Non-CFC metered dose inhalers: the patent landscape.

There have been many patent applications to the European Patent Office over the past decade involving the transition of pressurised metered dose inhalers from the CFCs to non-CFC propellants. In addition to those where formulations are changed, there are those relating to specific drugs or drug classes, processes of manufacture and modifications to the container/closure system. Many of these have been opposed, usually on the grounds of obviousness. However, due to the length of time for the opposition process and the fact that there are few non-CFC pressurised inhalers on the market yet, the complete picture of which patents are valid has yet to unfold.

Utah's parent, teacher, and physician sealant awareness surveys.

PURPOSE: The Year 2000 Oral Health Objective 13.8 reads, "Increase to at least 50% the proportion of children who have received protective sealants on the occlusal surfaces of permanent molar teeth." In order to develop the next phase of Utah's continuing sealant promotion program directed towards meeting this objective, the Dental Health Bureau surveyed parents, teachers, and physicians in 1992. METHODS: Parents of 3,355 first- and sixth-grade students in a stratified random sample of 25 Utah urban and rural schools were surveyed to determine sealant awareness and placement. In 20 elementary urban and rural schools, 471 teachers were surveyed to determine their source of dental health knowledge and their dental unit subject matter. Five hundred ninety-six physicians were surveyed to determine their knowledge of sealants. The results of the parent and teacher surveys were analyzed using chi-square to determine statistically significant differences between urban and rural respondents. The physician results are reported in percentages. RESULTS: The parental response rate was 32%, teacher response rate was 37%, and physician response rate was 44%. Between 73% and 81% of the parents knew about sealants and 40% to 47% have had sealants placed on a child's teeth. The most frequently mentioned source of knowledge about sealants was the dentist or dental hygienist. Fewer rural than urban parents had heard about dental sealants and had insurance that covered sealants. Of the teachers who taught dental health, most taught brushing/flossing, sugar avoidance, and annual dental visits. Only a few taught about sealants. Most of the teachers received their information from a Dental Health Bureau newsletter or from their dentist or dental hygienist. When questioned about their knowledge of sealants, 68% of the physicians indicated they were unfamiliar with them. Eighty-four percent requested professional information and 65% requested patient information. CONCLUSIONS: The dental hygienist as a preventive healthcare professional is a frequent source of sealant information. Parents, physicians, and teachers need up-to-date oral health information. Dental hygienists can be instrumental in achieving the Year 2000 Oral Health Objective on dental sealants by promoting awareness in the public sector and by placing dental sealants.

The sequential appearance of sperm abnormalities after scrotal insulation or dexamethasone treatment in bulls.

Scrotal insulation and dexamethasone treatment were used as a model to compare the effect of testicular heating and stress on spermatogenesis. Insulation was applied to the scrotum of eight bulls (insulated) for a period of four days, eight bulls were treated daily for seven days with 20 mg dexamethasone injected intramuscularly, and four bulls were untreated controls. Semen from four bulls in each group was collected and evaluated over a six-week period after treatment. Blood samples for testosterone analysis were taken hourly for eight hours at the beginning and the end of the six-week period from the control bulls and before and after treatment from the four insulated and four dexamethasone-treated bulls that were not used for semen collection. At the end of the last blood sampling period, the four bulls in each group were castrated for the collection of testicular tissue for the determination of testosterone concentrations. Basal, peak episodic, and mean serum testosterone concentrations among control bulls, pre and postinsulated bulls, and pretreatment samples of dexamethasone-treated bulls were not different (p > 0.05); however, bulls that had received dexamethasone treatments had significantly lower basal, peak episodic, and mean testosterone concentrations (p < 0.05). Tissue concentrations of testosterone in control, insulated, and dexamethasone-treated bulls were not significantly different but tended to be lower in dexamethasone-treated bulls (p > 0.13). The spermiograms of the control bulls varied insignificantly over the six-week sampling period; however, there was a marked increase in sperm defects in insulated and dexamethasone-treated bulls. The types of sperm defects and the temporal relationships of rises and declines of sperm defects were quite similar for both treatments. All bulls recovered to approximately pretreatment levels of sperm defects by six weeks after the initiation of treatment. Results indicate that two of the most common types of insults to spermatogenesis in bulls, heat and stress, result in similar spermiograms.

Effect of narrow sperm head shape on fertility in cattle.

Seven experiments were done in feedlot heifers to determine the importance of various degrees of narrowness of the sperm head on fertility in feedlot heifers. Frozen semen used in these experiments was selected to be normal in all respects except for very high numbers of a single specific type of sperm head aberration. Semen with the sperm aberration in question and control semen were selected to be as similar as possible in dose and postthaw viability so that differences in fertility would be attributable to the morphological variant under study. Fertilization rates were determined by collecting embryos from the reproductive tracts of superovulated heifers which had been slaughtered seven days after insemination. Pregnancy rates and rates of embryonic loss were studied in estrus-synchronized heifers by repeated transrectal ultrasound examinations from day 22 to day 55 after insemination. Reproductive tracts were collected and examined after slaughter at 60 days postinsemination.The combined results of these experiments show that a moderate degree of sperm head narrowness, in the absence of other seminal signs of a disturbance of spermatogenesis, is not detrimental to fertility. However, extreme narrowness of the postacrosomal region of the sperm head of most spermatozoa, as was found in two bulls without other seminal signs of a disturbance of spermatogenesis, resulted in significantly reduced fertility. The data suggest that, although a decision between normal and abnormal sperm morphology may contain a degree of subjectivity, of the defects studied only sperm with extreme narrowness of the post-acrosomal region are likely to reduce fertility.

Utah dentists sealant usage survey.

After a statewide survey of dentists to determine how many were using sealants, the Utah Department of Health, Dental Health Bureau developed and began implementing a sealant-education program in 1982. The extent of reported usage increased from 48 percent in 1982 to 98 percent in 1987. Routine use increased from 10 percent to 48 percent.

Determination of the best practical method of thawing bovine semen.

An experiment was designed to determine the best practical method of thawing which could be applied to all semen processed by Canadian A.I. centers. Semen in Tris, Triladyl, whole milk, or Fresh Plus Extender packaged in 1 mL ampules or 0.5 mL French straws was used. Semen was thawed in water at 35 degrees C, 20 degrees C, or 5 degrees C, or in a shirt pocket for 5, 5, 10, or 10 minutes, respectively. Post-thaw viability of sperm cells was assessed by determining the percentage of progressively motile cells, rate of progression, and percentage of intact acrosomes, at 0 hours and after 2 hours of incubation at 37 degrees C. Post-thaw viability was significantly higher (P < 0.05) for the 35 degrees C thaw than for any of the other thaw methods regardless of extender or packaging. Our data indicate that when AI center recommendations for thawing semen are unknown, semen in ampules and straws should be thawed in a 35 degrees C water bath and maintained at that temperature until it can be inseminated.