Pilot Safety Evaluation of Varenicline for the Treatment of Methamphetamine Dependence.

Despite the worldwide extent of methamphetamine dependence, no medication has been shown to effectively treat afflicted individuals. One relatively unexplored approach is modulation of cholinergic system function. Animal research suggests that enhancement of central cholinergic activity, possibly at nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), can reduce methamphetamine-related behaviors. Further, preliminary findings indicate that rivastigmine, a cholinesterase inhibitor, may reduce craving for methamphetamine after administration of the drug in human subjects. We therefore performed a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover pilot study of the safety and tolerability of varenicline in eight methamphetamine-dependent research subjects. Varenicline is used clinically to aid smoking cessation, and acts as a partial agonist at α4β2 nAChRs with full agonist properties at α7 nAChRs. Oral varenicline dose was titrated over 1 week to reach 1 mg bid, and then was co-administered with 30 mg methamphetamine, delivered in ten intravenous infusions of 3 mg each. Varenicline was found to be safe in combination with IV methamphetamine, producing no cardiac rhythm disturbances or alterations in vital sign parameters. No adverse neuropsychiatric sequelae were detected either during varenicline titration or following administration of methamphetamine. The results suggest that varenicline warrants further investigation as a potential treatment for methamphetamine dependence

Epidemiologija virusa influence konja: patogenost i prenosivost

A large-scale outbreak caused by equine influenza virus of the H3N8 subtype has occurred in each decade since an H3N8 virus was first isolated from horses in 1963. Each epidemic, and some minor outbreaks, has influenced equine influenza surveillance and vaccination policies in the UK and elsewhere. The latest widespread outbreak of equine influenza occurred in 2003. The possible reasons for infection of horses despite intensive vaccination are currently being investigated and may shed new light on the epidemiology of equine influenza.Podtip H3N8 virusa influence konja uzrokovao je velik broj epizootija svakog desetljeća otkako je 1963. godine prvi put bio izdvojen iz konja. Svaka epizootija, a i neke manje pojave, utjecale su na mjere nadzora i cijepljenja u Velikoj Britaniji i drugdje. Posljednja velika epizootija influence konja zabilježena je 2003. Mogući razlozi prijemljivosti konja usprkos stalnog cijepljenja još se istražuju i mogli bi dati novo svjetlo na epidemiologiju influence konja

Variations in tephra stratigraphy created by small-scale surface features in sub-polar landscapes

Financial support for this work was provided by NERC Doctoral Training Partnership Ph.D. studentship NE/L002558/1 to Polly I. J. Thompson.We explore the effect small-scale surface features have on influencing the morphology and grain-size distribution (GSD) of tephra layers within the Quaternary stratigraphy of sub-polar landscapes. Icelandic thúfur, small cryogenic earth mounds, are used to assess how and why the morphology and GSD of tephra layers vary over such formations. Through measurement of tephra layer thickness and GSD, Hekla 1947 and Grímsvötn 2011 tephra layers are analysed. Results indicate that such microtopographic features do indeed alter the form of tephra deposits and therefore the tephra layer that is preserved in the stratigraphy. Tephra thickness is significantly greater in hollows than on the thúfur crests. There is greater variation in tephra thickness measurements from thúfur in comparison to control measurements from a surface where thúfur are absent. Thúfur crests contain larger grain sizes than hollows, for both H1947 and G2011 tephras; however this was only statistically significant for the G2011 tephra. Such morphological patterns are thought to arise from an interplay of tephra characteristics, altered topography from the thúfur formations and earth surface processes operating at the sites. This study provides insight into the potential of tephra layer morphology and internal structures as indicators of Quaternary landforms and processes. Additionally, it provides important context for the appropriate sampling of tephra layers to infer volcanological processes, as the characteristics of preserved layers do not necessarily reflect those of the original fall-out.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Where are the horses? With the sheep or cows? Uncertain host location, vector-feeding preferences and the risk of African horse sickness transmission in Great Britain

Understanding the influence of non-susceptible hosts on vector-borne disease transmission is an important epidemiological problem. However, investigation of its impact can be complicated by uncertainty in the location of the hosts. Estimating the risk of transmission of African horse sickness (AHS) in Great Britain (GB), a virus transmitted by Culicoides biting midges, provides an insightful example because: (i) the patterns of risk are expected to be influenced by the presence of non-susceptible vertebrate hosts (cattle and sheep) and (ii) incomplete information on the spatial distribution of horses is available because the GB National Equine Database records owner, rather than horse, locations. Here, we combine land-use data with available horse owner distributions and, using a Bayesian approach, infer a realistic distribution for the location of horses. We estimate the risk of an outbreak of AHS in GB, using the basic reproduction number (R0), and demonstrate that mapping owner addresses as a proxy for horse location significantly underestimates the risk. We clarify the role of non-susceptible vertebrate hosts by showing that the risk of disease in the presence of many hosts (susceptible and non-susceptible) can be ultimately reduced to two fundamental factors: first, the abundance of vectors and how this depends on host density, and, second, the differential feeding preference of vectors among animal species

Topography driven spreading

Roughening a hydrophobic surface enhances its nonwetting properties into superhydrophobicity. For liquids other than water, roughness can induce a complete rollup of a droplet. However, topographic effects can also enhance partial wetting by a given liquid into complete wetting to create superwetting. In this work, a model system of spreading droplets of a nonvolatile liquid on surfaces having lithographically produced pillars is used to show that superwetting also modifies the dynamics of spreading. The edge speed-dynamic contact angle relation is shown to obey a simple power law, and such power laws are shown to apply to naturally occurring surfaces

Frequency of blood glucose monitoring in relation to glycaemic control: observational study with diabetes database

Objectives: To investigate patterns of self monitoring of blood glucose concentration in diabetic patients who use insulin and to determine whether frequency of self monitoring is related to glycaemic control. Setting: Diabetes database, Tayside, Scotland. Subjects: Patients resident in Tayside in 1993­-5 who were using insulin and were registered on the database and diagnosed with insulin dependent (type 1) or non­insulin dependent (type 2) diabetes before 1993. Main outcome measures: Number of glucose monitoring reagent strips dispensed (reagent strip uptake) derived from records of prescriptions. First recorded haemoglobin A1c concentration in the study period, and reagent strips dispensed in the previous 6 months. Results: Among 807 patients with type 1 diabetes, 128 (16%) did not redeem any prescriptions for glucose monitoring reagent strips in the 3 year study period. Only 161 (20%) redeemed prescriptions for enough reagent strips to test glucose daily. The corresponding figures for the 790 patients with type 2 diabetes who used insulin were 162 (21%; no strips) and 131 (17%; daily tests). Reagent strip uptake was influenced both by age and by deprivation category. There was a direct relation between uptake and glycaemic control for 258 patients (with recorded haemoglobin A1c concentrations) with type 1 diabetes. In a linear regression model the decrease in haemoglobin A1c concentration for every extra 180 reagent strips dispensed was 0.7%. For the 290 patients with type 2 diabetes who used insulin there was no such relation. Conclusions: Self monitoring of blood glucose concentration is associated with improved glycaemic control in patients with type 1 diabetes. Regular self monitoring in patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes is uncommon

Some Remarks on Effective Range Formula in Potential Scattering

In this paper, we present different proofs of very recent results on the necessary as well as sufficient conditions on the decrease of the potential at infinity for the validity of effective range formulas in 3-D in low energy potential scattering (Andr\'e Martin, private communication, to appear. See Theorem 1 below). Our proofs are based on compact formulas for the phase-shifts. The sufficiency conditions are well-known since long. But the necessity of the same conditions for potentials keeping a constant sign at large distances are new. All these conditions are established here for dimension 3 and for all angular momenta $\ell \geq 0$

Diagnosis of Scrub Typhus

Scrub typhus is transmitted by trombiculid mites and is endemic to East and Southeast Asia and Northern Australia. The clinical syndrome classically consists of a fever, rash, and eschar, but scrub typhus also commonly presents as an undifferentiated fever that requires laboratory confirmation of the diagnosis, usually by indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) assay. We discuss the limitations of IFA, debate the value of other methods based on antigen detection and nucleic acid amplification, and outline recommendations for future study