Combat Stress Reactions During Military Deployments: Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Combat Stress Control Treatment

Few studies have evaluated the effectiveness of mental health treatments for the combat stress reactions of military service members treated in deployed locations. The present pilot investigation is the first report on the effectiveness of a Combat Stress Control (CSC) unit treatment for deployed service members. Thirty-eight United States military personnel (33 men and 5 women) completed a 2-day CSC unit program at Balad Air Base, Iraq. The program included individual and group treatments to reduce the symptoms of combat operational stress reactions and to improve coping strategies, stress management skills, and interpersonal relationships. Measures used included the Outcome Questionnaire-45 (OQ-45) and the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Military version (PCL-M). The study found significant decreases on the OQ-45 and the PCL-M. These results provide preliminary data to support the use of CSC units to treat combat operational stress reactions in the field.

Acute toxicity testing in cultures of mouse neuroblastoma cells

Cultured mouse neuroblastoma cells (C1300) may be used as models for nerve cells since they have a number of properties in common with their normal counterparts in vivo. In order to test the possibility of using C1300 cells as alternative to experimental animals when testing for acute toxicity, cells (clone 41A3) were exposed to a number of common chemicals (CH3HgCl, CdCl2,HgCl2 ppDDT, n-butanol, benzene, dioxan, n-propanol, aceton and t-butanol). The toxic effect was quantified by measuring the degree of cell detachment in the cultures. The concentrations of chemicals that caused 25% of the total cell number to detach (TD25) were used for comparison with LD50 values. In spite of the very simplified situation in culture, where the toxicity of a substance is little or not at all influenced by factors like penetration, storage, metabolism and excretion a good correlation (corr. coeff. 0,98) was obtained between TD25 values and LD50 values. Good correlations between in vitro and in vivo tests have also been reported by others. One possible explanation to these findings could be simplified in vivo toxicokinetics of these substances when tested in high doses for general effects like animal death. If so, simple in vitro tests may be used for predicting acute toxicity of certain groups of substances.

Differential gene expression during terminal erythroid differentiation

Terminal erythroid differentiation in mammals is the process whereby nucleated precursor cells accumulate erythroid-specific proteins such as hemoglobin, undergo extensive cellular and nuclear remodeling, and ultimately shed their nuclei to form reticulocytes, which then become mature erythrocytes in the circulation. Little is known about the mechanisms that enable erythroblasts to undergo such a transformation. We hypothesized that genes involved in these mechanisms were likely expressed at restricted times during the differentiation process and used differential display reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction as a first step in identifying such genes. We identified three differentially expressed cDNAs that we termed late erythroblast (LEB) 1-3. None of these cDNAs were previously identified as being expressed in erythroblasts and their patterns of expression indicated they are likely to be involved in the differentiation process. LEB-1 cDNA was derived from the gene A330102K04Rik (approved gene symbol Apoll1), and shares homology with members of the apolipoprotein L family in humans. LEB-3 cDNA was derived from the novel gene D930015E06Rik, that has no known function. LEB-2 cDNA was derived from the gene ranBP16 (approved gene symbol Xpo7), a nuclear exportin. D930015E06Rik mRNA is also strongly expressed in the testis and was localized to a region of the seminiferous tubule where secondary spermatocytes and early spermatids are found, suggesting a role for D930015E06Rik in spermatogenesis as well as terminal erythroid differentiation. We have thus identified three genes not previously described as being expressed in erythroblasts that could be relevant in elucidating mechanisms involved in terminal erythroid differentiation.

Early Functional Loading of Brånemark Dental Implants: 5-Year Clinical Follow-up Study

BACKGROUND

Short-term clinical studies have indicated the possibility of one-stage surgery and early loading of machined titanium implants. However, long-term data comparing the outcome to the conventional two-stage technique are missing.

PURPOSE

A clinical and radiographic study was performed to compare the outcome of oral rehabilitation of the edentulous mandible by fixed suprastructures connected to implants installed according to either (1) a one-stage surgical procedure and early loading (experimental group--EG) or (2) the original two-stage concept (reference group--RG). The EG and RG comprised 16 and 11 subjects, respectively.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The following specific inclusion criterion were adopted: (1) all patients had to consider themselves to be in good general health, (2) the amount of bone had to enable the installation of five to six, at least 10-mm long fixtures (Mk II fixtures; Nobel Biocare AB, Göteborg, Sweden) between the mental foramina, and (3) the patients had to be available for the follow-up and maintenance program. A total of 88 implants were placed in the EG compared to 30 in the RG. In the EG, fixed appliances were connected to the implants within 20 days following implant installation while the fixed appliances in the RG were connected about 4 months following fixture installation. At delivery of the suprastructures, all patients were radiographically examined, an examination that was repeated at the 18- and 60-month follow-ups.

RESULTS

The analysis of the radiographs from the EG disclosed that during the observation period, between 18 and 60 months, the mean loss of bone support amounted to 0.2 mm (SD = 0.4). The corresponding value observed in the RG was 0.0 mm (SD = 0.5). During the 60-month observation period, no fixture was lost in any of the two groups examined. The implants under study as well as those in the reference material were at all observation intervals found to be clinically stable.

CONCLUSIONS

This clinical study demonstrated that it is, at least based on a 5-year observation period, possible to successfully load via a permanent fixed rigid cross-arch suprastructure titanium dental implants soon after installation. However, such a treatment approach has to be strictly limited to the interforamina area of the edentulous mandible. Furthermore, the bone resorption was found to be within the same range around such implants as around implants installed and loaded according to the original two-stage protocol.

Ubiquitous expression of mRFP-1 in vivo by site-directed transgenesis

Progress in our understanding of the molecular cellular basis of immune function depends on our ability to track and image individual immune cells in vivo. To this end, the development of mouse models over-expressing various fluorescent proteins would represent an important experimental tool. In this report, we describe the generation and characterization of pUbi-mRFP-1 transgenic mice, in which the monomeric form of red fluorescent protein is ubiquitously expressed in various lymphoid and non-lymphoid tissues. Our newly generated pUbi-mRFP-1 mice are unique among previously reported mice transgenic for red fluorescent proteins because a single-copy of the mRFP-1 transgene driven by human ubiquitin C promoter has been integrated by homologous recombination into the mouse hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) locus. We show that the distinct and uniform levels of mRFP-1 expression allow easy identification of transferred hematopoietic cells by FACS analysis or confocal microscopy, even when the transferred population represents a very small proportion in the target organ. Also, even in long-term experiments, we have seen no evidence of rejection of transferred pUbi-mRFP-1 lymphocytes. Due to its far-red spectrum, mRFP-1 is an ideal partner for dual imaging with green fluorescent proteins. We observed a good visual separation between donor lymphocytes derived from either mRFP-1 or eGFP transgenic mice in recipient animals. Our study suggests that the new pUbi-mRFP-1 transgenic mouse strain offers new opportunities for studying cellular interactions and migratory patterns of cells, especially for dual imaging of different cell types. In summary, our results demonstrate that a controlled strategy of transgenesis provides an effective means of ubiquitously expressing fluorescent proteins in vivo.

Evaluation of a macrofoam swab protocol for the recovery of Bacillus anthracis spores from a steel surface

A protocol to recover Bacillus anthracis spores from a steel surface using macrofoam swabs was evaluated for its accuracy, precision, reproducibility, and limit of detection. Macrofoam swabs recovered 31.7 to 49.1% of spores from 10-cm2 steel surfaces with a < or =32.7% coefficient of variation in sampling precision and reproducibility for inocula of > or =38 spores.

The validity of self-rated health as a measure of health status among young military personnel: evidence from a cross-sectional survey

Background

Single item questions about self ratings of overall health status are widely used in both military and civilian surveys. Limited information is available to date that examines what relationships exist between self-rated health, health status and health related behaviors among relatively young, healthy individuals.

Methods

The current study uses the population of active duty United States Air Force recruits (N = 31,108). Participants completed surveys that asked about health behaviors and health states and were rated their health on a continuum from poor to excellent.

Results

Ratings of health were consistently lower for those who used tobacco (F = 241.7, p < .001), reported binge drinking (F = 69.0, p < .001), reported drinking and driving (F = 19.4, p < .001), reported taking health risks (F = 109.4, p < .001), were depressed (F = 256.1, p < .001) and were overweight (F = 39.5, p < .001).

Conclusion

Given the consistent relationship between self-rated overall health and factors important to military health and fitness, self-rated health appears to be a valid measure of health status among young military troops.

Human impacts on the rates of recent, present, and future bird extinctions

Unqualified, the statement that approximately 1.3% of the approximately 10,000 presently known bird species have become extinct since A.D. 1500 yields an estimate of approximately 26 extinctions per million species per year (or 26 E/MSY). This is higher than the benchmark rate of approximately 1 E/MSY before human impacts, but is a serious underestimate. First, Polynesian expansion across the Pacific also exterminated many species well before European explorations. Second, three factors increase the rate: (i) The number of known extinctions before 1800 is increasing as taxonomists describe new species from skeletal remains. (ii) One should calculate extinction rates over the years since taxonomists described the species. Most bird species were described only after 1850. (iii) Some species are probably extinct; there is reluctance to declare them so prematurely. Thus corrected, recent extinction rates are approximately 100 E/MSY. In the last decades, the rate is <50 E/MSY, but would be 150 E/MSY were it not for conservation efforts. Increasing numbers of extinctions are on continents, whereas previously most were on islands. We predict a 21st century rate of approximately 1,000 E/MSY. Extinction threatens 12% of bird species; another 12% have small geographical ranges and live where human actions rapidly destroy their habitats. If present forest losses continue, extinction rates will reach 1,500 E/MSY by the century's end. Invasive species, expanding human technologies, and global change will harm additional species. Birds are poor models for predicting extinction rates for other taxa. Human actions threaten higher fractions of other well known taxa than they do birds. Moreover, people take special efforts to protect birds.

Evolution of a neuroprotective function of central nervous system myelin

The central nervous system (CNS) of terrestrial vertebrates underwent a prominent molecular change when a tetraspan membrane protein, myelin proteolipid protein (PLP), replaced the type I integral membrane protein, P₀, as the major protein of myelin. To investigate possible reasons for this molecular switch, we genetically engineered mice to express P₀ instead of PLP in CNS myelin. In the absence of PLP, the ancestral P₀ provided a periodicity to mouse compact CNS myelin that was identical to mouse PNS myelin, where P₀ is the major structural protein today. The PLP–P₀ shift resulted in reduced myelin internode length, degeneration of myelinated axons, severe neurological disability, and a 50% reduction in lifespan. Mice with equal amounts of P₀ and PLP in CNS myelin had a normal lifespan and no axonal degeneration. These data support the hypothesis that the P₀–PLP shift during vertebrate evolution provided a vital neuroprotective function to myelin-forming CNS glia.

Functional organization of a Schwann cell enhancer

Myelin basic protein (MBP) gene expression is conferred in oligodendrocytes and Schwann cells by different upstream enhancers. In Schwann cells, expression is controlled by a 422 bp enhancer lying -9 kb from the gene. We show here that it contains 22 mammalian conserved motifs > or =6 bp. To investigate their functional significance, different combinations of wild-type or mutated motifs were introduced into reporter constructs that were inserted in single copy at a common hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase docking site in embryonic stem cells. Lines of transgenic mice were derived, and the subsequent qualitative and quantitative expression phenotypes were compared at different stages of maturation. In the enhancer core, seven contiguous motifs cooperate to confer Schwann cell specificity while different combinations of flanking motifs engage, at different stages of Schwann cell maturation, to modulate expression level. Mutation of a Krox-20 binding site reduces the level of reporter expression, whereas mutation of a potential Sox element silences reporter expression. This potential Sox motif was also found conserved in other Schwann cell enhancers, suggesting that it contributes widely to regulatory function. These results demonstrate a close relationship between phylogenetic footprints and regulatory function and suggest a general model of enhancer organization. Finally, this investigation demonstrates that in vivo functional analysis, supported by controlled transgenesis, can be a robust complement to molecular and bioinformatics approaches to regulatory mechanisms.

Tumor necrosis factor alpha promoter polymorphisms in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the potential association of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) promoter alleles within subtypes of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) compared to healthy controls in a Caucasian population.

METHODS

TNF-alpha promoter polymorphisms at positions -163, -238, -244, -308, -376 were determined in 228 patients with JIA and 196 healthy individuals. Genomic DNA was isolated and a PCR fragment of about 500 base pairs of the TNF gene promoter were amplified by PCR. Detection of polymorphisms was achieved by a single sequencing procedure.

RESULTS

The TNF -238A allele was more frequent in the psoriatic arthritis JIA subgroup compared to healthy controls as well as to non-psoriatic JIA patients (p < 0.001, chi-square-test) and was associated with the more frequent occurrence of joint erosion (p < 0.05, chi-square-test). The frequency of the TNF -308A allele was significantly lower in patients with rheumatoid factor negative polyarthritis JIA patients compared to healthy controls, respectively (p < 0.05, chi-square-test). Joint erosions were detectable more often in rheumatoid factor negative polyarthritis JIA patients with the G/A genotype (80%) than in those with the G/G genotype (45%) (p = 0.20). The rare alleles at position -376 or at positions -163 and -244 were found very infrequently.

CONCLUSION

TNF promoter polymorphisms may play a role in the pathogenesis of JIA. The TNF-238A allele seems to be associated with juvenile psoriatic arthritis. The TNF-308A allele is less frequently found in rheumatoid factor negative but not in rheumatoid factor positive polyarthritis and may therefore be associated with a more severe disease, while the more common TNF-308G allele may be protective.

Induction of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in transgenic mice expressing ovalbumin in oligodendrocytes

We have used the 5' flanking sequence of the myelin basic protein gene known to include the core promoter and a strong oligodendrocyte (ODC)-specific enhancer to target expression of the well-studied model antigen ovalbumin (OVA) to ODC in transgenic mice. OVA protein was detected in a tissue- and cell-specific manner in these "ODC-OVA" mice. Without immunization, CD4 T cells and B cells remained ignorant of the neo-self antigen expressed in the central nervous system (CNS), as indicated by unimpaired development and lack of activation of OVA/IA(b)-specific TCR transgenic T cells in these mice, and the ability to mount normal OVA-specific recall and antibody responses. Upon immunization with OVA in complete Freund's adjuvant, about half of the transgenic mice developed neurological symptoms characteristic of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Mononuclear infiltrates in the brain and spinal cord contained both macrophages and T cells, similar to classical models of EAE induced by immunization with CNS antigens in adjuvant. The wealth of immunological reagents available to study and manipulate the OVA-specific response should make this new model useful for the investigation of components and mechanisms involved in CNS-specific autoimmunity.

The South East Queensland Forests Agreement: Lessons for Biodiversity Conservation

In Australia, regional forest agreements formed the cornerstone of strategies for resolving disputes over the logging of native forests in the last decade of the twentieth century. These disputes, driven by an increasingly vocal and influential conservation movement, coincided with changes in the nature of relationships between Commonwealth and State Governments, with the Commonwealth adopting an increasing role in environmental management (Lane 1999). Following very public disputes about the renewal of export woodchip licenses from native forests (which culminated in log truck blockades of the Commonwealth Parliament, Canberra), the Commonwealth Government adopted regional forest agreements as the mechanism for achieving sustainable management of Australia?s native hardwood forests. This was underpinned by the National Forest Policy Statement (Commonwealth of Australia 1992), which outlined principles for ecologically sustainable management of the nation?s production forests. The Commonwealth and several State Governments reached agreement to develop regional forest agreements (RFAs) for the long-term management and use of forests in ten regions (Fig. 1) (Commonwealth of Australia 2004). Key goals of the agreement were to: reconcile competing commercial, ecological and societal demands on forests in a way that was consistent with the principles and goals of ecologically sustainable forest management (Davey et al. 1997, 2002; Lane 1999); and to establish a comprehensive, adequate and representative reserve system, based on the nationallyagreed JANIS criteria (JANIS 1997).

The marrow cell continuum: stochastic determinism

Traditional models of hematopoiesis have been hierarchical in nature. Over the past 10 years, we have developed data indicating that hematopoiesis is regulated in a continuum with deterministic and stochastic components. We have shown that the most primitive stem cells, as represented by lineage negative rhodamine(low) Hoechst(low) murine marrow cells are continuously or intermittently cycling as determined by in vivo BrdU labeling. When marrow stem cells are induced to transit cell cycle by in vitro exposure to cytokines, either IL-3, IL-6, IL-11, and steel factor or thrombopoietin, FLT3 ligand, and steel factor, they progress through cycle in a highly synchronized fashion. We have determined that when the stem cells progress through a cytokine stimulated cell cycle the homing, engraftment, adhesion protein, global gene expression, and hematopoietic differentiation phenotypes all change in a reversible fashion. This has led to the continuum model, in which, with cycle transit, chromatin is continually changing altering open transcription areas and providing a continually changing landscape of transcriptional opportunity. More recently, we have extended the changing differentiation profiles to differentiation into lung cells and found that non-hematopoietic differentiation also shows cycle related reversibly modulation. These observations all together support a continuum model of stem cell regulation in which the phenotype of the marrow stem cells is continually and reversibly changing over time.

54 COMPOSITION OF ALLANTOIC FLUID IN CATTLE PREGNANT WITH AI-, IVP-, OR NUCLEAR TRANSFER-GENERATED EMBRYOS

Abnormal placentation, pregnancy failure, and hydroallantois are associated with somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) in cattle. Identification of diagnostic markers for abnormal placentation in early gestation would permit therapeutic intervention. Ultrasonography and transvaginal sampling of amniotic and/or allantoic (fetal) fluid enables regular monitoring of fetal health. We report on the composition of serial samples of fetal fluid from individual cows between Days 70–130 of gestation and the potential of steroid and electrolyte composition as an early diagnostic marker for the subsequent occurrence of hydroallantois in SCNT pregnancies in cattle. On Day 70, pregnancy rates were 50% and 60% for cows or heifers implanted with single in vitro-fertilized (IVP, 20/40) or SCNT (25/42) embryos, respectively, and 67% for pregnancies generated by artificial insemination (AI, 12/18). Resulting fetuses were either clones (SCNT) or offspring (IVP/AI) of a donor Holstein bull. Fetal fluids, sampled using ultrasound-guided transvaginal puncture, were collected on Days 70, 100, and 130 of gestation (n = 12 and 139 for amniotic and allantoic samples, respectively). Placental and fetal morphological data were collected following slaughter between Days 135–163 of gestation (n = 14, 20, and 10 for SCNT, IVP, and AI groups, respectively). Fetal fluids were analyzed for progesterone, estrone sulphate, sodium, chloride, potassium, creatinine, urea, calcium, magnesium and phosphate. Pregnancy outcomes for the SCNT group were retrospectively classified as: Fail 100 (pregnancies failing between Days 70–99; n = 6); Fail 130 (failing between Days 100–129; n = 5); Hydrops (greater than 10 L combined amniotic and allantoic fluid at postmortem between Days 135–163; n = 8) and SCNT Pregnant 150 (pregnant between Days 135–163; n = 6). IVP and AI pregnancies were classified as IVP or AI Pregnant 150. Fluid composition was analyzed by ANOVA on log-transformed data. On Day 70, allantoic progesterone and estrone sulphate concentrations were significantly higher (P < 0.05) for the SCNT cows compared to the IVP/AI Pregnant 150 cows. On Day 70, allantoic potassium, chloride, creatinine, and urea concentrations were significantly higher (P < 0.05) for the SCNT Hydrops cows compared to the IVP/AI Pregnant 150 cows. In addition, Day 70 allantoic creatinine and urea concentrations were significantly higher (P < 0.05) for the SCNT Hydrops cows compared to other SCNT groups. By Day 100, allantoic chloride, creatinine, and urea concentrations in SCNT Hydrops cows were significantly lower (P < 0.05) than in IVP/AI Pregnant 150 groups. We conclude that elevated Day 70 allantoic urea and creatinine concentrations are potential early diagnostic markers predicting hydroallantois in recipient cattle carrying SCNT fetuses. Further investigation of these markers in other somatic donor cell lines used for nuclear transfer is warranted to determine their general utility.

High ice nucleation temperature of zebrafish embryos: slow-freezing is not an option

Although fish embryos have been used in a number of slow-freezing cryopreservation experiments, they have never been successfully cryopreserved. In part this is because little is known about whether ice forms within the embryo during the slow-freezing dehydration process. Therefore, we examined the temperature of intraembryonic ice formation (T(IIF)) and the temperature of extraembryonic ice formation (T(EIF)), using a cryomicroscope. We used both unmodified zebrafish embryos and those with water channels (aquaporin-3 or AQP3) inserted into their membranes to increase permeability to water and cryoprotectants, examined at 100% epiboly to the 6-somite stage. In these experiments we examined: (1) the spontaneous freezing of (external) solutions; (2) the spontaneous freezing of solutions containing embryos; (3) the effect of preloading the embryos with cryoprotectants on T(IIF); (4) whether preloading the embryos with cryoprotectant helps in survival after nucleating events in the solution; and (5) the damaging effects of extracellular nucleation events versus solution toxicity on the embryos. The solutes alone (embryo medium--EM, sucrose culture medium, 1 M propylene glycol in EM, and 1 M propylene glycol in a sucrose culture medium) froze at -14.9 +/- 1.1, -17.0 +/- 0.3, -17.8 +/- 1.0, and -17.7 +/- 1.4, respectively. There was no difference amongst these means (P > 0.05), thus adding cryoprotectant did not significantly lower the nucleation point. Adding embryos (preloaded with cryoprotectant or not) did not change the basic freezing characteristics of these solutes. In all these experiments, (T(EIF)) equaled (T(IIF)), and there was no difference in the freezing point of the solutions with or without the embryos (P > 0.05). Additionally, there was no difference in the freezing characteristics of embryos with and without aquaporins (P > 0.05). The formation of intraembryonic ice was lethal to the zebrafish embryos in all cases. But this lethal outcome was not related to solution injury effects, because 88-98% of embryos survived when exposed to a higher solute concentration with no ice present. Taken together, these data suggest that slow-freezing is not a suitable option for zebrafish embryos. The mechanism of this high temperature nucleation event in zebrafish embryos is still unknown.