Accuracy of predicted calving dates in Holstein-Friesian dairy cows based on fetal ages estimated using manual rectal palpation.

AIM: To assess potential risk factors for differences between predicted and actual calving dates in Holstein-Friesian cows in seasonal calving dairy herds where predicted dates are based on fetal ages estimated using manual rectal palpation. METHODS: Accuracy of predicted calving dates was assessed in 10,487 Holstein-Friesian dairy cows that were diagnosed as pregnant and that subsequently calved in 108 seasonal calving dairy herds in Victoria and Tasmania, Australia. Of these cows, 9,214 (88%) were between approximately 7 and 18 weeks of gestation when diagnosed as pregnant. Potential risk factors for differences >10 days between predicted and actual calving dates were analysed using a multinomial logistic regression model. RESULTS: For all 10,487 cows, 8,444 (80.5%) calved within 10 days of the predicted calving date, 1,329 (12.7%) calved >10 days earlier than predicted and 714 (6.8%) calved >10 days later than predicted. Estimation of fetal age was less accurate where cows had received no compared with one artificial insemination (AI), when cows were <8 weeks of gestation or >14 weeks of gestation, and when cows were examined ≥15 compared with <15 weeks after their most recent AI. The risk of calving >10 days earlier than predicted was reduced in cows with an interval of ≥3 weeks, compared with <1 week, between their most recent AI and the end of the herd's AI period. CONCLUSIONS: Important proportions of Holstein-Friesian dairy cows will calve >10 days from predicted dates based on manual rectal palpation assisted by AI dates. Risk factors for such differences include number of prior AI, fetal age at pregnancy diagnosis, and times from the cow's most recent AI to both pregnancy diagnosis and end of the herd's AI period. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Herd managers should be made aware of likely proportions of Holstein-Friesian dairy cows that will calve >10 days from predicted dates. If accurate predictions of calving dates are required, manual rectal pregnancy diagnosis in seasonal calving dairy herds should be scheduled to ensure that most cows are examined within 15 weeks after their most recent AI. Accuracy of estimates is reduced for cows with no AI, and for cows most recently inseminated close to the end of the herd's AI period.

Neuronal nitric oxide synthase as a substrate for the evolution of pseudosexual behaviour in a parthenogenetic whiptail lizard.

The evolution of neuroendocrine mechanisms governing sex-typical behaviour is poorly understood. An outstanding animal model is the whiptail lizard (Cnemidophorus) because both the ancestral and descendent species still exist. The ancestral little striped whiptail, Cnemidophorus inornatus, consists of males and females, which exhibit sex-specific mating behaviours. The descendent desert grassland whiptail, Cnemidophorus uniparens, consists only of females that alternately exhibit both female-like and male-like pseudosexual behaviour. Castrated male C. inornatus will mount a conspecific in response to exogenous androgen, although some are also sensitive to progesterone. This polymorphism in progesterone sensitivity in the ancestral species may have been involved in evolution of progesterone-mediated male-typical behaviour in the descendant unisexual lizards. We tested whether progesterone activates a typically androgenic signalling pathway by investigating hormonal regulation of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) using in situ hybridisation and NADPH diaphorase histochemistry, a stain for nNOS protein. NADPH diaphorase is widely distributed throughout the brain of both species, although only in the periventricular nucleus of the preoptic area (pvPOA) are there differences between mounting and non-mounting individuals. The number of cells expressing nNOS mRNA and NADPH diaphorase is higher in the pvPOA of individuals that mount in response to progesterone or androgen. Furthermore, the nNOS promoter has both androgen and progesterone response elements, and NADPH diaphorase colocalises with the progesterone receptor in the pvPOA. These data suggest that a polymorphism in progesterone sensitivity in the sexual ancestor reflects a differential regulation of nNOS and may account for the male-typical behaviour in unisexual whiptail lizards.

Investigation of hematuria at a printing company.

An investigation was undertaken at a printing company into an apparently high prevalence of trace dipstick hematuria discovered during routine medical examinations. In both the printing employees (n = 225) and a control group (n = 118) from other industries, the prevalence of hematuria exceeded that described in most previous reports (31% and 25%, respectively, using the criterion of > 12 glomerular red cells or > 2 nonglomerular red cells/microliter of urine). No focus of abnormality was identified within the printing plant and no association was identified between reported exposure to potentially toxic substances and the degree of hematuria. An occupational hygiene inspection and medical follow-up of selected workers did not reveal any significant abnormalities. The limitations of available information concerning "normal" urinalysis results suggests that hematuria may not be a useful test for the screening of occupational groups at risk of bladder cancer.

The effect of porous infusion balloon-delivered angiopeptin on myointimal hyperplasia after balloon injury in the rabbit.

BACKGROUND: Angiopeptin, a synthetic somatostatin analogue, reduces myointimal hyperplasia after experimental balloon angioplasty when given subcutaneously. The feasibility and efficacy of a single dose of angiopeptin delivered locally via the Wolinsky porous balloon on myointimal hyperplasia were studied. METHODS AND RESULTS: Three rabbits received 125I-angiopeptin in the mid abdominal aorta via the Wolinsky balloon at 5 atm for 1 minute after balloon injury. Thirty minutes later, autoradiography demonstrated radioactivity in the media and the adventitia. Forty rabbits were divided equally into one control group receiving saline and three angiopeptin groups receiving 1, 10, or 100 micrograms/mL of angiopeptin delivered locally at 5 atm for 1 minute via the Wolinsky balloon into the mid abdominal aorta after balloon injury of the entire abdominal aorta. On day 21, the abdominal aortas were fixed in situ and harvested. There was no statistical difference in the amount of myointimal hyperplasia in the locally treated aorta in the angiopeptin groups compared with the control group. However, in the lower abdominal aorta, where balloon injury without local delivery was performed, there was a significant reduction of myointimal hyperplasia in the highest-concentration angiopeptin group (P < .001 versus the control group). Electron microscopy showed that the control animals had a pseudointima of smooth muscle cells throughout the aorta, whereas in all the angiopeptin-treated animals, endothelial cells were present at both locations. CONCLUSIONS: Angiopeptin can be delivered intramurally via the Wolinsky porous balloon and reduces myointimal hyperplasia only in the area distal to the local drug delivery site (downstream effect), possibly by healing the injured endothelium, by transport via the vasa vasora, and/or by systemic effect.

A creative recruitment program. Future nurses' camp.

Attracting high school students into nursing is a concern of staff development educators. "Future Nurses' Camp" was a creative, cost-effective program developed by a hospital education department. A 2-week, fun-filled, informative camp that included the use of high-tech equipment and patient-care decision games promoted a positive image of nursing. Experiencing nurses' roles reinforced the students' desire to enter nursing.

Multiple sclerosis--one manifestation of neurobrucellosis?

There is good geographic evidence that an environmental factor is implicated in the aetiology of multiple sclerosis (MS). Controversy surrounds the interpretation of many studies supporting notions on whether the disease has greater prevalence in urban or rural communities. Rather than focus on residence at birth, in teenage years or at the time of study, analyses of MS mortality by occupation and a case control study to define exposure to animal farm products is thought to shed light in this controversy. The conclusion reached from the results of these studies is that exposure to farm animals or raw products is a common denominator in the aetiology of MS. A literature search for references of zoonotic disease with neurological symptoms produced a range of papers on brucellosis. A study of the literature on neurobrucellosis supports the hypothesis on clinical grounds. Finally, blood serum studies of Brucella exposure in a series of MS subjects and controls is described. These epidemiological studies support the hypothesis, that central nervous system involvement from exposure to brucellosis, may present with the features of multiple sclerosis.

Characterization of hamster tumors induced by simian virus 40 small t deletion mutants as true histiocytic lymphomas.

Random bred Syrian hamsters given s.c. injections of SV40 small t deletion mutants dl883, dl884, and dl890 rapidly develop reticulum cell sarcomas in the abdominal cavity in addition to slowly developing s.c. fibrosarcomas at the site of virus inoculation. Injection of wild type SV40 s.c. induces only fibrosarcomas at the site of inoculation. In an attempt to understand why mutations in the SV40 small t gene should lead to this difference in tumor-inducing capacity in hamsters, we studied cells from 12 abdominal reticulum cell sarcomas which were induced by the s.c. injection of SV40 mutants. Morphological and functional analyses indicate that these tumor cells are derived from MAC-2+ macrophages. They are highly granulated, vacuolated, and multinucleated, and they generally adhere to glass and plastic. In addition, they (a) phagocytose latex beads; (b) express high levels of class II major histocompatibility complex antigens; (c) contain beta-glucuronidase, acid phosphatase, and fluoride-inhibited nonspecific esterase; (d) contain lysozyme and fibronectin; and (e) express cell surface MAC-2 antigens. Thus, the small t deletions in the SV40 genome appear to permit the virus to transform cells that are distant from the site of virus inoculation; at this distant site, the cells transformed are of a specific lineage, MAC-2+ peritoneal macrophages. This specific tropism may reflect a unique characteristic of MAC-2+ cells or their precursors that renders these cells susceptible to SV40 mutants which are otherwise restricted in the range of cells that they can transform.

Coronary dissection: a predictor of restenosis?

To determine if arterial dissection resulting from transluminal coronary angioplasty (TCA) leads to a greater incidence of restenosis, 273 consecutive patients who had undergone TCA with at least 1 year of follow-up were examined. Success was graded as a greater than or equal to 20% increase in intraluminal diameter. Dissection was defined as a prominent intimal defect at the site of angioplasty. Restenosis was defined as a 50% loss of the initial angiographic gain. Of 216 patients in whom TCA was successful, 64 (30%) had dissections at the site of angioplasty and 152 (70%) had no dissection. During follow-up, 135 patients were asymptomatic with normal results of exercise tolerance tests, recurrent symptoms developed in 81 patients, and 64 patients underwent repeat angiography. The overall restenosis rate was 21%. In the dissection group, 11 (18%) had documented restenosis and 49 (82%) did not develop restenosis. In the nondissection group, 35 (24%) had documented restenosis and 113 (76%) did not develop restenosis. These data show that patients who develop dissections at the time of TCA are no more likely to develop restenosis during follow-up.

Painful nocturnal penile erections associated with rapid eye movement sleep.

A case of chronic painful nocturnal penile erection is described. Repeated awakenings led to a degree of REM sleep deprivation. Treatment with propanolol was initially successful in alleviating the symptoms, but tolerance to the drug developed rapidly.

Deletion mutations in the small t antigen gene alter the tissue specificity of tumors induced by simian virus 40.

Subcutaneous injection of wild-type simian virus 40 into Syrian hamsters normally induces fibrosarcomas at the injection site. We showed that subcutaneous injection of three different small t deletion mutants (dl884, dl883, and dl890) led to the formation of abdominal reticulum cell sarcomas (lymphomas) in about 15% of the animals bearing tumors. The remainder of the tumors were fibrosarcomas occurring with prolonged latencies at the site of injection. We postulated that, in the absence of an active small t protein, which is thought to have cell growth-promoting properties, the mutant virus preferentially transforms rapidly proliferating lymphoid cells.