Metabolism of dietary sulphate: absorption and excretion in humans.

Dietary sulphate may affect colonic pathophysiology because sulphate availability determines in part the activity of sulphate reducing bacteria in the bowel. The main product of sulphate reducing bacterial oxidative metabolism, hydrogen sulphide, is potentially toxic. Although it is generally believed that the sulphate ion is poorly absorbed, there are no available data on how much sulphate reaches the colon nor on the relative contributions from diet and endogenous sources.

mRNA transcripts initiating within the human immunoglobulin mu heavy chain enhancer region contain a non-translatable exon and are extremely heterogeneous at the 5' end.

Transcription events are thought to precede gene rearrangement in the immunoglobulin (Ig) loci and may be the mechanism by which the various gene regions are made accessible for recombination. If this is the case, identification and characterization of transcripts from the Ig loci should permit a better understanding of the gene rearrangement process. We have isolated a 2.

Prevalence and treatment of giardiasis in chronic diarrhoea and malnutrition.

To determine the prevalence of giardiasis in Gambian children with chronic diarrhoea and to assess their response to treatment, 31 children with chronic diarrhoea and malnutrition were investigated for giardiasis using a combination of serology (specific antigiardia IgM antibody) and microscopy of faeces and jejunal biopsy specimens. Fourteen of 31 children with chronic diarrhoea had giardiasis compared with only four of 33 healthy age and sex matched control children. Four of 15 malnourished children without diarrhoea were giardia positive.

Chronic diarrhea and malnutrition--histology of the small intestinal lesion.

The purpose of this study was to quantitate the jejunal lesion in Gambian children with chronic diarrhea-malnutrition syndrome. There were 40 subjects (20 male, 20 female) with a mean age of 19.7 months.

Artificial nutrition support for patients in the Cambridge Health District.

This paper describes the results of a one-year prospective survey of patients who received artificial enteral and parenteral nutritional support at home and in the hospitals of the Cambridge Health District. Enteral tube feeding accounted for most of the artificial nutritional support provided both in hospital and in the community. The findings of the study suggest that nutritional support is an important adjunct to the treatment of serious clinical disorders, and that the care of such patients can be improved by the establishment of a multidisciplinary enteral and parenteral nutrition team.

The effect of dietary nitrate on nitrate and nitrite excretion in man.

Dietary nitrate and nitrite may affect colonic pathophysiology. These anions influence fermentation, and nitrite has been shown to augment sodium absorption by the colon and participate in the formation of N-nitroso compounds. There is, however, no general agreement as to how much dietary nitrate and nitrite reaches the colon.

Helicobacter pylori in Gambian children with chronic diarrhoea and malnutrition.

Infection with Helicobacter pylori (formerly Campylobacter pylori) was studied by measuring antibody titres to H pylori in Gambian children. Serological evidence of infection was found in 12 of 82 (15%) infants aged less than 20 months; this increased to 62 of 135 (46%) in those aged 40-60 months. Positive serology was found in 41 of 77 (53%) infants with chronic diarrhoea and malnutrition (mean age 19 months, range 5-36) compared with 18 of 70 (26%) of age matched healthy controls and nearly a quarter (12/49, 24%) of age matched undernourished (marasmic) subjects.

Conserved region 3 of the adenovirus type 5 DNA-binding protein is important for interaction with single-stranded DNA.

The adenovirus-encoded single-stranded DNA-binding protein (DBP) functions in viral DNA replication and several aspects of RNA metabolism. Previous studies (G. A.

Biochemical analysis of adenovirus type 5 DNA-binding protein mutants.

We previously reported the isolation and functional characterization of seven adenovirus type 5 (Ad5) DNA-binding protein (DBP) point mutants (Quinn, C. O., and Kitchingman, G.

Endoscopic capsule biopsy of the small intestine.

In this article, we describe a technique for obtaining jejunal biopsies endoscopically using an infant Crosby or Watson capsule. The method is quick, safe, and may be particularly useful if radiological screening is unavailable.

51Cr-EDTA/14C-mannitol intestinal permeability test. Clinical use in screening for coeliac disease.

An intestinal permeability test with a combination of 51Cr-EDTA and 14C-mannitol was performed under routine conditions on 176 occasions in 161 adult patients. Of these patients, 116 were under investigation for possible coeliac disease, 33 were known to have coeliac disease, and 12 had inflammatory bowel disease. Small-bowel biopsies were performed in 61 patients.

The relative merits of acute phase proteins in the recognition of inflammatory conditions.

A study has been undertaken on the relative merits of a variety of acute phase proteins in the assessment of patients with inflammatory conditions. Five acute phase proteins (alpha 1-antitrypsin, alpha 1-antichymotrypsin, orosomucoid, haptoglobin and C-reactive protein) and the ESR were measured in 171 patients presenting to the gastroenterologists (gastrointestinal disease: 130, other disease: 41). Assessment of the sensitivity and specificity of the proteins and the ESR showed alpha 1-antichymotrypsin to be the most sensitive test (95%) with specificity (81%) similar to the other acute phase proteins measured.

Comparative study of fracture gap motion in external fixation.

Different external fixators demonstrated different motion patterns at the fracture site in AP bending. This indicates that fracture gap motion patterns cannot be predicted from a single value of overall frame stiffness. This type of information may be useful in examining existing theories of fracture healing in response to different types of fracture gap motion.

Effect of total starvation and very low calorie diets on intestinal permeability in man.

1. The effect of total starvation for 4-5 days on the intestinal uptake and urinary excretion of markers from an orally administered mixture of mannitol (5g), [14C]mannitol (0.5 microCi), lactulose (10 g) and 51Cr-labelled ethylenediaminetetra-acetate (51Cr-EDTA) (30 microCi), was assessed in five lean (group 1) and four obese (group 2) subjects.

Evaluation of mannitol, lactulose and 51Cr-labelled ethylenediaminetetra-acetate as markers of intestinal permeability in man.

1. Factors affecting the intestinal uptake and urinary excretion of mannitol, lactulose and 51Cr-labelled ethylenediaminetetra-acetate (51Cr-EDTA), have been investigated in normal subjects and three patients with ileostomy. 2.

Factors affecting the integrity of the intestinal mucosa of Gambian children.

The interrelationship between diarrhea, malnutrition, and small bowel integrity was investigated prospectively in 68 Gambian infants aged 0-18 mo. Profiles of growth and morbidity were recorded for 8 mo. Each month intestinal permeability was measured by the differential uptake of orally administered lactulose (L) and mannitol (M).

Radionuclide tests for the assessment of intestinal permeability.

14C labelled-D-mannitol and aquo (ethylene-diaminetriacetoacetic acid) 51chromium (III) (51Cr EDTA) have been evaluated as markers of intestinal permeability in twenty-four healthy control subjects, sixteen patients with recently diagnosed coeliac disease and twenty subjects with coeliac disease in remission on a gluten-free diet. The percentage excretion of 14C mannitol in urine collected for 6 h was significantly less in patients with coeliac disease (mean 6.7%) than controls (mean 13.

The energy cost of triglyceride-fatty acid recycling in nonobese subjects after an overnight fast and four days of starvation.

The basal blood glycerol concentration was determined and the rate of glycerol turnover was assessed by a nonradioactive infusion technique in six healthy nonobese adults after an overnight fast and again after four days of total starvation. Simultaneously, estimates of total energy expenditure and net fat oxidation were made from measurements of oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide production, and urinary nitrogen excretion. The data were combined to provide quantitative estimates of the activity of the triglyceride/fatty acid cycle.