Branched-chain amino acids for growing cattle limit-fed soybean hull-based diets.

Five ruminally cannulated Holstein steers (176 kg) were used in a 5 x 5 Latin square to evaluate the effects of branched-chain AA supplementation on N retention and plasma AA concentrations of steers. Steers were limit-fed (3.0 kg/d of DM) twice daily diets low in ruminally undegradable protein (72% soybean hulls, 19% alfalfa, 5% molasses, and 4% vitamins and minerals).

The anti-tumoral activity of neoadjuvant intra-arterial 131I-lipiodol treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma: a pilot study.

Background: The high recurrence rate after curative resection has stimulated the development of adjuvant treatment modalities, such as local embolization. This study was set up to investigate the anti-tumoral potential of neo-adjuvant 131I-lipiodol administration before liver transplantation.

Methods: In this preliminary, prospective study we treated 10 consecutive HCC patients by intra-arterial injection of 131I-lipiodol into the hepatic artery followed by liver transplantation within 1-9 months (mean 3.

Biomarkers of genotoxicity of urban air pollution. Overview and descriptive data from a molecular epidemiology study on populations exposed to moderate-to-low levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: the AULIS project.

Epidemiologic studies indicate that prolonged exposure to high pollution levels is associated with increased risk of cancer, especially lung cancer. However, under conditions of moderate or low air pollution, epidemiologic evidence does not permit reliable conclusions. Biomarker-based population studies may serve as complementary tools providing a better understanding of the relative contribution of ambient atmospheric pollution to the overall genotoxic burden suffered by city dwellers.

Psychometric evaluation of the 12-item short-form health survey (SF-12) in osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis clinical trials.

Background: The psychometric properties of the 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12), a subset of the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), have been tested in the general population and certain disease states.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the SF-12 as a generic measure of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patient populations in clinical trials.

Methods: Data were aggregated from 5 clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in OA (n = 651) and RA (n = 693) patients.

Differential long-term effects of tannic acid on adenyl cyclase activity and lipolysis in rat adipocytes.

Plants elaborate a variety of secondary metabolites such as hydrolysable tannins which are relatively abundant in fruits, vegetables and beverages in the human diet. We have studied the in vivo long-term effect consumption of tannic acid-supplemented drinking water (0.05%, w/v) on the rat adipocyte adenyl cyclase system and on lipolysis.

XPD exon 10 and 23 polymorphisms and DNA repair in human skin in situ.

Forty-four Finnish volunteers who were previously studied with regard to the repair rate of UV-specific cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers in the skin were genotyped for XPD polymorphisms at codons 312 (exon 10 G-->A, Asp-->Asn) and 751 (exon 23 A-->C, Lys-->Gln). The repair rate was measured at 24 h for two different cyclobutane dimers. The data did not show consistent XPD genotype-specific differences in DNA repair rates among all subjects.

Effects of supplemental alfalfa hay on the digestion of soybean hull-based diets by cattle.

We evaluated the optimal level of alfalfa inclusion in soybean hull-based diets. In Exp. 1, 20 Holstein steers (319 kg of BW) were used in a complete block design.

Effect of orthographic and phonological similarity on false recognition of drug names.

Health professionals and patients tend to confuse drugs with similar names, thereby threatening patient safety. One out of four medication errors voluntarily reported in the US involves this type of drug name confusion. Cognitive psychology offers insight into how and why these errors occur.

Atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS): clinical-cytological significance.

The objective of this paper is to compare histologic results of microbiopsies and/or endocervical curettage obtained following the older cytological "atypical" diagnosis and the newer Bethesda ASCUS terminology. We reviewed a series of atypical smears (n = 245) from December 1991 to February 1995 and ASCUS cases (n = 120) from March 1995 to May 1996, when some atypias were renamed ASCUS according to the Bethesda classification. These patients were examined by colposcopy for cervical lesion and clinical evaluation.

Particular biochemical profiles for enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 isolates on the ID 32E system.

The ability of the ID 32E system to identify and discriminate 74 Escherichia coli O157 isolates among 106 E. coli non-O157 isolates was evaluated. The results showed atypical biochemical reactions but accurate identification at the species level and no unique biochemical profile numbers for E.

Differential interactions between GSTM1 and NAT2 genotypes on aromatic DNA adduct level and HPRT mutant frequency in lung cancer patients and population controls.

We have studied the influence of GSTM1 and NAT2 genotypes on aromatic DNA adduct level (AL) and HPRT mutant frequency (MF) in smokers with newly diagnosed lung cancer and matched population controls. AL was analyzed in relation to genotypes in 170 cases and 144 controls (113 current/recent smokers and 201 former/never smokers), and MF in 157 cases and 152 controls (155 ever smokers and 154 never smokers). Both genotypes exhibited the a priori expected effects on AL and MF among controls only, especially among smoking controls [significantly lower pack-years (a pack-year is defined as 1 pack of cigarettes/day for 1 year) than among cases].

Lack of evidence of a specific role for C4A gene deficiency in determining disease susceptibility among C4-deficient patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of C4 and C2 deficiencies and to characterize genomic alterations in C4 genes in a large cohort of 125 unselected patients with SLE. We determined the protein concentration and functional activity of C2 and C4, as well as the C4 phenotype. C4 genotyping included Taq 1 restricted fragment lengh polymorphism (RFLP) analysis and polymerase chain reaction using sequence-specific primers (SSP-PCR).

Chromosomal instability in haemopoietic cells of the foetus, mother and offspring after in utero irradiation of the CBA/Ca mouse.

Purpose: The present study was conducted to test the susceptibility of the mouse foetus to transmit chromosomal instability to the haemopoietic stem cells of offspring after in utero X-or plutonium-239-irradiation.

Materials And Methods: Pregnant CBA/Ca-mice were injected with 80 kBq/kg 239Pu or X-irradiated with 1 Gy X-rays on days 13 or 14 of gestation. CFU-A cultures were grown from haemopoietic stem cells sampled from foetal liver and the bone marrow from the offspring and from the mother.

Prevalence and severity of feeding and nutritional problems in children with neurological impairment: Oxford Feeding Study.

The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence and severity of feeding and nutritional problems in children with neurological impairment within a defined geographical area. In a cross-sectional study, a validated questionnaire was sent to 377 parents of children (aged 4 to 13 years) on the Oxford Register of Early Childhood Impairments with oromotor dysfunction. The return rate was 72%.

Arthritis care: comparison of physicians' and patients' views.

Objectives: To understand the expressed needs of physicians and their patients with respect to arthritis care, identify areas of agreement and disagreement in doctor and patient views of arthritis care, and to determine the types of educational programs needed.

Methods: Focus group interviews were conducted with 14 physicians of varied specialties and 12 patients with arthritis from Oxford Health Plans. Interviews were audiotaped and transcribed.

Hydrogen peroxide induced mutations at the HPRT locus in primary human T-lymphocytes.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by intracellular metabolism are believed to contribute to spontaneous mutagenesis in somatic cells. Hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) has been shown to induce a variety of genetic alterations, probably by the generation of hydroxyl radicals via the Fenton reaction. The kinds of DNA sequence alterations caused by H(2)O(2) in prokaryotic cells have been studied extensively, whereas relatively little is known about the mutational spectrum induced by H(2)O(2) in mammalian genes.

Rigidified calixarenes bearing four carbamoylmethylphosphineoxide or carbamoylmethylphosphoryl functions at the wide rim.

Conformationally rigidified tetraCMPO derivatives have been prepared from calix[4]arene bis(crown ether) 4a in which adjacent oxygens are bridged at the narrow rim by two diethylene glycol links. Acylation of the tetraamine 4c with the CMPO-active ester 5b gave the tetraphosphine oxide 6a, while the tetraphosphinate 6b and the tetraphosphonate 6c were obtained by Arbuzov reaction of tetrabromoacetamido derivative 7 with PhP(OEt)2 or P(OEt)3. The extraction ability of these CMPO derivatives was checked for selected lanthanides and actinides and compared with the analogous compounds 1b, 10b and 10d derived from calix[4]arene tetrapentyl ether.

Identification of in vivo mutations in exon 5 of the human HPRT gene in a set of pooled T-cell mutants by constant denaturant capillary electrophoresis (CDCE).

Constant denaturant capillary electrophoresis (CDCE), based on co-operative DNA melting equilibria, has the resolving power to separate single nucleotide mutants from wild type sequences. We used this technique to study mutations in a 70-bp isomelting domain of the human HPRT gene, which included the entire exon 5 and its flanking splice donor and acceptor sites. Pooled samples of 6-thioguanine selected T-cell clones from 51 healthy donors representing a total of approximately 1000 individual HPRT mutants were analysed.

Endocervical curettage in cervical evaluation.

Objective: To evaluate the role of endocervical curettage (ECC) in the diagnosis of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia.

Materials And Methods: Retrospectively we studied 581 patients who had ECC, 43 (7.4%) had cervical intraepithelial lesions (CIN) 1 ECC, 23 (4.

Mutational spectra at the hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) locus in T-lymphocytes of nonsmoking and smoking lung cancer patients.

Molecular analysis of mutations at the hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) locus in peripheral blood T-lymphocytes can provide information on mechanisms of somatic in vivo mutation in populations exposed to exogenous carcinogens and in individuals with inherent susceptibility to cancer and other diseases. To study possible mutational changes associated with smoking as a risk factor for lung cancer, we analyzed HPRT mutations in T-cells of newly diagnosed, nonsmoking and smoking lung cancer patients before treatment. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and DNA sequencing methods were used to identify 146 independent mutations, 73 each from 32 nonsmoking and 31 smoking cases.

Differential effects of permanent and rotating shifts on self-report sleep length: a meta-analytic review.

Study Objectives: The current study used the meta-analytic technique to quantitatively assess the effects of permanent and rotating shift-work schedules on sleep length.

Design: A meta-analysis was completed on 36 primary studies resulting in 165 effect sizes. Effect sizes comparing shift-workers to a permanent day shift control group were calculated for permanent evening shifts, permanent night shifts, and morning, evening, and night shifts worked as part of slowly and rapidly rotating shift systems.