Primary sternal osteomyelitis presenting as a pleural-based mass

Osteomyelitis in uncommon locations can present unusual diagnostic difficulties. A patient with primary sternal osteomyelitis who presented with pain over the right supraclavicular area and a radiologic picture of a pleural-based right upper lung mass is discussed. A triple-phase bone scan was consistent with the diagnosis, and a needle aspiration of the mass revealed a staphylococcal abscess. Percutaneous drainage of the contiguous abscess and a prolonged course of antibiotic therapy cured the infection.     

Induction of a Citrus gene highly homologous to plant and yeast thi genes involved in thiamine biosynthesis during natural and ethylene-induced fruit maturation

In response to a light pulse, hamsters normally generate phase advances that are positively correlated with the length of their circadian period (tau). To determine whether this is a general property of the phase-shifting oscillator, the present study looked for a correlation between tau and phase-advance size not only for photic but also for nonphotic shifts. Syrian hamsters, Mesocricetus auratus, were entrained to light-dark cycles with a periodicity of either 23.67 h (the short-T group) or 24.33 h (the long-T group); after release into constant darkness, the short-T and long-T groups exhibited short and long taus, respectively. These animals were then induced to run in a novel exercise wheel for 3 h, starting at circadian time (CT) 7, or were exposed to 20 min of light, starting at CT 19. The size of the ensuing phase advances did not differ between the short-T and long-T groups not only for the nonphotic stimulus but also for the photic one, an unexpected result for the photic stimulus. Within the short-T groups for photic and nonphotic stimuli, the shorter tau was, the larger the phase advances were, another unexpected relationship. Another experiment where phase delays were induced by light pulses at CT 15 also failed to yield significant differences between the short-T and long-T groups. Independently of their after-effects on tau, T cycles may influence the capacity of the pacemaker to phase shift in ways that are still unclear but at least similar for both photic and nonphotic shifts.     

Ground-based remote profiling in atmospheric studies: an overview

Over the last 25 years, ground-based remote profiling has found increasing applications in atmospheric studies where its high vertical and temporal resolution and extended vertical coverage are giving scientists a clearer understanding of atmospheric processes in the troposphere. The authors describe the current status of techniques for vertical profiling of mean wind speeds, temperature, and humidity, and discuss options for combining them     

The evaluation in the Ames test of the mutagenicity of tetrahydro-beta-carboline-3-carboxylic acids from smoked foods.

This paper reports the evaluation of five tetrahydro-beta-carboline carboxylic acids, formed from the interaction of woodsmoke carbonyls and tryptophan, for mutagenicity in the Ames test. Three of the compounds tested have been detected recently in smoked foods at levels in the micrograms/kg or mg/kg range. None of the compounds induced mutagenicity in TA 97, TA 98 or TA 100 strains of Salmonella typhimurium either with or without prior activation. However, tetrahydro-beta-carboline-3-carboxylic acid, and to a lesser extent 1-methyl-tetrahydro-beta-carboline-3-carboxylic acid were toxic to the strains of Salmonella typhimurium used. The inability of these beta-carbolines to induce mutation contrasts markedly with the mutagenicity of some beta-carbolines found in grilled meat products.