Making marinas bivalve friendly for enhanced biodiversity outcomes.

Natural coastlines are being replaced by artificial structures (pilings, pontoons, breakwaters), with negative environmental impacts, particularly in marinas. Ropes seeded with mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) were added to artificial structures in a marina, using aquaculture techniques, to reduce the colonisation of invasive taxa. After 6-months, droplines beneath pontoons had the highest seeded mussel survival and growth, richness of native and invasive taxa, and proportion of invasive to native taxa, compared with the other interventions. Mussel ropes on the intertidal structures (pilings and breakwaters) supported higher biomass of native taxa, whereas mussel ropes on subtidal structures (pontoons and breakwaters) had reduced biomass of invasive taxa, relative to the unseeded ropes. Droplines had the greater biomass of mussels, while mussel ropes placed under pontoons, and in subtidal gabion baskets limited the biomass but not the diversity of invasive species. Further study is required to determine whether these interventions can be upscaled to improve both the native biodiversity and functioning of marinas.

Conjunctival lymphoid hyperplasia.

Our patient had uncommon features of conjunctival lymphoid infiltrates, including patient age, bilaterality, and lesion location. We describe his case and discuss the prognosis based on a literature review.

Monocular congenital cataracts: psychological effects of treatment.

Visual success in the treatment of monocular congenital cataracts requires early surgery, and aggressive, long-term amblyopia management and optical correction. These children will have their only normally seeing eye patched for a significant percentage of their early childhood years. We have been concerned about the possibility of an adverse psychological impact of this form of treatment. This study utilized two standardized testing instruments to evaluate the incidence of developmental delay and behavioral problems in children treated for monocular congenital cataracts. A total of 22 children were evaluated with one or both of these instruments and compared to a control group of 18 normal siblings. There was no statistically significant evidence of developmental delay or increased behavioral problems in the treatment group.

Contraction of collagen lattices by skin fibroblasts: drug-induced changes.

A range of dermatologically useful drugs were added to human skin fibroblasts cultured in collagen lattices to assess possible effects on the rate of lattice contraction. Vitamin C, Vitamin E, phenytoin, sodium salicylate, D-penicillamine and dibutyryl c-AMP had no significant effect. Chlorhexidine acetate at 10 micrograms/ml arrested contraction after 24 h but this was related to its cytotoxicity. The antibiotics griseofulvin (2-16 micrograms/ml) and cycloheximide (5-30 micrograms/ml) caused dose-related inhibitions of contraction without affecting fibroblast viability. Four corticosteroids at 10 micrograms/ml inhibited contraction, clobetasol propionate having the greatest effect. On the other hand 4 retinoids at 10(-5) M enhanced contraction by up to 20%. As lattice contraction appears to model the contraction of skin wounds and there are broad parallels between the effects shown here of antiseptics, corticosteroids and the retinoids, and their reported influence on healing wounds, the lattice system may be a useful pharmacological screen for new compounds.

Contraction of collagen lattices by skin fibroblasts from dystrophic recessive epidermolysis bullosa and other dermatoses.

Skin fibroblasts incorporated into a lattice of hydrated collagen contract it to form a tissue-like structure. Fibroblasts from patients with skin diseases, including psoriasis, epidermolysis bullosa, and scleroderma, and from control subjects, all showed a similar ability to contract the lattice. The established skin epithelial cell line NCTC 2544, melanoma cells, and 3T6 mouse fibroblasts produced little contraction. Contraction required the presence of serum and was unaffected by the addition of fibronectin (10-20 micrograms/ml). Hyaluronic acid at 50-500 micrograms/ml had no effect, but contraction was inhibited at 1 mg/ml.

Behaviour of Duchenne dystrophy fibroblasts in collagen gels.

In order to clarify the possible involvement of the cell surface in the pathogenesis of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, we have examined the behaviour of fibroblasts cultured from Duchenne patients in hydrated collagen lattices. No differences could be found between Duchenne and normal skin fibroblasts, either after initial seeding or following prolonged culture within the collagen gel.

Mitogenic effects of sera from normal and psoriatic subjects on human skin fibroblasts.

Sera from normal and psoriatic subjects had similar mitogenic effects when added to monolayer cultures of human skin fibroblasts. Fibroblasts derived from a psoriasis patient proliferated faster in both types of sera than fibroblasts from a normal subject, despite similar rates of proliferation in foetal calf serum. The psoriatic fibroblasts appeared to be inherently capable of a greater response to human serum mitogens than the normal fibroblasts.

Hyperactivity of fibroblasts cultured from psoriatic skin: I. Faster proliferation and effect of serum withdrawal.

Fibroblasts were cultured from the involved and uninvolved forearm skin of patients with severe generalized psoriasis and compared with those from the forearms of normal controls of similar ages. Thirteen strains were obtained from involved skin (PSA strains) and sixteen strains from uninvolved skin (PSB), with thirteen control strains (NSF). Outgrowth of fibroblasts from the psoriatic skin explants was slightly quicker than from control skin and the average proliferation rates of passaged strains were PSA 144, PSB 134 and NSF 94 (P less than 0.05). Psoriatic fibroblasts were abnormally dependent on serum for anchorage. In serum-free medium many cells rounded up and were only loosely attached to the substratum. This effect was rapid, reversible and not corrected by adding fibronectin. Cell attachment assays showed only small differences between the psoriatic and normal fibroblasts and the main effect of serum withdrawal appeared to be on spreading rather than attachment. These data suggest that the dermis of both involved and uninvolved psoriatic skin is abnormal and that the hyperactivity persists in vitro. Our findings seem most compatible with a hyperproliferative reaction of both epidermis and dermis to an extracutaneous, perhaps vascular, stimulus.

Proliferative responses of fibroblasts from psoriatic and normal skin to clobetasol propionate.

The proliferation of fibroblasts cultured from psoriatic and normal skin was compared following addition of clobetasol propionate to the culture medium. Proliferation was stimulated at 0.1 microgram/ml and progressively inhibited at 1-10 micrograms/ml. A differential sensitivity to the drug was demonstrated: the fibroblasts from involved psoriatic skin were more stimulated than normal fibroblasts at 0.1 microgram/ml and then more inhibited at 10 micrograms/ml. The fibroblasts from uninvolved psoriatic skin displayed intermediate responses. There was some cytotoxicity in cultures of the psoriatic cells at 10 micrograms/ml. The results demonstrate a further abnormality of fibroblasts from psoriatic skin.