Fatty acids of pimiento pepper seed oil

Pimiento pepper (Capsicum annum L.) seed oil was shown to contain 66–71% linoleic acid with smaller quantities of 16 and 18 carbon saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids. Neither geographical location nor location within pimiento processing plants influenced the level or composition of the seed oil. Two varieties of bell-type peppers were shown to have essentially the same seed oil composition as that of pimientos. Oil extracted from the fruit wall and placenta of pimientos was red and contained high levels of linolenic and small quantities of very long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. Journal Series Paper No. 462, Georgia Experiment Station, Experiment, Ga.     

Lack of effect on ovariectomy on the metabolism of vitamin D and intestinal calcium-binding protein in female rats

A 20-year-old woman lost all useful vision over a 2 1/2-month period as a result of a necrotizing and occlusive vasculitis of the retina. Treatment with prednisone, immunosuppressants, and aspirin was unsuccessful. No systemic manifestations of the disease were found and no cause was discovered. Kodachromes and fluorescein angiograms showed the progression in one eye from normal to near total retinal necrosis. The process began with a mild venous dilation and peripheral arteritis that progressed into an obliterative vasculitis with abrupt vessel dilation, hemorrhages, and retinal swelling. This was followed by necrosis and sloughing of the retina into the vitreous. Vitreous contraction and necrotic retina produced unrepairable retinal detachments.     

Are perinatal risk factors helpful in predicting and optimizing treatment strategies for transient hypothyroxinemia in very-low-birth-weight infants?

Transient hypothyroxinemia is common in premature infants and has been associated with intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), poor neurodevelopmental outcomes, and mortality. Recent trials have failed to show that supplemental thyroid hormone improves overall neurodevelopmental outcome. The objective of this article is too determine perinatal risk factors for transient hypothyroxinemia (TH). We studied a cohort of infants born between July 1993 and July 2000 who were less than 1500 g and who received a newborn screening for thyroid function ( n = 932). Total serum thyroxine (T(4)) was collected routinely on the fifth day of life. T (4) was correlated with gestational age (R = 0.59, p < 0.01). After controlling for potential confounding variables, gestational age, dopamine, and mechanical ventilation were found to be independently associated with low T (4) (overall model: r(2) = 0.41, p < 0.01). Number needed to treat (NNT) analysis showed treating all infants less than 27 weeks would lead to treating 6.3 infants for every one with a subsequent T(4) < 5 microg/dL. By combining gestational age and need for dopamine support, NNT = 2.4 for every one infant with subsequent T(4) < 5 microg/dL. Low gestational age, mechanical ventilation, and need for dopamine were associated with low T(4) levels and may be helpful in optimizing treatment strategies for TH.     

What is a specialist? The role of board certification in occupational medicine

A shortage of occupational medicine physicians exists for which a number of solutions have been proposed. The lack of board-certified specialists to address the increasingly complex issues encountered in this area of medicine has contributed to a credibility and identity crisis within the occupational medicine community. This article will review the significance of board certification and its importance for enhancing and preserving the specialty of occupational medicine.     

Detection of apoptosis in human and rat ovarian follicles

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether cells acquired from individual human preovulatory follicles undergo apoptosis (physiologic cell death) and, if so, to correlate the degree of apoptosis with characteristics of the follicles or the oocytes derived from the follicles. METHODS: We devised a sensitive nonradioactive method for detecting apoptotic DNA fragmentation in small numbers of cells derived from rat atretic follicles and follicular aspirates of patients undergoing assisted reproductive technologies. RESULTS: Using this method, apoptotic DNA was detected in rat atretic follicles, with optimal detection at 10-100 ng. Furthermore, apoptotic DNA was detected in some, but not all individual human follicular aspirates from several patients, and was found in follicles that produced oocytes that fertilized and developed into embryos. CONCLUSION: Apoptosis occurs in cells from human ovarian preovulatory follicles and may be a normal physiologic process of the follicle during luteinization.