406 femoral fractures in children

406 fractures of the femur in persons younger than 17 years of age were treated at Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, from January 1980 to December 1993. The incidence was 35/100,000 per year; 57/100,000 for boys, and 24/100,000 for girls. No significant changes in the incidence occurred during the study period. 70% of the fractures occurred in boys. 78% had an isolated fracture, while 7% had other fractures, 7% head injuries and 8% injuries of multiple organs as well. Traffic accidents accounted for 35% of the fractures. 65% of the femur fractures were treated by skeletal traction (mean hospitalisation 30 days), 21% were operated on initially (hospitalisation 12 days), and 14% were given early spica cast (hospitalisation three days). The results of the treatment were generally satisfactory. Neither anisomelia (8.5% more than 10 mm) nor malrotation (12% more than 10 degrees) of the femur was a serious problem, but the length of time the patients were hospitalized was rather long.     

Alternative routes for dissemination of Legionella pneumophila causing three outbreaks in Norway

Three outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease were reported in the Fredrikstad/Sarpsborg community, Norway, in 2005 and 2008 caused by the L. pneumophila ST15 and ST462 strains determined by sequence based typing. In this retrospective study, we suggest that the aeration ponds, a part of the biological treatment plant at Borregaard Ind. Ltd., are the main amplifiers and primary disseminators of the outbreak L. pneumophila strains. This result is supported by the finding that the ST15 and ST462 strains were not able to survive in air scrubber liquid media more than two days of incubation at the scrubber's operating conditions during the 2005 and 2008 outbreaks. In 2008, >101? CFU/L of L. pneumophila ST462 were detected in the aeration ponds. ST15 and ST462 were also detected in the river Glomma in 2005 and 2008, respectively, downstream of the wastewater outlet from the treatment plant (10?CFU/L). These findings strongly suggest that the presence of L. pneumophila in the river is due to the release of wastewater from the industrial aeration ponds, demonstrating that the river Glomma may be an additional disseminator of L. pneumophila during the outbreaks. This work emphasizes the need for preventive actions against the release of wastewater containing human pathogens to the environment.     

A comparative study of fatty acid profiles in ruminant and non‐ruminant milk

This is a comprehensive study of fatty acid (FA) profiles in milk from bovine, caprine, ovine, asine, and equine species. Milks from these species are universally common as constituents in a variety of different food and dairy products. We have obtained structural information on FAs, and discussed their correlation to health effects. The extracted fat from all species were derivatized to FA methyl esters for analysis by GC‐MS. Large differences in the lipid content and FA composition between ruminants and non‐ruminants were observed. Ovine milk showed the highest lipid content of all the animals tested, both ruminants and non‐ruminants. Among the ruminants, bovine milk was richer in saturated FAs (69.7%) than ovine‐ and caprine milk (57.5 and 59.9%, respectively). Ovine milk contained the highest amounts of monounsaturated FAs (39.1%) and also odd‐ and branched‐chain FAs (5.5%). Milk from the monogastric animals, mares and donkeys, were highest in polyunsaturated FAs with a content of 19.3 and 14.2%, respectively. The assumed health negative trans FAs were analyzed to be highest in the ruminant milk (0.7–1.0%). Milk from these species contained also the highest amount of the health beneficial CLA (0.4–0.7%). Practical applications: This is a comprehensive study of milk from five species analyzed under identical conditions. The different fatty acids and their derivatives are increasingly important components because of the contradictory reports on positive and negative effects on human health. New information on the composition of milk from different species is of great importance. The results may give valuable information to producers and nutritional advisors on the consumption of milk and milk products.