An evaluation of the use of individual grass species in retaining polluted soil and dust particulates in vegetated sustainable drainage devices.

A sustainable means of preventing polluted particulates carried in urban storm water entering rivers, groundwater and lakes is by employing vegetated sustainable drainage system (SUDS) devices, or best management practices to trap or biodegrade them. In the UK, a mixture of grass species is recommended for use in devices such as swales or filter strips. However, there is little evidence in support of the efficiency of the individual grasses or mixtures to deal with such contaminated material. A pot-based pollutant retention study was conducted using processed street dust from central Coventry, UK, as a simulated pollutant to be applied in different quantities to a variety of recommended grasses for vegetated SUDS devices. Analysis was conducted on compost cores, roots and shoots for heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn). Street dust mainly concentrated in the top compost layer for all grasses with only the finer material migrating down the profile. Analysis of roots indicated little accumulation, with ANOVA statistical tests indicating significant differences in heavy metal concentrations, with less in the compost and more in the shoots. Development of root systems on or near the surface possibly explains increased uptake of heavy metals by some species. Overall Agrostis canina and Poa pratensis showed the greatest accumulations compared to their controls although Agrostis capillaris syn.tenuis and Agrostis stolonifera also demonstrated accumulation potential. On ranking, Agrostis canina and Poa pratensis were highest overall. These rankings will assist in selecting the best grasses to address pollution of the urban environment by contaminated particulates.

Clinically relevant doses of lidocaine and bupivacaine do not impair cutaneous wound healing in mice.

BACKGROUND: Lidocaine and bupivacaine are commonly infiltrated into surgical cutaneous wounds to provide local anaesthesia after surgical procedures. However, very little is known about their effects on cutaneous wound healing. If an inhibitory effect is demonstrated, then the balance between the benefits of postoperative local anaesthesia and the negatives of impaired cutaneous wound healing may affect the decision to use local anaesthesia or not. Furthermore, if a difference in the rate of healing of lidocaine- and bupivacaine-treated cutaneous wounds is revealed, or if an inhibitory effect is found to be dose-dependent, then this may well influence the choice of agent and its concentration for clinical use. METHODS: Immediately before incisional wounding, we administered lidocaine and bupivacaine intradermally to adult female mice, some of which had been ovariectomized to act as a model of post-menopausal women (like post-menopausal women, ovariectomized mice heal wounds poorly, with increased proteolysis and inflammation). Day 3 wound tissue was analysed histologically and tested for expression of inflammatory and proteolytic factors. RESULTS: On day 3 post-wounding, wound areas and extent of re-epithelialization were comparable between the control and local anaesthetic-treated animals, in both intact and ovariectomized groups. Both tested drugs significantly increased wound activity of the degradative enzyme matrix metalloproteinase-2 relative to controls, while lidocaine also increased wound neutrophil numbers. CONCLUSIONS: Although lidocaine and bupivacaine influenced local inflammatory and proteolytic factors, they did not impair the rate of healing in either of two well-established models (mimicking normal human wound healing and impaired age-related healing).

Repeat sudden unexpected and unexplained infant deaths: natural or unnatural?

BACKGROUND: There have been suggestions that when two or three unexpected unexplained infant deaths occur within a family they are more likely to be unnatural than natural. We aimed to estimate the probability that a second infant death is natural versus unnatural. METHODS: The Care of Next Infant programme (CONI) supports parents who have previously had an unexpected and apparently unexplained infant death and is currently available in over 90% of health districts in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. We studied all deaths in 6373 infants who had completed the CONI programme by December, 1999. After a CONI death, we made detailed enquiries into the previous death and the CONI death, including a family interview, a review of autopsies, and case discussion. FINDINGS: 57 (8.9 per 1000) CONI infants died. Nine deaths were inevitable, and 48 were unexpected. 44 families lost one child, and two families lost two children. Of the 46 first CONI deaths, 40 were natural; the other six were probable homicides, five committed by one or both parents (two criminally convicted). The ratio of 40 natural to six unnatural deaths is 6.7 (95% CI 2.8-19.4). Enquiries identified 18 families with two SIDS(sudden infant death syndrome) deaths and two families with probable covert double homicides (ratio 9.0 [2.2 to 80.0]). There were no convictions in 13 incomplete cases. Families with three deaths are reported. INTERPRETATION: Repeat unexpected infant deaths are most probably natural.

Cellular mechanisms of insulin release: the effects of vitamin D deficiency and repletion on rat insulin secretion.

To determine whether impaired insulin release from perifused rat islets of vitamin D-deficient (D-def) rats is a result of vitamin D-deficiency specifically or an associated decrease in food intake, we: 1) compared insulin release from islets of vitamin D-def rats with insulin release from islets of pair fed (pf) normal rats, and 2) measured the effects of 1,25(OH)2D3 treatment on food intake and insulin secretion from islets of D-def rats. Both vitamin D-def and pf normal rat islets showed significantly diminished insulin release in comparison with normal controls but were not different from each other. When D-def rats were repleted with 1,25(OH)2D3, food intake increased and insulin secretion improved during perifusion of rat islets. When D-def rats treated with 1,25(OH)2D3 were prevented from increasing their food intake in response to 1,25(OH)2D3 by pair feeding to a group of untreated D-def rats, insulin release from islets of treated rats was not significantly different from untreated D-def rats. To separate the effects of vitamin D deficiency from hypocalcemia, a group of vitamin D-def hypocalcemic rats was compared with a group of D-def normocalcemic rats. Normocalcemia did not reverse the defect in insulin release. In studies of cellular calcium uptake, both pf and D-def rat islets took up less calcium than normal islets but calcium uptake was not different between pf and D-def rat islets. Our studies suggest that vitamin D deficiency is associated with marked impairment of biphasic insulin release and that the decrease in food intake may account for this impairment at least in part.

The nutritional selenium status of healthy Greeks.

The nutritional selenium status of apparently healthy Greeks has been assessed by measuring fluorimetrically the selenium content of whole blood, morning urine, hair and finger nails. The means and standard deviations were 165 +/- 33, 25 +/- 7 ng Se ml-1, 416 +/- 86, and 536 +/- 91 ng Se g-1, respectively. No significant difference was found between the selenium content of whole blood, hair and finger nails, but, for morning urine, there was a significant difference between males and females. The young and the elderly have less selenium in these biological materials than other Greeks. Whole blood selenium correlates significantly with morning urine, hair, and finger nail selenium, as does hair and nail selenium of male, female and male + female Greeks. The results are compared with those in the literature and possible explanations for the observations are presented. It is concluded that the selenium status of Greeks is satisfactory.

A biomechanical analysis of four humeral fracture fixation systems.

A biomechanical study was initiated to compare four fracture fixation devices: the AO dynamic compression plate, a distal fin locking nail, a solid locked intramedullary nail, and paired flexible nails for humeral fracture fixation. Eighteen pairs of fresh-frozen, intact humeri were harvested, standardized midshaft transverse osteotomies were created in each specimen, and left and right specimens were fixed with plates and nails, respectively. The bending properties of the plate-fixed humeri were significantly greater than the nailed humeri in both the anteroposterior and mediolateral planes on a paired basis. The distal fin nail and solid locked nail had comparable bending properties, and both had bending properties superior to those measured for the paired flexible nails. The torsional properties of humeri fixed with plates and solid locked nails were equivalent, except for rigidity and stiffness, which were superior for the nail. Both fixation methods resulted in torsional properties significantly greater to those measured for humeri fixed with paired flexible nails or a distal fin nail.

Case management: a week in the life of a clinical case management team.

This paper describes the work of a clinical case management core team (four nurses and an occupational therapist) during the course of a week. Information was gathered through non-participant observation of the team by two independent researchers. Transcripts produced from the data recorded were examined. From this, seven categories of activity were identified: planned client contact; unplanned client contact; family/carer contact; liaison; administration; team information sharing and supervision, training and personal development. These categories were felt to encompass the range of activities practised by the team. The amount of time that case managers spent engaged in these core functions was calculated. Detailed examples are presented. Results are discussed with reference to Kanter's components and principles of clinical case management.

SGCZ mutations are unlikely to be associated with myoclonus dystonia.

BACKGROUND: Myoclonus dystonia syndrome (MDS) is a hyperkinetic movement disorder caused, in a proportion of cases, by mutations of the maternally imprinted epsilon-sarcoglycan gene (SGCE). SGCE mutation rates vary between cohorts, suggesting genetic heterogeneity. E- and ζ-sarcoglycan are both expressed in brain tissue. In this study we tested whether zeta-sarcoglycan gene (SGCZ) mutations also contribute to this disorder. METHODS: Patients with clinically suspected MDS and no SGCE mutation were recruited and classified, according to previously published criteria, as to their likelihood of the movement disorder. All SGCZ exons and intron/exon boundaries were screened by direct sequencing. RESULTS: Fifty-four SGCE mutation-negative patients were recruited from the UK and the Netherlands. Subdivided according to the likelihood of the movement disorder resulted in 17 'definite', 16 'probable' and 21 'possible' cases. No pathogenic SGCZ mutations were identified. CONCLUSIONS: SGCZ mutations are unlikely to contribute to the genetic heterogeneity in MDS.

Phase II study of oral docetaxel and cyclosporine in canine epithelial cancer.

The goal of the current study was to determine the efficacy of oral docetaxel in combination with cyclosporine in the treatment of canine epithelial cancer. Requirements for eligibility were histological confirmation of epithelial neoplasia, measurable disease, no chemotherapy treatment within 2 weeks, and a life expectancy of ≥ 3 months. Fifty-one dogs were enrolled. All dogs received 1.625 mg kg(-1) of docetaxel with 5 mg kg(-1) of cyclosporine (DT/CSA) by gavage. Ten dogs had progressive disease at 2 weeks, one dog died, and one dog was withdrawn from the study. Thirty-nine dogs were given a second dose of DT/CSA, three each receiving a third or fourth dose. Eight dogs had a dose reduction (1.5 mg kg(-1)) and six dogs had treatment delays primarily for gastrointestinal toxicity. The overall response rate was 16.7% (8/48 had a partial response there were no complete responses). The highest response rate was seen in dogs with oral squamous cell carcinoma (50%; 6/12).

Effects of estradiol benzoate and trenbolone acetate, alone or in combination at dose levels present in Synovex Choice, on performance by feedlot heifers.

Trials were conducted with beef heifers at 4 sites to evaluate feedlot performance and carcass characteristics in response to implants containing 14 mg estradiol benzoate and 100 mg trenbolone acetate (EB/TBA; Synovex Choice, Zoetis LLC, New York, NY), 14 mg estradiol benzoate (EB), 100 mg trenbolone acetate (TBA), or a sham-implanted control (SC). The study design at each site was a randomized complete block with 12 blocks and 4 treatments. Blocks of cattle at each site were harvested in commercial abattoirs when masked personnel estimated at least 60% of animals would yield carcasses with USDA quality grades of Choice or Prime. Data were pooled across sites for statistical analysis. Initial BW averaged 374 kg, and days on feed ranged from 98 to 126 d (mean 112 d). Heifers implanted with EB/TBA, EB, and TBA had greater ADG and G:F (P < 0.05) than SC; ADG and G:F were greater for EB/TBA than EB or TBA (P < 0.05). Heifers treated with TBA had greater G:F than EB (P < 0.05). Feed intake was not affected by treatments. Mean HCW and LM area for EB/TBA were greater than for other treatments (P < 0.05). Mean HCW for TBA was greater than SC (P < 0.05) but not different from EB. Mean LM area for EB and TBA were greater than SC (P < 0.05) but not different from each other. There were no treatment differences (P > 0.05) for KPH, 12th-rib fat thickness, or yield grade. Dressing percent was greater for EB/TBA than SC (P < 0.05) but not different from EB or TBA. Marbling score was decreased by EB/TBA (P < 0.05) compared with other treatments, but no other differences were noted. Despite the effect of EB/TBA on marbling scores, there were no significant (P > 0.05) treatment differences on proportions of carcasses with quality grades ≥ Choice vs. < Choice. With respect to ADG and G:F, implants containing EB, TBA, or EB/TBA produced improved responses over SC. Furthermore, EB/TBA induced greater ADG and G:F responses than EB and TBA. Results confirmed that EB and TBA have additive effects, as evidenced by the observation that calves implanted with EB/TBA had significantly greater ADG and G:F than heifers implanted with either EB or TBA alone or compared with SC heifers.

Synovex Plus implants coated with a polymeric, porous film improve performance of beef steers and heifers fed in confinement for up to 200 days.

Synovex Plus (SP) is a product that delivers 28 mg of estradiol benzoate (EB) and 200 mg of trenbolone acetate (TBA). We studied the impact of a polymeric, porous coating on SP implants (CSP) to prolong release of EB and TBA, and stimulate feedlot performance of feedlot cattle for an extended period. In an explant study, 30 steers were implanted with SP in one ear and CSP in the contralateral ear. Cattle (n = 6/d) were necropsied 40, 81, 120, 160, and 200 d after treatment, and remaining EB and TBA were quantified. Linear regression of EB and TBA remaining as a function of time for each treatment were computed. Rates of EB and TBA depletion from SP were -0.1980 (r(2) = 0.9994) and -1.7073 mg/d (r(2) = 0.9644), respectively, and for CSP rates of EB and TBA depletion were -0.1049 (r(2) = 0.9123) and -0.9466 mg/d (r(2) = 0.9297), respectively. The effect of treatment on depletion rates of each analyte were significant (P < 0.05). Data also showed EB and TBA were delivered from CSP at least 200 d but were delivered from SP about 120 d. Multisite trials with beef-type steers (4 sites) and heifers (4 sites) evaluated feedlot performance and carcass characteristics in response to a CSP implant or when sham implanted (SC). A randomized complete block design with 9 blocks and 2 treatments was used per site within animal gender. Across sites, steers (n = 342, BW = 297 kg) were fed finishing rations for 190 to 202 d (mean 198 d) and heifers (n = 342, BW = 289 kg) were fed finishing rations for 191 to 201 d (mean 198 d). Cattle were harvested and carcasses evaluated. Data were pooled across sites within gender for statistical analysis. Steers and heifers treated with CSP yielded greater (P ≤ 0.003) ADG, DMI, and G:F than SC steers and heifers. Mean BW differences between CSP and SC continued to increase throughout the study, indicating CSP stimulated growth of steers and heifers for 198 d. Mean carcass weights of CSP steers (P = 0.005) and heifers (P = 0.004) were greater than those of SP steers and heifers by 26.2 and 20.6 kg, respectively. The LM area was larger (P < 0.001) in CSP steers and heifers than SC cattle. Marbling decreased with CSP treatment (P ≤ 0.031), which caused reductions (P ≤ 0.006) in proportions of carcasses grading Prime or Choice. Evidence from these studies showed that a single administration of CSP increased feedlot cattle performance for at least 198 d, compared with SC, and may reduce the need to reimplant cattle.

Comparison between L-CHOP and an L-CHOP protocol with interposed treatments of CCNU and MOPP (L-CHOP-CCNU-MOPP) for lymphoma in dogs.

An L-CHOP protocol with interposed treatments of CCNU and MOPP (L-CHOP-CCNU-MOPP) was evaluated in 66 dogs with stages III-V lymphoma. Results were compared with a historical group of 71 dogs treated with an L-CHOP protocol. Complete remission (CR) rates (85 and 80%, respectively) did not differ significantly between protocols (P = 0.48). First CR duration for dogs treated with L-CHOP-CCNU-MOPP was significantly longer: median, 317 days; 2-year CR rate, 35% versus median, 298 days; 2-year CR rate, 13%, P = 0.05). For the L-CHOP-CCNU-MOPP protocol, dogs in substage-b had a 4.3 times greater hazard of having a relapse than dogs in substage-a (P = 0.002). Frequency of adverse chemotherapy-associated gastrointestinal effects did not differ between protocols (P = 0.77). Neutropenia (primarily after CCNU) occurred more frequently in dogs treated with L-CHOP-CCNU-MOPP (P < 0.001). In summary, the L-CHOP-CCNU-MOPP protocol showed an improved duration of first CR as compared with an L-CHOP protocol, but the relevance of this finding might be subject to clinical judgement.