The impact of CO2 on collection of Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus) and Culex quinquefasciatus Say by BG-Sentinel® traps in Manaus, Brazil.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is an important component for activating and attracting host-seeking mosquitoes. The BG-Sentinel® trap is a well-established monitoring tool for capturing Culicidae, but CO2 role for the trap effectiveness has not been evaluated in highly urbanised areas. The objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of BG-Sentinel traps baited with and without CO2 for capturing urban mosquitoes.

Identification of chicken intestinal microbiota correlated with the efficiency of energy extraction from feed.

The microbiota of the gastrointestinal tract is a complex community of many different species of microorganisms, dominated by bacteria. This diverse population provides the host with an extensive array of enzymes and substrates which, together with the host's metabolic capabilities, provides an extensive metabolome available for nutrient and energy collection. We investigated broiler chickens to determine whether the abundance of certain members of the microbiota was correlated with the relative ability to extract energy from a typical wheat soybean diet.

Mortality after surgery in Europe: a 7 day cohort study.

Background: Clinical outcomes after major surgery are poorly described at the national level. Evidence of heterogeneity between hospitals and health-care systems suggests potential to improve care for patients but this potential remains unconfirmed. The European Surgical Outcomes Study was an international study designed to assess outcomes after non-cardiac surgery in Europe.

Combined role of childhood maltreatment, family history, and gender in the risk for alcohol dependence.

Background: Studies of the relationship between childhood maltreatment and alcohol dependence have not controlled comprehensively for potential confounding by co-occurring maltreatments and other childhood trauma, or determined whether parental history of alcohol disorders operates synergistically with gender and maltreatment to produce alcohol dependence. We addressed these issues using national data. Method Face-to-face surveys of 27 712 adult participants in a national survey.

Leukapheresis in non-cytokine-stimulated donors with a new apheresis system: first-time collection results and evaluation of subsequent cryopreservation.

Background: Adoptive cell therapy based on mononuclear cells (MNCs) became an important modality of cancer immunotherapy. Data about collection results and donor response of leukapheresis with the Spectra Optia v.5.

Methylchloroisothiazolinone/methylisothiazolinone contact sensitization: diverging trends in subgroups of IVDK patients in a period of 19 years.

Background: The preservative methylchloroisothiazolinone (MCI)/methylisothiazo- linone (MI) is an important allergen, and has thus been subject to regulation in some areas of exposure, mainly in cosmetics.

Objectives: To examine whether a decline in sensitization prevalence and intensity of elicitation (by the patch test) can be observed, either overall, or in certain subgroups defined by causative exposures.

Methods: On the basis of long-term contact allergy surveillance data collected by the Information Network of Departments of Dermatology (www.

Endoscopy for repeatedly ingested sharp foreign bodies in patients with borderline personality disorder: an international survey.

Background: The general guidelines on the management of ingested foreign bodies (FBs) do not address specific aspects raised by psychiatric patients, particularly in patients with borderline personality disorders (BPD) who repeatedly ingest FBs. The aim of this survey was to collect data on experience and opinions on the management of FBs in psychiatric patients with BPD and to review the relevant literature.

Methods: A survey focusing on the indication and the timing of endoscopy for sharp FB removal in patients with BPD was e-mailed to 215 gastroenterologists, psychiatrists, and surgeons in Switzerland, Germany and Austria, discussing this clinical problem using a specific case vignette.

[Clinical epidemiology and prevention of contact allergies. The Information Network of Departments of Dermatology (IVDK) as a register and surveillance system].

A total of 56 departments of dermatology from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland collaborate to study the clinical epidemiology of contact allergies (CA). Data generated in the course of the diagnostic work-up of CA (e.g.

Effects of immediate or delayed addition of platelet additive solution on the in vitro quality of apheresis platelets.

Background: There is little knowledge how different hold times of hyperconcentrated platelet (PLT) suspensions (HPSs) before the addition of platelet additive solution (PAS) might affect PLT quality. We compared the in vitro quality of single-donor PLT concentrates (SDPs) with immediate or delayed PAS addition and studied the quality of collected concurrent plasma (CP).

Study Design And Methods: We collected 6×10(11) PLTs in 175 of mL plasma and CP from 31 donors.

Zero risk tolerance costs lives: loss of transplantable organs due to human immunodeficiency virus nucleic acid testing of potential donors.

Patients' deaths due to the organ donor shortage make it imperative that every suitable organ be transplanted. False-positive results of tests for infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) result in lost organs. A survey of US organ procurement organizations collected the numbers of donors and ruled-out potential donors who had a positive result on an HIV test from January 1,2006, to October 31, 2008.

Is cocamidopropyl betaine a contact allergen? Analysis of network data and short review of the literature.

Background: There is no general agreement on whether cocamidopropyl betaine (CAPB) is a skin sensitizer.

Objective: To examine the evidence for CAPB being a (non-)sensitizer.

Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of data on patch testing with CAPB 1% aqua collected by the Information Network of Departments of Dermatology from 1996 to 2009, with a focus on the patch test reaction profile, and demographic and clinical features of CAPB positives, supplemented by a literature review.

Contact allergy to preservatives. Analysis of IVDK data 1996-2009.

Background: Preservatives are well-known and important contact allergens.

Objectives: To examine the frequency of sensitization to preservatives, including time trends.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of data on patch testing of preservatives contained in the standard series and special series collected by the IVDK during 1996-2009.

Probiotic factors partially improve parameters of 5-fluorouracil-induced intestinal mucositis in rats.

Certain live bacteria have demonstrated preliminary indications of efficacy for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced intestinal mucositis. However, probiotic derived supernatants (SN) have yet to be investigated in the mucositis setting. We evaluated SN from Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (EcN) and Lactobacillus fermentum BR11 (BR11) for their capacity to decrease 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU)-induced damage in vivo.

Blood mercury levels in autism spectrum disorder: Is there a threshold level?

Mercury (Hg) may significantly impact the pathogenesis of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Lab results generated by Vitamin Diagnostics (CLIA-approved) from 2003-2007, were examined among subjects diagnosed with an ASD (n=83) in comparison to neurotypical controls (n=89). Blood Hg levels were determined by analyzing Hg content in red blood cells (RBC) using cold vapor analysis, and consistent Hg measurements were observed between Vitamin Diagnostics and the University of Rochester.

A biomarker of mercury body-burden correlated with diagnostic domain specific clinical symptoms of autism spectrum disorder.

The study purpose was to compare the quantitative results from tests for urinary porphyrins, where some of these porphyrins are known biomarkers of heavy metal toxicity, to the independent assessments from a recognized quantitative measurement, the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC), of specific domains of autistic disorders symptoms (Speech/Language, Sociability, Sensory/Cognitive Awareness, and Health/Physical/Behavior) in a group of children having a clinical diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). After a Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) evaluation to assess the development of each child in this study and aid in confirming their classification, and an ATEC was completed by a parent, a urinary porphyrin profile sample was collected and sent out for blinded analysis. Urinary porphyrins from twenty-four children, 2-13 years of age, diagnosed with autism or PDD-NOS were compared to their ATEC scores as well as their scores in the specific domains (Speech/Language, Sociability, Sensory/Cognitive Awareness, and Health/Physical/Behavior) assessed by ATEC.

Orally administered emu oil decreases acute inflammation and alters selected small intestinal parameters in a rat model of mucositis.

Mucositis resulting from cancer chemotherapy is a serious disorder of the alimentary tract. Emu oil has demonstrated anti-inflammatory properties in animal models of arthritis and wound healing; however, its effects on the intestine remain unknown. We investigated emu oil for its potential to decrease the severity of mucositis in a rat model.

Oestradiol levels in varicose vein blood of patients with and without pelvic vein incompetence (PVI): diagnostic implications.

Purpose: To assess the difference in the oestradiol levels of blood taken from varicose veins in patients with and without pelvic vein incompetence (PVI).

Materials And Methods: Women of child-bearing age with symptomatic primary or recurrent varicose veins of the great saphenous vein (GSV) were included in a prospective study. Patients underwent duplex ultrasonography and pelvic vein phlebography.

Dietary omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid does not influence the intestinal microbial communities of broiler chickens.

The capacity for n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) to improve broiler chicken growth, influence the intestinal microbial communities, and modify the PUFA content of meat was studied. Male Cobb 500 chickens were fed 1 of 4 diets from hatch: control (standard diet with no additives), ZnB (standard diet with added antibiotics), 2% SALmate (standard diet with 2% SALmate, which is composed of 42% fish oil and 58% starch), and 5% SALmate (standard diet with 5% SALmate). A 7-d energy metabolism study was conducted between d 15 and 22 posthatch.

A field test of female mate preference for male plumage coloration in eastern bluebirds.

A growing body of evidence shows that female birds use male plumage coloration as an important criterion in mate choice. In the field, however, males with brighter coloration may both compete better for high quality territories and be the object of female choice. Positive associations between territory quality, male-male competitive ability, and female preferences can make it difficult to determine whether females actively choose the most ornamented males.

Lactobacillus fermentum BR11 and fructo-oligosaccharide partially reduce jejunal inflammation in a model of intestinal mucositis in rats.

Although probiotics are beginning to enter mainstream medicine for disorders of the colon, their effects on the small bowel remain largely unexplored. We investigated the recently identified probiotic, Lactobacillus fermentum (L. fermentum) BR11 (BR11) and the prebiotic, fructo-oligosaccharide (FOS), both individually and in synbiotic combination, for their potential to alleviate intestinal mucositis.

Lyprinol only partially improves indicators of small intestinal integrity in a rat model of 5-fluorouracil-induced mucositis.

Background: Intestinal mucositis is a common and debilitating side-effect of chemotherapy, associated with severe small intestinal inflammation. Marine oils, such as Lyprinol, a lipid extract derived from New Zealand Green-lipped Mussels, rich in long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA), have demonstrated therapeutic potential for the treatment of inflammatory conditions. We assessed the effects of Lyprinol on the severity of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-induced mucositis in female Dark Agouti rats.

A prospective assessment of androgen levels in patients with autistic spectrum disorders: biochemical underpinnings and suggested therapies.

Impairments in social relatedness and communication, repetitive behaviors, abnormal movement patterns, and sensory dysfunction characterize autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Seventy consecutive patients with an ASD diagnosis (DSM-IV criteria, >/= 6 years-old) who presented to the Genetic Centers of America for outpatient genetic/developmental evaluations from 2005-2007 were examined. Patients were evaluated using CLIA-approved Laboratory Cooperation of America (LabCorp) testing for: serum testosterone, serum free testosterone, % free testosterone, serum/plasma dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), androstendione, and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH).

A prospective study of thimerosal-containing Rho(D)-immune globulin administration as a risk factor for autistic disorders.

Background: This study evaluated the relationship between prenatal mercury exposure from thimerosal (49.55% mercury by weight)-containing Rho(D)-immune globulins (TCRs) and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs).

Methods: The Institutional Review Board of the Institute for Chronic Illnesses approved the present study.

Aedes aegypti population sampling using BG-Sentinel traps in north Queensland Australia: statistical considerations for trap deployment and sampling strategy.

BG-Sentinel mosquito traps were trialed as a tool for the rapid assessment (24-h collections) and routine monitoring (72-h collections) of adult Aedes aegypti L. populations in north Queensland. Analysis of Ae.

Laboratory and field assessment of some kairomone blends for host-seeking Aedes aegypti.

Using laboratory Y-tube olfactometers, the attractiveness of lactic acid and 2 kairomone blends from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and BioGents GmbH (BG) was assessed for attractiveness to Aedes aegypti. Four geographically disparate populations were assessed: North Queensland Australia (NQA), Florida USA, Minas Gerais Brazil (MGB), and Singapore. In descending order, populations were attracted to USDA, BG blends, and lactic acid.