The Influence of Joe Wicks on Physical Activity During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Thematic, Location, and Social Network Analysis of X Data

BACKGROUND

 Social media (SM) was essential in promoting physical activity during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially among people confined to their homes. Joe Wicks, a fitness coach, became particularly popular on SM during this time, posting daily workouts that millions of people worldwide followed.

OBJECTIVE

 This study aims to investigate the influence of Joe Wicks on SM and the impact of his content on physical activity levels among the public.

METHODS

 We used NodeXL Pro (Social Media Research Foundation) to collect data from X (formerly Twitter) over 54 days (March 23, 2020, to May 15, 2020), corresponding to the strictest lockdowns in the United Kingdom. We collected 290,649 posts, which we analyzed using social network analysis, thematic analysis, time-series analysis, and location analysis.

RESULTS

 We found that there was significant engagement with content generated by Wicks, including reposts, likes, and comments. The most common types of posts were those that contained images, videos, and text of young people (school-aged children) undertaking physical activity by watching content created by Joe Wicks and posts from schools encouraging pupils to engage with the content. Other shared posts included those that encouraged others to join the fitness classes run by Wicks and those that contained general commentary. We also found that Wicks' network of influence was extensive and complex. It contained numerous subcommunities and resembled a broadcast network shape. Other influencers added to engagement with Wicks via their networks. Our results show that influencers can create networks of influence that are exhibited in distinctive ways.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study found that Joe Wicks was a highly influential figure on SM during the COVID-19 pandemic and that his content positively impacted physical activity levels among the public. Our findings suggest that influencers can play an important role in promoting public health and that government officials should consider working with influencers to communicate health messages and promote healthy behaviors. Our study has broader implications beyond the status of fitness influencers. Recognizing the critical role of individuals such as Joe Wicks in terms of health capital should be a critical area of inquiry for governments, public health authorities, and policy makers and mirrors the growing interest in health capital as part of embodied and digital experiences in everyday life.

The association between ventriculostomy - Related infection and clinical outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Ventriculostomy - related infection (VRI) is a common complication of patients who require placement of an external ventricular drain (EVD). The clinical outcomes of people who are diagnosed with VRI is poorly characterised. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the association between VRI, and clinical outcomes and resource use, in patients treated with an EVD.

METHODS

We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and the Cochrane Central Register of clinical trials to identify clinical trial and cohort studies that reported outcomes including mortality, functional outcome, duration of EVD insertion, and intensive care and hospital length of stay. Inclusion criteria and data extraction were conducted in duplicate. Where sufficient data were available, data synthesis was conducted using a random effects model to provide a pooled estimate of the association between VRI and clinical outcomes and resource use. We also pooled data to provide an estimate of the incidence of VRI in this population.

RESULTS

Nineteen studies including 38,247 patients were included in the meta-analysis. There were twelve different definitions of VRI in the included studies. The pooled estimate of the incidence of VRI was 11 % (95 % confidence interval (CI), 9 % to 14 %). A diagnosis of VRI was not associated with an increase in the estimated odds ratio (OR) for mortality (OR 1.07, 95 % CI 0.59 to 1.92, p = 0.83 I² = 83.5 %), nor was a diagnosis of VRI associated with changes in neurological outcome (OR 1.42, 95 % CI 0.36 to 5.56, p = 0.89, I² = 0.3 %). Those diagnosed with VRI had longer intensive care unit length of stay (estimated pooled mean difference 8.4 days 95 % CI 3.4 to 13.4 days, p = 0.0009, I² = 78.7 %) an increase in hospital length of stay (estimated mean difference 16.4 days. 95 % CI 11.6 to 21.2 days, p < 0.0005, I² = 76.6 %), a prolonged duration of EVD placement (mean difference 5.24 days, 95 % CI 3.05 to 7.43, I² = 78.2 %, p < 0.01), and an increased requirement for an internal ventricular shunt (OR 1.80, 95 % CI 1.32 to 2.46, I² = 8.92 %, p < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Ventriculostomy related infection is not associated with increased mortality or an increased risk of poor neurological outcome, but is associated with prolonged duration of EVD placement, prolonged duration of ICU and hospital admission, and an increased rate of internal ventricular shunt placement.

Networks, strategy and sport: the case of City Football Group

Purpose

This study examines the networks and strategy of Manchester City Football Club and City Football Group, central to the group's emergence as a global entertainment organisation with a network of franchises worldwide.

Design/methodology/approach

The study employs a case study design to examine both Manchester City Football Club and City Football Group (CFG)'s strategy. Drawing upon an extensive review of documentation pertaining to CFG's strategic vision and approach, a network analysis of the brand's constituent clubs, partners and state- and corporate-investors was conducted, providing a macro-level view of CFG's use of global franchising, media partnerships and commercial agreements to extend CFG and the City brand internationally.

Findings

The study's findings afford a unique insight into CFG's efforts to monetise and globalise through franchising, which provides insights into the convergence in sport of politics, entertainment and business. Namely, how the global strategy enacted by CFG and the Abu Dhabi government (its owner) has leveraged sporting properties successfully. In turn, it extends their geopolitical and economic networks and grows the parent City brand as a global entity.

Research limitations/implications

The study's findings afford a unique insight into CFG's efforts to monetise and globalise through franchising. Namely, the global strategy enacted by CFG and the Abu Dhabi royal family (its owner) has leveraged sporting properties successfully. In turn, it extends their geopolitical and economic networks and grows the parent City brand as a global entity.

Originality/value

The research represents an important step in examining the strategy of football club ownership and global club networks within sport. In this respect, the present research provides a new way to understand sport in a globalised, digitised and geopoliticised operating environment.

'All Avatars Aren't We': Football and the experience of football-themed digital content during a global pandemic

This paper explores the contemporary nature of association football consumption. In particular, we argue that the coronavirus 2019 pandemic reveals the contemporary and particular nature of the relationship between football and its supporters, which is increasingly focused on the consumption of themed digital participatory experiences. During this pandemic, what fans missed was not only live football, but also the sporting 'experience' and the opportunities for participation that this provides. Hence, here we saw fans, clubs and media providers employing new digital technologies to create themed experiences that facilitated (and mediated) participation and interaction. Following Žižek (2014), we suggest that the coronavirus 2019 pandemic can be understood as a global mega event that creates a seismic, reality alerting schism, whose aftermath requires new ontologies and theories. Our response is to utilise a number of key and illustrative examples and to offer a new synthesis of theories and literatures, most notably, on the experience society, theming, participatory culture, neoliberalism and digital culture. This new context and (re)combination of theories then provides a new, and essential, perspective that reveals a great deal about the contemporary nature of the sport, what fans buy into, and also, how this may change post pandemic.

Social Media Conversations About High Engagement Sports Team Brands

This study conducts an analysis of social media discussions related to high engagement sports brands. More specifically, our study examined the English Premier League (EPL); it sought to retrieve data systematically over the same day, weekly, for a period of five months. After this process, we had built 20 datasets and NodeXL was utilized to analyse the data. After we had this data, we were able to use qualitative observations to identify key users and conversations that formed around the EPL as well as the connections between the conversations that arose from the brand’s posts and the people involved in them. We also analyzed the quantitative data underpinning our network visualisations to provide further insights. The most obvious initial finding was that when the EPL tweets, it prompts a large volume of conversations directly related to these tweets. However, we also noted that EPL tweets also help instigate further, sometimes unrelated, tweets and conversations. More specifically, we identified that the visualized network of conversations was of a broadcast form, which is characterized by messages being generated by a central account (the EPL) and shared by a number of decentralized users. Based on our analysis, we propose guidance around (S)ocial media presence, (C)rafting the message, Planned (i)ntervention, (S)pontaneous follow-up, and (M)essage mortality to form the SCISM framework. This framework is likely to be of interest to brands that wish to promote, sustain and benefit from their instigation of social media.

Dispersion of positron emitting radioactive gases in a complex urban building array: a comparison of dose modelling approaches

A radiological assessment was carried out on the release of positron-emitting radioactive gases from a roof-level stack at a central London site. Different modelling approaches were performed to investigate the range of radiation doses to representative persons. Contributions from plume inhalation, gamma shine and immersion to effective dose were taken into account. Dry and wet surface deposition on the roof, and exposure from contamination on the skin of roof-workers, added only a mean 4.7% to effective dose and were neglected. A 1:200 scale model, consisting of the stack and surrounding buildings, was tested in a wind tunnel to simulate pollutant dispersion in the near-field region i.e. rooftop. Concentration field measurements in the wind tunnel were converted into effective dose, including for roof-workers installing glass cladding to the stack building. Changes in the building shape, from addition of the cladding layer, were investigated in terms of the near-field flow pattern and significant differences found between the two cases. Pollutant concentrations were also modelled using Air Dispersion Modelling System (ADMS) and the results used to calculate the effective dose using the same meteorological data set and source release terms. Sector averaged wind tunnel dose estimates were greater than the ADMS figure by approximately a factor of two to three. Different stack release heights were investigated in the wind tunnel and ADMS simulations in order to determine the best height for the replacement flue stack for the building. Other techniques were investigated: building wake models, modified Gaussian plume methods and uniform dilution into a hemispherical volume to show the wide variation in predicted dose possible with different approaches. Large differences found between simpler analytic approaches indicated that more robust radiological assessments, based on more complex modelling approaches, were required to achieve satisfactory estimates of radiation dose to representative groups in adjacent buildings and on the building rooftop.

The use of a failed flap as a biological dressing

A patient with a narrowly excised squamous cell carcinoma on the scalp underwent a wider excision that involved burring of the underlying calvarium. The defect was reconstructed with a superficial temporal artery pedicled flap, which unfortunately failed. The patient had multiple co-morbidities, limiting reconstructive options. The failed flap was therefore maintained as a 'biological dressing' for several weeks. During this time, the patient was reviewed regularly in the dressing clinic and did not develop a wound infection. Six weeks later, he was taken back to theatre and the flap was debrided under local anaesthesia. Beneath the flap, there was sufficient healthy granulation tissue over the site of previous bony debridement to permit split skin grafting. We advocate this technique as a useful method for managing difficult wounds in complex patients with multiple co-morbidities where other reconstructive techniques are limited.

Thirteen Patients with MAT1A Mutations Detected Through Newborn Screening: 13 Years' Experience

BACKGROUND

Methionine adenosyltransferase I/III (MATI/III) deficiency is the most common genetic cause of persistent isolated hypermethioninemia. Patients and Methods : This is a retrospective data analysis of 62 newborns with elevated methionine detected by newborn screening between January 2000 and June 2013. The clinical, biochemical, and molecular findings of a subset of these children with MAT1A mutations associated with MATI/III deficiency are presented.

RESULTS

Of the 62 newborns with elevated methionine, 12 were identified as having classical homocystinuria; 37 were false-positives; and 13 were found to have isolated persistent hypermethioninemia in the absence of biochemical markers of homocystinuria, abnormal liver function studies, or other causes of elevated methionine. These 13 individuals underwent genetic testing for changes in the MAT1A gene, associated with MATI/III deficiency. Three of 13 were found to have the common autosomal dominant R264H mutation, one was found to be a compound heterozygote for two novel pathogenic mutations, and three were found to be heterozygotes for previously reported mutations shown to cause autosomal recessive MATI/III deficiency when present in homozygous or a compound heterozygous configuration. The remaining six patients had variants of unknown clinical significance or novel mutations. For the majority of individuals, methionine persisted above the normal range but trended downward over time. None of these 13 individuals was started on a low-methionine diet, and all have age-appropriate growth and development.

CONCLUSION

These cases show that individuals with even single changes in the MAT1A gene may have elevations in methionine identified by newborn screening, which may persist for months after birth without any clinical consequences.

Commitment in Sponsorship Relationships

The study identifies three key determinants of commitment in sponsorship relationships: perceived benefits of a sponsorship relationship, the values shared by sponsorship partners and the tendency towards opportunistic behaviour that a partner might display. Based on these determinants, the study identifies four sponsorship commitment types, namely ‘Calculators and Commercials’, ‘Carers and Communals‘, ‘Cynics and Short-Termers’ and ‘Innocents and Indifferents’. It also highlights three stages through which commitment develops: the engagement stage, the retention phase and the dissolution phase (identified here as the ERD model). The study considers the nature of each commitment type using the ERD phases, then discusses relevant issues for each of these phases. This research enables prospective partners to assess the compatibility of a partner's commitment intentions and helps contribute to the development of more stable and value-adding programs.

The in vivo effects of milrinone on the airways of cystic fibrosis mice and human subjects

Previous studies have indicated that milrinone, a specific type III phosphodiesterase inhibitor, may be able to induce chloride secretion in cystic fibrosis (CF) tissues. We have now assessed the effect of this agent in vivo on the nasal epithelium of CF mutant mice and also in the nose and lungs of human subjects with CF. Wild-type mice showed a small hyperpolarization of the nasal potential difference (PD) in response to milrinone (100 microM, 1.6 +/- 0.6 mV, n = 8, P < 0.05). In contrast, CF mice carrying either the most common human mutation of the gene for the CF transmembrane regulator (CFTR), DeltaF508 (protein mislocalized), or the G551D mutation (protein normally localized) failed to demonstrate this response. Milrinone perfused alone had no significant effect on the baseline nasal PD of human subjects without CF (14.7 +/- 4.0 mV preperfusion; 15.3 +/- 4.6 mV postperfusion), but significantly (P < 0.05) augmented the hyperpolarization induced by a subsequently perfused low-chloride solution (with milrinone, 36.8 +/- 3.0 mV, n = 6; without milrinone, 18.1 +/- 2.2 mV, n = 19). In contrast, in human subjects with CF (n = 6), milrinone alone significantly (P < 0. 05) altered the nasal baseline PD (52.2 +/- 3.3 mV preperfusion; 57. 4 +/- 4.2 mV, postperfusion) but not the subsequent responses to the low-chloride solution (with milrinone, 1.1 +/- 2.2 mV, n = 4; without milrinone, 0.6 +/- 0.5 mV, n = 28) or to isoproterenol (100 microM). In a separate study in subjects (n = 6) with the DeltaF508 mutation, nasal coadministration of milrinone with isoproterenol produced no effect in the presence of amiloride and a low-chloride solution (-0.8 +/- 0.5 mV). This was also the case in the nasal epithelium of CF subjects (n = 4) carrying at least one G551D allele (-0.3 +/- 0.8 mV). Similarly, milrinone did not hyperpolarize the PD of either the tracheal (n = 6) or segmental (n = 6) airways of CF subjects (DeltaF508) when applied topically in vivo in the presence of amiloride, isoproterenol, or adenosine triphosphate (all 100 microM) in a low-chloride solution. These data do not support the use of milrinone to induce chloride secretion in CF airways in vivo.

Hypothermia and the use of space blankets: a literature review

Developed in the 1960s, the 'space blanket' subsequently became a popular tool in the management of the hypothermic patient. Recent articles addressing the issue of the management of hypothermia have tended to offer a variety of suggestions for combating hypothermia, but mention of the space blanket as a tool in this aim appears to have diminished. A review of 20 articles concerned with the management of hypothermia (and identified using a computerized search strategy) indicates that the space blanket has fallen from popularity in treating hypothermic patients and supports the notion that A & E departments should employ alternative methods for rewarming the patient with hypothermia.

The impact of asthma in an inner city general practice

This study was undertaken to find out the problems which children with asthma experience at school and at home. Patient interviews with 32 asthmatic children aged between 6 and 16 years using a semi-structured questionnaire were carried out in an inner city practice in Bristol. Twenty-three (71.8%) children experienced exercise-induced bronchospasm which particularly upset them at school. Eleven of 14 (78.5%) secondary schoolchildren said not being able to participate in sport was the worst thing about having asthma. Children seemed to accept that their inability to participate in sport was normal. Fourteen primary schoolchildren (77.7%) had restricted access to their inhalers. Primary schoolchildren were upset most by coughing or wheezing. Of 21 children who said smoke made their asthma worse, 18 lived in households where someone smoked. Children were more distressed by how their asthma affected them at school than at home. Thirty-one (96.8%) of the children viewed their asthma negatively, although 26 (81.2%) felt they were in control of their asthma. School age children may have undiagnosed, exercise-induced bronchospasm causing considerable physical and psychological morbidity and are therefore being inadequately treated. Children's negative views of their asthma may be missed by conventional questioning and asthma clinics should ensure that children are encouraged to reveal the issues that concern them. Children should have easy access to their medication at school. Locally agreed management of asthma in schools may improve morbidity from asthma.

Manipulation of substrate utilization with somatostatin in patients with secondary multiple organ dysfunction syndrome

OBJECTIVES

To determine whether glucose utilization and metabolic substrate (glucose and fat) oxidation could be manipulated in patients with secondary multiple organ dysfunction syndrome.

DESIGN

Prospective study.

SETTING

Intensive care units (ICU) of two university hospitals.

PATIENTS

Eight adults free of hepatic disease and hemodynamically stable at the time of study, but with failed respiratory and gastrointestinal systems, who thus required mechanical ventilation and intravenous nutrition.

INTERVENTIONS

Patients were infused with 20% dextrose through central venous cannulas at rates that increased and maintained (clamped) their plasma glucose concentration at 216 mg/dL (12 mmol/L) for 3 hrs. Somatostatin was infused continuously during the second and third hours of the clamp to reduce plasma concentrations of endogenous insulin and glucagon. Exogenous insulin was administered together with somatostatin during the third hour to restore basal insulin concentrations. Energy expenditure was measured by indirect calorimetry throughout the study and blood samples were withdrawn regularly for determination of metabolite and hormone concentrations. Main statistical comparisons were made between the baseline data (first hour of the study) and data collected during the second and third hours of the clamp.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

Plasma glucagon concentrations were reduced by nearly 50% (p < .05) toward the end of the study, whereas no significant changes in plasma concentrations of cortisol or growth hormone occurred. Energy expenditure did not change significantly at any time during the clamp procedure. Glucose utilization (6.1 mg/kg/min [34 mumol/kg/min]) during the first hour of the hyperglycemic clamp, decreased by 53% (p < .05) with the infusion of somatostatin during the second hour of the clamp. However, once exogenous insulin was infused during the third hour, glucose utilization increased by 55% (p < .05) when compared with the baseline (hour 1) rate. Glucose oxidation was nearly doubled during the third hour of the study when compared with oxidation rates during the first and second hours. Fat oxidation decreased steadily during the 3-hr clamp.

CONCLUSIONS

Glucagon has a significant inhibitory effect on glucose utilization during intravenous glucose infusion in the multiple organ dysfunction syndrome patient. Pharmacologic intervention with somatostatin and insulin (physiologic dose) can facilitate glucose utilization and oxidation in these patients. Further investigations are needed to determine whether long-term alteration of glucose and fat metabolism would be beneficial in the patient with secondary multiple organ dysfunction syndrome.

Event related outdating: a fairy tale comes true

Traditionally ORs and CSRs have outdated reusable sterile goods at predetermined times. Professional standards (ORNAC, AORN, CSA) support event related outdating meaning that sterile goods remain sterile indefinitely unless package integrity is compromised. Significant savings in supply and labour costs can be realized without compromising patient care. The article outlines a model for the implementation of event related outdating.

Pain on injection of propofol. Methods of alleviation

A controlled randomised double-blind design was used to study the effect of lignocaine on the pain produced by intravenous injection of propofol. Patients received a 2-ml pretreatment solution with temporary venous occlusion, followed by an induction solution. One hundred and three patients were assigned to one of five groups: saline pretreatment, followed by induction with propofol plus saline 2 ml; lignocaine 20 mg pretreatment, followed by induction with propofol plus saline 2 ml; lignocaine 40 mg pretreatment, followed by induction with propofol plus saline 2 ml; saline pretreatment, followed by induction with propofol plus lignocaine 20 mg; or saline pretreatment, followed by induction with propofol plus lignocaine 40 mg. Pain was reduced significantly in all groups in which lignocaine was used and a dose of 40 mg was more effective than 20 mg. There were no significant differences in the incidence of pain among the groups which received lignocaine as pretreatment and the groups which received lignocaine mixed with propofol. Sixty-eight percent of patients who experienced pain or discomfort recalled it in the postoperative period.

Use of the subcutaneous route for the administration of narcotics in patients with cancer pain

From February 1985 until January 1987, 108 consecutive patients with pain due to advanced cancer requiring parenteral narcotics were treated with a subcutaneous infusion of morphine (62 patients) or hydromorphone (46 patients). Mean maximal daily dose of morphine and hydromorphone was 305 mg (range, 80-3000 mg) and 310 mg (range, 40-4024 mg), respectively. The infusion was maintained for a mean of 31 +/- 16 days (range, 2-156). Seventy patients were treated with a portable pump. Of these patients, 33 (45%) were discharge home for a mean of 29 +/- 20 days. Eighty-six of one hundred eight (86/108, 80%) patients experienced adequate pain control (less than two extra doses of analgesics per day). The duration of the site of the infusion was 7 days (range, 2-31). The mean daily increase in those was 2.4 +/- 1.6% of the initial dose (only 15% of patients needed an increase more than or equal to 5% per day). Systemic toxicity consisted of respiratory depression in two patients, severe sedation in six, and confusion in three; all patients improved upon reduction of the daily dose of narcotics. Local toxicity consisted in infection in two patients, bleeding in one, and chemical irritation in six. Cost analysis shows that subcutaneous infusion reduced costs by either allowing home discharges, or replacing intravenous infusion. The authors conclude that this method is safe and effective in patients admitted and at home, and should be considered the first choice when parenteral analgesia is required.

Continuous sc infusion of narcotics using a portable disposable device in patients with advanced cancer

Fifty-six patients with chronic pain due to advanced cancer were treated with an sc infusion of morphone (34 patients) or hydromorphone (22 patients) using a portable disposable infusor. The infusion was maintained for 26 +/- 14 days. Twenty-five patients (45%) were discharged to the home for a mean period of 18 days (range, 2-138). The mean daily increase in dose was 2.6% +/- 1.4% of the initial dose. The sc site needed to be changed every 8 days (range, 2-31). Local toxicity consisted of infection in two patients (3%), chemical irritation in three (5%), and bleeding in one (2%). After 48 hours of treatment, 54 of 56 patients (96%) preferred the sc infusion to their previous parenteral treatment. We conclude that this is a safe and simple method for the administration of narcotics to inpatients and outpatients.

Methylphenidate associated with narcotics for the treatment of cancer pain

Thirty-two patients with chronic pain due to advanced cancer were treated with methylphenidate (10 mg with breakfast and 5 mg with lunch) for 3 days, versus placebo, in a randomized, double-blind, cross-over study designed to evaluate the capacity of methylphenidate to potentiate the analgesic effect of narcotics and/or to decrease sedation induced by narcotics. In 28 evaluable patients, the intensity of pain (visual analogue 0-100) and intake of extra doses of analgesics (number of doses/day) were 43 +/- 27 and 2.2 +/- 2.4 during methylphenidate, versus 55 +/- 24 (P less than 0.02) and 2.9 +/- 2.9 (P less than 0.002) during placebo, respectively. Activity and drowsiness (visual analogue 0-100) were 57 +/- 25 and 58 +/- 24 after methylphenidate, respectively, versus 41 +/- 26 (P less than 0.05) and 45 +/- 27 (P less than 0.02) after placebo. Upon completion of the study, the investigator and the patient chose methylphenidate blindly as a more useful drug in 23 cases (83%) and 20 cases (70%), respectively (P less than 0.02). No cases of severe toxicity were observed. We conclude that methylphenidate can increase the analgesic effect and decrease sedation of narcotics in this population.

Study of cardiovascular autonomic insufficiency in advanced cancer patients

To determine the incidence of cardiovascular autonomic insufficiency (CAI), 43 patients with advanced breast cancer and 20 normal controls were evaluated using electrocardiographic tests (heart rate variation during deep breathing and Valsalva maneuver and upon standing) and clinical tests (blood pressure variation during hand grip tests and upon standing). Nutritional status, tumor mass, Karnofsky performance status (PS) score (0-100), and peripheral reflexes were also determined. Tests for CAI were abnormal in 43 patients (52%), versus seven of 100 in 20 controls (7%, P less than 0.001). In cancer patients, tests for CAI were more frequently abnormal in patients with PS less than 60 (P less than 0.01), basal heart rate greater than 100 (P = 0.05), and malnutrition (P less than 0.01). We conclude that CAI is a frequent finding in patients with advanced breast cancer and should be suspected mainly in patients with a low PS, tachycardia, or malnutrition. It is probably a multifactorial syndrome, and malnutrition, drugs, decreased activity, or paraneoplastic syndromes are all possible causes for CAI.

The assimilation of ammonium by barley roots

Enzyme assays of the roots of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) fed NH 4 (+) show high glutamate-dehydrogenase (GDH; EC 1.4.1.3) activity compared with glutamine-synthetase (GS; EC 6.3.1.2) activity, indicating that GDH may be involved in ammonium assimilation in the root. When (15)NH 4 (+) is fed to barley roots, a high accumulation of (15)N takes place in free amino compounds, particularly glutamine and glutamate. When the GS inhibitor, methionine sulfoximine (MSO), is added to the (15)NH 4 (+) feeding medium the free amino compounds remain unlabelled while (15)NH 4 (+) accumulates rapidly in the roots. Root enzyme assays demonstrate that GS is completely inhibited by MSO treatment, while the activity of GDH remains unaffected. The feeding of (15)N-amido glutamine to the roots in the presence of MSO and the subsequent (15)N enrichment of the free amino compounds of the root show that MSO does not interfere substantially with nitrogen assimilation after the formation of glutamine. These results indicate that in the barley root, ammonium absorbed from the soil is assimilated entirely via the GS-glutamate synthase (GOGAT) pathway, and that GDH plays little, if any, part in this process.

Diagnosis of testicular torsion using Doppler ultrasonic flowmeter

Thirty-one patients with intrascrotal disease process have been studied with the Doppler ultrasonic flowmeter to determine if testicular torsion can be differentiated from acute epididymitis when clinical characteristics are ambivalent. In all instances of proved torsion there was a loss of blood flow in the involved testes, whereas in acute epididymitis or other epididymal and gonadal diseases blood flow ranged from normal to hyperemic.