SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “In re Spring”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

PubMed1986

Treatment of secondary osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis by Bateman hip prosthesis.

The Bateman hip prosthesis was applied in reconstruction of secondary osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Forty-five joints that could be followed up for 45-18 months (mean 26 months) were clinically and roentgenographically re-examined. Forty joints (90.0%) were painless. The clinical score improved from the preoperative mean of 44.8 to the postoperative mean of 87. In 34 patients with secondary osteoarthritis, postoperative protrusion of the outer head into the acetabulum reconstructed by excavation of the previous shallow, steep architecture was only 0.8 mm (mean). Postoperative protrusion of the outer head into the acetabulum reconstructed by bone grafting was only 2.0 mm (mean) in 11 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Roentgenograms revealed the appearance of sclerosis supermedially in the excavated acetabulum 4-6 months after the operation. This sclerotic change expanded in the entire area of contact with the outer head in 36 of 45 joints within about 1 year. Once the sclerosis had spread completely, the outer head stopped protruding into the acetabulum. A computerized simulation experiment with a rigid spring model demonstrated that central displacement of the outer head can be avoided if the continuity between the sclerosis in the articular surface of the reconstructed acetabulum and the lateral wall is restored for transmission and dispersion of the resultant head force toward the lateral wall as in normal hip joints; this verified the clinical findings.

Acetabulum↗

PubMed1996

Alpha-tocopherol, selenium and polyunsaturated fatty acid concentrations in the serum and feed of spring-calving dairy heifers.

The objectives of this study were to provide baseline data for alpha-tocopherol, selenium and polyunsaturated fatty acid concentrations in the serum and feed of New Zealand dairy cattle, and to assess the likelihood that abnormal peroxide metabolism has a role in the impaired lactational and reproductive performance noted in selenium-deficient cattle. Twenty-four Friesian heifers were randomly allocated one of four winter diets consisting of hay with or without selenium supplementation, or pasture and silage with or without selenium supplementation. A winter diet consisting exclusively of hay (alpha-tocopherol concentration 19 mg/kg of dry matter) resulted in a pre-calving serum alpha-tocopherol concentration of 1.2 mg/l compared to 4.5 mg/l for pastured heifers (p<0.01). The pre-calving alpha-tocopherol concentration for the heifers fed hay fell into the range considered deficient (<2.0 mg/l), whereas heifers fed pasture and silage remained in the range considered adequate throughout the study period. Serum fatty acid concentration, and the proportion of fatty acids that were polyunsaturated, were lowest in the hay-fed heifers before calving (1.0 mg/ml, 37.1% respectively), and remained unchanged following re-introduction to pasture after calving in late July and August. Serum fatty acid concentration did not increase following the re-introduction of the heifers to pasture because of the unexpectedly low fatty acid concentration (4.8 g/kg of dry matter) of the mature winter pasture. In October, however, the proportion of fatty acids in serum that were polyunsaturated increased (50%) as did serum cy-tocopherol concentrations (greater than 13 mg/l). Mean serum selenium concentrations in the unsupplemented heifers ranged from 139 to 204 nmol/l, being lowest in October (p<0.01). Supplementation with intraruminal selenium pellets (two pellets delivering about 3 mg of selenium/day) increased serum selenium concentration and glutathione peroxidase activity (p<0.01) whereas the type of winter diet had no effect (p>0.05). These results suggest that dairy cattle wintered on hay can become Vitamin E-depleted, whereas the feeding of pasture and silage should provide adequate Vitamin E. The pasture offered following calving during July and August provided a low dietary polyunsaturated fatty acid challenge, suggesting that abnormal peroxide metabolism is unlikely to be an important mechanism in the impaired performance of selenium-deficient adult cattle which calve at this the of year.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1995

Efficacy of a spring strategic fenbendazole treatment program to reduce numbers of Ostertagia ostertagi inhibited larvae in beef stocker cattle.

Efficacy of a spring strategic treatment program with fenbendazole (FBZ) to reduce the accumulation of Ostertagia ostertagi inhibited early fourth-stage larvae (EL4) was investigated in two groups of crossbred beef heifers which were 7-9 months of age and ranged in weight from 155 to 223 kg. The cattle were allocated to groups and treated on 27 April (Day 0). Group 1 calves served as nontreated controls. Group 2 calves were treated with FBZ 10% drench suspension at 5 mg kg-1 on Day 0 and with 6-day courses of FBZ free-choice mineral (to provide 5 mg kg-1 per animal) on Days 28 and 56. Each group grazed on a separate 4.9 ha pasture for 105 days to 10 August. On 10 August the cattle were taken off pasture and each original group was re-allocated to subgroups of three cattle which were treated orally with FBZ (5 mg kg-1), oxfenbendazole (OXF, 4.5 mg kg-1) or left nontreated (CONT). The cattle were necropsied on Days 120 and 121. Mean actual and cumulative fecal egg counts indicated near total suppression of egg output in the strategically treated group (high of 5.2 eggs g-1 feces (EPG) on Day 28). Egg counts of the nontreated group remained above 100 or 200 EPG to Day 63 and then decreased to less than 100. Ostertagia was the predominant genus, followed by Cooperia on most sampling dates. The largest O. ostertagi worm burdens were recovered from the CONT-CONT subgroup; numbers of EL4 ranged from 18,922 to 51,137. Reduction in numbers of EL4 in original controls, treated with FBZ or OXF in August, were low, being 60.2% and 74.3%, respectively. The numbers of O. ostertagi recovered from subgroups originally treated strategically with FBZ were generally lower than in original controls. The largest reduction in O. ostertagi numbers was in the FBZ-CONT subgroup, which was not treated in August. Percent reduction values for O. ostertagi adults, developing L4 (DL4) and EL4 were 84.6%, 96.7%, and 99.0%, respectively. Percent reduction values for adults, DL4 and EL4 in the FBZ-FBZ and FBZ-OXF subgroups were 90.7%, 61.3%, 85.6% and 92.4%, 45.5%, and 73.0%, respectively. Variability in numbers of EL4 acquired during grazing by original controls and strategically treated cattle and variability in efficacy of August treatments was evident as observed in high outlier numbers of worms in all subgroups except the FBZ-CONT subgroup. Liveweights and gains were nearly identical in the two groups on 10 August.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Soluble osteogenic molecular signals and the induction of bone formation.

The induction of bone formation starts by erecting scaffolds of smart biomimetic matrices acting as insoluble signals affecting the release of soluble osteogenic molecular signals. The cascade of bone differentiation by induction develops as a mosaic structure singly initiated by the osteogenic proteins of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) supergene family. The osteogenic signals when combined with an insoluble signal or substratum initiate de novo bone formation by induction and are deployed singly, synergistically and synchronously to sculpt the architecture of the mineralized bone/bone marrow organ. The osteogenic proteins of the TGF-beta superfamily are the common molecular initiators deployed for embryonic development and the induction of bone in postnatal osteogenesis, whereby molecules exploited in embryonic development are re-deployed in postnatal tissue morphogenesis as a recapitulation of embryonic development. The pleiotropy of the osteogenic proteins of the TGF-beta superfamily is highlighted by the apparent redundancy of molecular signals initiating bone formation by induction including the TGF-beta isoforms per se, powerful inducers of endochondral bone but in the primate only. Bone induction by the TGF-beta isoforms in the primate is site and tissue specific with substantial endochondral bone induction in heterotopic sites but with absent osteoinductivity in orthotopic calvarial sites on day 30 and only limited osteogenesis pericranially on day 90. Ebaf/Lefty-A, a novel member of the TGF-beta superfamily, induces chondrogenesis in calvarial defects of Papio ursinus and bone regeneration across the defect on day 30 and 90, respectively. The strikingly pleiotropic effects of the bone morphogenetic and osteogenic proteins (BMPs/OPs) spring from amino acid sequence variations in the carboxy-terminal domain and in the transduction of distinct signalling pathways by individual Smad proteins after transmembrane serine/threonine kinase complexes of type I and II receptors. Predictable bone regeneration in clinical contexts requires information concerning the expression and cross regulation of gene products of the TGF-beta superfamily. OP-1, BMP-3, TGF-beta1 and type IV collagen mRNAs expression correlates to the morphological induction and maintenance of engineered ossicles by the hOP-1 osteogenic devices in the non-human primate P. ursinus. Amino-acid sequence variations amongst BMPs/OPs in the carboxy terminal domain confer the structure/activity profile responsible for the pleiotropic activity that controls tissue induction and morphogenesis of a variety of tissues and organs by different BMPs/OPs which are helping to engineer skeletal tissue regeneration in molecular terms.

Animals↗

PubMed1982

Antler growth in male red deer (Cervus elaphus) after active immunization against LH-RH.

Four sexually mature male red deer were actively immunized against LHRH and this caused 3 of the animals to cast their antlers prematurely in the autumn instead of the spring. Development of new antlers was initiated after casting, but the effects on the antler cycle were variable and correlated with the antibody titre, only the animal with the highest titre developed antlers that resembled those of a castrate and remained 'in velvet' for more than 6 months. In October, when all the immunized deer had peak circulating levels of LHRH antibodies, the testes were reduced in size compared to the maximum values of the controls. The blood levels of testosterone were reduced in the immunized animals, and there was a minimal increase in the circulating levels of testosterone in response to an i.v. injection of 100 micrograms ovine LH. The immunized stags showed no rutting behaviour in the autumn. The changes in the testes confirm that the immunizations were effective in blocking the secretion of the gonadotrophic hormones. The re-development of antlers in these animals indicates that gonadotrophins are not directly involved in stimulating antler growth.

Animals↗

PubMed1976

[The effect of dehelminthizations performed during the year on the seasonal dynamics of natural nematode infections in sheep].

In four sheep flocks of two age categories dynamics of natural infections by pulmonary and gastrointestinal nematodes was studied; sheep were kept on a farm in Western Bohemia. Dehelminthizations were performed in different intervals during the grazing period on the basis of the results of quantitative coprologic examinations. Total effectiveness of 80--100% intenseffectiveness (IE) was obtained as a result of single peroral or intraruminal dehelminthization with the following preparations: pyrantel hydrochloricum (Spofa), helmatac (SKF) and nilverm (ICI); the effectiveness concerned gastrointestinal nematodes of the genus Haemonchus, Cooperia, Ostertagia, Trichostrongylus, Bunostomum, Chabertia, Nematodirus, Strongyloides, Oesophagostomum and Trichocephalus. The effectiveness of nilverm on lungworms of D. filaria and P. kochi reached 100%; the preparation was less effective and ineffective on M. capillaris. Dehelminthization practices during three years were more successful as to lowering of incidence of lungworm infections of D. filaria and P. kochi than in gastrointestinal nematodes. If sping dehelminthizations had been postponed till the second half of May or June, the climax of the elimination of ova from summer re-infection was put off till November, with an initial significant increase in September. The third dehelminthization, applied in August, did not result in the increased elimination of ova in autumn, while there was no usual autumnal climax following September dehelminthization. Effective dehelminthization performed at the end of November in all three years maintained low levels of infections during winter housing and significantly influenced the health conditions of ewes before lambing. Dynamics of the elimination of ova after dehelminthization was affected by nematodes with the migration phase in organs and tissues -- S. papillosus, Oesophagostomum sp. and Ostertagia sp.; the same effect was observed, during pasture, in nematodes with relatively short exogenous development of the genus Haemonchus, Ostertagia, Trichostrongylus and Nematodirus. In spite of these dehelminthization practices, the elimination of ova and larvae corresponded to the course of temperatures and rainfall in spring and autumn climaxes every year.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Mineral springs and spring fever. Lithium: fact and fantasy in psychopharmacology.

Lithium salts have been employed as medical treatment for more than two thousand years. The history of lithium in medicine reveals a strictly empiricist approach to its use which has resulted in its varying popularity as a therapeutic treatment over the past century. Much of the enthusiasm about the therapeutic use of lithium has been generated by faulty scientific process. This paper reviews the scientific errors which have surrounded the medical use of lithium in history, discusses the metaphorical use of medical terminology and the problem which is posed by the literal interpretation of such terms, and challenges the currently accepted point of view that lithium is a specific treatment for mania. The scientific errors which have resulted in the introduction of lithium as a treatment for mania are reviewed, and it is proposed that lithium treatment be viewed as the paradigm of modern psychopharmacology. The author suggests that the empiricist approach in biological psychiatry requires critical scrutiny in order to avoid tragic consequences, regarding the hazards both to patients arbittrarily exposed to lithium therapy, as well as to the scientific concept of disease as it is modified by those who wish to re-define disease, empirically, in terms of response to treatment.

Affective Symptoms↗

PubMed1992

Sex-related susceptibility of bulls to gastrointestinal parasites.

The effects of sex and anabolic implants on fecal egg counts and pasture contamination were examined in 77 naturally infected yearling bulls, steers, and heifers of mixed beef breeds grazing the same contaminated pasture in southern Ohio in the spring of 1990. Fecal egg counts were compared in seven groups of 10-14 animals each, twice before anabolic implants and twice after implants. Comparisons were made between untreated bulls, steers, and heifers, between steers with and without implants, and between heifers with and without implants. Bulls had significantly (P < 0.01) higher fecal egg counts than steers, and counts from steers were not significantly different to those from heifers. There were no significant differences between counts from implanted and control steers or heifers. The results have important practical implications both for parasite control and for bovine parasite research. There is a need to pay special attention to young bulls when designing parasite control programs, and to distribute the sexes equally between groups when doing research trials with cattle of mixed sexes. Some previous studies on worm population dynamics and anthelmintic evaluation may need to be re-examined in the light of sex differences.

Anabolic Agents↗

PubMed2003

Oral vaccination against rabies and the behavioural ecology of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes).

As a result of oral vaccination of foxes (Vulpes vulpes) against rabies, this virus disease has almost been completely eradicated from West- and Central Europe. In most countries, vaccine baits were distributed twice a year: during spring (March to May) and autumn (September to October). This strategy has shown to be able to control and eventually eradicate rabies. However, it remains to be clarified if this is the most cost-effective strategy. Astonishingly, the behavioural ecology of the target species, the red fox, did receive only limited attention selecting the periods when baits should be distributed. Considering the behavioural ecology and rabies epidemiology of foxes, territory owners seem to play a key role in the spread and maintenance of rabies. Thus, oral vaccination campaigns should be targeted primarily at these animals. It is suggested that the optimal timing for bait distribution in Europe is late autumn (November) or early winter (December), depending on the prevailing climatic conditions. Additional campaigns, when financially feasible, can be implemented in order to maintain a high vaccination coverage during the remaining year. Furthermore, different baiting strategies can be selected in case of re-infection or persistent residual foci.

Administration, Oral↗

PubMed2002

Error correction strategies for motor behavior after unilateral brain damage: short-term motor learning processes.

In order to identify the mechanisms underlying motor impairments and motor learning following stroke-related brain damage, we analyzed correction strategies used by hemiparetic individuals to produce precise elbow flexion movements of the paretic arm and compared them to those of healthy individuals. Participants made rapid elbow flexion movements to a 6 degrees wide target and were instructed to correct movement errors as quickly as possible when a spring-like load was unexpectedly introduced. Angular positions and torques before correction were used to identify error patterns. Results showed that participants with mild hemiparesis minimized movement errors within three trials, as did healthy participants. In contrast, severely affected individuals needed more trials to diminish errors and their movements were inconsistent. Participants with a moderate motor disability used both typical and atypical correction strategies. The differences in correction behaviors likely reflect deficits in arm motor function (r=0.79) and executive function (r=0.58) rather than levels of intellectual function (IQ ratings). Results indicate that the deficits that individuals with stroke experience when adapting their movements to changed load conditions may be due to difficulty in rapidly integrating visual and proprioceptive information. Deficits in executive function could also contribute to problems in producing accurate and consistent movements from trial to trial. Taken together, these results imply that all hemiparetic individuals would not benefit equally from the same motor re-training approaches.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Venous insufficiency and varicose disease. Sequelae of lower limb thrombosis. The role of crenotherapy].

The writers reminded that a consensus on Classification of veinous diseases, necessary to build up homogeneous samples, was being set up. Now, they are introducing a thermal nosology that is as useful. Next, the history of spas, the characteristics of Thermal Springs and thermal practices as well as their results are described. The writers present a standardization of the observation and control parameters of the therapeutic effects. The rigorous and scientific process was defined by an interdisciplinary scientific process was defined by an interdisciplinary scientific Council and it is based on the creation of a Computerized Laboratory of Research and a Thermal University. It has become an example in the field of thermalism. According to the results and the modern indications, the water cure has to be prescribed at an early stage. The practitioner must think about it and insert the water cure in the arsenal of veinous diseases. According to the hydrogeologists' estimates, BARBOTAN les thermes, the first European spa with about 22,000 patients is thought to possess enough water to allow from 40,000 to 60,000 people to be treated yearly. A thermal environment is the ideal place for an efficient vascular rehabilitation and functional re-education. In phlebology, more than one million people should benefit from a water cure yearly ... Only 70,000 follow this treatment. Everyone has to wonder about this situation, which, to those who do not benefit from a thermal cure in phlebology, is as astonishing as prejudicial.

Balneology↗

PubMed2003

Isolation of a rhabdovirus during outbreaks of disease in cyprinid fish species at fishery sites in England.

A virus was isolated during disease outbreaks in bream Abramis brama, tench Tinca tinca, roach Rutilis rutilis and crucian carp Carassius carassius populations at 6 fishery sites in England in 1999. Mortalities at the sites were primarily among recently introduced fish and the predominant fish species affected was bream. The bream stocked at 5 of the 6 English fishery sites were found to have originated from the River Bann, Northern Ireland. Most fish presented few consistent external signs of disease but some exhibited clinical signs similar to those of spring viraemia of carp (SVC), with extensive skin haemorrhages, ulceration on the flanks and internal signs including ascites and petechial haemorrhages. The most prominent histopathological changes were hepatocellular necrosis, interstitial nephritis and splenitis. The virus induced a cytopathic effect in tissue cultures (Epithelioma papulosum cyprini [EPC] cells) at 20 degrees C and produced moderate signals in an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for the detection of SVC virus. The virus showed a close serological relationship to pike fry rhabdovirus in both EIA and serum neutralisation assays and to a rhabdovirus isolated during a disease outbreak in a bream population in the River Bann in 1998. A high degree of sequence similarity (> or = 99.5% nucleotide identity) was observed between the English isolates and those from the River Bann. Experimental infection of juvenile bream, tench and carp with EPC cell-grown rhabdovirus by bath and intraperitoneal injection resulted in a 40% mortality of bream in the injection group only. The virus was re-isolated from pooled kidney, liver and spleen tissue samples from moribund bream. The field observations together with the experimental results indicate that this rhabdovirus is of low virulence but may have the potential to cause significant mortality in fishes under stress.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Termination of neuroendocrine refractoriness to melatonin in Siberian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus).

Siberian hamsters maintained from birth in a short day length (DL), unlike their long-day counterparts, fail to undergo reproductive development by 5 weeks of age. Instead, reproductive maturation of short-day males is delayed for approximately 20 weeks, at which point neuroendocrine refractoriness to the inhibitory effects of short DLs develops, resulting in growth of the gonads. To terminate refractoriness and re-establish responsiveness to short photoperiods, 10-15 weeks of long-day exposure is required. We assessed whether continuous exposure to long days is necessary to terminate refractoriness or whether the first few weeks of long days initiate a process that culminates several months later in the breaking of refractoriness. Male hamsters refractory to short DLs were transferred to a long-day photoperiod, pinealectomized (PINx) after 0, 3, 6 or 15 weeks, and subsequently infused for 6 weeks with a short-day melatonin signal. This melatonin treatment induces gonadal regression in photosensitive but not in photorefractory hamsters. Six percent of males PINx at week 0 and 88% of those PINx at week 15 underwent gonadal atrophy by the end of the melatonin infusion treatment initiated on week 15. Among hamsters PINx on week 6, 17% versus 76% underwent testicular involution in response to melatonin infusions initiated on week 6 and week 15, respectively. This finding indicates that a fraction of the long days that hamsters experience during spring and summer are sufficient to trigger the processes that restore responsiveness to short DLs. Additional groups of pineal-intact photorefractory animals were given 3, 6 or 15 weeks of long-day exposure and then returned to a short DL for several months; only those treated for 15 weeks terminated refractoriness. The breaking of refractoriness, once triggered by long-day melatonin signals, proceeds to completion only in the absence of short-day melatonin signals.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Bio-available amino acids and mineral nitrogen forms in soil of moderately mown and abandoned mountain meadows.

The abandonment of traditional mowing methods of mountain meadows in the Czech Republic at the end of the last century has resulted in secondary re-colonization of these areas. Altered accumulation of plant biomass resulted in a deceleration of N turnover. A mountain meadow may be regarded as a N-limited ecosystem in which plant nutrition is dependent on direct uptake of soil amino acids. The composition and distribution of ammonium ions, nitrate ions and the 16 bio-available proteinaceous amino acids were investigated in the top 7 cm of the Ah horizon of a Gleyic Luvisol in a long-term moderately mown meadow and an eleven year old, abandoned or uncut meadow. Ammonium N has a dominant role in both ecosystems. The moderately mown meadow showed accelerated N-turnover and higher net ammonization. The plant community showed a dependence on this form. Plant utilization of nitrates and amino acids appeared to be negligible. The uncut or abandoned meadow showed net ammonization from May (start of the experiment) through August, after which plant N-uptake consisted only of amino acids due to microbial immobilization. The release of bio-available nitrogen from spring until the beginning of summer in the Ah horizon was too low to explain total plant N-uptake. Glutamic acid, arginine and aspartic acids had the highest concentrations of any of the amino acids analyzed.

Agriculture↗

PubMed2004

Sex change towards female in dying Acer rufinerve trees.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Sex changes within the genus Acer (Aceraceae) may occur because of associations of sex expression and plant health. In this study, a natural population of Acer rufinerve was monitored to clarify the sex change patterns, the relationship between sex expression and plant health, and the causal environmental conditions that precede sex changes. METHODS: Sex expression, growth rate and mortality of A. rufinerve trees in a natural population were monitored from 1992 to 1997. KEY RESULTS: Three types of sex expression were observed among A. rufinerve: male, female and bisexual. Among the three types of sex expression, sex changes occurred in all directions. In the growing season of 1994, precipitation was reduced. Stem growth rate decreased and mortality was high in 1994. In the spring of 1995, a drastic sex change from male to female or to bisexual occurred. As a result, the sex ratio became female-biased in 1995, although it had been male-biased from 1992 to 1994. In 1996 and 1997, the proportion of males in the population increased, partly as a result of female mortality and partly as a result of female-to-male sex changes. Sex expression of A. rufinerve was associated with their growth rate and mortality. The growth rate decreased for trees whose sex changed from male to female or to bisexual, and increased for trees whose sex changed from female to male or to bisexual. Dead trees reproduced as females before they died, except for those that died as males in 1994. CONCLUSIONS: One explanation for the sex change towards increasing femaleness for this A. rufinerve population in 1995 was the deterioration of plant health in the previous growing season, because of reduced precipitation. Sex changes of unhealthy and dying A. rufinerve towards femaleness may facilitate re-occupancy by offspring in gaps created by the death of A. rufinerve trees.

Acer↗

PubMed2004

Effect of salinity on tissue architecture in expanding wheat leaves.

Salinity greatly reduces the leaf cross-sectional area of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) during its development, which may lead to variation in the architectural properties of growing leaves that would result in a change in leaf physiological functions. Our objective was to characterize the effect of salinity on the spatial distribution of the cross-sectional area and the anatomy of large and small veins of a growing wheat leaf. Spring wheat was grown in a growth chamber in soils with or without 120 mM NaCl. Leaf 4 in both treatments was harvested 2-3 days after its emergence and then cut into five transverse segments. Examination of the transverse sections revealed that salinity significantly reduced the cross-sectional area, width, and radii of both epidermal and mesophyll cells along the leaf axis. Reduction in the cross-sectional area and width occurred mainly at the leaf base, indicating that these reductions occur during the period of leaf initiation. The reduction in cross-sectional area was attributed to a decrease in the size of the vein segments and a reduced number of medium and small veins. The thickness of the leaf was also reduced under the 120 mM NaCl treatment. A greater intercellular air space in the large vein segments under saline conditions was also found. The approximately 35% reduction observed in the number of veins under saline conditions (mainly in the number of small veins) may suggest that salinity reduces the capacity for re-translocation of mineral nutrients and assimilates. The reduced area of protoxylem and metaxylem in midrib and large vein segments in growing tissues may be responsible for lower water deposition into the growth zone under saline conditions.

Image Processing, Computer-Assisted↗

PubMed2004

Representations of SARS in the British newspapers.

In the Spring of 2003, there was a huge interest in the global news media following the emergence of a new infectious disease: severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). This study examines how this novel disease threat was depicted in the UK newspapers, using social representations theory and in particular existing work on social representations of HIV/AIDS and Ebola to analyse the meanings of the epidemic. It investigates the way that SARS was presented as a dangerous threat to the UK public, whilst almost immediately the threat was said to be 'contained' using the mechanism of 'othering': SARS was said to be unlikely to personally affect the UK reader because the Chinese were so different to 'us'; so 'other'. In this sense, the SARS scare, despite the remarkable speed with which it was played out in the modern global news media, resonates with the meanings attributed to other epidemics of infectious diseases throughout history. Yet this study also highlights a number of differences in the social representations of SARS compared with earlier epidemics. In particular, this study examines the phenomena of 'emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases' over the past 30 or so years and suggests that these have impacted on the faith once widely held that Western biomedicine could 'conquer' infectious disease.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

PubMed2006

In vitro hydrodynamic properties of the Miethke ProGAV hydrocephalus shunt.

BACKGROUND: Adjustable shunts are very popular in the management of hydrocephalus and are believed to help in minimizing the number of surgical revisions. The drawback with almost all constructions is that they may be accidentally readjusted in relatively weak magnetic fields (around 30-40 mTesla) MATERIALS AND METHODS: The ProGav Miethke shunt is composed of an adjustable balloon-spring valve unit and an integrated over-drainage compensating gravitational device (known as the shunt assistant). A mechanical 'brake' is intended to prevent changes to the valve's performance level in a strong magnetic field. We evaluated the performance and hydrodynamic properties of a sample of three valves in the UK Shunt Evaluation Laboratory. RESULTS: All the shunts showed good mechanical durability over the three-month period of testing, and good stability of hydrodynamic performance over a one-month period. The pressure-flow performance curves, operating, opening and closing pressures fell within the limits specified by the manufacturer, and changed according to the programmed performance levels. The operating pressure increased when the shunt assistant was in the vertical position, as specified. The valve has a low hydrodynamic resistance (0.53 mm mmHg ml(-1) min(-1)). External programming proved to be easy and reliable. Strong magnetic fields from a 3 Tesla MR scanner were not able to change the programming of the valve. CONCLUSION: The ProGAV shunt is an adjustable, low resistance valve that is able to limit posture-related over-drainage. Unlike other adjustable valves, the ProGAV cannot be accidentally re-adjusted by external magnetic field such as a 3T MR scanner.

Journal Article↗