Effects of cortisol on calcium contents of lymphocytes in patients with bronchial asthma]

A fluorescent probe was used to study hydrocortisone (10 microM) action on mitogen-stimulated free cytoplasmic calcium level in lymphocytes of patients with bronchial asthma. The patients were divided into two groups according to their sensitivity to glucocorticoid therapy. Hydrocortisone-specific calcium-blocking effect was absent in hormone-resistant patients. Lymphocytes of hormone-sensitive patients responded to hydrocortisone administration by a decline of mitogen-induced calcium level.     

Phenotypic and genetic differentiation of human populations with respect to morphologic and psychophysiological traits

Four groups of human characters (mendelian markers, anthropometry, neurodynamics and psychodynamics) were studied in eight human populations characterized by different degrees of isolation and different ethnic backgrounds, and located in different ecological conditions. The populations examined were proved to display phenotypic and genetic differentiation for the studied groups of characters which were compared with linguistic and geographical distances. The role of genetic factors and that of environmental factors was shown to diminish and to increase, respectively, as the degree of complexity of expression of the group of characters under study (from anthropometry to psychodynamics) goes up.     

An unusual presentation of a malignant jejunal tumor and a different management strategy

BACKGROUND: Malignant small bowel tumors are very rare and leiomyosarcoma accounts for less than 15% of the cases. Management of these tumors is challenging in view of nonspecific symptoms, unusual presentation and high incidence of metastasis. In this case report, an unusual presentation of jejunal sarcoma and management of liver metastasis with radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is discussed. CASE PRESENTATION: A 45-year-old male presented with anemia and features of small bowel obstruction. Operative findings revealed a mass lesion in jejunum with intussusception of proximal loop. Resection of bowel mass was performed. Histopathological findings were suggestive of leiomyosarcoma. After 3-years of follow-up, the patient developed recurrence in infracolic omentum and a liver metastasis. The omental mass was resected and liver lesion was managed with radiofrequency ablation. CONCLUSION: Jejunal leiomyosarcoma is a rare variety of malignant small bowel tumor and a clinical presentation with intussusception is unusual. We suggest that an aggressive management approach using a combination of surgery and a newer technique like RFA can be attempted in patients with limited metastatic spread to liver to prolong the long-term survival in a subset of patients.     

Species loss of stoneflies (Plecoptera) in the Czech Republic during the 20th century

1. Rapid expansion and intensification of anthropogenic activities in the 20th century has caused profound changes in freshwater assemblages. Unfortunately, knowledge of the extent and causes of species loss (SL) is limited due to the lack of reliable historical data. An unusual data set allows us to compare changes in the most sensitive of aquatic insect orders, the Plecoptera, at some 170 locations in the Czech Republic between two time periods, 1955–1960 and 2006–2010. Historical data (1890–1911) on assemblages of six lowland rivers allow us to infer even earlier changes. 2. Regional stonefly diversity decreased in the first half of the 20th century. Streams at lower altitudes lost a substantial number of species, which were never recovered. In the second half of the century, large‐scale anthropogenic pressure caused SL in all habitats, leading to a dissimilarity of contemporary and previous assemblages. The greatest changes were found at sites affected by organic pollution and a mixture of organic pollution and channelisation or impoundment. Colonisation of new habitats was observed in only three of the 80 species evaluated. 3. Species of moderate habitat specialisation and tolerance to organic pollution were most likely to be lost. Those with narrow specialisations in protected habitats were present in both historical and contemporary collections. 4. Contemporary assemblages are the consequence of more than a 100 years of anthropogenic impacts. In particular, streams at lower altitude and draining intensively exploited landscapes host a mere fragment of the original species complement. Most stonefly species are less frequently present than before, although their assemblages remain almost intact in near‐natural mountain streams. Our analyses demonstrate dramatic restriction of species ranges and, in some cases, apparent changes in altitudinal preference throughout the area.     

East European lowland as an area of long-time interaction between Caucasoid and Mongoloid peoples

Most of the population of Eastern Europe inhabit an area of great anthropological interest, because of the contact between Caucasoid and Mongoloid anthropological types. We have analyzed normal variability in minisatellite and microsatellite loci in some East European population. Different synthetic maps were constructed using reliability theory to evaluate the degree of accuracy. Comparison of the synthetic maps for DNA with classical markers has revealed a high level of correlation. All the data obtained show the diverse influence of both anthropological types in forming the gene pool of the Eastern European peoples.     

Role of Na<Superscript>+</Superscript>/K<Superscript>+</Superscript>-ATPase in natriuretic effect of prolactin in a model of cholestasis of pregnancy

Participation of Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase in the natriuretic effect of prolactin in a cholestasis of pregnancy model was investigated. The Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase activity in rat kidney medulla, where active sodium reabsorption occurs, decreased in the model of cholestasis of pregnancy and other hyperprolactinemia types compared with intact animals. This effect was not connected with the protein level of α1- and β-subunits of Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase measured by Western blotting in the kidney medulla. Decrease in Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase activity in the kidney cortex was not significant, as well as decrease in the quantity of mRNA and proteins of the α1- and β-subunits of Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase. There were no correlations between the Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase activity and sodium clearance, although sodium clearance increased significantly in the model of cholestasis of pregnancy and other hyperprolactinemia groups under conditions of stable glomerular filtration rate measured by creatinine clearance. We conclude that the Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase is not the only mediator of the natriuretic effect of prolactin in the model of cholesta- sis of pregnancy.     

Moderate alcohol consumption is associated with better endothelial function: a cross sectional study

Background

Natural heterologous valved conduits with a diameter greater than 22 mm that can be used for right ventricular outflow tract reconstruction in adults are not commercially available. The purpose of this study was to measure by ultrasonography the maximum diameter of the distended jugular veins of horses and cattle, respectively, to identify a population of animals that would be suitable for post-mortem collection of jugular veins at sizes greater than 22 mm.

Methods

The study population included 60 Warmblood horses, 25 Freiberger horses, 20 Brown Swiss cows, and 20 Holstein cows (including 10 Holstein and 10 Red Holstein). The maximum cross-sectional diameter of the distended jugular veins was measured at a location half-way between the mandibular angle and the thoracic inlet. The thoracic circumference (heart girth length) was used as a surrogate of body size. The jugular vein diameters of the different populations were compared by analysis of variance and the association between heart girth length and jugular vein diameter was determined in each of the four study populations by linear regression analysis.

Results

There was considerable individual variation of jugular vein diameters within each of the four study populations. There was no statistically significant relationship between thoracic circumference and jugular vein diameter in any of the populations. The jugular vein diameters of Brown Swiss cows were significantly larger than those of any of the other populations. Warmblood horses had significantly larger jugular vein diameters compared to Freiberger horses.

Conclusion

The results of this study suggest that the production of bovine or equine xenografts with diameters of greater than 22 mm would be feasible. Differences between species and breeds need to be considered. However, prediction of the jugular vein diameter based on breed and heart girth length in an individual animal is inaccurate.     

Intragenic duplication and divergence in the spectrin superfamily of proteins

Many structural, signaling, and adhesion molecules contain tandemly repeated amino acid motifs. The alpha-actinin/spectrin/dystrophin superfamily of F-actin-crosslinking proteins contains an array of triple alpha-helical motifs (spectrin repeats). We present here the complete sequence of the novel beta-spectrin isoform beta(Heavy)- spectrin (beta H). The sequence of beta H supports the origin of alpha- and beta-spectrins from a common ancestor, and we present a novel model for the origin of the spectrins from a homodimeric actin-crosslinking precursor. The pattern of similarity between the spectrin repeat units indicates that they have evolved by a series of nested, nonuniform duplications. Furthermore, the spectrins and dystrophins clearly have common ancestry, yet the repeat unit is of a different length in each family. Together, these observations suggest a dynamic period of increase in repeat number accompanied by homogenization within each array by concerted evolution. However, today, there is greater similarity of homologous repeats between species than there is across repeats within species, suggesting that concerted evolution ceased some time before the arthropod/vertebrate split. We propose a two-phase model for the evolution of the spectrin repeat arrays in which an initial phase of concerted evolution is subsequently retarded as each new protein becomes constrained to a specific length and the repeats diverge at the DNA level. This evolutionary model has general applicability to the origins of the many other proteins that have tandemly repeated motifs.      

Comparisons of the molecular evolutionary process at rbcL and ndhF in the grass family (Poaceae)

We examine rate heterogeneity among evolutionary lineages of the grass family at two plasmid loci, ndhF and rbcL, and we introduce a method to determine whether patterns of rate heterogeneity are correlated between loci. We show both that rates of synonymous evolution are heterogeneous among grass lineages and that are heterogeneity is correlated between loci at synonymous sites. At nonsynonymous sites, the pattern of rate heterogeneity is not correlated between loci, primarily due to an aberrant pattern of rate heterogeneity at nonsynonymous sites of rbcL. We compare patterns of synonymous rate heterogeneity to predictors based on the generation time effect and the speciation rate hypotheses. Although there is some evidence for generation time effects, neither generation time effects nor speciation rates appear to be sufficient to explain patterns of rate heterogeneity in the grass plastid sequences.      

Heritability of neurodynamics and psychodynamics in human populations

A component analysis of human neurodynamic and psychodynamic characters in the norm was carried out in 8 human populations characterized by different degrees of isolation and ethnic origin. An increase in phenotypic variability and a decrease in heritability with increasing complexity of organization of the characters under study were demonstrated for all these populations. The additive effect plays the major role in genetic determination of neurodynamic and psychodynamic characters studied. For a number of neurodynamic parameters the effect of intralocus dominance indicative of the oligogenic determination system was observed. Data in favour of real contribution of the factors linked to X-chromosome were obtained for simple sensomotor reactions.