The prevalence and risk factors of dental disease found in 100 miniature horses.

Introduction: Dental disease is a common condition affecting horses. Its prevalence and characteristics among most of the common breeds of horses and donkeys have been investigated and described in the literature, but information about the prevalence and etiology of dental disease of miniature horses is sparse.

Methods: To determine the prevalence and characteristics of dental disease of miniature horses, we performed oral and dental radiographic examinations on 100 miniature horses.

Use of flavour profile and consumer panels to determine differences between local water supplies and desalinated seawater.

The San Diego County Water Authority of California has initiated planning for coastal desalination facilities to augment their water supplies. Integration of the different water qualities from these facilities into existing pipelines must be achieved. This investigation determined whether, and to what degree, consumers can discriminate between desalinated seawater and imported water supplies and how these investigations can contribute to decision making regarding the need for construction of facilities to blend such supplies prior to delivery.

Evaluation of a measurement strategy for Parkinson's disease: assessing patient health-related quality of life.

This study evaluated the feasibility and psychometric properties of self-completed and telephone interview versions of a patient health-related quality-of-life (HQL) questionnaire for Parkinson's disease that included the SF-36 Health Survey (SF-36), the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39), and the Medical Outcomes Study Sexual Function Survey. Parkinson's disease patients (n = 150) completed the questionnaire twice: once at the study site and once over the telephone in a randomized order. Ninety-four percent of enrolled patients completed the first HQL assessment and 88% completed both assessments.

The relationship between memory performance, perceived cognitive function, and mood in patients with epilepsy.

Objective: The low correlations between memory performance and subjective memory may be attributable to disparities between tasks in neuropsychological tests and cognitive experiences of day-to-day living. This study evaluated the relationship between everyday memory performance, perceived cognitive functioning, and mood among patients with epilepsy.

Methods: From three epilepsy centers in the USA, 138 patients were recruited.

Seizure frequency and the health-related quality of life of adults with epilepsy.

Objective: To compare the health-related quality of life (HRQL) of a nonsurgical sample of adults with epilepsy with that of age- and gender-equivalent norms, and to analyze the relative importance of seizure frequency, time since last seizure, gender, and comorbidity on HRQL in the epilepsy sample.

Methods: Data were obtained from 139 adults with epilepsy from three US centers and published norms on the Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form 36 (SF-36). Patients were classified according to number of seizures over the prior 4 weeks (zero, one to five, six or more).

A multicenter trial on the efficacy of using tirilazad mesylate in cases of head injury.

Object: The authors prospectively studied the efficacy of tirilazad mesylate, a novel aminosteroid, in humans with head injuries.

Methods: A cohort of 1120 head-injured patients received at least one dose of study medication (tirilazad or placebo). Eighty-five percent (957) of the patients had suffered a severe head injury (Glasgow Coma Scale [GCS] score 4-8) and 15% (163) had sustained a moderate head injury (GCS score 9-12).

Clinical infections in the noninstitutionalized geriatric age group: methods utilized and incidence of infections. The Pittsburgh Good Health Study.

Because noninstitutionalized senior citizens comprise over 95% of the population 65 years of age and older, their health needs are a major concern. Data regarding infections in this population including the epidemiology, morbidity, and mortality are lacking. The authors recruited a study population of 417 free-living persons, all 65 years of age or older, from two neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Methylprednisolone and membrane properties of primary cultures of mouse spinal cord.

The present study attempts to define the capacity of methylprednisolone sodium succinate (MP) to protect neuronal membranes against a free radical challenge in primary cultures of fetal mouse spinal cord. Incubation of these cultures with MP significantly increased the Na+,K(+)-ATPase activity, an effect that was blocked by the RNA synthesis inhibitor, actinomysin D and the protein synthesis inhibitor, cycloheximide, suggesting an induction of protein synthesis by MP. In contrast, incubation with FeCl2 for 1 or 2 h significantly inhibited Na+,K(+)-ATPase activity and elevated the levels of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS).

The kappa opioid-related anticonvulsants U-50488H and U-54494A attenuate N-methyl-D-aspartate induced brain injury in the neonatal rat.

The neuroprotective effects of the kappa opioid-related anticonvulsants U-50488H and U-54494A were tested in a model of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-induced brain injury in the neonatal rat. Seven-day-old rat pups were injected intracerebrally with 7.5 nmol NMDA.

U-78517F: a potent inhibitor of lipid peroxidation with activity in experimental brain injury and ischemia.

U-78517F (2-[4-[2,6-di-(1-pyrrolidinyl)-4-pyridinyl)-1-piperazinyl] methyl]-3,4-dihydro-2,5,7,8-tetramethyl-2H-1-benzopyran-6-ol, dihydrochloride), which combines the antioxidant ring portion of alpha-tocopherol together with the amine of the previously described 21-aminosteroids (e.g., U-74006F), is a novel inhibitor of iron-catalyzed lipid peroxidation.

Effect of delayed administration of U74006F (tirilazad mesylate) on recovery of locomotor function after experimental spinal cord injury.

Beginning at either 30 minutes, 2 hours, 4 hours, or 8 hours after 180 g compression of the cat L2 spinal cord for 5 minutes, infusion of U74006F was initiated. In this series, the cats received a total U74006F dose of 5 mg/kg/48 hours. An additional group of injured cats was treated at 8 hours postinjury with a three-fold higher dose of U74006F (i.

Assessment of the bacteriological activity associated with granular activated carbon treatment of drinking water.

Bacteriological analyses were performed on the effluent from a conventional water treatment pilot plant in which granular activated carbon (GAC) had been used as the final process to assess the impact of GAC on the microbial quality of the water produced. Samples were collected twice weekly for 160 days from the effluents of six GAC columns, each of which used one of four different empty-bed contact times (7.5, 15, 30, and 60 min).

Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in a chloraminated distribution system: seasonal occurrence, distribution and disinfection resistance.

Nitrification in chloraminated drinking water can have a number of adverse effects on water quality, including a loss of total chlorine and ammonia-N and an increase in the concentration of heterotrophic plate count bacteria and nitrite. To understand how nitrification develops, a study was conducted to examine the factors that influence the occurrence of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in a chloraminated distribution system. Samples were collected over an 18-month period from a raw-water source, a conventional treatment plant effluent, and two covered, finished-water reservoirs that previously experienced nitrification episodes.

Stimulation of mono- and diacylglycerol lipase activities by bradykinin in neural cultures.

Neural cultures of fetal mouse spinal cord, mouse neuroblastoma (N1E-115) and mixed primary glial cell cultures from neonatal rat brain display measurable activities of mono- and diacylglycerol lipases. Treatment of fetal mouse spinal cord cultures with bradykinin (10 nM) for 1-4 min resulted in a marked increase in specific activities of mono- and diacylglycerol lipases. This is the first direct demonstration that bradykinin can act through the lipase pathway.

Thyrotropin-releasing hormone has profound presynaptic action on cultured spinal cord neurons.

Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) receptors are widely distributed throughout the nervous system. In particular, both the dorsal and the ventral horn (VH) neurons contain a rich distribution of TRH receptors, and TRH application to these sites has profound physiological effects. Currently the mechanism of action of TRH is not known.

Degradation of 2-methylisoborneol by aquatic bacteria.

2-Methylisoborneol (MIB) is a musty- or muddy-smelling compound which occurs in some natural waters and which is difficult to remove by conventional water treatment methods. Bacterial degradation of MIB was examined in batch culture experiments. Cultures able to metabolize MIB were enriched in a mineral salts medium supplemented with milligram-per-liter levels of the compound and were inoculated with water and sediment samples from reservoirs where MIB is seasonally produced.

Effects of treatment with U-74006F on neurological outcome following experimental spinal cord injury.

The compound U-74006F is one of a series of 21-aminosteroids that lack glucocorticoid or mineralocorticoid activity. These potent inhibitors of lipid peroxidation have been specifically developed for the acute treatment of central nervous system trauma and ischemia. This study evaluated the dose-response characteristics and capability of U-74006F to promote functional recovery in cats subjected to compression trauma of the upper lumbar (L-2) spinal cord.

Pretreatment with alpha tocopherol enhances neurologic recovery after experimental spinal cord compression injury.

Lipid hydrolysis with subsequent production of eicosanoids and lipid peroxidation are two of the earliest potentially pathochemical events induced in spinal cord tissue by mechanical trauma. Although these membrane lipid disturbances are thought to contribute to the paralysis that occur subsequent to spinal cord injury, such a correlation has not been demonstrated directly. Consequently, the purpose of this study was to test the capacity of alpha tocopherol, the major lipid antioxidant in cellular membranes and a compound that limits the injury-induced lipid hydrolysis and peroxidation in spinal cord tissue, to promote functional recovery in a static loading model of spinal cord injury.

Early membrane lipid changes in laminectomized and traumatized cat spinal cord.

The effects of surgical exposure (laminectomy) and compression trauma on various aspects of membrane lipid metabolism in the feline spinal cord were determined in this study. Tissue samples were frozen in situ and grossly dissected into gray and white portions prior to lipid analyses. Laminectomy alone resulted in measurable changes in spinal cord lipid metabolism, including increases in gray matter free fatty acids, diacylglycerols, and eicosanoids.

Evaluation of an intensive methylprednisolone sodium succinate dosing regimen in experimental spinal cord injury.

Beginning 30 minutes after compression trauma of the upper lumbar (L-2) spinal cord, cats were treated with either a high-dose regimen of methylprednisolone (MP) administered as the sodium salt of the 21-succinate ester (Solu-Medrol sterile powder) or the MP vehicle. Animals were randomly assigned to either treatment group (10 cats per group), and all personnel were blind as to which animals received vehicle or drug. The intensive 48-hour dosing regimen was designed to maintain therapeutic tissue levels of MP and consisted of an initial 30 mg/kg intravenous bolus of MP; 2 and 6 hours later additional 15 mg/kg MP doses were administered by intravenous bolus.