Self-control in relation to problem drinking and symptoms of disordered eating

The present study investigated problem drinking and symptoms of disordered eating in relation to (a) restrained drinking and eating, and (b) cognitive self-control. One hundred and ninety-eight high school students (97 males and 101 females; mean age = 16.45 years) completed questionnaires that assessed problem drinking, symptoms of disordered eating, restrained eating and drinking, and cognitive self-control. Using principal components analysis, three factors with eigenvalues greater than 1 were found to summarize the interrelationships among the examined measures. For both sexes, the first two factors primarily reflected problem drinking and restrained drinking, and problem eating and restrained eating, respectively. The third factor reflected a more general problem with control underlying aspects of both problem drinking and problem eating.

Gender congruence in confirmatory and compensatory drinking

The relationship between gender-stereotypical traits and drinking behaviors was examined in 422 university students via both positive and negative measures of masculinity and femininity. Two canonical variates summarized the underlying relationships. The 1st canonical variate indicated that both high negative masculinity and low positive femininity predicted alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems. This behavior was labeled confirmatory drinking because it depicts a style of drinking that reinforces gender-stereotypical images about alcohol use; masculine characteristics are typically associated with high levels of alcohol consumption. The 2nd canonical variate indicated that both low positive masculinity and low positive femininity predicted problem drinking. This behavior was labeled compensatory drinking because drinkers often use alcohol to express their masculinity and femininity. The distinction between confirmatory and compensatory drinking has important implications for the development of more effective education and preventative strategies.

Incidence of fetal alcohol syndrome in northeastern Manitoba

The incidence of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) in northeastern Manitoba was investigated by examining all 745 live births occurring in Thompson General Hospital in 1994. Birth records were screened with criteria designed to capture all potential FAS cases. Cases were then eliminated if follow-up records indicated the child was not developmentally delayed or no longer had the small head or body size identified at birth. Cases still meeting criteria were personally examined. Five cases of FAS were identified among the 46% of eligible children screened at age 2, roughly an incidence of 7.2/1,000. However, because only 46% of the high risk cases were personally examined, incidence could be as high as 14.8/1,000. Only 1/5 FAS cases had been identified prior to our investigation. The results indicate the incidence of FAS in northeastern Manitoba is very high and that much greater effort needs to be made in its prevention and early detection.

Booking clients for addiction treatment: what works best?

Considerable effort has been devoted to trying to improve the nature and quality of drug abuse treatment over the past 30 years. While there is evidence that certain treatment modalities are more effective than others, there is little evidence that inpatient treatment is more effective than outpatient, that treatment of a long duration is more effective than that of a short duration or that intense treatment is more effective than less intense treatment. Attempts to match drug abusers to an optimal treatment type have largely been unsuccessful.

Ebola (subtype Reston) virus among quarantined nonhuman primates recently imported from the Philippines to the United States

In April 1996, laboratory testing of imported nonhuman primates (as mandated by quarantine regulations) identified 2 cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis) infected with Ebola (subtype Reston) virus in a US-registered quarantine facility. The animals were part of a shipment of 100 nonhuman primates recently imported from the Philippines. Two additional infected animals, who were thought to be in the incubation phase, were identified among the remaining 48 animals in the affected quarantine room. The other 50 macaques, who had been held in a separate isolation room, remained asymptomatic, and none of these animals seroconverted during an extended quarantine period. Due to the rigorous routine safety precautions, the facility personnel had no unprotected exposures and remained asymptomatic, and no one seroconverted. The mandatory quarantine and laboratory testing requirements, put in place after the original Reston outbreak in 1989-1990, were effective for detecting and containing Ebola virus infection in newly imported nonhuman primates and minimizing potential human transmission.

Restrained drinking and cognitive control among adolescents

The present study investigated restrained drinking and self-control in relation to alcohol consumption and problem drinking in a sample of adolescents. One hundred ninety-eight high school students (97 males and 101 females; mean age = 16.45 years) completed questionnaires that assessed levels of alcohol consumption, problem drinking, restrained drinking, and cognitive self-control. The findings were similar for males and females: higher levels of restrained drinking, as measured by cognitive emotional preoccupation (CEP), predicted higher levels of alcohol consumption and problem drinking. Moreover, it was high CEP in combination with a low score on a general measure of cognitive self-control that differentiated problem drinking from high levels of drinking. The results are consistent with previous research on young adults. The findings are discussed in relation to Baumeister and Heatherton's (1996) model of self-regulation failure.

Declines in Vegetation Patches, Plant Diversity, and Grasshopper Diversity Near Cattle Watering-Points in the Victoria River District, Northern Australia

In this study, we quantify the density, cover and obstruction width of vegetation patches, the roughness of landscape surfaces, and the diversities of plants and grasshoppers with distance from cattle watering- points. We used distance from water as a surrogate for a gradient in grazing pressure. Fourteen study sites were located in the Victoria River District of northern Australia, seven from a water point on Kidman Springs Station on calcareous red loam soils and seven from a water point at Mount Sanford Station on craclcing-clay black soils. At each study site transect lines were oriented within the landscape to run downslope (i.e. in the direction of flows of run-off). We measured the intercept length and obstruction width of perennial vegetation patches along these lines. Plant diversity was measured in quadrats positioned along each line and grasshopper diversity was determined by species counts on each site. We also surveyed the roughness of the landscape surface along each line. A rough surface will tend to slow run-off. hence increase time for water infiltration and soil-water storage. Surface roughness declined near water, as did the density, cover and obstruction width of perennial vegetation patches. Grasshopper and plant species richness also declined near water. These declines suggest strong linkages between landscape filmtion. biodiversity and inipacts of cattle grazing and trampling. Cattle will always create 'sacrifice zones' around watering-points. However, the area of this impact on function and diversity can be minimised by managing the timing and intensity of paddock use. Key words: grazing gradients. Kidman Springs, landscape function. Mount Sanford, piosphere, surface roughness, tropical grasslands, tropical savannas

Genes encoding multiple forms of phospholipase A2 are expressed in rat brain

The polymerase chain reaction was utilized to determine which of six cloned phospholipase A2 (PLA2) messenger RNAs (mRNAs), encoding four distinct low molecular weight forms of secretory PLA2 (PLA2-IB, PLA2-IIA, PLA2-IIC and PLA2-V), a calcium-dependent high molecular weight PLA2 (PLA2-IV, cPLA2) and a calcium-independent high molecular weight PLA2 (PLA2-VI, iPLA2), were expressed in different regions of rat brain and in a number of peripheral tissues. Pancreatic PLA2-IB mRNA was not expressed in the brain. PLA2-IIA, PLA2-IV and PLA2-VI mRNAs appeared to be ubiquitously expressed in brain, with relatively similar levels detected in all regions. PLA2-IIC mRNA was expressed in all brain regions but not in any of the peripheral tissues studied. PLA2-V mRNA was found at low levels in most areas of the brain, but at very high levels in the hippocampus. These results indicate that mammalian brain has the potential to express multiple isoforms of PLA2 which could be important given the potential role of these enzyme activities in ischaemic damage and in the regulation of synaptic plasticity.

Calcium: outside/inside homeostasis and signalling

More and more data accumulate concerning calcium dependent effects in all compartments of cells. The higher the organism in evolution the more calcium becomes involved. Inspection of the data while looking for an explanation of the involvement of calcium in metabolism, nuclear functions, control over pumps, external activities, mineralisation and so on leads one to suppose that calcium has an integrating function. The implication is that calcium flow is a large network connecting the environment, the cytoplasm, vesicles, organelles, the nucleus and in higher species, organs. There is the possibility then that calcium ion functions are being analysed, often in vitro, in a bit by bit reductionist manner while in vivo calcium is the equivalent of an electron in complicated electrical circuits. We then should look for its connections to energy, to effects where conformational switching by calcium pulses is equivalent to magnetic triggering by electron flow and where storage in vesicles is equivalent to condenser-like devices and so on. The appearance of pulsing, of time delays in parts of circuits, and other properties of electronic circuits seen in calcium triggering are then explicable as part of calcium circuit design. No other ion can operate in the same way due to the peculiarities of the calcium ion, its size, charge, ionisation potential and its availability which allow it both to flow rapidly yet to bind considerably.

Relation of drinking and eating to masculinity and femininity

The relationship between desirable and undesirable aspects of masculinity and femininity and drinking and eating was investigated. A sample of 144 university women in Australia completed questionnaires that assessed masculinity and femininity, reported drinking, alcohol dependence, eating restraint, frequency of dieting, and overeating. Evidence of a common underlying dimension linking aspects of problem drinking and overeating to undesirable masculine characteristics was found. The results are consistent with the view that women engage in excessive consummatory behaviors such as binging to deal with their gender-role conflict.

Inhibition of sCD23 and immunoglobulin E release from human B cells by a metalloproteinase inhibitor, GI 129471

Soluble CD23 (sCD23) has been proposed to play an important role in the up-regulation of immunoglobulin E (IgE) synthesis. Production of sCD23 is dependent on the proteolytic cleavage of membrane CD23, but the protease(s) involved in this process remain unknown. Preliminary data, obtained by testing a panel of protease inhibitors, suggested that this enzyme may be a zinc-dependent metalloproteinase. Therefore, we investigated the effect of a standard hydroxamate-type Zn2+ metalloproteinase inhibitor (GI 129471) on both sCD23 and IgE release from human tonsillar B cells, stimulated with interleukin-4 (IL-4) and anti-CD40. Incubation of cells for 3 days with GI 129471 inhibited the production of sCD23 with an IC50 of 602 nm+/-3 nm (n=3), but by 14 days the activity of the compound against sCD23 had decreased by greater than threefold (IC50 2+/-0.26 microM; n=3). On the other hand, GI 129471 caused a potent inhibition of IgE production, with no apparent loss of activity over the culture period (14 days: IC50 250 nm+/-72 nm; n=3). Time-course studies showed that, despite loss of activity against sCD23, inhibition of sCD23 production early in the culture was able to cause a potent and long-lasting inhibitory effect on IgE. Furthermore, we also showed that the activity of GI 129471 is selective for IgE, as no effect was seen on immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) or IgG4 production at test concentrations as high as 10 microM. These results support the hypothesis that metalloproteinases may be involved in the proteolytic cleavage of CD23 and subsequent regulation of IgE synthesis. Inhibition of the protease(s) responsible for such cleavage may be of value in the treatment of allergic disease.

Medical preparedness for a terrorist incident involving chemical or biological agents during the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games

During the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, unprecedented preparations were undertaken to cope with the health consequences of a terrorist incident involving chemical or biological agents. Local, state, federal, and military resources joined to establish a specialized incident assessment team and science and technology center. Critical antimicrobials and antidotes were strategically stockpiled. First-responders received specialized training, and local acute care capabilities were supplemented. Surveillance systems were augmented and strengthened. However, this extensive undertaking revealed a number of critical issues that must be resolved if our nation is to successfully cope with an attack of this nature. Emergency preparedness in this complex arena must be based on carefully conceived priorities. Improved capabilities must be developed to rapidly recognize an incident and characterize the agents involved, as well as to provide emergency decontamination and medical care. Finally, capabilities must be developed to rapidly implement emergency public health interventions and adequately protect emergency responders.

Reduction of GABA and glutamate transporter messenger RNAs in the severe-seizure genetically epilepsy-prone rat

The genetically epilepsy-prone rat is an animal model of inherited generalised tonic-clonic epilepsy that shows abnormal susceptibility to audiogenic seizures and a lowered threshold to a variety of seizure-inducing stimuli. Recent studies suggest a crucial role for glutamate and GABA transporters in epileptogenesis and seizure propagation. The present study examines the levels of expression of the messenger RNAs encoding the glial and neuronal glutamate transporters, GLT-1 and EAAC-1, and the neuronal GABA transporter, GAT-1, in paired male genetically epileptic-prone rats and Sprague Dawley control rats using the technique of in situ hybridization. In a parallel study, semiquantitative immunoblotting was used to assess GLT-1 and EAAC-1 protein levels in similarly paired animals. Animals were assessed for susceptibility to audiogenic seizures on six occasions, and killed seven days following the last audiogenic stimulus exposure. Rat brains were processed for in situ hybridization with radioactive 35S-labelled oligonucleotide probes (EAAC-1 and GAT-1), 35S-labelled riboprobes (GLT-1), and Fluorescein-labelled riboprobes (GLT-1 and GAT-1) or processed for immunoblotting using subtype-specific antibodies for GLT-1 and EAAC-1. Semiquantitative analyses were carried out on X-ray film autoradiograms in several brain regions for both in situ hybridization and immunoblotting studies. Reductions in GAT-1 messenger RNA were found in genetically epileptic-prone rats in all brain regions examined (-8 to -24% compared to control). Similar reductions in GLT-1 messenger RNA expression levels were seen in cortex, striatum, and CA1 (-8 to -12%) of genetically epileptic-prone rats; the largest reduction observed was in the inferior colliculus (-20%). There was a tendency for a reduced expression of EAAC-1 messenger RNA in most regions of the genetically epileptic-prone rat brain although this reached statistical significance only in the striatum (-12%). In contrast, no significant differences in GLT-1 and EAAC-1 protein between genetically epileptic-prone rats and control animals were observed in any region examined, although there was a tendency to follow the changes seen with the corresponding messenger RNAs. These results show differences in the messenger RNA expression levels of three crucial amino acid transporters. For the two glutamate transporters, GLT-1 and EAAC-1, differences in messenger RNA levels are not reflected or are only partially reflected in the expression of the corresponding proteins.

Use of a cast flexible plate as a hinge substitute in a hinge-lock design removable partial denture framework

PURPOSE

The use of a hinge for a removable partial denture with an opening labial bow was replaced by the design and construction of a flexible plate incorporated as part of a cobalt-chromium casting.

METHODS

Three similar prostheses were constructed and tested in vitro on an endurance test machine. Each test piece completed 12,000 opening and closing operations without fracture, which a previous study showed is a probable life cycle of a typical removable partial denture with a hinged section.

RESULTS

This plate provided sufficient flexibility to allow functional operation of the removable partial denture by a patient.

Experimental simian varicella virus infection of St. Kitts vervet monkeys

Experimental simian varicella virus (SVV) infection of St. Kitts vervet monkeys was evaluated as an animal model to investigate human varicella-zoster virus (VZV) infections. During the incubation period, viremia disseminated infectious virus throughout the body via infected peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs). A vesicular skin rash in the inguinal area, and on the abdomen, extremities, and face appeared on day 7-10 postinfection. Necrosis and hemorrhage in lung and liver tissues from acutely infected monkeys were evident upon histologic analysis. Recovery from simian varicella was accompanied by a rise in the serum neutralizing antibody response to the virus. SVV latency was established in trigeminal ganglia of monkeys which resolved the acute infection. This study indicates that experimental SVV infection of St. Kitts vervets is a useful animal model to investigate SVV and VZV pathogenesis and to evaluate potential antiviral agents and vaccines.

Reductionism in physical sciences

The idea of reductionism in physical sciences is that all physicochemical observables can be described in terms of a limited number of particles and their variable energies. Here we limit ourselves to atomic descriptions showing how very successful reductionism is in treating equilibrium systems. This includes all properties of single molecules, even DNA, and can be extended to dynamic assemblies of molecules through the variables composition, potential energies, kinetic energies (temperature) and volume (pressure). This description includes the capacity of a system to change, to do work. It does not include working or changing systems when we have to consider time-dependent variables such as directed motion, flow. Analysis of such accidentally or purposefully directed activity seems, to the author, to be outside the above reductionist analysis in that its feature is organization around a 'plan' or a 'cycle'. Thus reductionism fails to describe machines, man-made or biological, in that the parts are arranged, even dedicated, to a total function.

Aqueous two-phase systems: a novel approach for the separation of proteose peptones

Poly(ethylene glycol) and dextran aqueous two-phase systemis (ATPS) were developed to facilitate the separation of components of the proteose peptone fraction of bovine milk, which are mostly large casein derived peptides or glycoproteins. These have proved difficult to purify using conventional chromatographic procedures. ATPS exploit differences in hydrophobicity, size and ionic properties of the proteose peptones with a view to developing methods for future large scale preparations of the individual components of this whey protein fraction.

Hamstring and patellar tendon graft response to cyclical loading

This study evaluates the effect of submaximal cyclical loads on the tendinous portion of the central 10 mm of the patellar tendon compared with doubled semitendinosus and gracilis tendons. Six fresh-frozen cadaveric knee specimens were used for the study. There was no significant difference between the cross-sectional areas of a 10-mm patellar tendon and four strands of hamstring tendon (looped semitendinosus and gracilis) from the same specimen. The mean cross-sectional area was 44.4 mm2 for the patellar tendon and 47.5 mm2 for the four strands of hamstring. The specimens were cyclically loaded for 1000 cycles from 0 to 300 N at a rate of 1 Hz; the materials testing machine was set on load control. There were no significant differences in the strain, stress, or modulus between the 10-mm patellar tendon and four strands of hamstring tendon after 1000 cycles of loading to 300 N. These data substantiate the excellent clinical results obtained with either graft source and support the use of either graft source for ACL reconstruction.

Hydrogen peroxide enhances signal-responsive arachidonic acid release from neurons: role of mitogen-activated protein kinase

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a potent stimulator of signal-responsive phospholipase A2 (PLA2) in vascular smooth muscle and cultured endothelial cells. We investigated whether H2O2 plays a similar regulatory role in neurons. H2O2 did not stimulate a release of arachidonic acid from cultured neurons when applied alone but strongly enhanced the liberation of arachidonic acid evoked by maximally effective concentrations of either glutamate, the glutamate receptor agonist N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), the muscarinic receptor agonist carbachol, the Na+-channel opener veratridine, or the Ca2+-ionophore ionomycin. The potentiating effects of H2O2 were strongly inhibited in the presence of the PLA2 inhibitor mepacrine, suggesting that the site of action was within the signal responsive arachidonic acid cascade. The enhancing effect of H2O2 was not reversed by protein kinase C inhibitors (chelerythrine chloride or GF 109203X) nor was it mimicked by phorbol ester treatment. H2O2 alone strongly enhanced the levels of immunodetectable activated mitogen-activated protein kinase (activated MAP kinases ERK1 and ERK2) in a Ca2+-dependent manner and this effect was additive with increases in the levels of activated MAP kinase evoked by glutamate. The enhanced release of arachidonic acid, however, was not clearly reversed by the MAP kinase kinase (MEK) inhibitor PD 98059, although this treatment effectively abolished H2O2 activation of MAP kinase. Thus, MAP kinase activation and Ca2+-dependent arachidonic acid release are regulated by oxidative stress in cultured striatal neurons.

Identification of a non peptidic RANTES antagonist

A series of phenothiazines demonstrating inhibition of RANTES binding to THP-1 cell membranes has been identified. The lead compound RP23618 (IC50 = 3 microM) was found to inhibit specific binding of 125I-RANTES, but not 125I-MCP-1 to THP-1 cell membranes and furthermore to antagonize RANTES, but not MCP-1-induced chemotaxis of THP-1 cells.

Human vascular smooth muscle cells express receptors for CC chemokines

Arteriosclerotic lesions are characterized by the accumulation of T lymphocytes and monocytes and the proliferation of intimal smooth muscle cells. Expression of the chemokine monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP- 1) has been observed in arteriosclerotic plaques and has been proposed to mediate the transendothelial migration of mononuclear cells. More recently, MCP-1 has been proposed to affect the proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). We have used reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to investigate chemokine mRNA expression in human arteriosclerotic lesions obtained from surgical biopsy of diseased vascular tissue and show, in addition to MCP-1, expression of the chemokine macrophage inflammatory protein-1alpha (MIP-1alpha) at higher levels than in "normal" aortic tissue. We have also used RT-PCR to characterize the expression of known chemokine receptors by primary human VSMCs. Messenger RNA for the MIP-1alpha/RANTES receptor, CCR-1, and the MCP-1/MCP-3 receptor, CCR-2, was expressed by unstimulated VSMCs grown under serum-free culture conditions for 24 hours. The receptors CCR-3, CCR-4, CCR-5, CXCR-1, and CXCR-2 were not expressed by VSMCs. The presence of functionally coupled receptors for MIP-1alpha on VSMCs was demonstrated by specific binding of biotinylated MIP-1alpha and increases in intracellular Ca2+ levels after exposure to this chemokine. Taken together, these results suggest that chemokines are likely to be involved in arteriosclerosis and may play a role in modulating the function of VSMCs in vivo.

Rapid diagnosis of simian varicella using the polymerase chain reaction

Simian varicella virus (SVV) causes sporadic epizootics of a varicella-like disease in nonhuman primates. Rapid diagnosis of simian varicella is critical in controlling epizootics. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based diagnostic assay for detection of SVV DNA in cell culture and clinical samples from SVV-infected monkeys was developed. The assay is rapid, specific, and highly sensitive. The SVV DNA is readily detected in skin rash specimens and in peripheral blood lymphocytes of infected monkeys during the early stages of clinical varicella. In addition to providing an important diagnostic tool, the SVV PCR assay is also useful for investigating the epidemiology and pathogenesis of simian varicella.

Self-efficacy for refusal mediated by outcome expectancies in the prediction of alcohol-dependence amongst young adults

The present study examined the relative importance of outcome expectancies and self-efficacy [1] in the prediction of alcohol dependence [2] and alcohol consumption in a sample of young adult drinkers drawn from a milieu previously reported as supportive of risky drinking. In predicting alcohol dependence, outcome expectancies were found to mediate self-efficacy and the same pattern was found for both males and females. This suggests that male and female drinkers may become more similar as they progress along the drinking continuum from risky drinking to dependent drinking. However, in women, in comparison to men, a greater array of expectancies and self-efficacy scales were found to predict heavy drinking, as measured by quantity and frequency. These results suggest that heavy drinking women are particularly at risk of developing drinking related complications and that preventative education needs to take into account gender differences.

Ethanol modulates N-methyl-D-aspartate-evoked arachidonic acid release from neurones

Glutamate-evokes a Ca2+-dependent release of arachidonic acid from cultured neurones via the activation of NMDA and AMPA receptors. In this study we investigated whether exposing cultured striatal neurones either acutely or chronically to ethanol would modify these responses. Acute ethanol (100 mM, 15 min) inhibited the liberation of arachidonic acid evoked by a maximally effective concentration of glutamate, an affect which appeared to be mediated primarily by a reduction in NMDA receptor responsiveness. In contrast, chronic ethanol exposure caused a dose-dependent increase in the glutamate, N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionate (AMPA) evoked release of arachidonic acid, although ethanol was less potent at the AMPA response. Basal responses were not altered by acute or chronic ethanol and the concentrations of ethanol employed were not toxic. Chronic ethanol (100 mM, 48 h) increased NMDA-mediated neuronal damage at sub-maximal concentrations of the agonist, suggesting that an enhanced mobilisation of arachidonic acid may underly the potentiated excitotoxic neuronal loss observed following exposure to ethanol.

Medical and public health services at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games: an overview

Planning for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games may benefit from the experience of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Excellent health promotion and prevention activities before and during the Games resulted in fewer medical and public health problems than anticipated. Despite this, there was room for improvement in the level of communication and cooperation between the many service providers to ensure the most appropriate and efficient responses.

Monocyte chemoattractant protein-2 is a potent agonist of CCR2B

The binding and functional activity of the CC chemokines monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), MCP-2, and MCP-3 have been characterized using Chinese hamster ovary DXB-11 cells transfected with the chemokine receptor CCR2B. Receptor binding studies demonstrated that 125I-labeled MCP-1 bound to a single class of high-affinity receptors with a Kd of 0.14 (0.07-0.32) nM. In competition studies MCP-1, MCP-2, and MCP-3 completely inhibited 125I-labeled MCP-1 binding with Ki values of 0.3 (0.16-0.46), 8.8 (3.4-26), and 12.2 (0.6-22) nM, respectively. In calcium mobilization studies, MCP-1 and MCP-3 induced robust elevations in intracellular calcium concentrations, whereas MCP-2 was only weakly active. In contrast, using changes in extracellular acidification rate as a functional readout, all three chemokines were identified as potent agonists of CCR2B. These data demonstrate that MCP-2, in addition to MCP-1 and MCP-3, is a potent agonist of CCR2B and furthermore that MCP-2 activates either different or a subset of the signaling pathways activated by MCP-1 and MCP-3.

An examination of the binding of aluminum to protein and mineral components of bone and teeth

Aluminum binding by a variety of noncollagenous proteins associated with bone and teeth (osteopontin, osteocalcin and phosphophoryn) and by hydroxyapatite are examined. The proteins bound aluminum with a dissociation constant, KD, of the 10(-7) M or greater at pH = 7. The number of atoms of aluminum bound was found to be related to but not equivalent to the number of phosphorylated serines in osteopontin and phosphophoryn. Osteocalcin bound one aluminum tightly presumably due to its gamma-carboxyl glutamate residues. Hydroxyapatite bound Al3+ tightly releasing 1.5 equivalent Ca2+ per Al3+ bound. Addition of 3 mM Ca2+, close to the total concentration found in animal circulating fluids, did not effect noticeably the amount of Al3+ bound to bone which must have a KD for Al3+ < 10(-6). Silicic acid added after equilibration with all these materials has little effect but neither the proteins nor hydroxyapatite removed much Al3+ from pre-equilibrated Al3+ solution with silicic acid. The results are discussed with regard to Al3+ poisoning.

Laguna Negra virus associated with HPS in western Paraguay and Bolivia

A large outbreak of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) recently occurred in the Chaco region of Paraguay. Using PCR approaches, partial virus genome sequences were obtained from 5 human sera, and spleens from 5 Calomys laucha rodents from the outbreak area. Genetic analysis revealed a newly discovered hantavirus, Laguna Negra (LN) virus, to be associated with the HPS outbreak and established a direct genetic link between the virus detected in the HPS cases and in the C. laucha rodents, implicating them as the primary rodent reservoir for LN virus in Paraguay. Virus isolates were obtained from two C. laucha, and represent the first successful isolation of a pathogenic South American hantavirus. Analysis of the prototype LN virus entire S and M and partial L segment nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences showed that this virus is unique among the Sigmodontinae-borne clade of hantaviruses. Analysis of PCR fragments amplified from a serum sample from a Chilean HPS patient, who had recently traveled extensively in Bolivia (where C. laucha are known to occur), revealed an LN virus variant that was approximately 15% different at the nucleotide level and identical at the deduced amino acid level relative to the Paraguayan LN virus. These data suggest that LN virus may cause HPS in several countries in this geographic region.

Chemokine production by human vascular smooth muscle cells: modulation by IL-13

1. The production of chemokines by vascular smooth muscle cells (SMC) is implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, although the factors regulating chemokine production by these cells are incompletely characterized. 2. We describe the differential stimulation of interleukin-(IL)-8, monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1 and regulated on activation normal T-cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) synthesis following treatment of human vascular SMC with IL-1alpha or tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha). Under basal conditions, cultured SMC release very low amounts of IL-8, MCP-1 and RANTES as assessed by specific ELISA. Concentration-response studies with IL-1alpha or TNFalpha revealed that each stimulus induced a similar amount of MCP-1. In contrast approximately three fold more IL-8 was induced by IL-1alpha than by TNFalpha whereas significant RANTES production was induced only by TNFalpha. These findings point to a divergence in the regulation of synthesis of the different chemokines in response to IL-1alpha or TNFalpha stimulation. 3. The T-cell derived cytokines IL-10 and IL-13 were also found to have differential effects on chemokine production by SMC. IL-13, but not IL-10, significantly enhanced IL-8 and MCP-1 release in response to IL-1alpha or TNFalpha. This increase in chemokine release appeared to be accounted for by increased mRNA expression. 4. These findings provide support for the concept that smooth muscle cells can have an active role in a local immune response via the production of chemokines which can be selectively modulated by T-cell derived cytokines.

The natural selection of the chemical elements

Evolution is treated here in a novel way. DNA or any other code is considered to be conservative and therefore, once life began, it would prevent change. Change was imposed upon the DNA code as a stress resulting in vulnerability to "advantageous" DNA damage and mutation. In this respect it is the stress, the changing environment, that opened up a possibility of evolution once an early life form had optimised itself in primitive circumstances. Here I examine the initial slow-coming-to-terms with the environment of primitive life, and then its evolution as the environment forced the DNA into novel development by introducing chemical elements in new forms. The situation today is no different. Environmental change is hostile to present day life and will lead to further evolution.

An outbreak of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in western Paraguay

During an investigation of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) in Paraguay in 1995, sera from persons with HPS-like illness, houshold contacts of confirmed HPS case-patients, and a sample of the area residents were analyzed by ELISA for antibodies to Sin Nombre virus (SNV). Rodent serosurveys and analysis of precipitation records were also conducted. Twenty-three of 24 available probable cases were SNV antibody-positive, 17 of whom were ill between July 1995 and January 1996. Four (14.8%) of 27 case-contacts and 44 (12.8%) of 345 community residents were also seropositive. Calomys laucha (vesper mouse) was the most common rodent species captured and the most frequently SNV-seropositive. Rainfall in May 1995 was 10-fold greater than that seen in May over the preceding 11 years. This 17 case-cluster represents the largest documented outbreak since HPS was first recognized in 1993. Calomys laucha is the likely primary rodent reservoir for a SNV-like hantavirus in western Paraguay. Fluctuations in monthly precipitation rates may have contributed to increased risk for HPS in this region.

Body dissatisfaction as a mediator of the relationship between dietary restraint and bulimic eating patterns

The present study was designed to test whether dietary restraint mediates the relationship between body dissatisfaction and bulimic eating patterns in a sample of 172 university females. Contrary to what was expected the results showed that body dissatisfaction mediated the relationship between dietary restraint and bulimic patterns of eating. Thus the results highlight the primary importance of body dissatisfaction as a predictor of bulimic behavior. Body dissatisfaction encompasses a broad array of dimensions such as self-perceptions, cognitions, affect and behavior and it carries enormous explanatory power but its different components remain largely unexplored.

An intra-abdominal tumour

Images

Immunocytochemical analysis of tissue kallikrein and the kinin moiety in rheumatoid synovial fluid neutrophils

Polymorphonuclear leucocytes (PMNs) from the synovial fluid of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) showed reduced tissue kallikrein and kinin immunoreactivity in comparison with blood PMNs from healthy individuals as judged visually using confocal microscopy. Similarly, synovial fluid PMNs exhibited reduced tissue kallikrein immunoreactivity as compared with blood PMNs from the same RA patients. Blood PMNs stimulated to degranulate in vitro also displayed less immunostaining for tissue kallikrein and kinin than non-stimulated PMNs. By contrast, no difference in kininogen immunostaining was detected between RA synovial fluid PMNs and blood PMNs from healthy people. It is considered that the results support the hypothesis that tissue kallikrein, released from the granules of RA synovial fluid PMNs, cleaves the kinin moiety from multifunctional kininogen protein on the surface of the PMNs.

Septic arthritis after arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Diagnosis and management

We performed a retrospective study of knee joint infections after arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction at our institution. Two thousand five hundred anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions were performed between 1988 and 1993. Seven (0.3%) patients experienced postoperative deep infections of the knee. All anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions were performed using arthroscopically assisted techniques. Six (86%) of these patients had concomitant open procedures performed, including meniscal repair, posterolateral corner reconstruction, and medial collateral ligament reconstruction. Four patients had acute (< 2 weeks), two patients had subacute (2 weeks to 2 months), and one patient had late (> 2 months) infections. All patients had positive cultures from knee joint aspirates with the organisms Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Peptostreptococcus, or a combination thereof. All patients underwent immediate arthroscopic irrigation and debridement. All infections were intraarticular; six patients also had extraarticular sites of infection. Four patients underwent repeat irrigation and debridement at approximately 1 week. The anterior cruciate ligament graft was removed from four patients. All patients were treated with intravenous antibiotics for 4 to 6 weeks, protected weightbearing, and physical therapy. At a mean followup of 29 months, mean knee extension was 0 degree, and mean knee flexion was 122 degrees (range, 70 degrees to 135 degrees). Six (86%) patients had minimal to no pain in their operative knee, and they were satisfied with their functional results.

A two-factor model of dietary restraint

The present study was designed to examine the factorial nature of the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire-Restraint Scale (TFEQ-R) and to compare the relationship of both the Restraint Scale (RS) and TFEQ-R to current dieting, history of dieting, disinhibition, self-esteem and restrained drinking in 144 females. A principal component analysis identified three interpretable factors: Emotional/Cognitive Concern for Dieting, Calorie Knowledge, Behavioral Dieting Control. Only Emotional/Cognitive Concern for Dieting equated with RS as both measures correlated with self-esteem and restrained drinking. Results are discussed in light of other proposed models of dietary restraint and in relation to two recent factors which have been identified in the drinking literature, Cognitive Emotional Control and Cognitive Behavioral Control.

Meeting the challenge of emerging pathogens: the role of the United States Air Force in global influenza surveillance

Influenza virus is one of the most ubiquitous organisms on the planet, causing illness in much of the population each year. The dynamic nature of the influenza virus requires similarly dynamic surveillance and prevention initiatives. The efforts of national surveillance programs, overseen by the World Health Organization and administered by institutions such as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. armed forces, and 60 to 70 collaborating laboratories, annually culminate in the development of effective influenza vaccines. The U.S. Air Force's contribution is via Project Gargle, through which bases in various locations worldwide conduct active surveillance and submit throat swab specimens for virus isolation and characterization; the results of these laboratory analyses help determine the composition of the following year's influenza vaccine. These collaborative efforts have resulted in an identical or close antigenic match between vaccine and epidemic strains in 8 of the last 9 influenza seasons.

Hantavirus transmission in the United States

In 1996, investigation of a hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) outbreak in southern Argentina found evidence of person-to-person transmission of a hantavirus. The infection control ramifications of this finding led to this review of hantavirus epidemiology in the United States; the review suggests that Sin Nombre virus infection is rarely, if ever, transmitted from person to person and that existing guidelines for prevention of HPS remain appropriate for North America.

Hypolipidaemic properties of a potent and bioavailable alkylsulphinyl-diphenylimidazole ACAT inhibitor (RP 73163) in animals fed diets low in cholesterol

RP 73163 ((S)-2-[5-(3,5-dimethyl-l-pyrazolyl)pent-l-yl)-sulphinyl]-5, 6-diphenylimidazole) has been shown to be a potent and specific inhibitor of acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.26; ACAT) in vitro using the tissues of experimental animals as sources of the enzyme. The concentrations of RP 73163 required to produce 50% inhibition of ACAT activity (IC50 values) in microsomal preparations ranged from 86 nM for rat liver to 370 nM for rabbit intestine. In whole cell assays using human hepatic (HepG2), intestinal (Caco2), and monocytic (THP-1) cell lines, RP 73163 inhibited ACAT activity with IC50 values of 266, 158, and 314 nM, respectively. The addition of RP 73163 (0.03-1.0 microM) to the medium of cultured HepG2 cells produced a concentration-dependent decrease in apolipoprotein B (apoB) secretion. The compound has high systemic bioavailability. Using a bioassay, a concentration of active inhibitor equivalent to 29 microM of parent compound was present in plasma 1 hr after oral administration of RP 73163 (50 mg.kg-1). In rats that had been fed a basal diet ad libitum or starved for 18 hr prior to blood sampling, the administration of RP 73163 (50 mg.kg-1 b.i.d. for 7 days) reduced plasma triglyceride levels by 50% without affecting the concentration of cholesterol. This hypotriglyceridaemic effect was associated with reductions in plasma very-low-density-lipoprotein (VLDL) and low-density-lipoprotein (LDL) levels. RP 73163 decreased the rate of VLDL secretion by 24% in Triton WR-1339-treated rats that had been fasted overnight but did not affect the secretion rate in animals fed ad libitum, indicating that ACAT was only important in regulating VLDL secretion under certain nutritional conditions. RP 73163 reduced the accumulation of intraperitoneally administered [3H]leucine into the plasma VLDL-apoB pool in both fed and fasted states. The results suggest that, in fed animals at least, an increase in the clearance of VLDL from the bloodstream may contribute to the hypolipidaemic activity of the compound. In rabbits with casein-induced endogenous hypercholesterolaemia, RP 73163 specifically reduced the levels of cholesterol carried by LDL. In conclusion, the hypolipidaemic actions of RP 73163, a potent and systemically bioavailable ACAT inhibitor, are consistent with a reduction in the secretion of apoB containing lipoproteins by hepatic tissue and possibly with an increase in the clearance of these particles.

Cyclothiazide unmasks an AMPA-evoked release of arachidonic acid from cultured striatal neurones

The joint, but not independent, activation of alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionate (AMPA) and metabotropic glutamate receptors induces liberation of arachidonic acid from cultured mouse striatal neurones. We examined whether blocking AMPA receptor desensitisation with cyclothiazide would modify this response. Cyclothiazide strongly potentiated the combined AMPA/(1 S,3R)-1-aminocyclopentane-1,3-dicarboxylic acid (ACPD)-evoked release of arachidonic acid (EC50 of approximately 7 microM) but did not modulate the basal, ACPD, or NMDA response. The enhanced liberation of arachidonic acid, observed in the presence of cyclothiazide, was due to the appearance of a genuine AMPA response that was independent of an associative activation of metabotropic receptors. The potentiated and nonpotentiated AMPA responses were inhibited by both competitive [2,3-di-hydroxy-6-nitro-7-sulphamoylbenzo (f) quinoxaline] and 2,3-benzodiazepine noncompetitive (GYKI 53655 and GYKI 52466) receptor antagonists. Cyclothiazide was equally effective at potentiating the AMPA response in either the presence or absence of glucose, suggesting that the increased glutamate-evoked arachidonic acid release observed in these cells under conditions of glucose deprivation is not due to reduced AMPA receptor desensitisation. The enhanced liberation of arachidonic acid measured in the presence of cyclothiazide appeared to result from a large (fourfold) elevation of the AMPA-induced increase in intracellular calcium level. Therefore, an AMPA-evoked mobilisation of arachidonic acid could potentially contribute to non-NMDA receptor-mediated neurotoxicity, which has been observed in neuronal cells in the presence of cyclothiazide.

Arthroscopic release of the posterior cruciate ligament for stiff total knee arthroplasty

Ten posterior cruciate ligament sparing total knee arthroplasties were studied in 9 patients who underwent arthroscopic posterior cruciate ligament release to improve intractable postoperative knee stiffness and pain. Mean patient age was 64 years. Before posterior cruciate ligament release, the mean knee extension was 4 degrees (0 degrees - 10 degrees); mean knee flexion was 73.9 degrees (40 degrees - 110 degrees). The mean interval to posterior cruciate ligament release after primary total knee arthroplasty was 29 months. After release, mean extension was 1.3 degrees (0 degrees - 10 degrees) and mean flexion was 112 degrees (range, 85 degrees - 135 degrees). The average increase in flexion observed in the immediate postoperative period was 40.1 degrees (25 degrees - 60 degrees). At a mean followup of 20 months, mean extension was 1.5 degrees (0 degrees - 10 degrees), and mean flexion was 104.5 degrees (70 degrees - 125 degrees). At followup, the average increase in knee flexion was 30.5 degrees (10 degrees - 50 degrees). Before arthroscopic posterior cruciate ligament release, the average Knee Society knee and function scores were 70.9 and 71, respectively. At followup, the average Knee Society knee and function scores were 86.4 and 88, respectively. The Knee Society pain score improved from 33.5 preoperatively to 42 postoperatively. All patients reported subjective improvements in pain and stiffness. Eight patients (88%) reported satisfaction with the procedure. Two patients (22%) eventually required revision total knee arthroplasty.