Serum alpha-feto-protein* III. Electrophoresis of sera from cases of primary cancer of the liver: an electrophoretic variant

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The prevalence of hepatitis B (Australia) antigen in Southern Africa

The prevalence of hepatitis B (Australia) antigen (HBAg) in 38 941 apparently healthy persons of various ethnic groups living in the Transvaal was determined by countercurrent immuno-electrophoresis or by complement fixation. The prevalence was 0,09 - 0,6% in  healthy Whites, 0,9% in Coloured donors, 2,0% in urban Negroes and 7"10 in rural male Blacks. The positivity rate in 444 healthy Black subjects and in 423 Sana (Bushmen) inhabiting areas in the northern and north-western regions of Southern Africa ranged from 2,7 to 15,8%. An assessment of the frequency of HBAg in various tribal groups of either Sana (Bushmen) or rural Blacks indicated that geographical environment might be one of the factors influencing antigenaemia in healthy persons. The prevalence was highest in persons originating from the west coast regions of Southern Africa, in adjoining territories proceeding from the central plateau, and those countries north of this area (9,1 - 13,6%) An intermediate prevalence of 6 - 7% was noted in some regions abutting on the east coast strip, and a lower prevalence was recorded for inland regions, including Lesotho, the eastern Orange Free State, Natal Midlands and Zululand (4 - 4,7%), while the lowest frequency was found in northern Natal and the central Transvaal areas (2 - 3%). A small group of Sana in the north-eastern corner of South West Africa who had an incidence of 2,7% was the only one which did not fit in with the general geographical distribution of HBAg observed.S. Afr. Med. J., 48, 941 (1974)

The prevalence of virus-B hepatitis South African blacks

The importance of virus-B as a cause of acute hepatitis in South African Blacks was determined by examining the serum of 147 patients during the acute stage of the illness for the presence of hepatitis-B antigen (HBAg). The antigen was found in 54% of 63 children and 65% of 83 adults with this disease. It is suggested that the relative predominance of virus-B hepatitis in Blacks is related to the high HBAg carrier rate in this population. The majority of patients with virus-B hepatitis did not give a history of parenteral exposure to the infectious agent, emphasising the importance of non·parenteral spread of virus-B.S. Afr. Med. J., 48, 1837 (1974)

Twirling and Whirling: Viscous Dynamics of Rotating Elastica

Motivated by diverse phenomena in cellular biophysics, including bacterial flagellar motion and DNA transcription and replication, we study the overdamped nonlinear dynamics of a rotationally forced filament with twist and bend elasticity. Competition between twist injection, twist diffusion, and writhing instabilities is described by a novel pair of coupled PDEs for twist and bend evolution. Analytical and numerical methods elucidate the twist/bend coupling and reveal two dynamical regimes separated by a Hopf bifurcation: (i) diffusion-dominated axial rotation, or twirling, and (ii) steady-state crankshafting motion, or whirling. The consequences of these phenomena for self-propulsion are investigated, and experimental tests proposed.Comment: To be published in Physical Review Letter

A Minimal Model of Metabolism Based Chemotaxis

Since the pioneering work by Julius Adler in the 1960's, bacterial chemotaxis has been predominantly studied as metabolism-independent. All available simulation models of bacterial chemotaxis endorse this assumption. Recent studies have shown, however, that many metabolism-dependent chemotactic patterns occur in bacteria. We hereby present the simplest artificial protocell model capable of performing metabolism-based chemotaxis. The model serves as a proof of concept to show how even the simplest metabolism can sustain chemotactic patterns of varying sophistication. It also reproduces a set of phenomena that have recently attracted attention on bacterial chemotaxis and provides insights about alternative mechanisms that could instantiate them. We conclude that relaxing the metabolism-independent assumption provides important theoretical advances, forces us to rethink some established pre-conceptions and may help us better understand unexplored and poorly understood aspects of bacterial chemotaxis

Ischemia monitoring in off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery using intravascular near-infrared spectroscopy

BACKGROUND: In off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery, manipulations on the beating heart can lead to transient interruptions of myocardial oxygen supply, which can generate an accumulation of oxygen-dependent metabolites in coronary venous blood. The objective of this study was to evaluate the reliability of intravascular near-infrared spectroscopy as a monitoring method to detect possible ischemic events in off-pump coronary artery bypass procedures. METHODS: In 15 elective patients undergoing off-pump myocardial revascularization, intravascular near-infrared spectroscopic analysis of coronary venous blood was performed. NIR signals were transferred through a fiberoptic catheter for signal emission and collection. For data analysis and processing, a miniature spectrophotometer with multivariate statistical package was used. Signal acquisition and analysis were performed before and after revascularization. Spectroscopic data were compared with hemodynamic parameters, electrocardiogram, transesophageal echocardiography and laboratory findings. RESULTS: A conversion to extracorporeal circulation was not necessary. The mean number of grafts per patient was 3.1 ± 0.6. An intraoperative myocardial ischemia was not evident, as indicated by electrocardiogram and transesophageal echocardiography. Continuous spectroscopic analysis showed reproducible absorption spectra of coronary sinus blood. Due to uneventful intraoperative courses, clear ischemia-related changes could be detected in none of the patients. CONCLUSION: Our initial results show that intravascular near-infrared spectroscopy can reliably be used for an online intraoperative ischemia monitoring in off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery. However, the method has to be further evaluated and standardized to determine the role of spectroscopy in off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery

Getting into hot water:sick guppies frequent warmer thermal conditions

Ectotherms depend on the environmental temperature for thermoregulation and exploit thermal regimes that optimise physiological functioning. They may also frequent warmer conditions to up-regulate their immune response against parasite infection and/or impede parasite development. This adaptive response, known as ‘behavioural fever’, has been documented in various taxa including insects, reptiles and fish, but only in response to endoparasite infections. Here, a choice chamber experiment was used to investigate the thermal preferences of a tropical freshwater fish, the Trinidadian guppy (Poecilia reticulata), when infected with a common helminth ectoparasite Gyrodactylus turnbulli, in female-only and mixed-sex shoals. The temperature tolerance of G. turnbulli was also investigated by monitoring parasite population trajectories on guppies maintained at a continuous 18, 24 or 32 °C. Regardless of shoal composition, infected fish frequented the 32 °C choice chamber more often than when uninfected, significantly increasing their mean temperature preference. Parasites maintained continuously at 32 °C decreased to extinction within 3 days, whereas mean parasite abundance increased on hosts incubated at 18 and 24 °C. We show for the first time that gyrodactylid-infected fish have a preference for warmer waters and speculate that sick fish exploit the upper thermal tolerances of their parasites to self medicate

Deprived children or deprived neighbourhoods? A public health approach to the investigation of links between deprivation and injury risk with specific reference to child road safety in Devon County, UK

BACKGROUND: Worldwide, injuries from road traffic collisions are a rapidly growing problem in terms of morbidity and mortality. The UK has amongst the worst records in Europe with regard to child pedestrian safety. A traditional view holds that resources should be directed towards training child pedestrians. In order to reduce socio-economic differentials in child pedestrian casualty rates it is suggested that these should be directed at deprived children. This paper seeks to question whether analysis of extant routinely collected data supports this view. METHODS: Routine administrative data on road collisions has been used. A deprivation measure has been assigned to the location where a collision was reported, and the home postcode of the casualty. Aggregate data was analysed using a number of epidemiological models, concentrating on the Generalised Linear Mixed Model. RESULTS: This study confirms evidence suggesting a link between increasing deprivation and increasing casualty involvement of child pedestrians. However, suggestions are made that it may be necessary to control for the urban nature of an area where collisions occur. More importantly, the question is raised as to whether the casualty rate is more closely associated with deprivation measures of the ward in which the collision occurred than with the deprivation measures of the home address of the child. CONCLUSION: Conclusions have to be drawn with great caution. Limitations in the utility of the officially collected data are apparent, but the implication is that the deprivation measures of the area around the collision is a more important determinant of socio-economic differentials in casualty rates than the deprivation measures of the casualties' home location. Whilst this result must be treated with caution, if confirmed by individual level case-controlled studies this would have a strong implication for the most appropriate interventions

Direction of the formation of anterior lumbar vertebral osteophytes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>X-ray images of lumbar degenerative diseases often show not only claw osteophytes, but also pairs of osteophytes that form in a direction away from the adjacent disc. We have investigated the direction of the formation of anterior lumbar vertebral osteophytes across the lumbar vertebrae using a sufficient number of lumbar radiographs, because osteophytes images can provide essential information that will contribute to the understanding of the pathology and progress of lumbar spine degeneration.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The direction of the formation of 14,250 pairs of anterior lumbar vertebral osteophytes across the adjacent intervertebral discs in 2,850 patients who were all over 60 years old was investigated. Anterior lumbar vertebral osteophytes were distributed into six groups based on the direction of extension of each pair of osteophytes across the intervertebral disc space.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In L1–L2 and L2–L3, the number of patients classified into groups B (the pair of osteophytes extended in the direction of the adjacent disc) and C (almost complete bone bridge formation by a pair of osteophytes across the intervertebral disc space) was larger than that classified into group D (the pair of osteophytes extended in a direction away from the adjacent disc). In L3–L4, L4–L5 and L5-S1, the number of patients in group D was greater than that of patients belonging to groups B and C.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our study showed that pairs of osteophytes frequently formed in the direction of the adjacent disc in the upper lumbar vertebrae (L1–L2 and L2–L3) and in the direction away from the adjacent disc in middle or lower lumbar vertebrae (L3–L4, L4–L5, and L5-S1).</p

Overview of mathematical approaches used to model bacterial chemotaxis II: bacterial populations

We review the application of mathematical modeling to understanding the behavior of populations of chemotactic bacteria. The application of continuum mathematical models, in particular generalized Keller–Segel models, is discussed along with attempts to incorporate the microscale (individual) behavior on the macroscale, modeling the interaction between different species of bacteria, the interaction of bacteria with their environment, and methods used to obtain experimentally verified parameter values. We allude briefly to the role of modeling pattern formation in understanding collective behavior within bacterial populations. Various aspects of each model are discussed and areas for possible future research are postulated