Torque wrench allows readings from inaccessible locations

Torque wrench with an adjustable drive shaft permits indicator to remain in view when used on sections of equipment with limited access. The shaft is capable of protruding from either side of the wrench head by means of spring loaded balls

Co-relation of the ductless glands and the onset of labour

Co-relation of the ductless glands and the onset of labour. Reprinted from The Indian Medical Gazette. Vol. L. (No. 4, April, 1915.)A few notes on some experimental observations, on the co-relation of the ductless glands during pregnancy and factors determining the onset of labour.I would like to draw attention to a sign denoting the intrauterine death of the fetus, which, as far as I understand, has been, up till now overlooked, i.e., the presence of milk in the mamma, within 3—5 days of the occurrence (according to the period of pregnancy ; the earlier the pregnancy is terminated, the later for the milk to appear). This milk is a true milR secre¬ tion and not merely a watery colostrum. The advantages of this knowledge concerning the vitality of the fetus in doubtful cases will readily be apparent, when alternatives in operative interference are before the surgeon, in complications during the latter months of d—1 pregnancy. The presence of this true breast secretion, in such cases, is constant and easy to verify. The explanation is more obscure, and it apparently depends entirely on the interaction of the glandular hormones, in the economy of the pregnant mother. This interaction is complex in the non-pregnant state, and has so far been diffi¬ cult to elucidate, but much light is shed on the correlation of the ductless glands and their hormones by their behaviour during pregnancy, and I might just briefly refer to some known facts regarding this action, with such light as may be thrown upon them, by some experiments of mine continued during the last eight years

Sustainable harvesting of wild populations of Cyclopia intermedia in Kouga, Eastern Cape, South Africa

Cyclopia intermedia E. Mey is harvested from the wild to produce honeybush tea. The presence of a lignotuber and its slow growth seems to hinder the cultivation of this species and wild harvesting is likely to continue. Species distribution modelling indicated that C. intermedia has a climate envelope that spans from the Eastern Cape to the Western Cape along the Cape Fold mountains. This regional distribution is threatened under future climate change scenarios with a range loss and shift identified for climate conditions predicted for 2050. More specifically, its niche was identified as south-facing slopes with sandy to loamy sand soils and water holding capacity that is higher than the surrounding areas. Some keystone Fynbos species were found to share this niche: Leucadendron salignum, Leucospermum cuneiforme, Protea neriifolia, Protea repens, Elegia filacea and Rhodocoma fruticosa. Cyclopia intermedia grows throughout the summer with flowering buds developing in autumn. These enlarge during winter with the flowers opening in early spring. Pods develop in November and seed set occurs during December. Harvesting plants increases their fecundity with cut plants producing more than twice the number of pods and seeds compared to their non-harvested counterparts. This is because resprouting plants produce more flowering stems than uncut plants. Controlled harvesting or localised short-cycle burning could be considered as a management option to improve fecundity of declining Cyclopia intermedia populations in protected areas. C. intermedia harvesting could occur every third year and stem colour was identified as a measure of harvest maturity. Where at least 30 percent of the population has orange (RHS colour 163A) stems the population is suitable for harvesting

Processes of addiction and recreational use of cocaine.

This paper reviews recent gains in knowledge of addiction, with particular reference to cocaine. It starts by considering the history and prevalence both of recreational cocaine and chronic abuse. It goes on to describe what is known about acute cocaine action in the human brain, before reviewing developments in theories and models of processes in addiction. It concludes by discussing how current models do not yet account for ongoing, stable and controlled social use of cocaine, and suggests that tools used to measure inhibitory control and incentive sensitisation might be used to assess these attributes in recreational cocaine users in order to gain insights into controlled use as well as to further understandings of addiction processes

Response of black wildebeest, a specialised grazer, to grass availability

The black wildebeest Connochaetes gnou, a southern African endemic largely confined to the Grassland biome, was used as a model species to assess the response of a specialised grazer to grass availability, as an indicator of habitat quality. The occurrence of animals in low-quality habitats may have detrimental effects on population performance and persistence. Robust techniques are therefore required to assess the response of animals to varying habitat quality, to ensure sustainability of populations and species. Black wildebeest habitat use was assessed in relation to grass availability and visibility, and faecal analysis was used to estimate variation in diet composition and quality, parasite loads, and faecal pellet dimensions, across a grass gradient. Grass consumption, diet quality, and faecal pellet size and weight of black wildebeest increased with increasing grass availability. While black wildebeest consumed up to 55% browse at grass-poor sites, they consistently preferred grasses, potentially resulting in an increased intake of low-quality grasses at grass-poor sites. This, combined with the increased intake of indigestible fibres in browse, may explain the observed trends in diet quality, which in turn may explain variation in faecal pellet size and weight (indicators of body size and weight). Furthermore, black wildebeest population trends within the study area suggest that populations in grass-poor habitats, outside their natural distribution range, may exhibit reduced population performance. These findings suggest that grass availability may be a useful indicator of habitat quality for specialised grazers. The study also provided an opportunity to explore the utility of various diet assessment techniques for estimating herbivore diet composition and quality. Caution should be applied when interpreting and comparing estimates of diet composition and quality that were estimated using different techniques, because different techniques may yield different diet estimates. The study also suggests that black wildebeest may switch to C3 grasses in the winter (as indicated by isotope analysis)

Replication of the association of HLA-B7 with Alzheimer's disease: a role for homozygosity?

BACKGROUND: There are reasons to expect an association with Alzheimer's disease (AD) within the HLA region. The HLA-B & C genes have, however, been relatively understudied. A geographically specific association with HLA-B7 & HLA-Cw*0702 had been suggested by our previous, small study. METHODS: We studied the HLA-B & C alleles in 196 cases of 'definite' or 'probable' AD and 199 elderly controls of the OPTIMA cohort, the largest full study of these alleles in AD to date. RESULTS: We replicated the association of HLA-B7 with AD (overall, adjusted odds ratio = 2.3, 95% confidence interval = 1.4–3.7, p = 0.001), but not the previously suggested interaction with the ε4 allele of apolipoprotein E. Results for HLA-Cw*0702, which is in tight linkage disequilibrium with HLA-B7, were consistent with those for the latter. Homozygotes of both alleles appeared to be at particularly high risk of AD. CONCLUSION: HLA-B7 and HLA-Cw*0702 are associated with AD in the Oxford population. Because of the contradictions between cohorts in our previous study, we suggest that these results may be geographically specific. This might be because of differences between populations in the structure of linkage disequilibrium or in interactions with environmental, genetic or epigenetic factors. A much larger study will be needed to clarify the role of homozygosity of HLA alleles in AD risk

An Extremes of outcome strategy provides evidence that multiple sclerosis severity is determined by alleles at the <i>HLA-DRB1</i> locus

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a common inflammatory disease of the central nervous system unsurpassed for variability in disease outcome. A cohort of sporadic MS cases (n=63), taken from opposite extremes of the distribution of long-term outcome, was used to determine the role of the HLA-DRB1 locus on MS disease severity. Genotyping sets of benign and malignant MS patients showed that HLA-DRB1*01 was significantly underrepresented in malignant compared with benign cases. This allele appears to attenuate the progressive disability that characterizes MS in the long term. The observation was doubly replicated in (i) Sardinian benign and malignant patients and (ii) a cohort of affected sibling pairs discordant for HLA-DRB1*01. Among the latter, mean disability progression indices were significantly lower in those carrying the HLA-DRB1*01 allele compared with their disease-concordant siblings who did not. The findings were additionally supported by similar transmission distortion of HLA-DRB1*04 subtypes closely related to HLA-DRB1*01. The protective effect of HLA-DRB1*01 in sibling pairs may result from a specific epistatic interaction with the susceptibility allele HLA-DRB1*1501. A high-density (&gt;700) SNP examination of the MHC region in the benign and malignant patients could not identify variants differing significantly between the two groups, suggesting that HLA-DRB1 may itself be the disease-modifying locus. We conclude that HLA-DRB1*01, previously implicated in disease resistance, acts as an independent modifier of disease progression. These results closely link susceptibility to long-term outcome in MS, suggesting that shared quantitative MHC-based mechanisms are common to both, emphasizing the central role of this region in pathogenesis