Description of a new species of Ashmead from Houston, Texas, USA (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea, Eulophidae).

A new species of the genus Ashmead, , is described from the Rice University campus in Houston, Texas, USA. The species is a parasitoid emerging from Neuroterusnr.bussae galls in leaves of the southern live oak ().

Digest: When sexual selection hits the wall of natural selection.

Sexual selection often drives traits in a direction that is disfavored by natural selection. The balance between these two types of selection can shift rapidly in response to environmental changes. Gallagher et al.

A Randomized Controlled Trial to Determine the Appropriate Time to Initiate Peritoneal Dialysis after Insertion of Catheter (Timely PD Study).

Background: The optimal time for the commencement of peritoneal dialysis (PD) after PD catheter insertion is unclear. If dialysis is started too soon after insertion, dialysate leaks and infection could occur. However, by starting PD earlier, morbidity and costs can be reduced through lesser hemodialysis requirements.

Cystic echinococcosis in a fox-hound hunt worker, UK.

A male resident in Vanuatu with prior history of employment as a hunt kennel-man in England (1980-2001) was surgically treated for the removal of a hydatid cyst subsequently confirmed as Echinococcus granulosus (G1 genotype). This is the first human molecularly identified CE case reported from the UK and a first in a fox-hound handler and indicates a general neglected occupational risk.

The effects of supplementing grazing dairy cows with partial mixed ration on enteric methane emissions and milk production during mid to late lactation.

This study compared the enteric CH(4) emissions and milk production of cows offered various grass-based diets during mid to late lactation. Forty-eight spring-calving Holstein-Friesian dairy cows were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 nutritional treatments for 8 wk: (1) low grass allowance (LGA) + partial mixed ration (PMR), (2) high grass allowance (HGA), or (3) LGA. The PMR group received an allocation of 13.

Effects of a perennial ryegrass diet or total mixed ration diet offered to spring-calving Holstein-Friesian dairy cows on methane emissions, dry matter intake, and milk production.

The objective of the present study was to compare the enteric methane (CH4) emissions and milk production of spring-calving Holstein-Friesian cows offered either a grazed perennial ryegrass diet or a total mixed ration (TMR) diet for 10 wk in early lactation. Forty-eight spring-calving Holstein-Friesian dairy cows were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 nutritional treatments for 10 wk: 1) grass or 2) TMR. The grass group received an allocation of 17 kg of dry matter (DM) of grass per cow per day with a pre-grazing herbage mass of 1,492 kg of DM/ha.

Effect of pregrazing herbage mass on methane production, dry matter intake, and milk production of grazing dairy cows during the mid-season period.

Increasing milk production from pasture while increasing grass dry matter intake (GDMI) and lowering methane (CH(4)) emissions are key objectives of low-cost dairy production systems. It was hypothesized that offering swards of low herbage mass with increased digestibility leads to increased milk output. A grazing experiment was undertaken to investigate the effects of varying levels of HM on CH(4) emissions, GDMI and milk production of grazing dairy cows during the mid-season grazing period (June to July).

Mouse and human phenotypes indicate a critical conserved role for ERK2 signaling in neural crest development.

Disrupted ERK1/2 (MAPK3/MAPK1) MAPK signaling has been associated with several developmental syndromes in humans; however, mutations in ERK1 or ERK2 have not been described. We demonstrate haplo-insufficient ERK2 expression in patients with a novel approximately 1 Mb micro-deletion in distal 22q11.2, a region that includes ERK2.

Non-detection of Chlamydia species in carotid atheroma using generic primers by nested PCR in a population with a high prevalence of Chlamydia pneumoniae antibody.

Background: The association of Chlamydia pneumoniae with atherosclerosis is controversial. We investigated the presence of C. pneumoniae and other Chlamydia spp.

Testicular torsion: time is the enemy.

Background: The acute scrotum is a diagnostic dilemma, and testicular torsion is of primary interest because of its fertility problems for the patient and medico-legal issues for the surgeon. The present study aimed to correlate operative findings of patients with suspected testicular torsion with certain clinical variables and investigations to see if diagnosis and outcome could be improved.

Methods: A total of 99 patients underwent scrotal exploration for suspected testicular torsion at the Royal Brisbane Hospital between 1990 and 1995.

Nested primers improve sensitivity in the detection of Helicobacter pylori by the polymerase chain reaction.

To investigate potential routes of spread of infection by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) it is important that the technique is effective in the types of specimen to be investigated. To establish the limits of detection of Helicobacter pylori by PCR in clinical material from the gastric mucosa, faeces, dental plaque and oral rinses, samples were seeded with known numbers of bacteria. DNA extraction was followed by amplification with primers from the urease C gene.

Intravascular fasciitis: a case report and review of the literature.

A 49 year old man presented with a mass in the inguinal region that for 3 mths had been associated with slight discomfort. Clinically the mass was thought to be an enlarged lymph node. Histology however showed nodular fasciitis.

A comparison of the psychosocial aspects of AIDS and cancer-related bereavement.

Objective: This study compares the psychological symptoms and bereavement distress of individuals bereaved by AIDS with a group bereaved by a cancer death, and addresses the question of whether an AIDS death is associated with a higher rate of adverse psychosocial factors that may increase risk of psychological morbidity in the bereaved individuals.

Method: AIDS (n = 28) and cancer (n = 30) bereaved individuals (all within 3 months of the bereavement) completed measures of psychological morbidity and measures addressing a range of other adverse factors, e.g.

Nodular fasciitis and related pseudosarcomatous lesions of soft tissues.

Background: Nodular fasciitis is characterized by a proliferation of spindle cells which may be misdiagnosed as sarcomas due to the rich cellularity, mitotic activity and variant morphologic patterns.

Methods: This report includes 42 cases of nodular fasciitis and related conditions of skin and soft tissue from the pathology files of the Royal Brisbane Hospital, Queensland, Australia. There were 33 cases of nodular fasciitis, three cases of ossifying fasciitis, three cases of proliferative fasciitis, two cases of proliferative myositis and one case of intravascular fasciitis.

Modulatory action of Helicobacter pylori on histamine release from mast cells and basophils in vitro.

Helicobacter pylori is important in the aetiology of peptic ulceration. Despite inducing an inflammatory response in the mucosa, the organism persists, suggesting that it has efficient protective mechanisms. Some bacterial and viral products modulate histamine secretion from inflammatory cells.

Necrotizing pancreatitis: operating for life.

Infected necrotizing pancreatitis is the most fulminant variety of this disease. Colonic involvement and retroperitoneal fasciitis are particularly lethal. The reported mortality is up to 50%.

The life span of new neurons in a song control nucleus of the adult canary brain depends on time of year when these cells are born.

The number of high vocal center (HVC) neurons labeled in adult male canaries by systemic injections of [3H]thymidine depended on season and survival time. This was true for HVC neurons projecting to the robust nucleus of the archistriatum and for other HVC neurons that could not be retrogradely filled from the robust nucleus of the archistriatum. Birds injected in October and killed 40 days later had twice as many labeled HVC neurons as birds injected in May and killed 40 days later.

Cell death and neuronal recruitment in the high vocal center of adult male canaries are temporally related to changes in song.

Adult male canaries modify their song every year. Most of these changes occur during late summer and early fall, after the end of the breeding season, and in late winter, immediately before the onset of the next breeding season. The high vocal center (HVC) is an important nucleus in the brain pathway that controls this learned behavior.

Diagnosis of ruptured diaphragm following blunt trauma: results from 85 cases.

Between 1975 and 1990, 85 patients with diaphragmatic rupture following blunt trauma were treated at the Royal Brisbane and Princess Alexandra Hospitals, Brisbane. There were 65 on the left, 17 on the right and three were bilateral. Road trauma was the cause in 88% of cases.