Current Status of Internal Cardioversion in Atrial Fibrillation

The method of internal cardioversion for restoration of sinus rhythm using transvenous electrodes has been reported in several animal6,7 and human studies 8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15. Cooper et al6 tested multiple electrode configurations in a sheep model of atrial fibrillation. They demonstrated that the optimal single current pathway for internal atrial defibrillation employed two electrodes that surrounded both atria (e.g., right atrial appendage and distal coronary sinus). Similar results have been reported in several human studies12,13,14. Internal cardioversion has been shown to be superior to conventional external cardioversion in terms of primary success rate, energy requirements and the need for sedation; this superiority holds especially true for patients with a high body mass index of > 25 kg/m2 and increased transthoracic diameter

Bibliography of the entomological literature, series I : from the beginning until 1863 (Index novus litteraturae entomologicae, Serie I: usque ad 1863)

Für Taxonomen gehören alle Publikationen, die nach 1758 erschienen sind, in die Rubrik „aktuelle Literatur“. Es gibt bereits mehrere Bibliographien, die versucht haben, die entomologischen Publikationen für den Zeitraum bis 1863 systematisch zu erfassen. Das Jahr 1863 bildet insofern eine Besonderheit, da nach 1863 mit dem „Zoological Record“ ein Werk existiert, das wesentliche bibliographische Bedürfnisse für die Entomologie abdeckt. Für den Zeitraum von 1864 bis 1900 gibt es zusätzlich die Serie II des „Index“ (Derksen & Scheiding 1963 – 1975). Eine taxonbezogene Literaturauswertung bis 1850 findet sich im herausragenden „Index Animalium“ (Sherborn, 1902, 1922-33).The „Index novus“ will contain about 44000 references with entomological content. The improvements made since the previous edition „Index litteraturae entomologicae“, and some of the problems which arose during preparation of the new work are explained

Surface topography of microtubule walls decorated with monomeric and dimeric kinesin constructs

The surface topography of opened-up microtubule walls (sheets) decorated with monomeric and dimeric kinesin motor domains was investigated by freeze-drying and unidirectional metal shadowing. Electron microscopy of surface-shadowed specimens produces images with a high signal/noise ratio, which enable a direct observation of surface features below 2 nm detail. Here we investigate the inner and outer surface of microtubules and tubulin sheets with and without decoration by kinesin motor domains. Tubulin sheets are flattened walls of microtubules, keeping lateral protofilament contacts intact. Surface shadowing reveals the following features: (i) when the microtubule outside is exposed the surface relief is dominated by the bound motor domains. Monomeric motor constructs generate a strong 8 nm periodicity, corresponding to the binding of one motor domain per beta -tubulin heterodimer. This surface periodicity largely disappears when dimeric kinesin motor domains are used for decoration, even though it is still visible in negatively stained or frozen hydrated specimens, This could be explained by disorder in the binding of the second (loosely tethered) kinesin head, and/or disorder in the coiled-coil tail. (ii) Both surfaces of undecorated sheets or microtubules, as well as the inner surface of decorated sheets, reveal a strong 4 nm repeat (due to the periodicity of tubulin monomers) and a weak 8 nm repeat (due to slight differences between alpha- and beta -tubulin). The differences between alpha- and beta -tubulin on the inner surface are stronger than expected from cryo-electron microscopy of unstained microtubules, indicating the existence of tubulin subdomain-specific surface properties that reflect the surface corrugation and hence metal deposition during evaporation. The 16 nm periodicity visible in some negatively stained specimens (caused by the pairing of cooperatively bound kinesin dimers) is not detected by surface shadowing

Growth hormone (GH)-transgenic insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1)-deficient mice allow dissociation of excess GH and IGF1 effects on glomerular and tubular growth

Growth hormone (GH)-transgenic mice with permanently elevated systemic levels of GH and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) reproducibly develop renal and glomerular hypertrophy and subsequent progressive glomerulosclerosis, finally leading to terminal renal failure. To dissociate IGF1-dependent and -independent effects of GH excess on renal growth and lesion development in vivo, the kidneys of 75 days old IGF1-deficient (I-/-) and of IGF1-deficient GH-transgenic mice (I-/-/G), as well as of GH-transgenic (G) and nontransgenic wild-type control mice (I+/+) were examined by quantitative stereological and functional analyses. Both G and I-/-/G mice developed glomerular hypertrophy, hyperplasia of glomerular mesangial and endothelial cells, podocyte hypertrophy and foot process effacement, albuminuria, and glomerulosclerosis. However, I-/-/G mice exhibited less severe glomerular alterations, as compared to G mice. Compared to I+/+ mice, G mice exhibited renal hypertrophy with a significant increase in the number without a change in the size of proximal tubular epithelial (PTE) cells. In contrast, I-/-/G mice did not display significant PTE cell hyperplasia, as compared to I-/- mice. These findings indicate that GH excess stimulates glomerular growth and induces lesions progressing to glomerulosclerosis in the absence of IGF1. In contrast, IGF1 represents an important mediator of GH-dependent proximal tubular growth in GH-transgenic mice

Insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-2 inhibits proliferation of human embryonic kidney fibroblasts and of IGF-responsive colon carcinoma cell lines

AbstractSo far, the physiological role of insulin-like growth factor binding protein-2 (IGFBP-2) has not been demonstrated directly. Therefore, we transfected 293 cells with an expression vector containing the CMV promoter and the complete cDNA of mouse IGFBP-2. Secretion of bioactive IGFBP-2 into conditioned medium was demonstrated by Western ligand and Western immunoblotting and quantified by specific RIA. For the analysis of cell proliferation three clones exhibiting either high or low/no IGFBP-2 expression were selected and compared to non-transfected parental 293 cells. IGFBP-2 secreting clones displayed reduced conversion of thiazolyl blue when compared to negative clones or non-transfected parental 293 cells (P<0.01). The lower growth activity measured in the IGFBP-2 secreting clones was compensated in great part by the administration of exogenous IGF-I or -II. Conditioned media of IGFBP-2 secreting clones inhibited growth of IGF-responsive colon tumor cell lines (LS513, HT-29) while those of negative clones did not. In addition, conditioned medium from a clone expressing high levels of IGFBP-2 inhibited anchorage-independent growth of LS513 and HT-29 cells. In contrast, growth of an IGF-unresponsive tumor cell line (Co-115) was not affected by the conditioned media. We hypothesize that IGFBP-2 might sequester the IGFs and thus prevent them from transferring their mitogenic signals

Spiritual Dryness as a Measure of a Specific Spiritual Crisis in Catholic Priests: Associations with Symptoms of Burnout and Distress

Spirituality/religiosity is recognized as a resource to cope with burdening life events and chronic illness. However, less is known about the consequences of the lack of positive spiritual feelings. Spiritual dryness in clergy has been described as spiritual lethargy, a lack of vibrant spiritual encounter with God, and an absence of spiritual resources, such as spiritual renewal practices. To operationalize experiences of ``spiritual dryness'' in terms of a specific spiritual crisis, we have developed the ``spiritual dryness scale'' (SDS). Here, we describe the validation of the instrument which was applied among other standardized questionnaires in a sample of 425 Catholic priests who professionally care for the spiritual sake of others. Feelings of ``spiritual dryness'' were experienced occasionally by up to 40%, often or even regularly by up to 13%. These experiences can explain 44% of variance in daily spiritual experiences, 30% in depressive symptoms, 22% in perceived stress, 20% in emotional exhaustion, 19% in work engagement, and 21% of variance of ascribed importance of religious activity. The SDS-5 can be used as a specific measure of spiritual crisis with good reliability and validity in further studies

Sweet Cherry Fruit: Ideal Osmometers?

Osmotic water uptake through the skin is an important factor in rain cracking of sweet cherries. The objective was to establish whether a sweet cherry behaves like an ideal osmometer, where: (1) water uptake rates are negatively related to fruit osmotic potential, (2) a change in osmotic potential of the incubation solution results in a proportional change in water uptake rate, (3) the osmotic potential of the incubation solution yielding zero water uptake is numerically equal to the fruit water potential (in the absence of significant fruit turgor), and (4) the fruits' cuticular membrane is permeable only to water. The fruits' average osmotic potential and the rate of water uptake were related only weakly. Surprisingly, incubating a fruit in (a) the expressed juice from fruit of the same batch or (b) an isotonic artificial juice composed of the five major osmolytes of expressed juice or (c) an isotonic glucose solution—all resulted in significant water uptake. Decreasing the osmotic potential of the incubation solution decreased the rate of water uptake, while decreasing it still further resulted in water loss to the incubation solution. Throughout fruit development, the “apparent” fruit water potential was always more negative than the fruits' measured average osmotic potential. Plasmolysis of epidermal cells indicates the skin's osmotic potential was less negative than that of the flesh. When excised flesh discs were incubated in a concentration series of glucose solutions, the apparent water potential of the discs matched the osmotic potential of the expressed juice. Significant penetration of 14C-glucose and 14C-fructose occurred through excised fruit skins. These results indicate a sweet cherry is not an ideal osmometer. This is due in part to the cuticular membrane having a reflection coefficient for glucose and fructose less than unity. As a consequence, glucose and fructose were taken up by the fruit from the incubation solution. Furthermore, the osmotic potential of the expressed fruit juice is not uniform. The osmotic potential of juice taken from the stylar scar region is more negative than that from the pedicel region and that from the flesh more negative than that from the skin