Total Hip Replacement in Osteoarthrosis using the Charnley Prosthesis

Charnley low-friction arthroplasty was performed on 352 osteoarthritic hips, usually because of severe pain. Three hundred and twenty hips were reviewed at a special follow-up clinic or by postal questionnaire. After operation 89% of hips were pain-free or caused only occasional discomfort, and in 76% there was an increased range of movement. Of those patients actually seen for review 79% were judged to have a good or excellent result. The most frequent single complication was deep infection, which occurred in 5·3% of hips.     

Mallory Weiss Syndrome

Head injury in infants and young children may produce lesions that are relatively unique for this age group. The uniqueness is generally due to the structural immaturity of the skull, meninges and brain.“Derby-hat” and diastatic fractures are common in this age group. Spurious meningoceles result from tearing of the dura which is closely adherent to the skull. The syndrome of “delayed” concussion is more commonly manifested in children. Extradural and subdural hemorrhage may develop from lacerations of the major venous sinuses. A classical extradural hematoma may occur in the absence of fracture across meningeal arterial channels.The management of patients with head injury has been improved by the more frequent use of tracheotomy, hypothermic techniques and drugs of the “lytic cocktail.” Solutions of urea in 10 per cent invert sugar are administered intravenously to control cerebral edema in selected patients.     

Characteristics of a membrane-associated lipoxygenase in tomato fruit

Microsomal membranes isolated from the pericarp of maturegreen tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) fruit rapidly metabolize exogenous radiolabeled linoleic acid into fatty acid oxidation products at 22°C. The reaction is strongly inhibited by n-propyl gallate, an inhibitor of lipoxygenase. The membranes also rapidly metabolize 16:0/18:2^* phosphatidylcholine into radiolabeled oxidation products that comigrate on TLC plates with those formed from free linoleic acid. At 30°C, the formation of fatty acid oxidation products from 16:0/18:2^* phosphatidylcholine is slower, and there is an initial accumulation of radiolabeled linoleic acid that is not evident at 22°C, which can be attributed to the action of lipolytic acyl hydrolase. Radiolabeled phosphatidic acid and diacylglycerol are also formed during metabolism of 16:0/18:2^* phosphatidylcholine by the microsomal membranes, and there is no breakdown of either linoleic acid or phosphatidylcholine by heat-denatured membranes. When Triton X-100 treated membranes were used, the same patterns of metabolite formation from radiolabeled linoleic acid and 16:0/18:2^* phosphatidylcholine were observed. Thus, the enzymes mediating the breakdown of these radiolabeled compounds appear to be tightly associated with the membranes. Collectively, the data indicate that there is a lipoxygenase associated with microsomal membranes from tomato fruit that utilizes free fatty acid substrate released from phospholipids. The microsomal lipoxygenase is strongly active over a pH range of 4.5 to 8.0, comprises approximately 38% of the total (microsomal plus soluble) lipoxygenase activity in the tissue, has an apparent K_m of 0.52 millimolar and an apparent V_max of 0.186 millimoles per minute per milligram of protein. The membranous enzyme also cross-reacts with polyclonal antibodies raised against soybean lipoxygenase-1 and has an apparent molecular mass of 100 kilodaltons.     

Cross-reactive and specific monoclonal antibodies against cellobiohydrolases I and II and endoglucanases I and II of Trichoderma reesei

Splenocytes derived from mice inoculated with a commercial cellulase preparation or purified cellulases were fused with a stable myeloma cell line (SP2/0). Specific monoclonal antibodies to cellobiohydrolases I and II and endoglucanases I and II were established. In addition to specific monoclonal antibodies, we were also able to establish stable hybridoma cell lines which produced monoclonal antibodies that recognized similar epitopes possessed by two or more of the above cellulases. By obtaining monospecific antibodies for all four individual cellulases, the role and function of the individual cellulases can thus be studied in greater detail.     

Oxidation of Nitrapyrin to 6-Chloropicolinic Acid by the Ammonia-Oxidizing Bacterium Nitrosomonas europaea

Suspensions of Nitrosomonas europaea catalyzed the oxidation of the commercial nitrification inhibitor nitrapyrin [2-chloro-6-(trichloromethyl)-pyridine]. Rapid oxidation of nitrapyrin (at a concentration of 10 μM) required the concomitant oxidation of ammonia, hydroxylamine, or hydrazine. The turnover rate was highest in the presence of 10 mM ammonia (0.8 nmol of nitrapyrin per min/mg of protein). The product of the reaction was 6-chloropicolinic acid. By the use of ¹⁸O₂, it was shown that one of the oxygens in 6-chloropicolinic acid came from diatomic oxygen and that the other came from water. Approximately 13% of the radioactivity of [2,6-¹⁴C]nitrapyrin was shown to bind to cells. Most (94%) of the latter was bound indiscriminately to membrane proteins. The nitrapyrin bound to membrane proteins may account for the observed inactivation of ammonia oxidation.     

Factors regulating baculovirus late and very late gene expression in transient-expression assays.

Eighteen genes of Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus are necessary and sufficient to transactivate expression from the late vp39 promoter in transient-expression assays in SF-21 cells. These 18 genes, known as late expression factor genes (lefs), are also required to transactivate the very late promoter of the polyhedrin gene, polh, but expression from this promoter is relatively weak compared with expression from the vp39 promoter. To further define the factors required for late and very late promoter expression, we first determined that the eighteen lefs were also required for expression from two other major baculovirus promoters: the late basic 6.9-kDa protein gene, p6.9, and the very late 10-kDa protein gene, p10. We next examined the effect of the very late expression factor 1 gene (vlf-1), a gene previously identified by analysis of a temperature-sensitive mutant, in the transient expression assay and found that vlf-1 specifically transactivated the two very late promoters but not the two late promoters. We then surveyed the Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus genome for additional genes which might specifically regulate very late gene expression; no additional vlf genes were detected, suggesting that VLF-1 is the primary regulator of very late gene expression. Finally, we found that the relative contribution of the antiapoptosis gene p35, which behaves as a lef in these transient-expression assays, depended on the nature of the other viral genes provided in the cotransfection mixtures, suggesting that other viral genes also contribute to the ability of the virus to block apoptosis.     

Seasonal water uptake and movement in root systems of Australian phraeatophytic plants of dimorphic root morphology: a stable isotope investigation

A natural abundance hydrogen stable isotope technique was used to study seasonal changes in source water utilization and water movement in the xylem of dimorphic root systems and stem bases of several woody shrubs or trees in mediterranean-type ecosystems of south Western Australia. Samples collected from the native treeBanksia prionotes over 18 months indicated that shallow lateral roots and deeply penetrating tap (sinker) roots obtained water of different origins over the course of a winter-wet/summer-dry annual cycle. During the wet season lateral roots acquired water mostly by uptake of recent precipitation (rain water) contained within the upper soil layers, and tap roots derived water from the underlying water table. The shoot obtained a mixture of these two water sources. As the dry season approached dependence on recent rain water decreased while that on ground water increased. In high summer, shallow lateral roots remained well-hydrated and shoots well supplied with ground water taken up by the tap root. This enabled plants to continue transpiration and carbon assimilation and thus complete their seasonal extension growth during the long (4–6 month) dry season. Parallel studies of other native species and two plantation-grown species ofEucalyptus all demonstrated behavior similar to that ofB. prionotes. ForB. prionotes, there was a strong negative correlation between the percentage of water in the stem base of a plant which was derived from the tap root (ground water) and the amount of precipitation which fell at the site. These data suggested that during the dry season plants derive the majority of the water they use from deeper sources while in the wet season most of the water they use is derived from shallower sources supplied by lateral roots in the upper soil layers. The data collected in this study supported the notion that the dimorphic rooting habit can be advantageous for large woody species of floristically-rich, open, woodlands and heathlands where the acquisition of seasonally limited water is at a premium.     

Isozyme analysis of Galaxias species (Teleostei: Galaxiidae) from the Taieri River, South Island, New Zealand: a species complex revealed

We examined genetic differentiation among 23 samples of non-migratory river galaxias from 17 streams in the Taieri River system, South Island, New Zealand. Four major genetic types were found, two of which occur in narrow sympatry in one location. These were compared with topotypical material representing Galaxias anomalus from the Clutha system (Otago) and G. vulgaris from the Waimakariri system (Canterbury) in order to establish identity. Morphological examination of these four major genetic types revealed consistent concomitant differences. The results suggest that there are at least three species of river galaxias in the Taieri system: G. anomalus, G. vulgaris and at least one previously undescribed species. We propose that the genetic structuring and subsequent speciation of this group has been promoted by the absence of the marine juvenile phase that is found in five other members of the genus native to New Zealand. This structuring may be exacerbated by population fragmentation over the last century owing to the negative influence of introduced trout. The phylogenetic diversity within the river system mirrors the diverse flora and invertebrate fauna of the region, and has conservation implications that parallel those resulting from our improved knowledge of the New Zealand herpetofauna through the application of genetic analysis.