent on the carbon-to-nitrogen molar proportion in the medium. The observed difference in sensitivity to ethanol of anaerobic growth between the slowly and rapidly-growing cells was completely reversed as a result of a block in sterol synthesis causing a negligible synthesis of delta 5,7-sterols. Two physiological parameters, budding frequency and membrane composition, evidently affected ethanol tolerance. Differences between the delta 5,7-sterol-synthesizing and deficient strains documented a profound effect of the quality of the sterol present on the physiological state of the cell.

Anaerobiosis↗

Effect of 5,7-unsaturated sterols on ethanol tolerance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Structural membrane lipids are known to contribute to the high ethanol resistance of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (2, 4, 17). By manipulating the yeast cellular sterol level by changing the carbon-to-nitrogen source ratio in the chemostat growth medium, high delta 5,7-sterol levels were found to increase the resistance of yeast populations to ethanol-induced death. The resistance of the erg2 (delta 8----delta 7-sterol isomerase) mutant to ethanol-induced death was generally comparable with that of the delta 5,7-sterol-synthesizing strain. In contrast, the sensitivity of anaerobic growth to inhibition by ethanol was higher in the erg2 mutant in comparison with the delta 5,7-sterol-synthesizing strains but a high level of those sterols increased the vulnerability of anaerobic growth to ethanol inhibition.

Anaerobiosis↗

A lipopolysaccharide from Aspergillus flavus conidia.

A lipopolysaccharide was isolated by extraction of Aspergillus flavus conidia with 45% phenol at 68-70 degrees C. Quantitative analysis revealed 7% nucleic acids, 5.5% proteins, 46% polysaccharides and 49% liquids, of which 12% were covalently bound. Glucose, mannose, galactose and fucose were detected as monosaccharide components of the polysaccharide moiety by gas chromatography; palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid and myristic acid were mainly present in the lipidic fraction. This material differs from the bacterial lipopolysaccharides, both in composition of the polysaccharide moiety and representation of fatty acids in the lipidic fraction.

Aspergillus flavus↗

Accumulation of 2-oxo acids in mutants of Aspergillus niger requiring lysine.

Mutants of Aspergillus niger 194A and 178 requiring lysine differ from the original prototrophic strain K10 and from each other on the course of accumulation of organic acids. In both mutants less citric acid accumulates during the first phase of cultivation but considerably more 2-oxoglutarate and 2-oxoadipate accumulate than in the original strain. Whereas in the 194A mutant this state remains unchanged also during the second phase of cultivation, in the 178 mutant oxo acids are degraded and citric acid is synthesized intensively. The accumulation of 2-oxoglutarate and 2-oxoadipate in the fermentation medium indicates that in A. niger lysine is synthesized via the homocitrate pathway.

Aspergillus niger↗

Spontaneous variability of Streptomyces glomeratus, a producer of the amthracycline antibiotics beromycins.

Spontaneous variants of the beromycin-producing strain Streptomyces glomeratus 3980 were divided into five groups (A-E) according to increasing antibiotic activity. The most active variants (group E) differed from the other types and the wild strain by a suppressed ability to produce aerial mycelium and melanoid piogment and by an increased production of propionic acid. Strains with a 12-fold higher antibiotic production capacity (with respect to strain 3980) were obtained by selection of superior segregants from submerged cultures of the E type.

Anthracyclines↗

Effect of cultivation conditions on the activity of the beromycin producer Streptomyces glomeratus 3980 and its spontaneous variants.

Optimal conditions for the submerged cultivation of Streptomyces glomeratus 3980, producer of the anthracycline antibiotics beromycins, and its variants were sought in media with glucose, soybean meal and salts differing in the content of ammonium sulphate. As compared with the original activity of the strain the antibiotic titre of some variants increased about 12 times on increasing the glucose concenration from 3 to 5%, or on omitting CaCO3 from the medium (i.e. under conditions leading to an increased production of propionic acid and suppression of production of the melanin-like pigment). In melanin-less variants accumulating propionate even under standard conditions the activity increased about 18-40 times in the medium with 3% glucose and 0.2% CaCO3 under conditions of more intensive aeration (i.e. under conditions when no propionic acid accumulated). Individual strains also differed in the requirement for (NH4)2SO4 in the medium, their response to changes of volume of the vegetative inoculum and semsitivity to MgSO4 x 7H2O. The biosynthetic activity of all strains was inhibited by the addition of ZnSO4 x 7H2O or CaCl2 and substitution of glucose with starch, lactose or sucrose.

Ammonium Sulfate↗