Contribution of the musculature to rotatory laxity and torsional stiffness at the knee

The relationships between the mean rectified EMG from two muscle groups crossing the knee joint and the rotational stiffness and laxity about the longitudinal axis of the lower leg were investigated. The EMG signals from three of the quadricep muscle group and two of the hamstring muscle group were monitored using surface electrodes. Each subject sustained self-induced muscle activity from specific muscle combinations while the foot was twisted internally and externally by the researcher. Joint rotation was measured using an electrogoniometer. Analyses of the data showed increased joint stiffness with increased numbers of active muscles. The stiffness measurements ranged from 0.16 to 2.54 Nm degree-1 depending upon the combination of active muscles. The stiffness measured in different tests were very repeatable with standard deviations ranging from 0.02 to 0.25 Nm degree-1. Increases in joint stiffness of over 400% by activation of these muscles were measured.     

Patterns of Root Colonization in Epacridaceous Plants Collected from Different Sites

Root colonization was studied in ten species of the Epacridaceaeat three sites in Victoria by morphological and cross-inoculationexperiments. The sites and genera chosen were Cranbourne [Epacrisimpressa Labill. andLeucopogon ericoides(Smith) R. Br.] andRye [L. parviflorus(Andrews) Lindley] on the Mornington Peninsula,and the Grampians[Astroloma conostephioides(Sond.) Benth.,A.humifusum(Cav.) R. Br.,A pinifolium(R. Br.) Benth,Brachylomadaphnoides(Smith) Benth.,E. impressa, E. impressavar.grandifloraBenth.andStyphelia adscendensR. Br.] in western Victoria. For morphologicalstudies, samples of roots from each species at each site werecleared and stained and examined microscopically. For cross-inoculationstudies, cuttings from each site were struck in potting mediuminoculated with soil from the same and other sites. The ericoidmycorrhizae in the roots of plants found at or grown in Cranbourneand Rye soils were similar. Both were significantly differentfrom the internal hyphae found in the roots of plants foundat or grown in Grampians soils, which were three times largerin diameter and formed dense coils which filled the host celland invaded adjacent epidermal cells. This suggests that morethan one fungus is involved in the relationships, that the MorningtonPeninsula sites had a different fungus from the Grampians siteand that host specificity is low. Vesicular structures werealso found commonly on plants at the Grampians site, in contrastwith other sites. Epacridaceae; root; fungus; mycorrhiza; morphology; inoculation     

Interaction of nitrogen dioxide with human plasma. Antioxidant depletion and oxidative damage.

Nitrogen dioxide (NO2.) is often present in inhaled air and may be generated in vivo from nitric oxide. Exposure of human blood plasma to NO2. caused rapid losses of ascorbic acid, uric acid and protein thiol groups, as well as lipid peroxidation and depletions of alpha-tocopherol, bilirubin and ubiquinol-10. No increase in protein carbonyls was detected. Supplementation of plasma with ascorbate decreased the rates of lipid peroxidation, alpha-tocopherol depletion and loss of uric acid. Uric acid supplementation decreased rates of lipid peroxidation but not the loss of alpha-tocopherol. We conclude that ascorbic acid, protein -SH groups, uric acid and alpha-tocopherol may be important agents protecting against NO2. in vivo. If these antioxidants are depleted, peroxidation of lipids occurs and might contribute to the toxicity of NO2..     

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray investigation of Escherichia coli porphobilinogen deaminase.

Porphobilinogen deaminase, the polymerase that catalyses the synthesis of preuroporphyrinogen, the linear tetrapyrrole precursor of uroporphyrinogen III, has been crystallized from sodium acetate buffer with polyethylene glycol 6000 as precipitant. The crystals are orthorhombic and the space group is P2(1)2(1)2, with unit cell dimensions a = 88.01 A, b = 75.86 A, c = 50.53 A and alpha = beta = gamma = 90 degrees, indicating a single molecule of 34 kDa in the asymmetric unit. The crystals grow to dimensions of 1 mm x 2 mm x 0.5 mm within two weeks in the dark and are stable in the X-ray beam for at least 40 hours. Diffraction data beyond 1.7 A resolution, observed with a synchrotron radiation source, indicate that a high resolution structure analysis is feasible.     

Identification of Y-chromosomal DNA in a Turner syndrome mosaic by polymerase chain reaction.

A 15.5-year-old female was referred for primary amenorrhea and slow development of secondary sex characteristics. The karyotype revealed 45,X/46,X,+mar (75%/25%). The small marker chromosome was C-band and Q-band negative. It appeared to be primarily centromeric with some light G-band staining material on either side. Females with Y-chromosomal material are at an increased risk for gonadal neoplasia and this patient was studied further to investigate the possibility that the marker was a deleted Y chromosome. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of this patient's DNA revealed the presence of Y-chromosomal material presumably derived from the marker chromosome. These results indicate that the PCR technique, in conjunction with cytogenetic analysis, can identify possible Y-chromosomal material. This testing provides critical information necessary for correct medical followup of Turner syndrome mosaic patients.     

Cost-Effectiveness and Efficacy of spa,SCCmec, and PVL Genotyping of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus as Compared to Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis

Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) is a valuable molecular typing assay used for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) surveillance and genotyping. However, there are several limitations associated with PFGE. In Alberta, Canada, the significant increase in the number of MRSA isolates submitted to the Provincial Laboratory for Public Health (ProvLab) for PFGE typing led to the need for an alternative genotyping method. In this study, we describe the transition from PFGE to Staphylococcus protein A (spa), Staphylococcal cassette chromosome (SCCmec), and Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) typing. A total of 1915 clinical MRSA isolates collected from 2005 to 2009 were used to develop and validate an algorithm for assigning PFGE epidemic types using spa, SCCmec, and PVL typing and the resulting data was used to populate a new Alberta MRSA typing database. An additional 12620 clinical MRSA isolates collected from 2010 to 2012 as part of ongoing routine molecular testing at ProvLab were characterized using the new typing algorithm and the Alberta MRSA typing database. Switching to spa, SCCmec, and PVL from PFGE typing substantially reduced hands-on and turn-around times while maintaining historical PFGE epidemic type designations. This led to an approximate $77,000 reduction in costs from 2010 to 2012. PFGE typing is still required for a small subset of MRSA isolates that have spa types that are rare, novel, or associated with more than one PFGE epidemic type.