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Biomedical subjects

T Mitra

Publications and source records attributed to T Mitra.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

Bone tissue ablation with sub-microS pulses of a Q-switch CO(2) laser: histological examination of thermal side effects.

. The goal of this study is an in vitro evaluation of thermal side-effects by the application of short sub- micro s CO(2) laser pulses in combination with an air-water spray on different types of bone tissue. A mechanically Q-switched CO(2) laser delivered 300 ns pulses at 9.6 micro m wavelength, which were focused down to a spot size of 440 micro m on the tissue (a corresponding energy density of 9 J/cm(2)). Bone samples (blocks from pig femur, rib, or cartilage) were moved through the beam repeatedly until 1-5 mm deep cuts were produced. An air driven water spray was applied to prevent the tissue dehydration. Subsequent visual and histological examinations revealed no carbonisation, melting traces or fissuring of the tissue. An extremely narrow, 2-6 micro m thick thermally altered layer was observed at the cut border in compacta and cartilage. No accumulation of the thermal damage occurred with increasing cut depth. Laser incisions in trabecular tissue were accompanied with a 100-200 micro m thick zone of thermal necrosis in bone marrow. The difference from compacta and cartilage can be explained considering the particular character of the spreading of the ablation products in the trabecular meshwork. Minor thermal side effects make the Q-switched and probably other short pulsed CO(2) laser systems interesting for hard tissue surgery.

Animals↗

Effects of haloperidol and SCH 23390 on acoustic startle in animals depleted of dopamine as neonates: implications for neuropsychiatric syndromes.

Animals depleted of dopamine (DA) in the neonatal period and tested in adulthood exhibit some similarities to patients with schizophrenia, including increased sensitivity to DA agonists, altered sensitivity to DA receptor antagonists, and abnormalities of the acoustic startle response (ASR). In this study, we examined the contributions of D1-like and D2-like DA receptors to ASR measures in animals depleted of DA as neonates. Male rat pups received intracerebroventricular injections of 6-hydroxydopamine (DA depleted) or its vehicle (controls) at 3 days of age. Animals underwent startle testing as adults (60-75 days of age) after administration of DA antagonists (haloperidol: 0.1 or 0.3 mg/kg, SCH 23390:0.01 or 0.05 mg/kg) with and without DA agonist administration (apomorphine 0.5 mg/kg). ASR amplitude and prepulse inhibition (PPI: percentage decrease in startle amplitude due to a low intensity prepulse) were measured. DA depleted animals showed increased ASR amplitude and reduced PPI compared to controls. Administration of D1-like or D2-like DA antagonists significantly reduced overall ASR and increased PPI in both control and DA depleted animals, with DA depleted animals showing a relatively greater sensitivity to the D1-like antagonist SCH 23390. Findings are discussed in terms of the role of residual DA in mediating ASR phenomena in depleted animals, differences between D1/D2 DA receptor mediation of ASR compared to other behaviors in DA depleted animals, and potential implications for neuropsychiatric syndromes such as schizophrenia.

Animals↗

Effects of haloperidol and SCH 23390 on acoustic startle and prepulse inhibition under basal and stimulated conditions.

1. Adult Sprague-Dawley rats underwent startle testing for assessment of baseline startle amplitude and prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the startle reflex. 2. Animals were tested after administration of either: saline, a selective D1 dopamine (DA) receptor antagonist, a relatively selective D2 DA antagonist, or combined low dose D1 and D2 antagonists. 3. Changes due to antagonists were assessed with and without administration of the D1/D2 agonist apomorphine. 4. Testing without apomorphine stimulation showed that both D1 and D2 antagonists reduce baseline startle and enhance PPI. Further, the two antagonists exhibited a synergistic interaction. 5. Testing with apomorphine showed that D1 and D2 antagonists reduce apomorphine-induced startle enhancement. Again, the two exhibited a synergistic interaction. 6. For PPI, the D2 but not D1 antagonist reduced the apomorphine effect. However, the D1 antagonist potentiated the effect of the D2 antagonist.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

Sensory gating in rats depleted of dopamine as neonates: potential relevance to findings in schizophrenic patients.

Based on a recent hypothesis of reduced subcortical dopaminergic tone, evidence of early neurodevelopmental deviation, and acoustic startle abnormalities in schizophrenia, we examined acoustic startle in adult animals depleted of dopamine (DA) as neonates. Male rat pups received intracerebroventricular injections of either 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA, 100 micrograms) or its vehicle on postnatal day 3. At 60 days of age, baseline startle and prepulse inhibition (PPI) of startle were assessed in a no injection condition, with all other animals receiving injections of saline or the DA agonist, apomorphine. Acoustic startle was elicited using 120 db white noise bursts alone or preceded by prepulses of 75, 80, and 85 db. Animals treated with 6-OHDA exhibited a 93% depletion of striatal DA compared to vehicle-treated controls. Whereas DA depleted animals did not differ from controls in the no injection condition, they showed greater baseline startle and reduced PPI compared to controls after saline injections. Depleted animals also showed exaggerated responses to apomorphine, with greater increases in baseline startle, loss of habituation, and decreased PPI compared to controls. Findings indicate that neonatal DA depletions lead to increased baseline startle and impaired sensory gating in adulthood after saline injections and dopamine agonists compared to controls. These findings may be relevant to a subgroup of psychotic patients that exhibit similar startle abnormalities as well as signs of hypodopaminergic function.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

Family history and brain morphology in schizophrenia: an MRI study.

This study examined neuroanatomical differences between male schizophrenic patients with a family history of psychosis (n = 16) and those without such a history (n = 15). Intracranial area, cerebral area, ventricular size, and cortical atrophy were assessed using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Third ventricular enlargement was more prevalent in patients than controls (n = 15). Familial and nonfamilial patients differed significantly. Reduced cranial and cerebral areas without ventricular enlargement characterized familial patients, whereas nonfamilial patients showed marked lateral ventricular enlargement without a reduction in cranial/cerebral size.

Adolescent↗

Relationships among isolates of oral haemophili as determined by DNA-DNA hybridization.

In order to assess the relationships among strains of the genera Actinobacillus and Haemophilus, DNAs from 50 strains of these genera were isolated and purified. The guanine plus cytosine (G + C) content of DNAs from strains of Haemophilus segnis and Haemophilus parainfluenzae were determined by thermal denaturation. DNA-DNA homologies were measured using labelled probes from one strain representing Haemophilus segnis (strain ATCC 10977), and two strains representing Haemophilus parainfluenzae (strains ATCC 9796 and ATCC 7901). Strains isolated as H. segnis had a G + C content of 39.0 to 42.9% and were 49-92% homologous with the ATCC 10977 DNA probe. All of the strains freshly isolated as H. parainfluenzae were 70-81% homologous with the ATCC 9796 DNA probe and had a G + C content of 34.9 to 38.3%. Strain ATCC 7901 was 11% homologous with the ATCC 9796 DNA probe, had a G + C content of 42.4%, and was 65-78% homologous to DNA from strains identified as Haemophilus aphrophilus and Haemophilus paraphrophilus. From these results we conclude that strain ATCC 7901 is a mislabelled strain of H. paraphrophilus. The results of multiple DNA-DNA hybridizations indicated that separate species designations were appropriate for H. segnis, H. parainfluenzae, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans ("Haemophilus actinomycetemcomitans"), and H. aphrophilus. H. aphrophilus and H. paraphrophilus were closely related organisms and did not fulfill the generally accepted criteria for designation as separate species.

Actinobacillus↗