Detecting Changes in Comfort, Pain, and Mobility Over Clinical Milestones for Individuals With Lower Limb Loss.

Background: Functional mobility, comfort and the absence of pain are key goals of prosthetic treatment. Outcome measures (OMs) evaluate the impact of treatment and normative and minimal detectable change (MDC) values are key to interpreting these scores and measuring treatment outcomes.

Objectives: This study seeks to 1) present practice-based normative values of four commonly used OMs at four prosthetic milestones and 2) explore the MDC of the measures over the treatment period.

West Nile virus and hemoparasites in captive snowy owls (Bubo scandiacus)--management strategies to optimize survival.

In August 2005, 2 members of a group of 6 captive snowy owls (Bubo scandiacus) in central Saskatchewan died of West Nile virus infection. One of these owls and 3 of the remaining owls had significant numbers of circulating hemoparasites. Management strategies are suggested to reduce morbidity and mortality.

Asymmetric hybrids between hemoglobin Alberta (alpha 2 beta 2 101 Glu replaced by Gly) and hemoglobins A, A2 or F1 in different liganded states.

Isoelectric focusing in cylindrical polyacrylamide gels has been used to demonstrate the formation of asymmetric hybrids between an abnormal hemoglobin, Hb Alberta (alpha 2 beta 2 101 Glu replaced by Gly), and Hb A (alpha 2 beta 2), Hb A2 (alpha 2 delta 2) or Hb F1 (alpha 2 gamma 2 Acetyl). There was no discernible difference in the stabilities of the three hybrids (alpha 2 beta A beta Alberta, alpha 2 delta beta Alberta and alpha 2 gamma Acetyl beta Alberta) in the oxy, carboxy or cyanmet hemoglobin forms. Two mixed liganded hybrids, (alpha beta A)oxy (alpha beta Alberta)cyanmet and (alpha beta A)cyanmet (alpha beta Alberta)oxy were also demonstrated and found to have stabilities similar to that of the Hb Alberta hybrids.