Quantifying Surface-Height Change Over a Periglacial Environment With ICESat-2 Laser Altimetry.

We use Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite 2 (ICESat-2) laser altimetry crossovers and repeat tracks collected over the North Slope of Alaska to estimate ground surface-height change due to the seasonal freezing and thawing of the active layer. We compare these measurements to a time series of surface deformation from Sentinel-1 interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) and demonstrate agreement between these independent observations of surface deformation at broad spatial scales. We observe a relationship between ICESat-2-derived surface subsidence/uplift and changes in normalized accumulated degree days, which is consistent with the thermodynamically driven seasonal freezing and thawing of the active layer. Integrating ICESat-2 crossover estimates of surface-height change yields an annual time series of surface-height change that is sensitive to changes in snow cover during spring and thawing of the active layer throughout spring and summer. Furthermore, this time series exhibits temporal correlation with independent reanalysis datasets of temperature and snow cover, as well as an InSAR-derived time series. ICESat-2-derived surface-height change estimates can be significantly affected by short length-scale topographic gradients and changes in snow cover and snow depth. We discuss optimal strategies of post-processing ICESat-2 data for permafrost applications, as well as the future potential of joint ICESat-2 and InSAR investigations of permafrost surface-dynamics.

Septicemia decorrente de pododermatites em canários de cor (Serinus canarius) / Septicemia resulting from bumblefoot in color canaries (Serinus canarius)

Relataram-se um surto de pododermatite e quadro septicêmico em aves de um canaril comercial. Quarenta e quatro canários de cor foram escolhidos de forma aleatória, sem distinção de sexo, idade ou cor, os quais vieram a óbito naturalmente, após terem sido afetados pela pododermatite, sem que tivessem se submetido a tratamento prévio. As aves mortas foram encaminhadas para o exame necroscópico, onde amostras de tecidos das áreas afetadas foram colhidas para exames microbiológico, micológico e histológico. Todas as aves necropsiadas apresentavam pododermatite, com inflamação em um ou mais dedos, de aspecto nodular, com ou sem presença de úlceras ou necrose. Staphylococcus aureus plasma coagulase positivo foi isolado dos pés e do fígado de todas as aves. Foi observado que todas as linhagens isoladas foram resistentes aos antimicrobianos da classe das penicilinas (penicilina G e ampicilina) e parcialmente sensíveis ou resistentes à ciprofloxacina. Apenas metade dos isolados foram sensíveis à neomicina e à estreptomicina. Problemas de saúde pública podem estar relacionados ao surgimento de animais reservatórios de cepas multirresistentes para seres humanos contactantes, como neste caso.

An outbreak of bumblefoot and septicemia was reported in birds of commercial breeding. Forty-four color canaries chosen at random, without regard to sex, age or color, which died naturally having been affected with pododermatitis and not undergoing any prior treatment were used. The dead birds were sent for necropsy in which tissue samples from affected areas were taken for microbiological, mycological and histological examination. All necropsied birds had bumblefoot, inflammation in one or more fingers, nodular, with or without the presence of ulcers and necrosis. Staphylococcus aureus plasma-coagulase positive was isolated from the liver and the feet of all birds. It was observed that all isolates were resistant to the penicillin class of antibiotics (penicillin G and ampicillin) and partially sensitive or resistant to ciprofloxacin. Only half of the isolates were sensitive to neomycin and streptomycin. Public health problems may be related to the emergence of animal reservoirs of multi-resistant strains for contacted humans, as in this case.

Níveis séricos de enzimas de função hepática em frangos de corte de criação industrial clinicamente saudáveis / Serum levels of hepatic enzyme function in clinically healthy broiler chickens

The values for the main hepatic enzymes included in the profiles of screen clinical biochemistry, alanine-aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (FA), lactate desidrogenase (LDH) and gamaglutamiltransferase (GGT), in samples of serum of broiler chickens in industrial system, clinically healthy, starting from the seventh day of life, until the slaughter (42 days) in weekly intervals were determined. Significant variations were not observed in the analyses in relation to the age of the birds for none of the appraised enzymes.

Surveillance for rotavirus in Argentina.

Group A rotaviruses are the major cause of severe gastroenteritis in young children worldwide. Because rotavirus vaccination appeared imminent, a nationwide surveillance program was organized between October 1996 and October 1998 in the largest Argentine cities. Surveillance for disease burden, rotavirus detection, and rotavirus typing was undertaken at nine locations. Results showed rotavirus to be associated with 42% of diarrhea admissions. Although the prevalent G types changed from year to year, common G types were found in 96% of the cases and were usually associated with common P types. Uncommon G types, G9 and G5, were found at low prevalence and uncommon G/P combinations occurred at almost every study site. These data suggest that a rotavirus vaccine could substantially decrease the rotavirus disease burden in Argentina, but that introduction of a vaccine should be accompanied by a concurrent surveillance system.

[Rotavirus laboratory network: results after one year of observation]. / Red de laboratorios de Rotavirus: resultados del primer año de vigilancia.

Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe diarrhea in children and it has been estimated that in Argentina Rotavirus is responsible for 21,000 hospitalizations, 85,000 medical attentions and an annual medical cost of US$ 27 millions. Given that a Rotavirus vaccine is about to be approved, a laboratory network based surveillance system was organized. Herein, we present the results after one year of study. Severe diarrhea was responsible for 9% of pediatric hospitalizations and rotavirus was detected in 42.1% of the diarrhea cases. We estimated that Rotavirus causes 3.8% of pediatric hospitalizations. The number of diarrhea and Rotavirus diarrhea hospitalizations was greater during the first year of life (62% and 71.3%, respectively). The number of diarrhea hospitalizations during the December-May semester was significantly higher than the rest of the year. A Rotavirus diarrhea peak was detected between April and June. These results indicate that Rotavirus is the most important etiological agent of severe diarrhea in Argentine children and show the importance of performing Rotavirus diagnosis in every pediatric hospital. The additional costs will be compensated by many benefits such as better use of antibiotics, improved nosocomial spread control, better handling of hospital beds and of laboratory resources and of the hospitalized patient.

Red de laboratorios de Rotavirus: resultados del primer año de vigilancia / Rotavirus laboratory network: results after one year experience

Rotavirus es el principal agente productor de diarrea infantil y se ha estimado que provoca en Argentina 21.000 hospitalizaciones, 85.000 atenciones ambulatorias, y un costo mayor a los 27 millones de dolares anuales. Ante la inminente aprobación de una vacuna contra este patógeno se organizó un Sistema de Vigilancia Epidemiológica en base a una Red de laboratorios. Se presentan los resultados obtenidos luego del primer año de funcionamiento de esta Red. Se encontró que el 9 por ciento de la internación pediátrica es debido a diarrea aguda, y rotavirus se halló en el 42,1 por ciento de los casos estudiados. Se estimó que rotavirus provoca el 3,8 por ciento de las internaciones pediátricas. La internación por diarrea y la internación asociada a diarrea por rotavirus fue mayor en el primer año de vida (62 por ciento y 71,3 por ciento respectivamente). En el semestre de diciembre a mayo el número de internaciones por diarrea fue significativamente mayor que en el semestre restante. Se detectó un pico de diarreas por rotavirus entre abril y junio en las distintas Unidades centinelas. Estos resultados señalan a los rotavirus como el principal agente etiológico de la gastroenteritis infantil aguda en nuestro país y avalan la necesidad de incorporar su diagnóstico en todos los hospitales pediátricos. Los costos adicionales serán ampliamente superados por los beneficios relacionados con elmejor manejo de las camas hospitalarias, los recursos del laboratorio, y el paciente internado por diarrea, el uso correcto de antibióticos, y el control de la diseminación intrahospitalaria de rotavirus

Anticipating rotavirus vaccines: review of epidemiologic studies of rotavirus diarrhea in Argentina.

Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe diarrhea in children worldwide, and vaccines currently being field-tested could be available for childhood immunization in several years. To assess the rotavirus disease burden in Argentina and the value of future national surveillance for the disease, we reviewed available data on rotavirus detections reported by published and unpublished studies conducted in nine Argentine cities and by a multicenter study. Data from these studies indicated that rotavirus was detected in 20% of 5,226 specimens (within a range of 6% to 54% for different studies) from children hospitalized for diarrhea and in 9% of 6,587 specimens (within a range of 5% to 22% for different studies) from children who were outpatients, members of mixed populations (hospitalized patients and outpatients), or survey subjects in community-based studies. The hospital data showed that while rotavirus was detected throughout the year, a peak occurred during the winter months (May-July) when up to half of the children with diarrhea were found positive for rotavirus. Attempted serotyping of 294 rotavirus-positive specimens for G-protein by three laboratories was successful in 230 cases (78%); the resulting data indicated that serotype G1 was the most common (being present in 60% of the successfully serotyped specimens), followed by G2 (in 20%), G4 (in 14%), and G3 (in 5%). Based on national data for Argentina, we estimate that in 1991 there were roughly 84,500 rotavirus-associated outpatient visits (1 for every 8 births) and 21,000 hospitalizations averaging 4 days in length (1 for every 31 births), all of which entailed direct medical costs estimated at US$ 27.7 million. These preliminary data show that the rotavirus disease burden in Argentine children is extensive and could be decreased by a safe and effective vaccine. Further surveillance is needed to improve our understanding of the epidemiology and distribution of rotavirus strains in Argentina, to more accurately assess the cost-effectiveness of a rotavirus vaccine program, and to indicate what methods might best be used to monitor such a program's impact.