Antifungal efficacy of F10SC veterinary disinfectant against Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis.

The Infectious disease chytridiomycosis, which is caused by the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, has been identified as one of the most important drivers of amphibian declines and extinction. In vitro B. dendrobatidis is susceptible to a range of disinfectants, but not all have been tested on animals and some that have been proven effective have harmful side effects on the surrounding environment or the animals being treated. We tested the efficacy of F10SC veterinary disinfectant to treat B. dendrobatidis in experimentally infected tadpole and juvenile Sclerophrys gutturalis and tadpoles of Sclerophrys poweri and Amietia hymenopus. The minimum inhibitory concentration for F10SC on in vitro B. dendrobatidis ranged between 1:7000 for 5-min contact time and 1:10000 for 10-min contact time. Based on the survival data of test animals the no observed effect concentration for 15-min contact time was estimated to be 1:2000 dilution for juveniles, and 1:10000 for tadpoles. In S. gutturalis juveniles an 86% infection clearance rate was achieved after five 15-min doses of 1:3000 dilution. A 100% clearance was achieved in A. hymenopus tadpoles after seven 15-min doses of 1:10000 dilution, and after nine doses of the same treatment in S. poweri tadpoles. F10SC has the benefit of being a concentrated compound that provides a treatment protocol which is nontoxic to tadpoles and post-metamorphic individuals, has a short half-life and is effective against B. dendrobatidis during short contact times, but further testing on different species of amphibians is advised.

Assisted living: challenges for nursing practice.

There can be no doubt about that, as the elderly population increases, there is a need to provide alternative models of housing and health care. The elderly have become a vocal group, defining their needs and demanding their rights. New models of care, such as assisted living, allow elders to age in place, and nurses are called upon to adapt to the challenges of practice. We need to be responsive to the changing needs of the elderly population, to alter the directive focus of our practice to a more assistive model, and we must look at our practice itself to determine what changes need to take place to promote aging with maximum independence.

Lithogenic risk factors in normal black volunteers, and black and white recurrent stone formers.

OBJECTIVE: To compare lithogenic risk factors in normal black volunteer men (BN), male black stone formers (BSF) and male white recurrent stone formers (WSF); in addition, the differential diagnoses in the stone formers were compared to determine if the causes of renal stones differed in the two groups. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The study included 22 BN, 22 consecutive BSF and 122 consecutive WSF seen over a 10-year period. Each subject was assessed by a thorough medical history, dietary analysis and a full serum and urinary biochemical evaluation. RESULTS: Although the WSF were significantly more overweight (P<0.001) and obese (P<0.001) than the BSF, neither group had values significantly different from those of their respective normal populations. There was no significant difference in serum levels of Ca, phosphorus, ionised Ca, calcitriol and alkaline phosphatase in BSF and WSF, but levels of parathyroid hormone tended to be (P<0.1) and calcitriol was significantly higher in BSF than WSF (P<0.03). The BSF urinary excretion levels tended to be more like that of the WSF, with the following pattern present; BN