Embryonal feather growth in the chicken. (1/2268)

Prenatal feather growth development in the chicken was studied in 7 body regions in HH stages 27-45, using direct measurements, specific histological and immunohistochemical methods, and scanning electron microscopy. The results from measurements of absolute length values, and, particularly, growth rate development in each HH stage revealed a distinct phase of most intensive growth in HH stage 40-41, which was preceded by feather follicle insertion and accompanied by the occurrence of alpha-keratins in barbule cells. Specific regional evaluation demonstrated that growth in the feather follicles of abdominal skin generally showed the slowest progression from absolute values and that in the feather filaments of the developing wings the most rapid progression occurred during HH stage 40-41 from growth rate values.  (+info)

A pilot study on the human body vibration induced by low frequency noise. (2/2268)

To understand the basic characteristics of the human body vibration induced by low frequency noise and to use it to evaluate the effects on health, we designed a measuring method with a miniature accelerometer and carried out preliminary measurements. Vibration was measured on the chest and abdomen of 6 male subjects who were exposed to pure tones in the frequency range of 20 to 50 Hz, where the method we designed was proved to be sensitive enough to detect vibration on the body surface. The level and rate of increase with frequency of the vibration turned out to be higher on the chest than on the abdomen. This difference was considered to be due to the mechanical structure of the human body. It also turned out that the measured noise-induced vibration negatively correlated with the subject's BMI (Body Mass Index), which suggested that the health effects of low frequency noise depended not only on the mechanical structure but also on the physical constitution of the human body.  (+info)

Mechanisms of acute inflammatory lung injury induced by abdominal sepsis. (3/2268)

Sequestration of neutrophils and release of histotoxic mediators are considered important for the development of pathologic alterations of the lung defined as adult respiratory distress syndrome. Mechanisms of inflammatory lung injury caused by abdominal sepsis were investigated using the colon ascendens stent peritonitis (CASP) model that closely mimics the human disease. In the CASP model, a continuous leakage of intraluminal bacteria into the peritoneal cavity is induced by implantation of a stent in the ascending colon, generating a septic focus. In contrast to the cecal ligation and puncture model of peritonitis, survival of mice following CASP surgery is dependent on IFN-gamma, but independent of tumor necrosis factor (TNF). Here we show that the systemic inflammation induced by CASP surgery results in a rapid and profound increase of lung vascular permeability that was associated with the activation and recruitment of neutrophils to the lung. Activation of circulating granulocytes was characterized by increased production of serine proteinases and reactive oxygen metabolites, as well as elevated expression of cell surface Mac-1. Expression of MIP-2, KC, MIP-1alpha and E-selectin mRNA in lung was strongly increased within 3 h following CASP surgery, whereas up-regulation of IP-10, MCP-1 and P-selectin was delayed. In contrast, induction of RANTES, LIX, ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 mRNA was weak or not detectable after CASP surgery. Importantly, recruitment of leukocytes to the lung was normal in lipopolysaccharide-resistant mice, and was not affected by antibody neutralization of TNF or the chemokines MIP-2 and KC.  (+info)

Gallium-67 scintigraphy and intraabdominal sepsis. Clinical experience in 140 patients with suspected intraabdominal abscess. (4/2268)

In 140 patients with suspected intraabdominal abscess, studies were made using gallium-67 citrate and technetium-99m labeled radiopharmaceuticals. Gallium-67 scintigrams correctly localized 52 of 56 intraabdominal abscesses confirmed at surgical operation or necropsy. In an additional 20 patients in whom findings on scintigrams were abnormal, there were clinically established infections. Sixty-one patients in whom findings on scintigrams were normal were conservatively managed and discharged from the hospital; none proved to have an abscess. Four false-negative and three false-positive studies were recorded. Gallium-67 scintigraphy is a useful noninvasive diagnostic adjunct that should be employed early in the evaluation of patients with suspected intraabdominal sepsis.  (+info)

Endogenous nitric oxide in the maintenance of rat microvascular integrity against widespread plasma leakage following abdominal laparotomy. (5/2268)

1. The role of nitric oxide (NO) in the maintenance of microvascular integrity during minor surgical manipulation has been evaluated in the rat. 2. The NO synthase inhibitors, NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 5 mg kg(-1), s.c.) and N(G)-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA, 50 mg kg(-1), s.c.) had no effect on microvascular leakage of radiolabelled albumin over 1 h in the stomach, duodenum, jejunum, colon, lung and kidney in the un-operated conscious or pentobarbitone-anaesthetized rat. 3. In contrast, in anaesthetized rats with a midline abdominal laparotomy (5 cm), L-NAME (1-5 mg kg(-1), s.c.) or L-NMMA (12.5-50 mg kg(-1), s.c.) dose-dependently increased gastrointestinal, renal and pulmonary vascular leakage, effects reversed by L-arginine pretreatment (300 mg kg(-1), s.c., 15 min). These actions were not observed in anaesthetized rats that had only received a midline abdominal skin incision (5 cm). 4. Pretreatment with a rabbit anti-rat neutrophil serum (0.4 ml kg(-1), i.p.), 4 h before laparotomy, abolished the plasma leakage induced by L-NAME in all the organs investigated. 5. These results indicate that the following abdominal laparotomy, inhibition of constitutive NO synthase provokes vascular leakage in the general microcirculation, by a process that may involve neutrophils. Such effects could thus confound studies on the microvascular actions of NO synthase inhibitors using acute surgically prepared in vivo models. The findings thus suggest that constitutively-formed NO has a crucial role in the maintenance of acute microvascular integrity following abdominal surgical intervention.  (+info)

Interleukin-1beta in immune cells of the abdominal vagus nerve: a link between the immune and nervous systems? (6/2268)

Intraperitoneal administration of the cytokine interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) induces brain-mediated sickness symptoms that can be blocked by subdiaphragmatic vagotomy. Intraperitoneal IL-1beta also induces expression of the activation marker c-fos in vagal primary afferent neurons, suggesting that IL-1beta is a key component of vagally mediated immune-to-brain communication. The cellular sources of IL-1beta activating the vagus are unknown, but may reside in either blood or in the vagus nerve itself. We assayed IL-1beta protein after intraperitoneal endotoxin [lipopolysaccharide (LPS)] injection in abdominal vagus nerve, using both an ELISA and immunohistochemistry, and in blood plasma using ELISA. IL-1beta levels in abdominal vagus nerve increased by 45 min after LPS administration and were robust by 60 min. Plasma IL-1beta levels increased by 60 min, whereas little IL-1beta was detected in cervical vagus or sciatic nerve. IL-1beta-immunoreactivity (IR) was expressed in dendritic cells and macrophages within connective tissues associated with the abdominal vagus by 45 min after intraperitoneal LPS injection. By 60 min, some immune cells located within the nerve and vagal paraganglia also expressed IL-1beta-IR. Thus, intraperitoneal LPS induced IL-1beta protein within the vagus in a time-frame consistent with signaling of immune activation. These results suggest a novel mechanism by which IL-1beta may serve as a molecular link between the immune system and vagus nerve, and thus the CNS.  (+info)

Transrectal ultrasonography in the assessment of congenital vaginal canalization defects. (7/2268)

Our aim was to evaluate the reliability of transrectal ultrasonography in the preoperative assessment of congenital vaginal canalization defects. We studied nine patients, six with suspected Rokitansky syndrome and three with suspected complete transverse septum. Before corrective surgery all the patients underwent pelvic examination, transabdominal and transrectal ultrasonography. The ultrasonographic findings were compared with the surgical ones. Transrectal ultrasonography provided an accurate map of the pelvic organs showing the precise distances between the urethra and bladder anteriorly, rectum posteriorly, retrohymenal fovea caudally, and pelvic peritoneum cranially. Transrectal ultrasonography produced a picture that corresponded perfectly with the real anatomical situation. Conversely, abdominal ultrasonography provided inadequate images in six of our nine patients, and magnetic resonance imaging was responsible for a mistaken diagnosis in one patient with suspected transverse vaginal septum. In conclusion, if our results are confirmed in larger series, transrectal ultrasonography could be considered as a diagnostic procedure of choice in the assessment of vaginal canalization defects.  (+info)

Effects of weight loss on regional fat distribution and insulin sensitivity in obesity. (8/2268)

Weight loss (WL) decreases regional depots of adipose tissue and improves insulin sensitivity, two parameters that correlate before WL. To examine the potential relation of WL-induced change in regional adiposity to improvement in insulin sensitivity, 32 obese sedentary women and men completed a 4-month WL program and had repeat determinations of body composition (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and computed tomography) and insulin sensitivity (euglycemic insulin infusion). There were 15 lean men and women who served as control subjects. VO2max was unaltered with WL (39.2 +/- 0.8 vs. 39.8 +/- 1.1 ml x fat-free mass [FFM](-1) x min(-1)). The WL intervention achieved significant decreases in weight (100.2 +/- 2.6 to 85.5 +/- 2.1 kg), BMI (34.3 +/- 0.6 to 29.3 +/- 0.6 kg/m2), total fat mass (FM) (36.9 +/- 1.5 to 26.1 +/- 1.3 kg), percent body fat (37.7 +/- 1.3 to 31.0 +/- 1.5%), and FFM (59.2 +/- 2.3 to 55.8 +/- 2.0 kg). Abdominal subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue (SAT and VAT) were reduced (494 +/- 19 to 357 +/- 18 cm2 and 157 +/- 12 to 96 +/- 7 cm2, respectively). Cross-sectional area of low-density muscle (LDM) at the mid-thigh decreased from 67 +/- 5 to 55 +/- 4 cm2 after WL. Insulin sensitivity improved from 5.9 +/- 0.4 to 7.3 +/- 0.5 mg x FFM(-1) x min(-1) with WL. Rates of insulin-stimulated nonoxidative glucose disposal accounted for the majority of this improvement (3.00 +/- 0.3 to 4.3 +/- 0.4 mg x FFM(-1) x min(-1)). Serum leptin, triglycerides, cholesterol, and insulin all decreased after WL (P < 0.01). After WL, insulin sensitivity continued to correlate with generalized and regional adiposity but, with the exception of the percent decrease in VAT, the magnitude of improvement in insulin sensitivity was not predicted by the various changes in body composition. These interventional weight loss data underscore the potential importance of visceral adiposity in relation to insulin resistance and otherwise suggest that above a certain threshold of weight loss, improvement in insulin sensitivity does not bear a linear relationship to the magnitude of weight loss.  (+info)