A methodology for assessing gamebird use of short rotation coppice

Gamebirds provide a considerable incentive to plant and manage new woodlands. The supplementary income thus generated can improve their overall value. Other studies suggest that Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) crops may provide an attractive habitat for some gamebird species and could increase the value of the crop. To investigate this, the use by pheasants and partridge of different types of SRC at one site was assessed.

A method using sand quadrats to record gamebird footprints and hence relative use was developed. Pheasant footprints were recorded more frequently in the quadrats alongside the willow coppice, whereas partridge footprints occurred more frequently alongside the poplar coppice. Footprint analysis offers a reliable method of investigating how gamebirds use different types of SRC within small areas. The results are considered in terms of the placement of short rotation coppice plantations in the landscape to improve their ecological design.     

A new epitope presenting system displays a HIV-1 V3 loop sequence and induces neutralizing antibodies

The principal neutralizing domain, IGPGRAF sequence, from the V3-loop of HIV-1 was inserted in two positions on the surface of the protein that makes up the capside shell of the insect Flock House Virus. The hybrid proteins were expressed in insect cells via recombinant baculoviruses. Three different hybrids were used as immunogens: two with a single copy of the insert in different positions of the carrier protein and a third with two copies of the insert at the same positions as before. All hybrid proteins induced strong and broad specific immune response in guinea pigs against different V3-loop sequences. However, only one of the hybrid proteins was able to induce a strong neutralizing response against MN and IIIB HIV-1 isolates. Our results demonstrate that a very short peptide sequence of HIV-1 can constitute a valuable immunogen able to induce a neutralizing response if presented to the immune system in the context of the FHV capsomer structure.     

The ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome in extracorporeal oocyte fertilization and the transfer of cleavage-stage embryos

Major clinical characteristics of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome are described and criteria of predicting the course of this disease and measures to prevent it presented. Statistical data on the presence of this syndrome in various forms during various schemes of superovulation stimulation are offered. Optimal schemes for the treatment of the condition are suggested.     

Platinum concentrations in urban road dust and soil, and in blood and urine in the United Kingdom

Increasing Pt concentrations from vehicle catalysts have been reported from a number of countries. Analysis of Pt and Pd in soils and road dusts taken from areas of high and low traffic flows in SE England show concentrations of Pt in the range < 0.30-40.1 ng g-1 and Pd in the range < 2.1-57.9 ng g-1. Higher concentrations of Pt are associated with high traffic densities. Samples taken from streets of lower traffic flows were found to contain the lower concentrations of the ranges. Pilot studies of Pt concentrations in blood and urine using ICP-MS have been carried out. Platinum concentrations in whole blood were: precious metal workers, 780-2170, mean 1263 pmol l-1 (0.152-0.423, mean 0.246 microgram l-1); motorway maintenance workers, 645-810, mean 744 pmol l-1 (0.126-0.158, mean 0.145 microgram l-1); Imperial College staff, 590-713, mean 660 pmol l-1 (0.115-0.139, mean 0.129 microgram l-1). Platinum concentrations in urine in pmol Pt per mmol creatinine were: precious metal workers, 122-682, mean 273 [0.21-1.18, mean 0.47 microgram Pt (g creatinine)-1]; motorway maintenance workers, 13-78, mean 33.7 [0.022-0.135, mean 0.058 microgram Pt (g creatinine)-1]; Imperial College staff, 28-130, mean 65.6 [0.048-0.224, mean 0.113 microgram Pt (g creatinine)-1]. Detection limits were 0.03 microgram l-1 for both blood and urine. The possible health effects of increasing Pt in the environment are discussed. Platinum provides an excellent example of the significance of speciation in metal toxicity. Platinum allergy is confined to a small group of charged compounds that contain reactive ligand systems, the most effective of which are chloride ligand systems. Metallic Pt is considered to be biologically inert and non allergenic and since the emitted Pt is probably in the metallic or oxide form, the sensitising potential is probably very low. Platinum from road dusts, however, can be solubilised, and enter waters, sediments, soils and the food chain. There is at present no evidence for any adverse health effects from Pt in the general environment, particularly allergic reactions.     

Alagille syndrome: family studies

Alagille syndrome (AGS) is one of the major forms of chronic liver disease in childhood with severe morbidity and a mortality of 10 to 20%. It is characterised by cholestasis of variable severity with paucity of interlobular bile ducts and anomalies of the cardiovascular system, skeleton, eyes, and face. Previous studies suggest a wide variation in the expression of the disease and a high incidence of new mutations. To determine more accurately the rate of new mutations and to develop criteria for detecting the disorder in parents we systematically investigated parents in 14 families with an affected child. Clinical examination was supplemented by liver function tests, echocardiography, radiographic examination of the spine and forearm, ophthalmological assessment, and chromosome analysis. Six parents had typical anomalies in two or more systems pointing to the presence of autosomal dominant inheritance. Systematic screening of parents for the features defined in this study should improve the accuracy of genetic counselling.     

Caudascopic experiences and a new patho-anatomic concept for treatment of sciatica

Osteotomy has been used in treatment of unstable intertrochanteric hip fractures in an attempt to increase the stability of the fracture fragments. We have assessed this stability in a randomised prospective study on 138 patients, all having been fixed by dynamic hip screen, comparing anatomical reduction with medialisation osteotomy. The groups were similar in terms of age, gender and fracture configuration. There was no difference in final results in both groups except that operation time was longer in osteotomy group and the blood loss was more. We found no clear benefit from osteotomy and therefore recommend anatomical reduction and fixation by a sliding hip screw in most cases. Rarely, a fracture configuration which does not allow anatomical reduction may benefit from an osteotomy.     

The influence of socioeconomic and nutritional status on menarche in Nigerian school girls

Two once-daily electroconvulsive shocks (ECS) produced retrograde amnesia in rats trained on a Hebb-Williams maze; Verapamil (12.5 mg/kg, i.p.) or felodipine (10 mg/kg, p.o.) administered half an hour before each ECS attenuated this ECS-induced amnesia. Hence, these drugs may hold promise for the containment of amnesia induced by electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Speculatively, one or more of several mechanisms may be involved: cerebral vasodilatation, enhancement of cholinergic tone, and inhibition of calcium-mediated impairment of neuronal function. These drugs may also act by attenuating the systolic surge in blood pressure during ECT, thereby decreasing edema due to cerebral hyperperfusion, as well as decreasing the possible transfer of potentially neurotoxic macromolecules through a putative breach in the blood-brain barrier.     

A long-term follow-up study of patients with ischaemic heart disease versus patients with nonspecific chest pain

Ninety consecutive patients who were admitted to hospital with acute chest pain were followed-up five years later. At the time of the original admission, all of the patients received a detailed physical and psychiatric evaluation. Seventy-one patients were diagnosed as having ischaemic heart disease, and 19 were diagnosed as having nonspecific chest pain. Patients with nonspecific pain were younger, consumed greater amounts of alcohol, smoked more than their organic counterparts, and were more likely to suffer from psychiatric disorder. The five-year assessment was carried out using a self-report questionnaire. Of the original 71 patients with ischaemic heart disease, 14 had died; 43 questionnaires were returned, 80.2% of the original sample. Sixteen (84.9%) of the patients with nonspecific pain were followed up; none had died. Both groups were predominantly male. The patients with nonspecific pain still smoked more than the patients with ischaemic heart disease, and they had significantly more symptoms of anxiety. The overall prevalence of psychiatric morbidity remained high, however, in both groups. Patients who had psychiatric illness at the time of the original assessment were more anxious at follow-up and more likely to complain of chest pain than those who had been well. Patients with nonspecific chest pain continued to seek treatment on a regular basis from their general practitioners either for chest pain or for other symptoms, but few were in frequent contact with hospital services. The possible preventive effects of psychiatric intervention at an earlier stage in both groups of patients needs to be investigated.     

Identification and characterization of the murine homologue of CD22, a B lymphocyte-restricted adhesion molecule

The human B lymphocyte-specific Ag, CD22, is a cell adhesion molecule expressed on the surface during a narrow window of B cell development, coincident with surface IgD. A ligand for CD22 has recently been identified on human T cells as the low molecular mass isoform of the leukocyte common Ag, CD45RO. CD22 has been reported to function in the regulation of both T and B cell activation in vitro. In this study, we report the isolation and expression of a molecular cDNA clone encoding the murine homologue of CD22, mCD22. Within their predicted protein sequences, murine and human sequences overall have 62% identity, which includes 18 of 20 extracellular cysteines and six of six cytoplasmic tyrosines. BHK cells transfected with mCD22 cDNA specifically adhere to resting and activated T lymphocytes and in addition bound activated, but not resting, B cells. Five Th clones were analyzed for their ability to adhere to mCD22; two Th0 clones and one Th1 clone bound CD22+ BHK transfectants, but not all T cell clones bound CD22+ cells: another Th1 clone and a Th2 clone did not. mCD22+ BHK transfectants were also specifically bound by the B cell-specific mAb, NIM-R6, demonstrating that this mAb is specific for murine CD22. Human cell lines expressing the counter-receptors for human CD22 were also examined for adhesion to the murine CD22 homologue; the epitope responsible for B cell adhesion to CD22 is conserved, whereas the T cell epitope binding to CD22 is not. The cDNA and mAb to murine CD22 will be useful for defining the in vivo function of CD22.