Does homeopathically potentized antimony stimulate coagulation? A summary of previous findings and results of an in vitro pilot study by means of thrombelastography

BACKGROUND: Potentized antimony is traditionally used in anthroposophic medicine to enhance hemostasis in bleeding disorders, but evidence of its effectiveness is scarce. On the other hand, non-toxic and economic additional therapeutic options for hemostatic disorders are desirable. OBJECTIVES: We examined all available literature on the subject and performed a controlled pilot in vitro study to test the procoagulatory potency of antimony D 5. DESIGN: Freshly drawn citrated whole blood of 12 healthy volunteers and 12 patients with bleeding disorders was equally distributed into 344 portions, after which it was mixed with antimony D 5, or its potentized vehicle (lactose D 5) as control solution and tested with thrombelastography. The paired t-test and the Wilcoxon signed rank test were used for statistical analysis. In 5 of the 12 healthy donors, a second blood sample was drawn to assess individual variability and increase the total number of replicates. Thus three separate calculations were performed: for the 12 patients, the 12 healthy donors, and the 5 later samples from the same donors. The analysis was exploratory, and no Bonferroni correction was applied. RESULTS: In the antimony D5 samples of the 12 healthy subjects, but not the patients, there was a tendency toward a shorter clotting time (CT) (p = 0.074) and a trend for an increased clot firmness, expressed as maximal amplitude (MA) (p = 0.058). The increase of MA was significant (p = 0.011) when the later samples were included. No statistical difference was detected for the clot formation time and the clot lysis index. CONCLUSION: The exploratory results of this pilot study are inconclusive as to whether antimony D5 has a procoagulatory effect in vitro, although the results suggest an effect on MA and possibly CT. More research is warranted.

Optional vena cava filters: indications, management, and results

BACKGROUND: When anticoagulation is contraindicated or ineffective, optional vena cava filters can be used to prevent pulmonary embolism. These devices can be removed within a defined period of time or can remain in the vena cava permanently. METHODS: The status of optional vena cava filters was studied by a review of the relevant literature found in a selective Medline search from 2000 to 2008, including a Cochrane review and published guidelines. RESULTS: Optional vena cava filter can be removed up to 20 weeks or even longer after insertion (depending on the filter model) in a small interventional radiological procedure if therapeutic anticoagulation has been achieved or the patient is no longer at risk for venous thromboembolism. Current studies show comparable results for optional filters and permanent filters, but there have not yet been any prospective studies comparing the two filter types. CONCLUSIONS: Optional vena cava filters are an important addition to the management of venous thromboembolic disease. As only limited data are available to date, the use of optional filters should be considered on an individual case basis.

United we stand, divided we fall: a meta-analysis of experiments on clonal integration and its relationship to invasiveness

Fragmentation and vegetative regeneration from small fragments may contribute to population expansion, dispersal and establishment of new populations of introduced plants. However, no study has systematically tested whether a high capacity of vegetative regeneration is associated with a high degree of invasiveness. For small single-node fragments, the presence of internodes may increase regeneration capacity because internodes may store carbohydrates and proteins that can be used for regeneration. We conducted an experiment with 39 stoloniferous plant species to examine the regeneration capacity of small, single-node fragments with or without attached stolon internodes. We asked (1) whether the presence of stolon internodes increases regeneration from single-node fragments, (2) whether regeneration capacity differs between native and introduced species in China, and (3) whether regeneration capacity is positively associated with plant invasiveness at a regional scale (within China) and at a global scale. Most species could regenerate from single-node fragments, and the presence of internodes increased regeneration rate and subsequent growth and/or asexual reproduction. Regeneration capacity varied greatly among species, but showed no relationship to invasiveness, either in China or globally. High regeneration capacity from small fragments may contribute to performance of clonal plants in general, but it does not appear to explain differences in invasiveness among stoloniferous clonal species.

Catheter ablation of persistent and long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation. Strategies and results

Catheter ablation for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation is a meanwhile established therapy option, which is most frequently performed using radiofrequency ablation. Mid-term success rate of 70 % are achievable with a single ablation procedure. However, the mechanistics of persistent atrial fibrillation are less well understood and catheter ablation is a far more challenging procedure. Different ablation approaches are being performed to treat persistent atrial fibrillation ranging from sole pulmonary vein isolation to additional ablation of fractionated electrograms aiming for termination of atrial fibrillation. Thus far, it has not been investigated which strategy is most successful in treating persistent atrial fibrillation. After extended ablation of atrial fibrillation, occurrence of organized atrial arrhythmias is not uncommon and can be successfully ablated. These consecutive arrhythmias can be considered as a next step towards stable sinus rhythm after repeat ablation. Improvement of mapping methods as well as a better understanding of mechanisms of atrial fibrillation may increase success rate of catheter ablation of persistent atrial fibrillation and may also help to improve success rate of these complex procedures.

Doppler sonography of the medial arterial blood supply to the coxofemoral joints of 36 medium to large breed dogs and its relationship with radiographic signs of joint disease.

The medial arterial supply to 68 of the 72 coxofemoral joints of 36 medium to large breed dogs was examined ultrasonographically. The medial circumflex femoral artery and three branches were identified; the artery and its transverse branch were identified in all 68 joints, and the deep branch was identified in 61 joints, and the ascending branch was identified in 63. However, the acetabular and obturator branches were not identified. The pulsatility index, the mean velocity and the peak systolic velocity of the medial circumflex femoral artery were determined and associated with a radiographic score of degenerative coxofemoral joint disease and a lath distraction index (LDI). In joints with a LDI greater than 0.35, the pulsatility index was significantly lower (P=0.023) and its mean velocity was higher (P=0.005). However, no significant associations were observed in individual dogs when the measurements in both joints were taken into account.

An initiative for participatory monitoring of large scale acquisitions: Opportunities and results thus far

Increasing commercial pressures on land are provoking fundamental and far-reaching changes in the relationships between people and land. Much knowledge on land-oriented investments projects currently comes from the media. Although this provides a good starting point, lack of transparency and rapidly changing contexts mean that this is often unreliable. The International Land Coalition, in partnership with Oxfam Novib, Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement (CIRAD), University of Pretoria, Centre for Development and Environment of the University of Bern (CDE), and GIZ, started to compile an inventory of land-related investments. This project aims to better understand the extent, trends and impacts of land-related investments by supporting an ongoing and systematic stocktaking exercise of the various investment projects currently taking place worldwide. It involves a large number of organizations and individuals working in areas where land transactions are being made, and able to provide details of such investments. The project monitors land transactions in rural areas that imply a transformation of land use rights from communities and smallholders to commercial use, and are made both by domestic and foreign investors (private actors, governments, government-back private investors). The focus is on investments for food or agrofuel production, timber extraction, carbon trading, mineral extraction, conservation and tourism. A novel way of using ITC to document land acquisitions in a spatially explicit way and by using an approach called “crowdsourcing” is being developed. This approach will allow actors to share information and knowledge directly and at any time on a public platform, where it will be scrutinized in terms of reliability and cross checked with other sources. Up to now, over 1200 deals have been recorded across 96 countries. Details of such transactions have been classified in a matrix and distributed to over 350 contacts worldwide for verification. The verified information has been geo-referenced and represented in two global maps. This is an open database enabling a continued monitoring exercise and the improvement of data accuracy. More information will be released over time. The opportunities arise from overcoming constraints by incomplete information by proposing a new way of collecting, enhancing and sharing information and knowledge in a more democratic and transparent manner. The intention is to develop interactive knowledge platform where any interested person can share and access information on land deals, their link to involved stakeholders, and their embedding into a geographical context. By making use of new ICT technologies that are more and more in the reach of local stakeholders, as well as open access and web-based spatial information systems, it will become possible to create a dynamic database containing spatial explicit data. Feeding in data by a large number of stakeholders, increasingly also by means of new mobile ITC technologies, will open up new opportunities to analyse, monitor and assess highly dynamic trends of land acquisition and rural transformation.

A chrysophyte-based quantitative reconstruction of winter severity from varved lake sediments in NE Poland during the past millennium and its relationship to natural climate variability

Chrysophyte cysts are recognized as powerful proxies of cold-season temperatures. In this paper we use the relationship between chrysophyte assemblages and the number of days below 4 °C (DB4 °C) in the epilimnion of a lake in northern Poland to develop a transfer function and to reconstruct winter severity in Poland for the last millennium. DB4 °C is a climate variable related to the length of the winter. Multivariate ordination techniques were used to study the distribution of chrysophytes from sediment traps of 37 low-land lakes distributed along a variety of environmental and climatic gradients in northern Poland. Of all the environmental variables measured, stepwise variable selection and individual Redundancy analyses (RDA) identified DB4 °C as the most important variable for chrysophytes, explaining a portion of variance independent of variables related to water chemistry (conductivity, chlorides, K, sulfates), which were also important. A quantitative transfer function was created to estimate DB4 °C from sedimentary assemblages using partial least square regression (PLS). The two-component model (PLS-2) had a coefficient of determination of View the MathML sourceRcross2 = 0.58, with root mean squared error of prediction (RMSEP, based on leave-one-out) of 3.41 days. The resulting transfer function was applied to an annually-varved sediment core from Lake Żabińskie, providing a new sub-decadal quantitative reconstruction of DB4 °C with high chronological accuracy for the period AD 1000–2010. During Medieval Times (AD 1180–1440) winters were generally shorter (warmer) except for a decade with very long and severe winters around AD 1260–1270 (following the AD 1258 volcanic eruption). The 16th and 17th centuries and the beginning of the 19th century experienced very long severe winters. Comparison with other European cold-season reconstructions and atmospheric indices for this region indicates that large parts of the winter variability (reconstructed DB4 °C) is due to the interplay between the oscillations of the zonal flow controlled by the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the influence of continental anticyclonic systems (Siberian High, East Atlantic/Western Russia pattern). Differences with other European records are attributed to geographic climatological differences between Poland and Western Europe (Low Countries, Alps). Striking correspondence between the combined volcanic and solar forcing and the DB4 °C reconstruction prior to the 20th century suggests that winter climate in Poland responds mostly to natural forced variability (volcanic and solar) and the influence of unforced variability is low.

Primary structure and evolutionary relationship between the adult alpha-globin genes and their 5'-flanking regions of Xenopus laevis and Xenopus tropicalis

To investigate the evolution of globin genes in the genus Xenopus, we have determined the primary structure of the related adult alpha I- and alpha II-globin genes of X. laevis and of the adult alpha-globin gene of X. tropicalis, including their 5'-flanking regions. All three genes are comprised of three exons and two introns at homologous positions. The exons are highly conserved and code for 141 amino acids. By contrast, the corresponding introns vary in length and show considerable divergence. Comparison of 900 bp of the 5'-flanking region revealed that the X. tropicalis gene contains a conserved proximal 310-bp promoter sequence, comprised of the canonical TATA and CCAAT motifs at homologous positions, and five conserved elements in the same order and at similar positions as previously shown for the corresponding genes of X. laevis. We therefore conclude that these conserved upstream elements may represent regulatory sequences for cell-specific regulation of the adult Xenopus globin genes.