Fixation of canine tendons to metal

For the purpose of developing a method to attach tendons directly to the prosthesis, canine supraspinatus tendons were attached in vitro to a metallic surface, using 3 different fixation devices: a spiked polyacetal washer (Synthes), a spiked soft tissue fixation plate (Synthes), and a newly designed Enhanced Tendon Anchor (ETA), which straddled the tendon with interlocking spikes oriented at a 20-degree angle. 2 methods were used: 1) the tendon was fixed directly to the metallic surface, or 2) a bone block containing the tendon insertion was fixed to the metallic surface. The specimens were tested for initial fixation strength in tension to failure; intact bone-muscle-tendon-bone units were used as controls. Bone block fixations were stronger than direct tendon fixations when the spiked washer or the ETA was used; this was not true of the fixation plate. The ETA was stronger than the other techniques in ultimate strength in both direct tendon fixation and bone block fixation. The soft tissue fixation plate was found to be weaker than the other techniques in bone block fixation.     

A further analysis of physiological changes in rats in the forced swim test

Rats were tested in the forced swim test in 35 or 20 cm of water or in an open field to evaluate the effects of different intensities of stress on blood gases, electrolytes, and metabolic indices, compared to nontested controls. Animals tested in the open field did not differ from controls on any measure. Immersion in deep water resulted in a greater mixed metabolic and respiratory acidemia (low pH, low bicarbonate, high pCO2), higher glucose and higher lactate levels than immersion in shallow water which in turn resulted in greater metabolic acidemia (low pH, low bicarbonate), and higher glucose and lactate levels than occurred in open field or control animals. In contrast to immersion in deep water, immersion in shallow water resulted in an initial hypocapnia followed by a hypercapnia. Immersion in deep water also resulted in higher potassium levels, lower bicarbonate and total carbon dioxide levels, and a higher anion gap than immersion in shallow water, testing in the open field, or in controls. In a second study, lactate infusion resulted in a metabolic alkalemia (increased pH and bicarbonate levels) and an increase in total carbon dioxide levels. These results indicate that test parameters from forced swim testing (e.g., water depth) can significantly affect the rat's physiological response to testing. The effects of forced swim testing are not simply due to general stress; and the physiological changes seen in conjunction with forced swim testing (e.g., acidemia) are not due to lactate alone.     

A live human parainfluenza type 3 virus vaccine is attenuated and immunogenic in healthy infants and children

The safety, infectivity, immunogenicity, and phenotypic stability of the cold-passaged (cp) candidate vaccine cp-45, a cold-adapted (ca), temperature-sensitive (ts) mutant of the JS strain of human parainfluenza virus type 3 (HPIV-3), was evaluated in 114 children 6 months to 10 years old in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial. The cp-45 vaccine was well tolerated when given intranasally to parainfluenza virus type 3 (PIV-3)-seropositive and -seronegative children. With 10(4) or 10(5) TCID50 of cp-45 vaccine, 86% of seronegative vaccines were infected, 83% of whom shed virus at a mean peak titer of 10(22) pfu/mL. Virus present in respiratory specimens retained the ts phenotype, and each of 86 PIV-3 isolates tested retained both the ca and ts phenotypes. One dose of 10(5) TCID50 of vaccine induced a serum hemagglutination-inhibiting antibody response in 81% of vaccinees; the geometric mean titer was 1:32. These studies indicate that the cp-45 HPIV-3 vaccine is satisfactorily attenuated, infectious, immunogenic, and phenotypically stable and merits further evaluation in infants and young children.     

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 evolution in vivo tracked by DNA heteroduplex mobility assays

High mutation rates and strong selective pressures imposed on human immunodeficiency viruses in vivo result in the formation of pools of genetic variants known as quasispecies. DNA heteroduplex mobility and tracking analyses were used to monitor the generation of HIV sequence diversity, to estimate quasispecies complexity, and to assess the turnover of genetic variants to approach an understanding of the relationship between viral quasispecies evolution in vivo and disease progression. Proviral DNA pools were nearly homogeneous soon after sexual transmission. The emergence and clearance of individual variants then occurred at different rates in different individuals. High quasispecies complexity was found in long-term-infected, asymptomatic individuals, while rapid CD4+ cell decline and AIDS were often, but not always, associated with lower quasispecies complexity. Proviral genetic variation was often low following in vitro culture, because of the outgrowth of one or a few variants that often became more abundant only later as proviruses in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. These studies provide insight into the dynamics of human immunodeficiency virus sequence changes in vivo and illustrate the utility of heteroduplex analysis for the study of phenomena associated with rapid genetic changes.     

Supplementation of fermented sorghum Kisra bread with legume protein isolates

Kisra is a fermented sorghum flour bread which constitutes the staple diet in Sudan. Sorghum, like other cereals, has some limitations due both to its low protein content and to limitations in some essential amino acids particularly lysine. The objective of the present work was to increase the protein content of Kisra and improve the amino acid profile, especially lysine. Protein isolates were prepared from bonavist bean and white bean by alkaline extraction. The protein isolates were used to increase the protein content of the fermented sorghum dough to about 25%. The legume protein isolate supplemented dough was fermented in the traditional method used for making Kisra. The most significant effect of Kisra supplementation was the improvement in protein content (two-fold) as well as the increase in the limiting amino acids. The results indicated a significant increase (P < 0.01) in lysine in the protein supplemented doughs and Kisras as compared to the control. The increase in lysine ranged 2–2.6 folds. Sorghum supplementation with legume protein isolates was not accompanied by signifi- cant changes in organoleptic properties of the end product.     

Diagnosis of gastrinoma by the secretin suppression test

In contrast to normal physiologic feedback suppression of serum gastrin by secretin, a paradoxic rise in the serum gastrin level has been observed in patients with gastrinoma after the administration of exogenous secretin. Exploitation of this phenomenon in the differential diagnosis of gastrinoma has been restricted by limited individual experience. Serial serum specimens for gastrin radioimmunoassay were collected from 13 patients with histologically proved gastrinoma both before and after the administration of Boot's secretin, 3 units per kilogram. Thirty-nine others with histologically proved gastrinoma who had been studied with exogenous secretin were identified in the literature. Both the peak gastrin and the integrated gastrin responses were increased after secretin administration in each of the patients in this combined series, although the magnitude of the increase was small in four patients. The absence of physiologic suppression by secretin implies neoplastic autonomy of gastrin releasing sites. While an augmented gastrin response to secretin is commonly seen in patients with gastrinoma, from a physiologic standpoint, a lack of suppression constitutes a positive secretin suppression test. Accumulated experience is consistent and suggests that this test is an important adjunt in the differential diagnosis of hypergastrinemia.     

The presence of protein-bound gamma-carboxyglutamic acid in calcium-containing renal calculi

The amino acid gamma-carboxyglutamic acid (Gla) is found in four blood-clotting proteins, in a bone protein, in kidney protein, and in the protein present in various ectopic calcifications. This paper reports the presence of Gla in the EDTA-soluble, nondialyzable proteins of calcium-containing renal calculi including calcium oxalate, hydroxyapatite, and mixed stores of apatite and struvite (MgNH4PO4). Calculi composed of pure struvite and those composed of only uric acid or cystine do not contain Gla. From calcium oxalate and hydroxyapatite stontes, a protein of about 17,000 daltons was obtained which contained about 40 residues of Gla per 1,000 amino acids. The amino acid composition of this protein had no apparent relationship to the Gla-containing bone protein or to the similarly-sized F1 fragment of prothrombin which contains about 64 residues of Gla per 1,000 amino acid residues. The Gla-rich protein in calcium-containing renal stones thus may be a different Gla-containing protein. These data as well as other studies demonstrating the presence of Gla in pathologically calcified tissues not normally containing Gla suggest that the Gla-containing proteins may be of considerable pathophysiological significance.