Heartworm infected dogs in the Netherlands

Heartworm infected small animal patients are seldom seen in the Netherlands, because the parasite's life cycle cannot be completed in this climate. We report here four cases of the disease in dogs brought to the Netherlands from endemic heartworm areas. The initial diagnosis was based upon this knowledge and clinical signs (low exercise tolerance and coughing). The diagnosis was confirmed by the radiographic finding of variable pulmonary artery enlargement, the electrocardiographic finding of right ventricular hyperptrophy and the presence of microfilariae in the peripheral blood. Treatment resulted in recovery in three of these patients but the fourth died soon after initiation of the therapy.     

Reporting of zoonotic diseases

Departments of public health and agriculture in all 50 states of the United States and the District of Columbia were queried in 1977 to determine which of some selected zoonoses are reportable, the method of reporting and the diagnostic stage at which reporting is required. Fifty-three of the 62 diseases on the public health questionnaire were listed as reportable, with hepatitis A required by 49 of the 51 jurisdictions. Telephone reporting was required in nearly 19% of the disease-jurisdiction combinations and, in nearly 55%, reporting was required when the disease first was suspected. Thirty-three of the 41 diseases on the agriculture questionnaire were reportable, with anthrax most frequent. Telephone reporting was required in 30% of the reportable situations and suspected diagnoses were reportable in 54%. The disease lists varied markedly between the public health and agriculture agencies.     

Evoked response and kinesthetic measures of augmenting/reducing in schizophrenics: replications and extensions

The results of a 15 months' intensive study on seven flocks of indigenous goats in the Southern Darfur region of the Sudan are discussed in this paper. Birth rates in the region approached 2-1 kids per doe per year. A high total offtake of 28 per cent and a weighted average death rate of about 16-5 per cent were insufficient to offset this high birth rate and flock numbers are increased. Mortality in kids was unrelated to number of births. Weighted average rate of gain for all surviving kids was 87 g per day to 3 months and 67 g per day to 6 months of age. The growth rates of twin and single were similar, but triplet kids grew at a slower rate. For each kilogramme liveweight of breeding females, goats produced 1-5 and 8 times the weight of meat produced by sheep and cattle respectively under the same management and environmental conditions.     

Performance optimization of spectroscopic process analyzers

To increase the power and the robustness of spectroscopic process analyzers, methods are needed that suppress the spectral variation that is not related to the property of interest in the process stream. An approach for the selection of a suitable method is presented. The approach uses the net analyte signal (NAS) to analyze the situation and to select methods to suppress the nonrelevant spectral variation. The empirically determined signal-to-noise of the NAS is used as a figure of merit. The advantages of the approach are (i). that the error of the reference method does not affect method selection and (ii). that only a few spectral measurements are needed. A diagnostic plot is proposed that guides the user in the evaluation of the particular suppression method. As an example, NIR spectroscopic monitoring of a mol-sieve separation process is used.     

Thromboembolism complicating surgery for cervical and uterine malignancy: incidence, risk factors, and prophylaxis

Venous thromboembolism is a leading cause of death and morbidity after extended surgery for early malignancies of the cervix and uterus. Two hundred eighty-one patients who underwent such surgery were retrospectively evaluated for associated risk factors, the incidence of clinically significant thromboembolic complications, and prophylactic value of low-dose heparin and antiembolism stockings. Significant thromboemboli were encountered in 7.8% of patients postoperatively and accounted for the only 4 postoperative deaths. Forty-five percent of patients who developed thromboemboli did so after discharge from the hospital. The preoperative risk factors found to be associated with thromboembolism, in order of statistical significance, were weight in excess of 85.5 kg, advanced clinical stage of malignancy, and radiation therapy within 6 weeks of the operative procedure. Low-dose heparin therapy and the use of antiembolism stockings as preventative measures did not appear to reduce the incidence of thromboembolic complications. A prospective study will be necessary to evaluate definitely the effectiveness of various therapeutic modalities on thromboembolism in gynecologic oncology patients.     

Effects of pore flow on the separation efficiency in capillary electrochromatography with porous particles

The effect of pore flow on the separation efficiency of capillary electrochromatography (CEC) has been studied using columns packed with particles with different pore sizes. A previously developed model was used to predict the (relative) pore flow velocity in these columns under various experimental conditions. Equations are derived describing the effect of pore flow on peak broadening in CEC. The theory has been compared with practice in the reversed-phase CEC separation of various polyaromatic hydrocarbons. It is shown, by theory and experimentally, that the mass-transfer resistance contribution to peak dispersion can be effectively eliminated when using porous particles with a high (> or =50 nm) average pore diameter. Moreover, at high pore-to-interstitial flow ratios the flow inhomogeneity contribution (the A term in the plate height equation) is also shown to decrease. Under optimal conditions, a reduced plate height of 0.3 for the nonretained compound could be obtained. It is argued that fully perfusive porous particles can be a more efficient separation medium in CEC than nonporous particles.