Bovine viral diarrhea virus is inactivated when whole milk from persistently infected cows is heated to prepare semen extender.

Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) can be present in cryopreserved bovine semen and be transmitted through artificial insemination. Because BVDV can be shed in milk, the virus might also be introduced as a contaminant of milk-based semen extenders. Thus, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the epidemiologic risk of using heated, BVDV-contaminated milk to prepare semen extender. Milk was obtained from cows free of and persistently infected (PI) with BVDV. Six replicates of milk samples were processed by heating (85-92.2 degrees C, 10min). Samples of milk collected before and after heating were assayed for BVDV. Additionally, milk was injected intravenously into eight BVDV seronegative calves to monitor for seroconversion and viral infection. Virus was not detected in any milk samples from negative animals. Virus was consistently isolated from unheated milk samples from PI cows by passage of somatic cells, ultracentrifugation, and animal inoculation. Virus was usually detected in these samples by RT-nPCR (reverse transcription nested polymerase chain reaction). In heated milk samples from PI cows, no infectious BVDV was detected using any technique, but viral RNA was detected using RT-nPCR in four of six replicates. Bovine viral diarrhea virus in milk from PI cows was inactivated by heating. Therefore, properly heated milk used in semen extenders will not result in transmission of infectious BVDV. Although RT-nPCR detected the presence of viral RNA in milk samples after heating, the virus was not infectious as demonstrated by lack of replication despite using multiple sensitive techniques.

Development of a serologic assay to detect Taenia solium taeniasis.

We developed a serologic assay to identify adult Taenia solium tapeworm carriers using excretory/secretory (TSES) antigens collected from in vitro cultured T. solium tapeworms. To identify taeniasis-specific antigens we used an immunoblot assay with serum samples from T. solium tapeworm carriers and cysticercosis patients. Antigens were identified that reacted with antibodies present in serum samples from taeniasis cases and not with those from cysticercosis patients. Using serum samples collected from persons with confirmed T. solium tapeworm infections, the test was determined to be 95% (69 of 73) sensitive. Serum samples (n = 193) from persons with other parasitic infections, including T. saginata tapeworm infections, do not contain cross-reacting antibodies to TSES, indicating that the assay is 100% specific. These data suggest that the immunoblot assay using TSES antigens can be used to identify persons with current or recent T. solium tapeworm infections and provides a new, important tool for epidemiologic purposes, including control and prevention strategies.

Dysphoric interpersonal schemata and preadolescents' sensitization to negative events.

Addresses the hypothesis that interpersonal schemata sensitize dysphoric youngsters to negative social information and contribute to the amplification of depressive symptoms. Sensitization was conceptualized as involving multiple components, including heightened anticipation, selective focus, and rapid information processing. Four studies with separate samples of preadolescents and early adolescents were conducted. Results from 3 laboratory-based studies indicated that depressed and dysphoric youngsters evince relatively negative interpersonal schemata, and that these schemata are related to the 3 components of sensitization. A short-term prospective study examined the hypothesis that dysphoric interpersonal schemata moderate the emotional impact of a normative social stressor, the transition to high school. Results indicated that youngsters who entered the transition with relatively negative schema experienced the transition as more stressful than youngsters with relatively positive schema, and that negative interpersonal schema amplified the effects of stress on depressive symptoms.

The proportional decrease in prostate specific antigen level best predicts the duration of survival after hormonal therapy in patients with metastatic carcinoma of the prostate.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the usefulness of a test for prostate specific antigen (PSA) to predict survival in hormonally treated patients with metastatic prostate cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study comprised 49 patients (mean age 72 years, SD 6) who underwent orchidectomy for metastatic prostate cancer. PSA was measured before orchidectomy and after 6 months, and the absolute, differential and proportional decreases calculated. A Cox proportional hazards regression model, which controlled for patient age, tumour (Gleason) grade and the number of skeletal metastases, was then used to evaluate these estimates of PSA as predictors of survival. RESULTS: The 6-month proportional decrease in PSA from the pre-operative level was the most accurate predictor of patient survival (P = 0.006) after hormonal therapy for metastatic prostate cancer. CONCLUSION: This information may help to direct appropriate patients to new and experimental therapies for metastatic disease.

Elevated IGF-II and TGF-beta concentrations in human calvarial bone: potential mechanism for increased graft survival and resistance to osteoporosis.

Calvarial bone grafts may have greater survival as donor tissue than bone from other sites. Furthermore, calvarial bone is resistant to osteoporosis. Because bone contains growth factors that may play an important role in the regulation of bone repair, we proposed that bone from calvaria may be enriched in one or more growth factors. To test this hypothesis, samples of bone from 10 men 64 years of age or older that were obtained at autopsy from three skeletal sites (calvaria, iliac crest, and vertebral body) were cleaned, extracted by demineralization, and assayed for growth factors insulin-like growth factor I, insulin-like growth factor II, and transforming growth factor-beta. Insulin-like growth factor II and transforming growth factor-beta concentrations were significantly higher in calvaria than in iliac crest or vertebral body. We conclude that the increased concentrations of growth factors in calvarial bone may lead to a greater capacity for bone repair and graft retention.

Case report: inflammatory bronchial flap and 'check valve' bronchial obstruction.

The authors report the case of a patient in whom check valve bronchial obstruction was the result of an inflamed bronchial mucosal flap. Bronchoscopic examination showed that the mucosal flap opened with inspiration and closed with expiration. Protective brush and semiquantitative bronchoalveolar lavage cultures grew Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas spp. An inflammatory mucosal flap and check valve bronchiolar obstruction has been described previously in only one patient and this was on postmortem examination.

Accelerated wound healing of pressure ulcers by pulsed high peak power electromagnetic energy (Diapulse).

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of pulsed high-frequency, high peak power electromagnetic energy (Diapulse) in the healing of pressure ulcers. Patients with Stage II ulcers unhealed within three to 12 weeks and those with Stage III ulcers unhealed within eight to 168 weeks by conventional methods were included in the study. When Diapulse was added to conventional therapy during the nine-month study, all 22 patients healed as evidenced by photographs and measurements of the ulcers. Stage II ulcers healed in one to six weeks (mean 2.33) and all Stage III ulcers healed in one to 22 weeks (mean 8.85). The increased healing time can provide significant cost savings and improved patient care.

Establishing smoking cessation programs in dental offices.

Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the United States. Because dental personnel treat millions of patients who are cigarette smokers, they have a unique opportunity to help persons quit the smoking habit. Effectively designed, office-based programs should involve all or most dental team members and contain the following components: a procedure that identifies smokers and records changes in their smoking status, a personal evaluation of each smoker's motivation to quit, an assessment of the degree of nicotine dependence experienced by potential quitters, the prescription of nicotine polacrilex therapy for appropriate candidates, personalized counseling commensurate with each patient's level of quitting readiness and, an effective system that ensures consistent patient follow-up and support.

Micturition syncope: an atypical case.

A forty-nine-year-old man had episodes of micturition syncope associated with an asymptomatic urinary tract infection. Treatment of the infection resolved the syncopal episodes. Micturition syncope occurs in the standing position; physical, electrocardiographic, and electroencephalographic studies usually have normal results. The case reported here is atypical in that micturition syncope was the only apparent symptom of urinary tract infection.

Massive renal angiomyolipoma: preoperative infarction by balloon catheter.

A case of a renal angiomyolipoma supplied by 2 renal arteries is reported. Preoperative, percutaneous transluminal infarction by a balloon catheter facilitated surgical removal of this massive neoplasm.

Fibrous histiocytoma of bladder.

A case of benign fibrous histiocytoma of the bladder is presented. The occurrence is rare, and criteria for defining malignant potential are unreliable. Careful follow-up evaluations are important.

Granular myoblastoma: perineal neoplasm of probable neural origin.

A seventy-year-old man with a painless, perineal neoplasm was found to have a granular cell myoblastoma densely adherent to the bulbar urethra. This case represents the fourth known perineal neoplasm of neural origin.