Occurrence of exercise-induced pulmonary haemorrhage in show jumping horses.

Pulmonary haemorrhage occurs in sport horses performing high-intensity exercise, but the factors involved in the occurrence of pulmonary haemorrhage in jumping horses have not been elucidated. This study aimed to determine the occurrence of pulmonary haemorrhage and factors involved in competitive jumping horses. Fifty adult jumping horses competing in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, were included. The horses were divided into two groups based on jump height at competition: Low group (LG, n=26), with jump height between 1.00 and 1.20m, and High group (HG, n=24), with jump height between 1.30 and 1.50m. Physical examination was performed before and after competition, and airway endoscopy and tracheal wash (TW) were performed 1h after competition. Heart rate (HR; P<0.010), respiratory rate (RR; P<0.010), rectal temperature (RT; P<0.010), and frequency of endoscopic observations of blood in the tracheal lumen (P<0.013) were significantly higher in HG than in LG. TW cytology was not different between the two groups. Incidence of pulmonary haemorrhage was positively correlated with jump height (r2=0.40, P<0.0001), post-exercise HR (r2=0.31, P<0.0001), and post-exercise RR (r2=0.19, P<0.002). In conclusion, pulmonary haemorrhage in jumping horses was associated with the level of performance. Further studies on the pathophysiology of exercise-induced pulmonary haemorrhage in this type of horses are required.

Heart failure-induced skeletal myopathy in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

BACKGROUND: Although skeletal muscle atrophy and changes in myosin heavy chain (MyHC) isoforms have often been observed during heart failure, their pathophysiological mechanisms are not completely defined. In this study we tested the hypothesis that skeletal muscle phenotype changes are related to myogenic regulatory factors and myostatin/follistatin expression in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) with heart failure. METHODS: After developing tachypnea, SHR were subjected to transthoracic echocardiogram. Pathological evidence of heart failure was assessed during euthanasia. Age-matched Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats were used as controls. Soleus muscle morphometry was analyzed in histological sections, and MyHC isoforms evaluated by electrophoresis. Protein levels were assessed by Western blotting. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Student'st test and Pearson correlation. RESULTS: All SHR presented right ventricular hypertrophy and seven had pleuropericardial effusion. Echocardiographic evaluation showed dilation in the left chambers and left ventricular hypertrophy with systolic and diastolic dysfunction in SHR. Soleus weight and fiber cross sectional areas were lower (WKY 3615 ± 412; SHR 2035 ± 224 µm(2); P<0.001), and collagen fractional volume was higher in SHR. The relative amount of type I MyHC isoform was increased in SHR. Myogenin, myostatin, and follistatin expression was lower and MRF4 levels higher in SHR. Myogenin and follistatin expression positively correlated with fiber cross sectional areas and MRF4 levels positively correlated with I MyHC isoform. CONCLUSION: Reduced myogenin and follistatin expression seems to participate in muscle atrophy while increased MRF4 protein levels can modulate myosin heavy chain isoform shift in skeletal muscle of spontaneously hypertensive rats with heart failure.

Short-lasting episodes of prosopagnosia in Parkinson's disease.

BACKGROUND: Prosopagnosia, the selective inability to recognize known faces, has been described in Alzheimer's disease and fronto-temporal dementia but is not expected to occur in Parkinson's disease (PD). METHODS AND RESULTS: We report three PD patients who developed recurrent, paroxysmal and short-lasting episodes of prosopagnosia, before progressing to PD dementia (PDD). Hallucinations and other higher-order visual deficits - such as optic ataxia and micro/macropsia - were also seen. CONCLUSION: Progressive signs of temporal and parietal dysfunction have been suggested to herald dementia in PD. The observation of prosopagnosia and other higher-order visuoperceptive defects in the transition to dementia, reinforce the importance of posterior-cortical deficit in PD.

Observation of the naive-T-odd Sivers effect in deep-inelastic scattering.

Azimuthal single-spin asymmetries of leptoproduced pions and charged kaons were measured on a transversely polarized hydrogen target. Evidence for a naive-T-odd, transverse-momentum-dependent parton distribution function is deduced from nonvanishing Sivers effects for pi(+), pi(0), and K(+/-), as well as in the difference of the pi(+) and pi(-) cross sections.

From airports to care centers. Transferring information technology to support patient care reengineering.

PROBLEM: To improve communication among caregivers about the status of patients under their care. SOLUTION: Replacing manual white boards with electronic bed boards/inpatient databases, similar to airport display technology. RESULTS: Improved data quality from having patient data displayed in a standardized manner across care centers. KEYS TO SUCCESS: "We used a process redesign team, which focused on specific issues related to the processes used in providing patient care."