BASELINE CORTICOSTERONE, HEMATOLOGY, AND BIOCHEMISTRY RESULTS AND CORRELATIONS TO REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS IN NESTING LOGGERHEAD SEA TURTLES ( CARETTA CARETTA).

Characterizing the health status and reproductive success of wild populations of sea turtles can be difficult; however, obtaining data to do this can provide important insight into the stability and long-term success of a population. This study examined the use of baseline corticosterone to assess reproductive success of a population of nesting loggerhead sea turtles ( Caretta caretta) on Jekyll Island, Georgia and investigated hematological and biochemical trends in this population. A total of 37 nesting loggerhead sea turtles was sampled for this study.

Are there biological differences between screen-detected and interval colorectal cancers in the English Bowel Cancer Screening Programme?

Background: We measured biomarkers of tumour growth and vascularity in interval and screen-detected colorectal cancers (CRCs) in the English Bowel Cancer Screening Programme in order to determine whether rapid tumour growth might contribute to interval CRC (a CRC diagnosed between a negative guaiac stool test and the next scheduled screening episode).

Methods: Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections from 71 CRCs (screen-detected 43, interval 28) underwent immunohistochemistry for CD31 and Ki-67, in order to measure the microvessel density (MVD) and proliferation index (PI), respectively, as well as microsatellite instability (MSI) testing.

Results: Interval CRCs were larger (P=0.

Baseline plasma corticosterone, haematological and biochemical results in nesting and rehabilitating loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta).

The evaluation of hormonal responses to stress in reptiles relies on acquisition of baseline corticosterone concentrations; however, the stress associated with the restraint needed to collect the blood samples can affect the results. The purpose of this study was to determine a time limit for the collection of blood samples to evaluate baseline corticosterone, haematological and biochemical results in nesting (n = 11) and rehabilitating (n = 16) loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta). Blood samples were collected from the dorsal cervical sinus of each turtle immediately after touching the animal (t 0; 0-3 min) and 3 (t 3; 3-6 min), 6 (t 6; 6-9 min; nesting turtles only), 10 (t 10; 10-13 min) and 30 min (t 30; rehabilitating turtles only) after the initial hands-on time.

Capsule endoscopy--not just for the small bowel: a review.

Video capsule endoscopy is being increasingly used to investigate the esophagus and colon as well as the small bowel. With the advancement of technology used in capsule endoscopy there have been marked improvements in diagnostic rates for colon capsule endoscopy in the detection of colonic polyps and colorectal cancer. It is also being increasingly used in the field if inflammatory bowel disease to investigate for mucosal inflammation and could potentially be used to assess mucosal healing.

Provision of service and training for small bowel endoscopy in the UK.

Objective: To determine the location and use of small bowel endoscopy services in the UK and to analyse training uptake to assess future demand and shape discussions about training and service delivery.

Design: Surveys of British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) members by web-based and personal contact were conducted to ascertain capsule endoscopy practice and numbers of procedures performed. This was compared with expected numbers of procedures calculated using BSG guidelines, hospital episode statistics and published data of capsule endoscopy in routine practice.