Adolescent Ethanol Exposure Alters Cholinergic Function and Apical Dendritic Branching Within the Orbital Frontal Cortex.

During adolescence, heavy binge-like ethanol consumption can lead to frontocortical structural and functional impairments. These impairments are likely driven by adolescence being a critical time point for maturation of brain regions associated with higher-order cognitive functioning. Rodent models of heavy binge-like ethanol exposure show consistent disruptions to the typical development of the prefrontal cortex (PFC). All deep cortical layers receive cholinergic projections that originate from the Nucleus basalis of Meynert (NbM) complex. These cholinergic projections are highly involved in learning, memory, and attention. Adolescent intermittent ethanol exposure (AIE) induces cholinergic dysfunction as a result of an epigenetic suppression of the genes that drive the cholinergic phenotype. The current study used a model of AIE to assess structural and functional changes to the frontal cortex and NbM following binge-like ethanol exposure in adolescence. Western blot analysis revealed long-term disruptions of the cholinergic circuit following AIE: choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) was suppressed in the NbM and vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) was suppressed in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). In vivo microdialysis for acetylcholine efflux during a spatial memory task determined changes in cholinergic modulation within the PFC following AIE. However, AIE spared performance on the spatial memory task and on an operant reversal task. In a second study, Golgi-Cox staining determined that AIE increased apical dendritic complexity in the OFC, with sex influencing whether the increase in branching occurred near or away from the soma. Spine density or maturity was not affected, likely compensating for a disruption in neurotransmitter function following AIE.

A randomised, single-blind comparison of high-level disinfectants for flexible nasendoscopes.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the microbiological efficacy, turnaround time, cost, convenience, and patient and user tolerance of Tristel Trio Wipes, PeraSafe solution and Cidex OPA solution for the high-level disinfection of flexible nasendoscopes. METHODS: Flexible nasendoscopes were used in routine clinical encounters. They were then disinfected with one of the three disinfectant methods. Surveillance cultures were taken before and after each disinfection process. Data relating to each of the study parameters were recorded. RESULTS: Positive bacterial cultures were discovered on nasendoscopes disinfected with PeraSafe and Cidex OPA. Tristel Trio Wipes have no capital outlay cost, the lowest running cost, the greatest convenience and the fastest turnaround time. PeraSafe had a faster turnaround time than Cidex OPA, and lower running costs. CONCLUSION: Tristel Trio Wipes are equal to PeraSafe and Cidex OPA in terms of microbiological efficacy. Turnaround time and cost are dramatically reduced when using Tristel Trio Wipes compared to the other disinfectant methods.

Pathophysiology of humeral fractures in a sample of dairy heifers.

AIMS: To investigate the pathophysiology of humeral fractures in first-lactation dairy heifers in the North Island of New Zealand. METHODS: Ten 2-year-old dairy heifers with humeral fractures were subject to euthanasia and the fractured and non-fractured contralateral humeri were collected. Humeri were also collected from 10 unaffected 2-year-old dairy heifers sent for slaughter. Humeri from heifers with and without fractures were examined using computed tomography (CT), and four slices of the diaphysis and lower metaphysis (D1-4) were analysed using the Bone J plug-in for Image J. The humeri were sectioned sagittally and 5 mm bone slabs were processed for histopathology. RESULTS: There were no differences in bone length between the humeri from heifers with or without fractures (p=0.31). Median cortical bone mineral density at D1 was increased in humeri from affected compared with unaffected heifers (810 vs. 783 mg/cm(3); p=0.03), cortical area at D1 was reduced (816 vs. 1,037 mm(2); p=0.04), the median stress strain index, a calculated theoretical measure of bone strength, at D1 was decreased (7,288 vs. 9,072 mm(3); p<0.01), and the median ratio of overall bone volume (BV) to total volume (TV) was decreased (0.32 vs. 0.38; p<0.01). The median periosteal circumference at D1 was also reduced in humeri from affected compared with unaffected heifers (151 vs. 173 mm; p<0.01). Using a binary logistic regression model, BV/TV was the only variable associated with humeral fractures (p=0.03).In nine of 10 fractured humeri the fracture appeared to have started just distal to the head of the humerus and spiralled distally down the diaphysis to end just above the humeral condyles. Histopathological findings included a reduction in the number, and thickness, of trabeculae in the metaphysis; metaphyseal growth arrest lines, and osteoclastic resorption in fractured humeri. Concentrations of copper in serum from four of five animals with fractures were within, and one was below, normal reference ranges, while concentration of copper in the livers of three heifers with fractures were below adequate ranges. CONCLUSIONS: The CT and histological findings were consistent with a diagnosis of osteoporosis. We propose that humeral fractures in dairy heifers are associated with osteoporosis, possibly as a result of insufficient deposition of bone during growth because of protein-calorie malnutrition. Increased osteoclastic resorption of bone associated with calcium mobilisation for lactation, and periods of copper deficiency may contribute to bone weakening.

A triad of research roles: experiential learning in an undergraduate research course.

This article describes an innovative approach to teaching undergraduate research content directly involving students in a faculty research study, and a student research project undertaken in a nursing research course. Junior-level students participated as research subjects in a faculty study focusing on the health perceptions of baccalaureate nursing students, became data collectors in a related student project on the health perceptions of lay people, and became consumers of the research by analyzing the findings and clinical relevance of these studies. This strategy for teaching research assisted students to master undergraduate research content by participatory involvement in several distinct phases of the research process. The project generated considerable interest and served to foster positive attitudes toward nursing research while concurrently increasing students' comfort level with the total process.

Clampdown on AIDS information in E. Africa.

PIP: What is most alarming about Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in East Africa is that it is taboo. The reason for the clamping down on publicity in Kenya is that the government sees AIDS as a killer of tourism, the country's 2nd largest revenue earner. The government of Kenya, like several other African governments, is reacting to the widespread belief in the West that AIDS originated in Africa and that it is rampant in Central and East Africa. These "facts" have yet to be proven conclusively by medical evidence. It is certain that a large percentage of the population of these regions have antibodies to the virus HTLV-III, which causes AIDS. From this, virologists deduce that the people concerned must have been exposed to the AIDS virus. The Western media has exaggerated the African AIDS connection and given the impression that African countries are gripped in raging AIDS epidemics. In response to the alarmist publicity, some African countries have clamped down in information about the disease. The result is that the Western press feels confirmed in its fears and the local population, depending on rumor and heresay, have been living in a state of absolute panic. Instead of allaying fears, the clampdown on news has fueled dangerous rumors at home and frightened away tourists. Whatever may be causing the disease and wherever it may have come from, there is no question at all that there are now confirmed cases of AIDS in East and Central Africa. Thus far, the number of confirmed cases if relatively small, but if governments continue to try and hide the facts from the public, there is a real danger of an epidemic developing. A ministerial statement admits to 7 confirmed AIDS cases in Kenya. There are discrepancies in the reports, however. Doctors interviewed by "New African" in Nairobi recently believe the situation is far more serious than the government admits. Doctors in Kenya make the point that the country is highly vulnerable to the spread of AIDS, particularly as it is known to be transmitted in heterosexual as well as homosexual relationships. Medical experts in Kenya identify the need for an AIDS Researh Foundation to be set up to encompass the whole of the East Africa region. This center would receive and collate information on AIDS from Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya, assess it, carry out clinical research, study and experiment with anti-AIDS compounds, and formulate a public education program to be disseminated by the media. 2 points need to be known: it is difficult to contract AIDS casually; through blood and semen, carriers of the virus can transmit AIDS like wildfire creating an epidemic.^ieng