Profile and anaesthetic management following stabbed hearts: a one year retrospective review

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Medicine in branch of Anaesthesiology Johannesburg, 2016Stabbed hearts are surgical emergencies that require a prompt and focused anaesthetic intervention. The aim of this study was to describe the profile and anaesthetic management of patients with stabbed hearts presenting to the Diepkloof Mortuary and Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital during a one year period. A retrospective, contextual and descriptive design, with consecutive convenience sampling was used. There were 44 patients with stabbed hearts; most were males (93%), between 20 and 29 years (53%), and stabbed in the right ventricle (63%); 48% survived to hospital admission. Of those 90% survived to receive surgical management in theatre. Seventy-four percent were intubated in theatre. Most patients were induced with etomidate (58%), suxamthonium (41%) or rocuronium (35%), and fentanyl (88%). Arterial lines (71%) and central venous catheters (76%) were frequently inserted. Fluid resuscitation with blood products or cell salvage (76%), colloids (70%) and crystalloids (70%) were used. Postoperatively, 89% of the patients were alive, 47% were still intubated and transferred to ICU. Mainly young males were the victims of stabbed hearts. Almost half of the victims survived to hospital admission. Most patients were intubated in theatre following rapid or modified rapid sequence induction, had arterial lines and central venous catheters inserted, and received blood products. Eighty-nine percent of patients survived to theatre discharge.MT201

Adoption of RRII 400 series rubber clones by rubber small growers

The paper examines the response of small growers to the recommendation of multi-clonal planting in the context of release of RRII 400 series clones for commercial cultivation, since 2005. The data pertaining to 56080.6 ha under 130658 RPD permits, which availed subsidy from the Rubber Board during the seven year period from 2004 to 2010, were gathered from 26 Regional Offices of the Rubber Board located in the traditional rubber growing regions. The study revealed that the adoption had been characterised by the mono-clonal status (95.1%) of RRII 105 till the year 2004. However, the share of RRII 105 declined to 55.7 per cent in 2010. Conversely, share of RRII 400 series clones increased from 1.0 per cent in 2004 to 28 per cent in 2010 in the total planted area. But trends in adoption of new clones did not exhibit a consistent pattern across size-classes and regions during the post-release phase. It is in sharp contrast to the experience of RRII 105 since its release in 1980. Adoption of multi-clonal planting was only 2.6 per cent in 2004 which increased to more than 15 per cent in 2010. Multi-clonal planting was positively associated with the size of holdings during the period under review. But the strength of this relationship has been dependent on region-specific factors. Therefore, the study brings out the need for evolving a long term policy of region-specific clone recommendations based on life-cycle commercial yield performance

Trends in adoption of planting density in rubber smallholdings in the traditional regions of India

The analysis of planting density of rubber in small holdings for the period 2004-2010 indicated multifaceted features over time. In the traditional belt, except in North Kerala, the planting density of new planting was higher than that of replanting. After the release of RRII 400 series in the year 2005, significantly higher planting density was adopted for it in South Kerala. In all other regions, no significant difference in planting density was noticed between RRII 105 and RRII 400 series in the case of new planting, but higher density was adopted for replanting of RRII 105. An inverse relationship was observed between the size of holdings and planting density

Evaluation and comparison of native and recombinant LipL21 protein-based ELISAs for diagnosis of bovine leptospirosis

A 21-kDa leptospiral lipoprotein (LipL21) was evaluated for its diagnostic potential to detect bovine leptospirosis by ELISA. Both native LipL21 (nLipL21) and recombinant LipL21 (rLipL21) proteins were tested and compared regarding diagnostic efficiency, and no statistically significant difference was observed. The sensitivity of rLipL21 ELISA for 62 microscopic agglutination test (MAT) positive sera was 100% and the specificity with 378 MAT negative sera was 97.09%. Thus, rLipL21 protein-based ELISA could be used as an alternative to MAT for the diagnosis of bovine leptospirosis

Insect Repellents: Modulators of Mosquito Odorant Receptor Activity

Background: DEET, 2-undecanone (2-U), IR3535 and Picaridin are widely used as insect repellents to prevent interactions between humans and many arthropods including mosquitoes. Their molecular action has only recently been studied, yielding seemingly contradictory theories including odorant-dependent inhibitory and odorant-independent excitatory activities on insect olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) and odorant receptor proteins (ORs). Methodology/Principal Findings: Here we characterize the action of these repellents on two Aedes aegypti ORs, AaOR2 and AaOR8, individually co-expressed with the common co-receptor AaOR7 in Xenopus oocytes; these ORs are respectively activated by the odors indole (AaOR2) and (R)-(2)-1-octen3-ol (AaOR8), odorants used to locate oviposition sites and host animals. In the absence of odorants, DEET activates AaOR2 but not AaOR8, while 2-U activates AaOR8 but not AaOR2; IR3535 and Picaridin do not activate these ORs. In the presence of odors, DEET strongly inhibits AaOR8 but not AaOR2, while 2-U strongly inhibits AaOR2 but not AaOR8; IR3535 and Picaridin strongly inhibit both ORs. Conclusions/Significance: These data demonstrate that repellents can act as olfactory agonists or antagonists, thus modulating OR activity, bringing concordance to conflicting models

Canine leptospirosis – a seroprevalence study from Kerala, India

Aim: To study the seroprevalence of leptospirosis in dogs in Kerala and to identify the most prevalent serovar. Materials and Methods: A total of 205 sera collected from dogs were screened for the presence of antibodies against leptospirosis by Microscopic Agglutination Test (MAT). Results: A seroprevalence rate of 71.12 per cent was observed. Leptospira interrogans serovar Autumnalis was found to be the most prevalent serovar followed by Australis, Pomona, Canicola, Pyrogenes, Icterohaemorrhagiae, Javanica and Patoc. Conclusions: The results revealed the high prevalence of anti leptospiral antibodies in dogs in Kerala. The emergence of serovars other than the vaccinal serovars necessitates the incorporation of these in the vaccines because the immunity against leptospirosis is serovar specific. Key words: canine leptospirosis, MAT, seroprevalence [Vet World 2013; 6(1.000): 42-44

Cloning and sequencing of the virulent gene LipL32 of Leptospira interrogans serovar Autumnalis

Aim: To clone the virulent gene LipL32 of Leptospira interrogans serovar Autumnalis and to analyze the sequence with LipL32 gene of other pathogenic serovars of Leptopsira. Materials and Methods: Leptospira interrogans serovar Autumnalis procured from Leptospira research laboratory, Chennai was used in the study. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was carried out for amplifying LipL32 gene using the reported primers of Leptospira Kirschnerii. The PCR product was cloned into TA cloning vector and the vector was transformed into E.Coli DH5á cells. The plasmid was isolated from E.Coli and sent for sequencing with universal primers. The sequence was submitted in genbank with accession number JQ861883. Results: The PCR product revealed an amplicon of 790 bp. The LipL32 gene sequence of Leptospira interrogans serovar Autumnalis showed 99 % similarity with most of the pathogenic Leptospires. Conclusions: LipL32 gene of Leptospira is highly conserved in most of the pathogenic Leptospires. The study concludes that this gene could be used as a target for the diagnosis of leptospirosis in animals and humans and could be tested as an important candidate antigen for vaccine production. [Vet World 2013; 6(4.000): 193-195