Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to R Nunes.
A sample of 1,024 newborns in Recife, Brazil, was studied to help determine the precision with which arem circumference measurements could be used to indicate low birth weight. The results support the view that when birth weight data are unobtainable, arm circumference measurements may be of value in screening for newborns needing special care.
OBJECTIVE: to evaluate the performance of a new ball valve prosthesis. DESIGN: set up of two groups of patients who underwent mitral valve replacement with two different prosthesis: the Macchi prosthesis under evaluation and the well known Starr-Edwards model prosthesis. The chi-square test was used to compare the results. PATIENTS: Patients referred for valvular surgery. INTERVENTIONS: One group of 98 consecutive patients who underwent isolated mitral valve replacement with a Macchi prosthesis from January 1984 to June 30 1986 was compared to a matched group of 49 patients who received a Starr-Edwards prosthesis in the same period of time. Follow-up data were available from 99% patients in the Macchi group 96% in the Starr-Edwards group, with a mean follow-up time of 35.2 (2-57) and 42.9 (4-62) months, respectively. RESULTS: There was no statistical difference in the incidence per 100 patients--month of prosthetic complications--thromboembolism, hemorrhagic events, prosthetic endocarditis, reoperation and mechanical failure. CONCLUSIONS: In our experience and with the available follow-up data the Macchi prosthesis is a good cost effective option when there is indication for a ball valve prosthesis.
The authors studied 1,024 newborns in Recife, Brazil, to determine the association between arm circumference and birth weight. A strong correlation between these two parameters was found (R = +0.78). Specificity and sensitivity of this measurement in detecting low birth weight were also high. The authors concluded that arm circumference can be used as an alternative method of detecting at-risk neonates in areas where birth weight cannot be measured accurately.
When freshly isolated well-stirred single cell suspensions of rat hepatocytes were incubated with 5-600 microM [3H]oleate or [35S]sulfobromophthalein (BSP) in the presence of 150 microM bovine serum albumin (BSA), uptake of both ligands increased as a linear function of the total ligand concentration in the medium. By contrast, when the same ligand concentrations were incubated as 1:1 complexes with BSA, apparent saturation of ligand uptake was observed. Analogous results were obtained in incubations employing beta-lactoglobulin instead of BSA. In none of these studies did ligand uptake velocity correlate in simple fashion with the concentration of unbound ligand in the incubation medium. These studies establish that the basis for the kinetic observations termed the 'albumin receptor phenomenon' does not require an intact hepatic lobular architecture or space of Disse, and is not specific for albumin.
Bilirubin (BR) and organic anionic dyes such as sulfobromophthalein (BSP), indocyanine green (ICG) and rose bengal (RB) enter the hepatocyte by a specific non-sodium-dependent membrane transport system. Two analogous but distinct Na+-dependent transport systems effect the uptake of conjugated bile acids such as taurocholate (TC) and free fatty acids such as oleate, respectively. The mechanism of uptake of the acetanilidoiminodiacetic acid (HIDA) class of biliary scintiscanning agents is unknown. Accordingly, rat hepatocytes were isolated by collagenase perfusion of the liver and differential centrifugation, and incubated with 99mTc-diisopropyl-HIDA (99mTc-DISIDA) alone, or in the presence of various concentrations of BSP, ICG, RB, oleate or TC, with and without bovine serum albumin (BSA). Initial uptake velocity (Vo) was determined from the initial slope of the cumulative radioactivity/time curve. In albumin free media, uptake of 99mTc-DISIDA was temperature- and pH-dependent, with maximal uptake at 37 degrees C. There was virtually no uptake of inorganic 99mTc. In incubations containing 15-1500 microM 99mTc-DISIDA, Vo was saturable, with estimated Vmax = 65 nmoles/min/10(6) hepatocytes, and Km = 1200 microM. In keeping with its weak albumin binding, 99mTc-DISIDA Vo was only minimally influenced by equimolar concentrations of BSA. 99mTc-DISIDA Vo was inhibited by BR, BSP, ICG and RB, as well as by a rabbit antibody to the rat liver plasma membrane BSP/BR binding protein. Surprisingly, Vo was also inhibited by TC and oleate, but not influenced either by ouabain or by substitution of Li+ for Na+ in the medium.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
We have measured the diffusive permeability coefficients of isolated rat hepatocytes to 3H2O, [14C]urea, [14C]erythritol, [14C]mannitol, [3H]sucrose, and [3H]inulin, employing a technique previously developed for erythrocytes (Redwood et al., J. Gen. Physiol 64:706-729, 1974). Diffusion coefficients for the tracer molecules were measured in packed hepatocytes, supernatant fluid, and intracellular medium (lysed hepatocytes) and were calculated assuming one-dimensional semi-infinite diffusion through a homogeneous medium. By applying the series-parallel pathway model, the following permeability coefficients (10(-5) cm/sec) for the hepatocyte plasma membrane were obtained. 3H2O, 98.6 +/- 18.4; [14C]urea, 18.2 +/- 5.3; [14C]erythritol, 4.8 +/- 1.6; [14C]mannitol, 3.1 +/- 1.4; [3H]sucrose, 0; [3H]inulin, 0. These results indicate that isolated rat hepatocytes are highly permeable to water and polar nonelectrolytes, when compared with other transporting epithelia. This relatively high cellular permeability is consistent with a model in which nonelectrolyte permeation is via an aqueous pathway of equivalent pore diameter of 8-12 A. The finding that [14C]erythritol and [14C]mannitol cross the hepatocyte plasma membrane indicates that these molecules enter the bile canaliculus through the transcellular route. Conversely, the failure of [3H]sucrose and [3H]inulin to permeate the hepatocyte in the isolated condition supports the concept that biliary entry of these large carbohydrates, at least that fraction which cannot be accounted for by a vesicular mechanism, must occur via the transjunctional shunt pathway.
Superior sternal cleft is a rare congenital malformation that should be repaired during the first weeks of life, while the thorax is still complaint. We report the case of a two-week-old neonate with superior sternal cleft and describe the technique used to close the defect.
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Idiopathic hemochromatosis is an inherited and primary disease. Its definition requires: a) a family history of abnormalities of iron storage; b) an association with HLA; c) inadequate iron absorption in relation to iron stores in liver and other territories; d) the absence of any other known causes of iron overload. The recent evidence of its high family related frequency and the existence of an effective treatment, demand the understanding of this entity and the strongest medical effort towards the diagnosis in the pre-cirrhotic stages. We present here the results from the study of 17 patients diagnosed of idiopathic hemochromatosis over a seven year period in the University Clinic of Navarra. Our aim is to review this subject and to compare our findings with those described in the current literature.