A negative correlation between the induction of long-term potentiation and activation of immediate early genes.

In the present study we examined the relationship between the induction of long-term potentiation (LTP) in the dentate gyrus of anesthetized rats and activation of immediate early genes (IEGs; c-fos and zif/268) using several different high-frequency stimulation paradigms. Stimulation parameters that effectively induced LTP were not associated with IEG activation. Conversely, stimulation parameters that failed to induce LTP consistently resulted in IEG activation. These results suggest that there is a negative correlation between IEG activation and LTP, and that activation of IEGs is neither necessary nor sufficient for the induction of LTP.     

Tape stripping of human stratum corneum yields cell layers that originate from various depths because of furrows in the skin

Received: 21 November 1996     

Postsynaptic factors in the expression of long-term potentiation (LTP): increased glutamate receptor binding following LTP induction in vivo.

Several lines of evidence indicate that LTP in the hippocampus is associated with a change in the properties of postsynaptic glutamate receptors. In the present study, we used quantitative autoradiography to examine the binding properties of the alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-propionate (AMPA) and N-methyl-D-aspartate subclasses of glutamate receptors in frozen brain sections obtained from rats in which perforant-path LTP was induced in vivo. Induction of LTP resulted in a selective increase in [3H]AMPA binding in those hippocampal subfields receiving perforant-path axons. Increases in [3H]AMPA binding in dentate gyrus (stratum moleculare) were highly correlated with the magnitude of LTP recorded in this structure. Scatchard analyses of [3H]AMPA and 6-cyano-7-nitro-[3H]quinoxaline-2,3-dione (an AMPA receptor antagonist) binding in the dentate gyrus indicated that LTP induction resulted in an increase in the number of AMPA receptor binding sites. No changes in the binding of 3H-labeled N-[1-(thienyl)cyclohexyl]piperidine (an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist) were observed in any hippocampal subfield. These results suggest that a modification in postsynaptic AMPA receptors plays a role in the expression of synaptic enhancement following LTP induction in the hippocampus.     

Results of cochlear implants in totally deaf subjects]

Cochlear implants have been applied on a limited scale in the Netherlands since 1985. In a government sponsored health service trial the method was further explored from 1988 to 1991. During this period 20 persons were implanted, ten with a Vienna extracochlear system and ten with a 22-electrode Nucleus intracochlear system. The ages varied from 5 to 62, the duration of deafness from 2 to 47 years. Some patients were congenitally deaf. The major cause of deafness was meningitis. The effect of the implantation was tested with the 'minimal auditory capability' test battery adapted for the Dutch language. 18 persons were wearing their system for more than 8 h a day; one person, a prelingually deaf did no longer use his implant while another one only used it occasionally. Except for two persons, all scored above chance level on several tests. The postlingually deaf persons with the Nucleus system all achieved a certain degree of open set speech understanding without lipreading. With the aim of achieving better selection criteria a new trial has started with the same financial sources in cooperation with the Utrecht University Hospital.     

Isolation and interspecies-transfer of a plasmid from Pasteurella multocida encoding for streptomycin resistance

A plasmid encoding streptomycin-resistance could be detected in 13 of 32 Pasteurella multocida-cultures isolated from cattle and swine. The plasmid of these cultures proved to be similar upon Southern blot hybridization. It could be transformed into Escherichia coli 490A, where it also expressed streptomycin resistance.     

Correlates of depressive symptoms among Latino and Non-Latino White adolescents: Findings from the 2003 California Health Interview Survey

Background  

The prevalence of depression is increasing not only among adults, but also among adolescents. Several risk factors for depression in youth have been identified, including female gender, increasing age, lower socio-economic status, and Latino ethnic background. The literature is divided regarding the role of acculturation as risk factor among Latino youth. We analyzed the correlates of depressive symptoms among Latino and Non-Latino White adolescents residing in California with a special focus on acculturation.     

A Series of Serological Tests for the Detection of Antigens and Specific Antibodies in Deep-Seated Candidosis: Experimental Aspects/Eine Gruppe von Antigen- und Antikörpertests zur Serodiagnose von tieflokalisierten Candida-Mykosen: Experimentelle Aspekte

Summary: We describe a series of six serological tests for the diagnosis of deep-seated candidosis. The array comprises two commercial tests (antigen test, Ramco Inc., and antibody test, Roche), as well as four enzyme immunoassays which have been developed in this laboratory: an antigen test for detection of Candida-proteinase, the corresponding assays for monitoring of anti-proteinase antibodies, and two assays for monitoring of IgG and IgM against heterogenous metabolic antigens of C. albicans. The highly sensitive and specific proteinase antigen-test tolerates samples with high concentration of serum proteins. Proteinase antigen was detected in 10 out of 11 normal mice after intravenous infection with C. albicans blastospores. The proteinase antigen peaked between the second and fourth day after infection. A rise in corresponding antibodies was observed in all animals. No proteinase antigen was detected in sera of healthy human individuals; anti-proteinase antibody titers in these sera amounted up to 1:8000. In related ELISAs, using metabolic fungal antigens, titer values of specific IgG and IgM amounted to 5120 and 1280, respectively. The six tests were carried out in an comparative study under diagnostic conditions, the results of which are the subject of a forthcoming communication. Zusammenfassung: Ein Satz von sechs serologischen Tests für die Diagnostik der tiefen Candida-Mykosen wird vorgestellt. Die Gruppe schließt zwei kommerziell vertriebene Testbestecke ein (Latex-Agglutinationstest zum Antigennachweis, Ramco Inc., und Hämagglutinationstest zum Antikörpernachweis, Roche). Vier weitere Enzymimmuntests wurden von uns entwickelt: Ein Antigentest zum Nachweis von sekretorischer Candida-Protease, ein entsprechender Test zum Nachweis von Antikörpem gegen Candida-Protease, und zwei Assays zum Nachweis von IgG-bzw. IgM-Antikörpem gegen heterogene metabolische Antigene von C. albicans. Der empfindliche spezifische Protease-Antigentest toleriert hohe Konzentrationen unspezifischer Serumproteine und kann deshalb auf Serumproben in geringer Verdünnung (z. B. 1:20) angewandt werden. Protease-Antigen war in 200 fach verdünnten Seren von 10 aus 11 intravenös infizierten NWNI-Mäusen nachweisbar. Die höchste Antigen-Konzentration trat zwischen dem 2. und 4. Tag nach Infektion auf; die Serum-Halbwertszeit von gereinigter Protease in der Maus betrug etwa 60 nun. Ein Anstieg korrespondierender Antikörper war in alien infizierten Tieren zu beobachten. Auch im Serum gesunder Probanden waren Antiprotease-Antikörper bis zu einem Titer von 1:8000 nachweisbar; der Protease-Antigentest fiel hingegen immer negativ aus. Die Titer von Antikörpern gegen metabolische Candida-Antigene erreichten in derselben Gruppe von Seren Werte von 1:5120 bzw. 1:1280. Die sechs Tests wurden unter diagnostischen Bedingungen verglichen; Ergebnisse dieser Studie sind Gegenstand einer weiteren Mitteilung.     

Relations among IOP reduction, ocular disposition and pharmacology of the carbonic anhydrase inhibitor ethoxzolamide.

We have measured sequentially the concentrations of ethoxzolamide (6-ethoxybenzothiazole-2-sulfonamide) in ocular tissues following its intravenous or topical administration to normal albino rabbits. This was done in parallel with determinations of intraocular pressure (IOP) measured by tonometer or direct manometry. Ethoxzolamide was used because of its very high activity against carbonic anhydrase and experience showing that there is little or no other receptor in tissues. During the course of these experiments it was discovered that the lipid-soluble ethoxzolamide is converted in vivo to a water-soluble metabolite, while retaining high activity against the enzyme. Presumably this is the 6-O-glucuronide adduct. At the minimal dose for maximal effect (4 mg kg-1 i.v. at 45 min) the IOP lowering was 4.2 mmHg, the concentration in anterior uvea was 2.5 mumol kg-1, and the fractional inhibition of the enzyme (i) was 0.9995. The effect of free drug in the anterior uvea and other tissues. Following topical administration i was measured as a function of drug and enzyme in ciliary process. IOP lowering at 1 hr was -1.9 mmHg and i = 0.9993. By 4 hr i = 0.9980 and the pharmacological effect disappeared. At 8 hr the concentration of ethoxzolamide in the ciliary process is 0.4 mumol kg-1, essentially that of enzyme, with no free drug present: drug is now a marker for enzyme. Ethoxzolamide also labels the red cell carbonic anhydrases in the rabbit as well as other species including man. There appears to be no ethoxzolamide receptor other than carbonic anhydrase.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Gastrointestinal failure in intensive care: a retrospective clinical study in three different intensive care units in Germany and Estonia

Background  

While gastrointestinal problems are common in ICU patients with multiple organ failure, gastrointestinal failure has not been given the consideration other organ systems receive. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of gastrointestinal failure (GIF), to identify its risk factors, and to determine its association with ICU mortality.     

Stellenwert von inhaliertem Stickstoffmonoxid bei der Behandlung des schweren akuten Lungenversagens

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is characterized by perfusion in favor of non-ventilated areas of the lungs as the main cause of intrapulmonary right-to-left shunt and hypoxemia. Therapeutic interventions to selectively influence pulmonary perfusion in ARDS became possible with the introduction of inhaled nitric oxide (iNO), which provided a way not only to reduce pulmonary hypertension, but also to acutely improve ventilation-perfusion mismatch, and thus to treat severe hypoxemia. Clinical studies in ARDS demonstrated that the combination of iNO with other interventions, such as positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) and prone positioning, yielded beneficial and additive effects on arterial oxygenation. Although randomized controlled trials of this concept have up to now failed to show an improved outcome, iNO is a valuable option for the treatment of severe refractory hypoxemia in ARDS patients.