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Objective and Design: To document in vivo immunolocalization and activation of nuclear factor-?B (NF-?B) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression in prediabetic stages of diabetes mellitus. Material or Subjects: Genetic, diabetic-prone or diabetic-resistant BB rats (total = 189). Treatment: Various doses of an oral dithiocarbamate derivative, NOX-700, or cyclosporine (2.5 mg/kg) starting at 30 or 60 days of age. Methods: Immunohistochemistry, electrophoretic mobility shift assays, plasma glucose. Results: NF-?B and iNOS was increased in pancreas of hyperglycemic, diabetic-prone rats but not normoglycemic, diabetic-resistant rats. Immunostaining for NF-?B and iNOS was largely confined to islets and occurred in diabetic-prone rats prior to overt hyperglycemia. NOX-700 decreased cell infiltration, delayed the onset of disease and decreased the incidence of hyperglycemia to levels achieved by immunosuppressant therapy. NOX-700 also decreased the intensity of immunoreactive NF-?B and iNOS within pancreatic islets. Conclusions: These studies support a role of NF-kB and iNOS in diabetogenesis in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Pig slurry was applied by open-slot injection to experimental plots on a sandy loam site at ADAS Gleadthorpe, Nottinghamshire. Volume and distribution of over-winter drainage were adjusted through the use of rainfall exclusion covers or irrigation. The resultant slurry N leaching over the range of drainage values tested (up to 300 mm) could be satisfactorily described by curve-fitting, using a quadratic or exponential function. Initial simulations of slurry N leaching using the manure nitrogen decision support system MANNER (v. 3.0) compared poorly with the experimental data, predicting both earlier and greater amounts of nitrate leaching. However, the lack of fit could be explained by consideration of the likely ammonia emissions following slurry injection, the actual volumetric soil moisture capacity at the experimental site and the likely time delay for the nitrification of slurry N following application. Good agreement between modelled and observed data was achieved when these factors were taken into account. The MANNER model was used to simulate nitrate leaching beyond the range of drainage treatments tested in the experiments and the anticipated sigmoidal relationship between nitrate leaching and drainage was observed. The model was then used to study the effects of manure application timing and the likely impact on nitrate leaching, across the range of rainfall conditions found in Great Britain. Simulations for a range of manure types were undertaken, with manures applied at rates up to the limit of permitted N loading on freely draining sandy loams. Rainfall inputs for these simulations were based on long-term average climatic data. Results are presented for two contrasting manure types, cattle slurry and poultry manure, both of which are subject to controls in Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs) in Great Britain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

The article presents a case study that describes a case of a person who suffered a transient period of secondary hypoadrenalism after a serious traumatic brain injury. The case is considered as the first of reversible isolated adrenocorticotrophic hormone deficiency following head trauma. It was stated that clarifying the natural history of these conditions and management of the patients are needed. more...

Aims: To measure particulate matter (PM) exposure of people involved in domestic work (i.e. housework by a resident, not paid work) in urban and rural Nepal, with exposure to biomass smoke in the rural areas, and to examine the performance of photometric devices in collecting these data. This paper details the results of these measurements and derives calibration factors for two photometric devices compared to gravimetric measures. Methods: Between April 2006 and February 2007, respirable dust and PM2.5 levels were measured over a 24-h period in 490 households in a range of urban and rural settings in the Kathmandu valley of Nepal. Sampling was carried out by photometric and gravimetric methods with the co-located gravimetric data used to derive a calibration factor for the photometric devices. Results: The time-weighted average (TWA) (24 h) respirable dust levels measured by gravimetric sampler ranged from 13 to 2600 μg m−3 in the rural settings and 3 to 110 μg m−3 in the urban settings. The co-located photometric and gravimetric devices indicate that the SidePak Personal Aerosol Monitor device required a calibration factor of 0.48 and 0.51 for rural and urban data, respectively, whereas the DustTrak device required a factor of 0.31 and 0.35 for rural and urban settings to correct for the particle size and density of the biomass smoke. The photometric devices provide time history data on PM concentration levels and generally indicate two distinct peaks around a morning and early evening cooking time. Conclusions: Those involved in domestic work in rural Nepal are exposed to average respirable dust concentrations of ∼1400 μg m−3. Converted to an 8-h TWA, this equates to more than the current UK limit for respirable dust (4000 μg m−3). Homemakers, primarily women, spend a large proportion of their lives indoors in these high respirable dust concentrations and these exposures are likely to produce respiratory illness. Exposure can be controlled by the use of different fuel types and/or the use of flued stoves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Axonal loss is thought to be the predominant cause of disability in progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). The retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) is composed largely of unmyelinated axons of retinal ganglion cells, and is accessible to study with optical coherence tomography (OCT), giving a measure of axonal loss. OCT measures of the RNFL thickness (RNFLT) and macular volume were studied in 23 patients with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (primary progressive MS) (13 male; 10 female; mean age 52 years; median EDSS 6.0; mean disease duration 11 years), and 27 patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (secondary progressive MS) (8 male; 19 female; mean age 50 years; median EDSS 6; mean disease duration 22 years). Of the patients with secondary progressive MS, 14 had clinical history of optic neuritis (ON) in a single eye; the remaining patients had not had ON. Twenty healthy controls (11 male; 9 female; mean age 46 years) had RNFLT and macular volume studied. Of the patients’ eyes not previously affected by ON, both the mean RNFL thickness and macular volume were reduced when compared with control values. The mean RNFL thickness and macular volume were significantly reduced in secondary progressive MS, but not in primary progressive MS when compared with control RNFL thickness and macular volume. RNFL loss was most evident in the temporal quadrant, where significant reduction was seen in primary progressive MS versus controls and in secondary versus primary progressive MS. There were significant correlations of decreased RNFLT and macular volume with measures of visual acuity, low contrast visual acuity and visual field mean deviation in the MS patients. There are significant global reductions in RNFLT and macular volume in the eyes of secondary progressive MS patients not previously affected by ON, but not in primary progressive MS patients, compared with controls. This may indicate a difference in the extent of the pathological processes that cause axonal loss in the retina, and by inference the optic nerve, in secondary progressive MS and primary progressive MS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...