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Biomedical subjects

K Wulff

Publications and source records attributed to K Wulff.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

Regional lung function following prosthetic hip replacement surgery.

With a Xenon133 radiospirometric technique the regional lung function was evaluated before and after prosthetic hip arthroplasty performed in the lateral decubitus position with either respirator-controlled neuroleptic anesthesia or epidural anesthesia with spontaneous breathing. Regional lung function measured in a supine position 1, 20 and 72-96 hours postoperatively revealed a reduction of the perfusion, ventilation and volume of ventilated alveoli on the dependant lung. The reduction was most pronounced immediately postoperatively, especially following respirator-controlled anesthesia. There was also an increase of pulmonary blood volume and a decrease of total lung volume in this group. The changes of lung function are probably caused by congestive atelectasis, secondary to impaired ventilation of the dependent lung. Peroperatively induced microembolism might have potentiated the effect.

Aged↗

[Emergence of circadian rhythms in infants before and after birth: evidence for variations by parental influence].

BACKGROUND: Organisms have developed endogenous mechanisms for keeping track of time which allow them to adjust to environmental changes. Entrainment of endogenous rhythms to the day-night cycle is of elementary importance for the regulation of physiological processes. How environmental changes influence the manifestation of circadian rhythms during intrauterine and extrauterine growth depend on complex networking of molecular, physiological and sensory mechanisms. This work reports on development of circadian rhythms in the infant, with particular emphasis on the roles of times cues to which the infant is exposed. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Activity data of 12 families were continuously recorded during the first 4 months after birth using non-invasive actigraphs. Recordings of parental activity started at the 3rd trimester of pregnancy. Time series analysis was used to investigate the periodic structure of the data. In addition, we review the literature on the ontogenesis of circadian rhythms in humans. RESULTS: During the 3rd trimester, daily variation of physiological functions in the fetus showed a high degree of correspondence with maternal circadian rhythms. Early behaviour of most infants was highly variable between individuals but could be assigned to different entrainment patterns. Good correspondence of mother-infant activity patterns during the early postnatal period, when the infant was not yet entrained to the day-night-cycle, was correlated with the rapid development of an entrained daily pattern in the infant a few weeks later. CONCLUSION: Understanding the emergence of periodic structures at physiological and behavioural level during human ontogenesis will be an asset in the successful intervention and treatment during neonatal care.

Child Development↗

Large-scale screening for factor V Leiden mutation in a north-eastern German population.

Preliminary epidemiological data showed a high but varying prevalence of factor V Leiden mutation in various European populations. To analyze population differences statistically and generate reliable evaluation criteria for morbidity estimates, large numbers of unselected probands from different populations have to be tested. A convenient, efficient, reliable and cost efficient method for large-scale screening of factor V Leiden mutation has been developed using capillary blood samples soaked onto filter paper cards for the detection of mutations by heteroduplex analysis. Screening 1,628 alleles of a north-eastern German population by this procedure revealed an allele frequency of 3.56% (carrier rate 7.12%) which is significantly higher than those published for Italy and the Netherlands. Differences in allele frequencies compared to other European populations could statistically not be proved based on the small size of the published samples.

Alleles↗