CVD and associated metabolic diseases are linked to chronic inflammation, which can be modified by diet. The objective of the present study was to determine whether there is a difference in inflammatory markers, blood metabolic and lipid panels and lymphocyte gene expression in response to a high-fat dairy food challenge with or without milk fat globule membrane (MFGM). Participants consumed a dairy product-based meal containing whipping cream (WC) high in saturated fat with or without the addition of MFGM, following a 12 h fasting blood draw. Inflammatory markers including IL-6 and C-reactive protein, lipid and metabolic panels and lymphocyte gene expression fold changes were measured using multiplex assays, clinical laboratory services and TaqMan real-time RT-PCR, respectively. Fold changes in gene expression were determined using the Pfaffl method. Response variables were converted into incremental AUC, tested for differences, and corrected for multiple comparisons. The postprandial insulin response was significantly lower following the meal containing MFGM (P < 0·01). The gene encoding soluble epoxide hydrolase (EPHX2) was shown to be more up-regulated in the absence of MFGM (P = 0·009). Secondary analyses showed that participants with higher baseline cholesterol:HDL-cholesterol ratio (Chol:HDL) had a greater reduction in gene expression of cluster of differentiation 14 (CD14) and lymphotoxin β receptor (LTBR) with the WC+MFGM meal. The protein and lipid composition of MFGM is thought to be anti-inflammatory. These exploratory analyses suggest that addition of MFGM to a high-saturated fat meal modifies postprandial insulin response and offers a protective role for those individuals with higher baseline Chol:HDL.

Introduction: To describe dosing, duration, and pre- and post-infusion analgesic administration of continuous intravenous sub-dissociative dose ketamine (SDK) infusion for managing a variety of painful conditions in the emergency department (ED). Methods: Retrospective chart review of patients aged 18 and older presenting to the ED with acute and chronic painful conditions who received continuous SDK infusion in the ED for a period over 6 years (2010-2016). Primary data analyses included dosing and duration of infusion, rates of pre- and post-infusion analgesic administration, and final diagnoses. Secondary data included pre- and post-infusion pain scores and rates of side effects. Results: 104 patients were enrolled in the study. Average dosing of ketamine infusion was 11.26 mg/hr, the mean duration of infusion was 135.87 minutes with 38% increase in patients not requiring post-infusion analgesia. The average decrease in pain score was 5.04. There were 12 reported adverse effects with nausea being the most prevalent. Conclusion: Continuous intravenous SDK infusion has a role in controlling pain of various etiologies in the ED with a potential to reduce need for co-analgesics or rescue analgesic administration. There is a need for more robust, prospective, randomized trials that will further evaluate the analgesic efficacy and safety of this modality across wide range of pain syndromes and different age groups in the ED.

Whole apples have not been previously implicated in outbreaks of foodborne bacterial illness. We investigated a nationwide listeriosis outbreak associated with caramel apples. We defined an outbreak-associated case as an infection with one or both of two outbreak strains of Listeria monocytogenes highly related by whole-genome multilocus sequence typing (wgMLST) from 1 October 2014 to 1 February 2015. Single-interviewer open-ended interviews identified the source. Outbreak-associated cases were compared with non-outbreak-associated cases and traceback and environmental investigations were performed. We identified 35 outbreak-associated cases in 12 states; 34 (97%) were hospitalized and seven (20%) died. Outbreak-associated ill persons were more likely to have eaten commercially produced, prepackaged caramel apples (odds ratio 326·7, 95% confidence interval 32·2–3314). Environmental samples from the grower's packing facility and distribution-chain whole apples yielded isolates highly related to outbreak isolates by wgMLST. This outbreak highlights the importance of minimizing produce contamination with L. monocytogenes. Investigators should perform single-interviewer open-ended interviews when a food is not readily identified.

The 2013 multistate outbreaks contributed to the largest annual number of reported US cases of cyclosporiasis since 1997. In this paper we focus on investigations in Texas. We defined an outbreak-associated case as laboratory-confirmed cyclosporiasis in a person with illness onset between 1 June and 31 August 2013, with no history of international travel in the previous 14 days. Epidemiological, environmental, and traceback investigations were conducted. Of the 631 cases reported in the multistate outbreaks, Texas reported the greatest number of cases, 270 (43%). More than 70 clusters were identified in Texas, four of which were further investigated. One restaurant-associated cluster of 25 case-patients was selected for a case-control study. Consumption of cilantro was most strongly associated with illness on meal date-matched analysis (matched odds ratio 19·8, 95% confidence interval 4·0–∞). All case-patients in the other three clusters investigated also ate cilantro. Traceback investigations converged on three suppliers in Puebla, Mexico. Cilantro was the vehicle of infection in the four clusters investigated; the temporal association of these clusters with the large overall increase in cyclosporiasis cases in Texas suggests cilantro was the vehicle of infection for many other cases. However, the paucity of epidemiological and traceback information does not allow for a conclusive determination; moreover, molecular epidemiological tools for cyclosporiasis that could provide more definitive linkage between case clusters are needed.

Quadruple vaccine containing 75 D antigen units of killed type 1 poliovirus was given to children at ages 2, 3 and 4 months followed by a booster dose at 15 months.

The serological response to the primary course was difficult to assess owing to maternal antibody. Antibody titres to the type 1 component after the booster dose were very satisfactory and about 10 times higher than those observed in a similar group of children given attenuated vaccine. Response to the poliovirus types 2 and 3 in the quadruple vaccine was less satisfactory.

Graded doses of attenuated poliovirus type 1 were fed to the children 2 months after the primary course and 1 month after the booster dose. Children who had received no poliovaccine and children immunized with attenuated vaccine were included for comparison.

Immunization with killed vaccine did not greatly affect the size of the minimal infecting dose of live virus but reduced both the duration of the subsequent infection and the titre of virus in the faeces.

The epidemiological significance of these findings is discussed.

Consumption of poultry meat is associated with human Salmonella infections (Revolledo etal. 2006). One way to control the presence of these bacteria in broiler flocks is to make chickens less susceptible to colonisation. Fermented liquid feed may be a potential tool to reduce the Salmonella carriage in broiler chickens (Heres etal. 2003). Fermented liquid feed is a moistened feed with high numbers of lactobacilli (=109cfu/gr), high concentration of lactic acid (= 150mM) and a low pH (<4.5) (Brooks etal. 2003). In the present experiment, a strain identified as Lb. salivarius that has been isolated from chicken gut and has been selected for its probiotic and fermentation properties after a screening method, was assessed for its efficacy in reducing the shedding of Salmonellatyphimurium in poultry.

An experiment to measure the variation in the phenological and apical development ofwinter wheat (cv. Avalon) in England and Scotland is described. Ten sites which ranged from Aberdeen (57·2° N), the most northerly, to Newton Abbot (50·6° N), the most southerly, were included in the survey, and at each site seed was hand-sown in mid-September, October and November 1983. Developmental stages and sampling procedures were precisely defined to ensure uniformity in scoring by the observers at each site. Temperatures during the growing season were in line with the long-term means, though spring was cooler at all sites and summer warmer at most. The range of monthly-mean temperatures between sites was about the same as the difference between consecutive months. The method of analysis of development rates and durations was in terms of thermal time, modified by sensitivity to photoperiod and a vernalization requirement that slowed early development until a number of days of low temperatures had been experienced. In general, crops at northern sites developed more slowly than those in the south and particularly the south-west of England. There was less variation in the timing of apical stages for later sowings. Developmental rates responded linearly to temperature and photoperiod, with the base temperature increasing for later phases of development. The effect of photoperiod in modifying the rate of development was apparent for all developmental phases from emergence to anthesis, longer days accelerating development, but there was no effect on the duration of the grain-filling period. Vernalization exerted its effect solely within the phase from emergence to double ridge, and had a major influence on the variation between sites only for the first sowing.

Increasing scientific awareness of health and production promoting intestinal bacteria has enhanced the use of probiotic bacteria as active functional ingredients in animal and human nutrition. Strict selection criteria, suggested by Edens (2003), for potential probiotics in order to achieve well established and positive probiotic effects have been engaged, including the safety for the host and the capacity of the strains to be viable as well as metabolically active within the gastrointestinal tract (GI). In vitro methods have been used for screening potential probiotic strains using a dynamic model that mimics in vivo GI conditions as closely as possible. The objective of this study was to isolate, characterise and further select beneficial lactobacillus strains in an attempt to predict candidates that could be used in vivo as chicken probiotic adjuncts.

The maxillary sinus haematoma is an uncommon cause of a maxillary sinus mass. It presents with a variety of symptoms, the most common being epistaxis. Although histologically benign, it may be clinically progressive. Radiological findings can range from a benign appearance to a more aggressive process, including bony erosion. Surgical evacuation is the mainstay of therapy. We describe our experience in managing this condition and review available literature on the subject.

The association of salmonella infections with the consumption of poultry products and the fact that in the live bird the Salmonella carriage is mainly asyptomatic have led to a demand for finding ways of preventing infection of commercially reared poultry and product contamination (Revolledo et al., 2006). One approach is the use of probiotics. The probiotic properties of lactic acid bacteria have been widely studied. Their capacity for adhesion to mucus, ability to autoaggregate and potential for coaggregation with pathogenic bacteria are potential mechanisms for providing a competitive advantage in the intestinal microbiota (Ghadban et al, 2002) and forming a barrier that prevents colonization of pathogenic microorganisms (Kos et al, 2003). In this study, a total of 53 lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were isolated from the contents of the crop, caecum and small intestine, and from the mucosa of the crop, jejunum and ileum of three organically farmed chickens, were examined for autoaggregation and coaggregation with Salmonella enteritidis.

A dead fish is propelled upstream when its flexible body resonates with oncoming vortices formed in the wake of a bluff cylinder, despite being well outside the suction region of the cylinder. Within this passive propulsion mode, the body of the fish extracts sufficient energy from the oncoming vortices to develop thrust to overcome its own drag. In a similar turbulent wake and at roughly the same distance behind a bluff cylinder, a passively mounted high-aspect-ratio foil is also shown to propel itself upstream employing a similar flow energy extraction mechanism. In this case, mechanical energy is extracted from the flow at the same time that thrust is produced. These results prove experimentally that, under proper conditions, a body can follow at a distance or even catch up to another upstream body without expending any energy of its own. This observation is also significant in the development of low-drag energy harvesting devices, and in the energetics of fish dwelling in flowing water and swimming behind wake-forming obstacles.

A granular cell tumour is a rare lesion of probable nerve sheath origin. It is typically benign but up to seven per cent may be malignant. Since its original description in the tongue in 1926, the tumour has been reported to occur at many other sites in the body. The authors report a case of a 49-year-old African woman with an oronaso-parapharyngeal granular cell neoplasm causing mild dysphagia. The location of this tumour, which has not been reported previously, posed a unique surgical challenge. An initial attempt to remove the lesion transorally was only partially successful because it was too tough and adherent for conventional surgical dissecting instruments. Complete resection, however, was achieved with a carbon dioxide laser via the same approach. This information may be helpful in the management of other similar cases in the future.

Liquid feed has to be pumped through pipes to deliver it to pigs. The dry matter content of the diet and the distribution of particle size affects a number of physico-chemical properties of the process. These determine the initial power needed to start a pump from the stationary position and to circulate the feed through the system. Particle size also affects the homogeneity of the diet and the extent to which separation occurs during pumping and after delivery to the trough. In ad lib. feeding systems there is an opportunity for feed particles to hydrate and increase in size. These changes could have a significant effect on viscosity and hence the DM concentration of the diet that could be pumped at a particular power loading. In dry diets, particle size distribution is normally assessed and described on the basis of simple dry sieving. However, this method cannot be used with liquid diets. In other applications, the sizes of particles in a suspension have been assessed using laser particle size analysis (Chmelik et al. 2001). This study was designed to 1) Determine the extent to which particle size distribution was changed by different disk mill settings; 2) Examine the change in particle size distribution resulting from steeping the cereal component in water for 24h; 3) Determine the effect of particle size on viscosity.