Effect of tamsulosin on urethral tone in healthy male cats.

OBJECTIVES: Alpha-adrenergic antagonists are commonly used to prevent recurrent urethral obstruction in cats with mixed reports of efficacy. No published data on tamsulosin use in cats are available. The objective of this study was to measure changes in urodynamic parameters and blood pressure in five healthy male cats before and after administration of tamsulosin orally for 4 and 10 days. METHODS: Five young healthy adult male cats from a research colony were administered tamsulosin at 0.1 mg/cat PO q24h for 10 days. Urethral pressure profile and blood pressure measurements were performed before treatment and approximately 6 h after treatment on days 4 and 10. Maximum urethral closure pressure (MUCP) for the prostatic and penile urethra, functional urethral length (FPL), functional area (FA) and systolic blood pressures were recorded and compared between the time points. RESULTS: Significant changes in blood pressure on day 4 (121.1 mmHg ± 20.2 mmHg) and on day 10 (112.6 mmHg ± 14.9 mmHg) compared with day 0 (141.1 mmHg± 33.4 mmHg) were not detected (P = 0.18) in anesthetized cats. No significant difference in MUCP, FA or FPL measurements were detected among baseline, day 4 and day 10 of treatment. Hematuria and transient pollakiuria were induced in two cats with 3.5 Fr urethral catheters. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Tamsulosin at 0.1 mg/cat PO q24h did not induce hypotension in healthy cats. Urodynamic testing performed 6 h after the tamsulosin pill was administered did not detect consistent decreases in urodynamic functions induced by tamsulosin. Repeated catheterization of tom cats with 3.5 Fr catheters may induce significant urethral trauma.

Evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in postmortem lung, kidney, and liver samples, revealing cellular targets involved in COVID-19 pathogenesis.

There is an urgent need to understand severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-host interactions involved in virus spread and pathogenesis, which might contribute to the identification of new therapeutic targets. In this study, we investigated the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in postmortem lung, kidney, and liver samples of patients who died with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and its relationship with host factors involved in virus spread and pathogenesis, using microscopy-based methods. The cases analyzed showed advanced stages of diffuse acute alveolar damage and fibrosis. We identified the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (NC) in a variety of cells, colocalizing with mitochondrial proteins, lipid droplets (LDs), and key host proteins that have been implicated in inflammation, tissue repair, and the SARS-CoV-2 life cycle (vimentin, NLRP3, fibronectin, LC3B, DDX3X, and PPARγ), pointing to vimentin and LDs as platforms involved not only in the viral life cycle but also in inflammation and pathogenesis. SARS-CoV-2 isolated from a patient´s nasal swab was grown in cell culture and used to infect hamsters. Target cells identified in human tissue samples included lung epithelial and endothelial cells; lipogenic fibroblast-like cells (FLCs) showing features of lipofibroblasts such as activated PPARγ signaling and LDs; lung FLCs expressing fibronectin and vimentin and macrophages, both with evidence of NLRP3- and IL1ß-induced responses; regulatory cells expressing immune-checkpoint proteins involved in lung repair responses and contributing to inflammatory responses in the lung; CD34+ liver endothelial cells and hepatocytes expressing vimentin; renal interstitial cells; and the juxtaglomerular apparatus. This suggests that SARS-CoV-2 may directly interfere with critical lung, renal, and liver functions involved in COVID-19-pathogenesis.

Temperature modulates systemic and central actions of thyroid hormones on BAT thermogenesis.

Thyroid hormones (THs) play a major role regulating energy balance and brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis, as well as body temperature, as shown in hyperthyroid patients. However, the current landscape of preclinical thyroid hormone models is complex. For example, while rats become catabolic after TH administration, mice gain weight; so, these differences in species need to be analyzed in detail and specially whether temperature could be a factor. Here, we aimed to investigate the effect of environmental temperature on those actions. Rats were subcutaneously treated with L-thyroxine (T4) or stereotaxically within the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMH) with triiodothyronine (T3) and housed at 23°C, 4°C or 30°C; energy balance, BAT thermogenesis and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in the VMH were analyzed. Our data showed that the effect of both systemic T4 of central T3 on energy balance and BAT thermogenesis was dependent upon environmental temperature. This evidence is of interest in the design of experimental settings highlighting the species-specific metabolic actions of THs, and in understanding its physiological role in the adaptation to temperature.

Urine bacterial culture growth and association with urine sedimentation and clinical findings in cats with acute kidney injury.

OBJECTIVES: A urine culture is often pursued in cats with acute kidney injury (AKI) to screen for bacterial growth in the urine, but it can be cost prohibitive. The aim of the study was to determine the ability of a urinalysis and lower urinary tract signs (LUTS) to predict urine culture results in cats with AKI. METHODS: Ninety-seven cats with AKI were included in this study. This was a retrospective, observational study. Medical records from 2008 to 2018 were reviewed to identify cats with AKI that had a paired urinalysis and urine bacterial culture. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive values of microscopic bacteriuria, pyuria, hematuria and the presence of LUTS for predicting urine culture results was calculated. RESULTS: Thirty-two percent of cats (n = 31) had a positive urine culture. Of these, 28 (90%) had bacteriuria, 21 (68%) had pyuria, 13 (42%) had hematuria and 10 (32%) had LUTS. Of the 42 cats without hematuria or pyuria, seven had a positive urine culture (17%). Bacteriuria had a high sensitivity (90%) and specificity (92%) for predicting urine culture bacterial growth. The absence of bacteriuria had a high negative predictive value for no bacterial growth (95%). The odds of a positive urine culture were increased with bacteriuria (odds ratio [OR] 114, 95% confidence interval [CI] 29-621; P <0.001), pyuria (OR 21, 95% CI 7-70; P <0.001) and LUTS (OR 5, 95% CI 1.7-16; P = 0.004). Hematuria was not associated with a positive culture (sensitivity 42%, specificity 52%). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Microscopic bacteriuria and pyuria on urine sediment evaluation and LUTS can be helpful for predicting bacterial culture results in cats with AKI and in settings where submitting a urine culture may not be financially feasible.

Aprendiendo sobre tecnologías de la información y las comunicaciones desde las páginas de EDUMECENTRO / Learning about information and communication technologies from the EDUMECENTRO pages

RESUMEN Introducción: las tecnologías de la información y las comunicaciones optimizan el manejo de la información y el desarrollo de la comunicación; permiten actuar sobre ellas y generar mayores y nuevos conocimientos e inteligencia. Objetivo: indagar acerca del uso de las tecnologías de la información y las comunicaciones en el proceso enseñanza aprendizaje, desde las páginas de la revista EDUMECENTRO. Métodos: se realizó una revisión bibliográfica para desarrollar un análisis sobre el contenido de las bibliografías; se consideraron artículos originales y de revisión publicados entre 2013 y 2019 en español. La búsqueda fue realizada en las páginas de EDUMECENTRO, utilizando las bases de datos SciELO y Gogle Académico, entre marzo y abril de 2019. Se seleccionaron los fragmentos que permitieron el cumplimiento del objetivo y los juicios críticos. Fueron revisados en total 50 artículos de los que se seleccionaron 20 para conformar el texto final. Desarrollo: los autores consultados coinciden en la importancia del uso de las tecnologías de la información y las comunicaciones para la docencia en las ciencias médicas y como herramientas para conformar medios de enseñanza aprendizaje. Se enfatiza en las aulas virtuales como modalidad de la educación a distancia y la aparición de diversos gestores de contenido y redes sociales que permiten socializar los conocimientos científico-médicos. Conclusiones: las páginas de EDUMECENTRO contienen suficientes estudios para incursionar en el cambiante mundo de las tecnologías de la información y las comunicaciones, por lo que se impone continuar investigando en este mundo de la información y el conocimiento.

ABSTRACT Introduction: information and communication technologies optimize the handling of information and the development of communication; they allow acting on them and generating more and new knowledge and intelligence. Objective: to inquire about the use of information and communication technologies in the teaching-learning process, from the pages of the EDUMECENTRO magazine. Methods: a bibliographic review was carried out to develop an analysis on the content of the bibliographies; Original and review articles published between 2013 and 2019 in Spanish were considered. The search was carried out on the EDUMECENTRO pages, using the SciELO and Google scholar databases, from March to April 2019, selecting the fragments that allowed the fulfillment of the objective and critical judgments. A total of 50 articles were reviewed, out of them 20 were selected to make up the final text. Development: the consulted authors agree on the importance of the use of information and communication technologies for teaching in medical sciences and as tools to shape teaching-learning aids. It is emphasized in virtual classrooms as a modality of distance learning and the appearance of various content managers and social networks that allow scientific-medical knowledge to be socialized. Conclusions: EDUMECENTRO pages contain enough studies to enter the changing world of information and communication technologies, so it is an imperative to continue researching in this world of information and knowledge.

Desarrollo y optimizacion de una metodologia multiresiduo por metodo Simplex para el analisis de plaguicidas en miel de abejas / Development and optimization of a multiresidue method for pesticide analysis in honey bee using Simplex method / Desenvlovimiento e otimização de uma metodologia de resíduos múltiplos para o método Simplex para a análise de pesticidas em abelhas

La aplicacion de plaguicidas en cultivos cercanos a las zonas de produccion apicola puede afectar la supervivencia de las abejas y la calidad de los productos derivados de la colmena; por tanto, es de gran importancia realizar estudios de residualidad de estos agroquimicos en mieles y otros productos apicolas. Para esto es indispensable desarrollar metodologias que permitan detectar y cuantificar la presencia de estos contaminantes en los productos apicolas. Este trabajo muestra los resultados del desarrollo y optimizacion de una metodologia multiresiduo para el analisis de 30 plaguicidas en miel de abejas (organoclorados, organofosforados y piretroides). El metodo consistio en una extraccion liquido-liquido, seguida de un paso de limpieza en fase solida usando una columna cargada con silica gel/florisil. El analisis de los plaguicidas fue realizado por cromatografia de gases con detectores de nitrogeno fosforo (NPD) y microcaptura electronica (μ-ECD). La optimizacion de las variables experimentales presentes en los pasos de pre-tratamiento, extraccion y limpieza se realizo mediante el empleo del metodo Simplex modificado. Con este fin, se escogieron 14 variables las cuales se optimizaron en 21 experimentos. Los resultados mostraron que los porcentajes de recuperacion obtenidos para la mayoria de los plaguicidas se encuentran entre 78.8% y 114.5%, con coeficientes de variacion inferiores al 20%.

Pesticide application near to beekeeping areas can affect the survival of the bees and the quality of the products derived of the hive, therefore it is of great importance to assess the residual of these agrochemicals in honey and other bee products. So many methods have been developed for determining pesticide residues in honey samples. Thus, a multi-residue method to determine 30 pesticides in honey bee (organochlorine, organophosphorus, and pyrethroids) has been developed and optimized. The method is based on a liquid-liquid extraction followed by a clean-up step on a silica gel/florisil solidphase column. Pesticides were determined by gas chromatography with micro-electron capture (μ-ECD) and nitrogen phosphorus detection (NPD). The optimization process was performed using the modified Simplex method, to make this 14 variables were chosen and the optimization was conducted in 21 experiments. The results indicated that the method show recoveries between 78.8 and 114.5% and coefficients of variation below 20%.

A aplicação de pesticidas em áreas de cultivo próximos a apicultura pode afetar a sobrevivência das abelhas e a qualidade dos produtos da colmeia, por isso é muito importante estudar o efeito residual destes produtos químicos no mel e outros produtos apícolas. Para isso é essencial para o desenvolvimento de metodologias para a análise de contaminantes em produtos de abelha. Este documento mostra os resultados para o desenvolvimento e optimização de um método de resíduos múltiplos para a análise de 30 pesticidas, incluindo pesticidas organoclorados, organofosforados e piretróides mel. O método consistiu em uma extracção líquido-líquido, seguido por uma etapa de limpeza, usando uma coluna de fase sólida, cheia de gel de sílica/florisil. Análise de pesticidas foi realizada por cromatografia gasosa com detector de nitrogênio e fósforo (NPD) e microcaptura eletrônico (μ-ECD). A optimização das variáveis experimentais presentes nas etapas de pré-tratamento, de extracção e limpeza foi efectuada por utilização do método simplex modificado. Para o efeito, foram escolhidas 14 variáveis que foram optimizadas em 21 experiências. Os resultados mostraram que as recuperações obtidas para a maioria dos pesticidas estão entre 78,8% e 114,5%, com coeficientes de variação inferiores a 20%.

El fenómeno de "El Niño" y los moluscos de la costa peruana

Entre otros bioindicadores del fenómeno el Niño, los moluscos litorales presentan la ventaja de tener un esqueleto carbonatado que suelen preservarse tanto en conchales de origen antrópico, como en depósitos geológicos naturales. Por la distribución de las provincias zoogeográficas en las costas del Perú y por el fuerte impacto de las anomalías oceáno climáticas del Niño en esta región, es de esperarse que las conchas de moluscos subactuales o fósiles puedan jugar un papel importante en la identificación de ocurrencias de eventos, El Niño es el pasado. Se analizan, pues, las evidencias de presencia/ausencia de ciertas especies de bivalvos y gastrópodos en depósitos arqueológicos y geológicos, a la luz de las observaciones realizadas sobre el impacto de los eventos recientes de 1982-1983 y 1986-1987. Esta recopilación de datos realizados a eventos El Niño de los últimos años y a posibles ocurrencias de fenómenos en épocas más remotas, muestran que todavía quedan muchas incognitas en cuanto a la dinómica poblacional y la ecología de los moluscos en respuesta a la anomalía oceanográfica. Por lo tanto, una cierta prudencia es necesaria al pretender reconstituir este tipo de anomalías en el pasado. En algunos casos sin embargo, se presume la ocurrencia de condiciones de tipo El Niño, durante el holoceno como en ciertos interglaciales del Pleistoceno, las que aparentemente permitieron el traslado delarvas de organismos de la provincia panameña, o de la Zona de Transiciñn de paita, hasta las costas del Centro y sur del Perú (provincia Peruana) (AU)