Linear regression analysis was used to describe the decline in numbers of Culicoides brevitarsis Kieffer into winter with monthly maximum, average and minimum temperatures at the southern limits to its distribution in New South Wales. From this, low temperature thresholds were derived when C brevitarsis would be absent from the field. The low minimum threshold +/- 2 SE (95% Confidence Interval) of 8.1 +/- 0.3 degree C was used with historical temperature data to estimate the last month that the species should occur (March to June) and the mean number of months (2 to 6.5) below the threshold at 17 selected sites. Probability for survival during winter at these sites was estimated from years when the number of consecutive months below the threshold was < or = 2 months. This varied from zero to 51% depending on the location of the site. Last occurrence was 0.7 months later on average and absolute probabilities for survival ranged from zero to 100% when the temperatures were increased by an arbitrary 2 degrees C.

In the course of study of the influence of varying the amount of refined carbohydrate (sugar and sugar products) in an otherwise standardised diet in 18 normal subjects it was evident that the analysis of 24-h urine collections failed to show the profound diurnal variation in urinary electrolyte excretion and, in particular in this instance, calcium excretion. The analysis of individually voided specimens showed some normal subjects to have spontaneously high peaks of urinary calcium concentration throughout the day even whilst on a diet with low refined carbohydrate content. Increase in the refined carbohydrate content of the otherwise standardised diet caused significant increase in the number of urines with a calcium concentration above 9 mmol/1. Refined carbohydrate, a common cinstituent in Western diets, can therefore influence urinary electrolyte excretion in such a way that there may be an increased risk of over-saturation with calcium oxalate.

VIAM using the AviScope device was moderately sensitive and specific for the confirmation of high-grade cervical lesions in women referred with abnormal cervical cytology.

We present the case of a 65-year-old male with severe coronary artery disease and a single colorectal liver metastasis. An elective intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) was inserted following induction of anaesthesia to reduce left ventricular workload during his liver resection. After an uneventful recovery he was discharged on day 5. We review the literature on the elective use of these devices in cardiac surgery in which it is becoming routine practice in high risk patients. However in non-cardiac surgery there have been only 15 published cases all in very high risk patients, with favourable outcomes. To our knowledge this is the first published case of the use of elective IABP during liver surgery. The intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) is an invasive device first described in the 1960s, used to stabilise and improve the haemodynamic function associated with cardiovascular disease. It improves mean arterial blood pressure, increases myocardial perfusion, reduces afterload and decreases myocardial oxygen demand by reducing cardiac work [1]. The indications for its use are expanding, although because of the need for full anticoagulation, its use in liver surgery has not been previously described. Case reportA 65-year-old male ex-smoker was referred to a specialist hepatobiliary unit with a solitary synchronous metastasis in segment 3 of the liver from a T3 N1 rectal adenocarcinoma. His primary surgery was performed 6 months previously following an emergency presentation with large bowel obstruction. A prolonged ileus and extensive wound abscess complicated his postoperative course. He had a past history of a myocardial infarction 6 years previously with ongoing angina. At presentation, his daily medications included aspirin 75 mg, atenolol 25 mg, simvastatin 20 mg and ramipril 5 mg.On pre-operative assessment he suffered occasional non-limiting chest pain. He had undergone some cardiac investigations at his local hospital but had been poorly compliant with follow-up.His pre-operative ECG showed sinus rhythm and q waves in leads III and V1. An exercise stress test previously performed at the patient's local hospital was terminated due to fatigue and chest discomfort after 4 min 20 s of SRH Bruce protocol and showed ST segment depression of up to 2 mm, which fully reverted after 7 min rest. An echocardiogram showed a moderate reduction in left ventricular function with the basal to apical septum thinned and akinetic.A coronary angiogram performed in the specialist unit showed an apical infarct with an ejection fraction of 55%. The left main stem coronary artery was normal, but the left anterior descending artery (LAD) and the right coronary artery (RCA) were both occluded at the ostium. The circumflex artery was a non-dominant vessel that collateralised both the LAD and RCA.With the discovery of severe coronary vessel disease we were left with a difficult decision; whether to proceed with the liver resection as planned or to arrange for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) prior to hepatic surgery. A multidisciplina...

Due to their ubiquity, management of parasites is a common and important factor for profitable production of poultry. Heterakis gallinarum, the cecal nematode, is the most common nematode parasite of poultry. While typically causing no pathology on its own, H. gallinarum is the vector of Histomonas meleagridis, a protozoan parasite that causes blackhead disease. Histomonas meleagridis is highly pathogenic in turkeys, potentially causing high mortality. In contrast, disease caused by H. meleagridis is much less severe in chickens, where it primarily reduces productivity without manifestations of clinical disease. There are no approved treatments for H. meleagridis, making control reliant on control of the helminth vector through the use of fenbendazole (FBZ) the only drug labeled for treatment of H. gallinarum in the United States We were contacted by an industry veterinarian regarding health-related concerns in a breeder-broiler house due to histomoniasis, despite frequent anthelmintic treatments. Since we had recently diagnosed resistance to FBZ in Ascaridia dissimilis, a closely related nematode of turkeys, we were interested to determine if H. gallinarum had also evolved resistance to FBZ. Heterakis gallinarum eggs were isolated from litter collected from the house and used to infect 108 chickens. Treatment groups included a non-treated control, a label-dose and a 2X-label dose of FBZ, with 36 birds per group divided into two replicate pens of 18 birds each. Birds were placed at 1-day post hatch, and at 3 weeks of age were infected with 150 embryonated eggs via oral gavage. Two weeks post infection, treated birds were administered a minimum of either a label- or 2X label-dose of FBZ in water for 5 days (SafeGuard® Aquasol, 1mg/kg BW). To ensure that all birds consumed the full intended dose at a minimum, the dosage was calculated using 1.25 times the average body weight. One-week post treatment, birds were euthanized, ceca removed, and parasites enumerated. Efficacy was calculated by comparing the total numbers of worms recovered from each treatment group to the numbers recovered in the non-treated control group. There were no significant differences in worm numbers recovered from any of the three groups (p-value=0.81). There also was no efficacy benefit to treatment with a 2X dose; H. gallinarum worm counts were reduced by 42.7% and 41.4%, for the label and 2X dosages, respectively. These data provide strong evidence that H. gallinarum has developed resistance to FBZ. Consequently, in houses infected with FBZ-resistant H. gallinarum, H. meleagridis will be able to cycle through the birds in an unrestricted manner. Further investigation is needed to determine the prevalence of resistance in H. gallinarum on chicken farms, but it is clear this has the potential to have a large-scale economic impact on the poultry industry. These data when viewed together with our recent findings of FBZ resistance in A. dissimilis, suggest that drug resistance in ascarid nematodes may be an important emerging problem on poultry operations.