The effect of formulated goats' milk on calcium bioavailability in male growing rats

BACKGROUND: There are two main proteins in milk; whey and casein. Casein contains casein phosphopeptides (CPP), which are released on digestion of the milk. These may increase calcium solubility by binding calcium in the small intestine. Thus increasing casein in the diet may help to stimulate bioavailability of calcium and increase bone density. The present study tested this hypothesis in growing male rats fed diets containing three different concentrations of casein from goat milk. RESULTS: Rats fed the diet containing no casein had significantly lower calcium absorption when compared to rats fed the diets that contained 80% and 57% of goat milk protein as casein; however, no significant difference was observed between rats fed diets with 80% and 57% casein. The varying amounts of casein had no effect on mineral uptake or retention in the femur. Biomechanical testing and mineral analysis of the femurs showed no differences between diet groups. The mechanism to explain this lack of retention remains unclear. CONCLUSION: The diets containing 80% and 57% of goat milk protein as casein delivered increased calcium absorption compared to the diet containing no casein, suggesting a minimum level of casein is needed to optimize calcium absorption from goat milk. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

Management of invasive candidal infections: results of a prospective, randomized, multicenter study of fluconazole versus amphotericin B and review of the literature

We conducted a prospective, randomized, multicenter study comparing fluconazole and amphotericin B in the treatment of candidal infections. One hundred and sixty-four patients (60 of whom were neutropenic) with documented or presumed invasive candidiasis were assigned to treatment with either fluconazole (400 mg daily) or amphotericin B (25-50 mg daily; 0.67 mg/kg daily for neutropenic patients). Clinical response and survival rates were assessed at 48 hours, after 5 days, and at the end of therapy. Overall response rates to fluconazole and amphotericin B were similar (66% and 64%, respectively). There were no differences in response as related to site of infection, pathogen, time to defervescence, relapse, or survival rates between the groups. Adverse effects were more frequent with amphotericin B (35%) than with fluconazole (5%; P < .0001). The results of this study confirm that fluconazole is as effective as but better tolerated than amphotericin B in the treatment of candidal infections.     

Introduction: personality psychology and the case study

This article introduces the Journal of Personality's special issue on the life voyage of Dodge Morgan who, in 1986 at the age of 54, sailed solo around the world in 150 days. Before the voyage, Morgan agreed to participate in an intensive psychological case study, the data for which provide the focus for this special issue. William Nasby and Nancy W. Read have organized the vast array of psychological data obtained from Morgan and produced a complex and illuminating interpretation of his life, drawing liberally from the five-factor trait model of personality and the life-story model of adult identity. This introduction provides a historical and intellectual context for Nasby and Read's study by considering the various ways in which personality psychologists have employed the case study in research and examining the many conceptual and methodological problems and possibilities that arise in the psychological study of the single case.     

Absence of chemical shift artifact on coronal T1-weighted MR images: an undescribed finding seen in osteochondral injuries of the knee in 12 patients

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is to report a previously undescribed MR imaging finding that is associated with osteochondral injuries of the knee. CONCLUSION: In adult patients, segmental absence of chemical shift artifact in the subchondral femoral condyles on T1-weighted MR images is associated with osteochondral fractures.     

The protective effect of L-arginine on ischemia-reperfusion injury in rat skin flaps

The objective of this study was to examine whether the administration of L-arginine, a precursor of nitric oxide and substrate of nitric oxide synthase, prior to reperfusion could lead to decrease in neutrophil-mediated tissue injury and improved flap survival. Epigastric island skin flaps were elevated in 70 rats and rendered ischemic. Thirty minutes prior to reperfusion, the rats were treated with intraperitoneal saline (n = 15), L-arginine (n = 15), D-arginine (n = 15), or N omega-nitro-L-arginine methylester plus L-arginine in equimolar amounts (n = 15). Flap survival at 7 days and neutrophil counts at 24 hours were evaluated. Flap necrosis as expected in the sham group of animals (n = 10) was 0.0 percent, while the control (saline-treated) animals had 59.6 percent necrosis. Animals treated with L-arginine demonstrated a significant decrease in flap necrosis to 12.7 percent. This protective effect was almost completely negated by N omega-nitrol-L-arginine methylester, which significantly increased flap necrosis to 49.3 percent and was much less pronounced with D-arginine (28.6 percent). Neutrophil counts were significantly decreased in flaps from L-arginine-treated and sham animals versus both saline and N omega-nitro-L-arginine methylester-treated groups. We conclude that administration of L-arginine prior to reperfusion can significantly reduce the extent of flap necrosis and flap neutrophil counts due to ischemia-reperfusion injury. This protective effect is completely negated by nitric oxide synthase inhibition. Since L-arginine reduces the number of neutrophils within the flap and the extent of flap necrosis only in the presence of active nitric oxide synthase, we hypothesize that this protective effect of L-arginine on ischemia-reperfusion injury is secondary to a nitric oxide-mediated suppression of neutrophil-mediated injury.     

Characterization of ATM expression, localization, and associated DNA-dependent protein kinase activity

Ataxia telangiectasia-mutated gene (ATM) is a 350-kDa protein whose function is defective in the autosomal recessive disorder ataxia telangiectasia (AT). Affinity-purified polyclonal antibodies were used to characterize ATM. Steady-state levels of ATM protein varied from undetectable in most AT cell lines to highly expressed in HeLa, U2OS, and normal human fibroblasts. Subcellular fractionation showed that ATM is predominantly a nuclear protein associated with the chromatin and nuclear matrix. ATM protein levels remained constant throughout the cell cycle and did not change in response to serum stimulation. Ionizing radiation had no significant effect on either the expression or distribution of ATM. ATM immunoprecipitates from HeLa cells and the human DNA-dependent protein kinase null cell line MO59J, but not from AT cells, phosphorylated the 34-kDa subunit of replication protein A (RPA) complex in a single-stranded and linear double-stranded DNA-dependent manner. Phosphorylation of p34 RPA occurred on threonine and serine residues. Phosphopeptide analysis demonstrates that the ATM-associated protein kinase phosphorylates p34 RPA on similar residues observed in vivo. The DNA-dependent protein kinase activity observed for ATM immunocomplexes, along with the association of ATM with chromatin, suggests that DNA damage can induce ATM or a stably associated protein kinase to phosphorylate proteins in the DNA damage response pathway.     

Lateral inhibitory interactions in the intermediate layers of the monkey superior colliculus

The intermediate layers of the monkey superior colliculus (SC) contain neurons the discharges of which are modulated by visual fixation and saccadic eye movements. Fixation neurons, located in the rostral pole of the SC, discharge action potentials tonically during visual fixation and pause for most saccades. Saccade neurons, located throughout the remainder of the intermediate layers of the SC, discharge action potentials for saccades to a restricted region of the visual field. We defined the fixation zone as that region of the rostral SC containing fixation neurons and the saccade zone as the remainder of the SC. It recently has been hypothesized that a network of local inhibitory interneurons may help shape the reciprocal discharge pattern of fixation and saccade neurons. To test this hypothesis, we combined extracellular recording and microstimulation techniques in awake monkeys trained to perform oculomotor paradigms that enabled us to classify collicular fixation and saccade neurons. Microstimulation was used to electrically activate the fixation and saccade zones of the ipsilateral and contralateral SC to test for inhibitory and excitatory inputs onto fixation and saccade neurons. Saccade neurons were inhibited at short latencies following electrical stimulation of either the ipsilateral (1-5 ms) or contralateral (2-7 ms) fixation or saccade zones. Fixation neurons were inhibited 1-4 ms after electrical stimulation of the ipsilateral saccade zone. Stimulation of the contralateral saccade zone led to much weaker inhibition of fixation neurons. Stimulation of the contralateral fixation zone led to short-latency (1-2 ms) excitation of fixation neurons. Only a small percentage of saccade and fixation neurons were activated by the electrical stimulation (latency: 0.5-2.0 ms). These responses were confirmed as either orthodromic or antidromic responses using collision testing. The results suggest that a local network of inhibitory interneurons may help shape not only the reciprocal discharge pattern of fixation and saccade neurons but also permit lateral interactions between all regions of the ipsilateral and contralateral SC. These interactions therefore may be critical for maintaining stable visual fixation, suppressing unwanted saccades, and initiating saccadic eye movements to targets of interest.