Short-term oral phosphate and bone remodeling in beagles

Attempts to increase bone volume in osteoporotic patients are still in the experimental stage. The coherence therapy, proposed by Frost, suggests that the activated bone units can remodel bone matrix in tandem. The cells (i.e., osteoclast and osteoblast which compose the remodeling units) are manipulated through specific medications timed to each of their duration of actions. The current study was to examine the effect of withdrawal of oral phosphate on bone in ovariectomized dogs. The present report demonstrates the capability of short-term oral phosphate to activate bone remodeling in the ovariectomized animal model. Results from biochemical and histomorphometric analyses confirm that remodeling units are activated following the release of parathyroid hormone. This transient scenario inflicts a shift of mineral density distribution in cancellous bone matrix of the iliac crest. Nevertheless, the bone remodeling units appear to be synchronized with each other and thus their resorptive and formative phases should be amenable to further pharmacological manipulation.

Microbial degradation of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) in soils

The microbial degradation of tensile test pieces made of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) [P(3HB)] or a copolymer of 90% 3-hydroxybutyric acid and 10% 3-hydroxyvaleric acid was studied in soils incubated at a constant temperature of 15, 28, or 40 degrees C for up to 200 days. In addition, hydrolytic degradation in sterile buffer at temperatures ranging from 4 to 55 degrees C was monitored for 98 days. Degradation was measured through loss of weight (surface erosion), molecular weight, and mechanical strength. While no weight loss was recorded in sterile buffer, samples incubated in soils were degraded at an erosion rate of 0.03 to 0.64% weight loss per day, depending on the polymer, the soil, and the incubation temperature. The erosion rate was enhanced by incubation at higher temperatures, and in most cases the copolymer lost weight at a higher rate than the homopolymer. The molecular weights of samples incubated at 40 degrees C in soils and those incubated at 40 degrees C in sterile buffer decreased at similar rates, while the molecular weights of samples incubated at lower temperatures remained almost unaffected, indicating that molecular weight decrease is due to simple hydrolysis and not to the action of biodegrading microorganisms. The degradation resulted in loss of mechanical properties. From the samples used in the biodegradation studies, 295 dominant microbial strains capable of degrading P (3HB) and the poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) copolymer in vitro were isolated and identified.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Making numbers talk--promoting home care legislators

The home care industry stands to gain a lot in the coming health care reform. To argue effectively for home care's inclusion in new health care legislation, the industry must present hard facts and figures.