Microangiopathy as a prognostic indicator in diabetic patients suffering from acute myocardial infarction.

Diabetic patients have an increased mortality following myocardial infarction (MI) due to left ventricular failure rather than larger infarcts or dysrhythmias. As this may be due to diabetic microangiopathy affecting the myocardium, we have examined the case records of diabetic clinic patients admitted to the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) with proven MI and compared the hospital outcome of those with and without retinopathy or nephropathy, i.e. markers for generalised microangiopathy. Sixty four consecutive records were traced, for the period when diabetic treatment policy was standardised in CCU, 24 patients had retinopathy (7 proteinuria). When compared to non-retinopathy patients they had similar ages 67 +/- 12 yr [+/- SD] v 63 +/- 9yr) but were of longer duration of diabetes p less than 0.05). There were no differences between the groups in size or site of infarct, previous infarct or hypertension history, blood glucose on admission or diabetic treatment before or after admission. Death occurred in 29% of retinopathy patients compared to 3% of non-retinopathy patients (p less than 0.01). Cardiac failure complicated 75% of retinopathy patients and 25% of non-retinopathy patients (p less than 0.001). Dysrhythmia occurred in 50% and 33% of patients respectively (P = NS). Nine patients had clinical peripheral vascular disease and five of these died. This study, of a selected group of diabetic clinic attenders admitted to CCU with acute MI, demonstrates that microangiopathy and peripheral vascular disease are important prognostic factors in determining hospital outcome as these patients are at increased risk of cardiac failure and death.

High dynamic range operation of the Fairchild CCD181 line scan camera.

A commerciallya vailables elf-scanningl inears ensora rray has been operated in an unconventional manner to produce an optical dynamic range in excess of 85 dB.

Dietary intake in the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial (MRFIT): nutrient and food group changes over 6 years.

The Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial (MRFIT) was a randomized clinical trial in the primary prevention of coronary heart disease. Middle-aged men determined to be at high risk for coronary heart disease were randomized into either a special intervention (SI) group or a group referred to usual sources of medical care (UC). Twenty-four hour dietary recall data were used to monitor the nutrient intake of the MRFIT population and guide the nutrition education program for the SI group. The SI group of participants decreased intake of dietary cholesterol by 40% and saturated fatty acids by more than one-fourth and increased intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids by one-third. Evaluation of SI dietary intake data by food groups indicates that some dietary changes were relatively easy to implement, whereas others presented more of a challenge. Changes made with relative ease included increasing the consumption of fish and poultry, skim and low-fat milk, polyunsaturated margarines and oils, fruits, and low-fat breads and cereals and reducing the consumption of egg yolks. More difficult changes included eliminating, or even reducing, the intake of high-fat beef and pork, high-fat cheeses, high-fat crackers, snacks, and desserts, and increasing the intake of vegetarian meat alternatives.

Restricted feeding and reproductive performance of individually caged broiler breeder males.

Two experiments were conducted, one in the summer and another in the fall, involving 95 Hubbard broiler breeder males per experiment. Breeder males were randomly placed in individual cages at 26 (Trial 2) or 30 (Trial 1) weeks of age and provided with five levels of feed intake. The Hubbard White Mountain male Management Guide recommendation (154 g/bird/day) was designated as the control level (100%). Other levels were 115, 85, 70, and 55% of the control level. The effects of feed intake on body weight, semen volume, percent semen-packed cell volume, luteinizing hormone (LH), and testes weight were determined. Body weights were significantly decreased as feed intake was decreased. Dietary restriction levels of 115, 100, 85, and 70% had no significant effects on semen volume or semen-packed cell volume. Dietary restriction of 55% resulted in reduced semen volume, semen-packed cell volume (except in Trial 1), and testes weight. Dietary restriction had no significant effect on LH. A calculated metabolizable energy (ME) value of 346 kcal of ME/bird/day, which lies between the 85 and 70%-fed groups, should be adequate for normal body weight maintenance with the Hubbard broiler breeder male grown in individual cages.

Effects of dietary restriction on reproductive performance of broiler breeder males.

Hubbard X Hubbard broiler breeder males were raised to 30 weeks of age following the Management Guide for the Hubbard White Mountain Male (Hubbard Farms, 1979). From 30 to 54 weeks of age, males were provided with five different levels of feed intake. The level recommended by the guide (154 g/bird/day) was designated to be the control level (100%). Other levels were 115, 85, 70, and 55% of the control. The effects of feed intake on body weight, fertility, hatchability, semen volume, and testes size were determined. No significant effects of feed intake were noted on fertility or hatchability. Body weights were significantly decreased as feed intake was decreased. Semen volume was greatest for males fed 85% of the control, while birds fed the control had the largest testes as a percentage of body weight. Males receiving the control feed gained only 28 g over 24 weeks, indicating that approximately 458 kcal/bird/day is adequate for maintaining body weight.

Diet and serum lipids: controlled studies in the United States.

The influence of dietary fat on serum lipids is well established. The general principles of a fat-modified diet--calorie control and the amount and composition of dietary fat--are demonstrated in studies in which nutrient composition was systematically altered. Weight loss, even when caloric deficit involves no other changes in nutrients, reduces serum lipids. With isocaloric diets, the fatty acid composition rather than the amount of fat influences the serum cholesterol concentration. Saturated fatty acids are twice as effective in raising serum cholesterol levels as polyunsaturated fatty acids are in reducing them. The amount of cholesterol in the diet alters the amount in the serum by approximately 5 mg/dl for every 100 mg of change in diets with less than 300 mg/1000 kcal. Cholesterol in excess of this amount has no additional effect. With no dietary cholesterol, serum lipids are unaffected by the fat composition. In the presence of dietary cholesterol, serum lipids are affected by saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids through an interaction with cholesterol. Polyunsaturates counteract the influence of both saturated fatty acids and cholesterol. The more cholesterol there is in the diet, the more polyunsaturated fatty acids are required to counteract its effect. Both the fatty acid composition of the lipoproteins and lipid metabolism are affected by the fat and cholesterol composition of the diet.

Polyunsaturated meat and dairy products in fat-modified food patterns for hyperlipidemia.

Polyunsaturated meat and dairy products were compared with their saturated counterparts to determine their usefulness in a fat-modified diet for hyperlipidemic persons and their spouses. These polyunsaturated animal products were produced by feeding cattle a supplement of oil droplets coated with denatured protein. As a result, the polyunsaturated fatty acid content was 27 to 28 per cent of the meat fat and butterfat; saturated fatty acids (C12:0 to tc16:0) were 18 to 19 per cent. Of the eleven free-living subjects three were normocholesteremic, three had type IIa hyperlipidemia and five had type VI (IIb). In the fourteen-week study, an adjustment period of three weeks was followed by two consecutive experimental periods of four weeks each, then by a three-week follow-up period. During the adjustment period, participants continued to follow their usual eating patterns. During both experimental periods all followed the same prescribed fat modified food pattern using polyunsaturated margarine and oil. Five participants ate polyunsaturated beef and dairy products during the first experimental period and their saturated counterparts in the second; six participants ate saturated products first, then polyunsaturated. During the follow-up period, all participants selected all their own food. Serum cholesterol levels in five participants who had not previously followed a fat-modified diet were reduced by 18 per cent with polyunsaturated animal products and 11 per cent with saturated products. Serum cholesterol in six participants, previously on a fat-modified diet, was not significantly changed with polyunsaturated products. In ten of eleven participants, serum cholesterol levels were an average of 6 per cent lower with polyunsaturated products than with saturated products. It is concluded that polyunsaturated animal products are suitable for use in fat-modified food patterns for reducing hyperlipidemia, with some restrictions in the amount of polyunsaturated animal fat and with the inclusion of polyunsaturated oil and margarine.

Effects of method of mating on fertility in broiler breeder hens.

Sexually mature commercial broiler breeder pullets were housed singly in laying cages or in floor pens and mated by means of artificial insemination alone, natural mating and natural mating supplemented by artificial insemination. The best fertility, was obtained by the combination method where natural mating was supplemented with artificial inseminations of 0.05 or 0.025 ml of undiluted pooled semen twice a week. Other reproductive traits including percent hatch of fertile eggs and chicks per hen were not affected by method of mating.

Effects of clofibrate and a fat-modified diet on serum lipids.

The combined effect of clofibrate and a fat-modified diet was determined in 17 hyperlipidemic patients: 7 type IIA, 7 type IV, 2 type VI(IIB), and 1 type III. Control serum lipid levels and lipoprotein patterns and their alteration with a fat-modified diet had been determined previously 1/2 to 2 years for 3 patients, and 6 to 10 years for 14 patients. Two grams of clofibrate a day (0.5 gm four times daily) was taken along with the fat-modified diet for 2 to 6 months by 5 patients and for 2 years by 13 patients. The effect of clofibrate and a fat-controlled diet was also determined in 10 normolipidemic men who were subjects of an 18-day test in which the polyunsaturated fat diet was quantitatively prepared and eaten along with 2 gm clofibrate a day (0.5 gm four times daily). The effect of clofibrate on serum cholesterol levels was a further mean reduction in type IIA patients by 19 %, in type III by 23%, in type IV by 12%, in type VI by 7%, and in normolipidemic subjects by 8%. The extent of the additional serum cholesterol reduction with clofibrate in individual hyperlipidemic patients varied from +10% to minus 44% and was not related directly to the type of hyperlipidemia. The extent of reduction appeared related directly to the level of minus S 40-70 (similar to Sf 12-20) lipoprotein fraction in the control serum sample. Serum triglyceride levels were unaffected in type IIA and normolipidemic subjects. Serum triglyceride levels did not change consistently in the 2 type VI patients, rising by 11% in 1 and dropping by 31% in the other. Serum triglyceride levels were significantly (p = 0.001) and consistently reduced by 39% only in type IV patients.