Effect of nutrient seed coating on the emergence of wheat and oats

A series of experiments was conducted under controlled soil moisture and temperature conditions in a growth chamber to examine the effect of a range of nutrient seed coatings on the emergence to wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Kite) and oats (Avena sativa L. cv. Blackbutt) sown in a coarse sandy loam soil. Final emergence of oats was not reduced by a coating containing 10 kg P ha^–1 (as monocalcium phosphate [MCP]) whereas the same coating reduced wheat emergence by 15%. The emergence of both wheat and oats was severely reduced by urea coatings (supplying 10 kg N ha^–1) to 33 and 13% respectively; this injury was lessened markedly by the inclusion of phenyl phosphorodiamidate (PPD) in the urea coatings at 1% (w/w) (emergence increased to 66 and 56% respectively).Low soil moisture (67% of field capacity [FC]) resulted in almost no emergence of wheat coated with urea (± bentonites of different pH). In soil at FC, the addition of bentonite of pH 5 (B5) to urea coatings permitted greater emergence (54%) than when bentonite of pH 9 (B9) was added (32%) which, in turn, permitted greater emergence than urea coating alone (10%). When PPD and bentonite (B5 or B9) were combined either singly or together with urea in seed coatings, PPD was more effective than either of the bentonites in reducing injury and masked the slight positive effect of B5.Coatings containing various combinations of N and P sources (at 3.6 and at 8 kg ha^–1 respectively) all reduced the emergence of wheat compared to raw seed (91% emergence). When applied alone, MCP was least damaging (74%); the combination of MCP with ammonium sulfate (AS) caused somewhat more injury (68%) whilst combination with calcium nitrate (CN) caused most injury (29%). In contrast, CN alone caused relatively little damage (73%) whilst AS alone was more damaging (50%). There was no significant regression found between percentage emergence and either the calculated partial salt index or the pH of the nutrient coatings. Further work is needed to examine the mechanisms of injury due to nutrient seed coatings so that safe but effective formulations can be developed.     

Prosthetic valve endocarditis: superiority of surgical valve replacement versus medical therapy only

The objective of our study was to assess the long-term outcome of patients with prosthetic valve endocarditis. We used a multicenter, prospective, observational study design. Six university teaching hospitals with high volume cardiothoracic surgery participated. Seventy-four patients with prosthetic valve endocarditis as defined by explicit, objective criteria were selected for participation. All patients were followed up prospectively for 1 year. Thirty-one percent and 69% had development of endocarditis within 60 days of valve insertion ("early") and after 60 days ("late"), respectively. The most common causes were Staphylococcus epidermidis (40%), Staphylococcus aureus (20%), streptococcal species (18%), and aerobic gram-negative bacilli (11%). Physical signs of endocarditis (new or changing murmur, stigmata, emboli) were seen in 58%. At 6 months and 12 months, mortality was 46% and 47%, respectively. Surgical replacement of the infected valve led to significantly lower mortality (23%) as compared with medical therapy alone (56%), as assessed by both univariate and multivariate analyses (p < 0.05). Improved outcome was seen for the surgical group even when controlling for severity of illness at time of diagnosis. From these findings we conclude that accurate assessment of outcome in prosthetic valve endocarditis requires long-term follow-up of at least 6 months following diagnosis. Surgical therapy warrants greater scrutiny; evaluation in controlled clinical trials is appropriate.     

Analysis of the role of inhibition in shaping responses to sinusoidally amplitude-modulated signals in the inferior colliculus

Neurons in the central nucleus of the inferior colliculus (ICc) typically respond with phase-locked discharges to low rates of sinusoidal amplitude-modulated (SAM) signals and fail to phase-lock to higher SAM rates. Previous studies have shown that comparable phase-locking to SAM occurs in the dorsal nucleus of the lateral lemniscus (DNLL) and medial superior olive (MSO) of the mustache bat. The studies of MSO and DNLL also showed that the restricted phase-locking to low SAM rates is created by the coincidence of phase-locked excitatory and inhibitory inputs that have slightly different latencies. Here we tested the hypothesis that responses to SAM in the mustache bat IC are shaped by the same mechanism that shapes responses to SAM in the two lower nuclei. We recorded responses from ICc neurons evoked by SAM signals before and during the iontophoretic application of several pharmacological agents: bicuculline, a competitive antagonist for gamma-aminobutyric acid-A (GABAA) receptors; strychnine, a competitive antagonist for glycine receptors; the GABAB receptor blocker, phaclofen, and the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor blocker, (-)-2-amino-5-phosphonopentanoic acid (AP5). The hypothesis that inhibition shapes responses to SAM signals in the ICc was not confirmed. In >90% of the ICc neurons tested, the range of SAM rates to which they phase-locked was unchanged after blocking inhibition with bicuculline, strychnine or phaclofen, applied either individually or in combination. We also considered the possibility that faster alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid (AMPA) receptors follow high temporal rates of incoming excitation but that the slower NMDA receptors could follow only lower rates. Thus at higher SAM rates, NMDA receptors might generate a sustained excitation that "smears" the phase-locked excitation generated by the AMPA receptors. The NMDA hypothesis, like the inhibition hypothesis, was also not confirmed. In none of the cells that we tested did the application of AP5 by itself, or in combination with bicuculline, cause an increase in the range of SAM rates that evoked phase-locking. These results illustrate that the same response property, phase-locking restricted to low SAM rates, is formed in more than one way in the auditory brain stem. In the MSO and DNLL, the mechanism is coincidence of phase-locked excitation and inhibition, whereas in ICc the same response feature is formed by a different but unknown mechanism.     

The mitochondrial genome integrity gene, MGI1, of Kluyveromyces lactis encodes the beta-subunit of F1-ATPase

In a previous report, we found that mutations at the mitochondrial genome integrity locus, MGI1, can convert Kluyveromyces lactis into a petite-positive yeast. In this report, we describe the isolation of the MGI1 gene and show that it encodes the beta-subunit of the mitochondrial F1-ATPase. The site of mutation in four independently isolated mgi1 alleles is at Arg435, which has changed to Gly in three cases and Ile in the fourth isolate. Disruption of MGI1 does not lead to the production of mitochondrial genome deletion mutants, indicating that an assembled F1 complex is needed for the "gain-of-function" phenotype found in mgi1 point mutants. The location of Arg435 in the beta-subunit, as deduced from the three-dimensional structure of the bovine F1-ATPase, together with mutational sites in the previously identified mgi2 and mgi5 alleles, suggests that interaction of the beta- and alpha- (MGI2) subunits with the gamma-subunit (MGI5) is likely to be affected by the mutations.     

Uncouplers can shuttle between localized energy-coupling sites during photophosphorylation by chromatophores of Rhodopseudomonas capsulata N22

Two models of the action of uncoupler molecules in inhibiting photophosphorylation in bacterial chromatophores are considered: either uncoupler molecules shuttle rapidly between energy-coupling sites, or uncoupler molecules that are bound to particular sites in the chromatophores for a time that is comparable with the turnover time of the photophosphorylation apparatus may uncouple by a co-operative "substoichiometric' mechanism. It is found that the titre of uncoupler necessary to cause complete uncoupling is lowered if the rate of photophosphorylation is initially decreased by partially restricting electron flow with an appropriate titre of antimycin A. This result indicates that uncoupler molecules shuttle rapidly between energy coupling in which the energized intermediate between electron transport and phosphorylation is delocalized over the entire chromatophore membrane and those in which it is not. If the rate of photophosphorylation is partially restricted with the covalent H+-translocating ATP synthase inhibitor dicyclohexylcarbodi-imide, the titre of uncoupler necessary to effect complete inhibition of photophosphorylation is also decreased relative to that in which the covalent H+-ATP synthase inhibitor is absent. This important result appears to be inconsistent with models of electron-transport phosphorylation in which the "energized state' of the chromatophore membrane that is set up by electron transport and utilized in photophosphorylation is delocalized over the entire chromatophore membrane.     

Clinical management of carpal tunnel syndrome: a 12-year review of outcomes

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a disorder frequently encountered by occupational health care specialists. The health care management of this disorder has involved a diverse set of clinical procedures. The present article is a review of the literature related to CTS with an emphasis on occupational-related CTS. MEDLINE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PsycLIT, and NIOSHTIC databases from 1985-1997 were searched for treatment outcome studies related to CTS. Treatments of interest included surgery, physical therapy, drug therapy, chiropractic treatment, biobehavioral interventions, and occupational rehabilitation. A systematic review of the effects of these interventions on symptoms, medical status, function, return to work, psychological well-being, and patient satisfaction was completed. Compared to other treatments, the majority of studies assessed the effects of surgical interventions. Endoscopic release was associated with higher levels of physical functioning and fewer days to return to work when compared to open release. Limited evidence indicated: 1) steroid injections and oral use of B6 were associated with pain reduction; 2) in comparison to splinting, range of motion exercises appeared to be associated with less pain and fewer days to return to work; 3) cognitive behavior therapy yielded reductions in pain, anxiety, and depression; and, 4) multidisciplinary occupational rehabilitation was associated with a higher percentage of chronic cases returning to work than usual care. Workers' compensation status was associated with increased time to return to work following surgery. Conclusions are preliminary due to the small number of well-controlled studies, variability in duration of symptoms and disability, and the broad range of reported outcome measures. While there are several opinions regarding effective treatment, there is very little scientific support for the range of options currently used in practice. Despite the emerging evidence of the multivariate nature of CTS, the majority of outcome studies have focused on single interventions directed at individual etiological factors or symptoms and functional limitations secondary to CTS.     

Effect of ischaemia and reperfusion on the intracellular concentration of taurine and glutamine in the hearts of patients undergoing coronary artery surgery

Taurine and glutamine are the most abundant intracellular free amino acids in mammalian hearts where changes in their intracellular concentrations are likely to influence a number of cellular activities. In this study we investigated the effects of ischaemia and reperfusion on the intracellular concentrations of taurine and glutamine in the hearts of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery using cold crystalloid or cold blood cardioplegic solutions. Ischaemic arrest (30 min), using cold crystalloid cardioplegic solution (n = 19), decreased the intracellular concentrations (micromol/g wet weight) of taurine (from 9.8 +/- 0.8 to 7.7 +/- 0.7, P < 0.05) and glutamine (8.7 +/- 0.5 to 7.2 +/- 0.6). After 20 min of normothermic reperfusion the fall in taurine and glutamine was maintained (7.5 +/- 0.5 and 7.4 +/- 0.7 for taurine and glutamine respectively). Myocardial ischaemic arrest with cold blood cardioplegic solution (n = 16) did not cause a significant fall in tissue taurine or glutamine. However, on reperfusion there was a marked fall in the intracellular concentrations of taurine (9.4 +/- 0.5 to 6.5 +/- 0.7) and glutamine (8.0 +/- 0.7 to 5.8 +/- 0.4). The fall in amino acids was associated with a fall in ATP and a rise in tissue lactate. This work demonstrates that irrespective of the cardioplegic solution used to arrest the heart, there is a marked fall in tissue taurine and glutamine which may influence the extent of recovery following surgery. The fall in taurine is largely due to efflux whereas changes in glutamine are due to both transport and metabolism. Ischaemia, hypothermia and changes in the transmembrane concentration gradients are the likely factors responsible for the changes in tissue amino acids.