Exposure to diesel exhaust induces changes in EEG in human volunteers

Background  

Ambient particulate matter and nanoparticles have been shown to translocate to the brain, and potentially influence the central nervous system. No data are available whether this may lead to functional changes in the brain.     

Pelleted beet pulp substituted for high-moisture corn: 1. Effects on feed intake, chewing behavior, and milk production of lactating dairy cows

The effects of increasing concentrations of dried, pelleted beet pulp substituted for high-moisture corn on intake, milk production, and chewing behavior were evaluated using eight ruminally and duodenally cannulated multiparous Holstein cows in a duplicated 4 x 4 Latin square design with 21-d periods. Cows were 79 +/- 17 (mean +/- SD) d in milk at the beginning of the experiment. Experimental diets with 40% forage (corn silage and alfalfa silage) and 60% concentrate contained 0, 6.1, 12.1, or 24.3% beet pulp substituted for high-moisture corn on a dry matter basis. Diet concentrations of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and starch were 24.3 and 34.6% (0% beet pulp), 26.2 and 30.5% (6% beet pulp), 28.0 and 26.5% (12% beet pulp), and 31.6 and 18.4% (24% beet pulp), respectively. Increasing beet pulp in the diet caused a linear decrease in dry matter intake (DMI). Time spent eating per day and per kilogram of DMI increased, and sorting against NDF tended to increase, with added beet pulp. Substituting beet pulp for corn caused a quadratic response in milk fat yield, with the highest yield for the 6% beet pulp treatment. A tendency was detected for a similar quadratic response in 3.5% fat-corrected milk yield. Lower plasma insulin concentration may have resulted in lower body condition gain for cows fed diets with higher beet pulp concentration. Partial substitution of pelleted beet pulp for high-moisture corn decreased intake but also may have permitted greater fat-corrected milk yield.     

基于小波神经网络的炉膛火焰燃烧诊断方法

提出了一种基于数字图像处理及小波神经网络进行燃烧诊断的方法,并将经过训练的小波神经网络应用到锅炉的实时燃烧诊断中.现场实验表明,该方法具有准确、快速的优点,为锅炉安全的运行提供了更为可靠的依据.     

The limits of testing particle-mediated oxidative stress in vitro in predicting diverse pathologies; relevance for testing of nanoparticles

In vitro studies with particles are a major staple of particle toxicology, generally used to investigate mechanisms and better understand the molecular events underlying cellular effects. However, there is ethical and financial pressure in nanotoxicology, the new sub-specialty of particle toxicology, to avoid using animals. Therefore an increasing amount of studies are being published using in vitro approaches and such studies require careful interpretation. We point out here that 3 different conventional pathogenic particle types, PM₁₀, asbestos and quartz, which cause diverse pathological effects, have been reported to cause very similar oxidative stress effects in cells in culture. We discuss the likely explanation and implications of this apparent paradox, and its relevance for testing in nanotoxicology.     

The diagnostic value of serum lysozyme activity in inflammatory bowel disease

The inferior alveolar nerve was cut or the vessels entering the mandibular canal were damaged in 39 guinea pigs at 10 days of age. Possible changes in the incisors were recorded during a 100-day observation period whereafter the animals were killed and the skulls freed of soft tissues; at this time, 35 skulls were found suitable for further examination. The changes in the mandibular incisors on the operated side became observable 30-40 days post-operatively as discolourization, a 'trauma line' around the tooth, narrowing of the tooth or total loss of it's visible part. In the guinea pigs with the nerve cut (group A), such signs of maldevelopment were seen in 5 out of 19 animals, whereas the corresponding figure for the animals with the damaged vessels (group B) was 14/16. All incisors in group A and 13 out of 14 in group B recovered from the state of maldevelopment; one animal in group B showed complete loss of the incisor. The molar region was examined only from the cleaned skulls. In group A, the first molar was deformed in two animals; in group B, seven animals displayed either maldevelopment of the first molar or the first and second molar or complete loss of the first molar. No malformation of the third molar was observed. With two exceptions, the deformation or loss of molars occurred in combination with incisor maldevelopment. The malformations were considered to result from a disturbed blood supply. In group A, the dental changes may perhaps be ascribed to a short-term interference with the blood supply during the operation. The variable results in group B seem to imply that the mandibular teeth receive at least part of their blood supply from vessels besides those entering the mandibular canal. The innervation appears to have a subordinate role in the restoring of the morphology of continuously erupting teeth.     

Effect of copper and platinum intrauterine devices on endometrial morphology and implantation in the rabbit

The response of the rabbit endometrium to the copper IUD was investigated. A plastic IUD bearing copper foil (42 mm2) was inserted into one horn of the rabbit uterus and a physically similar platinum-bearing IUD in the contralateral horn served as a control. The Pt-IUD caused no tissue damage and little if any inflammatory reaction in ovariectomized, oestrous or pregnant animals, whereas the Cu-IUD produced endometrial ulcers in 14 out of 15 does in all hormonal states. The associated inflammation was particularly intense in the pregnant animals in which a unilateral pyometra was usually present. Despite the endometrial trauma produced, the Cu-IUD was only partly effective as a contraceptive agent, 36% of the ova shed from the ovary ipsilateral to the Cu-IUD implanting, compared with 63% of the ova ipsilateral to the Pt-IUD. However, almost half of the implantation swellings in the copper-bearing horns were abnormally small or distorted in shape at 9 days post coitum. The tissue destruction observed in the rabbit endometrium emphasizes the need for careful histological studies of the effect of the copper IUD on the human uterus.     

Effect of local exercise and vessel occlusion on fibrinolytic activity

Arterial occlusion of the upper limb did not affect the fibrinolytic activity in the venous blood of that limb; venous occlusion associated with venous distension resulted in a marked rise in activity. Local fibrinolytic activity was increased substantially by active exercise; passive exercise induced a smaller increase. Active exercise undertaken during arterial occlusion did not result in a rise in activator level. It is concluded from these results that blood flow into the venous system rather than accumulation of metabolites is responsible for the increased release of activator into the blood during local exercise and vessel occlusion.     

Paroxysmal atrial tachycardia and frontal lobe tumor

We describe a patient who experienced repeated episodes of paroxysmal atrial tachycardia. He was found to have an epileptogenic focus within the right frontal lobe adjacent to a frontal lobe glioma. Subsequent to excision of the tumor, no further attacks have occurred.     

Effect of ascorbic acid on tumour growth

The growth of tumours in guinea-pigs was observed for 20 weeks after placing them on various doses of vitamin C. Complete tumour regression occurred in 55% of those animals receiving 0-3 mg/kg/day ascorbic acid, whereas animals given 10 mg/kg/day showed tumour inhibition but no regression. In contrast, tumours in animals maintained on 1 g/kg/day ascorbic acid grew without sign of retardation. When increased amounts of ascorbic acid were restored to the diet of scorbutic tumour-bearing animals, tumours which had not regressed responded with enhanced growth. Likewise, animals previously maintained on 10 mg/kg ascorbic acid responded in turn to the additional vitamin with enhanced tumour growth. In contrast, all tumour-bearing animals maintained on 1 g/kh ascorbic acid died within 3 weeks when this dose was replaced with 0-3 mg/kg.     

Lateralisation of speech dominance by spectral analysis of evoked potentials

The case of a 72-yr-old woman with osteoarthritis of the shoulder, is described. A mixture of crystals of hydroxyapatite and calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate was identified in the joint tissues using analytical electron microscopy and infra-red spectroscopy.