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We have used dielectric spectroscopy and temperature modulated differential scanning calorimetry (TMDSC) to investigate the structural relaxation processes and phase transitions of water and lipids in multilamellar, planar phospholipids. At low hydration levels we observe the main structural relaxation related to the glass transition of the phospholipids. With increasing water content a more pronounced pretransition, attributed to a gel to ripple phase transition, is observed in the TMDSC data. In the proximity of this pretransition, a distinct change in the temperature dependence or alternatively a bifurcation into two processes is observed in the dielectric data. Around this temperature a crossover in the long-range ionic conductivity across the membranes is also observed, which is one of the key parameters for biological membranes. Thus, the major dynamical changes do not occur at the main, i.e., the gel to liquid structural phase transition, but at a pretransition that occurs roughly 20 K below the main transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intestinal metabolism of the soy isoflavone daidzein varies among people. Several lines of evidence suggest that the metabolite equol is among the most potent for preventing prostate cancer, although only a minority of Caucasians can produce it. The goals of the current study were 1) to determine whether equol production in Caucasians is linked to the long-term consumption of high amounts of soy and 2) to determine whether prostatic concentrations of 5 isoflavonoids typically exceed serum concentrations in Caucasians consuming soy. Healthy Caucasian men aged 19-65 (some of whom were Seventh-Day Adventists) were recruited from the Denver vicinity. Participants completed a dietary survey estimating their consumption of 34 different soy foods, meat, dairy, and other products. Serum and prostate fluid levels of isoflavonoids were quantitated by HPLC-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry in 25 high soy consumers and 20 low soy consumers before and after soy consumption. After soy, daidzein was metabolized to O-desmethylangolensin in 98% of the men, dihydrodaidzein in 89%, and equol in 20%. Statistical analyses revealed that men who had consumed at least 50 mg/d of isoflavones [greater than or equal to] 2 y were 4.4-fold more likely to produce equol than men who consumed

The scientific publishing process has during the past few years undergone considerable changes. The socio-economic structures have, however, not changed much, and many academics and librarians view the current situation as highly unsatisfactory. This has triggered a number of initiatives to set up e-print repositories and electronic peer reviewed journals, which usually offer the full text for free on the Web. Serious in-depth research studying the way the scholarly communication system is affected by the Internet is needed. In this article a formal process model of the scientific publishing process is presented (the Scientific Publication Life-Cycle Model). The model has been developed in particular to provide a basis for studying the cost implications of different business models. It describes the life-cycle of the single publication, in particular the refereed journal article, from the research leading to it and writing it, to being read by other researchers years later or used as a catalyst for practical implementation. Conclusions are drawn about the usefulness of the modelling methodology for this particular purpose as well as of future uses of the model itself. In addition to providing a basis for cost studies the model could function as a road map for different types of open access initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both large-wildlife loss and climatic changes can independently influence the prevalence and distribution of zoonotic disease. Given growing evidence that wildlife loss often has stronger community-level effects in low-productivity areas, we hypothesized that these perturbations would have interactive effects on disease risk. We experimentally tested this hypothesis by measuring tick abundance and the prevalence of tick-borne pathogens ( Coxiella burnetii and Rickettsia spp . ) within long-term, size-selective, large-herbivore exclosures replicated across a precipitation gradient in East Africa. Total wildlife exclusion increased total tick abundance by 130% (mesic sites) to 225% (dry, low-productivity sites), demonstrating a significant interaction of defaunation and aridity on tick abundance. When differing degrees of exclusion were tested for a subset of months, total tick abundance increased from 170% (only mega-herbivores excluded) to 360% (all large wildlife excluded). Wildlife exclusion differentially affected the abundance of the three dominant tick species, and this effect varied strongly over time, likely due to differences among species in their host associations, seasonality, and other ecological characteristics. Pathogen prevalence did not differ across wildlife exclusion treatments, rainfall levels, or tick species, suggesting that exposure risk will respond to defaunation and climate change in proportion to total tick abundance. These findings demonstrate interacting effects of defaunation and aridity that increase disease risk, and they highlight the need to incorporate ecological context when predicting effects of wildlife loss on zoonotic disease dynamics., (© 2017 The Author(s).)

Despite the established importance of rodents as reservoirs of vector-borne zoonoses in East Africa, there is relatively limited information regarding the infestation parameters and host associations of ectoparasites that vector many such pathogens among small mammals in this region. Between 2009 and 2013, small mammals were live-trapped in the semiarid savanna of Kenya. A subset of these individual hosts, including 20 distinct host taxa, was examined for ectoparasites, which were identified to species. Species of fleas, ticks, mites, and sucking lice were recorded. Based on these data, we calculated host-specific infestation parameters, documented host preferences among ectoparasites, conducted a rarefaction analysis and extrapolation to determine if ectoparasites were adequately sampled, and assessed nestedness for fleas to understand how pathogens might spread in this system. We found that the flea community structure was significantly nested. Understanding the ectoparasite network structure may have significant human relevance, as at least seven of the ectoparasite species collected are known vectors of pathogens of medical importance in the region, including Yersinia pestis, Rickettsia spp., and Theileria parva, the causative agents of plague, spotted fevers and other rickettsial illnesses in humans, and theileriosis, respectively., (© The Authors 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: Capnography provides a continuous, non-invasive monitoring of the CO2 to assess adequacy of ventilation and provide added safety features in mechanically ventilated patients by allowing for quick identification of unplanned extubation. These monitors may allow for decreased utilization of blood gases. The objective was to determine if implementation of continuous capnography monitoring decreases the utilization of blood gases resulting in decreased charges., Methods: This is a retrospective review of a quality improvement project that compares the utilization of blood gases before and after the implementation of standard continuous capnography. The time period of April 2010 to September 2010 was compared to April 2011 to September 2011. Parameters collected included total number of blood gases analyzed, cost of blood gas analysis, ventilator and patient days., Results: The total number of blood gases after the institution of end tidal CO2 monitoring decreased from 12,937 in 2009 and 13,171 in 2010 to 8,070 in 2011. The average number of blood gases per encounter decreased from 20.8 in 2009 and 21.6 in 2010 to 13.8 post intervention. The blood gases per ventilator day decreased from 4.94 in 2009 and 4.76 in 2010 to 3.30 post intervention. The total charge savings over a 6-month period was $880,496., Conclusions: Continuous capnography resulted in a significant savings over a 6-month period by decreasing the utilization of blood gas measurements.

Open Access (OA) is a model for publishing scholarly peer reviewed journals, made possible by the Internet. The full text of OA journals and articles can be freely read, as the publishing is funded through means other than subscriptions. Empirical research concerning the quantitative development of OA publishing has so far consisted of scattered individual studies providing brief snapshots, using varying methods and data sources. This study adopts a systematic method for studying the development of OA journals from their beginnings in the early 1990s until 2009. Because no comprehensive index of OA articles exists, systematic manual data collection from journal web sites was conducted based on journal-level data extracted from the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). Due to the high number of journals registered in the DOAJ, almost 5000 at the time of the study, stratified random sampling was used. A separate sample of verified early pioneer OA journals was also studied. The results show a very rapid growth of OA publishing during the period 1993-2009. During the last year an estimated 191 000 articles were published in 4769 journals. Since the year 2000, the average annual growth rate has been 18% for the number of journals and 30% for the number of articles. This can be contrasted to the reported 3,5% yearly volume increase in journal publishing in general. In 2009 the share of articles in OA journals, of all peer reviewed journal articles, reached 7,7%. Overall, the results document a rapid growth in OA journal publishing over the last fifteen years. Based on the sampling results and qualitative data a division into three distinct periods is suggested: The Pioneering years (1993-1999), the Innovation years (2000-2004), and the Consolidation years (2005-2009).

Prostate cancer (PCa) has a variable biology ranging from latent cancer to extremely aggressive tumors. Proliferative activities of cancers may indicate their biological potential. A flow cytometric assay to calculate maximum proliferative doubling times (T(max)) of PCa in radical prostatectomy specimens after preoperative in vivo bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) infusion is presented. Only 4/17 specimens had tumors large enough for flow cytometric analysis. The T(max) of tumors was similar and ranged from 0.6 to 3.6 months. Tumors had calculated doubling times 2- to 25-fold faster than their matched normal tissue. Variations in labeling index and T(max) were observed within a tumor as well as between different Gleason grades. The observed PSA doubling times (PSA-DT) ranged from 18.4 to 32.0 months, considerably slower than the corresponding T(max) of tumors involved. While lack of data for apoptotic rates is a limitation, apparent biological differences between latent versus aggressive PCa may be attributable to variations in apoptotic rates of these tumors rather than their cell proliferative rates.

Background: The Internet has recently made possible the free global availability of scientific journal articles. Open Access (OA) can occur either via OA scientific journals, or via authors posting manuscripts of articles published in subscription journals in open web repositories. So far there have been few systematic studies showing how big the extent of OA is, in particular studies covering all fields of science., Methodology/principal Findings: The proportion of peer reviewed scholarly journal articles, which are available openly in full text on the web, was studied using a random sample of 1837 titles and a web search engine. Of articles published in 2008, 8.5% were freely available at the publishers' sites. For an additional 11.9% free manuscript versions could be found using search engines, making the overall OA percentage 20.4%. Chemistry (13%) had the lowest overall share of OA, Earth Sciences (33%) the highest. In medicine, biochemistry and chemistry publishing in OA journals was more common. In all other fields author-posted manuscript copies dominated the picture., Conclusions/significance: The results show that OA already has a significant positive impact on the availability of the scientific journal literature and that there are big differences between scientific disciplines in the uptake. Due to the lack of awareness of OA-publishing among scientists in most fields outside physics, the results should be of general interest to all scholars. The results should also interest academic publishers, who need to take into account OA in their business strategies and copyright policies, as well as research funders, who like the NIH are starting to require OA availability of results from research projects they fund. The method and search tools developed also offer a good basis for more in-depth studies as well as longitudinal studies.

Objectives: Due to specific physiological functions, prostatic tissues and fluids have unique metabolic profiles. In this study, proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H-NMRS) is used to assess potential metabolic markers of prostate cancer (PCa) in human expressed prostatic secretions (EPS)., Methods: Metabolic profiles of EPS from 52 men with PCa and from 26 healthy controls were analyzed using quantitative (1)H-NMRS. The metabolites quantified included citrate, spermine, myo-inositol, lactate, alanine, phosphocholine, glutamine, acetate, and hydroxybutyrate. Logistic regression (LR) was used to model the risk of PCa based on metabolite concentrations while adjusting for age., Results: The average age of the EPS donors with PCa was 58.0+/-7.0 years and 52.2+/-12.1 for the healthy donors. The median Gleason score for the men with PCa was 7 (range 5-9). The LR models indicated that the absolute concentrations of citrate, myo-inositol, and spermine were highly predictive of PCa and inversely related to the risk of PCa. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROC) for citrate, myo-inositol and spermine were 0.89, 0.87, and 0.79, respectively. At 90% sensitivity, these metabolites had specificities of 74%, 51%, and 34%, respectively. The LR analysis indicated that absolute levels of these three metabolites were independent of age., Conclusions: The results indicate that citrate, myo-inositol and spermine are potentially important markers of PCa in human EPS. Further, the absolute concentrations of these metabolites in EPS appear to be independent of age, increasing the potential utility of these markers due to elimination of age as a confounding variable.

1alpha, 25-Dihydroxyvitamin D(3) [1alpha, 25-(OH)(2)D(3)] is recognized to have significant antiproliferative effects on certain prostatic carcinoma (PC) cell lines, although the precise mechanisms of action remain in question. We have evaluated the role of the cell cycle-dependent kinase inhibitor p21. In the PC cell lines ALVA-31 and LNCaP, 1alpha, 25-(OH)(2)D(3) inhibits growth and induces both p21 mRNA and protein levels. Growth inhibition of ALVA-31 cells was abolished by stable transfection with a p21 antisense construct. This effect was not attributable to a reduction in functional vitamin D receptors as measured by transcriptional activity with a luciferase-vitamin D response element reporter construct. Therefore, increased p21 expression appears necessary to mediate the antiproliferative effects of this hormone in ALVA-31 cells. Cell lines that are insensitive to the growth inhibitory properties of 1alpha, 25-(OH)(2)D(3) failed to up-regulate p21 expression after hormone treatment; these include sublines of ALVA-31 as well as the cell lines TSU-Pr1 and JCA-1. In the latter two lines, adenovirus-mediated expression of a sense p21 cDNA significantly reduced their proliferation as compared with a control adenoviral construct. This suggests that the signaling pathway downstream of p21 is intact in TSU-Pr1 and JCA-1 cells, although p21 expression appears unregulated by 1alpha, 25-(OH)(2)D(3). We propose a model in which the antiproliferative effect of 1alpha, 25-(OH)(2)D(3) on PC cells is mediated through increased p21 expression. Elucidation of why this effect is absent in select cell lines may provide valuable insight into the variability of responses observed in PC patients treated with vitamin D.

Background: Many of the available human prostate cancer (PC) cell lines have lost androgen sensitivity and no longer secrete prostate-specific proteins after serial culturing in cell monolayers. Three-dimensional spheroid cultures have been found to better mimic the in vivo phenotypes of several nonprostatic cell lines., Methods: We analyzed seven PC cell lines to determine if spheroid culturing results in greater sensitivity to androgens and 1alpha,25(OH)(2) vitamin D(3) (1,25(OH)(2) D(3)) with regards to their growth, differentiation, and apoptotic potential., Results: Only PC-3 cells showed greater sensitivity to the growth-inhibitory effects of 1, 25(OH)(2) D(3), while ALVA-31 showed a diminished response. The regulation of prostate-specific antigen and prostate-specific acid phosphatase remained unchanged. However, these studies provided several unique findings not observed in cell monolayers. First, three basic spheroid morphologies were observed with varying degrees of intercellular adhesions. Secondly, the cell lines that formed the tightest spheroids consistently grew at the slowest rates, regardless of their growth rate in monolayers. Lastly, 1,25(OH)(2) D(3) treatment of ALVA-31 and PPC-1 spheroids greatly reduced intercellular adhesions, and rendered ALVA-31 spheroids resistant to apoptotic induction by Fas ligand expressed via a recombinant adenoviral construct., Conclusions: Our results suggest that spheroid cultures of human PC cells may provide unique insights regarding cell adhesion and apoptotic potential that are diminished or absent in monolayer cultures., (Copyright 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.)

Several laboratories have reported on the apoptotic potentials of human prostate cancer (PC) cell lines in response to crosslinking of Fas (CD95/APO-1) with agonistic anti-Fas antibodies. We have re-evaluated the apoptotic potentials of seven human PC cell lines using the natural Fas ligand (FasL) in place of agonistic antibody. First, PC cell lines were tested in a standard cytotoxicity assay with a transfected cell line that stably expresses human FasL. Next, we developed an adenoviral expression system employing 293 cells that stably express crmA, a poxvirus inhibitor of apoptosis, to analyze the effects of FasL when expressed internally by the PC cell lines. Our data suggest that the apoptotic potentials of these cell lines were greatly underestimated in previous studies utilizing agonistic anti-Fas antibodies. Lastly, adenoviral-mediated expression of FasL prevented growth and induced regression of two human PC cell lines in immunodeficient mice. These preliminary in vivo results suggest a potential use for adenovirus encoding FasL as a gene therapy for PC.

Although adenovirus can infect a wide range of cell types, lymphocytes are not generally susceptible to adenovirus infection, in part because of the absence of the expression of the cellular receptor for the adenoviral fiber protein. The cellular receptor for adenovirus and coxsackievirus (CAR) recently was cloned and shown to mediate adenoviral entry by interaction with the viral fiber protein. We show that the ectopic expression of CAR in various lymphocyte cell lines, which are almost completely resistant to adenovirus infection, is sufficient to facilitate the efficient transduction of these cells by recombinant adenoviruses. Furthermore, this property of CAR does not require its cytoplasmic domain, consistent with the idea that CAR primarily serves as a high affinity binding site for the adenoviral fiber protein, and that viral entry is mediated by interaction of the viral penton base proteins with cellular integrins. As a demonstration of their functional utility, we used CAR-expressing lymphocytes transduced with an adenovirus expressing Fas ligand to efficiently kill Fas receptor-expressing tumor cells. The ability to efficiently manipulate gene expression in lymphocyte cells by using adenovirus vectors should facilitate the functional characterization of pathways affecting lymphocyte physiology.

Background: Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, can be mediated through an endogenous signaling pathway that emanates from a cell surface receptor known as Fas. Although best recognized for its role in the immune system, recent studies have also suggested a role for Fas in mediating apoptosis in the murine prostate. Little is known, however, regarding the role of Fas-signaling in the human prostate, and if this signaling pathway is abrogated in the development of prostate cancer (PC)., Methods: In the current study, seven human PC cell lines were evaluated for their sensitivities to Fas-mediated apoptosis, using both morphologic and flow cytometric methods. Fas expression by each cell line was quantitated by immunofluorescence, and gene expression of three putative inhibitory molecules was analyzed., Results: The differential sensitivities of the cell lines to Fas-mediated apoptosis were found to correlate with the clinical stage of the parental tumors. Specifically, the three most sensitive cell lines were all derived from primary tumors, while the four most resistant cell lines were derived from distant metastases. Immunofluorescent analyses of the PC cell lines revealed that the observed resistance to apoptosis was not due to reduced expression of membrane-bound Fas. Likewise, this resistance did not correlate with increased gene expression of the inhibitory molecules FAP-1, ICE epsilon, and Ich-1S., Conclusions: Our results using established PC cell lines support previous studies with prostatic tissue specimens, and suggest that the normal, differentiated prostatic epithelium, as well as locally invasive PCs, have the potential to undergo Fas-mediated apoptosis. Conversely, these studies suggest that metastatic PCs have a reduced apoptotic potential that is mediated by a novel mechanism.

Numerous studies have indicated that the secosteroid hormone 1alpha, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 protects against the development of clinical prostate cancer (PC). Whether this hormone also has therapeutic potential for patients with advanced PC has not yet been evaluated. Several synthetic vitamin D analogues are now available that have reduced hypercalcemic effects and yet effectively induce differentiation in some cell types. For these reasons, these analogues may be safer and more effective for cancer therapy than the natural hormone. In the current study, 13 such analogues were screened for their abilities to inhibit the growth of PC cell lines. Three of the most consistently effective analogues (Ro 23-7553, Ro 24-5531, and Ro 25-6760) were then chosen for further analysis. Growth studies using clones of the JCA-1 cell line that were transfected with the vitamin D receptor cDNA indicate that the antiproliferative effects of these analogues require vitamin D receptor expression. Furthermore, these three analogues induce the secretion of prostate-specific acid phosphatase and prostate-specific antigen (two markers of the differentiated prostatic phenotype) in the cell line LNCaP. These in vitro studies suggest that Ro 23-7553, Ro 24-5531, and Ro 25-6760 should be further evaluated as therapeutic agents for the treatment of PC.

Epidemiological data suggest that vitamin D3, obtained from dietary sources and sunlight exposure, protects against mortality from prostate cancer (PC). In agreement with this, the most active vitamin D metabolite 1 alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2 D3] regulates the growth and differentiation of several human PC cell lines. Both genomic and non-genomic signalling pathways for 1,25(OH)2 D3 have been reported, although the mechanism of action in PC cells has not been defined. We now provide data supporting an active role for the nuclear vitamin D receptor (VDR) in mediating the growth-inhibitory effects of 1,25(OH)2 D3 on these cells. In the VDR-rich cell line ALVA-31, the observed changes in growth by 1,25(OH)2 D3 are preceded by significant changes in VDR mRNA expression. In contrast, the cell line JCA-1, containing few VDRs, fails to show both early changes in VDR gene expression and later changes in growth with 1,25(OH)2 D3. To assess the role of the VDR more directly, transfection studies were pursued. ALVA-31 cells were stably transfected with an antisense VDR cDNA construct in an attempt to reduce VDR expression. Antisense mRNA expression among clones was associated with: (a) reduced or abolished sensitivity to the effects of 1,25(OH)2 D3 on growth; (b) decreased numbers of VDRs per cell, as measured by radiolabelled-ligand binding; and (c) a lack of induction of the VDR-regulated enzyme 24-hydroxylase in response to 1,25(OH)2 D3. From these studies we conclude that the antiproliferative effects of 1,25(OH)2 D3 require expression of the nuclear VDR in this system.

Although prostatic cancer is often viewed as an androgen-dependent malignancy, a number of other hormones including 1alpha, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1alpha,25(OH)2D3] are now recognized to modulate its growth and differentiated phenotype. Seven different continuous human prostatic carcinoma cell lines were examined for the presence of biologically active receptors for 1alpha,25(OH)2D3. All seven lines were found to contain mRNA for the vitamin D receptor using an RNase protection assay. Six of the seven cell lines were found to have high-affinity saturable binding sites for 1alpha,25(OH)2D3. The seventh line was found to contain vitamin D receptors by sucrose gradient analysis. All seven lines were found to express 24-hydroxylase activity by a HPLC assay that measures the conversion of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 to 24,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3. 24-Hydroxylase activity was up-regulated in all seven cell lines by preincubation with 1alpha,25(OH)2D3. In the presence of fetal bovine serum, the growth of four of the seven cell lines was inhibited. In the majority of cell lines growth inhibition was related not only to the number of receptors per cell, but also in inverse proportion to the 24-hydroxylase activity of each cell line. The ubiquitous presence of vitamin D receptor and 24-hydroxylase activity in human prostatic carcinoma cells suggests new alternatives for the pharmacological treatment of advanced prostatic cancer and implies that chemoprevention strategies could also make use of this endocrine axis.

This paper describes a serum-free defined medium (Gc) that was initially designed to support growth of the human prostatic carcinoma cell line LNCaP. Our studies indicate that this medium formulation is capable of supporting short-term, long-term, and clonal growth of the LNCaP cell line. Component deletion experiments have shown that the three most critical components for LNCaP short-term growth are insulin, triiodothyronine (T3), and fetuin. Additionally, this medium was found to support short-term and clonal growth of three other human prostatic carcinoma cell lines, DU 145, PC-3, and ALVA-31. The availability of such a medium should aid in the distinction of the regulatory factors involved in growth and differentiation of malignant prostatic epithelium.

The rate of complications after anterior dislocation of the shoulder was evaluated in 65 patients aged over 40 years. 36 of 55 cases had electromyographically verified axillary nerve or brachial plexus injury. Rotator-cuff lesion was seen in 24 of the 63 sonographically examined cases. At follow-up in a telephone interview on average 3 years after the injury, 27 of the 57 cases had complaints from their shoulder. The incidence of initial nerve and/or cuff lesions was higher in those with persisting symptoms at follow-up.

The LNCaP prostatic carcinoma cell line was examined for the presence of specific receptors for 1 alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1 alpha,25-(OH)2D3]. Whole cell binding studies identified approximately 2500 high-affinity (Kd = 1.4 x 10(-9) binding sites per cell. Competition studies revealed that these receptors are specific for the 1 alpha,25(OH)2 metabolite. Binding studies using the synthetic androgen R1881 indicate that separate androgen and vitamin D3 receptors exist in LNCaP cells. The vitamin D3 receptors sediment at approximately 3.5S on linear sucrose gradients. The sedimentation coefficient could be shifted with a monoclonal anti-vitamin D3 receptor antibody (9A7 gamma) but not with a monoclonal antibody to the androgen receptor (AN1-15). The receptor/ligand complex elutes from native DNA cellulose at 0.2 M KCl. Northern blot analysis identified an mRNA of approximately 4.6 kilobases which hybridized with a specific vitamin D3 receptor complementary DNA probe (hVDR). In the absence of androgens, 1 alpha,25(OH)2D3 stimulated growth and prostate-specific antigen production by LNCaP cells in a dose-dependent fashion. Dose-response curves indicated that at physiological concentrations (10(-9) M) 1 alpha,25(OH)2D3 was mitogenic, whereas at higher concentrations (10(-8) M) it promotes differentiation. These studies suggest that 1 alpha,25(OH)2D3 could play an important role in the natural history of and response to hormone therapy by prostatic cancer.

A prospective randomized controlled study has been undertaken to evaluate two different prophylactic treatments against postoperative thromboembolic complications after hip surgery. Patients with hip fracture (77) and patients undergoing elective hip arthroplasty (213) were separately randomized into one of three groups: control, dextran 70, or low-dose heparin. Deep vein thrombosis was diagnosed in both groups with the 125I-fibrinogen test and pulmonary perfusion defects in the arthroplasty group with a combination of pulmonary X-ray and perfusion scintigraphy. The frequency of thrombosis was significantly higher in untreated hip fracture patients than in untreated arthroplasty patients. In hip fracture patients both treatments significantly reduced the frequency of thrombosis. Only dextran reduced the frequency of major thrombosis and in the heparin group one fatal pulmonary embolism occurred. After elective hip surgery the overall frequency of thrombosis was not influenced by the two treatments, but with dextran 70 thigh thrombi were reduced and with low-dose heparin the frequency of bilateral thrombosis was reduced. Two patients in the control group died of pulmonary embolism, but the frequency of pulmonary perfusion defects was not influenced by the treatment. Bleeding and transfusions were the same in the three groups.

Changes in the number of osteoclasts in rats after injection of ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid (EDTA), azetazolamide or colchicine were studied using succinic dehydrogenase staining of osteoclasts. As early as 10 minutes after injection EDTA caused a significant increase in the number of osteoclasts. Azetazolamide and colchicine resulted in a decrease in the number of osteoclasts, apparent after 30 minutes and 60 minutes, respectively. The changes in total serum calcium after EDTA and azetazolamide administration took place at the same rate. However, azetazolamide had an effect which was the reverse of the effect of EDTA. It caused an increase in calcium in spite of a decreased number of osteoclasts. The results of this investigation confirm those of earlier studies, showing very rapid changes in the number of osteoclasts caused by substances giving rapid changes in serum calcium.

Using succinic dehydrogenase staining of osteoclasts, the authors have studied the early effects on these cells of parathormone and calcitonin in rats. Thirty minutes after injection of the hormones the number of osteoclasts had increased (parathormone) or decreased (calcitonin), associated with inverse changes in total serum-calcium. The results confirm earlier studies showing the remarkably rapid changes in the number of osteoclasts after substances acting on serum calcium.

The sensitivity and specificity of Rubascan (r) (RSC), a new latex agglutination test for rubella antibodies, was compared with those of the single radial hemolysis (SRH) and hemagglutination inhibition (HI) tests. We found RSC to have a sensitivity versus SRH and HI of 90-95% and 70-72%, respectively. RSC had a specificity versus SRH and HI of 97-100% and 96-100%, respectively. However, only 4/7 titer rises from cases of acute rubella or rubella vaccinations were clearly discernible in RSC. Moreover, only 2/10 anti-rubella IgG and IgM containing sera were RSC positive after protein A absorption although 10/10 were still HI positive. Additionally, the HI-positive IgM fractions from a sucrose density gradient centrifugation of an anti-rubella IgM containing serum were negative. We conclude that IgM reacts differently from IgG in RSC. We consider RSC a potentially useful reagent for determination of immunity in non-acute situations, and in non-pregnant persons like in pre-employment testing. This could be performed by relatively untrained personnel. On the other hand a rubella immunity test in pregnant women or in acute rubella should preferably be truly quantitative, in order to allow precise titer comparisons. In these cases, the interpretation of tests may require experience, and they should be performed at more specialized laboratories.