An 11-year retrospective review of venlafaxine ingestion in children from the California Poison Control System.

Venlafaxine is commonly used in the United States for approved and non-Food and Drug Administration-approved indications in adults. It is used off-label to treat children for psychiatric diagnoses. The aim of the study was to describe venlafaxine toxicities in children and to identify the venlafaxine dose per weight that correlates with toxicities. An 11-year retrospective study of venlafaxine ingestion in children was performed using the California Poison Control System (CPCS) database. Data was extracted from phone calls received by CPCS clinicians and follow-up phone calls made to assess the patient's progress in a health-care setting. Inclusion criteria were venlafaxine ingestion cases reported to CPCS between January 2001 and December 2011, children aged 20 years and under, venlafaxine as the only ingested substance, managed in a health-care facility, and followed to a known outcome. Two hundred sixty-two cases met the study criteria. Common presentations included gastrointestinal (14.9%), altered mental status (13.7%), and tachycardia (13.4%). The majority of the cases resulted in no effect (51.5%) or minor effect (19.9%). The average estimated dose per weight was 18.3 mg/kg in all patients and 64.5 mg/kg in those experiencing moderate-to-severe adverse effects. Seizures occurred in only 4 of the 262 cases at doses ranging from 1500 to 7500 mg. Although the estimated dose per weight exceeded 10 mg/kg for the majority of the cases, only 12 cases resulted in moderate or severe outcomes. The majority of venlafaxine ingestion cases in children resulted in either no clinical effects or minor clinical effects.

A profile of Little Athletes' injuries and the prevention methods used.

This study provides a profile of injuries sustained by Little Athletes and the injury prevention strategies they employed. The sample comprised 388 registered Little Athletes from seven Sydney New South Wales Clubs. Results from the survey and fieldwork suggested that at least one out of five Little Athletes had one or more injuries resulting from their participation in the current season. However, athletes aged under 11 to under 15 years were more likely to be injured than those in the younger age groups. The older athletes were also likely to have sustained more than four injuries during the season. Athletes reported low use of both warm up and warm down methods. Coaches, age managers and parents were portrayed as the key providers of information concerning injury prevention strategies. It was therefore noted that a valuable opportunity exists to create and design an innovative, age progressive educational package for Little Athletes, parents and coaches.

Removal of the preputial diverticulum in swine.

A new technique for removal of the preputial diverticulum in swine was performed on 33 sexually intact male potbellied pigs, 12 domestic boar cadavers, and 4 domestic swine (2 sexually intact males and 2 barrows). With each pig under general anesthesia, the body and horns of the diverticulum were everted through the preputial orifice and excised. In some cases, the stump of the diverticulum was sutured. Remaining tissues were allowed to retract through the preputial orifice. The technique was more rapid than the conventional method because skin incision and blunt dissection were unnecessary. Although the technique was developed as a preventive sanitary procedure to accompany routine castration of pet pigs, it has application to domestic swine practice.

Loss of tomato cell wall galactan may involve reduced rate of synthesis.

Changes in the galactose content of the noncellulosic polysaccharides of tomato (Mill) fruit cell walls were analyzed under various conditions. On the plant, galactan decreased gradually during fruit growth. As normal fruits ripened, the loss of galactan increased sharply; this was not observed in attached rin fruits beyond the fully mature stage. The ability to produce new wall galactan in vitro was retained in mature fruit tissue but declined with ripening. Normal tomatoes ripening on the plant showed a transient increase in galactan content at the climacteric. It is suggested that the decline in wall galactan is partly due to reduced synthesis in senescing, normal fruits and in detached rin tomatoes.