A description of pharmacological analgesia administration by public sector advanced life support paramedics in the City of Cape Town.

Introduction: Emergency Medical Services are ideally placed to provide relief of acute pain and discomfort. The objectives of this study were to describe pre-hospital pain management practices by Emergency Medical Services in the Western Cape, South Africa.

Methods: A retrospective, descriptive survey was undertaken of analgesic drug administration by advanced life support paramedics.

Differential Bone Loss in Mouse Models of Colon Cancer Cachexia.

Cachexia is a distinctive feature of colorectal cancer associated with body weight loss and progressive muscle wasting. Several mechanisms responsible for muscle and fat wasting have been identified, however it is not known whether the physiologic and molecular crosstalk between muscle and bone tissue may also contribute to the cachectic phenotype in cancer patients. The purpose of this study was to clarify whether tumor growth associates with bone loss using several experimental models of colorectal cancer cachexia, namely C26, HT-29, and Apc.

Access to musculoskeletal specialists and resources in free and charitable clinics: a survey of clinic directors.

Objective: To evaluate the capabilities and resources of free and charitable clinics in the United States to deliver musculoskeletal care to an indigent population.

Design: A voluntary, anonymous, cross-sectional survey.

Setting: Electronic mailing list for the National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics in September 2011, and in person at the Annual Summit for the National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics in October 2011.

Risk factors for surgical site infection after major breast operation.

Background: Understanding surgical site infection (SSI) risk factors after breast operation is essential to develop infection-prevention strategies and improve surgical outcomes.

Methods: We performed a retrospective case-control study with subjects selected from a cohort of mastectomy, breast reconstruction, and reduction surgical patients between January 1998 and June 2002 at a university-affiliated hospital. SSI cases within 1 year after operation were identified using ICD-9-CM diagnosis codes for wound infection and complication or positive wound cultures, or both.

The Pseudomonas syringae type III effector HopAM1 enhances virulence on water-stressed plants.

Pseudomonas syringae strains deliver diverse type III effector proteins into host cells, where they can act as virulence factors. Although the functions of the majority of type III effectors are unknown, several have been shown to interfere with plant basal defense mechanisms. Type III effectors also could contribute to bacterial virulence by enhancing nutrient uptake and pathogen adaptation to the environment of the host plant.