Isolation, culture, and plant regeneration from leaf protoplasts of Passiflora.

The family Passifloraceae contains many species exploited in the food, pharmaceutical, and ornamental plant industries. The routine culture of isolated protoplasts (naked cells) followed by reproducible plant regeneration, is crucial to the genetic improvement of Passiflora spp. by somatic cell technologies.

Spiritual assessment: developing an assessment tool.

Patients' 'spirituality' is widely considered to be a factor that nurses need to consider in their assessments. But Jeanette Power suggests ways in which assessments can be undertaken, and questions whether one assessment tool can prove adequate in measuring the significance of spirituality in the lives of individuals, all of whom may interpret its meaning differently?

Novel techniques of laser acceleration: from structures to plasmas.

Compact accelerators of the future will require enormous accelerating gradients that can only be generated using high power laser beams. Two novel techniques of laser particle acceleration are discussed. The first scheme is based on a solid-state accelerating structure powered by a short pulse CO(2) laser.

Ambulatory physician care for musculoskeletal disorders in Canada.

Objective: To examine patterns of ambulatory physician visits for musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) in Canada.

Methods: Physician claims data from 7 provinces were analyzed for ambulatory visits made by adults age >or= 15 years to primary care physicians and specialists (all medical specialists, rheumatologists, internists, all surgical specialists, orthopedic surgeons) for MSD (arthritis and related conditions, bone disorders, back disorders, ill defined symptoms) during fiscal year 1998-99. Person-visit rates and total and mean number of visits to all physicians for MSD were calculated by condition group.

Drug smuggling using clothing impregnated with cocaine.

A case study is presented where a woman travelling from South America to the Republic of Ireland was detained at Dublin Airport and articles of clothing she had in her luggage were found to be impregnated with cocaine. The study shows that the amount of powder recovered from the garments was approximately 14% of the total weight of the garments. The cocaine was in the form of cocaine hydrochloride and the purity was approximately 80%.

Pain as a mediator of sleep problems in arthritis and other chronic conditions.

Objective: To examine the associations between arthritis and insomnia symptoms and unrefreshing sleep, as well as the role of pain as a mediator of these relationships.

Methods: Analyses were conducted on the cross-sectional, nationally representative, weighted sample of adults > or =18 years of age (n = 118,336) in the 2000/2001 Canadian Community Health Survey. Four logistic regression models were estimated for each sleep problem (model 1: arthritis only; model 2: model 1 + sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle factors, and other chronic conditions; model 3: model 2 + mental health [stress, depression]; and model 4: model 3 + pain).

Efficacy of the Acorn Cardiac Support Device in animals with heart failure secondary to high rate pacing.

Aim: To utilise an ovine model of tachycardia induced progressive dilated cardiomyopathy and heart failure to investigate the efficacy of passive ventricular constraint with the Acorn cardiac support device as a heart failure treatment.

Methods: (a) Moderate heart failure was produced in 16 sheep by pacing for 3 weeks. Half were implanted and half sham implanted with the CSD.

Galantamine increases excitability of CA1 hippocampal pyramidal neurons.

Galantamine is a third generation cholinesterase inhibitor and an allosteric potentiating ligand of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. It enhances learning in aging rabbits and alleviates cognitive deficits observed in patients with Alzheimer's disease. We examined galantamine's effect on CA1 neurons from hippocampal slices of young and aging rabbits using current-clamp, intracellular recording techniques.

Atrial fibrillation impairs cardiac sympathetic response to baroreceptor unloading in congestive heart failure.

Aims: In this study, we investigated for a potential mechanism by which atrial fibrillation (AF) might convey a worse prognosis in congestive heart failure (CHF). Specifically, we aimed to determine whether AF impaired cardiac sympathetic response to baroreceptor unloading in comparison to sinus rhythm (SR) in CHF.

Methods And Results: Eighteen CHF patients (ejection fraction 30+/-2%, age 59+/- 2 years), nine in SR and nine in AF, were enrolled.

Arthritis onset and worsening self-rated health: a longitudinal evaluation of the role of pain and activity limitations.

Objective: To longitudinally explore the hypothesized role of worsening pain and development of activity limitations as mediators in the relationship between arthritis onset and worsening self-rated health (SRH).

Methods: Data was obtained from the 1998/1999 and 2000/2001 cycles of the population-based Canadian longitudinal National Population Health Survey (n = 10,859; ages > or = 18; response rate: time 1 = 81.6%, time 2 = 89.

Role of mitochondria in aspirin-induced apoptosis in human gastric epithelial cells.

This study was undertaken to determine whether the Bcl-2 family proteins and Smac are regulators of aspirin-mediated apoptosis in a gastric mucosal cell line known as AGS cells. Cells were incubated with varying concentrations of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA; 2-40 mM), with or without preincubation of caspase inhibitors. Apoptosis was characterized by Hoechst staining and DNA-histone-associated complex formation.

Depth profiling of the optical absorption coefficient in ultraviolet-degraded poly(vinylchloride) films by dual beam light profile microscopy.

Dual beam laser light profile microscopy (LPM) was applied in this work to the depth mapping of the optical absorption coefficient in photo-degraded poly(vinyl chloride) films. Depth profiles followed the absorption coefficient of a conjugated polyene photoproduct at visible wavelengths in photolyzed films of approximately 200 mum thickness. Both continuous and layered (separable laminate) films were studied.

Optimisation and use of water-in-oil MEEKC in pharmaceutical analysis.

Water-in-oil microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography has been applied to the separation of a range of acids, bases and neutrals and is especially suitable for very water-insoluble drug compounds. A number of operating parameters were evaluated. An optimised set of operating conditions allowed separation of a range of pharmaceutical formulations containing water-insoluble compounds.

Plant protoplasts: status and biotechnological perspectives.

Plant protoplasts ("naked" cells) provide a unique single cell system to underpin several aspects of modern biotechnology. Major advances in genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics have stimulated renewed interest in these osmotically fragile wall-less cells. Reliable procedures are available to isolate and culture protoplasts from a range of plants, including both monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous crops.

Effects of adsorption to aluminum salt adjuvants on the structure and stability of model protein antigens.

The effect of adsorption onto aluminum salt adjuvants on the structure and stability of three model protein antigens was studied using fluorescence and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopies, as well as isothermal titration and differential scanning calorimetric techniques. Lysozyme was preferentially adsorbed to aluminum phosphate (Adju-Phos), whereas ovalbumin and bovine serum albumin were better adsorbed to aluminum hydroxide (Alhydrogel). A linearized Langmuir adsorption isotherm was used to obtain information regarding the binding interactions between proteins and adjuvants.

Physical therapy services for older adults with at least moderately severe hip or knee arthritis in 2 Ontario counties.

Objective: Physical therapy (PT) is a recommended treatment for the management of arthritis. We investigated factors related to referral to PT services in people with hip or knee arthritis and describe characteristics of treatment received.

Methods: As part of a longitudinal study of the population aged > or = 55 years with at least moderately severe hip or knee arthritis in 2 Ontario counties (n = 1350), participants were surveyed in the third year of followup about use of PT.

Recent advances in microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography.

Microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) is an electrodriven separation technique. Separations are typically achieved using oil-in-water microemulsions, which are composed of nanometre-sized droplets of oil suspended in aqueous buffer. The oil droplets are coated in surfactant molecules and the system is stabilised by the addition of a short-chain alcohol cosurfactant.

Osteoclastic cortical erosion as a determinant of subperiosteal osteoblastic bone formation in the femoral neck's response to BMU imbalance. Effects of stance-related loading and hip fracture.

Femoral neck fractures have previously been shown to be associated with increased cortical and endocortical remodeling, reduced wall thickness of endocortical packets and cortical porosity. Femoral neck width is associated positively with history of lifetime physical activity; so we hypothesized that exposure to mechanical loading may influence the subperiosteal osteoblastic response to the weakening effect of intracortical bone resorption. In 21 femoral neck biopsies from female subjects (13 with hip fracture), there was a positive association between osteoblastic periosteal alkaline phosphatase expression shown in frozen sections and the percentage of cortical canals internal to the subperiosteal surface showing evidence of osteoclastic erosion (Goldner's stain; p =0.

Intracellular calcium store filling by an L-type calcium current in the basolateral amygdala at subthreshold membrane potentials.

The long-term changes that underlie learning and memory are activated by rises in intracellular Ca2+ that activate a number of signalling pathways and trigger changes in gene transcription. Ca2+ rises due to influx via L-type voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels (L-VDCCs) and release from intracellular Ca2+ stores have been consistently implicated in the biochemical cascades that underlie the final changes in memory formation. Here, we show that pyramidal neurones in the basolateral amygdala express an L-VDCC that is active at resting membrane potentials.

Percutaneous mitral annular reduction provides continued benefit in an ovine model of dilated cardiomyopathy.

Background: Functional mitral valve regurgitation plays a key role in the symptomatic severity and progression of heart failure. In an ovine model of dilated cardiomyopathy, we examined the chronic functional consequences of mitral regurgitation reduction using a recently developed novel percutaneous mitral annular reduction (PMAR) device.

Methods And Results: Fourteen adult sheep were paced right ventricularly at 180 to 190 bpm for 5 weeks, leading to the development of moderate mitral valve regurgitation.

Aspirin-induced mucosal cell death in human gastric cells: evidence supporting an apoptotic mechanism.

This study was undertaken to define the role that apoptosis may play in inducing cellular injury and death in gastric mucosa exposed to aspirin. Apoptosis was characterized by DNA gel electrophoresis, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling assay, and DNA-histone-associated complex formation. A human gastric cell line (AGS) was exposed to physiologic concentrations (3 to 50 mM) of aspirin.

Bone mineralization density and femoral neck fragility.

The traditional view of osteoporotic fractures is that they result from a reduction in bone mass combined with alterations in the micro-architecture. Apart from the effects of bone remodeling, the material properties of the remaining bone are thought to be unaffected. To test this, we compared the degree of matrix mineralization in femoral neck biopsies taken from cases of intracapsular hip fracture with age- and sex-matched postmortem controls.

Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of Bangladeshi Indica rices.

Morphologically normal, fertile transgenic plants were obtained by co-culturing embryogenic calli of the Bangladeshi Indica rice cultivars BR26 and Binni with Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain LBA4404 carrying the super binary vector pTOK233. Acetosyringone (100 microM) in the medium during co-culture (25-28 degrees C) and selection on hygromycin B (50 mg l(-1)) were essential for efficient transformation. Stable integration and expression of beta-glucuronidase, neomycin phosphotransferase and hygromycin phosphotransferase genes in regenerated plants were confirmed by histochemical and fluorometric assays, ELISA and Southern analysis.