Acta physiologica
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Mild hypothermia (MH) after cardiac arrest attenuates hypoxic brain injury and improves survival. As MH increases contractility in normal hearts, we hypothesized that MH improves cardiovascular function after cardiac arrest. ⋯ The induction of MH after cardiac resuscitation improves systolic myocardial function without further sympathetic activation. A reduced metabolism during MH outweighs a decreased CO and thereby acts favourably on systemic oxygen supply/demand balance.
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The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different pattern of spontaneous breathing on the respiratory mechanics and on the integrity of the pulmonary extracellular matrix. ⋯ This study suggests that the breathing pattern induced by the different anaesthetic regimen may damage the pulmonary interstitium even during spontaneous breathing at physiological tidal volumes.
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Multiple cell death pathways are activated in cerebral ischaemia. Much of the initial injury, especially in the core of the infarct where cerebral blood flow is severely reduced, is necrotic and secondary to severe energy failure. However, there is considerable evidence that delayed cell death continues for several days, primarily in the penumbral region. ⋯ Recently, sex differences have been discovered that illustrate the importance of understanding these molecular pathways, especially as new therapeutics targeting apoptotic cell death are developed. Cell death in females proceeds primarily via caspase activation whereas caspase-independent mechanisms triggered by the activation of PARP predominate in the male brain. This review summarizes the current literature in an attempt to clarify the roles of NAD+ and PAR polymers in caspase-independent cell death, and discuss sex specific cell death to provide an example of the possible importance of these downstream mediators.
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Review Historical Article
Gas exchange in frogs and turtles: how ectothermic vertebrates contributed to solving the controversy of pulmonary oxygen secretion.
The mechanisms governing pulmonary gas exchange were heavily debated at the start of the 20th century when Christian Bohr provided measurements of lung and blood gases as well as rational arguments in favour of oxygen being secreted actively from the lung gas to the blood within vertebrate lungs. The concept of active transport was studied by August Krogh in his doctoral dissertation on the partitioning of gas exchange in frogs. ⋯ Here, I review the early Bohr and Krogh studies on pulmonary and cutaneous gas exchange in frogs as well as the experimental studies on gas exchange and its possible autonomic regulation in turtles. The results are discussed within the context of recent studies on the cardiorespiratory physiology of frogs and turtles.