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 47,337 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The present study was designed to test whether ethanol ingestion affects plasma atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) concentration in healthy volunteers. On the basis of previous studies showing that ethanol induces a diuretic response and a decrease in atrial size (atrial distension), it was hypothesized that ethanol intake might be associated with a decrease in plasma ANF level. To somewhat increase plasma ANF level, the subjects were slightly loaded with water before the trial. As compared with juice, ethanol, 1 g/kg within 1 hr, increased urine output [405 +/- 37 (mean +/- SEM) ml/hr vs. 197 +/- 20 ml/hr, P less than 0.001]. Left atrial size decreased similarly (P less than 0.001) with both drinks. Plasma ANF concentration did not change with either ethanol or juice during the 3-hr study period. No changes were observed in plasma arginine vasopressin concentration and plasma renin activity. Our results are in conflict with previous reports in fasted subjects showing significant changes in plasma concentrations of the same hormones. Thus, the basal fluid balance seems to be crucial to the hormonal response to ethanol. The plasma concentrations of the hormones measured in this study do not directly explain the diuretic response to ethanol observed in slightly volume-loaded subjects.
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PMID:Plasma atrial natriuretic factor during ethanol ingestion in volume-loaded subjects. 144 64

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors decrease albuminuria in patients with diabetic nephropathy. To study the change in albuminuria in relation to changes in systemic and renal hemodynamics, nine normotensive patients with type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus and persistent proteinuria were given a single oral dose of 25 mg of the ACE inhibitor captopril. Blood pressure, glomerular filtration rate (GFR), effective renal plasma flow (ERPF), and albumin excretion rate (AER) were measured in two periods of 40 minutes before and in four periods of 40 minutes after administration of captopril. A constant water diuresis was maintained. Blood pressure did not decrease significantly (130/79 +/- 4/3 v 124/74 +/- 4/3 mm Hg; mean +/- SEM), median AER decreased from 403 (interquartile range [IQR], 812) micrograms/min to 333 (707) micrograms/min (P < 0.01). GFR did not change (123 +/- 13 v 117 +/- 14 mL/min), but ERPF increased significantly from 609 +/- 56 to 714 +/- 55 mL/min (P < 0.01). Consequently, the filtration fraction (FF; quotient of GFR and ERPF) decreased from 0.20 +/- 0.014 to 0.17 +/- 0.014 (P < 0.01). A strong correlation was found between the decrease of AER and the decrease of FF (rs = 0.75; P < 0.02). No correlation was found between the decrease in AER and changes in GFR or blood pressure. In the normotensive patient with diabetic nephropathy, captopril causes an acute reduction of AER, which is probably mediated by a lowering of the intraglomerular pressure.
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PMID:Captopril acutely lowers albuminuria in normotensive patients with diabetic nephropathy. 146 82

Cryo-fixed yeast Paramecia and sea urchin embryos were investigated with an in-lens type field-emission SEM using a cold stage. The goal was to further develop and investigate the processing of frozen samples for the low-temperature scanning electron microscope (LTSEM). Uncoated frozen-hydrated samples were imaged with the low-voltage backscattered electron signal (BSE). Resolution and contrast were sufficient to visualize cross-fractured membranes, nuclear pores and small vesicles in the cytoplasm. It is assumed that the resolution of this approach is limited by the extraction depth of the BSE which depends upon the accelerating voltage of the primary beam (V0). In this study, the lowest possible V0 was 2.6 kV because below this value the sensitivity of the BSE detector is insufficient. It is concluded that the resolution of the uncoated specimen could be improved if equipment were available for high-resolution BSE imaging at 0.5-2 kV. Higher resolution was obtained with platinum cryo-coated samples, on which intramembranous particles were easily imaged. These images even show the ring-like appearance of the hexagonally arranged intramembranous particles known from high-resolution replica studies. On fully hydrated samples at high magnification, the observation time for a particular area is limited by mass loss caused by electron irradiation. Other potential sources of artefacts are the deposition of water vapour contamination and shrinkage caused by the sublimation of ice. Imaging of partially dehydrated (partially freeze-dried) samples, e.g. high-pressure frozen Paramecium and sea urchin embryos, will probably become the main application in cell biology. In spite of possible shrinkage problems, this approach has a number of advantages compared with any other electron microscopy preparation method: no chemical fixation is necessary, eliminating this source of artefacts; due to partial removal of the water additional structures in the cytoplasm can be investigated; and finally, the mass loss due to electron beam irradiation is greatly reduced compared to fully frozen-hydrated specimens.
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PMID:High-resolution scanning electron microscopy of frozen-hydrated cells. 146 1

Erythritol is a sugar alcohol produced by Aureobasidium sp. from glucose. It is 75-80% as sweet as sucrose and is also nonhygroscopic. The aim of this study was to evaluate this sugar substitute from a cariological point of view. Erythritol was neither utilized as a substrate for the lactic acid production nor for plaque formation of mutans streptococci (serotypes a-h) and certain oral microorganisms. It was not utilized for water-insoluble glucan synthesis or cellular adherence by glucosyltransferase from Streptococcus mutans PS-14 (c) and Streptococcus sobrinus 6715 (g). Finally, a significantly lower caries score (3.1 +/- 0.5; mean +/- SEM) was observed in specific pathogen-free rats infected with S. sobrinus 6715 and fed with a diet containing 26% erythritol, as compared to control rats fed with a diet containing 26% sucrose (60.5 +/- 2.0). Also, rats provided a diet containing 56% erythritol chocolate (23.8% erythritol) and challenged with S. mutans PS-14 exhibited a significantly lower caries score (6.7 +/- 0.8) compared to the sucrose chocolate group (82.8 +/- 2.8). The main conclusion from this study is therefore that erythritol is a promising sugar substitute from a cariological point of view.
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PMID:Noncariogenicity of erythritol as a substrate. 146

beta-Oxidation of [1-14C]palmitic acid was examined in homogenates of astrocytes cultured from neonatal mouse brain. Under optimal reaction conditions (< or = 50 micrograms protein, 10 min at 37 degrees C), oxidation increased as a function of palmitate concentration (15 microM to 2 mM) and reached a maximum rate of 1.98 +/- 0.29 nmol/min/mg protein (mean +/- SEM) at 0.2 mM substrate. Eadie-Hofstee analysis of data from four experiments yielded apparent values for Vmax of 1.87 nmol/min/mg protein, and for Km, 35-40 microM. There were no dramatic changes in the oxidation rate in cells between 10 and 36 days in culture. During the 10-min assays, less than 0.05% of the radioactivity was converted to 14CO2 by the astrocytes; water-soluble products accounted for 1-2% of the total substrate added. Studies with KCN indicated that 60-70% of the total activity occurred in the mitochondria. We have been studying the structural and functional changes associated with the cerebral encephalopathy of Reye's syndrome (RS). Three-week-old astrocytes exposed to serum from RS children for the final 7 days of culture exhibited minor mitochondrial pleomorphism and had increased numbers of other intracellular organelles. Examination of the effects of agents implicated in RS indicated that oxidation of [1-14C]palmitate was not altered by Na+ salicylate (1-3 mM), but was inhibited by the industrial surfactant, Toximul MP-8 (> or = 10 micrograms/ml), 4-pentenoic acid (> or = 0.1 microM), or with 4 days' exposure to ammonia (10 nM). The latter treatment also resulted in an increase in protein synthesis, cell volume, and malondialdehyde formation. These results suggest that some of the "toxins" implicated in RS inhibit fatty-acid oxidation in the astrocytes and produce other lipid-related abnormalities that could be related to encephalopathy.
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PMID:Beta-oxidation of [1-14C]palmitic acid by mouse astrocytes in primary culture: effects of agents implicated in the encephalopathy of Reye's syndrome. 146 46

Nine male volunteers participated in 4 gastric emptying (GE) tests of liquid equicaloric mixtures of CHO (maltodextrins) and MCT of the following composition (% CHO-% MCT): Drink (Dr) 1:70%-30%, Dr2: 80%-20%, Dr3: 90%-10%, Dr4: 100%-0%. GE was measured at rest for 90 min according to the modified double sampling technique. GE rate, expressed as t1/2 (SEM), was 23 (2.3), 24 (1.6), 27 (2.2) and 36 (2.9) min, respectively, from drink 1 to drink 4. Statistical analysis showed that all MCT containing drinks emptied faster than the 100% CHO drink. Two mechanisms may explain this observation: 1) the CHO content and osmolality increases from Dr 1 to Dr 4 (both are regulators of GE); 2) MCT may not inhibit GE as common fat does, due to a better water solubility and absorption in the small intestine, resulting in a decreased duodenal-gastric feedback.
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PMID:Gastric emptying of carbohydrate--medium chain triglyceride suspensions at rest. 148 41

Fat-free mass (FFM) was measured with three different methods: near-infrared spectroscopy, bioelectrical impedance and tritiated water technique, in 76 (39 females/37 males) subjects (age 47 +/- 2 [SEM] years, BMI 26.8 +/- 0.6 kg m-2). From bioelectrical impedance measurements FFM was calculated with manufacturers formula and a formula developed by Deurenberg et al [1]. FFM estimated from tritiated water technique (51.9 +/- 1.1 kg) was significantly lower than measured with near-infrared spectroscopy (57.4 +/- 1.4 kg; p < 0.001) and bioelectrical impedance calculated with manufacturers formula (59.6 +/- 1.5 kg; p < 0.001), but did not differ from the estimation made according to Deurenberg (52.1 +/- 1.2 kg). All the methods were highly intercorrelated, although the correlation coefficients were lower in the obese than lean subjects. Obesity seems to influence the bioimpedance method more than the near-infrared spectroscopy method. The results demonstrate that the near-infrared spectroscopy and the bioelectrical impedance method are simple and reproducible techniques to estimate fat-free mass in normal weight man. Both measurements are based partly on the anthropometric measurements. However, it is necessary to use an adjusted formula to obtain reliable measures of fat-free mass with the bioimpedance method in obese subjects.
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PMID:Comparison of near-infrared light spectroscopy, bioelectrical impedance and tritiated water techniques for the measurement of fat-free mass in humans. 148 26

Oxygenation improves in patients with adult respiratory distress syndrome and in animals with oleic acid-induced lung injury when they are turned from the supine to the prone position. Dependent and nondependent pleural pressures (Ppl) were measured in six pigs ventilated in the supine and prone positions before and after volume infusion (VI). Before VI the mean +/- SEM AaPO2 difference was 26 +/- 8 mm Hg when the animals were supine and 10 +/- 2 mm Hg when they were prone (p > 0.05). After VI the AaPO2 was 64 +/- 6 mm Hg when the animals were supine (p < 0.05) and 43 +/- 7 mm Hg when they were prone (p < 0.05). VI increased the Ppl gradient from 0.53 +/- 0.1 to 0.71 +/- 0.1 cm H2O/cm when the animals were supine (p < 0.05) and from 0.17 +/- 0.1 to 0.27 +/- 0.1 cm H2O/cm when they were prone (p < 0.05). Dependent Ppl at FRC was much less positive when the animals were prone versus supine (0.9 +/- 0.3 versus 3.0 +/- 0.5 cm H2O, p < 0.05), suggesting that the airways in these dependent regions would narrow and/or close and that ventilation to these regions would diminish as a result of VI.
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PMID:Prone position alters the effect of volume overload on regional pleural pressures and improves hypoxemia in pigs in vivo. 148 16

The effect of hyperoxia on the arousal response to airway occlusion during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep was studied in six normal male subjects with a mean age (+/- SD) of 23.5 +/- 8.7 yr by testing the response to the occlusion of a face mask covering the nose and mouth. Occlusion trials while the subjects breathed room air (room air condition) were alternated with trials in which subjects breathed a mixture of room air and oxygen adjusted to maintain a sleeping baseline arterial oxygen saturation of 98% (hyperoxic condition). The time to arousal (mean +/- SEM) was significantly longer during oxygen administration (4.1 +/- 4.5 versus 28.9 +/- 4.6 s; p < 0.002). The maximal deflections in airway pressure were measured at a supraglottic location during airway occlusion to reflect the degree of inspiratory effort. The maximal airway suction pressure preceding arousal did not differ between the room air (27.4 +/- 5.4 cm H2O) and hyperoxic conditions (26.6 +/- 5.9 cm H2O). Conversely, the rate of increase in inspiratory effort (maximal pressure) during occlusion was decreased by oxygen administration. We conclude that hyperoxia prolongs the time to arousal after airway occlusion by decreasing the rate of increase in the magnitude of inspiratory efforts, but it does not change the arousal threshold.
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PMID:Effect of hyperoxia on the arousal response to airway occlusion during sleep in normal subjects. 148 20

Films made from cationic surfactants and well-retained redox catalysts were investigated. Full loading of metal phthalocyaninetetrasulfonates (MPcTS4-) into water-insoluble dialkyldimethylammonium surfactants by ion exchange from aqueous solutions yielded coatings on electrodes that retain these catalyst ions for 1-2 weeks in electrolyte solutions. In contrast, partly loaded films lost most MPcTS4- ions in a few hours. All films showed gel-to-liquid crystal phase transitions at temperatures characteristic of surfactant bilayers. Cross-sectional views by SEM showed layers of 0.1-0.2 micron, as well as some disordered regions. Each larger layer is probably made up of stacks of many molecular bilayers. Retention of MPcTS4- ions seems related to their dimerization. Dimers of MPcTS4- associated with ammonium head groups may crosslink adjacent surfactant bilayers. The MPcTS4- ions that enhance stability in these films are also good redox catalysts.
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PMID:Stable films of cationic surfactants and phthalocyaninetetrasulfonate catalysts. 149 67


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