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Absence of sparing of spatial navigation, skilled forelimb and tongue use and limb posture in the rat after neonatal dopamine depletion.

Depletion of caudate-putamen dopamine (DA) was produced by intraventricular injection of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) in three day old rats. When adult, the rats were given cognitive and motor tasks sensitive to adult dopamine depletion, including: tests of cue and place spatial navigation in a swimming pool, a test of skilled forelimb use, requiring reaching for small pellets of food, a test of tongue protrusion, requiring tongue extension to lick mash from a spatula, a test of limb posture, sensorimotor tests of orienting to tactile stimulation and catalepsy. Despite apparent normal physical appearance and locomotor behavior, the rats were impaired on all tasks except orienting to tactile stimulation and catalepsy. There was a significant positive correlation between the degree of impairment on the behavioral tasks and the extent of caudate-putamen dopamine depletion. The results show that sparing of function following neonatal dopamine depletion is selective and incomplete. The results are discussed with respect to the questions of sparing of function following neonatal lesions, the heterogeneous nature of the neonatal depletions and the contributions of dopamine to complex spatial and motor behavior in the rat.

Animals↗

Infection and disease due to the environmental mycobacteria.

Saprophytic mycobacteria are widely distributed in the environment and contact between them and man is unavoidable. Immunologically effective contact is responsible for cross-reactivity to tuberculin and there is increasing evidence that it also profoundly affects the nature of subsequent responses to BCG vaccination and to infection by the tubercle and leprosy bacilli. Some environmental mycobacteria occasionally cause overt disease. Two species, Mycobacterium ulcerans and M. marinum, cause characteristic named diseases: Buruli ulcer and swimming pool granuloma respectively. Other species cause pulmonary and non-pulmonary lesions that resemble those of tuberculosis. Disease often, but not always, occurs in individuals with predisposing factors such as damaged lungs or immunosuppressive disorders including AIDS. Diagnosis rests on the isolation and identification of the causative species and treatment is based on antituberculous therapy for extended periods or combinations of various other drugs. In contrast to tuberculosis, the incidence of these diseases appears to be on the increase in the Western world and they merit serious consideration.

Environmental Microbiology↗

Disruption of central cholinergic systems in the rat by basal forebrain lesions or atropine: effects on feeding, sensorimotor behaviour, locomotor activity and spatial navigation.

Rats with ibotenic acid lesions of the nucleus basalis magnocellularis, the origin of the extrinsic cholinergic innervation of the cortex, were examined for changes in feeding, sensorimotor behaviour, nocturnal locomotor activity, and place navigation in the Morris swimming pool task, in comparison with control rats and rats receiving the muscarinic antagonist, atropine. The lesions produced acute feeding impairments, marked by weight loss and vigorous active rejection of food and water lasting 2-4 days, sensorimotor impairments in placing and orienting, and overnight hyperactivity. A similar hyperactivity was induced by atropine, lasting approximately 6 h following the injection. Rats with lesions or receiving atropine were similarly impaired in the acquisition of the spatial navigation task, they failed to reach control levels of efficiency even once they had acquired the task, and they showed small but significant retention impairments when pretrained in the absence of either treatment. The results are discussed in terms of the lesions producing a disruption of cortical cholinergic systems, with implications for the clinical disorder of senile dementia of the Alzheimer type, and in terms of possible associated disruption to non-cholinergic systems.

Animals↗

Survival rates after serious immersion accidents in childhood.

A study of childhood survival rates, after loss of consciousness in fresh water, has been undertaken. Age-specific, sex-specific and site-specific survival rates for childhood fresh water immersion accidents are reported for the first time. The overall survival rate, after loss of consciousness in the water was 0.49; swimming pool and domestic bath tub serious immersion accidents have a survival rate of 0.60 compared with a rate of 0.05 for similar immersion accidents in creeks and rivers. Young male schoolboys have the lowest potential survival (0.20 or less) of any group. Survival rates were significantly higher during the winter (0.86) than during the warmer months (survival rate of 0.49). This gives a quantitative expression to the protection from cerebral anoxia afforded by body chilling which is not extreme. Survival rates have increased significantly over the 5 year period 1971--1975; it is considered that this is due to public education campaigns of the potential danger of water to children. The use of survival rates to measure factors which modify the pathophysiology of human drowning and near-drowning is discussed.

Adolescent↗

Dissociating performance and learning deficits on spatial navigation tasks in rats subjected to cholinergic muscarinic blockade.

The spatial navigation abilities of rats, subject to muscarinic blockade with atropine sulfate (50 mg/kg), were examined with the object of dissociating putative performance and learning deficits. A number of aspects of performance were not disrupted by the drug treatments, including development of position responses, cue responses, nonspatial discriminations, and the retention of place responses. Acquisition of place navigation was disrupted in a variety of tasks including: dry-land tasks in which rats searched for a hole from which to escape or searched for buried food and swimming pool tasks in which rats searched for a hidden platform on which to escape from the water. Task acquisition as well as motor performance was changed by the drug treatments in each task. Priming animals with experience on a subset of task variables did not significantly improve subsequent place performance. Priming animals with all motoric and spatial demands of a task, except the use of a specific set of distal cues aided performance, whereas priming animals with the use of a specific set distal cues but not motor experience produced little improvement in performance. The results indicate that impairments in the use of motoric skills contribute significantly to the deficits produced by cholinergic muscarinic blockade in spatial navigation tasks.

Animals↗

Behavioral deficits revealed by multiple tests in rats with ischemic damage limited to half of the CA1 sector of the hippocampus.

Ischemia causes neuronal necrosis in the septal half of the CA1 sector of the hippocampus in rats and produces deficits in spatial and other tasks, but the impairments are not severe. CA1-damaged rats may perform at control levels on some tests and may overlap the performance of control animals on other tests. The present study examined the performance of CA1-damaged rats on a range of tests known to be sensitive to hippocampal damage and evaluated the size of the deficit using a composite test-battery score. The rats with CA1 damage were impaired on learning set, matching to place, and latent-learning spatial navigation in a swimming pool, delayed alteration, and pattern alternation on dry land, but not on amphetamine-induced locomotion or on negative patterning. The CA1-damaged rats' impairments were mild, characterized by behavioral strategies similar to those of control rats, and their tests scores overlapped those of control rats. Nevertheless, a composite profile derived from the measures obtained from the different tests revealed a large overall impairment. The results confirm that rats with partial damage to CA1 display impairments, especially on tests that demand working memory, and suggest that the test-battery approach can be used to enhance group differences.

Animals↗

Childhood lightning injuries on the playing field.

Two young boys were struck by lightning during summer outdoor activities. One of them died. A literature review reveals that the most commonly reported locations of childhood lightning injuries are on the playing field, at the swimming pool, and in tents. Knowledge of measures to lower the risks of lightning strikes as well as the use of new lightning detection technology should help to reduce the numbers of these tragic events in the future.

Adolescent↗

Parent education for drowning prevention.

Drowning is the leading cause of accidental death in infants and children in 10 states, and near drowning accounts for more than 10 times as many accidents. Children aged 1 to 4 years are at the highest risk of drowning in residential swimming pools. Education of parents is a key variable in drowning prevention. Knowledge about water safety is centered around three important concepts: (a) supervision, (b) barriers, and (c) emergency procedures. The pediatric nurse plays an invaluable role in educating parents about these concepts and in increasing parents' awareness of safety risks.

Adolescent↗

[Immediate effects of physiotherapy session of lower limb by balneotherapy on postural control].

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare the immediate effects of standard physiotherapy (S) and balneotherapy (B) on the postural capacity of subjects with lower-limb injuries. METHODS: The postural sway of 12 voluntary subjects was evaluated before (REF1 and REF2) and after two different physiotherapy sessions performed in the swimming pool (B) or under (S). The centre of pressure (CP) trajectory was recorded by use of a force platform. CP displacements in the mediolateral and anteroposterior axes were then separated into two elementary superimposed components: the horizontal motion of the centre of gravity (CG) and the difference between the CP and the vertical projection of the CG (CP-CG). The amplitude of the latter component (CP-CG) is thought to express neuromuscular activity. All trajectories were then analysed in terms of classical and frequency parameters. RESULTS: Postural sway did not differ before and after the physiotherapy sessions. Following both sessions, the mean CG velocity decreased significantly (P<0.5). The area of CP-CG trajectory was diminished solely by the aquatic exercise (P<0.5) and was associated with decreased amplitude of motion along the anteroposterior axis (P<0.05), which suggests decreased neuromuscular activity to maintain posture. CONCLUSION: Interestingly, decreased motion was observed along the anteroposterior axis, which corresponds to ankle movements. Exercising lower-limb muscles under water could reinforce proprioceptive input, resulting in a better postural control.

Adolescent↗

Blood lipids of cardiac patients after acute exercise on land and in water.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effect on lipids of a single bout of high-intensity interval training performed on land and in water in a group of cardiac patients involved in an intensive cardiac rehabilitation program. DESIGN: Single-group, quasiexperimental, crossover design. SETTING: Swimming pool at a cardiac rehabilitation hospital in Australia. PARTICIPANTS: Ten men, ages 55 to 77 years, with ischemic heart disease. INTERVENTION: Subjects performed 15 minutes of interval arm ergometer work at 65% to 75% of attained heart rate, as determined by treadmill testing on land and in water on the same day. Each patient had his own exercise prescription. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: At each endurance phase, the number of revolutions and rate-pressure product (RPP) during the final minute of work were taken. Fasting bloods were taken at baseline and after maximum exercise, and lipid profiles were determined; differences were analyzed by paired t test. RESULTS: No significant differences in revolutions or RPP were observed, which indicates that workload and heart work were similar in all experiments. There were no significant changes in total, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglyceride, or apolipoproteins A-I or B after exercise (paired t test). High-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) was increased significantly by exercise on land. In 6 patients with low baseline HDL-C (<0.9 mmol/L), HDL-C was increased only on land. CONCLUSIONS: A single bout of high-intensity interval training was more effective in improving HDL-C when performed on land than in water.

Aged↗

[Cardiac syncope in children].

Syncope is a frequent problem in childhood; generally, it is an isolated event and the common causes are benign. However, in some circumstances, syncope can herald a potentially lethal problem, especially when occurring during exercise. Routine evaluation includes history, physical examination and a 12-lead standard ECG should be performed in all cases. Worrying features which should be an indication for further investigation include syncope during exercise, collapse in a swimming pool, history of familial sudden death, and abnormalities on clinical exam or ECG. Structural cardiac abnormalities that may cause syncope and sudden death include aortic stenosis, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and coronary malformations. All children with unrepaired or repaired congenital heart disease who experienced a syncope should be referred to a specialist. Primary arrhythmias that are easily diagnosed on ECG are the long QT syndrome, complete atrio-ventricular block and Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome; ST elevation in V1-V3 may reveal a Brugada syndrome. Another arrhythmia which is known to be potentially fatal if undiagnosed is the catecholaminergic ventricular tachycardia; the baseline ECG is normal but the arrhythmia is easily reproduced during exercise testing. Finally, vasovagal syncope is the most likely cause of syncope in the young and it usually easily recognized.

Arrhythmias, Cardiac↗

Volatile organic compounds in selected micro-environments.

A program of sampling for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in ambient air was undertaken in selected locations and micro-environments in Perth, Western Australia to characterise concentrations of target VOCs and to determine the relative strength of the contributing sources to ambient air in different micro-environments in a major Australian city. Twenty-seven locations were sampled and, of the forty-one target compounds, 26 VOCs were detected in the samples collected. The highest concentrations were recorded for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes (BTEX), chloroform and styrene. The maximum 12-h toluene and benzene concentrations observed were from a basement carpark and were 24.7 parts per billion (ppb) and 5.6 ppb, respectively. The maximum xylenes concentration was 29.4 ppb and occurred in a nightclub where styrene was also detected. A factor analysis of the data was undertaken. Two key factors emerge that appear to be associated with petroleum and motor vehicles and environmental tobacco smoke. A third significant occurrence was a high concentration of chloroform that was observed at a sports centre complex with a swimming pool text and was uncorrelated with other compounds in the data set. This study indicates that locations associated with motor vehicles and petrol fuel, tobacco and wood smoke and chlorinated water represent the major risks for personal exposure to VOCs in Perth.

Air Pollutants↗

Concentration of organic compounds in natural waters with solid-phase dispersion based on advesicle modified silica prior to liquid chromatography.

The ability of vesicle-coated silica to aid the extraction of organic compounds from water prior to liquid chromatographic analysis is presented for the first time. The method is based on the formation of silica supported cationic multi-lamellar vesicles of gemini surfactants inherently ensuring the presence of hydrophilic and hydrophobic sites for the partitioning of analytes bearing different properties. Method development is illustrated by studying the adsolubilization of UV absorbing chemicals from swimming pool water. Due to the requirement for external energy input (intense shearing) a method based on solid-phase dispersion (SPD) was applied producing better results than off-line solid-phase extraction (SPE). Meticulous investigation of the experimental parameters was conducted in order to elucidate the mechanisms behind the proposed extraction pattern. Analyte recoveries were quantitative under the optimum experimental conditions offering recoveries higher than 96% with RSD values below 5%.

Calibration↗

Immersion in warm water induces improvement in cardiac function in patients with chronic heart failure.

BACKGROUND: The effects of immersion and training of patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) in warm water has not been thoroughly investigated. The aim of this study was to assess the acute hemodynamic response of immersion and peripheral muscle training in elderly patients with CHF. METHODS: Thirteen CHF patients and 13 healthy subjects underwent echocardiography on land and in a temperature-controlled swimming pool (33-34 degrees C). RESULTS: Rest. Heart rate decreased (CHF, p=0.01; control, p=0.001) and stroke volume increased (CHF, p=0.01; control, p=0.001) during water immersion in both groups, with no change in systolic or diastolic blood pressure. Ejection fraction (p<0.05) and transmitral Doppler E/A ratio (p=0.01) increased in the CHF group, with no changes in left ventricular volumes. The healthy subjects had similar responses, but also displayed an increase in cardiac output (p<0.01) and left ventricular volumes (p<0.001). Exercise. Cardiac output and systolic blood pressure increased significantly in water, in both groups. CONCLUSION: A general increase in early diastolic filling was accompanied by a decrease in heart rate, leading to an increase in stroke volume and ejection fraction in most patients with CHF during warm water immersion. These beneficial hemodynamic effects might be the reason for the previously observed good tolerability of this exercise regime.

Aged↗

Is pulsed-field gel electrophoresis a valuable tool to identify nosocomial cases of Legionella pneumophila disease?

Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was used to type Legionella pneumophila isolates collected from the water systems of Besançon University Hospital and other hospitals in Franche-Comté region between January 2001 and December 2002 and compare them with patient isolates to identify hospital-acquired pneumonia. Genomic DNA was digested with SfiI and subjected to PFGE in a clamped, homogeneous electric field apparatus. Two of 11 Legionella infections were hospital-acquired. Both were with the same type, also present in the ward water. An environmental strain isolated from the water system of Vesoul Hospital, exhibited DNA pattern 6, also found in three patients with community-acquired pneumonia, who had never been in Vesoul hospital and lived in different towns located >60 km away. Patient 11, who lived in Besançon, was infected with a DNA pattern 12 strain. This patient had never been to the Besançon swimming pool, from which a similar strain was collected. Subtype matching of patient and environmental isolates should be interpreted with caution, and it is important to combine a molecular typing method with sound epidemiological data to ensure that the most stringent criteria are used to determine whether a hospital-reservoir is responsible for nosocomial pneumonia.

Cross Infection↗

Tracking multiple targets with multifocal attention.

Attention allows us to monitor objects or regions of visual space and select information from them for report or storage. Classical theories of attention assumed a single focus of selection but many everyday activities, such as video games, navigating busy intersections, or watching over children at a swimming pool, require attention to multiple regions of interest. Laboratory tracking tasks have indeed demonstrated the ability to track four or more targets simultaneously. Although the mechanisms by which attention maintains contact with several targets are not yet established, recent studies have identified several characteristics of the tracking process, including properties defining a 'trackable' target, the maximum number of targets that can be tracked, and the hemifield independence of the tracking process. This research also has implications for computer vision, where there is a growing demand for multiple-object tracking.

Attention↗

In vitro culture, serologic and molecular analysis of Acanthamoeba isolated from the liver of a keel-billed toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus).

Members of the genus Acanthamoeba are usually free-living amebae and are found in a variety of ecological niches including soil, fresh and brackish water, dust in air, filters of heating, ventilating, and air conditioning units, swimming pools and hot tubs, etc. Occasionally, they are also known to cause central nervous system infections in humans and other animals. We isolated into culture an amoeba from the liver tissue of a keel-billed toucan and identified it as Acanthamoeba sp. based on culture characteristics and immunofluorescent analysis. Further, we characterized the cultured amoeba and also the amoeba in the liver tissue as Acanthamoeba, genotype T4, by sequencing a diagnostic region of the nuclear small subunit ribosomal RNA gene.

Acanthamoeba↗

Effect of chlorination on the formation of odorous disinfection by-products.

In order to explain some of the possible origins of an odor episode, which took place in a drinking water supply in the region of Paris (France), the chlorination reaction of some simple amino acids (valine, leucine and phenylalanine) was investigated. In addition to the commonly admitted intermediates and products of this reaction (monochloramines, aldehydes and nitriles), the formation of far less documented products was observed: N-chloroaldimines which proved to present particular properties. These products appeared to remain relatively stable in water, especially at low temperatures, and can be formed under disinfection conditions relevant to those of drinking water treatment (i.e. at high chlorination rates). N-chloroaldimines also present strong swimming pool odors with a floral background, with odor detection thresholds close to 1microgL(-1) and even less. These values were established with a laboratory-made protocol. These products appeared more odorous than the corresponding aldehydes, known for a long time as potent odor causing chemicals and which have previously been involved in some odor problems in the field of drinking water treatment. N-chloroaldimines are consequently products of interest for water treaters and are now suspected to be a source of off-flavor concerns among consumers. We have therefore developed an analytical method (gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry) to demonstrate the presence of some of these compounds in water at concentrations close to their odor detection thresholds. Considering the levels of amino acids that can be reached in water, this level of chloroaldimines concentration could be obtained under certain pollution conditions.

Aldehydes↗