Effects of growth hormone in osteoporosis

The effect of chronic administration of growth hormone (GH) to osteoporotic patients was studied using the techniques of total body neutron activation analysis, whole body counting, calcium tracer kinetics, photon absorptiometry, quantitative microradiography, and urinary hydroxyproline. Two dosage schedules were utilized for six months each: 2 units daily and 0.2 w3/4 units of GH daily (where W represents body weight expressed in kg). The lower dosage (2 units) did not produce any appreciable change in the indices studied. Following the higher dose, no evidence of any anabolic effect was apparent in most patients (i.e., no increase in total body levels of Ca, Na, K, P, or Cl). Increases were noted in the urinary calcium excretion rate and in the urinary hydroxyproline excretion. Bone mineral content decreased. The bone biopsies displayed an increase in bone formation and resorption surfaces in response to treatment, but these changes were not statistically significant. It may be concluded that under the conditions of this study, GH administration did not result in an increment in skeletal mass. Several side effects that are characteristic of acromegaly were observed, including hyperglycemia, hypertension, arthralgia, and the carpal tunnel syndrome. Because of the lack of demonstrated benefit and the associated complications of therapy, GH administration does not appear to be of value in the treatment of osteoporosis.     

Nitrous oxide "analgesia": resemblance to opiate action

Nitrous oxide produced a dose-related "analgesia" in mice (median effective dose, 55 percent). The analgesia was evaluated by means of a phenylquinone writhing test. Narcotic antagonists or chronic morphinization reduced nitrous oxide analgesia. Either nitrous oxide releases an endogenous analgesic or narcotic antagonists have analgesic antagonist properties heretofore unappreciated.     

Leukocyte image analysis in the diff3 system

The diff3 System uses image processing and pattern recognition techniques to automatically analyze normal and abnormal white blood cells in a blood smear. The system consists of a spinner which creates a monolayer of cells on a glass slide, a stainer utilizing Wright's stain, the reagents to support the spinner and stainer, and an analyzer for automatic slide handling, analysis and report generation. The analyzer incorporates a wide range of image processing functions, including the generation and storage of gray scale image data, whole-field and partial-field image histogramming, and high-order binary image texture analysis and image transformation using the Golay processor (GLOPR). This paper describes the manner in which these hardware capabilities are used for white cell acquisition, scene segmentation and feature analysis. It concludes with some examples of texture extraction which illustrate the power of the Golay processor as a tool for image analysis.     

A review of varietal change in roots,tubers and bananas: consumer preferences and other drivers of adoption and implications for breeding

This review of the literature on varietal change in sub-Saharan Africa looks in detail at adoption of new varieties of bananas in Uganda, cassava in Nigeria, potato in Kenya, sweetpotato in Uganda and yams in Côte d’Ivoire. The review explored three hypotheses about drivers of varietal change. There was a strong confirmation for the hypothesis that insufficient priority given to consumer-preferred traits by breeding programmes contributes to the limited uptake of modern varieties (MVs) and low varietal turnover. Lack of evidence meant the second hypothesis of insufficient attention to understanding and responding to gender differences in consumer preferences for quality and post-harvest traits was unresolved. The evidence on the third hypothesis about the informal seed system contributing to slow uptake of MVs was mixed. In some cases, the informal system has contributed to rapid uptake of MVs, but often it appears to be a barrier with inconsistent varietal naming a major challenge.     

Comparing GC–MS,HPLC and H NMR analysis of beef longissimus dorsi tissue extracts to determine the effect of suspension technique and ageing

Beef longissimus dorsi muscle samples matured over a 21 day period were analysed using three different analytical techniques; ¹H NMR, GC–MS and HPLC. The data from the three experimental techniques were correlated with each other to determine if the results were statistically similar to each other. From our analysis we determined that the metabolites measured using ¹H NMR were statistically similar to the compounds quantified using the chromatography techniques (p < 0.001). In addition, using PCA, we were able to show that different metabolites, measured using the various analytical techniques produced very similar scores and loadings plots for all the analysis and extraction techniques undertaken across the 21 day time domain. Using a combination of these three different techniques provides a unique and holistic insight into the biochemistry behind the conversion of muscle to meat which would not be possible using any single technique alone.     

Role of volatilization in changing TBA and MTBE concentrations at MTBE-contaminated sites

Tertiary butyl alcohol (TBA) is commonly found as an impurity in methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) added to gasoline. Frequent observations of high TBA, and especially rising TBA/MTBE concentration ratios, in groundwater at gasoline spill sites are generally attributed to microbial conversion of MTBE to TBA. Typically overlooked is the role of volatilization in the attenuation of these chemicals especially in the vadose zone, which is a source of contamination to groundwater. Here we show that volatilization, particularly through remediation by vapor extraction, can substantially affect the trends in TBA and MTBE concentrations and the respective mass available to impact groundwater aquifers, through the preferential removal of more volatile compounds, including MTBE, and the apparent enrichment of less volatile compounds like TBA. We demonstrate this phenomenon through numerical simulations of remedial-enhanced volatilization. Results show increases in TBA/MTBE concentration ratios consistent with ratios observed in groundwater at gasoline spill sites. Volatilization is an important, and potentially dominant, process that can result in concentration trends similar to those typically attributed to biodegradation.