Effects of fat content on fat hedonics: cognition or taste?

Understanding and perhaps overriding preferences for fat is important, given the relationship between higher dietary fat consumption and poorer health. We have examined the roles of potential mechanisms for differences in fat preference: actual fat content and expected fat content. The subjects were women (n=192, ages=50-69) recruited to a study of low-fat dietary change. Subjects were randomized to one of the four cells: participants received either a high- or low-fat milkshake at baseline, and half of each group was told that their milkshake was low in fat and the other half high in fat. Women who received a high-fat milkshake consumed more grams than women who received a low-fat milkshake. Women who expected low-fat shakes reported liking them more than those who expected high-fat milkshakes. These data indicate that both physiology and cognition play a role in determining consumption of high- and low-fat foods.     

Perceptions of inner city parents about early behavioral and violence prevention counseling

OBJECTIVES: (1) Identify how receptive inner city parents of young children are to routine anticipatory guidance about behavior at well child care visits. (2) Determine whether inner city parents correlate early behavior problems with a risk of later behavior problems. (3) Determine whether inner city parents believe that physician-provided anticipatory guidance about behavioral issues and violence prevention can help their child avoid future violence-related problems. METHODS: A convenience sample of parents of children < or =5 years old attending an inner city pediatric teaching clinic were invited to complete a self-administered survey including questions about behavior, parenting, and physician-provided behavior and violence counseling. RESULTS: One hundred and ninety-five participants completed surveys; most were African-American (81%) mothers (92%). In response to T/F questions, 84% of parents responded "False" to "Bad behavior in kids cannot be prevented" (95% CI; 78.8, 89.1), 97% responded "False" to "[Bad behavior in kids] cannot be changed" (95% CI; 94.5, 99.3), and 67% responded "True" to "My child's doctor can help me protect my child from violence" (59.8, 73.6). A majority of parents indicated that doctors should routinely ask about behavior and discuss parenting even if the parent was not worried about their child's behavior. CONCLUSIONS: Inner city parents believe that bad behavior in children can be changed and prevented. They welcome physician-provided guidance about behavior and believe physicians can help their children avoid violence.     

Microscopic change in macroscopically normal equine cartilage from osteoarthritic joints

The objective of this study was to assess whether macroscopically normal articular cartilage taken from joints containing focal osteoarthritic lesions is histologically similar to articular cartilage taken from macroscopically normal joints. Metacarpophalangeal, proximal interphalangeal, and distal interphalangeal joints were obtained from 10 horses following euthanasia. Gross articular cartilage damage was scored and the cartilage assigned to one of two groups: (1) macroscopically normal cartilage from normal joints (control) and (2) macroscopically normal cartilage from diseased joints in which there were focal osteoarthritic lesions. Chondrocytes expressing specific cytokines and cytokine receptors were identified by immunohistochemistry. The total number of chondrocytes, and percentage of chondrocytes positive for these cytokines and receptors, was recorded in the superficial, middle, and deep cartilage zones. There was a significant increase in the expression of interleukin-1beta in the superficial and middle zones and interleukin-18 receptor in the superficial zone in Group 2 compared with Group 1 control samples. A significant positive correlation also was found between the grade of osteoarthritis and the percentage of chondrocytes positive for interleukin-1beta in the superficial and middle zones, and for interleukin-18 and interleukin-18R in the superficial zone. There was a significant increase in histology score for glycosaminoglycan loss in Group 2 compared with that in Group 1. In joints with focal osteoarthritis lesions, all the articular cartilage, even if macroscopically apparently normal, may have microscopic changes associated with osteoarthritis.     

Frequent detection of the JAK2 V617F mutation in bone marrow core biopsy specimens from chronic myeloproliferative disorders using the TaqMan polymerase chain reaction single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping assay: a retrospective study with pathologic correlations

A retrospective investigation of the JAK2 V617F mutation was carried out in DNA samples from 131 bone marrow (BM) core biopsy specimens corresponding to patients with polycythemia vera (PV) (n = 31), essential thrombocythemia (ET) (n = 31), chronic idiopathic myelofibrosis (CIM) (n = 18), as well as patients with normal BM and secondary reactive hyperplasia. We used the TaqMan polymerase chain reaction single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping assay to detect the specific JAK2 mutation. This technique allowed us to detect the JAK2 V617F mutation in a population containing at least 5% of homozygous mutants. Overall, the incidence of the JAK2 V617F mutation was 87% in PV, 67% in ET, and 66% in CIM. This approach proved to be reliable and more sensitive in detecting the mutation compared with that of initial studies on different materials but similar to that of recent work with various polymerase chain reaction-based techniques. Two essential findings arose from our study. First, this technique could be carried out with DNA samples, even partially degraded, from routinely processed BM core biopsy specimens. Second, after correlation with morphological features, it turned out that the characteristics of the megakaryocytes were more specific than the mutational status of JAK2 in characterizing ET and CIM. Concerning PV, as expected, the incidence of the JAK2 mutation was higher, but the morphological criteria were misleading in some cases, strongly suggesting that the combination of both histologic and molecular data would enable the characterization of virtually all cases.     

Evaluation of the Remel RapID NF Plus Rapid Biochemical Method for Identification of Burkholderia pseudomallei

Typical methods for the identification of Burkholderia pseudomallei colonies produce results in 18 h. The Remel RapID NF Plus kit produces results in 4 h. We used the kit for 190 stored B. pseudomallei isolates and correctly identified 189 of them. This kit produces consistent results for known B. pseudomallei isolates.     

Flow cytometric detection and serotyping of enterovirus for the clinical laboratory

Culture and serotyping of human enteroviruses by fluorescence microscopy are time-consuming and labor-intensive. Flow cytometry has the potential of being more rapid, sensitive, and objective but has not been used for these purposes in a clinical laboratory. Primary rhesus monkey kidney (PMK) cells were inoculated with several enterovirus serotypes and stained with enterovirus-specific antibodies for flow cytometry and indirect fluorescence antibody testing (IFA). Kinetic studies of coxsackievirus B1 and echovirus 30 infection of PMK cells were performed on days 1–4 after inoculation. Flow cytometry results for echovirus 6, 9, 11, and 30 and coxsackievirus B1 correlated with IFA in all cases. Coxsackievirus B1 and echovirus 30 infections were detected 1 day earlier by flow cytometry than IFA. Flow cytometry can be effectively used for detecting enterovirus-infected cells in a clinical laboratory with the advantages of better quantitation of low levels of infection and earlier detection of virally infected cells in culture systems.     

Requirement for TLR2 in the development of albuminuria,inflammation and fibrosis in experimental diabetic nephropathy

Inflammation and fibrosis are essential elements of diabetic nephropathy (DN). We tested the hypothesis that these elements are dependent upon Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) signalling by examining WT and TLR2^-/- mice in an experimental model of DN. Diabetes was induced in WT and TLR2^-/- mice by i.p. injection of streptozotocin. Kidney injury was assessed at 6, 12 and 24 weeks after induction of diabetes. Gene expression of TLR2, its endogenous ligands and downstream cytokines, chemokines and fibrogenic molecules were upregulated in kidneys from WT mice with streptozotocin diabetes. TLR2^-/- mice were protected against the development of DN, exhibiting less albuminuria, inflammation, glomerular hypertrophy and hypercellularity, podocyte and tubular injury as compared to diabetic WT controls. Marked reductions in interstitial collagen deposition, myofibroblast activation (α-SMA) and expression of fibrogenic genes (TGF-β and fibronectin) were also evident in TLR2 deficient mice. Consistent with our in vivo results, high glucose directly promoted TLR2 activation in podocytes and tubular epithelial cells (TECs) in vitro, resulting in NF-κB activation, inflammation and TGF-β production. We conclude that TLR2 was required for the full development of inflammation, kidney damage and fibrosis in this model of DN. As TLR2 is known to be expressed by intrinsic kidney cells and as high concentration glucose stimulated podocytes and TECs in vitro to express TLR2 and TLR2 ligands, pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic cytokines in a TLR2 dependent manner in the present study, it appears likely that TLR2 signalling in intrinsic kidney cells contributes to the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy.     

The epidemiology of paediatric head injuries: Data from a referral centre in Victoria, Australia

Aim:   Currently, there are no population-based or hospital-based studies on the full spectrum of paediatric head injuries (HIs) in Australia. We set out to provide detailed information on the incidence rates, causes and clinical management of all severities of HI in children and adolescents at an Australian tertiary referral centre using emergency department (ED) and admission data as a basis for further investigations and prevention efforts.
Methods:   A retrospective chart review of all children aged 0–16 years who attended the Royal Childrens Hospital (RCH), Melbourne, following a HI in 2004 was used. The cases were identified using the International Classification of Diseases 10th revision codes, and all medical records were reviewed based on a piloted data form. Information was collected on demographics, injury factors and clinical management of HIs in the hospital setting.
Results:   Over the 12-month period, there were 1115 children with an HI who attended the RCH ED, or were admitted. Ninety per cent were classified as mild, 8% as moderate and 3% as severe. Males and children under 3 years had the higher attendance rates. Falls, sports and motor vehicle accidents were the main HI causes. The main sport played (30%) when sustaining an HI was Australian rules football. Thirty-two per cent of children were admitted, 67% of these with mild HI. Twenty-one per cent had a radiology imaging study, most (67%) with a normal result.
Conclusions:   Many HI causes appear preventable, in particular, falls from heights in infants and sports safety. High rates of admission and radiology imaging of mild HI warrant further investigation.