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A comprehensive database of earthquakes and associated phase arrivals was generated from data acquired by a 34-station seismic geophone network at The Geysers geothermal field, USA, from 2004 to 2011. This database is comprised of several 100,000s events and 1,000,000s of P- and S-wave travel time picks. A high-precision sub-set of earthquake data was selected to analyze temporal changes in Vp/Vs-ratio and seismic P- and S-wave velocities (Vp and Vs, respectively) throughout the entire reservoir. Relatively low Vp/Vs values, found for 2004 and 2005, were followed by an increase of approximately 6% after which the Vp/Vs-ratio remained at the elevated level through 2011. The inception of a pipeline project to resupply the reservoir with water coincided with the first Vp/Vs-ratio measurements in 2004. It was found that the temporal variations in Vp/Vs-ratio reveal a high correlation to the total volume of injected water throughout the entire reservoir. Between 2004 and 2007, the observed correlation exhibits a one-year lag of the Vp/Vs-ratio relative to the injected water volume, while the correlation is near perfect between 2007 and 2011. The end of the observed lag in 2007 coincides with the reported coalescence of injected water plumes. Comparing the observed increase in Vp/Vs-ratio to an earlier study that reported a 9% decrease in Vp/Vs-ratio between 1991 and 1994, it can be concluded that three years after the inception of the pipeline project the fluid saturation appears to have been successfully increased throughout the reservoir. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was carried out in October 2004-February 2005 with the aim to measure changes in blood serum parathyroid hormone (PTH), calcitonin (CT), 25-hidroxicholecalciferol (25-OH vitamin D) and macronutrients — calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P) and magnesium (Mg) levels in healthy and sick cows. The amounts of the parathyroid hormone and calcitonin were determined in vitro using the IMMULITE (USA, Diagnostic Products Corporation) analyser, by the immunometric method. Amounts of 25-hidroxicholecalciferol were determined using ELISA method. Amounts of macronutrients (calcium, phosphorus, magnesium) were measured using the Eos-Bravo analyser (Italy, Hospital Diagnostics) and reagents of the company HOSPITEX. Cattle were divided into 3 groups of healthy cows (heifer's in-calf, dry cow's in-calf, milk producing cows) and 3 groups of sick cows (having parturient paresis, mastitis, and osteomalacia). 10-15 cows were in each group. The investigation showed hypocalcaemia in all three groups of sick cows, the lowest amounts of calcium were in cows having parturient paresis. Hypophosphatemia and hypomagnesaemia were found in cows with osteomalacia; hypophosphatemia was characteristic for cows having parturient paresis. In healthy cow groups, the highest levels of the blood PTH was determined for the dry cows in calf, lowerest — for milk producing cows. A significantly higher blood PTH level was determined for the cows having parturient paresis. The highest amounts of calcitonin and 25-OH vitamin D were in cows with parturient paresis. A negative correlation was determined between the amount of vitamin D and the amount of calcium (r= - 0.701 , r= - 0.971). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Although colonization traditionally is considered a risk factor for Staphylococcus aureus infection, the relationship between contemporary S aureus colonization and infection is not well characterized. We aimed to relate the presence of colonizing and disease-causing strains of S aureus within individuals and households., Study Design: In a prospective study of 163 pediatric outpatients (cases) with community-associated S aureus skin and soft tissue infections in St Louis, infection isolates were obtained from cases and colonization cultures were obtained from cases and their household contacts (n = 562). Molecular typing by repetitive sequence-based polymerase chain reaction was used to compare infecting and colonizing isolates within each case. The infecting strain from each case was compared with S aureus strains colonizing household contacts. The colonization status of cases was followed for 12 months., Results: A total of 27 distinct strain types were identified among the 1299 S aureus isolates evaluated. Between 1 and 6 distinct strain types were detected per household. A total of 110 cases (67%) were colonized at 1 or more body sites with the infecting strain. Of the 53 cases with an infecting strain that did not match a colonizing strain, 15 (28%) had 1 or more household contacts with a colonizing strain that matched the infecting strain. Intrafamilial strain-relatedness was observed in 105 families (64%)., Conclusion: One-third of cases were colonized with a different strain type than the strain causing the skin and soft tissue infection. Fewer than one-third of cases with discordant infecting and colonizing isolates could be linked to the strain from another household contact, suggesting acquisition from sources outside the household., (Published by Mosby, Inc.)

Objective: Adult burn patients who experience in-hospital cardiac arrest (CA) and undergo cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) represent a unique patient population. We believe that they tend to be younger and have the added burden of the burn injury compared to other populations. Our objective was to determine the incidence, causes and outcomes following cardiac arrest (CA) and cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) within this population., Methods: We conducted a retrospective review at the US Army Institute of Surgical Research (ISR) burn intensive care unit (BICU). Charts from 1st January 2000 through 31st August 2009 were reviewed for study. Data were collected all on adult burn patients who experienced in-hospital CA and CPR either in the BICU or associated burn operating room. Patients undergoing CPR elsewhere in our burn unit were excluded because we could not validate the time of CA since they are not routinely monitored with real-time rhythm strips. The study population included civilian burn patients from the local catchment area and burn casualties from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, but patients with do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders were excluded., Results: We found 57 burn patients who had in-hospital CA and CPR yielding an incidence of one or more in-hospital CA of 34 per 1000 admissions (0.34%). Fourteen of these patients (25%) survived to discharge while 43 (75%) died. The most common initial cardiac rhythm was pulseless electrical activity (50.9%). The most common etiology of CA among burn patients was respiratory failure (49.1%). The most significant variable affecting survival to discharge was duration of CPR (P < 0.01) with no patient surviving more than 7 min of CPR., Conclusions: CPR in burn patients is sometimes effective, and those patients who survive are likely to have good neurological outcomes. However, prolonged CPR times are unlikely to result in return of spontaneous circulation and may be considered futile. Further, those who experience multiple CA are unlikely to survive to discharge., (Published by Elsevier Ltd.)