Electrocardiograms of an unusual type in right bundle-branch block

There are certain cases of intraventricular block in which the ventricular complexes of the electrocardiograms show the following characteristics: In Lead I all the ventricular deflections are small. There is a conspicuous S deflection, and T is usually flat or upright. In Leads II and III the ventricular deflections are similar in all respects to those seen in bundle-branch block of the common variety.Precordial leads have been employed in three cases in which the standard electrocardiograms were of this kind. In these leads the ventricular complexes are like those that are recorded in dogs with right branch block and in patients with diphasic ventricular complexes of the rare type. It is thought that the curves referred to represent right branch block. Some additional factor that modifies the form of the electrocardiogram may be present.     

The occurrence of auricular beats due to stimulation of the auricles by the contracting ventricles during complete heart-block: A case report

A case is reported in which the auricles respond to stimulation by the ventricles during complete A-V heart block.This is explained by the mechanical stimulation by the contracting ventricles of the A-V bundle above the lesion producing the block, with retrograde conduction of the impulse to the auricles.     

Fetal growth and hyperinsulinaemia in adult life

To explore the relation between reduced fetal growth and impaired glucose tolerance in adult life, an oral glucose tolerance test (75 g glucose) was carried out on 218 men and women, now aged around 50 years, who had been measured in detail at birth. Measurements of plasma concentrations of glucose and insulin were made at 0, 30, and 120 min. Fasting plasma concentrations of proinsulin and 32-33 split proinsulin were also measured. People in the highest category of birthweight tended to have the lowest plasma concentrations of insulin as adults at both 0 and 120 min, though both these relations were weak. Plasma insulin concentrations in adult life were more strongly related to abdominal circumference at birth than to birthweight. After adjusting for sex and body mass index, mean insulin concentrations at 0 min fell from 50 pmol l⁻¹ to 46 pmol l⁻¹ (p = 0.04) and at 120 min from 235 pmol l⁻¹ to 144 pmol l⁻¹ (p = 0.003) between people whose abdominal circumference at birth had been less than 11.5 in and those who abdominal circumference had been greater than 13 in. Plasma glucose concentrations at 120 min also fell with increasing abdominal circumference at birth. Because abdominal circumference at birth is an indicator of the growth of the liver in fetal life, one interpretation of these findings is that the sensitivity of the liver to insulin is permanently reduced if the intrauterine development of this organ is impaired. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Remarkable homology among the internal repeats of erythroid and nonerythroid spectrin.

A cDNA clone for nonerythroid alpha-spectrin was identified by direct immunological screening of a chicken smooth muscle cDNA library. A library prepared in the expression plasmids pUC8 and pUC9 was screened with an antiserum specific for chicken alpha-spectrin. Blots of poly(A)+ RNA from various tissues of chicken and mouse show that the cDNA hybridizes to an 8-kilobase mRNA. The cDNA hybridizes to a single-copy sequence on Southern blots of chicken genomic DNA. The complete nucleic acid sequence of the clone has a single 1419-base open reading frame. The derived amino acid sequence is organized into two partial and three complete 106-amino-acid repeats that show homology to the repeats described for human erythroid alpha- and beta-spectrin. Immunological and biochemical data indicate that chicken nonerythroid and human erythroid alpha-spectrin are two of the more widely diverged members of the spectrin family of proteins. In this respect, the degree of homology found between them was unexpected. Our data suggest a common evolutionary origin for these two alpha-spectrins and allow some predictions concerning spectrin gene structure.     

地格达-4味汤中獐牙菜苦苷在急性肝损伤模型大鼠体内药代动力学研究

目的:建立急性肝损伤模型大鼠血清中獐牙菜苦苷的HPLC血药浓度测定方法,并对其药代动力学进行研究.方法:SD大鼠腹腔注射D-半乳糖胺(D-GIaN) (400 mg·kg-1),制备急性肝损伤模型,按高、中、低(0.39,0.77,1.54 g·kg-1)剂量灌胃给予地格达-4味汤,收集不同时间点含药血清,HPLC测定血药浓度,采用Winnonlin 5.1药动学软件拟合房室模型,计算其药动学参数.结果:獐牙菜苦苷在0.000 6 ～0.019 2 mg ·L-1(r =0.998 9)线性关系良好,平均回收率均在80％以上,方法学考察其他项均符合实验要求.地格达-4味汤高、中、低剂量组吸收半衰期基本一致,药时曲线下面积(AUC)与给药剂量之间呈现良好的线性关系,属于线性动力学过程.结论:獐牙菜苦苷在急性肝损伤模型大鼠体内的药时曲线符合二室模型特征;所建立的方法准确,灵敏度高,专属性好,可作为獐牙菜苦苷体内血清药物浓度分析方法.     

The challenges of developing new tuberculosis vaccines

The World Health Organization estimates that tuberculosis is causing nearly two million deaths annually, mostly in developing countries. Widespread administration of the current tuberculosis vaccine to newborns is not a reliable route for preventing the disease in adults, the population that drives the epidemic. Several new vaccine candidates are in development, and a few have entered clinical trials. However, the field faces formidable scientific and policy challenges. A collaborative approach to solving scientific, policy, and resource obstacles--as well as new partnerships among emerging economies and vaccine development organizations--will be critical to developing a new tuberculosis vaccine that could achieve its public health potential to save lives and reduce the burden of disease.