Positions of septal papillary muscles in human hearts.

Septal papillary muscles, similarly to other papillary muscles, are essential elements of the heart valvular system. Damage to their structure may lead to a considerable life risk. Of all the papillary muscles, the septal papillary muscles are characterized by the greatest topographical and morphological variability. However, information about these muscles is scarce and fragmentary. The objective of this study was to ascertain their occurrence and the region in which they are placed in the inter-ventricular septum. One hundred and eleven human hearts were examined. The hearts belonged to the Clinical Anatomy Department of the Medical University of Gdansk. They were fixed in formalin with ethanol and came from middle-aged and older individuals of both sexes, devoid of pathological changes and birth defects. During the tests, classic anatomical methods were applied. The region where the papillary muscles are found covers a sizeable surface of the septum, from the conus arteriosus up to the back angle of the right chamber. Depending on their location the following septal papillary muscles (musculi papillares septales, MPS) were singled out: 1) lying on the front wall of the septum (anterior papillares septales), 2) in the central part of the septum (central muscles), and 3) in the posterior section of the septum (posterior papillares septales). A trial to determine the types of MPS was based on this diversity of location. Consequently, five types of MPS were specified: type I: anterior-central (44.1%); type II: anterior (15.3%); type III: anterior-posterior (13.5%); type IV: anterior-central-posterior (24.3%); and type V: uniform (2.75%). This study is an attempt to systematize and standardize the terminology of these structures.

Correlation between map position and phenotype of CTI mutants in the c cistron of Rhizobium meliloti phage 16-3.

Nine temperature-sensitive clear mutations (Cti) in the C cistron (coding for the repressor protein) of Rhizobium meliloti temperate phage 16-3 were characterized according to the inductive temperature, the immunity of cells lysogenic for these mutant phages to superinfection by homoimmune weak virulent mutants, the phenotype of double-ti mutants and interallelic complementation. The results indicate that mutations of similar phenotypic expression are clustered on the genetic map. Furthermore, it seems probable that the C cistron of the original phage 16-3 is identical to that of the independently isolated phage strain 36.

Sensitization of trigeminal nociception specific for migraine but not pain of sinusitis.

Trigeminal pain processing was studied in 14 patients with unilateral migraine attacks and 14 age- and sex-matched patients with comparable unilateral headache from frontal sinusitis. Using a nociception-specific blink reflex method (nBR), a facilitation of nBR responses predominantly on the headache side was observed in migraine, but not in sinusitis. The facilitation of trigeminal nociception may be specific for migraine rather than a consequence of peripheral pain such as frontal sinusitis.

Braiding of two spiraling laser beams due to plasma wave wakes.

We study how two Gaussian laser beams interact through plasma wave wakes produced when they co-propagate in a plasma. Using a variational principle, we derive equations of motion for the centroid of each beam, and find braided centroid solutions. These results can be generalized to other nonlinear optical media with non-instantaneous nonlinearity.

Compressing and focusing a short laser pulse by a thin plasma lens.

We consider the possibility of using a thin plasma slab as an optical element to both focus and compress an intense laser pulse. By thin we mean that the focal length is larger than the lens thickness. We derive analytic formulas for the spot size and pulse length evolution of a short laser pulse propagating through a thin uniform plasma lens. The formulas are compared to simulation results from two types of particle-in-cell code. The simulations give a greater final spot size and a shorter focal length than the analytic formulas. The difference arises from spherical aberrations in the lens which lead to the generation of higher-order vacuum Gaussian modes. The simulations also show that Raman side scattering can develop. A thin lens experiment could provide unequivocal evidence of relativistic self-focusing.

Main tributaries of the coronary sinus in the adult human heart.

The coronary sinus collects blood from the heart walls. It is a structure which presently plays a very important clinical role in invasive cardology. In this study, the occurrence of the main tributaries of the coronary sinus was examined as wall as the topography of their outlet portions. Material consistied of 150 adult human hearts of both sexes from aged 18 to 85 years. In the examined material, the graet and middle cardiac veins as well as the posterior vein of the left ventricle were always obserwed. The remaining tributaries of the coronary sinus were less stable. The outlet portions of the main veins of the heart were characterized by significant variability.

About variability of Vieussen valve in the adult human heart.

The Vieussen valve is situated at the ostium of the great cardiac vein to the coronary sinus. There are no details about its shape in anatomic literature. The tested material consisted of 150 adult human hearts of both sexes from 18 to 85 years of age, fixed in a formalin/ethanol solution. Classical macroscopic anatomical methods were used. The Vieussen valve was found in about 65% of the tested material. It showed a large variability in terms of morphology.

Variability of valve configuration in the lumen of the coronary sinus in the adult human hearts.

Described by many authors, valves refer to the coronary sinus. The best known among them are Thebesius and Vieussen valves. Information about valves in the lumen of the coronary sinus, though, is rarely found in anatomic literature. Frequency of occurrence of valves in the lumen of the coronary sinus and the degree of their formation was chartered in this paper. 150 adult human hearts of both sexes from 18 to 85 years of age were tested, fixed in a formalin/ethanol solution. Classical macroscopic anatomical methods were used. The valves in the sinus lumen were observed in 10% of the tested hearts, usually presented as incomplete single ones (7.3%).

[Anatomic and functional disorders of the urinary tract in children with urinary tract infections]. / Zaburzenia anatomiczne i czynnosciowe dróg moczowych u dzieci z zakazeniem ukladu moczowego.

The study is based on clinical analysis of 207 case recordings of children with urinary tract infection (UTI) hospitalized in The Department of Pediatric Nephrology, University Hospital, Lublin in 1995-1999. The study comprised children aged 1-18 years, average 8.8 +/- 0.4 (77.8% girls). Recurrent UTI was observed in 76.8% of children. Acute UTI was diagnosed in 20.8% of children. In 2.4% of children UTI was detected during hospitalization because of other diseases. In all children urinary X-ray examination was performed. Anatomical abnormalities were detected in 38% of children. Vesico-ureteral reflux was diagnosed in 61 children (29.5%). In 16/25 (64%) of children with vesico-ureteral reflux renal scarring was detected by radionuclide examination. In some children urodynamic examination was performed and in all of them functional abnormalities were detected.

Aedes aegypti transducing densovirus pathogenesis and expression in Aedes aegypti and Anopheles gambiae larvae.

Aedes aegypti densovirus (AeDNV) is a small DNA virus that has been developed into an expression and transducing vector for mosquitoes [Afanasiev et al. (1994) Exp Parasitol 79: 322-339; Afanasiev et al. (1999) Virology 257: 62-72; Carlson et al. (2000) Insect Transgenesis: Methods and Applications (Handler, A.M. & James, A.A., eds), pp. 139-159. CRC Press, Boca Raton]. Virions carrying a recombinant genome expressing the GFP gene were used to characterize the pathogenesis of the virus in 255 individual Aedes aegypti larvae. The anal papillae of the larvae were the primary site of infection confirming previous observations (Afanasiev etal., 1999; Allen-Muira et al. (1999) Virology 257: 54-61). GFP expression was observed in most cases to spread from the anal papillae to cells of the fat body, and subsequently to many other tissues including muscle fibers and nerves. Infected anal papillae were also observed to shrink, or melanize and subsequently fall off in a virus dependent manner. Three to four day-old larvae were less susceptible to viral infection and, if infected, were more likely to survive into adulthood, with 14% of them still expressing GFP as adults. Higher salt concentrations of 0.10-0.15 M inhibited viral infection. Anopheles gambiae larvae also showed infection of the anal papillae (17%) but subsequent viral dissemination did not occur. The persistence of the reporter gene expression into adulthood of Aedes aegypti indicates that transduction of mosquito larvae with recombinant AeDNV may be a means of introducing a gene of interest into a mosquito population for transient expression.