Testing the effectiveness of the exercise plus program in older women post-hip fracture

Background: Exercise is an important strategy with potential to improve recovery in older adults following a hip fracture.Purpose: The purpose of this study was to test the impact of a self-efficacy based intervention, the Exercise Plus Program, and the different components of the intervention, on self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and exercise behavior among older women post-hip fracture.Methods: Participants were randomized to one of four groups: exercise plus, exercise only, plus only (i.e., motivation), or routine care. Data collection was done at baseline (within 22 days of fracture), 2, 6, and 12 months post-hip fracture.Results: A total of 209 women were recruited with an average age of 81.0 years (SD=6.9). The majority was White (97.1%), was widowed (57.2%), and had a high school education (66.7%). Generalized Estimating Equations were used to perform repeated measures analyses. No differences in trajectories of recovery were observed for self-efficacy or outcome expectations. A statistically significant difference in the overall trajectory of time in exercise was seen (p<.001), with more time spent exercising in all three treatment groups.Conclusions: The study demonstrated that it was possible to engage these women in a home-based exercise program and that the plus only, exercise only, and the exercise plus groups all increased exercise. Support for this project was provided by National Institute on Aging grants R37 AG09901, R01-AG18668, R01 AG17082, and the Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center P60-AG12583.     

The effect of dietary protein source and guar gum on gastrointestinal growth and enteroglucagon secretion in the rat

1. Male Wistar rats (approximately 100 g) were given fibre-free semi-synthetic diets containing either casein or albumin (168 g/kg diet) as the protein source with or without guar gum (75 g/kg diet) (casein, albumin, casein guar gum and albumin-guar gum groups). 2. Small intestinal length, weights of caecal tissue and contents and plasma enteroglucagon concentration were significantly increased in guar-gum-fed animals compared with the fibre-free groups. 3. Total caecal weight and plasma enteroglucagon concentration were higher in the albumin-guar gum group compared with the casein-guar gum group. The weights of caecal tissue and contents were significantly increased in rats given the fibre-free albumin diet compared with those consuming a similar diet with casein as the protein source, although daily food intake tended to be lower. 4. It is concluded that the effect of materials classed as dietary fibre may be significantly influenced by the non-polysaccharide component of the diet, and that such interactions may influence both the growth and endocrine activity of the gastrointestinal tract.     

Characteristics of calcaneal bone infarction: an MR imaging investigation

Objective. Bone infarction (BI) of the calcaneus is an uncommon entity which has received little mention in the recent literature. In this paper, we review the MR images of six calcanei with BI, which demonstrate a pattern of presentation that may explain the etiology of BI at this unusual location. Design. A retrospective review was performed of the transcribed reports of the foot or ankle MR examinations at our institution. MR images of examinations with any marrow signal abnormality were reviewed for presence of BI and its distribution. Patients. Based on MRI criteria, four patients had calcaneal BI (none biopsy proven); they ranged in age from 37 to 51 years old. Two patients were diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus, one with fibrositis, and another with polymyositis. All were treated with corticosteroids. Results. Six calcanei (in four patients) contained a region of calcaneal BI. In five of the six, the lesions were entirely or predominantly located in the posterior half of the calcaneus. Conclusion. Two theories are proposed which may explain why BI predominantly occurs in the posterior half of the calcaneus. First, the convergence of the recurrent intraosseous calcaneal vessels may occasionally produce the equivalent of a single dominant vessel that is more prone to vascular accidents. Secondly, the region between the recurrent and the epiphyseal vessels may act as a watershed zone, increasing its susceptibility to ischemia.     

The human desmin gene: A specific regulatory programme in skeletal muscle both in vitro and in transgenic mice

Desmin synthesis is restricted to cardiac, skeletal and smooth muscles. In several familial myopathies involving fibre disorganization, filamentous aggregation of desmin has been characterized. During the development of the mouse embryo, desmin is one of the first muscle proteins detected in both the heart and the somites. To identify the DNA sequences involved in the regulation of desmin gene expression a 4.5 kb 5′-flanking region of the human desmin gene has been isolated. Different mutants were used to characterize specific enhancers in vitro and in vivo. The results obtained with transgenic mice provide evidence that the 1 kb cis-regulatory sequences, functional in skeletal muscle cells in vitro, confer specific developmental control for skeletal muscles. Furthermore, distinct programmes for cardiac and skeletal muscle-specific expression of the desmin gene are revealed.     

HIV seroincidence among patients at clinics for sexually transmitted diseases in nine cities in the United States

Although the numbers of newly reported diagnoses of AIDS decreased in the 1990s, it is not clear whether they reflect a decreasing number of new HIV infections. Direct measurement of HIV incidence through follow-up cohort studies is difficult and costly. We estimated HIV incidence and trends in incidence among men who have sex with men (MSM) and heterosexual men and women at clinics for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) by using a recently developed serologic testing algorithm that requires only a single blood specimen. Cross-sectional anonymous serosurveys were conducted at 13 STD clinics in nine cities in the United States from 1991 through 1997. Before anonymous HIV testing, demographic and clinical information was abstracted. Of 129,774 specimens tested, 362 (0.28%) were from persons estimated to be recently infected. Incidence among MSM was 7.1% (95% confidence interval (CI): 4.8-10.3), 14 times higher than that among heterosexuals, which was 0.5% (CI: 0.4- 0.7). Incidence among MSM and heterosexuals remained unchanged during the time studied. Decreasing rates of new AIDS diagnoses in the 1990s do not reflect stable rates of new HIV infections among MSM and heterosexual patients attending these clinics.     

Role of NMDA receptors in the increase of glucose metabolism in the rat brain induced by fluorocitrate

The effect of inhibition of glial metabolism by infusion of fluorocitrate (FC, 1 nmol/μl, 2 μl) into the right striatum of the rat brain on the glucose metabolism was studied. Significant increases in [¹⁸F]fluorodeoxyglucose ([¹⁸F]FDG) uptake (45 min) in the right cerebral cortex and striatum were observed 4 h after the infusion of FC, both as determined by the tissue dissection method and autoradiography. No significant increase in the initial uptake of [¹⁸F]FDG (1 min) was seen in the striatum. Pretreatment with dizocilpine (MK-801), an N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, reduced [¹⁸F]FDG uptake in not only FC infused hemisphere but also in the contralateral hemisphere (saline-infused side). The radioactivity concentrations in plasma at 1, 5 and 45 min after the [¹⁸F]FDG injection were not altered by MK-801. This effect of MK-801 on glucose metabolism observed in the rat brain infused with FC was different from previous reports which indicated an increase in glucose metabolism in some areas of normal rat brain. In addition, the enhancement of glucose metabolism in the striatum induced by FC was almost completely abolished by pretreatment with MK-801. In the cerebral cortex, the relative ratio of radioactivity concentration in the right hemisphere to that in the left hemisphere still remained 1.37 (tissue dissection method) or 1.55 (autoradiography), which indicated that MK-801 partially blocked the effect of FC of enhancing glucose metabolism in this region. These results indicate an important role of NMDA-mediated signal transmission on the increase of glucose utilization induced by inhibition of glial metabolism.     

Thermal properties of ethylene-propylene block copolymers

A precision, adiabatic, vacuum calorimeter and a differential scanning calorimeter have been used to measure the heat capacities of two ethylene-propylene block copolymers containing 12 and 17 mole per cent ethylene, respectively, over the temperature range 80 to 500°K. An estimate has been made of heat capacity values below 80°K. Values of the heat capacity, entropy, enthalpy, and free energy are listed at lO°C intervals. Two first order transitions at 399 ± 3°K and 435 ± l°K were observed in both copolymers. These are attributed to the melting of ethylene and isotactic propylene blocks. Values for the heats of fusion of the copolymers are listed.     

Myosin isozymes in avian skeletal muscles. I. Sequential expression of myosin isozymes in developing chicken pectoralis muscles

Myosin has been purified from chicken pectoralis muscle at various stages of development, from 10 days' incubation to approximately 10 months after hatching. Embryonic myosin from the earliest stage showed a high level of ATPase activity, similar to that obtained for adult pectoralis myosin. Two-dimensional peptide mapping of partial chymotryptic digests showed, however, that is heavy chain is quite different from that of adult fast myosin. The immunological crossreactivity observed between embryonic myosin and adult fast (pectoralis) myosin is therefore due to shared antigenic determinants rather than the presence of any adult isoforms. In an accompanying paper we will show that embryonic myosin at 10 days' incubation is not a single species, but consists of at least two heavy chain isozymes. The minor fraction binds slow light chains preferentially, and appears to be largely responsible for the observed crossreactivity with slow (ALD) myosin. None of the embryonic myosins is equivalent to the adult forms. Prior to hatching, LC3f is present only in very small amounts (less than 5%), and the adult light chain pattern, containing LC1f and LC3f in equimolar amounts, is not generated until after one week post-hatching. At about that time a new heavy chain population is detected, different from either the embryonic heavy chain or the adult heavy chain. The adult heavy chain peptide pattern appears from about three weeks' post-hatching, but a map indistinguishable from that of adult myosin is not observed until about 26 weeks. None of the observed differences in peptide maps can be related to different strains of chicken; pectoralis myosin from adult White Rock gave an identical map to that from White Leghorn. Unexpectedly, posterior latissimus dorsi (PLD) myosin from White Leghorn appears to be different from pectoralis myosin from the same strain, despite the histochemical and immunocytochemical similarity of the two muscles. We conclude that myosin polymorphism is widespread in muscle tissue, and that the expression of myosin isozymes and their subunits is under developmental regulation.