Comparison of total body water estimates from O-18 and bioelectrical response prediction equations

Identification of an indirect, rapid means to measure total body water (TBW) during space flight may aid in quantifying hydration status and assist in countermeasure development. Bioelectrical response testing and hydrostatic weighing were performed on 27 subjects who ingested O-18, a naturally occurring isotope of oxygen, to measure true TBW. TBW estimates from three bioelectrical response prediction equations and fat-free mass (FFM) were compared to TBW measured from O-18. A repeated measures MANOVA with post-hoc Dunnett's Test indicated a significant (p less than 0.05) difference between TBW estimates from two of the three bioelectrical response prediction equations and O-18. TBW estimates from FFM and the Kushner & Schoeller (1986) equation yielded results that were similar to those given by O-18. Strong correlations existed between each prediction method and O-18; however, standard errors, identified through regression analyses, were higher for the bioelectrical response prediction equations compared to those derived from FFM. These findings suggest (1) the Kushner & Schoeller (1986) equation may provide a valid measure of TBW, (2) other TBW prediction equations need to be identified that have variability similar to that of FFM, and (3) bioelectrical estimates of TBW may prove valuable in quantifying hydration status during space flight

Characterization of Bleomycin-Resistant DNA

After reaction of DNA with high concentrations of bleomycin, approximately 80% of the DNA becomes trichloroacetic acid (TCA) soluble. The remaining 20% of the DNA remains TCA insoluble. Upon further treatment of this TCA-insoluble material with high concentrations of the drug, no further drug action can be detected. Drug action is defined as fragmentation of DNA to smaller molecular size, release of free bases, and TCA solubilization. This material which is not attacked by bleomycin has been termed bleomycin-resistant DNA. This bleomycin-resistant DNA does not compete with native DNA in the bleomycin reaction indicating that there is no binding or inactivation of the drug by the resistant DNA. The resistant DNA shows very little hyperchromicity when heated through the melting temperature for the corresponding native DNA, indicating a single-stranded structure. Results of sedimentation and equilibrium analyses yield a molecular weight of about 4,000 daltons. This value is the same regardless of the source of the native DNA. Finally, the bleomycin-resistant DNA exhibits a base composition similar to that of the native DNA from which it was derived