Nicardipine improves motor tics

Calcium channel blockers can act on dopaminergic systems, and some reports suggest that they could be useful for the treatment of several movement disorders. In order to assess the efficacy of nicardipine in tics disorders we performed a prospective open non-controlled study which included 10 previously untreated patients. Our results suggest that nicardipine could be a useful and safe treatment for tics.     

Accuracy of planar reaching movements

This study examined the variability in movement end points in a task in which human subjects reached to targets in different locations on a horizontal surface. The primary purpose was to determine whether patterns in the variable errors would reveal the nature and origin of the coordinate system in which the movements were planned. Six subjects moved a hand-held cursor on a digitizing tablet. Target and cursor positions were displayed on a computer screen, and vision of the hand and arm was blocked. The screen cursor was blanked during movement to prevent visual corrections. The paths of the movements were straight and thus directions were largely specified at the onset of movement. The velocity profiles were bell-shaped, and peak velocities and accelerations were scaled to target distance, implying that movement extent was also programmed in advance of the movement. The spatial distributions of movement end points were elliptical in shape. The major axes of these ellipses were systematically oriented in the direction of hand movement with respect to its initial position. This was true for both fast and slow movements, as well as for pointing movements involving rotations of the wrist joint. Using principal components analysis to compute the axes of these ellipses, we found that the eccentricity of the elliptical dispersions was uniformly greater for small than for large movements: variability along the axis of movement, representing extent variability, increased markedly but nonlinearly with distance. Variability perpendicular to the direction of movement, which results from directional errors, was generally smaller than extent variability, but it increased in proportion to the extent of the movement. Therefore, directional variability, in angular terms, was constant and independent of distance. Because the patterns of variability were similar for both slow and fast movements, as well as for movements involving different joints, we conclude that they result largely from errors in the planning process. We also argue that they cannot be simply explained as consequences of the inertial properties of the limb. Rather they provide evidence for an organizing mechanism that moves the limb along a straight path. We further conclude that reaching movements are planned in a hand-centered coordinate system, with direction and extent of hand movement as the planned parameters. Since the factors which influence directional variability are independent of those that influence extent errors, we propose that these two variables can be separately specified by the brain.     

Phenoxyacetic acid induces glutathione-dependent detoxification and depletes the glutathione pool in Penicillium chrysogenum

Enzymes of the glutathione-dependent detoxification pathway (glutathione S-transferase and γ-glutamyl-transpeptidase)¹) were induced, and the glutathione pool was completely depleted by phenoxyacetic acid in Penicillium chrysogenum mycelia incubated for 15 h in a culture medium containing lactose as a carbon source and sodium glutamate as a nitrogen source. A significant increase in both the oxidised glutathione concentrations and the glutathione reductase activities were also observed. 1-Chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene - a potent substrate and inducer of glutathione S-transferase - initiated very similar physiological changes but no β-lactam production could be detected in this case. When (NH₄)₂HPO₄ was used as a nitrogen source the penicillin biosynthesis was repressed and the induction of γ-glutamyltranspeptidase by phenoxyacetic acid was hindered considerably.     

分娩方式对新生儿补体系统,体液免疫水平的影响

为研究分娩方式是否影响新生儿免疫状态，检测和比较了６８例妊娠足月阴道产和６４例妊娠足月部宫产分娩的新生儿脐血Ｃ３、Ｃ４及ＩｇＧ、ＩｇＡ、ＩｇＭ的含量，其结果：ＩｇＧ的的含量阴产组明显高于剖宫产组，且男婴阴道产组ＩｇＧ的信明显高于剖宫产。说明剖宫产可参降低新生儿免疫应签及抗感染能力。     

Effects of a toxin from the mucus of the caribbean sea anemone (Bunodosoma granulifera) on the ionic currents of single ventricular mammalian cardiomyocytes

The effects were studied of a toxin (Bainh) isolated from the secretion of the Caribbean sea anemone Bunodosoma granulifera on electrical and mechanical activities of rat ventricular muscle. The effects on the ionic currents of single rat and dog ventricular cardiomyocytes were studied using the whole-cell recording patch-clamp technique. In the concentration range from 1 to 10 mg/ml, Bainh increased the force of contraction and induced an increase in action potential duration of ventricular multicellular preparations. In single cardiomyocytes, at concentrations up to 10 mg/ml Bainh showed no significant effects on the sodium current. However, at 0.5–1 mg/ml it increased the L-type Ca current (I_CaL) by 25–50%. This increase in I_CaL was not voltage dependent and was reversible after washout. The transient outward current was not significantly affected by Bainh (1–10 mg/ml). In this concentration range, Bainh markedly (≈75%) increased the inward-going rectifier current, I_K1. This effect that was not voltage dependent and was fully reversible upon returning to control solution. It is suggested that these effects on ionic currents could explain the positive inotropic action of Bainh on cardiac multicellular preparations.     

Bis(cyclopentadienyl)zirconium dichloride supported on zeolites for ethylene polymerization

Y zeolites with different sodium contents and a sodium mordenite were evaluated as support for bis(cyclopentadienyl)zirconium dichloride as catalyst for ethylene polymerization. The results showed that, although the activities of the supported catalysts were lower than that of the homogeneous system, the average molecular weight of the polyethylene produced from the former was in general much higher than that of the polymer produced in solution. Contrary to the expected trend if the specific area was the dominant factor for catalyst activity, the best catalyst was the one supported on NaM zeolite. Thus, our results indicate that the concentration of framework aluminium atoms is the dominant factor, but that the contribution of the external surface is also important.     

Postgraduate school of obstetrics and gynecology and nongovernmental organizations: is collaboration possible?

We report the collaboration between the First Postgraduate School of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Milan, Italy, and the nongovernmental organization “Emergency” that operates through its own hospitals in countries devastated by armed conflicts. The collaboration was centered on the maternity clinic that Emergency opened in 2003 in northern Afghanistan. After a woman resident spent 5 months on-site, the collaboration is now extended to all residents with a group with four areas of intervention: guidelines, clinical records and data collection, drugs and medical devices, and teaching material. In addition, it offers consultation by e-mail for any clinical issue that might arise.     

Evaluation of a learning resource center for cancer patients

To address cancer out-patients' needs for information, a self-servelearning resource center was established at a nearby hotel.This facility provides numberous written and audio-visual cancerinformation materials for out-patients being treated at theUniversity of Texas M.D.Anderson Cancer Center Houston, Texas.Over a three month period, we conductred a consumer profileand assessed consumer satisfaction and use of the learning resuorcecenter. Data were gathered primarily through a self-administeredpatient/family satisfaction questionnaire and through monthlyadministrative records. The primary variables associated withuse of the learning resource center were educational level andhow long one had been a patient at the M.D.Anderson Cancer Center.Respondents who had used the learning resource center also indicateda stronger preference for receiving information about cancerthrough written materials than those who had not used the center.Users’ degree of satisfaction with the learning resourcecenter was generally high. The case study presented here offersrecommendations for the practitioner regarding the establishmentand evaluation of a learning resource center for cancer out-patientsand addresses these issues in a unique program setting.