The inhibitory effects of hull polysaccharides and tannins of field beans (Vicia faba L.) on the digestion of amino acids, starch and lipid and on digestive enzyme activities in young chicks.

The effects of polysaccharides and tannins present in the hulls of field beans (Vicia faba L.) on the digestion of amino acids, starch and lipid were studied in poultry. A control diet without hulls and the same diet substituted with 400 g hulls/kg diet from three different varieties of beans were fed to 3-week-old chicks for 4 d. Digestibility coefficients for amino acids, starch and lipid were calculated from measurements made of these nutrients in the diets and the freeze-dried excreta with the aid of titanium dioxide as a marker. Activities of trypsin (EC 3.4.21.4), alpha-amylase (EC 3.2.1.1), and lipase (EC 3.1.1.3) in digesta removed from the upper jejunum, sucrase (EC 3.2.1.48) in the gut mucosa from the upper jejunum, and alpha-amylase and lipase in the pancreas were measured. The hulls were analysed for their polysaccharide and tannin contents. Results showed that the hulls were mostly carbohydrate in composition, with cellulose the predominant polysaccharide. Tannins present in the hulls of two coloured-flowering varieties (Brunette and Minica) were of the condensed type. The diet with tannin-free hulls (white-flowering variety Medes) lowered slightly the digestion of amino acids, starch and lipid compared with the control diet. This effect was believed to be due to inhibition of digestive enzymes, possibly through their adsorption onto the hulls. Diets with tannin-rich hulls (varieties Brunette and Minica) caused a large reduction in the digestion of amino acids, starch and lipid compared with the control diet mainly due to inactivation of digestive enzymes by the formation of tannin-enzyme complexes in the digestive tract. Enzyme activities could be partially restored by the addition of polyvinylpyrrolidone to the digesta. Tannins inactivated trypsin the most, alpha-amylase to a lesser extent and lipase the least and as a consequence lowered the digestion of amino acids the most, starch to a lesser extent and lipid the least. Tannins did not induce an increased pancreatic production of digestive enzymes, nor did they affect activity of jejunum mucosal sucrase. Condensed tannins from Brunette and Minica hulls were partially extractable in methanol alone, but required acidic methanol for fuller extraction. The vanillin:anthocyanidin ratio suggested that tannins were polymerized to the same degree in the Brunette and Minica varieties, both in the methanol and acidic methanol extracts. Hulls from the variety Minica contained a greater amount of methanol-extractable tannins, the quantity of remaining tannins that required acidic methanol for extraction being the same for both varieties.     

The failed probing

The management of failed probing for congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction is given by a panel of authors. Treatment options examined are repeat probing, inferior turbinate infracture, closed lacrimal intubation and dacryocystorhinostomy. There is considerable variation as to the timing of these interventional techniques.     

Forced vergence fixation disparity parameters with and without a central fusion lock

The effect of a central fusion lock on forced vergence fixation disparity curve parameters, that is, magnitudes of fixation disparity and associated phoria, curve type and the central slope of the curve, was studied in 84 subjects because of ambiguity in the previous studies. It was found that the magnitudes of exo fixation disparity and exo associated phoria decreased significantly when they were measured with the central fusion lock. The central lock had no noticeable effect on the type of the curve, although, the central slope of the curve was flatter in the presence of the central lock.     

Transient synovitis of the hip in children: role of US

Transient synovitis of the hip remains a common diagnostic problem for the clinician. The physical signs are not pathognomonic of the condition, and the classic technical examinations are of little help. Therefore, the authors retrospectively studied the value of hip arthrosonography in 46 children with clinical symptoms suggesting pathologic hip conditions. In 20 of the 21 patients with a final diagnosis of transient synovitis, articular effusion was detected on ultrasound (US). Conventional radiography showed an increased medial joint space in only eight of these patients. Increased echogenicity of the articular fluid was found in both transient synovitis and septic arthritis. The high sensitivity of US in detecting intraarticular fluid was demonstrated by cadaver studies.     

SURFBOARD-RELATED OCULAR INJURIES

Three cases of ocular trauma caused by surfboards are reported. The severe nature of the injuries is discussed and the prevalence of this type of injury is reviewed.     

'Hot' corneal grafts—a long-term study

Abstract
A six-year follow-up of nine of 13 eyes treated by therapeutic keratoplasty for suppurative keratitis is described. One of the thirteen cases died three years after surgery_-and three were lost to follow-up. Two of the nine refused reoperation after early graft failure. Of the remaining seven, three had retained good functional visual acuity. Three of the penetrating keratoplasties required regrafting two to four years later, when conditions were less critical. Long-term results indicate that therapeutic keratoplasty may be an alternative modality for the management of suppurative keratitis with satisfactory long-term optical results.     

INFECTION AFTER RETINAL DETACHMENT SURGERY

In 250 consecutive retinal detachment operations performed by the author, there were 14 cases (56%) of infection of the scleral buckle The commonest infecting organism was Staphylococcus aureus.
The surgery in these infected cases took longer than average, and utilized more than the usual amount of silicone sponge, a higher proportion were reoperations After an average follow-up of 22 months, only six of the 14 had vision of 6/36 or better and of these, two had persisting inferior traction detachments.
On the basis of this study and others, the preferred management of infected scleral buckles is to remove the sponge as soon as the diagnosis is made The risk of redetachment is a lesser evil than the sequelae of prolonged inflammation which include traction retinal detachment, massive perirebnal proliferabon, and premacular fibrosis.     

Lower nasal distribution of cortical cataract: the Blue Mountains Eye Study

Previous reports have indicated that cortical cataract commences in the lower nasal lens, possibly due to sunlight exposure because of the shallow brow temporally. The present study aimed to assess the lens sector distribution of cortical cataract in a population. The Blue Mountains Eye Study assessed 3654 residents aged 49–97years; 3270 phakic subjects had retroillumination lens photographs graded using the Wisconsin method, which divides the lens into eight radial sectors with a grid overlay. Graders estimated percentage of cortical opacity in each sector. The lower nasal area consistently had the greatest opacity, a pattern present at each age and similar in both sexes, despite the 20% greater cortical cataract in women. The mean area of lens cortex involved by opacities in the lower nasal hemisphere was four fold greater than in the upper temporal hemisphere at each age. The lower nasal distribution was highly symmetrical when both eyes were affected. When > 20% of the lower nasal lens quadrant had cortical opacity, 88% of bilaterally affected subjects had cortical cataract in the same quadrant of the fellow eye. The lower nasal distribution may indicate a role for sunlight in the aetiology of cortical cataract, which could be considered when examining other cortical cataract risk factors, such as diabetes, vascular disease and hormonal factors in women.