Morphology and antifungal action of the genus Trichoderma cultivated in geometrically dissimilar bioreactors

Trichodermin, a microbial biofungicide obtained by the cultivation of the genus Trichoderma in geometrically dissimilar bioreactors, was investigated both in production and the application in food plants at different stages of growth. The growth of the producer was considerably better in the counterflow mixing system (CFMS) in comparison with the turbine mixing system (STMS). Morphological changes of the strain were studied during batch fermentation at different mixing regimes. The characteristic dynamics of the morphology were better when using CFMS. The biofungicide trichodermin produced by CFMS showed a somewhat higher activity for barley and sugar beet.     

Morphology and antifungal action of the genus Trichoderma cultivated in geometrically dissimilar bioreactors

Trichodermin, a microbial biofungicide obtained by the cultivation of the genus Trichoderma in geometrically dissimilar bioreactors, was investigated both in production and the application in food plants at different stages of growth. The growth of the producer was considerably better in the counterflow mixing system (CFMS) in comparison with the turbine mixing system (STMS). Morphological changes of the strain were studied during batch fermentation at different mixing regimes. The characteristic dynamics of the morphology were better when using CFMS. The biofungicide trichodermin produced by CFMS showed a somewhat higher activity for barley and sugar beet.     

Validation of astrobiology technologies and instrument operations in terrestrial analogue environments

Terrestrial analogue environments are places on Earth that present geological or environmental conditions that are similar to those found on an extraterrestrial body. Analogue environments serve four functions: (1) learn about planetary processes on Earth and elsewhere; (2) test technologies, methodologies, and protocols; (3) train highly-qualified personnel, as well as science and operations teams; (4) engage the public, space agencies, media, and educators. Analogue studies also enable the development and validation of biosignatures and detection techniques. Analogue programs include the Canadian Space Agency's Canadian Analogue Research Network, NASA's Astrobiology Science and Technology for Exploring Planets, and NASA's Analog Missions. Examples of technology and instrument testing and validation in analogue environments include the Haughton-Mars Project Research Station, the Arctic Mars Analog Svalbard Expedition (AMASE), the Rio Tinto basin, and NASA's Field Integrated Design and Operations (FIDO).     

Cost of allogeneic and autologous blood transfusion in Canada. Canadian Cost of Transfusion Study Group.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the cost, from a societal perspective, of blood transfusion in Canada. STUDY DESIGN: Cost-structure analysis. SETTING: Data were collected from eight hospitals and from six blood centres operated by the Canadian Red Cross Society in four provinces. OUTCOME MEASURES: Costs associated with four stages of transfusion-- collection, production, distribution and delivery--in 1933 were assessed. Costs were divided into the following categories; personnel, purchases, external services, overhead, donors'' time, patients'' time (for autologous transfusion), wastage and infection. RESULTS: The mean overall cost of a transfusion performed on an inpatient basis was $210 per unit of red blood cells for an allogeneic transfusion and $338 per unit of blood for an autologous transfusion. The mean cost of an allogeneic transfusion performed on an outpatient basis was $280 per unit of red blood cells. CONCLUSION: The costs determined in this study can be used in future studies comparing the cost-effectiveness of allogeneic transfusion with that of alternative methods.     

Drinking and Driving

Alcohol misuse generates many health and social problems at a cost that society is increasingly unwilling to sustain. One of the most tragic consequences of alcohol misuse is the result of drinking and driving. Each week, impaired drivers kill 40 Canadian men, women and children and injure 1250 others. The Canadian Medical Association (CMA), in its campaign against drinking and driving, has recommended that a condition of obtaining or renewing a driver''s licence include the individual''s written consent to allow the taking of blood samples by qualified medical personnel when deemed necessary by law enforcement agencies. CMA has recommended to the provinces that the legal age for the purchase and public possession of alcohol be raised to 21. CMA also supports the ban of all alcohol advertising in the electronic media and emphasizes that since alcohol is a drug, all containers should be visibly labelled “Misuse of this Product can be Injurious to Health”. CMA continues to support and encourage the federal and provincial governments in their battle to prevent alcohol-related deaths and injuries through education, control of advertising, use of breathalyzer devices, mandatory blood alcohol testing and legislation enacting stiffer penalties for drinking and driving.     

Crucible of fire: the Boer War and the birth of the Canadian Army Medical Corps.

Although Canada''s military physicians didn''t come to prominence until WW I and WW II, the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC), the forerunner of the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps and the current Canadian Forces Medical Service, actually had its origins in the Boer War. During that turn-of-the-century conflict, field hospitals accompanied Canadian troops to South Africa. Ian McCulloch discusses that early type of medical service and the steps that led to the creation of the CAMC.     

Anti-IgA-mediated transfusion reactions in Canada.

During a 6-year period (1977 to 1982) blood samples from 152 Canadian patients were referred to the national reference laboratory of the Canadian Red Cross Society because the referring hospitals had not been able to determine the cause of the patients'' severe nonhemolytic transfusion reactions. Twenty-one patients were found to be IgA deficient, and 12 of them had strong class-specific anti-IgA antibodies, which were presumed to have been responsible for the reactions. The spectrum of symptoms that accompanied these violent reactions was documented for 10 of the patients. As a probable minimum, the incidence of anti-IgA-mediated reactions averaged 1.3 per million units of blood or blood products transfused during this period.     

A survey of postgraduate training for family practice.

The results of a survey of Canadian primary care physicians for the Canadian Medical Association (CMA''s) Task Force on Education for the Provision of Primary Care Services are reported. Recent Canadian medical school graduates in primary care practice reported that the three major training routes (rotating and mixed internships and family medicine residencies) each prepared them differently for practice. The graduates of 2-year family medicine residencies were more satisfied with their preparation than were the graduates of the other major training routes. A 2- or 3-year family medicine residency was preferred by 50% of the respondents, although only 33% of them had actually taken one of these routes. There was considerable agreement in the respondents'' assessments of the types of postgraduate education needed for primary care practice. The results of this survey were consistent with the recommendations in the final report of the CMA''s task force.     

Effectiveness of neonatal transport.

The condition of 259 infants transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of the Montreal Children''s Hospital from Oct. 1, 1974 to Mar. 31, 1975 was evaluated. Their transport was provided by personnel and equipment from the Montreal Children''s Hospital. When the transport team arrived at the referring hospital hypothermia (temperature of less than 36 degrees C) was present in 25.2% of the 163 infants for whom complete temperature measurements were available. Most (77.3%) of the infants were warmed during transport and only 3.1% arrived at the NICU with a temperature of less than 35 degrees C. The mortality was significantly higher in babies of all birth weight groups whose core temperature had been below the optimal temperature for survival (36 to 37 degrees C). It appears that the use of appropriate equipment and trained personnel can reduce the incidence of hypothermia and therefore the mortality in infants requiring transfer.     

The Impact of Animal Welfare Advertising on Opposition to the Canadian Seal Hunt and Willingness to Boycott the Canadian Seafood Industry

The purpose of this research was to measure and compare the initial and carryover effects of a video advertisement developed by an animal welfare organization, namely Harpseals. org. The ad was designed to educate the public about an egregious act against wildlife (i.e., the Canadian seal hunt), increase opposition to this act, and recruit participation to boycott the industry (i.e., the Canadian seafood industry). After initial opposition to the egregious act had been measured, respondents were exposed to the ad, and subsequently asked again about their opposition to the seal hunt as well as their willingness to join the Canadian Seafood Boycott. About two months later, a follow-up study investigated whether the respondents' opposition to the seal hunt and their participation in the Canadian Seafood Boycott were still affected by the advertisement to which they had been exposed during the first contact. The results show that respondents' level of opposition to the seal hunt—even though it had somewhat leveled off in two months—was still significantly higher (42% higher) than before respondents had been exposed to the advertisement. The results further show that the single exposure to the ad increased boycott participation from 3.1% (as measured in December 2010) to 13.8% (as reported in February/March 2011), an increase of 350%.     

October induction ceremony will coincide with official opening of Canadian Medical Hall of Fame

Seven of medicine''s leaders will be inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame during a special ceremony in London, Ont., on Oct. 5. The 1995 inductees are Drs. Henry Barnett, Bruce Chown, Herbert Jasper, Charles Leblond, William Mustard, Robert Salter and Michael Smith.     

"I won't do surgery if you don't try to do my job," head of new blood agency tells MDs

Ken Fyke is known as a tough administrator, and he is going to need all of his administrative tricks as first chair of Canadian Blood Services, the new national organization that is taking over responsibility for the nation''s blood supply from the Red Cross come September. Fyke says he hopes to work closely with physicians, but they will have to realize where their responsibilities end and his begin.     

Missed opportunities for prevention in general internal medicine

BACKGROUND: According to the Canadian Society of Internal Medicine, the Canadian general internist is in the ideal position to promote patient health through disease prevention. To explore the general internist''s contribution to disease prevention, the authors quantified the extent to which opportunities for prevention were addressed by the general internal medicine (GIM) service in an acute care teaching hospital in Calgary. METHODS: The authors interviewed 100 adult patients before discharge from the hospital''s GIM service between May 14, 1997, and Dec. 2, 1997. The number of potential opportunities for preventive intervention were identified for each patient from 10 possible interventions recommended by the Canadian Task Force on the Periodic Health Examination (now the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care): breast cancer screening, Papanicolaou smear for cervical cancer, counselling on menopausal hormone replacement therapy, digital rectal examination for prostate cancer, smoking cessation counselling, cholesterol measurement, therapy or monitoring for hypertension, influenza vaccination, pneumococcal vaccination and colorectal cancer screening. The authors determined which interventions the patient had undergone before the current admission to hospital and, using patient recall and postdischarge medical chart review, which opportunities for intervention were addressed by the GIM service during the current admission. An opportunity for preventive intervention was considered as addressed by the GIM service if it was performed during the current admission or if the general internist informed the patient or the patient''s family physician of the need for such intervention in the near future. RESULTS: Among the 10 preventive interventions considered, a mean of 3.8 potential opportunities for prevention were identified for each patient. Of these, 46.5% had been addressed before the current admission, and 8.7% were addressed by the GIM service during the admission. Therefore, at the time of discharge, a mean of 55.2% of opportunities had been addressed. Among the opportunities not previously addressed, the GIM service most frequently addressed digital rectal examination for prostate cancer and cholesterol measurement. INTERPRETATION: General internists are discharging patients without sufficiently addressing opportunities for disease prevention. Preventive care protocols may be needed to limit the frequency of missed opportunities for prevention in patients admitted to tertiary care GIM services.     

A quantitative ranking of Canada's research output of original human studies for the decade 1989 to 1998

BACKGROUND: Since 1987 research articles have been catalogued with the author''s affiliation address in the 40 databases of the Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System (MEDLARS) of the National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, Md. The present study was conducted to examine the Canadian entries in MEDLARS to interpret past and future trends and to combine the MEDLARS demographic data with data from other sources to rank Canadian research output of human studies both nationally and internationally. METHODS: The PubMed Web site of the National Library of Medicine was used to count medical articles archived in MEDLARS and published from Jan. 1, 1989, through Dec. 31, 1998. The articles attributed to Canadian authors were compared by country, province, city, medical school, hospital, article type, journal and medical specialty. RESULTS: During the study period Canadian authors contributed on average 3% (standard deviation [SD] 0.2%) of the worldwide MEDLARS content each year, which translated to a mean of 11,067 (SD 1037) articles per year; 49% were human studies, of which 13% were clinical or controlled trials, and 55% involved people aged 18 years or less. In total, 68% of the articles were by authors affiliated with Canadian medical schools; those affiliated with the University of Toronto accounted for the greatest number (8604), whereas authors affiliated with McGill University had the greatest rate of annual increase in the quantity published (8%). Over one-third (38%) of the articles appeared in Canadian journals. When counted by specialty, 17% of the articles were by authors with clinical specialties, 5% by those with surgical specialties and 3% by those with laboratory specialties. INTERPRETATION: The annual rate of increase in research output for Canada was more than 3 times higher than that seen world wide. Canada is now ranked seventh among countries contributing human studies to MEDLARS. The increase indicates that Canada''s medical schools are productive, competitive in making contributions to medical science and are supporting Canadian journals.     

APEC at the Museum of Anthropology: The Politics of Site and the Poetics of Sight Bite

This paper examines the light shed on processes of globalization and local empowerment by the contestatory events that ensued when the Canadian government appropriated the University of British Columbia's Museum of Anthropology to be the site of the 1997 prime ministerial meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Community. In its determination to assert its traditional ownership of the museum's site the local Musqueam band came into conflict with government officials, intent on presenting a settler narrative of Canadian nationhood to its trading partners. The official spectacle that was staged in the museum by the government is compared with Musqueam's self-presentation to reveal the persistence of stereotypes and the existence of competing historical narratives that accompany and compromise projects of decolonization within the museum community.     

Some assembly required: Contributions of Tom Stevens' lab to the V‐ATPase field

Tom Stevens' lab has explored the subunit composition and assembly of the yeast V‐ATPase for more than 30 years. Early studies helped establish yeast as the predominant model system for study of V‐ATPase proton pumps and led to the discovery of protein splicing of the V‐ATPase catalytic subunit. The Vma^? phenotype, characteristic of loss‐of‐V‐ATPase activity in yeast was key in determining the enzyme's subunit composition via yeast genetics. V‐ATPase subunit composition proved to be highly conserved among eukaryotes. Genetic screens for new vma mutants led to identification of a set of dedicated V‐ATPase assembly factors and helped unravel the complex pathways for V‐ATPase assembly. In later years, exploration of the evolutionary history of several V‐ATPase subunits provided new information about the enzyme's structure and function. This review highlights V‐ATPase work in the Stevens’ lab between 1987 and 2017.      

Pleomorphic carcinoma of the thyroid.

The Canadian Home Fitness Test (CHFT) and the Bruce treadmill test were performed by 230 men aged 45 to 69 years. Because of inaccuracies in the counting of heart rates, less was known about the fitness of the men after testing than before. In addition, inaccuracies in the test record and design were uncovered. A more accurate estimate of fitness could be obtained when the subjects'' own rating of exertional intensity was substituted for heart rate counting. The CHFT is a marketing tool of Health and Welfare Canada that may be useful in selling fitness, but as a measure of fitness in Canadian homes it is likely to be misleading.     

"Interesting Psychology"

Over the past few years, a considerable number of schoolteachers, methodologists, teachers in teachers' colleges and institutions, and managerial personnel at various levels have become interested in the system of developmental teaching that originated with D.B. El'konin. Many of them are trying to use the materials of this system in their practical work. Centers retraining specialists desiring to work in this system are already operating in a number of cities (Moscow, Kharkov, Tomsk, Kemerovo, Samara, Riga, etc.). Efforts are being made to initiate full-time and correspondence-course training of students who will then be able to work as teachers in this system of developmental teaching.     

Business leaders begin to rally in support of public health care system

There appears to be growing concern among Canada''s business leaders about the future of Canada''s health care system. At a recent meeting in Montebello, Que., that was cosponsored by the CMA and several Canadian corporations, some business representatives said Canada''s publicly funded system gives them a competitive edge in an increasingly global market.