cDNA sequence of a protein kinase from the inducible crassulacean acid metabolism plant Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L., encoding a SNF-1 homolog.
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Amino Acid Sequence↗
Biomedical subjects
K Fischer
Publications and source records attributed to K Fischer.
The 'prespore-like cells' of Dictyostelium have ceased to express a prespore gene: analysis using short-lived beta-galactosidases as reporters.
In transgenic strains of Dictyostelium discoideum that express beta-galactosidase under the control of a prespore-specific promoter, only early slugs show reporter confined to the prespore zone. As slugs migrate beta-galactosidase-positive cells accumulate in the prestalk zone; ultimately, there may be so many that the prestalk-prespore boundary is no longer distinguishable (Harwood, A., Early, A., Jermyn, K. and Williams, J. (1991) Differentiation 46, 7-13). It is not clear whether these 'anomalous' reporter-positive cells currently express prespore genes; another possibility is that they are ex-prespore cells that have transformed to prestalk and sorted to the prestalk zone (Sternfeld, J. (1993) Roux Archiv. Dev. Biol. 201, 354-363), while retaining their previously produced reporter. To test the activity of the prespore genes in these cells, we have made prespore reporter constructs whose products decay quickly; these are based on constructs used to investigate protein turnover in yeast (Bachmair, A., Finley, D. and Varshavsky, A. (1986) Science 234, 179-186). In strains bearing such constructs, beta-galactosidase-positive cells do not appear in the prestalk zone. The apparent deterioration of the prestalk/prespore pattern in older slugs is thus an artefact of reporter stability.
Animals↗
Molecular cytogenetic analysis of RB-1 deletions in chronic B-cell leukemias.
Deletions or translocations of 13q, most commonly involving band 13q14, belong to the most frequent structural chromosome abnormalities in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL). In a combined metaphase and interphase cytogenetic study using conventional G-banding analysis and fluorescence in situ hybridization (ISH) we previously analysed the retinoblastoma susceptibility gene (RB-1) and its chromosomal locus 13q14 in 35 patients with chronic B-cell leukemias. We report here on the interphase cytogenetic analysis of 109 cases with chronic B-cell leukemias [B-CLL = 90; B-prolymphocytic leukemia (B-PLL) = 6, hairy cell leukemia (HCL) = 13]; a subset of 49 patients (B-CLL = 45; B-PLL = 4) was studied by conventional G-banding analysis. By G-banding, 5/45 (11%) patients with B-CLL had deletions or translocations affecting band 13q14; in contrast, ISH to interphase cells showed RB-1 deletion in 19/90 (21%) patients with B-CLL. No 13q14 abnormalities or RB-1 deletion were detected in patients with B-PLL and HCL. Our data confirm the high frequency of RB-1 deletions in B-CLL and further emphasize the possible pathogenetic role of this genomic region.
Adult↗
[Ambulatory operations and day surgery in the hospital--financing from the viewpoint of the hospital].
An hospital's decision to support an outpatient clinic often ignores factors such as staff and management as well as economic data. The immediate or short-term outpatient care procedures require an high level of attention and are exceptionally problematic. The hospital cannot often meet the corresponding technical infrastructure and logistics. The outpatient clinic care basically follows 3 different organizational structures: Hospital-integrated (operates in conjunction with the inpatient business), Hospital-separated (operates in the hospital as an independent station), Satellite-care (operates as an autonomous business entity on the hospital grounds). These organizations have vastly different requirements concerning space resources, financing, and staff. Especially problematic is the lack of financing from government funding for the establishment of necessary building structures and the purchase of technical equipment. Most overlooked in the operation of an outpatient clinic is the effective utilization and availability of the hospital's management and professional staff. It is hard to efficiently manage the hospital's interdisciplinary technical staff that supports the clinic. The economic evaluation of outpatient service is difficult to assess due to a lack of medical quality criteria and binding guidelines on standard compensation and training regulations.
Ambulatory Surgical Procedures↗
Effects of an antiandrogen treatment on morphological characters and physiological functions of male fallow deer (Dama dama L.).
From mid-April to late November, i.e., during antler growth phase and main breeding season, a group of four (later three) male fallow deer was treated with increasing doses of the antiandrogen cyproterone acetate (CA). Throughout the treatment period, plasma testosterone levels of the bucks were either undetectable or only slightly above the detection limit of 0.1 ng/ml. In marked contrast to controls, testicular volumes and neck girths of the CA treated bucks were basal during the application period, proving the strong antigonadotropic effect of CA (testicular volume) and the absence of androgen action at the normal target organs (neck girths), respectively. Antler growth in the CA treated bucks occurred during the normal time span for fallow deer and the antlers produced were of species specific shape. From this it is concluded that in fallow deer, onset, duration, and termination of antler growth are independent of androgen action. Velvet shedding in the CA treated bucks however did not occur at the normal time (late August/early September), but was postponed until late December/early January, i.e., about 5 weeks after the termination of CA application. Activity of alkaline phosphatase in the experimental animals increased during the antler growth phase, but was markedly lower than in controls. Maximum body weight in the CA treated bucks was reached already in June, i.e., about 3 months prior to controls. Furthermore, the rut associated, drastic decline in body weight observed in controls did not occur in the experimental animals.
Alkaline Phosphatase↗
Effects of an antiandrogen treatment on the antler cycle of male fallow deer (Dama dama L.).
Weekly application of the antiandrogen cyproteron acetate (CA) to 3 adult (group 1, treatment starting 3 weeks prior to the rut) and 4 subadult (group 2, treatment starting after the rut) fallow bucks led to premature antler casting after about 9 weeks (group 1) or 16 to 17 days (group 2). Variation in time span between onset of CA administration and induced casting (in late November/early December) is attributed to age- and season-dependent differences in androgen levels before and during the treatment period. Casting surfaces of the antlers were flat. In all bucks, casting was followed by a complete though shortened antler cycle, occurring under short day conditions. In February/March velvet was shed from the antlers, indicating a rise in plasma androgen levels at that time. At time of fraying, antlers exhibited signs of immaturity and were shorter than normal. In the most pronounced case of immaturity, the antlers consisted mainly of cancellous woven bone, revealing that bone remodeling and antler mineralization had not occurred to a larger extent. These observations prove that onset of fraying behaviour does not depend on prior maturation of antler bone or necrosis of velvet. Occurrence of the additional antler cycle in late autumn and winter had no negative effect on subsequent antler formation starting in the following spring.
Animals↗
Expression of the functional mature chloroplast triose phosphate translocator in yeast internal membranes and purification of the histidine-tagged protein by a single metal-affinity chromatography step.
The mature part of the chloroplast triose phosphate-phosphate translocator was cloned into the yeast expression vector pEVP11. This construct was used to transform cells from both Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. The chloroplast translocator protein was functionally expressed in the transformed yeast cells and represented about 1-2% of the Sch. pombe cell membrane protein. It was localized to mitochondrial membranes and/or membranes of the rough endoplasmic reticulum. In order to purify the recombinant translocator protein, a sequence encoding a C-terminal tag of six histidine residues was introduced into the corresponding cDNA. The expressed histidine-tagged translocator protein was purified from the transformed yeast cells under nondenaturing conditions to apparent homogeneity by a single-step affinity chromatography using a Ni2+. nitrilotriacetic acid resin. Both the expressed triose phosphate translocator and the recombinant histidine-tagged protein possess substrate specificities identical to those of the authentic chloroplast protein, providing definitive evidence for its identity as the triose phosphate translocator and further disproving its assignment as the receptor for chloroplast protein import. The yeast expression system in combination with the Ni2+. nitrilotriacetic acid chromatography thus provides a valuable tool for the production of purified membrane proteins in a functional state.
Journal Article↗
Cell sorting within the prespore zone of Dictyostelium discoideum.
Dictyostelium discoideum forms elongate cell aggregates called "slugs" which migrate over the substrate before completing their conversion into fruiting bodies. Prespore cells are found in a zone which occupies the rear four-fifths of the slug. Both front- and rear-prespore cells, marked by a bacterial beta-galactosidase gene, sort out to their original positions in experiments in which slugs are reconstituted from disaggregated tissue. When cells from the rear of the prespore zone are transplanted to the middle or front, sorting is also observed: the transplanted cells return rapidly to the rear. Cells from the front of the prespore zone, however, were not observed to "home" to the front after transplantation to the rear. Since front-prespore cells sort out in disaggregation/reaggregation experiments, but fail to do so after transplantation to the rear, it is possible that the transplanted cells are converted to rear-prespore cells by extracellular signals present in the rear of the slug. In an experiment designed to test this hypothesis, front cells were transplanted to the rear and the host and transplant together then subjected to disaggregation/reaggregation. The results showed that front-prespore cells had not been converted to rear-prespore cells. Instead, there was an unanticipated effect: cells placed in the rear of the prespore zone underwent an anterior shift in positional preference, while cells placed in the front of the prespore zone showed a posterior shift. The specific sorting properties of front- and rear-prespore cells thus do not appear to result from the action of positional signals; positional signals destabilize rather than reinforce sorting preferences. Our observations are consistent with a model in which innate differences among cells bias them to differentiate as front-prespore or rear-prespore types, but the proportions of these types are also modulated by a negative-feedback mechanism.
Animals↗
Expression of the triose phosphate translocator gene from potato is light dependent and restricted to green tissues.
The export of primary photosynthesis products from chloroplasts into the cytoplasm is mediated by the triose phosphate translocator. The transporter is an integral membrane protein localized at the inner envelope of chloroplasts. In order to study the expression of the major chloroplast envelope protein gene E29, which is assumed to function as the translocator, we have isolated corresponding cDNA clones from potato. A full-length clone was sequenced and shown to be highly homologous to the E29 gene from spinach. Expression on the RNA level is restricted to green tissues, is light dependent and cannot be induced by sucrose in darkness. The presence of a single-copy gene argues for the existence of different translocator systems responsible for import and export of carbohydrates in chloroplasts and amyloplasts.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Effects of air pollutants on the growth and antioxidative system of Norway spruce exposed in open-top chambers.
Grafted Norway spruce trees were subjected to exposure beginning in April 1988, to one of four different air treatments in open-top chambers: Charcoal filtered air (CF), non-filtered air (NF), non-filtered air with the addition of O(3) during summer (NFO), and SO(2) plus NO(2) during winter (NFOSN). CF trees were considered as the reference group. No effects on growth parameters were observed. Samples of the two youngest needle year classes were taken late in November 1989 for enzyme determinations. The activity of ascorbic acid peroxidase (A-POD) increased the same level in all treatments, and activities of catalase and dehydroascorbic acid reductase (DHA-R) increased only in NF and NFO treatments. A higher level of activity in the NFOSN treatment was observed only for glucose-6-phosphate-dehydrogenase (Glc-6-P-DH) and non-specific peroxidase (POD). Isoelectric focusing of POD showed a changed pattern in the NFOSN treatment. Neither activity nor isoelectric focusing of superoxidase dismutase (SOD) was changed in any of the treatments.
Journal Article↗
[Anesthesia in neurosurgery and neurotraumatology--an area for (only) specialists?].
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Anesthesia, General↗
Patterns of service utilization among pregnant and parenting African American adolescents.
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Adolescent↗
Spanning the gender gap: gender differences in delinquency among inner-city adolescents.
The purpose of this investigation was to study the relationship between gender and delinquency among inner-city adolescents participating in a court diversion program. Official and self-report records of 64 adolescents were analyzed to determine the influence of gender on program referrals, arrest rates, drug use, delinquency, and gang involvement. Gender differences emerged in both the referral source and behavioral patterns of the adolescents. Overall, males were more likely to be referred to the program for violations of the law, to have been arrested, and to have engaged in aggressive offenses and selling drugs. Females were more likely to be referred because of status offenses. Gang membership had an intensifying effect on the delinquent behaviors of all youths. Male gang members were far more likely than nonmembers to have been arrested, and female gang members were more likely than nonmembers to carry weapons.
Adolescent↗
[Prenatal diagnosis and prevention of hemolytic disease of newborn].
Prenatal diagnosis and management of the hemolytic disease of the newborn are based on previous history, measurement of maternal antibody potency, amniotic fluid analysis, and fetal blood sampling. However, amniocentesis and cordocentesis are invasive procedures and bear the substantial risk of an increase in maternal antibody titer with subsequently more severely affected babies. Therefore, we determined the functional activity of the maternal antibodies by a modified monocyte-monolayer assay in comparison to the hemagglutination titer of sensitized red blood cells using selected sera with rheumatoid factor as human anti-IgG (RF titer). IgG antibodies (e.g., anti-A, -B), which can react with extraerythrocytic antigens, do not cause fetal death. Massive fetomaternal hemorrhage can induce hydrops fetalis and--in case of 0/A or 0/B blood group constellation between mother and child--may suggest a misleading diagnosis of AB0 hemolytic disease. Efficacy and costs of the pre- and postpartal Rh prophylaxis in Germany are calculated.
Amniocentesis↗
Assessment of ketorolac as an adjuvant to fentanyl patient-controlled epidural analgesia after radical retropubic prostatectomy.
BACKGROUND: Opioids, although effective postoperative analgesics, are associated with undesirable side effects. In an attempt to determine whether adjuvant, nonopioid medication would permit a reduction of the amount of fentanyl required for postoperative analgesia, the efficacy of ketorolac, an injectable nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug, was studied as an adjuvant to fentanyl patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA) for postoperative pain management following radical retropublic prostatectomy. METHODS: Forty patients were randomized into two groups to receive fentanyl PCEA and either ketorolac 30 mg intramuscularly every 6 h after an initial dose of 60 mg (n = 20) or placebo (n = 20) for 72 h. Visual analogue scale pain scores (0-100 mm; 0 mm = no pain; 100 mm = worst pain), sedation, fentanyl usage, gastrointestinal function, complications, blood loss, and temperature were assessed four times each day. RESULTS: Visual analogue scale (VAS) pain scores at rest were lower in the ketorolac group during the first 4 h (P < 0.01), but were similar thereafter. Global VAS pain scores with activity were lower in the ketorolac group on postoperative day 1 (23 +/- 4 vs. 39 +/- 6; P < 0.05) and postoperative day 2 (17 +/- 3 vs. 29 +/- 4; P < 0.05). Bladder spasm pain occurred less frequently in the ketorolac group (1 vs. 9 patients; P < 0.05). Fentanyl usage was less in the ketorolac group throughout the study (33 +/- 3 vs. 50 +/- 6 micrograms/h, 0-24 h; 20 +/- 2 vs. 36 +/- 6 micrograms/h, 24-48 h; 12 +/- 2 vs. 24 +/- 6 micrograms/h, 48-72 h; P < 0.05). Sedation scores and side effects were similar, except on postoperative day 3 when nausea was less frequent in the ketorolac group (0 vs. 6 patients; P < 0.05). Recovery of gastrointestinal function occurred sooner in the ketorolac group as determined by first bowel sounds (26 +/- 3 vs. 38 +/- 4 h; P < 0.05), first clear liquids (51 +/- 2 vs. 65 +/- 3 h; P < 0.01), and first regular meal (95 +/- 4 vs. 110 +/- 4 h; P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in blood loss, transfusion requirement, hematocrit, platelet count, or temperature. There was high overall satisfaction in both groups, but fewer patients in the ketorolac group rated pain with walking as usually or always painful (1 vs. 9 patients; P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Ketorolac is a beneficial adjuvant to fentanyl PCEA for postoperative pain management after radical retropubic prostatectomy.
Analgesia, Epidural↗
Influence of hole correlation on polarized-x-ray-emission spectra of single-crystal YBa2Cu3O7- delta.
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Journal Article↗
Multicenter dose-finding trial for thrombolysis with urokinase preactivated pro-urokinase (TCL 598) in acute myocardial infarction. German Preactivated Pro-Urokinase Study Group.
In a multicenter dose-finding study, the thrombolytic potency of urokinase preactivated pro-urokinase was evaluated. Sixty-two patients were randomly assigned to receive 250,000 U of urokinase plus either 4.5 mega U (group I: n = 33) or 6.5 mega U (group II: n = 29) of pro-urokinase. Patency rates were 36.4% (20.4-54.9%) vs. 54.5% (36.3-71.9%) (n = 27) at 60 minutes and 55.6% (32.5-70.6%) vs. 62.1% (42.3-79.3%) at 90 min into thrombolysis (n.s.). In a third group of 12 patients treated with 500,000 U of urokinase plus 6.5 mega U of pro-urokinase patency was achieved in 33.3% (9.9-65.1%) and 41.7% (15.2-72.3%) at 60 and 90 min, respectively. Patency rates at 24 hr follow-up angiography (n = 35) were 78.6% (49.2-95.3%), 85.7% (57.2-98.2%), and 85.7% (42.1-99.6%). Coagulation analysis in 37 patients revealed similar alterations in the three treatment groups with minor decreases in fibrinogen levels, moderate drops in plasminogen and alpha-2-antiplasmin levels, and moderate increases in the concentrations of the total fibrinogen/fibrin degradation products, the differences between the groups not being significant. Bleeding complications were observed in 12.9%, 13.8%, and 25% of patients in groups I, II, and III, respectively, mainly related to catheter sites. Hence, the safety profile of urokinase preactivated pro-urokinase seems comparable to other thrombolytic regimens. Reopening of occluded coronary arteries, however, is achieved relatively slowly. Thus, in its use for thrombolysis in myocardial infarction, urokinase preactivated pro-urokinase does not seem to offer superior advantages.
Coronary Angiography↗