Evaluation of the accuracy of real-time ultrasonic measurements of backfat and loin muscle area in swine using multiple statistical analysis procedures

Real-time ultrasonic measurements of 10th-rib backfat (BF10) and loin muscle area (LMA) were made by a single technician at four mean BW (67.4, 80.3, 93.4, and 104.9 kg) on live hogs to assess the accuracy of predicting carcass measurements before and at slaughter weight. Records were evaluated on 655 purebred barrows and 472 purebred gilts in two tests. Residual correlations-accounting for test, sex, and breed effects, among and between scans and carcass measurements--were moderate to high for BF10 (r=.69 to .82) and LMA (r=.57 to .68), with the largest correlations at 104.9 kg of live weight. Ultrasonic BF10 and LMA were within +/-4 mm and +/-6.45 cm2, respectively, of the corresponding carcass measurement 75.9 and 89.8% of the time. Sex differences for LMA bias were significant (P < .001); ultrasonic LMA was overestimated in barrows by .75 cm2 and underestimated in gilts by .91 cm2. Breed differences were significant (P < .001) for BF10 and LMA bias. Standard errors of prediction (SEP) for BF10 and LMA across the two tests were 3.46 mm and 4.04 cm2, respectively. The SEP for BF10 were 3.60 mm for barrows and 3.19 mm for gilts. The SEP for LMA were 3.77 cm2 for barrows and 4.22 cm2 for gilts. The SEP for BF10 within breeds ranged from 3.25 to 3.72 mm, and for LMA, ranged from 2.98 cm2 to 4.90 cm2. Ultrasound measurements overestimated the carcass measurement by .57 mm for carcasses measuring < 24.1 mm and underestimated by 2.81 mm carcasses with BF10 > 30.3 mm. Ultrasonic LMA overestimated the carcass by 2.35 cm2 in carcasses measuring < 32.5 cm2 and underestimated by 2.29 cm2 in carcasses measuring greater than 37.9 cm2. Results indicate that the magnitude of the carcass measurement affects bias and accuracy of prediction for real-time ultrasonic measurements of BF10 and LMA. The SEP statistic is more consistent in evaluating accuracy of ultrasonic measurement than bias, absolute deviations, and percentage of absolute deviation.     

Defaults in stereoscopic and kinetic depth perception

This study presents three findings concerning the mechanisms of depth perception. First, the shape of the three-dimensional percept evoked by two-frame motion is defined solely by the rotation component around an axis in the frontoparallel plane; the visual system assigns a default value to this rotation component to arrive at a unique solution. Second, when the visual axes of two eyes are almost parallel, the visual system uses a default vergence value to reconstruct stereoscopic depth. Third, the default vergence and default rotation angles are highly correlated across subjects. This correlation implies that the two modalities share a common scaling default at an internal level.     

Native valve infective endocarditis in elderly and younger adult patients: comparison of clinical features and outcomes with use of the Duke criteria and the Duke Endocarditis Database

The effect of age on the presentation and outcome of infective endocarditis (IE) is unclear. Many of the available data are based on analyses of mixed populations of patients including intravenous drug users or those with prosthetic valve endocarditis or native valve IE. We used the Duke criteria to compare the characteristics of 44 episodes of definite native valve IE in elderly patients (> 64 years old) with the characteristics of 64 similarly defined episodes of native valve IE in younger, nonintravenous-drug-using adult patients (> 29 years and < 60 years old). Our data suggest that the clinical presentation, characteristics, and outcome of native valve IE are similar for elderly patients and younger adult patients, although elderly patients were hospitalized an average of 12 days longer. Although we found that the occurrence of renal failure and cerebral embolism during an episode of IE was associated with higher rates of death (odds ratios, 4.8 and 4.0, respectively), age was not a significant contributor to mortality.     

Seminar planning guidelines. As I see it

Small local chapter groups can present quality cost effective regional seminars. Key components are dedication of members, teamwork, and a sense of direction. The following guidelines and information can provide a framework for planning and coordinating a seminar.     

The state of the state mental hospital 1996

OBJECTIVES: This analytical review is intended to update the author's earlier writings on the position of the state mental hospital within the spectrum of services for long-term mental patients and to provide perspective for the next generation of service planners. METHODS: Findings and commentary are organized around four major questions. First, what is the prevailing view of state mental hospitals today, and how does it compare with the view that existed in the first half of this century? Second, what individuals tend to be served in state mental hospitals today? Third, what has been the fate of mentally ill persons who are no longer served in state mental hospitals? Fourth, what is an appropriate role for the state mental hospital in today's uncertain and rapidly changing systems of care? Source material consists of periodical articles suggested in MEDLINE searches, plus newspaper reports, recent books on mental health service systems, and a variety of writings found in the "fugitive" literature generally not indexed in traditional archives. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Individual state mental hospitals vary in the composition of their resident populations, the content of their services, and the overall quality of their care. Although they have been superseded by community-based service structures in some places, they continue in general, as the result of their multifunctionality, to occupy a critical place in systems of care. Renewed efforts to integrate them as full partners within those systems must be undertaken.     

The diagnosis of drug allergies. Utilizing in vitro mast cell test and IgE inhibition test

With the ever-increasing use of pharmaceuticals and the relatively high risk of developing drug allergies, particularly for patients in hospitals and for ambulatory patients with a history of drug allergy, the need to develop in vitro assays for drug allergy is great. In the early 1970's a mast cell technique was developed for diagnosis of drug allergies. A PRIST inhibition assay has also recently been developed to detect IgE antibodies to drug allergens. This test has also been referred to as the Total IgE Inhibition Test by Specific Drug Allergen, and is a variant of the in vitro RAST Test. In vitro mast cell and IgE inhibition tests are applied for identification of drug and chemical allergens and for their cautious clinical trial to prevent future drug and chemical reactions. Over the last eight years, over 1,300 patients were examined utilizing the mast cell technique. Over 100 drugs were tested, with penicillin, barbiturates, "caine" derivatives and sulfonamides most frequently employed. Of 270 patients with well-defined drug reactions, 190 (70 per cent) gave a positive response to the mast cell test. Eighty-five per cent of sera tested with Type I reactions gave a mast cell response. Of these, a group of 30 patients was studied with PRIST inhibition as well. Procedures for comparative testing of necessary drugs and/or chemicals in cases of high anaphylaxis risk of reaction in the clinical setting, hospital or office are included in the study as well as individual case reports. Mast cell assay coupled with IgE inhibition has been successfully used to diagnose drug and chemical allergic reactions. The incidence of positivity is high when the offending drug causes a Type I allergic reaction. The cases reported indicate that both the Mast Cell and the PRIST inhibition assays are useful for diagnosing and setting the clinical treatment and clinical course of the patient. The mast cell assay would be potentially employed for patient use in hospitals where the incidence of drug allergy is highest and for occupational health in the chemical industry. The greatest potential would be in outpatient care applied to patients with multiple drug allergies in the selection of safe drugs (test negative by both methods, and other clinical studies) for future drug usage.     

Multifrequency tympanometry in chinchillas

Multifrequency tympanometry (MFT), using probe frequencies ranging from 226-2,000 Hz, was performed on normal chinchillas to obtain normative data against which to compare results from animals with middle ear pathology. A series of validating experiments was conducted to determine the effects of anatomical alterations of the middle ear on MFT. These included artificially extending the ear canal, opening the bulla, injecting saline into the middle ear, and disrupting the ossicular chain. The results indicate that MFT characteristics of chinchilla ears are qualitatively similar to those observed in normal humans and patients with middle ear disease, and MFT provides information that is not available from the 226-Hz tympanogram.     

Macroinvertebrate assemblages of littoral habitats in the Macquarie and Mersey rivers,Tasmania: Implications for the management of regulated rivers

Littoral habitats in large rivers are influenced to varying degrees by changes in discharge. Irrigation abstractions can increase the amount of habitat that would naturally be dewatered during low flow periods and therefore it is important to have some knowledge of the potential impact this may have on riverine macroinvertebrates. The macroinvertebrate assemblages of common littoral habitats in riffles, pools and runs in two reaches each of the Macquarie and Mersey Rivers, northern Tasmania, Australia were compared from samples collected during the low flow and irrigation season, between December 1991 and April 1992. The area under water of these habitats, riffle substrata, macrophyte beds and coarse woody debris, responded differently to changes in discharge. Within a reach, the same taxonomic groups often dominated the total number of macroinvertebrates for all habitats, but there were differences in the proportions contributed by these taxa to the different habitats. In general, taxa characteristic of slow-flowing or lentic habitats, such as ostracods and amphipods, were dominant in macrophyte beds in pools and runs, whereas taxa such as larval elmid beetles and hydropsychid caddisflies were dominant in riffles. A substantial component of the fauna from each habitat within a reach was unique to that habitat, but there was always a similar number of taxa common to all habitats. Classification and ordination grouped samples from both rivers firstly by habitat and secondly by month and reach. Total density and family richness of invertebrates differed by reach, habitat and month in both rivers, except for richness in the Mersey River where habitat was not significant. Differences in densities and numbers of invertebrate families among habitats were not consistent between reaches for each river. This study has highlighted the differences in macroinvertebrate assemblages of several littoral habitats in two lowland rivers in Tasmania. Differences in taxonomic composition, density and richness among habitats within reaches strongly imply the uniqueness of these habitats in terms of the invertebrate faunas that occupy them. We suggest that if maintenance of biotic diversity is an aim of instream flow management, water allocations that address low flows should place a high priority on the maintenance of a diversity of habitats.     

Molecular Characterisation of Flavanone O-methylation in Eucalyptus

Flavonoids are ubiquitous polyphenolic compounds in plants, long recognised for their health-promoting properties in humans. Methylated flavonoids have received increasing attention due to the potential of methylation to enhance medicinal efficacy. Recently, Eucalyptus species with high levels of the O-methylated flavanone pinostrobin have been identified. Pinostrobin has potential commercial value due to its numerous pharmacological and functional food benefits. Little is known about the identity or mode of action of the enzymes involved in methylating flavanones. This study aimed to identify and characterise the methyltransferase(s) involved in the regiospecific methylation of pinostrobin in Eucalyptus and thereby add to our limited understanding of flavanone biosynthesis in plants. RNA-seq analysis of leaf tips enabled the isolation of a gene encoding a flavanone 7-O-methyltransferase (EnOMT1) in Eucalyptus. Biochemical characterisation of its in vitro activity revealed a range of substrates upon which EnOMT1 acts in a regiospecific manner. Comparison to a homologous sequence from a Eucalyptus species lacking O-methylated flavonoids identified critical catalytic amino acid residues within EnOMT1 responsible for its activity. This detailed molecular characterisation identified a methyltransferase responsible for chemical ornamentation of the core flavanone structure of pinocembrin and helps shed light on the mechanism of flavanone biosynthesis in Eucalyptus.