The effects of poor maternal nutrition during gestation on postnatal growth and development of lambs.

Poor maternal nutrition can affect the growth and development of offspring, which may lead to negative consequences in adult life. We hypothesized that lambs born to poorly nourished ewes would have reduced growth rate and increased fat deposition, with corresponding changes in the somatotropic axis, and leptin, insulin and glucose concentrations. Ewes ( = 36; 12/treatment) were assigned 1 of 3 diets; 100% (CON), 60% (RES), or 140% (OVER) of NRC requirements for TDN at d 31 of gestation until parturition. One lamb per ewe ( = 35; 11 to 12 per treatment) was used; 18 lambs were euthanized at d 1, and 17 were fed the same diet for 3 mo and then euthanized. Lamb crown rump length (CRL), heart girth, BW, and BCS were measured, and blood samples were collected at d 1 and then at weekly intervals until euthanasia. Averaged from d 1 until 3 mo, lambs from OVER ewes were larger compared with lambs born to CON ewes (BW [16.97 vs. 15.44 kg ± 0.60; = 0.09], ADG [0.23 vs. 0.21 ± 0.01 kg/d; = 0.01], and CRL [68.9 vs. 66.1 ± 0.80 cm; = 0.02]). On a BW basis, heart weight from lambs from RES (0.18 kg ± 0.03; = 0.03) ewes was greater than that of CON lambs (0.15 kg ± 0.03). Backfat thickness was reduced in RES lambs (0.11 ± 0.06; ≤ 0.04) compared with CON (0.20 ± 0.06) and OVER (0.26 ± 0.06) lambs. Concentrations of IGF-I at 3 mo and IGFBP-3 from weaning (d 56 of age) to 3 mo of age tended to be greater ( ≤ 0.06) in OVER lambs (334 ± 66 ng/mL and 175 ± 11 arbitrary units [AU], respectively) than CON lambs (149 ± 66 ng/mL and 140 ± 11 AU, respectively). At 3 mo, leptin was greater in OVER lambs compared with RES lambs (1.24 vs. 0.78 ± 0.13 ng/mL; < 0.05). Over time, average insulin concentrations were greater in OVER and RES lambs than CON lambs (0.49 and 0.49 vs. 0.33 ± 0.05 ng/mL; ≤ 0.02). However, concentrations of GH, IGFBP-2, glucose, triglycerides, and total cholesterol were not different ( > 0.10) between treatment groups. During in vivo glucose tolerance test, baseline insulin concentrations were 68% and 85% greater ( 0.01), respectively, in RES and OVER lambs compared with CON lambs. Similarly, the glucose:insulin ratio was greater in RES and OVER lambs compared with CON lambs ( 0.01). Thus, in this experiment, poor maternal nutrition during gestation influenced body size, organ growth, fat accumulation, and concentrations of IGF-I, IGFBP-3, leptin, and insulin of offspring during the first 3 mo of age.

Rapid, sensitive high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the quantification of promethazine in human serum with electrochemical detection.

A method of analysis has been developed to quantify promethazine in human serum with a sensitivity that was suitable for bioavailability studies following a 50.0-mg rectal dose. The limit of quantification from 1.0 ml of serum for promethazine using electrochemical detection was 0.200 ng/ml. At this concentration, the total coefficient of variation obtained from seven replicates over the course of three days of validation was 7.53%. The amount of serum required, the ease of sample preparation and the precision of the method at the limit of quantification demonstrated an improvement over previous assays. A validation study was completed that included an evaluation of recovery, ruggedness, linearity of response, accuracy, precision, sensitivity, stability and selectivity. The method was then used to determine promethazine serum levels in a 36-subject bioavailability study following a 50.0-mg suppository dose.

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the larynx.

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the larynx is an uncommon malignancy. Nearly all cases are found in middle-aged and elderly men. Most cases arise in the supraglottis. Mucoepidermoid carcinoma is classified histologically as low grade and high grade. The prognosis is relatively good for low-grade tumor and poor for high-grade mucoepidermoid carcinoma, which is also referred to as adenosquamous carcinoma. The treatment is primarily surgical, although the efficacy of post-operative radiation, with and without chemotherapy, is presently under evaluation in a National Intergroup Study. The case reported here is nearly classic for high-grade mucoepidermoid carcinoma, both as to clinical presentation and morphology. This report and discussion are offered to familiarize the reader with this uncommon lesion, of which fewer than 80 cases have been reported.

The antibiotic sensitivity of the Bacteroides fragilis group in the United Kingdom.

Eight hundred and sixty-two cultures of penicillin-resistant anaerobic Gram-negative bacilli collected from 14 centres in the United Kingdom were identified. Six hundred and fifty-one were members of the Bacteroides fragilis group, and their sensitivity to 14 antibiotics was determined by a microtitre method. Among the beta-lactams, moderate resistance to ampicillin (MIC greater than or equal to 8 mg/l) was common, (B. ovatus 100%, B. thetaiotaomicron 95%, B. fragilis 76%, B. distasonis 50%, B. vulgatus 25%) but high-level resistance (MIC greater than 128 mg/l) was uncommon (B. fragilis 4%, B. ovatus 4%, B. vulgatus 3%). In B. fragilis, moderate resistance to other beta-lactams was less common (cefoxitin 16%, mezlocillin 13% and cefotetan 7%), though in most non-B. fragilis species, higher numbers were moderately resistant. High level resistance to these three beta-lactams was rare. Resistance to penems (MIC greater than 4 mg/l) was not detected. All isolates of B. fragilis tested were sensitive to 16 mg/l of ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin, and 68% and 81% of isolates were sensitive to less than 4 mg/l, but one isolate of B. uniformis and one of B. thetaiotaomicron proved highly resistant. Clindamycin resistance was uncommon (1% of B. fragilis and 10% other B. fragilis group isolates were resistant to 2 mg/l clindamycin) with isolates resistant to clindamycin often also resistant to erythromycin. Tetracycline resistance was common in all species and occurred in 40% of isolates. Resistance to chloramphenicol, metronidazole or rifampicin was not detected. Significant differences were observed between the sensitivity of B. fragilis and other members of the B. fragilis group to mezlocillin, cefotetan, cefoxitin and the quinolones. There was no clear trend towards higher resistance in any one area of the country.

Anaerobic vaginosis (non-specific vaginitis): clinical, microbiological, and therapeutic findings.

The effect of metronidazole on anaerobic vaginosis (non-specific vaginitis) was assessed in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 40 women. 19 of 20 women given metronidazole 400 mg twice a day for seven days were clinically and microbiologically cured by the time they completed treatment. All 20 women given a placebo were treatment failures, but when they were given a single 2 g dose of metronidazole, 15 showed clinical and microbiological cure a week later. 14 of the responders showed a recurrence of infection a month after treatment; this was probably due to reinfection, although persistence of infection cannot be ruled out. Findings in the clinic correlated closely with subsequent microbiological results in 133 out of 140 patient-visits, which suggests that there is no need for expensive and time-consuming laboratory investigations in this condition.