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Effect of topical ophthalmic instillation of rocuronium bromide on the intraocular pressure of kestrels (Falco tinnunculus) and little owls (Athene noctuae)
No full textOBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of rocuronium bromide-induced mydriasis on the intraocular pressure (IOP) of kestrels (Falco tinnunculus) and little owls (Athene noctuae). ANIMALS: 13 adult kestrels and 13 adult little owls. PROCEDURES: All birds were ophthalmologically normal. During the first of 2 treatment periods, a 1% rocuronium bromide solution was topically instilled in both eyes of all birds at a dose of 0.12 mg (12 μL) for kestrels and 0.20 mg (20 μL) for little owls. No ophthalmic treatments were administered during the second (control) treatment period, which was conducted 1 week after the first. During both treatment periods, rebound tonometry was used to measure IOP before rocuronium bromide instillation or at the beginning of the control period (baseline) and at predetermined times after baseline or until the pupillary light reflex returned to normal. All IOP measurements were obtained between 8 am and 5 pm. RESULTS: The mean IOP did not differ significantly from baseline for either species during the control treatment period. During the rocuronium bromide treatment period, complete mydriasis was achieved in all birds. The mean IOP was significantly decreased from baseline and from the corresponding mean IOP for the control period beginning 60 and 30 minutes after drug instillation for kestrels and owls, respectively, and reached its nadir at 60 minutes after drug instillation for both species. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results indicated that topical instillation of rocuronium bromide in the eyes successfully induced mydriasis and decreased the IOP of common kestrels and little owls
Effetto midriatico del rocuronio bromide applicato topicamente nel gheppio (Falco Tinniculus)
No full textScopo del lavoro. Lo scopo del presente lavoro è stato quello di valutare il potere midriatico di un bloccante neuromuscolare
(BNM), il rocuronio bromide, applicato topicamente in entrambi gli occhi di rapaci diurni.
Materiali e metodi. Nello studio sono stati inseriti dieci gheppi (Falco Tinnunculus) non affetti da patologie oftalmiche, appartenenti
a entrambi i sessi, con peso tra 200 e 250 g. I soggetti sono stati sottoposti a una visita oculistica completa durante la
quale la midriasi è stata ottenuta utilizzando un BNM, il rocuronio bromide (Esmeron® 10 mg/ml) applicato topicamente senza
diluizione, con una pipetta. Gli uccelli hanno ricevuto una singola dose di 0.12 mg in ciascun occhio (dose totale: 0.24
mg/uccello). Durante la procedura la terza palpebra è stata trattenuta con un retrattore palpebrale per un minuto al fine di prevenirne
il movimento e quindi evitare la rapida eliminazione del farmaco dalla superficie oculare. Il diametro pupillare e il riflesso
pupillare diretto sono stati valutati con una fonte di luce standard prima della somministrazione del farmaco (Tbase), dopo
10 minuti e poi ogni 20 minuti fino a un tempo massimo di 290 minuti. Le variazioni del diametro pupillare sono state misurate
con un gauge pupillare con approssimazione a 0.5 mm mentre il riflesso pupillare è stato valutato con una scala di 3 punti
(2 normale, 1 diminuito, 0 assente). Sono stati monitorati eventuali effetti collaterali locali e sistemici. Le differenze tra i valori
registrati a Tbase e tutti gli altri tempi, per ogni occhio, sono state analizzate con ANOVA ad una via per dati ripetuti con
Dunnett come test Post Hoc, mentre le differenze tra i due occhi sono stati esaminate statisticamente con ANOVA a una via con
test di Tukey come Post Hoc, considerando significativi valori di P < 0.05 (Graph Pad Prism4®).
Risultati. La midriasi massima è stata ottenuta a T90 ed è risultata di 6.30 ± 0.42 mm per l’occhio destro e 6.35 ± 0.41 mm per
l’occhio sinistro. Una differenza statistica è stata rilevata tra Tbase e tutti gli altri intervalli di valutazione per ciò che riguarda
il diametro pupillare e tra Tbase e T10 fino a T110 per il riflesso fotomotore. Non sono state evidenziate differenze tra occhio
destro e sinistro sia per il diametro pupillare che per il riflesso fotomotore nei vari tempi di osservazione. Nei 20 occhi trattati
il grado di dilatazione pupillare ottenuto ha consentito una completa valutazione del fondo oculare che in 6/10 soggetti era già
possibile a T30. Non sono stati evidenziati effetti collaterali locali e/o sistemici in nessuno degli uccelli trattati.
Conclusioni. I risultati del presente lavoro suggeriscono che una singola dose di 0.12 mg di rocuronio bromide applicata topicamente
in ciascun occhio di rapaci diurni consenta di ottenere una midriasi bilaterale in assenza di effetti collaterali locali o sistemici.
Il rocuronio quindi sembra essere, alla dose impiegata, un BNM di sicuro impiego per indurre la midriasi nei gheppi.
In passato l’efficacia midriatica di altri BNM è stata valutata in rapaci diurni della stessa specie oggetto di questo studio, con risultati
variabili1. Infatti il pancuronio bromide determina una midriasi transitoria e inconsistente mentre l’alcuronio cloride è un
ottimo midriatico ma causa effetti collaterali sistemici anche gravi. Soltanto il vecuronio bromide è considerato efficace in assenza
di effetti collaterali, ma per determinare midriasi necessita di somministrazioni ripetute (almeno 3 ogni 15 minuti)1. È importante
sottolineare che nella maggior parte delle specie aviarie nelle quali i BNM sono stati impiegati topicamente a scopo midriatico,
la somministrazione è sempre stata monolaterale poiché probabilmente la dose cumulativa necessaria per indurre la dilatazione
pupillare in entrambi gli occhi poteva essere pericolosa e determinare gravi effetti collaterali1-3. In uno studio recente
condotto su rapaci notturni, il rocuronio si è dimostrato un efficace midriatico dopo una singola somministrazione topica determinando
una dilatazione pupillare sovrapponibile a quella ottenuta con 2 somministrazioni ripetute4. Per tale motivo gli autori
del presente lavoro hanno impiegato nei gheppi una singola somministrazione di farmaco ma su entrambi gli occhi, ottenendo
una midriasi bilaterale contestuale. In conclusione, l’applicazione topica di rocuronio induce una buona midriasi nei gheppi e
poiché non necessita di somministrazioni ripetute nel singolo occhio per ottenere la dilatazione pupillare, può essere impiegato
bilateralmente offrendo notevoli vantaggi di carattere pratico
Occurrence of Escherichia coli virulence genes in feces of wild birds from Central Italy
Full text linkObjective: To investigate the potential role of wild birds as fecal spreaders of enteropathogenic, enterohemorrhagic and Shiga-toxins producing Escherichia coli (E. coli), enteropathogenic E. coli, enterohemorrhagic E. coli and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli strains. Methods: Fecal samples collected from 121 wild birds of different orders and species were submitted to molecular analyses. In particular, eaeA encoding intimin, hlyA encoding for hemolysin, stx1 and stx2 genes encoding Shiga-toxins 1 and 2, respectively, were investigated. Results: Overall, 21(17.35%) fecal samples resulted positive for at least one of the investigated genes. In detail, 12(9.91%) samples were positive for eaeA, 10(8.26%) for stx1, 4(3.31%) for hylA and 1(0.83%) for stx2. An owl (Athene noctua) positive for the four investigated genes suggesting that it harbored a STEC strain. However, virulence genes characterizing EPEC, and EHEC strains were mainly found among seagulls, waterfowl and feral pigeons. Conclusions: Seagulls, waterfowl and feral pigeons, which frequently reach and contaminate rural, urban and peri-urban areas with their droppings, may be important sources of E. coli infection for other animals and humans
Morphological study of the iris musculature in diurnal and nocturnal raptors
Full text linkIn literature it is established that the iris musculature consists of striate muscle fibers in birds while in mammals it consists of smooth muscles. Some authors report the presence of smooth muscle tissue also in the iris of some species of birds. In the present study we report on the iris muscle tissues (type of tissue, direction and mean diameter of muscle fibers or cells) in five species of Accipitriformes (diurnal raptors) and four species of Strigiformes (nocturnal raptors) because they show different way of life depending of their predatory behavior. This morphological study was carried out from raptors died or euthanized at the Wild Life Rescue Centre of Sea and Water birds in Livorno (Italy). From histological examination of iris serial radial sections we find both striated and smooth musculature even if with marked differences among analyzed species, not directly correlated with diurnal or nocturnal lifestyle. Striated fibers are always present, mainly with cross direction, throughout the iris stroma, while the histological differences concern the smooth cells. Indeed, harrier and sparrow hawk (Accipitriformes) and great horned owl and little owl (Strigiformes) show a compact layer of cross smooth muscle cells throughout the iris stroma. In the other species analyzed smooth muscle cells are slightly detectable as scattered or not detectable. Since the cross smooth muscle tissue allows to maintain a myotic state for extended periods of time, our results might be correlated more to the predatory behavior than the taxonomic order
PARROT'S PDD IS A MULTIFACTORIAL DISEASE? NEW PATHOGENETIC EVIDENCES FOR AN AUTO-IMMUNE GANGLIONEURITIS
No full textIn the past we have demonstrated that the pathogenesis of the often fatal syndrome known as “Proventricular Dilatation Disease” (PDD) in parrot is an autoimmune reaction. During the PDD development, intramural myoenteric ganglia are progressively damaged by anti-ganglioside specific auto-antibodies and sensitized lymphocytes and monocytes. We have shown the presence and localization of these auto-antibodies by IHC and immunoelectron microscopy in the crop or gastrointestinal ganglia of parrots, some of which showing severe clinical signs of PDD. In 85% of 40 parrots (34 parrots) belonging to different genera and species, with various clinical signs and positive crop biopsies for PDD, we have evidenced an high titre of anti-gangliosides antibodies, detected by an ELISA test. Of these 34 parrots, 60% (20 parrots) showed avian bornavirus P40 protein specific antibodies in the ELISA test. EM examination showed the presence of dense deposits (probably antibody-complement complexes) over presynaptic motor axons, accompanied by ultrastructural signs of damage. Using immuno-electron microscopy, we observed deposits of antibodies equally distributed on both neuronal and perisynaptic Schwann cells (pSC) membranes, and ultrastructural evidences of injury at both sites. These data demonstrated that both presynaptic neuronal membranes and pSCs are targets for anti-ganglioside antibodies and that probably specific complement components might mediate the injury to both sites. In our opinion this pathogenetic mechanism is independent of a specific aetiological agent (i.e. Bornavirus, Paramyxovirus or other viruses or bacteria). To validate our hypothesis, we tested the 40 sera of PDD affected birds also for lipo-oligosaccharide (LOS) from Campylobacter jejuni, which shows a remarkable structural and antigenic similarities with the gangliosides. The presence of cross-reactivity strengthens the autoimmune theory as the cause of the syndrome
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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