Dose-response of weanling pigs to streptococcus faecium

Two 5-wk experiments, using a total of 270 pigs (avg initial wt of 16.1 and 13.11b), were conducted to determine the dose-response relationship between Streptococcus faecium additions to drinking water and performance of newly weaned pigs. In experiment 1, treatments were: 1) untreated control; 2, 3, and 4) .5, 2.5, and 4.5 x 109 CFU of S. faecillm/pig/d; 5) antibioticfed positive control (CSP250 and CUS04)\u27 Bacterial content of feces collected from the pigs on d 7, 14, and 21 indicated that antibiotic feeding greatly reduced fecal content of streptococci. S. faecium given in the water (.5, 2.5, or 4.5 x 10 CFU/pig/d) slightly increased the CFU of streptococci in the feces. Giving S. faecillm in the water or antibiotics in the feed did not reduce fecal content of coliform bacteria. Antibiotic feeding improved feed intake, growth rate, and efficiency of gain when compared to the untreated control. Pigs given the highest level of S. faecium addition to the water (i.e., 4.5 x 10^9 had performance that was intermediate to that of the untreated control and positive control. In experiment 2, dosages of S. faecium were spread further apart. Treatments were: 1) untreated negative control; 2,3, and 4) 5 x 107, 5 X 109, and 5 x 1011 CFU of S. faecium/pig/d; and 5) antibiotic-fed positive control. Streptococci content of the feces was increased by giving S. faecillm in the water. However, total coliform content was not affected by giving S. faecium or antibiotics. Antibiotic feeding improved rate of gain, feed intake, and efficiency of gain, but giving S. faecium did not improve performance of pigs compared to those given the untreated control.; Swine Day, Manhattan, KS, November 16, 198

Prodynorphin-derived peptide expression in primate cortex and striatum

The distributions of four prodynorphin-derived peptides, dynorphin A (1-17), dynorphin A (1-8), dynorphin B, and [alpha]-neo-endorphin were determined in 10 cortical regions and the striatum of the old world monkey (Macaca nemestrina). [alpha]-neo-endorphin was the most abundant peptide in both cortex and striatum. The concentrations of all four peptides were significantly greater in the striatum compared to the cortex. In general, concentrations of each peptide tended to be higher in allocortex than in neocortex. Possible inter- and intradomain processing differences, as estimated by ratios of these peptides, did not vary within cortex, but the intradomain peptide ratio, dyn A (1-17)/dyn A (1-8), was significantly greater in cortex than in striatum. These results indicate that prodynorphin is, in some ways, uniquely processed in the primate. Particularly unusual is the relatively low abundance of prodynorphin-derived products in the cortex, in the face of moderately high levels of kappa opiate receptor expression.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/31211/1/0000113.pd

REDUCING VENTILATOR ALARMS THROUGH DECREASED RAINOUT IN VENTILATOR CIRCUITS: A BENCH STUDY

Alarm fatigue is a significant problem in healthcare, particularly in high acuity settings such as intensive care, surgery, and emergency departments. Alarms are triggered by various devices such as anesthesia machines, ventilators, patient monitors or humidifiers. Heated humidifiers (HH) used with mechanical ventilators, while necessary to prevent other complications associated with mechanical ventilators, may cause condensation in the ventilator circuit, prompting occlusion alarms indicating a risk for the patient. Technological advances in HH circuits may reduce rainout in the circuits and therefore occlusion alarms. Bench experiments measured alarms and rainout of two commercially available humidifiers (AirLife DuoTherm™ and Fisher & Paykel MR850) and four different pediatric and adult patient breathing circuits. The tests examined condensation accumulation in the circuits after 24 hours of low-, nominal-, or high-flow rates of gas at low-, nominal-, and high-ambient temperature settings. Dual-limb designs of adult- and neonate-sized circuits underwent evaluation. Data on alarms was collected for each system. Low temperature and occlusion alarms were less common in DuoTherm vs. MR850 HH circuits (6 vs. 68 alarms, respectively). DuoTherm products accumulated significantly less rainout for both circuit sizes at all ambient temperatures. In general, the set flow rate did not dramatically affect the amount of rainout for adult and infant circuits, but low versus high ambient temperatures yielded increased rainout for all circuit types (p < 0.02). The DuoTherm HH device and patient circuits developed significantly less alarms due to rainout and low temperatures compared to those from MR850 under all the conditions tested. Such reduction in patient alarms should help reduce alarm fatigue among healthcare workers in critical care settings

A Survey of Psychiatrists' Attitudes Toward Treatment Guidelines

We developed a survey to look at psychiatrists' attitudes toward psychotropic prescribing guidelines, specifically the Texas Medication Algorithm Project (TMAP) algorithms. The 22-page survey was distributed to 24 psychiatrists working in 4 CMHC's; 13 completed the survey. 90% agreed that guidelines should be general and flexible. The majority also agreed that guidelines should define how to measure response to a specific agent; fewer agreed guidelines should specify dosage, side effect management, or augmentation strategies. Psychiatrists were familiar with TMAP; none referred to it in their practice. In spite of this, psychiatrists' medication preferences were similar to those suggested by guidelines.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44317/1/10597_2004_Article_484143.pd

Assessing Conformance to Medication Treatment Guidelines for Schizophrenia in a Community Mental Health Center (CMHC)

The feasibility of implementing current medication treatment guidelines in a community mental health clinic was examined in this cross-sectional and retrospective study. Specifically, two issues were addressed: 1) could we identify a set of clinical guidelines whose utilization could be monitored with a routine medical chart review; and 2) were the requisite data for such a review available in the medical records. An examination of three sets of published guidelines revealed 5 specific guidelines that could be operationalized and monitored. Records were reviewed for a random sample of two-thirds of all patients currently diagnosed with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder (n = 309). Information was collected from the medical record on patient demographics, diagnosis, duration of illness, symptoms and side effects, and medication information. Rates of conformance to the 5 guidelines ranged from a high of 97% to a low of 43%. The use of current guidelines to improve treatment in community clinics appears to be limited by the deficiencies in the medical record and the structure of the guidelines themselves. Standardized progress notes and computerized prescribing programs will improve conformance, and permit the rapid and accurate assessment of conformance to guidelines in community clinics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44313/1/10597_2004_Article_475195.pd

Multiagency approaches to preventing sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI): a review and analysis of UK policies

Background Recent reviews of sudden unexpected deaths in infancy (SUDI) in England recommend a multiagency working (MAW) approach to prevention but lack clear guidance around how this might be implemented.Aims In England, local authorities commission and oversee public health services. This review examines how local authority policies address implementation of MAW for SUDI prevention to understand local variations and identify strengths and weaknesses.Methods Using a comprehensive list of all metropolitan, county, unitary councils and London boroughs in England, we systematically searched local authority websites for relevant published documents and submitted freedom of information (FOI) requests where policies or guidance for SUDI prevention had not been sourced online. We extracted data from documents using a standardised form to summarise policy contents which were then collated, described and appraised.Findings We searched the websites of 152 council and London boroughs, identifying 36 relevant policies and guidelines for staff. We submitted 116 FOI requests which yielded 64 responses including six valid documents: 45% (52/116) of local authorities did not respond. Seventeen councils shared the same guidance under safeguarding partnerships; removal of duplicates resulted in 26 unique documents. Only 15% (4/26) of the documents included a detailed plan for how MAW approaches were to be implemented despite 73% (19/26) of the documents mentioning the importance of engaging the MAW in raising awareness of safe sleep for babies with vulnerable families. Five areas of variation were identified across policies: (1) scope, (2) responsibilities, (3) training, (4) implementation and (5) evaluation.Conclusions There are discrepancies between local authorities in England in whether and how MAW for SUDI prevention is carried out. Strengths and weaknesses of approaches are identified to inform future development of MAW for SUDI prevention

Stable ultrahigh-density magneto-optical recordings using introduced linear defects

The stability of data bits in magnetic recording media at ultrahigh densities is compromised by thermal `flips' -- magnetic spin reversals -- of nano-sized spin domains, which erase the stored information. Media that are magnetized perpendicular to the plane of the film, such as ultrathin cobalt films or multilayered structures, are more stable against thermal self-erasure than conventional memory devices. In this context, magneto-optical memories seem particularly promising for ultrahigh-density recording on portable disks, and bit densities of $\sim$100 Gbit inch$^{-2}$ have been demonstrated using recent advances in the bit writing and reading techniques. But the roughness and mobility of the magnetic domain walls prevents closer packing of the magnetic bits, and therefore presents a challenge to reaching even higher bit densities. Here we report that the strain imposed by a linear defect in a magnetic thin film can smooth rough domain walls over regions hundreds of micrometers in size, and halt their motion. A scaling analysis of this process, based on the generic physics of disorder-controlled elastic lines, points to a simple way by which magnetic media might be prepared that can store data at densities in excess of 1 Tbit inch$^{-2}$.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, see also an article in TRN News at http://www.trnmag.com/Stories/041801/Defects_boost_disc_capacity_041801.htm

Anomalous Fluctuations of Directed Polymers in Random Media

A systematic analysis of large scale fluctuations in the low temperature pinned phase of a directed polymer in a random potential is described. These fluctuations come from rare regions with nearly degenerate ``ground states''. The probability distribution of their sizes is found to have a power law tail. The rare regions in the tail dominate much of the physics. The analysis presented here takes advantage of the mapping to the noisy-Burgers' equation. It complements a phenomenological description of glassy phases based on a scaling picture of droplet excitations and a recent variational approach with ``broken replica symmetry''. It is argued that the power law distribution of large thermally active excitations is a consequence of the continuous statistical ``tilt'' symmetry of the directed polymer, the breaking of which gives rise to the large active excitations in a manner analogous to the appearance of Goldstone modes in pure systems with a broken continuous symmetry.Comment: 59 pages including 8 figures ( REVTEX 3.0 )E-mail: [email protected]