Effects of coenzyme athletic performance system as an ergogenic aid on endurance performance to exhaustion.

This study examined the effects of the Coenzyme Athletic Performance System (CAPS) on endurance performance to exhaustion. CAPS contains 100 mg coenzyme Q10, 500 mg cytochrome C, 100 mg inosine, and 200 IU vitamin E. Eleven highly trained male triathletes were given three daily doses of either CAPS or placebo (dicalcium phosphate) for two 4-week periods using a double-blind crossover design. A 4-week washout period separated the two treatment periods. An exhaustive performance test, consisting of 90 minutes of running on a treadmill (70% VO2max) followed by cycling (70% VO2max) until exhaustion, was conducted after each treatment period. The mean (+/- SEM) time to exhaustion for the subjects using CAPS (223 +/- 17 min) was not significantly different (p = 0.57) from the placebo trial (215 +/- 9 min). Blood glucose, lactate, and free fatty acid concentrations at exhaustion did not differ between treatments (p < 0.05). CAPS had no apparent benefit on exercise to exhaustion.     

Development of commissural neurons in the embryonic rat spinal cord.

Little is known about the development of the various populations of interneurons in the mammalian spinal cord. We have utilized the lipid-soluble tracer DiI in fixed tissue to study the migration and dendritic arborization of spinal neurons with axons in the ventral commissure in embryonic rats. Crystals of DiI were placed in various locations in the thoracic spinal cord in order to label commissural neurons within the dorsal horn, intermediate zone, and ventral horn at E13.5, E15, E17, and E19. Seven different groups of commissural interneurons are present in the spinal cord by E13.5. Migration is relatively simple with groups occupying a position along the dorsoventral axis roughly corresponding to their position of origin along the neuroepithelium. By E15, commissural cells are near their final locations and exhibit characteristic morphology. One striking feature is the tendency of cells with similar morphology to cluster in distinct groups. By E19, at least 18 different types of commissural interneurons can be identified on morphological grounds. Although the situation is complex, some generalities about dendritic morphology are apparent. Commissural neurons located in the dorsal horn are small and have highly branched dendrites oriented along the dorsoventral axis. In more ventral regions, commissural neurons are larger and possess dendritic arbors oriented obliquely or parallel to the mediolateral axis with long dendrites extending toward the lateral and ventral funiculi. The number of primary dendrites of most groups is set by E15 and dendritic growth occurs in the transverse plane by lengthening and branching of these primary processes. This study demonstrates that a large number of classes of commissural interneurons can be recognized on the basis of characteristic morphologies and locations within the dorsal horn, intermediate zone and ventral horn of the embryonic rat spinal cord. This finding is consistent with the fact that commissural neurons project to many different targets and mediate a variety of different functions. The demonstration that dendritic arbors of spinal interneurons with characteristic morphologies can be conveniently labelled with DiI should prove useful in future studies on the development of specific circuits in the mammalian spinal cord.     

Lobar Pulmonary Edema Due to Mitral Regurgitation: Diagnosis by Echocardiography

A bstract One etiology of unilateral lobar pulmonary edema is mitral regurgitation. Echocardiography is able to demonstrate the retrograde flow of blood into the pulmonary veins and allows timely diagnosis and treatment planning. Correction of mitral regurgitation is followed by resolution of the radiographic abnormality.     

A Pneumatic Device for Rapid Loading of DNA Sequencing Gels

This work describes the design and construction of a device that facilitates the loading of DNA samples onto polyacrylamide gels for detection in the Perkin Elmer/Applied Biosystems (PE/ABI) 373 and 377 DNA sequencing instruments. The device is mounted onto the existing gel cassettes and makes the process of loading high-density gels less cumbersome while the associated time and errors are reduced. The principle of operation includes the simultaneous transfer of the entire batch of samples, in which a spring-loaded air cylinder generates positive pressure and flexible silica capillaries transfer the samples. A retractable capillary array carrier allows the delivery ends of the capillaries to be held up clear of the gel during loader attachment on the gel plates, while enabling their insertion in the gel wells once the device is securely mounted. Gel-loading devices capable of simultaneously transferring 72 samples onto the PE/ABI 373 and 377 are currently being used in our production sequencing groups while a 96-sample transfer prototype undergoes testing.     

Androgen receptor YAC transgenic mice carrying CAG 45 alleles show trinucleotide repeat instability

X-linked spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA) is caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the first exon of the androgen receptor (AR) gene. Disease-associated alleles (37-66 CAGs) change in length when transmitted from parents to offspring, with a significantly greater tendency to shift size when inherited paternally. As transgenic mice carrying human AR cDNAs with 45 and 66 CAG repeats do not display repeat instability, we attempted to model trinucleotide repeat instability by generating transgenic mice with yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs) carrying AR CAG repeat expansions in their genomic context. Studies of independent lines of AR YAC transgenic mice with CAG 45 alleles reveal intergenerational instability at an overall rate of approximately 10%. We also find that the 45 CAG repeat tracts are significantly more unstable with maternal transmission and as the transmitting mother ages. Of all the CAG/CTG repeat transgenic mice produced to date the AR YAC CAG 45 mice are unstable with the smallest trinucleotide repeat mutations, suggesting that the length threshold for repeat instability in the mouse may be lowered by including the appropriate flanking human DNA sequences. By sequence-tagged site content analysis and long range mapping we determined that one unstable transgenic line has integrated an approximately 70 kb segment of the AR locus due to fragmentation of the AR YAC. Identification of the cis - acting elements that permit CAG tract instability and the trans -acting factors that modulate repeat instability in the AR YAC CAG 45 mice may provide insights into the molecular basis of trinucleotide repeat instability in humans.      

Cryopreservation of human oocytes: a review of current problems and perspectives

It is well recognized that the ability to cryopreserve unfertilizedhuman oocytes would make a significant contribution to infertilitytreatment. However, despite considerable interest, very fewsuccessful pregnancies have arisen from cryopreserved oocytesafter thawing, insemination and transfer of the subsequent embryo.The reasons for this lack of progress may well result from adearth of information on how the various biophysical changesduring a cryopreservation regimen affect human oocyte function.Recently, fundamental studies on the effects of cooling, membranepermeability, cryoprotectant addition and ice formation havebeen performed on human oocytes by a number of groups, and theseform the basis of the current review. It is likely that successfulhuman oocyte cryopreservation will only follow once these factorsare fully understood, but the existing base of knowledge shouldprovide a platform for further improvements in the techniquescurrently employed.