Fate of biomedical research protocols and publication bias in France: retrospective cohort study

Objectives To describe the fate of protocols approved by the French research ethics committees, a national system created by the French 1988 Huriet-Sérusclat Act; to assess publication bias at a national level.Design Retrospective cohort study.Setting Representative sample of 25/48 French research ethics committees in 1994.Protocols 649 research protocols approved by committees, with follow-up information.Main outcome measures Protocols'' initial characteristics (design, study size, investigator) abstracted from committees'' archives; follow-up information (rates of initiation, completion, and publication) obtained from mailed questionnaire to principal investigators.Results Completed questionnaires were available for 649/976 (69%) protocols. Of these, 581 (90%) studies were initiated, 501/581 (86%) were completed, and 190/501 (38%) were published. Studies with confirmatory results were more likely to be published as scientific papers than were studies with inconclusive results (adjusted odds ratio 4.59, 95% confidence interval 2.21 to 9.54). Moreover, studies with confirmatory results were published more quickly than studies with inconclusive results (hazard ratio 2.48, 1.36 to 4.55).Conclusion At a national level, too many research studies are not completed, and among those completed too many are not published. We suggest capitalising on research ethics committees to register and follow all authorised research on human participants on a systematic and prospective basis.     

Compartmentation of high-energy phosphates in resting and beating heart cells

The subcellular distribution of ATP, ADP, creatine phosphate and creatine has been analyzed by fast detergent fractionation of isolated frog heart cells. Digitonin fractionation (0.5 mg/ml, 10 s at 2 degrees C in 20 mM 4-morpholinepropanesulfonic acid/3 mM EDTA/230 mM mannitol medium) was used to separate mitochondria and myofilaments from cytosol. To separate myofilaments from the other cellular compartments. Triton X-100 was used (2%, 15 s in the same medium as digitonin). For either resting or beating cells the total cellular contents of ATP, ADP, creatine phosphate and creatine was similar, nevertheless the O2 consumption was 6-times higher. The compartmentation of these metabolites was also identical. Myofilaments contain 1.1 nmol ADP per mg total cellular proteins. In the cytosolic compartment the metabolite concentrations, all measured in nmol per mg total cellular proteins, were: ATP, 13; ADP, 0.25-0.05; creatine phosphate, 18.5 and creatine, 14. This indicated that the reaction catalyzed by creatine kinase was in a state of (or near) equilibrium.     

Neutral microprotein, a novel human plasma and urinary protein associated with a yellow-brown chromophore. Isolation from protein HC preparations and partial characterization

An apparently novel human plasma and urinary protein of low molecular weight was isolated from several highly purified preparations of protein HC by gel chromatography and high voltage electrophoresis with a yield of about 8 mg/g. The protein has a molecular weight of about 20,000, neutral electrophoretic mobility at pH 6.5 and a high content of half-cystine. It is associated with a yellow-brown chromophore like protein HC and could be demonstrated in all investigated preparations of isolated human, rabbit and guinea-pig protein HC and alpha 1-microglobulin.     

Effects of antimicrotubular agents in cAMP production and in steroidogenic response of isolated rat Leydig cells

In dispersed rat Leydig cells, colchicine was found to stimulate basal cAMP production and testosterone secretion in a dose and time-dependent manner, but to a lesser extent than LH. However, these drugs are unable to stimulate adenylate cyclase activity in plasma membranes isolated from these cells. The amount of testosterone secreted at 150 min under the influence of colchicine and LH added simultaneously was not different from the amount produced during stimulation by LH alone. It is only after exposure of the cells for 1 hr to colchicine that the accumulation of cAMP in response to LH was inhibited; furthermore, both intracellular and medium testosterone accumulation in response to the hormone were reduced. Similar effects were observed with two other alkaloids, vinblastine and podophyllotoxin. The three drugs also inhibited the stimulation of testosterone secretion by 8-Br-cAMP or choleratoxin. These studies suggest that the state of microtubule polymerization and/or tubulin can influence the process of steroidogenesis in rat Leydig cells.     

Decomposition of three halophytes in different habitats of an eastern scheldt salt marsh

Summary A 20.5-month study was undertaken to determine detrital processing of the halophytesSpartina anglica, Elytrigia pungens, andHalimione portulacoides in three different habitats of an estuarine salt marsh in the South-West Netherlands. Decomposition was measured using litter-bags of three different mesh sizes to partition the effects of different faunal groups on decomposition. From April 1980 through October 1981 litter-bags were sampled regulary from a creek, the upper marsh, and from a plant-debris belt on the higher marsh. Dry weights and nutritive values were measured and animals were counted. Mainly rates of loss are reported here. Zonal differences were significant. At first, decomposition in the creek was most rapid. After two months the processes in the creek slowed down because of the trapping of silt by the bags, which probably simulated the natural course of the decomposition process in the water. Decomposition on the marsh followed the most regular pattern, while in the plant-debris belt the pattern was very irregular. Population dynamics of microfaunal organisms supported these findings. In the plant-debris belts loss rates seem to be higher than on the marsh, because of the influence of detritivorous macrofaunal organisms. The loss rates of the three plant species differed significantly.Halimione decomposed fastest, especially in the beginning, and in the plant-debris habitat. On the upper marsh and in the plant-debris belt the loss rates ofSpartina seem to be a little higher than those ofElytrigia.Communication No. 233, Delta Institute for Hydrobiological Research, Yerseke, The Netherlands.     

The ubiquitin C‐terminal hydrolase UCH‐L1 promotes bacterial invasion by altering the dynamics of the actin cytoskeleton

Invasion of eukaryotic target cells by pathogenic bacteria requires extensive remodelling of the membrane and actin cytoskeleton. Here we show that the remodelling process is regulated by the ubiquitin C‐terminal hydrolase UCH‐L1 that promotes the invasion of epithelial cells by Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella enterica. Knockdown of UCH‐L1 reduced the uptake of both bacteria, while expression of the catalytically active enzyme promoted efficient internalization in the UCH‐L1‐negative HeLa cell line. The entry of L. monocytogenes involves binding to the receptor tyrosine kinase Met, which leads to receptor phosphorylation and ubiquitination. UCH‐L1 controls the early membrane‐associated events of this triggering cascade since knockdown was associated with altered phosphorylation of the c‐cbl docking site on Tyr1003, reduced ubiquitination of the receptor and altered activation of downstream ERK1/2‐ and AKT‐dependent signalling in response to the natural ligand Hepatocyte Growth Factor (HGF). The regulation of cytoskeleton dynamics was further confirmed by the induction of actin stress fibres in HeLa expressing the active enzyme but not the catalytic mutant UCH‐L1_C90S. These findings highlight a previously unrecognized involvement of the ubiquitin cycle in bacterial entry. UCH‐L1 is highly expressed in malignant cells that may therefore be particularly susceptible to invasion by bacteria‐based drug delivery systems.     

High Rates of Obesity and Chronic Disease Among United Methodist Clergy

We used self‐reported data from United Methodist clergy to assess the prevalence of obesity and having ever been told certain chronic disease diagnoses. Of all actively serving United Methodist clergy in North Carolina (NC) 95% (n = 1726) completed self‐report height and weight items and diagnosis questions from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS). We calculated BMI categories and diagnosis prevalence rates for the clergy and compared them to the NC population using BRFSS data. The obesity rate among clergy aged 35–64 years was 39.7%, 10.3% (95% CI = 8.5%, 12.1%) higher than their NC counterparts. Clergy also reported significantly higher rates of having ever been given diagnoses of diabetes, arthritis, high blood pressure, angina, and asthma compared to their NC peers. Health interventions that address obesity and chronic disease among clergy are urgently needed.     

Changes in the size of the myocardial damaged area in postischemic reperfusion

The changes in the size of the myocardial injury area during reperfusion after the coronary occlusion-induced ischemia lasting 30 minutes are phasic in nature. Until 3.5 h the injured area increases and after 23.5 h relatively diminishes. After a more prolonged ischemia such manifestations are either unmarked or absent. Ischemia lasting from 30 min to 4 hours followed by reperfusion, as compared with ischemia of the same duration without reperfusion, normally gives rise to the formation of an area of injury, which is less or occasionally equal in size. The data obtained and reported indicate that in the area of coronary occlusion there are groups of cardiomyocytes that differ as regards the resistance to ischemia.     

The ilvIH operon of Escherichia coli K-12. Identification of the gene products and recognition of the translational start by polypeptide microsequencing

The ilvI and ilvH gene products were identified physically by electrophoretic analysis of in vivo-labelled polypeptides produced in minicells from plasmids carrying the wild-type ilvIH operon of Escherichia coli K-12 and derivatives of it. An analysis of the distribution of methionine residues in the amino-terminal portion of micro-quantities of the ilvI product eluted from gel showed that the translational start of the ilvI gene is the promoter-proximal one of three putative methionine codons predicted from the DNA sequence.