Impact of Pretreatment Neutrophil Count on Chemotherapy Administration and Toxicity in Dogs with Lymphoma Treated with CHOP Chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND: Prechemotherapy absolute neutrophil count (ANC) cutoffs are arbitrary and vary across institutions and clinicians. Similarly, subjective guidelines are utilized for the administration of prophylactic antibiotics in neutropenic dogs. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the impact of various ANC cutoffs on chemotherapy administration in dogs with lymphoma treated with CHOP chemotherapy and to determine whether an association between prechemotherapy ANC and subsequent toxicity exists. The secondary objective was to evaluate a currently used ANC cutoff to indicate prescription of prophylactic antibiotics. ANIMALS: Dogs diagnosed with lymphoma treated with CHOP chemotherapy (n = 64). METHODS: Six hundred and fifteen ANCs were stratified into 6 classes. The 3 ANC cutoffs 1.5 × 103 /µL, 2.0 × 103 /µL, and 2.5 × 103 /µL were assessed. The presence of an association between prechemotherapy ANC class and toxicity was determined. Afebrile neutropenic dogs with ANC <1.5 × 103 /µL but above the criteria for prophylactic antibiotics were evaluated. RESULTS: Chemotherapy was not administered in 7% of visits with an ANC cutoff of 1.5 × 103 /µL; chemotherapy would not have been administered in 10% and 16% of visits with an ANC cutoff of 2.0 × 103 /µL or 2.5 × 103 /µL, respectively. There was no association among the 3 lower prechemotherapy ANC classes and toxicity. All dogs with ANC 0.75-1.5 × 103 /µL recovered spontaneously without medical intervention. CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: The number of dose delays was minimized with a prechemotherapy ANC cutoff of 1.5 × 103 /µL, and the prechemotherapy ANC class 1.5-1.99 × 103 /µL was not associated with an increased toxicity. Further investigation of an ANC cutoff near 0.75 × 103 /µL in which to prescribe prophylactic antibiotics is indicated.

The erosion on the east coast of Spain: Wear of particles, mineral composition, carbonates and Posidonia oceanica.

Erosion on sand beaches is a problem worldwide, which together with the shortage of sand justifies the great importance of understanding the processes involved in the regression of the shoreline in order to know and adopt solutions. This study analysed the influence of sediment wear on beaches regression. For this, nine morphological units on Castellón-Valencia and nine on Alicante were analysed. The results of the granulometric and mineralogical analysis and carbonate content, showed that sediments due to different mechanisms of erosion, were worn along the shoreline. This erosion was corroborated by wear obtained in the study of white and blue quartz, where the level of rolling and the particle size were observed. Given the presence of Posidonia oceanica in much of the study area, the mineralogical composition was analysed according to the presence of this seagrass, and it was observed that the closer it gets to the coast the higher the carbonate content. This is an important fact because the increase of CO2 in the atmosphere has increased the capacity of dilution of carbonates by the seawater. All this leads to the conclusion that different wear mechanisms have caused a decrease in the size of sediments, favouring both longitudinal and transverse transport with the consequent movement of the shoreline. The transverse movement increases as the particles size decrease, and when the particles exceed the depth of closure, they do not return to the shoreline, which faces the direct consequence of the backward movement of the coastline.

[Morphometric study of somatostatin-producing "D" cells in duodenum and pancreas of the rat, following experimental antrectomy]. / Estudio morfométrico de las células "D" productoras de somatostatina en duodeno y páncreas de la rata, tras la antrectomía experimental.

Given the inhibition of gastric secretion by the "D" cells producing somatostatin in antral mucosa, as well as evidence of disorders of the postprandial blood glucose after antrectomy, we may expect as a result of the antral resection a series of modifications in the content of the "D" cells in duodenum and pancreas. The study group was made up of 30 Sprague-Dawley albino rats, distributed in 3 groups as follows: Billroth I, Billroth II and laparotomy. The "D" cell study and the morphometric analysis after immunohistochemical avidin-biotin, was carried out with an automatic image analyzer and a morphometric calculation program. The results show that: the "D" cell population decreased significantly in the B-II group while the number of pancreatic islets and the average insular surface, did not show significantly differences in the tree groups, the relationship of the average insular surface with respect to the pancreas, decreased significantly in the two groups with antrectomy, expressing a hyperplasia of the exocrine pancreas and that the number of insular "D" cells decreased significantly in the B-II group and didn't change in the B-I group. These findings suggest that antrectomy, originates an increase of the exocrine pancreas and that antrectomy with gastrojejunal anastomosis excluding the duodenum, decreases the number of duodenal "D" cells and number of "D" cells of the pancreatic islets.