Ligation of internal iliac arteries in pelvic haemorrhage

OBJECTIVE

To study the value of bilateral ligation of internal iliac arteries in the management of intractable postpartum haemorrhage and to curtail blood transfusion during operations for gynaecological cancers.

METHODS

Internal iliac arteries were ligated in 15 cases of PPH, 4 cases of secondary haemorrhage after hysterectomy and in 27 cases of gynaecological cancers during surgery, over a period of 5 years in a general hospital at Calcutta.

RESULTS

The method controlled PPH in all cases except one who required hysterectomy. Secondary haemorrhage was arrested in all. No blood transfusion was necessary during operations for gynaecological cancers except one.

CONCLUSION

The method was effective in 75% of atonic PPH and in majority of PPH due to other causes including caesarean section. It almost entirely avoid blood transfusion during operation for gynaecological cancers. The procedure was simple and did not involve any hazard.

Bilateral transfer deficit in schizophrenia: a trait marker

Schizophrenic patients who had shown improvement over a 6-week treatment period were tested for their bilateral transfer of skill with a mirror-drawing task. Compared with first degree relatives and normal control subjects, patients showed a significant deficit in bilateral transfer of skills in terms of response accuracy both before and after treatment. These findings indicate that the deficit is an enduring functional loss in schizophrenia.

Streptococcus pneumoniae-induced hemolytic uremic syndrome: a case for early diagnosis

Hemolytic uremic syndrome associated with infection by neuraminidase-producing Streptococcus pneumoniae usually presents with fulminant pneumonia and has a high mortality rate. Post-pneumococcal hemolytic uremic syndrome may occur earlier in life than classical hemolytic uremic syndrome. We describe an 18-month-old male with hemolytic uremic syndrome, S. pneumoniae pneumonia, and T-antigen activation characteristic of neuraminidase activity. We have summarized the features of this case and 11 previously reported children. As the use of blood products containing IgM may aggravate this disorder, early recognition of hemolytic uremic syndrome associated with S. pneumoniae neuraminidase production may lead to improved patient outcome through the judicious use of blood products.

Fibrinolytic activity in bleeding associated with intrauterine contraceptive devices

A prospective study was conducted to assess endometrial fibrinolytic activity before and after insertion of copper 250 (Multiload) and after removal of the IUCD. Fibrinolytic activity was measured on the fibrin plate in the form of zone of lysis. Sixty two women in the control group had fibrinolytic activity of endometrium in the range of 0.3-9.5 cm2 (mean +/- SD 1.77 +/- 1.27), 40 women who wanted to have the IUCD removed, because of reasons other than bleeding had a range of 0-9.5 cm2 (mean +/- SD 2.28 +/- 1.88) while 48 women who had the IUCD removed because of subjective menorrhagia had a range of 2.24-7.56 cm2 (mean +/- SD 4.75 +/- 1.20) which was higher than in the other two groups.

Heat Shock Inhibits alpha-Amylase Synthesis in Barley Aleurone without Inhibiting the Activity of Endoplasmic Reticulum Marker Enzymes

The effects of heat shock on the synthesis of alpha-amylase and on the membranes of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of barley (Hordeum vulgare) aleurone were studied. Heat shock, imposed by raising the temperature of incubation from 25 degrees C to 40 degrees C for 3 hours, inhibits the accumulation of alpha-amylase and other proteins in the incubation medium of barley aleurone layers treated with gibberellic acid and Ca(2+). When ER is isolated from heat-shocked aleurone layers, less newly synthesized alpha-amylase is found associated with this membrane system. ER membranes, as indicated by the activities of NADH cytochrome c reductase and ATP-dependent Ca(2+) transport, are not destroyed by heat stress, however. Although heat shock did not reduce the activity of ER membrane marker enzymes, it altered the buoyant density of these membranes. Whereas ER from control tissue showed a peak of marker enzyme activity at 27% to 28% sucrose (1.113-1.120 grams per cubic centimeter), ER from heat-shocked tissue peaked at 30% to 32% sucrose (1.127-1.137 grams per cubic centimeter). The synthesis of a group of proteins designated as heat-shock proteins (HSPs) was stimulated by heat shock. These HSPs were localized to different compartments of the aleurone cell. Several proteins ranging from 15 to 30 kilodaltons were found in the ER and the mitochondrial/plasma membrane fractions of heat-shocked cells, but none of the HSPs accumulated in the incubation medium of heat-shocked aleurone layers.

Gibberellic-acid-stimulated Ca(2+) accumulation in endoplasmic reticulum of barley aleurone: Ca(2+) transport and steady-state levels

The steady-state levels of Ca(2+) within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and the transport of (45)Ca(2+) into isolated ER of barley (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Himalaya) aleurone layers were studied. The Ca(2+)-sensitive dye indo-1. Endoplasmic reticulum was isolated and purified from indo-1-loaded protoplasts, and the Ca(2+) level in the ER was measured using the Ca(2+)-sensitive dye indo-1. Endoplasmic reticulum was isolated and purified from indo-1-loaded protoplasts, and the Ca(2+) level in the lumen of the ER was determined by the fluorescence-ratio method to be at least 3 μM. Transport of (45)Ca(2+) into the ER was studied in microsomal fractions isolated from aleurone layers incubated in the presence and absence of gibberellic acid (GA3) and Ca(2+). Isopycinic sucrose density gradient centrifugation of microsomal fractions isolated from aleurone layers or protoplasts separates ER from tonoplast and plasma membranes but not from the Golgi apparatus. Transport of (45)Ca(2+) occurs primarily in the microsomal fraction enriched in ER and Golgi. Using monensin and heat-shock treatments to discriminate between uptake into the ER and Golgi, we established that (45)Ca(2+) transport was into the ER. The sensitivity of (45)Ca(2+) transport to inhibitors and the Km of (45)Ca(2+) uptake for ATP and Ca(2+) transport in the microsomal fraction of barley aleurone cells. The rate of (45)Ca(2+) transport is stimulated several-fold by treatment with GA3. This effect of GA3 is mediated principally by an effect on the activity of the Ca(2+) transporter rather than on the amount of ER.

The shape of the ear's temporal window

This article examines the idea that the temporal resolution of the auditory system can be modeled using a temporal window (an intensity weighting function) analogous to the auditory filter measured in the frequency domain. To estimate the shape of the hypothetical temporal window, threshold was measured for a brief sinusoidal signal presented in a temporal gap between two bursts of noise. The duration of the gap was systematically varied and the signal was placed both symmetrically and asymmetrically within the gap. The data were analyzed by assuming that the temporal window had the form of a simple mathematical expression with a small number of free parameters. The values of the parameters were adjusted to give the best fit to the data. The analysis assumed that, for each condition, the temporal window was centered at the time giving the highest signal-to-masker ratio, and that threshold corresponded to a fixed ratio of signal energy to masker energy at the output of the window. The data were fitted well by modeling each side of the window as the sum of two rounded-exponential functions. The window was highly asymmetric, having a shallower slope for times before the center than for times after. The equivalent rectangular duration (ERD) of the window was typically about 8 ms. The ERD increased slightly when the masker level was decreased, but did not differ significantly for signal frequencies of 500 and 2000 Hz. The temporal-window model successfully accounts for the data from a variety of experiments measuring temporal resolution. However, it fails to predict certain aspects of forward masking and of the detection of amplitude modulation at high rates.

Mechanism of monocarpic senescence in rice

During grain formation stage (90 to 110 days), the youngest flag leaf of rice (Oryza sativa L. cv. Jaya) remained metabolically most active (as indicated by cellular constituents and enzyme activities) and the third leaf the least active. At the grain development stage (110 to 120 days) the above pattern of age-related senescence of the flag leaf completely changed and it senesced at a faster rate than the second leaf which remained metabolically active even up to grain maturation time (120 to 130 days), when both the flag and the third leaf partially senesced. Removal of any leaf temporarily arrested senescence of the remaining attached leaves, that of flag leaf did not hasten senescence of the second leaf, while that of either the second or the third accelerated senescence of the flag. Removal of the inflorescence after emergence or foliar treatment of intact plant with kinetin equally delayed senescence and produced an age-related, sequential mode of senescence or leaves. Both translocation and retention of (32)P by the flag leaf were maximum at the time of grain formation and that by the second leaf was maintained even up to grain maturation time. The induction of senescence of the flag leaf was preceded by a plentiful transport of (32)P to the grains. Kinetin treatment decreased the transport of (32)P, prolonged its duration, and almost equally involved all of the leaves in this process. The pattern of senescence of isolated leaf tips was similar to that of attached leaves. The level of endogenous abscisic acid-like substance(s) maintained a close linearity with the senescence behavior of the leaves of intact and defruited plants during aging, and the rise in abscisic acid in the flag leaf was also preceded by higher (32)P transport to the grains.

Penicillin-induced formation of ribonuclease in rice (Oryza sativa L.) endosperm and its inhibition by abscisic acid

Penicillin stimulates the formation of ribonuclease in embryoless rice (Oryza sativa L.) endosperm and enhances gibberelin-induced response. Penicillin-induced RNase production is completely inhibited by abscisic acid.

Tall upright T waves in the precordial leads

One hundred ten cases of T waves more than 10 mm in height in the precordial leads were studied. The T waves were wide in ischemic heart disease and thin and peaked in uremia. Marked changes in the ventricular gradient were observed in ischemic heart disease and in uremia with hyperkalemia. In other conditions, the changes in the ventricular gradient were of a lesser degree. In cases of left ventricular hypertrophy, the T waves were tall from V 1 to V 4 in systolic (pressure) overloading, from V 4 to V 6 in diastolic (volume) overloading, and from V 2 to V 6 in combined types of overloading.

The appearance of tall T waves was the earliest electrocardiographic sign encountered in clinical and experimental cases of acute myocardial infarction. In anterior myocardial infarction they disappeared within 24 hours indicating initial transient ischemia, while in angina pectoris and posterior myocardial infarction they lasted for a longer time probably due to persistent subendocardial ischemia.