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In the serum of 116 healthy individuals, exogenous bradykinin (BK) half-life (27 +/- 10 s) was lower than that of des-Arg(9)-BK (643 +/- 436 s) and was statistically different in men compared with women. The potentiating effect of an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor was, however, more extensive for BK (9.0-fold) than for des-Arg(9)-BK (2.2- fold). The activities of ACE, aminopeptidase P (APP), and kininase I were respectively 44 +/- 12, 22 +/- 9, and 62 +/- 10 nmol x min(-1) x ml(-1). A mathematical model (y = kt(alpha)e(-beta t), t > 0), applied to the BK kinetically released from endogenous high-molecular-weight kininogen (HK) during plasma activation in the presence of an ACE inhibitor, revealed a significant difference in the rate of formation of BK between men and women. For des-Arg(9)-BK, the active metabolite of BK, the rate of degradation was higher in women compared with men, correlating significantly with serum APP activity (r(2) = 0.6485, P < 0.001). In conclusion, these results constitute a basis for future pathophysiological studies of inflammatory processes where activation of the contact system of plasma and the kinins is involved.

Machimosaurus was a large-bodied genus of teleosaurid crocodylomorph, considered to have been durophagous/chelonivorous, and which frequented coastal marine/estuarine ecosystems during the Late Jurassic. Here, we revise the genus based on previously described specimens and revise the species within this genus. We conclude that there were three European Machimosaurus species and another taxon in Ethiopia. This conclusion is based on numerous lines of evidence: craniomandibular, dental and postcranial morphologies; differences in estimated total body length; geological age; geographical distribution; and hypothetical lifestyle. We re-diagnose the type species Machimosaurus hugii and limit referred specimens to only those from Upper Kimmeridgian–Lower Tithonian of Switzerland, Portugal and Spain. We also re-diagnose Machimosaurus mosae, demonstrate that it is an available name and restrict the species to the uppermost Kimmeridgian–lowermost Tithonian of northeastern France. We re-diagnose and validate the species Machimosaurus nowackianus from Harrar, Ethiopia. Finally, we establish a new species, Machimosaurus buffetauti, for the Lower Kimmeridgian specimens of France and Germany (and possibly England and Poland). We hypothesize that Machimosaurus may have been analogous to the Pliocene–Holocene genus Crocodylus in having one large-bodied taxon suited to traversing marine barriers and additional, geographically limited taxa across its range.

HRQOL is decreased in the studied population with an SCI.

No abstract

Angioedema (AE) is a rare but potentially life-threatening side effect of therapy with inhibitors of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), the main bradykinin (BK)-inactivating metallopeptidase in humans. The pathogenesis of ACE inhibitor (ACEi)-associated AE (AEϩ) is presently unknown, although there is increasing evidence of a kinin role. We analyzed the metabolism of endogenous BK (B 2 receptor agonist) and its active metabolite, des-Arg 9 -BK (B 1 receptor agonist), in the presence of an ACEi during in vitro contact activation of plasma from hypertensive patients (n ϭ 39) who presented AEϩ. Kinetic parameters were compared with those measured in a control group (AEϪ) of hypertensive patients (n ϭ 39) who never manifested any acute or chronic side effects while treated with an ACEi. The different kinetic parameters were analyzed using a mathematical model (y ϭ k t ␣ e Ϫ␤ t ) previously applied to a normal, healthy population. The slope of BK degradation, but not its formation from high-molecular-weight kininogen, was lower in AEϩ patients when compared with the AEϪ controls. des-Arg 9 -BK accumulation during the kinetic measurements was significantly higher in AEϩ plasma. This accumulation of the B 1 agonist in AEϩ patients paralleled its half-life of degradation. In conclusion, our results show, for the first time, that an abnormality of endogenous des-Arg 9 -BK degradation exists in the plasma of patients with ACEi-associated AE, suggesting that its pathogenetic mechanism lies in the catabolic site of kinin metabolism.

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.. Biometrika Trust is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Biometrika. SUMMARY This paper deals with a nonparametric two-sample test for location and dispersion. It proposes a statistic T and derives some properties for T: a recursion formula for the exact distribution, the asymptotic distribution and the consistency.

In order to quantify the physical impairments associated with different types of headache, 77 subjects belonging to four different groups (postmotor vehicle accident cervicogenic headache subjects, cervicogenic headache subjects nontraumatic, migraine patients and control subjects) were evaluated using the following variables: posture, cervical range of motion, strength of the neck flexors and extensors, endurance of the short neck flexors, manual segmental mobility, proprioception of the neck, and pain (McGill Pain Questionnaire and the skin roll test). The results of this study showed that postmotor vehicle accident cervicogenic patients have significantly limited active cervical range of motion (in flexion/extension and rotations), present decreased strength and endurance of neck flexors and decreased strength of the extensor muscles. Our results suggest that there are enough differences between the postmotor vehicle accident and nontraumatic cervicogenic headache subjects to warrant caution when analysing the data of these two subgroups together, as several studies have done in the past. The onset of headache is therefore an important variable that should be controlled for when attempting to characterize the physical impairments associated with cervicogenic headache.