Lactation Failure in Swine

Lactation failure in swine is a rather common disease entity that has perplexed swine producers and veterinarians for generations. While the disease has been studied extensively for years proper prevention and treatment methods have been elusive. The most common name for the disease is the mastitismetritis- agalactia (MMA) complex. As will be discussed in this review, metritis is rarely a part of the disease. It has been suggested that a more descriptive name for the disease complex is the periparturient hypogalactia syndrome

What Does It Take for a Family to Afford to Pay for Health Care?

Addresses how much Californians can afford to pay for health care based on their current insurance premiums and out-of-pocket expenses as well as other basic necessities, such as housing, child care, transportation, food, and taxes

The Relationship Between In Vitro Adherence Capability and Pathogenicity of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae for Swine

The data indicated a positive correlation exists between in vitro adherence capability and in vivo pathogenicity of M. hyopneumoniae clones. Results obtained with the in vitro microtiter plate adherence assay indicated that it can be used to estimate the pathogenicity of strains. However, low adherence capability and possibly pathogenicity were not stable as indicated by the shifting adherence capability of M. hyopneumoniae during in vivo growth. In this study, the in vivo environment apparently favored development of a population of more adherent M. hyopneumoniae. Further research to identify immunogenic, protective proteins involved in this phenomenon could enable development of improved M. hyopneumoniae vaccines

An Analysis of the Implications of the Stupak/Pitts Amendment for Coverage of Medically Indicated Abortions

This analysis examines the implications for coverage of medically indicated abortions under the Stupak/Pitts Amendment (Stupak/Pitts) to H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act. In this analysis we focus on the Amendment\u27s implications for the health benefit services industry as a whole. We also consider the Amendment\u27s implications for the growth of a market for public or private supplemental coverage of medically indicated abortions. Finally, we examine the issues that may arise as insurers attempt to implement coverage determinations in which abortion may be a consequence of a condition, rather than the primary basis of treatment

A Case of Parkinson’s Disease Symptom Reduction with Intravenous NAD+

Neurological deterioration in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and resulting motor dysfunction arises from Lewy body formation and dopaminergic neuronal death in the substantia nigra. Two factors contributing to PD-related apoptosis and subsequent motor dysfunction involve improper cellular metabolism of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and impaired mitochondrial functionality. The co-factor Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide (NAD+), reduction of which has been implicated in the development of neurodegenerative disease, is a critical player in maintaining cellular redox metabolism and mitochondrial function. We present a case study of a PD patient who has become near asymptomatic through the use of intravenous (I.V.) NAD+. This report documents the patient’s initial symptom changes while receiving I.V. NAD+ over the course of eight treatment days, with two non-treatment days in between. The treatment entailed 1500 mg. I.V. NAD+ on day one, 1000 mg. I.V. NAD+ on day two, and 750 mg. I.V. NAD+ on day three. Symptoms were documented by medical staff for the next two days of non-treatment. Following this, 750 mg. I.V. NAD+ was administered on treatment days four and five, 500 mg. I.V. NAD+ on treatment days six and seven, and 750 mg. I.V. NAD+ on treatment day eight. Over the course of treatment, the patient’s hand tremors decreased to a mild level, permitting coordinated use of a pen and utensils. Hand tremors were absent on days one and six. Visual hallucinations were absent on days two through seven. To maintain tremors at a tolerable level, aftercare involved I.V. NAD+ every four to six weeks, with a daily regimen of 300 mg/ml NAD+ nasal spray. Moreover, the patient discontinued PD-related medication, thereby preventing visual hallucination side effects. Although more research on NAD+ in clinical use is needed, the evidence obtained from these symptom improvements indicates NAD+ as having the potential for clinical use in at least a subset of PD sufferers

High-dose therapy and blood or marrow transplantation for non-Hodgkin lymphoma with central nervous system involvement

AbstractThe role of autologous or allogeneic blood or marrow transplantation (BMT) remains undefined in patients with central nervous system (CNS) involvement by lymphoma. The records of all adult and pediatric non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients receiving BMT at Johns Hopkins from 1980 to 2003 were reviewed, and 37 patients were identified who had CNS involvement that was treated into remission by the time of BMT. The chief histologies were diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma/leukemia. Twenty-four percent received intrathecal chemotherapy alone, and 70% received intrathecal chemotherapy and CNS irradiation before BMT. The main preparative regimens were cyclophosphamide/total body irradiation and busulfan/cyclophosphamide. Forty-one percent received an allogeneic transplant. Lymphoma relapsed after BMT in 14 patients (38%), and at least 5 had documented or suspected CNS relapse. In multivariate models, age ≥18 years at diagnosis, resistant systemic disease, busulfan/cyclophosphamide conditioning, and lack of intrathecal consolidation after BMT were statistically significant predictors of inferior survival. The 5-year actuarial event-free survival was 36%, and overall survival was 39%. After BMT, long-term survival is thus achievable in a subset of patients with a history of treated CNS involvement by non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The survival rates are not dissimilar to those typically seen in other high-risk lymphoma patients undergoing BMT. These data suggest that patients with lymphomatous involvement of the CNS who achieve CNS remission should be offered BMT if it is otherwise indicated

Border crossings in the African travel narratives of Ibn Battuta, Richard Burton and Paul Theroux

This article compares the representation of African borders in the 14th-century travelogue of Ibn Battuta, the 19th-century travel narrative of Richard Burton and the 21st-century travel writing of Paul Theroux. It examines the mutually constitutive relationship between conceptions of literal territorial boundaries and the figurative boundaries of the subject that ventures across borders in Africa. The border is seen as a liminal zone which paradoxically separates and joins spaces. Accounts of border crossings in travel writing from different periods suggest the historicity and cultural specificity of conceptions of geographical borders, and the way they index the “boundaries” of the subjects who cross them. Tracing the transformations in these conceptions of literal and metaphorical borders allows one to chart the emergence of the dominant contemporary idea of “Africa” as the inscrutable, savage continent