Ozonated water is inferior to propanol-based hand rubs for disinfecting hands.

Ozone is a strong oxidizing biocide that has broad-spectrum antimicrobial properties. The aim of the study was to compare the efficacy of ozone to a propanol-based hand rub for hand disinfection. Twenty subjects were enrolled in an in-vivo cross-over trial (prEN 12791). Subjects treated their hands with the reference procedure (propan-1-ol 60%) or with ozone (4 ppm). Post-wash bacterial counts were determined from one hand (immediate effect), and from the other hand that had been gloved for 3h (delayed effect). The investigation indicated that ozone is inferior to propan-1-ol 60% hand rub for hand asepsis.

Sand impaction of the small intestine in eight dogs.

OBJECTIVE: To describe signalment, clinical findings, imaging and treatment of intestinal sand impaction in the dog. METHODS: Medical records of dogs with radiographic evidence of small intestinal sand impaction were reviewed. RESULTS: Sand impaction resulting in small intestinal obstruction was diagnosed in eight dogs. All dogs presented with signs of vomiting. Other clinical signs included anorexia, lethargy and abdominal pain. Radiographs confirmed the presence of radio-opaque material consistent with sand causing distension of the terminal small intestine in all dogs. Four dogs were treated surgically for their impaction and four dogs were managed medically. Seven of the eight dogs survived. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Both medical and surgical management of intestinal sand impaction in the dog can be effective and both afford a good prognosis for recovery.

A secure Aberdeen knot: in vitro assessment of knot security in plasma and fat.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the minimum number of throws/turns to form a secure Aberdeen knot and the maximum ear slippage for these knots using three metric polydioxanone coated in fat or plasma. To compare plasma and novel canine liquefied fat as suture coating mediums for in vitro knot security testing. METHODS: Throws/turns were incrementally added until a secure knot was found for plasma and fat. Knots were tensioned until failure and remaining ear length measured. A secure knot was defined as ear slippage 3 mm or less in 20 consecutively tested knots. Ear slippages were statistically analysed. RESULTS: Minimum secure configuration was a 3+1 knot in plasma and fat, and its ear slipped a maximum of 2 mm in plasma and 2.5 mm in fat. A secure 4+1 knot had a maximum ear slippage of 0.5 mm, which was significantly less than that of the 3+1 knot (P<0.0001). Fat coating suture significantly decreases in vitro knot security compared with plasma (P=0.0035). CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The novel fat coating medium should be considered when testing in vitro knot security as it simulates a clinical knot tying environment. A 4+1 Aberdeen knot with a 3 mm ear is recommended to tie a secure Aberdeen knot in any body fluid environment.

Rapid and sensitive analysis of azadirachtin and related triterpenoids from Neem (Azadirachta indica) by high-performance liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry.

Based on reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) mass spectrometry, a HPLC-MS method was developed to permit the rapid qualitative and quantitative analysis of azadirachtin and related tetranortriterpenoids from seeds and tissue cultures of Neem (Azadirachta indica). APCI+ standard scanning mass spectra of the major Neem triterpenoids were recorded and utilized to select suitable ions for selected ion monitoring (SIM). Transitions for selective reaction monitoring (SRM) were based on MS-MS experiments. Using SIM, major Neem triterpenoids were detected in callus culture material and seed kernels of A. indica. The limit of detection for azadirachtin in extract samples (approximately 1 ng ml(-1) or 10 pg in SIM mode) was determined to be (with respect to injected absolute amounts) approximately 1000-times lower than values quoted in the literature for existing HPLC methods (approximately 200 ng ml(-1) or 10 ng). In addition to high sensitivity, the HPLC-MS method is able to tolerate minimal sample preparation and purification, dramatically reducing total analysis time.

Polyunsaturated monoglycerides and a pregnadiene in defensive glands of the water beetle Agabus affinis.

In addition to the C21 steroid 15alpha-hydroxypregna-4,6-dien-3,20-dione, four 1- or 2-acylated polyunsaturated monoglycerides, 1- or 2-(cis-5,8,11,14-eicosatetraenoyl)-glycerol and 1- or 2-(cis-5,8,11,14,17-eicosapentaenoyl)glycerol were identified as constituents of the prothoracic defensive gland secretion of the dytiscid beetle Agabus affinis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry of trimethylsilylated gland extracts. In a feeding assay with minnows, synthetic samples of the two 2-acylated monoglycerides showed only a weak activity as a feeding deterrent. For that reason, other possible functions of the monoglycerides are discussed, such as roles as emulsifiers of cannabimimetics.

Transformation of steroids by Bacillus strains isolated from the foregut of water beetles (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae): II. Metabolism of 3 beta-hydroxypregn-5-en-20-one (pregnenolone).

The in vitro metabolism of pregnenolone by two Bacillus strains (HA-V6-3 and HA-V6-11) isolated from the foregut of the water beetle Agabus affinis (Payk.) was examined in the course of our studies about a possible participation of gut micro-organisms in the biosynthesis of prothoracic defensive steroids of dytiscids. The transformation products were identified by EI GC--MS of culture extracts after derivatization. The dominating reactions were hydroxylations, with 7 alpha-hydroxypregnenolone as the major product. With considerably lower yields, 7 beta- and 15xi-hydroxypregenolone were formed by both strains, while 11, 17 and 16 alpha-hydroxypregnenolone were produced only by HA-V6-3. The occurrence of 7, 11 alpha- and 7 beta, 11 alpha-dihydroxypregnenolone as well as several minor products containing a 17 alpha-OH group proved the capability of HA-V6-11 to hydroxylate pregenenolone at C(11) and C(17) as well. The monohydroxylated 7-OH-pregnenolones were partly oxidized to 7-oxopregnenolone by both strains. In trace amounts, HA-V6-3 performed 3 beta-acetylation of pregnenolone.

3-hydroxy-3-phenylpropanoic acid is an intermediate in the biosynthesis of benzoic acid and salicylic acid but benzaldehyde is not.

Stable-isotope-labelled (2H6, 18O) 3-hydroxy-3-phenylpropanoic acid, a putative intermediate in the biosynthesis of benzoic acid (BA) and salicylic acid (SA) from cinnamic acid, has been synthesized and administered to cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) and Nicotiana attenuata (Torrey). Analysis of the products by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry revealed incorporation of labelling into BA and SA, but not into benzaldehyde. In a separate experiment, 3-hydroxy-3-phenylpropanoic acid was found to be a metabolite of phenylalanine, itself the primary metabolic precursor of BA and SA. These data suggest that cinnamic acid chain shortening is probably achieved by beta-oxidation, and that the proposed "non-oxidative" pathway of side-chain degradation does not function in the biosynthesis of BA and SA, in cucumber and N. attenuata.

Transformation of steroids by Bacillus strains isolated from the foregut of water beetles (Coleoptera:Dytiscidae): I. Metabolism of androst-4-en-3,17-dione (AD).

Two Bacillus strains were isolated from the foregut of the water beetle Agabus affinis (Payk.) and tested for their steroid transforming ability. After incubation with androst-4-en-3,17-dione (AD), 13 different transformation products were detected. AD was hydroxylated at C6, C7, C11 and C14, resulting in formation of 6beta-, 7alpha-, 11alpha- and 14alpha-hydroxy-AD. One strain also produced small amounts of 6beta,14alpha-dihydroxy-AD. Partly, the 6beta-hydroxy group was further oxidized to the corresponding 6-oxo steroids. In addition, a specific reduction of the delta4-double bond was observed, leading to the formation of 5alpha-androstane derivatives. In minor yields the carbonyl functions at C3 and C17 were reduced leading to the formation of 3zeta-OH or 17beta-OH steroids. EI mass spectra of the trimethylsilyl and O-methyloxime trimethylsilyl ether derivatives of some transformation products are presented for the first time.