Eme J,Gwalthney J,Blank JM,Owerkowicz T,Barron G,Hicks JW
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, 321 Steinhaus Hall, Irvine, CA 92697-2525, USA. jeme@uci.edu
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Surgical removal of right-to-left cardiac shunt in the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) causes ventricular enlargement but does not alter apnoea or metabolism during diving.
J Exp Biol. 2009 Nov;212(Pt 21):3553-63
Crocodilians have complete anatomical separation between the ventricles, similar to birds and mammals, but retain the dual aortic arch system found in all non-avian reptiles. This cardiac anatomy allows surgical modification that prevents right-to-left (R-L) cardiac shunt. A R-L shunt is a bypass of the pulmonary circulation and recirculation of oxygen-poor blood back to the systemic circulation and has often been observed during the frequent apnoeic periods of non-avian reptiles, particularly during diving in aquatic species. We eliminated R-L shunt in American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) by surgically occluding the left aorta (LAo; arising from right ventricle) upstream and downstream of the foramen of Panizza (FoP), and we tested the hypotheses that this removal of R-L shunt would cause afterload-induced cardiac remodelling and adversely affect diving performance. Occlusion of the LAo both upstream and downstream of the FoP for approximately 21 months caused a doubling of RV pressure and significant ventricular enlargement (average approximately 65%) compared with age-matched, sham-operated animals. In a separate group of recovered, surgically altered alligators allowed to dive freely in a dive chamber at 23 degrees C, occlusion of the LAo did not alter oxygen consumption or voluntary apnoeic periods relative to sham animals. While surgical removal of R-L shunt causes considerable changes in cardiac morphology similar to aortic banding in mammals, its removal does not affect the respiratory pattern or metabolism of alligators. It appears probable that the low metabolic rate of reptiles, rather than pulmonary circulatory bypass, allows for normal aerobic dives.
PMID: 19837897
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Liu B,Rasool S,Yang Z,Glabe CG,Schreiber SS,Ge J,Tan Z
From the Departments of Neurology,* Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Anatomy and Neurobiology, and Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders, University of California Irvine School of Medicine, Irvine, California; State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China; and VA Long Beach Healthcare System, Long Beach, California.
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Amyloid-Peptide Vaccinations Reduce {beta}-Amyloid Plaques but Exacerbate Vascular Deposition and Inflammation in the Retina of Alzheimer's Transgenic Mice.
Am J Pathol. 2009 Oct 15;:
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is pathologically characterized by accumulation of beta-amyloid (Abeta) protein deposits and/or neurofibrillary tangles in association with progressive cognitive deficits. Although numerous studies have demonstrated a relationship between brain pathology and AD progression, the Alzheimer's pathological hallmarks have not been found in the AD retina. A recent report showed Abeta plaques in the retinas of APPswe/PS1DeltaE9 transgenic mice. We now report the detection of Abeta plaques with increased retinal microvascular deposition of Abeta and neuroinflammation in Tg2576 mouse retinas. The majority of Abeta-immunoreactive plaques were detected from the ganglion cell layer to the inner plexiform layer, and some plaques were observed in the outer nuclear layer, photoreceptor outer segment, and optic nerve. Hyperphosphorylated tau was labeled in the corresponding areas of the Abeta plaques in adjacent sections. Although Abeta vaccinations reduced retinal Abeta deposits, there was a marked increase in retinal microvascular Abeta deposition as well as local neuroinflammation manifested by microglial infiltration and astrogliosis linked with disruption of the retinal organization. These results provide evidence to support further investigation of the use of retinal imaging to diagnose AD and to monitor disease activity.
PMID: 19834067
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Charvet CJ,Striedter GF
Department of Neurobiology, 100 Qureshey Research Laboratory, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA. ccharvet@uci.edu
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Developmental basis for telencephalon expansion in waterfowl: enlargement prior to neurogenesis.
Proc Biol Sci. 2009 Oct 7;276(1672):3421-7
Some altricial and some precocial species of birds have evolved enlarged telencephalons compared with other birds. Previous work has shown that finches and parakeets, two species that hatch in an immature (i.e. altricial) state, enlarged their telencephalon by delaying telencephalic neurogenesis. To determine whether species that hatch in a relatively mature (i.e. precocial) state also enlarged their telencephalon by delaying telencephalic neurogenesis, we examined brain development in geese, ducks, turkeys and chickens, which are all precocial. Whereas the telencephalon occupies less than 55 per cent of the brain in chickens and turkeys, it occupies more than 65 per cent in ducks and geese. To determine how these species differences in adult brain region proportions arise during development, we examined brain maturation (i.e. neurogenesis timing) and estimated telencephalon, tectum and medulla volumes from serial Nissl-stained sections in the four species. We found that incubation time predicts the timing of neurogenesis in all major brain regions and that the telencephalon is proportionally larger in ducks and geese before telencephalic neurogenesis begins. These findings demonstrate that the expansion of the telencephalon in ducks and geese is achieved by altering development prior to neurogenesis onset. Thus, precocial and altricial species evolved different developmental strategies to expand their telencephalon.
PMID: 19605398
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Lane JS,Barleben AR,Kubaska SM,Fujitani RM
Division of Vascular Surgery, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA. jslane@uci.edu
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Aortoduodenal fistula after endovascular aneurysm repair presenting with aneurysm sac abscess.
J Vasc Surg. 2009 Oct;50(4):919-20
PMID: 19307085
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Amin AN,Stemkowski S,Lin J,Yang G
An Amin: Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California-Irvine, Orange, California.
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Inpatient thromboprophylaxis use in U.S. hospitals: Adherence to the seventh American College of Chest Physician's recommendations for at-risk medical and surgical patients.
J Hosp Med. 2009 Oct 13;4(8):E15-E21
BACKGROUND:: The clinical venous thromboembolism (VTE) burden remains high in the United States, despite guidelines recommending that safe and effective VTE prophylaxis be available. This study assesses the real-world rate of appropriate inpatient VTE prophylaxis in hospitalized U.S. medical and surgical patients at risk of VTE, in accordance with the seventh American College of Chest Physicians, (ACCP) guidelines. METHODS:: Medical and surgical discharges from Premier's Perspective database between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2006 were considered. Discharges aged >/=40 years, with a length of stay >/=6 days, at risk of VTE due to the presence of >/=1 VTE risk factors identified by the seventh ACCP guidelines, and without contraindications for anticoagulation, were included in the analysis. Appropriate prophylaxis was determined by comparing the daily use, dosage, and duration of anticoagulants and compression devices with the seventh ACCP recommendations for each medical condition or surgical procedure. RESULTS:: A total of 390,024 discharges met the inclusion criteria, of which 201,224 (51.6%) were medical discharges and 188,800 (48.4%) were surgical discharges. Overall, 65.9% of medical discharges and 77.7% of surgical discharges received at least 1 order for VTE prophylaxis during hospitalization. However, only 12.7% of medical discharges and 16.4% of surgical discharges received appropriate prophylaxis when the recommended prophylaxis type, dose, and duration from the seventh ACCP guidelines were taken into account. CONCLUSIONS:: Few medical and surgical patients at high risk of VTE receive appropriate inpatient prophylaxis in accordance with guideline recommendations. It is important for individual hospitals to improve VTE prophylaxis practices to meet national performance initiatives. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2009;4:E15-E21. (c) 2009 Society of Hospital Medicine.
PMID: 19827045
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Farpour F,Phan SJ,Burns J,Tehranzadeh J
University of California, Irvine (UCI)/VA, Irvine, USA, drffarpour@yahoo.com.
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Enhanced MR imaging of the shoulder, and sternoclavicular and acromioclavicular joint arthritis in primary hemochromatosis.
Rheumatol Int. 2009 Oct 14;:
Shoulder arthritis is a common feature of hemochromatosis. However, a combination of sternoclavicle (SC) and acromioclavicular (AC) joint involvement associated with shoulder is uncommonly seen. We describe the MR imaging findings of the shoulder and SC and AC joint in a patient with primary hemochromatosis. MRI of the left shoulder revealed inflammatory arthritis and 1-cm erosion of the humeral head, enlargement of the anterior glenoid labrum and formation of glenoid labral ovoid mass due to iron deposit. MRI of the AC joint showed inflammation and erosion with joint fluid. Significant contrast enhancement was noted at the SC joint due to inflammation.
PMID: 19826815
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Keator DB,Wei D,Gadde S,Bockholt J,Grethe JS,Marcus D,Aucoin N,Ozyurt IB
Psychiatry and Human Behavior, College of Medicine, University of California Irvine, CA, USA.
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Derived Data Storage and Exchange Workflow for Large-Scale Neuroimaging Analyses on the BIRN Grid.
Front Neuroinformatics. 2009;3:30
Organizing and annotating biomedical data in structured ways has gained much interest and focus in the last 30 years. Driven by decreases in digital storage costs and advances in genetics sequencing, imaging, electronic data collection, and microarray technologies, data is being collected at an ever increasing rate. The need to store and exchange data in meaningful ways in support of data analysis, hypothesis testing and future collaborative use is pervasive. Because trans-disciplinary projects rely on effective use of data from many domains, there is a genuine interest in informatics community on how best to store and combine this data while maintaining a high level of data quality and documentation. The difficulties in sharing and combining raw data become amplified after post-processing and/or data analysis in which the new dataset of interest is a function of the original data and may have been collected by multiple collaborating sites. Simple meta-data, documenting which subject and version of data were used for a particular analysis, becomes complicated by the heterogeneity of the collecting sites yet is critically important to the interpretation and reuse of derived results. This manuscript will present a case study of using the XML-Based Clinical Experiment Data Exchange (XCEDE) schema and the Human Imaging Database (HID) in the Biomedical Informatics Research Network's (BIRN) distributed environment to document and exchange derived data. The discussion includes an overview of the data structures used in both the XML and the database representations, insight into the design considerations, and the extensibility of the design to support additional analysis streams.
PMID: 19826494
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Sensi SL,Paoletti P,Bush AI,Sekler I
Department of Basic and Applied Medical Science, Molecular Neurology Unit, CeSI-Center for Excellence on Aging, University G. dAnnunzio, Chieti, 66013, Italy. ssensi@uci.edu
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Zinc in the physiology and pathology of the CNS.
Nat Rev Neurosci. 2009 Nov;10(11):780-91
The past few years have witnessed dramatic progress on all frontiers of zinc neurobiology. The recent development of powerful tools, including zinc-sensitive fluorescent probes, selective chelators and genetically modified animal models, has brought a deeper understanding of the roles of this cation as a crucial intra- and intercellular signalling ion of the CNS, and hence of the neurophysiological importance of zinc-dependent pathways and the injurious effects of zinc dyshomeostasis. The development of some innovative therapeutic strategies is aimed at controlling and preventing the damaging effects of this cation in neurological conditions such as stroke and Alzheimer's disease.
PMID: 19826435
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Katsumi HK,Kalisvaart JF,Ronningen LD,Hovey RM
Department of Urology, University of California Irvine, Orange, CA, USA.
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Urethral versus suprapubic catheter: choosing the best bladder management for male spinal cord injury patients with indwelling catheters.
Spinal Cord. 2009 Oct 13;:
Objective:Bladder management for male patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) challenges the urologist to work around physical and social restrictions set forth by each patient. The objective of this study was to compare the complications associated with urethral catheter (UC) versus suprapubic tube (SPT) in patients with SCI.Methods:A retrospective review of records at Long Beach Veterans Hospital was carried out to identify SCI patients managed with SPT or UC. Chart review identified morbidities including urinary tract infection (UTI), bladder stones, renal calculi, urethral complications, scrotal abscesses, epididymitis, gross hematuria and cancer. Serum creatinine measurements were evaluated to determine whether renal function was maintained.Results:In all, 179 patients were identified. There was no significant difference between the two catheter groups in any areas in which they could be compared. There were catheter-specific complications specific to each group that could not be compared. These included erosion in the UC group and urethral leak, leakage from the SPT and SPT revision in the SPT group. Average serum creatinine for the UC and SPT groups was 0.74 and 0.67 mg per 100 ml, respectively.Conclusion:SCI patients with a chronic catheter have similar complication rates of UTIs, recurrent bladder/renal calculi and cancer. Urethral and scrotal complications may be higher with UC; however, morbidity from SPT-specific procedures may offset benefits from SPT. Serum creatinine was maintained in both groups. Overall, bladder management for patients with chronic indwelling catheters should be selected on the basis of long-term comfort for the patient and a physician mind-set that allows flexibility in managing these challenges.Spinal Cord advance online publication, 13 October 2009; doi:10.1038/sc.2009.134.
PMID: 19823191
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Mahdavi A,Monk BJ,Ragazzo J,Hunter MI,Lentz SE,Vasilev SA,Tewari KS
Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California-Irvine, 101 The City Drive, Orange, CA 92868-3298, USA.
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Pelvic radiation improves local control after hysterectomy for uterine leiomyosarcoma: a 20-year experience.
Int J Gynecol Cancer. 2009 Aug;19(6):1080-4
BACKGROUND: Uterine leiomyosarcoma (LMS) is associated with high rate of recurrence after surgical resection. The role of adjuvant radiation therapy in improving survival in women with uterine LMS is unclear. METHODS: All cases of LMS treated from 1985 to 2005 at 11 regional medical centers were identified. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were constructed and compared with log-rank testing. Multivariate analysis was performed to account for the potential influence of confounding factors. RESULTS: One hundred forty-seven patients with LMS were identified. The median age of diagnosis was 51 years with the stage distribution of stage I (n = 87), II (n = 9), III (n = 25), IV (n = 25), and unknown (n = 1). One hundred forty-three underwent total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingoophorectomy. Twenty-four (17%) of these patients received adjuvant pelvic irradiation, and 63 (44%) received adjuvant and/or palliative chemotherapy. With a median follow-up of 24 months (range, 1-249 months), the median survival for the entire group was 37 months. Cox proportional hazards modeling demonstrated the presence of high tumor grade and advanced stage adversely affected survival. Although the 5-year survival for patients who received adjuvant radiotherapy was significantly higher than those who did not (70% vs 35%), this survival advantage was not sustained as the curves crossed at 90-month follow-up. Pelvic recurrence rate was lower in the radiation group (18% vs 49%; P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Adjuvant radiation therapy was associated with decreased pelvic failure and a modest improvement in 5-year survival, but did not impact overall survival with extended follow-up.
PMID: 19820372
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Johnson JD,McDuff SG,Rugg MD,Norman KA
Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory and Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA. jeff.johnson@uci.edu
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Recollection, familiarity, and cortical reinstatement: a multivoxel pattern analysis.
Neuron. 2009 Sep 10;63(5):697-708
Episodic memory retrieval is thought to involve reinstatement of the neurocognitive processes engaged when an episode was encoded. Prior fMRI studies and computational models have suggested that reinstatement is limited to instances in which specific episodic details are recollected. We used multivoxel pattern-classification analyses of fMRI data to investigate how reinstatement is associated with different memory judgments, particularly those accompanied by recollection versus a feeling of familiarity (when recollection is absent). Classifiers were trained to distinguish between brain activity patterns associated with different encoding tasks and were subsequently applied to recognition-related fMRI data to determine the degree to which patterns were reinstated. Reinstatement was evident during both recollection- and familiarity-based judgments, providing clear evidence that reinstatement is not sufficient for eliciting a recollective experience. The findings are interpreted as support for a continuous, recollection-related neural signal that has been central to recent debate over the nature of recognition memory processes.
PMID: 19755111
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Charles ST,Piazza JR,Luong G,Almeida DM
Department of Psychology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-7085, USA. scharles@uci.edu
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Now you see it, now you don't: age differences in affective reactivity to social tensions.
Psychol Aging. 2009 Sep;24(3):645-53
When faced with interpersonal conflict, older adults report using passive strategies more often than do young adults. They also report less affective reactivity in response to these tensions. We examined whether the use of passive strategies may explain age-related reductions in affective reactivity to interpersonal tensions. Over 8 consecutive evenings, participants (N = 1,031; 25-74 years-old) reported daily negative affect and the occurrence of tense situations resulting in an argument or avoidance of an argument. Older age was related to less affective reactivity when people decided to avoid an argument but was unrelated to affective reactivity when people engaged in arguments. Findings suggest that avoidance of negative situations may largely underlie age-related benefits in affective well-being.
PMID: 19739920
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Wang DD,Shu Z,Lieser SA,Chen PL,Lee WH
Department of Biological Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, California 92697, USA. whlee@uci.edu
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Human mitochondrial SUV3 and polynucleotide phosphorylase form a 330-kDa heteropentamer to cooperatively degrade double-stranded RNA with a 3'-to-5' directionality.
J Biol Chem. 2009 Jul 31;284(31):20812-21
Efficient turnover of unnecessary and misfolded RNAs is critical for maintaining the integrity and function of the mitochondria. The mitochondrial RNA degradosome of budding yeast (mtEXO) has been recently studied and characterized; yet no RNA degradation machinery has been identified in the mammalian mitochondria. In this communication, we demonstrated that purified human SUV3 (suppressor of Var1 3) dimer and polynucleotide phosphorylase (PNPase) trimer form a 330-kDa heteropentamer that is capable of efficiently degrading double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) substrates in the presence of ATP, a task the individual components cannot perform separately. The configuration of this complex is similar to that of the core complex of the E. coli RNA degradosome lacking RNase E but very different from that of the yeast mtEXO. The hSUV3-hPNPase complex prefers substrates containing a 3' overhang and degrades the RNA in a 3'-to-5' directionality. Deleting a short stretch of amino acids (positions 510-514) compromises the ability of hSUV3 to form a stable complex with hPNPase to degrade dsRNA substrates but does not affect its helicase activity. Furthermore, two additional hSUV3 mutants with abolished helicase activity because of disrupted ATPase or RNA binding activities were able to bind hPNPase. However, the resulting complexes failed to degrade dsRNA, suggesting that an intact helicase activity is essential for the complex to serve as an effective RNA degradosome. Taken together, these results strongly suggest that the complex of hSUV3-hPNPase is an integral entity for efficient degradation of structured RNA and may be the long sought RNA-degrading complex in the mammalian mitochondria.
PMID: 19509288
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Hayama HR,Rugg MD
Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-3800, USA. hhayama@uci.edu
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Right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is engaged during post-retrieval processing of both episodic and semantic information.
Neuropsychologia. 2009 Oct;47(12):2409-16
Post-retrieval processes are engaged when the outcome of a retrieval attempt must be monitored or evaluated. Functional neuroimaging studies have implicated right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) as playing a role in post-retrieval processing. The present study used fMRI to investigate whether retrieval-related neural activity in DLPFC is associated specifically with monitoring the episodic content of a retrieval attempt. During study, subjects were cued to make one of two semantic judgments on serially presented pictures. One study phase was followed by a source memory task, in which subjects responded 'new' to unstudied pictures, and signaled the semantic judgment made on each studied picture. A separate study phase was followed by a task in which the studied items were subjected to a judgment about their semantic attributes. Both tasks required that retrieved information be evaluated prior to response selection, but only the source memory task required evaluation of retrieved episodic information. In both tasks, activity in a common region of right DLPFC was greater for studied than for unstudied items, and the magnitude of this effect did not differ between the tasks. Together with the results of a parallel event-related potential study [Hayama, H. R., Johnson, J. D., & Rugg, M. D. (2008). The relationship between the right frontal old/new ERP effect and post-retrieval monitoring: Specific or non-specific? Neuropsychologia, 46(5), 1211-1223, doi:S0028-3932(07)00390-9], the present findings indicate that putative right DLPFC correlates of post-retrieval processing are not associated exclusively with monitoring or evaluating episodic content. Rather, the effects likely reflect processing associated with monitoring or decision-making in multiple cognitive domains.
PMID: 19383503
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Najm WI,Lie D,Shapiro J,Llenderrozos HJ
Department of Family Medicine, University of California-Irvine, Orange, CA 92868, USA. winajm@uci.edu
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Group medical visits as a teaching tool in a family medicine clerkship.
Fam Med. 2009 Oct;41(9):625-31
OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine medical students' learning outcomes following exposure to a 4-hour group medical visit (GMV) curriculum that focused on Spanish-speaking patients who had diabetes. The GMV was part of a 4-week block family medicine clerkship for third-year medical students. METHODS: We conducted a 1-year longitudinal, prospective study using a before and after survey and a qualitative analysis of end-of-clerkship reflective essays. Eleven survey questions captured change in knowledge about GMV resources, cultural knowledge, and attitudes toward the GMV model. RESULTS: Ninety students completed the surveys. Fifty students chose to write about the GMV experience in their reflective essays. On the survey, a significant change was found in students' knowledge about culture-specific diabetic resources, cultural knowledge, and self-reported knowledge and attitude about GMVs. Qualitative analysis of the narratives and essays supported and strengthened this finding of positive attitudes about the importance of cultural competency and physician role modeling in the context of the patient-doctor relationship. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to a 4-hour GMV curriculum is associated with knowledge gain. It is also associated with a positive attitude change, congruent with learning about the relevance of patient-doctor relationship within a cross-cultural setting.
PMID: 19816825
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Aguilar RM,Steward O
Reeve-Irvine Research Center, University of California Irvine, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, 1105 Gillespie Neuroscience Research Facility, Irvine CA 92607-4292, USA.
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A bilateral cervical contusion injury model in mice: assessment of gripping strength as a measure of forelimb motor function.
Exp Neurol. 2009 Oct 5;:
Here, we describe a bilateral cervical contusion model for mice. Adult female mice received graded bilateral contusion injuries at cervical level 5 (C5) using a commercially available impactor (the IH device). Three separate experiments were carried out to define conditions that produce impairments in forelimb function without unacceptable impairment of general health. A grip strength meter (GSM) was used to assess gripping ability as a measure of forelimb motor function; lesion size was assessed histologically by staining cross sections for H and E and GFAP. In Experiment 1, mice received injuries of 30 kilodynes (kdyn); these produced minimal deficits on grip strength. In Experiment 2, mice received injuries of 75 kdyn and 100 kdyn. Injuries of 75 kdyn produced transient deficits in gripping that recovered between 3-15 dpi to about 90% of control; injuries of 100 kdyn produced deficits that recovered to about 50% of control. In Experiment 3, none of the mice that received injuries of 100 kdyn recovered gripping ability. Histological assessment revealed graded injuries that ranged from damage limited primarily to the dorsal column (DC) to damage to the DC, grey matter, ventral column and lateral column. Most lesions filled in with a fibrous tissue matrix, but fluid-filled cystic cavities were found in 13% of the 100 kdyn injury group and a combination of fibrous-filled/fluid-filled cystic cavities were found in 22% and 38% of the 75 kdyn and 100 kdyn injury groups, respectively. There was minimal urine retention following cervical contusion injuries indicating preservation of bladder function. Our results define conditions to produce graded bilateral cervical contusion injuries in mice and demonstrate the usefulness of the GSM for assessing forelimb motor function after cervical contusions.
PMID: 19815010
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Guo ZL,Tjen-A-Looi SC,Fu LW,Longhurst JC
Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California, Susan-Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697-4075, USA. zguo@uci.edu
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Nitric oxide in rostral ventrolateral medulla regulates cardiac-sympathetic reflexes: role of synthase isoforms.
Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2009 Oct;297(4):H1478-86
Our previous studies have shown that nitric oxide (NO) synthase (NOS)-containing neurons in the rostral ventrolateral medulla (rVLM) are activated during cardiac sympathoexcitatory reflexes (Refs. 12 and 13). However, the precise function of NO in the rVLM in regulation of these reflexes has not been defined. Three isoforms of NOS, including neuronal NOS (nNOS), inducible NOS (iNOS), and endothelial NOS (eNOS), are located in the rVLM. We explored the role of NO, derived from different NOS isoforms in the rVLM, in processing cardiac-sympathetic reflexes using whole animal reflex and electrophysiological approaches. We found that, in anesthetized cats, increased mean arterial blood pressure and renal sympathetic nerve activity elicited by epicardial application of bradykinin (BK; 1-10 microg/ml, 50 microl) were significantly attenuated following unilateral rVLM microinjection of the nonselective NOS inhibitor, N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (50 nmol/50 nl), or a specific nNOS inhibitor, 7-nitroindazole (7-NI; 5-10 pmol/50 nl; both P < 0.05). In contrast, the responses of mean arterial blood pressure and renal sympathetic nerve activity to cardiac BK stimulation were unchanged by unilateral rVLM microinjection of N(omega)-nitro-D-arginine methyl ester (inactive isomer of N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, 50 nmol/50 nl), 3-6% methanol (7-NI vehicle), N(6)-(1-iminoethyl)-L-lysine (250 pmol/50 nl; iNOS inhibitor), or N(5)-(1-iminoethyl)-L-ornithine (250 nmol/50 nl; eNOS inhibitor). Furthermore, in separate cats, we noted that iontophoresis of 7-NI (0.1 mM) reduced the increased discharge of cardiovascular sympathoexcitatory rVLM neurons in response to cardiac stimulation with BK (P < 0.05). These neurons were characterized by their responses to inputs from baroreceptors, and their cardiac rhythmicity was determined through frequency and time domain analyses, correlating their discharge to arterial blood pressure and cardiac sympathetic efferent nerve activity. These data suggest that NO, specifically nNOS, mediates sympathetic cardiac-cardiovascular responses through its action in the rVLM.
PMID: 19684188
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Magliola R,Althabe M,Moreno G,Lenz AM,Pilan ML,Landry L,Balestrini M,Charroqui A,Vassallo JC,Salgado G,Martín A,Barretta J,Cornelis J,García Delucis P,Suárez J,Laura JP
UCI 35. Recuperación Cardiovascular, Hospital Nacional de Pediatría Prof. Dr. Juan P. Garrahan.
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[Cardiac surgical repair in newborns: five years' experience in neonatal open surgery]
Arch Argent Pediatr. 2009 Oct;107(5):417-22
INTRODUCTION: Four hundred newborns die every year in our country suffering from congenital heart disease. Definitive surgical repair, whenever possible, is nowadays the optimal therapeutic strategy. Our goal is to describe mortality and morbidity in neonatal surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass in a tertiary public hospital in Argentina. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Descriptive, retrospective study. Every patient, younger than 45 days, with cardiac surgery requiring cardiopulmonary bypass, at the Garrahan Hospital between 2004 and 2008 was included. Demographic, surgical and postoperative data were collected. Adjusted mortality risk analysis, and descriptive statistics from the most frequent diagnosis were performed. Results are expressed as median and rank or percentage. RESULTS: 200 newborns were operated, 62% males. Median age was 21 days (r 1- 45) and median weight 3.1 kg (r 1.6-6.2). Total anomalous pulmonary venous return, transposition of great arteries an hypoplastic left heart syndrome diagnoses accounted for 75% of the procedures. Median length of stay was 12 days (r 0-191), and 6 days of mechanical ventilation (r 0-180). Eighteen percent of the patients required peritoneal dialysis. Whole series mortality was 19% and fell to 14% in 2008. Unstable preoperative condition and postoperative complications increased mortality, OR= 2.23 (1.02-4.89) and OR= 10 (3.6-33.4), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our postoperative mortality is similar to those reported in foreign countries databases. Patients with unstable preoperative condition and post-operative complications had higher mortality.
PMID: 19809762
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Rappoport D,Furche F
Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-2025, USA. d.rappoport@uci.edu.
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Structure of endohedral fullerene Eu@C(74).
Phys Chem Chem Phys. 2009 Aug 14;11(30):6353-8
Structure determination of endohedral fullerenes in the absence of X-ray data is difficult and often controversial. Here we show that the structure of endohedral fullerene Eu@C(74) may be determined by density functional theory aided interpretation of its electronic, infrared and Raman spectra. The use of recently developed analytical polarizability gradient methods to simulate resonance-enhanced Raman spectra is crucial for this approach and allows for a nearly complete assignment of the experimental spectra. Eu@C(74) is assigned a pear-shaped C(2v) symmetric structure and shows strong ionic interaction between the encapsulated metal and the fullerene pi system.
PMID: 19809666
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Braunstein ML
Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of California, Irvine 92697-5100, USA. myron.braunstein@uci.edu
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Motion parallax with and without active head movements.
Perception. 2009;38(6):912-3; discussion 917-9
PMID: 19806986
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Vaughan E,Tinker T
Department of Psychology and Social Behavior, University of California, 3340 Social Ecology 2, Irvine, CA 92697, USA. evaughan@uci.edu
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Effective health risk communication about pandemic influenza for vulnerable populations.
Am J Public Health. 2009 Oct;99 Suppl 2:S324-32
The consequences of pandemic influenza for vulnerable populations will depend partly on the effectiveness of health risk communications. Strategic planning should fully consider how life circumstances, cultural values, and perspectives on risk influence behavior during a pandemic. We summarize recent scientific evidence on communication challenges and examine how sociocultural, economic, psychological, and health factors can jeopardize or facilitate public health interventions that require a cooperative public. If ignored, current communication gaps for vulnerable populations could result in unequal protection across society during an influenza pandemic. We offer insights on communication preparedness gleaned from scientific studies and the deliberations of public health experts at a meeting convened by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, May 1 and 2, 2008.
PMID: 19797744
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Liss MA,Leifer S,Sakakine G,Esparza M,Clayman RV
Department of Urology, University of California, Irvine, California 92868, USA. mliss@uci.edu
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The Liss maneuver: a nonendoscopic technique for difficult Foley catheterization.
J Endourol. 2009 Aug;23(8):1227-30
PURPOSE: Difficult male catheterization often results in the need for bedside cystoscopy; herein, we describe a simple maneuver that may preclude the need for a more involved and expensive endoscopic procedure. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A 0.035-inch Amplatz Super Stiff guidewire was placed floppy end first, down an 18F Foley catheter lumen; the guidewire was then clamped proximally to the body of the catheter at its point of exit. To test the added stiffness that the wire imparted to the tip and body of the catheter, different size Bardex I.C. Foley catheters were tested with a 0.035-inch 145-cm Amplatz Super Stiff guidewire placed in an Chattillon Force Gauge (TCM 201 Asset #4665) to measure bending force and tip strength in pounds of pressure. RESULTS: The catheter body bending force (stiffness) was increased on average 359%, but the tip of the catheter, holding the floppy end of the guidewire, showed no significant increase in stiffness. A trend was seen showing larger percent differences in stiffness for smaller catheters (12F and 14F); indeed, the guidewire shaft stiffness approached the same stiffness as the shaft of a standard 20F catheter, but the stiffness of the catheter's tip remained unchanged. Clinically, the guidewire stiffening technique was used successfully in five of six patients; the failure was in a patient with a hitherto undiagnosed 8F urethral stricture. CONCLUSION: In cases of difficult bladder catheter placement, the Super Stiff guidewire technique can be used to increase the stiffness of the catheter to navigate the torturous urethra with any size catheter before pursuing other more invasive and time-consuming techniques. If this maneuver fails, the same guidewire can be used in conjunction with the flexible endoscope to then place a Councill catheter.
PMID: 19558222
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Philips GT,Carew TJ
Department of Neurobiology and Behavior and the Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA 92607-4450, USA.
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It's all about timing.
Cell. 2009 Oct 2;139(1):23-5
In the formation of long-term memories, a "spaced" distribution of study sessions is more beneficial than closely spaced "massed" study sessions. Pagani et al. (2009) examine the molecular basis of this spacing effect in Drosophila and find a role for the SHP2 homolog, corkscrew, an activator of Ras/MAPK signaling, in establishing optimal spacing intervals.
PMID: 19804749
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Frank SA
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-2525, USA. safrank@uci.edu
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The common patterns of nature.
J Evol Biol. 2009 Aug;22(8):1563-85
We typically observe large-scale outcomes that arise from the interactions of many hidden, small-scale processes. Examples include age of disease onset, rates of amino acid substitutions and composition of ecological communities. The macroscopic patterns in each problem often vary around a characteristic shape that can be generated by neutral processes. A neutral generative model assumes that each microscopic process follows unbiased or random stochastic fluctuations: random connections of network nodes; amino acid substitutions with no effect on fitness; species that arise or disappear from communities randomly. These neutral generative models often match common patterns of nature. In this paper, I present the theoretical background by which we can understand why these neutral generative models are so successful. I show where the classic patterns come from, such as the Poisson pattern, the normal or Gaussian pattern and many others. Each classic pattern was often discovered by a simple neutral generative model. The neutral patterns share a special characteristic: they describe the patterns of nature that follow from simple constraints on information. For example, any aggregation of processes that preserves information only about the mean and variance attracts to the Gaussian pattern; any aggregation that preserves information only about the mean attracts to the exponential pattern; any aggregation that preserves information only about the geometric mean attracts to the power law pattern. I present a simple and consistent informational framework of the common patterns of nature based on the method of maximum entropy. This framework shows that each neutral generative model is a special case that helps to discover a particular set of informational constraints; those informational constraints define a much wider domain of non-neutral generative processes that attract to the same neutral pattern.
PMID: 19538344
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Mulder GB,Pritchett K
University Laboratory Animal Resources, University of California-Irvine, 147 BSA, Irvine, California 92612-1310, USA.
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The Morris water maze.
Contemp Top Lab Anim Sci. 2003 Mar;42(2):49-50
PMID: 19757627
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