Scaly-sided Merganser is a globally endangered species restricted to eastern Asia. Estimating its population is difficult and considerable gap exists between populations at its breeding grounds and wintering sites. In this study, we built a species distribution model (SDM) using Maxent with presence-only data to predict the potential wintering habitat for Scaly-sided Merganser in China. Area un...

The pharmacokinetics of ceftizoxime was studied in six sheep before and after inducing hyperthermia using Escherichia coli endotoxin. Sheep implanted subcutaneously with cages of non-reactive material for collecting tissue cage fluid (TCF) were used to conduct two trials. In Trial 1 animals with normal basal temperature (normal sheep (NS)) were given intravenous (i.v.) and intramuscular (i.m.) ...

INTRODUCTION Presently, it is difficult to predict which patients are at increased risk of ongoing pain problems postoperatively. This study followed a group of patients from the week before their operation until 3 months after it, to identify potential risk variables. METHODS Fifty-four patients undergoing moderate-major gynaecological surgery at Christchurch Women's Hospital were recruited ...

BACKGROUND Contemporary vancomycin dosing schemes are designed to achieve an area under the curve (AUC) to minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ratio of ≥400. However, scant clinical data exist to support this target and available data relied on pharmacokinetic formulas based on daily vancomycin dose and estimated renal function (demographic pharmacokinetic model) to estimate AUCs. METHODS ...

Primiparous beef cows produced in 3 calving systems were used in a 2-yr study with a completely random design to measure milk yield throughout a 190-d lactation (2002, n = 20; 2003, n = 24 per calving system). Calving occurred in late winter (average calving date = February 4 +/- 2 d), early spring (average calving date = March 30 +/- 2 d), and late spring (average calving date = May 26 +/- 1 d...

OBJECTIVES The ratio of observed to expected mortality (standardized mortality ratio, SMR), is a key indicator of quality of care. We use PreControl Charts to investigate SMR behavior over time of an existing tree-model for predicting mortality in intensive care units (ICUs) and its implications for hospital ranking. We compare the results to those of a logistic regression model. METHODS We c...

BACKGROUND As community case management of childhood illness expands in low-income countries, there is a need to assess the quality of care provided by community health workers. This study had the following objectives: 1) examine methods of recruitment of sick children for assessment of quality of care, 2) assess the validity of register review (RR) and direct observation only (DO) compared to ...

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY Family caregivers experience high levels of stress that place them at risk for poor health outcomes. We explore whether an intervention which lowers caregivers' daily exposure to stressors, adult day services (ADS), leads to improved regulation of the stress hormone, cortisol, which has implications for health and well-being. DESIGN AND METHODS Participants (N = 158) were...

Because of the potential of novobiocin-rifampin for oral therapy of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection, we evaluated the pharmacokinetics of novobiocin and rifampin, alone and in combination, in a randomized, crossover, multiple-dose evaluation (500 mg of novobiocin and 300 mg of rifampin administered orally, twice a day, for 27 doses) in 10 volunteers. The half-lives of novo...

Results M orphine injection delayed clopidogrel absorption (p 1⁄4 0.025) and reduced the area under the curve levels of its active metabolite by 34% (p 1⁄4 0.001). Morphine delayed the maximal inhibition of platelet aggregation on average by 2 h (n 1⁄4 24; p < 0.001). Residual platelet aggregation was higher 1 to 4 h after morphine injection (n 1⁄4 24; p < 0.005). Furthermore, morphine delayed ...