Thomas B. Farver

Association with companion animals and the expression of noncognitive symptoms in Alzheimer's patients.

Interactions with companion animals have been shown to have socializing and calming effects for Alzheimers patients in an institutional setting. Sixty-four Alzheimers patients living in the private home were studied, through medical records and information provided by caregivers, to determine what effect association with a companion animal had on the progression of cognitive decline and the manifestation of concomitant noncognitive symptoms. Prevalence of episodes of verbal aggression and anxiety was reported less frequently in 34 patients who were exposed to companion animals compared with patients who were not exposed. Significantly fewer mood disorders were reported in patients who were attached to their pets compared with patients who were not attached. There was no significant difference in the rate of cognitive decline between pet-exposed and nonexposed patients as measured by three standard indices. This study lends preliminary support to the belief that interaction with pets can aid in tempering feelings of agitation and aggression in Alzheimers patients.

Growth and survival of Listeria monocytogenes in market cheeses stored at 4 to 30°C

Forty-nine market cheeses representing 24 types and 28 brands were purchased from local supermarkets. Pieces of cheeses of approximately 1.5 × 0.5 cm were surface inoculated with log10 3.95 to 4.36 cells of a Listeria monocytogenes pool made up of five strains (Scott A, V7, RM-1, VPH1, VPH2) and placed in petri dishes. After wrapping with cellophane, the dishes were stored at 4, 8, and 30°C for up to 36 d. Of the cheeses, 36.7% supported growth equivalent to a mean inoculum increase of 1.4 log10 (range 0.21 to 3.58) in at least one storage temperature. They included soft Hispanic type (Queso Fresco, Panela Ranchero, pH 6.2-6.6), Ricotta (pH 5.9-6.1), Teleme (pH 5.9), Brie (pH 7.2-7.7), Camembert (pH 7.3), and cottage (pH 4.9-5.1) cheeses. Ricotta was the best and cottage the worst substrate for growth. Cheeses not supporting Listeria growth but causing gradual death at all temperatures include: Cotija (Hispanic hard cheese), cream, blue, Tillamook, Cracker Barrel, Monterey Jack, Swiss, Cheddar, Colby, string, Provolone, Muenster, Feta, and Kasseri with values of pH 4.3-5.6, process (American, Monterey Jack, Piedmont, pH 5.7-6.4), and Limburger (pH 7.2) cheeses. A highly significant (P<0.005) correlation of Listeria growth with cheese pH values >5.5 and absence of starter cultures during the cheese manufacturing was observed. Overall, the study demonstrated that cross-contamination of certain cheeses with L. monocytogenes originating from raw foods (meat, poultry, fish, vegetables), after opening of packages, may lead to significant growth of the pathogen during refrigerated storage.

Neutering Dogs: Effects on Joint Disorders and Cancers in Golden Retrievers

In contrast to European countries, the overwhelming majority of dogs in the U.S. are neutered (including spaying), usually done before one year of age. Given the importance of gonadal hormones in growth and development, this cultural contrast invites an analysis of the multiple organ systems that may be adversely affected by neutering. Using a single breed-specific dataset, the objective was to examine the variables of gender and age at the time of neutering versus leaving dogs gonadally intact, on all diseases occurring with sufficient frequency for statistical analyses. Given its popularity and vulnerability to various cancers and joint disorders, the Golden Retriever was chosen for this study. Veterinary hospital records of 759 client-owned, intact and neutered female and male dogs, 1–8 years old, were examined for diagnoses of hip dysplasia (HD), cranial cruciate ligament tear (CCL), lymphosarcoma (LSA), hemangiosarcoma (HSA), and mast cell tumor (MCT). Patients were classified as intact, or neutered early (<12 mo) or late (≥12 mo). Statistical analyses involved survival analyses and incidence rate comparisons. Outcomes at the 5 percent level of significance are reported. Of early-neutered males, 10 percent were diagnosed with HD, double the occurrence in intact males. There were no cases of CCL diagnosed in intact males or females, but in early-neutered males and females the occurrences were 5 percent and 8 percent, respectively. Almost 10 percent of early-neutered males were diagnosed with LSA, 3 times more than intact males. The percentage of HSA cases in late-neutered females (about 8 percent) was 4 times more than intact and early-neutered females. There were no cases of MCT in intact females, but the occurrence was nearly 6 percent in late-neutered females. The results have health implications for Golden Retriever companion and service dogs, and for oncologists using dogs as models of cancers that occur in humans.

Risk factors associated with isolation of Stenotrophomonas (Xanthomonas) maltophilia in clinical specimens

OBJECTIVE To determine risk factors for patients whose cultures grew Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. DESIGN Retrospective case-control study of 60 patients with cultures positive for S maltophilia, matched by specimen site to 120 controls whose cultures grew other gram-negative aerobic bacteria. SETTING University medical center. RESULTS S maltophilia was identified from the following sites: respiratory (36), wound (13), urinary (6), blood (4), and cerebral spinal fluid (1). By univariate analysis, cases had a higher risk of exposure than controls for ampicillin (P < .001), gentamicin (P < .001), vancomycin (P = .001), metronidazole (P = .003), piperacillin (P = .007), cefotaxime (P = .014), ceftazidime (P = .017), ciprofloxacin (P = .030), tobramycin (P = .040), and chronic respiratory disease (P = .024). Length of time foreign objects were in place prior to positive culture differed significantly between cases and controls only for endotracheal tubes in patients with respiratory isolates (median number of days: 12.5 for cases, 5 for controls; P = .007). For patients with urinary tract infections, having a urinary catheter increased the odds of infection 10 times over controls. Exposures found by multivariate analysis to be significantly more prevalent in cases than controls included ampicillin, cefotaxime, erythromycin, gentamicin, metronidazole, piperacillin, tobramycin, chronic respiratory disease, and female gender. Odds ratios were > 1 indicating higher risk for cases, except for erythromycin, which had an odds ratio < 1. CONCLUSIONS The primary risk factor associated with isolation of S maltophilia was antibiotic use. For patients with pulmonary infections, chronic respiratory disease and length of time an endotracheal tube was in place also contributed to the risk. This suggests that judicious use of antibiotics may prevent some cases of S maltophilia infection.

Short-time treatment with alkali and/or hot water to remove common pathogenic and spoilage bacteria from chicken wing skin

Dipping in 10% trisodium phosphate (TSP) at 10°C for 15 s and/or hot water (95°C) for 5 s significantly (P < 0,05) reduced the numbers of live Salmonella typhimurium , Listeria monocytogenes , and Staphylococcus aureus inoculated on the surface of chicken wings. Mean reductions after treatment with TSP (after storage at 10°C or 4°C, respectively) were 93.45% and 62.42% for S. typhimurium , 80.33% and 54.45% for S. aureus , and 39.04% and 81.41 % for L. monocytogenes . Similarly treatment with hot water resulted in reductions of 83.5% and 47.44%, 90.19% and 91.49%, and 68.57% and 77.83%, respectively, for the three bacterial species. The combined effects of TSP and hot water were 94.76% and 99.67%, 84.41 % and 96.68%, and 79.49% and 94.88%. After treatment with TSP, there was always a better recovery of L. monocytogenes when the wings were stored at 10°C compared to 4°C. No similar storage temperature effect on recovery of L. monocytogenes was observed in the absence of TSP. Based on the smell and appearance of uninoculated, fresh chicken wings after treatment with 10% solutions of TSP or Na2CO3 (10°C) and hot water, the control group was always preferred after 1 day of storage, but not after 6 days of storage. Combination treatment with TSP and hot water showed that after 7 days of storage the number of spoilage organisms was 3 log units higher on the control samples than on the treated wings. The combined TSP and hot water treatments were more effective in reducing counts of S. typhimurium , S. aureus , and L. monocytogenes than the combined Na2CO3 and hot water treatment (95°C for 5 s). Changes in subcutaneous temperature as a result of treatment with TSP and hot water treatment were minimal.

Impact of milking characteristics and morphology of udder and teats on clinical mastitis in first- and second-lactation Norwegian cattle

Data from the Norwegian progeny testing program were used to examine the impact of milking characteristics and morphology of udder and teats on clinical mastitis in first- and second-lactation Norwegian cattle. The study was designed as a 1-1 matched case-control study with herd, parity, days in lactation and calving season as matching variables. Conditional maximum likelihood logistic regression was used to evaluate the effects of three primary (2 min milk, milk leakage and teat-end-to-floor distance) and six other study variables. Treatment records from the Norwegian health card system on acute and chronic clinical mastitis were used to define cases. The chosen model included 565 matched pairs. Significant risk factors of clinical mastitis were decreasing teat-end-to-floor distance (P = 0.02) and periparturient udder edema (P < 0.01). Borderline effects were demonstrated by larger than herd-average teat diameter (P = 0.04), udder asymmetry (P = 0.05) and increasing 2 min milk (P = 0.08). Results were compared to a previous study on the same data with loge somatic cell count as the dependent variable. Inclusion of teat-end-to-floor distance in the genetic improvement scheme may increase the efficiency of genetic selection for mastitis resistance.

Concepts of Normality in Clinical Biochemistry

Publisher Summary A population is a collection of individuals or items having something in common. Populations may be finite or infinite in size. A population can be described by quantifiable characteristics frequently called observations or measures. If it is possible to record an observation for all members in the population, one can most likely demonstrate that not all members of the population have the same value for the given observation. This reflects the inherent variability in populations. For a given measure, the list of possible values, which can be assumed with the corresponding frequency with which each value appears in the population relative to the total number of elements in the population, is referred to as the “distribution of the measure” or “observation in the population.” Distributions can be displayed in tabular or graphical form or summarized in mathematical expressions. Distributions are classified as discrete distributions or continuous distributions on the basis of the values that the measure can assume. Measures with a continuous distribution can assume essentially an infinite number of values over some defined range of values, whereas those with a discrete distribution can assume only a relatively few values within a given range, such as integer values.

Industry practices and compliance with U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidelines among California sprout firms.

Since 1995, raw vegetable sprouts have been implicated as the vehicle of infection in 15 foodborne outbreaks involving Salmonella and 2 foodborne outbreaks involving Escherichia coli O157:H7. To reduce the numbers of sprout-related outbreaks, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published Guidance for Industry: Reducing Microbial Food Safety Hazards for Sprouting Seeds in 1999. Between October 2000 and April 2001, 61.5% (16 of 26) of the known commercial sprout firms in California were enrolled in a survey to evaluate the industry practices of California sprouting operations and to determine compliance with FDA guidelines. A standardized questionnaire was used to collect data on firm demographics and seed disinfection practices. Additionally, free chlorine levels in seed disinfection solutions were measured, and 48-h spent irrigation water samples were collected from each firm. The irrigation water was screened for Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7 with FDA-recommended test kits. Free chlorine levels in the treatment solutions ranged from 50 to 35,000 mg/liter (ppm), with a median of 14,000 mg/liter (ppm). Free chlorine levels were higher for firms producing alfalfa sprouts than for those producing only mung bean or soybean sprouts (P=0.03). Levels of free chlorine tended to be higher for firms using a calcium hypochlorite treatment solution than for firms using a sodium hypochlorite treatment solution (P=0.067). All 32 irrigation water samples screened for Salmonella tested negative. Of the irrigation water samples tested for E. coil O157:H7, 75% (24 of 32) tested negative, and 25% (8 of 32) tested presumptive positive. The eight presumptive positive samples were found to be negative after further testing. These results indicate that producers of alfalfa sprouts are generally achieving the FDA-recommended calcium hypochlorite level of 20,000 mg/liter (ppm), whereas mung bean sprout producers are not.

The association of milking management practices with bulk tank somatic cell counts

Abstract An instrument for assessing milking management practices was used to identify factors associated with udder health. The instrument included 48 individual management variables in 12 categories. Bulk tank somatic cell count (BTSCC) was recorded on 56 randomly selected Dairy Herd Improvement Association (DHIA) dairies, and the dairys management practices were evaluated on four occasions during November 1988 to July 1989. The log-transformed BTSCC, question score 5 and category scores were subjected to a series of analyses, including principal-component analysis, correlation analysis, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and stepwise, all-possible-subsets multiple regression. Principal-component analysis was applied to the time-period-specific category scores and major data reduction was not seen for any time period. The correlation analyses between category scores revealed 26 pairs with highly significant correlations. These results indicate that although the categories in the instrument were correlated to the degree that some of the correlations were statistically significant, the strengths of the correlations were not sufficient for the catergories to cluster together in a relatively small number of independent components. The MANOVA results indicated that there was a significant time-period effect. The regression analysis identified sanitation, milking equipment, cow condition, pre-milking procedures and the mastitis control catergories as significantly reducing BTSCC.

Prevalence of Selected Bacterial and Parasitic Agents in Feces from Diarrheic and Healthy Control Cats from Northern California

BACKGROUND Bacterial and parasitic agents are commonly implicated as causes of diarrhea in cats, but there is a paucity of information evaluating epidemiological and prevalence factors associated with most of these organisms in cats. OBJECTIVES Determine the prevalence of selected enteropathogens in diarrheic and nondiarrheic cats. ANIMALS A total of 219 diarrheic and 54 nondiarrheic cats. METHODS Prospective study. Fresh fecal specimens were submitted for centrifugation flotation, culture, ELISA (Giardia, Cryptosporidium, Clostridium perfringens enterotoxin [CPE], and C. difficile toxin A [TcdA]) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing (Tritrichomonas foetus and Campylobacter spp.). An epidemiologic questionnaire was completed for each cat. RESULTS Campylobacter was isolated from significantly fewer diarrheic (21/219 or 9.6%) versus nondiarrheic cats (15/54 or 27.8%, P = .001), and was detected in 74 of 131 cats (56.5%) via PCR. Campylobacter jejuni, C. helveticus, and C. upsaliensis were detected in 6.8, 100, and 44.6% of the 74 cats. Multiple Campylobacter spp. were identified in 47.3% of these cats. All cats were negative on fecal culture for Salmonella and for C. difficile TcdA via ELISA. CPE was detected in 9/219 diarrheic (4.1%) and in 1/54 nondiarrheic cats (1.9%, P = .69). Cats < 2 years were significantly more likely to be infected with intestinal parasites (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE Routine fecal cultures and toxin immunoassays for detection of bacteria are of limited diagnostic value in diarrheic cats. Molecular-based testing is superior to fecal cultures for detection and identification of Campylobacter spp., but positive test results do not correlate to the presence of disease.