Straussenhaltung in Deutschland / Straussenfleisch aus Namibia--ein Fallbeispiel. [Ostrich husbandry in Germany / ostrich meat from Namibia - a case study].

Within the European Union, academic professions themselves are expected to reach a comparable level of professionalism, a fact that veterinary medicine as well should not ignore. At present, a working group is developing a concept of a teaching module for the Socrates programme "Education in Veterinary Public Health (VPH)", enabling the students by "case studies" to be induced to an integrated approach of tackling problems. In an attempt to demonstrate the didactic procedure, a study of ostrich meat as food for human consumption is presented as a concrete example.

Influence of age on the parasympatholytic property of tricyclic antidepressants.

Clinical evidence indicates that parasympatholytic effects of tricyclic antidepressants increase with age. The aim of the present study was to determine the possible physiological reason for this phenomenon. Subjects included 23 patients (14 female) with major depression, melancholic type, and 23 age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects.

A new technique for oral endotracheal airway access in rabbits under fluoroscopic control: An easy way for drug administration in chronic experiments.

Endotracheal drug administration plays an important role in rabbit models of pulmonary injury and lung disease. However, anatomical features of the oral fissure and pharynx of rabbits make orotracheal intubation a difficult task with a high failure rate. We developed a new technique for airway access in rabbits under fluoroscopic control using a balloon catheter.

[Coupling of immunomagnetic separation and polymerase chain reaction for the rapid detection of salmonellae in minced meat and chicken giblets].

Coupling of immunomagnetic separation and polymerase chain reaction was used after preenrichment for the rapid detection of salmonellae in minced meat and chicken giblets. The primers used are specific to the origin of DNA replication (oriC) on the Salmonella chromosome and produce a 163 bp DNA fragment. The method allowed a screening of Salmonella free samples within 24 hours.

Detection of antibodies to S. enteritidis in broilers by means of indirect ELISA and chemiluminescent immunoassay (CLIA).

This study was conducted to develop a serological detection system for the monitoring of broiler flocks for Salmonella enteritidis infections. A specific S. enteritidis antigen (FG-Antigen) was used to compare the sensitivity and the specificity of the chemiluminescent immunoassay (CLIA) with those of the indirect ELISA.

Simplified preparation of a specific S. enteritidis antigen for ELISA and other immunological techniques.

This study was conducted to prepare a specific S. enteritidis antigen (FG-Antigen) for the serological detection of S. enteritidis infections in chicken flocks.

Differentiation of alveolitis and pulmonary fibrosis in rabbits with magnetic resonance imaging after intrabronchial administration of bleomycin.

Rationale And Objectives: The authors investigate the ability of magnetic resonance imaging to differentiate alveolitis and pulmonary fibrosis by correlating magnetic resonance and pathologic findings.

Methods: Lung damage was induced in 52 rabbits by instillation of 5 mL bleomycin sulfate (10 mg/kg) into a lower-lobe bronchus using a balloon catheter. Magnetic resonance examinations were performed in a group of 7 animals 3 hours after the initial damage, and in groups of 8 animals 24 hours and 8, 14, 30, and 80 days after the initial damage.

[The effects of low-dose Co-60 irradiation on the course of aseptic arthritis in a rabbit knee joint].

Purpose: Numerous clinical observations demonstrate the efficacy of low radiation doses in the treatment of painful osteoarthritis. Experimental investigations remain scarce. We investigated the effects of locally daily 5 times 1.

Effects of low dose ionizing radiation on murine chronic granulomatous tissue.

Purpose: Substantial clinical evidence shows the efficacy of low-dose radiotherapy in the treatment of a wide variety of benign conditions. However, experimental investigations into these empirically clinical observations remain scarce. We investigated in vivo low-dose radiation effects on chronic granulomatous tissue by using the air pouch model in mice.

Mechanisms of the anti-inflammatory activity of low-dose radiation therapy.

Purpose: To investigate the hypothesis that modulation of the function of activated macrophages is one of the mechanisms of the clinically observed anti-inflammatory and analgesic efficacy of low-dose radiotherapy in the treatment of a variety of painful joint diseases with total doses between 1 and 6 Gy.

Materials And Methods: Metabolic activity, cell proliferation, reproductive integrity, nitric oxide (NO) production and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression by unstimulated or [LPS/gamma-IFN-stimulated macrophages in vitro was investigated at different times after radiation doses ranging from 0.3 Gy to 10 Gy.

Some remarks on the design of three-class sampling plans.

Among the variety of sampling plans for the evaluation of bacterial counts the attributive three-class sampling plan has widely gained acceptance because of its simple application and its robust functionality. However, the performance characteristics of three-class sampling plans depend on lot heterogeneity and the distance between the microbiological limits m and M, which are the maximum level of target organisms under conditions of good manufacturing practice (GMP) and the level of target organisms that is considered as unacceptable or defective. The probability of lot rejection due to a single sample result above M increases with increasing lot heterogeneity and/or with decreasing distance between these limits.

Increased heart rate in depressed subjects in spite of unchanged autonomic balance?

A clinical study was conducted to examine the effects of depression on cardiac autonomic control. Cardiac autonomic control was measured in 26 nonmedicated patients (19 females) suffering from Major Depression, melancholic type, and in 26 age- and sex-matched normal controls. We measured heart rate and high frequency heart rate variability (respiratory sinus arrhythmia), pulsewave velocity and blood pressure, during 10 min of supine rest under controlled conditions.

Somatostatin receptor imaging in intracranial tumours.

The somatostatin analogue [111In-DTPA-d-Phe1]-octreotide (111In-octreotide) allows scintigraphic visualization of somatostatin receptor-expressing tissue. While it is well known that a large variety of tissues express somatostatin receptors and 111In-octreotide scintigraphy has a clearly defined role in various neuroendocrine diseases, the clinical value of 111In-octreotide scintigraphy in brain tumours is still under clinical investigation. In 124 patients with 141 brain lesions (63 meningiomas, 24 pituitary adenomas, 10 gliomas WHO class I and II, 12 gliomas WHO class III and IV, 11 neurinomas and 2 neurofibromas, 7 metastases and 12 other varieties: three non-Hodgkin B-cell lymphomas, two epidermoids, one abscess, one angioleiomyoma, one chordoma, one haemangiopericytoma, one osteosarcoma, one plasmacytoma and one pseudocyst), 111In-octreotide scintigraphy was performed 4-6 and 24 h after i.

Insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 levels during early and late follow-up after surgery in acromegalic patients.

Disease activity in acromegaly is accurately reflected by growth hormone (GH) concentration during oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) levels, representing an integrated index of GH activity. This prospective study was performed to evaluate whether plasma IGF binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3) might also reflect the hormonal disease activity in pituitary acromegaly after operative treatment during early and late follow-up. Twenty-two acromegalic patients were studied.

[Variant component analysis of bacterial count in milk. 2. Consequences for the preparation of microbiological inspection plans].

Results of the repeated testing of pasturized and raw milk to determine the bacterial count deviation in parallel samples were described in the first communication. Using the same data, the second communication demonstrates the influence of the observed bacterial count variation on the decision-making process of the simultaneously performed microbiological sampling plan. Analysis of the 3-class sampling plans under applied conditions showed that little attention was paid to the real variation of the criterion and in some plans, too much weight was placed on the possible outliers.

[Analysis of variance of bacterial counts in milk. 1. Characterization of total variance and the components of variance random sampling error, methodologic error and variation between parallel errors during storage].

In contrast to the prevailing automatized chemical analytical methods, classical microbiological techniques are linked with considerable material- and human-dependent sources of errors. These effects must be objectively considered for assessing the reliability and representativeness of a test result. As an example for error analysis, the deviation of bacterial counts and the influence of the time of testing, bacterial species involved (total bacterial count, coliform count) and the detection method used (pour-/spread-plate) were determined in a repeated testing of parallel samples of pasteurized (stored for 8 days at 10 degrees C) and raw (stored for 3 days at 6 degrees C) milk.

Major depression and cardiac autonomic control.

We investigated autonomic control of heart rate in patients with major depression, melancholic type. Twenty-three depressed inpatients who were being treated with tricyclic antidepressants and 23 depressed patients who were taking no medications were compared with age- and sex-matched control groups on resting cardiac vagal tone and heart rate. In unmedicated depressed patients, cardiac vagal tone was comparable to that of control subjects, but heart rate was significantly higher.

Functional units, chewing, swallowing, and food avoidance among the elderly.

Purpose: The number of teeth in the dentition was compared with the number and types of dental functional units (opposing tooth pairs) to correlate the number of functional units with complaints about chewing and swallowing in the elderly.

Material And Methods: Complaints of oral pharyngeal function and food avoidance practices were compared with the number and types of functional units. A convenience sample of 602 elderly subjects (468 men, 134 women, mean age 70 years) were interviewed and examined dentally.

Long-term imprisonment leads to cognitive impairment.

The effects of long-term imprisonment on cognitive functions are investigated in a longitudinal study. Twenty-four serious offenders in an Austrian penitentiary underwent concentration and memory performance measurements via a questionnaire presented to them under controlled conditions in two sessions at a 42 month interval. The difference in the parameters indicated cognitive impairment after this period that was highly significant (P < 0.

[The MR tomographic diagnosis of intra- and paraspinal abscesses].

Purpose: Analysis of the MRT signals and their extent from intra- and paraspinal abscesses with reference to predisposing factors, their causes and localisation.

Patients And Methods: The histories and MRT findings in 34 Patients with intra- and paraspinal abscesses were evaluated retrospectively. Most of the patients (24/34) were older than 50 years.

[The radiological findings in surgically and conservatively treated intracranial arachnoid cysts].

Purpose: To determine which appearances on CT or MRI are indications for surgical treatment of intracranial arachnoid cysts.

Method: The images obtained from 26 patients treated either by surgery or conservatively were compared retrospectively. The features evaluated were the size of the cyst, evidence of a space-occupying lesion, cerebral abnormalities near the cyst and skull deformities.

Effect of repeated treatment with sustained-release chlorhexidine mouth guards on salivary levels of mutans streptococci.

The effect of multiple treatments with chlorhexidine mouth guards on salivary levels of mutans streptococci (MS) was studied. Eleven subjects with salivary MS > or = 10(5) CFU/ml were randomly assigned to an experimental or control group. Complete-arch mouth guards were coated internally with one of two ethylcellulose varnishes, one containing 30% dry w/w chlorhexidine and one containing no chlorhexidine.

A case of delayed loss of facial nerve function after acoustic neuroma surgery.

We report on the uncommon delay of facial palsy in the course of a patient who underwent surgery for a left sided acoustic neuroma. Facial nerve function was preserved without clinical or electrophysiological deficit during the immediate postoperative phase and then lost almost totally over two days. This began on the seventh postoperative day.