Multiphasic disseminated encephalomyelitis followed by optic neuritis in a child with gluten sensitivity.

Multiphasic disseminated encephalomyelitis (MDEM) followed by optic neuritis (ON) has been described as a new entity in recent years. Gluten encephalopathy has also been recognized as a neurological manifestation of celiac disease. Accurate diagnosis of both is important due to the therapeutic implications. We report a girl presenting with recurrent encephalopathic polyfocal demyelinating episodes followed by optic neuritis, and a clinical history suggestive of gluten sensitivity. She had persistently high ESR, neutrophilia, and tested positive for anti-MOG (myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein) antibody. She responded well to methylprednisolone in each relapse, and achieved remission for a year after azathioprine was added.

Roles of intestinal glutamate dehydrogenase and glutamine synthetase in environmental ammonia detoxification in the euryhaline four-eyed sleeper, Bostrychus sinensis.

This study aimed to examine the hypothesis that intestinal glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) and glutamine synthetase (GS) could be involved in ammonia detoxification in the euryhaline Bostrychus sinensis exposed to ammonia in a hyperosmotic environment, whereby drinking was essential for osmoregulation. Our results indicate that there was a significant increase in ammonia content in the intestine of B. sinensis exposed to 15 mmol l(-1) NH(4)Cl in seawater (pH 7.0) for 6 days. There were also significant increases in the amination and deamination activities and protein abundance of intestinal GDH. The GDH amination/deamination ratio remained unchanged, indicating that there could be increases in the turnover of glutamate. However, the difference between the amination and deamination activities increased 2-fold, implying that there could be an increase in glutamate formation in the intestine. Since the intestinal glutamate content remained unchanged, excess glutamate formed might have been channeled into other amino acids and/or transported to other organs. Indeed, the intestinal glutamine content increased significantly by 2-fold, with a significant increase in the activity and protein abundance of intestinal GS. Since the magnitude of glutamine accumulation in the intestine was lower than those in liver and muscle, which lacked changes in GDH activities, intestinal glutamate could have been shuttled to liver and muscle to facilitate increased synthesis of glutamine therein. By contrast, when fish were exposed to a much higher concentration (30 mmol l(-1)) of NH(4)Cl in 5 per thousand water (pH. 7.0), the magnitude of increase in ammonia content in the intestine was less prominent, and there were no changes in activities and kinetic properties of intestinal GDH. Therefore, it can be concluded that the intestine of B. sinensis was involved in the defense against ammonia toxicity during exposure to ammonia in a hyperosmotic medium.

Transcriptional differences between triploid and diploid Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) during live Vibrio anguillarum challenge.

Understanding how organisms function at the level of gene expression is becoming increasingly important for both ecological and evolutionary studies. It is evident that the diversity and complexity of organisms are not dependent solely on their number of genes, but also the variability in gene expression and gene interactions. Furthermore, slight differences in transcription control can fundamentally affect the fitness of the organism in a variable environment or during development. In this study, triploid and diploid Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) were used to examine the effects of polyploidy on specific and genome-wide gene expression response using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and microarray technology after an immune challenge with the pathogen Vibrio anguillarum. Although triploid and diploid fish had significant differences in mortality, qRT-PCR revealed no differences in cytokine gene expression response (interleukin-8, interleukin-1, interleukin-8 receptor and tumor necrosis factor), whereas differences were observed in constitutively expressed genes, (immunoglobulin (Ig) M, major histocompatibility complex (MHC) -II and beta-actin) upon live Vibrio anguillarum exposure. Genome-wide microarray analysis revealed that, overall, triploid gene expression is similar to diploids, consistent with their similar phenotypes. This pattern, however, can subtly be altered under stress (for example, handling, V. anguillarum challenge) as we have observed at some housekeeping genes. Our results are the first report of dosage effect on gene transcription in a vertebrate, and they support the observation that diploid and triploid salmon are generally phenotypically indistinguishable, except under stress, when triploids show reduced performance.

The freshwater Amazonian stingray, Potamotrygon motoro, up-regulates glutamine synthetase activity and protein abundance, and accumulates glutamine when exposed to brackish (15 per thousand) water.

This study aimed to examine whether the stenohaline freshwater stingray, Potamotrygon motoro, which lacks a functional ornithine-urea cycle, would up-regulate glutamine synthetase (GS) activity and protein abundance, and accumulate glutamine during a progressive transfer from freshwater to brackish (15 per thousand) water with daily feeding. Our results revealed that, similar to other freshwater teleosts, P. motoro performed hyperosmotic regulation, with very low urea concentrations in plasma and tissues, in freshwater. In 15 per thousand water, it was non-ureotelic and non-ureoosmotic, acting mainly as an osmoconformer with its plasma osmolality, [Na+] and [Cl-] comparable to those of the external medium. There were significant increases in the content of several free amino acids (FAAs), including glutamate, glutamine and glycine, in muscle and liver, but not in plasma, indicating that FAAs could contribute in part to cell volume regulation. Furthermore, exposure of P. motoro to 15 per thousand water led to up-regulation of GS activity and protein abundance in both liver and muscle. Thus, our results indicate for the first time that, despite the inability to synthesize urea and the lack of functional carbamoyl phosphate synthetase III (CPS III) which uses glutamine as a substrate, P. motoro retained the capacity to up-regulate the activity and protein expression of GS in response to salinity stress. Potamotrygon motoro was not nitrogen (N) limited when exposed to 15 per thousand water with feeding, and there were no significant changes in the amination and deamination activities of hepatic glutamate dehydrogenase. In contrast, P. motoro became N limited when exposed to 10 per thousand water with fasting and could not survive well in 15 per thousand water without food.

The many faces of intraosseous haemangioma: a diagnostic headache.

Intraosseous haemangioma constitutes less than ten percent of all primary bone neoplasms. Approximately 75 percent occur in the calvarium or vertebrae, with long bones, short tubular bones and ribs constituting the rest. We describe a 52-year-old woman who presented with left knee pain for 4-5 years and loss of weight over one week. An initial radiograph of the knee showed several well circumscribed isodense lesions with sclerotic rims in the medullary cavity of the distal femur and diaphysis of the left tibia. There were also lucent lesions with a slightly sclerotic rim in the diaphysis of the left tibia and proximal left fibula. In view of the clinical presentation and radiological findings, extensive investigations were made to rule out metastases and multiple myeloma. An open biopsy with segmental osteotomy of the left mid fibular lesion revealed an intraosseous haemangioma.

Nonsuppurative meningoencephalitis associated with Aleutian mink disease parvovirus infection in ranch mink.

Severe nonsuppurative meningoencephalitis associated with Aleutian mink disease parvovirus (ADV) infection was observed in adult ranch mink. Brain lesions included severe, locally extensive to coalescing lymphoplasmacytic meningoencephalitis with accompanying gliosis, satellitosis, and mild extension of inflammation into the leptomeninges. ADV was identified in mesenteric lymph node, spleen, brain, and liver of affected mink by polymerase chain reaction techniques. Sequences of the ADV isolate (TH5) revealed 2 unique residues in the region of the viral genome that determines pathogenicity. These findings suggest that certain strains of ADV may preferentially cause disease in the nervous system. ADV infection should be considered in the differential diagnosis of neurologic disorders in mink.

Two parvoviruses that cause different diseases in mink have different transcription patterns: transcription analysis of mink enteritis virus and Aleutian mink disease parvovirus in the same cell line.

The two parvoviruses of mink cause very different diseases. Mink enteritis virus (MEV) is associated with rapid, high-level viral replication and acute disease. In contrast, infection with Aleutian mink disease parvovirus (ADV) is associated with persistent, low-level viral replication and chronic severe immune dysregulation. In the present report, we have compared viral transcription in synchronized CRFK cells infected with either MEV or ADV using a nonradioactive RNase protection assay. The overall level of viral transcription was 20-fold higher in MEV- than in ADV-infected cells. Furthermore, MEV mRNA encoding structural proteins (MEV mRNA R3) was dominant throughout the infectious cycle, comprising approximately 80% of the total viral transcription products. In marked contrast, in ADV-infected cells, transcripts encoding nonstructural proteins (ADV mRNA R1 and R2) comprised more than 84% of the total transcripts at all times after infection, whereas ADV mRNA R3 comprised less than 16%. Thus, the ADV mRNA coding for structural proteins (ADV mRNA R3) was present at a level at least 100-fold lower than the corresponding MEV mRNA R3. These findings paralleled previous biochemical studies analyzing in vitro activities of the ADV and MEV promoters (J. Christensen, T. Storgaard, B. Viuff, B. Aasted, and S. Alexandersen, J. Virol. 67:1877-1886, 1993). The overall low levels of ADV mRNA and the paucity of the mRNA coding for ADV structural proteins may reflect an adaptation of the virus for low-level restricted infection.

Madura foot. A case presentation.

In this case presentation, the diagnosis was based solely on the histopathologic examination of tissue taken at the time of the first surgery. Subsequent cultures did not reveal any growth of organisms that would cause Madura foot. The patient must be monitored periodically, for it is rare that such an infection is cured with surgery other than amputation.

Influence of acute hyponatremia on renal ammoniagenesis in dogs with chronic metabolic acidosis.

The purpose of this study was to determine how acute hyponatremia might augment the excretion of ammonium in dogs with chronic metabolic acidosis. The excretion of ammonium was higher during hyponatremia because the proportion of ammonium produced that was excreted in the urine increased from 66% in controls to 77%. Effects on the production of ammonium are more complex. The rate of renal ammoniagenesis was not increased during hyponatremia in absolute terms nor when expressed per millimole of oxygen consumption. In contrast, this rate was somewhat higher during hyponatremia if expressed per millimole of sodium reabsorbed (9.8 vs. 10.3 mumol). The rate of oxygen consumption by the kidney did not fall, as anticipated, during hyponatremia; when this rate was expressed per millimole of sodium reabsorbed it rose from 46 to 55 mumol. There was no significant change in the rate of extraction of glutamine by the kidney, but there was a significant decrease in the rate of release of alanine during hyponatremia. Hence there appears to be more oxidation (yielding more ammonium) and less transamination of glutamine. We conclude that the renal events which led to a higher rate of excretion of ammonium during hyponatremia were a larger than expected rate of ammonium production owing to a greater rate of oxygen consumption together with lesser rate of transamination of the glutamine extracted by the kidney. In addition, more of the ammonium produced was transferred to the urine.

Droplet impacts upon liquid surfaces.

The absorption and rebounding of single droplets and streams of droplets (of diameter less than 1200 micrometers) impacting upon the surface of a deep liquid have been examined experimentally. Conservation of mechanical energy and momentum have been used to explain rebounding droplet interactions, and impaction criteria have been established regarding the absorption of droplet streams. Surface tension is the dominant mechanism governing the observed behavior. Single droplets were never observed to rebound.

Cardiovascular responses of Oriental and Caucasian men to alcohol: some psychological correlates.

After drinking a small dose of alcohol, Orientals flushed, their heart rates increased and their diastolic pressures decreased; Caucasians' skin reflectance did not change, but their heart rates and systolic blood pressures decreased. In both groups, flushing was associated with an increase in feelings of vigor. Other mood correlates depended on condition.

Lung volumes in normal Cantonese subjects: preliminary studies.

Measurements of forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), FEV1/FVC ratio, functional residual capacity (FRC), total lung capacity (TLC), residual volume (RV), and RV/TLC ratio have been made in 331 normal Cantonese subjects (134 male and 197 female). The results have been expressed in multiple regression equations relating the volumes to age, height, and weight and have been compared with those of other workers. Lung volumes obtained in this study are in general lower for Chinese subjects than those reported for Caucasians. Similar findings for FVC were reported by Chuan and Chia (1969) in Singapore and by Wu and Yang (1962) in Taiwan. Significant differences, however, are noted for FRC, TLC, RV, and RV/TLC between our findings and those of Chuan and Chia. Our series is unbalanced because of an uneven distribution of age groups. In fact in none of the reported studies on Chinese subjects, including that of da Costa (1971), is the series large or balanced. Clearly, further research is required in this ethnic group to get more reliable predictive formulae for lung volumes.