Who's keeping the code? Compliance with the international code for the marketing of breast-milk substitutes in Greater Glasgow

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate compliance with the World Health Organization's International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes in primary care, after the introduction of strict local infant feeding guidelines. DESIGN: An audit form was sent to all community-based health professionals with an infant feeding remit. Walking tours were conducted in a random sample of community care facilities. SETTING: Greater Glasgow Primary Care Division. SUBJECTS: (1) Primary-care staff with an infant feeding remit; (2) community health-care facilities. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Contact with manufacturers of breast-milk substitutes (BMS) and BMS company personnel, free samples or incentives, and advertising of BMS. RESULTS: Contact with company personnel was minimal, usually unsolicited and was mainly to provide product information. Free samples of BMS or feeding equipment were rare but childcare or parenting literature was more prevalent. Staff voiced concerns about the lack of relevant information for bottle-feeding mothers and the need to support the mother's feeding choice. One-third of facilities were still displaying materials non-compliant with the Code, with the most common materials being weight conversion charts and posters. CONCLUSIONS: Contact between personnel from primary care and BMS companies was minimal and generally unsolicited. The presence of materials from BMS companies in health-care premises was more common. Due to the high level of bottle-feeding in Glasgow, primary-care staff stated a need for information about BMS.     

Limited host range in the idiobiont parasitoid Phymastichus coffea,a prospective biological control agent of the coffee pest Hypothenemus hampei in Hawaii

Phymastichus coffea LaSalle (Hymenoptera:Eulophidae) is an adult endoparasitoid of the coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari) (Coleoptera:Curculionidae:Scolytinae), which has been introduced in many coffee producing countries as a biological control agent. To determine the effectiveness of P. coffea against H. hampei and environmental safety for release in Hawaii, we investigated the host selection and parasitism response of adult females to 43 different species of Coleoptera, including 23 Scolytinae (six Hypothenemus species and 17 others), and four additional Curculionidae. Non-target testing included Hawaiian endemic, exotic and beneficial coleopteran species. Using a no-choice laboratory bioassay, we demonstrated that P. coffea was only able to parasitize the target host H. hampei and four other adventive species of Hypothenemus: H. obscurus, H. seriatus, H. birmanus and H. crudiae. Hypothenemus hampei had the highest parasitism rate and shortest parasitoid development time of the five parasitized Hypothenemus spp. Parasitism and parasitoid emergence decreased with decreasing phylogenetic relatedness of the Hypothenemus spp. to H. hampei, and the most distantly related species, H. eruditus, was not parasitized. These results suggest that the risk of harmful non-target impacts is low because there are no native species of Hypothenemus in Hawaii, and P. coffea could be safely introduced for classical biological control of H. hampei in Hawaii.

     

Pathology and Neurotoxicity in Dogs after Repeat Dose Exposure to a Serotonin 5-HT1B Inhibitor

AZD3783, a cationic amphiphilic drug and a potent inhibitor of the 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT_1B) receptor, was explored as a potential treatment for depression. To support clinical trials, repeat dose toxicity studies in rats and dogs were conducted. Here we report toxicity findings in dogs after dosing from 1 to 3 months. In the 1-month study, there were minimal neuronal vacuolation in the brain, a marked increase in liver enzymes accompanied by hepatocellular degeneration/necrosis and phospholipidosis (PLD), and PLD/cholecystitis in the gallbladder of animals dosed at 47 mg/kg/day. In the 3-month study, neurotoxicity resulted in euthanasia of one animal dosed at 30 mg/kg/day after 86 days. Extensive pathologic changes were seen in all animals in retina epithelium (inclusion bodies), brain (neuronal vacuolation, degeneration, or necrosis and nerve fiber degeneration), spinal ganglia (vacuolation, degeneration, or necrosis), as well as sciatic and optic nerves (degeneration). Pigment-laden macrophages were observed in the lung, kidney, liver, gallbladder, bone marrow, gastrointestinal tract, and lymphoid tissues. Also seen were vitrel and retinal hemorrhage in the eyes. A brain concentration and pathology study showed that the concentration of AZD3783 in the brain was approximately 4 times higher than in the plasma after 4 weeks of dosing, however, they were similar in all regions examined, and did not correlate with areas with pathologic findings. Our findings with AZD3783 in dogs have not been reported previously with other CNS compounds that effect through serotonergic pharmacology.     

Impact of vegetation management on macroinvertebrates in chalk streams

Dense growths of macrophytes are a characteristic feature of chalk streams which may cause problems both to farmers and anglers. Weed is frequently cut to reduce flooding of surrounding land and provide open water for anglers. The objective of this study was to examine short-term responses of macroinvertebrate faunal assemblages in main flow and marginal samples to both weed-cutting and the application of herbicide and to compare these with untreated controls. No statistically significant effect could be demonstrated on such faunal parameters as biotic score, richness and abundance and a multivariate analysis of all available data showed that the weed-cut and herbicide treated sites could not be distinguished from the control sites III and V on the basis of their fauna. It is suggested that for conservation purposes small-scale management with ‘recovery strips’ separating the treated reaches can achieve the desired objectives of avoiding flooding and providing open water for anglers with minimal effects on the river biota.     

Ammonia distribution and excretion in fish

This paper reviews the literature concerning ammonia production, storage and excretion in fish. Ammonia is the end product of protein catabolism and is stored in the body of fish in high concentrations relative to basal excretion rates. Ammonia, if allowed to accumulate, is toxic and is converted to less toxic compounds or excreted. Like other weak acids and bases, ammonia is distributed between tissue compartments in relation to transmembrane pH gradients. NH₃ is generally equilibrated between compartments but NH₄ ⁺ is distributed according to pH. Ammonia is eliminated from the blood upon passage through the gills. The mechanisms of branchial ammonia excretion vary between different species of fish and different environments, and primarily involves NH₃ passive diffusion and NH₄ ⁺/Na⁺ exchange. Water chemistry near the gill surface may also be important to ammonia excretion, but a more accurate measurement of the NH₃ gradient across the gill epithelium is required before a more detailed analysis of NH₃ and NH₄ ⁺ excretion can be made.     

促性腺激素诱发大西洋鲑卵黄发生期卵巢滤泡释放性类固醇激素的离体研究

提要应用大麻哈鱼(Oncovhynchus keta)促性腺激素(GTH)诱发大西洋鲑(Salmosalar)卵黄发生期的离体卵巢滤泡(直径为3．4毫米)产生性类固醇激素的研究表明，不论用0．1或1微克／毫升GTH刺激，经培育10天后，未出现卵母细胞卵核消失的现象，卵核偏位也不明显。对培养液中17α，20β-双羟孕酮(17α20βP)的积累浓度测定结果，仅1微克／毫升GTH组含少量的17α20βP；0．1微克／毫升GTH组，培养液中雌二醇的积累浓度明显高于对照组和1微克／毫升GTH组，并为后者的两倍。除雌二醇外，孕酮，17α-羟孕酮，17α20βP，雄烯二酮和睾酮的产生，都呈现对GTH剂量的依赖关系，1微克／毫升GTH组的产生量明显高于0．1微克／毫升GTH组和对照组。离体研究的结果表明，处于卵黄发生期的卵巢滤泡对低剂量(0．1微克／毫升)和高剂量(1微克／毫升)GTH的反应不同。低浓度的GTH，引起性类固醇激素生物合成的途径沿着形成雌二醇的方向进行，雄激素被芳香化成雌激素，雌二醇再而刺激肝脏合成卵黄物质的前体，从而促进卵黄发生。高浓度的GTH，有抑制雌二醇合成的作用，而是促使卵母细胞向着最终成熟的方向发展，使性类固醇生物合成的途径转向形成大量雄激素和孕激素，特别是17α20βP。这与已充分生长和卵黄积累完成的卵巢滤泡离体试验的结果一致，与活体观察以上各种性类固醇激素的变化一致。