Racial/Ethnic and socioeconomic differences in multiple risk factors for heart disease and stroke in women: behavioral risk factor surveillance system, 2003.

OBJECTIVE: To examine racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in multiple risk factors for heart disease and stroke among women. METHODS: Data from 153,466 adult women in the 2003 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a telephone survey of U.S. adults, were used to assess the prevalence of multiple (i.e., >or=2 of diabetes, current smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, or physical inactivity) risk factors for heart disease and stroke. Descriptive and multivariable analyses assessed differences in multiple risk factors among racial/ethnic and socioeconomic groups. RESULTS: More than one third (36.5%) of all women had multiple risk factors. The age-standardized prevalence of multiple risk factors was lowest in whites and Asians. After adjustment for age, income, education, and health coverage, the odds for multiple risk factors was greater in black (OR = 1.53, 95% CI = 1.42-1.64) and Native American women (1.36, 95% CI = 1.11-1.67) and lower for Hispanic women (OR = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.76-0.91) compared with white women. Prevalence estimates and odds of multiple risk factors increased with age; decreased with education, income, and employment; and were lower in those with no health coverage. Smoking was more common in younger women, whereas older women were more likely to have medical conditions (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes) and be physically inactive. CONCLUSIONS: Over one third of U.S. women have two or more risk factors for heart disease and stroke. Prevention programs that target risk reduction are especially critical to decrease the burden of heart disease and stroke in these higher-risk U.S. women.

The evaluation of rhytidectomy flap healing after CO2 laser resurfacing in a pig model.

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to determine when it becomes safe to perform laser resurfacing after rhytidectomy flap elevation. STUDY DESIGN: Eighty-four sites on 12 domestic Yorkshire pigs were selected; 4 x 10-cm skin flaps were elevated in 72 of the 84 sites and shortened 10%. The 12 remaining sites (controls) were treated with laser resurfacing alone. Laser resurfacing was also performed at days 0, 7, 14, 21, and 28 after closing the skin flaps. The healing time for the laser-resurfaced sites without flap elevation were compared to that of the skin flaps treated with the laser at days 0, 7, 14, 21, and 28. Twelve "skin flap" controls were elevated, shortened 10%, and closed without laser treatment. Resurfacing was performed using 2 passes with the Sharplan Silk Touch CO(2) laser. RESULTS: The average healing time for the skin flaps treated with the laser at day 0 was 23.9 days. All of these flaps showed skin slough with delayed healing followed by scar formation. The areas treated with the laser alone (controls), and the subsequent skin flaps treated with the laser postoperatively at days 7, 14, 21, and 28 days completely re-epithelialized in an average of 7.8, 8.1, 7.3, 7.4, and 7.3 days, respectively. There were no statistically significant differences in healing time between the controls and flaps treated with the laser on or after 7 days (P > 0.05). However, there were statistically significant differences in healing time between the laser-treated skin flaps at day 0 and the controls, between the laser-treated flaps on day 0 and day 7, and between the laser-treated flaps on day 0 and day 14 (P < 0.001). Because there was little difference in healing time after 14 days, only the healing times for laser-treated skin flaps up to 14 days were compared using paired t tests. CONCLUSIONS: From our observations using a pig model, we conclude that skin flaps may be safely laser resurfaced about 1 week postoperatively. On the other hand, simultaneous flap elevation and laser resurfacing results in delayed healing with subsequent scar formation.

Laryngoceles and saccular cysts.

Laryngoceles and saccular cysts are related, benign abnormalities of the larynx. The pathophysiology of both lesions can involve congenital as well as acquired factors, and the appearance of both may range from incidental findings on laryngoscopy to symptoms such as hoarseness, dysphagia, dyspnea, and laryngeal discomfort. The surgical techniques used for treatment of laryngoceles and saccular cysts are controversial. We present two cases for comparison and discuss the history, diagnosis, and surgical treatment of laryngoceles and saccular cysts. Emphasis is on the surgical approach, which in both cases transected the thyrohyoid membrane externally and provided excellent visualization and exposure without significant morbidity.

Antibody development against northern fowl mites (Acari: Macronyssidae) in chickens.

This study reports the development of an antibody against protein(s) from the tissue of the northern fowl mite, Ornithonyssus sylviarum (Canestrini & Fanzago). Northern fowl mite proteins were obtained by affinity chromatography and used for immunization. Western blot analysis identified proteins that were reactive with sera from birds immunized with the antigen; this indicated that serum antibodies against the northern fowl mite had been produced. Chickens that had been immunized or infested, or both, with the northern fowl mite produced sera that were reactive with a 100 kilodalton (kD) protein. The response was greater if the chicken had been immunized with the antigen and infested with the northern fowl mite. Experimentally immunized and infested chickens experienced limited decreases in the levels of northern fowl mite infestation. Survival of bloodfed mites after ingestion of the immune chicken blood was assessed in an in vitro feeding study using blood-filled parafilm sacs; minor differences in northern fowl mite feeding tendencies were noted. The chickens developed antibodies to the northern fowl mite proteins, but this immunity did not decrease the infestation level or in vitro feeding.

Partial purification of a receptor for the adipokinetic hormones from Musca autumnalis face flies.

Partial purification of the receptors for the neurohormones, diptera corpora cardiaca factors 1 and 2 (DCC1 and DCC2) was achieved. Receptor proteins were obtained from the abdomens of face fly, Musca autumnalis De Geer. Purification methods included detergent solubilization, affinity chromatography, and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Analysis by gel electrophoresis has identified two proteins from this partial purification with relative molecular weights of 45 and 90 kD. A crude receptor preparation was used to develop a ligand binding assay with radiolabeled (tritiated and iodinated) DCC1. Ligand binding was inhibited by 90% when excess unlabeled DCC1 was added to the assay mixture. Ligand binding was optimum at pH 7.5. Binding saturation occurred at approximately 12 picomole radiolabeled ligand concentration. Because DCC1 and DCC2 have been shown to effect the lipid and trehalose levels in the insect an understanding of the neuropeptide-receptor interaction is important for the development of new methods of control of dairy and poultry muscoid flies.

Space travel shortens diapause in gypsy moth eggs.

Field-collected and laboratory-reared gypsy moth eggs were exposed to microgravity, cosmic radiation, sub-freezing temperatures, unusual vibrations, and other extraterrestrial phenomena while they were sealed for 6 days, in January, in a Get-Away-Special (GAS) canister in the open bay of a NASA earth-orbiting spacecraft, the Columbia. Insects were not exposed to light after preparation for and during space flight. Under field conditions, out-of-doors, the eggs should have hatched in April, after 3-4 months of chilling temperatures and should not have hatched after the 6 days of chilling to -11 degrees C during flight in the Columbia spacecraft. However by April 1, more than 4000 larvae had hatched from eggs that had travelled in space, as opposed to approximately 350 from a similar number of control, earthbound eggs. These results indicate that the period of a circannual rhythm in field- and lab-reared insects had been shortened, presumably as result of exposure to microgravity, other factors associated with space flight, and/or conditions of outer space. These results suggest that it may be possible to develop methods for rearing the gypsy moth year round, without the necessity of three months chilling interspersed in the development process. This, in turn, would facilitate production of large numbers of insects for sterile male release or for use as a rearing medium for parasites, predators and pathogens of the gypsy moth.

Dermal healing after local skin flaps and chemical peel.

Like cells respond to injury through repair mechanisms unique for each cell type (eg, regeneration of the epidermis, granulation over exposed fat). How simultaneous chemical peel affects a local skin flap and why minimal differences in chemical peels can result in significant differences in outcome is not fully understood. In this study guinea pig skin was exposed to skin flap elevation, chemical peel, or a combination of the two. Biopsy specimens were taken at 3 to 35 days after injury and the histologic sections were studied. Results demonstrate that (1) lifting a flap causes changes in the subcutaneous tissue and reticular dermis that makes it more vulnerable to secondary injury and (2) the reticular dermis responds to injury as two physiologically distinct layers, although it appears histologically homogeneous. The upper reticular dermis heals by reorganization, while the deeper reticular dermis heals by scar formation. The differing response to injury of these cell layers may in part explain the low safety margin in aggressive chemical peels.

Circadian rhythm of trehalose in the face fly Musca autumnalis de Geer.

Trehalose levels were determined over two 24 hr spans in groups of face fly adults 3-4 days after emergence from the puparium. Face fly pupae were placed in rearing chambers at 27 degrees C in a staggered light-dark regimen, LD 16:8, so that at a given clock hour, samples could be obtained at several different hours after lights on (HALO). Trehalose was determined in hemolymph collected from a puncture in the intersegmental membrane of the abdomen. Treated hemolymph samples were passed through a Bio-Rad Amino 5-S disaccharide column and a Waters 410 refractive index detector was used to differentiate among sugars. The circadian acrophase derived by cosinor analysis in hemolymph trehalose (when the values were 25.49 and 26.86 micrograms/microliters on the first and second days respectively) occurred at -226 degrees (ca 15 HALO) and the bathyphase at 24 HALO. The mesor = 11.82 micrograms/microliters trehalose, the amplitude = 8.57 micrograms/microliters trehalose and the P-value for presence of a rhythm was 0.003. Based on these data, differences between control and test flies in a bioassay of hypertrehalosemic activity would be most easily observed at 0-8 HALO, while exogenous hypotrehalosemic activity would be best assayed at 12-20 HALO.

Primary structure of two neuropeptide hormones with adipokinetic and hypotrehalosemic activity isolated from the corpora cardiaca of horse flies (Diptera).

The primary structures of two neuropeptides, Tabanus atratus adipokinetic hormone (Taa-AKH) and Tabanus atratus hypotrehalosemic hormone (Taa-HoTH), from the corpora cardiaca of horse flies (Diptera: Tabanidae) have been determined. Amino acid sequences of Taa-AKH (less than Glu-Leu-Thr-Phe-Thr-Pro-Gly-Trp-NH2) and Taa-HoTH (less than Glu-Leu-Thr-Phe-Thr-Pro-Gly-Trp-Gly-Tyr-NH2) (where less than Glu = pyroglutamic acid) were determined by automated gas-phase Edman degradation of the peptides deblocked by pyroglutamate aminopeptidase and by fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry. The hormones were synthesized, and the natural and synthetic peptides exhibited identical chromatographic, spectroscopic, and biological properties. When assayed in adult face fly males, Taa-AKH and Taa-HoTH demonstrated hyperlipemic activity, in addition, Taa-HoTH also demonstrated a significant hypotrehalosemic activity.

Viability of skin flaps subjected to simultaneous chemical peel with occlusive taping.

This study was undertaken to determine whether the application of a standardized chemical peel with an occlusive tape dressing to an acutely raised skin flap (as in combining rhytidectomy with chemical peel) affects skin flap viability. Thirty-six 4-cm x 4-cm dorsal skin flaps were raised on guinea pigs and sutured back into place. Eighteen of these flaps were simultaneously treated with a single application of Baker's solution and a 24-hour occlusive tape dressing. A mean of 3.1 cm2 of the nonpeeled flaps necrosed, compared with 6.3 cm2 of the peeled flaps, a statistically significant increase in tissue loss in flaps that were simultaneously chemically peeled. We conclude that application of Baker's solution with an occlusive tape dressing to an acutely raised skin flap impairs skin flap viability and may result in skin flap necrosis.

Insects as novel models for research in chronobiology.

A need exists for novel models for chronopharmacological research. Insects could serve in this capacity since they are relatively inexpensive, short-lived and acceptable to the public. With the cooperation of Franz Halberg, tests which demonstrated that this was feasible were undertaken over an about 10 year span. Specifically, life span was shown to be different in different photoperiodic regimens for the codling moth and the face fly. Evidence was also found for a circaseptan rhythm as well as an about 3-day rhythm in the response to the photoperiodic shifts. These results are consistent with those reported by F. Halberg and others in mammals and a unicellular plant. The finding, in collaboration with F. Halberg and others, of a rhythm in melatonin in the heads of face flies suggests that biochemical as well as behavioural analogies between insects and other animals can be drawn when insects are used as models for research in chronopharmacology.

Identification of a neuropeptide hormone that regulates sex pheromone production in female moths.

A pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide (PBAN) hormone that controls sex pheromone production in female moths was identified from the brain-subesophageal ganglion complexes of the adult corn earworm, Heliothis zea. PBAN has 33 amino acid residues and a molecular weight of 3900. Its amino acid sequence has no significant homology with any of the fully characterized peptide hormones. The synthetic peptide, at a dose of between 2 and 4 picomoles, induced production of a normal quantity of sex pheromone in ligated H. zea females. The peptide also induced pheromone production in six other species of moths, thus indicating that this or similar peptides may be responsible for the regulation of pheromone production in moths.

Isolation and identification of a compound from soybean cyst nematode,Heterodera glycines, with sex pheromone activity.

A single compound with sex pheromone activity was isolated from the female soybean cyst nematode,Heterodera glycines, by a sequence of four high-performance liquid chromatographic steps and identified as vanillic acid by a combination of ultraviolet spectroscopy and chromatography. The structure was confirmed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Both attractancy and coiling behavior in male soybean cyst nematode were elicited by authentic vanillic acid.

Isolation and primary structure of a neuropeptide hormone from Heliothis zea with hypertrehalosemic and adipokinetic activities.

A neuropeptide was isolated from the corpora cardiaca of the corn earworm moth Heliothis zea, and purified by sequential gradient elution in three reversed phase-high performance liquid chromatographic steps. The primary structure, pGlu-Leu-Thr-Phe-Ser-Ser-Gly-Trp-Gly-Asn-NH2 was determined by automated gas-phase Edman degradation of the peptide deblocked with pyroglutamate aminopeptidase, and confirmed by fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry. The hormone was synthesized and the natural and synthetic peptides had identical chromatographic and spectroscopic properties. Both natural and synthetic hormones caused the elevation of trehalose and lipid levels in the hemolymph of adult H. zea males.

Isolation of two neuropeptides in the AKH/RPCH-family from horseflies (Diptera).

Two neuropeptides (DCCI and DCCII) in the adipokinetic/red pigment concentrating hormone-family have been isolated and purified from the corpora cardiaca of horseflies (Diptera : Tabanidae). Both peptides were purified by a sequence of three reversed phase-high performance liquid chromatographic steps. Amino acid analysis of the purified peptides indicated the following composition for DCCI: Glx(l), Gly(1), Leu(1), Phe(1), Pro(1), Thr(2) and for DCCII: Glx(1), Gly(2), Leu(1), Phe(1), Pro(1), Thr(2), and Tyr(1). Photodiode array ultraviolet spectroscopy indicated the presence of tryptophan in both DCCI and II. Both DCCI and II had red pigment concentrating hormone activity in the crab, Uca pugilator.

Circadian rhythm of melatonin in the brain of the face fly, Musca autumnalis De Geer.

Melatonin was radioimmunoassayed in extracts from brains of Musca autumnalis De Geer, the face fly, obtained 4h apart during 24h in 3 series pools of over 2 dozen brains at each of 6 or 7 circadian times. A circadian rhythm in the data expressed as percent of mean was demonstrated by the population-mean cosinor method. Face flies thus offer themselves for studies of melatonin-mediated chronomodulation by feedsideward mechanisms.

Action spectra for prevention or termination of diapause in three species of Lepidoptera.

Action spectra for photoperiodic induction or termination of diapause in three species of Lepidoptera were determined by synchronizing the appropriate stage in an LD 16:8 regimen in which a 12-hr day of CW fluorescent light was extended by 6 hr of spectral light. A combination of full- and half- silvered mirrors were used to direct the spectral light, which passed through appropriate combinations of interference filters onto each of the three groups of insects in each test conducted. The action spectra for prevention of diapause in larvae of the European corn borer and the pink bollworm exhibited maxima lying between 420 and 490 nm. The action spectrum for termination of diapause in pupae of the so-called oak silkworm, Antheraea pernyi Guérin Ménèville, was extended from previous work to below 420 nm, with a maximum of about 410-480 nm. These action spectra are consistent with absorption spectra obtained from the brains of the same insects. Results are not inconsistent with the hypothesis that a heme-enzyme-substrate complex is one potential photoreceptor for pigment in the diapause response.