Serum thyroid hormones and performance of offspring in ewes receiving propylthiouracil with or without melatonin.

Two experiments were conducted during mid-gestation to examine effects in ewes of propylthiouracil (PTU) treatment alone or with melatonin on serum thyroid hormones, postpartum reproduction, and lamb performance. In the first experiment, beginning on day 0 (first day of treatment when all animals were 72.2+/-0.9 days of gestation), ewes received daily treatments (gavage) consisting of either 0mg (n=6) or 40 mg (n=6) PTU/kg body weight/day for 15 days. After 15 days, the 40 mg dosage was decreased to 20mg/kg body weight for an additional 20 days (35 days of PTU). Serum thyroxine (T4) did not differ (P>0.10) between groups through day 4; but on day 5, control females had a serum value of 67 ng/ml compared with 46 (+/-5)ng/ml for PTU-treated ewes (P=0.02). On the last day that 40 mg of PTU was administered, serum T4 averaged 67 and 7 (+/-5)ng/ml (P<0.001) in the two respective groups. Serum T4 remained low and was 80 and 1 ng/ml (P<0.001) in control and treated ewes on day 34. Serum T4 rose gradually after PTU but remained different from that observed in control ewes through day 48. Lambs from control and treated ewes had similar (P=0.46) T4 values at birth but lambs from PTU-treated ewes had lower (P=0.03) birth weights than did those from control ewes. Serum progesterone (P4) after parturition indicated a lack of cyclicity in all ewes. In the second experiment, beginning on day 0 (76.8+/-4.7 days of gestation), ewes received PTU as in Experiment 1. In addition, after 15 days of PTU, melatonin was given (i.m. injections at 5mg/day) for 30 days. Propylthiouracil decreased (P0.60) for lambs born to control and treated ewes. Female offspring of PTU+melatonin-treated dams reached puberty, became anestrus, and returned to cyclicity at similar (P>0.10) times to contemporary ewe lambs. Results indicate that 40/20mg PTU alone or with melatonin does not induce cyclicity after lambing in spring lambing ewes and has little effect on offspring performance.

Planning and program development for psychiatric home care.

The psychiatric home care program of the Visiting Nurse Association and Hospice of Northern California (VNAHNC) was developed in March of 1984. The largest such program in the Bay area, the program generated a revenue of more than $1 million, made 9,756 visits, and served more than 500 patients in 1992. When discussing the program at two national conferences, members of the home care community asked many questions about the feasibility of starting up their own psychiatric home care programs. This article addresses the most frequently asked questions.

Psychiatric home care. A framework for assessment and intervention.

In this article, we will discuss how the theories of crisis intervention, self-care, and behavior direct our psychiatric home care practice. A brief discussion of the theories will be followed by a case example that illustrates their application to a psychiatric home care situation.

All-terrain-vehicle injuries. A sport out of control.

All-terrain vehicles, originally introduced as utility vehicles to be used on farms or ranches, have now gained immense popularity in the United States as a form of recreational activity. With the increasing popularity of these vehicles, along with more powerful engines, a corresponding increase in the injury and death rates has been noted. We discuss the experience in the emergency department and trauma unit of a Southwest teaching hospital, an area where these vehicles are in use year round. We suggest ways to prevent and minimize accidents to reduce the number of injuries and deaths.

Simple helium cryostat for Raman spectroscopy.

We describe a simple and inexpensive flowing gas helium cryostat which efficiently cools the surface of a sample and eliminates the need for good thermal contact between the sample and a substrate.