An investigation to determine the cause of haemorrhagic enteritis in commercial pig grower units in the northern parts of South Africa

Necropsies were performed on 36 grower pigs that died peracutely on farms in the northern parts of South Africa. All these pigs were suffering from haemorrhagic enteritis and suspected toxaemia. Samples of the duodenum, jejunum and ileum were taken for histopathological examination and a section of ileum was collected for microbiological examination from each animal. Histological lesions characteristic of enterotoxigenic Clostridium infection were found. Large, Gram-positive bacilli were sometimes abundant in sections and mucosal smears of the intestine. However, only 40% of the cultures were positive for Clostridium perfringens

ANGPTL4 variants E40K and T266M are associated with lower fasting triglyceride levels in Non-Hispanic White Americans from the Look AHEAD Clinical Trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Elevated triglyceride levels are a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Angiopoietin-like protein 4 (Angptl4) is a metabolic factor that raises plasma triglyceride levels by inhibiting lipoprotein lipase (LPL). In non-diabetic individuals, the <it>ANGPTL4 </it>coding variant E40K has been associated with lower plasma triglyceride levels while the T266M variant has been associated with more modest effects on triglyceride metabolism. The objective of this study was to determine whether ANGPTL4 E40K and T266M are associated with triglyceride levels in the setting of obesity and T2D, and whether modification of triglyceride levels by these genetic variants is altered by a lifestyle intervention designed to treat T2D.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The association of <it>ANGPTL4 </it>E40K and T266M with fasting triglyceride levels was investigated in 2,601 participants from the Look AHEAD Clinical Trial, all of whom had T2D and were at least overweight. Further, we tested for an interaction between genotype and treatment effects on triglyceride levels.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Among non-Hispanic White Look AHEAD participants, <it>ANGPTL4 </it>K40 carriers had mean triglyceride levels of 1.61 ± 0.62 mmol/L, 0.33 mmol/L lower than E40 homozygotes (p = 0.001). Individuals homozygous for the minor M266 allele (MAF 30%) had triglyceride levels of 1.75 ± 0.58 mmol/L, 0.24 mmol/L lower than T266 homozygotes (p = 0.002). The association of the M266 with triglycerides remained significant even after removing K40 carriers from the analysis (p = 0.002). There was no interaction between the weight loss intervention and genotype on triglyceride levels.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This is the first study to demonstrate that the <it>ANGPTL4 </it>E40K and T266M variants are associated with lower triglyceride levels in the setting of T2D. In addition, our findings demonstrate that <it>ANGPTL4 </it>genotype status does not alter triglyceride response to a lifestyle intervention in the Look AHEAD study.</p

A Mysterious Island in the Digital Age: Technology and Musical Life in Ulleungdo, South Korea

This paper contributes to the growing body of ethnomusicological research about music-making on small islands, focusing on the remote South Korean island of Ulleungdo (literally, ‘Mysterious Island’). Historically, a number of factors have conspired to present serious obstacles to the Ulleungdo islanders' musical aspirations. However, since the early 1990s, enterprising amateurs have managed to generate and maintain a variety of musical activities in spite of these obstacles: church ensembles, karaoke, saxophone clubs, and more. Paralleling other island music studies, this paper seeks to show how the condition of being an Ulleungdo islander—entailing a complex of varied experiences, values, and relationships—has informed music-making over the years. However, here, the discussion remains firmly focused upon the islanders' use of technology since an acute reliance on technology has come to permeate Ulleungdo's musical life, with certain electronic devices commonly regarded as essential facilitators of musical expression. Drawing from the islanders' own testimonies, studies of Ulleungdo's cultural history, and works addressing technology's applications within and effects upon local communities, the authors explore how and why this condition of musical techno-reliance developed, how it is manifest in the present-day, and its broader implications for the island's music culture and identity

Initial invasive or conservative strategy for stable coronary disease

BACKGROUND Among patients with stable coronary disease and moderate or severe ischemia, whether clinical outcomes are better in those who receive an invasive intervention plus medical therapy than in those who receive medical therapy alone is uncertain. METHODS We randomly assigned 5179 patients with moderate or severe ischemia to an initial invasive strategy (angiography and revascularization when feasible) and medical therapy or to an initial conservative strategy of medical therapy alone and angiography if medical therapy failed. The primary outcome was a composite of death from cardiovascular causes, myocardial infarction, or hospitalization for unstable angina, heart failure, or resuscitated cardiac arrest. A key secondary outcome was death from cardiovascular causes or myocardial infarction. RESULTS Over a median of 3.2 years, 318 primary outcome events occurred in the invasive-strategy group and 352 occurred in the conservative-strategy group. At 6 months, the cumulative event rate was 5.3% in the invasive-strategy group and 3.4% in the conservative-strategy group (difference, 1.9 percentage points; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.8 to 3.0); at 5 years, the cumulative event rate was 16.4% and 18.2%, respectively (difference, 121.8 percentage points; 95% CI, 124.7 to 1.0). Results were similar with respect to the key secondary outcome. The incidence of the primary outcome was sensitive to the definition of myocardial infarction; a secondary analysis yielded more procedural myocardial infarctions of uncertain clinical importance. There were 145 deaths in the invasive-strategy group and 144 deaths in the conservative-strategy group (hazard ratio, 1.05; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.32). CONCLUSIONS Among patients with stable coronary disease and moderate or severe ischemia, we did not find evidence that an initial invasive strategy, as compared with an initial conservative strategy, reduced the risk of ischemic cardiovascular events or death from any cause over a median of 3.2 years. The trial findings were sensitive to the definition of myocardial infarction that was used