Direct detection of Ehrlichia canis by PCR in the conjunctiva of a dog with bilateral anterior uveitis.

The following report describes the direct detection of Ehrlichia canis by real-time PCR in the conjunctiva of a 1-year-old female Maltese dog. After being imported from Brazil, the dog was presented because of anorexia, dehydration, fever, and palpable mandibular lymph nodes. A few days later, the dog developed bilateral blepharospasm, photophobia and anterior uveitis. Monocytic ehrlichia was diagnosed by a positive PCR result and the detection of IgM and IgG antibodies. Because of the massive uveitis a conjunctival sample was taken with a cytobrush, which also tested positive for Ehrlichia canis DNA by real-time PCR. Only one week after starting treatment with systemic doxycycline and local anti-inflammatory and cyclopalgic therapy the dog recovered from systemic and eye diseases. After therapy the follow-up examination revealed a full remission of clinical and hematological parameters and negative PCR result.

Does the type of CIA policy significantly affect bar and restaurant employment in Minnesota cities?

Clean indoor air (CIA) policies that include free-standing bars and restaurants have been adopted by communities to protect employees in all workplaces from exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, most notably employees working in restaurants and free-standing bars. However, due to the perception of negative economic effects on alcohol-licensed hospitality businesses, partial CIA policies (those that provide an exemption for free-standing bars) have been proposed as a means to reduce the risk of economic effects of comprehensive CIA policies applied to all worksites. Bar and restaurant employment per capita were used to determine if partial CIA policies produced differential economic effects compared to comprehensive CIA policies. Ten cities in the state of Minnesota were studied from 2003-2006. Economic data were drawn from monthly employment in bars and restaurants, and a pooled time-series was completed to evaluate three types of local CIA policies: Comprehensive, partial, or none beyond the state law. Communities with a comprehensive CIA policy had a decrease of 9 employees per 10,000 residents compared with communities with partial CIA policies (p = 0.10). Communities with any type of CIA policy (partial or comprehensive) had an increase of 3 employees per 10,000 residents compared to communities without any CIA policies (p = 0.36). There were no significant differential economic effects by CIA policy type in Minnesota cities. These findings support the adoption of comprehensive CIA policies to provide all employees protection from environmental tobacco smoke exposure.

The relationship between local clean indoor air policies and smoking behaviours in Minnesota youth.

BACKGROUND: While clean indoor air (CIA) policies are intended to reduce exposure to second-hand smoke in the workplace, restrictions in public workplaces have the potential to discourage youth smoking. There is growing evidence from cross-sectional and ecological studies, but limited evidence from longitudinal studies that this is so. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between local CIA policies and smoking behaviours among Minnesota youth over time. DESIGN, SETTING AND SUBJECTS: A cohort of 4233 Minnesota youths, ages 11 to 16 at baseline, was interviewed via telephone for 6 years (2000-2006). Individual, family and community level variables were collected from participants every 6 months. A generalised estimating equation (GEE) logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between CIA policies and past-month smoking in youth over time. The analysis was controlled for potential confounders at individual and community levels. RESULTS: There was not significant association between CIA policies and youth smoking behaviours in the multivariate analyses. At the individual level, parental smoking significantly increased the odds of smoking nearly 40% and close friend smoking increased the odds of past-month smoking by nearly 100% for each close friend. Banning smoking in the home was significantly associated with a 12% reduction in the odds of past-month smoking. CONCLUSION: After accounting for other community and individual level factors known to be associated with youth smoking, there was no significant association between CIA policies and past-month smoking for youth over time.

Evidence for transplacental and contact transmission of bluetongue virus in cattle.

This paper presents evidence that a field strain of bluetongue virus serotype 8 (BTV-8) was transmitted transplacentally and that it was also spread by a direct contact route. Twenty pregnant heifers were imported from the Netherlands into Northern Ireland during the midge-free season. Tests before and after the animals were imported showed that eight of them had antibodies to bluetongue virus, but no viral RNA was detected in any of them by reverse transcriptase-PCR (RT-PCR). Two of the seropositive heifers gave birth to three calves that showed evidence of bluetongue virus infection (RT-PCR-positive), and one of the calves was viraemic. Two further viraemic animals (one newly calved Dutch heifer, and one milking cow originally from Scotland) were also found to have been infected with BTV-8 and evidence is presented that these two animals may have been infected by direct contact, possibly through the ingestion of placentas infected with BTV-8.

Specific 14-3-3 isoform detection and immunolocalization in prion diseases.

14-3-3 proteins are involved in signalling processes in neuronal cells. Using isoform-specific antibodies we have examined the variation in 14-3-3 isoform neurolocation in normal and scrapie-infected murine brain and show that in defined areas of the brain there are significant changes associated with the pathology of the disease process. The appearance of 14-3-3 proteins in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is a consequence of neuronal disease and the detection of specific isoforms of the 14-3-3 proteins in the CSF is characteristic of some neurodegenerative diseases. In this study, monitoring specifically for the gamma 14-3-3 isoform in the CSF by both Western-blot analysis and ELISA we can show a level of correlation between the assays.

Immunolocalisation of 14-3-3 isoforms in normal and scrapie-infected murine brain.

The appearance of 14-3-3 proteins in the cerebrospinal fluid is characteristic of some neurodegenerative conditions which include sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Although 14-3-3 proteins are physiochemically well characterised and are known to be present in neuronal cells little is known of the neuroanatomical localisation of the individual isoforms. Using 14-3-3 isoform specific antibodies we have examined the distribution of the isoforms in normal murine brain and the changes observed during neurodegeneration as a result of ME7 scrapie infection. In normal brain there are two major patterns of immunolabelling. The beta, gamma, eta and zeta isoforms which exhibit a similar distribution pattern showing labelling of neuronal cell bodies often in particular anatomical nuclei. However the individual isoforms exhibit variation revealing subtle differences in location. The tau isoform was found only in the hippocampus and medulla, and the epsilon isoform was found throughout grey matter of the CNS. In the scrapie-infected murine brain, where severe pathological changes occur during the course of the disease, significant differences in the 14-3-3 isoform distribution were observed in the hippocampus and in the thalamus. Importantly, both the 14-3-3 eta isoform and prion protein were seen in the same neurones in both the cerebellar roof nuclei and in the lateral hypothalamic nuclei. Our study of 14-3-3 isoform distribution in adult murine brain clearly demonstrates a heterogeneous pattern of neurolocation for specific 14-3-3 isoforms. The fact that isoform labelling in terminal scrapie CNS is lost in some brain areas, but increases in others, suggests that the processing of these proteins during neurodegeneration may be much more complex than previously recognised.

[Resolution of megaesophagus after treatment of concurrent hypothyroidism in a dog]. / Résolution du mégaoesophage après traitement de l'hypothyroïdie concomitante chez une chienne.

An adult mixbreed female dog is presented with a megaoesophagus. The treatment of a concomitant thyroïdism allowed the total regression of the megaoesophagus. A literature overview is presented, dealing with the correlation between megaoesophagus and hypothyroïdism. Diagnostic and therapeutic possibilities are discussed.

The smoke you don't see: uncovering tobacco industry scientific strategies aimed against environmental tobacco smoke policies.

OBJECTIVES: This review details the tobacco industry's scientific campaign aimed against policies addressing environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and efforts to undermine US regulatory agencies from approximately 1988 to 1993. METHODS: The public availability of more than 40 million internal, once-secret tobacco company documents allowed an unedited and historical look at tobacco industry strategies. RESULTS: The analysis showed that the tobacco industry went to great lengths to battle the ETS issue worldwide by camouflaging its involvement and creating an impression of legitimate, unbiased scientific research. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need for further international monitoring of industry-produced science and for significant improvements in tobacco document accessibility.

[A case of canine angiostrongylosis]. / A propos d'un cas d'angiostrongylose canine.

A six-month old bitch presenting a sub-lingual mucocele and hematoma associated with coagulation disorders died four days after the surgical treatment of the mucocele. The necropsy revealed a canine angiostrongylosis, a disease rarely seen in Switzerland. This article summarizes the biology of Angiostrongylus vasorum and describes the lesions and symptoms caused by this cardio-pulmonary helminthosis, as well as its diagnosis and treatment. The connections between angiostrongylosis and coagulation disorders are also discussed.

The Minnesota DARE PLUS Project: creating community partnerships to prevent drug use and violence.

The research community has criticized Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) because the extant literature indicates a lack of evidence that the elementary school program prevents drug use. Yet D.A.R.E. continues to be the most widely implemented drug use prevention program in the United States and has considerable community support. To date, the junior high D.A.R.E. program has not been evaluated. The Minnesota DARE PLUS Project is a randomized trial of 24 schools and communities. During 1999-2001, students in eight schools will receive the junior high D.A.R.E. curriculum in 7th grade; eight schools also will receive the curriculum as well as additional parent involvement, peer leadership, and community components in the 7th and 8th grades; and eight schools will serve as controls. This article describes the background and conceptualization, the curriculum and additional intervention components, and the evaluation methods of the DARE PLUS Project.

Project Northland high school interventions: community action to reduce adolescent alcohol use.

Project Northland is a randomized community trial initially implemented in 24 school districts and communities in northeastern Minnesota, with goals of delaying onset and reducing adolescent alcohol use using community-wide, multiyear, multiple interventions. The study targets the Class of 1998 from the 6th to 12th grades (1991-1998). The early adolescent phase of Project Northland has been completed, and reductions in the prevalence of alcohol use at the end of 8th grade were achieved. Phase II of Project Northland, targeting 11th- and 12th-grade students, uses five major strategies: (1) direct action community organizing methods to encourage citizens to reduce underage access to alcohol, (2) youth development involving high school students in youth action teams, (3) print media to support community organizing and youth action initiatives and communicate healthy norms about underage drinking (e.g., providing alcohol to minors is unacceptable), (4) parent education and involvement, and (5) a classroom-based curriculum for 11th-grade students. This article describes the background, design, implementation, and process measures of the intervention strategies for Phase II of Project Northland.

Communities mobilizing for change on alcohol: outcomes from a randomized community trial.

OBJECTIVE: Communities Mobilizing for Change on Alcohol (CMCA) was a randomized 15-community trial of a community organizing intervention designed to reduce the accessibility of alcoholic beverages to youths under the legal drinking age. METHOD: Data were collected at baseline before random assignment of communities to intervention or control condition, and again at follow-up after a 2.5-year intervention. Data collection included in-school surveys of twelfth graders, telephone surveys of 18- to 20-year-olds and alcohol merchants, and direct testing of the propensity of alcohol outlets to sell to young buyers. Analyses were based on mixed-model regression, used the community as the unit of assignment, took into account the nesting of individual respondents or alcohol outlets within each community, and controlled for relevant covariates. RESULTS: Results show that the CMCA intervention significantly and favorably affected both the behavior of 18- to 20-year-olds (effect size = 0.76, p<.01) and the practices of on-sale alcohol establishments (effect size = 1.18, p<.05), may have favorably affected the practices of off-sale alcohol establishments (effect size = 0.32, p = .08), but had little effect on younger adolescents. Alcohol merchants appear to have increased age-identification checking and reduced propensity to sell to minors. Eighteen- to 20-year-olds reduced their propensity to provide alcohol to other teens and were less likely to try to buy alcohol, drink in a bar or consume alcohol. CONCLUSIONS: Community organizing is a useful intervention approach for mobilizing communities for institutional and policy change to improve the health of the population.

The effects of community policies to reduce youth access to tobacco.

OBJECTIVES: This study tested the hypothesis that adoption and implementation of local policies regarding youth access to tobacco can affect adolescent smoking. METHODS: A randomized community trial was conducted in 14 Minnesota communities. Seven intervention communities participated in a 32-month community-organizing effort to mobilize citizens and activate the community. The goal was to change ordinances, merchant policies and practices, and enforcement practices to reduce youth access to tobacco. Outcome measures were derived from surveys of students before and after the intervention and from tobacco purchase attempts in all retail outlets in the communities. Data analyses used mixed-model regression to account for the clustering within communities and to adjust for covariates. RESULTS: Each intervention community passed a comprehensive youth access ordinance. Intervention communities showed less pronounced increases in adolescent daily smoking relative to control communities. Tobacco purchase success declined somewhat more in intervention than control communities during the study period, but this difference was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides compelling evidence that policies designed to reduce youth access to tobacco can have a significant effect on adolescent smoking rates.

Youth access to tobacco: policies and politics.

The late 1980s marked the beginning of a sea change in research and intervention on tobacco use by young people, when the first studies were published demonstrating the ease with which adolescents could purchase cigarettes. Since then concern with the commercial availability of tobacco products to youth has grown, becoming deeply entrenched in both research and policy efforts. This paper reviews the history of restrictions on youth access to tobacco, the evidence that commercial sources of tobacco are available and important to adolescents, and the rationale for various components of policies to restrict access. We also review the recent expansion of policies addressing youth access to tobacco at all levels of government, the tobacco industry response to this expansion, and issues that have arisen as this expansion has developed.

Social settings and situations of underage drinking.

OBJECTIVE: Social settings and situations of underage drinking were described for students from 15 communities in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Reports of their last drinking event, including setting, number of persons drinking with them, number of those persons under age 21, and whom they were with, were examined. The role of these variables in the prediction of having five or more drinks on one occasion was assessed. METHOD: Ninth graders (n = 2,269) and 12th graders (n = 2,377) who reported using alcohol in the last 30 days were included in the sample from a nested cross-sectional survey design. Bivariate analyses were performed between the situational variables and gender, number of older siblings and drinking behavior. Chi-square statistics were divided by an estimate of the design effect and multivariate analyses used mixed-model regression to correct for the nesting of individuals within communities. RESULTS: Situations and settings of drinking differed according to age and drinking behavior. Twelfth graders were less likely to drink with parents or other adults than 9th graders and more likely to drink in someone else's home, and in large groups where nearly everyone was underage. Persons reporting having five or more drinks on one occasion in the last 2 weeks were more likely to report drinking with peers, in large groups of underage persons and away from home. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions to reduce use of alcohol by youth must focus on the context in which the drinking is taking place in addition to other factors. Policy or educational interventions that seek to alter the situations and settings of underage drinking may be effective in reducing consumption of alcohol in adolescents.

Creating tobacco control policy at the local level: implementation of a direct action organizing approach.

This article describes the community activation and policy change process in seven Minnesota communities involved in the Tobacco Policy Options for Prevention (TPOP) study. The study's intervention employed a direct action organizing model, which relies on mobilizing large numbers of people to alter decision making and leverage the power of elites. As part of the organizing process, TPOP organizers and teams made 1,319 personal contacts with community members, generated 309 media stories, and initiated 445 public events related to tobacco use. These actions resulted in the establishment of comprehensive tobacco ordinances in all seven communities. The authors discuss the goals, training, activities and political factors relevant to four phases of the TPOP intervention: information gathering and team recruitment, community awareness building and ordinance development, preparing for city council, and ordinance establishment and enforcement. Included are suggestions for practitioners interested in using policy change and community-based advocacy to resolve public health problems.

Perceived and measured availability of tobacco to youths in 14 Minnesota communities: the TPOP Study. Tobacco Policy Options for Prevention.

INTRODUCTION: Availability of tobacco to young people is believed to be an important factor in the onset of tobacco use. We still do not have a complete picture of how tobacco is obtained by youths or how access can be curtailed. DESIGN: This article describes tobacco availability to youths in 14 communities that are part of a randomized trial, known as TPOP (Tobacco Policy Options for Prevention). The data reported here were obtained from student surveys and tobacco-purchase attempts by underage confederates. RESULTS: Students who have smoked at least once were likely to cite social sources for cigarettes. However, more than half of weekly smokers and almost one third of tenth-grade ever smokers reported purchasing cigarettes in the last 30 days. Tobacco-purchase attempts by confederate buyers at all outlets resulted in an overall success rate of 40.8%, lower than previously reported for urban communities. Fifty-five percent of the over-the-counter outlets had no self-service displays of tobacco at baseline. Store factors that predicted purchase success include tobacco location; purchase success was lower when all tobacco was locked or behind a service counter. The percentage of smokers who reported purchasing their own tobacco soon after starting to smoke was highest in towns where purchase success by teenage study confederates was highest. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that sources of cigarettes shift from social to commercial with age and that sources of cigarettes for rural youths may be different than for urban youths.

The role of social influences and tobacco availability on adolescent smokeless tobacco use.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the potential explanatory effect of various demographic, social influence, sanction, and tobacco availability variables on the use of smokeless tobacco (ST) by adolescent males. DESIGN: The data used in our analyses are from a community-based tobacco policy intervention trial that included a 60-item baseline school survey. During Spring 1993, all 8th, 9th, and 10th-grade students enrolled in 14 school districts in small Minnesota cities were surveyed. We used mixed-model logistic regression to determine which variables were significantly correlated with smokeless tobacco use by males in the past week. RESULTS: Of this sample of 2924 adolescent males, 10% (n = 291) reported using smokeless tobacco in the past week. Compared to the overall sample, smokeless tobacco users reported higher family and friend use of smokeless tobacco. In addition, 64% of users reported smoking in the past 30 days, and almost half (49.1%) said they had attempted to purchase tobacco in the past 30 days. Variables found to be significantly associated with smokeless tobacco use in the past week included younger age, having a best friend using tobacco, inflated perceptions of their peers' use of tobacco products, beliefs that school and parental sanctions are not high for tobacco use, recent tobacco purchase, and perceived belief that tobacco is not difficult to obtain from social sources. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms previous research correlating demographic and social influence factors with ST use and demonstrates the role that sanction and availability variables play in ST use.

Adolescent smokers' provision of tobacco to other adolescents.

OBJECTIVES: This study examined adolescent smokers provision of tobacco to other adolescents. METHODS: Data from a survey of 8th-, 9th-, and 10th-grade students in Minnesota were analyzed by using mixed-model logistic regression. RESULTS: More than two thirds (68.8%) of adolescent smokers had provided tobacco to another adolescent in the previous 30 days. Mother's smoking, number of friends who smoke, owning tobacco merchandise, number of cigarettes smoked in the past week, source of last cigarette (commercial), and recent attempt to buy cigarettes were associated with providing. CONCLUSIONS: The social availability of tobacco to youth needs further examination.