A Strategy for Detecting Natural Anthelmintic Constituents of the Grassland Species \u3ci\u3ePlantago lanceolata\u3c/i\u3e

A strategy to detect anthelmintic constituents in plantain (Plantago lanceolata) using a bioassay-driven purification approach was tested. Plantain consumed by cattle may control or reduce internal parasite titers, possibly due to the iridoid glucoside aucubin. Lyophilized, ground leaves of wild P. lanceolata were extracted with 95 % ethanol or boiling water containing calcium carbonate. Partially purified extracts (0 to 250 mg ml-1), 5 μg ml-1 of the anthelmintic levamisole, or 5 mg ml-1 of aucubin were tested with sheathed bovine parasites (Ostertagia ostertagi). The percent moving worms was unchanged for water controls and reduced to 0 % for anthelmintic levamisole. Aucubin significantly reduced the number of swimming worms at day 2, but they returned to starting values at day 3. Extracts from tall fescue and white clover foliage did not show anthelmintic effects. Treatment of extract or aucubin with ß-glucosidase did not alter their activity. Beneficial anthelmintic action of ingested plantain is not due to aucubin

Amphibious Seismic Survey Images Plate Interface at 1960 Chile Earthquake

The southern central Chilean margin at the site of the largest historically recorded earthquake in the Valdivia region, in 1960 (Mw = 9.5), is part of the 5000-km-long active subduction system whose geodynamic evolution is controversially debated and poorly understood. Covering the area between 36° and 40°S, the oceanic crust is segmented by prominent fracture zones. The offshore forearc and its onshore continuation show a complex image with segments of varying geophysical character, and several fault systems active during the past 24 m.y. In autumn 2001, the project SPOC was organized to study the Subduction Processes Off Chile, with a focus on the seismogenic coupling zone and the forearc. The acquired seismic data crossing the Chilean subduction system were gathered in a combined offshore-onshore survey and provide new insights into the lithospheric structure and evolution of active margins with insignificant frontal accretion

Epidemiology, practice of ventilation and outcome for patients at increased risk of postoperative pulmonary complications: LAS VEGAS - An observational study in 29 countries

BACKGROUND Limited information exists about the epidemiology and outcome of surgical patients at increased risk of postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs), and how intraoperative ventilation was managed in these patients. OBJECTIVES To determine the incidence of surgical patients at increased risk of PPCs, and to compare the intraoperative ventilation management and postoperative outcomes with patients at low risk of PPCs. DESIGN This was a prospective international 1-week observational study using the ‘Assess Respiratory Risk in Surgical Patients in Catalonia risk score’ (ARISCAT score) for PPC for risk stratification. PATIENTS AND SETTING Adult patients requiring intraoperative ventilation during general anaesthesia for surgery in 146 hospitals across 29 countries. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The primary outcome was the incidence of patients at increased risk of PPCs based on the ARISCAT score. Secondary outcomes included intraoperative ventilatory management and clinical outcomes. RESULTS A total of 9864 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The incidence of patients at increased risk was 28.4%. The most frequently chosen tidal volume (V T) size was 500 ml, or 7 to 9 ml kg−1 predicted body weight, slightly lower in patients at increased risk of PPCs. Levels of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) were slightly higher in patients at increased risk of PPCs, with 14.3% receiving more than 5 cmH2O PEEP compared with 7.6% in patients at low risk of PPCs (P ˂ 0.001). Patients with a predicted preoperative increased risk of PPCs developed PPCs more frequently: 19 versus 7%, relative risk (RR) 3.16 (95% confidence interval 2.76 to 3.61), P ˂ 0.001) and had longer hospital stays. The only ventilatory factor associated with the occurrence of PPCs was the peak pressure. CONCLUSION The incidence of patients with a predicted increased risk of PPCs is high. A large proportion of patients receive high V T and low PEEP levels. PPCs occur frequently in patients at increased risk, with worse clinical outcome.</p

Sex difference and intra-operative tidal volume: Insights from the LAS VEGAS study

BACKGROUND: One key element of lung-protective ventilation is the use of a low tidal volume (VT). A sex difference in use of low tidal volume ventilation (LTVV) has been described in critically ill ICU patients.OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine whether a sex difference in use of LTVV also exists in operating room patients, and if present what factors drive this difference.DESIGN, PATIENTS AND SETTING: This is a posthoc analysis of LAS VEGAS, a 1-week worldwide observational study in adults requiring intra-operative ventilation during general anaesthesia for surgery in 146 hospitals in 29 countries.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Women and men were compared with respect to use of LTVV, defined as VT of 8 ml kg-1 or less predicted bodyweight (PBW). A VT was deemed 'default' if the set VT was a round number. A mediation analysis assessed which factors may explain the sex difference in use of LTVV during intra-operative ventilation.RESULTS: This analysis includes 9864 patients, of whom 5425 (55%) were women. A default VT was often set, both in women and men; mode VT was 500 ml. Median [IQR] VT was higher in women than in men (8.6 [7.7 to 9.6] vs. 7.6 [6.8 to 8.4] ml kg-1 PBW, P &lt; 0.001). Compared with men, women were twice as likely not to receive LTVV [68.8 vs. 36.0%; relative risk ratio 2.1 (95% CI 1.9 to 2.1), P &lt; 0.001]. In the mediation analysis, patients' height and actual body weight (ABW) explained 81 and 18% of the sex difference in use of LTVV, respectively; it was not explained by the use of a default VT.CONCLUSION: In this worldwide cohort of patients receiving intra-operative ventilation during general anaesthesia for surgery, women received a higher VT than men during intra-operative ventilation. The risk for a female not to receive LTVV during surgery was double that of males. Height and ABW were the two mediators of the sex difference in use of LTVV.TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was registered at Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT01601223

An Objective and Repeatable Sac Isolation Technique for Comparing Biomechanical Metrics in Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms

(1) Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) biomechanics-based metrics often reported may be over/under-estimated by including non-aneurysmal regions in the analyses, which is typical, rather than isolating the dilated sac region. We demonstrate the utility of a novel sac-isolation algorithm by comparing peak/mean wall stress (PWS, MWS), with/without sac isolation, for AAA that were categorized as stable or unstable in 245 patient CT image sets. (2) 245 patient computed tomography images were collected, segmented, meshed, and had subsequent finite element analysis performed in preparation of our novel sac isolation technique. Sac isolation was initiated by rotating 3D surfaces incrementally, extracting 2D projections, curve fitting a Fourier series, and taking the local extrema as superior/inferior boundaries for the aneurysmal sac. The PWS/MWS were compared pairwise using the entire aneurysm and the isolated sac alone. (3) MWS, not PWS, was significantly different between the sac alone and the entire aneurysm. We found no statistically significant difference in wall stress measures between stable (n = 222) and unstable (n = 23) groups using the entire aneurysm. However, using sac-isolation, PWS (24.6 &plusmn; 7.06 vs. 20.5 &plusmn; 8.04 N/cm2; p = 0.003) and MWS (12.0 &plusmn; 3.63 vs. 10.5 &plusmn; 4.11 N/cm2; p = 0.022) were both significantly higher in unstable vs. stable groups. (4) Our results suggest that evaluating only the AAA sac can influence wall stress metrics and may reveal differences in stable and unstable groups of aneurysms that may not otherwise be detected when the entire aneurysm is used

Seroprevalence of the cat lungworm Aelurostrongylus abstrusus in Central Italy

NTRODUCTION. Aelurostrongylus abstrusus (Metastrongyloidea, Angiostrongyliidae), i.e. the “cat lungworm” infects cats worldwide. The Baermann’s method is considered the gold standard for the diagnosis of A. abstrusus infection, although its sensitivity and specificity can be impaired by different factors (e.g. prepatency, intermittent larval shedding and low parasite burdens) (Traversa et al., 2010, Parasit. Vectors, 3:62). To overcome these limitations an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) has recently been developed (Zottler et al., 2017, Vet. Parasitol., 235:75-82) as an alternative diagnostic tool. This is the first field study relying on this ELISA for the serological detection of antibodies vs the cat lungworm A. abstrusus in endemic areas. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Sera samples of 250 cats from two endemic regions of Italy were tested for the presence of antibodies vs A. abstrusus by the ELISA, i.e. 162 from Abruzzo (Site A) and 88 from Umbria (Site B). In particular, 20 serum samples of cats infected with A. abstrusus and 20 of cats negative for lungworms by Baermann’s and PCR were used to select an OD cut off value (Subset A). Sera of 210 cats scoring negative for lungworms at Baermann’s were also tested (Subset B). RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS. A cut off value of 0.347 OD (sensitivity 95% and specificity 100%) was determined. Antibodies vs A. abstrusus were present in 45 samples (21.4%) from Subset B, in particular 28/142 (19.7%) and 17/68 (25%) from sites A and B respectively. These results show a higher prevalence of A. abstrusus if compared with those obtained in other surveys carried out in the same areas (Traversa et al., 2008, Parasitol. Res., 103:1191-1196; Di Cesare et al., 2011, Parasitol. Res., 1S87:96; Di Cesare et al., 2015, Parasitol. Res., 114:4463-4469) that used the Baermann’s test to diagnose the infection. This study confirms the endemicity of cat aelurostrongylosis in Italy, and shows that the newly developed ELISA represents a potential alternative for future large-scale epidemiological studies and for the clinical diagnosis of the infection, being able to detect even subclinical non patent infections and therefore overcoming the existing difficulties of copromicroscopic examinations

Serological survey and risk factors of Aelurostrongylus abstrusus infection among owned cats in Italy

Feline lungworms affect the respiratory tract of domestic cats causing respiratory conditions of various degrees. In this study, we investigated the exposure of cats to feline lungworm infections by detecting antibodies in a large population of animals from several regions of Italy. Sera of 1087 domestic cats living in regions of the north (n = 700), the centre (n = 227) and the south (n = 160) of Italy were examined by a newly developed indirect ELISA conceived for detection of antibodies against the most frequently occurring feline lungworm Aelurostrongylus abstrusus. Individual cat data (i.e., age, sex, neutering status and provenience) were analysed as potential risk factors for exposure to lungworm infections. Samples were additionally screened for feline leukaemia virus (FeLV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) proviral DNAs. Overall, 9% (98/1087; 95% confidence interval (CI) 7.4–10.9%) of the animals tested seropositive to lungworm antibodies. Positive cats were identified in the north (7.1%; CI 5.5–9.3%), in the centre (5.3%; CI 3.0–9.0%) and in the South (22.5%; CI 16.7–29.6%), with more seropositive animals in the latter area (p &lt; 0.05). The risk of lungworm infection in cats was significantly associated with age less than 6&nbsp;months (i.e. 24.4%, p &lt; 0.05) and FIV infection (p &lt; 0.05). This large-scale serological survey confirms the exposure of cats to lungworm infections in Italy and that serological tests can be used to assess the distribution of lungworm infections in large populations of animals