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At least 523 records · Page 29Linked to original sources
PubMed2005

Serum free prolactin concentrations in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus are associated with lupus activity.

OBJECTIVE: To determine in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) the relationships among serum total and free prolactin (PRL) levels, isoforms of PRL and lupus activity. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study, 259 patients with SLE were tested for serum total PRL, serum free PRL, and PRL in fractions obtained after gel filtration chromatography (in 70 sera taken at random) by immunoradiometric assay based on disease activity. RESULTS: A significant correlation between direct PRL and free PRL levels was found in patients with and without lupus activity (r = 0.475, P<0.001); however, this was less so for non-active patients than for active patients (r=0.433, P<0.001 and r=0.909, P<0.001, respectively). SLE Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) scores correlated positively with serum free PRL levels (r=0.314, P<0.001) and percentage of little PRL (r=0.33, P=0.005) and negatively with percentage of big big PRL (r=-0.3, P=0.012). Patients with active disease had higher serum free PRL levels (median 12.6 vs 9.3 ng/ml, P<0.001), higher percentages of little PRL (83.1 +/- 21.2 vs 63.6 +/- 24.8%, P=0.011) and lower percentages of big big PRL (9.4 +/- 18.0 vs 25.2 +/- 24.3%, P=0.031). Different clinical manifestations and serological parameters of lupus disease activity were more frequent in patients with free hyperprolactinaemia than in patients with normal serum free PRL levels (such as neurological manifestations, renal involvement, serositis, haematological manifestations, anti-double-stranded DNA and hypocomplementaemia; P<0.021). CONCLUSION: An increase in serum free PRL levels, higher percentages of little PRL and lower percentages of big big PRL proved to be factors related to lupus activity in a subset of patients with SLE. These novel data must be taken into account in future studies aiming to establish a relationship between PRL and disease activity in SLE.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Medial collateral ligament knee sprains in college football. Effectiveness of preventive braces.

This is the second of 2 articles on a 3-year investigation of medial collateral ligament sprains of the knee to assess the effectiveness of prophylactic knee braces in NCAA Division I college football players. Position, string, type of session, and daily brace wear were recorded. The injury rates for braced and unbraced knees were used to create an incidence density ratio. The data were stratified and simultaneously controlled for position, string, and session and evaluated for their statistical significance. The 987 Big Ten players generated 155,772 knee exposures over the study period (50% braced). Noticeable differences existed in the rates of injury for the braced and unbraced knees in almost every position during practices, depending on player or nonplayer status. When the influential factors of position, string, and session are considered, there is a consistent but not statistically significant tendency for the players wearing preventive knee braces to experience a lower injury rate than for their unbraced counterparts. For starters and substitutes in the line positions, as well as the linebackers and tight ends, there was a consistent trend toward a lower injury rate in both practices and games. The braced players in the skill positions (backs/kickers), at least during games, exhibited a higher injury rate.

Athletic Injuries↗
PubMed2004

Characterization of the potent combined endothelin(A/B)-antagonist PD 142893 on cerebral vessels.

A disturbed balance between endothelin (ET)-1 and nitric oxide (NO) seems to play a key role in the development of delayed cerebral vasospasm following subarachnoidal hemorrhage. Therefore, the effect of PD 142893 one of the first potent ET(A)- and ET(B)-receptor antagonists was characterized on the contraction and relaxation induced by ET-1 and bigET-1 on rat basilar artery (BA). Concentration-effect curves (CECs) were constructed by cumulative application of ET-1 or big ET-1 on BA ring segments with (E+) and without (E-) functionally intact endothelium. The effect of PD 142893 was determined by the modified pK(b) value and the shift between the CECs. PD 142893 inhibited the contraction by ET-1 and bigET-1. The pK(b)-values were for ET-1: 5.17 (E+) and 5.15 (E-) and for big ET-1: 5.34 (E+) and 5.57 (E-), respectively. A significant relaxation of pre-contracted segments by ET-1 or big ET-1 was neither observed in the presence nor in the absence of the receptor antagonist. The present data suggest a competitive inhibition of the ET(A)-receptor mediated contraction of cerebral arteries by PD 142893. The ET(B)-dependent relaxation of the cerebrovasculature is inhibited by PD 142893 at least in a comparable amount of contraction.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

[New electronic data carriers in Bosnia-Herzegovina].

Bosnia and Herzegovina has been developing new Health Care System based on Electronic Registration Card. Developing countries proceeded from the manual and semiautomatic method of medical data processing to the new method of entering, storage, transfer, searching and protection of data using electronic equipment. Currently, many European countries have developed a Medical Card Based Electronic Information System. Both technologies offer the advantages and disadvantages. Three types of electronic card are currently in use: Hybrid Card, Smart Card and Laser Card. Hybrid Card offers characteristics of both Smart Card and Laser Card. The differences among these cards, such as a capacity, total price, price per byte, security system are discussed here. The dilemma is, which card should be used as a data carrier. The Electronic Family Registration Card is a question of strategic interest for B&H, but also a big investment. We should avoid the errors of other countries that have been developing card-based system. In this article we present all mentioned cards and compare advantages and disadvantages of different technologies.

Bosnia and Herzegovina↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Characteristics of the lipid transport system in psoriasis].

Cholesterol of high density lipoprotein (HDL) subfractions (HDL2 and HDL3), activity of cholesterol ester transport protein (CETP), and standard lipoprotein parameters (cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol) were measured in plasma of 192 patients with various psoriasis forms, which included simple "distributed psoriasis", erythrodermic and arthropathic psoriasis. Among psoriatic patients unusually high percent of persons with both hypo- and hyper-cholesterolemia was observed. The same situation was observed with frequency of cases with both low and high plasma HDL cholesterol levels, the distribution being depending from disease severity. In contrast to norm, psoriasis patients had big range not only in HDL2 cholesterol level, but also in HDL3 cholesterol. They also had decreased CETP activity. Data obtained suggest the existence of changes in reverse cholesterol transport system in psoriasis, which may influence skin cell proliferation (via control of cell supply with cholesterol).

Arteriosclerosis↗
PubMed1997

The relation between Greek and Islamic materia medica.

Many studies have been made on the exact data of the introduction of Greek sciences to the Arabic culture. During the 8th and 9th centuries A.D. a big progress was done in the Arab-Islamic sciences, when the Caliphs of the Omayad and Abbasid dynasties invited many scientists, researchers and translators for translation of all sciences into Arabic. The Arabs paid special attention to the Greek natural sciences such as botany and pharmacy. Greek materia medica was a major common basis for Arab-Islamic medicine and pharmacy which in turn paved the way to the modern pharmaceutical therapy.

Arab World↗
PubMed2006

[Austria: fewer experimental animals used in 2005].

The number of animals used in experiments in Austria decreased in 2005 by 10%. This overall positive development must be regarded critically, as the number of big mammals, e.g. cows, used for experimental purposes has increased substantially and as a lot of relevant and necessary data, e.g. on the use of transgenic animals, is still not being collected. The information given in the Austrian statistics on animals used for scientific purposes is inadequate and requires revision.

Animal Testing Alternatives↗
PubMed2002

Japanese application of bioassays for environmental management.

The increasing number of existing and new chemicals demands ecotoxicological data as well as toxicological data for pre- and postmarketing risk assessments. Although human health has been the major concern in Japanese environmental management, ecosystem health is becoming the big issue as the need for preserving the diversity of ecosystems has been recognized. This recognition is changing the regulatory framework in Japan, resulting in new actions toward establishment of water-quality standards for aquatic organisms and ecotoxicological assessment of existing chemicals. At the same time, the need to assess complex liquids that contain several kinds of chemicals is increasing. The ecotoxicological study of Japanese effluents shows that the present chemical-specific standards are not enough to protect aquatic ecosystems. These two factors encourage the application of ecotoxicological tests as well as the toxicological data.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Chromosome mapping of the sweet potato little leaf phytoplasma reveals genome heterogeneity within the phytoplasmas.

To further understand the genomic diversity and genetic architecture of phytoplasmas, a physical and genetic map of the sweet potato little leaf (SPLL) strain V4 phytoplasma chromosome was determined. PFGE was used to determine the size of the SPLL-V4 genome, which was estimated to be 622 kb. A physical map was prepared by two-dimensional reciprocal digestions using the restriction endonucleases BssHII, Smal, Eagl and I-Ceul. Sixteen cleavage sites were located on the map. Southern hybridizations of digested SPLL-V4 chromosomal DNA were done using random clones and PCR-amplified genes as probes. This confirmed fragment positions and located the two rRNA operons and the linked fus/tuf genes encoding elongation factors G and Tu, respectively, on the physical map. An inversion of one of the rRNA operons was observed from hybridization data. Sequence analysis of one of the random clones identified a gid gene encoding a glucose-inhibited division protein. Digestions of the tomato big bud (TBB) phytoplasma chromosome with the same four enzymes revealed genome heterogeneity when compared to the closely related SPLL-V4, and a preliminary chromosome size for the TBB phytoplasma of 662 kb was estimated. This mapping information has revealed that significant genome diversity exists within the phytoplasmas.

Chromosome Mapping↗
PubMed2005

Anesthesia and blood sampling of wild big brown bats (eptesicus fuscus) with an assessment of impacts on survival.

We anesthetized and blood sampled wild big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) in Fort Collins, Colorado (USA) in 2001 and 2002 and assessed effects on survival. Inhalant anesthesia was delivered into a specially designed restraint and inhalation capsule that minimized handling and bite exposures. Bats were immobilized an average of 9.1+/-5.1 (SD) min (range 1-71, n=876); blood sample volumes averaged 58+/-12 microl (range 13-126, n=718). We randomly selected control (subject to multiple procedures before release) and treatment (control procedures plus inhalant anesthesia and 1% of body weight blood sampling) groups in 2002 to assess treatment effects on daily survival over a 14-day period for adult female and volant juvenile bats captured at maternity roosts in buildings. We monitored survival after release using passive integrated transponder tag detection hoops placed at openings to selected roosts. Annual return rates of bats sampled in 2001 were used to assess long-term outcomes. Comparison of 14-day maximum-likelihood daily survival estimates from control (86 adult females, 92 volant juveniles) and treated bats (187 adult females, 87 volant juveniles) indicated no adverse effect from anesthesia and blood sampling (juveniles: chi2=22.22, df=27, P>0.05; adults: chi2=9.72, df=18, P>0.05). One-year return rates were similar among adult female controls (81%, n=72, 95% confidence interval [CI]=70-91%), females treated once (82%, n=276, 95% CI=81-84%), and females treated twice (84%, n=50, 95% CI=74-94%). Lack of an effect was also noted in 1-yr return rates of juvenile female controls (55%, n=29, 95% CI=37-73%), juveniles treated once (66%, n=113, 95% CI=58-75%), and juveniles treated twice (71%, n=17, 95% CI=49-92%). These data suggest that anesthesia and blood sampling for health monitoring did not measurably affect survival of adult female and volant juvenile big brown bats.

Anesthesia, Inhalation↗
PubMed2004

Present characteristics of symptomatic Entamoeba histolytica infection in the big cities of Japan.

Medical records, for 2000 and 2001, of symptomatic amoebic patients who were treated at our hospitals in Tokyo, Yokohama and Osaka were studied retrospectively for the purpose of gathering epidemiological data on symptomatic Entamoeba histolytica infection. A total of 58 patients were treated. Fifty-five of them were male, and 96% of the male patients were Japanese. The mean age of patients was 44.9 years old, and 91% of patients contracted the disease in Japan. Fifty-six per cent of the male patients indicated that they were practising homosexuals, and 44% of the male patients denied these practices or left the question unanswered. The serum Treponema pallidum haemagglutination test was positive in 45% of the patients, and antibody to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was positive in 45%. Our study revealed that recent symptomatic E. histolytica infection almost exclusively afflicted middle-aged males in the big cities of Japan, that a majority of the patients were probably exposed to the causative organism during homosexual activity, and that an increasing number of patients will be co-infected with HIV.

AIDS Serodiagnosis↗
PubMed1986

3H-mepyramine binding and histamine-stimulated cAMP accumulation in mammalian retina.

The specific binding of different amounts of 3H-mepyramine to the bovine retina revealed a quasi-hyperbolic curve which approached saturation at 3H-ligand concentration over 9-12 nM. Scatchard analysis of the binding data showed two binding sites with KD values of 0.76 nM and 7.3 nM and Bmax of 49.3 and 194.6 fmole/mg protein, respectively. In the guinea-pig brain 3H-mepyramine bound to a single population of binding sites with KD value of 1.6 nM and Bmax of 291 fmole/mg protein. Various H1-antihistamines were potent competitors of the 3H-mepyramine binding: there was a big difference in potency of d- and 1-chlorpheniramine in both membrane preparations. In the rabbit retina slices histamine, in contrast to dopamine, weakly stimulated cAMP accumulation. The data suggest that the mammalian retina may possess histamine receptors.

Aminopyridines↗
PubMed1994

Development of a lambda-based complementation assay for the preliminary localization of lacI mutants from the Big Blue mouse: implications for a DNA-sequencing strategy.

The Big Blue transgenic mouse carrying the E. coli lacI gene as a mutational target in a lambda-based shuttle vector has been receiving increasing attention in genotoxicity testing because it offers the potential of studying mutation in a mammalian system in vivo. The system not only provides information on mutant frequency, but it also offers the potential of providing information about mutational specificity. Such data is not only important for studies of mutational mechanisms; it offers a critical advantage for determining the mutational response at levels where significant increases in mutant frequency have not been discerned. The repeated sequencing of the entire 1080-bp lacI target, however, remains a formidable task. Here we report on the adaptation of the "negative complementation" assay for the lacI-d phenotype to accommodate the lambda lacI recovered from the Big Blue transgenic animal. This assay permits the localization of mutations to an approximately 330-bp region to facilitate the production of mutational specificity data. The assay is based upon lysogenization of the lambda containing the lacI mutation into a lacI+ host. Of 107 sequenced lacI mutants recovered from Big Blue mice, 74 were identified as NC+ (lacI-d) using this assay. Of these 74, 49 occurred in the region 32-208 bp, which has traditionally been viewed as the NC+ domain. 33 of these mutations were previously identified as producing the NC+ phenotype while another 7 occurred at sites where NC+ mutants have been recovered, but involved a new base substitution. 9 mutants involved new sites. An additional 25 mutants located downstream of the presumed NC+ region were also found to be NC+ as determined by their blue colour on X-gal plates. Of these, 18 occurred in the 209-360-bp region. In parallel, 54 lacI mutants carrying unknown mutations were examined. 37 of these produced blue colonies in this assay. The sequencing of these mutants revealed that 20 (54%) of the 37 mutants were located in the 32-208-bp region. This complementation assay can potentially reduce the amount of DNA sequencing necessary to produce a mutational spectrum by optimising the choice of sequencing primers, and thus provide a significant saving of the material and time required. Furthermore, evidence indicates that the restriction of the mutational target to the NC+ region extends these savings without reducing the usefulness of the mutational specificity data.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1987

Further developments of protein secondary structure prediction using information theory. New parameters and consideration of residue pairs.

We have re-evaluated the information used in the Garnier-Osguthorpe-Robson (GOR) method of secondary structure prediction with the currently available database. The framework of information theory provides a means to formulate the influence of local sequence upon the conformation of a given residue, in a rigorous manner. However, the existing database does not allow the evaluation of parameters required for an exact treatment of the problem. The validity of the approximations drawn from the theory is examined. It is shown that the first-level approximation, involving single-residue parameters, is only marginally improved by an increase in the database. The second-level approximation, involving pairs of residues, provides a better model. However, in this case the database is not big enough and this method might lead to parameters with deficiencies. Attention is therefore given to overcoming this lack of data. We have determined the significant pairs and the number of dummy observations necessary to obtain the best result for the prediction. This new version of the GOR method increases the accuracy of prediction by 7%, bringing the amount of residues correctly predicted to 63% for three states and 68 proteins, each protein to be predicted being removed from the database and the parameters derived from the other proteins. If the protein to be predicted is kept in the database the accuracy goes up to 69.7%.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Risk factors for anabolic-androgenic steroid use in men.

The illicit use of anabolic steroids to enhance athletic performance and physical appearance can cause numerous psychiatric and other adverse effects. In order to prevent steroid use and its negative consequences, knowledge of risk factors is needed. We conducted an anonymous survey of 404 male weight lifters from community gymnasiums who completed a 20-min, self-administered questionnaire. The sample for this study included all 35 men who were thinking about using steroids ("high-risk" nonusers), 50 randomly selected nonusers who were not thinking about using steroids ("low-risk" nonusers) and all 49 steroid users. The three groups differed in age, training characteristics, other performance-enhancers tried, body image, acquaintance with steroid users, and perception of negative consequences. When groups were compared along a continuum from low risk to high risk and from high risk to actual use, we found increasing amounts of competitive bodybuilding, performance-enhancers tried, and steroid-using acquaintances. Groups did not differ in their use of addictive substances. Nearly three-fourths of the high-risk group felt "not big enough," compared to 21% of the low-risk group and 38% of the steroid users (p < .001). These data suggest that steroids do work to increase satisfaction with body size, and that dissatisfaction with body size may contribute to the risk of using steroids.

Adult↗