ABSTRACT
Sperm acrosin is a serine protease that is involved in the recognition, binding and penetration of the sperm of the zona pellucida of the ovum. The bovine and porcine genes were cloned and characterized. Alignment of the intron/exon structure of both genes with the previously characterized human, rat and mouse genes and with other serine protease genes reveals that the coded sequence of the mammalian proacrosin is distributed in 5 exons and the splice junction types are identical to the exons encoding the catalytic domain of other serine protease genes. A comparison of the bovine, porcine, human, guinea pig, rabbit, rat and mouse preproprotein sequences shows that the catalytic domain is highly conserved, while the sequence of the proline rich domain is very variable among the species, ranging from 28.9% to 68.8%.
Subject(s)
Acrosin/chemistry , Acrosin/genetics , Conserved Sequence , Enzyme Precursors/chemistry , Enzyme Precursors/genetics , Amino Acid Sequence , Animals , Base Sequence , Binding Sites , Cattle , Cloning, Molecular , Codon, Initiator/genetics , Humans , Male , Molecular Sequence Data , Sequence Alignment , Sequence Analysis , Sequence Homology , Serine Endopeptidases/chemistry , Serine Endopeptidases/metabolism , Spermatozoa/chemistry , SwineABSTRACT
The present article forms part of an investigation which has been carried on continuously under the auspices of the Conference of Swiss Sanitary Directors with the aim of providing evidence on the frequency of drug dependence in inpatients of psychiatric hospitals. The investigation is an important source of information concerning trends in drug dependence patterns. In this study, it was possible to observe a change in preference with regard to the use of analgetic compounds over the past years. The decreasing use of barbiturates was found to have been replaced by an increased intake of benzodiazepines. Dependence on heroin has increasingly been observed in recent years. On the whole, multiple drug dependence combined with alcoholism are at present the most frequently observed forms of dependence.
Subject(s)
Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiology , Alcoholism/epidemiology , Analgesics , Anti-Anxiety Agents , Benzodiazepines , Heroin Dependence/epidemiology , Hospitals, Psychiatric , Humans , Switzerland/epidemiologyABSTRACT
23 consecutive patients (13 women, 10 men; mean age 31 years) with acute exacerbation of Crohn's disease were treated by a dietary regimen based on "resting" the bowel by parenteral nutrition or a balanced synthetic diet (Vivasorb), followed by stepwide introduction of a low-residue diet. Cardinal symptoms such as severe abdominal pain, diarrhoea, incomplete ileus or weight loss responded favourably to treatment in each case. Postoperative fistulae closed in two of three patients. Enterocutaneous fistulae, however, remained open in all five patients, although the volume of secretion decreased distinctly in four. During the follow-up period (averaging nine months after discharge from hospital) symptoms recurred in five patients, necessitating operative treatment in three.
