Familial Felty's syndrome

A family is described in which the mother and 2 of the 5 children had Felty's syndrome, a pattern of inheritance suggesting a dominant defect and one which has not previously been reported. The family is also of interest in that the other sib had rheumatoid arthritis.     

Penetration and flow of acrylic bone cement

Fixation of prosthetic joint components into bone is influenced by the degree of mechanical interdigitation of the acrylic into cancellous interstices. The rheology of polymerizing polymethylmethacrylate was studied by pressurizing acrylic bone cement with a piston apparatus to produce flow into cylindrical cavities one to 3 mm in diameter. The acrylic penetration per unit of applied pressure increased with increasing cavity diameter. This suggests that greater penetration should occur in cancellous bone containing larger interstitial cavities. More than one-half (64 %) of the filling observed in our experiments took place within the first second of pressure application. Short duration, high level pressure pulses are the most effective means to achieve maximum penetration. Clinically, this is accomplished by vigorous finger packing. The cement should be pressurized as early as possible within the rasped cavity (immediately after dough stage if possible). The depth of penetration for 4-minute pressurization averaged three times that for 6 1/2-minute pressurization for the range of hole sizes and pressure levels tested.     

Hemodynamics in sleep-induced apnea. Studies during wakefulness and sleep

Twelve patients with predominantly obstructive type sleep apnea underwent cardiac catheterization, hemodynamic monitoring, and arterial blood gas analysis during wakefulness and sleep. Abnormalities during wakefulness included systemic hypertension in four of 12, exercise-induced mild pulmonary hypertension in five of 12, and alveolar hypoventilation in one. During sleep nine patients had cyclic elevations of arterial pressure with each apneic episode, exceeding 200 mm Hg systolic in three of 12. Pulmonary artery pressures increased in 10 of 12, exceeding 60 mm Hg systolic in five. Marked degrees of hypoxemia (arterial P02, less than 50 mm Hg in eight of 12) and moderate hypercapnia with respiratory acidosis were associated with these hemodynamic changes. Cyclic upper airway obstruction during sleep may result in hypercapnia, acidosis, and pronounced hypoxemia, which can lead to hemodynamic abnormalities during sleep. Sustained pulmonary hypertension and possibly systemic hypertension may follow. Tracheostomy is an effective therapy and is recommended to symptomatic patients who have predominantly obstructive apnea but no relievable anatomic cause of upper airway obstruction.     

Chloramphenicol antibody causing interference in antibody detection and identification tests

Investigation of the serum of three patients with positive antibody detection tests demonstrated the cause in each to be an antibody against chloramphenicol, a bacteriostatic agent used in commercial red blood cell reagents. Washing of these red cells prior to use prevented agglutination. All three examples of anti-chloramphenicol antibody were IgM and were in low titer when tested at room temperature and 37 C in saline. Two of the antibodies bound complement. The possibility of an antibody to an ingredient of the commercial preservative solution should be considered if problems are encountered in tests with unwashed commercial red blood cell reagents.     

Mass spectral analysis of glucuronides from sympathomimetic hydroxyphenylalkylaminoethanols

A mass spectral method is described for the structure determination of glucuronic acid conjugates of hydroxyphenylalkylaminoethanol-type drugs. Trimethylsilylation and application of the GLC-mass spectral technique yield mass spectra with sufficient information for the identification of all structural subunits.     

Physicochemical,Morphological, Thermal and Pasting Properties of Starches Isolated from Rice Cultivars Grown in India

Physicochemical, morphological, thermal, and pasting properties of starches, isolated from basmati (HBC-19 and Bas-370) and non-basmati (Jaya, a coarse cultivar; P-44 and HKR-120, the medium cultivars and Sharbati, fine cultivar) rice cultivars grown in India were studied. The amylose content of starches from different cultivars ranged from 2.25 (Jaya) to 22.21 g/100 g of starch (HBC-19). Jaya, HKR-120, and P-44 cultivars showed soft gel consistency as 84, 73, and 69 mm, respectively, whereas Sharbati, Bas-370 and HBC-19 cultivars showed medium gel consistency as 54, 53, and 58 mm, respectively. Swelling power (at 95°C) indicated a significant positive correlation with amylopectin content (r = 0.828, p < 0.05) and gel consistency (r = 0.983, p < 0.01). Turbidity had a highly significant positive correlation with solubility (r = 0.919, p < 0.01) and amylose content (r = 0.945, p < 0.01). Starch form Jaya cultivar showed the presence of smallest size granules (2.4–5.7 μm) with an average size of 3.96 μm, whereas Bas-370 showed the presence of largest size granules (3.3–6.7 μm) with an average size of 5.0 μm. The transition temperatures, enthalpy of gelatinization (ΔH_gel), peak height index (PHI) and gelatinization range were determined using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The starch from Sharbati cultivar showed highest onset temperature (T_o), peak temperature (T_p), conclusion temperature (T_c), enthalpy of gelatinization and peak height index (PHI) of 68.8°C, 73.2°C, 79.0°C, 11.56 J/g and 2.63 respectively. Pasting temperature of rice starches varied from 68.9°C (Jaya) to 74.5°C (Sharbati). The peak viscosities observed were in the range of 2223 to 3297 cP, lowest for HBC-19 starch and highest for Jaya starch.     

Purification,characterisation and application of α‐l‐rhamnosidase from Penicillium citrinum MTCC‐8897

An α‐l ‐rhamnosidase secreted by Penicillium citrinum MTCC‐8897 has been purified to homogeneity from the culture filtrate of the fungal strain using ammonium sulphate precipitation and cation‐exchange chromatography on carboxymethyl cellulose. The sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis of the purified enzyme gave a single protein band corresponding to the molecular mass 51.0 kDa. The native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis also gave a single protein band confirming the enzyme purity. The K_m and V_max values of the enzyme for p‐nitrophenyl α‐l ‐rhamnopyranoside were 0.36 mm and 22.54 μmole min^?1 mg^?1, respectively, and k_cat value was 17.1 s^?1 giving k_cat/K_m value of 4.75 × 10⁴ m ^?1 s^?1. The pH and temperature optima of the enzyme were 7.0 and 60 °C, respectively. The purified enzyme liberated l ‐rhamnose from naringin, rutin, hesperidin and wine, indicating that it has biotechnological application potential for the preparation of l ‐rhamnose and other pharmaceutically important compounds from natural glycosides containing terminal α‐l ‐rhamnose and also in the enhancement of wine aroma.     

Phenolic profile and antioxidant activity of thermally processed sponge gourd (Luffa cylindrica) as studied by using high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC)

The effect of different extracting solvents (methanol, ethanol and butanol) and cooking treatments such as pressure cooking, microwave cooking and frying was studied in regards to phenolic profile and antioxidant activity of Sponge gourd (L. cylindrica). The antioxidant activity was investigated using different assays, namely, ferric thiocyanate test (FTC), thiobarbituric acid test (TBA), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and DPPH free radicals scavenging test. A densitometric HPTLC analysis was performed for the analysis of phenolic acids and flavonoids. The inconsistent effect of cooking treatments on antioxidant potential was observed. In general, frying was most potent cooking treatments to retain the maximum antioxidant capacity. Correlation studies indicated that the phenolic compounds including flavonoids were mainly responsible for ferric reducing power, free radical scavenging activity and percent inhibition activity.     

Formation of oligosaccharides in skim milk fermented with mixed dahi cultures, Lactococcus lactis ssp diacetylactis and probiotic strains of lactobacilli

Milk fermented with mixed dahi cultures NCDC167, Lactococcus lactis ssp diacetylactis NCDC60 and two probiotic strains; Lactobacillus acidophilus NCDC14 and Lb. casei NCDC19 were evaluated after fermentation (14 h) and during 8 d storage at 7 degrees C. The beta-galactosidase activity was found to increase after fermentation leading to the hydrolysis of lactose and production of glucose, galactose and oligosaccharides; that subsequently decreased during storage. The viable counts of lactococci and lactobacilli decreased during storage yet remained >106 cfu/ml after storage. The results of present study indicate that all the selected cultures have ability to produce oligosaccharides (prebiotics) due to transgalactosidal and lactose hydrolysis activities of beta-galactosidase. The cultures developed an active synbiotic formula by maintaining sufficient probiotic viable counts to exert health benefits to the consumers.