bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Content of Hepatic Reduced Glutathione in Chronic Alcoholic Patients: Influence of the Length of Abstinence and Liver Necrosis
Authors: Videla Luis A. , Iturriaga Hernán , Pino María E. , Bunout Daniel , Valenzuela Alfonso , Ugarte Guillermo 
Published: August 2015

1. The relationship between the content of hepatic reduced glutathione (GSH) and the length of abstinence was investigated in 45 chronic alcoholic patients.
2. Hepatic GSH levels were significantly correlated (r = 0.58; P&lt;0.001) with the length of alcohol withdrawal in the whole group. According to liver histology patients were divided into two groups, with and without hepatic necrosis. Subjects without necrosis showed a significant positive correlation (r = 0.71; P&lt;0.001) between GSH values and the length of abstinence; no correlation (r = −0.22; P&lt;0.40) was observed in the group with necrosis.
3. According to the period of abstinence patients were separated into two groups, with a short (≪ 5 days) and a prolonged (&gt; 5 days) alcohol withdrawal. Patients with and without necrosis exhibited comparable mean levels of liver GSH (2.04 ± sem 0.21 and 1.74 ± 0.23 μmol/g respectively; P&lt;0.30) when studied after short periods of abstinence. Alcoholics without liver necrosis showed significantly higher hepatic GSH levels than those with necrosis (3.23 ± 0.30 and 1.60 ± 0.33 respectively; P &lt; 0.01) after prolonged periods of alcohol withdrawal. Similar results were obtained when liver GSH levels were expressed as a function of the mean surface area of hepatocytes, which was not significantly different between patients with and without hepatic necrosis.
4. Parameters assessing the nutritional status of patients with and without necrosis were not significantly different. Steatosis, histologically scored and irrespective of the period of abstinence, was higher in patients with liver necrosis and it did not correlate with hepatic GSH (r = −0.17; not significant). Fibrosis was observed in 20 cases and it did not modify the positive correlation between liver GSH content and the period of abstinence (with fibrosis: r = 0.57; P &lt; 0.01; without fibrosis: r = 0.58;P &lt; 0.01).
5. The changes observed in liver GSH content might be of pathogenic importance in alcoholic liver disease through alterations in lipoperoxidative processes in the hepatocyte.
Circadian Variation in Number and Affinity of β2-Adrenoceptors in Lymphocytes of Asthmatic Patients
Authors: Titinchi S. , Al Shamma M. , Patel K. R. , Kerr J. W. , Clark B. 
Published: August 2015

1. To determine whether circadian variation in adrenoceptor function might underlie the ‘morning dip’ in peak expiratory flow (PEF) rate and its abolition by salbutamol we measured indices of β-adrenoceptor function (Bmax. and Kd), the ratio FEV1/FVC, and plasma cortisol at 08.00 and 18.00 hours on and off salbutamol (4 mg given orally every 4 h) in five extrinsic asthmatic patients and five normal volunteers.
2. There was a significant circadian variation in receptor numbers (Bmax.) in both the control and asthmatic groups which was not abolished on treatment with salbutamol.
3. Both groups appeared to compensate for loss of receptor number induced by salbutamol administration by increasing receptor affinity.
4. For comparable combinations of drug/time, there was no significant difference between the control and asthmatic groups.
5. We conclude that the ‘morning dip’ observed in asthmatic patients cannot simply be explained by changes in cell receptor number or affinity, as our results suggest that both groups have intact β-adrenoceptor function. Nevertheless, our observations of the normal circadian rhythm has important implications for future studies of β-adrenoceptors in asthmatic patients.
The Effect of Histamine on the Human Fingertip Circulation
Authors: Coffman Jay D. , Cohen Richard A. , Rasmussen Helen M. 
Published: August 2015

1. The effect of intra-arterial histamine on fingertip blood flow (FBF) and vascular resistance (FVR) was studied in normal subjects during reflex sympathetic vascoconstriction induced by body cooling and vasoconstriction caused by intra-arterial noradrenaline.
2. In a room at 20°C, FBF increased from 15.3 ± 35.5 (sd) to 28.3 ± 55.9 ml min−1 100 ml−1 of tissue and FVR decreased from 23.7 ± 17.7 to 11.9 ± 9.9 mmHg·min−1 100 ml−1 (P &lt; 0.01) during infusions of histamine (0.5–4 μg/min) in 14 subjects. In nine of these subjects, the disappearance half times of local injections of Na131I were measured and decreased from 19.8 ± 10.9 to 12.9 ± 7.3 min during histamine infusions, indicating an increase in nutritional flow. Arteriovenous shunt flow was also probably affected, for increases in FBF were sometimes large and FBF increased without a change in the radioisotope half time in two subjects.
3. Neither cimetidine nor pyrilamine (mepyramine) consistently prevented the FBF responses to histamine. Administration of both antihistamines together attenuated the response.
4. During noradrenaline infusions in four subjects, a large increase in FBF (8.9 ± 10.9 to 39.0 ± 8.2 ml, P&lt;0.005) occurred at the smallest dose (0.5 μg/min) of histamine.
5. It is concluded that histamine can vasodilate fingertips and increase nutritional blood flow during reflex sympathetic vasoconstriction. This vasodilatation may be mediated via both histamine H1 and H2 receptors.
Clinical Testing of Gliadin Fractions in Coeliac Patients
Authors: Ciclitira P. J. , Evans D. J. , Fagg N. L. K. , Lennox E. S. , Dowling R. H. 
Published: August 2015

1. Since the toxic fraction of cereal flour which damages the small bowel mucosa of patients with coeliac disease has not been fully defined in vivo, we studied the effect of intraduodenal infusions of different doses of unfractionated gliadin and of α-, β-, γ- and ω-gliadin subfractions on the morphology of multiple jejunal biopsies taken from two patients with treated coeliac disease.
2. A dose-response study with increasing quantities of unfractionated gliadin in one coeliac patient showed that 1000 mg produced marked damaged in serial jejunal biopsies taken 2–3 h after commencing the infusion and that the changes had almost completely disappeared 72 h later.
3. α-, β-, γ- and ω-gliadin were prepared, checked for purity and investigated for toxicity in two coeliac patients. After an intraduodenal challenge with 1000 mg of the four gliadin sub-fractions these were shown to have induced damage in the mucosa of jejunal biopsies taken 6 h later.
4. These observations confirm the results of studies in vitro, which suggest that not only α- but β-, γ- and ω-gliadin are enterotoxic in coeliac disease.
Effect of Uninephrectomy on Urinary Prostaglandin E2, F2α, and 6-Ketoprostaglandin F1α Excretion in Rats
Authors: Baer Philip G. , Nasjletti Alberto 
Published: August 2015

1. Male Wistar rats were used to examine whether renal prostaglandins (PG) contribute to functional compensatory changes in the remaining kidney after uninephrectomy. Total urinary excretion of PGE2, PGF2α and 6-keto-PGF1α, a metabolite of PGI2, was measured before and during 11 days after surgery in uninephrectomized (UNX, n = 8) and sham-operated control (S, n = 9) rats.
2. Urine volume was increased for the UNX rats on days 2–8 after surgery, but not thereafter, and urine osmolality for UNX was decreased on post-surgery days 1–9; total urinary sodium excretion did not differ between the two groups. Urinary PGE2 excretion was decreased in the UNX rats to 50% of S rat values, except on post-surgery days 2 and 3, when values for the two groups were not significantly different. Urinary PGF2α excretion by the UNX rats was reduced to 50% of S rat values throughout the post-surgery period. In contrast, the urinary excretion of 6-keto-PG1α by the UNX rats did not differ significantly from that by the S rats, except on a single day.
3. Chronic renal functional adaptation to renal mass reduction does not depend on increased renal prostaglandin systems activity; however, increased intrarenal PGE2 activity in the remaining kidney might be a factor in compensatory adjustments during the first days after surgery.
Calmodulin Distribution and Ca2+ Transport in the Erythrocytes of Patients with Essential Hypertension
Authors: Postnov Yu. V. , Orlov S. N. , Reznikova M. B. , Rjazhsky G. G. , Pokudin N. I. 
Published: August 2015

1. The rate of calcium transport and calmodulin distribution in the erythrocytes of patients with essential hypertension were studied. In erythrocyte membranes subjected to calmodulin depletion by treatment with EGTA, both the affinity of the calcium pump for Ca2+ and its maximal activity were the same in normotensive and hypertensive patients.
2. The addition of exogenous calmodulin to calmodulin-stripped membranes from erythrocytes of patients with essential hypertension resulted in a smaller increase of the maximal activity of the calcium pump and its affinity for Ca2+. The addition of calmodulin to erythrocyte membranes obtained without EGTA treatment resulted in a smaller increase of the maximal activity of the calcium pump only.
3. There were no significant differences of calmodulin distribution (cytoplasmic concentration and size of the membrane-bound pool) between the erythrocytes of normotensive and hypertensive patients.
4. It is suggested that alterations in the calcium pump activity of the erythrocyte membranes of patients with essential hypertension are related to the alteration of interaction between calmodulin and Mg2+, Ca2+-ATPase.
The Immediate Pressor Response to Saralasin in Man: Evidence against Sympathetic Activation and for Intrinsic Angiotensin II-Like Myotropism
Authors: Mathias C. J. , Unwin R. J. , Pike F. A. , Frankel H. L. , Sever P. S. , Peart W. S. 
Published: August 2015

1. The cardiovascular and hormonal effects of intravenous saralasin (0.5, 1 and 5 μg min−1 kg−1) were assessed in nine tetraplegic patients (with complete cervical spinal cord transaction above the sympathetic outflow) and in six normal subjects.
2. In the tetraplegic patients, saralasin caused an immediate transient pressor response which was not dose-dependent and substantially greater than the pressor response in normal subjects. The pressor response in the tetraplegic patients was not accompanied by a rise in levels of plasma noradrenaline.
3. In the tetraplegic patients, after α-adrenoceptor blockade with thymoxamine (1 mg kg−1 h−1), twice the dose of intravenous noradrenaline was needed to induce the same pressor response. The pressor response to saralasin (5 μg kg−1 min−1), however, was unaffected by thymoxamine.
4. Saralasin caused minimal changes in levels of plasma renin activity and plasma aldosterone in both groups. There was no relationship between basal plasma renin activity and the pressor response in either group.
5. We therefore conclude that the immediate transient pressor response to saralasin in man is not due to central sympathetic stimulation, is unlikely to be due to peripheral sympathetic activation and is probably the result of intrinsic angiotensin II-like myotropism.
Oxalate Dynamics and Removal Rates during Haemodialysis and Peritoneal Dialysis in Patients with Primary Hyperoxaluria and Severe Renal Failure
Authors: Watts R. W. E. , Veall N. , Purkiss P. 
Published: August 2015

1. We have measured the plasma oxalate concentration (POx), urinary oxalate excretion (UOx), oxalate equilibrium distribution volume (ODV), oxalate metabolic pool size [(ODV) × (POx)], total plasma oxalate clearance (PCOx), renal (or dialyser) oxalate clearance (RCOx), non-renal oxalate clearance (NRCOx) and the tissue oxalate accretion rate (TOA)= [(NRCOx) × (POx)] in three patients with severe renal failure due to primary hyperoxaluria who were being treated by peritoneal dialysis or haemodialysis, or by renal transplantation. The clearance (either GFR or dialyser) of [99mTc]diethylenetriaminepenta-acetate (DTPA) and the extracellular fluid volume (ECF) measured as [99mTc]DTPA distribution volume were also determined.
2. Negligible amounts of 14C were found in faeces or as 14CO2 in expired air and hence (NRCOx) = (PCOx-RCOx).
3. Haemodialysis removed oxalate more efficiently than peritoneal dialysis in the patient where a direct comparison was possible. Neither treatment could keep up with the TOA when performed for clinically acceptable times.
4. The plasma oxalate concentrations calculated from 14C clearance through the dialyser and the chemically determined concentration of the oxalate in the dialysate were in the range 111–146 μmol/l. This is higher than in normals and in hyperoxaluric patients who are not in renal failure. Hence, although the ODV and ECF are similar to those of hyperoxaluric patients without renal failure and normal control subjects, the oxalate metabolic pool (ODV × POx) is grossly enlarged.
5. In the patient treated by renal transplantation, the oxalate pool size diminished concurrently with the resumption of oxalate excretion but expanded again as renal function decreased due to oxalosis.
6. The quantitative data show that dialysis procedures can only be a temporary holding operation and the prognosis with transplantation remains bad unless excessive oxalate production can be controlled.
Simultaneous Measurement of Renal Clearance and Plasma Clearance of 99mTc-Labelled Diethylenetriaminepenta-Acetate, 51Cr-Labelled Ethylenediaminetetra-Acetate and Inulin in Man
Authors: Rehling M. , Møller M. L. , Thamdrup B. , Lund J. O. , Trap-Jensen J. 
Published: August 2015

1. The present investigation was undertaken to study the kinetics of 99mTc-labelled diethylene-triaminepenta-acetate (DTPA) as compared with inulin and 51Cr-labelled ethylenediaminetetra-acetate (EDTA).
2. Twenty patients with various degrees of decreased renal function were studied. The renal clearance, plasma clearance and volume of distribution of all three tracers were measured after a simultaneous single injection.
3. The average renal clearance ratio 99mTc-DTPA to inulin was 0.97; the average renal clearance ratio 99mTc-DTPA to 51Cr-EDTA was 1.02.
4. In all patients the plasma clearance of inulin exceeded that of 99mTc-DTPA. No difference was seen between the plasma clearance of 99mTc-DTPA and 51Cr-EDTA. The plasma clearance of all three tracers overestimated the simultaneously measured renal clearance; on average this was, for 99mTc-DTPA 5.7 ml/min, for 51Cr-EDTA 6.0 ml/min and for inulin 8.1 ml/min. The plasma clearance of 99mTc-DTPA correlated well with the renal clearance of inulin, but overestimated this by 3.5 ml/min on average.
5. The volume of distribution of inulin was less than that of 99mTc-DTPA and 51Cr-EDTA. No difference was seen between the volume of distribution of 99mTc-DTPA and 51Cr-EDTA.
6. It is concluded that the difference in the kinetics of 99mTc-DTPA and 51Cr-EDTA in patients with decreased renal function was small and without clinical relevance. The two radio-actively labelled tracers can replace each other in assessment of glomerular filtration rate (GFR). The close correlation between the plasma clearance of 99mTc-DTPA after a bolus injection and the renal clearance of inulin justifies the use of the single-injection technique in assessment of GFR.
The relative proportions of fat, muscle and bone in the normal human forearm as determined by computed tomography
Authors: Maughan R. J. , Watson J. S. , Weir J. 
Published: August 2015

1. Computed tomography has been used to establish the proportions of fat, muscle and bone present in the normal human forearm.
2. Subjects were healthy young volunteers, eight males and eight females. A series of six cross-sectional scans at right angles to the long axis of the forearm was obtained, the scans being made at equidistant intervals between the olecranon process and the ulnar styloid.
3. The volumes occupied by fat, muscle and bone were calculated for the complete forearm. Total forearm volume calculated by this method agreed closely with that measured by water displacement.
4. For the male subjects, forearm composition was 72.1 ± 4.4% muscle (mean ± SD), 15.0 ± 5.3% fat and 12.9 ± 1.2% bone. Female forearms had less muscle (P&lt;0.001) and more fat (P&lt;0.001) than those of the male subjects: 58.5 ± 4.0% muscle, 29.3 ± 5.0% fat and 12.3 ± 1.4% bone.
5. Forearm muscle volume was significantly correlated (r= 0.75; P&lt;0.05) with lean body mass in the male subjects; the range of values for lean body mass in the female subjects was too small to permit calculation of the equivalent relationship.
6. Forearm fat content, as a percentage of total volume, was proportional to whole body fat content as estimated from skinfold thickness (males, r = 0.84; P&lt; 0.01; females, r = 0.77; P&lt; 0.05).
Oxalate Absorption and Postprandial Urine Supersaturation in An Experimental Human Model of Absorptive Hypercalciuria
Authors: Erickson Stephen B. , Cooper Kerry , Broadus Arthur E. , Smith Lynwood H. , Werness Peter G. , Binder Henry J. , Dobbins John W. 
Published: August 2015

1. The effect of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25-(OH)2D] on dietary oxalate absorption and postprandial urine supersaturation with calcium oxalate was determined in 11 normal subjects.
2. 1,25-(OH)2D increased the urinary excretion of orally administered [14C]oxalate in the 8 h period after a liquid meal containing 1.875 mmol of calcium and 0.83 mmol of oxalate (P &lt; 0.01), and during a 48 h period when the subjects ingested a diet containing 25 mmol of calcium and 3.3 mmol of oxalate/day (P &lt; 0.01); however, 1,25-(OH)2D administration had no effect on [14C]oxalate excretion when calcium was removed from the liquid meal.
3. 1,25-(OH)2D increased 24 h urinary oxalate excretion from 28.7 ± 2.1 mmol/mol of creatinine to 36.8 ± 2.6 mmol/mol of creatinine (P &lt; 0.05) on the 10 mmol/day calcium diet and from 26.4 ± 2.9 to 33.2 ± 2.2 mmol/mol of creatinine (P &lt; 0.1) on the 25 mmol/day calcium diet.
4. A linear correlation (r = 0.72) was found between plasma 1,25-(OH)2D levels and urinary [14C]oxalate excretion after the liquid meal.
5. 1,25-(OH)2D administration produced postprandial supersaturation of urine with calcium oxalate and calcium oxalate crystalluria.
6. These studies suggest that 1,25-(OH)2D increases oxalate absorption (and urinary excretion) by increasing calcium absorption, which results in less binding of calcium to oxalate in the intestine; therefore more oxalate is available for absorption. The combined effect of increased calcium and oxalate absorption results in postprandial supersaturation of urine with calcium oxalate, with resultant crystalluria.
The time Course During 36 Weeks’ Endurance Training of Changes in o2 max. and Anaerobic Threshold as Determined with a new Computerized Method
Authors: Smith D. A. , O'Donnell T. V. 
Published: August 2015

1. Six healthy male subjects followed a programme of endurance training for 36 weeks. At 12 week intervals each underwent an incremental exercise test to maximum on a treadmill. Minute ventilation, cardiac frequency, expired and end-tidal concentrations of oxygen and carbon dioxide, oxygen uptake and carbon dioxide output were measured continuously during each test.
2. Anaerobic threshold (AT) was determined non-invasively as the onset of sustained increases in each of the ventilatory equivalent for oxygen, expired and end-tidal concentrations of oxygen followed by an increase in ventilatory equivalent for carbon dioxide after a brief delay due to isocapnic buffering. A new computerized cumulative-sum method was employed.
3. Significant increases in maximum oxygen uptake (Vo2 max.) of 13.6%, AT (32.3%) and % AT/Vo2 max. (17.0%) and a significant decrease (10.2%) in cardiac frequency at an oxygen uptake of 1.0 litres/min (fc1.0) were observed at the completion of the training programme.
4. The time courses of the changes for each of AT, Vo2 max. and fc1.0 were not identical during the training. Compared with Vo2 max. the disproportionate increases in AT occurred earlier and were usually completed within 12 weeks. Vo2 max. increased for the first 24 weeks of training, but showed no further increase over the final 12 weeks. fc1.0 decreased through the whole training period.
5. The improved AT after training is more likely to be related to improved peripheral utilization of oxygen than to an improved oxygen delivery to muscles.
The Role of Opioid Peptides in the Hormonal Responses to Acute Exercise in Man
Authors: Grossman A. , Bouloux P. , Price P. , Drury P. L. , Lam K. S. L. , Turner T. , Thomas J. , Besser G. M. , Sutton J. 
Published: August 2015

1. Opioid involvement in the physiological and hormonal responses to acute exercise was investigated in six normal male subjects. Each was exercised to 40% (mild exercise) and 80% (severe exercise) of his previously determined maximal oxygen consumption on two occasions, with and without an infusion of high-dose naloxone. The exercise task was a bicycle ergometer; mild and severe exercise were performed for 20 min each, followed by a recovery period.
2. Exercise produced the expected increases in heart rate, blood pressure, ventilation, tidal volume, respiratory rate, oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production. After severe exercise, naloxone infusion increased ventilation from 94.8 ± 4.9 litres/min to 105.7 ± 5.0 litres/min (P&lt;0.05), but had no effect on any of the other physiological variables.
3. Exercise-induced changes in several hormones and metabolites were noted, including elevations in circulating lactate, growth hormone (GH), prolactin, cortisol, luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), adrenaline, noradrenaline, plasma renin activity (PRA) and aldosterone. There was no change in plasma met-enkephalin. Naloxone infusion produced the expected increases in LH and cortisol, but also significantly enhanced the elevations in prolactin, adrenaline, noradrenaline, plasma renin activity and aldosterone (P&lt;0.05).
4. Psychological questionnaires revealed minor mood changes after exercise, but no evidence was found for the suggested ‘high’ or euphoria of exercise. Effort was perceived as greater during the naloxone infusion than the saline infusion in every subject.
5. We conclude that endogenous opioids may be important in the control of ventilation and the perception of effort at high levels of power output, and may modulate the responses of circulating catecholamines and the renin-aldosterone system to acute physical stress.
Near-Normal Glycaemic Control Does not Correct Abnormal Platelet Reactivity in Diabetes Mellitus
Authors: Jackson C. A. , Greaves M. , Boulton A. J. M. , Ward J. D. , Preston F. E. 
Published: August 2015

1. The effect of improved glycaemic control, effected by 16 weeks continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII), on platelet aggregation and platelet prostaglandin biosynthesis has been assessed in a group of 11 diabetic patients with painful peripheral neuropathy.
2. Before CSII and compared with results obtained on samples from age- and sex-matched control subjects, there was enhanced reactivity of the platelets from diabetic patients to ADP, collagen and sodium arachidonate (NaAA). There was also increased thromboxane B2 (TXB2) production after platelet stimulation by NaAA. In contrast, collagen-induced thromboxane production by platelets from diabetic patients was significantly less than that of platelets from controls.
3. Treatment by CSII resulted in a statistically significant improvement in glycaemic control and this was maintained for the 16 week period of the study. At 16 weeks and in the presence of near-normal glycaemic control, the enhanced platelet reactivity in response to collagen and NaAA persisted and that to ADP was further increased. Collagen-induced thromboxane production was, however, corrected by CSII.