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[World deliberations in Rio].
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Building on the Cairo consensus.
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From the Director: USAID Office of Women in Development.
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The Tokyo Declaration: toward a global partnership in population and development.
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Towards a new global strategy.
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The quiet revolution. Child survival comes of age.
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Sustainable helminth control of ruminants in developing countries.
Widespread anthelmintic resistance, at least amongst the important nematode parasites of small ruminants, threatens the sustainability of these livestock industries throughout both the developed and developing world. The exacerbation of this problem over the last decade or so, has provided the impetus for research into non-chemotherapeutic parasite control alternatives, such as host genetic resistance, grazing management, worm vaccines and biological control. Although some of these options provide practical benefits if currently adopted, or exciting prospects for the future, collectively they are unlikely to dispense with the need for the timely intervention of effective anthelmintic treatment. The issue of sustainability of helminth control practices therefore rests with the preservation of anthelmintic effectiveness through the implementation of principles of integrated pest management. Herein lies the difficulty-putting the principles into practice. Much of the research into sustainable nematode parasite control of ruminants has been done in the developed rather than the developing world, and the efforts to transfer this information to livestock owners has also been commensurately greater in the former. However the need for research and technology transfer is much more urgent in the developing world because of the lack of scientific and financial resources, the greater dependence on livestock industries and the much greater severity of the problem of anthelmintic resistance. This will require a major philosophical change in the affluent western world to the funding of national and international aid organisations who are largely responsible for these activities.
The Newfoundland and Labrador Heart Health Program dissemination story: the formation and functioning of effective coalitions.
Newfoundland and Labrador is the most easterly province of Canada (O'Loughlin et al., Figure 1) with a population of 537,000. Rural in nature, 50% of the population resides in widely-dispersed communities of less than 2500 people. The economy traditionally relied on the fishing industry, but with the closure of the once lucrative cod fishery in 1991, the poorest province in Canada faced a difficult economic climate with up to 20% unemployment rates. With little funding available to supplement or sustain expensive initiatives, the Demonstration Phase of the Newfoundland and Labrador Heart Health Program (1990-1996) focused on how community-based programs are developed and sustained, with a view to diffusion throughout the province. The whole province was defined as the demonstration site for the project, and a community mobilization strategy was used with extensive reliance on community health professionals and volunteer contributions.
Isolation and genomic characterization of Bacillus X32: a potent phosphate-solubilizing bacterium with growth-promoting effects on navel orange seedlings.
Phosphorus is an essential element for plant growth. However, in nature, most phosphorus exists in the form of insoluble compounds that plants cannot directly absorb, leading to phosphorus deficiency in agricultural systems. With increasing demand for economic crops such as citrus and the decline in soil fertility due to current management practices, there is a growing need for environmentally friendly fertilizers to improve and restore soil conditions. In this study, a highly efficient phosphate‑solubilizing strain X32 was isolated from the rhizosphere soil of Gannan navel oranges. Systematic genomic analysis identified it as a putative novel species within the genus Bacillus, showing the closest phylogenetic relationship to Bacillus spizizenii. However, both the average nucleotide identity (ANI = 93.18%) and digital DNA‑DNA hybridization (dDDH = 50.4%) values fell below the established thresholds for species delineation, indicating significant genomic differentiation. Whole‑genome sequencing further revealed that strain X32 harbors multiple functional genes potentially related to phosphorus metabolism, including inorganic phosphate‑solubilizing genes (e.g., gdh and gltA), phosphate transport genes (e.g., glpT, pstA, pstB, pstC), and phosphorus mineralization genes (e.g., phoA, phoD). Pot experiment results demonstrated that inoculation with strain X32 significantly promoted the growth of navel orange seedlings, as evidenced by marked increases in both aboveground and belowground fresh and dry weights, as well as plant height. Additionally, strain X32 significantly enhanced the activities of antioxidant enzymes (SOD, CAT, POD) and regulated the content of chlorophyll b in seedling leaves, these changes suggest that strain X32 may enhance stress resistance in plants and influence photosynthetic pigment composition, though direct measurements of photosynthetic performance are needed for confirmation. This study provides a theoretical basis for developing microbial fertilizers with efficient phosphorus solubilization and plant growth-promoting functions, which may help reduce dependence on phosphorus fertilizers and promote sustainable agricultural development.
The promise of a community-based approach to managing severe malnutrition: A case study from Ethiopia.
BACKGROUND: Community-based therapeutic care (CTC) is a new strategy in the arsenal of techniques to manage complex nutritional emergencies in rural communities. The CTC approach uses a newly developed ready-to-use therapeutic food, Plumpynut, to rehabilitate severely malnourished children in their home communities. Emerging literature has suggested the CTC strategy yielded results that were superior to those of programs limited to therapeutic feeding centers, as measured by rates of coverage and numbers of children rehabilitated. OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness of the CTC strategy in combination with conventional treatments for acute malnutrition. The expectation was that this program would support the growing consensus on the effectiveness of CTC strategies. METHODS: Data from monitoring the initial phase of program implementation were reviewed to ascertain program impact. The number of children participating and the outcome of their participation were assessed. RESULTS: Families became key participants in the rehabilitation of their children, and communities became strengthened through the mobilization of local networks and the improved knowledge base of local health workers. Recovery rates were comparable with international standards, and coverage far exceeded that of traditional center-based care. CONCLUSIONS: CTC is an important tool to effectively address nutritional emergencies and may be a valuable entry point for long-term development, since it fosters capacity building and improvement in local communities. CTC programs may eventually be viewed as the entry point for more sustained development-oriented interventions, thus helping make the transition from relief to development.
Four patterns of response to inhaled nitric oxide for persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the clinical role of inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) in the treatment of persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN). STUDY DESIGN: Prospective open observational clinical study. SETTING: A regional cardiac and pediatric intensive care unit. METHODS: Twenty-five consecutive near-term neonates (> 35 weeks gestation) with severe PPHN (oxygenation index [OI] > 25) were given a trial of iNO of 20 ppm for 20 minutes. Neonates who showed a greater than 20% improvement in PaO2 as well as a decrease in the OI to below 40 were defined as responders and continued on this therapy. RESULTS: Four patterns of response emerged to the iNO therapy: Pattern 1 neonates (n = 2) did not respond to the initial trial of iNO-one survived. Pattern 2 neonates (n = 9) responded to the initial trial of iNO, but failed to sustain this response over 36 hours, as defined by a rise in the OI to > 40. Six survived, five with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Pattern 3 neonates (n = 11) responded to the initial trial of iNO, sustained this response, and were successfully weaned from iNO within 5 days--all survived to discharge. Pattern 4 neonates (n = 3) responded to the initial trial of iNO, but developed a sustained dependence on iNO for 3 to 6 weeks. All three died and lung histology revealed severe pulmonary hypoplasia and dysplasia. These neonates (pattern 4) not only required iNO for a longer period of time than did the sustained responders (pattern 3), but they required significantly higher doses of iNO during their first 5 days of iNO therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Early responses to iNO may not be sustained. Neonates with pulmonary hypoplasia and dysplasia may have a decreased sensitivity and differing time course of response to iNO when compared with patients who have PPHN in fully developed lungs.
The sustainability of functional foods.
In times of climate change, growing world populations, and with clear evidence of the depletion or damage to critical resources, it is imperative to take action to sustain and develop the capacity of agricultural and manufacturing systems to continue to provide food, the most basic of human needs. Functional foods, generally defined as foods that provide benefits beyond basic nutrition, represent an important growth category for the commercial sector in many countries around the world. Because of widespread concerns about risks to health, the public is vulnerable to messages about potential health protective advantages of foods formulated in response to emerging nutrition science. This paper argues that it is important to finds ways to evaluate the effects of innovation in this sector. Now more broadly defined, the concept of sustainability provides guidelines for decision-making and a framework for assessing the impact of the development of functional foods as a health protective panacea for diet-related human health problems. However, this paper concludes that when criteria for sustainable practice are applied, there are some strong arguments in support of delaying investment in the development and promotion of functional foods to the general public.
[Incidence and prognostic significance of inducible ventricular arrhythmias in the early post-infarction phase].
To identify patients at risk of sudden cardiac death or sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT) after recent acute myocardial infarction, 100 patients younger than 70 years (80 male, 20 female; 47 anterior wall infarction, 53 inferior wall infarction) were studied prospectively. 25 days (mean) after onset of myocardial infarction, programmed ventricular stimulation was performed, including the introduction of single (S2) and double (S2-S3) ventricular extrastimuli both during sinus rhythm and at paced ventricular cycle lengths (S1-S1) of 500, 430, 370, and 330 ms. The end of the protocol was reached as soon as 4 or more consecutive ventricular echo beats (VE) were initiated. Four or more VE were initiated in 46% of patients, 4 to 9 VE in 21%, greater than or equal to 10 VE or sustained VT in 25%. During follow-up (15 +/- 8 months), 5 patients died suddenly (less than or equal to 1 h), and 5 further patients developed spontaneous sustained ventricular tachycardia. In 3 patients who died suddenly and 4 with spontaneous sustained VT, greater than or equal to 4 VE had been induced by programmed ventricular stimulation (sensitivity 60% and 80% respectively). With regard to sudden cardiac death and spontaneous ventricular tachycardia, the predictive value of a positive test was 15%, that of a negative (normal) test 94%. False negative results occurred in 6%, whereas 85% of all abnormal results had to be regarded as false positive, as these patients did not develop an arrhythmic event during follow-up. Thus patients after recent myocardial infarction frequently have signs of increased ventricular vulnerability during programmed ventricular stimulation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
A simple salt solution medium supplemented with yolk plasma and lactate (YPLM) supports development of preimplantation bovine embryos in vitro.
This study investigated the embryotropic potential(s) of egg yolk (EY) or its fractions, yolk plasma (YP) and yolk granules (YG), in culturing bovine embryos in vitro and substituting for protein (FCS, BSA, and BME-E and MEM-NE amino acids) and energy (glutamine, pyruvate and L-lactate) supplements commonly added to culture medium. In the first set of experiments (Experiment 1, 2 and 3) CR1aa with buffalo rat liver (BRL) cells were used as a co-culture system. The addition of 2.5% or 5% EY significantly increased (P<0.05) blastocyst percent over the BRL control (48.3% and 52.4% vs. 32.5%, respectively). The addition of 5% EY in the absence of FCS and BSA resulted in percent development to blastocysts and hatched blastocysts similar (P>0.05) to those of the BRL control (37.6% and 57.4% vs. 51.5%, 22.7% and 39.5%, respectively). The supplementation of the BRL control with 5% YP compared to that of EY resulted in comparable (P>0.05) percentages of blastocysts and hatched blastocysts (39.0% and 51.6% vs. 40.0% and 58.3%, respectively). In the second set of experiments, the embryotropic potential of YP was examined using a cell-free culture system and a simple salt solution (SS) of NaCl, KCl and NaHCO3 as the base medium. The supplementation of an energy-supplemented cell-free simple salt solution (E-SS) with 5% YP in the absence of supplemental protein resulted in percent development into blastocysts and hatched blastocysts comparable (P>0.05) to those of a BRL control (39.2% and 15.8% vs. 37.1% and 22.2%, respectively). The addition of YP to the simple salt solution with hemicalcium L-lactate as the only supplemented energy ingredient resulted in percentages of blastocysts and hatched blastocysts similar (P>0.05) to those obtained by the supplementation of all energy sources (27.4% and 15.6% vs. 36.4% and 14.0%, respectively). Increasing hemicalcium L-lactate level from 5 to 10, 20 or 25 mM resulted in a significant decrease (P<0.05) in percent development into blastocysts (36.5% vs. 24.8%, 11.6% and 6.7%, respectively). In conclusion, YP, with the advantage of being clearer than EY, is capable of sustaining embryo development to the blastocyst stage in a simple salt solution of NaCl, KCl and NaHCO3 supplemented with hemicalcium L-lactate.
Chemotherapy of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections in mice with a combination of isoniazid and rifampicin entrapped in Poly (DL-lactide-co-glycolide) microparticles.
Strategies to improve patient compliance in tuberculosis chemotherapy include the use of sustained release drug delivery systems. In this study, Poly (DL-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLG) microparticles containing a combination of isoniazid and rifampicin were developed as sustained release carrier systems. A single dose of PLG microparticles exhibited a sustained release of isoniazid and rifampicin in vivo up to 7 and 6 weeks, respectively. Free drugs (in combination) injected in the same doses were detectable in vivo up to 24 h only. One dose of PLG microparticles cleared bacteria more effectively from lungs and liver in an experimental murine model of tuberculosis after low-dose PLG combination drug therapy and in liver after high-dose PLG combination drug therapy as compared with a daily administration of the free drugs. These results suggest that PLG microparticles offer an improvement for tuberculosis chemotherapy over the conventional treatment.
Treatment of atrial fibrillation in horses: new perspectives.
Forty-one horses were treated for atrial fibrillation (AF) with 22 mg/kg quinidine sulfate via nasogastric tube every 2 hours until conversion to sinus rhythm, a cumulative dose of 88 to 132 mg/kg had been administered in 2-hour increments, or the horse had adverse or toxic effects from the drug. Treatment intervals were prolonged to every 6 hours if conversion had not occurred. Digoxin was administered before treatment if the horse had a fractional shortening < or = 27% (3 horses), was prone to tachycardia (resting heart rate > or = 60 beats/min) (1 horse), or had a previous history of sustained tachycardia of over 100 beats/min during prior conversion (3 horses). Digoxin was administered during day 1 of quinidine sulfate treatment if the horse developed a sustained tachycardia of over 100 beats/min during treatment (11 horses) or on day 2 if conversion had not occurred (7 horses). Plasma quinidine concentrations within 1 hour of conversion of AF to sinus rhythm ranged from 1.7 to 7.5 micrograms/mL (mean, 4.05 +/- 1.6) and ranged from 1.7 to 4.7 micrograms/mL in 97% of horses. Most horses (92%) with plasma quinidine concentrations > 5 micrograms/mL exhibited an adverse or toxic effect of quinidine sulfate (clinical or electrocardiographic). There was no statistical association between plasma quinidine concentrations and sustained tachycardia (> 100 beats/min), diarrhea, or colic. Ataxia and upper respiratory tract stridor were significantly associated with plasma quinidine concentrations. In most instances (98%) conversion did not occur while toxic or adverse effects of quinidine sulfate were present or when plasma quinidine concentrations were > 5 micrograms/mL.
Formulation and in vitro, in vivo evaluation of extended- release matrix tablet of zidovudine: influence of combination of hydrophilic and hydrophobic matrix formers.
The aim of the present study was to prepare and characterize extended-release matrix tablets of zidovudine using hydrophilic Eudragit RLPO and RSPO alone or their combination with hydrophobic ethyl cellulose. Release kinetics was evaluated by using United States Pharmacopeia (USP)-22 type I dissolution apparatus. Scanning electron microscopy was used to visualize the effect of dissolution medium on matrix tablet surface. Furthermore, the in vitro and in vivo newly formulated sustained-release zidovudine tablets were compared with conventional marketed tablet (Zidovir, Cipla Ltd, Mumbai, India). The in-vitro drug release study revealed that either Eudragit preparation was able to sustain the drug release only for 6 hours (94.3% +/- 4.5% release). Combining Eudragit with ethyl cellulose sustained the drug release for 12 hours (88.1% +/- 4.1% release). Fitting the in vitro drug release data to Korsmeyer equation indicated that diffusion along with erosion could be the mechanism of drug release. In vivo investigation in rabbits showed sustained-release pharmacokinetic profile of zidovudine from the matrix tablets formulated using combination of Eudragits and ethylcellulose. In conclusion, the results suggest that the developed sustained-release tablets of zidovudine could perform therapeutically better than conventional dosage forms, leading to improve efficacy and better patient compliance.