Temperature-dependent developmental variation in lobster muscle myosin heavy chain isoforms.

The temperature- and developmental-regulation of myosin heavy chain (MyHC) expression and primary sequence was investigated in the abdominal musculature of developing Homarus gammarus larvae acclimated to 10, 14 and 19+/-1 degrees C. MyHC loop 1 (ATP binding) and loop 2 (actin binding) regions were sequenced and compared. The deduced amino acid sequence of MyHC loop 1 showed a development-related increase in net charge from +1 to +2 between larval stages 1 and 2, which was not temperature-dependent.

Types and epidemiology of tendinopathy.

During the last few decades, the role of sports and physical activity has become more and more important in all modern communities. The risk of tendon injury has thus increased, and prevention has become important. Epidemiologic studies are important when planning prevention programs for tendon injuries.

Measuring transport of water across the peritoneal membrane.

Introduction: Mechanisms of water flow across the peritoneal membrane include diffusion, convection, and reabsorption.

Objectives: To understand these processes more clearly we have developed a method to measure transport of water across the peritoneal membrane.

Methods: An artificial gradient of deuterated water (HDO) between blood and dialysate compartments was created in five subjects who took 0.

Early weightbearing and ankle mobilization after open repair of acute midsubstance tears of the achilles tendon.

Purpose: To study the effects of early weightbearing and ankle mobilization after acute repair of ruptured Achilles tendon.

Study Design: Comparative longitudinal study.

Methods: Patients in group 1 were postoperatively immobilized with their ankle in gravity equinus, they were encouraged to bear weight on the operated limb as soon as possible to full weightbearing, and they received a single cast change at 2 weeks, with the ankle accommodated in an anterior splint in a plantigrade position, allowing the ankle to be plantar flexed fully but not dorsiflexed above neutral.

Pulmonary toxicity of cardiac drugs.

Pulmonary damage caused by the undesired effects of cardiac drugs is being increasingly recognized. With the symptoms of breathlessness, wheeze, cough and hemoptysis common to both cardiac and respiratory diseases, an adverse pulmonary reaction to a cardiac drug may be mistakenly attributed to deterioration of cardiac status. This is especially true if the onset of symptoms are subacute or chronic.

Articular cartilage lesions in the symptomatic anterior cruciate ligament-deficient knee.

Purpose: The goal of the study was to report the prevalence of the lesions of the articular cartilage of the femoral condyles and tibial plateau in patients with a symptomatic anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)-deficient knee undergoing day-case arthroscopy.

Type Of Study: Case series study.

Methods: We studied 378 skeletally mature patients (average age, 27.

Factors associated with nonmelanoma skin cancer following renal transplantation in Queensland, Australia.

Background: Caucasian renal transplant recipients living in Queensland, Australia, have the highest risk of nonmelanoma skin cancer in the world.

Objective: To determine clinical and environmental factors associated with posttransplantation nonmelanoma skin cancer in Queensland.

Methods: 361 Caucasian adult recipients completed a structured interview and full skin examination.

Viruses and sudden infant death.

Viral respiratory infections are the most likely trigger for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). SIDS cases commonly have evidence of respiratory tract inflammation, a preceding history of symptoms of minor illness and occur in winter peaks coinciding with respiratory viral epidemics. Respiratory infections are a common cause for infants presenting with sudden events, involving apnoea and hypoxaemia and there are physiological mechanisms by which infants may develop sudden and severe, potentially life-threatening hypoxaemia.

Investigation of changes in optical attenuation of bone and neuronal cells in organ culture or three-dimensional constructs in vitro with optical coherence tomography: relevance to cytochrome oxidase monitoring.

Changes in optical attenuation, relevant to cytochrome oxidase, of the rat bone periosteal tissue in explanted culture and human neuronal cells in three-dimensional agarose constructs have been monitored by the use of optical coherence tomography (OCT), with potential applications in tissue engineering and diagnosis. A superluminescent diode (SLD) with a peak emission wavelength (lambda = 820 nm) that is the near-infrared absorption band of the oxidized form of CytOx was employed. The attenuation coefficient was obtained from the depth-resolved reflectance profiles of liquid phantoms (naphthol green B with intralipid), explant culture (periosteum of calvaria from rats) and cells in 3D agarose constructs.

Total intravenous anaesthesia: is it worth the cost?

Total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA) has many advocates and offers potential benefits, yet the direct costs of this technique are commonly greater than those of inhalation-based alternatives. Although many advantages are claimed for TIVA, in reality all modern anaesthetics are effective and have good safety and tolerability profiles, rendering these differences of less importance now than was perhaps once the case. The majority of direct comparisons between inhaled and intravenous anaesthetics have failed to demonstrate significant differences in recovery times, yet they have consistently shown greater direct costs associated with intravenous propofol anaesthesia.

Long-term modification of spasticity.

This review of the long-term management of spasticity addresses some of the clinical dilemmas in the management of patients with chronic disability. As it is important for clinicians to have clear objectives in patient treatment, the available treatment strategies are set out. Why is it important to treat spastic patients and what treatment does one use? When should one consider a change in the strategy and why is it necessary to have a clear discharge policy from the service to avoid serious logistic problems? The review reiterates the role of physical treatment in the management and thereafter the maintenance of patients with spasticity.

Correction of bronchial challenge data for age and size may affect the results of genetic association studies in children.

Meaningful studies of asthma genetics require careful definition of airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR). In children, several studies have emphasized the need for correction of bronchial challenge data for baseline parameters, such as age, gender, lung function and atopic status, when undertaking airway responsiveness measurements. However, few studies have suggested how this should be performed in practice.

Salter Harris type II injury of the proximal phalanx of the fifth toe: case report.

Fractures of the growth plate are unique to childhood. The risk of growth disturbances depends on the type of fracture, its location, the age of the patient, the vascularization to the epiphysis, the state of the surrounding soft tissues, and whether the injury is open or closed. Epiphyseal fractures of the foot are uncommon, and only rarely are the phalanges involved.

Genome-wide amplification and allelotyping of sporadic pituitary adenomas identify novel regions of genetic loss.

Through the use of a candidate gene approach, several previous studies have identified loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at putative tumor-suppressor gene (TSG) loci in sporadic pituitary tumors. This study reports a genome-wide allelotyping by use of 122 microsatellite markers in a large cohort of tumors, consisting of somatotrophinomas and non-functioning adenomas. Samples were first subject to prior whole genome amplification by primer extension pre-amplification (PEP) to circumvent limitations imposed by insufficient DNA for whole-genome analysis with this number of microsatellite markers.

Susceptibility to prostate cancer: studies on interactions between UVR exposure and skin type.

Recent studies have proposed that exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) protects against development of some internal cancers including that in prostate. This effect may be mediated by UVR-induced cutaneous synthesis of vitamin D. It is also proposed that ability to pigment in response to UVR will influence susceptibility to prostate cancer through its effects on vitamin D synthesis.

Randomized controlled trial of nebulized adrenaline in acute bronchiolitis.

Use of both l-epinephrine and racemic epinephrine (adrenaline) has improved clinical symptoms and composite respiratory scores in acute bronchiolitis. The objective of this randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study was to assess whether there was sufficient improvement in clinical state to reduce hospital admissions. Seventy-five infants aged 1 month to 1 year with a clinical diagnosis of acute bronchiolitis were treated with either 2 ml of 1:1000 nebulized adrenaline or 2 ml of nebulized normal saline administered after baseline assessment and 30 min later.

Prostate cancer risk and exposure to ultraviolet radiation: further support for the protective effect of sunlight.

Recent studies have suggested that exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation may be protective to some internal cancers including that in the prostate. We describe a confirmatory study in 212 prostatic adenocarcinoma and 135 benign prostatic hypertrophy patients designed to determine whether previous findings showing a protective effect for UV exposure could be reproduced. We used a validated questionnaire to obtain data on aspects of lifetime exposure to UV.

A prospective study in primary care in patients without vascular disease comparing levels of coronary risk factors in those recommended for lipid-lowering drugs based on either absolute risk or absolute risk reduction.

In the United Kingdom, the current recommendation is that lipid-lowering drugs should be prescribed for primary prevention only to subjects with an absolute coronary risk (AR) greater than 15% in 5 years (i.e., myocardial infarction or angina).

Benchmarking best practice in relapse management of multiple sclerosis.

The Midlands multiple sclerosis (MS) nurse group developed a benchmark for relapse management in MS, using the framework outlined in the DoH document Essence of Care (DoH 2001). The authors discuss the benchmarking process and demonstrate how specialist nurses can collaboratively establish best practice and influence the quality of care. The potential benefits of applying the benchmarking process to relapse management are discussed.

Incidence and prediction of nonmelanoma skin cancer post-renal transplantation: a prospective study in Queensland, Australia.

Background: Nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) is a significant clinical problem after renal transplantation, particularly in areas of high UV light exposure. A single-center prospective study of a population of Queensland renal transplant recipients was performed with the aims of: (1) establishing NMSC incidence and tumor accrual post-renal transplantation, and (2) developing a clinically derived predictive index to identify transplant recipients at greatest risk.

Methods: Three hundred ten of 398 transplant recipients (78%) who underwent baseline assessment between July 1999 and April 2000 were reassessed a mean of 18 +/- 3.