SUBCOMMISSURAL IMPLANTATION OF AORTIC PROSTHESES WITH THE USE OF THE NONCORONARY SINUS AND THE FIBROUS TRIGONES

The technique described here permits insertion of a large prosthesis into a small aortic annulus and avoids the necessity of additional procedures for enlarging the aortic ring. Inspection of the fibrous skeleton of the heart reveals that the large intervalvular trigone and the noncoronary sinus of Valsalva are remarkably elastic. Full advantage of this natural elasticity is achieved by suturing the prosthesis to the base of these structures from outside the aorta. Sutures are placed in the sinuses of the right and left cusps in the usual manner. Judicious application of this procedure allows the implantation of a No. 23 or No. 24 prosthesis in cases that would require a No. 19 or No. 21 with the use of conventional methods.     

Anthranilate 4H-oxazol-5-ones: novel small molecule antibacterial acyl carrier protein synthase (AcpS) inhibitors

D-optimal design and Projection to Latent Structures (PLS) analysis were used to optimize screening hit 5 (B. subtilis AcpS IC(50): 15 microM, B. subtilis MIC: >200 microM) into a series of 4H-oxazol-5-one, small molecule, antibacterial, AcpS inhibitors. Specifically, 15, 16 and 18 show microM or sub-microM AcpS inhibition (IC(50)s: 15: 1.1 microM, 16: 1.5 microM, 18: 0.27 microM) and moderate antibacterial activity (MICs: 12.5-50 microM) against B. subtilis, E. faecalis ATCC, E. faecalis VRE and S. pneumo+.     

Alternating flow filtration as an alternative to internal spin filter based perfusion process: Impact on productivity and product quality

This article reports the results obtained from comparison of internal spin filter (ISF) and alternating flow filtration (ATF) as cell retention systems, regarding cell growth, volumetric perfusion rate, cell specific perfusion rate and cell productivity in the fermentation process. As expected we were able to reach higher cell densities and to achieve longer runs since ATF systems are known to be less affected by fouling. Volumetric production of the reactor using the ATF system was 50‐70% higher than the production achieved using the ISF due to higher cell density and a two‐fold increase in the perfusion rate. On the other hand, downstream processing performances were evaluated regarding chromatographic steps yields and productivity and quality attributes of the purified materials. Similar results were obtained for all evaluated systems. The fact that we were able to achieve a 2 working volumes (WV)/day perfusion rate using an ATF system as cell retention device allowed us to virtually double the WV of a 25 L reactor. These results constitute valuable data for the optimization of recombinant protein production in perfusion processes since a two‐fold increase in the average production of a manufacturing facility could be easily achieved as long as downstream scale up is possible. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 33:1010–1014, 2017     

Prevalence of potentially thermophilic microorganisms in biofilms from greenhouse-enclosed drip irrigation systems

Drip irrigation systems using reclaimed water often present clogging events of biological origin. Microbial communities in biofilms from microirrigation systems of an experimental greenhouse in Almería, SE Spain, which used two different qualities of water (treated wastewater and reclaimed water), were analyzed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and subsequent sequencing of amplified 16S rRNA gene bands. The most remarkable feature of all biofilms was that regardless of water origin, sequences belonging to Firmicutes were prevalent (53.5 % of total mean band intensity) and that almost all sequences recovered had some similarity (between 80.2 and 97 %) to thermophilic microorganisms. Mainly, sequences were closely related to potentially spore-forming organisms, suggesting that microbial communities able to grow at high temperatures were selected from the microbiota present in the incoming water. These pioneer results may contribute to improve management strategies to minimize the problems associated to biofouling in irrigation systems.     

A Pascal microcomputer program for prediction of protein secondary structure and hydropathic segments

This paper describes a simple Pascal microcomputer program forprediction of protein secondary structure according to the Chouand Fasman algorithm. In addition, it performs an analysis ofthe hydropathic character of the residues for prediction ofexternal/internal regions of the polypeptide chain. Also itsearches for probable glycosylation and phosphorylation sites. Received on July 26, 1985; accepted on May 6, 1986     

Late results of aortocoronary bypass grafts in 100 patients with stable angina pectoris

From March 1969 to December 1972, 314 patients underwent elective aortocoronary saphenous vein bypass graft surgery at the Toronto General Hospital for the relief of stable disabling angina refractory to medical management. Inhospital mortality was 2.5%. Of these patients 100 agreed to return for follow-up hemodynamic and angiographic assessment at a mean interval of 19.7 months after operation. Seventy-four percent of patients were asymptomatic or had angina only with strenuous exertion at the time of follow-up. Seventy-five percent of the 142 grafts were patent, though a few had significant narrowings. Clinical improvement could be correlated with successful myocardial revascularization. Myocardial infarction was diagnosed by the presence of new Q waves after operation in 15% of patients. Many of these patients had patent grafts at follow-up and all were improved. Dyslipoproteinemia was not found to be a factor affecting late graft patency. Total left ventricular function was not shown to be improved by segmental revascularization. The trend toward improved survival in the intervening period for the total operated group is encouraging.     

Kinetics of immunosuppression induced by peptic fragments of bovine serum albumin

A single injection of nonimmunogenic peptic fragments of bovine serum albumin (BSA) suppressed the primary antialbumin IgE response when administered to mice before the antigen. The treated animals remained unresponsive to BSA for an extensive period of time (at least 40 days); however, periodic alleviation of the suppression during that period was observed. The oscillating suppression correlated well with presence or absence of BSA-specific suppressor cells in the spleens of the treated mice. It is concluded that specific immunosuppression is a dynamic process which for full interpretation must be observed over more extensive period of time.     

Plant Domestication and Folk-Biological Change: The Upper Piman/Devil's Claw Example

Ethnologists have the opportunity to document the dynamics of domestication, particularly the cognitive aspects of that process, which archeologists are unable to reconstruct. In this article we show how the recent intensification of cultivation, accompanied by genetic alteration, of a basketry fiber plant, Proboscidea parviflora subspecies parviflora, among the O'odham (Pima) has been accompanied by shifts in the structure of O'odham folk taxonomy. The emic focus on specific plant characteristics, codified in this changing lexicon, may guide cultural selection and encourage isolation of incipient domesticates from their wild progenitors.