Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA); however, the prevalence and natural history are undefined. Our aim was to determine the prevalence of ILD associated with RA using a number of sensitive techniques in patients with joint disease of less than 2-yr duration. Patients who met ARA criteria for RA were recruited from community-based and hospital rheumatologists and assessed using the following measures: clinical, lung physiology, radiology (chest X-ray, high resolution CT [HRCT]), bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and 99mTc-DTPA nuclear scan. Thirty-six patients (25 female and 11 male) of joint disease duration of (mean +/- SD) 13.2 +/- 8.6 mo were studied. Abnormalities consistent with ILD were found in one or more investigations in 21 of 36 (58%), which were in lung physiology in 22%, CXR in 6%, HRCT in 33%, BAL in 52%, and 99mTc-DTPA nuclear scan in 15%. Based on the results, they were categorized as having clinically significant ILD (Group 1), abnormalities compatible with ILD, but no clinically significant ILD (Group 2) and no abnormalities compatible with ILD (Group 3). Five of 36 (14%) were in Group 1, 16 of 36 (44%) in Group 2, and 15 of 36 (42%) in Group 3. The only risk factor for the presence of abnormalities compatible with ILD was male gender (p < 0.04, Student's t test). In conclusion, changes consistent with ILD in early RA are frequent. The significance of these changes is being determined in a longitudinal study.

Accurate ground-based estimation of the carbon stored in terrestrial ecosystems is critical to quantifying the global carbon budget. Allometric models provide cost-effective methods for biomass prediction. But do such models vary with ecoregion or plant functional type? We compiled 15 054 measurements of individual tree or shrub biomass from across Australia to examine the generality of allometric models for above-ground biomass prediction. This provided a robust case study because Australia includes ecoregions ranging from arid shrublands to tropical rainforests, and has a rich history of biomass research, particularly in planted forests. Regardless of ecoregion, for five broad categories of plant functional type (shrubs; multistemmed trees; trees of the genus Eucalyptus and closely related genera; other trees of high wood density; and other trees of low wood density), relationships between biomass and stem diameter were generic. Simple power-law models explained 84-95% of the variation in biomass, with little improvement in model performance when other plant variables (height, bole wood density), or site characteristics (climate, age, management) were included. Predictions of stand-based biomass from allometric models of varying levels of generalization (species-specific, plant functional type) were validated using whole-plot harvest data from 17 contrasting stands (range: 9-356 Mg ha(-1) ). Losses in efficiency of prediction were <1% if generalized models were used in place of species-specific models. Furthermore, application of generalized multispecies models did not introduce significant bias in biomass prediction in 92% of the 53 species tested. Further, overall efficiency of stand-level biomass prediction was 99%, with a mean absolute prediction error of only 13%. Hence, for cost-effective prediction of biomass across a wide range of stands, we recommend use of generic allometric models based on plant functional types. Development of new species-specific models is only warranted when gains in accuracy of stand-based predictions are relatively high (e.g. high-value monocultures).

Prolonged survival of Islet- allo- and xenografts can be induced following implantation of the islets into the abdominal testis of diabetic rats. We previously showed that a factor released by Sertoli cells appears to be responsible for the protection of the intratesticular islet allo- and xenografts against rejection. The aim of this study was to examine whether an immunologically privileged site can be established in an organ site in vivo, other than the testis, such as the renal, subcapsular space, to make feasible the grafting of female recipients as well. A total of 36 male and 21 female, diabetic, PVG rats were divided into six different treatment groups: 1) Six male rats were grafted with islets from Sprague-Dawley (S-D) donor rats only. 2) Ten male rats were grafted with islets from (S-D) donors and were then given a short course of cyclosporine (CsA) posttransplantation. 3) Ten male rats were grafted with islets from (S-D) donors and with Sertoli cell-enriched fractions (SEF) from PVG donors but without CsA. 4) Ten male rats were grafted with a combination of islets from (S-D) and SEF from (PVG), donors, respectively, and CsA. 5) Ten female rats were given an identical combination of cells and CsA as depicted for group 5. 6) Ten female rats were grafted with a combination of islets and SEF, both cell types from S-D donors, and CsA. The results showed that 70% to 100% of the grafted rats in groups 1, 2, and 3 remained hyperglycemic.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)