Phytase effects on the efficiency of utilisation and blood concentrations of phosphorus and calcium in Pekin ducks.

1. The objective was to study the effects of a supplementation of a 6-phytase derived from the Peniophora lycii gene in the White Pekin duck. 2. In two balance studies, low-phosphorus (P) diets consisting mainly of maize, solvent extracted soybean meal and solvent extracted sunflower meal were supplemented with phytase up to concentrations of 1500 U/kg (Study 1) or 2000 U/kg (Study 2). Each diet (phytase level) was fed to 8 to 10 individually penned ducks. The intake and excretion of each animal was measured for 5 consecutive days when ducks were in their third week of life. Responses were described by nonlinear regression. 3. Although the basal diets from the two studies were similar in ingredient composition, efficiencies of P utilisation (P accretion/P intake x 100) for the unsupplemented basal diets were 39% in Study 1 and 30% in Study 2. Phytase supplementation significantly improved P utilisation up to levels of about 55% in both studies. A plateau in P utilisation with an increase in phytase supplementation was achieved in Study 2, but not in Study 1. The enzyme was more efficient in Study 2 than in Study 1 at low rates of supplementation. Utilisation of calcium (Ca) was significantly improved by phytase supplementation. Accretions of P and Ca increased at a constant ratio. 4. In a 5-week growth study, diets with an intentionally marginal P level were used. Diets were fed either unsupplemented or supplemented with 1000 or 10,000 U/kg of phytase. Eight pens of 10 sex-separated ducks each (4 pens per sex) were allocated to each dietary treatment. 5. Phytase significantly improved the growth of ducks of both sexes between d 1 and 21, but not between d 22 and 35. Feed conversion rate was not affected by treatment. Blood serum phosphate concentrations, but not calcium, were significantly increased by phytase supplementation. Blood concentrations of creatinine, aspartate aminotransferase and lactate dehydrogenase remained unaffected while alanine aminotransferase was significantly reduced by phytase supplementation. 6. It was concluded that the efficacy of a microbial phytase varies even under similar experimental conditions. Differences in intrinsic phytase activity of maize/soybean meal-based diets may be responsible for this. The 6-phytase used has the potential to improve the utilisation of plant P in duck feeding. A plateau in response was reached above 1500 U/kg.

Investigations on the availability of inorganic phosphate from different sources with growing White Pekin ducks.

Methodological aspects of determination of P availability in ducks were addressed in this study. Three balance experiments with quantitative excreta collection were performed with growing male White Pekin ducks that were 3 wk of age. When P from monobasic calcium phosphate (MCP) was added in graded levels below the requirement to a low-P basal diet, ducks responded nonlinearly in P accretion. With increases in dietary Ca:P ratio from 1.2:1 to 1.6:1 to 2.0:1, ymax in P accretion increased from 0.91 to 0.97 to 1.03 g/duck during the 5-d period of measurement, and marginal efficiency of utilization (deltay/deltax) of P from MCP increased from 75 to 85 to 91%. The overall utilization of plant P from the low-P basal diet was adversely affected by increasing dietary Ca:P ratio and decreased from 49 to 45 to 40%. Seven inorganic P sources were supplemented to a low-P basal diet to increase P content by 0.9 or 1.9 g/kg. Utilization of P from the sources was lower at 1.9 g/kg compared with at 0.9 g/kg, although supply was still below requirement, indicating that ducks fed 1.9 g/ kg were in the diminishing part of the response curve. Thus, only the values determined at the low level of supplementation were considered as a measure of availability. P availabilities were 100% for monosodium phosphate, 96% for anhydrous dibasic calcium phosphate, 92% for calcium sodium magnesium phosphate, 91% for monodibasic calcium phosphate, 86% for 2 batches of dihydrated dibasic calcium phosphate, and 77% for calcium sodium phosphate. It was concluded that availability studies aiming to characterize the capacity of an ingredient require standardization with regard to the level of P supply and the dietary Ca:P ratio. Similar to results from other species, the availability of inorganic feed phosphates for ducks is on an overall high level, but differences between P sources should be considered in diet formulation.

Reducing the phosphorus concentration in diets for turkeys between 10 and 22 weeks of age.

1. An experiment lasting for 13 weeks was started at the beginning of week 10 with male turkeys weighing 5.38 kg. The experiment comprised three subsequent periods with adjusted metabolisable energy (ME) and nutrient concentrations from weeks 10 to 13, 14 to 17, and 18 to 22. Seven pens of 12 birds each were allocated to each of 5 treatments. Treatments differed in dietary phosphorus concentration and phytase supplementation (500 U/kg) only. Total phosphorus varied between treatments from 4.9 to 8.0 g/kg (weeks 10 to 13), from 4.4 to 7.5 g/kg (weeks 14 to 17) and from 3.5 to 7.0 g/kg (weeks 18 to 22). Phosphorus concentration was adjusted by different inclusions of monocalcium phosphate. Diets were pelleted and offered ad libitum. 2. A final body weight of, on average, 22.3 kg was achieved at the end of week 22. Body weight gain, feed consumption, feed conversion, toe ash, toe phosphorus and toe calcium were not significantly affected by dietary phosphorus concentration. There was no indication of an effect on mortality or on broken or deformed bones. 3. Phosphorus concentrations (g/kg diet) of 5.9, 5.4 and 4.4 without microbial phytase and of 4.9, 4.4 and 3.5 with microbial phytase, respectively, were sufficient in the three periods. As compared with the control, a reduction in phosphorus excretion of turkeys by 0.4 without phytase and by 0.5 with phytase was achieved without negative effects on turkeys. 4. Because the data demonstrate the great potential for a reduction in dietary phosphorus concentration, detailed requirement and availability studies with turkeys should follow.

Response of growing Pekin ducks to supplementation of monobasic calcium phosphate to low-phosphorus diets.

The effects of a supplementation of P from monobasic calcium phosphate (MCP; Ca(H2PO4)2) to low-P basal diets were studied in growing Pekin ducks. Body weight gain and feed conversion were studied in two separate periods between Days 1 to 21 (Experiment 1) and between Days 21 to 49 (Experiments 2 and 3). Retention of P was measured by comparative slaughter technique in Experiment 1. Additionally, two balance trials with quantitative determination of intake and excretion of P were conducted between Days 12 to 17 and between Days 30 to 35. MCP was supplemented in 7 or 6 graded levels at the expense of sand. In cases when ANOVA showed a significant effect of MCP supplementation, the response of ducks was described by nonlinear functions. No significant effect of supplemental MCP on growth, feed intake or feed/gain ratio was detected in the period between Days 21 and 49 with a basal P level of 3.0 g/kg. Between Days 1 and 21, ducks needed 5.1 g P/kg diet to achieve 95% of ymax in BW gain. The ymax for P concentration in gained BW, determined from balance trials, was 5.6 and 5.1 g/kg between Days 12 to 17 and Days 30 to 35, respectively. Ninety-five percent of ymax in P retention was achieved with a dietary P concentration of 6.2 and 4.3 g/kg between Days 12 to 17 and Days 30 to 35. The cumulative efficiency of utilization (retention/intake x 100) of dietary P from the basal diet was 49% (Days 12 to 17) and 43% (Days 30 to 35), and approached maximum with increasing supplementation of MCP of 55 and 53%, respectively, before it decreased again with further increase in MCP supplementation. The marginal efficiency of supplemental P (deltay/deltax) showed a maximum of 86% (Days 12 to 17) and 92% (Days 30 to 35), and this maximum was achieved where only 75 and 72% of ymax in P retentions were achieved. It is concluded that ducks require a lower P concentration in the diet with increase in age, but that the efficiency of utilization of P from inorganic salts is not clearly affected by age. Conclusions regarding the P requirement largely depend on the response criterion chosen. Based on P retention data, a dietary level of available P is recommended to be 3.4 (Days 1 to 21) and 2.3 g/kg (Days 21 to 49), although growth was unaffected by P even at lower concentrations of available P. Future comparative studies on the availability of P from ingredients should be conducted at a dietary P concentration that allows for identifying the maximum in utilization.

Ethanol reduces rCFB activation of left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex during a verbal fluency task.

In a previous study in normal subjects (Wendt et al., 1994), using a reversing checkerboard as activation stimulus, we found that the coupling between local neuronal activity and regional cerebral blood flow was preserved following ethanol, and that a right-sided occipital activation response seen during sobriety became symmetrical during inebriation. In the present study we investigated if ethanol has a detrimental effect also on the activation of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex found in normals during verbal fluency. Measurements of regional cerebral blood flow in 20 healthy, young, male, right-handed volunteers during rest and verbal fluency were made during sobriety and inebriation (0.06% blood alcohol concentration) with a 1-week interval. We found a decrease in word production during inebriation. The normal activation within the frontotemporal part of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortext was preserved during inebriation. The activation of this region seems thus to be robust to the effects of ethanol. During inebriation no activation response to the word fluency test was found in the anterior prefrontal part of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. This region is important for working, temporal, and short-term memory functions, processes that are affected by ethanol. Hemispheric functioning and specialization seem to be adversely affected by ethanol, regardless of which hemisphere is most involved while sober.

On the neurobiology of creativity. Differences in frontal activity between high and low creative subjects.

The aim was to investigate the relationship between creativity and hemispheric asymmetry, as measured by regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF). Two groups, each consisting of 12 healthy male subjects, who got either very high or low scores on a creativity test, were pre-selected for the rCBF investigation. rCBF was measured during rest and three verbal tasks: automatic speech (Auto), word fluency (FAS) and uses of objects (Brick). State and trait anxiety inventories were answered after the rCBF measurements. Intelligence tests were also administered. It was predicted that highly creative subjects would show a bilateral frontal activation on the divergent thinking task (Brick), while low creative subjects were expected to have a unilateral increase. Calculations were made of differences in blood flow levels between the FAS and the Brick measurements in the anterior prefrontal, frontotemporal and superior frontal regions. In accordance with our prediction, repeated measure-ANOVAs showed that the creativity groups differed significantly in all three regions. The highly creative group had increases, or unchanged activity, while the low creative group had mainly decreases. The highly creative group had higher trait anxiety than the low creative group. On the intelligence tests the low creative group was superior both on logical-inductive ability and on perceptual speed, while the groups were equal on verbal and spatial tests. The results are discussed in terms of complementary functions of the hemispheres.

[Outcome of endoscopic subacromial decompression operation in tendinitis and partial rupture of the rotator cuff]. / Die Ergebnisse der endoskopischen subacromialen Dekompressionsoperation (ESD) bei Tendinitis und Partialruptur der Rotatorenmanschette.

AIM OF THE STUDY: The series of this article compares 148 patients with chronic tendinitis (group I) and 28 patients with significant partial-thickness tears (group II) of the rotator cuff managed with arthroscopic debridement and acromioplasty. METHODS: All patients were evaluated by an independent observer with a mean follow-up of 26.5 (12-51) respectively 23.4 (12-50) months using the Constant-score, the ASES-score and a visual analog scale. The mean age in group I was 48.5 (25.4-71) and in group II 56.1 (33.2-80.6) years. RESULTS: In group I 127 patients (86%) and in group II 17 patients (62%) were satisfied at latest follow-up (p < 0.05). Concerning the exclusively subjective ASES-score with a maximum of 100 points group I had an average of 78.8 and group II of 61.6 points (p = 0.0019). According to the criteria of Constant group I scored with a mean of 81 points for the operated shoulder and 91.6 points for the non-operated side and group II with either 65.2 points and 89.9 points (p = 0.0036). CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Recognizing these results a thorough activity-related preoperative discussion with the patient about the treatment options for significant partial-thickness cuff ruptures should be performed.

Wood preservative leachates from docks in an estuarine environment.

Environmental concentrations and biological effects of certain metals and organic compounds found in wood preservatives were examined. The study focused on leachates from private residential docks in South Carolina tidal creeks. Copper, chromium, arsenic, and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured in composite samples of surficial sediments and naturally occurring oyster populations (Crassostrea virginica) from creeks with high densities of docks, and from nearby reference creeks with no docks. In some cases, metal concentrations in sediments and oysters were higher immediately adjacent to dock pilings than they were elsewhere in the same creek. Sediments from most sites had concentrations of metals and total PAHs which were below levels reported to cause biological effects, however. Solid-phase Microtox(R) bioassays using whole sediments and rotifer bioassays using sediment pore water showed no significant differences in acute toxicity between creeks with and without docks. Oysters growing directly on dock pilings had significantly higher concentrations of copper than oysters growing at least 10 m away; however, there was no significant difference in the physiological condition of these oysters. Four-day field bioassays measuring percent survival of mummichogs (Fundulus heteroclitus), mud snails (Ilyanassa obsoleta), juvenile red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus), and juvenile white shrimp (Penaeus setiferus) showed no significant differences between sites near to and distant from newly constructed docks. Hatchery-reared oysters showed no significant differences between dock and reference sites in percent survival, growth, or bioaccumulation of metals after six weeks of exposure. The results suggest that, in estuarine environments with a moderate tidal range (1.5-2.0 m), wood preservative leachates from dock pilings have no acutely toxic effects on four common estuarine species, nor do they affect the short-term survival or growth of juvenile oysters.

Long-term effects of tacrine on regional cerebral blood flow changes in Alzheimer's disease.

UNLABELLED: Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was studied in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) before and after 14 months of tacrine treatment. The treated group was compared with an identical reference group of untreated AD patients. At baseline the two groups showed an identical rCBF and mean hemispheric blood flow. After 14 months the tacrine-treated patients showed a stable rCBF level and a significant increase in rCBF in the central-parietal regions, compared to the untreated reference group, who showed typical AD reductions in rCBF in these regions. CLINICAL OUTCOME: 7 of 9 patients in the tacrine group were clinically unchanged or slightly improved during the study time. In the untreated group 8 of 11 patients had deteriorated in clinical assessments and none had improved. Long-term tacrine treatment in Alzheimer's disease may delay the progression of symptoms.

Ethanol reduces asymmetry of visual rCBF responses.

Visual regional CBF (rCBF) responses were measured in 10 healthy male subjects before and after an ethanol dose of 1 g/kg body weight. This dose induces well-established cerebral vasodilatation. However, significant bilateral occipital increases were found in both conditions. Apparently, the coupling between neuronal activity and rCBF is preserved following ethanol. The occipital and posterior parietal flow increases were, however, larger on the right than the left side in the sober state. During inebriation the asymmetry disappeared, possibly representing a more undifferentiated processing of visual information. We propose that ethanol causes a reduced inhibition of the left posterior cortex and a reduction of right-hemisphere information processing.

Cortical activation during visual spatial processing: relation between hemispheric asymmetry of blood flow and performance.

Regional cerebral blood flow was studied in normal males and females during rest and three spatial tasks: counting of rectangular shapes, mental rotation, and cube analysis. Whereas gender caused no significant differences in performance scores or asymmetries, a highly significant relation was found between performance on the cube analysis task and right > left hemisphere flow asymmetry in the parietotemporooccipital border zone (PTO region) during cube analysis. This indicates that subjects utilizing a right hemisphere strategy when solving certain spatial tasks are superior to subjects with more bilateral involvement.

Acute effects of alcohol on regional cerebral blood flow in man.

Acute effects of alcohol in a low (0.7 g/kg) and a high dose (1.5 g/kg) on regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) were measured with 133Xe inhalation technique at resting conditions in 13 normals. Mean hemisphere CBF increased globally by 12% at the lower dose and 16% at the higher dose. A normal hyperfrontal flow pattern was seen in both alcohol conditions. There were, however, significant regional differences in response to alcohol. The largest rCBF increase was observed in prefrontal regions at the lower dose, and in temporal regions at the higher. Expressed in relative values (% of the whole brain CBF), the temporal rCBF increased linearly with increasing alcohol dosage, while the prefrontal rCBF showed a increase at the lower dose followed by a decrease at the higher dose. It is concluded that alcohol has two types of acute effects on rCBF, a global vasodilatory effect and some regional effects, most clearly seen in prefrontal and temporal regions. The prefrontal flow augmentation following acute alcohol intake may be related to a transient arousal reaction, which has been reported by others. The temporal flow increase may be related to effects of alcohol on emotions and mood.

Hemostatic activation during cardiopulmonary bypass with different aprotinin dosages in pediatric patients having cardiac operations.

The effect of high-dose aprotinin treatment on hemostatic activation during cardiopulmonary bypass in pediatric patients having cardiac operations was investigated. Sixty patients weighing less than 10 kg undergoing cardiac operations for different types of congenital heart diseases were studied: 20 patients were treated with aprotinin 2 x 15,000 KIU/kg, 20 patients with 2 x 30,000 KIU/kg, and 20 patients without aprotinin treatment served as the control group. Different split products of fibrinogen and/or fibrin and the fibrinolytic activity on fibrin plates were measured to assess fibrinolytic activation. F1/F2 prothrombin fragments, thrombin-antithrombin III-complex, and fibrin monomers were measured to estimate thrombin activation. There was a significant dose-dependent reduction in fibrin-fibrinogen split product formation during cardiopulmonary bypass: In the high-dose aprotinin group the concentration of the split products at the end of bypass was 1.5 +/- 0.6 micrograms/ml, compared with 3.4 +/- 3.0 micrograms/ml in the low-dose aprotinin group and 6.7 +/- 3.5 micrograms/ml in the control group (p < 00.5). Fibrinolytic activation on fibrin plates was also significantly reduced by aprotinin. Fibrin monomer formation was significantly diminished at the end of cardiopulmonary bypass in the high-dose group: 9.2 +/- 5.2 micrograms/ml compared with 21.6 +/- 14 micrograms/ml in the control group (p < 00.5). Elastase in complex with alpha 1-protease inhibitor at the end of bypass was increased to the same amount in the three groups: 784 +/- 278 ng/mL (control group), 693 +/- 189 ng/ml (low-dose aprotinin), and 719 +/- 270 ng/mL (high dose aprotinin) (no significant difference). Blood loss 6 hours postoperatively was significantly (p < 00.5) less in the high-dose group (99 +/- 32 ml/m2) than in the control group (164 +/- 87 ml/m2; low-dose group: 160 +/- 106 ml/m2). These observations suggest an attenuation of hemostatic activation during cardiopulmonary bypass with less plasmin formation and, because of inhibition of contact activation, less thrombin generation with aprotinin treatment. Thus the thrombotic-thrombolytic equilibrium is kept more balanced after cardiopulmonary bypass. High-dose aprotinin treatment is recommended for pediatric patients undergoing cardiac operations.

Oral tetrahydroaminoacridine treatment of Alzheimer's disease evaluated clinically and by regional cerebral blood flow and EEG.

Neurochemical evidence indicates that cognitive impairment in dementia of Alzheimer type (DAT) is related to degeneration of cholinergic neurons in the brain. A pharmacological approach is treatment with a cholinesterase inhibitor such as tetrahydroaminoacridine (THA). THA treatment of 17 patients with DAT was studied with a double-blind crossover design with three types of treatment, THA + lecithin, THA + placebo and placebo + placebo. Each treatment period was 6 weeks with wash out periods of 2 weeks. The treatment was evaluated with clinical ratings, psychometric testing, EEG and regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) measurements. No significant clinical differences between treatment periods were found in the total sample, but marked individual differences were observed. The patients were subdivided into three outcome groups based on four clinical measures: 6 patients improved (responders), 5 patients were mainly unchanged, and 6 patients showed further deterioration during the trial period of 26 weeks. Pretreatment rCBF in responders differed significantly from that of the deteriorated patients. EEG showed more high frequency activity among responders. Hepatotoxic side effects were observed in several cases. Three subjects showed marked increases of liver enzymes, with normalization following dose reduction. The majority of patients who improved or remained unchanged during the study chose to continue THA treatment in an open trial.

Hypercalcemia associated with dysregulation of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D in arthritis.

We describe an elderly man who presented with hypercalcemia associated with suppressed intact parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels. Despite renal insufficiency the circulating 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)2D) was in the upper part of the normal range. Known causes of hypercalcemia were absent and mild hypercalcemia with suppression of intact PTH persisted until after bilateral hip replacement for severe arthritis (1 year after presentation). After hip replacement the ionized calcium normalized, intact PTH normalized, and 1,25(OH)2D decreased markedly. We believe the abnormalities in mineral homeostasis were related to production of 1,25(OH)2D by inflammatory mononuclear cells associated with arthritis.

Transition in use of human resources in the field of aging.

Through a review of national surveys that address the area of human resource development in the field of aging, the idea that professional human resources in the field have not been given adequate attention is discussed. The conclusions are that with appropriate modifications in educational preparation and personnel policies and procedures, most aging-specific organizations will be able to more adequately meet the needs of their clientele despite limited material resources and the restrictions on the purchase of the time of professional staff.

Study of a dose-dependent effect of the glycosaminoglycan polysulfate on various parameters of blood coagulation.

In a double-blind study the dose-dependent effect of 10, 20, 40, and 70 mg of SSHA was tested in volunteers. Whereas only a minor prolongation of the aPTT was noted, a clear anti-factor Xa effect was proven (method of Yin), as well as the release of lipoprotein lipase. In a subsequent study, 12 volunteers were treated daily with a dose of 40 mg for 11 days. On the first day of treatment a dosage of 40 mg SC was administered three times every 90 min. There was no cumulative effect with this dose and a clear plateau effect was recorded daily after each application. Repeated administration therefore results in an identical reproducible effect. Thus, no tachyphylaxis occurred under long-term treatment with 40 mg SSHA.

Influence of high-dose aprotinin treatment on blood loss and coagulation patterns in patients undergoing myocardial revascularization.

Intraoperative administration of the proteinase inhibitor aprotinin causes reduction in blood loss and homologous blood requirement in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. To ascertain the blood-saving effect of aprotinin and to obtain further information about the mode of action, 40 patients undergoing primary myocardial revascularization were randomly assigned to receive either aprotinin or placebo treatment. Aprotinin was given as a bolus of 2 x 10(6) kallikrein inactivator units (KIU) before surgery followed by a continuous infusion of 5 x 10(5) KIU/h during surgery. Additionally, 2 x 10(6) KIU were added to the pump prime. Strict criteria were used to obtain a homogeneous patient selection. Total blood loss was reduced from 1,431 +/- 760 ml in the control group to 738 +/- 411 ml in the aprotinin group (P less than 0.05) and the homologous blood requirement from 838 +/- 963 ml to 163 +/- 308 ml (P less than 0.05). In the control group, 2.3 +/- 2.2 U of homologous blood or blood products were given, and in the aprotinin group, 0.63 +/- 0.96 U were given (P less than 0.05). Twenty-five percent of patients in the control group and 63% in the aprotinin group did not receive banked blood or homologous blood products. The activated clotting time as an indicator of inhibition of the contact phase of coagulation was significantly increased before heparinization in the aprotinin group (141 +/- 13 s vs. 122 +/- 25 s) and remained significantly increased until heparin was neutralized after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)