Effect of slide projections and tape-recorded suggestions on thermal biofeedback training

A previous experiment(Herzfeld & Taub, 1977) demonstrated that slide projections and explicit suggestions relating to thermal experiences can significantly augment temperature self-regulations training(.5° F,p<.05). However, the experimental design was thought to result in an underestimate of the magnitude of the effect, since each subject served as his own control and could therefore make use on nonsuggestion training days of material provided on training days. In this experiment, separate groups of subjects either were given feedback combined with the suggestion procedure on each of 8 training days or were given feedback alone. The mean temperature self-regulation of the suggestion group(2.01° F) was significantly better than the self-regulation(.73) of the nonsuggestion group(t test,p<.01).a difference of 1.28° F.     

Shoulder defect correction with the island latissimus dorsi flap

Reconstruction of normal shoulder contour is possible utilizing a latissimus dorsi musculocutaneous flap at the end of a long neurovascular pedicle. The thoracodorsal vessels and their lateral divisions form the basis of the pedicle. The nerve in the pedicle is left intact if maintenance of muscle bulk is desired and sectioned if atrophy is preferred. The amount of muscle taken in conjunction with the skin island is determined by the nature of the defect to be corrected. The twin goals of a single-stage reconstruction and a satisfactory aesthetic result are achieved with this method.     

Osteogenesis imperfecta: a heterogeneous morphologic phenotype in cultured dermal fibroblasts

Summary Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a phenotype with clinical and biochemical heterogeneity. We report here that expression of the OI phenotype extends to the level of dermal fibroblast morphology in vitro. Growth characteristics and morphology of control (n=6) and OI cell strains (n=10, representing the four major OI categories, Sillence classification) were compared by measuring the following: (i) days required in culture to reach confluence after plating at uniform density; (ii) cell density at confluence; (iii) width and length of cells (measured on phase contrast micrographs at 300xmagnification). Our results show that: (i) OI fibroblasts take longer (11–27 days, mean 20 days) than control cells (10–19 days, mean 16 days) to reach stationary phase; (ii) all OI phenotypes achieve a lower cell density (0.87x10⁶ cells/P60, range 0.3–1.6x10⁶) at stationary phase relative to control cells (2.2x10⁶ cells/P60, range 1.7–2.6x10⁶; F_4,77=56.1, p<0.01, indicating that OI cells are larger than normal). Cell shape (expressed as the width: length ratio) was also abnormal in OI cells. (F_4,730=37.6, p<0.01), types I and II OI cells have significantly increased ratios (p<0.01) relative to control, type III, and type IV cells. Intra-group phenotypic heterogeneity was also apparent in the OI categories and also within the control population. These findings confirm deviant morphologic phenotypes in OI dermal fibroblasts and further demonstrate interindividual heterogeneity in the expression of genes that determine size and shape of dermal fibroblasts in both OI and normal donors.Publication No. 84013 from the Montreal Children's Hospital Research Institute     

Regulation of Lipid Droplet Size in Mammary Epithelial Cells by Remodeling of Membrane Lipid Composition—A Potential Mechanism

Milk fat globule size is determined by the size of its precursors—intracellular lipid droplets—and is tightly associated with its composition. We examined the relationship between phospholipid composition of mammary epithelial cells and the size of both intracellular and secreted milk fat globules. Primary culture of mammary epithelial cells was cultured in medium without free fatty acids (control) or with 0.1 mM free capric, palmitic or oleic acid for 24 h. The amount and composition of the cellular lipids and the size of the lipid droplets were determined in the cells and medium. Mitochondrial quantity and expression levels of genes associated with mitochondrial biogenesis and polar lipid composition were determined. Cells cultured with oleic and palmitic acids contained similar quantities of triglycerides, 3.1- and 3.8-fold higher than in controls, respectively (P < 0.0001). When cultured with oleic acid, 22% of the cells contained large lipid droplets (>3 μm) and phosphatidylethanolamine concentration was higher by 23 and 63% compared with that in the control and palmitic acid treatments, respectively (P < 0.0001). In the presence of palmitic acid, only 4% of the cells contained large lipid droplets and the membrane phosphatidylcholine concentration was 22% and 16% higher than that in the control and oleic acid treatments, respectively (P < 0.0001). In the oleic acid treatment, approximately 40% of the lipid droplets were larger than 5 μm whereas in that of the palmitic acid treatment, only 16% of the droplets were in this size range. Triglyceride secretion in the oleic acid treatment was 2- and 12-fold higher compared with that in the palmitic acid and control treatments, respectively. Results imply that membrane composition of bovine mammary epithelial cells plays a role in controlling intracellular and secreted lipid droplets size, and that this process is not associated with cellular triglyceride content.