Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori Infection in Patients with Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Oesophagus. A Descriptive Case Series Study.

INTRODUCTION: Helicobacter pylori is an important causative factor in gastric carcinogenesis; its role in extra-gastric gastrointestinal malignancies such as oesophageal cancer is controversial. H. pylori is thought to cause extensive gastric atrophy associated with squamous cell carcinoma of the oesophagus. We conducted a study to determine the prevalence of H. pylori infection in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oesophagus. METHOD: We collected biopsies from the antrum and corpus of 59 patients with confirmed squamous cell carcinoma of the oesophagus, two from each area. These were then examined by an experienced histopathologist using methylene blue staining for the presence of H. pylori. RESULTS: H. pylori was found in 30 (51 %) of the patients, a prevalence similar to that of the general population in South Africa. Five patients were found to have associated intestinal metaplasia, and all but two had chronic inflammation. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of H. pylori in our patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oesophagus is 51 %, similar to that previously reported in the general population.

[Composting of poultry carcasses as an alternative method for disposal in case of an outbreak of an epizootic disease: first results]. / Kompostierung von Geflügeltierkörpern als alternative Beseitigungsmöglichkeit im Tierseuchenkrisenfall: erste Ergebnisse.

Composting of poultry carcasses represents an alternative method for disposal in case of an outbreak of an epizootic disease. Two composting experiments, each with a different construction of the compost pile, were carried out in a stable. In the first experiment two layers of turkey carcasses were formed. This compost pile covered with straw was directly built on the ground. In the second experiment no layers of carcasses were formed, and it was assembled on straw bales covered with plastic foil. One part of this compost pile was covered with straw, the other one was additionally covered with plastic foil. In the first experiment in the upper layers of the compost pile temperatures of up to 54.9 degrees C were reached and the decomposition of carcasses was very advanced with no soft tissues remaining after 30 days. In contrast temperatures of only 45.2 degrees C were reached in the lower layers and decomposition was far less advanced. This difference in decomposition was most likely caused by the temperature difference observed. In the second experiment the near complete decomposition seen in the upper layers of the compost pile at the first trial, was not achieved. Decomposition was more advanced in the straw covered part of this compost pile than in the part covered with straw and plastic foil. On the other hand, higher temperatures of up to 48.4 degrees C were measured in the lower layers of this compost pile most likely as a result of the increased heat insulation in particular to the ground.

Lead poisoning in the globally threatened marbled teal and white-headed duck in Spain.

Marbled teal (Marmaronetta angustirostris) and white-headed duck (Oxyura leucocephala) are the two European ducks threatened with global extinction. We investigated lead (Pb) poisoning in stifftails (Oxyura spp., n = 83) and marbled teal (n = 80) shot or found dead or moribund in Spanish wetlands via gizzard examination and liver, bone, and blood Pb analysis. Ingested Pb shot was present in 32% of shot stifftails and 70 and 43% of dead or moribund stifftails and marbled teal, respectively. Lead-shot ingestion was more frequent in Valencia (eastern Spain), where Pb-shot densities were higher and grit scarcer. Selection of larger grit similar in size to Pb shot may explain the higher rate of Pb-shot ingestion observed in stifftails. Ingested shot was found more frequently in juvenile stifftails than in adults. Lead bone concentrations were higher in ducklings < 9 d old than in fully grown teal and were also higher in adult than in juvenile teal. Our results show the need for a ban of Pb shot for waterfowl hunting in Spain and the cleanup of spent shot at major wetlands.