No abstract

Establishment of the normal prevalence and distribution of radiographic changes in the hocks and stifles of Thoroughbred yearlings in New Zealand will allow comparison with populations of young horses in other countries. Knowledge of the normal prevalence will assist veterinarians to identify abnormally high or low prevalences on individual farms, to further investigate the pathogenesis of the lesions.

Page 2257, column 2, line 3: "polychlorinated biphenyl" should read "polyaromatic hydrocarbon." Lines 5 and 6: "polychlorinated biphenyl-contaminated" should read "polyaromatic hydrocarbon-contaminated."

Intubation conditions were scored numerically such that 1 indicated good conditions, 2 indicated some difficulty (for example, swallowing, chewing, inability to widely open the jaws or difficulty in advancing the tube), and 3 indicated an aborted attempt. Overall, 38 pigs scored 1 for intubation con-Veterinary Record (2003)

Specimens of pooled prostatic fluid, collected by rectal massage from men under 50 years of age with no apparent prostatic disorders, were subjected to two-dimensional gel electrophoresis to study the composition of its proteins. In a preliminary study, a total of 57 major protein groups were detected. In the present study, we attempted to identify, in the two-dimensional gels, those that are related to prostate-associated proteins, i.e., prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP), prostatic specific antigen (PSA), and prostate binding protein (PBP). Individual proteins were recognized by the procedure of Western Blot using specific antisera with peroxidase-antiperoxidase as the staining reagent. Each protein spot in the two-dimensional gel was expressed, along the abscissa, by its isoelectric point (pI) and, along the ordinate, by the molecular weight (MW). PAP consisted of a train of more than ten protein spots that occupied an area in the gel from pI 7.0, MW 45,000 to pI 6.0, MW 50,000. Four protein spots with a MW of 34,000 and a pI range of 8.2-8.8 were identified as PSA. PBP was observed as having three protein spots that were located at pI 5.6-6.6 with a single MW of 15,000. For PAP and PSA, additional protein spots with lower MWs also stained positively with the specific antisera, suggestive of the presence of degradative products of these proteins. Following the removal of the serum-related proteins by an extensive absorption with anti-human serum antibody by affinity chromatography, the prostatic fluid contained 27 major groups of non-serum proteins. These non-serum proteins in the prostatic fluid included PAP, PSA, PBP, and their related smaller molecular species. These results indicate that the prostatic fluid contains PAP, PSA, PBP and that their presence and the patterns of their distribution in the two-dimensional gels should be considered as the characteristic property of the prostatic secretions.

We present a systematic analysis of human prostatic fluid with two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (the ISO-DALT system) and a characterization of normal and disease-related protein patterns. A reference map for prostatic fluid proteins was established by analysis of pooled prostatic fluids from 80 men (age less than or equal to 50 years) without prostatic lesions. Proteins in prostatic fluid that share immunogenicity with serum proteins were identified by use of antibody to whole human-serum protein in an affinity-column fractionation of a reference pool and differential analysis of the absorbed (serum components) and unabsorbed (non-serum components) fractions. Individual prostatic fluids from 30 patients (eight with prostatic cancer, 10 with prostatitis and benign prostatic hyperplasia, six with benign prostatic hyperplasia alone, and six with asymptomatic chronic prostatitis) were scored qualitatively with respect to the presence or absence of 57 major prostatic fluid proteins. Statistically significant, disease-correlated alterations were observed for at least eight of the proteins so scored.

In an attempt to identify an indicator(s) specifically associated with prostatic cancer prostatic fluid was collected by rectal massage from patients with prostatic cancer, prostatitis, benign prostatic hyperplasia and from those without recognized prostatic lesions in order to measure various immunoproteins. The proteins examined were IgG, IgA, IgM, complements C3 and C4, and transferrin. Prostatic fluid samples were subjected first to immunoelectrophoresis. Distinct differences in C3, C4 and transferrin concentrations were noted between patients with prostatic cancer and other patients. These proteins were stained heavily in the electrophoresis gels of fluid from cancer patients but were either missing or lightly stained in all other groups. These qualitative determinations were replaced subsequently by a quantitative measurement using the radial immunodiffusion technique. Results of the latter study confirmed the aforementioned observations and indicated that the levels of C3, C4 and transferrin in the prostatic fluid of cancer patients were elevated significantly when compared to all other patient groups. These observations indicate that the measurement of complements C3 and C4, and transferrin in the prostatic fluid may assist in the identification of patients with a high risk of prostatic cancer.

In a continuous flow bioreactor seeded with microbes from municipal activated sludge, complete organic carbon oxidation of simulated graywater (wastewater produced in human residences, excluding toilet wastes) was achieved at dilution rates up to 0.36 h-1 in the presence of 64.1 microM linear alkylbenzenesulfonate (LAS) L-1. At LAS concentrations of 187 microM, the system functioned only at dilution rates up to 0.23 h-1, and the biomass yield was two-fold lower. There were physiological changes in the microbial communities under different operating conditions, as measured by specific contents of ATP and extracellular hydrolases as well as the respiratory potential of the biomass. LAS inhibited the activity of LAS-degrading microbes at >150 microM LAS, and the activity of other microbes at >75 microM LAS. Chemical analysis of graywater indicated that samples consisted primarily of biological polymers (proteins and polysaccharides) and lower concentrations of surfactants. Biological remediation of graywater is possible, although treatment efficiency is influenced by the operating conditions and wastestream composition.