Osteopenia due to chronic alcohol consumption by young actively growing rats is not completely reversible.

Our project was conducted to determine if the deleterious effects of chronic alcohol consumption on growing bone are reversible if the adolescent stops drinking. Four-week old, female, Sprague-Dawley rats were housed and maintained in an AAALAC-accredited facility. Six animals each were placed on alcohol-fed (35% ethanol-derived calories), pair-fed or chow-fed diets for 2 or 4 weeks. A recovery group of six animals was alcohol-fed for 2 weeks followed by an additional 2 weeks of chow feeding. This group was pair-fed to an additional group of six animals that received liquid diet, pair fed to the recovery group for 2 weeks followed by 2 weeks on a pair-fed chow diet. Blood alcohol concentrations averaged 309 +/- 9 mg/dl. Morphological parameters of the femur, such as length, diameter, and volume were smaller in alcohol treated animals at both 2 and 4 weeks of feeding. Femur length and volume of recovery alcohol-fed animals were more than either 2- or 4-week alcohol-fed animals, but they were not as great as the same-age 4-week pair-fed or chow-fed animals. Diameter was similar to the 4-week alcohol-fed, but less than the chow-fed. Femur density was reduced at all time periods in the alcohol-fed animals. The recovery alcohol-fed animals had greater density than the 2-week alcohol, but not the 4-week alcohol-fed animals. They did not, however, reach 4-week chow- or pair-fed levels. Tibia BV/TV was reduced in the 2- and 4-week alcohol- and pair-fed animals. BV/TV was greater in the recovery animals than either 2- or 4-week alcohols, but not as great as the chow-fed animals. At 2 weeks, calorie deprivation caused a reduction in insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) that was reduced even more by alcohol. By 4 weeks, the calorie deprivation was no longer seen, but alcohol continued to reduce the values. Two weeks of alcohol followed by 2 weeks of chow diet returned the IGF-1 values to almost normal, but significantly different levels. The apparent improvement was probably due to continued growth of the young bones and not a regaining of bone lost during alcohol consumption.

Refinement of herpesvirus B-capsid structure on parallel supercomputers.

Electron cryomicroscopy and icosahedral reconstruction are used to obtain the three-dimensional structure of the 1250-A-diameter herpesvirus B-capsid. The centers and orientations of particles in focal pairs of 400-kV, spot-scan micrographs are determined and iteratively refined by common-lines-based local and global refinement procedures. We describe the rationale behind choosing shared-memory multiprocessor computers for executing the global refinement, which is the most computationally intensive step in the reconstruction procedure. This refinement has been implemented on three different shared-memory supercomputers. The speedup and efficiency are evaluated by using test data sets with different numbers of particles and processors. Using this parallel refinement program, we refine the herpesvirus B-capsid from 355-particle images to 13-A resolution. The map shows new structural features and interactions of the protein subunits in the three distinct morphological units: penton, hexon, and triplex of this T = 16 icosahedral particle.

Ceftiofur distribution in serum and milk from clinically normal cows and cows with experimental Escherichia coli-induced mastitis.

Eight Holstein cows, 4 inoculated intracisternally in 1 quarter of the mammary gland with Escherichia coli and 4 noninfected controls, were administered ceftiofur sodium (3 mg/kg of body weight, IV, q 12 hours) for 24 hours, beginning at 14 hours after inoculation of infected cows. All challenge-exposed cows became infected, with mean +/- SEM peak log10 bacterial concentration in milk of 5.03 +/- 0.69 colony-forming units/ml. The infection resulted in systemic signs (mean peak rectal temperature, 41.5 +/- 0.3 C; anorexia; signs of depression) and local inflammation (mean peak albumin concentration in milk, 7.89 +/- 1.71 mg/ml). Ceftiofur was detectable in milk from all challenge-exposed cows, compared with only 1 of 4 noninfected cows, and the mean period after inoculation that ceftiofur was detectable in milk was longer (P < 0.05) in infected (147.7 +/- 27.5 hours) than noninfected cows (1.3 +/- 1.3 hours). However, maximal ceftiofur concentration attained in milk for all cows was 0.28 microgram/ml, and was 0.20 microgram/ml or less for all but 2 milk samples collected for 10 days after challenge exposure. Mean serum concentration of ceftiofur peaked at 1.0 +/- 0.3 microgram/ml and 0.7 +/- 0.1 microgram/ml for infected and noninfected cows, respectively. After each ceftiofur dose, mean peak and trough concentrations of ceftiofur in serum did not differ between groups; however, concentration of ceftiofur in serum was higher at 7 hours after each dose in noninfected cows, suggesting more rapid clearance of the drug in infected cows.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Cerebrospinal fluid composition of cattle with endotoxin-induced mastitis treated with isotonic (0.9%) or hypertonic (7.5%) sodium chloride.

This study examined the safety of intravenous hypertonic saline in cattle with experimental gram-negative endotoxemia. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) composition was examined in five control cows and eight treated cows 24 hours after the intramammary infusion of 1 mg of endotoxin. Four of the endotoxin challenged cows were treated intravenously with isotonic (0.9%) sodium chloride and four cows were treated intravenously with hypertonic (7.5%) sodium chloride. Decreased CSF osmolality, and sodium and alpha globulin concentrations and increased CSF concentrations of beta globulin were observed in both endotoxin-challenged saline-treated groups. No CSF compositional differences were observed between endotoxin-challenged cows receiving isotonic or hypertonic saline. Although no cytologic or biochemical evidence of salt poisoning was observed in cows receiving hypertonic saline, significant changes were observed in the CSF composition of both endotoxin-infused saline-treated groups.

Self-efficacy, hedonistic expectancies, and condom-use intentions among inner-city black adolescent women: a social cognitive approach to AIDS risk behavior.

The effects on condom-use intentions of an acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) prevention intervention based on social cognitive theory were investigated among 19 sexually active black adolescent women recruited from an inner-city family planning clinic. The women received the social cognitive intervention designed to increase perceived self-efficacy and favorable outcome expectancies about the hedonistic consequences of using condoms or one of two control interventions: An information-alone intervention designed to increase AIDS knowledge or a general health-promotion intervention designed to provide information about important health problems other than AIDS. All interventions lasted 105 min and involved films and small-group exercises. Participants' evaluations did not differ among conditions. As hypothesized, analysis of covariance indicated that participants in the social cognitive condition reported greater intentions to use condoms than did those in the two control conditions. In addition, participants in the social cognitive condition scored higher in perceived self-efficacy and favorable hedonistic expectancies--the two hypothesized mediators of the intervention effect. Although participants who received the information-alone intervention subsequently had greater AIDS knowledge than did those in the health promotion condition, they did not express greater intentions to use condoms. These results highlight the value of a social cognitive approach to AIDS risk behavior: outcome expectancies regarding the effects of precautionary practices on sexual enjoyment and perceived self-efficacy to implement such practices play an important role in decisions about condom use.

Antigenic homology of endotoxin with a coliform mastitis vaccine strain, Escherichia coli O111:B4 (J5).

This study examined recognition of heterologous Gram-negative endotoxin by antibodies recognizing common lipopolysaccharide core antigens. Gram-negative endotoxins from 11 heterologous bacterial strains were tested for recognition by antibodies against common lipopolysaccharide core antigens. Serum was harvested from a calf immunized with the Rc mutant, Escherichia coli O111:B4 (J5), and affinity purified against endotoxin derived from an Ra mutant, Salmonella typhimurium, producing an antibody reagent recognizing homologous Gram-negative core antigens present in the Rc mutant vaccinal antigen. This reagent demonstrated reactivity against 11 chemically purified Gram-negative endotoxins. Included were endotoxins derived from 3 smooth E. coli species, 2 Salmonella spp., Shigella flexneri, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Serratia marcescens, and lipid A. Endotoxin derived from K. pneumoniae had significantly higher ELISA reactivity with core antigen specific antibodies than did endotoxin derived from either E. coli O111:B4 (J5) or P. aeruginosa. These results suggest immunization with R mutant bacterins may have utility in the prevention of Gram-negative mastitis even when whole bacteria react poorly with antibodies recognizing common core antigens.

Intramammary administration of gentamicin as treatment for experimentally induced Escherichia coli mastitis in cows.

In 8 Holstein cows, 50 colony-forming units (CFU) of Escherichia coli was administered into 1 mammary gland. Infections were established in all inoculated glands. In 4 of the 8 cows, 500 mg of gentamicin sulfate was administered by intramammary infusion 14 hours after inoculation; the other 4 cows were untreated controls. Infusions of gentamicin also were given after each of the 3 successive milkings after the initial infusion, so that a total dose of 2 g of gentamicin was given to each of the treated cows. During the 33-hour treatment period and for the first milking after the last infusion of gentamicin, the treated cows had a mean gentamicin concentration of greater than or equal to 31.0 micrograms/ml in milk samples that were collected from inoculated quarters immediately before each milking. Concentrations of 0.34 and 0.69 micrograms of gentamicin/ml were detected in milk from 2 cows at 8 days after inoculation with E coli. Mean serum concentrations of gentamicin were greater than or equal to 0.37 micrograms/ml throughout the treatment period and the first 12 hours after the last infusion, with a mean peak concentration of 0.96 micrograms/ml at 24.4 hours. The range of peak concentration of gentamicin detected in urine from all treated cows was 42 to 74.4 micrograms/ml. Peak concentration of E coli in milk in the treated cows (6.08 +/- 1.02 log10 CFU/ml) did not significantly (P greater than 0.05) differ from that of the control cows (5.26 +/- 1.00 log10 CFU/ml). Similarly, mean duration of infection in the treated cows (54 hours) did not differ significantly from that of the control cows (48 hours).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Antigenic homology among gram-negative organisms isolated from cattle with clinical mastitis.

This study examined the degree of serologic homology among mastitis pathogens. Antibodies were raised against the Rc mutant, Escherichia coli O111:B4 (strain J5) and affinity purified against lipopolysaccharide derived from the Ra mutant, Salmonella typhimurium TV119. These antibodies reacted with a battery of unrelated Gram-negative bacteria in whole cell ELISA. Bacteria with strong cross-reactions included a heterologous, smooth E. coli, Salmonella dublin, S. typhimurium, Salmonella newport, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Recognition of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Bordetella bronchisepticum was observed, but reactions were weaker than with the other isolates. The reduced recognition of these isolates probably reflects a masking effect of the bacterial capsule and variations in lipopolysaccharide structure. The polyclonal antibody did not recognize a Gram-positive isolate, Staphylococcus aureus. These immunoglobulins were then tested using whole cell ELISA against a panel of bacteria recovered from the mammary glands of cattle with clinical mastitis. Marked reactivity was noted against a variety of Gram-negative pathogens. Gram-positive isolates had lower recognition by Gram-negative core antigen specific immunoglobulin. The results suggest immunization with rough mutant bacteria may have broad application in the prevention of coliform mastitis.

Sexual maturity as a criterion for classification of phallometric stimulus slides.

With the acceptance of behavior modification techniques in the 1970's as the standard modality of treatment of sex offenders, the ability to diagnose the paraphilic arousal patterns became of primary importance. The use of the penile plethysmograph in the assessment of sex offenders is regarded as the most accurate measure of these sexual arousal patterns. This method measures the vasocongestive engorgement of the penile corporea while the offender is exposed to deviant and nondeviant sexual stimuli. The stimuli may be slides of nude males and females of varying ages, audiotaped descriptions of erotic scenarios or videotaped scenes of sexual interaction. Researchers who have used slides to determine the age and gender preference of the sex offenders have typically categorized the slides in arbitrarily established age categories that have varied from one research study to another. The use of age as a criterion does not take into account the variation in growth and maturation among children and adolescents. To increase reliability and standardization of research techniques, the authors propose that the stages of sexual maturity as set forth by Tanner (1962, 1978) be used in lieu of age.

Treatment of bowel obstruction after operation for colorectal carcinoma.

Operative therapy is beneficial in patients with bowel obstruction after operation for colorectal carcinoma. The cause of the bowel obstruction is more likely to be benign following colorectal carcinoma than following other malignancies. Also, the period of preoperative nasogastric suction can safely be extended to 3 to 4 days in these patients, since a resolution rate of 28 percent can be achieved with minimal risk of strangulation.

Relationship between plasma PGE2 level and changes in hemoglobin proportions during bleeding-induced anemia in adult rats.

Reversion of hemoglobin proportions toward newborn values is a characteristic change found in blood of acutely bled adult rats. In this study, adult Sprague-Dawley rats were bled over a period of time until they became anemic by hematologic parameters. We measured plasma prostaglandin E2 levels of anemic and control rats using double-antibody technique. A significant increase was recorded in bled plasma, and the value returned to unbled level when anemia was corrected. Acetylsalicylic acid intake during bleeding-induced anemia abolished the process of reverse switching of hemoglobin, as well as inhibited the increase in plasma PGE2 levels. Changes in hemoglobin proportions due to phlebotomy were also blocked when acetylsalicylic acid was replaced by indomethacin. These observations are of significance in understanding, at least in part, the mechanism of reverse hemoglobin switching in adult rats undergoing erythropoietic stress.

Biliary excretion of aluminum in aluminum osteodystrophy with liver disease.

Two patients with chronic liver disease developed elevated serum aluminum concentrations and biopsy-proven osteodystrophy. Neither patient had chronic renal failure but both had received aluminum-containing antacids for long periods. We measured biliary and urinary aluminum excretion during antacid loading in patients with normal liver function. Our studies show that biliary excretion is an important route of elimination of orally absorbed aluminum, and we suggest that long-term antacid therapy in patients with severe liver disease be monitored with periodic serum and urinary aluminum determinations to avoid aluminum osteodystrophy.