Differences in the diagnostic yield of upper gastrointestinal endoscopy in dyspeptic patients receiving proton-pump inhibitors and H2-receptor antagonists

Patients attending for diagnostic oesophagogastroduodenoscopy (OGD) for dyspeptic symptoms are often receiving acid-suppression therapy that has not been discontinued prior to endoscopy, and this may reduce the diagnostic yield of endoscopy. The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic yield of OGD in uncomplicated dyspepsia in patients receiving no medication, those receiving acid-suppression therapy, and those receiving nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) at the time of endoscopy.

Nitrofuran antibiotic residues in pork The FoodBRAND retail survey

Use of nitrofuran drugs in food-producing animals has been prohibited within the EU because they may represent a public health risk. Monitoring compliance with the ban has focused on the detection of protein-bound nitrofuran metabolites which, in contrast to the parent compounds, are stable and persist in animal tissues. As part of the "FoodBRAND" project, an extensive survey of pork was undertaken across 15 European countries. Samples (n = 1500) purchased at retail outlets were analysed for the nitrofuran metabolites AOZ, AMOZ, AHD and SEM using LC-MS/MS determination of nitrobenzaldehyde derivatives. Limits of quantification for the method were 0.1 mug/kg (AOZ, AMOZ), 0.2 mug/kg (SEM) and 0.5 mug/kg (AHD). Of the 1500 samples tested, measurable residues of nitrofuran metabolites were confirmed in 12 samples (0.8% incidence overall) of which 10 samples were purchased in Portugal (AOZ, 0.3 mug/kg; AMOZ, 0.2-0.6 mug/kg) and one sample each in Italy (AMOZ, 1.0 mug/kg) and Greece (AOZ, 3.0 mug/kg). (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A study of the use of the trimesium salt of glyphosate to desiccate and ret flax and linseed (Linum usitatissimum) and of its effects on the yield of straw, seed and fibre

A replicated field plot experiment was carried out in Northern Ireland in 1996 with flax, cv Ariane, and linseed, cv Flanders, each grown at seed rates of 500, 1000 and 1500 seeds/m(2), in which a comparison was made between netting of the standing crop, following desiccation by the trimesium salt of glyphosate (Touchdown, Zeneca Ltd.), and water or dew retting of the pulled crop. Application at 4 litres/ha on 9 August, 33 days after the mid-point of flowering (MPF), achieved both desiccation and partial retting of the crop within 14 days. Over 16 % clean long fibre was extracted by scutching the stand-netted flax straw, yielding 800 kg/ha fibre, while water retting achieved 20 extraction and 980 kg/ha yield and dew netting 8.5 % and 420 kg/ha respectively. The dew retting was uneven, resulting in high losses during fibre extraction, while water retting for 7 days at 25 degreesC did not achieve complete retting resulting in a high content of woody fragments in the fibre. Fibre yields increased by almost 50 % with the high v. low seed rate. Linseed was less well retted than flax and contained higher levels of impurity in the extracted long fibre which, after retting, yielded 120 to 310 kg/ha at extraction rates of 2.9 % to 7.5 %.

In a second experiment in 1998 flax cvs. Viola and Evelyn were treated with the timesium salt of glyphosate at rates of 2, 4 or 6 litres/ha 10, 20, 30 or 40 days after MPF on 5 July. Viola desiccated satisfactorily at all spray dates with 4 and 6 litres/ha glyphosate. The 20-day treatment desiccated more slowly than the 30-day and the 2 litres/ha rate did not achieve complete desiccation, but the trimesium salt of glyphosate achieved better desiccation at this timing than that found in earlier studies with the original form of glyphosate. Evelyn desiccated more slowly and less evenly than Viola particularly at the 20-day and 40-day timings. Spraying at MPF + 10 days interrupted early development of the seed and fibre significantly reducing yields. Due to slower desiccation the 20-day timing was no better than the 30-day, which was well retted by harvest 44 days after spraying, and gave the highest yield of clean long fibre. The spraying 40 days after MPF was considered too late in the season to be of practical use. It was concluded that retting of standing flax following desiccation with the trimesium salt of glyphosate was more effective than with the earlier formulation and that resting of the standing crop could achieve equivalent or better retting with similar fibre yields to traditional retting methods. The optimum spray timing was found to be about 30 days after MPF with 4 or 6 litres/ha, the lower rate being adequate for glyphosate responsive varieties such as Viola.

Anthelmintic drug residues in beef: UPLC-MS/MS method validation, European retail beef survey, and associated exposure and risk assessments

Anthelmintic drugs are widely used to control parasitic infections in cattle. The ProSafeBeef project addressed the need for data on the exposure of European consumers of beef to potentially harmful drug residues. A novel analytical method based on matrix solid-phase dispersive extraction and ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was validated for 37 anthelmintic drugs and metabolites in muscle (assay decision limits, CCa, = 0.15-10.2 µg kg -1). Seven European countries (France, Spain, Slovenia, Ireland, Italy, Belgium and Portugal) participated in a survey of retail beef purchased in local shops. Of 1061 beef samples analysed, 26 (2.45%) contained detectable residues of anthelmintic drugs (0.2-171 µg kg -1), none above its European Union maximum residue limit (MRL) or action level. Residues detected included closantel, levamisole, doramectin, eprinomectin, moxidectin, ivermectin, albendazole and rafoxanide. In a risk assessment applied to mean residue concentrations across all samples, observed residues accounted for less than 0.1% of the MRL for each compound. An exposure assessment based on the consumption of meat at the 99th percentile of consumption of adults in 14 European countries demonstrated that beef accounted for less than 0.02% of the acceptable daily intake for each compound in each country. This study is the first of its kind to apply such a risk-based approach to an extensive multi-residue survey of veterinary drug residues in food. It has demonstrated that the risk of exposure of the European consumer to anthelmintic drug residues in beef is negligible, indicating that regulation and monitoring is having the desired effect of limiting residues to non-hazardous concentrations. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

Development and application of a multiple linear regression model to consider the impact of weekly waste container capacity on the yield from kerbside recycling programmes

The paper describes the development and application of a multiple linear regression model to identify how the key elements of waste and recycling infrastructure, namely container capacity and frequency of collection affect the yield from municipal kerbside recycling programmes. The overall aim of the research was to gain an understanding of the factors affecting the yield from municipal kerbside recycling programmes in Scotland. The study isolates the principal kerbside collection service offered by 32 councils across Scotland, eliminating those recycling programmes associated with flatted properties or multi occupancies. The results of a regression analysis model has identified three principal factors which explain 80% of the variability in the average yield of the principal dry recyclate services: weekly residual waste capacity, number of materials collected and the weekly recycling capacity. The use of the model has been evaluated and recommendations made on ongoing methodological development and the use of the results in informing the design of kerbside recycling programmes. The authors hope that the research can provide insights for the ongoing development of methods to optimise the design and operation of kerbside recycling programmes.

YIELD ENHANCEMENT OF BIT LEVEL SYSTOLIC ARRAY CHIPS USING FAULT TOLERANT TECHNIQUES.

Methods by which bit level systolic array chips can be made fault tolerant are discussed briefly. Using a simple analysis based on both Poisson and Bose-Einstein statistics authors demonstrate that such techniques can be used to obtain significant yield enhancement. Alternatively, the dimensions of an array can be increased considerably for the same initial (nonfault tolerant) chip yield.