Complexins are small soluble proteins that bind to assembling SNARE complexes during synaptic vesicle exocytosis, which in turn mediates neurotransmitter release. Complexins are required for clamping of spontaneous "mini " release and for the priming and synaptotagmin-dependent Ca(2+) triggering of evoked release. Mammalian genomes encode four complexins that are composed of an N-terminal unstr...

Peptide nucleic acid (PNA)-mediated PCR clamping (H. Orum, P. E. Nielsen, M. Egholm, R. H. Berg, O. Buchardt, and C. Stanley, Nucleic Acids Res. 21:5332-5336, 1993) was introduced as a novel procedure to selectively amplify ribosomal DNAs (rDNAs) which are not frequently found in clone libraries generated by standard PCR from complex microbial consortia. Three different PNA molecules were used;...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Umbilical cord blood (UCB) is a valuable stem cell source used for transplantation. Immediate umbilical cord (UC) clamping is widely practised, but delayed UC clamping is increasingly advocated to reduce possible infant anaemia. The aim of this study was to investigate an intermediate UC clamping time point and to evaluate iron status at the age of 4 months in infants w...

BACKGROUND Delayed clamping of the umbilical cord increases the infant's iron endowment at birth and haemoglobin concentration at 2 months of age. We aimed to assess whether a 2-minute delay in the clamping of the umbilical cord of normal-weight, full-term infants improved iron and haematological status up to 6 months of age. METHODS 476 mother-infant pairs were recruited at a large obstetric...

INTRODUCTION The most common method used for myocardial protection is administering cardioplegic solution in the coronary circulation. Nevertheless, protection may be achieved by intermittent perfusion of the coronary system with patient's own blood. The intermittent perfusion may be performed by multiple sequences of clamping and opening of the aortic clamp or due single clamping and accessory...

PURPOSE Molecular testing in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) aids in identifying oncogenic alterations. The aim of this study was to compare the rates of detection of oncogenic alterations and responsiveness to epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) according to EGFR mutation status as determined by peptide nucleic acid (PNA) clamping or direct sequencing (DS...

INTRODUCTION The cerebral protective effect of xenon anesthesia could be of interest during carotid surgery. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of xenon on cerebral oxygen saturation with those of propofol during carotid clamping. METHODS After approval of Research Ethics Board and patient informed consent, 74 patients scheduled for carotid endarterectomy were enrolled. Pati...

A critical shortage of donors exists for liver transplantation, which non-heart-beating cadaver donors could help ease. This study evaluated ischemic preconditioning to improve graft viability after non-heart-beating liver donation in rats. Ischemic preconditioning was performed by clamping the portal vein and hepatic artery for 10 min followed by unclamping for 5 min. Subsequently, the aorta w...