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A field study on the efficacy of moxidectin and its egg reappearence period in donkeys naturally infected by Cyathostominae in Italy
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Laparoscopic drainage of a recurrent psoas abscess.
No full textBACKGROUND:
Many Authors suggest that psoas abscess should initially undergo an antibiotic therapy, with or without percutaneous drainage. In their opinion, surgical drainage should be done in case of failure or complicated recurrences. Herein we report a laparoscopic drainage of a recurrent and multilocular psoas abscess.
METHODS:
A 43-year-old woman presented to our department with a 4-week history of fever, anorexia, difficulty in walking, and pain in her right flank, lower back and hip. She had a 20-year history of recurrent lower back pain and fever treated with cyclic antibiotic therapy. Abdominal CT scan showed a complex multilocular right psoas abscess and a 17 mm hypodense area in the sixth liver segment. A drainage of the abscess through a laparoscopic access with intraoperative laparoscopic ultrasound of the liver was decided.
RESULTS:
The patient was discharged on the 3 th postoperative day. Her white blood cell count was normal and she was symptom free. At 1-, 6-, 12- and 24-months-follow-up, neither fever nor lower back pain were reported.
CONCLUSIONS:
According to our experience, laparoscopic drainage of iliopsoas abscess is safe and effective. However, further studies comparing laparoscopic drainage with open drainage and percutaneous drainage are required in order to define the specific indications of laparoscopic drainage
Association Between BoLA-DRB3.2 Polymorphism and Bovine Papillomavirus Infection for Bladder Tumor Risk in Podolica Cattle
Full text linkBlood samples from 260 unrelated cattle (132 animals affected by
papillomavirus-associated bladder tumors and 128 healthy) were genotyped using
the classic polymerase chain reaction/restriction fragment length polymorphism method
to screen MHC class II bovine leukocyte antigen-DRB3. 2 polymorphism. The DRB3∗22
allele was significantly (p ≤ 0.01) detected in healthy cattle, thus appearing to have
a negative association (protective effect) with virus infection of the urinary bladder
known to represent a bladder tumor risk for cattle living free at pasture. Considering the
two sequence alleles identified in animals carrying DRB3∗22, DRB3∗011:01 allele from
samples of animals harboring the unexpressed bovine papillomaviruses (BPV)-2 E5 gene
was characterized by amino acid residues believed to have a protective effect against
BPV infection such as arginine at position 71 (R71) in pocket 4, histidine at position 11
(H11) in pocket 6, and both glutamine at position 9 (Q9
) and serine at position 57 (S57) in
pocket 9 of the antigen-binding groove. The DRB3∗011:02v allele from affected animals
was characterized by amino acids believed to be susceptibility residues such as lysine
(K71), tyrosine (Y11), glutamic acid (E9
), and aspartic acid (D57) in these pockets. These
results suggest that animals harboring the DRB3∗011:01 allele may have a lower risk of
BPV infection and, consequently, a reduced risk of bladder tumors
Efficacy of major anthelmintics against cyathostominae in donkeys
No full textINTRODUCTION. In Italy, Cyathostominae (small strongyles), are the most common parasites in donkey farms with prevalence rate of 100% (Buono, 2018, PhD Thesis). Although in donkey massive parasitic infections are often subclinical, the impact on their health is unclear and anthelmintic treatments are the main strategy to control these internal parasites (Matthews and Burden, 2013, Equine Vet. Educ, 25(9):461-67). The aims of the present study were to evaluate the efficacy of the main broad-spectrum horse anthelmintic drugs using Faecal Egg Count Reduction Test (FECRT), and to investigate a possible development of drug resistance, determining the Egg Reappearance Period (ERP), in donkeys naturally infected by Cyathostominae.
MATERIALS AND METHODS. The trials were conducted in 2 donkey farms (A and B) located in Campania (Southern Italy) and Lazio region (Central Italy) respectively. Twenty-four animals for each farm were selected based on donkey selective therapy cut-off (FEC>300 egg per gram - EPG) and allocated to 4 treatment groups of 6 animals: Pyrantel (PYR), Fenbendazole (FBZ), Ivermectin (IVM) and Moxidectin (MOX). Donkeys were treated at horse dose rate for each tested drug. Faecal Egg Counts were performed at days -2, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49, 56, 63, 70, 77 and 84 post-treatment using the McMaster technique (detection limit of 10 EPG). At day 14, the mean efficacy of the different drugs was calculated, as Faecal Egg Count Reduction according to the formula: =[(−)/]100 (Nielsen et al., 2013, www.aaep.org). On each sampling day, group pooled faecal samples were incubated at 27°C for 7-10 days and third stage larvae (L3) were identified using the keys proposed by the Atlas of Diagnosis of Equine Strongylidosis (Cernea et al., 2008, Editura Academic Pres).
RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS. At 14 days post-treatment, in farm A FECRT was 100% for IVM and MOX, 99.8% for FBZ and 99.3% for PYR, suggesting that all investigated drugs were effective against Cyathostominae. For all tested drugs the ERPs were in accordance with those reported by the AAEP Guidelines. At 14 days, in farm B FECRT showed high efficacy for IVM and MOX (100%), a suspected resistance for PYR (86.3%) and resistance for FBZ (83.9%). ERPs were 8 weeks for IVM and 9 weeks for MOX, suggesting a shortened ERP rate for MOX. In all donkeys of both farms, coprocultures revealed the presence of Cyathostominae larvae. Based on our results the macrocyclic lactones were totally effective against small strongyles in donkeys, but to evaluate the anthelmintic resistance, it is crucial to associate the FECRT with the ERP value, because a shorter ERP is a precursor to the development of resistance
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
Scarless outpatient ablation of pilonidal sinus: a pilot study of a new minimally invasive treatment.
No full textPain and secretion of purulent materials are symptoms that are often associated with the pilonidal sinus. Generally, these symptoms are neglected by patients for a long time. Patients seek medical attention too late, fearing a prolonged period of pain and inability after surgery. The optimal therapy for pilonidal sinus should have the following characteristics: high healing rate, low recurrence rate, minimal postoperative pain and low cost. The aim of this study is to explore the effectiveness and safety of a new minimally invasive treatment: the scarless outpatient ablation of pilonidal sinus (SOAP). A total of 31 consecutive patients were enrolled; 27 of 31 patients were declared healed after the surgery (87·09%). After 1 year, only 4 of 27 patients (14·81%) reported symptoms related to recurrence of the disease. The average duration of the operation was 7·47 minutes. Patients reported the disappearance of painful symptoms after approximately 2·62 days and had been away from work for 0·53 days. No complications were recorded during the period of study. The advantages of the procedure examined in this study are its simplicity and rapidity of execution, its outpatient setting, its low cost and lack of complications. In our opinion, a randomised controlled trial should be conducted to validate the results related to this technique
Preliminary Observations of the Effect of Garlic on Egg Shedding in Horses Naturally Infected by Intestinal Strongyles
Full text linkIntestinal strongyles are the most common endoparasites of horses, and anthelmintic treatments are the main strategy to control these nematodes. However, the development of anthelmintic resistance has led to a decreased efficacy of synthetic drugs, and for this reason, there is a growing interest in alternative control strategies as the use of medicinal plants. The aim of the present study was to determine the in vivo efficacy of garlic (Allium sativum) in horses naturally infected by intestinal strongyles. The field trial was conducted in a horse trotter farm in Southern Italy. Fifteen mares were selected based on fecal egg count >200 eggs per gram and allocated into three groups of five animals: fresh garlic group (FG group), animals received 40 g of fresh crushed garlic once daily for 15 days; dry garlic group (DG group), animals received 40 g of commercial dry garlic flakes food supplement once daily for 15 days; and control group (C group), not treated. Two weeks after the first administration of garlic, fecal egg count reduction test showed failure of garlic to reduce intestinal strongyles egg shedding (11.7% and 19.4% for FG and DG groups, respectively). Red blood cell count values were in the normal ranges over the entire period of garlic administration. In our study model, the oral administration of garlic formulations has no effect on
reducing the egg shedding of intestinal strongyles, and the garlic supplementation over a short period of time is not responsible for hematological changes in horses
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
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