Background document for carbonate mounds

Hall-Spencer JM, Stehfest KM & Wheeler AJ (2010) Background document for carbonate mounds. OSPAR Commission, 489/201021pp. ISBN 978-1-907390-30-2

Comparison of rectal and tympanic membrane temperature in healthy exercising dogs

The ability to monitor body temperature in athletes at risk of hyperthermia is essential in all species. Currently, the only commonly accepted temperature monitoring site in dogs is the rectum. This is impractical in field situations as it takes time, requires additional handlers to restrain the dog and is not tolerated by all animals. Tympanic membrane temperature (TMT) monitoring may provide a rapid measure of body temperature to facilitate identification of heat stress and heat stroke in canine athletes. In human studies, TMT diverges from rectal temperature (RT) as body temperature increases during exercise induced hyperthermia so is not recommended for monitoring human athletes. If the same divergence occurs in dogs, TMT may not be suitable for use when monitoring the temperature of canine athletes. The aim of the study was to determine if TMT diverged from RT following exercise in healthy dogs. 24 healthy dogs were recruited to the study. Body temperature was measured using a veterinary auricular infrared thermometer (VetTemp) to record tympanic membrane temperature and an electric predictive rectal thermometer. Temperatures were recorded pre and post exercise in a non-clinical setting, familiar to the dogs. The mixed model approach showed that exercise had no effect on the difference between RT and TMT (F(1,201) =0.026, P=0.872). The overall mean difference of RT minus TMT was 0.39°C (n = 116). 68.4% of readings fell within the accepted 0.5°C difference in temperature recording method. In line with previously reported TMT to RT comparison studies in dogs, this study found that TMT measured consistently lower than RT. Using a correction factor of 0.4°C minimised the difference. The hypothesis that dogs would show greater differences between TMT and RT following exercise was not supported, suggesting that TMT could be used to monitor body temperature in exercising dogs where RT is not possible

Dietary aflatoxin exposure and impaired growth in young children from Benin and Togo: cross sectional study

Fetal and early childhood environment, including the nutritional status of the pregnant mother and the infant, are considered critical for growth and risk of disease in later life. Many people in developing coun­ tries are not only malnourished but also chronically exposed to high levels of toxic fungal metabolites (mycotoxins). One family of mycotoxins, the aflatoxins, are carcinogenic and immunotoxic and cause growth retardation in animals. Aflatoxins contaminate staple foods in West Africa, particularly maize and ground­ nuts, as a result of hot, humid storage conditions that promote fungal growth. High exposure to aflatoxins occurs throughout childhood in the region, suggest­ ing that growth and development could be critically affected.We assessed exposure to aflatoxins in relation to anthropometric measures in children in Benin and Togo

Field testing two animal-specific non-contact thermometers on healthy horses

This study investigated the accuracy of two animal specific non-contact infrared thermometers (Rycom and Thermofocus) when compared to rectal temperature in healthy horses. One hundred rectal and eye temperatures were measured in 22 horses. Fewer than 50% of the readings taken with the Thermofocus device were within ± 0.5°C of rectal temperature. Over 80% of eye temperature readings taken with the Rycom device were within ± 0.5°C of rectal temperature measured from the medial canthus region. The Rycom thermometer also appears to detect hyperthermia when measuring the left eye temperature; however, clinical patient testing is needed before its use can be recommended

Developing a second, third, and fourth grade environmental unit on water education

Past research into the ability of students to 'bounce back' from everyday academic setback (academic buoyancy) has lacked sensitivity to the contexts in which children demonstrate this behavior. Here we aimed to contextualize past findings by reporting the results of an exploratory investigation that featured: (1) repeated measurement of students' self-reported buoyancy across English, mathematics, science, and physical education; (2) measures of students' psychological appraisal as a test of external validity; (3) a novel national context (England rather than Australia). In total 260 English secondary school students aged 11-16. years completed self-report questionnaires. Students were found to hold relatively consistent views about their ability to bounce back from everyday academic setbacks (e.g., negative feedback, poor results, study stress or pressure) compared to the relatively less consistent views they held regarding the difficulty of the four school subjects as well as corresponding personal competences and effort. These results are discussed in the context of past research, the implications for interventions, and the need for further confirmatory investigations

Fingermark submission decision-making within a UK fingerprint laboratory: Do experts get the marks that they need?

Within UK policing it is routinely the responsibility of fingerprint laboratory practitioners to chemically develop areas of latent fingerprint ridge detail on evidential items and to determine which areas of ridge detail are of sufficient quality to be submitted to fingerprint experts for search or comparison against persons of interest. This study assessed the effectiveness of the fingermark submission process within the Evidence Recovery Unit Fingerprint Laboratory of the Metropolitan Police Service. Laboratory practitioners were presented with known source fingermark images previously deemed identifiable or insufficient by fingerprint experts, and were asked to state which of the marks they would forward to the Fingerprint Bureau. The results indicated that practitioners forwarded a higher percentage of insufficient fingermarks than is acceptable according to current laboratory guidelines, and discarded a number of marks that were of sufficient quality for analysis. Practitioners forwarded more insufficient fingermarks when considering fingermarks thought to be related to a murder and discarded more sufficient fingermarks when considering those thought to be related to a crime of 'theft from vehicle'. The results highlight the need for fingerprint laboratories to work alongside fingerprint experts to ensure that a consistent approach to decision-making is, as far as possible, achieved, and that appropriate thresholds are adopted so as to prevent the loss of valuable evidence and improve the efficiency of the fingerprint filtering process

Antinuclear antibodies (ANA) in chronic hepatitis C virus infection: correlates of positivity and clinical relevance.

We examined correlates of antinuclear antibody (ANA) positivity (ANA+) in individuals with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and the effect of positivity on clinical outcome of HCV. Pretreatment sera from 645 patients from three centres in Sweden (n = 225), the UK (n = 207) and Italy (n = 213) were evaluated by indirect immunofluorescence on Hep-2 cells for ANA pattern and titre by a single laboratory. Liver biopsies were all scored by one pathologist. A total of 258 patients were subsequently treated with interferon monotherapy. There was a significant difference in the prevalence of ANA (1:40) by geographic location: Lund 4.4%, London 8.7%, Padova 10.3% [odds ratio (OR) = 0.66; 95% CI: 0.46-0.94; P = 0.023]. Duration of HCV infection, age at infection, current age, route of infection, viral genotype, alcohol consumption, fibrosis stage and inflammatory score were not correlated with ANA+ or ANA pattern. Female gender was correlated with ANA+ and this association persisted in multivariable analyses (OR = 3.0; P = 0.002). Increased plasma cells were observed in the liver biopsies of ANA-positive individuals compared with ANA-negative individuals, while a trend towards decreased lymphoid aggregates was observed [hazard ratio (HR) = 9.0, P = 0.037; HR = 0.291, P = 0.118, respectively]. No correlations were observed between ANA positivity and nonresponse to therapy (OR = 1.4; P = 0.513), although ANA+ was correlated with faster rates of liver fibrosis, this was not statistically significant (OR = 1.8; P = 0.1452). Low titre ANA+ should not be a contraindication for interferon treatment. Our observation of increased plasma cells in ANA+ biopsies might suggest B-cell polyclonal activity with a secondary clinical manifestation of increased serum immunoglobulins

A comparison of two-coloured filter systems for treating visual reading difficulties

Copyright @ 2013 Informa UK Ltd.Purpose: Visual disturbances that make it difficult to read text are often termed “visual stress”. Coloured filters in spectacles may help some children overcome reading problems that are often caused by visual stress. It has been suggested that for optimal effect each child requires an individually prescribed colour for each eye, as determined in systems such as the “Harris Foundation” coloured filters. Alternatively, it has been argued that only blue or yellow filters, as used in the “Dyslexia Research Trust” (DRT) filter system, are necessary to affect the underlying physiology. Method: A randomised, double blind trial with 73 delayed readers, was undertaken to compare changes in reading and spelling as well as irregular and non-word reading skills after 3 months of wearing either the Harris or the DRT filters. Results: Reading improved significantly after wearing either type of filter (t = −8.4, p < 0.01), with 40% of the children improving their reading age by 6 months or more during the 3 month trial. However, spelling ability (t = 2.1, p = 0.05) and non-word reading (f = 4.7, p < 0.05) improved significantly more with the DRT than with the Harris filters. Conclusion: Education and rehabilitation professionals should therefore, consider coloured filters as an effective intervention for delayed readers experiencing visual stress