Special considerations in paediatric dental trauma

Traumatic dental injuries (TDIs) in the paediatric population are common and frequently seen in general dental practice. The management of TDIs can be challenging and, in most cases, the General Dental Practitioner is tasked with the initial assessment and emergency treatment. Patients and their families typically attend with elevated levels of distress, which is complicated by the limited dental experience of some children. Behaviour management is essential and helps prepare patients for dental care at both their emergency and follow-up appointments. Early and accurate diagnosis in combination with appropriate treatment contributes to favourable outcomes for traumatised teeth. Early discussions with or referral to paediatric dental teams for management of complex TDIs is encouraged, however shared follow-up care is beneficial over the long-term. In specific cases, initial dental treatment can be delayed by a few days to a subsequent appointment, allowing the dental team to book sufficient time for the treatment and for the patient and their families to prepare. Education of the patients and adults with parental responsibility is essential to manage expectations, explain likely complications and encourage attendance for long-term follow-up visits. This paper discusses the management of paediatric patients to aid the primary care practitioner in providing effective immediate and long-term care

Experimental determination of the roughness functions of marine coatings

The aim of this paper is to determine the roughness functions of different marine coatings, including two novel FOUL-X-SPEL paints and two existing commercial coatings, and two control surfaces, using the overall method of Granville (1987). An extensive series of towing tests of flat plates coated with different antifouling coatings was carried out at the Kelvin Hydrodynamics Laboratory (KHL) of the University of Strathclyde. The tests were designed to examine the as applied drag performances of FOUL-X-SPEL paints and compare them with two existing reference paints and two control surfaces. The surface roughness amplitude parameters of all of the test surfaces were measured using a hull roughness analyser. In total over 150 runs were carried out, including a series of repeat tests designed to quantify the uncertainty in the results. The drag coefficients and roughness function values of each surface were evaluated along with the uncertainty limits

Climate Change in Queensland's Grazing Lands: II. An Assessment of the Impact on Animal Production From Native Pastures

The 160 million ha of grazing land in Queensland support approximately 10 million beef equivalents (9.8 million cattle and 10.7 million sheep) with treed and cleared native pastures as the major forage source. The complexity of these biophysical systems and their interaction with pasture and stock management, economic and social forces limits our ability to easily calculate the impact of climate change scenarios. We report the application of a systems approach in simulating the flow of plant dry matter and utilisation of forage by animals. Our review of available models highlighted the lack of suitable mechanistic models and the potential role of simple empirical relationships of utilisation and animal production derived from climatic and soil indices. Plausible climate change scenarios were evaluated by using a factorial of rainfall (f 10%) * 3260C temperature increase * doubling CO, in sensitivity studies at property, regional and State scales. Simulation of beef cattle liveweight gain at three locations in the Queensland black speargrass zone showed that a *lo% change in rainfall was magnified to be a f 15% change in animal production (liveweight gain per ha) depending on location, temperature and CO, change. Models of 'safe' carrying capacity were developed from property data and expert opinion. Climate change impacts on 'safe' carrying capacity varied considerably across the State depending on whether moisture, temperature or nutrients were the limiting factors. Without the effect of doubling CO,, warmer temperatures and +lo% changes in rainfall resulted in -35 to +70% changes in 'safe' carrying capacity depending on location. With the effect of doubling CO, included, the changes in 'safe' carrying capacity ranged from -12 to +115% across scenarios and locations. When aggregated to a whole-of-State carrying capacity, the combined effects of warmer temperature, doubling CO, and +lo% changes in rainfall resulted in 'safe' carrying capacity changes of +3 to +45% depending on rainfall scenario and location. A major finding of the sensitivity study was the potential importance of doubling CO, in mitigating or amplifying the effects of warmer temperatures and changes in rainfall. Field studies on the impact of CO, are therefore a high research priority. Keywords: climate change, Queensland, simulation, rangelands, beef production, cattle, carrying capacity, CO,, utilisatio

Entropic Interactions in Suspensions of Semi-Flexible Rods: Short-Range Effects of Flexibility

We compute the entropic interactions between two colloidal spheres immersed in a dilute suspension of semi-flexible rods. Our model treats the semi-flexible rod as a bent rod at fixed angle, set by the rod contour and persistence lengths. The entropic forces arising from this additional rotational degree of freedom are captured quantitatively by the model, and account for observations at short range in a recent experiment. Global fits to the interaction potential data suggest the persistence length of fd-virus is about two to three times smaller than the commonly used value of $2.2 \mu {m}$.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, submitted to PRE rapid communication

European regulatory agenices should employ full time statisticians

No abstract available

A community approach for pathogens and their arthropod vectors (ticks and fleas) in cats of sub-Saharan Africa

Background Arthropod-borne pathogens and their vectors are present throughout Africa. They have been well studied in livestock of sub-Saharan Africa, but poorly studied in companion animals. Given their socioeconomic importance, the African Small Companion Animal Network (AFSCAN), as part of the WSAVA Foundation, initiated a standardized multi-country surveillance study. Methods In six countries (Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, and Namibia) in both rural and urban settings, 160 infested cats were sampled to assess their ectoparasite community (ticks and fleas), as well as the micro-parasite prevalence within those ectoparasites (60 and 118 pools of ticks and fleas, respectively) and blood (276 cats, including 116 non-infested). Results Almost two thirds of all infested cats originated from Tanzania and Kenya. Despite the large macro-geographical variation, no consistent difference was found in ectoparasite diversity and numbers between East and West Africa. Far more flea-infested than tick-infested cats were found. The most dominant ectoparasite was Ctenocephalides felis. Among the ticks, the exophilic Haemaphysalis spp. were the commonest, including species that are not typically linked with companion animals (Haemaphysalis spinulosa and Haemaphysalis elliptica). The most prevalent pathogens found in the blood and fleas were Bartonella henselae and Mycoplasma haemofelis. In the ticks, the dog-associated Hepatozoon canis was most commonly found. A high degree of co-parasitism was found in all countries and habitats. Conclusions Our continent-wide standardized field study highlights the cat’s potential to serve as a reservoir of pathogens that can be transmitted to humans or livestock, especially when cats are expected to become more commonly kept in African villages and towns

Freshwater fish introductions in mediterranean-climate regions: are there commonalities in the conservation problem?

Aim To compare patterns and drivers of freshwater fish introductions across five climatically similar regions and evaluate similarities and differences in the nonnative species introduced. Location Five mediterranean-climate regions: California (USA), central Chile, south-western Australia, the Iberian peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and the south-western Cape (South Africa). Methods Species presence–absence for native and non-native fishes were collated across the regions, and patterns of faunal change were examined using univariate and multivariate statistical approaches. Taxonomic patterns in freshwater fish introductions were evaluated by comparing the number of species introduced by order to the numbers expected from binomial probabilities. Factors influencing multiple introductions of freshwater fish species in mediterranean regions were determined using generalized linear modelling. Results High levels of endemism (70–90%) were revealed for south-western Cape, south-western Australia and Chile. Despite their high rates of endemism, all regions currently have more non-native species than endemic species. Taxonomic selection was found for five orders, although this was only significant for Salmoniformes across regions. The average increase in regional compositional similarity of fish faunas resulting from non-native fish introductions was 8.0%. Important factors predicting multiple introductions of a species include previous introduction success and mean latitude of its distribution Main conclusions The mediterranean-climate regions of the world, separated by vast distances, originally had a few fish species in common but are now more similar, owing to species introductions, illustrating the extent and importance of taxonomic homogenization. Introductions are largely driven by taxonomically biased human interests in recreational fisheries, aquaculture and ornamental pet species.Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biolog

Fat mass and obesity associated (FTO) gene influences skeletal muscle phenotypes in non-resistance trained males and elite rugby playing position

Background FTO gene variants have been associated with obesity phenotypes in sedentary and obese populations, but rarely with skeletal muscle and elite athlete phenotypes. Methods In 1089 participants, comprising 530 elite rugby athletes and 559 non-athletes, DNA was collected and genotyped for the FTO rs9939609 variant using real-time PCR. In a subgroup of non-resistance trained individuals (NT; n = 120), we also assessed structural and functional skeletal muscle phenotypes using dual energy x-ray absorptiometry, ultrasound and isokinetic dynamometry. In a subgroup of rugby athletes (n = 77), we assessed muscle power during a countermovement jump. Results In NT, TT genotype and T allele carriers had greater total body (4.8% and 4.1%) and total appendicular lean mass (LM; 3.0% and 2.1%) compared to AA genotype, with greater arm LM (0.8%) in T allele carriers and leg LM (2.1%) for TT, compared to AA genotype. Furthermore, the T allele was more common (94%) in selected elite rugby union athletes (back three and centre players) who are most reliant on LM rather than total body mass for success, compared to other rugby athletes (82%; P = 0.01, OR = 3.34) and controls (84%; P = 0.03, OR = 2.88). Accordingly, these athletes had greater peak power relative to body mass than other rugby athletes (14%; P = 2 x 10-6). Conclusion Collectively, these results suggest that the T allele is associated with increased LM and elite athletic success. This has implications for athletic populations, as well as conditions characterised by low LM such as sarcopenia and cachexia