Canine presumed glial brain tumours treated with radiotherapy: Is there an inferior outcome in tumours contacting the subventricular zone?

Post-treatment outcome in canine glial tumours is described with a broad range of survival times between 2 and 28 months. After surgery or radiation therapy, the tumours may progress locally or spread within the central nervous system. It is unknown if tumour- or patient-specific factors influence prognosis. In humans, glioblastoma involving the subventricular zone has been found to recur distantly, with shortened time to progression and overall survival. We included 32 dogs irradiated for a presumptive primary glial brain tumour in this retrospective cohort study. Tumours were grouped relative to subventricular zone contact and overt ventricular invasion assessing pre-treatment magnetic resonance images. Median time to progression (TTP) for all cases was 534 days (95%CI, 310–758), with a significantly shorter TTP in dogs with lesions at the subventricular zone (median TTP, 260 vs. 687 days; p =.049). Tumours at the subventricular zone progressed more often (p =.001), and more likely as CNS-metastasis (52.9% vs. 13.3%, p =.028). Median overall survival (OS) was 489 days (95%CI, 147–831) and median tumour-specific survival 609 days (95%CI, 382–835). Involvement of the subventricular zone was significantly associated with a shorter tumour-specific survival (median, 306 vs. 719 days; p =.044). Glial tumours contacting the subventricular zone in dogs have a shorter tumour-specific survival and a higher rate of progression and CNS-metastasis. Despite local tumour control, metastasis must be considered and should prompt further treatment approaches

Counteracting Green Alder Shrub Expansion by Low-Input Grazing

In the past decades, the decline of traditional agriculture has caused an abandonment of marginal pastures in many mountain areas of Europe. In the Swiss Alps, green alder (Alnus viridis) is the most abundant successional shrub. A survey of 24 pasture-shrub gradients showed that the encroachment by green alder, in contrast to other shrubs, is associated with a substantial decline in plant species richness. The understorey of alder is primarily populated by very few, broad-leaved herbaceous species benefitting from the atmospheric nitrogen fixed by actinomycetes in symbiosis with green alder. However, the understory vegetation also provides an underestimated forage, rich in protein and comparable in productivity and digestibility to nearby open pastures. A two-year grazing experiment with cattle (Dexter), sheep (local Engadine sheep) and mixed-breed goats in the Eastern Swiss Alps demonstrated that robust breeds were able to exploit these resources as they readily penetrated the thickets. The Engadine sheep and the goats consumed green alder bark and thus actively counteracted shrub encroachment. Dexter cattle did not forage on alder bark but on leaves and opened the thickets by their movement through them. Since goats preferred other woody species to green alder and depleted them before the alder, they may impair the regeneration of late-successional forest. Dexter heifers and Engadine lambs performed equally well on pastures with high shrub cover and on open pastures in terms of average daily weight gain, carcass and meat quality. This was facilitated by the comparatively low productivity of these breeds. In this way, low-input grazing systems utilizing adapted breeds, especially sheep, can add to conservation goals and sustain a viable meat production in marginal areas

Different effects of dual task demands on the speech of young and older adults

This is an electronic version of an article published in Kemper, S., Herman, R. E., Nartowicz, J.(2005). Different effects of dual task demands on the speech of young and older adults. Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, 12, 340-358. PM#1410812. Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition is available online at www.taylorandfrancis.comYoung and older adults provided language samples in response to elicitation questions while concurrently performing 3 different tasks. The language samples were scored on three dimensions: fluency, grammatical complexity, and content. Previous research has shown that older adults use a restricted speech register that is grammatically less complex than young adults’ and has suggested that this restricted speech register is buffered from the costs of dual task demands. This hypothesis was tested by comparing language samples collected during a baseline condition with those produced while the participants were performing the concurrent tasks. The results indicate that young and older adults adopt different strategies when confronted with dual task demands. Young adults shift to a restricted speech register when confronted with dual task demands. Older adults, who were already using a restricted speech register, became less fluent although the grammatical complexity and informational content of their speech was preserved. Hence, some but not all aspects of older adults’ speech are buffered from dual task demands

Covalent Modification of Lipids and Proteins in Rat Hepatocytes, and In Vitro, by Thioacetamide Metabolites

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in Chemical Research in Toxicology, copyright © American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/tx3001658Thioacetamide (TA) is a well-known hepatotoxin in rats. Acute doses cause centrilobular necrosis and hyperbilirubinemia while chronic administration leads to biliary hyperplasia and cholangiocarcinoma. Its acute toxicity requires its oxidation to a stable S-oxide (TASO) that is oxidized further to a highly reactive S,S-dioxide (TASO2). To explore possible parallels between the metabolism, covalent binding and toxicity of TA and thiobenzamide (TB) we exposed freshly isolated rat hepatocytes to [14C]-TASO or [13C2D3]-TASO. TLC analysis of the cellular lipids showed a single major spot of radioactivity that mass spectral analysis showed to consist of N-acetimidoyl PE lipids having the same side chain composition as the PE fraction from untreated cells; no carbons or hydrogens from TASO were incorporated into the fatty acyl chains. Many cellular proteins contained N-acetyl- or N-acetimidoyl lysine residues in a 3:1 ratio (details to be reported separately). We also oxidized TASO with hydrogen peroxide in the presence of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylenthanolamine (DPPE) or lysozyme. Lysozyme was covalently modified at five of its six lysine side chains; only acetamide-type adducts were formed. DPPE in liposomes also gave only amide-type adducts, even when the reaction was carried out in tetrahydrofuran with only 10% water added. The exclusive formation of N-acetimidoyl PE in hepatocytes means that the concentration or activity of water must be extremely low in the region where TASO2 is formed, whereas at least some of the TASO2 can hydrolyze to acetylsulfinic acid before it reacts with cellular proteins. The requirement for two sequential oxidations to produce a reactive metabolite is unusual, but it is even more unusual that a reactive metabolite would react with water to form a new compound that retains a high degree of chemical reactivity toward biological nucleophiles. The possible contribution of lipid modification to the hepatotoxicity of TA/TASO remains to be determined

Toksični učinci olova u profesionalno izložene indijske obitelji

This article describes an entire family manufacturing lead acid batteries who all suffered from lead poisoning. The family of five lived in a house, part of which had been used for various stages of battery production for 14 years. Open space was used for drying batteries. They all drank water from a well located on the premises. Evaluation of biomarkers of lead exposure and/or effect revealed alarming blood lead levels [(3.92±0.94) µmol L-1], 50 % reduction in the activity of δ-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase [(24.67±5.12) U L-1] and an increase in zinc protoporphyrin [(1228±480) µg L-1]. Liver function tests showed an increase in serum alkaline phosphatase [(170.41±41.82) U L-1]. All other liver function test parameters were normal. Renal function tests showed an increase in serum uric acid [(515.81±86.29) µmol L-1] while urea and creatinine were normal. Serum calcium was low [(1.90±0.42) mmol L-1 in women and (2.09±0.12) mmol L-1 in men], while blood pressure was high in the head of the family and his wife and normal in children. Lead concentration in well water was estimated to 180 µg L-1. The family was referred to the National Referral Centre for Lead Poisoning in India, were they were received treatment and were informed about the hazards of lead poisoning. A follow up three months later showed a slight decrease in blood lead levels and a significant increase in haemoglobin. These findings can be attributed to behavioural changes adopted by the family, even though they continued producing lead batteries.Olovo je sveprisutni metal s mnogo namjena, a čovječanstvo ga rabi već više od 6000 godina. Danas je olovo među najrasprostranjenijim toksinima u okolišu, a drugi je na popisu toksičnih metala, odmah iza arsena. Mnogi još nisu svjesni njegova toksičnoga djelovanja te se i dalje izlažu olovu. Ovdje je opisana obitelj koja proizvodi olovne akumulatore i koja je pretrpjela trovanje olovom zahvaljujući svojoj neobaviještenosti. Ova peteročlana obitelj živjela je u jednome kućanstvu čiji je dio namijenjen različitim fazama proizvodnje akumulatora već 14 godina. Akumulatori su se sušili na otvorenome. Na imanju je bio i bunar s pitkom vodom. Mjerenja biopokazatelja izloženosti olovu i njegova djelovanja u svih pet članova obitelji dovela su do alarmantnoga saznanja o razinama olova u krvi [(3,92±0,94) µmol L-1], 50 %-tnom padu aktivnosti dehidrataze δ-aminolevulinske kiseline [(24,67±5,12) U L-1] te povišenom cinkovu protoporfirinu [(1228±480) µg L-1]. Jetrene probe otkrile su povišene razine alkalne fosfataze u serumu [(170,41±41,82) U L-1]. Ostali su parametri jetrene funkcije bili normalni. Testovi funkcije bubrega otkrili su povišene razine mokraćne kiseline u serumu [(515,81±86,29) µmol L-1], dok su razine ureje i kreatinina bile normalne. Također je zabilježen pad razina kalcija u serumu [(1,90±0,42) mmol L-1 u žena te (2,09±0,12) mmol L-1 u muškaraca]. Povišeni krvni tlak zamijećen je u glave obitelji i njegove supruge, dok je u djece bio normalan. Koncentracija olova u bunarskoj vodi bila je izrazito visoka, prema procjeni 180 µg L-1. Obitelj je upućena u indijski Državni referalni centar za otrovanje olovom (National Referral Centre for Lead Poisoning) gdje je primila lijekove i bila upoznata s činjenicama vezanim uz otrovanje olovom. Tromjesečno je praćenje pokazalo blagi pad razina olova u krvi te značajan porast hemoglobina. Ovi se nalazi mogu pripisati promjenama u ponašanju obitelji, bez obzira na to što je nastavila proizvoditi akumulatore

Understanding the decomposition reaction mechanism of chrysanthemic acid: a computational study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Chrysanthemic acid (<b>CHA</b>) is a major product from the photodecomposition of pyrethrin which is an important class of pesticide compounds.</p> <p>In the following paper, Hybrid density functional theory (DFT) calculations of the potential energy surface (PES) for three possible channels decomposition of chrysanthemic acid <b>(</b>cis-trans isomerization, rearrangement and fragmentation) have been carried at the B3LYP/6-311+G** level of theory. DFT was employed to optimize the geometry parameters of the reactants, transition states, intermediates and products based on detailed potential energy surfaces (PES).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our results suggest that all three pathways of <b>CHA </b>are endothermic. DFT calculations revealed that the activation barriers for cis-trans isomerization are low, leading to a thermodynamically favorable process than other two pathways. We also investigated the solvent effect on the PES using the polarizable continuum model (PCM). In addition, time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations showed that these reactions occur in the ground state rather than in an excited state.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The rearrangement process seems to be more favorable than the decomposition of <b>CHA </b>to carbene formation. The solvent effect calculations indicated no changes in the shape of the PES with three continua (water, ethanol and cyclohexane), although the solvents tend to stabilize all of the species.</p

An evidence-based recommendation on bed head elevation for mechanically ventilated patients

A semi-upright position in ventilated patients is recommended to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) and is one of the components in the Ventilator Bundle of the Institute for Health Care Improvement. This recommendation, however, is not an evidence-based one.status: publishe