Hyperthermic treatment of chromomycosis with disposable chemical pocket warmers

A case of chromomycosis in which hyperthermia proved effective is reported. The patient was a 56-year-old male bean curd maker who, without any previous history of minor trauma, developed on the extensor side of the left upper arm an eczematous lesion that underwent gradual radial expansion. The lesion showed a well-defined, 7×10 cm infiltrated erythematous plaque with the central area healed and, at the upper and lower borders, adherent scales and crusts on the surface. Histological examination revealed granulomatous changes in the dermis, as well as sclerotic cells within giant cells and microabscesses. On culturing,Fonsecaea pedrosoi was isolated. The patient was treated with disposable chemical pocket warmers, which were secured over the lesion with a rather tight elastic bandage, so that they kept the affected area warm for 24 hours a day. After a month of such hyperthermic treatment, the erythema and infiltration had decreased considerably, and microscopic examination and culture of the crusts both yielded negative results. Examination of biopsy specimens of the lesion after the third month showed that it had cicatrized. The treatment was stopped after 4 months, and no relapse occurred. We also summarize the published results of local hyperthermic treatment of chromomycosis in Japan.     

Postirradiation modification of tumor blood flow: a method to increase the effectiveness of chemical radiosensitizers

The effect of postirradiation hypoxia induced by administration of the vasodilator hydralazine on the efficacy of misonidazole and RSU-1069 used in combination with radiation has been evaluated. Studies with the Lewis lung carcinoma indicate that hydralazine at a dose of 5 mg/kg reduces tumor blood flow and consequently increases the amount of hypoxia in the tumor tissue. Administration of hydralazine immediately after radiation treatment increased the amount of cell kill. However, the increase in cell kill was more pronounced when hydralazine was used in treatment regimes in which misonidazole (0.2 mg/g) or RSU-1069 (0.02 mg/g) was administered pre- or postirradiation. The finding that similar effects are observed if the nitroimidazoles were administered either before or after radiation in the regimes involving hydralazine suggests that the enhanced cell killing observed is due to hypoxic cell cytotoxicity. In contrast to the effects of hydralazine on the response of tumors to radiation plus misonidazole or RSU-1069, it has no effect on the response of mouse intestine to such treatment regimes. Thus therapeutic gain may accrue from the use of hydralazine in radiation treatments which incorporate the nitroimidazole radiosensitizers misonidazole and RSU-1069.     

Cytochrome b-245 from human neutrophils is a glycoprotein.

Cytochrome b-245 is a glycoprotein. It runs as a broad band on sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis and its apparent Mr varies with the concentration of acrylamide. It stained positively with Schiff reagent and with silver stains after oxidation with periodic acid. It preferentially bound the lectin of Phaseolus vulgaris (type III), and cleavage of carbohydrate with endoglycosidase F resulted in a sharp band on sodium dodecyl sulphate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis with an apparent Mr of 55000 G.l.c. analysis of carbohydrate showed this to account for about 15% of the Mr and N-acetylglucosamine and galactose to be the major sugars.     

The use of tooth eruption and wear, body weight and antler characteristics in the age estimation of male wild and park Fallow deer (Dama dama)

The eruption and wear of the cheek teeth of male Fallow deer from a park and wild population has been studied for age determination purposes. It was found possible to age accurately up to 48 months animals whose date of death was known, whether they were from a wild or park population. It was found that up to at least this age individual and environmental differences affecting animals born in successive years did not mask those resulting fromthe restricted seasonal breeding of this species.
Antler development and body weight were studied in relation to the ages obtained and were found to be of limited value for age estimation.     

Physiology, thermoregulation and bipedalism

It has long been recognized that the bipedal posture reduces the surface area of the body exposed to the sun. In recent years, a theory has been developed by Wheeler that bipedalism evolved in the ancestor of the Hominidae in order to help relieve thermal stress on the animals in open equatorial environments. Bipedalism was said to afford a distinct adaptive advantage over quadrupedalism by permitting hominids to remain active in the open throughout the day. The heat load of the hypothetical hominid comprises the external environment as modelled by Wheeler and the animal's internal environment (i.e., the internal heat generated by its metabolic and locomotor activities, and its evaporative and respirative cooling capacities). When these factors are integrated in the calculation of the animal's thermal budget, the putative advantage of the bipedal over the quadrupedal posture is considerably reduced. The simulations conducted in this study suggest that the increased time afforded to early hominids in the open by bipedalism was relatively short and, therefore, of little or no adaptive significance. These results suggest that thermoregulatory considerations cannot be implicated as a first cause in the evolution of bipedalism in the hominid ancestor.     

4-Thiaproline reduces heart lipid peroxidation and collagen accumulation in the diabetic db/db mouse

Summary Collagen accumulation is a main pathological feature of diabetic cardiomyopathy. The underlying mechanisms seem to be increased cross linking by reactive carbonyles. The purpose of the study was to decrease the collagen content of total ventricular tissue by the oral administration of thiaproline, which could reduce collagen due to its functions as a proline analogue, blocking collagen production and as a free oxygen radical scavenger, blocking reactive carbonyles and oxygen species and subsequently collagen cross linking.Thiaproline was administered to genetically diabetic db/db mice and compared to untreated animals. Total ventricular collagen as expressed by hydroxyproline was significantly lower in the treated group (means 0.23 micromoles/10 tissue in the treated vs 0.35 micromoles/100 mg tissue in the untreated group, p < 0.001). Significantly more collagen could be eluted in the treated group (p < 0.001) and carboxymethyllysine was significantly reduced in the treated group (p < 0.001). Di-tyrosine and glycemic control did not differ between the groups. Glutathione was significantly increased in the TP treated experimental group (p < 0.001) and lipid peroxidation products were significantly decreased (means 0.221 absorbance in the treated group versus 0.321 absorbance in the untreated diabetic group) correlating with total ventricular collagen content (r = 0.87, p < 0.01).We conclude that thiaproline reduced total ventricular collagen content by inhibiting collagen cross linking as reflected by increased solubility of collagen and expressed by higher elution quantity of collagen. Thiaproline, and/or its metabolites induced increase of heart glutathione which may well have been scavenging reactive carbonyles derived from lipid peroxidation and advanced stage nonenzymatic glycosylation as shown by decreased total ventricular carboxy-methyllysine and lipid peroxidation products paralleling reduced heart collagen content.It remains to be shown that the successful reduction of heart collagen by thiaproline is paralleled by improved functional properties.     

An energetic analysis of host plant selection by the large milkweed bug,Oncopeltus fasciatus

Summary The large milkweed bug, Oncopeltus fasciatus, is a specialized seed feeder that has been observed completing nymphal development in the field on only a small proportion of its potential host species within the genus Asclepias. In central Missouri only two of the six milkweed species studied, A. syriaca and A. verticillata, commonly supported nymphal O. fasciatus growth in the field. The seed of all six species, however, was equally suitable food for bugs reared in the laboratory. In laboratory preference tests, adult bugs chose to feed on the largest seeds, A. hirtella, but such a preference could not explain the observed field feeding patterns.One explanation to account for the observed host plant selection is based upon an energetic analysis. Only A. syriaca provided enough seed biomass for a clutch of O. fasciatus nymphs to develop on a single plant, and only A. verticillata grew in high enough density that a clutch could find sufficient food within the limited range of nymphal movement. These results illustrate a corollary of the resource concentration hypothesis: within a plant group whose members share similar secondary plant chemistries, the only species that will be viable hosts for a specialized herbivore are those that provide the minimal resource density necessary for the completion of nymphal development.In central Missouri, O. fasciatus has specialized on a critical resource density, not traits of individual Asclepias species. The appearance of host selection within the potential host plant spectrum is the result of a characteristic growth form, seed output, and dispersion pattern for each milkweed species that makes some species much more likely than others to produce sufficient seed resources.