Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to R Morales.
OBJECTIVES: An additional case of spontaneous rupture of renal angiomyolipoma is described. METHODS: The images and clinical data of the present case are presented. RESULTS: A comparative analysis of the appropriate treatment described in the literature was performed. CONCLUSIONS: If possible, conservative surgery should be attempted.
The generation of transgenic fish with the transfer of growth hormone (GH) genes has opened new possibilities for the manipulation of growth in economically important fish species. The tilapia growth hormone (tiGH) cDNA was linked to the human cytomegalovirus (CMV) enhancer-promoter and used to generate transgenic tilapia by microinjection into one-cell embryos. Five transgenic tilapia were obtained from 40 injected embryos. A transgenic animal containing one copy of the transgene per cell was selected to establish a transgenic line. The transgene was stably transmitted to F1 and F2 generations in a Mendelian fashion. Ectopic, low-level expression of tiGH was detected in gonad and muscle cells of F1 transgenic tilapia by immunohystochemical analysis of tissue sections. Nine-month-old transgenic F1 progeny were 82% larger than nontransgenic fish at p = .001. These results showed that low-level ectopic expression of tiGH resulted in a growth acceleration in transgenic tilapia. Tilapia GH gene transfer is an alternative for growth acceleration in tilapia.
This study evaluated neonatal morbidity in preterm infants with birth weights of 1,500-2,499 who were delivered by vacuum extraction. The retrospective, observational study covered 61 infants delivered vaginally with vacuum extraction versus 122 matched controls delivered spontaneously. All infants were at < 37 weeks of gestation, with birth weights ranging from 1,500 to 2,499 g. Main neonatal outcomes studied were Apgar scores, umbilical artery blood pH and base excess, intraventricular hemorrhage, admission to the neonatal intensive care unit and length of hospital stay. The study population did not differ in any maternal or neonatal demographic parameter. There was a decreased need for episiotomies in the vacuum-assisted deliveries versus the controls (41% versus 57%, P = .01, odds ratio = .51, confidence interval = .27, .96). Neonatal morbidity was not significantly different in infants with vacuum-assisted deliveries. Vacuum extraction does not seem to increase neonatal morbidity in preterm infants with birth weights of 1,500-2,499 g.
The distribution of C14-C22 fatty acids in the phosphatidylethanolamines isolated from the sponges Agelas sp. and Spongia tampa was investigated. Selective changes with phospholipase A2 (from Agkistrodon halys blomhoffii) followed by thin-layer chromatographic separation of the resulting lysophosphatidylethanolamines and free fatty acids and subsequent methylation with HCl/MeOH and diazomethane, respectively, revealed that the 5,9-octadecadienoic acid and the 9,12-octadecadienoic acid present showed no preference for either position sn-1 or sn-2 in these phosphatidylethanolamines. The other saturated and unsaturated fatty acids with chains between 14 and 22 carbons long were also found to be equally distributed between positions sn-1 and sn-2 in the phosphatidylethanolamines in these sponges. The results contrast with what is known about the distribution in most mammalian phospholipids, such as the phosphatidylcholines from human erythrocytes, where octadecadienoic acid typically occupies the sn-2 position.
The neonatal period in the northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris) differs markedly from that of most mammals. An intense 1-mo nursing period is followed by 2-3 mo during which seal pups consume neither food nor water. Because skeletal development in other species is rapid during this period, we determined the capability of elephant seals to continue skeletal growth under fasting conditions. We analyzed indirect markers of bone turnover [serum osteocalcin and alkaline phosphatase activity and urinary calcium and hydroxyproline (Hyp) excretion] in samples obtained sequentially from live pups throughout the fast. Serum osteocalcin was low at the beginning of the fast, peaked between 17 and 42 days, and then decreased to initial levels after 10 wk. Alkaline phosphatase activity increased linearly through 9 wk of fasting. Urinary calcium was relatively constant through 9 wk but decreased after 10 wk, whereas free and total Hyp decreased linearly. Clearance of 3H-labeled Hyp showed that virtually all (> 99%) free Hyp was oxidized and that only bound Hyp, for which there is no degradative mechanism, was excreted. Kinetics of 45Ca clearance, a direct measurement of mineral turnover, was virtually identical to that for young humans. Histomorphometry of ulnae obtained from pups which died of natural causes (usually trauma inflicted by adult males) indicated active surfaces (osteoid plus eroded) between 30 and 60% of total surface of highly porous bone containing < 60% bone area/tissue area. Thus all indicators of skeletal activity confirmed that young elephant seals continue skeletal development, notwithstanding the prolonged period during which they take in no food or water.
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BACKGROUND: Diagnosis of ischemic cardiomyopathy by noninvasive methods is a challenge for the clinician. Echocardiography with intravenous administration of dipyridamole has been proposed as an alternative to exercise stress test in this setting. METHODS: Intravenous administration of dipyridamole (0.84 mg/kg in 6 minutes) with two-dimensional echocardiography and 12-lead electrocardiographic monitoring was performed in 50 patients. The test was considered positive when contractility of any of the left ventricular segments decreased, at least, one grade. In that moment, dipyridamole administration was stopped and aminophylline (40-240 mg over 1 to 3 minutes) was given. All patients underwent exercise stress test and coronary angiography. RESULTS: Significant coronary artery disease (70% stenosis in, at least, one of the major vessels) was demonstrated in 32 patients. Twenty of these had a positive dipyridamole echocardiography test (62%) and 23 had a positive exercise stress test (71%). None of the patients without significant coronary artery disease had a positive dipyridamole echocardiography test and 5 patients (23%) has a positive exercise stress test. Dipyridamole echocardiography test had and overall sensitivity of 60% and a specificity of 100%. Exercise stress test had an overall sensitivity of 75% (NS) and a specificity of 67% (p less than 0.01). Dipyridamole echocardiography test was well tolerated: there were no complications during the test. One patient had a transitory type I second-degree AV block. CONCLUSIONS: Dipyridamole echocardiography is a high specificity test for coronary artery disease and has a similar sensitivity than exercise stress test. It is well tolerated and in the authors' experience there were no complications.
Meningococcal disease during pregnancy is extremely rare. A single reported case occurred more than 20 years ago in England. We present the case of a young woman who just hours after delivery of her baby developed fulminant meningococcal meningitis with its classic findings. Our experience illustrates the importance of early diagnosis and appropriate therapy of meningococcal disease in the gravid as well as in the nongravid population.
The equilibrium CO2 rebreathing method has been used in the study of exercise cardiac output (Q) in health and disease, but the requirement for a steady state has usually limited its application to step function exercise. This limits testing to only a few levels of exertion in a laboratory session. We have devised a treadmill test where the grade is flat at the beginning and rises continuously at 1%.min-1 after stable measurements are obtained during level walking. The walking speed is determined by the subject's comfort and tolerance for fast walking. In series I seven normal subjects were studied with this protocol, and an automated system was employed for estimation of Q and oxygen uptake (VO2). For comparison of steady state and progressive tests, an interpolation method was devised which furnished a value of Q (progressive) that could exist at the value of VO2 obtained during the steady state. The average difference in Q so estimated between the steady state and the unsteady state was 0.3 l.min-1, SD = 1.7. This difference was less than the difference between averages of duplicate values of Q obtained during the steady state (1.11.min-1, SD = 16), and the difference between the two differences was not significant. Based on 51 determinations of Q and VO2 in eight normal subjects the unsteady state procedure furnished an average value of the relation slope of delta Q/delta VO2(-1) of 4.8 l.l-1. We conclude that the equilibrium CO2 method can be used to depict the Q, VO2 relationship over the range of VO2 at which rebreathing is tolerable.
In a placebo-controlled double-blind crossover pilot study of acute Coriolis-induced motion sickness treatment/prevention in humans employing an anticonvulsant dose of phenytoin, a mean increase in tolerance to motion stress from 4.87 min (S.D. = 5.55) to 46.87 min (S.D. = 32.6) was obtained. This represents a greater than fourfold improvement in efficacy over any currently available single agent and is more than twice as effective as the scopolamine/dexadrine combination. There were none of the usual side effects of blurred vision, dizziness, dry mouth, or sedation.
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A survey of alcohol use among 217 Black and Haitian migrant agricultural workers was conducted in 13 camps in three counties of upstate New York. The orienting hypothesis stated that older, unattached men account for much of the drinking on migrant camps and that older, unattached men have experienced a variety of personal troubles as a result of their drinking. The results of the survey were found to support the initial hypothesis. In camps composed primarily of family groups, social control mechanisms were found to be more highly developed than in camps composed primarily of unattached, isolated men. It was also found that this difference in degree of social control was reflected in differences of drinking behavior. It is suggested that the mechanization of agriculture has become a self-reinforcing process that results in a proportional increase in the use of the homeless and troubled as a source of low-cost agricultural labor.
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In three experiments, the locus of tail stimulation in the tailflick assay was found to be an important parameter in determining morphine action. Rats were intravenously infused (Experiment I), injected with morphine subcutaneously (Experiment II), or implanted subcutaneously with morphine pellets (Experiment III). Analgesia was evaluated periodically following drug administration using the tailflick test and 3 adjacent 1 in. tail areas. In all three experiments, the distal tail section was more sensitive to the analgesic effects of morphine than more proximal sections. In Experiments I and III, tolerance to the effects of morphine developed more slowly at the distal tail location. These results indicate that the locus of stimulation in the tailflick assay can profoundly affect the development of analgesia and tolerance to morphine.
Rats were implanted with an indwelling vascular cannula in the jugular vein, femoral artery or carotid artery, and evaluated for postsurgical weight changes and cannula patency. Complete details for surgical methods and materials are presented for each procedure. Over a 14 day period, the carotid artery procedure produced the most profound weight loss, while the jugular vein implantation was followed by minimal changes in body weight. Weight loss was intermediate for the femoral artery group. Body weight had returned to, or was above presurgical weight at 2, 4 and 6 days postsurgery for the jugular, femoral and carotid catheterizations, respectively. By 14 days following implantation 83%, 67% and 50% of the femoral, carotid and jugular cannulas, respectively, were patent. We conclude that for long-term sampling of blood in the rat, the femoral artery catheterization procedure is preferable in terms of patency and postsurgical weight loss.
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