Transgenic, high-protein sorghums display promise in poultry diets in an initial comparison.

This study aimed to compare the inclusion of transgenic sorghums against commercially available sorghums on growth performance in broiler chickens. Isonitrogenous and isoenergetic diets were offered to a total 288 male Ross 308 broiler chickens from 14 to 35 d posthatch. Three dietary treatments were diets based on transgenic sorghums with a mean protein content of 154.

CRISPR-knockout of β-kafirin in sorghum does not recapitulate the grain quality of natural mutants.

When gene editing was applied to knockout beta-kafirin, there was a compensatory increase of gamma-kafirin which does not occur in domesticated null varieties, so enhanced grain quality was not achieved. Sorghum bicolor is an important animal feedstock cereal crop throughout Australia and the southern United States, where its use as a food product is limited by issues with low calorific and nutritive value. Qualities such as reduced digestibility and low essential amino acid content are directly attributed to the kafirin grain storage proteins, the major components of protein bodies within the endosperm.

Current status and prospects of plant genome editing in Australia.

Plant genome editing, particularly CRISPR-Cas biotechnologies, has rapidly evolved and drawn enormous attention all around the world in the last decade. The cutting-edge technologies have had substantial impact on precise genome editing for manipulating gene expression, stacking gene mutations, and improving crop agronomic traits. Following the global trends, investigations on CRISPR-Cas have been thriving in Australia, especially in agriculture sciences.

Physostigmine in recovery from anaesthesia.

Intravenous ketamine anaesthesia has been used by the British army in the field for many years. A recognised problem has been the unpredictable recovery profile this produces. We anaesthetised 28 ASA 1 patients using a standard British military technique.

Can a drawover vaporizer be a pushover?

Bench testing was carried out to establish whether the vapour output from an OMV50 vaporizer, as used in the Triservice apparatus, differs according to whether the carrier gas is either drawn or pushed through the vaporizer. Results show that the differences in output concentration between the two modes were clinically insignificant.

Determination of contamination of a chemical warfare-proof operating theatre with volatile anaesthetic agents and assessment of anaesthetic gas scavenging systems.

Three types of anaesthetic waste scavenging systems (active antipollution system, Papworth Block passive system and activated charcoal absorber system) were compared with a non-scavenging control to assess their effectiveness in reducing waste halothane concentrations in a chemical warfare-proof operating theatre. All three systems were found to reduce the level of pollution significantly.

Anaesthesia in the field. Spontaneous ventilation--a new technique.

In recent years the British Army has used the Triservice Anaesthetic Apparatus in the field. Trichloroethylene is no longer manufactured in the United Kingdom and halothane is not recommended for closely repeated anaesthetics. A method based on existing equipment is described for patients breathing spontaneously.

Flumazenil in ketamine and midazolam anaesthesia.

A double-blind, parallel group study using flumazenil and placebo was carried out to determine whether patients who received flumazenil would awake more quickly and whether this drug would reverse the protection conferred by midazolam on the psychic sequelae of ketamine. Fifty female patients were studied. The results showed that there was a significant reduction in awakening time (p = 0.

Effects of temazepam premedication on cognitive recovery following alfentanil-propofol anaesthesia.

The effects of temazepam 20 mg and placebo were compared for premedication in patients anaesthetized with propofol and alfentanil and undergoing day surgery. Temazepam 20 mg significantly reduced preoperative anxiety and increased recovery time. A series of computerized cognitive tasks revealed significant deficits in attention and memory following anaesthesia, which were increased in range and magnitude by temazepam, which were apparent 30 min after surgery and had largely, but not completely, recovered at 4 h.

Total intravenous anaesthesia for laparoscopy.

Two techniques of total intravenous anaesthesia for laparoscopy were compared in 80 patients. Group 1 received alfentanil, propofol and vecuronium, and Group 2 alfentanil, midazolam, ketamine and vecuronium. Haemodynamic stability after induction and the pressor response to tracheal intubation were significantly different.

Total intravenous anaesthesia for military surgery. A technique using ketamine, midazolam and vecuronium.

Ketamine and midazolam were used for induction of anaesthesia and by continuous intravenous infusion for maintenance to assess their suitability for use in a total intravenous anaesthetic technique in the management of battle casualties. Muscular relaxation was provided by vecuronium and the patients' lungs ventilated with air. Ketamine was infused at a rate of 2 mg/kg/hour.

Ketamine and military anaesthesia. The effect of heavy papaveretum premedication and Althesin induction on the incidence of emergence phenomena.

An anaesthetic technique suitable for military field anaesthesia was sought which would attenuate the psychic side effects of ketamine. Heavy premedication with 30 mg of papaveretum and induction of anaesthesia with Althesin were evaluated. A combination of the two lowered the incidence of side effects, but they still occurred frequently enough to pose problems.

The effect of naloxone on pentazocine induced hallucinations.

A case of pentazocine induced hallucinations which responded to treatment with Naloxone is reported.