Protein and nucleic acid synthesis in Escherichia coli: pressure and temperature effects.

The incorporation of glycine-C(14), leucine-C(14), and adenine-C(14) into the respective protein and nucleic acid fractions of Escherichia coli K-12 is markedly affected by application of moderately high hydrostatic pressure. Presure application may result in either stimulation or inhibition of incorporation depending on the temperature.

[A case report of Williams and Beuren syndrome with associated aggravation of in situ distal pulmonary vascular obstruction due to thrombotic disease]. / Une observation de syndrome de Williams et Beuren avec aggravation de l'obstruction vasculaire pulmonaire distale par maladie thrombotique in situ associée.

We report a case of Williams and Beuren syndrome in which the obstruction of the pulmonary vascular bed, linked with peripheral stenoses of the pulmonary arteries, associated here with an interventricular communication, was aggravated due to the coexistence of in situ thrombotic disease, leading to a progressive hypoxaemia, requiring long-term anticoagulant treatment, and compromising the long-term prognosis. This case report puts into question the so-called favourable prognosis of pulmonary arterial branch stenoses in this malformation syndrome.

Effect of hydrostatic pressure on translational fidelity.

We have used the application of hydrostatic pressure to modify the misreading of polyuridylate template. Pressure was used to test ribosomes isolated from Escherichia coli strains containing mutations in the S12 ribosomal protein which lead to streptomycin-resistance and -dependence. The incorporation of phenylalanine into polypeptide, at a given pressure, was found to vary with the source of ribosomes and was found to correlate with S12-dependent changes in rates of incorporation suggesting a role of the S12 ribosomal protein in the pressure effect. Streptomycin partially alleviated the increased pressure-resistance in those cases where control rates of incorporation were found to be stimulated by the addition of streptomycin. In contrast, the misincorporation of isoleucine was substantially more sensitive to pressure application, regardless of ribosome source or the presence of streptomycin. These results suggest that the application of hydrostatic pressure affects at least two distinct ribosomal reactions important to the discrimination of these two amino acids.

The effect of high hydrostatic pressure on eukaryotic protein synthesis.

The pressure response of two eukaryotic protein synthesizing systems has been characterized. The rabbit reticulocyte system has been tested, both in vivo and in vitro, using endogenous polysomes and polyuridylic acid (poly U). In addition, the poly U-directed polyphenylalanine synthesizing system obtained from wheat germ was utilized. The effect of pressure on eukaryotic protein synthesis has been found to be basically similar to that observed in prokaryotic systems, although the response of the eukaryotic protein synthesizing system is somewhat more complex signifying a greater influence of overlapping reactions. Magnesium was found to affect eukaryotic systems in much the same way as has been reported for prokaryotic systems, i.e., increasing the Mg2+ concentration in a protein synthesizing system increases the barotolerance exhibited by the system. Under conditions of high Mg2+ concentration, however, extreme (up to 160%) stimulation of protein synthesis at lower pressure levels was observed in the eukaryotic systems. Such high stimulation is not apparent in prokaryotic systems. The poly U-directed wheat germ system exhibited the most barotolerant polypeptide synthesis ever seen in our laboratory. This extreme barotolerance was only slightly decreased when the system was tested at reduced concentrations of magnesium.

Dietary cholesterol and the activity of stearoyl CoA desaturase in rats: evidence for an indirect regulatory effect.

The effect of cholesterol on stearoyl CoA desaturase (SCD) was investigated. Previous work had shown that the addition of cholesterol to the diet of rats produced higher liver SCD activity compared to non-cholesterol-fed controls. We have confirmed this result and investigated the mechanism responsible for this cholesterol-induced higher SCD activity. Rats were fed either a 10% corn oil (CO) or a 10% corn oil/1% cholesterol (CO/CH) diet for 1, 3, or 7 days. SCD mRNA abundance was 3.3, 1.9, and 2.4 times greater in livers from CO/CH-fed animals after 1, 3, and 7 days, respectively. Northern hybridization of RNA from kidney, intestinal mucosa, heart, adipose, and liver demonstrated that cholesterol feeding specifically altered liver SCD mRNA. Liver esterified cholesterol content increased 27-fold with cholesterol feeding. This esterified cholesterol increase was accompanied by a proportionately greater increase in oleic acid compared to other fatty acids. These studies indicate that cholesterol does influence the expression of SCD specifically in the liver and suggest that the product, oleic acid, is preferentially esterified to cholesterol in the liver. Preliminary liver nuclear run-on assays from rats fed CO or CO/CH diets for 1 and 3 days indicate that transcription regulation is not a factor.

Hydrostatic pressure studies of native and synthetic thick filaments: in vitro myosin aggregates at pH 7.0 with and without C-protein.

Column-purified myosin at pH 7.0 will reproducibly aggregate into filaments of known average length and structure when dialyzed against a low ionic strength medium under controlled conditions. When exposed to increased hydrostatic pressure, followed by quick return to atmospheric pressure, the original filaments shorten linearly with increasing pressure; in addition, a second population of filaments is seen, presumably the result of reaggregation of myosin after release of pressure. This second population is about 0.5 microns long, bipolar, and about half the diameter of the original filaments. The number of these filaments, but not their physical characteristics, is a function of the shortening of the original filament population. Both the remnants of the original population and the new aggregates, once formed, are stable over time and at room temperature. The addition of C-protein to myosin solutions before filament preparation results in a filament population of slightly shorter length. When these filaments are exposed to increased hydrostatic pressure, they are more resistant to disaggregation than myosin filaments without C-protein. However, like the filaments prepared in the absence of C-protein, a second population of shorter, thinner filaments is visible after exposure to pressure.

Hydrostatic pressure studies of native and synthetic thick filaments: II. Native thick filaments from rabbit skeletal muscle.

Native thick filaments isolated from freshly prepared rabbit psoas muscle were found to be resistant to pressure-induced dissociation. With increasing pressure application and release, a bimodal distribution of filament lengths was observed. The shorter filament length is associated with filament breakage at the center of the bare zone, while the longer length is associated with relatively intact filaments. Intact filaments and filament halves decrease in length by no more than 20% after exposure to and release of 14,000 psi. Bimodal distributions were not observed in equivalent experiments performed on filaments isolated from muscle glycerinated and stored at -20 degrees C for 6 months. Instead, filament dissociation proceeds linearly as a function of increasing pressure. Filaments prepared from muscle glycerinated and stored for 2 and 4 months exhibited pressure-induced behavior intermediate between the filaments prepared from fresh muscle and filaments prepared from muscle stored for 6 months. Since there appears to be no difference in the protein profiles of the various muscle samples, it is possible that stabilization of the native thick filament against hydrostatic pressure arises from trapped ions that are leached out over time.

Value of magnetic resonance imaging-based measurements of hippocampal formations in patients with partial epilepsy.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the occurrence of magnetic resonance imaging-detected hippocampal atrophy (HA) in patients with partial epilepsy (temporal and extratemporal, cryptogenic, or symptomatic). Magnetic resonance imaging-detected HA has been demonstrated to be both sensitive and specific for hippocampal sclerosis in cryptogenic temporal lobe epilepsy. DESIGN: Patients' hippocampal formations were measured on a computerized system using T1-weighted, 5-mm contiguous magnetic resonance coronal images made perpendicular to the hippocampus long axis. Hippocampal atrophy was defined on the basis of a normative asymmetry index and correlated with the epileptogenic focus defined by clinical, electroencephalographic, and magnetic resonance imaging (apart from HA) localizing data. PATIENTS AND CONTROL SUBJECTS: Seventy patients with intractable complex partial seizures of temporal, extratemporal, or undefined origin and 21 healthy control subjects. RESULTS: Hippocampal atrophy was present in 70% of patients with cryptogenic temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) (n = 40), 44% of patients with symptomatic TLE (n = 9), 29% of patients with extratemporal epilepsy (n = 14), and 6% of unclassified patients (n = 16). In the cryptogenic TLE category, HA was marked and usually concordant (93%) with electroencephalographic lateralization. Hippocampal atrophy was often mild in the extratemporal epilepsy category. With the use of a wider confidence interval (+/- 3.1 SD instead of +/- 2.2 SD), HA specificity for TLE increased to 93%, HA specificity for lateralizing cryptogenic TLE reached 96%, and HA sensitivity for cryptogenic TLE stood almost unchanged (68%). We found a link between early convulsions and HA occurrence. CONCLUSIONS: Hippocampal atrophy is a marker for TLE. Dual pathologic findings are detected in 44% of symptomatic TLE cases. Mild HA is rarely associated with extratemporal epilepsy. Magnetic resonance imaging-based hippocampal volumetric analysis is a useful method to localize the origin of partial complex seizures.

Ingestion of green tea rapidly decreases prostaglandin E2 levels in rectal mucosa in humans.

The objective of this Phase I/II study was to assess the potential for green tea to be used as a colorectal cancer chemopreventive agent. This study measured the dose-related biological effects of administration of a single dose of green tea on the rectal mucosa of normal volunteers. Volunteers were admitted to the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Clinical Research Center for 24 h. Baseline blood and rectal biopsy samples were obtained before the volunteers drank 0.6, 1.2, or 1.8 g of green tea solids dissolved in warm water. Blood samples were taken 2, 4, 8, and 24 h after the tea administration. Rectal biopsies were obtained at 4, 8, and 24 h. Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) levels were analyzed by ELISA. Tea polyphenol levels in the blood, urine, and rectal tissue were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography using a Coulochem electrode array detection system. Statistical comparisons were made using ANOVA. Decreased levels of PGE2 in rectal mucosa were observed at 4 and 8 h after consumption of green tea. There was no correlation between inhibition of PGE2 and tissue or plasma levels of tea polyphenols. Ten of 14 subjects demonstrated a response to green tea, as evidenced by at least a 50% inhibition of PGE2 levels at 4 h. We conclude that green tea constituents have biological activity in inhibiting PGE2 synthesis. Given the 71% "response rate," we believe these data support the study of green tea as a colorectal chemopreventive agent in more long-term Phase II trials.

Acne in retarded boy with autosomal chromosomal abnormality.

The frequency of acne appears to be increased in boys and men of the XYY genotype. This report describes severe acne in a retarded man in whom chromosomal analysis with differential banding suggested duplication of the distal portion of the long arm of a number 13 chromosome, a partial trisomy 13. In addition to retardation and seizures, his malformations, which included narrowed temples, ear anomalies, hexadactyly, and hernias, were consistent with those reported previously in patients with partial trisomy for the distal segment of chromosome 13. This patient and one recently reported retarded boy with chronic acne and trisomy 8 mosaicism suggest that the association of acne and chromosomal abnormality may not be limited to Y chromosome excess.

A report of two patients with lichen aureus.

Two patients with lichen aureus are described. The clinical and histologic features of our patients were compared with previously reported cases of lichen aureus in an effort to classify this entity properly among the pigmented purpuric dermatoses. We regard lichen aureus as a distinct entity. Although this disorder has been described principally in adult patients it began at the age of 14 years in one of our patients.

Risperidone-associated weight gain in children and adolescents: a retrospective chart review.

OBJECTIVE: Risperidone use has been associated with substantial weight gain in children and adolescents. Reports available to date have consisted of small case series evaluated without standardized indices of developmentally normative weight increase. The purpose of this study was to evaluate age- and gender-adjusted weight changes linked to risperidone use in a juvenile psychiatric inpatient population. METHOD: Thirty-seven child and adolescent inpatients treated with risperidone for 6 consecutive months were compared to a group of 33 psychiatric inpatients with no atypical neuroleptic exposure. Weight, height, and body mass index (BMI) were recorded on at least a monthly basis, and Tanner staging was completed on admission. Percent change from baseline weight, changes in standardized z scores of weight for age and gender, and proportion of subjects experiencing a < or = 7% weight increase from baseline were compared among groups. RESULTS: Subjects in both groups were comparable at baseline except for gender distribution (more males were in the risperidone group, p < 0.05). Risperidone-treated children and adolescents experienced significant weight gain between baseline and endpoint (paired t test, p < 0.001) that was first evident within 2 months of starting treatment, progressed steadily at an average rate of 1.2 kg/month, and did not reach a clear plateau during 6 months of observation. Significant increases in standardized weight were noted at 3 and 6 months for risperidone-treated subjects. Risperidone use conferred a substantial risk of gaining over 7% from baseline weight (odds ratio = 3.5, 95% confidence interval = 1.8-6.6, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Six-month exposure to risperidone was associated with clinically significant weight gain in 78% of treated children and adolescents (as opposed to 24% of those in the comparison group, p < 0.001). Risperidone dosage, concomitant medication use, and other demographic characteristics such as age, pubertal status, gender, and baseline weight and BMI were not associated with an increased risk of morbid weight gain. Standardized z scores offer advantages for the assessment of weight change among developing children and adolescents.

Monitoring source in an unconscious plagiarism paradigm.

Current laboratory paradigms used to assess unconscious plagiarism consist of three tasks. First, participants generate solutions to a puzzle task with a partner (initial generation task); second, they recall their individual contribution (recall-own task); and third, they attempt to create new solutions that were not offered previously (generate-new task). An analysis of these tasks indicated that they differ in terms of the source monitoring they require. The two generative tasks require less differentiated information (e.g., familiarity) and relatively lax decision criteria. The recall-own task, however, demands more differentiated information and more extended decision criteria. In two experiments, factors known to influence source monitoring were manipulated. Consistent with the analysis, no effects were associated with the generative tasks. Recall-own plagiarisms increased when self- and other-generated solutions were difficult to distinguish (Experiment 1) and decreased when the two sources were easier to distinguish (Experiment 2).

The ARISE Intervention. Using family and network links to engage addicted persons in treatment.

An alternative method to the Johnson Institute's "Intervention" is presented which, while incorporating many of Johnson's innovations, is, additionally: (a) less confrontative, thereby avoiding the reactivity in clients and family members that such confrontational approaches have tended to evoke; (b) takes into account both the needs of the chemically dependent person as well as the needs of the larger family and network system; and (c) aimed toward enrolling substance abusers in outpatient (as well as inpatient) treatment, thus placing it more in line with managed care priorities. Principles for treatment engagement are presented, accompanied by case examples. The approach is part of a more comprehensive model designed to maximize successful engagement with a minimum amount of professional time and effort.

[Corrected transposition of the great vessels with stenosis of the left atrioventricular valve in a 40-year-old woman]. / Transposition corrigée des gros vaisseaux avec sténose de la valve auriculo-ventriculaire gauche chez une femme de 40 ans.

The authors reports the detection of a rare and remarkably well tolerated cardiac malformation in a 40 year old woman whose clinical presentation would have suggested an ordinary mitral stenosis, had there not been a number of very unusual signs. Cardiac catheterisation and angiography showed a corrected transposition of the great arteries with stenosis of the systemic atrioventricular valve. This case is used to illustrate the principal malformations observed in association with corrected transposition of the great arteries, especially the common and very variable abnormalities of the systemic atrioventricular valve. The unusual feature of the reported case was the stenotic nature of the valvular lesion and the fact that this was the only associated intracardiac abnormality, simulating, at first sight, a rheumatic mitral stenosis.

[Hypoplasia of the right ventricle and cyanosis due to left-right atrial shunt within the framework of Turner's syndrome. Surgical closing of the interatrial connection after occlusion testing with balloon catheterization]. / Hypoplasie du ventricule droit et cyanose par shunt droite-gauche auriculaire dans le cadre d'un syndrome de Turner. Fermeture chirurgicale de la communication interauriculaire après test d'occlusion par ballonnet au cours du cathétérisme.

The authors describe the unusual cardiac malformation in a young girl with Turner's syndrome: right ventricular hypoplasia and atrial septal defect, resulting in central cyanosis. A trial of temporary occlusion of the atrial septal defect at cardiac catheterisation before surgical closure suppressed the right-to-left shunt and the cyanosis without significantly changing the hemodynamic parameters. The authors review the types of cardiovascular abnormalities associated with Turner's syndrome and emphasize the value of a temporary occlusion test of defects in certain cyanotic cardiac malformations with atrial right-to-left shunts; it may lead to a relatively simple surgical procedure, as in the case described.

[Apparently primary acute heart failure in infants. Long-term outcome]. / Insuffisances cardiaques aiguës en apparence primitives du nourrisson. Evolution à long terme.

Cases of acute cardiac failure which are apparently primary, and occurring in babies or young children have one characteristics clinical picture. There are three etiological agents, which cannot be differentiated clinically: myocarditis, fibroelastosis, and primary non-obstructive cardiomyopathies. When the critical early period, which still carries a high mortality, has been passed, the outlook is relatively favourable. 61 babies or infants of less than 30 months with acute primary cardiac failure were followed up for a period of between 5 and 20 years. 33 of them were considered cured; 22 have minor sequelae (most frequently) left ventricular hypertrophy on X-ray or ECG); 3 have persistent cardiac failure despite treatment; 3 have died after a period of more than 5 years. There is no clinical, X-ray or ECG finding which can predict the longterm outlook in this condition. It is virtually impossible to differentiate between myocarditis and firboelastosis; it seems likely in the majority of cases that we are dealing with different modes of development in the same condition.

[Long-term results of 156 Mustard operations for simple transposition of the great vessels]. / Résultats à long terme de 156 interventions de Mustard pour transposition simple des gros vaisseaux.

156 children with simple transposition of the great vessels have been operated on by Mustard's technique between 1-6-1967 and 31-12-1976, with an immediate overall mortality rate of 8%. In the longterm, the 9% of late deaths and more especially the complications are regrettable; complications were either of severe arrhythmia (almost 30%) leading to 2 late deaths and 7 pacemaker implantations, or venous obstruction relating to problems with the patch (25%). Despite the improved techniques and consequent reduction in surgical mortality and late complications, longterm prognosis is still unsure because of the unknown fate of the intra-atrial partition, and that of the "passive" rhythms which are so commonly found after this type of surgery.

[A case of subannular aneurysm of the left ventricle]. / Un cas d'anévrysme sous-annulaire du ventricule gauche.

The authors present a case of sub-annular aneurysm of the left ventricle in a child of 7. It was associated with aortic incompetence, a ventricular septal defect, and coarctation of the aorta which were discovered during investigation of streptococcal septicaemia. As a first stage procedure, the aortic valve was repaired, the aneurysm was excised, and the ventricular septal defect closed. At a later stage, the coarctation was resected. The question of whether this lesion was congenital or acquired is discussed. After one year, the result remains satisfactory.