1,721,074 research outputs found

    Cytologic features of reactive fibroplasia in cutaneous and subcutaneous lesions of dogs: A retrospective study

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    Background: Determining reactive fibroplasia from primary neoplastic proliferation can be difficult using the cytologic features of spindle cells. Objectives: This study aimed to describe qualitative features of benign reactive spindle cells and provide a diagnostic tool to distinguish between fibroplasia and soft tissue sarcoma. Methods: Cytologic samples from cutaneous lesions with histopathologically confirmed fibroplasia were reviewed and compared with cytologic samples from confirmed low-grade soft tissue sarcomas. The samples were obtained from the Archive of the Laboratorio Veterinario Bresciano (Brescia; Italy). Results: A total of 25 cytologic samples retrieved from the database fit the selection criteria. For comparison, 25 cytologic samples of histopathologically confirmed soft tissue sarcomas with secondary inflammation were obtained and reviewed from the same database. A low number of singularly distributed spindle cells with mild features of atypia and a high ratio of inflammatory to spindle cells was observed in confirmed cases of fibroplasia. Conclusions: Low cellularity, individualized spindle cells, and an increased inflammatory-to-spindle cell ratio were more indicative of fibroplasia than sarcoma

    Immune-Mediated Hemolytic Anemia and Clinically Suspected Acute Pancreatitis in Dogs, a Pilot Study

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    Acute pancreatitis can be a complication of massive hemolysis, above all when intravascular in nature. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the association between canine immune mediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA) and clinically suspected acute pancreatitis (CSAP) and the role of calculated free plasma hemoglobin (Hbfp) in CSAP occurrence/development. In this cohort study the records of 95 dogs with IMHA and 95 sick dogs with pathologies other than IMHA were compared for CSAP occurrence/development. At presentation, 12/95 dogs with IMHA met criteria for CSAP, while only 3/95 sick control dogs met these criteria (chi 2 =1.58, P = .008). Within 7 days of hospitalization 9 additional dogs with IMHA had developed CSAP. The Hbfp was calculated and compared for dogs with IMHA that had/developed CSAP and for those without CSAP. In dogs with IMHA, a calculated Hbfp concentration >= 0.08 g/dL resulted in an increased relative risk (RR) of having/developing CSAP (RR = 2.54, 95% CI, 1.51-4.29; P = .003). No significant effect on short-term prognosis in dogs with IMHA was found between those having/developing CSAP and those without CSAP. This study showed that dogs with IMHA have an increased risk of having CSAP and Hbfp concentration may be involved in the pathogenesis of acute pancreatitis

    Inflammatory and fibrinolytic states in cats with and without cardiogenic atrial/arterial thromboembolism stratified by the presence and type of congestive heart failure

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    Objective: To assess whether cats with cardiogenic pleural effusion have less systemic inflammation or an enhanced systemic fibrinolysis, preventing cardiogenic atrial/arterial thromboembolism compared to cats with cardiac disease without pleural effusion. Materials and Methods: Cross-sectional study evaluating cats presented with cardiac disease: without congestive heart failure (n = 246), with cardiogenic pulmonary oedema (49) and with cardiogenic pleural effusion (94). At presentation, plasma fibrinogen and serum amyloid A were measured, and the fibrinogen:serum amyloid A (a marker of systemic fibrinolysis) was calculated. The frequency of cardiogenic atrial/arterial thromboembolism among groups was compared using the chi-squared test, whereas the other biomarkers were analysed using non-parametric tests. Results: The prevalence of cardiogenic atrial/arterial thromboembolism was significantly higher in cats with pulmonary oedema (18/49, 36.7%) compared with cats without congestive heart failure (23/246, 9.3%) and with cardiogenic pleural effusion (9/94, 9.6%). The median serum amyloid A concentration in cats with cardiogenic pleural effusion (3.35 mg/L) was significantly higher than that in cats without congestive heart failure (0.65 mg/L), whereas no significant differences were found between cats with pulmonary oedema (1.4 mg/L) and those with pleural effusion or without congestive heart failure. After excluding 50 cats with cardiogenic atrial/arterial thromboembolism, there were 223 cats without congestive heart failure, 31 with pulmonary oedema, and 85 with pleural effusion. In the 85 cats without cardiogenic atrial/arterial thromboembolism and with cardiogenic pleural effusion, the median fibrinogen:serum amyloid A ratio (58) was significantly lower than the fibrinogen:serum amyloid A ratio (316) observed in the remaining 254 cats without cardiogenic atrial/arterial thromboembolism from the other two groups combined. Clinical Significance: Enhanced systemic fibrinolysis may play a role in the lower cardiogenic atrial/arterial thromboembolism risk of cats with cardiogenic pleural effusion

    Reduced risk of arterial thromboembolism in cats with pleural effusion due to congestive heart failure

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    Objectives The aim of the study was to determine whether cardiogenic pleural effusion in cats is associated with a lower risk of arterial thromboembolism (ATE) compared with cats with cardiac disease without evidence of pleural effusion. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on owned cats with natural occurring cardiac diseases. Cats included were classified in three groups: those with cardiac disease but no evidence of congestive heart failure (CHF); those with evidence of cardiogenic pulmonary oedema; and those with evidence of cardiogenic pleural effusion. Prevalence of ATE was calculated and the variables analysed for an association with this outcome were the presence and type of CHF, sex and neuter status, age, breed, type of cardiac diseases and left atrial (LA) dimension. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to fit the association between ATE and these variables. Results A total of 366 cats with cardiac disease met the inclusion criteria: 179 were included in the group with cardiac disease but no evidence of CHF, 66 in the group with evidence of cardiogenic pulmonary oedema and 121 in the group with evidence of cardiogenic pleural effusion. Prevalence of ATE (58/366 [15.8%]) was significantly different among groups (with no evidence of CHF, 28/179 [15.6%]; with evidence of cardiogenic pulmonary oedema, 22/66 [33.3%]; with evidence of cardiogenic pleural effusion, 8/121 [6.6%]; P <0.001). Cats with ATE had a significantly higher LA to aortic root ratio (2.30 +/- 0.46) than those without ATE (2.04 +/- 0.46; P <0.001). Multivariable logistic regression analysis indicated that the group with evidence of cardiogenic pleural effusion was associated with a lower risk of developing ATE compared with groups with cardiac disease but no evidence of CHF and with evidence of cardiogenic pulmonary oedema (P = 0.005 and P <0.001, respectively). Conclusions and relevance Presence of cardiogenic pleural effusion is associated with a lower risk of developing ATE, while LA enlargement is a risk factor for ATE

    Prognostic value of systemic inflammatory response syndrome and serum concentrations of acute phase proteins, cholesterol, and total thyroxine in cats with panleukopenia

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    Background: Feline parvovirus (FPV) is a common and potentially lethal infectious agent in cats. Objective: To assess the prognostic value of age, neuter status, serum concentrations of serum amyloid A (SAA), haptoglobin, cholesterol and total thyroxine (tT4), and the presence of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) in cats with panleukopenia. Animals: Client-owned cats with FPV infection diagnosed by a positive fecal ELISA test, positive PCR on feces or blood or both. Methods: Retrospective cohort study. The electronic medical database was searched for cats with FPV infection presented between January 2010 and January 2018. Cats were divided into survivors and nonsurvivors according to their survival status 28 days after hospital admission. The prognostic importance of each variable was investigated univariately and by multivariable Cox's proportional-hazards regression. Finally, receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to identify the best cutoff value for discriminating survivors from nonsurvivors for the statistically significant prognostic predictors identified by multivariable analysis. Results: Seventy cats were enrolled in the study. Multivariable analysis determined that only serum tT4 concentration at hospital admission was significantly (P =.01) associated with survival. A cutoff value of 0.82 μg/dL was identified by ROC curve analysis for serum tT4 concentration in discriminating survivors from nonsurvivors. Sensitivity at this cutoff was 73.9% and specificity was 82.9% (area under the curve, 0.783; 95% confidence interval, 0.668-0.873; P <.0001). Conclusion and Clinical Relevance: Serum tT4 concentration at hospital admission has prognostic value in cats with FPV infection

    Retrospective evaluation of the short-term response of human intravenous immunoglobulin therapy in the management of canine immune-mediated thrombocytopenia (2010–2015): 27 cases

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    Objective: To describe the short-term response, early prognostic markers, and survival after treatment of canine immune-mediated thrombocytopenia (ITP) with human intravenous immunoglobulin (hIVIG) and methylprednisolone. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Settings: Private referral veterinary medical center.AnimalsTwenty-seven client-owned dogs with primary or secondary ITP. Interventions: All dogs received 2 mg/kg IV methylprednisolone once daily and a single infusion of 5% hIVIG administered over 6-12 hours. Measurements and Main Results: A substantial increase in platelet count within 60 +/- 12 hours post-hIVIG infusion (T60) was observed in 19 of the 27 (70%) dogs with ITP (responders). Thirty-four variables, including serum immunoglobulin (Ig) G concentration 24 +/- 12 hours post-hIVIG infusion (T24IgG) and increase in serum IgG concentration 24 +/- 12 hours post-hIVIG infusion (T24 Delta IgG), were compared between responders and nonresponders at 5 different time points. Mortality rates of responders and nonresponders were evaluated 14 days post-hIVIG infusion. Serum T24IgG and serum T24 Delta IgG were both significantly higher at T60 in responders. All responders were alive 14 days post-hIVIG infusion, and their mortality rate was significantly lower compared with nonresponders. Conclusions: Responder dogs had an excellent 14-day survival rate. Serum T24IgG and serum T24 Delta IgG concentrations accurately predicted response status at 60 hours post-hIVIG infusion

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The 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

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    “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

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    We 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
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