Oxygen intake and walking speed before and after total hip replacement

The objective of the study was to evaluate the walking ability and the energy cost of walking in patients before and after total hip replacement. The oxygen intake and the maximum walking speed were measured immediately before and 6 months after operation in 25 patients. Although the oxygen intake did not change significantly in most patients it was decreased in those patients who before surgery had had the worst walking capacity. The average maximum walking speed almost doubled in the 25 patients.     

Plasma LH progesterone concentrations in the turkey hen during the ovulatory cycle

Progesterone and luteinizing hormone (LH) were measuured in the plasma of Large White turkey hens at frequent intervals during the ovulatory cycle and during the periods when ovulations did not occur. The hormones were quantitated at the beginning and the end of the reproductive season to follow the change in patterns and concentrations of these hormones. Radioimmunoassay procedures were used to assay both hormones. Both progesterone and LH reached a peak amount at about 8 to 2 hours before ovulation. At no time did the progesterone peak precede that of LH. On the other hand, the peak of progesterone was observed to last somewhat longer than the LH peak. Progesterone and LH concentrations demonstrated no peak during the non-ovulatory periods. The patterns of both hormones at the end of the reproductive season was about the same as at the beginning of the season, but with lower concentrations.     

Growth rate characteristics of acoustic neuromas associated with neurofibromatosis type 2

Neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) is a dominantly inherited disorder characterized by the occurrence of bilateral acoustic neuromas (ANs and other central nervous system tumors. Magnetic resonance images and audiologic data on 22 patients with NF2 who underwent multiple studies at the National Institutes of Health between 1983 and 1993 were reviewed to determine the growth characteristics of ANs in these patients. The average growth rate of ANs in NF2 patients was 0.30 cm3 per year and was significantly higher in older patients (0.75 cm3 per year) than in younger ones (0.12 cm3 per year). Larger ANs were more commonly found in patients with concomitant spinal tumors or meningiomas. NF2 patients with spinal tumors but not meningiomas demonstrated faster growth rates than patients without additional tumor burden. The data from this study suggest that older patients or patients with associated spinal tumors have faster growing ANs and therefore should be followed closely and treated aggressively.     

Role of relaxin and estrogen in the control of eosinophilic invasion and collagen remodeling in rat cervical tissue at term

The modified fluorescence method was used to determine the accumulation of norfloxacin by Mycobacterium aurum A+ and Mycobacterium smegmatis mc(2)155. By using an exogenous norfloxacin concentration of 10 microg/ml, a steady-state concentration (SSC) of 160 to 180 ng of norfloxacin/mg of cells was obtained for M. aurum, and an SSC of 120 to 140 ng of norfloxacin/mg of cells obtained for M. smegmatis. For both species of mycobacteria, the SSC was achieved within 5 min. The silicon oil method was investigated and gave higher SSCs than the modified fluorescence method. Further studies on the mechanism of norfloxacin accumulation by M. aurum were performed. An increase in the pH of the wash buffer from 7.0 to 9.0 did not significantly affect the final SSC obtained. Accumulation was nonsaturated over a norfloxacin concentration range of 0 to 100 microg/ml, and the proton motive force inhibitor 2,4-dinitrophenol (1 and 2 mM), whether it was added before or after norfloxacin was added, had no effect on the final SSC obtained. 2,4-Dinitrophenol also had no effect on norfloxacin accumulation by M. smegmatis. Furthermore, norfloxacin accumulation by M. aurum was unaffected by the presence of either Tween 80 or subinhibitory concentrations of ethambutol in the growth medium. Therefore, it is proposed that norfloxacin accumulation by mycobacteria occurs by simple, energy-independent diffusion.