INTRODUCTION Anecdotal evidence suggests that ingesting small volumes of pickle juice relieves muscle cramps within 35 s of ingestion. No experimental evidence exists supporting the ingestion of pickle juice as a treatment for skeletal muscle cramps. METHODS On two different days (1 wk apart), muscle cramps were induced in the flexor hallucis brevis (FHB) of hypohydrated male subjects (approx...

The mechanisms regulating Ca(2+) partitioning and allocation in plants and fruit remain poorly understood. The objectives of this study were to determine Ca(2+) partitioning and allocation in tomato plants and fruit in response to whole-plant and fruit-specific abscisic acid (ABA) treatments, as well as to analyse the effect of changes in Ca(2+) partitioning and allocation on fruit susceptibili...

PURPOSE To investigate the effect of distilled deionized water (DDW) on lens epithelial cells (LECs) attached to the lens capsule. SETTING Wound Healing Research Laboratory, Center for Vision Research, Westmead Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia. METHODS Anterior capsulotomy specimens taken during routine cataract surgery were divided in half. One half was immersed in DDW and the other half i...

Hatching studies with Heterodera glycines typically have been conducted with a mixture of egg-mass and encysted eggs. Laboratory research was conducted to compare hatching of H. glycines eggs from external egg masses with that of eggs extracted from within females and cysts (encysted eggs). Egg-mass eggs were collected by soaking infected soybean roots in 0.5% sodium hypochlorite, and encysted ...

BACKGROUND Dental practices use disinfectants or line cleaners to flush dental unit wastewater lines to minimize odor generation, remove solid waste particles and remove biofilms in dental unit water lines (DUWLs). METHODS The authors evaluated 47 disinfectants or line cleaners for their potential to release mercury from amalgam waste. They prepared each product concentration according to the...

OBJECTIVES Carbon nanotubes are an important new class of technological materials that have numerous novel and useful properties. Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), which is a nanomaterial, is now in mass production because of its excellent mechanical and electrical properties. Although MWCNTs appear to have great industrial and medical potential, there is little information regarding thei...

The measurement of urinary total protein continues to have a place in the repertoire of clinical laboratory tests, particularly in the clinical assessment of patients with renal disease. Although the test volume is often modest, there exists the need to perform the assay on the major automated chemistry analyzers currently in use in most hospital laboratories. We have evaluated the performance ...

17 Septic tanks with subsequent soil treatment systems (STS) are a common treatment technique 18 for domestic wastewater in rural areas. Phosphorus (P) leakage from such systems may pose a 19 risk to water quality (especially if they are located relatively close to surface waters). In this 20 study, six STS in Sweden (11 to 28 years old) were examined. Samples taken from the 21 unsaturated subs...

Hydraulic fracturing is expanding rapidly in the US to meet increasing energy demand and requires high volumes of hydrofracking fluid to displace natural gas from shale. Accidental spills and deliberate land application of hydrofracking fluids, which return to the surface during hydrofracking, are common causes of environmental contamination. Since the chemistry of hydrofracking fluids favors t...

Estimates of streambed water flux are needed for the interpretation of streambed chemistry and reactions. Continuous temperature and head monitoring in stream reaches within four agricultural watersheds (Leary Weber Ditch, IN; Maple Creek, NE; DR2 Drain, WA; and Merced River, CA) allowed heat to be used as a tracer to study the temporal and spatial variability of fluxes through the streambed. S...