In vivo pharmacokinetics of a gentamicin-loaded collagen sponge in acute periprosthetic infection - Serum values in 19 patients

Background The in vivo pharmacokinetics of gentamycin- loaded collagen fleeces in humans have not been described in the current literature. We therefore analyzed in vivo pharmacokinetics of these fleeces when used in the treatment of periprosthetic infections. Patients and methods Gentamycin concentrations were measured in 19 consecutive patients with an acute periprosthetic infection. Each patient received 2-5 fleeces (130 mg gentamycin/fleece). Results Initially, the blood concentration increased to 3.2-7.2 mg/L, depending on the number of fleeces that were applied. The serum peak concentrations resulted in peak/MIC ratios of 2.5-36 for P. aeruginosa, S. aureus, and Klebsiella spp. Subsequently, the serum values decreased almost linearly below 0.3 mg/L in 18 to 62 hours. After 24 hours, the serum levels of gentamicin dropped below 2 mg/L, the toxicity threshold. Interpretation The application of 2 to 5 130-mg gentamycin-loaded collagen fleeces may be useful as an adjuvant treatment for implant-related infections, since no toxic concentrations were measured 24 hours postoperatively

Developments in benthos and fish in gullies in an area closed for human use in the Wadden Sea : 2002-2016

In the eastern Dutch Wadden Sea an area was closed for anthropogenic bottom-disturbing activities in 2005. The ‘natural’ development of the fauna in gullies located within this area was monitored and compared with the development in gullies outside the closed area. Emphasis was put on sampling the benthic fauna (every autumn). Eleven years after closure (2016) the fish population was sampled again and additional benthic samples were taken, the sea floor was mapped and the fishing pressures were calculated. Preliminary results show that throughout the investigated period the open gullies were subject to moderate shrimp fishing pressures and that the closed gullies were not fished. Closure of the gullies has not yet led to the formation of biogenic structures on the seafloor, but has led to an increase in the species richness of small benthic fauna and to subtle changes in benthic species composition. Due to the limited availability of data it was not possible to detect statistically significant differences in the fish population. Sinds november 2005 is een klein deel van de Nederlandse Waddenzee gesloten voor (potentieel) schadelijke menselijke activiteiten. Het gebied ligt ten zuiden van Rottumerplaat en Rottumeroog en beslaat zo’n 7400 hectare. Doel van de sluiting is om de ongestoorde ontwikkeling van de natuur in de Waddenzee te kunnen volgen. Dit rapport beschrijft de tussentijdse resultaten, 11 jaar naar sluiting. In het monitorprogramma is de nadruk gelegd op veranderingen in de bodemfauna die jaarlijks en vanaf 2002 in het najaar bemonsterd worden. In 2016 zijn aanvullende bemonsteringen uitgevoerd. In dat jaar is de visgemeenschap herbemonsterd, zijn additionele bodemmonsters genomen gericht op het bemonsteren van de wat grotere organismen, zijn de karakteristieken van het bodemoppervlak in kaart gebracht en is de visserijdruk in het gebied berekend. Voorlopige resultaten laten zien dat in de open geulen garnalenvisserij heeft plaatsgevonden gedurende de hier bestudeerde periode en dat in de gesloten geulen geen visserij heeft plaatsgevonden na 2005. Sluiting van de geulen heeft nog niet geleid tot vestiging van biogene structuren. Wel is de soortenrijkdom toegenomen en hebben er zich subtiele veranderingen in bodemdiersamenstelling voorgedaan. Vanwege de beperkte hoeveelheid gegevens was het niet mogelijk om uitspraken te doen over veranderingen in de vispopulatie

When the Holiday Goes South: Case Study of Norovirus Outbreak and Overview of Common Food and Water Borne Illnesses

A recent outbreak of norovirus occurred approximately 24 hours into a cruise, while passengers were enroute to a Northern destination aboard a holiday cruise ship on a scheduled week-long journey. The symptoms of classic norovirus including watery diarrhea, severe abdominal cramps and nausea were quickly recognized, and the illness causation confirmed via on-board laboratory testing in the ship infirmary. Appropriate treatment prescribed by the ship’s physician, and containment was realized within a few days. Because of the limited number of passengers affected (12 out of over 1,000), and the timing of the incident, it was concluded that the origin of the infection likely occurred prior to or soon after the passengers boarded, possibly linked to a welcoming ceremony hosted by the ship’s captain during which a variety of h’odoerve style finger foods including some seafood items were made available during a buffet dinner. Following the initial outbreak, no additional cases were reported or identified, no on-board origin was confirmed, and all passengers recovered without incident and continued the cruise

First geolocator tracks of Swedish red-necked phalaropes reveal the Scandinavia-Arabian Sea connection

We studied migration and wintering patterns of a wader with a pelagic lifestyle during the non-breeding period, the rednecked phalarope Phalaropus lobatus . Using light-level geolocation, we obtained three full annual tracks and one autumn migration track of male red-necked phalaropes caught during breeding in Scandinavia. Th ese tracks confi rmed expectations that individuals from the Scandinavian population winter in the Arabian Sea. Migration was accomplished in two to four migration leaps, staging for a few days in the Gulf of Finland (autumn) or the southern Baltic Sea (spring) and for up to a month in or near the Black and Caspian Sea (autumn and spring). In addition, travel speeds suggested that only the fl ights between the Baltic and Black/Caspian Sea are non-stop, and thus the birds seem to make additional short stops during the other flights. Stopover time in the Black/Caspian Sea is only 8 – 10 d in spring but up to 36 d in autumn, which is longer than expected if only used for pre-migratory fattening to cover the ca 2000 km to the Gulf of Oman. After entering the Arabian Sea via the Gulf of Oman, birds dispersed over the entire presumed winter range. Winter movements appear to correspond to the spatio-temporal patterns in primary production linked to seasonally changing monsoon winds. Th ese are not only the first tracks of Scandinavian red-necked phalaropes, but also the fi rst seabird tracks in the Arabian Sea, one of the most productive and dynamic marine areas on the planet

Eggs in the Freezer: Energetic Consequences of Nest Site and Nest Design in Arctic Breeding Shorebirds

Birds construct nests for several reasons. For species that breed in the Arctic, the insulative properties of nests are very important. Incubation is costly there and due to an increasing surface to volume ratio, more so in smaller species. Small species are therefore more likely to place their nests in thermally favourable microhabitats and/or to invest more in nest insulation than large species. To test this hypothesis, we examined characteristics of nests of six Arctic breeding shorebird species. All species chose thermally favourable nesting sites in a higher proportion than expected on the basis of habitat availability. Site choice did not differ between species. Depth to frozen ground, measured near the nests, decreased in the course of the season at similar non-species-specific speeds, but this depth increased with species size. Nest cup depth and nest scrape depth (nest cup without the lining) were unrelated to body mass (we applied an exponent of 0.73, to account for metabolic activity of the differently sized species). Cup depth divided by diameter2 was used as a measure of nest cup shape. Small species had narrow and deep nests, while large species had wide shallow nests. The thickness of nest lining varied between 0.1 cm and 7.6 cm, and decreased significantly with body mass. We reconstruct the combined effect of different nest properties on the egg cooling coefficient using previously published quantitative relationships. The predicted effect of nest cup depth and lining depth on heat loss to the frozen ground did not correlate with body mass, but the sheltering effect of nest cup diameter against wind and the effects of lining material on the cooling coefficient increased with body mass. Our results suggest that small arctic shorebirds invest more in the insulation of their nests than large species

Distinct populations of high-<i>M</i>r mucins secreted by different human salivary glands discriminated by density-gradient electrophoresis

High-M(r) mucins [mucin glycoprotein 1 (MG1)] isolated from human saliva from the individual salivary glands were chemically characterized. The carbohydrate content of MG1 derived from palatal (PAL), submandibular (SM) and sublingual (SL) saliva was typical of mucins but showed heterogeneity, especially in the amount of sialic acid and sulphated sugar residues. The physicochemical properties of native MG1s make conventional SDS/PAGE and ion-exchange chromatography unsuitable for investigating differences between individual samples. Recently a density-gradient electrophoresis (DGE) device has been developed, primarily for separation based on the charge of entire cells or cell organelles [Tulp, Verwoerd and Pieters (1993) Electrophoresis 14, 1295-1301]. We have used this apparatus to study the high-M(r) salivary mucins. Using DGE, the MG1s of individual glands were seen to have clearly distinct electrophoretic mobilities, as monitored by ELISA using MG1-specific monoclonal antibodies. Even within a particular MG1 preparation, subpopulations could be distinguished. DGE analysis of a chemically and enzymically modified MG1 series, followed by ELISA and dot-blot detection using specific monoclonal antibodies, lectins and high-iron diamine staining, suggests that the high electrophoretic mobility of PAL-MG1 is mainly the result of a high sulphate content, whereas the SL subpopulations differ mainly in binding type and amount of sialic acid. SM-MG1 most resembles the low-mobility subpopulation of SL-MG1, except that it has a lower sulphate content. In conclusion, DGE appears to be a powerful method for analysis of native mucin; it has been used to demonstrate that MG1s from the various salivary glands are biochemically much more diverse than was previously assumed.</jats:p

Instabilities in a continuous medium model for the retina

Abstract. The shape of the spatial response of the retina on a small light stimulus as found b