Long term radiological features of radiation-induced lung damage

Purpose

To describe the radiological findings of radiation-induced lung damage (RILD) present on CT imaging of lung cancer patients 12?months after radical chemoradiation.

Giant aneurysm of renal artery: surgical management

Giant aneurysm of the renal artery is rare even though renal artery aneurysms are diagnosed more often since the introduction of abdominal ultrasonography and selective renal arteriography. A 52-year-old man with an aneurysm of the left renal artery measuring 16 x 13 x 10 cm presented with features of an expanding aneurysm. He underwent resection of the aneurysm and a left nephrectomy.     

Self-reproducing catalyst drives repeated phospholipid synthesis and membrane growth

Cell membranes are dynamic structures found in all living organisms. There have been numerous constructs that model phospholipid membranes. However, unlike natural membranes, these biomimetic systems cannot sustain growth owing to an inability to replenish phospholipid-synthesizing catalysts. Here we report on the design and synthesis of artificial membranes embedded with synthetic, self-reproducing catalysts capable of perpetuating phospholipid bilayer formation. Replacing the complex biochemical pathways used in nature with an autocatalyst that also drives lipid synthesis leads to the continual formation of triazole phospholipids and membrane-bound oligotriazole catalysts from simpler starting materials. In addition to continual phospholipid synthesis and vesicle growth, the synthetic membranes are capable of remodeling their physical composition in response to changes in the environment by preferentially incorporating specific precursors. These results demonstrate that complex membranes capable of indefinite self-synthesis can emerge when supplied with simpler chemical building blocks.Lipid membranes are ubiquitous in all domains of life. Membranes are organizing structures needed to define physical boundaries, compartmentalize molecules within the cell, and provide sites for proteins that control transport and signaling. Natural membranes are also capable of growth through in situ synthesis of glycerophospholipids catalyzed by embedded integral membrane proteins that are continually synthesized by entrapped cellular machinery (1–3). Numerous studies of artificial membranes have demonstrated the ability of various amphiphiles to self-assemble into bilayer vesicles with properties reminiscent of cellular membranes (4–8). A limited number of these studies have demonstrated that seeding artificial membranes with catalysts that are capable of either generating additional amphiphiles, or of driving the recruitment of lipids from the environment, triggers an increase in membrane surface area, and, in some cases, causes vesicle budding and division (9–14). However, membrane growth in these systems inevitably leads to dilution of the catalyst and cessation of membrane formation (15, 16). Thus, a significant roadblock to synthetic membranes capable of continual phospholipid synthesis has been the lack of a mechanism by which the embedded molecular catalysts that are responsible for membrane expansion are able to repopulate indefinitely (15, 17). Here we report on the design of a simplified lipid synthesizing membrane that uses a synthetic, membrane-embedded catalyst that is capable of self-reproduction. To achieve simultaneous lipid and catalyst synthesis we use a shared catalytic triazole coupling reaction to generate both triazole phospholipids and additional membrane-embedded copper-chelating oligotriazole catalysts (18, 19). By substituting the complex network of biochemical pathways used in nature with a single autocatalyst that simultaneously drives membrane growth, our system continually transforms simpler, high-energy building blocks into new artificial membranes.     

The effect of CPAP therapy on excessive daytime sleepiness and quality of life in subjects with obstructive sleep apnoea: an AB design study

Sleep and Breathing - Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a disorder characterized by apnoeas and hypopnoeas due to repetitive upper airway collapse during sleep. So far, there are no published data...     

Anti-coagulant activity of a metalloprotease: further characterization from the Indian cobra (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Naja naja</Emphasis>) venom

A high molecular mass, non toxic metalloprotease the NN-PF3 with the bound Ca²⁺ and Zn²⁺ from the Naja naja venom has been studied further for its anticoagulant property. The molecular mass by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry was 67.81 kDa. The NN-PF3 exhibited fibrin(ogen)olytic activity. In addition to fibrinogen, NN-PF3 hydrolyzed blood and plasma clot with the later hydrolyzed about one fold higher. The α polymer of fibrin was preferentially hydrolyzed over the α chain but the β chain and γ–γ dimer remained untouched. It was devoid of plasminogen activation property. It prolonged the activated partial thromboplastin time, prothrombin time and the thrombin clotting time of citrated human plasma. It did not affect the thrombin activity. In mice, defibrinogentaion, prolonged bleeding time (P < 0.01) and reduced fibrinogen level were observed following intravenous injection. Human plasma or α2-macroglobulin did not, but the polyvalent anti-venom inhibited the NN-PF3 activity. In contrast to most snake venom metalloproteases, it did not degrade extra cellular matrix proteins.