Evaluation of three commercial hoof-care products used in footbaths in Danish dairy herds.

Digital dermatitis is a serious problem in dairy production in many countries. Footbaths have been used extensively for the prevention and cure of digital dermatitis. But there is a lack of scientific evidence regarding the effectiveness of hoof-care products used in footbaths.

Fluorescent in-situ hybridization of cattle and sheep chromosomes with cloned human fragile-X DNA.

An extensive study on spontaneous and 5-Fluorodeoxyuridine induced fragile sites identified Xq31 in cattle (Bos taurus) and (Xq24, Xq26) in sheep (Ovis aries) in addition to several autosomal fragile sites (under publication). A ZOO-FISH study using three cloned human fragile-X probes with CCG/CGG(n) trinucleotide repeat sequence was carried out to determine homology between human and bovine fragile-X. The hybridisation results showed only a weak signal on a human chromosome that was not an X with all three fragile site probes.

Forearm bone-anchored amputation prosthesis: a case study on the osseointegration.

Background And Purpose: Bone-anchored titanium implants have been used for anchorage of amputation prostheses for more than one and a half decades. Histo-logical and ultrastructural analyses were performed on a forearm amputation prosthesis after being in use for more than 11 years.

Material, Methods And Results: The implant was retrieved from the ulnar bone after a fatigue fracture of the titanium implant, and was clinically stable at the time of removal.

Cartilage-derived retinoic acid-sensitive protein in equine synovial fluid from healthy and diseased joints.

Reasons For Performing Study: More sensitive and specific diagnostic methods for early detection of changes in the joint cartilage are needed. Cartilage-derived retinoic acid-sensitive protein (CD-RAP) is a potential marker of cartilage synthesis and regeneration. This is the first study on equine CD-RAP.

Technique for preparation and characterization in cross-section of oral titanium implant surfaces using focused ion beam and transmission electron microscopy.

The surface properties of materials are believed to control most of the biological reactions toward implanted materials. To study the surface structure, elemental distribution, and morphology, using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques, thin foils of the surface (in cross-section) are needed. These have been cumbersome to produce, in particular, from the normally irregular screw-shaped metal implants.

Characterization of the surface properties of commercially available dental implants using scanning electron microscopy, focused ion beam, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy.

Background: Since osseointegration of the respective implant is claimed by all manufacturing companies, it is obvious that not just one specific surface profile including the chemistry controls bone apposition.

Purpose: The purpose was to identify and separate out a particular set of surface features of the implant surfaces that can contribute as factors in the osseointegration process.

Material And Methods: The surface properties of several commercially available dental implants were extensively studied using profilometry, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy.

Evaluation of a lameness scoring system for dairy cows.

Lameness is a major problem in dairy production both in terms of reduced production and compromised animal welfare. A 5-point lameness scoring system was developed based on previously published systems, but optimized for use under field conditions. The scoring system included the words "in most cases" in the descriptions of the clinical signs evaluated.

Stainless steel screws coated with bisphosphonates gave stronger fixation and more surrounding bone. Histomorphometry in rats.

Coating of stainless steel screws with bisphosphonate in a fibrinogen matrix leads to an enhancement of the pullout strength 2 weeks after insertion in rat tibiae. This effect then increases over time until at least 8 weeks. The pullout force reflects the mechanical properties of the bone within the threads, which acts as a screw nut.

[Cognitive behavioural therapy of functional recurrent abdominal pain in children].

Recurrent abdominal pain affects 10-20% of schoolchildren and is responsible for 2-4% of all pediatric office visits. In about 90% of cases the pain is termed functional as it cannot be explained by structural or biochemical abnormalities and medical treatment has only modest efficacy. Cognitive behavioural therapy of functional abdominal pain in children is a more recent treatment.

Molecular characterization and chromosomal assignment of equine cartilage derived retinoic acid sensitive protein (CD-RAP)/melanoma inhibitory activity (MIA).

Cartilage-derived retinoic acid sensitive protein (CD-RAP) also known as melanoma inhibitory activity (MIA) has already been established as a marker for chondrocyte differentiation and a number of cancerous conditions in humans. Studies have also shown that CD-RAP/MIA is a potential marker of joint disease. The objective of this study was to characterize the equine CD-RAP/MIA gene and thus make it available as a marker in cartilage research and clinical studies.

Psychiatric symptoms and service utilization among refugee children referred to a child psychiatry department: a retrospective comparative case note study.

Refugee children may encounter barriers to accessing mental health services. We conducted a case-control study based on a systematic review of clinic records to compare psychopathology and service utilization in refugee and Norwegian children referred to a child psychiatry department in a county in southern Norway. Sixty-one refugee children were compared with 61 Norwegian-born children matched for gender, age and time of referral to the clinic.

Fibrous capsule formation around titanium and copper.

Previous studies suggest that implant material properties influence the quality and quantity of fibrous capsule around the implant. However, the precise relation between material surface chemistry, early inflammatory response, and fibrous subsequent repair outcome is still unknown. Titanium (Ti) and copper (Cu), surfaces with different inflammatory potential, were implanted subcutaneously in rats and retrieved fibrous capsules were analyzed after 28 and 56 days.

Electrophysiological study and 'slow' ventricular tachycardia predict appropriate therapy: results from a single-centre implantable cardiac defibrillator follow-up.

Aims: To account for appropriate and inappropriate therapies and cardiac death (CD) in a cohort of consecutive implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD) eligible patients and to identify baseline predictors of these outcomes.

Methods And Results: During follow-up of 288 consecutive ICD-treated patients, clinical, biochemical, echocardiographic, arteriographic, and electrophysiological (EP) data at baseline were individually matched with survival data and electrograms retrieved during device interrogation. Predictors of therapy and CD were identified by multivariate analyses.

Effect of molecular mobility of polymeric implants on soft tissue reactions: an in vivo study in rats.

Although numerous different polymers are used as implants or otherwise studied for many other biotechnical applications, there is a lack of basic models that correlate polymer characteristics with foreign body reactions. This study aims at developing one such model by systematically studying surface molecular mobility of polymeric implants in soft tissues in vivo. Changing the length of the alkyl side chain of poly(alkyl methacrylates) (PAMAs), provides an interesting opportunity to study the surface molecular mobility with minimal changes of the hydrophobicity of the surface.

A novel method for producing electron transparent films of interfaces between cells and biomaterials.

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) investigations of intact interfaces of cells and brittle biomaterials have proven difficult using common TEM preparation techniques. This paper describes a technique to fabricate thin sections for TEM investigation of intact interfaces between human monocytes and sintered hydroxylapatite by the use of focused ion beam (FIB) microscopy. The interfaces were examined using energy filtered TEM.

Isolation of mesenchymal stem cells from equine umbilical cord blood.

Background: There are no published studies on stem cells from equine cord blood although commercial storage of equine cord blood for future autologous stem cell transplantations is available. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) have been isolated from fresh umbilical cord blood of humans collected non-invasively at the time of birth and from sheep cord blood collected invasively by a surgical intrauterine approach. Mesenchymal stem cells isolation percentage from frozen-thawed human cord blood is low and the future isolation percentage of MSCs from cryopreserved equine cord blood is therefore expectedly low.

Bone response inside free-form fabricated macroporous hydroxyapatite scaffolds with and without an open microporosity.

Background: The technique of free-form fabrication enables the production of controlled macroporous geometry inside ceramic scaffolds. Using scaffolds with identical macropore design makes it possible to study a relevant biological response linked to other specific changes of the material.

Purpose: This study investigates the role of open micropores in hydroxyapatite (HA) scaffold during early bone healing to quantitatively ascertain whether microporosity in otherwise identical macroporous HA scaffolds can influence the bone response in rabbit tibia and femur at 6 weeks.

Child factors associated with parent involvement in usual clinical care of children and adolescents: a national register study.

The study examined the role of child level characteristics of age, gender, disorder and experience of family breakdown on parent involvement in the treatment of children and adolescents in a usual clinical care setting. Data from the national register of 20,856 children and adolescents treated in psychiatric hospitals and clinics in Norway in 2002 were analyzed using a three-level hierarchical model. Consultations attended by the child, mother and father were constructed as level 1, child characteristics as level 2 and clinics as level 3.

Bone ingrowth in zirconia and hydroxyapatite scaffolds with identical macroporosity.

The role of the material composition, porosity and surface topography of scaffolds for promotion of osteogenesis and osseointegration is not fully understood. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of material composition and surface topography on bone ingrowth and bone contact. Designed macroporous ceramic scaffolds of zirconia and hydroxyapatite were used.

Parent and child acceptability and staff evaluation of K-SADS-PL: a pilot study.

Background: Standardised diagnostic interviews are used increasingly in child and adolescent psychiatry; yet little is known about the attitudes towards such interviews among parents, children and staff members. In this study, we have aimed to assess (1) the K-SADS-PL's acceptability to parents and children (2) the usefulness of the interview as perceived by the staff.

Methods: Following the implementation of a semi-structured diagnostic interview in the standard assessment, parents, children, and staff were asked to fill in, anonymously, a brief questionnaire enquiring about their impression of the interview.

Is OPTAx useful for monitoring the effect of stimulants on hyperactivity and inattention? A brief report.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether OPTAx, an objective measurement of hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention can be used to measure the positive clinical effect of stimulants found in children with hyperkinetic disorder (HKD) or attention deficit disorder without hyperactivity.

Method: A total of 22 boys and one girl, with ages ranging between 7-12 years, diagnosed with HKD or attention deficit disorder without hyperactivity and receiving treatment with stimulants were tested with OPTAx, with and without stimulants. The main parameters investigated were: displacement, area, accuracy, variability, errors of commission and errors of omission.

[What evidence is there for treating depression in children and adolescents with cognitive therapy?].

Depression in children and adolescents is relatively prevalent and may have serious consequences. Treatment of depressive disorders may be psychotherapeutic or psychopharmacological. A systematic literature search was performed, and the evidence for treatment of depressive disorders in children and adolescents with cognitive behavioural therapy is described.

[Evidence for psychopharmacological treatment of depression in children and adolescents?].

Depression in children and adolescents is relatively prevalent and may have serious consequences. Treatment of depressive disorders may be psychotherapeutic or psychopharmacological. A systematic literature search was performed and the evidence for a psychopharmacological treatment of depressive disorders in children and adolescents was described.

Transcription levels of endothelin-1 and endothelin receptors are associated with age and leaflet location in porcine mitral valves.

The aim of the study was to investigate the expression levels of endothelin-1 (ET-1) and ET(A) and ET(B) receptors (ET(A)-R and ET(B)-R) in porcine mitral valves and associate the transcription levels to age, leaflet location and deposition of mucopolysaccharides (MPS). Tissue samples from the chordal and inter-chordal insertion area of the anterior mitral valve leaflet from 11 sows (> or = 2 years of age) and 10 slaughter pigs (approximately 6 months old) were obtained and the relative gene expression levels of ET-1, ET(A)-R and ET(B)-R measured by semi-quantitative real-time PCR. A separate tissue sample was taken for histopathological grading of MPS deposition.

ICD-10 classification in Danish child and adolescent psychiatry--have diagnoses changed after the introduction of ICD-10?

The aim was to test this in a nationwide register study of diagnoses used in child and adolescents psychiatry in Denmark. A larger number of different diagnoses were expected to be applied after the introduction of the 10th version of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10). Reflecting the time trend, we particularly expected an increase in the number of neuropsychiatric diagnoses.