Regions of High Out-Of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Incidence and Low Bystander CPR Rates in Victoria,Australia

BackgroundOut-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) remains a major public health issue and research has shown that large regional variation in outcomes exists. Of the interventions associated with survival, the provision of bystander CPR is one of the most important modifiable factors. The aim of this study is to identify census areas with high incidence of OHCA and low rates of bystander CPR in Victoria, AustraliaMethodsWe conducted an observational study using prospectively collected population-based OHCA data from the state of Victoria in Australia. Using ArcGIS (ArcMap 10.0), we linked the location of the arrest using the dispatch coordinates (longitude and latitude) to Victorian Local Government Areas (LGAs). We used Bayesian hierarchical models with random effects on each LGA to provide shrunken estimates of the rates of bystander CPR and the incidence rates.ResultsOver the study period there were 31,019 adult OHCA attended, of which 21,436 (69.1%) cases were of presumed cardiac etiology. Significant variation in the incidence of OHCA among LGAs was observed. There was a 3 fold difference in the incidence rate between the lowest and highest LGAs, ranging from 38.5 to 115.1 cases per 100,000 person-years. The overall rate of bystander CPR for bystander witnessed OHCAs was 62.4%, with the rate increasing from 56.4% in 2008–2010 to 68.6% in 2010–2013. There was a 25.1% absolute difference in bystander CPR rates between the highest and lowest LGAs.ConclusionSignificant regional variation in OHCA incidence and bystander CPR rates exists throughout Victoria. Regions with high incidence and low bystander CPR participation can be identified and would make suitable targets for interventions to improve CPR participation rates.     

Chronic functional ethanol tolerance in mice influenced by body temperature during acquisition

Previous studies have found that body temperature during intoxication influences brain sensitivity to ethanol with the sensitivity being less at cool than at warm body temperatures. If this effect of temperature reflects alterations in the acute membrane perturbing action of ethanol, as suggested by in vitro studies, then body temperature reduction (hypothermia) during tolerance acquisition should reduce the effectiveness of a given ethanol concentration and, in turn, should reduce the development of chronic functional ethanol tolerance. To test this hypothesis, adult drug-naive C57BL/6J mice were injected i.p. once daily for five days with 3.6 g/kg ethanol (20% w/v) and were exposed to 34 degrees C or 25 degrees C for five hours following injection. On day 6, both ethanol acquisition groups and naive mice were injected i.p. with 4.0 g/kg ethanol and exposed to 25 degrees C. During acquisition, the group exposed to 34 degrees C had significantly higher body temperatures than the mice exposed to 25 degrees C, and there were no statistically significant differences in blood ethanol concentrations between treatment conditions. The extent of tolerance on day 6, measured by sleep-times and wake-up blood and brain ethanol concentrations versus naive mice, was significantly greater in the 34 degrees C acquisition group than in the 25 degrees C acquisition group. The results demonstrate that body temperature influences tolerance development in the manner predicted by membrane perturbation theories of anesthesia and adaptation based tolerance theories.     

The inflammatory response of rainbow trout*

The basic responses of piscine tissues to inflammatory agents were investigated, using light microscopy. Tissue sections, smears and blood smears were examined. The period studied was from 3 h to 16 days after initial injury at 15°C. The piscine inflammatory response was compared to that of mammals, especially that of mice. The responses examined were basically similar to those of mammals. They varied by being less intense and slower to appear and resolve.     

Fine‐scale Population Genetic Structure of Two Dioecious Indian Keystone Species,Ficus hispida and Ficus exasperata (Moraceae)

Although Ficus (Moraceae) is a keystone plant genus in the tropics, providing resources to many frugivorous vertebrates, its population genetic structure, which is an important determinant of its long‐term survival, has rarely been investigated. We examined the population genetic structure of two dioecious fig species (Ficus hispida and Ficus exasperata) in the Indian Western Ghats using co‐dominant nuclear microsatellite markers. We found high levels of microsatellite genetic diversity in both species. The regression slopes between genetic relationship coefficients (f_ij) and spatial distances were significantly negative in both species indicating that, on average, individuals in close spatial proximity were more likely to be related than individuals further apart. Mean parent–offspring distance (σ) calculated using these slopes was about 200 m in both species. This should be contrasted with the very long pollen dispersal distances documented for monoecious Ficus species. Nevertheless, overall population genetic diversity remained large suggesting immigrant gene flow. Further studies will be required to analyze broader scale patterns.     

Long-term treatment with antiandrogens

Since the first report in 1966 by Scott and Schirmer on the clinical use of antiandrogens in patients with prostatic cancer, several studies have been published. Most of these deal with short-term treatment and include only a limited number of patients.

Steroid antiandrogens have demonstrable progestational and antigonadotrophic effects, whereas the non-steroid “pure” antiandrogens mainly act peripherally on androgen-dependent accessory genital organs and thus preserve libido and sexual potency in most patients.

Short-term treatment with antiandrogens have exerted responses similar to those achieved with conventional endocrine therapy. Because of relatively fewer side effects of these drugs, there is an increasing interest in assessment of the long-term effect, and some studies have been initiated.     

Cultural and Biochemical Characteristics of Mycobacterium Paratuberculosis Isolated from Goats in Norway

In Norway a variant of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis occurs which causes disease in goats but very seldom in sheep and cattle. Cultural and biochemical characteristics of this variant are investigated by comparing different pre-treatment methods and culture media for primary isolation and by subjecting a number of strains to different enzymatic and biochemical tests. Decontamination of materials with 5% oxalic acid and 0.1% benzalkonium chloride and culture on Dubos, Finleyson’s and Herrold’s medium was tested. The investigations showed that the combination oxalic acid decontamination/Dubos’ medium is most suitable for isolation of the goat-pathogenic variant. The morphology of the colonies was also most easily studied after culture on Dubos’ medium from material pre-treated with oxalic acid. The biochemical tests were found to be poorly suitable for the identification of M. paratuberculosis and for its differentiation from other mycobacteria. Mycobactin dependence for growth seems not to be absolute as a few goat strains produced growth on Dubos’ medium without mycobactin. However, growth was in all cases far better in the presence of mycobactin.