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Activation and repolarization patterns are governed by different structural characteristics of ventricular myocardium: experimental study with voltage-sensitive dyes and numerical simulations.

INTRODUCTION: Substantial progress has been made in our understanding of transmural activation across ventricular muscle through studies of excitation patterns and potential distributions. In contrast, repolarization sequences are poorly understood because of experimental difficulties in mapping action potential durations (APDs) using extracellular electrodes. METHODS AND RESULTS: Langendorff-perfused guinea pig hearts and isolated coronary-perfused left ventricular sheet preparations were stained with the voltage-sensitive dye RH-421 and optical APs were recorded with a photodiode array. Epicardial maps were constructed using a triangulation method applied to matrices of activation and repolarization times determined from (dF/dt)max and (d2F/dt2)max' respectively. Numerical simulations were carried out based on: (1) a modified Luo-Rudy model; (2) the three-dimensional architecture of ventricular fibers; and (3) the intrinsic spatial distribution of APDs. In ventricular sheets, epicardial stimulation elicited elliptical activation patterns with the major axis aligned with the longitudinal axis of epicardial fibers. When the pacing electrode was progressively inserted from epicardium to endocardium, the major axes rotated gradually, clockwise by 45 degrees, and the eccentricity decreased from 2 to 1.14. Repolarization showed a relatively uniform pattern, independent of pacing site, beginning at the apex and spreading to the base. CONCLUSION: In experiments and simulations, the helical rotation of epicardial excitation isochrones caused by pacing at increasing depth in the myocardium correlated with the helical three-dimensional architecture of ventricular fibers. In contrast, repolarization was independent of the activation sequence and was mainly guided by spatial differences in APDs between apex and base.

Action Potentials↗

Base line prevalence and spatial distribution of Echinococcus multilocularis in a newly recognized endemic area in the Netherlands.

The base line prevalence of Echinococcus multilocularis in foxes was determined in the eastern part of the province of Groningen in the Netherlands adjacent to the German border. This region has been identified in a previous study in 1998 as one of the westernmost border areas of E. multilocularis. Base line prevalence data are important for a better insight in the possible spread of the parasite and its changes in time. As fox feces containing E. multilocularis eggs are an important source for human exposure this base line prevalence is also an indicator for the potential risk for public health. The base line prevalence was estimated at 9.4% (95% CI: 5.2-16.5%). These results confirm previous findings of E. multilocularis in the same region. The spatial distribution of the infected foxes has been analyzed as a spatial gradient using a logistic model. The prevalence appeared to change strongest in east-western direction and was highest near the German border, adjacent to a German endemic area. These results suggest that the border areas in the Netherlands are the most margin of E. multilocularis territory.

Animals↗

Temporal and spatial analysis of the 1999 outbreak of acute clinical infectious bursal disease in broiler flocks in Denmark.

The objective of this study was to describe the spatial and temporal dynamics of the 1999 outbreak of acute clinical infectious bursal disease (IBD) in broiler chicken farms in Denmark. The analysis was performed using data from all broiler farms located in the Jutland peninsula and the island of Funen (168 municipalities). The Moran's index I, K-functions and scan statistics were used to describe the dynamics of the epidemic. In addition, spatially correlated survival analyses were performed and the posterior frailties were mapped to identify areas with high or low survival times. From January to October 1999, a total of 43 farms (81 flocks) out of a total of 299 farms (2970 flocks) in 110 municipalities were infected with IBD. The outbreak developed more or less simultaneously in two regions, one in the north and the other in the center of the study area. The space-time descriptive methods suggested that the cases were more likely to occur during a short period of time and over relatively short distances, indicating that local factors facilitated the spread of the virus. For instance, the highest risk, as estimated by the K-function, was within 20 km and 20 days. The risk of transmission peaked in July and remained high until the end of the study. The spatially correlated survival analysis identified municipalities with low survival times that roughly corresponded to the clusters found using scan statistics. The analysis for the full hierarchical structure of the dataset identified variation (i.e. clustering) at the farm and municipality levels.

Animals↗

Furrowing surface contraction wave coincident with primary neural induction in amphibian embryos.

We predicted, and have now observed, a surface contraction wave in axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) embryos that appears to coincide temporally and spatially with primary neural induction and homoiogenetic induction, and with involution of the chordomesoderm. The wave starts from a focus anterior to the dorsal lip of the blastopore and spreads as an ellipse, until part of it encounters the rim of the blastopore and vanishes there. The remaining arc then continues over the dorsal hemisphere until it reforms an ellipse that decreases in size. About 9 to 12 hours after it begins, the wave vanishes at a focus diametrically opposite its point of origin. The wave involves both local contraction and furrowing in the monolayer ectoderm. To a good approximation, the hemispherical portion of the ectoderm traversed by the wave becomes neuroepithelium, while the ectoderm not traversed by the wave becomes epidermis. The wave might provide a mechanism to determine the time and location at which neuroepithelial differentiation occurs.

Ambystoma mexicanum↗

Expression of glial antigens C1 and M1 in developing and adult neurologically mutant mice.

The distribution of two glial antigens (C1 and M1) has been studied by indirect immunofluorescence during postnatal development of the cerebella of normal and neurologically mutant mice (weaver, staggerer, reeler, Purkinje cell degeneration, and wobbler). During the first postnatal week of normal development, C1 antigen is expressed in ependyma. Bergmann glial fibers (BG), and astrocytes of the internal granular layer and white matter. After day 10, C1 antigen is restricted to BG and ependymal cells. During the second and third week. BG undergo a transient loss of C1 antigen that starts in medioventral areas and spreads in a gradient dorsally and laterally. In reeler, weaver, and staggerer, C1 antigen expression is normal during the first postnatal week, and subsides in BG in a similar spatial gradient as described for the normal littermates. However, the loss of C1 antigen in BG occurs earlier (first in reeler, then in weaver, and last in staggerer) and is not reversible as it is in normal mice. In Purkinje cell degeneration, C1 antigen expression is diminished in BG after the onset of behavioral abnormalities. Wobbler is normal with respect to C1 antigen expression at adult ages. M1 antigen is detectable in white matter astrocytes from postnatal day 7 on, and persists in these cells into adulthood. Astrocytes if the internal granular layer and BG express M1 antigen only transiently in normal mice during the second and third weeks. The appearance of M1 antigen in BG occurs in a spatiotemporal gradient, matching the one in which C1 antigen disappears. M1 antigen expression is abnormally maintained in BG of reeler, staggerer, and weaver. In Purkinje cell degeneration. M1 antigen is expressed abnormally at the onset of behavioral abnormalities first in astrocytes of the internal granular layer and, with growing age, increasingly also in BG. In wobbler, BG do not express M1 antigen. However, astrocytes of the granular layer are abnormally M1 antigen-positive.

Aging↗

A probability cellular automaton model for hepatitis B viral infections.

The existing models of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection dynamics are based on the assumption that the populations of viruses and cells are uniformly mixed. However, the real virus infection system is actually not homogeneous and some spatial factors might play a nontrivial role in governing the development of HBV infection and its outcome. For instance, the localized populations of dead cells might adversely affect the spread of infection. To consider this kind of inhomogeneous feature, a simple 2D (dimensional) probability Cellular Automaton model was introduced to study the dynamic process of HBV infection. The model took into account the existence of different types of HBV infectious and non-infectious particles. The simulation results thus obtained showed that the Cellular Automaton model could successfully account for some important features of the disease, such as its wide variety in manifestation and its age dependency. Meanwhile, the effects of the model's parameters on the dynamical process of the infection were also investigated. It is anticipated that the Cellular Automaton model may be extended to serve as a useful vehicle for studying, among many other complicated dynamic biological systems, various persistent infections with replicating parasites.

Animals↗

An image analysis method for the study of cell adhesion to biomaterials.

This fluorescence image analysis method for the quantitative determination of cell adhesion on biomaterials allows bone cells labelled with propidium iodide to be counted automatically, directly on their support. The reliability of the estimation by fluorescence image analysis was validated by comparison with visual counting and with results obtained by an electronic particle counter. In this way it was possible to demonstrate that the adhesive properties of bone cells are dependent on the type of substrate--enstatite (MgO, SiO2, CaO-P2O5-Al2O3), Thermanox (modified polyethyleneterephthalate), or glass. In contrast, the spread of the cell cytoplasm, labelled with fluorescein isothiocyanate and measured by image analysis, does not vary significantly according to the substrate. The characterisation by SKIZ tessellation of the spatial cell arrangement shows that the bone cells have a random organisation on Thermanox and glass, whereas they form aggregates on enstatite.

Animals↗

From will to action: sequential cerebellar contributions to voluntary movement.

The cerebellum is known to be involved in numerous motor related functions, but recent observations suggest that it also performs fundamental operations on nonmotor functions such as perception and cognition. Assuming that the cerebellum has to be consulted in a limited window of time, cerebellar activation should occur in a time-dependent manner in respect to the corresponding telencephalic areas. This hypothesis was tested by combining a simple motor task with the demand of a self-paced delay using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging. Evaluation with a time-shifted canonical hemodynamic response function revealed spatially and temporally separated cerebral and cerebellar activation accompanying the entire process--from conscious planning to final motor output--within a time frame of 6 s. The cerebral activations spread from the anterior cingulate cortex through the supplementary motor and premotor area to the primary motor and sensory cortices. This cascade was temporally in parallel with cerebellar activations propagating from the neo- to the spinocerebellum. An early lateral cerebellar recruitment 3 s prior movement onset confirms its involvement in cognitive processing. A later medial activation occurring close to movement onset most probably reflects spinocerebellar kinesthetic feedback. Between these two points a striking lateromedial succession was found, which is in line with the hypothesis of the existence of multiple internal models residing in the cerebellum, each communicating with its own corresponding telencephalic region.

Adult↗

Comparison of the AMPA antagonist action of new 2,3-benzodiazepines in vitro and their neuroprotective effects in vivo.

PURPOSE: AMPA receptor-mediated excitotoxicity is thought to be a critical process in diseases accompanied by neuronal cell loss following a hypoxic/anoxic state of the central nervous system. It has been suggested that blockade of AMPA receptors might result in significant protection of neurons against cellular damage. For testing the hypothesis, in vitro efficacy and in vivo neuroprotective action of new 2,3-benzodiazepine (2,3BDZ) AMPA antagonists have been compared. METHODS: 2.3BDZs were tested on kainate-evoked whole-cell currents in cultured neurons as well as on population spikes (PS) in rat hippocampal slices. Data were correlated with those obtained from the spreading depression (SD) experiments in chicken retina. Compounds were also examined in the gerbil bilateral carotid occlusion model (BCO), where percentage decrease of ischemia-related hypermotility (HM), impaired spatial memory (SA), and hypoxia-induced hippocampal CA1 neuronal cell death (CA1) were evaluated. RESULTS: Certain structural modifications of classical 2,3BDZs resulted in increased in vitro activity and improved in vivo efficacy. In particular, the halogen-substituted compounds EGIS-9879 and EGIS-9883 showed the highest neuroprotective efficacy (84% and 47% protection in CA1, 71% and 82% decrease in HM, respectively; 4 x 5 mg/kg i.p.) in BCO. PS and SD were correlated to the decrease of neuronal loss in the CA1 area. Lack of significant correlation was found between PS and CA1 (r = 0.437, p = 0.079) or SD and CA1 (r = 0.380, p = 0.146). CONCLUSIONS: Several new 2.3BDZ AMPA receptor antagonists have been synthesized at EGIS Pharmaceuticals characterized by remarkable in vitro and corresponding in vivo neuroprotective properties.

Action Potentials↗

Long-range signaling by phosphoprotein waves arising from bistability in protein kinase cascades.

A hallmark of protein kinase/phosphatase cascades, including mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways, is the spatial separation of their components within cells. The top-level kinase, MAP3K, is phosphorylated at the cell membrane, and cytoplasmic kinases at sequential downstream levels (MAP2K and MAPK) spread the signal to distant targets. Given measured protein diffusivity and phosphatase activities, signal propagation by diffusion would result in a steep decline of MAP2K activity and low bisphosphorylated MAPK (ppMAPK) levels near the nucleus, especially in large cells, such as oocytes. Here, we show that bistability in a two-site MAPK (de)phosphorylation cycle generates a novel type of phosphoprotein wave that propagates from the surface deep into the cell interior. Positive feedback from ppMAPK to cytoplasmic MAP2K enhances the propagation span of the ppMAPK wave, making it possible to convey phosphorylation signals over exceedingly long distances. The finding of phosphorylation waves traveling with constant amplitude and high velocity may solve a long-standing enigma of survival signaling in developing neurons.

Animals↗

Validation of the GATE Monte Carlo simulation platform for modelling a CsI(Tl) scintillation camera dedicated to small-animal imaging.

Monte Carlo simulations are increasingly used in scintigraphic imaging to model imaging systems and to develop and assess tomographic reconstruction algorithms and correction methods for improved image quantitation. GATE (GEANT4 application for tomographic emission) is a new Monte Carlo simulation platform based on GEANT4 dedicated to nuclear imaging applications. This paper describes the GATE simulation of a prototype of scintillation camera dedicated to small-animal imaging and consisting of a CsI(Tl) crystal array coupled to a position-sensitive photomultiplier tube. The relevance of GATE to model the camera prototype was assessed by comparing simulated 99mTc point spread functions, energy spectra, sensitivities, scatter fractions and image of a capillary phantom with the corresponding experimental measurements. Results showed an excellent agreement between simulated and experimental data: experimental spatial resolutions were predicted with an error less than 100 microns. The difference between experimental and simulated system sensitivities for different source-to-collimator distances was within 2%. Simulated and experimental scatter fractions in a [98-182 keV] energy window differed by less than 2% for sources located in water. Simulated and experimental energy spectra agreed very well between 40 and 180 keV. These results demonstrate the ability and flexibility of GATE for simulating original detector designs. The main weakness of GATE concerns the long computation time it requires: this issue is currently under investigation by the GEANT4 and the GATE collaborations.

Animals↗

Role of ATP sensitive potassium channel in extracellular potassium accumulation and cardiac arrhythmias during myocardial ischaemia.

Extracellular potassium rises rapidly during myocardial ischaemia, correlating with the onset of ventricular arrhythmias. The extracellular accumulation of potassium can induce abnormalities in both impulse conduction and impulse generation. Inhomogeneities of potassium conductance will elicit regional differences in action potential duration and repolarisation. The resulting spatial dispersion of refractory period will allow for fragmentation of impulse conduction on ensuing beats, the formation of irregular reentrant pathways and ventricular fibrillation. In a similar manner, the spread of injury current from the ischaemic tissue to surrounding normal tissue can trigger extrasystoles (depolarisation induced automaticity). It has been hypothesised that the activation of the ATP sensitive potassium channel contributes significantly to reductions in action potential duration and increases in extracellular potassium accumulation during myocardial ischaemia. ATP sensitive potassium channel antagonists prevent ischaemically induced reductions in action potential duration and the dispersion of refractory period but may induce oscillatory afterpotentials under some conditions (for example, calcium overload). In contrast, potassium channel agonists enhance the dispersion of refractory period ischaemia, which promotes the formation of re-entrant arrhythmias. The pharmacological modulation of the ATP sensitive potassium channels could therefore offer a novel approach for the management of cardiac arrhythmias in patients with ischaemic heart disease. In general, channel antagonists prevent ventricular fibrillation, while high (hypotensive) doses of channel agonists can induce malignant arrhythmias during ischaemia in animal models. However, recent evidence also suggests that potassium channel agonists may promote a better preservation of myocardial mechanical performance during reperfusion while ATP sensitive potassium channel antagonists exacerbate mechanical depression during ischaemia in experimental models.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Action Potentials↗

Dating the growth of oceanic crust at a slow-spreading ridge.

Nineteen uranium-lead zircon ages of lower crustal gabbros from Atlantis Bank, Southwest Indian Ridge, constrain the growth and construction of oceanic crust at this slow-spreading midocean ridge. Approximately 75% of the gabbros accreted within error of the predicted seafloor magnetic age, whereas approximately 25% are significantly older. These anomalously old samples suggest either spatially varying stochastic intrusion at the ridge axis or, more likely, crystallization of older gabbros at depths of approximately 5 to 18 kilometers below the base of crust in the cold, axial lithosphere, which were uplifted and intruded by shallow-level magmas during the creation of Atlantis Bank.

Journal Article↗

Molecular assembly of meiotic proteins Asy1 and Zyp1 and pairing promiscuity in rye (Secale cereale L.) and its synaptic mutant sy10.

Assembly of two orthologous proteins associated with meiotic chromosome axes in Arabidopsis thaliana (Asy1 and Zyp1) was studied immunologically at meiotic prophase of meiosis of wild-type rye (Secale cereale) and its synaptic mutant sy10, using antibodies derived from A. thaliana. The temporal and spatial expression of the two proteins were similar in wild-type rye, but with one notable difference. Unlike A. thaliana, in which foci of the transverse filament protein Zyp1 appear to linearize commensurately with synapsis, linear tracts of Asy1 and Zyp1 protein form independently at leptotene and early zygotene of rye and coalign into triple structures resembling synaptonemal complexes (SCs) only at later stages of synapsis. The sy10 mutant used in this study also forms spatially separate linear tracts of Asy1 and Zyp1 proteins at leptotene and early zygotene, and these coalign but do not form regular triple structures at midprophase. Electron microscopy of spread axial elements reveals extensive asynapsis with some exchanges of pairing partners. Indiscriminate SCs support nonhomologous chiasma formation at metaphase I, as revealed by multi-color fluorescence in situ hybridization enabling reliable identification of all the chromosomes of the complement. Scrutiny of chiasmate associations of chromosomes at this stage revealed some specificity in the associations of homologous and nonhomologous chromosomes. Inferences about the nature of synapsis in this mutant were drawn from such observations.

Chromosome Pairing↗

Optical and visual impact of tear break-up in human eyes.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the optical and visual impact of tear break-up. METHODS: Optical quality of the eye was assessed during periods of nonblinking by quantifying vessel contrast in the fundus image and by monitoring the psychophysical contrast sensitivity and the spatial distribution of tear thickness changes by retroillumination. All measures were obtained from three eyes either with or without a soft contact lens. RESULTS: A noticeable decrease in retinal vessel contrast and contrast sensitivity were observed soon after a blink. Both of these measures of optical quality of the eye showed a similar pattern of image degradation both with and without a soft contact lens. Although trial-to-trial variability was considerable, sample means show that image contrast in the low spatial frequency range can drop to between 20% and 40% of initial values after 60 seconds of nonblinking. Retroillumination of the tear film showed local intensity fluctuations that progressively spread across the pupil with increasing time after the blink. CONCLUSIONS: Optical aberrations created by tear break-up contribute to the decline in image quality observed objectively and psychophysically. The decline in image quality that accompanies tear break-up may be a direct cause of the blurry vision complaints commonly encountered in dry-eye patients.

Adult↗

Relation between signs and symptoms in Paget's disease of bone.

The relation between signs and symptoms of Paget's disease of bone was studied in 180 patients consecutively submitted for treatment. In these patients 826 lesions were identified by scintigraphy. The intensity of scintigraphic uptake was correlated with long-term calcium uptake in bone. The frequency distribution of lesions over the patients was compatible with a 65 per cent chance of local disease once the patient had been exposed to an extraneous agent. The spatial distribution within a skeleton was related to the local density of the osteoclast population. The particular frequency distribution resulted in a log-normal distribution diagram for anatomical spread. Within lesions, increases in numbers of osteoclasts and osteoblasts were proportional and these too had a log-normal distribution. Increases of alkaline phosphatase levels and hydroxyproline excretion were closely related and reflected anatomical spread on the one hand and local activity on the other. They were also closely correlated with overall calcium fluxes. It was shown that alkaline phosphatase is the more sensitive and hydroxyproline the more accurate of the biochemical signs. Maximum values, corresponding to total skeletal disease, were approximately 25 times the upper limit of normal. Equilibrium between bone formation and resorption was not always maintained. There were, indeed, wide variations of urinary calcium, which were significantly related to the difference between bone formation and resorption, but the extracellular calcium homeostasis was generally maintained. This may explain the frequent occurrence of normocalcaemic and hypercalcaemic hyperparathyroidism. The hypercalciuria constitutes an additional risk for urolithiasis in men. The most frequent complaint was pain (86 per cent). Extent of lesions was important, but a major decisive factor was the specific nature of the bone affected. The findings allowed assessment of the relative importance of the various signs, symptoms and locations as criteria of disease severity and as indications for treatment.

Adult↗

Adenophostin A induces spatially restricted calcium signaling in Xenopus laevis oocytes.

The activation of intracellular calcium release and calcium entry across the plasmalemma in response to intracellular application of inositol 2,4,5-trisphosphate and adenophostin A, two metabolically stable agonists for inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors, was investigated using Xenopus laevis oocytes and confocal imaging. Intracellular injection of inositol 2,4,5-trisphosphate induced a rapidly spreading calcium signal associated with regenerative calcium waves; the calcium signal filled the peripheral regions of the cell in 1-5 min. Injection of high concentrations of adenophostin A (250 nM) similarly induced rapidly spreading calcium signals. Injection of low concentrations of adenophostin A resulted in calcium signals that spread slowly (>1 h). With extremely low concentrations of adenophostin A (approximately 10 pM), stable regions of Ca2+ release were observed that did not expand to peripheral regions. When the adenophostin A-induced calcium signal was restricted to central regions, compartmentalized calcium oscillations were sometimes observed. Restoration of extracellular calcium caused a rise in cytoplasmic calcium restricted to the region of adenophostin A-induced calcium mobilization. The limited diffusion of adenophostin A provides an opportunity to examine calcium signaling processes under spatially restricted conditions and provides insights into mechanisms of intracellular calcium oscillations and capacitative calcium entry.

Adenosine↗

Effect of spatial architecture on cellular colonization.

The spatial cell-material interaction remains vital issue in forming biodegradable scaffolds in Tissue Engineering. In this study, to understand the influence of spatial architecture on cellular behavior, 2D and 3D chitosan scaffolds of 50-190 kD and >310 kD MW were synthesized through air drying and controlled rate freezing/lypohilization technique, respectively. In addition, chitosan was emulsified with 19, 76, and 160 kD 50:50 poly lactide-co-glycolide (PLGA) using 1,2-Dimyristoyl-sn-Glycero-3-Phosphocholine (DMPC) as stabilizer. 2D and 3D scaffolds were formed by air drying and lyophilization as before. Tensile and compressive properties of films and scaffolds were analyzed in wet conditions at 37 degrees C. Alterations in the cell spreading, proliferation, and cytoskeletal organization of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) were studied. These results showed that the formed 3D chitosan scaffolds had interconnected open pore architecture (50-200 microm size). HUVECs and MEFs had reduced spreading areas and circular morphology on 2D chitosan membranes compared with 3D chitosan scaffolds. The fluorescence photomicrographs for actin (using Alexa Fluor 488 phalloidin) and cytoplasm staining (using carboxyfluorescein diacetate-succinimidyl ester) demonstrated that the cells spread within 3D chitosan matrix. 2D and 3D emulsified chitosan and chitosan/PLGA scaffolds reduced the spreading of HUVECs and MEFs even further. Proliferation results, analyzed via MTT-Formazan assay and BrdU uptake assay, correlated with the spreading characteristics. The reductions in cell spreading area on emulsified surfaces were not detrimental to the viability and endocytic activity but to proliferation. The observed alterations in cellular colonization are in part due to the substrate stiffness and surface topography. In summary, these results suggest a significant influence of spatial architecture on cellular colonization.

Cell Culture Techniques↗