Forty-five-week-old commercial leghorns negative for antibodies to Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) and M. synoviae were vaccinated with high-passage F strain MG (FMG). Hens were confined in modified Horsfall-Bauer isolation units through 60 weeks of age. Egg production (% hen day) and parameters of egg and eggshell quality were monitored, including egg weight, eggshell strength, Haugh unit score, pimpling, and blood/meat spot incidence. Egg production was significantly lower (P less than 0.05) for FMG vaccinates than controls (down 5.76% and 5.80% in Trials 1 and 2, respectively). However, vaccinates and controls did not differ significantly in eggshell strength, shell thickness, pimpling, or blood/meat spot incidence. Haugh unit scores were significantly (P less than 0.05) greater for FMG vaccinates. At necropsy, all reproductive tracts appeared grossly normal. These studies suggest that high-passage FMG vaccination of post-production-peak hens does not adversely affect oviduct function.

The prototype stations showed predictable differences across curricula, indicating that they have promise as assessment tools for the essential skills of information retrieval and application.

The practice of outcomes research is growing in all segments of the health care industry, yet few practitioners and researchers are prepared to deal with the completion of statistical analyses that characterize the new focus on results. This article discusses basic model formulation and interpretation. It also encourages the use of statistical models that study the simultaneous effects of many variables on an outcome and gives examples of relationships among variables that are not simple and linear. The methods are illustrated with a dataset consisting of stroke rehabilitation inpatients discharged during a 3-year period with an admission date that is within 1 year after stroke.

This report describes a unique model for immunotoxicity evaluation in mice. The model is adapted from previously described mouse models for group B streptococcus (GBS) infections in human neonates. In this disease as well as a number of human diseases caused by highly virulent pathogens, the mechanisms of innate immunity are unable to protect the host, and survival is strictly dependent on acquired immunity. Unlike other host resistance models widely used in immunotoxicity studies, the GBS model utilizes bacteria that are highly virulent for mice (LD50 = 5-17 colony forming units). GBS is not virulent for adult humans and can be safely handled with typical precautions. Acquired immunity in the GBS model is induced during a 2 week period by two injections of heat-killed GBS. The immunizing doses are the minimum which will allow survival of 80-100% of mice in response to challenge with an otherwise lethal dose of live GBS (100 bacteria). Administration of the immunotoxic agents cyclophosphamide, carrageenan, or cobra venom factor during the immunization period and/or shortly before challenge significantly suppressed host resistance. For example, the composite mortality rate for unimmunized mice was 98% and the rate for immunized mice was 8.5%. For all groups treated with cyclophosphamide (one 75 mg/kg dose 48 h before each immunization) the mean mortality was 41 +/- 18%. The consistency of the model was evaluated by repetition of several treatments in independent experiments, and the model's consistency is comparable to that of other host resistance models.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

No abstract