Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to K Wiggins.
We present a case of group A streptococcal pyomyositis of the thoraco-abdominal wall of an immunocompetent adult. This diagnosis was made when soft tissue swelling was seen on chest X-ray. Complete recovery followed drainage of the collection and short-course i.v. penicillin. The importance, diagnosis and treatment of pyomyositis are outlined.
Pregnancy in the face of kidney disease poses a new dimension to medical nutrition therapy. Individualization for specific nutrient needs is paramount, whether the patient has renal insufficiency, requires hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis, or has a renal transplant. Practice guidelines for pregnancy and kidney disease were first developed in 1986 and revised in 1992. These guidelines provided the foundation for present nutritional management of pregnant women with kidney disease. Based on the most current research and clinical case reviews, the following is a revision of these guidelines, incorporating medical nutrition therapy protocols and outcome parameters to improve assessing, tracking, and monitoring patient care in this unique population.
A study was conducted in 4 Canadian processing plants in 1995-96 to determine the prevalence of quality defects in Canadian cattle. One percent of the annual number of cattle processed in Canada were evaluated on the processing floor and 0.1% were graded in the cooler. Brands were observed on 37% and multiple brands on 6% of the cattle. Forty percent of the cattle had horns, 20% of which were scurs, 33% were stubs, 10% were tipped, and 37% were full length. Tag (mud and manure on the hide) was observed on 34% of the cattle. Bruises were found on 78% of the carcasses, 81% of which were minor in severity. Fifteen percent of the bruises were located on the round, 29% on the loin, 40% on the rib, 16% on the chuck, and 0.02% on the brisket. Grubs were observed in 0.02% of the steers, and injection sites were observed in 1.3% of whole hanging carcasses. Seventy percent of the livers were passed for human food and 14% for pet food; 16% were condemned. Approximately 71% of the liver condemnations were due to liver abscesses. Four percent of the heads, 6% of the tongues, and 0.2% of whole carcasses were condemned. The pregnancy rate in female cattle was approximately 6.7%. The average hot carcass weight was 357 kg (s = 40) in steers, 325 kg (s = 41) in heifers, 305 kg (s = 53) in cows, 388 kg (s = 62) in virgin bulls and 340 kg (s = 39) in mature bulls. The average ribeye area in all cattle was 84 cm2 (s = 12); range 29 cm2 to 128 cm2. Grade fat was highly variable and averaged 9 mm (s = 4) for steers and heifers, 6 mm (s = 6) for cows, 5 mm (s = 1) for virgin bulls, and 4 mm (s = 0.5) for mature bulls. The average lean meat yield was 59.7% in cattle (s = 3.4); range 39% to 67%. One percent of the carcasses were devoid of marbling, 1% were dark cutters, and 0.05% of the steer carcasses were staggy. Six percent of the carcasses had poor conformation, 3.7% were underfinished, and 0.7% were overfinished. Yellow fat was observed in 4% of the carcasses; 10% of carcasses were aged. Based on January 1996 prices, the economic analysis showed that the Canadian beef industry lost $70.52 per head or $189.6 million annually from quality nonconformities. Methods identified to reduce these nonconformities included improvements in management, animal identification, handling, genetic selection, marketing, grading, and information transfer.
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A new target fibre study was undertaken building upon eight previous published studies, which are reviewed here. Fifty-eight items of outer clothing, obtained from households across England, were taped and searched for three types of commonly occurring fibres and one less common fibre type. The tapes were examined using a combination of automatic and manual searching. Any fibres similar to the target fibres were removed and examined using microspectrophotometry, comparison microscopy, thin layer chromatography (TLC) and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) where applicable. One polyester fibre, four acrylic fibres and eleven wool fibres were found that matched the three commonly occurring target fibre samples. None of the less common polyester fibres were found. One item had six matching wool fibres and another had the polyester fibre and an acrylic fibre recovered from it. The remaining eight fibres were each recovered from individual items. The results suggest that finding a large number of fibres that match a control is unlikely to happen by chance, which supports the findings of the previous target fibre studies.
Four sets of acrylic fibre samples were obtained from a company that dyes fabrics for the fashion industry. Between seven and ten different batches of fibres constituted each set. Comparison microscopy, visible and UV range microspectrophotometry and thin layer chromatography (TLC) were used to compare the dyes on each batch of fibres within the sets. Only one of the four sets exhibited variation within the batches. The differences were seen when both microscopical and analytical techniques were used. In addition, two further sets of samples had been obtained from a company that produces carpets for the car industry. The first set consisted of 26 batches of acid dyed orange nylon fibres. The second consisted of 21 batches of acid dyed mustard coloured nylon and direct dyed brown viscose fibres blended together. When the first set was viewed under UV light one batch had more pale orange fibres present and they fluoresced more brightly than the other fibres. This could be due to the blending with a different dye batch of fibre or due to poor dye uptake--the latter being more likely. When tested using visible and UV range microspectrophotometry and TLC, further dye batch variation was not detected. The second set was examined after separating the nylon and viscose fibres from each other. The nylon fibres were indistinguishable when a range of microscopical and analytical techniques were employed; however, the viscose fibres showed dye batch variation when TLC was used.
Fifty-eight garments were taped and searched for mid to dark blue wool fibres. These were then removed from the tapings, mounted on slides and examined using a high-power microscope (400x). A total of 2,740 blue wool fibres were identified and visible range microspectrophotometry (MSP) was performed on them. Three hundred independent blue wool populations were identified on 56 of the 58 garments searched. The lack of control fibres meant the spectral range of each population was unknown. The number of populations may have been underestimated by grouping together the fibres that had broad single peaks and a lack of distinguishing features in the spectra. Although blue wool is considered to be a common fibre type, 300 unique spectral shapes were identified by the use of microspectrophotometry alone. This demonstrates that the dyes used in the dyeing of blue wool are variable. Showing that many different populations of blue wool occur on a range of garments should ensure that the forensic scientist does not underestimate or understate the strength of evidence in cases where blue wool is found. Hopefully this work will enlighten scientists and enable them to also assess the true value of their findings when other commonly occurring fibres are encountered.