Fibrous myopathy. A rheumatic complication of drug abuse

A progressive fibrous myopathy may result from chronic intramuscular drug abuse. This complication may mimic other rheumatic disorders and early recognition may prevent disability. The patient described here presented with fixed flexion and extension contracture of hips and knees, respectively, after abusing meperidine and other agents for 3 years. Soft tissues of thighs and buttocks were "wood hard," EMG showed absence of action potentials in affected muscles, and biopsy revealed extensive replacement of muscle with dense, acellular fibrous tissue. Possible mechanisms are discussed.     

Cutaneous leishmaniasis in the Libyan Arab Republic: distribution of the disease and identity of the parasite

When mammalian sperm cells are exposed to solutions of albumin there are changes in the membranes of some species that resemble those that normally occur in the uterus prior to fertilization. We have shown that albumin molecules absorb on to the membranes of ejaculated rabbit sperm cells, and that the equilibrium binding constant, K, (1) varies inversely with the albumin concentration, (2) is independent of the sperm cell concentration in the range of 10(6)--10(7) per ml, (3) is independent of the time of exposure of the sperm cells to the albumin solution, and (4) decreases in the presence of Ca++ and Mg++ ions. An unusual aspect of the adsorption is that if the albumin concentration is given the symbol [A], K[A] is a constant in our measurements. This means that for virtually the entire range of [A] studied, the sperm cells bind albumin so that half of the available surface is coated and half remains uncoated. This situation is rather remarkable and it suggests a role that adsorption could play in the physical processes preceding fertilization. In purely physical systems, the optimum for the bridging and flocculation of particles that are coated with adsorbed macromolecular films occurs when half of the available surface is covered. The sperm cell appears to provide the optimal situation for interacting with itself or with another surface.     

Performance of isolated rat hearts perfused with helium- or nitrogen-containing, gas-saturated solutions

Effects of helium on the isolated perfused rat heart were studied employing the Langendorff technique. The perfusate consisted of Krebs-Henseleit solution saturated with one of three gas mixtures: 1) 95% O2-5% CO2, 2) 50% O2-45% He-5% CO2, and 3) 50% o2-45% N2-5% CO2. Contractile indices measured revealed the performance of hearts with the helium mixture to be equivalent to those perfused with the 95% O2-5% CO2 mixture. Those perfused with the nitrogen gas mixture exhibited contractile activity lower than that in the other two groups. It was concluded that helium exerts a direct effect on the coronary vasculature of the isolated rat heart by reducing its resistance to flow. A greater oxygen delivery to hearts perfused with the He-saturated solution compared to the N2-perfused hearts may account for the difference in performance.     

Effects of zinc and vitamin A deficient diets on the hepatic mobilization and urinary excretion of vitamin A in rats

Weanling rats were fed diets deficient in zinc (ZD), vitamin A (AD), or both (ZAD) for 3 weeks. Each then received 20 mug of 11,12-3H-retinyl acetate. Plasma retinol was monitored for radioactivity for 5 hours and urine for 6 days. Rats were killed and measurements made of plasma and liver vitamin A and plasma zinc. Plasma vitamin A was depressed but growth was not affected in AD rats compared to pair-fed controls. Radioactivity appeared most rapidly in the plasma retinol fractions of the two vitamin A-depleted groups (AD and ZAD) and was excreted most rapidly in the urine of these same groups. Zinc-deficient diets (ZD and ZAD) caused depressed plasma levels of zinc and vitamin A and growth retardation greater than in pair-fed controls. However zinc deficiency had no effect on mobilization of newly-ingested vitamin A or urinary excretion of labeled metabolites. Liver stores of vitamin A were lower for ZD rats than for controls. The data indicate that zinc deficiency is not a limiting factor in hepatic vitamin A release except as it influences growth and body demand for the vitamin. The data also suggest that newly-absorbed vitamin A is mobilized and utilized in preference to that previously stored in the liver.     

Thyroid gland in dwarf mice: a stereological study

Stereological methods were used to compare thyroids of dwarf mice and of their heterozygote littermates. In the thyroid of dwarf mice unorganized cellular masses, adipous tissue and ultimobranchial cysts are abundant. Follicles are small and their distribution function is unimodal. The number of cells per follicle is considerably lowered if compared with the normal. In control mice the distribution function of thyroid follicles is bimodal. These data show that origin of the thyroid anomaly in dwarf mice is due to a drastic diminution of cell divisions, probably resulting from the lack of growth hormone.     

Using Twitter® as source of information for dietary market research: a study on veganism and plant-based diets

Social media has experienced rapid growth in recent years and has been subjected of discussions on a wide range of topics including new lifestyles and eating habits, providing a great opportunity to obtain spontaneous consumer information. In this sense, the present work aimed to understand the perception of Twitter^® users about themes of veganism and plant-based diets. The social networking data mining methodology was applied to measure the relationship between both terms. The significant differences found were analysed using the global chi-square (χ²) test, and their sources of variation were investigated by the chi-square per cell. The results indicate that the vegan group's posts are more related to the categories of recipes, trends, criticism and negative comments about veganism, being more often citing sources when compared to the other group. The results of the plant-based diet group are more significantly related to the impacts of nutrition, physical activity and consumer health. In conclusion, Twitter^® has proved to be an interesting tool for obtaining data on (re) produced food publications on social media and their results can guide the market and the academic environment in creating new products, services and marketing strategies to answer the needs of specific consumers.     

Absorbability of Calcium From Common Beans

Absorption of calcium from white, red, and pinto beans, labeled with ⁴⁵Ca, was measured in 24 women in a three-way randomized design using a calcium load of 72 mg and milk as the referent. Fractional absorption for the three beans averaged 0.219 ± 0.047 and did not differ by type. Milk calcium absorption at the same load was more than two times higher, 0.451 ± 0.088 (P < 0.001). Oxalate content averaged 0.34%, and phytate averaged 1.7%, a stoichiometric excess relative to calcium. To evaluate the relation of phytate to reduced absorbability, labeled pinto beans were pre-treated with phytase and fed to 10 subjects. Fractional absorption rose, averaging 0.318 ± 0.071, (P <0.01 vs. untreated beans), but was significantly below that of milk. The difference was partly accounted for by phytate, with the remainder probably due to relatively high oxalate.