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We immobilized 10 ocelots (Felis pardalis), and 21 bobcats (F. rufus) in south Texas (USA) during March to November 1991 with a mixture of ketamine hydrochloride (KH) and xylazine hydrochloride (XH); two ocelots were immobilized twice. Species were immobilized with (mean +/- SE) 14.7 +/- 1.6 mg KH/kg body mass for ocelots, 13.3 +/- 1.8 mg KH/kg for bobcats, and 1.1 +/- 0.1 mg XH/kg and 1.2 +/- 0.1 mg XH/kg for ocelots and bobcats, respectively. Immobilization times in bobcats were longer (P = 0.08) than in ocelots. Adult female ocelots (18.5 +/- 2.6 mg/kg) needed larger (P < 0.05) doses of KH than adult males (12.0 +/- 1.7 mg/kg). Bobcats were immobilized during summer with lower initial (8.6 +/- 0.9 mg/kg, P < 0.001) and total (10.1 +/- 1.3 mg/kg, P = 0.02) doses of KH than bobcats immobilized in winter (14.5 +/- 1.0 mg/kg, and 18.5 +/- 3.8 mg/kg, respectively); summer immobilization times (44.3 +/- 3.8 min) were also shorter (P = 0.03) than during winter (59.1 +/- 5.2 min). Bobcats immobilized during summer had lower (P < 0.01) initial rectal temperatures (39.4 +/- 0.2 C) than bobcats trapped in winter (41.1 +/- 0.4 C). Overall, we observed no effects of KH-XH dose on body temperature.

A cross-sectional study of Taenia saginata cysticercosis in Swaziland using a serodiagnostic ELISA for parasite antigen is described. The seroprevalence and the levels of parasite antigen were compared in the sera of cattle from different geographical localities, and from areas of high or low population density. Cattle from the Lowveldt region, which has a hot and dry climate relative to the other areas investigated, exhibited significantly higher serum antigen levels. Seroprevalence was also higher in the Lowveldt but this difference was not found to be significant. Within the Lowveldt, antigen levels were found to be slightly elevated in cattle from more highly populated areas. It is suggested that either human behaviour and/or practices in animal husbandry, or increased susceptibility of cattle to reinfection at certain times of the year, may enhance transmission in the Lowveldt since climatic conditions in this region are not conducive to transmission.

Pressure sores are frequently seen in elderly hospitalized patients and leads to prolonged hospitalization and increased morbidity and mortality. The object of this paper was to retrieve the last five years literature regarding prevention and treatment of pressure sores. During the period 1987-1991, 751 papers on this topic were published and indexed in Medline. Only 9 of these papers represented controlled clinical trials. Three of them dealt with prevention, and the remaining 6 with treatment. Although 4 of 9 studies showed statistically significant differences between the actively treated group and the placebo group, none of the studies showed convincing clinical differences. Serious methodological flaws with respect to design, blinding, randomisation, sample size and statistical analysis were found in 8 of 9 studies. None of the clinical controlled studies on prevention of pressure sores showed any statistically significant differences between the control group and treatment with, respectively Prevasore lotion, Foam cushion and Silicore mattress. In the 6 trials on treatment of pressure sores, respectively mucopolysaccharide polysulphate creme, ketanserin creme and air-fluidized beds showed statistically better results than control treatment. We conclude that well-designed controlled clinical trials are needed to establish rational routines for prevention and treatment of pressure sores.

A significant prevalence of leprosy has been demonstrated in wild Louisiana armadillos. The Texas Gulf Coast still has endemic human leprosy, and recent mores in Texas have markedly increased armadillo-human contact. Armadillos were screened by physical examination, and by ear-snip and slit-scrape technique. Animals that screened "positive" were sacrificed and necropsied under aseptic conditions. Liver, spleen, gross lesions, and four groups of lymph nodes were cultured for mycobacteria and were studied histologically. Base ratios and DNA homology with Mycobacterium leprae were determined on mycobacteria from two armadillos (and two tissues from one of these); these studies indicate that the organism found in Texas armadillos is M leprae. Twenty-one of the armadillos were leprous--4.66%. The local prevalence varied from 1.0% to 15.4%. Epidemiologic implications of these findings and the occurrence of other concomitant mycobacterial infections are discussed.

In a comparative corrosion test specimen were produced from eleven different amalgams using two different plugging pressures and were exposed to two different corrosive solutions. As was to be expected containing amalgams corroded the most. A more accurate differentiation between the individual non gamma 2 amalgams and the two different plugging pressures was only possible with the stronger corrosive solution. Therefore this solution seemed to be better suited for a standardized corrosion test according to DIN 13904, part 2. The greater plugging pressure inhibits corrosion especially in badly corroding amalgams. This seems to be due to the limited diffusion which is the result of a smaller pore size.