The purpose of this investigation was to study the relationships between the contractile behavior of the heart and myocardial prostaglandins. Using an open-chest model in rabbits, we assayed the left ventricular tissue content to prostaglandins (PG) E and F2 alpha at various intervals following acute pressure overload created by graduated aortic stenosis. The results suggest that the rabbits could be divided into two distinct groups based on specific hemodynamic changes following coarctation (systolic and diastolic pressure, dP/dt, and contractility index). The first group included rabbits whose adaptation to pressure overload was expressed as a gradual increase in the contractility index. The second group was comprised of rabbits that developed heart failure following coarctation. The increase in contractility in response to overload in the first group was paralleled by an increase in the content of PGE and PGF 2 alpha in the left ventricle, whereas, in rabbits with heart failure, the prostaglandin level did not rise above that of the control hearts. It is suggested that an increased endogenous prostaglandin content may be an important factor in adaptation to acute overload.

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The structure of nanocomposites of the C-Pd system has been studied by X ray diffraction anal ysis and transmission electron microscopy. Variations in the lattice period of nanosized palladium, the average amount of hydrogen dissolved in it, and the size distribution of palladium nanoparticles have been analyzed as functions of the nanocomposite fabrication temperature. Based on the structural data, the solubility of hydrogen in nanosized palladium has been estimated.

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