Prevalence of Dirofilaria repens in dogs living in deltaic coastal plain of the Volturno River (Italy): a geographical risk model of infection.

The prevalence of vector-associated parasitic infections is high in central-southern Italy. The deltaic coastal plain of the Volturno River has been suspected, by veterinary practitioners, to have a high accidental incidence of Dirofilaria repens. Thus, the goal of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of dirofilariasis and other coinfections frequently described in dogs living in the Volturno area. Blood samples of 100 clinical asymptomatic dogs were examined using a Knott's technique and polymerase chain reaction in order to identify microfilariae. Other vector-borne coinfections were also investigated using ELISA kits. The results were analysed using statistical and Geographic Information System (GIS) software. Microfilariae of D. repens were detected in 10% of the dogs surveyed, with a presence of antibodies against Ehrlichia canis (4/10) and Dirofilaria immitis (1/10). Such high incidence should be considered in light of the zoonotic potential for D. repens and the support for more regular use of repellents to prevent the spread of this disease. The GIS analyses indicated that the study area provides suitable conditions to sustain populations of mosquito vectors and D. repens parasites throughout much of the year.

The role of public health in antimicrobial stewardship in healthcare.

Education, surveillance, and promotion of antimicrobial stewardship align with the goals of public health to prevent disease, promote health, and prolong life. Many US federal and state public health organizations are already engaged in antimicrobial stewardship activities. Healthcare providers are encouraged to work with public health officials on appropriate local antimicrobial stewardship strategies to attain the common goal of reducing antimicrobial resistance and preserving antimicrobials for future generations.

Core elements of hospital antibiotic stewardship programs from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The proven benefits of antibiotic stewardship programs (ASPs) for optimizing antibiotic use and minimizing adverse events, such as Clostridium difficile and antibiotic resistance, have prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to recommend that all hospitals have an ASP. This article summarizes Core Elements of Hospital Antibiotic Stewardship Programs, a recently released CDC document focused on defining the infrastructure and practices of coordinated multidisciplinary programs to improve antibiotic use and patient care in US hospitals.

Clinical outcomes and molecular genotyping of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from milk samples of dairy primiparous Mediterranean buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis).

Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most important pathogens causing mastitis in dairy cows and in Mediterranean buffaloes. Genotype B (GTB) is contagious in dairy cows and may occur in up to 87% of cows of a dairy herd. It was the aim of this study to evaluate genotypes present, clinical outcomes, and prevalence of Staph. aureus in milk samples of primiparous Mediterranean dairy buffaloes. Two hundred composite milk samples originating from 40 primiparous buffaloes were collected from May to June 2012, at d 10, 30, 60, 90, and 150 d in milk (DIM) to perform somatic cell counts and bacteriological cultures. Daily milk yields were recorded. Before parturition until 40 to 50 DIM, all primiparous animals were housed separated from the pluriparous animals. Milking was performed in the same milking parlor, but the primiparous animals were milked first. After 50 DIM, the primiparous were mixed with the pluriparous animals, including the milking procedure. Individual quarter samples were collected from each animal, and aliquots of 1 mL were mixed and used for molecular identification and genotyping of Staph. aureus. The identification of Staph. aureus was performed verifying the presence of nuc gene by nuc gene PCR. All the nuc-positive isolates were subjected to genotype analysis by means of PCR amplification of the 16S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer region and analyzed by a miniaturized electrophoresis system. Of all 200 composite samples, 41 (20.5%) were positive for Staph. aureus, and no genotype other than GTB was identified. The prevalence of samples positive for Staph. aureus was 0% at 10 DIM and increased to a maximum of 22/40 (55%) at 90 DIM. During the period of interest, 14 buffaloes tested positive for Staph. aureus once, 6 were positive twice, and 5 were positive 3 times, whereas 15 animals were negative at every sampling. At 90 and 150 DIM, 7 (17.5%) and 3 buffaloes (7.5%), respectively, showed clinical mastitis (CM), and only 1 (2.5%) showed CM at both samplings. At 60, 90, and 150 DIM, 1 buffalo was found with subclinical mastitis at each sampling. At 30, 60, 90, and 150 DIM, 2.5 (1/40), 22.5 (9/40), 35 (14/40), and 10% (4/40) were considered affected by intramammary infection, respectively. Buffaloes with CM caused by Staph. aureus had statistically significantly higher mean somatic cell count values (6.06 ± 0.29, Log10 cells/mL ± standard deviation) and statistically significantly lower mean daily milk yields (7.15 ± 1.49, liters/animal per day) than healthy animals (4.69 ± 0.23 and 13.87 ± 2.64, respectively), buffaloes with IMI (4.82 ± 0.23 and 11.16 ± 1.80, respectively), or with subclinical mastitis (5.47 ± 0.10 and 10.33 ± 0.68, respectively). Based on our knowledge, this is the first time that Staph. aureus GTB has been identified in milk samples of dairy Mediterranean buffaloes.

Short communication: effects of systemic treatment with penethamate hydriodide on udder health and milk yields in dry primiparous Mediterranean buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis).

The effects of penethamate hydriodide (Mamyzin, Boehringer Ingelheim, Ingelheim, Germany) on udder health and milk yields were evaluated in primiparous Mediterranean buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis). An intramuscular administration of 10 million international units was performed in 20 buffaloes at 7 d precalving (treatment group; TG), and 20 animals were enrolled as the control group (CG). Evening milk samplings were performed at 10, 30, and 60 d in milk (DIM). Somatic cell count (SCC) values were evaluated on composite milk samples, whereas bacteriological culture and California Mastitis Test were performed on quarter milk. Daily milk yields were recorded after all milkings. After 60 DIM, composite milk samples from each animal were collected for monthly SCC and bacteriological culture until drying off. Statistically significant differences were found between the prevalence of mastitic quarters in the 2 groups at 10 and 30 DIM, and between the incidence of mastitic animals during the examined period (TG: 4/20, 20% vs. CG: 10/20, 50%). Even though lower and higher values of SCC and milk yields were found in TG during each sampling, statistically significant differences were only found at 30 (SCC) and 60 DIM (milk yields). In our study, the antibiotic administration precalving showed good bactericidal activity against the most common udder-specific pathogens that cause mastitis in primiparous Mediterranean buffaloes, and greater efficacy was observed at 10 and 30 DIM compared with 60 DIM. Given the significant decrease in SCC and increase in yields achieved, use of this antibiotic could be economically beneficial in buffalo breeding.

Gene-expression profiling of endomyocardial biopsies from dogs with dilated cardiomyopathy phenotype.

INTRODUCTION: The employment of advanced molecular biology technologies has expanded the diagnostic investigation of cardiomyopathies in dogs; these technologies have predominantly been performed on postmortem samples, although the recent use of endomyocardial biopsy in living dogs has enabled a better premortem diagnostic approach to study the myocardial injury. ANIMALS, MATERIALS, AND METHODS: Endomyocardial biopsies were collected in nine dogs with a dilated cardiomyopathy phenotype (DCM-p) and congestive heart failure and submitted to histologic examination, next-generation sequencing (NGS), and polymerase chain reaction analysis. Data from three healthy dogs (Fastq files) were retrieved from a previously approved study and used as a control group for ribonucleic acid sequencing. RESULTS: Histologic examination revealed endocardial fibrosis in six of nine dogs, whereas lymphocytic interstitial infiltrates were detected in two of nine dogs, and lymphoplasmacytic and macrophage infiltrates were detected in one of nine dogs. On polymerase chain reaction analysis, two dogs tested positive for canine parvovirus two and one dog for canine distemper virus. Gene-expression pathways involved in cellular energy metabolism (especially carbohydrates-insulin) and cardiac structural proteins were different in all DCM-p dogs compared to those in the control group. When dogs with lymphocytic interstitial infiltrates were compared to those in the control group, NGS analysis revealed the predominant role of genes related to inflammation and pathogen infection. CONCLUSIONS: Next-generation sequencing technology performed on in vivo endomyocardial biopsies has identified different molecular and genetic factors that could play a role in the development and/or progression of DCM-p in dogs.

ASSESSMENT OF PCXMC MONTE CARLO SIMULATIONS IN SLOT-SCANNING-BASED EXAMINATIONS: COMPARISON WITH IN-PHANTOM THERMOLUMINESCENT DOSIMETRY.

Slot-scanning technology is nowadays a valid solution for the follow-up of chronic musculoskeletal disorders on children and adolescent patients, but there is no commercial software designed for simulating this X-ray beam geometry. PC Program for X-ray Monte Carlo (PCXMC) is a widespread Monte Carlo software developed for dose computation in projection radiography. In this study, experimental measurements were performed to evaluate its applicability in examinations with a slit-beam device. Physical phantoms corresponding to an adult and a 5-y-old child with calibrated thermoluminescent dosemeters were used for experiments. Different simulation approaches were investigated. Differences between measured and calculated organ doses ranged from -95 to 67% and were statistically significant for almost all organs. For both patients, PCXMC underestimated the effective dose of about 25%. This study suggests that PCXMC is not suited for organ dose evaluation in examinations with slot-scanning devices. It is still a useful tool for effective dose estimation when a proper correction factor is applied.

Reproductive aspects of the yellowtail snapper Ocyurus chrysurus from the southern Gulf of Mexico.

In this study, sex ratio, spawning season, fork length (L(F)) at maturity (L(F50)), batch fecundity and spawning frequency were characterized for the continental population of Ocyurus chrysurus from the Campeche Bank, in the southern Gulf of Mexico. A total of 1657 specimens were collected from February 2008 to January 2009. The overall sex ratio (male:female) and sex ratios by size-class showed no significant differences from an expected 1:1 ratio. The Campeche Bank population did not conform to the reproductive seasonality pattern characteristic of a continental population. A protracted spawning season that extended from January to September with peaks occurring mainly between April and May and additionally in September was observed. The population conformed, however, to the sexual maturity pattern observed for populations and species associated with a continental margin. Fish of both sexes reached the onset of sexual maturity at a similar and small L(F) of c. 14 cm, and L(F50) (L(F) at which 50% of females and males become mature) was 21·3 and 19·4 cm. Asynchronous-type ovarian development was observed for this species and batch fecundity estimates ranged from 14,102 to 164,756 oocytes (mean ±S.D. = 43,852 ± 32,684 oocytes). The overall spawning frequency estimate was once every 8·3 days or 26 times during the 9 month spawning season.

BriXS, a new X-ray inverse Compton source for medical applications.

MariX is a research infrastructure conceived for multi-disciplinary studies, based on a cutting-edge system of combined electron accelerators at the forefront of the world-wide scenario of X-ray sources. The generation of X-rays over a large photon energy range will be enabled by two unique X-ray sources: a Free Electron Laser and an inverse Compton source, called BriXS (Bright compact X-ray Source). The X-ray beam provided by BriXS is expected to have an average energy tunable in the range 20-180 keV and intensities between 1011 and 1013 photon/s within a relative bandwidth ΔE/E=1-10%. These characteristics, together with a very small source size (~20 µm) and a good transverse coherence, will enable a wide range of applications in the bio-medical field. An additional unique feature of BriXS will be the possibility to make a quick switch of the X-ray energy between two values for dual-energy and K-edge subtraction imaging. In this paper, the expected characteristics of BriXS will be presented, with a particular focus on the features of interest to its possible medical applications.

Developmental origins of cardiovascular disease: Impact of early life stress in humans and rodents.

The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) hypothesizes that environmental insults during childhood programs the individual to develop chronic disease in adulthood. Emerging epidemiological data strongly supports that early life stress (ELS) given by the exposure to adverse childhood experiences is regarded as an independent risk factor capable of predicting future risk of cardiovascular disease. Experimental animal models utilizing chronic behavioral stress during postnatal life, specifically maternal separation (MatSep) provides a suitable tool to elucidate molecular mechanisms by which ELS increases the risk to develop cardiovascular disease, including hypertension. The purpose of this review is to highlight current epidemiological studies linking ELS to the development of cardiovascular disease and to discuss the potential molecular mechanisms identified from animal studies. Overall, this review reveals the need for future investigations to further clarify the molecular mechanisms of ELS in order to develop more personalized therapeutics to mitigate the long-term consequences of chronic behavioral stress including cardiovascular and heart disease in adulthood.

Presence of anti-platelet IgM and IgG antibodies in dogs naturally infected by Leishmania infantum.

Thirty-three dogs, naturally infected by Leishmania infantum, were enrolled in the study and were classified as oligo-symptomatic (n. 15) and symptomatic or markedly symptomatic (n. 18). A control group was 10 healthy dogs. A haematological profile was obtained and the dogs serum was employed to assess the presence of platelet binding IgM and IgG antibodies (PBIgM, PBIgG) using flow cytometry. FITC labelled goat anti-dog IgM or IgG were used to detect PBIgM and PBIgG. Samples with a mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) that was 100 channels higher on a log scale for more than 30% of the platelets than seen in negative control platelets from a healthy dog were considered positive for the presence of anti-platelet antibodies (PBIg). Twenty-one (63.3%) dogs revealed the presence of PBIg. Six of them were oligo-symptomatic while 15 showed moderate or severe clinical signs of illness. All the dogs with PBIg showed the presence of PBIgM, with nine animals showing both PBIgM and PBIgG. Nine of 18 symptomatic or markedly symptomatic dogs showed thrombocytopenia, while normal platelet counts were observed in all oligo-symptomatic animals. Eight of 9 thrombocytopenic animals showed the presence of PBIgM, while six of them showed PBIgG. One thrombocytopenic dog was negative for PBIg. This study is the first report documenting the presence of PBIg in natural canine leishmaniasis implying a pathogenic association between thrombocytopenia and the presence of antibody against platelet membrane.

Modular construction for function of a ribonucleoprotein enzyme: the catalytic domain of Bacillus subtilis RNase P complexed with B. subtilis RNase P protein.

The bacterial RNase P holoenzyme catalyzes the formation of the mature 5'-end of tRNAs and is composed of an RNA and a protein subunit. Among the two folding domains of the RNase P RNA, the catalytic domain (C-domain) contains the active site of this ribozyme. We investigated specific binding of the Bacillus subtilis C-domain with the B.subtilis RNase P protein and examined the catalytic activity of this C-domain-P protein complex. The C-domain forms a specific complex with the P protein with a binding constant of approximately 0.1 microM. The C-domain-P protein complex and the holoenzyme are equally efficient in cleaving single-stranded RNA (approximately 0.9 min(-1) at pH 7.8) and substrates with a hairpin-loop 3' to the cleavage site (approximately 40 min(-1)). The holoenzyme reaction is much more efficient with a pre-tRNA substrate, binding at least 100-fold better and cleaving 10-500 times more efficiently. These results demonstrate that the RNase P holoenzyme is functionally constructed in three parts. The catalytic domain alone contains the active site, but has little specificity and affinity for most substrates. The specificity and affinity for the substrate is generated by either the specificity domain of RNase P RNA binding to a T stem-loop-like hairpin or RNase P protein binding to a single-stranded RNA. This modular construction may be exploited to obtain RNase P-based ribonucleoprotein complexes with altered substrate specificity.

Hypertension in urban Mexico: the 1992-93 national survey of chronic diseases.

The purpose of this work is to estimate the prevalence of hypertension in the urban population of Mexico. We studied a multistage national sample representative of the urban population in 417 cities of over 2500 people. The blood pressure of 14 657 individuals (6053 men and 8604 women) aged 20-69 years was measured after a 5-min rest using a standard mercury sphygmomanometer. The survey personnel had been previously trained and standardised. The main results show a crude prevalence of hypertension, as defined by the JNC VI, of 28.1% in women and 37.5% in men (27.2% and 37.1% age-adjusted). Both genders exhibited a trend of increasing hypertension with age. In individuals under 50 years of age, women had lower rates than men, but the difference disappeared in the older groups. The awareness of hypertension (28%) as well as the success of treatment (22%) were low in our sample. Our results had more similarities than differences with respect to those observed in other national surveys. It is concluded that hypertension in Mexico is an important public health problem similar to that seen in developing and developed nations. Efforts should be aimed at strengthening measures to prevent and control hypertension in Mexico. More information is needed of the sort obtained from longitudinal studies.

Red blood cell indices in a high altitude hospital population.

It is currently accepted that the red blood cell indices (MCV, MCH and MCHC) are the same in general care hospital populations throughout the world. The aim of the study was to explore whether the internationally accepted values for red cell indices are the same in a hospital located in Mexico City at 2240 meters above sea level (7352 feet). The setting for the study was a third level specialized care hospital for adults with chronic degenerative problems (trauma and obstetric cases were not seen). Each day, for a period of 139 working days, 120 EDTA blood samples of patients were assayed within 3h of extraction in a flow cytometer analyzer (Coulter STKR). Using the moving average approach of Bull (Reference 3) in batches of 20 samples, a raw daily value for each indice was obtained with the mean of the six daily moving averages. The daily raw value was multiplied by a ratio (assigned/observed ratio) of the corresponding daily value obtained in a normal preserved blood control (Coulter's 4C): we refer to them as corrected values in this paper. A total of seven batches of the Coulter control were used to obtain the corrected values during the 139 days of observation. The results were as follows. The mean (SD) of correction values in the 139 days were: MCV = 90.33 (.810) fl, MCH = 30.75 (.582) pg, MCHC = 33.38 (.630) g/dl. The indices showed significant changes in mean as a function of batch of the Coulter control used (F tests, p < 0.0001).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Chronic viral hepatitis C. Anatomoclinical and biological correlations]. / Hépatite chronique virale C. Corrélations anatomo-cliniques et biologiques.

OBJECTIVES: The relations between the severity of histopathological lesions and epidemiological, clinical and biological data were studied in 86 patients with chronic viral hepatitis C. PATIENTS AND METHODS: None of the patients had any clinical signs of decompensated liver disease. Three groups of patients were individualized according to histopathological findings: 17 (20%) had chronic persistent hepatitis, 48 (56%) had chronic active hepatitis without cirrhosis, and 21 (24%) had cirrhosis. RESULTS: Patients with cirrhosis differed significantly from patients in the two other groups for all biological parameters. With multivariate analysis, alkaline phosphatase activity and serum hyaluronic acid were two independent parameters significantly associated with cirrhosis. A serum hyaluronic acid level above 150 micrograms/L or alkaline phosphatase activity above normal were predictive of cirrhosis with a sensitivity of 87% and a specificity of 93%. None of the parameters in this study provided a clear distinction between patients with chronic persistent and chronic active hepatitis. CONCLUSION: Determination of serum hyaluronic acid and alkaline phosphatase activity as a non invasive index of cirrhosis could be useful for diagnosis and follow-up in patients with chronic viral hepatitis C.

[Hepatitis C]. / L'hépatite C.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV), identified in 1989, is the main agent of Non-A, Non-B hepatitis. The number of HCV carriers in France is estimated between 500,000 and 2 millions. The main risk factors for HCV infection are blood products transfusion and i.v. drug abuse. Cirrhosis occurs in 30% of cases with a delay ranging from 10 to 30 years, and hepatocellular carcinoma in 2.5% of cases. Interferon is, for instance, the only effective therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C; however, prolonged response (in terms of transaminase normalization) after stopping treatment occurs only in 20% of patients.

[Patient data for evaluating reference values]. / Los datos de pacientes para evaluar intervalos de referencia.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the use of data in patients as a way to evaluate the values of reference in clinical assays. Serum calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) were selected for this purpose. MATERIAL: A total of 836 consecutive admissions in a 10 week period were revised. Seventy percent (580 cases) had data of Ca and P in the first week following admission. A total of 424 were excluded by anyone of the following criteria: a) serum urea greater than 50 mg/dL, b) serum creatinine greater than 1.5 mg/dL; c) serum albumin less than 4 g/dL; d) lack of data of either urea, creatinine or albumin. These cutoff values were selected on the basis of a significant difference (t test) in the mean of Ca and/or P in patients grouped according to levels of the available data. The remainder of 156 cases is the selected population of study, and the 580 with Ca and P is the total population. METHODS: Ca and P were assayed in an analyzer (Coulter Chemistry) using the DAM and the Jaffé methods respectively. The precision during the period of study was adequate (CVs of 2.6% for Ca and 2.9% for P). RESULTS: Table 1 compares the mean, SD and CV of Ca and P in the selected versus the total population. There are significant reductions (F test) in the variability of Ca and P in the selected population (from a CV 9 to 5% in Ca and from 35 to 13% in P). Table 2 compares the age and sex distributions of the selected versus the total population. There are no significant differences (chi square test) although there is a lower proportion of people above 80 years of age in the selected population. The reference intervals of Ca and P in the selected population were obtained with the mean +/- 2 SD as both showed Gaussian distributions. These limits are compared in table 3 versus the values of the institution and of the manufacturer of the analyzer used. The P limits of this study fall intermediate to the other two, but in Ca they are the lowest of the three. Shortly after the completion of this study, the institutional values of Ca were changed to 8.5-10.5 mg/dL on the basis of the one year results in a WHO quality assessment scheme. The modification made the Ca limits of this study also intermediate to the other two series. The small differences in the limits have clinical and economic repercussions. Table 4 shows there is a 20% reduction in the number of abnormal tests (206 vs 259) and in the number of abnormal individuals (165 vs 203) using the limits of this study versus the institutional limits before modification. CONCLUSIONS: The data of Ca and P in a selected but representative population of patients proved to be a reliable way of evaluating its reference intervals. The reference intervals of this study were intermediate to those of the manufacturers of the analyzer and the laboratory (after modification). This finding suggests the strategy may be as good as more conventional approaches to establish reference values.

[What is known about micronutrients in Mexico]. / Lo que se sabe de micronutrimentos en México.

OBJECTIVE: To update the information on micronutrients in Mexico regarding: 1. The research lines according to priority of the micronutrient, subjects affected, and its focus (basic, clinical, epidemiological, operational). 2. The laboratory capacity available for micronutrient assays. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We analyzed review articles of what has been published on micronutrients in Mexico since 1950. We also gathered information by questionnaire from the 16 research groups working in Mexico in the area of micronutrients. RESULTS: We generated tables summarizing the situation of the six micronutrients which we identified as the most problematic in Mexico (vitamins A and C, and iron, iodine, zinc and calcium). CONCLUSIONS: We reached 10 conclusions related to populations of study, research line priorities, and desirable operational studies.