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Clinical use of a commercial hyperimmune plasma in hospitalized foals with FPT
Full text linkAim of the study: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the administration of a commercial hyperimmune plasma in septic and non-septic foals with failure of passive transfer (FPT).
Materials and methods: Fifty-two hospitalized foals <7 day-old admitted with FPT were included and all treated with hyperimmune plasma infusion. A complete clinical examination was performed upon admission, including blood count and biochemical exam, the determination of the IgG (if the foal was at least 18 hours old), and blood culture. Foals with a positive blood culture were classified as septic (25/52). Complete FPT was defined as a serum IgG concentration <400 mg/dL and partial FPT between 400 and 800 mg/dL at 24 hours of life [1].
Serum IgG concentration was measured before (IgG0) and 24 hours after the end of plasma administration (IgGp) [2], using an immunoturbidimetric method (DVM Rapid TestTM - Value Diagnostics, USA) [3]. For foals that had not ingested colostrum before admission the serum IgG concentration was considered to be equal to 0.
PlasmaLife® (Società Il Ceppo, Siena, Italy), was administered to all foals according to the literature guidelines for the administration of hyperimmune equine plasma [1]. The occurrence of any adverse reactions by the foals was monitored throughout the hospitalization period.
The following data were collected: IgG0, IgGp, volume of plasma administered, increase in IgG (ΔIgG), IgG transfer efficacy (TE), blood culture, diagnosis, and outcome.
The TE was calculated for each foal by the formula ΔIgG/Lplasma/kg of body weight. ΔIgG is the difference between IgGp and IgG0.
The Wilcoxon test was used to evaluate the ΔIgG. The Mann-Whitney test was used to evaluate the difference (p<0,05) in TE between septic and non-septic foals.
Results: Twenty-nine/52 foals (56%) had complete FPT and 23/52 (44%) had partial FPT. The mean value of IgG0 was 375 ±279 mg/dL.
Of the 52 foals, 25 were classified as septic, and the remaining 27 as non-septic.
The mean volume of PlasmaLife® administered was 1.3 ±0.5 L, therefore 1.3 ±0.6 units of plasma. The mean value of IgGp was 1025 ±410 mg/dL.
Considering all of the foals, the mean ΔIgG was 650 ±439 mg/dL and the mean TE was 13 ± 11 mg/dL/L/kg .
In the 25 septicemic foals, the mean ΔIgG was 603 ±692mg/dL and the mean TE was 11 ±8 mg/dL/L/kg; in the 27 non-septicemic foals ΔIgG was 694 ±481mg/dL and the mean TE was 15 ±13mg/dL/L/kg. According to PlasmaLife® characteristics, a minimum quantity of IgG content equal to 2400 mg/dL, should lead to an increase of serum IgG of 400-800 mg/dL in non-septic foal [1]. TE fell within a very wide range, which may depend on various factors, like a state of septicemia or a difference between partial or complete FPT [4].
IgGp was significantly higher than IgG0 (p <0.05). No significant difference was found in TE among the group of septic foals and non-septic foals. Althought not statistically different in our study, TE in septic foals was less than that in non-septic foals. Independently of the presence of septicemia, the seriousness of the disease itself may also influence IgG catabolism.
None of the 52 foal included in our study experienced adverse reactions during or after the plasma administration, despite the transfusion reaction incidence of 9.7% reported by other authors in foals <7 day-old [5]. This may be at least partially related to PlasmaLife® charateristics, as it’s produced using a 0.2 μm plasma filter followed by sterilizing filtration at 0.1 μm and thus doesn’t contain blood corpuscular elements, which most frequently cause adverse reactions [16].
34/52 foals survived, so the percentage of survival was 65% (also considering as non surviving the foals euthanized for compassionate reasons).
Conclusions: The results of the study clearly show that the administration of PlasmaLife® was effective and safe in correcting FPT in foals included in this study
Efficacy and Safety of a Commercial Fresh-Frozen Hyperimmune Plasma in Foals With Failure of Passive Transfer of Immunity
No full textIn foals more than 12 hours old, the only effective therapy for the treatment of failure of passive transfer (FPT) of immunity is transfusion of equine plasma. Use and efficacy of equine plasma for prophylaxis and treatment of sepsis, a condition primarily associated with FPT, are widely reported. However, plasma- and recipient-related factors associated with extent of IgG transfer and catabolism are not completely defined. Efficacy and safety of transfusion of a commercial fresh-frozen hyperimmune plasma were evaluated in hospitalized foals younger than 7 days of age with total or partial FPT. Sixty-two foals, classified as affected by FPT only, septic (infection plus systemic inflammatory response syndrome [SIRS]), and nonseptic sick, were included, and serum IgG concentration was measured at admission and 24 hours after plasma transfusion. In 25/62 foals, IgG level after 72 hours was also determined. The impact of different classification criteria for septic foals on IgG transfer was evaluated. Serum IgG measured 24 hours and 72 hours after plasma transfusion was significantly greater than at admission, but no significant difference was found in transfer efficacy (TE) between FPT, FPT septic, and FPT nonseptic foals and no significant difference was found in IgG concentration comparing foals with total and partial FPT or survivors and nonsurvivors. No significant difference was found comparing IgG concentration between bacteremic and nonbacteremic foals and foals with or without SIRS. No foal experienced adverse reactions to plasma transfusion. IgG TE and catabolism did not result significantly affected by the presence of sepsis or illness or by the outcome
Unveiling a novel parasitosis: Trichostrongylus colubriformis infection in captive ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta)
Full text linkRing-tailed Lemur (Lemur catta) is the only surviving semi-terrestrial diurnal lemur in Madagascar. Despite being the most intensively studied of lemur taxa, only a few helminths have been described in this species. In this study we describe a persistent infection due to Trichostrongylus colubriformis in a captive population of L. catta hosted in a zoological park of northern Italy. In the context of a parasitological survey on zoo animals, we investigated parasites in a captive colony of ring-tailed lemurs within a zoological park. Parasitological analysis included necropsy of a deceased lemur in 2019, subsequent fecal sample collections in 2021–2022, followed by coprological examination and coprocolture. Morphological and molecular analyses were conducted on adult helminths, larvae and eggs, involving microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and sequencing of the ITS rDNA region. Trichostrongylidae parasites were primarily found after necropsy in the intestine of the lemur. Morphological and molecular investigations on adults and eggs/larvae recovered from feces collected at different times from lemurs of the same captive population, allowed to properly identify the parasite as T. colubriformis. To the best of our knowledge this is the first description of T. colubriformis in L. catta. Although its presence in wild populations is not necessarily implied by our finding, this parasitosis represent a cause of concern in captive lemurs, considering the possibility of interspecies transmission and the zoonotic implications
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
Collaborating with a zoo-safari: a parasitological challenge
No full textZoos are an ex-situ form of conservation were animals are breed in confined areas for recreational
exhibition, educational or research and conservation purposes. Parasites and infectious diseases have
become a major concern in conservation of endangered species as they can lead to mortality, dramatic
population declines and even contribute to local extinction events. Some studies have showed that
gastrointestinal parasites of wild animals in captivity included zoonotic species and rise public health
concerns. According to Italian law (D.Lgs 73/2005), zoos housing domestic, wild and exotic animals are
required to address both animal health and welfare. The last two words are suggestive for parasites control
mainly in a more extensive space where many animals of different species share the same environment as
in safari park. The study was carried out to know the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites of captive
animals at Zoo Safari Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region. Fecal samples were collected in the biennium
2014/2016. The first year were recovered 94 samples, the second one 99. The seemingly low number of
samples is due to the difficulties of getting the fecal material by a well known individual subject. In fact, we
considered of little interest to analyze a fecal pool, much easier to get but poorly indicative; in this safari
park many animals are not confined to a specific area but are free to move throughout the park area. The
totality of fecal samples were screened using classical qualitative and quantitative analyzes. The species
were grouped by theriological affinity in 3 groups: poligastric (18 species) and monogastric (4 species)
herbivores and carnivores (2 species). In the first year, out of 94 fecal samples examined, 70 were positive
for parasitic eggs/oocysts of different species indicating an overall prevalence of 74.5%, of which 4/17
carnivores 23.5%, 54/59 (91.5%) poligastric and 12/18 (66.6%) monogastric herbivores. The second year,
out of 99 samples 56 were positive with a prevalence of 56.6% for gastrointestinal parasites, 6/16 (37.5%)
among carnivores, 40/65 (61.5%) ruminants and finally 10/18 (55.5%) monogastric herbivores. Parasites
recovered were: coccidia; Toxascaris leonina and Parascaris equorum; gastrointestinal strongyles and
Nematodirus spp.; Capillaria spp. and Trichuris spp. McMaster examination showed an aggregate
distribution (high proportion of parasite is concentrated in a few host individuals) of parasitic fauna inside
the area. The Chi-square test revealed a significant difference (χ2=6.05; P<0.05) between the overall
prevalence of two considered periods. We like to think that this result may be due to our surveillance
activities. This experience fit into poorly investigated context. If a significance of our challenge must be find,
this is the continuous involvement of veterinarians that laid the foundations for a more strictly
collaboration between Zoos and University. Proves it the publication of a scientific paper [1] and an
amazing skeleton that now enriches the "Department of Veterinary Medical Science Anatomy Museum",
realized with a dead wallaby
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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