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The lack of falcilities for veterinary services, such as analytical laboratories, which are distant from the field and at immense distances are aggravated by the constraint of transporting and preserving the samples. A method where a certain amount of the urine sample is absorbed onto filter paper, but dried in the field and then sent to the laboratory (Dried Filter Paper Method, DFPM), has been used in human medicine, but never applied in the veterinary field. The practice of expressing various urinary minerals/electrolytes relative to till' concentration of creatinine has recently become generally accepted. A single sample obviates the need for collection of urine over a 24-hour period. Fractional excretion (FE) of minerals and electrolytes (which is the mineral or electrolyte to creatinine ratio), is a simple, inexpensive measurement and a reasonable indicator of the renal clearance of minerals/electrolytes, using a single urine sample. The investigation was divided into two phases, The first was conducted entirely in vitro, using simulated urine (artificial and goat urine) dried on filter paper, manipulated in various ways under laboratory conditions, and the second phase was conducted in vivo and in vitro, using urine (collected from water-deprived goats) dried on filter paper and manipulated in various ways under laboratory conditions. Determination of mineral/electrolyte to creatinine ratios using the dried filter paper method consisted of Impregnating a specific filter paper with a specific volume of artificial/goat urine, diluted in a specific eluent, and then analysed for the analytes (creatinine, phosphate, chloride, magnesium, calcium, sodium, and potassium). Due to the wide range of filter papers, which could have been used for the trial, it was necessary to run an experiment to identify the best for the purpose. The experiment used filter papers from :2 different brands (Whatman® and Scheicher&Schuel filter papers). The following filter paper were compared: Whatman® no 2, 3, 5, 6, 42, 43, 44, and 542 and 860, 593, 595. 597, 598 for Schleicher&Schuell (very high quality). There were few significant differences. Whatman filter paper number 6, was chosen, because of the constant and uniform mineral/electrolyte to creatinine ratios. The very high variability of urine mineral/electrolyte concentrations in ruminants, and the limited linearity range of routine analytical equipment, constrains the routine use of laboratory analysers in urine mineral and electrolyte assessment. One of the approaches is to use a diluent, with a particular mineral/electrolyte concentration near to the lower end of the linear/standardised range. Therefore, "mixing" a small volume of urine with the diluent will result in a final mineral/electrolyte concentration, that falls into a linear and controlled/standard range for the particular mineral and electrolyte. A diluent was tested and the results for analytes show a high interclass correlation (R1 >0.75) between the expected and the calculated values of this ratio. The stability of mineral/electrolyte to creatinine ratio (B/Cr) in artificial and goat urine specimens using the dried filter paper method stored at 2 different temperatures during ten days was also evaluated experimently. While it has been found that P/Cr ratio, Mg/Cr ratio, K/Cr ratio are stable for the 10 days, the Cl/Cr ratio, Ca/Cr ratio, and Na/Cr were found to be less stable during the same period of time. The average results do not differ significantly from the control in either the artificial urine or the goat urine. Experiments were conducted to evaluate the reproducibility of artificial urine and artificial urine diluted 1:5 to simulate reproducibility of mineral/electrolyte to creatinine ratios with higher and lower concentrations, respectively. The results indicate a relatively good reproducibility of the method, because the variation, as measured by standard deviation, is small relative to the mean, except for Cl/Cr ratio and Ca/Cr ratio, where the results presented showed a relatively low reproducibility. In theory, since ratios can be obtained, and should be unchanged by taking measurements at different dilutions even if the amount of specimen is unknown, there should be no need to absorb a fixed amount of urine onto the filter paper when urine is collected, using this method. However, there appear to be limits to this in reality, dilution of urine below a 1: 10 dilution and/or the volume impregnated onto the filter paper below 0.525 ml on Whatman® number 6 filter paper. An experiment with goats on the relationship between the influence of water deprivation on minerallelectrulvte to creatinine ratio over a period of time demonstrated that concentrations and excretion of electrolytes vary from animal to animal, but the mineral/electrolyte to creatinine ratios by DFPM hardly vary, even if the goat is deprived of water. Using goat urine to determe mineral/electrolyte to creatinine ratio with the dried filter paper method gives high interclass correlation for mineral/electrolyte to creatinine ratio between the control (fresh urine sample, preserved in freezer) and the dried filter paper method on goats given water ad libitum. Interclass correlation agreement for the two methods was R1 >0.75. On the basis of the results, the method is robust for use as a urine sample preservation and transportation method for the determination of mineral/electrolyte to creatinine ratio with an added advantage of not needing either preservative or refrigeration. / Dissertation (MSc (Veterinary Science))--University of Pretoria, 2000. / Companion Animal Clinical Studies / unrestricted

Les expositions professionnelles agricoles, et notamment l’exposition aux pesticides, ont été associées à divers effets négatifs, sur la fertilité, le déroulement de la grossesse et le développement de l’enfant. Peu d’études se sont intéressées à des activités agricoles spécifiques excepté le travail sous serre et la floriculture et aucune n’a été à ce jour conduite en France. (1) L’interrogation de plus de 800 femmes, incluses dans la cohorte AGRIculture & CANcer (AGRICAN) et ayant eu une grossesse depuis l’inclusion (2005), grâce à 2 questionnaires rétrospectifs a montré un allongement du délai nécessaire à concevoir en lien avec l’emploi sur une exploitation agricole, le travail de nuit ou l’exposition à des vibrations. Des augmentations de risque d’avortements spontanés et de malformations ont également été observées mais restent à confirmer. (2) Le développement d’une méthode d’analyse multi-résidus a permis de mesurer 25 pesticides différents parmi 116 recherchés dans les urines de femmes travaillant sur des exploitations de poly-culture élevage. Les herbicides étaient les plus fréquemment détectés, notamment en lien avec la présence de maïs sur l’exploitation ou de tâches réalisées au contact des animaux d’élevage. Le glyphosate ou son métabolite AMPA étaient retrouvés dans 85% des échantillons.Un projet de recherche poursuivra les travaux engagés en s’intéressant au développement cognitif des enfants nés depuis 2005. / Agricultural exposures, including pesticide exposure, have been associated with several negative effects on fertility, pregnancy and child development. Few studies focused on specific agricultural activity excepted floriculture and working in greenhouse and none was conducted in France. (1) More than 800 women, enroled in the AGRIculture & CANcer (AGRICAN) cohort and who reported a pregnancy since enrolment (2005) agreed to fill in 2 questionnaires. An increase of time to pregnancy was observed for women who worked on a farm, for those exposed to night work and to vibrations. Increased risks of spontaneous abortions or abnormalities were also observed in relation to agricultural work but these results need to be confirmed. (2) Multi-residue analytical method was developed and applied to women of childbearing age, working in crop-livestock farms. Twenty-five pesticides or metabolites were detected among 116 measured in urine samples. Herbicides were the most frequently detected, especially when women worked on corn-crop farms or were involved in breeding tasks. Glyphosate or its metabolite AMPA were detected in 85% of urine samples.Future project will allow us to investigate cognitive development of children born since 2005.

The aim of this thesis is to design and describe a device for medical measurement of flow of urine.This work is divided in several parts. In the first part the problem is analysed and the first version of the devices is designed. In second part the final solution and build of the prototype is described. In the next part the manufacture and testing of the first series is outlined.

In this thesis I have attempted to assemble in some coherent form the fruits of two years' research into the renal handling of calcium and phosphorus.

Objectives To define the magnitude of buprenorphine presence in the urine drug screens of pregnant women and to assess the presence of illicit buprenorphine use versus the presence of prescribed buprenorphine use. Methods Initial prenatal drug screen results for all pregnant patients in our practice for a 1-year period were analyzed and tabulated. Results Buprenorphine was found in the urine drug screens of 16% of pregnant patients. The presence of buprenorphine was by far the highest for any substance associated with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). We estimate that the exposure to buprenorphine of approximately one-third of individuals in our population is associated with illicit buprenorphine use. Conclusions The high rate of NAS in our region is primarily associated with both illicit and prescribed buprenorphine rather than other substances. Buprenorphine usage at the time that prenatal care is initiated, rather than opiate use at the onset of prenatal care, is the underlying factor that must be addressed if our region is to successfully combat our high rates of NAS.

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