We have conducted a modified double-blind study on the effect of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) and placebo on bilateral and unilateral maldescended testes. ...One hundred and fifty-five boys with bilateral and 88 boys with unilateral cryptorchidism fulfilled the inclusion criteria and completed the treatment protocol. The boys were between 1 and 13 years of age. hCG was administered as intramuscular injections twice weekly for 3 weeks. GnRH and placebo were given intranasally. hCG was superior to GnRH and placebo in the treatment of bilateral maldescended testes (p = 0.0009). Both testes descended in 25% of the boys following treatment with hCG, and improvement in the position of the testes was obtained in a further 25% of the cases. hCG administration resulted in complete testicular descent in 14% of boys with unilateral cryptorchidism compared with 3 and 0% after placebo and GnRH, respectively (p = 0.07). The testis had moved to a more distal position in 46% of the boys treated with hCG. There was no significant difference between the treatment groups with regard to age or initial position of the testes. We conclude that a success rate of 25% justifies the use of hCG in the treatment of maldescended testes, whereas the study did not support a general use of GnRH administered intranasally.
Alu sequences in the low‐density‐lipoprotein (LDL) receptor gene are suspected of being of importance for the creation of gene defects leading to familial hypercholesterolemia (FH). One potential ...mechanism is that Alu sequences undergo homologous recombination, producing deletions or duplications of DNA segments on genomic DNA. In at least four cases (FH626, PO, JA and FH‐DK3), a deletion of exon 5 of the LDL receptor gene has been reported. Only one of these (FH626) have so far been characterized in detail by sequence analysis and shown to involve two of the Alu repeated sequences, which are present in introns 4 and 5. We here report the complete characterization of FH‐DK3 and show that the cross‐over break points involve sequences similar, but not at identical positions in the 5′ end, to those reported for FH626. The recombinations in both FH‐DK3 and FH626 are suggested to have occurred within a 22‐bp repeated sequence found in both junction alleles.
Search For Trapped Antihydrogen Andresen, Gorm B; Ashkezari, Mohammad D; Baquero-Ruiz, Marcelo ...
arXiv.org,
12/2010
Paper, Journal Article
Odprti dostop
We present the results of an experiment to search for trapped antihydrogen atoms with the ALPHA antihydrogen trap at the CERN Antiproton Decelerator. Sensitive diagnostics of the temperatures, sizes, ...and densities of the trapped antiproton and positron plasmas have been developed, which in turn permitted development of techniques to precisely and reproducibly control the initial experimental parameters. The use of a position-sensitive annihilation vertex detector, together with the capability of controllably quenching the superconducting magnetic minimum trap, enabled us to carry out a high-sensitivity and low-background search for trapped synthesised antihydrogen atoms. We aim to identify the annihilations of antihydrogen atoms held for at least 130 ms in the trap before being released over ~30 ms. After a three-week experimental run in 2009 involving mixing of 10^7 antiprotons with 1.3 10^9 positrons to produce 6 10^5 antihydrogen atoms, we have identified six antiproton annihilation events that are consistent with the release of trapped antihydrogen. The cosmic ray background, estimated to contribute 0.14 counts, is incompatible with this observation at a significance of 5.6 sigma. Extensive simulations predict that an alternative source of annihilations, the escape of mirror-trapped antiprotons, is highly unlikely, though this possibility has not yet been ruled out experimentally.
Using a combined technique of hepatobiliary scintigraphy and gastrointestinal motility recordings, the changes in blood concentrations of cholecystokinin (CCK), secretin and pancreatic polypeptide ...(PP) were studied in relation to gastrointestinal motility and gallbladder dynamics in the interdigestive state in 7 healthy male volunteers. No changes in CCK concentration were found in relation to the migrating motor complex (MMC). In 3 subjects a slightly but insignificant elevated secretin level was seen during phase I of the MMC, otherwise no changes were observed. More pronounced fluctuations in PP appeared with significantly higher values during phase III compared to phase II. Values of concentrations of CCK, secretin and PP in periods with gallbladder filling were not significantly different from the values in periods of emptying.
From approximately 3,000 CML combinations, originally established in order to evaluate the qualitative and quantitative influence of the serologically defined HLA-A, B, and C antigens on cellular, ...complement independent cytolysis, 12 combinations were selected yielding reproducible positive cytolysis on allogenic target cells, although no HLA-antigenic sharing could be demonstrated between stimulator and target lymphocytes. These 12 CytoToxic Lymphocytes (CTL's) have been tested in parallell as "CML typing combinations" against lymphocytes from a random population sample of 100 unrelated Danes. Based on a pairwise analysis 11 of these CTL's could be classified into two groups of significantly correlated CTL's. These two groups do not define monospecific traits of allelic genetic origin as judged by a mutually positive correlation and a poor fit to Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The traits defined by these groups may be either partially identical or governed by closely linked loci. The same groups were identified and the same conclusions reached after exclusion of those individuals in the population sample where HLA-A, B, C, or D antigens may be targets for destruction. Thus, this study gives direct evidence that known HLA antigens are not sole target determinants in CML or that cytotoxic lymphocytes recognize HLA molecules in a different way than lymphocytotoxic antibodies. The studies underline the immunogenetic complexity of CML although this reaction is most probably governed by genes in the HLA region. It is suggested that cytotoxic lymphocytes may recognize "backbone structures" of the HLA molecules.
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