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Query: UMLS:C0432222 (SEM)
 47,337 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A chamber for introducing, fracturing and coating frozen biological samples has been developed as an attachment to the sepcimen chamber of a scanning electron microscope. Together with a eucentric-tilt cold-stage, this chamber constitutes a complete system for viewing fractured biological surfaces of the type normally only seen by replica techniques. An air-lock on the chamber accepts a transfer module to allow insertion of the frozen sample without frost build-up. Fracturing is carried out with a precisely adjustable cooled knife under a 10--100X binocular microscope. The sample can tilt and rotate while being coated with carbon or metals evaporated from rechargeable sources introduced through the air-lock. Cooling in the chamber is provided by a cylindrical copper tank filled with liquid nitrogen. The chamber has its own LN2 trapped high vacuum system. After preparation the sample can be placed directly into the SEM through an isolation valve. The cold-stage utilizes a Joule-Thomson refrigerator. The sample can be kept below 103 K at all times though there are provisions for heating it in the fracturing and cold-stage positions. A system of controls, sensors and interlocks simplifies the operation of the system.
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PMID:A chamber attached to the SEM for fracturing and coating frozen biological samples. 65 Jun 76

Plasma concentrations of zinc and copper were measured in 15 obese patients before intestinal bypass surgery, in 27 patients after intestinal bypass surgery, and in 52 lean control subjects. Preoperatively, the obese patients had zinc concentrations that were significantly lower than in the lean control subjects (76 +/- 3 versus 89 +/- 2 microgram/dl) (+/- SEM) and copper levels that were significantly higher (147 +/- 10 versus 119 +/- 3 microgram/dl). After intestinal bypass, plasma zinc and copper concentrations were significantly lower (zinc, 62 +/- 2 microgram/dl; copper, 90 +/- 5 microgram/dl; P less than 0.001) than in prebypass patients. One patient developed leukopenia associated with a plasma copper concentration of 36 microgram/dl. Leukocyte count and plasma copper level rose with oral copper sulfate replacement therapy. Intestinal bypass surgery may produce clinically significant decreases in plasma concentrations of zinc and copper. Careful observation and replacement therapy are indicated in all patients who develop deficiences after intestinal bypass surgery.
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PMID:Plasma zinc and copper in obesity and after intestinal bypass. 69 28

Before 1909 methods of an intrauterine contraception were known in Germany. Their practical use was initiated 20 years later by Ernst Graefenberg. Further development took place in the U.S., where the major part of basic investigations have been done. The introduction of copper-bearing IUDs undoubtedly increased the safety of intrauterine contraception. Investigations concerning the morphology of the endometrial contact area (i.e. by SEM) and the evaluation of certain biochemical facts associated with the release of copper ions, lead to hypotheses of the mode of action. A randomized comparative study CuT 200 vs. Lippes Loop D demonstrates similar pregnancy rates with both types of IUD, but a moderate advantage of the CuT 200 in regard to the expulsion rate and the removal rates due to bleeding and/or pains. It might be medically indicated to terminate pregnancy when a woman has conceived in spite of a copper-bearing IUD in situ, in conformity with the recommendations of the Population Council. Most complications associated with the IUD are due to incorrect insertion. The author recommends inserting the IUD menstrually, maintaining strictly sterile conditions, a nondeformed uterus being hooked on a bullet forceps. As already anticipated by Ludwig Fraenkel, a careful insertion should be done by experienced doctors only.
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PMID:[Intrauterine contraceptive devices. Mode of action, experiences, complications (author's transl)]. 94 59

A SEM study carried on intra-uterine devices (Dalkon Shield) is reported. The poor manufacturing of the devices is stressed, which could increase their efficiency but also the risks of penetration, or worse, perforation. The solution for the future could be copper bearing intra-uterine devices coated by hydrogels. This should maintain efficiency and improve security.
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PMID:Intra-uterine devices, A SEM study on the Dalkon Shield. 127 32

In this study, surface corrosion of carved and polished specimens of conventional and high-copper amalgams was investigated. The specimens were studied to detect surface corrosion after immersion in artificial saliva for 48 h or 1 year, and later investigated by SEM. Corrosion was greatest in 1-year-immersed carved conventional amalgam specimens. The surface was very rough with the contours of the particles visible and deep holes opening at the surface. High-copper amalgam specimens showed less corrosion than conventional amalgam specimens.
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PMID:Investigation of surface corrosion in amalgam. 128 46

The efficacy of recombinant vampire bat salivary plasminogen activator (bat-PA) as a thrombolytic agent was compared with that of human tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) in a canine model of arterial thrombosis. An occlusive thrombus was formed in the femoral artery by insertion of a thrombogenic copper coil; femoral arterial blood flow was monitored with a Doppler flow meter. Bat-PA and t-PA, when administered by 5-minute intravenous infusion (14 nmol/kg), reperfused seven out of eight and four out of eight dogs, respectively. The median reperfusion times in the bat-PA and t-PA groups were 24 and greater than or equal to 131 minutes, respectively. The mean reperfusion times (+/- SEM) in the recanalized bat-PA- and t-PA-treated dogs were similar (20 +/- 5 and 11 +/- 2 minutes, respectively, p = NS). Maximal blood flow after reperfusion was greater with bat-PA than with t-PA (80 +/- 10% and 41 +/- 15% of control flow, respectively, p less than 0.05). Furthermore, the median reocclusion time was markedly delayed in the bat-PA group relative to the t-PA group (131 versus 34 minutes, respectively, p less than 0.05). Plasma fibrinogen and plasminogen were not significantly depleted by the administration of t-PA or bat-PA. However, plasma alpha 2-antiplasmin activity was moderately depressed in the t-PA group relative to the bat-PA group (p less than 0.05). The clearance profile for t-PA was monoexponential, with a half-life (t1/2) of 2.4 +/- 0.3 minutes and a mean residence time of 3.5 +/- 0.4 minutes. The clearance profile for bat-PA was biexponential, with a t1/2 alpha of 0.9 +/- 0.2 minutes, a t1/2 beta of 20.2 +/- 2.7 minutes, and a mean residence time of 21.3 +/- 4.3 minutes. The steady-state volume of distribution displayed by bat-PA was 16-fold greater than that of t-PA. Zymography of serial plasma samples from the bat-PA-treated dogs failed to demonstrate the apparent generation of a complex between bat-PA and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1; the corresponding complex with t-PA was observed in plasma samples from the t-PA-treated dogs. The sustained recanalization and improved blood flow in the bat-PA group relative to the t-PA group and the avoidance of fibrinogenolysis by bat-PA, despite its prolonged mean residence time, suggest that bat-PA may be superior to t-PA as a thrombolytic agent.
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PMID:Vampire bat salivary plasminogen activator promotes rapid and sustained reperfusion without concomitant systemic plasminogen activation in a canine model of arterial thrombosis. 137 32

This paper describes four investigations of the olfactory mucosa of the brown trout: 1) the ultrastructure of the olfactory mucosa as revealed by scanning (SEM), conventional transmission (TEM), and high voltage (HVEM) electron microscopy; 2) light and electron-microscopic investigations of retrograde transport of the tracer macromolecule horseradish peroxidase (HRP) when applied to the cut olfactory nerve; 3) SEM and TEM investigations of the effects of olfactory nerve transection on cell populations within the olfactory epithelium; and 4) ultrastructural investigations of reversible degeneration of olfactory receptors caused by elevated copper concentrations. The trout olfactory epithelium contains five cell types: ciliated epithelial cells, ciliated olfactory receptor cells, microvillar olfactory receptor cells, supporting cells, and basal cells. The ciliated and microvillar olfactory receptor cells and a small number of basal cells are backfilled by HRP when the tracer is applied to the cut olfactory nerve. When the olfactory nerve is cut, both ciliated and microvillar olfactory receptor cells degenerate within 2 days and are morphologically intact again within 8 days. When wild trout are taken from their native stream and placed in tanks with elevated copper concentrations, ciliated and microvillar cells degenerate. Replacement of these trout into their stream of origin is followed by morphologic restoration of both types of olfactory receptor cells. Ciliated and microvillar receptor cells are primary sensory bipolar neurons whose dendrites make contact with the environment; their axons travel directly to the brain. Consequently, substances can be transported directly from the environment into the brain via these "naked neurons." Since fish cannot escape from the water in which they swim, and since that water may occasionally contain brain-toxic substances, the ability to close off--and later reopen--this anatomic gateway to the brain would confer a tremendous selective advantage upon animals that evolved the "brain-sparing" capacity to do so. Consequently, the unique regenerative powers of vertebrate olfactory receptor neurons may have their evolutionary origin in fishes.
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PMID:Ultrastructural neurobiology of the olfactory mucosa of the brown trout, Salmo trutta. 139 70

Sponge granuloma formation was compared in copper-deficient and copper-sufficient rats following feeding of respective diets for 20, 40, or 60 d. Body weight, total blood hemoglobin, and activities of ceruloplasmin and Cu, Zn-superoxide dismutase in plasma were monitored to ascertain copper deficiency. Mean granuloma weights (mg +/- SEM) in copper-deficient and copper-sufficient groups of rats, respectively, were as follows: 37 +/- 2 and 38 +/- 2 after 20 d, 22 +/- 2 and 23 +/- 2 after 40 d, and 19 +/- 1 and 21 +/- 1 after 60 d on respective diets. Thus, nutritional copper deficiency did not have an effect on sponge granuloma formation in the rat.
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PMID:Nutritional copper deficiency does not affect sponge granuloma formation in the rat. 169 80

Activated neutrophils and possibly xanthine oxidase-derived free radicals are believed to be mediators of ischemia and reperfusion-induced myocardial damage. We studied the cardioprotective effect of the neutrophil stabilizer and xanthine oxidase inhibitor azapropazone in dogs subjected to thrombotic occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD), induced by intracoronary introduction of a copper coil, followed 60 min later by thrombolytic treatment with intracoronary streptokinase and 4-day reperfusion; we then determined infarct size by triphenyltetrazolium stain. Azapropazone [100 mg/kg intravenously (i.v.) followed by a 24-h i.v. infusion of 10 mg/kg/h, n = 8] or vehicle (n = 10) treatments were started immediately before the streptokinase infusion. Steady-state plasma levels of azapropazone ranged from 97 to 163 micrograms/ml during the infusion. Myocardial blood flow and underperfused area at risk were determined using radiolabeled microspheres. Results were as follows (mean +/- SEM): area at risk (percentage of left ventricle) azapropazone 22.7 +/- 3.16 and vehicle 21.8 +/- 4.13; infarct size (percentage of area at risk), azapropazone 45.1 +/- 11.8 and vehicle 75.7 +/- 10.6, p less than 0.03; collateral blood flow (ml/min/g), azapropazone 0.27 +/- 0.02 and vehicle 0.23 +/- 0.02; total ischemic period (min), azapropazone 106 +/- 5.9 and vehicle 91.5 +/- 4.9. Azapropazone had no effects on heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), or rate/pressure product (RPP). These dta show that azapropazone limits infarct size in a canine model of coronary thrombosis and long-term reperfusion and that this cardioprotection is independent of cardiovascular parameters.
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PMID:Persistent cardioprotection by azapropazone in a canine model of coronary artery thrombosis and thrombolysis. 171 99

Oxidation of low density lipoprotein (LDL) leads to more rapid uptake by arterial wall macrophages and foam cell formation. Inhibiting LDL oxidation may impede these processes and offers a new mechanism to retard atherogenesis. The 21-aminosteroids, derived from methylprednisolone, are potent inhibitors of free radical production by stimulated monocytes and also are scavengers of lipid peroxyl radicals. The 21-aminosteroid, U74500A, was added to a mixture of low density lipoprotein cholesterol and human monocytes to which lipopolysaccharide was add to stimulate the monocytes. At a final concentration of 10 microM, U74500A reduced the production of lipid peroxidation from 6.10 +/- 1.11 to 0.84 +/- 0.16 nmol (mean +/- SEM) MDA equivalent/1 x 10(6) monocytes, as measured by a thiobarbituric acid reacting substance (TBARS) assay. Similarly 10 microns U74500A reduced Cu2+ induced LDL oxidation from 12.28 +/- 0.10 (in vehicle) to 0.49 +/- 0.12. These observations suggest that the 21-aminosteroids should be evaluated in animal models as a potential therapy to retard atherogenesis, especially considering their apparent lack of mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid side-effects.
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PMID:A 21-aminosteroid inhibits oxidation of human low density lipoprotein by human monocytes and copper. 175 90


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