Infertility diagnosis in jaguar (Panthera onca): case report

O presente trabalho relata um caso de infertilidade em uma onça-pintada (Panthera onca), macho, de 21 anos e 125 kg. São ressaltadas as alterações ocorridas nos espermatozoides, devido a estresse crônico, manejo alimentar inadequado e senescência reprodutiva.This work reports one case of infertility in a male jaguar (Panthera onca) aged 21 years and weighing 125 kg. Changes in sperm due to chronic stress, inadequate food handling and reproductive senescence are emphasized.

Áreas vulneráveis a enchentes: educação e sensibilização ambiental na comunidade

Introdução: a doença é uma manifestação do indivíduo, a situação de saúde é uma manifestação do lugar. Os lugares, dentro de uma cidade ou região, é o resultado de um acúmulo de situações históricas, ambientais e sociais que promovem condições articulares para a produção de doenças. Objetivo: Identificar as áreas de riscos de inundações/enchentes na Cidade de São Caetano do Sul, localizando pontos críticos e períodos suscetíveis a enchentes, bem como seus possíveis riscos à saúde humana. Método: foi realizada a pesquisa por meio do banco de dados da Vigilância Sanitária de São Caetano do Sul, identificando os casos notificados de dengue com endereço fixo ou temporário entre o período de janeiro de 2004 a dezembro de 2012. Todos os casos foram georreferenciados através dos mapas e arquivos de Notificação Compulsória. Realizamos a contagem de casos notificados, separando os casos positivos, negativos e autóctones dos importados. Resultados: com relação às áreas, evidenciou-se que a área mais vulnerável situa-se nas áreas de várzea dos Rios Tamanduateí e Ribeirão dos Meninos, os quais fazem parte da Bacia Hidrográfica do Alto Tietê, tendo seus cursos situados nas cidades limites a São Caetano Sul. Os dados coletados sobre a dengue incidindo em SCS evoluem a cada ano e ainda não foi possível correlacionar diretamente com as áreas de vulnerabilidade. Conclusão: Ocorreu evolução no número de casos de dengue em residentes no município de SCS, visível ano a ano. Houve uma diminuição da transmissão durante o inverno nos anos de 2008 e 2009, diferentemente no ano seguinte houve um pico de transmissão no período do outono

Catálogo Taxonômico da Fauna do Brasil: setting the baseline knowledge on the animal diversity in Brazil

The limited temporal completeness and taxonomic accuracy of species lists, made available in a traditional manner in scientific publications, has always represented a problem. These lists are invariably limited to a few taxonomic groups and do not represent up-to-date knowledge of all species and classifications. In this context, the Brazilian megadiverse fauna is no exception, and the Catálogo Taxonômico da Fauna do Brasil (CTFB) (http://fauna.jbrj.gov.br/), made public in 2015, represents a database on biodiversity anchored on a list of valid and expertly recognized scientific names of animals in Brazil. The CTFB is updated in near real time by a team of more than 800 specialists. By January 1, 2024, the CTFB compiled 133,691 nominal species, with 125,138 that were considered valid. Most of the valid species were arthropods (82.3%, with more than 102,000 species) and chordates (7.69%, with over 11,000 species). These taxa were followed by a cluster composed of Mollusca (3,567 species), Platyhelminthes (2,292 species), Annelida (1,833 species), and Nematoda (1,447 species). All remaining groups had less than 1,000 species reported in Brazil, with Cnidaria (831 species), Porifera (628 species), Rotifera (606 species), and Bryozoa (520 species) representing those with more than 500 species. Analysis of the CTFB database can facilitate and direct efforts towards the discovery of new species in Brazil, but it is also fundamental in providing the best available list of valid nominal species to users, including those in science, health, conservation efforts, and any initiative involving animals. The importance of the CTFB is evidenced by the elevated number of citations in the scientific literature in diverse areas of biology, law, anthropology, education, forensic science, and veterinary science, among others

Evaluation of pressure-controlled ventilation using the technique of electrical impedance tomography during general anesthesia in dogs

A hipoventilação secundária ao procedimento anestésico é comum na prática anestésica, e, sendo assim, o emprego de técnicas de ventilação mecânica é adotado como forma de minimizar e/ou evitar os efeitos deletérios da hipoventilação. Porém, o uso de ventiladores mecânicos não é isento de risco, e atelectasias podem se formar mesmo quando são utilizados. Para análise em tempo real do pulmão, a técnica de tomografia por impedância elétrica vem sendo empregada em conjunto com outros meios de monitoração, tendo se demonstrado um meio útil de avaliação da ventilação pulmonar de maneira não invasiva, passível de ser utilizada à beira do leito e sem emissão de radiação. Estudos utilizando o tomógrafo de impedância elétrica em cães são escassos. O objetivo desse trabalho foi avaliar a ventilação de cães submetidos à anestesia inalatória e à ventilação mecânica utilizando a técnica de tomografia por impedância elétrica. Foram utilizados onze cães com peso superior a 16 kg e classificados como baixo risco anestésico (ASA I ou II). Os animais receberam acepromazina e meperidina como medicação pré-anestésica, propofol como indutor e isofluorano na manutenção da anestesia. Foram mantidos em ventilação mecânica controlada a pressão, com FiO2 de 0,6 e pressão de pico de 10 cmH2O durante os primeiros 90 minutos de anestesia. Foram então realizadas manobras de recrutamento alveolar e instituição de pressão positiva ao final da expiração (PEEP) de 5 cmH2O, e os animais foram avaliados por mais 35 minutos. Os parâmetros foram avaliados 30, 60 e 90 minutos após a indução da anestesia e 5 e 35 minutos após o recrutamento e instituição da PEEP. Apesar de não ter havido diferença estatisticamente significativa nos parâmetros de oxigenação e distribuição da ventilação, foi visível a melhora clínica e nas curvas de oxigenação e impedância. As curvas de impedância geradas a partir dos dados obtidos pelo tomógrafo de impedância elétrica acompanharam as curvas de melhora na oxigenação. O fato de, no estudo, terem sido utilizados animais hígidos e submetidos à ventilação mecânica e FiO2 de 0,6 desde o início pode ter contribuído para não ter havido melhora estatisticamente significativa, embora clinicamente visível. As manobras de recrutamento utilizadas também foram conservadoras em comparação aos outros trabalhos realizados. Infere-se que, se utilizássemos animais doentes e com FiO2 de 1, poderíamos ter obtido um grau maior de atelectasias nos primeiros 90 minutos de anestesia e/ou, se tivéssemos utilizado manobras de recrutamento menos conservadoras, poderíamos ter obtidos melhora estatisticamente significativa após as manobras e instituição da PEEP. A tomografia de impedância elétrica parece ser um bom meio de monitoração do pulmão em tempo real em cães submetidos à anestesia inalatória.Hypoventilation secondary to anesthesia is common and, therefore, the use of mechanical ventilation techniques is adopted in order to minimize and/or prevent the deleterious effects of hypoventilation. However, the use of mechanical ventilators has risks, and atelectasis can develop even when they are used. For real-time analysis of the lung, the technique of electrical impedance tomography has been used in conjunction with other means of monitoring, having demonstrated to be useful for assessing pulmonary ventilation in a noninvasively way, and also can be used at the bedside and without radiation emission. There are not many studies using electrical impedance tomography in dogs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ventilation of dogs subjected to inhalation anesthesia and mechanical ventilation using the technique of electrical impedance tomography. We used eleven dogs weighing more than 16 kg and classified as low anesthetic risk (ASA I or II). The animals were premedicated with acepromazine and meperidine, anesthesia was induced with propofol and maintained with isoflurane. Ventilation was then instituted with FiO2 of 0.6 and peak pressure of 10 cm H2O during the first 90 minutes of anesthesia. Alveolar recruitment maneuvers were realized and pressure positive end- expiratory pressure (PEEP) of 5 cmH2O was initiated. The animals were evaluated for more 35 minutes then. The parameters were measured at 30, 60 and 90 minutes after induction of anesthesia and 5 and 35 minutes after recruitment. Although there was no statistically significant difference in the parameters of oxygenation and ventilation distribution, clinical improvement was visible as was the oxygenation and impedance curves. The impedance curves generated from the data obtained with the electrical impedance tomograph followed the improvement in oxygenation curves. The fact that in this study we used healthy animals undergoing mechanical ventilation with FiO2 of 0.6 right from the beginning, may have contributed to no improvement statistically significant but clinically visible. Recruitment maneuvers used were also conservative in comparison to other papers. We think that, if we used animals and patients with FiO2 of 1, we could have obtained a higher degree of atelectasis in the first 90 minutes of anesthesia and/or, if we had used less conservative recruitment maneuvers, we could have obtained statistically significant improvement after maneuvers and institution of PEEP. The electrical impedance tomography seems to be a good means of real time monitoring the lung of dogs undergoing inhalation anesthesia

Infertility diagnosis in jaguar (Panthera onca): case report

This work reports one case of infertility in a male jaguar (Panthera onca) aged 21 years and weighing 125 kg. Changes in sperm due to chronic stress, inadequate food handling and reproductive senescence are emphasized

ABC-SPH risk score for in-hospital mortality in COVID-19 patients : development, external validation and comparison with other available scores

The majority of available scores to assess mortality risk of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients in the emergency department have high risk of bias. Therefore, this cohort aimed to develop and validate a score at hospital admission for predicting in-hospital mortality in COVID-19 patients and to compare this score with other existing ones. Consecutive patients (≥ 18 years) with confirmed COVID-19 admitted to the participating hospitals were included. Logistic regression analysis was performed to develop a prediction model for in-hospital mortality, based on the 3978 patients admitted between March-July, 2020. The model was validated in the 1054 patients admitted during August-September, as well as in an external cohort of 474 Spanish patients. Median (25-75th percentile) age of the model-derivation cohort was 60 (48-72) years, and in-hospital mortality was 20.3%. The validation cohorts had similar age distribution and in-hospital mortality. Seven significant variables were included in the risk score: age, blood urea nitrogen, number of comorbidities, C-reactive protein, SpO/FiO ratio, platelet count, and heart rate. The model had high discriminatory value (AUROC 0.844, 95% CI 0.829-0.859), which was confirmed in the Brazilian (0.859 [95% CI 0.833-0.885]) and Spanish (0.894 [95% CI 0.870-0.919]) validation cohorts, and displayed better discrimination ability than other existing scores. It is implemented in a freely available online risk calculator (https://abc2sph.com/). An easy-to-use rapid scoring system based on characteristics of COVID-19 patients commonly available at hospital presentation was designed and validated for early stratification of in-hospital mortality risk of patients with COVID-19

ABC₂-SPH risk score for in-hospital mortality in COVID-19 patients

Objectives: The majority of available scores to assess mortality risk of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients in the emergency department have high risk of bias. Therefore, this cohort aimed to develop and validate a score at hospital admission for predicting in-hospital mortality in COVID-19 patients and to compare this score with other existing ones. Methods: Consecutive patients (≥ 18 years) with confirmed COVID-19 admitted to the participating hospitals were included. Logistic regression analysis was performed to develop a prediction model for in-hospital mortality, based on the 3978 patients admitted between March–July, 2020. The model was validated in the 1054 patients admitted during August–September, as well as in an external cohort of 474 Spanish patients. Results: Median (25–75th percentile) age of the model-derivation cohort was 60 (48–72) years, and in-hospital mortality was 20.3%. The validation cohorts had similar age distribution and in-hospital mortality. Seven significant variables were included in the risk score: age, blood urea nitrogen, number of comorbidities, C-reactive protein, SpO2/FiO2 ratio, platelet count, and heart rate. The model had high discriminatory value (AUROC 0.844, 95% CI 0.829–0.859), which was confirmed in the Brazilian (0.859 [95% CI 0.833–0.885]) and Spanish (0.894 [95% CI 0.870–0.919]) validation cohorts, and displayed better discrimination ability than other existing scores. It is implemented in a freely available online risk calculator (https://abc2sph.com/). Conclusions: An easy-to-use rapid scoring system based on characteristics of COVID-19 patients commonly available at hospital presentation was designed and validated for early stratification of in-hospital mortality risk of patients with COVID-19.</p

Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone

As part of an EU funded project to investigate the factors influencing bone preservation in the archaeological record, more than 250 bones from 41 archaeological sites in five countries spanning four climatic regions were studied for diagenetic alteration. Sites were selected to cover a range of environmental conditions and archaeological contexts. Microscopic and physical (mercury intrusion porosimetry) analyses of these bones revealed that the majority (68%) had suffered microbial attack. Furthermore, significant differences were found between animal and human bone in both the state of preservation and the type of microbial attack present. These differences in preservation might result from differences in early taphonomy of the bones. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved

Evaluation of a quality improvement intervention to reduce anastomotic leak following right colectomy (EAGLE): pragmatic, batched stepped-wedge, cluster-randomized trial in 64 countries

Background Anastomotic leak affects 8 per cent of patients after right colectomy with a 10-fold increased risk of postoperative death. The EAGLE study aimed to develop and test whether an international, standardized quality improvement intervention could reduce anastomotic leaks. Methods The internationally intended protocol, iteratively co-developed by a multistage Delphi process, comprised an online educational module introducing risk stratification, an intraoperative checklist, and harmonized surgical techniques. Clusters (hospital teams) were randomized to one of three arms with varied sequences of intervention/data collection by a derived stepped-wedge batch design (at least 18 hospital teams per batch). Patients were blinded to the study allocation. Low- and middle-income country enrolment was encouraged. The primary outcome (assessed by intention to treat) was anastomotic leak rate, and subgroup analyses by module completion (at least 80 per cent of surgeons, high engagement; less than 50 per cent, low engagement) were preplanned. Results A total 355 hospital teams registered, with 332 from 64 countries (39.2 per cent low and middle income) included in the final analysis. The online modules were completed by half of the surgeons (2143 of 4411). The primary analysis included 3039 of the 3268 patients recruited (206 patients had no anastomosis and 23 were lost to follow-up), with anastomotic leaks arising before and after the intervention in 10.1 and 9.6 per cent respectively (adjusted OR 0.87, 95 per cent c.i. 0.59 to 1.30; P = 0.498). The proportion of surgeons completing the educational modules was an influence: the leak rate decreased from 12.2 per cent (61 of 500) before intervention to 5.1 per cent (24 of 473) after intervention in high-engagement centres (adjusted OR 0.36, 0.20 to 0.64; P &lt; 0.001), but this was not observed in low-engagement hospitals (8.3 per cent (59 of 714) and 13.8 per cent (61 of 443) respectively; adjusted OR 2.09, 1.31 to 3.31). Conclusion Completion of globally available digital training by engaged teams can alter anastomotic leak rates. Registration number: NCT04270721 (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov)