PET Group Research Articles

Occurrence of thermotolerant Campylobacter species in domestic and wild monkeys from Peru.

The isolation rate of thermotolerant campylobacters in pet monkeys and wild monkeys was established. Campylobacter spp. were isolated in 31.9% of the first (pet) group, being less frequent (20.9%) in the second (wild) (P > 0.05). In both groups, only biovars I and II of C. jejuni ssp. jejuni and both biovars of C. coli were isolated (Lior's scheme). Campylobacter lari was not isolated. The results show that domestic and wild monkeys can harbour Campylobacter in their intestinal tract and would be considered as reservoirs of these bacteria.

The Use and Nonuse of Companion Animals by Volunteers in Nursing Homes: A Comparative Study

AbstractThis report compares motivation and satisfaction of volunteers who visited residents in nursing homes accompanied by a dog with volunteers who visited the same residents but without a dog. The sample consisted of 40 people, 21 of whom were accompanied by a pet. A questionnaire of 111 items were developed and administered to all participants. Both groups of volunteers had equivalent volunteer experience and their reasons for volunteering were almost identical. No significant differences between the two groups were identified, possibly because of the small size of the sample, but an increased level of staff-volunteer interaction was reported for the pet group.

Mode of attachment of the triply-bridging C6H4 ligand in open triosmium clusters: Crystal structures and fluxionality of the clusters [Os3(PMe)(C6H4)(CO)8L] (L = CO or PEt3)

The cluster [Os3(PMe)(C6H4)(CO)9] (1) reacts with phosphorus(III) ligands L [PEt3, PCy3, or P(OMe)3] to give the substitution products [Os3(PMe)(C6H4)(CO)9-xLx], clusters 2 (x = 1) and 3 (x = 2). The crystal structures of 1 and 2 (L = PEt3) are compared with that previously reported for [Os3(PEt)(C6H4)(CO)9]; each has two OsOs bonds and one non-bonding Os ··· Os distance (3.982(1), 4.014(1), and 4.008(2) Å, respectively, for the three compounds). A μ3-PMe or PEt group caps one face of the Os3 triangle and the opposite one is capped by a μ3-C6H4 ligand coordinated through σ-OsC bonds to two mutually bonded Os atoms and does not span the open Os ··· Os edge by σ-bonds as in other cases such as [Os3H(AsMe2)(C6H4)(CO)9]. Bonding to the third Os atom through one carbon atom involves π-orbitals predominantly, and there is evidence against an alkylidene component in the bridging such as was considered previously. The C6H4 ligand is rapidly mobile in 1, and in one of the two isomers of 2 with the ligand L at the central Os atom. The fluxionality is substantially suppressed when L is coordinated at a terminal Os atom as in the isomer of [Os3(PMe)(C6H4)(CO)8(PEt3)] whose structure was established crystallographically. The movement of the non-bonded Os ··· Os edge around the metal triangle does occur, but is slow.

PET: An Outcome Study

SynopsisThe increasing use of parent training programmes creates a need for evaluation of their effects on attitudes and behaviour. The present study of a Parent Effectiveness Training course found large changes in parents’ cognitions about situations closely related to the basic skills of active listening, confrontation and conflict resolution. No differences in attitude change were found between the PET and control groups on the Moos Scales or a specially constructed Parent Attitude Scale. Considerable improvement was reported by parents in the PET group on specific goals identified at the commencement of the course.

AN ALTERED RATIO OF 18:2 (9,11) TO 18:2 (9,12) LINOLEIC ACID IN PLASMA PHOSPHOLIPIDS AS A POSSIBLE PREDICTOR OF PRE-ECLAMPSIA

As part of a larger study, 15 healthy primigravidas were studied from 28 weeks' gestation until 3 days after delivery. In 6 of these women pre-eclampsia (PET) developed; the remaining 9 subjects, who were age matched, had normal pregnancies. Plasma phospholipid-esterified 18:2 (9,11) and 18:2 (9,12) fatty acids were measured by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The ratio of 18:2 (9,11): 18:2 (9,12) linoleic acid was significantly higher in the PET group than in the normotensive group at 28 weeks' gestation—that is before the onset of symptoms and signs of PET. The ratio remained significantly higher in the PET group than in the normotensive group until delivery, except at 30 weeks when the difference between the ratios just failed to reach statistical significance. It is suggested that measurement of the ratio of 18:2 (9,11) to 18:2 (9,12) linoleic acid in plasma phospholipids may be useful as a predictor of the likely development of PET.