91 research outputs found
Antimicrobial use guidelines for treatment of urinary tract disease in dogs and cats: Antimicrobial guidelines working group of the international society for companion animal infectious diseases
No full textUrinary tract disease is a common reason for use (and likely misuse, improper use, and overuse) of antimicrobials in dogs and cats. There is a lack of comprehensive treatment guidelines such as those that are available for human medicine. Accordingly, guidelines for diagnosis and management of urinary tract infections were created by a Working Group of the International Society for Companion Animal Infectious Diseases. While objective data are currently limited, these guidelines provide information to assist in the diagnosis and management of upper and lower urinary tract infections in dogs and cats.J. Scott Weese, Joseph M. Blondeau, Dawn Boothe, Edward B. Breitschwerdt, Luca Guardabassi, Andrew Hillier, David H. Lloyd, Mark G. Papich, Shelley C. Rankin, John D. Turnidge and Jane E. Syke
Toxic Cyanobacteria: Education, Lake Protection
No full textWashington State Department of Health received a Centennial Clean Water Fund grant in 1994 from Washington State Department of Ecology to investigate cyanobacteria blooms in western Washington. Objectives of the grant, entitled "Toxic Cyanobacteria: Education/Lake Protection," were to: (1) educate the public about potential health concerns and train citizens to recognize and report algal blooms in lakes, (2) investigate potential inhibitors of cyanobacteria, and (3) observe blooms in two western Washington lakes. During this grant, Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) tested field samples for toxicity and conducted research on cyanobacteria inhibitors. Seattle University (SU) conducted limnological field work in Lake Steilacoom and American Lake, Pierce County. A review of scientific literature on toxic cyanobacteria included the following topics: toxin-producing cyanobacteria, cyanobacterial toxins (neurotoxins, hepatotoxins, other toxins, detection), occurrence of freshwater cyanobacterial toxicity, impacts on human health, impacts on aquatic life (zooplankton, fish), and conditions leading to toxic bloom formation (nutrients, light and temperature, toxin production and growth cycle, zooplankton, other factors). Also in the literature review was information on control of toxic cyanobacteria blooms (lake management, copper sulfate, calcium hydroxide, aluminum sulfate, other treatments, and drinking water treatment). Education of lake groups and citizens was conducted during the grant. A large part of educating the public and public agencies about toxic cyanobacteria blooms occurred through response to requests for information, primarily from government agencies but also from citizens and businesses associated with aquatic activities. The above interactions were summarized in the final report. In addition, a brochure on toxic cyanobacteria was produced and distributed, a training manual on identification of potentially toxic cyanobacteria was distributed, and public meetings and local workshops on toxic cyanobacterial blooms were conducted. Local health district personnel were trained at three regional workshops in western Washington. Four public workshops were held for various groups, such as Phantom Lake Association (King County), Kitsap County, Long Lake Steering Committee (Thurston County), and the 1996 joint annual meeting of the Western Plant Management Society and North American Lake Management Society. Presentations on cyanobacteria toxicity were given at other conferences and meetings throughout the grant period.
A total of 115 lake samples were tested for toxicity during the 30-month grant. Samples were collected from 20 different lakes in eight western Washington counties: Pierce (5), King (6), Thurston (3), Kitsap (2), Snohomish (1), Skagit (1), Mason (1), and Clark (1). An additional four lakes outside western Washington were tested: Wenas Lake, Yakima County, East Lake, California, and Big Creek Reservoir and Devil's Lake, Oregon. A database summarizing lakes sampled and results of toxicity tests was completed for the final report. Toxic blooms were confirmed by mouse bioassay in five of the twenty-one Washington lakes sampled. Lake Steilacoom, Spanaway Lake, Waughop Lake (Pierce County), and Wenas Lake (Yakima County) contained toxic Microcystis aeruginosa, while American Lake (Pierce County) contained toxic Anabaena flos-aquae. Microcystin-LR was the variant that occurred regularly in the microcystin-containing blooms. No other toxin-producing cyanobacteria was detected during this study, although several genera known to produce toxins were found. Most cyanobacterial blooms occurred during the late summer and early fall, while a small number occurred during the winter months in water temperatures as low as 5-7°C. Of primary public health concern were toxic cyanobacterial blooms in lakes which are used as a source of drinking water. Lake Young, a drinking water reservoir in King County, was monitored for cyanobacteria on a regular basis during the grant. Summit Lake, Thurston County, a source of drinking water to nearby residents, had a cyanobacterial bloom that tested negative for toxicity in July 1995. Residents of Lake Wenas, Yakima County, became ill after their drinking water became toxic in September 1995; the bloom showed microcystin-LR and -RR. In Oregon, a toxic Microcystis bloom in Big Creek Reservoir, the drinking water supply for Newport, led to notification of residents and to further tests for microcystins in tapwater throughout the bloom.
Three reports of illness after swimming in a cyanobacterial bloom were documented. Numerous youths became ill after swimming in a Gloeotrichia bloom in Mason Lake, Mason County, during Labor Day weekend 1995. Reports of human illness, dead trout, and a dead kingfisher were received after a bloom in Goss Lake, Island County. Fort Lewis Fish and Wildlife reported a bloom, a fish kill, and a sick child at Little American Lake, Pierce County, 1995. In each of the above cases, the cyanobacterial bloom had dissipated or decayed before samples were taken for toxicity tests. Several other reports of fish kills associated with blooms were received during the grant. In efforts to isolate cyanobacteria inhibitors, PLU isolated a water-soluble material from the green seaweeds Ulva and Monostroma. The isolate exhibited killing activity (cell lysis) against a toxic strain of Anabaenaflos-aquae. Real-time videomicroscopy showed that the substance caused cell wall perforation, followed by outward extrusion of the cell contents, and death within 1-2 hours. Bioactivity-directed fractionation was used to partially purify the lytic agent from both seaweeds. The agent appeared to be a small glycoprotein (MW=1,000-4,000) and was stable for several months at room temperature. SU investigated two lakes with histories of toxic blooms, American Lake and Steilacoom Lake (Pierce County) in order to: (1) identify and evaluate possible relationships between environmental factors and development of toxic blooms, (2) determine the relationship between the presence and abundance of potentially toxic species and toxin production, and (3) incorporate information gained into approaches for managing toxic cyanobacterial blooms. The two lakes were monitored during 1994 and 1995 for toxicity and for physical, chemical, and biological indicators.
No samples collected in American Lake during winter 1994-1995 elicited a toxic response in mouse bioassays, although low levels of microcystin were detected in selected samples by ELISA. One sample collected near Veterans Hospital along the northern shoreline was identified as toxic in February 1996. Since this sample was the only toxic sample observed, it was not possible to identify relationships between toxicity and environmental conditions in American Lake. A prolonged toxic bloom of Microcystis aeruginosa occurred in Steilacoom Lake during summer 1994. Total microcystin concentrations at the deep-water station ranged from 209 to 1286 ug/g bloom material. During most of summer 1995, cyanobacteria were not abundant and samples tested for toxicity did not give a toxic response. Only one sample in October 1995 was toxic by mouse bioassay.
In Lake Steilacoom, cyanobacterial blooms were associated with decreased water column light intensity and transparency as measured by Secchi depth, and stable water column conditions as estimated by relative thermal resistance to mixing (RTRM). Although cause and effect relationships cannot be discerned from field observations, there was a significant linear relationship between increasing percent cyanobacteria and decreasing Secchi depth measurements (r = 0.69, p < 0.001), a negative exponential relationship between the concentration of cyanobacteria and Secchi depth (r = 0.82, p < 0.0001), and a negative exponential relationship between Microcystis concentration and Secchi depth (r = 0.76, p < 0.0005). RTRM was significantly higher during summer 1994 (p < 0.05), indicating more stable conditions due to a greater density gradient and more resistance to mixing. Stable and turbid conditions during summer 1994 possibly gave buoyancy-regulating cyanobacteria like Microcystis an advantage at obtaining optimum light conditions for photosynthesis. The same type of cyanobacterial bloom did not occur in summer 1995, possibly due to greater water column transparency and lower stability.
Increased water column transparency can be partially explained by trophic level interactions between planktivorous fish, zooplankton, and phytoplankton. Zooplankton abundance dramatically increased between 1994 and 1995 (means of 18.4 and 62.9/L, respectively) concurrent with a large decrease in the number of young hatchery fish planted in the lake and upstream creeks. The number of fingerlings and fry planted in Steilacoom Lake and upstream creeks in 1995 (201,150) was approximately half of the number planted in 1994 (395,050).
Phytoplankton losses due to zooplankton grazing were estimated to be greater during 1995 than 1994, with losses due to grazing potentially contributing approximately 80 percent of the total loss. The large zooplankton population in 1995 exerted a large grazing pressure on phytoplankton and kept the phytoplankton biomass low through September. With a less stable water column and high transparency due to zooplankton grazing, low light conditions (which would have. favored cyanobacteria) did not develop until October 1995.
Other factors were associated with cyanobacterial dominance in 1994. Mean surface water temperature in 1994 was higher than in 1995 (22.6°C and 20.6°C, respectively). Temperature exceeded 20°C in both years, but temperature in 1994 was greater than 22°C more often than in 1995.
Mean surface pH was significantly higher in Lake Steilacoom during the toxic bloom in 1994 (p < 0.05), with pH values consistently close to 10 from mid-July through September. Greater phytoplankton growth earlier in the summer increased pH levels earlier in 1994. Cyanobacteria increase pH during photosynthesis and, in turn, are favored by the high pH conditions that they create. Also, the large biomass of macrophytes present during summer 1994 (both submerged and floating) removed C02 from solution and contributed to the raised pH. Macrophytes were scarce the second summer. Mean summer total phosphorus (TP) concentrations were also different between the years (p < 0.05), with a significant positive relationship between cyanobacteria concentration and surface TP concentration (r = 0.66, p < 0.0005). Additionally, mean summer total nitrogen (TN) was significantly higher during the toxic bloom in 1994 than in 1995 (p < 0.05). Low No3-N concentrations in Lake Steilacoom in 1994 may partly explain the success of Microcystis that year; the only peak in cyanobacteria biovolumn that occurred during 1995 was after No3-N concentrations dropped below 20 ug/L.
Microcystin concentration in Lake Steilacoom was not related to Microcystis in the water column. Different limnological conditions probably affect growth of Microcystis and microcystin production. Microcystin concentration increased with increasing soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) between 1 and 10 ug/L; toxin production by Microcystis may have been limited by SRP.
Management approaches to prevent occurrences of a toxic bloom are the same as those that would be used to address any nuisance phytoplankton blooms. The most important factor to be managed is nutrient loading to the lake. Management methods include dredging, dilution, treatment or diversion of point sources, and watershed best management practices. Sources of P and N should be identified, and if TP inputs to the lake can be decreased, cyanobacterial blooms will be less likely.
Factors that may reduce phytoplankton in Lake Steilacoom are increased dilution and flushing of the lake and a large zooplankton population. Increased flushing rate decreases inflow nutrient concentrations if the inflow concentration is less than the lake concentration. Increased flushing may also increase the phytoplanktonloss rate. Zooplankton populations can be significantly affected by planktivorous fish grazing; increased planktivorous fish mortality may protect zooplankton which then graze phytoplankton. Treatment with algicides such as copper sulfate effectively removes phytoplankton cells from the water column. However, treatment by chemicals causes phytoplankton cells to lyse and release all intracellular compounds, including the toxin. It would be unwise to cause toxin release without concern and caution for public health; toxins may remain in the water for up to 40 days. Avoiding cell lysis and toxin release is imperative when treating drinking water reservoirs that have cyanobacterial blooms. Alternative chemical treatment methods would be alum, lime, or another chemical coagulant.
Lakes with toxic bloom potential should be monitored for the presence of large blooms of cyanobacteria or scums on the surface, especially along the shoreline. Lake residents should be educated to watch for scum formation and alert their public health agency when a large bloom is occurring so that the bloom can be tested for toxicity; toxicity analysis should be conducted using a quantitative technique such as HPLC or ELISA. If a surface scum is observed, lake residents should restrict domestic animal and human use of waters. Lakes or reservoirs serving as drinking water sources should be periodically monitored for cyanobacteria presence and abundance, and, if a potential toxin-producing species is found, a concentrated sample should be analyzed for toxicity. Toxin-producing cyanobacteria may pose a danger to human health due to the potential tumor-promoting characteristics of their toxins
Mission: Vol. 20, No. 12
No full textMission: Vol. 20, No. 12. The articles in this issue include: Looking to the Past and to the Future from the Editor, The Ambivalence of Belief by Robert Seymour, Job: The Struggle of Faith by Michael V. Houston, God is Love by Ken Cameron, Restoration and the Cultural Risk by Ron Durham, and A Disciple Responds to the New Search for Unity by Daniel Griggs. A WORD FOR OUR TIMES: Relics of the Past by Ben B. Boothe, How Much is a Person Worth? by John Wright, Maturity or a New Infancy? by David Sampson, and Don\u27t Count My Blessings For Me! by David Mercer. BOOKS: Reviewed by Bruce L. Edwards, Review Editor. Micro-Myths: Exploring the Limits of Learning with Computers (Joe Nathan) and Computers: Bridges to the Future (Parker Rossman). Forum and Index
Mission: Vol. 20, No. 10
No full textMission: Vol. 20, No. 10. The articles in this issue include: \u27And so farewell...\u27 from the Editor, A Reflection on the Life of Ray F. Chester (Eulogy) by Victor L. Hunter, The Lamb of God (hymn) by George Ewing, Words: An Easter Reflection (Poem) by Georges P. Carillet, A Resurrection Day Prayer by Charles Boatman, In the Garden (Fiction) by David Henderson, A Bittersweet Brokenness (Communion Meditation) by Wilma C. Buckner, The Beatitudes: Are They For Us? Part III by Bill Love, Surrender Beyond the Rules by Larry M. James, and Grandmother and the Hobos by Richard J. Richardson. A WORD FOR OUR TIMES: Reflections on Terrorism by Ben B. Boothe, Innocence Lost by John Smith, and Forever in Diapers? by Diana Caillouet. BOOKS: Reviewed by Bruce L. Edwards: Christianity: The True Humanism (Thomas Howard and J. I. Packer), and Handbook of Life in Bible Times (J. A. Thompson). Offerings and Letters
Dressing the part : costuming of lesbian identities in contemporary film and television
No full textThis thesis examines lesbian costuming and dress in contemporary British and American
film and television, offering analyses of sartorial constructions of gay female identities in
modern media. It uses close textual analysis and interviews with producers and consumers
to examine the production, texts, and reception of selected representations, outlining current
social rituals of lesbian style. Interviews were held with Cynthia Summers, Lesley
Abernethy, Niamh Morrison, Catherine Adair, Janie Bryant, Tina Scorzafava and Mary Claire
Hannan about their designs. Spectators answered questions and responded to photographs
and a transcript. The thesis argues that the modern-day designer of lesbian costuming is
subject to a contradictory triangle of demands, encompassing the need for costume to
support character, resistance to stereotypes, and the recognition and perceived positive
politics of identifiable lesbianism. Chapters covering Lip Service and The L Word;
Desperate Housewives, Deadwood, and Mad Men, and Gillery’s Little Secret and The Kids
Are All Right examine differing results of these pressures. The thesis argues that while
anxiety over ‘butch’ stereotypes and heteronormative mainstream demands for assimilation
play a part in the overwhelming ‘femininity’ of many examples, an increase in lesbian
visibility has also paradoxically instigated a shift away from specificity in media
representations through dress because lesbianism is no longer seen as a ‘story’. It suggests
that lesbian authorship and using real-life lesbian styles as costume inspiration may offer a
way out of the stereotype vs. ‘authentic’ imagery impasse without erasing recognisably
lesbian iconography. Finally, the thesis concludes that the production, text and reception of
contemporary lesbian images at times comprises a complete circuit of communication, with
production decisions and everyday practices of lesbian dress both echoing and informing
one another
Guidelines for the diagnosis and antimicrobial therapy of canine superficial bacterial folliculitis (Antimicrobial Guidelines Working Group of the International Society for Companion Animal Infectious Diseases)
No full texte42-e43 has abstracts in several different languagesBACKGROUND: Superficial bacterial folliculitis (SBF) is usually caused by Staphylococcus pseudintermedius and routinely treated with systemic antimicrobial agents. Infection is a consequence of reduced immunity associated with alterations of the skin barrier and underlying diseases that may be difficult to diagnose and resolve; thus, SBF is frequently recurrent and repeated treatment is necessary. The emergence of multiresistant bacteria, particularly meticillin-resistant S. pseudintermedius (MRSP), has focused attention on the need for optimal management of SBF. OBJECTIVES: Provision of an internationally available resource guiding practitioners in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of SBF. DEVELOPMENT OF THE GUIDELINES: The guidelines were developed by the Antimicrobial Guidelines Working Group of the International Society for Companion Animal Infectious Diseases, with consultation and advice from diplomates of the American and European Colleges of Veterinary Dermatology. They describe optimal methods for the diagnosis and management of SBF, including isolation of the causative organism, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, selection of antimicrobial drugs, therapeutic protocols and advice on infection control. Guidance is given for topical and systemic modalities, including approaches suitable for MRSP. Systemic drugs are classified in three tiers. Tier one drugs are used when diagnosis is clear cut and risk factors for antimicrobial drug resistance are not present. Otherwise, tier two drugs are used and antimicrobial susceptibility tests are mandatory. Tier three includes drugs reserved for highly resistant infections; their use is strongly discouraged and, when necessary, they should be used in consultation with specialists. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Optimal management of SBF will improve antimicrobial use and reduce selection of MRSP and other multidrug-resistant bacteria affecting animal and human health.Andrew Hillier, David H. Lloyd, J. Scott Weese, Joseph M. Blondeau, Dawn Boothe, Edward Breitschwerdt, Luca Guardabassi, Mark G. Papich, Shelley Rankin, John D. Turnidge and Jane E. Syke
Gospel and culture - accommodation or tension? : an enquiry into the priorities of the Gospel in the light of Jamaica's historico-cultural experience vis-à-vis Western Christian civilization
No full textIn this thesis we enquire into the essence and mission of
Christianity in the light of the Jamaican historico-cultural experience.
Chapter one is devoted to a partial investigation into the nature of
Western Christianity vis-a-vis Western Civilization - the modern dilemma,
its historical beginnings and development, its response to philosophical
ideas and other cultural positions, Church-State relations, its divisions,
and its social attitude.
We next identify the major elements in the Jamaican experience as
revealed in the impact of the Spanish conquest on the original Arawak
population, the enslavement of African Peoples, and the post-slavery
repercussions vis-a-vis Western Christianity.
In order better to understand the New Testament Gospel we locate its
origin in the Old Testament examining its relationship with the Law and
Temple, Priesthood and Prophets, observing its social implications, and we
follow it en route to the New Testament.
In chapter four we engage in a brief examination of the Hellenistic
cultural environment including the Jewish Diaspora, in order to have a
grasp of the initial interaction between Gospel and Culture.
Our concern in chapter five is to recover the essence of Jesus’
proclamation of the Gospel as witnessed to in the Synoptics. From this
go on to examine its transmission to the wider Hellenistic milieu,
concentrating on the Pauline and Johannine presentations.
Finally it is argued that the Gospel in its transmission across
cultures should be proclaimed, as far as possible, without cultural
accretions; that the prevailing categories and symbols understood within
the indigenous Jamaican culture be appreciated and, where possible,
appropriated for purposes of communication; and, fundamentally, that in
all circumstances the Church should faithfully guarantee a synchronization
between its message and action, and Jesus’ Gospel of the Kingdom of God,
described in terms of Good News to the Poor
Testing of a Revised Model Track Prediction Evaluation Expert System
No full text5C.2The U. S. Weather Research Program Hurricane
Landfall has sponsored the Joint Hurricane Testbed
program to facilitate a transition of research toward
operations at the Tropical Prediction Center/National
Hurricane Center (NHC). This paper describes the
effort during the 2003 hurricane season for producing a
dynamical model expert system module for evaluating
tropical cyclone track predictions in the Atlantic and
eastern Pacific. This project is to adapt for use in these
basins a similar expert system for the western North
Pacific that has been used successfully at the Joint
Typhoon Warning Center, Hawaii. It follows two years
worth of testing during the 2001 and 2002 seasons, and
lessons learned during those two seasons were applied.The original expert system was developed with funding from the Office of Naval Research Marine Meteorology Program and the Space and Naval Warfare Command. The US Weather Research Program has funded the adaptation to the Atlantic and eastern Pacific
Electron Affinity Calculations for Thioethers
No full textPrevious work indicated that polyphenyl thioethers possessed chemical properties, related to their electron affinities, which could allow them to function as vapor phase lubricants (VPL). Indeed, preliminary tribological tests revealed that the thioethers could function as vapor phase lubricants but not over a wide temperature and hertzian pressure range. Increasing the electron affinity of the thioethers may improve their VPL properties over this range. Adding a substituent group to the thioether will alter its electron affinity in many cases. Molecular orbital calculations were undertaken to determine the effect of five different substituent groups on the electron affinity of polyphenyl thioethers. It was found that the NO2, F, and I groups increased the thioethers electron affinity by the greatest amount. Future work will involve the addition of these groups to the thioethers followed by tribological testing to assess their VPL properties
Mission: Vol. 21, No. 1
No full textMission: Vol. 21, No. 1. The articles in this issue include: A Family Affair from the Editor, Issues of Power and a Theology of the Family (Part I) by S. Scott Bartchy, and Missions, the Atonement, and the Salvation of Mankind by Edward Fudge. A WORD FOR OUR TIMES: Morality in the Public Arena: Is it so Difficult? by Edward G. Holley, Worship Styles by Randy hall, and Curiosity by John Smith. BOOKS: A HARVEST OF BOOKS; FOR FALL READING: The Quest for Faith: Reason and Mystery As Pointers To God (C. Stephen Evans) reviewed by Leonard Allen, Preaching: The Art of Connecting God and People (F. Dean Lueking) reviewed by David A. Ladd, The Man In the Leather Hat and Other Stories (Paul B. Long) reviewed by Elizabeth L. Plummer, A Commentary on Isaiah (Homer Hailey) reviewed by Bruce Edwards, The Hebrew Bible and its Modern Interpreters (Douglas A. Knight and Gene M. Tucker, Eds.) reviewed by Phillip McMillion, The Apostolic Church (Everett F. Harrison) reviewed by Donald J. Plummer, Endangered Heritage: An Examination of Church of Christ Doctrine (Walt Yancey) reviewed by Ben B. Boothe, and Living in Two Worlds (Mike Cope) reviewed by John M. Schrade. The One Name by William T. Stewart, Forum, and Shall Mission\u27s Ministry Continue? by Robert M. Randolph
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