Preparation of Low Free Gossypol and High Available Lysine Cottonseed/Soybean Blends

Cottonseed/soybean blends (50/50) were ground in an Alpine pin mill with or without previous cooking in a Brady low-cost extruder. Free gossypol decreased with increasing amount of water added prior to extrusion and number of passes through the extruder. Available lysine increased with decreasing amount of added water but was unaffected by number of passes through the extruder. Type of soybean raw material utilized had no effect on free gossypol. Blends prepared from defatted cottonseed meal, however, had lower free gossypol than those made from cottonseed kernels. A blend similar to full-fat soy flour but of lower cost was prepared from unextruded 50% defatted cotton-seed meal/50% extruded soybean flakes, without added water, and ground in the Alpine mill.     

COMPARISON OF FORCE-DEFORMATION CHARACTERISTICS OF ARTIFICIAL AND SEVERAL NATURAL FOODS FOR CHEWING EXPERIMENTS

The masticatory performance of an individual has been quantified by determining the particle sizes of the comminuted food. Optosil, a silicon rubber, has been used as an artificial test food in clinical studies, because it has reproducible textural properties. A comparison between Optosil and several natural foods was made by measuring textural properties of Optosil, turnip, carrot, Gouda cheese and peanut. Several types of probes were used to imitate the cusp form of the teeth. Force-deformation plots revealed similar maximum firmness for Optosil, turnip and carrot, whereas peanut showed a larger firmness. The force needed to crush Optosil is much larger than for the natural foods, but it is well within the physiological range of healthy subjects. The reproducibility of the textural properties is better for Optosil than for the natural foods. The particle size distribution of Optosil broken by a testing machine was compared with the results obtained during chewing.     

Vasoactive intestinal peptide stimulation of human trabecular meshwork cell growth

PURPOSE: To demonstrate that vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), a 28-amino acid neuropeptide, is a growth factor of human trabecular meshwork (TM) cells in culture and in a corneoscleral explant organ culture treated with laser trabeculoplasty (LTP). METHODS: Proliferating human TM cells in cell cultures were incubated with VIP for 20 hours, followed by total cell number determination, using a Coulter counter. The percentage of proliferating TM cells was assessed, using an antibody against the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). To test the growth effect of VIP on TM cells in situ, corneoscleral explants in organ cultures were first treated with argon LTP to initiate TM-cell proliferation and then were exposed to VIP for 48 hours. The mitotic TM cells were demonstrated immunocytochemically, using anti-PCNA in paraffin sections of the explants; and the total number of TM cells was determined after paraffin sections were counterstained by hematoxylin. RESULTS: Vasoactive intestinal peptide dose-dependently stimulated the proliferation of TM cells in cell culture. Treatment with 5 x 10(-10) M VIP resulted in a maximal increase of 40% in cell number. The effect of VIP was blocked by a VIP antagonist. The number of PCNA-stained TM cells and the total cell number in the TM in LTP-treated corneoscleral explants were increased by VIP. CONCLUSIONS: Exogenously applied VIP stimulated the proliferation of human TM cells in subconfluent cultures and in LTP-treated corneoscleral explants. In that LTP has been shown to increase the number of TM cells in situ, the growth stimulatory effect of VIP may help enhance this therapy.     

Successful cytologic diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma from within a recently placed biliary Wallstent

A six year old boy with an epicardial pacing lead since infancy presented with thoracic pain triggered by movement. The pain was thought to be musculoskeletal, but two weeks later he collapsed and died in ventricular fibrillation. Necropsy showed strangulation of the ventricular apex by the epicardial lead.     

The myelotoxicity of chloramphenicol: in vitro and in vivo studies: I. In vitro effects on cells in culture

1 Chloramphenicol is used extensively in non-industrialized countries for the treatment of life-threatening infections because it is cheap and effective, despite its known hemotoxicity and linkage to fatal aplastic anaemia. It is important to define the mechanism of toxicity so that means can be devised to ameliorate the toxic effects in order to produce safer usage. 2 Chloramphenicol, at concentrations from 5 mM to 2 mM initiated apoptosis in dividing cells from a monkey kidney-derived cell line and in haematopoietic progenitor cells from human neonatal cord blood. 3 Growth of progenitor cells was suppressed at concentrations of chloramphenicol which would be considered less than therapeutic during patient treatment. 4 These effects could be ameliorated in progenitor cells by co-culture with the antioxidant mercaptoethylamine and in monkey kidney cells by co-culture with vitamin C. 5 This is the first report of apoptosis in chloramphenicol toxicity and suggests a possible link between a metabolic event i.e. the production of free radicals; a morphological effect, apoptosis; and a clinical effect, bone marrow suppression and aplastic anaemia.     

Kinematic analysis of shear displacement as a means for operating mechanotransduction channels in the contact region between adjacent stereocilia of mammalian cochlear hair cells

In sensory hair cells of the cochlea, deflection of the stereociliary bundle results in direct mechanical gating of mechanoelectrical transduction channels, a function generally attributed to the tip link running between the tips of short stereocilia and the sides of adjacent taller ones. However, immunocytochemical experiments indicate that the channels may not be associated with the tip link but occur just below it in a region of contact between the stereocilia. To determine whether transduction channels in this location could be operated during physiologically appropriate deflections as effectively by shear displacement as if they were associated with the tip link, a two dimensional kinematic analysis of relative motion between stereocilia has been performed assuming contact between stereocilia is maintained during deflection. Bundle geometry and dimensions were determined from transmission electron micrographs of hair cells from several frequency locations between 0.27 and 13.00 kHz in the guinea-pig cochlea. The analysis indicates that for a 10 nm deflection of the tallest stereocilia of both inner and outer hair cells, i.e. within the range of the maximum sensitivity of mammalian hair bundles, the average shear displacement in the contact region would be 1.6 nm, but that it increases systematically towards higher frequency regions for outer hair cells. This displacement is comparable in magnitude to tip-link elongation for individual stereociliary pairs.     

Factors influencing the determination of nisin in meat products

Recovery of nisin from minced meat and meat emulsions was poor and variable. The rate of recovery was little affected by the presence of NaCl and/or NaNO₂, particle size, or the meat to extractant (0.02N HCl) ratio, but was significantly affected by the fat content of the meat. For nisin added at 100 iu/g, recoveries at the optimal meat to extractant ratio, 10% wt/wt suspension, ranged from 26% at 3% fat to 76% at 83% fat. At addition levels of 200 iu/g and greater, nisin recovery efficiency was reduced.