Comparison of the efficacy of cloxacillin alone and cloxacillin combined with an internal teat sealant for dry-cow therapy

All the quarters in the cows with high somatic cell counts in 10 herds were treated at drying off with either 600 mg cloxacillin or 600 mg cloxacillin and 4 g of an internal teat sealant containing 65 per cent bismuth subnitrate. The quarters were sampled daily for bacteriological tests for the three days before drying off and twice after calving to establish whether they were infected. Clinical mastitis cases were monitored from drying off until 100 days after calving. The odds of a quarter being bacteriologically negative after calving or developing clinical mastitis in the first 100 days after calving were investigated by multilevel logistic regression. The quarters treated with the internal sealant and cloxacillin were significantly more likely to be bacteriologically negative in the immediate period after calving and were significantly less likely to suffer clinical mastitis during the first 100 days after calving than the quarters treated with cloxacillin alone. There was more variation between cows than between herds in the underlying risk of an infection after calving, but there was more variation between herds than between cows in the underlying risk of clinical mastitis during the 100 days after calving.

Breast cancer: pathologic and prognostic evaluation

Breast cancer presentation is changing, with more tumors detected at an early stage. This makes choosing the most appropriate tests for evaluation of a particular tumor more difficult. Mammography with biopsy of suspicious areas reveals an increasing incidence of microscopic cancers, with a corresponding reduction in larger palpable cancers. Coincidentally, a number of tests for evaluating these cancers, which may affect treatment, have been developed. These includes immunohistochemical evaluation of estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor status and a number of tests still listed as investigational. This paper reviews the diagnosis, evaluation, and prognosis of breast cancers, and suggests an optimal way for handling these tumors.

Applications of confocal microscopy to the study of myelin development and neuron structure

Confocal laser scanning microscopy has been used to study the localization of myelin basic proteins expressed in nonglial cells, and to probe the three-dimensional structure of central auditory neurons in the lateral superior olive. The paper focuses on the techniques used to obtain the results. The key roles of confocal microscopy and computer image processing of the images obtained are emphasized as they relate to the discovery of essential structural information about these specimens.

Gray-scale ultrasound in tubal pregnancy

Sonographic signs were correlated with clinical data, surgical findings, and pathology in 15 patients withtubal pregnancy. Sonograms showed absence of intrauterine gestation in 12 patients. In 3, structures resembling gestational sacs were produced by decidual reaction and blood in the uterine cavity separating the endometrial echoes. The uterus was normal in size in 6 cases. Almost all sonograms showed a pelvic mass (usually adnexal) displacing the uterus. Seven patients had predominantly sonolucent masses, 3 had complex masses, and 4 had both types. Only one woman exhibited a definite gestational sac in an extrauterine location. Four patients had a negative pregnancy test at the time of sonography. Meticulous sonographic technique and a high index of suspicion will facilitate the diagnosis of tubal pregnancy in most cases.

The relation between potassium in body fluids and total body potassium in healthy and diabetic subjects

1. The concentration of potassium in the erythrocytes and the plasma of forty-one normal subjects and twenty-five diabetic patients was measured and the results were used to calculate the total amount of potassium in the erythrocyte mass and the total amount of potassium in the plasma. The total body potassium was measured in a whole-body monitor. 2. In normal subjects a close correlation was found between total erythrocyte potassium and total body potassium and also between total plasma potassium and total body potassium. 3. The regression relation between total body potassium and total erythrocyte potassium in normal subjects was used to predict the total body potassium in diabetic patients. There was reasonable agreement between the measured and predicted total body potassium but there was poor agreement between the measured total body potassium and that predicted from the patient's height and age or height and age or height, weight and age.

Total body, plasma and erythrocyte potassium and leucocyte ascorbic acid in 'ultra-fit' subjects

1. Total body potassium was measured in professional football players before the football season began and at approximately mid-season. The values obtained were significantly higher than in healthy subjects taking only average exercise. There was a significant increase in body potassium as the season progressed.

2. Lean body mass was estimated by four methods and the results were compared. The values of lean body mass, as a percentage of body weight, were significantly higher than in healthy control subjects taking only average exercise and they also increased significantly over the period of the study.

3. The mean erythrocyte potassium concentration was lower pre-season than at mid-season and the pre-season value was also significantly less than in healthy controls. The values before and after vigorous exercise were not significantly different.

4. Conversely, the pre-season mean plasma potassium concentration was significantly higher than in control subjects and than the mid-season value. The mean plasma potassium concentration was higher before vigorous exercise than immediately afterwards.

5. The leucocyte count increased significantly after vigorous exercise, correlating with a decrease in leucocyte ascorbic acid content.

Clinical studies on the effect of laevulose on the rate of metabolism of ethyl alcohol

A study of the effect of laevulose upon the rate of metabolism of ethyl alcohol was undertaken. The rate of disappearance of ethyl alcohol from the blood of normal volunteers was estimated under normal conditions and also following the administration of oral and intravenous laevulose. These results were compared with the rate of disappearance of ethyl alcohol from the blood of inebriated patients under normal circumstances and following intravenous laevulose.

The investigation confirms that ethyl alcohol is metabolised at a constant rate which varies from individual to individual and that the administration of laevulose significantly increases this rate of metabolism.

It is suggested that laevulose is helpful in the management of inebriated patients in whom there is clinical suspicion of accompanying head injury.