Ferrireductase from Pichia guilliermondii: properties and regulation of activity and synthesis

Iranian Jews represent an ancient community with a very high degree of inbreeding. Although the community remained relatively isolated, it had strong ties with Babylonian Jewry in Iraq. Several genetic disorders have been reported to be frequent among Iranian Jews, in particular, corticosterone methyloxydase deficiency type II, polyglandular syndrome, and rimmed vacuole myopathy. Based on the data collected in our clinic, recessive and dominant deafness also appear to be frequent. Other diseases, such as beta-thalassemia, achromatopsia, colobomatous microphthalmia, Dubin-Johnson syndrome, and congenital myasthenia gravis, were frequent in both the Iranian and Iraqi Jewish communities. The place of origin of the families within Iran and the results of molecular studies suggest some reason(s) for the high frequency of these disorders among Iranian Jews. While the high frequency of some of the disorders, such as corticosterone methyloxydase deficiency type II, represents a founder effect, in other diseases (such as beta-thalassemia) it was secondary to heterozygote advantage.     

A microbiological validation and criteria for the efficacy of the use of CO2 and YAG lasers in the surgical treatment of cholecystitis

A considerable frequency of infected bed of the gallbladder in different forms of cholecystitis was established, the anaerobic microflora being inoculated more often. A direct dependence of the frequency of infecting the bile and gallbladder bed on the patient's age and duration of having chronic cholecystitis was shown. The sterilization and prevention of reinfection of the gallbladder bed after the removal of it can be achieved by the laser irradiation of the total bed surface inspite of the absence of clear symptoms of acute inflammation of the bladder and the surrounding tissues, and the cleansing should be performed after the manipulations on extrahepatic bile ducts are completed.     

Fire fatality study

Over a six-year period, 530 fire fatalities resulting from 398 fires were studied in the State of Maryland. The study had two major objectives: (1) to determine the specific cause of death by a detailed autopsy stud of fire victims, and (2) to determine the specific cause of fatality-producing fire by an on-the-scene fire investigation. The fire fatality study was limited to residential fires and to fatalities that occurred within 6 h of the fire. The results of the toxicological analysis show that (1) 60% of the victims had a carboxyhemoglobin value greater than or equal to 50% carbon monoxide saturation, (2) an additional 20% had elevated carboxyhemoglobin with preexisting cardiovascular disease, (3) 11% of the victims had severe burns, (4) 9% were unexplained and (5) 40% of the victims had positive blood alcohol levels with 30% of these meeting the legal definition of intoxication (blood alcohol ≥0.1%). The fire investigations confirmed that the predominant fatal scenario is the cigarette ignition of upholstered furniture or bedding. This scenario accounted for 47% of the fires and 44% of the victims. Alcohol also appears to be significant factor in this scenario.     

Effect of a Seaweed Extract on Fatty Acid Accumulation and Glycerol-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase Activity in 3T3-L1 Adipocytes

This study was to determine the effect of a seaweed Ascophyllum nodosum extract (SE) containing 220 mg g⁻¹ phlorotannins on differentiation and fatty acid accumulation in differentiating 3T3-L1 adipocytes. 3T3-L1 cells (2 × 10⁴ mL⁻¹) were seeded to 24-well plates and proliferated to reach confluence and then were treated with media containing 0, 12.5, 25, 50, 75 and 100 μg mL⁻¹ SE for 8 days. Dexamethasone, methyl-isobutylxanthine and insulin (DMI) were added to the media in the first 2 days to induce cell differentiation. On day 8 the adipocytes were harvested for measuring cellular fatty acid concentration and the activity of glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH). It was found that treatment with SE increased (P < 0.01, n = 6) cellular myristoleic acid (C14:1), palmitoleic acid (C16:1) and oleic acid (C18:1) and total monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) without significantly affecting the cell number and saturated fatty acid (SFA). Ratios of MUFA/SFA, C14:1/C14:0, C16:1/C16:0 and C18:1/C18:0 in cellular lipids increased (P < 0.05, n = 6) with the SE treatment in a dose dependent manner (P < 0.001). Treatment with 75 μg mL⁻¹ SE depressed (P < 0.05) cellular GPDH activity. The results indicate that the biological factors in the SE may be involved in differentiation and MUFA accumulation in adipocytes.     

Development of an experimental model to assess the ability of Escherichia coli O157:H7-inoculated fecal pats to mimic a super shedder within a feedlot environment

This study was conducted to develop an experimental model that could assess the ability of Escherichia coli O157:H7-inoculated fecal pats to mimic a super shedder (>10(4) CFU/g of feces) within a feedlot environment. The day before the study began, 48 steers that had been negative for E. coli O157:H7 in feces for three consecutive weeks were sorted into three treatment groups, with two replicate pens per treatment and 8 steers per pen. Steers within the pens (20.50 by 10.75 m) were exposed to control feces or feces inoculated with two levels of a mixture of five strains of nalidixic acid-resistant E. coli O157:H7 (low level, 10(2) CFU/g; high level, 10(5) CFU/g). Five 300-g fecal pats were introduced into the pens twice daily (10:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.) on days 0 through 6 and days 14 through 20. Pats were placed in the pen at random locations to mimic defecation of a steer within the pen. Fecal grab samples, hide swab samples (500-cm2 area of the rump), natural fecal pat samples (freshly voided), and rope samples (1.22-m-long manila rope) where obtained at multiple times during the 49-day trial to evaluate the spread of nalidixic acid-resistant E. coli O157:H7 throughout the feedlot environment and among penmates. Immunomagnetic separation and selective media were used to detect E. coli O157:H7. Nalidixic acid-resistant E. coli O157:H7 was detected in 13 high-level treatment fecal grab samples, 7 high-level treatment hide swab samples, 1 low-level hide swab sample, and 2 high-level rope samples. For both fecal grab and hide swab samples, the overall prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 in the high-level group was greater (P < 0.01) than that for the pooled low-level and control groups. Addition of inoculated fecal pats to pens increased transmission of E. coli O157:H7 among penmates, but cattle that acquired E. coli O157:H7 shed the bacterium for only a short time at low levels. Transmission of E. coli O157:H7 from the feces of super shedders to naive penmates may contribute to the observed transient nature of shedding of E. coli O157:H7 among feedlot cattle.     

Comparison of fecal versus rectoanal mucosal swab sampling for detecting Escherichia coli O157:H7 in experimentally inoculated cattle used in assessing bacteriophage as a mitigation strategy

This study was conducted to compare fecal grab (FEC) and rectoanal mucosal swab (RAMS) techniques as sampling methods for surveillance of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in conjunction with administration of a mitigation therapy. The study was nested within a larger experiment that investigated bacteriophage as a preharvest strategy for controlling E. coli O157:H7 in feedlot steers. Samples (FEC and RAMS) were collected from 16 of the 32 feedlot steers (control and oral bacteriophage treatment; n = 8) involved in the mitigation study. All steers had been inoculated on day 0 with 10(10) CFU of nalidixic acid-resistant E. coli O157:H7, and samples were collected on 16 occasions over the next 83 days. FEC samples were assessed by direct plating of serial dilutions in PBS, plus a 6-h enrichment and immunomagnetic separation when E. coli O157:H7 concentrations were below limits detectable by direct plating (i.e., <1 log CFU/g). All RAMS samples were assessed by enrichment and immunomagnetic separation. E. coli O157:H7 was detected more frequently (P < 0.01) by FEC than by RAMS. Overall, 213 of 256 samples were positive either by FEC or RAMS. Discrepancies between sampling techniques were observed in 63 of the 213 positive samples; FEC missed 11 samples that were positive by RAMS, and RAMS missed 52 of those positive by FEC (miss rates of 5.16 and 24.41%, respectively). Kappa values (0.36 to 0.45) indicated only fair to moderate agreement between FEC and RAMS results, but this agreement was higher at lower levels of E. coli O157:H7 shedding (later in the experimental period). Selection of sampling procedure could significantly influence the assessed merit during testing of potential strategies for controlling E. coli O157:H7 on the farm.     

Digestion, Ruminal Fermentation, Ciliate Protozoal Populations, and Milk Production from Dairy Cows Fed Cinnamaldehyde, Quebracho Condensed Tannin, or Yucca schidigera Saponin Extracts

Four ruminally cannulated lactating cows were used in a 4 × 4 Latin square design (28-d periods) to determine the effects of cinnamaldehyde (CIN; 1 g/cow per day), condensed tannins from quebracho trees (QCT, containing 70% tannins, 150 g/cow per day), and saponins from Yucca schidigera extract (YSE, containing 10% saponins; 60 g/cow per day) on digestion, ruminal fermentation characteristics, protozoal populations, and milk production. Intake of dry matter was not affected by the addition of CIN or QCT, but cows fed YSE had lesser intake than cows fed the control diet (21.8 vs. 23.2 kg/d). Apparent total-tract digestibilities of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, and acid detergent fiber were unaffected by dietary treatments. Supplementation with CIN, QTE, or YSE did not affect in situ ruminal degradation of soybean meal, grass silage, or corn grain. Ruminal pH (6.67), total volatile fatty acid concentration (135 mM), and molar proportions (mol/100 mol of total volatile fatty acid) of acetate (65.0), propionate (19.6), and butyrate (11.2) were similar among treatments. Ruminal NH₃-N concentration was not changed by the addition of CIN and YSE, but tended to decrease in cows fed QCT compared with cows fed the control diet (132 vs. 160 mg/L). Total numbers of ruminal protozoa were not changed by adding CIN, QCT, or YSE in the diet (5.85 log₁₀/mL). However, the number of Isotricha was greater in ruminal fluid of cows fed CIN than in ruminal fluid of cows fed the control diet (4.46 vs. 4.23 log₁₀/mL). Milk production (33.1 kg/d), milk fat (4.3%), and milk protein (3.5%) remained unchanged between dietary treatments. Results of this study show that under our experimental conditions, supplementing dairy cow diets with CIN, QCT, or YSE had limited effects on digestion, ruminal fermentation characteristics, and protozoal populations. The lack of effects observed in this study suggests that these antimicrobials require administration at greater doses to favorably alter rumen microbial fermentation.