L’electromyographie du penis: Une nouvelle exploration du muscle lisse caverneux et de son controle neurologique?

The authors have investigated the electrical activity of corpus cavernous, first according to Wagner and Gerstenberg’ method, then, since one year, according to Stief method, in the basal state and following intracavernosal injection of vasoactive agents, or following various stimulation tests. They have found again the electrical activity described by these authors, but have been confronted with the difficulty in quantifying the data. Specially single potential analysis seems to them little reliable and reproducible for an objective interpretation. At this stage of their experience, they test two simpler criteria interpretation: the richness of the electrical activity, and the reactivity of the recording to various stimulations. Their preminary results suggest a correlation between those criteria and the state of the autonomic nervous system of the penis.     

Complete sequences of the rRNA genes of Drosophila melanogaster

In this, the first of three papers, we present the sequence of the ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes of Drosophila melanogaster. The gene regions of D. melanogaster rDNA encode four individual rRNAs: 18S (1,995 nt), 5.8S (123 nt), 2S (30 nt), and 28S (3,945 nt). The ribosomal DNA (rDNA) repeat of D. melanogaster is AT rich (65.9% overall), with the spacers being particularly AT rich. Analysis of DNA simplicity reveals that, in contrast to the intergenic spacer (IGS) and the external transcribed spacer (ETS), most of the rRNA gene regions have been refractory to the action of slippage-like events, with the exception of the 28S rRNA gene expansion segments. It would seem that the 28S rRNA can accommodate the products of slippage-like events without loss of activity. In the following two papers we analyze the effects of sequence divergence on the evolution of (1) the 28S gene "expansion segments" and (2) the 28S and 18S rRNA secondary structures among eukaryotic species, respectively. Our detailed analyses reveal, in addition to unequal crossing-over, (1) the involvement of slippage and biased mutation in the evolution of the rDNA multigene family and (2) the molecular coevolution of both expansion segments and the nucleotides involved with compensatory changes required to maintain secondary structures of RNA.      

Determination and identification of estrogenic compounds generated with biosynthetic enzymes using hyphenated screening assays,high resolution mass spectrometry and off-line NMR

This paper describes the determination and identification of active and inactive estrogenic compounds produced by biosynthetic methods. A hyphenated screening assay towards the human estrogen receptor ligand binding domain (hER)α and hERβ integrating target–ligand interactions and liquid chromatography–high resolution mass spectrometry was used. With this approach, information on both biologic activity and structure identity of compounds produced by bacterial mutants of cytochrome P450s was obtained in parallel. Initial structure identification was achieved by high resolution MS/MS, while for full structure determination, P450 incubations were scaled up and the produced entities were purified using preparative liquid chromatography with automated fraction collection. NMR spectroscopy was performed on all fractions for 3D structure analysis; this included 1D-¹H, 2D-COSY, 2D-NOESY, and ¹H-¹³C-HSQC experiments. This multidimensional screening approach enabled the detection of low abundant biotransformation products which were not suitable for detection in either one of its single components. In total, the analytical scale biosynthesis produced over 85 compounds from 6 different starting templates. Inter- and intra-day variation of the biochemical signals in the dual receptor affinity detection system was less than 5%. The multi-target screening approach combined with full structure characterization based on high resolution MS(/MS) and NMR spectroscopy demonstrated in this paper can generally be applied to e.g. metabolism studies and compound-library screening.     

Echocardiographic assessment and percutaneous closure of multiple atrial septal defects

Percutaneous coronary intervention can be associated with distal embolization of thrombotic material causing myocardial necrosis and infarction. We discuss the role of intravascular imaging to guide the use of a distal protection device by describing the outcome of a young woman presenting with non-ST elevation myocardial infarction. Coronary angiography demonstrated an isolated minor stenosis in the proximal left anterior descending coronary artery with slight haziness beyond the lesion. Intravascular ultrasound confirmed an extensive thrombus overlying a bulky atherosclerotic plaque. A distal filter wire was therefore successfully used to reduce the risk of distal embolization. The use of intravascular ultrasound in patients presenting with acute coronary syndrome may reveal large thrombi that are difficult to image using conventional angiographic techniques. Intravascular ultrasound can therefore be used as a tool to select lesions requiring distal protection.