Ultrasound-guided liver biopsy in birds.

In this study, 30 pigeons (Columba livia forma domestica) and 30 quails (Coturnix coturnix) were used to evaluate the diagnostic practicability and relevance of an ultrasound-conducted liver biopsy. Their body weight ranged between 144 and 603g. Considering anatomical peculiarities, the lateral (pigeons) or ventro-median (quails) access was chosen.

Identification of glyA (encoding serine hydroxymethyltransferase) and its use together with the exporter ThrE to increase L-threonine accumulation by Corynebacterium glutamicum.

L-threonine can be made by the amino acid-producing bacterium Corynebacterium glutamicum. However, in the course of this process, some of the L-threonine is degraded to glycine. We detected an aldole cleavage activity of L-threonine in crude extracts with an activity of 2.

Cadmium-detoxification in the earthworm Enchytraeus: specific expression of a putative aldehyde dehydrogenase.

The ubiquitous earthworm Enchytraeus buchholzi is provided with a very effective, but still unknown, mechanism of Cadmium (Cd)-detoxification, a central role in which has been ascribed to the Cd-inducible crp-gene encoding a novel cysteine-rich, non-metallothionein 25 kDa protein. This study identifies another Cd-responsive gene by differential screening of a cDNA-library constructed from Cd-exposed E. buchholzi.

Earthworm gene as indicator of bioefficacious cadmium.

The expression of a novel Cd-inducible gene encoding a 25 kDa non-metallothionein cysteine-rich protein (CRP) in the earthworm Enchytraeus buchholzi is investigated with respect to Cd-specificity and Cd-sensitivity. The amount of CRP-mRNA correlates with the environmental as well as with the intra-worm Cd-concentration. Even the subtoxic concentration of 100 microgram Cd/1 induces CRP-gene expression.

Clinical and surgical aspects of double adenoma in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism.

The incidence of double parathyroid adenoma in 277 prospectively documented patients suffering from primary hyperparathyroidism was 5.4 per cent (15 patients). Patients with double adenoma were all symptomatic and had a significantly higher parathyroid hormone (PTH) level and tumour weight than those with a solitary adenoma or four-gland hyperplasia.