Biocidal effects of Piper hispidinervum (Piperaceae) essential oil and synergism among its main components.

In this study we evaluated the effect of a pressure gradient (1-2 atm) in the extraction and composition of the essential oil (EO) of Piper hispidinervum by steam distillation. We also evaluated the insect antifeedant effects (Spodoptera littoralis, Leptinotarsa decemlineata, Myzus persicae and Rhopalosiphum padi) and nematicidal activity (Meloidogyne javanica) of the oils, their major components and their synergistic interactions. Safrole was the major component (78-81%) followed by terpinolene (5-9%). The EOs tested were effective insect antifeedants. Safrole, explained most of the insect antifeedant action of P. hispidinervum EOs. When safrole and terpinolene were tested in binary combinations, low ratios of safrole improved the antifeedant effects of terpinolene. P. hispidinervum EOs caused higher mortality of M. javanica juveniles than their major components. In binary combinations, low ratios of terpinolene increased the nematicidal effects of safrole. The EO treatment strongly suppressed nematode egg hatching and juvenile infectivity. P. hispidinervum EOs affected the germination of S. lycopersicum and L. sativa mostly at 24 h of treatment, being L. sativa the most sensitive. Safrole moderately affected germination and root growth of L. sativa, S. lycopersicum and L. perenne. Terpinolene only affected S. lycopersicum root growth.

A demonstration project of interdisciplinary dairy herd extension advising funded by industry and users. 1. Implementation and evaluation.

An interdisciplinary team of extension workers conducted a 2-yr demonstration project using 30 herds with the objectives of increasing production efficiency and profitability and gaining experience in integrated problem solving. After 1 yr, 88% of the participants thought that the monthly fee paid to extension was a profitable investment. At the end of the project, 70% of the participants thought that increases in milk yield per cow were due to a combination of improvements in two to four management areas rather than to changes in any single management discipline. Additional labor was necessary to implement recommendations. Two issues were key in successfully convincing dairy operators and families to accept management recommendations: 1) a coordinated team effort aimed at integrated problem solving, followed by written recommendations and regular dialogue with the producer, and 2) possession of effective social decision-making skill by the participant family. Most farms in the project depended primarily on family labor and social decision making to implement management changes. Only those families that could jointly agree to implement a new management decision fully benefited from professional advice. A demonstration project of interdisciplinary dairy advising was an effective method to gain problem-solving expertise and to build credibility for extension services.

A demonstration project of interdisciplinary dairy herd extension advising funded by industry and users. 2. Impact on herd performance.

The objectives of this 24-herd, demonstration project of extension advising were to measure the impact of integrated problem solving on measures of DHI performance for 2 yr during and 2 yr after the project. During project advising, increases in rolling herd average milk and fat yields and 3.5% FCM were similar for project and state herds. When rolling herd average for milk yield for state herds was adjusted for two USDA milk reduction programs, milk yield of project herds was estimated to have increased 434 lb more per cow than that of DHI state herds. Compared with state DHI trends, project producers significantly improved in percentage of low SCC, days open, and age at first calving. Two years postproject, DHI milk yield declined for project and state herds, probably because of drought. Demonstration herds did not outperform state DHI herd average in milk yield or in other efficiency parameters during the 2-yr postproject. The extension advising in the demonstration project had the most positive impact on management of low ranking herds. Only low ranking herds had an advantage in rate of improvement, compared with high ranking herds, in rolling herd average for milk yield during and after the project and in SCC and days open during the project. Gains by managers of herds ranking low and in the middle in DHI parameters were generally lost or declining postproject.

A demonstration project of interdisciplinary dairy herd extension advising funded by industry and users. 3. Impact on management practices.

The objectives of this 24-herd, demonstration project of integrated problem solving and extension advising were 1) to evaluate dairy production management practices, 2) to formulate recommendations for guiding producers to correct management deficiencies, and 3) to measure the rate of practice adoption. Management evaluations focused on herd nutrition and forage crops, mastitis control and milking equipment, reproduction, and herd health. Sixty-eight management practices or milking equipment components were evaluated on each farm. A total of 216 recommendations were made in nutrition and forage crops as follows: calf and heifer management, 89; forage crops, 73; dry cows, 26; lactating cows, 19; and general, 9. The least adopted suggestions for nutrition and crops were for forage crop management. A total of 283 recommendations were made in mastitis management or milking equipment as follows: milking practices, 90; milking equipment, 90; general mastitis control, 61; environment, 32; calf management, 9; and stray voltage, 1. Producers most resisted updating and maintaining milking equipment within the milking management area. Detection of estrus was the focus of reproductive management advising. A total of 80 practices were recommended as follows: one person responsible, 24; specific location, 24; specific time, 24; and regular veterinary visits, 10. Designation of a specific site was the least adopted of these recommendations. Overall, 419 of 581, or 72%, of all recommendations were adopted.

Use of videotape and phone teleconference in statewide extension program on milk quality and mastitis control.

Extension specialists used a 3-h videotape and phone teleconferences to teach dairy farmers how to produce quality milk and control mastitis. This 5-d effort reached approximately 20% of the state's commercial dairy farms in 22 meetings at 22 locations. A survey of approximately 170 dairy producers indicated those attending the program had less education, were younger, and more were enrolled in Dairy Herd Improvement program as compared with the average Maryland dairy farmer. Eighty percent reported they would like to see additional videotaped programs; 5% indicated no interest in viewing other topics on videotape. Scores on knowledge pretests and posttests were 66 and 76%, respectively. Only 1.7% were using all 13 mastitis management practices recommended in the educational program, and 11.2% said they would use all 13 practices after participating in the program.

The nature of suffering and the goals of medicine.

The question of suffering and its relation to organic illness has rarely been addressed in the medical literature. This article offers a description of the nature and causes of suffering in patients undergoing medical treatment. A distinction based on clinical observations is made between suffering and physical distress. Suffering is experienced by persons, not merely by bodies, and has its source in challenges that threaten the intactness of the person as a complex social and psychological entity. Suffering can include physical pain but is by no means limited to it. The relief of suffering and the cure of disease must be seen as twin obligations of a medical profession that is truly dedicated to the care of the sick. Physicians' failure to understand the nature of suffering can result in medical intervention that (though technically adequate) not only fails to relieve suffering but becomes a source of suffering itself.

Primary squamous cell carcinoma of the endometrium.

A case meeting Fluhmann's criteria of epidermoid carcinoma of the endometrium is presented. The patient has been free of tumor for 14 months.