The impacts of cattle access points on deposited sediment levels in headwater streams in Ireland

Cattle access to streams has been linked globally with degradation of stream water quality, driven largely by bank erosion and resultant instream, fine sediment deposition. The majority of evidence on such effects is however based in arid and semiarid regions of the United States and Australia, with few studies relating to cool temperate climates such as Northwest Europe. In this study, “Quorer” resuspendable sediment samples were taken from riffle geomorphic units upstream (control) and at two points downstream (pressure and recovery) of cattle access points in headwater streams in agricultural catchments in Ireland to assess levels of deposited stream sediment. Samples were taken in April/May (2016) prior to the grazing season and in October (2016) at the end of the grazing season. Sites in good‐high ecological status catchments and less than good ecological status catchments were included in the study. Higher levels of sediment were found downstream of cattle access points in both good‐high status and less than good status catchments; however, the impacts of access points were spatially confined to, in most cases, the area immediately downstream of the point of access. There was a strong correlation between deposited sediment mass and organic matter (OM) mass, with levels of OM increasing linearly with deposited sediment mass. Levels of measured sediment were negatively correlated with riparian habitat health (measured using a qualitative habitat assessment). The results of this study highlight the need for measures to prevent cattle access to headwater streams where access points can be many in order to manage local habitat quality and downstream water quality issues.     

Failure analysis of a broken tooth

Several days after heart surgery, a patient discovered his upper right canine tooth had broken at the root. Such tooth damage, recognized post-operatively, is usually assumed to be caused by blunt mechanical force from an instrument used by the anesthesiologist during placement of a breathing tube at the start of surgery. In this case, the patient had saved the crown portion of the broken tooth, and it was possible to examine the root fracture characteristics. The curvature and direction of the crack path and natural tooth situation suggested that failure could be described through a cantilever beam model. This was confirmed when a whole extracted sample tooth was embedded and broken by a measured force in a manner consistent with the model. The resulting fracture surface matched that of the patient’s broken canine tooth. However, the high load and force direction necessary to fracture the root was inconsistent with forces applied during the anesthesia procedure. The failure analysis and further investigation indicated tooth clenching on the breathing tube during recovery was the likely cause of fracture. This paper presents an alternate explanation for intubation-related dental injury, demonstrates the practicality of fractographic analysis of biological materials, and introduces a methodology for simulating in vitro tooth settings for mechanical testing.     

The ultrasound appearances of neonatal renal vein thrombosis

Renal vein thrombosis (RVT) is the most frequently occurring vascular condition in the new-born kidney. The predisposing factors include dehydration, sepsis, birth asphyxia, maternal diabetes, polycythaemia and the presence of an indwelling umbilical venous catheter. (RVT) may present clinically with a flank mass, haematuria, hypertension or renal failure. Many imaging modalities have been employed, but ultrasound is the technique most commonly used in the evaluation of neonates with suspected RVT. Thrombosis commences in the small renal veins and subsequently propagates via larger interlobar veins to the main renal vein and inferior vena cava (IVC). The ultrasound appearances depend upon the stage at which the examination is performed and extent of the thrombus. Initially, the interlobular and interlobar thrombus appears as highly echogenic streaks. These streaks commence in a peripheral, focal segment of the involved kidney and only persist for a few days. In the first week the affected kidney swells and becomes echogenic with prominent echopoor medullary pyramids. Later, the swelling increases and the kidney becomes heterogenous with loss of corticomedullary differentiation. Grey scale ultrasound readily demonstrates thrombus within the renal vein and IVC. Adrenal haemorrhage is a recognized association and may be identified ultrasonically. Colour Doppler scanning provides additional information. In the early stages of RVT, colour Doppler may demonstrate absent intrarenal and renal venous flow. Ultimately, the kidney may recover, show focal scarring or become atrophic. Thus, ultrasound provides an accessible and reliable tool in the assessment of suspected neonatal RVT.     

Scarring trachoma is associated with polymorphism in the tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) gene promoter and with elevated TNF-alpha levels in tear fluid

Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) may play a central role in the disease pathogenesis which occurs as a consequence of chlamydial infection. To investigate the importance of TNF-alpha gene promoter polymorphisms and TNF-alpha levels in tear fluid in scarring trachoma, a large matched-pair case-control study was performed in The Gambia. The -308A allele was present in a higher proportion of patients (28.4%) than controls (18.4%), with an increasing association for homozygotes (chi2 for trend, P = 0.032; allele frequency, 0.163 in patients and 0.099 in controls; chi2, P = 0.025). For the -238A allele, the association was similar but not significant. The disease association was highly significant when the number of either -308A or -238A sites in an individual was considered (P = 0.003). TNF-alpha promoter alleles are tightly linked to some HLA class I and II alleles, but multivariate analysis confirmed that the disease associations were independent of HLA, although a class I allele, A*6802, is also associated with disease. TNF-alpha was more frequently detected in tear samples from patients (27.6%) than from controls (15.9%), increasingly so for higher levels of detectable TNF-alpha (P = 0.015). Among patients, detectable TNF-alpha in tears was highly associated with the presence of ocular chlamydial infection (P < 0.001). The results indicate that TNF-alpha plays a major role in the tissue damage and scarring which occurs as a consequence of Chlamydia trachomatis infection.     

Reflex jaw motions and jaw stiffness pertaining to whiplash injury of the neck

Because a so-called mandibular whiplash injury requires the absence of short-latency jaw-closing reflexes in order to explain the postulated mechanism of injury (excessive jaw opening); the authors studied the presence and absence and more importantly, the kinematics (duration, displacement, velocity, acceleration) of monosynaptic and possibly, polysynaptic myotatic (stretch) reflexes in the jaw elevator muscles. In six healthy adults jaw jerk maneuvers were elicited through a brisk tap on the chin, and surface electromyography identified elevator reflexes while translational electrognathography identified the kinematics of the reflexes. The maneuvers were done while maintaining the rest position (3% MVC) and moderate clenching of the teeth (30% MVC). Electromyography was also used to identify phasic elevator excitations during a passive brisk neck extension maneuver. A sudden and unexpected elongation of the jaw elevators released autogenic reflex responses that, in conjunction with augmented tissue elasticity (stiffness), elevated the mandible into centric occlusion within approximately 150 milliseconds. In 86% of trials, the responses occurred regardless of the prevailing resting and clenching contractile activities. There was no evidence of a depressor force that consistently would and could anchor the mandible in a position of extreme or moderate depression, the theoretical linchpin of the mandibular whiplash injury. It was concluded that the mandibular locomotor system is very efficient in maintaining the rest and intercuspal positions of the mandible. This study found no evidence corroborating the mechanism claimed to release a so-called mandibular whiplash injury.     

Pharmacokinetics of dolasetron after oral and intravenous administration of dolasetron mesylate in healthy volunteers and patients with hepatic dysfunction

In previous studies, dolasetron was shown to have both renal and hepatic elimination mechanisms. This study was conducted to determine the impact of varying degrees of hepatic dysfunction on the pharmacokinetics and safety of dolasetron and its reduced metabolites. Seventeen adults were studied: six healthy volunteers (group I), seven patients with mild hepatic impairment (Child-Pugh class A; group II), and four patients with moderate to severe hepatic impairment (Child-Pugh class B or C1; group III). Single 150-mg doses of dolasetron mesylate were administered intravenously and orally, with a 7-day washout period separating treatments. After intravenous administration, no differences were observed between healthy volunteers and patients with hepatic impairment in maximum plasma concentration (Cmax), areas under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC), or elimination half-life (t1/2) of intact dolasetron. No significant differences were found in Cmax, AUC, or apparent clearance (C(lapp)) of hydrodolasetron, the primary metabolite of dolasetron. The mean t1/2 increased from 6.87 hours in group I to 11.69 hours in group III. After oral administration, C(lapp) of hydrodolasetron decreased by 42%, and Cmax increased by 18% in patients with moderate to severe hepatic impairment. There were less changes in patients with mildly hepatic impairment. Total percentage of dose excreted as metabolites was similar for healthy volunteers and patients with hepatic impairment, although urinary metabolite profiles differed slightly. Dolasetron was well tolerated and there were no apparent differences in adverse effects between groups or treatments. Because hepatic impairment did not influence Cl(app) of hydrodolasetron after intravenous administration, and the range of plasma concentrations of hydrodolasetron after oral administration was not different from those observed in healthy volunteers, dosage adjustments are not recommended for patients with hepatic disease and normal renal function.     

Effect of postnatal exposure to a PCB mixture in monkeys on multiple fixed interval-fixed ratio performance

Behavioral impairment as a consequence of PCB exposure beginning in utero has been reported in both humans and animals. The present study assessed the behavioral consequences of postnatal exposure to PCBs. Male monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) were dosed from birth to 20 weeks of age with 7.5 microgram(s)/kg/day of a PCB mixture representative of the PCBs typically found in human breast milk (eight monkeys) or vehicle (four monkeys). At 4 years of age, performance under a multiple fixed interval (FI)-fixed ratio (FR) schedule of reinforcement was assessed. The FI component was more sensitive to disruption as a result of PCB exposure than was the FR component. PCB-exposed monkeys displayed shorter mean interresponse times (IRTs) than controls, particularly during the earlier sessions of the experiment. Similarly, the increase in pause time characteristic of the acquisition of typical FI performance emerged more slowly across sessions in the PCB-treated group. However, the number of short IRTs (less than 5 s) remained greater in the treated group compared to controls over the 48-session duration of the experiment. On the FR component, control monkeys decreases the mean pause time across sessions whereas the PCB-treated group did not; there were no differences between groups for absolute value of average IRT or pause time. The results of this study extend previous research in this cohort of monkeys, and provide further evidence that PCB exposure limited to the early postnatal period and resulting in environmentally relevant body burdens produces long-term behavioral effects.