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Pars injuries are common causes of low back pain in adolescent athletes. Workup traditionally has included lumbar radiographs with oblique views and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). However, recent literature has demonstrated the accuracy of MRI as a diagnostic modality. Acute injuries may be amenable to bracing with the goal of a healed lesion. Most cases of spondylolysis will result in asymptomatic non-union, though pars repair is an option for symptomatic pars defects without spondylolisthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The large number of macromolecular structures deposited with the Protein Data Bank (PDB) describing complexes between proteins and either physiological compounds or synthetic drugs made it possible a systematic analysis of the interactions occurring between proteins and their ligands. In this work, the binding pockets of about 4000 PDB protein-ligand complexes were investigated and amino acid and interaction types were analyzed. The residues observed with lowest frequency in protein sequences, Trp, His, Met, Tyr, and Phe, turned out to be the most abundant in binding pockets. Significant differences between drug-like and physiological compounds were found. On average, physiological compounds establish with respect to drugs about twice as many hydrogen bonds with protein atoms, whereas drugs rely more on hydrophobic interactions to establish target selectivity. The large number of PDB structures describing homologous proteins in complex with the same ligand made it possible to analyze the conservation of binding pocket residues among homologous protein structures bound to the same ligand, showing that Gly, Glu, Arg, Asp, His, and Thr are more conserved than other amino acids. Also in the cases in which the same ligand is bound to unrelated proteins, the binding pockets showed significant conservation in the residue types. In this case, the probability of co-occurrence of the same amino acid type in the binding pockets could be up to thirteen times higher than that expected on a random basis. The trends identified in this study may provide an useful guideline in the process of drug design and lead optimization. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is abundant empirical evidence of a surplus risk of suicide among the unemployed, although few studies have investigated the influence of economic downturns on suicidal behaviours in an employment status-stratified sample. Aims: We investigated how economic inflation affected suicidal behaviours according to employment status in Italy from 2001 to 2008. Methods: Data concerning economically active people were provided by the Italian Institute for Statistical Analysis and by the International Monetary Fund. The association between inflation and completed versus attempted suicide with respect to employment status was investigated in every year and quarter-year of the study time frame. We considered three occupational categories: employed, unemployed who were previously employed and unemployed who had never worked. Results: The unemployed are at higher suicide risk than the employed. Among the PE, a significant association between inflation and suicide attempt was found, whereas no association was reported concerning completed suicides. No association was found between completed and attempted suicides among the employed, the NE and inflation. Completed suicide in females is significantly associated with unemployment in every quarter-year. Conclusion: The reported vulnerability to suicidal behaviours among the PE as inflation rises underlines the need of effective support strategies for both genders in times of economic downturns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The satellite-based Dvorak technique (DVKT) is the most widely available and readily used tool for operationally estimating the maximum wind speeds associated with tropical cyclones. The DVKT itself produces internally consistent results, is reproducible, and has shown practical accuracy given the high cost of in situ or airborne observations. For these reasons, the DVKT has been used in a reasonably uniform manner globally for approximately 20 years. Despite the nearly universal use of this technique, relatively few systematic verifications of the DVKT have been conducted. This study, which makes use of 20 yr of subjectively determined DVKT-based intensity estimates and best-track intensity estimates influenced by aircraft observations (i.e., ±2 h) in the Atlantic basin, seeks to 1) identify the factors (intensity, intensity trends, radius of outer closed isobar, storm speed, and latitude) that bias the DVKT-based intensity estimates, 2) quantify those biases as well as the general error characteristics associated with this technique, and 3) provide guidance for better use of the operational DVKT intensity estimates. Results show that the biases associated with the DVKT-based intensity estimates are a function of intensity (i.e., maximum sustained wind speed), 12-h intensity trend, latitude, and translation speed and size measured by the radius of the outer closed isobar. Root-mean-square errors (RMSE), however, are shown to be primarily a function of intensity, with the best signal-to-noise (intensity to RMSE) ratio occurring in an intensity range of 90-125 kt (46-64 m s−1). The knowledge of how these factors affect intensity estimates, which is quantified in this paper, can be used to better calibrate Dvorak intensity estimates for tropical cyclone forecast operations, postseason best-track analysis, and climatological reanalysis efforts. As a demonstration of this capability, the bias corrections developed in the Atlantic basin are also tested using a limited east Pacific basin sample, showing that biases and errors can be significantly reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An automated volcanic cloud detection algorithm that utilizes four spectral channels (0.65, 3.75, 11, and 12 μm) that are common among several satellite-based instruments is presented. The new algorithm is physically based and globally applicable and can provide quick information on the horizontal location of volcanic clouds that can be used to improve real-time ash hazard assessments. It can also provide needed input into volcanic cloud optical depth and particle size retrieval algorithms, the products of which can help improve ash dispersion forecasts. The results of this new four-channel algorithm for several scenes were compared to a threshold-based reverse absorption algorithm, where the reverse absorption algorithm is used to identify measurements with a negative 11–12-μm brightness temperature difference. The results indicate that the new four-channel algorithm is not only more sensitive to the presence of volcanic clouds but also generally less prone to false alarms than the standard reverse absorption algorithm. The greatest impact on detection sensitivity is seen in the Tropics, where water vapor can often mask the reverse absorption signal. The four-channel algorithm was able to detect volcanic clouds even when the 11–12-μm brightness temperature difference was greater than +2 K. In the higher latitudes, the greatest impact seen was the significant reduction in false alarms compared to the reverse absorption algorithm and the improved ability to detect optically thick volcanic clouds. Cloud water can also mask the reverse absorption signal. The four-channel algorithm was shown to be more sensitive to volcanic clouds that have a water (ice or liquid water) component than the reverse absorption algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on the effect of levamisole synthetic anthelmintic drug on the humoral immune response against rabies in cattle. It states that 42 12-month-old calves from a Nelore breed were observed and treated with different rabies vaccines. It reveals that the administration of levamisole to cattle and vaccination against rabbies has no immunostimulatory effect.

Abstract: Within the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Anatahan is one of nine active subaerial volcanoes that pose hazards to major air-traffic routes from airborne volcanic ash. The 2003–2004 eruptive activity of Anatahan volcano affected the region''s aviation operations for 3 days in May 2003. On the first day of the eruption (10 May 2003), two international flights from Saipan to Japan were cancelled, and several flights implemented ash-avoidance procedures. On 13 May 2003, a high-altitude flight through volcanic gas was reported, with no perceptible damage to the aircraft. TOMS and MODIS analysis of satellite data strongly suggests that no significant ash and only minor amounts of SO2 were involved in the incident, consistent with crew observations. On 23 May 2003, airport operations were disrupted when tropical-cyclone winds dispersed ash to the south, dusting Saipan with light ashfall and causing flight cancellations there and at Guam 320 km south of the volcano. Operational (near-real-time) monitoring of ash clouds produced by Anatahan has been conducted since the first day of the eruption on 10 May 2003 by the Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC). The VAAC was among the first groups outside of the immediate area of the volcano to detect and report on the unexpected eruption of Anatahan. After being contacted about an unusual cloud by National Weather Service forecasters in Guam at 1235 UTC on 10 May 2003, the VAAC analyzed GOES 9 images, confirming Anatahan as the likely source of an ash cloud and estimating that the eruption began at about 0730 UTC. The VAAC issued its first Volcanic Ash Advisory for Anatahan at 1300 UTC on 10 May 2003 more than 5 h after the start of the eruption, the delay reflecting the difficulty of detecting and confirming a surprise eruption at a remote volcano with no in situ real-time geophysical monitoring. The initial eruption plume reached 10.7–13.4 km (35,000–44,000 ft), well into jet cruise altitudes; thereafter, the maximum plume height decreased and during the rest of the eruption usually did not exceed ∼5 km (∼17,000 ft), which lessened the potential hazard to aircraft at higher cruise altitudes. Drifting ash clouds commonly extended hundreds of kilometers from the volcano, occasionally as far west as the Philippines. Over the course of the eruptive activity in 2003–2004, the VAAC issued 323 advisories (168 with graphical depictions of ash clouds) for Anatahan, serving as a reliable source of ash-cloud information for aviation-related meteorological offices and air carriers. With a record of frequent eruptions in the CNMI, continued satellite and in situ real-time geophysical monitoring is needed at Anatahan and other Marianas volcanoes so that potential hazards to aviation from any future eruptive activity can be quickly and correctly assessed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Records of 79 cats determined to have endometrial hyperplasia (EH) with or without pyometra or endometritis were studied. Forty-eight cats (61%) were spayed or died because of complications relating to reproductive tract disease. All other cats were free of clinical signs of disease, and lesions were found incidentally during routine ovariohysterectomy or at necropsy. Prevalence of uterine lesions was greater in cats greater than or equal to 5 years old. Breeding, age at first breeding, and queening could not be correlated with clinical or pathologic signs of disease. Seventy-one percent (34/48) of cats with clinical signs referable to the reproductive tract had histologic evidence of pyometra or endometritis, whereas only 19% (6/31) of cats without clinical signs had histologic evidence of either disease. Only 23% (9/39) of cats without pyometra or endometritis had corpora lutea (CL) in at least one ovary, whereas 40% (16/40) of cats with either pyometra or endometritis had CL. We concluded that the prevalence of EH in cats increases with age in sexually intact female cats, and that most cases of pyometra or endometritis, but not EH, in cats are associated with retained CL.

Gastrointestinal neoplasms other than lymphosarcomas and mast cell tumors were diagnosed in 44 cats during a 14-year period at the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory. All the tumors were malignant; 31 metastasized or recurred. One cat had fibrosarcoma; another, leiomyosarcoma. The other 42 cats had adenocarcinomas, which were subclassified into three histologic patterns: tubular adenocarcinoma; undifferentiated carcinoma; and mucinous adenocarcinoma. The cats averaged 10.6 years of age. There was no sex predisposition. Siamese cats had a higher frequency of adenocarcinomas than other breeds. Osseous and chondroid metaplasia occurred in nine adenocarcinomas.

In 1976 and 1977, a disease resembling contagious ecthyma was seen in captive musk-oxen (Ovibos moschatus) in Alaska. A similar disease occurred in 1977 in captive Dall sheep (Ovis dalli). Paravaccinia viruses were detected by electron microscopy and isolated in cell cultures from both species. Experimental inoculation in susceptible and immune domestic sheep (Ovis aries) plus fluorescent antibody tests with ecthyma-immune conjugate indicated that the isolate was contagious ecthyma virus.

Epidemiologic and etiologic data about diarrhea in foals were collected under a planned prospective recording and monitoring study. The survey and monitoring procedures included a survey to obtain an overview of current horse management practices on participating farms, a daily health record survey to obtain information on mares and their foals, and collection of feces from 19 of 144 diarrheic foals and 10 age-matched nondiarrheic foals for electron microscopy, ELISA for rotavirus, and bacteriologic culture. Coronavirus was detected in the feces of diarrheic as well as clinically normal foals. Rotavirus was detected in the feces of diarrheic foals only. With regard to agents found in the feces, there was no significant (P less than 0.05) difference between diarrheic and nondiarrheic foals. Half of the 297 foals on which data were available developed diarrhea. Most foals that developed diarrhea lacked other clinical manifestations of disease. Basic cleanliness at foaling was associated with a lower percentage of foals developing diarrhea. Prophylactic use of antibiotics and vitamins in newborn foals was associated with a higher percentage of foals developing diarrhea. A higher percentage of foals born to visiting mares developed diarrhea, compared with foals born to resident mares.

Two adult horses with progressive neurologic signs were examined clinically and at necropsy. Both horses had signs of progressive ataxia and weakness, clinically diagnosed as spinal cord in origin. Differential diagnoses for cervical spinal ataxia in horses included cervical vertebral malformation, equine degenerative myeloencephalopathy, equine herpes-virus-I myeloencephalopathy, and equine protozoal myeloencephalopathy. Necropsy findings in both horses were similar and consisted of a large hematoma in the fourth ventricle, with upward compression of the cerebellum and downward compression of the pons and rostral portion of the medulla.

Fulminating pneumonia was produced in mink by the intratracheal administration of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The sequence of pulmonary lesions was focal inflammation, focal necrosis, and widespread inflammation and necrosis. Secondary lesions of peracute hemorrhage and necrosis were the result of bacterial spread via the airways. Invasion of vessel walls by P aeruginosa was a terminal event and was secondary to bacillary invasion and necrosis of adjacent tissues. Regional (lymphatic) and systemic spread of bacteria followed the development of pulmonary lesions, but there was little morphologic evidence of tissue damage in other organs. Immunofluorescence studies showed that P aeruginosa antigen was dispersed within pulmonary cells and was free in the lung parenchyma. Mink surviving beyond postinfection hour 60 had a macrophage infiltration into limited pulmonary lesions. A vaccine trial was conducted with P aeruginosa lipopolysaccharides (LPS) used as antigen, and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect antibody. Antibody was detected in mink after vaccination with LPS or natural exposure. Mink with antibody to LPS, from vaccination or naturally acquired, were resistant to experimental infection.

From Jan 1, 1967 through June 1980, 21 cases of Bacillus piliformis infection (Tyzzer's disease) in foals were diagnosed at the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory. Affected foals died between 7 and 35 days of age. Of 4 Arabian foals with the disease, 2 also had combined immunodeficiency.

A modified form of the Cloward technique for anterior cervical fusion in human beings was used in the application of different grafts for evaluation of their effectiveness in stabilizing equine cervical vertebrae. Results of bovine xenograft implants in 8 horses were compared with results of stainless steel baskets (SSB) packed with cancellous autogenous bone in 8 horses. Graft material was incorporated in all cases. Evidence of graft rejection was not present. Both forms of implants decreased the mobility of the intervertebral space in which they were implanted. A fibrous connective tissue union was prevalent after xenograft implantation. Osseous union was prevalent after implantation of the SSB. Reduction in range of motion was greatest at those sites with the SSB.

Conventionally reared lambs, seronegative to bovine respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), were inoculated with bovine RSV by an aerosol route. A mild clinical response, characterized by transient fever at postinoculation day (PID) 4, occurred and was accompanied by serous oculonasal secretions in less than 50% of the infected lambs. A decrease in total WBC was observed on PID 6 and 11, with a reduction in the total numbers of lymphocytes. Bovine RSV was recovered from nasal secretions of inoculated lambs from PID 2 to 6. The lambs were euthanatized, and at necropsy, the virus was only isolated from lambs killed between PID 2 and 4. Serum neutralizing antibodies were noticed as early as PID 6 and peaked at PID 13 to 15. Neutralizing antibodies were also detected at low concentration in pulmonary washings. Viral antigen was mainly located in alveolar walls and occasionally in bronchiolar epithelium and alveolar macrophages in lambs killed between PID 2 to 4. Later, specific fluorescence was only present in alveolar walls and was not observed in tissue from lambs killed after PID 22. Budding and free virus-like particles were observed by electron microscopy in type I and type II alveolar epithelial cells. Outstanding macroscopic lesions were not seen. Histologically, mild bronchiolitis and alveolitis were observed.

Albendazole, methyl 5-propylthio-1H-benzimidazol-2-yl carbamate, was given as a bolus (7.68 to 8.18 mg/kg of body weight) to cattle naturally infected with gastrointestinal nematodes and lungworms in a controlled trial. Over 99% of adult Ostertagia ostertagi, Trichostrongylus longispicularis, Cooperia oncophora, Nematodirus helvetianus, and Dictyocaulus viviparus were removed by the treatment. Efficacy against immature O ostertagi, early fourth-stage O ostertagi, and Oesophagostomum radiatum was 95.2%, 86.6%, and 96.7%, respectively. In a field trial, the same compound administered in a paste formulation (at approximately 7.5 mg/kg) eliminated over 99% of strongylin and Moniezia eggs from feces of treated cattle.

A tumor of the left testicle resembling a gonadoblastoma was an incidental finding at necropsy in a 15-year-old male Shetland Sheepdog. This neoplasm was characterized by discrete intratubular aggregates of intimately mixed germ cells and smaller cells resembling Sertoli cells. The latter small cells often formed a single cell layer surrounding the margin of eosinophilic, PAS-positive Call-Exner-like bodies. Electron microscopy showed these bodies to be composed of whorled laminae resembling basement membrane.

The pathologic features of bronchiolitis were studied in horses and ponies from 30 minutes to 27 days after an oral dose of 3-methylindole (3MI). From 30 minutes to 3 hours, lesions were limited to nonciliated bronchiolar epithelial (Clara) cells, which lost apical caps and cytoplasmic granules and had dilated smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER). At 12 hours, necrotic Clara cells were exfoliated; degeneration and necrosis were evident, in bronchiolar ciliated cells. Rare epithelial cells with hyperplastic SER appeared on the denuded basal lamina at 24 hours. Inflammatory cells, epithelia, fibroblastlike cells, collagen, and debris occluded many bronchiolar lumens from 3 to 6 days. Reorganization resulted in a simple columnar bronchiolar epithelium with relatively normal ciliated cells and fewer fibroblastlike cells. However, mature Clara cells were rare at 27 days, and collagenous bands still divided bronchiolar lumens. Thus, 3MI toxicosis is a persistent model of equine bronchiolitis with many morphologic features of the spontaneous disease.

Two experiments were done to examine the severity and type of abomasal lesions induced by moderate infections of Ostertagia circumcincta in young lambs and to examine the differences in pathologic changes in lambs with monospecific and combined infections of O circumcincta and Haemonchus contortus. Observations included descriptions of gross and microscopic changes in the abomasums, as well as quantitative analysis of the thickness of the mucosa, numbers of mucus-containing cells, and inflammatory cell accumulations. Seemingly, the changes in the abomasal mucosa of lambs inoculated with O circumcincta were mild and included dilated glands, focal accumulations of lymphocytes, and significant (P less than 0.05) numerical increases of mucus-containing cells, eosinophils, and globule leukocytes, and increase of mucosal thickness when compared with those in noninoculated controls. These differences were less pronounced in lambs given anthelmintic treatment to remove O circumcincta. When H contortus infections were superimposed upon O circumcincta infection, the changes were essentially the same as those described for O circumcincta plus a small, but significant (P less than 0.05), numerical increase of globule leukocytes. Abomasal mucosa of lambs inoculated only with H contortus was more roughened and hyperemic than that of lambs with combined infections, but contained few dilated glands and globule leukocytes. Our conclusions were that moderate infection with O circumcincta did not cause severe or permanent damage to the abomasal mucosa and that such infection decreased the severity of the gross lesions produced by H contortus.