Gene conversion tracts from double-strand break repair in mammalian cells

A new assay termed the dome disappearance method for classical swine fever virus (CSFV) using FS-L3 cells with serum-free culture medium was developed. The CSFV live vaccine GPE- strain grows well and shows a slight cytopathic effect (CPE) in FS-L3 cells. This CPE results in the disappearance of the unique fluid-filled multicellular domes on a single monolayer of FS-L3 cells. By using this phenomenon, dome disappearance, as a marker of infection, it was possible to determine the titers of CSFV and its neutralizing antibody. The virus titer determined by this method shows a good correlation with that determined by immunochemical and interference methods. Furthermore, the amount of neutralizing antibody measured by this method also correlated with that measured by the Exaltation of Newcastle Disease Virus (END) neutralizing method. The dome disappearance method developed in this experiment is a simple and safe procedure and has the great advantage that bovine serum, which may contain antibody against bovine viral diarrhea virus, is not necessary for the cultivation of FS-L3 cells.     

Distal femoral osteotomy for lateral compartment osteoarthritis of the knee

Arachidonic acid (AA) in the diet can be efficiently absorbed and incorporated into tissue membranes, resulting in an increased production of thromboxane A2 by platelets and increased ex vivo platelet aggregability. Results from previous studies have shown that AA is concentrated in the membrane phospholipids of lean meats. However, the concentration of AA in the visible fat portion of meats also may be significant despite being ignored in most studies. The aim of this study was to accurately quantitate the AA content of visible fat and the lean portion of beef, lamb, pork, chicken, duck, and turkey. The visible fat of meat contained a significant quantity of AA, ranging from 20 to 180 mg/100 g fat, whereas the AA content of the lean portion of meat was lower, ranging from 30 to 99 mg/100 g lean meat. Beef and lamb meats contained lower levels of AA in both the visible fat and lean portion than that from the other species. The highest level of AA in lean meat was in duck (99 mg/100 g), whereas pork fat had the highest concentration for the visible fats (180 mg/100 g). The lean portions of beef and lamb contained the higher levels of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) compared with white meats which were high in AA and low in n-3 PUFA. The present data indicate that the visible meat fat can make a contribution to dietary intake of AA, particularly for consumers with high intakes of fat from pork or poultry meat.     

The layman's view of orthodontics: a literary review

It is probably true to say that the masticatory apparatus attracts proportionally greater attention than any other part of the body. Evidence that this is so is provided, not only by the degree of specialisation within the dental profession, but by the frequency with which references to teeth and dentistry crop up in literature. Generations of biographers, novelists, poets, playwrights and essayists have written about their dental experiences and included the dentition in describing the facial appearance of characters, factual and fictional. The literary extracts in this article, culled from an extensive collection, refer to orthodontics. They provide a fascinating insight into the patient's perspective on that speciality and make entertaining reading.     

Inflammatory breast carcinoma incidence and survival: the surveillance, epidemiology, and end results program of the National Cancer Institute, 1975-1992

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the cause of inflammatory breast carcinoma (IBC), the most aggressive form of breast cancer. To the authors' knowledge, no studies have investigated whether IBC risk factors are different from those for breast carcinoma overall, and there has been only one report of IBC incidence and survival patterns. METHODS: The authors used data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program of the National Cancer Institute for the period 1975-1992 to calculate age-adjusted incidence and survival rates for 913 white and 121 African American women with IBC involving dermal invasion of lymphatic ducts and 166,375 white and 13,674 African American women with other types of breast carcinoma (non-IBC). RESULTS: Between 1975-1977 and 1990-1992, IBC incidence doubled, increasing among whites from 0.3 to 0.7 cases per 100,000 person-years and among African Americans from 0.6 to 1.1 cases. However, rates for African Americans varied due to the small numbers of IBC cases. The twofold increase in IBC incidence was higher than that observed for non-IBC during the same period (27% for African Americans and 25% for whites). IBC patients were significantly younger at diagnosis than non-IBC patients; and among both IBC and non-IBC patients, African Americans were younger than whites. Overall survival was significantly worse for IBC patients than for non-IBC patients and for African Americans than for whites. Among whites, 3-year survival improved more for IBC patients than for non-IBC patients between 1975-1979 and 1988-1992, increasing from 32% to 42% for IBC patients (P=0.0001) and from 80% to 85% for non-IBC patients (P=0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: The disparities observed in incidence trends and age at diagnosis, particularly according to race, highlight the need for further investigation of the differences between IBC and non-IBC incidence.     

Current options in prosthetic vascular graft infection

Debate continues over which procedure is the best treatment for prosthetic graft infections. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records at our institution for all vascular graft infections that occurred from 1985 to 1995 to evaluate their occurrence, treatment, and outcome. Twenty-four patients had prosthetic graft infections. The average patient age was 62 years, and 67 per cent of the patients studied were men. The initial operation was for treatment of occlusive disease in 92 per cent of the patients, and aortofemoral bypasses were the most common procedures performed (15 of 24 patients, 63%). The average interval from graft implantation to presentation of infection was 29 months. In lower-extremity bypasses, the site of infection was most commonly in the groin (87%). Gram-positive organisms, including coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (32%) and Staphylococcus aureus (28%), were the most frequently isolated bacteria. Thirty procedures were performed for management of the graft infections. Extra-anatomic bypass was associated with no recurrent graft infections. Graft preservation was successful in two cases of early S. aureus infection (less than 1 year after original procedure), and in situ graft replacement was successful in all four cases of late-appearing coagulase-negative Staphylococcus infection (more than 1 year after original procedure). Both treatments failed in all five cases of Gram-negative infection (P = 0.008 by Fisher's exact test). The overall mortality and amputation rates were 17 per cent and 21 per cent, respectively, without significant differences between the treatment modalities. Extra-anatomic bypass remains the best treatment for prosthetic graft infection. In situ replacement and graft preservation treatments should be selective and based on presentation of the infection and the type of pathogenic organism.     

Aging and prospective memory: Examining the influences of self-initiated retrieval processes.

Past research has frequently failed to find age differences in prospective memory. This article tested the possibility that age differences would be more likely to emerge on a prospective memory task that was high in self-initiated retrieval. In the 1st experiment, participants were asked to perform an action every 10 min (a time-based task presumed to be high in self-initiated retrieval); in the 2nd experiment, participants were asked to perform an action whenever a particular word was presented (an event-based task presumed to be relatively low in self-initiated retrieval). Age differences were found with the time-based task but not with the event-based task. This pattern of age differences was again found in a 3rd experiment in which a new experimental procedure was used and the nature of the prospective memory task was directly varied. Generally, the results suggest that self-initiated retrieval processes are an important component of age-related differences across both retrospective and prospective memory tasks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Enantiospecific synthesis fromd-fructose of (2S,5R)- and (2R,5R)-2-methyl-1,6-dioxaspiro[4.5]decane [the odor bouquet minor components ofParavespula vulgaris (L.)]

The synthesis of (2S,5R)-(1) and (2R,5R)-2-methyl-1,6-dioxaspiro [4.5]decane (2) from (2RS,5R,8R,9R,10S)-8,9,10-trihydroxy-2-methyl-1, 6-dioxaspiro[4.5]decane (8), obtained in five steps fromd-fructose using Wittig's methodology, reduction, and spiroketalation, has been accomplished by a Corey dideoxygenation at C-8,9, followed by a Barton deoxygenation at C-10, of the appropriately protected derivatives.Enantiospecific synthesis of spirocetals. Part V. For Part IV, see Izquierdo et al. (1992).     

Electrochemical studies of pyrite oxidation and reduction using freshly-fractured electrodes and rotating ring-disc electrodes

Oxidation and reduction processes on coal- and mineral-pyrite surfaces have been investigated to better understand the reactions that control the hydrophobicity and flotation behavior of pyrite. The incipient oxidation and reduction reactions were studied using fresh surfaces of pyrite that were created by in situ fracturing electrodes potentiostated at a predetermined potential. Chronoamperometry immediately after fracture and subsequent cyclic voltammetry have established that fresh fracture surfaces of pyrite instantaneously assume a unique potential (referred to as the “stable” potential) at which neither oxidation nor reduction takes place. For Peruvian and Chinese pyrites, the stable potential is −0.28 V (standard hydrogen electrode, SHE) at pH 9.2 and 0 V at pH 4.6. The initial oxidation of pyrite begins at potentials slightly positive of the stable potential and is believed to produce a hydrophobic sulfur-rich species, most likely a polysulfide or metal-deficient sulfide. A rotating ring-disc electrode (RRDE) was employed to study the kinetics and mechanisms of surface reactions on pyrite over moderate potential ranges. Two distinct soluble reduction products (ferrous hydroxide and HS⁻) and one distinct soluble oxidation product (ferrous hydroxide) were observed on pyrite in alkaline solutions. It is concluded that the initial oxidation of pyrite and the oxidation of ferrous to ferric hydroxide occur in a similar potential range. When the electrode is oxidized, e.g. by polishing, prior to experiments, the initial oxidation of pyrite is masked by the oxidation of ferrous hydroxide, making it difficult to study the oxidation of pyrite itself.     

Semiochemicals and Social Signaling in the Wild European Rabbit in Australia: I. Scent Profiles of Chin Gland Secretion from the Field

The European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) uses the secretion of the chin gland in the maintenance of social status. Previous work has concentrated on secretion collected directly from the animal. In this study, the analysis was conducted by collecting scent marks made by free-ranging animals. Scent marks were found to be concentrated at the center of the area controlled by a social group, and at the boundaries between two adjacent social groups. Only the mark from dominant animals could be identified. Marks were also collected from the skin of rabbits, where they had been placed by the dominant individual. The mark found on the head of a subordinate animal may, in the future, be used to identify the dominant animal of the social group, who placed the mark.