Role of Light and Malate in the Decreased Sensitivity of cms-T Cytoplasm Maize Leaves to Bipolaris maydis Race T Toxin.

ABSTRACT Leaf segments from Texas male sterile (cms-T) cytoplasm maize isolines exposed to light (50 muM s(-1) m(-2)) for 8 h or more before or after being infiltrated with the Bipolaris maydis race T toxin (T-toxin) leaked significantly less electrolytes when immersed in distilled water (DW) for 24 to 48 h than did dark-treated leaf segments. No comparable effect of light on toxin-induced electrolyte leakage was observed with normal (N) cytoplasm isolines. Toxin-treated cms-T leaf segments incubated in DW for three consecutive 12-h periods of alternating light and dark showed significantly greater electrolyte leakage than leaf segments incubated in continuous light for 36 h and significantly less leakage than segments incubated in continuous dark for 36 h.Exposure of cms-T, but not N, cytoplasm leaves to 25 or 50 muM malic acid decreased their sensitivity to T-toxin in the dark to a level similar to that observed when leaves were incubated in the light without malic acid. The potency of T-toxin appeared to be unaffected by its exposure to light. The loss of electrolytes from T-toxin-treated cms-T cytoplasm leaf segments was at approximately the level seen with light or malate when 25 muM H(2)O(2) was added to the DW bathing solution. Evaluation of the data points to the possibility that H(2)O(2) might be involved with the altered sensitivity of cms-T cytoplasm leaves to T-toxin caused by either light or malate.

Can different patient satisfaction survey methods yield consistent results? Comparison of three surveys.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the consistency of survey estimates of patient satisfaction with interpersonal aspects of hospital experience. DESIGN: Interview and postal surveys, evidence from three independent population surveys being compared. SETTING: Scotland and Lothian. SUBJECTS: Randomly selected members of the general adult population who had received hospital care in the past 12 months. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Percentages of respondents dissatisfied with aspects of patient care. RESULTS: For items covering respect for privacy, treatment with dignity, sensitivity to feelings, treatment as an individual, and clear explanation of care there was good agreement among the surveys despite differences in wording. But for items to do with being encouraged and given time to ask questions and being listened to by doctors there was substantial disagreement. CONCLUSIONS: Evidence regarding levels of patient dissatisfaction from national or local surveys should be calibrated against evidence from other surveys to improve reliability. Some important aspects of patient satisfaction seem to have been reliably estimated by surveys of all Scottish NHS users commissioned by the management executive, but certain questions may have underestimated the extent of dissatisfaction, possibly as a result of choice of wording.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia in an unselected community-based population: a survey of urinary symptoms, bothersomeness and prostatic enlargement.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of (anatomical) benign prostatic hyperplasia/enlargement (BPH/BPE) in an unselected population and to assess the relationships between BPE, urinary flow rates (UFRs) and symptoms in men with BPH. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: All men aged 40-79 years and living in three ex-mining villages in Scotland were invited to undergo a measurement of UFR, transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS) and to complete a symptom score and a previously validated lifestyle questionnaire. RESULTS: Of 597 eligible men, 367 (61%) completed the urinary symptom questionnaire and 310 (52%) underwent TRUS and measurement of UFR. The response rate in the age group 50-69 was > 60%. Age-specific prevalence rates for BPE (prostate size > 20 g) per 1000 men were: 40-49 years, 615; 50-59 years, 776; 60-69 years, 892; and 70-79 years, 889, giving an overall rate for all ages of 765. There was no significant relationship between prostate size and symptoms, nor between size and peak UFR, nor any clear association between size and interference with activities of daily living. However, men with a UFR of > 20 mL/s were very unlikely to have prostates > 40 g. Relationships were found between some urinary symptoms and UFR. Age, weight and the level of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) were the only independent variables associated with prostate size. CONCLUSION: Compared to published studies, BPE was substantially more prevalent than assumed previously. This study further reinforces the need for the subtle and detailed evaluation of patients who have a syndrome of BPH in assigning them to intervention, be it medical or surgical, or non-intervention/watchful waiting.

International comparison of the community prevalence of symptoms of prostatism in four countries.

We conducted an international comparison of the prevalence of urinary symptoms of prostatism in 4 countries, using a community-based random sampling of subjects, similar study procedures, and a single definition of cases that was based on a standardized symptom questionnaire. In Scotland 1,994 medically eligible men aged 40-79 years agreed to participate from 3 communities of the Forth Valley. In France, a nation-wide survey was conducted cross-sectionally in a representative sample of 2,011 French men aged 50-84 years. In the USA, the Olmsted County (OC) study recruited an age- and urban/rural-stratified random sample of 2,115 county residents drawn from medically eligible men aged 40-79 years. In Japan, 290 men aged 40-79 years from a fishing village participated in the study. Response rates were 55, 53, 55, and 43% in Scotland, France, OC and Japan, respectively. Urinary symptoms were assessed by the International Prostate Symptom Score (I-PSS), after metrologic validation in English and cross-cultural adaptation of the questionnaire. The prevalence of moderate to severe symptoms (I-PSS > 7) were 14, 18, 38, and 56% in France, Scotland, OC and Japan, respectively. This pattern was consistent within decades of age, and was found for most of the individual urinary symptoms. The proportion of men in Japan reporting very low I-PSS (0 or 1) was approximately 2, 4 and 8 times less frequent, than in OC, Scotland, and France, respectively. Differences in the prevalence of reported urinary symptoms might reflect between-country differences in the true prevalence of benign prostatic hyperplasia. However, cross-cultural differences in the perception and/or willingness to report urinary symptoms may play an important role in the observed differences. Further study will be required to elucidate the underlying causes of the observed differences.

Interpreting self reported limiting long term illness.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between self reported limiting long term illness and other dimensions of self reported health. DESIGN: Stratified random sample of general population. SETTING: Lothian region, Scotland, in 1993. SUBJECTS: 6212 men and women aged 16 and over. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Limiting long term illness was assessed by the same question as used in the 1991 United Kingdom census. The short form 36 health survey was used to assess other dimensions of health. RESULTS: Rates of limiting long term illness were much higher than reported in the census. Scores on general and physical health scales had strong associations with limiting long term illness, but after adjustment for these associations psychosocial health measures had little influence on limiting long term illness. Being at the lower rather than the upper quartile on the physical functioning scale more than doubled the odds of having limiting long term illness. Reported prevalence of many common illnesses was between two and three times higher among those with limiting long term illness. CONCLUSIONS: A positive response to the question used by the census to define limiting long term illness was strongly associated with physical limitations on activity and less strongly influenced by scores on scales of mental and social wellbeing. Socioeconomic effects on limiting long term illness seem largely mediated through measures of general health and physical limitations on health.

Epidemiology of rugby football injuries.

With the exception of spinal cord injuries, the frequency and consequences of rugby injuries are not clearly understood. We therefore conducted a prospective cohort study involving all the senior rugby clubs in the Scottish Borders. 1169 (96%) of 1216 eligible players provided personal details and recorded all 15-a-side matches they played in the 1993-94 rugby season. Physiotherapists visited the clubs weekly to liaise with volunteer linkmen who were appointed to notify the circumstances of all new or recurrent injuries occurring in matches or rugby-related training. 361 players experienced 584 injuries in 512 injury episodes, 84% of which arose in matches. The period prevalence rate of match injuries was 13.95 (95% CI 12.64-15.26) per 1000 playing hours, the equivalent of an injury episode every 1.8 rugby matches. An injury episode took the player away from the game for an average of 39 days. 28% of injury episodes resulted in absence from employment or school/college work, for an average of 18 days. Rugby injuries are an important source of morbidity in young men. They need to be better understood if their frequency and consequences are to be reduced.

Inhibition of Ornithine Decarboxylase and Growth of the Fungus Helminthosporium maydis.

alpha-dl-Difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), a specific enzyme-activated inhibitor of ornithine decarboxylase, at 0.5 to 2.0 millimolar significantly inhibited mycelial growth and especially sporulation of Helminthosporium maydis in the dark; its inhibitory effect on sporulation was greatly increased under light conditions. Putrescine at 0.25 millimolar fully prevented the inhibitory effects of DFMO; the inhibition caused by the latter could not be prevented by cadaverine or CaCl(2). alpha-dl-Difluoromethylarginine, a specific enzyme-activated inhibitor of arginine decarboxylase, at 0.1 to 2.0 millimolar had a weak inhibitory effect on the fungus. The effect was not dependent on the inhibitor concentration and there was no detectable arginine decarboxylase activity in the fungus.

Impact of computed tomography on subdural hematoma. A population study.

The Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minn) medical record linkage and indexing system was used to examine the impact of computed tomography (CT) on the diagnostic investigation, management, and outcome of all cases of subdural hematoma (SDH) that occurred in Olmsted County, Minnesota, from 1965 through 1980. Comparisons were made between an eight-year period prior to the introduction of CT (1965 through 1972) and a similar period after CT became available in this community (1973 through 1980). The advent of CT did not change the treatment, course of the disease, or prognosis of SDH. However, the introduction of CT had a marked effect on the pattern of neurological investigations carried out. This resulted in a 15% reduction in the cost of diagnosing SDH in this community, while the overall cost of health care in the United States rose by 87% during the same period.

Patients' knowledge of heart disease in general practice.

Interviews with 400 consecutive patients attending a general practice sought their knowledge of the signs and symptoms of an acute heart attack, what action they would take for such an event, and their understanding of the predisposing factors contributing to heart disease. The survey revealed poor recognition of the relevant signs and symptoms of an acute heart attack and lack of knowledge of some of the main predisposing factors associated with heart disease.