ABSTRACT
Objective: Fluoroquinolones are broad spectrum antimicrobials, used to treat a wide myriad of gastrointestinal, genitourinary and respiratory infections in both humans and animals. They are also used prophylactically in livestock including poultry and fish. this occurrence, coupled with the abuse of the drug due to extra-label and improper use, have led to concerns about both antimicrobial resistance to these drugs and the presence of their residues in veterinary products such as meat. Tremendous human health issues inclusive of antimicrobial resistance, anaphylactic reactions, carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, teratogenicity and the disruption of normal flora can occur due to the use and abuse of these antimicrobials. We hypothesized that fluoroquinolones residues are present in the meat of broiler chickens in Trinidad. Hence, our objectives were to detect the presence and concentrations of fluoroquinolone residues in broiler chickens sold at supermarkets and pluck shops in Trinidad. Design and Methodology: A total of 168 carcasses were sampled from supermarkets and pluck shops across Trinidad and Tobago, during July to August of 2018. The breast muscles were removed and subjected to first the extraction process then to the Ridascreen® Chinolone/Quinolones Enzyme Linked- Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) to determine the presence and concentrations of fluoroquinolones in these samples. Results: Fluoroquinolone residues were detected at a frequency 14.3% (24/168), with concentrations ranging from 5.53-161.41µg/kg and 2.4% (4/168) of carcasses contained fluoroquinolones at levels higher than (100 µg/kg) that stipulated by the Codex Alimentarius. Conclusion: Fluoroquinolones are present in broiler chickens sold in Trinidad. Its presence, at times higher than the recommended levels, has serious public health implications.
Subject(s)
Animals , Fluoroquinolones , Trinidad and Tobago , ChickensABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Pneumonia is observed in horses after long-distance transportation in association with confinement of head position leading to reduction in tracheal mucociliary clearance rate (TMCR). HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: Clenbuterol, a beta-2 agonist shown to increase TMCR in the horse, will ameliorate the effects of a fixed elevated head position on large airway contamination and inflammation in a model of long-distance transportation model. ANIMALS: Six adult horses. METHODS: A cross-over designed prospective study. Horses were maintained with a fixed elevated head position for 48 hours to simulate long-distance transport, and treated with clenbuterol (0.8 µg/kg PO q12h) or a placebo starting 12 hours before simulated transportation. TMCR was measured using a charcoal clearance technique. Data were collected at baseline and 48 hours, and included TMCR, tracheal wash cytology and quantitative culture, rectal temperature, CBC, fibrinogen, and serum TNFα, IL-10, and IL-2 levels. There was a 18-21 day washout between study arms, and data were analyzed using regression analysis and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. RESULTS: Tracheal mucociliary clearance rate was significantly decreased after transportation in both treatment (P = .002) and placebo (P = .03) groups. There was a significant effect of treatment on TMCR, with the treatment group showing half the reduction in TMCR compared with the placebo group (P = .002). Other significant differences between before- and after-transportation samples occurred for serum fibrinogen, peripheral eosinophil count, quantitative culture, tracheal bacteria, and degenerate neutrophils, though no treatment effect was found. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Treatment with clenbuterol modestly attenuates the deleterious effects of this long-distance transportation model on tracheal mucociliary clearance.
Subject(s)
Adrenergic beta-Agonists/pharmacology , Clenbuterol/pharmacology , Horse Diseases/physiopathology , Mucociliary Clearance/physiology , Trachea/physiopathology , Adrenergic beta-Agonists/therapeutic use , Animals , Blood Cell Count/veterinary , Clenbuterol/therapeutic use , Cross-Over Studies , Cytokines/blood , Fibrinogen/analysis , Horses , Prospective Studies , Regression Analysis , TransportationABSTRACT
Implantology has been an important component of dental management for over forty years, and during that period, many configurations of implant materials and methods have been developed. As empirical and clinical research yield new implant materials, there has been need to test and compare these materials to provide the most cost-effective and efficient implants. Evaluation of efficiency of implants has relied heavily on histological and radiological methods, but these one-dimensional measurement methods fail to evaluate the osteoblastic activity and osseointegration properties of putative implants. In this report, we describe the use of a quantitative single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) as a tool for comparing the osseointegrating capabilities of two types of implants.
La implantología ha sido un componente importante del tratamiento odontológico durante más de cuarenta años, y durante ese período, se han desarrollado muchas configuraciones de materiales y métodos de implante. A medida que la investigación empírica y clínica proporciona nuevos materiales de implante, ha surgido la necesidad de probar y comparar estos materiales para lograr que los implantes sean lo más costo-efectivos y eficientes posible. La evaluación de la eficiencia de los implantes ha dependido considerablemente de los métodos histológicos y radiológicos, pero estos métodos de medición unidimensional no son útiles a la hora de evaluar la actividad osteoblástica y las propiedades osteointegradoras de los implantes putativos. En este reporte, describimos el uso de la tomografía computarizada por emisión de fotones individuales (SPECT) como herramienta para comparar las capacidades osteointegradoras de dos tipos de implantes.
Subject(s)
Animals , Female , Osteoblasts , Dental Implants , Osseointegration/physiology , Dental Implantation, Endosseous , Mandible/diagnostic imaging , Swine , Bone Regeneration/physiology , Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon , Models, AnimalABSTRACT
Implantology has been an important component of dental management for over forty years, and during that period, many configurations of implant materials and methods have been developed. As empirical and clinical research yield new implant materials, there has been need to test and compare these materials to provide the most cost-effective and efficient implants. Evaluation of efficiency of implants has relied heavily on histological and radiological methods, but these one-dimensional measurement methods fail to evaluate the osteoblastic activity and osseointegration properties of putative implants. In this report, we describe the use of a quantitative single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) as a tool for comparing the osseointegrating capabilities of two types of implants.
Subject(s)
Dental Implantation, Endosseous , Dental Implants , Mandible/diagnostic imaging , Osseointegration/physiology , Osteoblasts/diagnostic imaging , Animals , Bone Regeneration/physiology , Female , Swine , Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-PhotonABSTRACT
Listeriosis is a severe infection caused by Listeria monocytogenes. Since 2004, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has requested that listeriosis patients be interviewed using a standardized Listeria Initiative (LI) questionnaire. In January 2009, states and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began investigating a multistate outbreak of listeriosis among pregnant, Hispanic women. We defined a case as an illness occurring between October 2008 and March 2009 with an L. monocytogenes isolate indistinguishable from the outbreak strain by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. We conducted a multistate case-control study using controls that were selected from L. monocytogenes illnesses in non-outbreak-related pregnant, Hispanic women that were reported to the LI during 2004 to 2008. Eight cases in five states were identified. Seven of these were pregnant, Hispanic females aged 21 to 43 years, and one was a 3-year-old Hispanic girl, who was excluded from the study. Seven (100%) cases but only 26 (60%) of 43 controls had consumed Mexican-style cheese in the month before illness (odds ratio, 5.89; 95% confidence interval, 1.07 to ∞; P = 0.04). Cultures of asadero cheese made from pasteurized milk collected at a manufacturing facility during routine sampling by the Michigan Department of Agriculture on 23 February 2009 yielded the outbreak strain, leading to a recall of cheeses produced in the plant. Recalled product was traced to stores where at least three of the women had purchased cheese. This investigation highlights the usefulness of routine product sampling for identifying contaminated foods, of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis to detect multistate outbreaks, and of the LI for providing timely exposure information for case-control analyses. Recalls of contaminated cheeses likely prevented additional illnesses.
Subject(s)
Cheese/microbiology , Food Contamination/analysis , Foodborne Diseases/epidemiology , Listeria monocytogenes/isolation & purification , Listeriosis/epidemiology , Pregnancy Complications, Infectious/epidemiology , Adult , Case-Control Studies , Disease Outbreaks , Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field , Female , Foodborne Diseases/prevention & control , Hispanic or Latino , Humans , Listeriosis/prevention & control , Pregnancy , Pregnancy Complications, Infectious/prevention & control , Product Recalls and Withdrawals , Young AdultABSTRACT
The study was designed to exploit the single photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) to compare osteoblastic activity of two implant systems: an Endopore implant (Beaded implants) placed immediately into an extraction socket in conjunction with peri-implant autogenous grafting supplemented with a guided tissue regeneration (GTR) technique, and an Endopore implant placed immediately into the extraction socket without peri-implant grafting and GTR. Endopore implants of the same size (12 mm x 4.1 mm INT-Hex) were placed in fresh extraction sockets in the canine-tooth region of the pigs jaw. The implant on the right side had peri-implant bone grafting utilizing autogenous bone together with cytoplast resorbable GTR membrane, whilst the implant on the left side received no peri-implant bone grafting. Osteoblastic activity was evaluated 81 days (11 weeks and 4 days) post implantation using the SPECT imaging technique. The SPECT imaging revealed more osteoblastic activity on the side with peri-implant bone grafting as compared with the site without peri-implant bone grafting. The result suggests that peri-implant bone grafting with GTR around the immediate implant showed more osteoblastic activity and thus enhanced osseointegration when compared with the implant without bone grafting and GTR. Bone grafting and GTR should be encouraged as a standard procedure with dental implants.
Subject(s)
Bone Transplantation , Dental Implantation, Endosseous , Guided Tissue Regeneration, Periodontal , Osteoblasts/physiology , Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon , Animals , Female , Models, Animal , Prosthesis Design , SwineABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Global cancer incidence is rising rapidly particularly in the developing world where a majority of people present with advanced disease. In the English-speaking Caribbean, there is very little published data on the needs of cancer patients, their caregivers or those of allied health professionals. The research team sought to redress this balance by undertaking a needs assessment survey in the South Eastern Health Region of Jamaica to identify unmet needs and to make recommendations for improved service delivery. METHODS: A mixed methods, cross-sectional study design was used involving formal and semi-formal interviews and focus group discussions. RESULTS: The study results indicated that there were significant barriers to accessing healthcare. These included prohibitive costs of diagnosis and treatment, a mistrust of and poor communication with doctors, compounded by people's fears, belief in folk wisdom and lack of knowledge about cancer. Recommendations offered by the study participants focussed on a community-based model of support to address the multiple needs of people facing life-limiting illness and their caregivers. Healthcare practitioners recommended the development of specific policies, targeting, in particular improved drug availability and palliative care education in order to guide development of appropriate services for the large numbers of cancer patients in need. CONCLUSION: A multiplicity of unmet needs was identified by cancer patients, their caregivers and allied health professionals. Recommendations by study participants and the authors echoed the guidelines as set out by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its 1990 Public Health Model for the integration of palliative care into existing healthcare systems.
Subject(s)
Health Services Needs and Demand , Neoplasms/diagnosis , Neoplasms/therapy , Adolescent , Adult , Communication , Cross-Sectional Studies , Demography , Female , Focus Groups , Humans , Incidence , Interviews as Topic , Jamaica/epidemiology , Male , Middle Aged , Palliative Care , Physician-Patient Relations , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Global cancer incidence is rising rapidly, particularly in the developing world where a majority of people present with advanced disease. In the English-speaking Caribbean, there is very little published data on the needs of cancer patients, their caregivers or those of allied health professionals. The research team sought to redress this balance by undertaking a needs assessment survey in the South Eastern Health Region of Jamaica to identify unmet needs and to make recommendations for improved service delivery. METHODS: A mixed methods, cross-sectional study design was used involving formal and semi-formal interviews and focus group discussions. RESULTS: The study results indicated that there were significant barriers to accessing healthcare. These included prohibitive costs of diagnosis and treatment, a mistrust of, and poor communication with doctors, compounded by people's fears, belief in folk wisdom and lack of knowledge about cancer. Recommendations offered by the study participants focussed on a community-based model of support to address the multiple needs of people facing life-limiting illness and their caregivers. Healthcare practitioners recommended the development of specific policies, targeting, in particular, improved drug availability and palliative care education in order to guide development of appropriate services for the large numbers of cancer patients in need. CONCLUSION: A multiplicity of unmet needs was identified by cancer patients, their caregivers and allied health professionals. Recommendations by study participants and the authors echoed the guidelines as set out by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its 1990 Public Health Model for the integration of palliative care into existing healthcare systems.
OBJETIVO: La incidencia de cáncer global está aumentado rápidamente, particularmente en el mundo en vías de desarrollo, dónde un gran número de personas se presentan con la enfermedad en estado avanzado. En el Caribe angloparlante, se ha publicado muy poca información sobre las necesidades de los pacientes de cáncer, sus cuidadores o los profesionales de salud asociados. El equipo de investigación buscó restablecer el equilibrio emprendiendo un estudio de evaluación de las necesidades en la Región de Salud Suroriental de Jamaica, para identificar las necesidades no satisfechas y hacer recomendaciones encaminadas a mejorar la prestación de servicios. MÉTODOS: Se empleo un diseño de estudio transversal con métodos mixtos, contentivo de entrevistas formales y semi-formales así como discusiones de grupos focales. RESULTADOS: Los resultados del estudio indicaron que había barreras considerables para el acceso a la atención a la salud. Estas comprendían costos prohibitivos para el diagnóstico y el tratamiento, desconfianza y pobre comunicación con los doctores, agravada por los miedos de la gente, la creencia en la sabiduría popular, y la falta de conocimientos sobre el cáncer. Las recomendaciones ofrecidas por los participantes en el estudio se centran en un modelo basado en la comunidad. Este modelo permite abordar las múltiples necesidades de las personas que enfrentan enfermedades limitantes de la vida, así como las necesidades de sus cuidadores. Los practicantes de cuidados de la salud recomendaron el desarrollo de políticas específicas, encaminadas especialmente a mejorar la disponibilidad de medicamentos y educación de cuidados paliativos para guiar el desarrollo de servicios apropiados para el gran número de pacientes necesitados, enfermos de cáncer. CONCLUSIÓN: Se identificaron una multiplicidad de necesidades no satisfechas, por parte de los pacientes de cáncer, sus cuidadores y profesionales de salud asociados. Las recomendaciones hechas por los participantes en el estudio y los autores, siguieron al pie de la letra los lineamientos trazados por la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) en su Modelo de Salud Pública de 1990 para la integración del cuidado paliativo en los sistemas de cuidado de salud existentes.
Subject(s)
Adolescent , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Health Services Needs and Demand , Neoplasms/diagnosis , Neoplasms/therapy , Communication , Cross-Sectional Studies , Demography , Focus Groups , Incidence , Interviews as Topic , Jamaica/epidemiology , Palliative Care , Physician-Patient Relations , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
Dietary calcium is critical for the development of the human skeleton and likely plays an important role in the prevention of osteoporosis. Dairy products provide approximately three-fourths of calcium consumed in the diet and are the most concentrated sources of this essential nutrient. One obstacle that likely interferes with calcium consumption among many ethnic groups is lactose maldigestion. The real or perceived occurrence of intolerance symptoms after dairy food consumption may cause maldigesters to avoid dairy products. Several investigators have observed a relationship between lactose maldigestion, dietary calcium and osteoporosis in Caucasian populations. Research on ethnically diverse populations is necessary to better understand how lactose maldigestion influences the risk for osteoporosis. Low calcium intakes, a greater than previously thought potential for low bone density and extensive lactose maldigestion among Hispanic-American and Asian-American populations may create an elevated risk for osteoporosis. Dietary management strategies for lactose maldigesters to increase calcium consumption include consuming (1) dairy foods with meals, (2) yogurts, (3) calcium-fortified foods, (4) using lactose digestive aids and (5) including dairy foods daily in the diet to enhance colonic metabolism of lactose.
Subject(s)
Calcium, Dietary/pharmacokinetics , Dairy Products/adverse effects , Lactose Intolerance/complications , Osteoporosis/etiology , Black or African American , Asian , Biological Availability , Black People , Calcium, Dietary/administration & dosage , Calcium, Dietary/metabolism , Hispanic or Latino , Humans , Intestinal Absorption , Lactose Intolerance/ethnology , Minority Groups , Osteoporosis/ethnology , Osteoporosis/prevention & control , South America/ethnologyABSTRACT
Gestodene (17 alpha-ethynyl-13 beta-ethyl-17 beta-hydroxy-4, 15-gonadien-3-one) is the most potent synthetic progestin currently available and it is widely used as a fertility regulating agent in a number of contraceptive formulations because of its high effectiveness, safety and acceptability. The observation that contraceptive synthetic progestins exert hormone-like effects other than their progestational activities, prompted us to investigate whether gestodene (GSD) administration may induce oestrogenic effects, even though the GSD molecule does not interact with intracellular oestrogen receptors (ER). To assess whether GSD may exert oestrogenic effects through some of its neutral metabolites, a series of experimental studies were undertaken using GSD and three of its A-ring reduced metabolites. Receptor binding studies by displacement analysis confirmed that indeed GSD does not bind to the ER, whereas its 3 beta,5 alpha-tetrahydro reduced derivative (3 beta GSD) interacts with a relative high affinity with the ER. The 3 alpha,5 alpha GSD isomer (3 alpha GSD) also binds to the ER, though to a lesser extent. The ability of the A-ring reduced GSD derivatives to induce oestrogenic actions was evaluated by the use of two different molecular bioassays: (a) transactivation of a yeast system co-transfected with the human ER alpha (hER alpha) gene and oestrogen responsive elements fused to the beta-galactosidase reporter vector and (b) transactivation of the hER alpha-mediated transcription of the chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT) reporter gene in a HeLa cells expression system. The oestrogenic potency of 3 beta GSD was also assessed by its capability to induce oestrogen-dependent progestin receptors (PR) in the anterior pituitary of castrated female rats. The results demonstrated that 3 beta GSD and 3 alpha GSD were able to activate, in a dose-dependent manner, the hER alpha-mediated transcription of both the beta-galactosidase and the CAT reporter genes in the yeast and HeLa cells expression systems respectively. In both assays the 3 beta derivative of GSD exhibited a significantly greater oestrogenic effect than its 3 alpha isomer, while unchanged GSD and 5 alpha GSD were completely ineffective. Neither 3 beta GSD nor 3 alpha GSD exhibited oestrogen synergistic actions. Interestingly, the pure steroidal anti-oestrogen ICI-182,780 diminished the transactivation induced by 3 beta GSD and 3 alpha GSD in the yeast expression system. Furthermore, administration of 3 beta GSD resulted in a significant increase of oestrogen-dependent PR in the anterior pituitaries of castrated rats in comparison with vehicle-treated animals. The characteristics of the 3 beta GSD-induced PR were identical to those induced by oestradio benzoate. The overall results demonstrate that 3 beta GSD and its 3 alpha isomeric alcohol specifically bind to the ER and possess a weak intrinsic oestrogenic activity, whereas unmodified GSD does not. The data contribute to a better understanding of the GSD mechanism of action and allow the hypothesis to be advanced that the slight oestrogenlike effects attributable to GSD are mediated by its non-phenolic, tetrahydro reduced metabolites.