Pulsatile lavage irrigator tip, a rare radiolucent retained foreign body in the pelvis: a case report

Retained foreign bodies after surgery have the potential to cause serious medical complications for patients and bring fourth serious medico-legal consequences for surgeons and hospitals. Standard operating room protocols have been adopted to reduce the occurrence of the most common retained foreign bodies. Despite these precautions, radiolucent objects and uncounted components/pieces of instruments are at risk to be retained in the surgical wound. We report the unusual case of a retained plastic pulsatile lavage irrigator tip in the surgical wound during acetabulum fracture fixation, which was subsequently identified on routine postoperative computed tomography. Revision surgery was required in order to remove the retained object, and the patient had no further complications

A non-covalent peptide-based carrier for in vivo delivery of DNA mimics

The dramatic acceleration in identification of new nucleic-acid-based therapeutic molecules has provided new perspectives in pharmaceutical research. However, their development is limited by their poor cellular uptake and inefficient trafficking. Here we describe a short amphipathic peptide, Pep-3, that combines a tryptophan/phenylalanine domain with a lysine/arginine-rich hydrophilic motif. Pep-3 forms stable nano-size complexes with peptide-nucleic acid analogues and promotes their efficient delivery into a wide variety of cell lines, including primary and suspension lines, without any associated cytotoxicity. We demonstrate that Pep-3-mediated delivery of antisense-cyclin B1-charged-PNA blocks tumour growth in vivo upon intratumoral and intravenous injection. Moreover, we show that PEGylation of Pep-3 significantly improves complex stability in vivo and consequently the efficiency of antisense cyclin B1 administered intravenously. Given the biological characteristics of these vectors, we believe that peptide-based delivery technologies hold a true promise for therapeutic applications of DNA mimics

Crop Updates 2011 - Nutrition, Precision Agriculture & Climate and Forecasting

This session covers sixteen papers from different authors: Nutrition 1. Balance® used in conventional cropping practice with half of the upfront fertiliser rate can sustain crop yield and build soil biological fertility, Deb Archdeacon1, Andrew Gulliver2 and David Cullen2, 1Agronomica, Wellington Mill, WA, 2Custom Composts, Nambeelup, WA 2. Effects of potassium (K) supply on plant growth, potassium uptake and grain Yield in wheat grown in grey sand, Qifu Ma1, Richard Bell1, Ross Brennan2 and Craig Scanlan2, 1School of Environmental Science, Murdoch University, 2Department of Agriculture and Food 3. Improving fertiliser management: redefining the relationship between soil tests and crop responses for wheat in WA, Wen Chen1, 2, Ross Brennan2, Geoff Anderson2, Richard Bell1 and Mike Bolland2, 1School of Environmental Science, Murdoch University, 2Department of Agriculture and Food 4. Improved phosphorus and potassium management: redefining the soil test and lupin response relationships in WA, Wen Chen1, 2, Ross Brennan2, Geoff Anderson2, Richard Bell1 and Mike Bolland2, 1School of Environmental Science, Murdoch University, Western Australia, 2Department of Agriculture and Food 5. Converting phosphorus retention index (PRI) to phosphorus buffering index (PBI) for Western Australian soils, Peter Rees and Sandy Alexander, Summit Fertilizers 6. Variability of radiometric potassium and Colwell potassium relationships across the Great Southern, Frank D’Emden, Precision Agronomics Australia 7. Rotary spading and mouldboard ploughing of water-repellent sandplain soils fulfils promise, Stephen Davies, Craig Scanlan and Breanne Best, Department of Agriculture and Food 8. Soil nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes are low from a grain legume crop grown in a semi-arid climate Louise Barton1, Klaus Butterbach-Bahl2, Ralph Kiese2 and Daniel Murphy1, 1 School of Earth & Environment, University of Western Australia, 2 Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute for Meteorology & Climate Research, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, 9. Mouldboard ploughing of sandplain soils – more grain, fewer weeds, Peter Newman Department of Agriculture and Food Precision Agriculture 10.What’s preventing growers from implementing precision agriculture (PA)? Roger Mandel1, Roger Lawes2 and Michael Robertson2, 1Curtin University, 2CSIRO 11. On how many paddocks does precision agriculture (PA) deliver a return? Roger Lawes1, Michael Robertson1 and Roger Mandel2, 1CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences, Floreat, WA, 2Curtin University 12. Demonstration pf precision agriculture (PA) principles in the Great Southern, Western Australia, Derk Bakker1, Jeremy Lemon1, Alison Lacey1, John Paul Collins1, Roger Mandel2, Frank D’Emden3, Glen Riethmuller1, 1Department of Agriculture and Food, 2Curtin University, 3Precision Agronomics Australia Climate and Forecasting 13. Statistical seasonal rainfall forecasts for south west Australia, Fiona H Evans Department of Agriculture of Food 14. How has changing climate recently affected Western Australia’s capacity to increase crop productivity and water use efficiency? David Stephens, Department of Agriculture and Food 15. Is Yield Prophet® a useful tool in Western Australia? — an agribusiness perspective, Caroline Peek, Department of Agriculture and Food 16. A season of Yield Prophet® — how it saw the dry, Tim Scanlon and Caroline Peek Department of Agriculture of Foo

Factors Associated with Revision Surgery after Internal Fixation of Hip Fractures

Background: Femoral neck fractures are associated with high rates of revision surgery after management with internal fixation. Using data from the Fixation using Alternative Implants for the Treatment of Hip fractures (FAITH) trial evaluating methods of internal fixation in patients with femoral neck fractures, we investigated associations between baseline and surgical factors and the need for revision surgery to promote healing, relieve pain, treat infection or improve function over 24 months postsurgery. Additionally, we investigated factors associated with (1) hardware removal and (2) implant exchange from cancellous screws (CS) or sliding hip screw (SHS) to total hip arthroplasty, hemiarthroplasty, or another internal fixation device. Methods: We identified 15 potential factors a priori that may be associated with revision surgery, 7 with hardware removal, and 14 with implant exchange. We used multivariable Cox proportional hazards analyses in our investigation. Results: Factors associated with increased risk of revision surgery included: female sex, [hazard ratio (HR) 1.79, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.25-2.50; P = 0.001], higher body mass index (fo