Pigment changes in human skin after cryotherapy

We have investigated the changes in pigmentation and melanocyte distribution in human skin after a standardized freeze injury. All lesions developed hypopigmentation with a peripheral rim of hyperpigmentation. Abnormalities in pigmentation persisted for at least 6 months. Hyperpigmentation was predominantly an epidermal phenomenon. After brief freezes, hypopigmentation persisted despite the presence of functional melanocytes. After prolonged freezes, the consistent finding was an absence of melanosomes in keratinocytes, although melanocytes were present. We conclude that prolonged changes in skin color are frequent after brief freezes and that hypopigmentation is not synonymous with an absence of melanocytes. This suggests that hypopigmentation after the cryosurgical treatment of malignant melanocytic tumors may not equate with cure.     

Effects of PGE1 or PGE2 and/or acetazolamide on expulsion of Nippostrongylus brasiliensis from rats

PGE1 and PGE2 have been reported to enhance natural expulsion of Nippostrongylus brasiliensis, a nematode parasite, from the intestine of the rat. Mucus production may also be a key element of worm rejection. Our study attempts to determine if 1) PGE1 or PGE2 alter the normal course of infection with N. brasiliensis in rats, 2) a known mucous enhancing drug, acetazolamide, can augment the rate of worm expulsion, and 3) combinations of prostaglandins and acetazolamide affect N. brasiliensis in the rat. Rats were inoculated with approximately 1,000 infective larvae of N. brasiliensis. Animals were administered, intraduodenally, one of the following: 0.2 ml 0.9% NaCl; 0.2 ml 100% ethanol; 250 micrograms PGE1/0.2 ml 100% ethanol; 250 micrograms PGE2/0.2 ml 100% ethanol; 250 micrograms acetazolamide/0.2 ml 100% ethanol; 250 micrograms PGE1 or PGE2 + 250 micrograms acetazolamide/0.2 ml 100% ethanol. These solutions were given in a single bolus on day 6 postinoculation (PI) or twice daily on days 6-9 PI. Following these treatments the number of parasite ova per gram feces per day for days 6-10 PI and numbers of worms present at necropsy on day 10 PI were determined. Treatment with prostaglandins or acetazolamide or both failed to adversely affect egg deposition by adult female worms or the number of worms in the small intestine. These results do not support the involvement of prostaglandins in the expulsion of N. brasiliensis from the host intestine.     

Sugar,fat, and the risk of colorectal cancer.

The habitual diet of 50 patients with large bowel cancer, as assessed by a dietary history method, was compared with that of 50 closely matched controls. Patients were included only if their symptoms were unlikely to have changed previous eating habits. The mean daily intakes of all major nutrient classes and of dietary fibre were estimated. Patients with large bowel cancer consumed 16% more energy than controls (mean (SEM) daily intake 9.92 (0.41) v 8.56 (0.32) MJ (2370 (98) v 2046 (76) kcal), respectively; p less than 0.0001), mainly in the form of carbohydrate (21% more; 282.6 (13.7) v 233.4 (10.5) g; p less than 0.0001) and fat (14% more; 100.8 (4.3) v 88.4 (3.2) g; p less than 0.001). The extra carbohydrate was largely in the form of sugars depleted in fibre and the extra fat as combinations of fat and such sugars. As the selection criteria used make it unlikely that this eating pattern was caused by the disease the data suggest that a high intake of sugars depleted in fibre and fat predisposes to the development of large bowel cancer.     

Beta-carotene does not influence fertility in beef heifers

Eighty-four 18-month-old crossbred beef heifers, 3 to 4 months pregnant, were assigned by stratified randomization to either a high or low (control) beta-carotene (B-car) diet to determine the effect of long-term supplementation of B-car on reproductive performance. The heifers were followed through pregnancy, calving and subsequent breeding. The basal diet consisted of barley, canola meal and barley straw. Heifers supplemented by B-car received 625 mg B-car per day in the concentrate. Vitamin A and D complex injections were given monthly to all heifers. Heifers were bred by artificial insemination after Day 60 postpartum. Throughout the study heifers fed the B-car supplement had higher levels of B-car in plasma (> 300 ug/dl) (P < 0.01) than the heifers fed the control diet (< 50 ug/dl). Vitamin A status was satisfactory in all heifers throughout the study. Birth weight of calves, weight gain, and incidence of mortality were not influenced by B-car. For the control and B-car treatments, days postpartum to first normal luteal phase were 67.5 and 62.6 days; days postpartum to first detected estrus were 70.1 and 65.3, and services per conception were 1.24 and 1.29, respectively. Long-term supplementation of B-car increased prepartum plasma progesterone but had no effect on postpartum fertility.     

Synchronization of estrus in post-partum mares with progesterone and estradiol 17β

Thirty-six mares which foaled over a 10-day period were given 1 to 10 daily intramuscular injections of a combination of 150 mg. progesterone and 10 mg. estradiol 17β. The first injection was given within 18 hours after parturition. Because individual mares foaled on different dates during the 10 day period, commencement of treatment varied, but treatment for all mares ceased on the same day. Teasing and breeding began seven days after the final treatment. The mares were teased daily for 10 days and artifically inseminated every second day until ovulation occurred. The mean interval from the end of treatment to beginning of estrus was 9.4 days (range 7 to 14) and 33 of 26 mares (94.7%) ovulated 10 to 16 days after the final treatment. Both estrus and ovulation were effectively synchronized, resulting in a first estrus pregnancy rate of 80.6% (29 of 36).     

Partial characterization of the trait for enhanced K+−Na+ discrimination in the D genome of wheat

The long arm of chromosome 4D of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) contains a gene (or genes) which influences the ability of wheat plants to discriminate between Na⁺ and K⁺. This discrimination most obviously affects transport from the roots to the shoots, in which less Na⁺ and more K⁺ accumulate in those plants which contain the long arm of chromosome 4D. Concentrations of Na⁺ and K⁺ in the roots, and Cl⁻ concentrations in the roots and shoots, are not significantly affected by this trait, but Na⁺, K⁺ and Cl⁻ contents of the grain are reduced. The trait operates over a wide range of salinities and appears to be constitutive. At the moment it is not possible to determine accurately the effect of this trait on growth or grain yield because the aneuploid lines which are available are much less vigorous and less fertile than their euploid parents.     

Exercise training in childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus: a controlled randomized trial

Introduction

Exercise training has emerged as a promising therapeutic strategy to counteract physical dysfunction in adult systemic lupus erythematosus. However, no longitudinal studies have evaluated the effects of an exercise training program in childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (C-SLE) patients. The objective was to evaluate the safety and the efficacy of a supervised aerobic training program in improving the cardiorespiratory capacity in C-SLE patients.

Methods

Nineteen physically inactive C-SLE patients were randomly assigned into two groups: trained (TR, n = 10, supervised moderate-intensity aerobic exercise program) and non-trained (NT, n = 9). Gender-, body mass index (BMI)- and age-matched healthy children were recruited as controls (C, n = 10) for baseline (PRE) measurements only. C-SLE patients were assessed at PRE and after 12 weeks of training (POST). Main measurements included exercise tolerance and cardiorespiratory measurements in response to a maximal exercise (that is, peak VO₂, chronotropic reserve (CR), and the heart rate recovery (ΔHRR) (that is, the difference between HR at peak exercise and at both the first (ΔHRR1) and second (ΔHRR2) minutes of recovery after exercise).

Results

The C-SLE NT patients did not present changes in any of the cardiorespiratory parameters at POST (P > 0.05). In contrast, the exercise training program was effective in promoting significant increases in time-to-exhaustion (P = 0.01; ES = 1.07), peak speed (P = 0.01; ES = 1.08), peak VO₂ (P = 0.04; ES = 0.86), CR (P = 0.06; ES = 0.83), and in ΔHRR1 and ΔHRR2 (P = 0.003; ES = 1.29 and P = 0.0008; ES = 1.36, respectively) in the C-SLE TR when compared with the NT group. Moreover, cardiorespiratory parameters were comparable between C-SLE TR patients and C subjects after the exercise training intervention, as evidenced by the ANOVA analysis (P > 0.05, TR vs. C). SLEDAI-2K scores remained stable throughout the study.

Conclusion

A 3-month aerobic exercise training was safe and capable of ameliorating the cardiorespiratory capacity and the autonomic function in C-SLE patients.

Trial registration

NCT01515163.