Aquatic productivity and the evolution of diadromous fish migration.

Diadromous migration, in which some fish species migrate from freshwater and feed in the ocean (anadromous species) and others migrate from the ocean and feed in freshwater (catadromous), has long been perplexing. However, when the distribution of diadromous species is examined with respect to global patterns in aquatic productivity, this apparent paradox is resolved. The contrasting directions of migration can largely be explained by the relative availability of food resources in ocean and freshwater habitats. Oceans are more productive than freshwaters in temperate latitudes, and anadromous species predominate. In contrast, catadromous species generally occur in tropical latitudes where freshwater productivity exceeds that of the ocean.

Saxitoxin Exposure Confirmed by Human Urine and Food Analysis.

A case of an elderly female with suspected paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) is presented. The patient shared a meal of recreationally-harvested shellfish with her family and soon began to experience nausea and weakness. She was taken to the local emergency department and then transported to a larger hospital in Anchorage where she was admitted to the intensive care unit with respiratory depression and shock. Her condition improved, and she was discharged from the hospital 6 days later. No others who shared the meal reported symptoms of PSP. A clam remaining from the meal was collected and analyzed for paralytic shellfish toxins (PST) by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Environmental Health Laboratory; the clam tested positive for saxitoxin (STX; 277 µg/100 g), neosaxitoxin (NEO; 309 µg/100 g), multiple gonyautoxins (GTX; 576-2490 µg/100 g), decarbamoyl congeners (7.52-11.3 µg/100 g) and C-toxins (10.8-221 µg/100 g) using high-pressure liquid chromatography with post-column oxidation (AOAC Method 2011.02). Urine from the patient was submitted to Centers for Disease Control for analysis of selected PSTs and creatinine. STX (64.0 µg/g-creatinine), NEO (60.0 µg/g-creatinine) and GTX1-4 (492-4780 µg/g-creatinine) were identified in the urine using online solid phase extraction with HPLC and tandem mass spectrometry. This was the first time GTX were identified in urine of a PSP case from Alaska, highlighting the need to include all STX congeners in testing to protect the public's health through a better understand of PST toxicity, monitoring and prevention of exposures.

Delayed sleep phase syndrome. A chronobiological disorder with sleep-onset insomnia.

We describe a new syndrome called "delayed sleep phase insomnia." Thirty of 450 patients seen for a primary insomniac complaint had the following characteristics: (1) chronic inability to fall asleep at a desired clock time; (2) when not on a strict schedule, the patients have a normal sleep pattern and after a sleep of normal length awaken spontaneously and feel refreshed; and (3) a long history of unsuccessful attempts to treat the problem. These patients were younger than the general insomniac population and as a group did not have a specific psychiatric disorder. Six patients' histories are described in detail, including the successful nonpharmacological chronotherapy regimen (resetting the patients' biological clock by progressive phase delay). Delayed sleep phase insomnia is proposed to be a disorder of the circadian sleep-wake rhythm in which the "advance" portion of the phase response curve is small.

Chronotherapy: resetting the circadian clocks of patients with delayed sleep phase insomnia.

We report here the development of a brief drug-free rescheduling treatment ("chronotherapy") for Delayed Sleep Phase (DSP) insomnia, a syndrome characterized by sleep-onset insomnia with difficulty in morning awakening. We postulated that patients with DSP insomnia had an inadequate capacity to achieve phase advance shifts of the circadian pacemaker which times the sleep-wake cycle. Chronotherapy was therefore designed to reset these patients' biological clocks by the phase delay route. This single 5-6 day treatment was tested in 5 patients with a 4-15 year history of DSP insomnia. All 5 patients reported a lasting resolution of their symptoms substantiated by systematic long-term self-reports and objective polygraphic recording before and after treatment (average follow-up of 260 days; range, 42-910 days). The average sleep onset advanced from 4:50 a.m. before treatment to 12:20 a.m. afterwards, and wake times advanced from 1:00 p.m. to 755 a.m. (for both, p less than 0.001), with no reduction in sleep efficiency. As a result, all 5 patients were able to end their chronic dependence on hypnotic medications.

Sleep-wake disorders in the elderly: polysomnographic analysis.

The experience with 83 patients aged 60 or older from the Stanford Sleep-Wake Disorders Clinic is compared with that in 423 younger clinic patients seen during the same two-year period. Each patient received a medical, psychologic and polysomnographic evaluation. The final diagnoses were recorded according to the Diagnostic Classification System of the Association of Sleep Disorders Centers. The most common major diagnoses in the elderly group were sleep apnea syndrome (39 percent) and periodic movements-restless legs syndrome (18 percent). These syndromes showed a significantly greater prevalence in the older than in the younger patients (p less than .001), and were found in 68 percent of the elderly group. The elderly manifested more objective signs of sleep disturbance, including more wake time after sleep onset, and more frequent and longer awakenings; moreover, fewer of them experienced stage-4 sleep. The diagnostic findings seemed to indicate that complaints about sleep-wake functioning in many elderly patients may be a result of specific pathologic sleep disturbances.

Serologic studies of Streptococcus intermedius, Streptococcus constellatus, and Streptococcus morbillorum by crossed immunoelectrophoresis.

A reference antigen-antibody system for Streptococcus intermedius, Streptococcus constellatus, and Streptococcus morbillorum was established with crossed immunoelectrophoresis. A comparison of S. intermedius, S. constellatus, and S. morbillorum with crossed immunoelectrophoresis and crossed immunoelectrophoresis with intermediate gel indicated that S. intermedius and S. constellatus are closely related antigenically with as many as six common cytoplasmic antigens. S. morbillorum was antigenically more distinct; antiserum of one strain of S. morbillorum was monospecific, indicating that specific serogroups of S. morbillorum exist. Crossed immunoelectrophoresis and tandem crossed immunoelectrophoresis revealed that S. intermedius, S. constellatus, and S. morbillorum also share some common antigens with Streptococcus sanguis and Streptococcus mitis, but S. intermedius, S. constellatus, and S. morbillorum are antigenically distinct from Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus bovis.

ELISA for the detection of herpes simplex virus antigens in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with encephalitis.

An inhibition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of herpes simplex virus antigens in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) has been developed. A Triton X-100 extract of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infected HEp-2 cells was used to coat wells of polyvinyl chloride plates. Rabbit anti-HSV-1 globulin served as the reference antibody and the CSF specimens were tested at a final dilution of 1:4. Positive results were obtained in CSF specimens from 11/18 (61%) neonates with HSV infection, 15/23 (65%) older individuals with HSV culture positive brain biopsies, and in 4/29 (14%) patients with culture negative brain biopsies. The assay was negative with CSF from 14 infants without HSV infections, from 30 patients with bacterial meningitis and 10 with cryptococcal meningitis. The test was positive in 10/21 patients within 10 days of onset, 11/14 within 11-20 days, and in 5/6 more than 20 days after onset of the herpetic infection. The overall sensitivity of the assay was 63% and the specificity was 95%.

Transplantable Marek's disease lymphomas. I. Growth characteristics during development in two inbred lines of chickens.

Lymphomas developed in the pectoral muscle of most chickens inoculated with cells from primary Marek's disease virus-induced visceral tumors obtained from chickens of the same inbred line. However, serial passaging of the lymphoma cells in histocompatible hosts generally resulted either in an eventual absence of tumor formation at the inoculation site or in tumor regression. Exceptions occurred in two experiments, where tumors grew rapidly and the hosts died early. Subsequent passaging of cells from these tumors into syngeneic recipients resulted in the development of two new transplantable Marek's disease (MD) lymphomas. These lymphomas, which were developed in chickens of related inbred lines--G-B1 and G-B2--were designated MDCT-UG1 and MDCT-UG2, respectively. Cells from the transplantable lymphomas possess different major histocompatibility complex (MHC) antigens, since G-B1 and G-B2 chickens have different MHC genotypes. A change in the cellular composition during a particular passage for both lymphomas, as indicated by marked increases in the percentage of cells possessing a MD tumor-associated surface antigen (MATSA), suggests that each arose as a result of the emergence and selection of a highly malignant clone of cells.

Quantification of hyperbaric oxygen-induced toxicity utilizing a malarial system.

This study was undertaken in recognition of the need to develop quantitative systems to evaluate the toxicity associated with hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) exposure. Malaria-infected (P. berghei berghei) mice were briefly exposed to 100% oxygen at 3 ATA on day 10 of infection. At 25, 48, and 72 h thereafter, the levels of circulating erythrcytes and percent parasitized RBC were monitored and compared to those of infected non-exposed controls. The total erythrocyte counts of the infected HBO-exposed and non-exposed mice did not differ significantly. In contrast, percent parasitized cells in the oxygen-exposed mice were lowered to 55-60% control values at 24, 48, and 72 h. The mechanism of this difference needs further study, but we believe that P. berghei-infected erythrocytes are preferentially hemolyzed as a consequence of HBO exposure. this mode system is useful in the study of HBO-induced toxicity because of its high degree of selectivity and sensitivity and its amenability to strict quantification over a period of at least several days.

Parental investment theory: The role of past investment.

The role of past investment in parental-care behaviour has often been controversial. Some researchers have argued that organisms basing present investment on past investment are committing the 'Concorde fallacy'. Others have incorporated life history theory to suggest that investing according to past investment is one component of investing according to expected future reproductive success: a parent can use past investment as well as other information, such as brood size, to make its optimal parental-investment decisions. Although parental-investment research is still in its infancy, the incorporation of life history theory suggests that the Concorde fallacy is a misleading concept.

Comparative pathogenicity of Actinomyces naeslundii and Actinomyces israelii.

Typical actinomycosis has been produced in mice following single intraperitoneal injections of saline suspensions of Actinomyces israelii and A. naeslundii. A. israelii produced infections in 95.8% of the animals inoculated. A. naeslundii, generally considered to be a saprophytic organism, produced lesions in 89.7% of the inoculated animals. The finding that A. naeslundii produced lesions in mice similar to those produced by A. israelii suggests that A. naeslundii has similar pathogenic potential for man. The isolation of A. naeslundii from suppurative lesions of man also supports this conclusion.

Independence of chicken major histocompatibility antigens and tumor-associated antigen on the surface of herpesvirus-induced lymphoma cells.

Capping of chicken major histocompatibility (MHC) antigens on normal thymus, spleen, and peripheral blood leukocytes was demonstrated, although MHC antigens appeared to be present on only 15 to 18% of normal thymus cells. MHC antigen capping also occurred on cells from a Marek's disease herpesvirus-induced transplantable lymphoma (MDCT-NYM1). Capping of a Marek's disease tumor-associated surface antigen (MATSA) could be induced on MDCT-NYM1 lymphoma cells as well as on cells of two Marek's disease in vitro lymphoblastoid cell lines (MDCC-MSB1 and MDCC-LS1). Cocapping of MHC antigens and MATSA did not occur on MDCT-NYM1 lymphoma cells. The results suggest that MHC antigens and MATSA are not structurally associated on the cell membrane.

Use of the immunodiffusion test in the serodiagnosis of aspergillosis.

The diagnostic value of an immunodiffusion (ID) test with standardized precipitinogens derived from five Aspergillus species was determined with sera from 60 proven and 12 suspected cases of aspergillosis. The data demonstrated that the greatest number of aspergillosis cases were detected by the concurrent use of A. fumigatus and A. niger precipitinogens. With these precipitinogens, the ID test permitted the serodiagnosis of aspergillosis in 82% of the 60 proven cases and in 83% of the 12 suspected cases. The presence of one or more precipitins was indicative of aspergilloma, of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, or of invasive aspergillosis. Precipitins were detected in 93% of the sera from patients with aspergilloma, in 50% of the sera from patients with allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, and in 88% of the sera from patients with invasive aspergillosis. Although the presence of one or two precipitin bands could indicate any form of aspergillosis, the presence of three or four was strong evidence of either aspergilloma or invasive aspergillosis. The ID test was found to be 100% specific in an evaluation of its effectiveness with 65 sera from individuals with other systemic mycotic infections, bacterial or neoplastic diseases, and from apparently normal humans. In diagnosed cases of aspergillosis, the examination of serial serum specimens provided information about the clinical course of the disease. A reduction in the number of precipitin bands and significant titer changes were noted as the patients responded to therapy.