A case of psychosis due to idiopathic hypoparathyroidism (IHP) has been followed for over 9 years. The optimal treatment for IHP psychosis was found to be a combination of ergocalciferol and fairly large doses of antipsychotic medication. In general, psychotic episodes occurred when there was hypocalcemia, hypercalcemia, or hypomagnesemia. Antipsychotic medication was not efficacious unless serum calcium and magnesium levels were both normal. It is suggested that psychiatric disturbances in hypoparathyroidism and treatment resistance to antipsychotic medication in other functional psychoses may also be related to hypomagnesemia.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Development of an all-fish gene cassette for gene transfer in aquaculture.

To develop an all-fish gene cassette suitable for gene transfer in aquaculture, the antifreeze protein (AFP) gene promoter from the ocean pout (Macrozoarces americanus) was analyzed for its ability to direct exogenous gene expression both in vitro and in vivo. The ocean pout AFP (opAFP) gene promoter fused to the bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) was functionally analyzed in two fish cell lines and in Japanese medaka embryos. The opAFP gene promoter was active in these systems, as demonstrated by the transient expression of CAT activity. These results suggest that the opAFP gene promoter is useful for many other gene transfer experiments. To facilitate use of the opAFP gene promoter as a common and versatile vehicle for fish gene transfers, an expression vector, opAFP-V, was constructed by linking the 2.1-kb opAFP gene promoter, the 63-bp opAFP gene 5' untranslated sequence, and the 1.2-kb opAFP gene 3' sequence by two unique restriction sites, Bg/II and HpaI, respectively. Thus, genes of interest can be inserted into either the Bg/II site or the HpaI site depending on the length of their 5' untranslated sequence. The complete DNA sequence of opAFP-V was determined to facilitate future detailed analysis of integration and expression of the transgene.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Wear behavior of new composite restoratives.

This study investigated the wear resistance of recently introduced nanofill (Filtek Supreme [FS], 3M-ESPE) and ormocer (Admira [AM], Voco) composites and compared their wear characteristics to microfill (Filtek A110 [AO], 3M-ESPE]), minifill (Esthet X [EX], Dentsply; Filtek Z250 [ZT], 3M-ESPE) and polyacid-modified (Dyract AP [DY], Dentsply) composites. Six specimens were made for each material. The specimens were conditioned for one week in distilled water at 37 degrees C and subjected to wear testing at 20 MPa contact stress against SS304 counter-bodies using reciprocal compression-sliding wear instrumentation. Distilled water was used as lubricant. Wear depth (microm) was measured using profilometry every 5,000 cycles up to 20,000 cycles. The results were analyzed using ANOVA/Scheffe's test (p<0.05). Wear of the materials was cycle and fatigue dependent. Although no significance in wear was observed between materials after 5,000 cycles of wear testing, significant differences were observed at 10,000 cycles and greater. After 20,000 cycles of wear testing, ranking was as follows: ZT > DY >AM > AO > FS > EX. Wear ranged from 39.90 microm for EX to 113.32 microm for ZT. The wear resistance of ZT and DY was significantly lower than AO, FS and EX In addition, ZT experienced significantly more wear than AM. Under the conditions of this in-vitro study, the wear resistance of nanofill and ormocer composites was comparable or superior to polyacid-modified, microfill and minifill composites.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Use of polyethylene glycol in the radioimmunoassay of aflatoxin B1.

Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is used to separate the antibody-bound ligand from the free ligand in the radioimmunoassay of aflatoxin B1. Conditions affecting precipitation of the bound ligand are described. Maximal precipitation of antibody-bound aflatoxin B1 requires an aqueous PEG concentration of 15-20% and 0.4 mg of carrier gamma-globulin. Precipitation is unaffected by pH variations from 6 to 9, by NaCl concentrations below 0.28 M, and by Tris-HCl concentrations below 0.2 M. The radioimmunoassay procedure is simple, rapid, and sensitive and could be used to assay aflatoxin B1 in unextracted sera or in peanut butter after solvent extraction.

Aflatoxin B1↗