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At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

An overview of wildlife husbandry and diseases in captivity.

Wild animals have been maintained in close association with humans since the dawn of human creation. Tremendous advances have been made in the care and management of wild animals, but some areas still need improvement. It is therefore important to identify the husbandry factors which minimize or maximize the occurrence of infectious or parasitic diseases. A universal influence on all animals is stress, and it is critical that managers, administrators, veterinarians and regulatory officials understand the basic concepts and take steps to minimize stress in captive wild animal husbandry. To study the epizootiology of infectious and parasitic diseases, one must also understand the nidus concept of disease, which essentially holds that all animals evolved with a group of infectious and parasitic agents that have generally lived in harmony with their host. Now, with the movement of animals and agents throughout the world, explosive outbreaks of disease may occur, unless the responsible persons know which species may be closely associated, and follow appropriate husbandry practices and appropriate quarantine procedures.

Animal Husbandry↗
PubMed1982

Carcinogenesis Bioassay of 2-Biphenylamine Hydrochloride (CAS No. 2185-92-4) in F344/N Rats and B6C3F1 Mice (Feed Study).

2-Biphenylamine (2-aminobiphenyl) is a chemical intermediate used in the manufacture of C.I. Acid Red 15. It is present as a contaminant in 4-biphenylamine (a rubber antioxidant) and in diphenylamine (a dye intermediate, stabilizer for nitrocellulose explosives, and a topical agent for prevention of screwworm infestation in animals). Single-dose, 14-day, and 13-week studies were conducted using technical-grade 2-biphenylamine (2-aminobiphenyl) containing up to 2.5% of the carcinogenic contaminant, 4-biphenylamine. When the contamination was recognized, analytical development was begun to purify the material. The salt, 2-biphenylamine hydrochloride, was prepared to obtain a more pure test product, which contained 0.006%-0.049% 4-biphenylamine. The prechronic tests were completed by the time purification was accomplished, so data from a second 14-day study with 2-biphenylamine hydrochloride were used to help set dose levels for the chronic study. The results of the comparative 14-day studies showed that technical-grade 2-biphenylamine was more toxic to mice than rats than 2-biphenylamine hydrochloride as evidenced by greater incidence of splenomegaly and greater weight gain depression. The technical-grade 2-biphenylamine caused a dose-related decrease in hemoglobin concentration and a dose-related increase in leukocyte count in male and female mice in the 13-week study. Hemosiderosis, congestion, and extramedullary hematopoiesis were present in the spleens of nearly all rats receiving 3,000 ppm or more of the chemical, and in nearly all mice with 1,000 ppm or more 2-biphenylamine in their diets. The chronic study was conducted with the purified 2-biphenylamine hydrochloride by feeding diets containing 1,000 or 3,000 ppm 2-biphenylamine hydrochloride to groups of 49 or 50 F344/N rats and 50 B6C3F1 mice of each sex for 103 weeks. Groups of 50 rats and 50 mice of each sex served as controls. Survival of dosed male and female rats and dosed female mice was comparable with that of the corresponding controls. Survival of high-dose male mice was significantly (P<0.010) less than that of low-dose and control male mice. There were little or no differences in body weight changes for rats or mice between dosed and control groups, although there was a slight decrease in body weight gain at the end of the study for high-dose male (-11%) and female (-8%) rats. Inflammatory cells and interstitial fibrosis were found in increased incidence in the kidneys of dosed male rats as compared with controls and were considered to be compound related. In addition to the increase in renal inflammation and fibrosis, dosed male rats had more focal cellular changes of the liver than did the controls. There were no increased or decreased incidences of tumors in rats that could be associated with chemical administration. Myelomonocytic leukemia in male rats (control, 14/50; low-dose, 1/50; high-dose, 4/50) and fibroadenomas of the mammary gland in female rats (22/50, 10/49, 9/50) occurred with significantly (P<0.03) decreasing trends and the incidences in the dosed groups were significantly (P<0.02) lower than that in the controls. There were no increased or decreased incidences of tumors in rats that could be associated with chemical administration. Hemangiosarcomas from all sites occurred in female mice with a statistically significant (P</=0.002) positive trend. The observed incidence of hemangiosarcomas was 0/49, 1/50, and 7/50 in the control, low-dose, and high-dose groups, respectively. The incidence in the high-dose group was significantly (P<0.01) higher than that in controls. The conclusion that this was due to 2-biphenylamine rather than the contaminant, 4-biphenylamine, is supported by the absence of urinary bladder tumors, which are common to 4-biphenylamine. Hemangiosarcomas also occurred in male mice with a statistically significant positive trend (P=0.040 by a life table test), with incidences of 0/50, 2/50, and 3/50. None of the pairwise comparisons were statistically different. The development of hemangiosarcomas may have been curtailedment of hemangiosarcomas may have been curtailed in the high-dose group of male mice, since only 21/50 survived until the termination of the study. The hemangiosarcomas found in female mice are uncommon with only 6/816 (0.7&percnt;) previously seen in controls at the same laboratory. The rate for control male mice is equally low: 7/803 (0.9&percnt;). Alveolar/bronchiolar adenomas of the lung occurred at a significantly (P<0.01) decreased rate in male mice with an incidence in dose groups lower (P<0.05) than that in controls. Under the conditions of the bioassay, 2-biphenylamine hydrochloride was not carcinogenic for F344/N rats of either sex. 2-Biphenylamine hydrochloride was carcinogenic for B6C3F1 female mice, inducing hemangiosarcomas at various sites. The evidence for an association between the administration of 2-biphenylamine hydrochloride and the increased incidence of hemangiosarcomas in male mice was equivocal. Levels of Evidence of Carcinogenicity: Male Rats: Negative Female Rats: Negative Male Mice: Equivocal Female Mice: Positive

Journal Article↗
PubMed1998

Auditory evoked potentials for the assessment of noise induced hearing loss.

As it has been demonstrated in many animal experiments, noise can damage the cochlea and the central auditory pathways. It is very difficult in clinical studies to separate the relative contribution of both these sites. Auditory evoked potentials ABR, MLR and SVR study retrocochlear nervous conduction and collectively the results of these techniques proved an objective evaluation of the cochlear function. The Authors have studied a group of 130 sport shooters with high frequency hearing loss and found that in 38 ears a clear retrocochlear component could be recognised. Correlation with intensity, frequency and length of exposure to the traumatic noise demonstrates that explosive noise is an agent for NIHL. However athletes exposed to similar noises did not suffer from similar hearing loss, probably because of the well known individual noise susceptibility.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Industrial and biotechnological applications of laccases: a review.

Laccases have received much attention from researchers in last decades due to their ability to oxidise both phenolic and non-phenolic lignin related compounds as well as highly recalcitrant environmental pollutants, which makes them very useful for their application to several biotechnological processes. Such applications include the detoxification of industrial effluents, mostly from the paper and pulp, textile and petrochemical industries, use as a tool for medical diagnostics and as a bioremediation agent to clean up herbicides, pesticides and certain explosives in soil. Laccases are also used as cleaning agents for certain water purification systems, as catalysts for the manufacture of anti-cancer drugs and even as ingredients in cosmetics. In addition, their capacity to remove xenobiotic substances and produce polymeric products makes them a useful tool for bioremediation purposes. This paper reviews the applications of laccases within different industrial fields as well as their potential extension to the nanobiotechnology area.

Biotechnology↗
PubMed1995

Modulators of signal transduction as cancer chemotherapeutic agents--novel mechanisms and toxicities.

The recent explosion of knowledge of the molecular basis of regulation of growth and differentiation has engendered the search for novel anticancer drugs which act via interference with cellular signal transduction pathways. Among the agents which are under investigation are modulators of protein kinases, for example quercetin and bryostatin 1. Both compounds have undergone phase 1 clinical evaluation. The major dose-limiting toxicities of quercetin and bryostatin are nephrotoxicity and myalgia, respectively. Novel analogs of the microbial product staurosporine, a potent kinase inhibitor, possess intriguing specificities for different kinases.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Electrophoretic microchip with dual-opposite injection for simultaneous measurements of anions and cations.

A novel dual-injection poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) microchip electrophoretic system has been designed and fabricated for simultaneous measurements of anions and cations using a single channel and detection device. It consists of two sample reservoirs, on both sides of a common separation channel. Anions and cations can be simultaneously electrokinetically injected into both ends of the separation channel. Due to lower electroosmotic flow in polymer channels compared to glass ones, the cations and anions migrate in opposite directions and can be separated from each other and detected using a movable contactless conductivity detector (MCCD) positioned around the center of the separation channel. The effects of the detector position and of the separation voltage on the response and resolution have been studied and optimized for simultaneous determination of six low-energy explosive-related ions, including ammonium, methyl ammonium, sodium, chloride, nitrate, and perchlorate in a single analytical run (of ca. 3 min). Simultaneous detection of nerve-agent degradation products along with explosive-related anions and cations is also demonstrated. The versatile system can also be used for separately measuring anions or cations. The attractive behavior of the dual-opposite injection microchip offers great promise for a wide range of applications, including "total ion analysis" of various samples.

Anions↗
PubMed2000

Consideration of cytokines as therapeutics agents or targets.

There has been an explosion of our knowledge in cytokine biology in the last decade. Such knowledge is being quickly translated into the identification of etiologies and improved prophylaxis and therapy of disease. While cytokines have the potential to be used as therapeutics or immune adjuvants for certain diseases, they may also be culprits as therapeutic targets in other diseases. This review article serves, as an introduction to the other five articles in this thematic issue each of which has a specific focus on the frontier of cytokine therapeutic biology. This review contains sections dealing with general cytokine properties, cytokine classifications, human conditions caused by cytokine under-expression and over-expression, Th1 and Th2 paradigm, cytokine therapy for acute/chronic inflammatory conditions, cytokine therapy for infectious diseases, and cytokine therapy for cancer.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

No evidence of toxicity or carcinogenicity of pentaerythritol tetranitrate given in the diet to F344 rats and B6C3F1 mice for up to two years.

Toxicology and carcinogenesis studies of pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), an organic nitrate used in explosives and as a therapeutic agent for angina pectoris, were conducted by administering diets containing PETN,NF (National Formulary Grade, a 1:4 mixture of PETN and lactose) to both sexes of F344 rats and B6C3F1 mice in 14-day, 13-week and 2-year studies. PETN was found to be essentially non-toxic in 14-day and 13-week studies at dietary concentrations as high as 10,000 ppm; the weight gain of female rats was lower than that of controls at 5000 and 10,000 ppm in the 13-week study. In the 13-week studies, one in ten high-dose female rats had an adenoma of the Zymbal gland and one in ten high-dose female mice had a hepatocellular adenoma. Dietary concentrations chosen for the 2-year studies were 5000 and 10,000 ppm for male rats and male and female mice, and 1240 and 2500 ppm for female rats. In the 2-year studies, there were no adverse effects on survival or body weight gains in either sex of rats or mice. No neoplastic or non-neoplastic lesions were considered to be related clearly to PETN administration. Neoplasms of the Zymbal gland occurred at low incidences in PETN-exposed groups of both sexes of rats in the 2-year study.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Challenges and opportunities to the design and implementation of chemoprevention trials for prostate cancer.

Since 1991 and the activation of the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial as well as similar prevention studies in several other organ sites, the interest in prostate cancer prevention has increased substantially. Despite such interest, the challenges to prevention trials-in design, implementation, prioritization, and allocation of resources-are substantial. Simultaneously, there has been an explosion in new targets and agents that may have an effect in the prevention of this disease. In this manuscript, we discuss these challenges to the study of prostate cancer prevention and provide a blueprint for prioritization of future studies.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed2005

Parasite plastids: approaching the endgame.

Considerable work still needs to be done to understand more fully the basic processes going on inside the non-photosynthetic plastid organelle of Plasmodium spp., the causative agent of malaria. Following an explosion of genomic and transcriptional information in recent years, research workers are still analysing these data looking for new material relevant to the plastid. Several metabolic and housekeeping functions based on bacterial biochemistry have been elucidated and this has given impetus to finding lead inhibitors based on established anti-microbials. Structural investigations of plastid-associated enzymes identified as potential targets have begun. This review gives a perspective on the research to date and hopes to emphasize that a practical outcome for the clinic should be an important focus of future efforts. Malaria parasites have become resistant to front-line anti-malarials that are widely used and were formerly dependable. This has become a worrying problem in many regions where malaria is endemic. The time lag between hunting for new inhibitors and their application as pharmaceuticals is so long and costly that a steady stream of new ventures has to be undertaken to give a reasonable chance of finding affordable and appropriate anti-malarials for the future. Attempts to find inhibitors of the plastid organelle of the malaria parasite should be intensified in such programmes.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Current therapeutic options in type 2 diabetes mellitus: a practical approach.

The incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) in the United States continues to grow rapidly, paralleling the overweight and obesity epidemic. For many years the only therapeutic options for type 2 DM were sulfonylureas and insulin. However, over the last 9 years there has been an explosion of new and exciting agents approved for the treatment of type 2 DM. Some of the treatments target insulin deficiency and others insulin resistance, the hallmarks of the disease. Other drugs delay the intestinal absorption of carbohydrate. Recently several combination agents have been released. With these new drugs has come an overwhelming mountain of information, making it difficult for the busy clinician to know how best to manage the ever-increasing portion of patients with type 2 DM. New questions have arisen: Which agent to start as first line? How much of this drug to use before adding something else? How long for this drug to reach full effect? Which agent to add second? Should a patient uncontrolled on dual therapy begin insulin or start a third oral agent? If insulin therapy is started, what should become of the patient's oral agents? How best to explain the patient's weight gain on therapy? These are not easy questions and no review can fully detail all the therapeutic combinations possible. Instead, the practical approach of reviewing the agents in terms of their mechanism of action and critically comparing their dosing, effect and cost, is undertaken herein. Also addressed is the possible niche some newer classes of agents and combination drugs may or may not hold in the management of type 2 DM. The decision of using insulin versus a third oral agent will be looked at from the standpoint of where the patient is on dual therapy in relation to the hemoglobin A1c goal. In this way it is hoped that some clarity will be brought to the dizzying array of information that both the physician and patient have to deal with in regard to the management of this prevalent and serious disease.

Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2↗
PubMed1994

Drug and alternative therapies for hyperlipidemia.

The recent guidelines for detection and treatment of hypercholesterolemia together with specific therapeutic goals have stimulated interest in, and use of, lipid lowering agents. The last decade has seen an explosive growth in the drug discovery area which is now translating into clinical trials with many new lipid lowering agents. In addition, clinical trials assessing clinical outcomes and cost effectiveness are resulting in a changing approach to how current lipid lowering drugs are used, especially in terms of dosing and combination therapies. At present only four classes of lipid altering agents remain in wide use; bile acid binding resins, niacin, fibrates and HMG CoA reductase inhibitors. Although only a decade has passed since the first HMG CoA reductase inhibitor, lovastatin, entered clinical trials this group of compounds are not only the most widely used lipid lowering agents, but more than six such agents have been or are currently being developed. In addition to pharmacological therapies, there have been significant advances in the non-pharmacological treatment of hypercholesterolemia, the most important being LDL-receptor gene replacement and selective LDL-apheresis.

Humans↗
PubMed2003

Operation Castle Cascade: managing multiple casualties from a simulated chemical weapons attack.

In the wake of the recent terrorist attack on the United States, there is an ever-increasing need for the defense against weapons of mass destruction. The use of explosive devices in combination with chemical agents could result in a community disaster with multiple traumatic and medical injuries. Military medical personnel may be the first called upon due to their unique training and equipment. Operation Castle Cascade was a large-scale exercise on a military instillation involving the apprehension of hostages and detonation of an explosive device containing dimethyl sulfate. We will provide details on the medical management of 50 patients with simulated chemical and traumatic injuries. Issues relating to on-site chemical identification, triage, decontamination, treatment, casualty collection, and transportation of casualties are addressed in this article.

Chemical Warfare↗
PubMed2003

Trace explosive detection in aqueous samples by solid-phase extraction ion mobility spectrometry (SPE-IMS).

Law enforcement agencies use ion mobility spectrometers for the detection of explosives, drugs of abuse, and chemical warfare agents. Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) has the advantages of short analysis times, detections in the parts per billion concentrations, and high sensitivity. On-site environmental analysis of explosives or explosive residues in water is possible with ion mobility spectrometers. Unfortunately, the direct analysis of low levels of explosives in water is difficult. Extraction provides a method for pre-concentrating the analytes and removing interferents. Coupling solid-phase extraction (SPE) with IMS is useful for the identification of trace amounts of explosives in water. Commercially available SPE disks were used. After extraction, the sample disk is inserted into the ion mobility spectrometer, where the analytes are thermally desorbed from the disk. Concentrations as low as one part per trillion were detected with a Barringer Ionscan 350. An external computer and acquisition software (LabVIEW, National Instruments) were used to collect data. SIMPLISMA (SIMPLe-to-use-Interactive Self-modeling Mixture Analysis) was applied to the data to resolve features that vary with respect to time.

Aniline Compounds↗