Use of Fish Telemetry in Rehabilitation Planning, Management, and Monitoring in Areas of Concern in the Laurentian Great Lakes.

Freshwater ecosystems provide many ecosystem services; however, they are often degraded as a result of human activity. To address ecosystem degradation in the Laurentian Great Lakes, Canada and the United States of America established the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA). In 1987, 43 highly polluted and impacted areas were identified under the GLWQA as having one or more of 14 Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs) to the physical and chemical habitat for fish, wildlife and humans, and were designated as Areas of Concern (AOC). Subnational jurisdictions combined with local stakeholders, with support from federal governments, developed plans to remediate and restore these sites. Biotelemetry (the tracking of animals using electronic tags) provides information on the spatial ecology of fish in the wild relevant to habitat management and stock assessment. Here, seven case studies are presented where biotelemetry data were directly incorporated within the AOC Remedial Action Plan (RAP) process. Specific applications include determining seasonal fish-habitat associations to inform habitat restoration plans, identifying the distribution of pollutant-indicator species to identify exposure risk to contamination sources, informing the development of fish passage facilities to enable fish to access fragmented upstream habitats, and assessing fish use of created or restored habitats. With growing capacity for fish biotelemetry research in the Great Lakes, we discuss the strengths and weaknesses of incorporating biotelemetry into AOC RAP processes to improve the science and practice of restoration and to facilitate the delisting of AOCs.

Using genetic inference to re-evaluate the minimum longevity of the lemon shark Negaprion brevirostris.

A combination of mark-recapture and genetic sampling was used to extend the minimum longevity of an elasmobranch species and the life span estimate of the lemon shark Negaprion brevirostris was increased conservatively from 20·2 to 37 years. This increase in longevity means higher vulnerability and a longer recovery time from exploitation.

Spatial ecology of non-native common carp (Cyprinus carpio) in Lake Ontario with implications for management.

Common carp, Cyprinus carpio, are a non-native species that established within the Laurentian Great Lakes more than a century ago and are abundant in some locations. Common carp have negatively impacted freshwater ecosystems, including in the Great Lakes, by increasing turbidity and uprooting vegetation through foraging and/or spawning activities. Knowledge of spatial ecology is necessary to effectively manage non-native species and aid in the development of remediation strategies. The aim of this study was to examine the spatial ecology of common carp across multiple spatial scales within Lake Ontario using passive acoustic telemetry. First, Residency Index (RI), as a metric for habitat preference, was calculated for common carp in Toronto Harbour (TH) and Hamilton Harbour (HH). Linear mixed modelling revealed that season, as well as the interaction between season and physical habitat conditions significantly affected RI. Specifically, during spring and summer common carp had significantly higher RI at sites with increased submerged aquatic vegetation, which could be associated with spawning activities. All common carp tagged in HH were resident, compared to half of individuals tagged in TH. Larger individuals tagged in TH were more likely to be absent from the array during summer. Non-resident common carp tagged at TH made extensive movements in spring and summer along the nearshore of Lake Ontario and were detected throughout the entire basin. Knowledge of spawning habitat could inform efforts to exclude common carp from these specific locations. Based on our findings, common carp should be managed at a regional level, as opposed to single sites, owing to their extensive movements. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00027-022-00917-9.

Treatments for non-epileptic attack disorder.

BACKGROUND: Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (NES) have the outward appearance of epilepsy in the absence of physiological or electroencephalographic correlates. Non-epileptic seizures can occur in isolation or in combination with epileptic seizures. The development and maintenance of non-epileptic seizures has been well documented and there is a growing literature on the treatment of NES which includes non-psychological (including anti-anxiety and antidepressant pharmacological treatment) and psychological therapies (including cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), hypnotherapy and paradoxical therapy). Various treatment methodologies have been tried with variable success. The purpose of this Cochrane review was to establish the evidence base for the treatment of NES. OBJECTIVES: To assess whether treatments for NES result in a reduction in frequency of seizures and/or improvement in quality of life, and whether any treatment is significantly more effective than others. SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched the Cochrane Epilepsy Group's Specialised Register (September 2005), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library Issue 3, 2005), MEDLINE (1966 to July 2005), and PsycINFO (1806 to July 2005). No language restrictions were imposed. We checked the reference lists of retrieved studies for additional reports of relevant studies SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised or quasi-randomised studies were included that assessed one or more types of psychological or non-psychological interventions for the treatment of NES. Studies of childhood NES were excluded from our review. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Three review authors independently assessed the trials for inclusion and extracted data. Outcomes included reduction in seizure frequency and improvements in quality of life. MAIN RESULTS: Three small studies met our inclusion criteria and were of poor methodological quality. Two assessed hypnosis and the other paradoxical therapy. There were no detailed reports of improved seizure frequency or quality of life outcomes, and these trials provide no reliable evidence of a beneficial effect of these interventions. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: In view of the methodological limitations and the small number of studies, we have no reliable evidence to support the use of any treatment including hypnosis or paradoxical injunction therapy in the treatment of NES. Randomised studies of these and other interventions are needed.

Increased sensitivity of an enzyme-amplified colorimetric immunoassay for protein A-bearing Staphylococcus aureus in foods.

A modification to the enzyme amplification system described by Self (1984), has been developed in which the addition of semicarbazide hydrochloride increased the sensitivity of detection of protein A-bearing Staphylococcus aureus in foods from 4-6 X 10(3) to 20 colony forming units (c.f.u.) g-1 or ml-1. This may be due to the removal of acetaldehyde produced as a by-product of the amplification cycle thereby permitting further cycling to proceed.

Comparison of the sensitivity of commercial APTT reagents in the detection of mild coagulopathies.

This study was undertaken to evaluate the precision and sensitivity of three different commercial APTT reagents containing the activators kaolin, micronized silica, or ellagic acid. These reagents varied greatly in their ability to detect mild coagulopathies. The ellagic acid reagent was able to detect the mildest deficiencies for the most common coagulopathies. This reagent was sensitive to 50% levels of Factor VIIIC, whereas the APTT with the kaolin reagent was not prolonged until levels of 35% or less were attained. The micronized silica reagent was the least sensitive to Factor IX deficiency, detecting levels of 12% or less. Precision was similar for all reagents when tested with normal and slightly abnormal plasmas. Since methods and instrumentation vary, each laboratory should evaluate their APTT reagent to determine its precision and sensitivity.

Sequence variation in class 1 outer membrane protein in Neisseria meningitidis isolated from patients with meningococcal infection and close household contacts.

The meningococcal porA gene encodes the class 1 outer membrane protein which contains the VR1 and VR2 regions responsible for sero-subtype specificity. However, sequence variations may occur within these regions which are not recognised by the currently available subtype antibodies. Since this "silent" microheterogeneity represents a potential hidden source of information, in the current study we have used porA gene sequence analysis to study strains isolated from cases of meningococcal infection and close household contacts. With each of the three subtypes studied, the index cases could be differentiated from each other by sequence variations within at least one of the VR1, VR2 and SV1 regions. In addition, although isolates from close household contacts showed a high degree of homology significant differences could be detected within some family groups. These data demonstrate that it is possible to use sequence information to differentiate between potential sources of infection which appear identical using conventional serological methods.

Prognostic significance of hormone receptors in early recurrence of breast cancer.

A retrospective analysis of 155 patients with primary infiltrating breast cancer was carried out to determine the prognostic significance of hormone receptor values and analyze the effect of adjuvant chemotherapy. Estrogen receptor-negative patients were found to have a significantly higher recurrence rate than estrogen receptor-positive patients (p less than 0.005). No difference was found based on the progesterone receptor value. The data strongly suggest a favorable response to adjuvant chemotherapy administered on the basis of the estrogen receptor value alone.

Transluminal angioplasty versus surgical repair for stenosis of hemodialysis grafts. A randomized study.

A randomized study of transluminal angioplasty versus surgical revision for stenosis at the venous end of hemodialysis grafts was carried out. Median patency for the surgical group was 12 months versus only 4 months for the transluminal angioplasty group. This difference was statistically significant (p less than 0.01). In addition, the average cost for surgical revision was slightly less than that for transluminal angioplasty. Therefore, for long-term patency, surgical treatment is the method of choice, although under special circumstances there may still be a role for transluminal angioplasty.

Direct application to dairy foods of a Listeria-specific oligonucleotide probe to 16S rRNA.

A potentially Listeria-specific 28 base oligonucleotide probe was designed from 16S rRNA sequence data. Using either 32P or non-radioactive (alkaline phosphatase) labels, the probe was shown to be highly specific as it hybridised to RNA extracted from all of the species of Listeria but not to any of the other bacteria tested. Both probe methods were highly sensitive and ca 10(2) cfu/ml Listeria could be detected in pure cultures. A rapid procedure for extracting RNA from milk, Camembert and cottage cheese was developed. This allowed the direct application of the probe to these foods and gave a rapid and specific method of detecting > 10(2) cfu/g or ml Listeria in these foods.

Amebic colitis. Preventing morbidity and mortality from fulminant disease.

Uncomplicated amebic colitis is readily treated and has a mortality rate of less than 0.5%. Complications necessitating surgical intervention develop in only 6% to 11% of patients with symptomatic disease. However, the mortality rate in these patients ranges from 40% to 100% and stems in part from delays in diagnosis and treatment. Patients with known amebic colitis who show signs of systemic toxicity or of localized or generalized peritonitis are at high risk for complications; surgical consultation should be obtained. Patients who are thought to have acute appendicitis, diverticulitis, or obstructive or perforative carcinoma but have a history of dysentery atypical of that in these conditions should also be evaluated for amebiasis. Such patients should be treated presumptively until the diagnosis of amebic colitis can be excluded.

Development of an injectable two-phase drug delivery system for sequential release of antiresorptive and osteogenic drugs.

Unlike controlled release systems that deliver a single drug, dual or multidrug delivery systems with distinct release profiles are more likely to promote timely and effective tissue regeneration as they provide both temporally and concentration-dependent release of different molecules to mimic natural biological events. In this study, an injectable and biodegradable delivery system was developed to sequentially release an antiresorptive drug (clodronate) followed by an osteogenic agent (simvastatin) to treat bone disease. The injectable delivery system comprised simvastatin-loaded gelatin microspheres suspended in a viscous solution of carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) containing clodronate. Several factors (CMC concentration, glutaraldehyde concentration, simvastatin loading, and gelatin microsphere processing conditions) were investigated for their effects on drug release. Clodronate release was not affected by CMC concentration, with complete delivery within 12 hr, and simvastatin release could be modulated by cross-linking of the gelatin microspheres, loading, and washing conditions. Burst release of simvastatin was reduced from 70% to 6% in conjunction with sustained release for up to 3 weeks. The combined system showed early release of the antiresorptive clodronate sequentially followed by sustained delivery of the osteogenic simvastatin. This robust and flexible two-phase delivery system may prove useful for applications in which multiple drug delivery is desired.

Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures--diagnostic issues: a critical review.

In this review we systematically assess our current knowledge about psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES), epidemiology, etiology, with an emphasis on the diagnostic issues. Relevant studies were identified by searching the electronic databases. Case reports were not considered. Articles were included when published after 1980 up till 2005 (26 years). A total of 84 papers were identified; 60 of which were actual studies. Most studies have serious methodological limitations. An open non-randomized design, comparing patients with PNES to patients with epilepsy is the dominant design. The incidence of PNES in the general population is low. However, a relatively high prevalence is seen in patients referred to epilepsy centres (15-30%). Caution is needed in the clinical interpretation of ictal features suggested to be pathognomic for PNES. Video-EEG is widely considered to be the gold standard for diagnosing PNES. Still the differential diagnosis epileptic/non-epileptic seizures can be difficult. Despite the current available technical facilities, the mean latency between onset of PNES and final diagnosis as being non-epileptic and psychogenic is approximately 7 years. One of the reasons for diagnostic delay is that the diagnosis of PNES is often limited to a 'negative' process and consequently PNES is characterized as a 'non-disease' (i.e. 'not epilepsy'). The psychological diagnosis is thus an important, although not a conclusive, 'second phase' aspect of medical decision making. Specific relations between seizure presentation and underlying psychological mechanisms are not conclusive. A classification between major motor manifestations and unresponsiveness is recognized. With respect to psychological etiology, a heterogeneous set of factors have been identified that may be involved in the causation, development and provocation of PNES.

Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures--definition, etiology, treatment and prognostic issues: a critical review.

In this review we systematically assess our currently available knowledge about psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) with an emphasis on the psychological mechanisms that underlie PNES, possibilities for psychological treatment as well as prognosis. Relevant studies were identified by searching the electronic databases. Case reports were not considered. 93 papers were identified; 65 of which were studies. An open non-randomized design, comparing patients with PNES to patients with epilepsy is the dominant design. A working definition for PNES is proposed. With respect to psychological etiology, a heterogeneous set of factors have been identified. Not all factors have a similar impact, though. On the basis of this review we propose a model with several factors that may interact in both the development and prolongation of PNES. These factors involve psychological etiology, vulnerability, shaping, as well as triggering and prolongation factors. A necessary first step of intervention in patients with PNES seems to be explaining the diagnosis with care. Although the evidence for the efficacy of additional treatment strategies is limited, variants of cognitive (behavioural) therapy showed to be the preferred type of treatment for most patients. The exact choice of treatment should be based on individual differences in the underlying factors. Outcome can be measured in terms of seizure occurrence (frequency, severity), but other measures might be of greater importance for the patient. Prognosis is unclear but studies consistently report that 1/3rd to 1/4th of the patients become chronic.

Oxidase reactions of tomato anionic peroxidase.

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) anionic peroxidase was found to catalyze oxidase reactions with NADH, glutathione, dithiothreitol, oxaloacetate, and hydroquinone as substrates with a mean activity 30% that of horseradish peroxidase; this is in contrast to the negligible activity of the tomato enzyme as compared to the horseradish enzyme in catalyzing an indoleacetic acid-oxidase reaction with only Mn(2+) and a phenol as cofactors. Substitution of Ce(3+) for Mn(2+) produced an 18-fold larger response with the tomato enzyme than with the horseradish enzyme, suggesting a significant difference in the autocatalytic indoleacetic acid-oxidase reactions with these two enzymes. In attempting to compare enzyme activities with 2,4-dichlorophenol as a cofactor, it was found that reaction rates increased exponentially with both increasing cofactor concentration and increasing enzyme concentration. While the former response may be analogous to allosteric control of enzyme activity, the latter response is contrary to the principle that reaction rate is proportional to enzyme concentration, and additionally makes any comparison of enzyme activity difficult.

Stimulation of peroxidase reactions by hydroxamates.

Salicylhydroxamic acid, benzohydroxamic acid, and phenylacetohydroxamic acid were found to stimulate the oxidation of NADH, dithiothreitol, and ferrocyanide by horseradish peroxidase. The hydroxamates themselves served as substrates in peroxidase reactions, and the observed stimulations may involve hydroxamate free-radical formation.

Tomato peroxidase: purification, characterization, and catalytic properties.

A major peroxidase has been found in the tomato pericarp (Lycopersicon esculentum var. Tropic) of the ripe and green fruit. A purification scheme yielding this enzyme approximately 85% pure has been developed. The tomato enzyme resembles horseradish peroxidase (HRP) in a standard peroxidase assay and in its ability to be reduced to ferroperoxidase, to be converted to oxyferroperoxidase (compound III), and to form peroxidase complexes with hydrogen peroxide (compounds I and II). In contrast to the HRP, the tomato peroxidase fails to catalyze the aerobic oxidation of indole-3-acetic acid in the presence of 2,4-dichlorophenol and manganese. The tomato peroxidase can be resolved into two nonidentical subunits in the presence of dithiothreitol while HRP remains as a single polypeptide chain after such treatment. Dithiothreitol is oxidized in the presence of tomato or horseradish peroxidase with the enzymes accumulating in their oxyferroperoxidase forms during the oxidation reaction. Whereas HRP returns to its free ferric form at the end of the reaction, the tomato enzyme is converted into a form that absorbs at 442 nanometers.

Hydrogen Peroxide-mediated Oxidation of Indole-3-acetic Acid by Tomato Peroxidase and Molecular Oxygen.

The oxidation of indole-3-acetic acid by anionic tomato peroxidase was found to be negligible unless reaction mixtures were supplemented with H(2)O(2). The addition of H(2)O(2) to reaction mixtures initiated a period of rapid indole-3-acetic acid oxidation and O(2) uptake; this phase ended and O(2) uptake fell to a low level when the H(2)O(2) was exhausted. The stoichiometry of the reaction, which is highly dependent on enzyme concentration and pH, suggests that H(2)O(2) initiates a sequence of reactions in which indole-3-acetic acid is oxidized.

Experimental enzyme-linked amperometric immunosensors for the detection of salmonellas in foods.

Two enzyme-linked amperometric immunosensors specific for salmonellas were developed as rapid methods for quantifying and detecting these organisms in pure cultures and foods. Both used alkaline phosphatase as the enzyme reporter molecule but one system used phenyl phosphate as the substrate followed by the electrochemical detection of phenol at a polarized platinum electrode. The other system incorporated an enzyme amplification step and relied on the electrochemical detection of a reduced mediator, ferrocyanide. Both assays were rapid (4 h) and specific and generated salmonella-dependent signals above 10(4) cfu/ml (phenyl phosphate system) or 10(5) cfu/ml (enzyme amplified system) in pure cultures and samples of several foods, although the results with beef samples showed considerable variation. Both systems were able to detect low (1-5 cfu/g or /ml) numbers of salmonellas in foods after non-selective (18 h) and selective (22 h) enrichment steps but four samples, out of 147, gave false positive results. False positive results were eliminated by reducing the enrichment steps to 6 h and 18 h respectively (90 samples).