Empirical measures of harbor seal behavior and avoidance of an operational tidal turbine.

There is global interest in marine renewable energy from underwater tidal turbines. Due to overlap in animal habitat with locations for tidal turbines, the potential for collisions has led to concern around strike risk. Using data from tagged harbor seals collected before construction and after operation of the SeaGen tidal turbine in Northern Ireland, this study quantifies risks of an operational turbine to harbor seals by taking into account turbine characteristics, tidal state, and seal behavior. We found 68% spatial avoidance (95% C.I., 37%, 83%) by harbor seals within 200 m of the turbine. When additionally accounting for variation in seal occupancy over depth and tidal flows, there is an overall reduction in collision risk from 1.29 to 0.125 seals per tidal cycle (90.3% reduction; (95% C.I., 83%, 98%)) compared to risk calculated under assumptions of uniform habitat use. This demonstrates the need to incorporate environmental conditions to properly assess strike risk.

Ploidy and karyotype complexity are powerful prognostic indicators in the Ewing's sarcoma family of tumors: a study by the United Kingdom Cancer Cytogenetics and the Children's Cancer and Leukaemia Group.

Ewing's sarcoma family tumors (ESFT) are characterized by the presence of EWSR1-ETS fusion genes. Secondary chromosome changes are frequently described, although their clinical significance is not clear. In this study, we have collected and reviewed abnormal karyotypes from 88 patients with primary ESFT and a rearrangement of 22q12. Secondary changes were identified in 80% (70/88) of tumors at diagnosis. Multivariate analysis showed a worse overall and relapse free survival (RFS) for those with a complex karyotype (overall survival, P = 0.005; RFS, P = 0.04), independent of metastatic disease. Univariate survival analysis showed that a chromosome number above 50 or a complex karyotype was associated with a worse overall survival (>50 chromosomes, P = 0.05; complex karyotype, P = 0.04). There was no association between type of cytogenetic abnormality and the presence of metastatic disease at diagnosis. Univariate and multivariate survival analysis of a small subgroup with trisomy 20 indicated that trisomy 20 was associated with a worse overall and RFS. There was no difference in outcome associated with other recurrent trisomies (2, 5, 7, 8, or 12) or the common recurrent secondary structural rearrangements (deletions of 1p36, 9p12, 17p13, and 16q, and gain of 1q), although numbers were small. These data demonstrate the continued value of cytogenetics as a genome-wide screen in ESFT and illustrates the potential importance of secondary chromosome changes for stratification of patients for risk. Specifically, karyotype complexity appears to be a powerful predictor of prognosis, and the presence of trisomy 20 may be a marker of a more aggressive subset of this group.

Endocrinological effects of single daily ketoconazole administration in male beagle dogs.

Some endocrinological effects of single daily oral administration of 150 mg ketoconazole for 15 days were investigated in 4 male beagle dogs. Plasma testosterone fell markedly within 3-4 h and then progressively returned to control concentrations by 10 h after drug administration. On the other hand, plasma 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone, progesterone and 17 alpha, 20 alpha-dihydroxyprogesterone increased within 3-10 h before returning to basal values after 24 h. Plasma LH did not rise significantly though some high individual levels were noted. Plasma cortisol and oestradiol-17 alpha levels were not significantly modified by the treatment. These results confirm that a high therapeutic dose of ketoconazole, given orally once a day, transiently inhibits in vivo the 17-20 lyase enzyme of the testis, without modifying basal cortisol and oestradiol-17 beta plasma concentrations and that enzymatic inhibition still occurs after daily treatment for up to 2 weeks but remains transient and parallels the resorption profile of the drug so that normal plasma testosterone levels are observed from 10 to 24 h after drug intake. However, permanent inhibition of androgen biosynthesis might be obtained by the administration of high doses of ketoconazole given several times a day.

Haemorheological effects of ketanserin, a selective 5-HT2 receptor antagonist, in aged, spontaneously hypertensive dogs.

The intravenous injection of ketanserin (0.63-0.31-0.16 mg/kg) to aged, spontaneously hypertensive dogs produces a dose- and time-dependent reduction of mean arterial blood pressure. Concomitantly the whole blood viscosity at shear rates between 11.5 to 450 sec-1 is reduced in parallel with the reduction of packed cell volume (PCV), red blood cell (RBC) number and whole blood haemoglobin content. Plasma viscosity and plasma fibrinogen levels are slightly reduced after the highest dose of ketanserin only, while plasma osmolarity is not affected. Packed RBC viscosity and RBC deformability as measured by a filtration technique are not consistently changed by such a treatment. The reduction of PCV, possibly subsequent to plasma volume expansion during whole blood pressure reduction, is the major cause for the decrease in whole blood viscosity. Such a rheological effect of ketanserin may contribute to the reduction of peripheral vascular resistance and the maintenance of microcirculatory flow despite the decrease of capillary perfusion pressure during blood pressure reduction.

Levamisole in ascariasis. A multicenter controlled evaluation.

An analysis is presented of 10 clinical studies from various countries where levamisole 50--150 mg was compared to pyrantel, piperazine, and placebo in a total of 1,734 patients, mostly children (levamisole: 830, controls: 904), suffering from ascariasis either as a single infection or usually mixed with other nematode infections. Degree of infection and efficacy of treatment were determined by quantitative coproparasitological methods. Levamisole produced higher cure rates (91%) and egg reduction rates (98%) than pyrantel, piperazine, or placebo. The efficacy of levamisole was unrelated to the patients' sex and age, the severity of infection, the presence of another worm infection, the type of associated worm infections, or the egg-counting technique. The overall incidence of reported adverse reactions was lower after levamisole than after piperazine, pyrantel or placebo; abdominal pain and headache, the most frequent complaints after levamisole, were related to the initial severity of ascariasis. Follow-up examinations 6 months after treatment suggested that levamisole might delay reinfection.

Multinational evaluation of etomidate for anesthesia induction. Conclusions and consequences.

An overall analysis was made of 4763 case report forms from 45 anesthesiologists who used etomidate (Hypnomidate) routinely as an induction hypnotic in a total of 4127 surgical cases or compared it to thiopental in a series of controlled studies (325 on etomidate, 311 on thiopental). Premedication was standardized only in the controlled studies, and there were no restrictions on the use of anesthetic agents or techniques. Etomidate proved to be a safe and effective induction hypnotic. Sleep was deep and long enough to allow the normal induction and maintenance procedures. Blood pressure and heart rate remained remarkably stable in the 3 study groups. The incidence of respiratory depression was higher for thiopental; anesthesiologists' acceptance of etomidate was, however, reduced by the occurrence of venous pain during injection and of associated involuntary muscle movements. It is expected that these adverse effects will be largely eliminated by using the recently introduced new formulation of etomidate shortly after fentanyl.