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This test is based on the incompressibility of myocardium, which dictates that left ventricular wall volume remains constant throughout the cardiac cycle. The volumes occupied by the left ventricular cavity, by ventricular wall plus cavity, and hence by ventricular wall alone were estimated, both at end-systole and at end-diastole, from ecocardiographic measurements of cavity transverse dimension and wall thickness. Wall volumes were determined by assuming an ellipsoid shape (the major axis being predicted from aggression equations relating angiocardiographic and echocardiographic cavity dimensions) and also by the cube method. A discrepancy between systolic and diastolic wall volume estimates indicates either that the measurements of ventricular dimensions were unreliable or that the assumptions of ventricular geometry involved in the volume calculations were incorrect. Studies were made on 60 subjects. Using the ellipsoid formula, values for wall volume ranged from 66 to 719 ml; systolic and diastolic wall volumes correlated closely (r = 0-96, mean difference = 6-8 +/- 0-9 (SEM) %) supporting the reliability of the echocardiographic dimensions and estimates of cavity and wall volume. In the 12 patients with very large end-diastolic cavity transverse dimensions (6-5 to 8-6 cm) however, correlation was less good (r - 0-81, mean difference = 14-3 +/- 2-3 (SEM) 5). Using the cube method, which does not allow for the changing relation between minor and major cavity axes with increasing cavity size, wall volumes were greater (76 to 986 ml) but correlation was similar (r = 0-94, mean difference = 7-1 +/- 0-9 (SEM)%). Having established that it is possible to obtain close agreement between wall volumes determined at different points in the cardiac cycle, this test can be used to assess the reliability of echocardiographic left ventricular dimensions and volume estimates in individual subjects.
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PMID:Test of reliability of echocardiographic estimation of left ventricular dimensions and volumes. 13 28

Because the pubertal growth spurt in boys appears to be mediated by both androgens and estrogens, we hypothesized that blockade of both androgen action and estrogen synthesis would normalize the growth of boys with familial male precocious puberty. To test this hypothesis, we studied nine boys (age range, 3.3 to 7.7 years) during treatment with an antiandrogen (spironolactone) or an inhibitor of androgen-to-estrogen conversion (testolactone), followed by treatment with both agents. After six months of observation without treatment, the first four boys received spironolactone for six months, followed by spironolactone and testolactone. The next five boys received testolactone for six months, followed by spironolactone and testolactone. Neither spironolactone nor testolactone, given alone, was satisfactory as a treatment for this condition. However, a combination of spironolactone and testolactone, given for at least six months, restored both the growth rate and the rate of bone maturation to normal prepubertal levels and controlled acne, spontaneous erections, and aggressive behavior. The combined therapy was associated with a significantly lower growth rate than testolactone alone (P less than 0.05) and a significantly lower rate of bone maturation than spironolactone alone (P less than 0.05). No important adverse effects were observed during combined treatment. Six of the nine boys continued to receive the combined therapy for an additional 12 months and maintained normal prepubertal rates of growth and bone maturation. The mean predicted height (+/- SEM) increased progressively during the combined treatment although the difference between the pretreatment and post-treatment predictions was not significant (169.5 +/- 2.8 at the end of treatment vs. 166.2 +/- 4.5 cm before treatment; P = 0.29). We conclude that blockade of both androgen action and estrogen synthesis with the combination of spironolactone and testolactone is an effective short-term treatment for familial male precocious puberty. Further study will be required, however, to assess the long-term outcome in boys who receive this treatment.
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PMID:Treatment of familial male precocious puberty with spironolactone and testolactone. 249 36

A retrospective study was performed on 966 patients with histologically verified nasopharyngeal carcinomas. The follow-up rate was 93.6% over a minimum period of five years. The actuarial and relapse-free survivals were 82% and 49% at one year, 64% and 43% at two years, 43% and 33% at five years, and 36% and 22% at ten years, respectively. None of the patients with distant metastases when initially evaluated survived more than four years following the initiation of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. After the initial radiotherapy was completed, 200 (22.2%) of 900 patients had distant metastases, bone metastases being the most frequent; and 226 (25.1%) patients had locoregional recurrence. There is no statistical correlation found between locoregional recurrence and distant metastases. In patients without recurrence, the rate of subsequent distant metastases is found to be much more heavily influenced by the initial N stage (trend X2 P less than 0.001) than the initial T-stage (trend X2 0.05 greater than P greater than 0.02). Of patients with metastases, the survival time of those with liver metastases was found to be the shortest, 5.4 +/- 0.5 months (mean +/- SEM). Since three quarters of both distant metastases and recurrence developed within two years of the initial radiotherapy, it is highly recommended for patients to be examined monthly during this period. Aggressive retreatment may lead to palliation should recurrence and/or distant metastases be found. Adjuvant chemotherapy is recommended to the patients with T4, N2 or N3 disease following completion of the initial radiotherapy.
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PMID:Nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Taiwan. Clinical manifestations and results of therapy. 619 May 47

Blood samples, morphometric measurements and behavioural data were collected weekly for 52 weeks from six adult Eld's deer stags exposed to natural fluctuations in photoperiod (38 degrees N latitude). Mean (+/- SEM) serum LH concentrations reached peak values in the autumn (October), three months before FSH and testosterone concentrations reached peak values in early winter (January). Prolactin concentrations were inversely related (r = -0.733, P < 0.001) to LH and directly related to daylength, and maximal concentrations were observed during mid-summer (July) and minimal concentrations during early winter (January). The temporal pattern of circulating inhibin was positively correlated with FSH (r = 0.88, P < 0.001), but lagged behind the seasonal FSH increase by 1-3 weeks. Antler length, body weight and chest girth were maximal during pre-rut (December-January). Maximal scrotal circumference and combined testes volume were observed in mid-winter (February), whereas peak neck girth and behavioural aggression occurred 1-3 months later (March-May). On the basis of quarterly electroejaculation results, motile spermatozoa were produced in all seasons. However, the greatest number of motile spermatozoa per ejaculate was observed during the winter and spring, whereas the highest incidence of sperm pleiomorphisms (> 80%) was detected in the autumn. Histological assessments of the regressed testis (July) revealed fewer germ cells undergoing spermatogenesis and an increased incidence of degenerating and abnormal cell types. In summary, Eld's deer exhibit a circannual hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal cycle with onset of pituitary activation occurring during the autumn and winter, whereas gonadal activity peaks during the winter and spring as daylengths are increasing. Marked circannual variations in circulating prolactin suggest that Eld's deer may use photoperiodic cues to modulate seasonal fertility; however, the existence of an endogenous seasonal rhythm operating independently of photoperiod cannot be excluded.
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PMID:Circannual inter-relationships among reproductive hormones, gross morphometry, behaviour, ejaculate characteristics and testicular histology in Eld's deer stags (Cervus eldi thamin). 841 Aug 13

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of anaesthesia (ether or ketamine) on daily rhythms of temperature (T), heart rate (H) and locomotor activity (A) in unrestrained rats by using implanted radio-telemetry transmitters. T, H and A were measured every 10 min, in Wistar male rats, and analysed using Cosinor. The mean +/- SEM days needed, after surgical implantation, to detect a daily rhythm in H, T and A were also assessed. Six rats were anaesthetized for about 50 min either by ketamine or ether in a 3 by 3 cross-over design. Mesors, amplitudes and acrophases of T, H and A were calculated three days before (D-3; D-2; D-1), the day of anaesthesia (D0) as well as the three following days (D1; D2; D3). ANOVA was performed in order to detect, firstly a possible effect due to the order of application of anaesthesia, secondly a significant difference between ether or ketamine-induced anaesthesia and finally a modification of the mesors, amplitudes and acrophases of T, H and A, induced by each anaesthesia, for D0, D1, D2 and D3 when compared to D-1. Our results indicate: (1) Alterations of the acrophases, mesors and amplitudes, except for the amplitude of A, of the daily rhythms of T, H and A on D0 of ketamine anaesthesia while regarding ether anaesthesia only amplitude of T and H and acrophase of A were modified on D0. Some of these modifications were still observed on the days following anaesthesia. A significant difference between ether and ketamine-induced anaesthesia was also observed. (2) A non-detection of T, H and A daily rhythms after surgical implantation, which was not observed after injection of either ether or ketamine alone. Almost 10 days were needed to detect a significant daily rhythm for T, H and A. The authors suggest that, the general anaesthetic agent was responsible for a perturbation of the mesors, amplitudes and acrophases of the daily rhythms of H, T and A while the non-detection of these rhythms after implantation was more due to the surgical aggression.
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PMID:Daily rhythms of heart rate, temperature and locomotor activity are modified by anaesthetics in rats: a telemetric study. 920 63

The study investigated the role of odor cues from two naked mole-rat colonies, in conjunction with behavioral cues from nonbreeding colony members, in maintaining suppression of ovulation in subordinate female naked mole-rats isolated from the two parent colonies. Four high ranking nonbreeding female naked mole-rats were removed from their respective parent colonies and singly housed in separate burrow systems. For a 64-day period, the removed females were maintained in daily odor contact with their parent colony by daily rotating soiled bedding material between the parent colony and the burrow systems of removed females. In addition, subsets of nonbreeding animals from the respective parent colony were regularly moved into the burrow systems of removed females for 2-day periods during this 64-day period. Removed females were therefore in continual social contact with subsets of parent colony animals except for the breeding pair. All four removed females exhibited raised levels of urinary progesterone (< 2 ng/mg Cr) indicative of the onset of ovarian function within 3 days of being separated from the parent colony. Removed females exhibited a normal ovulatory cycle with levels of progesterone remaining elevated for 25-35 days (mean concentration of progesterone +/- SEM; 16.2 +/- 2 ng/mg Cr). Initiation of aggression and sexual behavior by removed females increased significantly when they were isolated from the parent colony. The results demonstrated that odor cues from the complete colony in conjunction with behavioral/tactile/vocal cues from the nonbreeding colony members were not the major cues maintaining reproductive suppression in nonbreeding female naked mole-rats. Instead, our results suggest that female reproductive suppression in naked mole-rats is caused by a dominance-related behavioral mechanism requiring direct contact with the breeding female.
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PMID:Combined olfactory contact with the parent colony and direct contact with nonbreeding animals does not maintain suppression of ovulation in female naked mole-rats (Heterocephalus glaber). 921 41

The effects of an aggressive biting response on stress-induced noradrenaline (NA) release in the rat amygdala and gastric ulcer formation were studied with an intracerebral microdialysis technique. Rats were exposed to a 60-min period of cold restraint stress with or without being allowed to bite a wooden stick. They were sacrificed 100 min after release from stress to investigate gastric ulcer formation. Cold-restraint stress increased NA release to 304 +/- 22.3 and 206 +/- 23.8% of basal levels (mean +/- SEM) in the nonbiting and biting groups, respectively. The stress-induced increases in NA release in the nonbiting group were significantly higher than those in the biting group. In the nonbiting group, significant increases in NA release continued for 80 min after release from stress; however, NA levels in the biting group recovered to basal levels immediately after the cessation of stress. Although many severe gastric lesions with bleeding were found in the nonbiting group, fewer gastric lesions without bleeding were found in the biting group. The cumulative length of gastric lesions in the nonbiting group and in the biting group was 26.2 +/- 7.4 and 6.8 +/- 3.9 mm (mean +/- SEM), respectively. The mean number of ulcers in the nonbiting group and the biting group was 11.8 +/- 1.3 and 1.8 +/- 0.7 (mean +/- SEM), respectively. Both the cumulative length of ulcers and the number of ulcers were significantly lower than those seen in the nonbiting group. These findings strongly suggest that expression of aggression during stress exposure attenuates not only stress-induced increases in NA release in the rat amygdala but also gastric ulcer formation consequent to stress.
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PMID:Expression of aggression attenuates both stress-induced gastric ulcer formation and increases in noradrenaline release in the rat amygdala assessed by intracerebral microdialysis. 944 32

Direct and indirect precursors to parents' harsh discipline responses to hypothetical vignettes about child misbehavior were studied with data from 978 parents (59% mothers; 82% European American and 16% African American) of 585 kindergarten-aged children. SEM analyses showed that parents' beliefs about spanking and child aggression and family stress mediated a negative relation between socioeconomic status and discipline. In turn, perception of the child and cognitive-emotional processes (hostile attributions, emotional upset, worry about child's future, available alternative disciplinary strategies, and available preventive strategies) mediated the effect of stress on discipline. Similar relations between ethnicity and discipline were found (African Americans reported harsher discipline), especially among low-income parents. Societally based experiences may lead some parents to rely on accessible and coherent goals in their discipline, whereas others are more reactive.
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PMID:Discipline responses: influences of parents' socioeconomic status, ethnicity, beliefs about parenting, stress, and cognitive-emotional processes. 1102 31

Empathy is a necessary prerequisite for the occurrence of consolation. The term "consolation" contains a hypothesis about function, which is distress alleviation. The present study aims to confirm the occurrence of consolation in captive chimpanzees via the post-conflict/matched-control method (PC-MC) and to suggest its possible roles. We collected 273 PC-MC pairs in the group of Pan troglodytes housed in the ZooParc de Beauval (France). We confirmed the presence of consolatory contacts (mean level of consolation, 49.5% +/- 22.3% SEM) in the colony. Consolation rates were significantly higher than reconciliation levels (mean level of reconciliation, 28.9% +/- 16.8% SEM). The level of consolation was greater in the absence of reconciliation than in the presence of it, suggesting that consolation might be an alternative behavior. As friendship and relatedness did not influence the occurrence of consolation, they did not seem to be the best prerequisites for this behavioral mechanism, at least in this chimpanzee colony. Affinitive contacts with third parties were significantly more frequent when the victim called attention to itself during severe aggressions by screaming. These high-pitched sounds seem to be useful in eliciting aid from conspecifics, as occurs in young humans. The occurrence of consolation reduced the likelihood of further attacks among group-members. From this perspective, both victims and consolers most likely gain potential advantages by interacting with each other when aggression is particularly severe, reconciliation is not immediate, and consequently social stress reaches high levels.
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PMID:Possible roles of consolation in captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). 1622 27

Spiders belonging to the genus Phoneutria (Perty, 1833), most commonly known as 'armed' spiders, are among the most dangerous species in Brazil due to high toxicity of their venom, associated with their habit of invading domestic or specific areas such as banana plantations. The venom of Phoneutria spiders is secreted by a pair of venom glands located inside their cephalothoraxes and connected to the chelicerae by two independent ducts. In the present study, the microanatomy and histological structure of the venom glands of Phoneutria nigriventer (Keyserling, 1891) were examined in detail by histochemical and conventional stains with laser confocal, scanning and transmission electron microscopies. The analysis confirmed the bulbous-shaped organ previously observed by others. The venom glands of P. nigriventer are covered externally by a double layer of striated muscles, which are arranged in a spiral fashion. This disposition of the external muscle fibers might provide the contraction movement of the venom gland to release their contents during a sting aggression. The presence of pore-like openings between the muscle fibers that cover the venom glands of P. nigriventer was considered quite remarkable. The presence of axon-like structures between the muscle fibers seen in the gland surface was also quite remarkable. The secretory epithelium of P. nigriventer invaginates into the gland lumen, contributing to the increase of the secretory surface area and also accommodating a higher number of secretory cells. Our observation of histological sections and SEM showed that the secretory cells in the venom gland of P. nigriventer form complex structures, secretory units, which originate at the base near the muscular layer and that extend into the central area until the gland lumen. Our study also identified a possible holocrine secretory mechanism of P. nigriventer venom gland, at least in the first venom milking, since we were able to see nuclei stained on confocal laser microscopy. However, our observation cannot disregard other possible types of secretory pathways in subsequent milkings, since we found no nuclei in the second and in the third venom secretions.
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PMID:Structural analysis of the venom glands of the armed spider Phoneutria nigriventer (Keyserling, 1891): microanatomy, fine structure and confocal observations. 1824 5


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