Chelating Polymers for Targeted Decontamination of Actinides: Application of PEI-MP to Hydroxyapatite-Th(IV).

In case of an incident in the nuclear industry or an act of war or terrorism, the dissemination of plutonium could contaminate the environment and, hence, humans. Human contamination mainly occurs via inhalation and/or wounding (and, less likely, ingestion). In such cases, plutonium, if soluble, reaches circulation, whereas the poorly soluble fraction (such as small colloids) is trapped in alveolar macrophages or remains at the site of wounding.

Regional healthcare costs and burden of injury associated with electric scooters.

Background: The introduction of shared electric scooters (e-scooters) to New Zealand has resulted in a large number of injuries. Within the past year, there have been studies addressing some of the impact of these e-scooter injuries, but none have included outpatient data or total regional costs.

Methods: This was a retrospective review of e-scooter associated injuries presenting to Auckland region healthcare providers in the seven months since their introduction using Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) Claims data.

Carboxylate- and Phosphonate-Modified Polyethylenimine: Toward the Design of Actinide Decorporation Agents.

Plutonium (Pu) is an anthropogenic element involved in the nuclear industry cycle. Located at the bottom of the periodic table within the actinide family, it is a chemical toxic but also a radiological toxic, regardless of isotopy. After nearly 80 years of Pu industrialization, it has become clear that inhalation and wounds represent the two main ways a person may become contaminated after an accident.

Effect of the Shorter Stays in Emergency Departments time target policy on key indicators of quality of care.

Aim: To determine whether implementation of a national health target called Shorter Stays in Emergency Departments impacted on clinical markers of quality of care.

Method: A retrospective pre- and post-intervention study from 2006 to 2012 examined quality of care metrics for five different indicators at different sites in relation to the implementation of the target using a general linear model for times to treatment. Explanatory variables included period (pre- or post-target), ethnicity, age, deprivation and severity of condition.

Impact of a national time target for ED length of stay on patient outcomes.

Aim: The impact of national targets for emergency department (ED) length of stay (LOS) on patient care is unclear. This study aimed to determine the effect of New Zealand's six-hour time target (95% of ED patients discharged or admitted to hospital within six hours) on a range of quality indicators.

Methods: A nationwide observational study from 2006 to 2012 modelled differences in changes over time before and after target introduction in 2009.

Time to cranial computerised tomography for acute traumatic brain injury in paediatric patients: Effect of the shorter stays in emergency departments target in New Zealand.

Aim: Timely access to computerised tomography (CT) for acute traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) facilitates rapid diagnosis and surgical intervention. In 2009, New Zealand introduced a mandatory target for emergency department (ED) stay such that 95% of patients should leave ED within 6 h of arrival. This study investigated whether this target influenced the timeliness of cranial CT scanning in children who presented to ED with acute TBI.

The effect of the Shorter Stays in Emergency Departments health target on the quality of ED discharge summaries.

Objective: Time targets for ED stays are used as a policy instrument to reduce ED crowding. There is debate whether such policies are helpful or harmful, as focus on a process target may divert attention from clinical care. The objective of this study is to investigate whether the Shorter Stays in Emergency Departments target in New Zealand was associated with a change in the quality of ED discharge information provided to primary care providers.

Review article: what makes a good healthcare quality indicator? A systematic review and validation study.

Indicators measuring aspects of performance to assess quality of care are often chosen arbitrarily. The present study aimed to determine what should be considered when selecting healthcare quality indicators, particularly focusing on the application to emergency medicine. Structured searches of electronic databases were supplemented by website searches of quality of care and benchmarking organisations, citation searches and discussions with experts.

Personal computer versus workstation display: observer performance in detection of wrist fractures on digital radiographs.

Purpose: To retrospectively compare the accuracy of observer performance with personal computer (PC) compared with that with dedicated picture archiving and communication system (PACS) workstation display in the detection of wrist fractures on computed radiographs.

Materials And Methods: This study was conducted according to the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki (2002 version) of the World Medical Association. The institutional clinical board approved the study; informed consent was not required.

Control of ovarian follicular growth and maturation by the corpus luteum and the placenta during pregnancy in sheep.

Ovarian follicular growth and maturation and its control throughout pregnancy have not been described fully in sheep. Experiment 1 characterized the size and maturation (steroid production in vitro and aromatase activity) of ovarian follicles obtained at days 20, 50, 80 and 110 of pregnancy compared with those obtained at day 12 of the oestrous cycle. There was no difference in the number of small follicles (< 3 mm in diameter) between cyclic and pregnant ewes, regardless of the stage of pregnancy.

The effect of sudden solar exposure on thermophysiological parameters and on plasma prolactin and cortisol concentrations in male Creole goats.

Rectal temperature (RT), respiratory rhythm (RR), plasma cortisol and prolactin (PRL) levels and haematocrit were measured at noon in male Creole goats during their habituation to shade, during sudden exposure to sunlight and then while they were kept outdoors. Data on the microclimatic environment, especially black-globe temperature (Tg), were recorded. On the day (DO) the bucks were put in the sun, the increase of RT and RR, characteristic of circadian rhythm, was amplified (RT: 40.

Maintenance of the corpus luteum after uterine transfer of trophoblastic vesicles to cyclic cows and ewes.

One or two trophoblastic vesicles (0.4-2 mm diam.) from cow (Day 14) or ewe (Day 11-13) embryos without their disc were transferred, after culture for 24 h, into recipients.

Hormone levels in plasma of ewes induced into lactation.

A short-term treatment with estradiol-17 beta and progesterone induced mammary gland growth and lactogenesis in non-pregnant ewes. These events normally occur during the second half of pregnancy. In order to compare the hormonal environment during the treatment to that during pregnancy, the concentrations of total estrogens (TE), progesterone (P4), glucocorticoids (G) and prolactin (Prl) in the plasma were characterized in non-pregnant, intact ewes induced into lactation with subcutaneous injections of estradiol-17 beta (E2-beta) and P4 for 7 consecutive days (days 1 to 7).

[Changes in the blood cortisol levels during the first week of life in calves (Bos taurus) and lambs (Ovis aries)].

At birth, the plasmatic level of cortisol is very variable and very high in the new-born Calf or the newborn Lamb. This level diminishes within one day and then varies between 10 and 30 ng/ml during the six following days. In the Calf, the secretion of cortisol can be directly stimulated by ACTH or inhibited at the level of the hypothalamic and hypophyseal system with dexamethasone on the day following birth.

[Variation in total and unbound plasma cortisol levels throughout labor in normal and anencephalic pregnancies].

Total and unbound plasma Cortisol levels have been evaluated throughout labour in women delivering normal and anencephalitic infants. The sharp increase in total Cortisol usually observed in maternal plasma during labour does not occur in women bearing an anencephalitic foetus. This Cortisol binding capacity of Transcortin being the same, both in the normal and the pathological groups, it is shown that in anencephaly, unconjugated Cortisol levels are also lowered.

[Maternal and fetal corticosteroids in the sow at the end of gestation].

Foetal and maternal blood samples are taken on the sow at the end of pregnancy. No variations in maternal cortisol are found, but plasma cortisol levels in the foetus, which are relatively constant between days 70 and 100 of pregnancy (10 to 20 ng/ml), increase suddenly at the end of pregnancy reaching a mean of 210 ng/ml at birth. This high increase of foetal corticosteroids at birth, similar to that found in other species (ewe, goat, etc.

[Plasma progesterone of ewes at the end of the gestational period after destruction of the fetal hypophysis. Effect of dexamethasone administration].

Destruction of the foetal pituitary has been performed in ewes at day 120 of pregnancy and progesterone has been assayed by radioimmunology. The plasma progesterone remains at a steady level from day 138 and throughout the prolongation of pregnancy, even after injection of dexamethasone on day 145.