Efficacy of free and nanoencapsulated Eucalyptus citriodora essential oils on sheep gastrointestinal nematodes and toxicity for mice

AbstractHerbal medicines with anthelmintic effects are alternatives for the sustainable control and prevention of disease caused by gastrointestinal parasites. The nanoencapsulation of essential oils has been proposed to enhance the absorption of their constituents and improve their efficacy. The present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of free and nanoencapsulated Eucalyptus citriodora essential oil (EcEO) on the control of gastrointestinal nematodes of small ruminants in vitro and in vivo. Chitosan was used as a matrix for the formulation of a nanoemulsion. Chromatographic and physico-chemical analyses of EcEO were performed. Egg hatch (EHT) and larval development (LDT) tests were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of nanoencapsulated and free EcEO on the eggs and larvae of Haemonchus contortus. Acute toxicity of free and nanoencapsulated EcEO was evaluated using mice. Finally, nanoencapsulated EcEO efficacy on the control of gastrointestinal nematodes was calculated by fecal egg count reduction test (FECRT) treating 30 sheep naturally infected with 250mg/kg of free and nanoencapsulated EcEO. In vitro tests were analyzed by an analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by comparison with the Tukey test. The efficacy of FECRT was calculated by the BootStreet program through arithmetic average, using the formula 100 (1−XT/XC). To compare the differences between epg, the data were transformed to log(x+1) and subjected to an ANOVA to compare the significant differences between groups by Tukey's. The level of significance was P<0.05. The free (4mg/ml concentration) and nanoencapsulated (2mg/ml concentration) EcEO inhibited larvae hatching by 97.2% and 92.8%, respectively. Free and nanoencapsulated EcEO at 8mg/ml inhibited larval development by 99.8% and 98.1%, respectively. In the acute toxicity test, the LD10 and LD50 of free EcEO was 1999 and 2653mg/kg, respectively, while the LD10 and LD50 of nanoencapsulated EcEO was 1121 and 1681mg/kg, respectively. Nanoencapsulated and free EcEO reduced FEC similarly by 40.5% and 55.9%, respectively at 10 days post-treatment. Nanoencapsulated EcEO did not obtain the expected efficacy in vivo

Adverse effects of anxiety on attentional control differ as a function of experience: A simulated driving study

This study tested whether adverse effects of state anxiety on attention and performance may be modulated by experience. Sixteen experienced and eleven inexperienced drivers drove in a simulator under low- and high-stress conditions. Anxiety was manipulated by competition, the presence of an evaluator, external video camera, and traffic noise. Most drivers showed greater anxiety scores and higher mean heart rates following manipulation. In both groups increased state anxiety decreased car speed control and caused more collisions, accompanied by fewer fixations of longer duration towards the driving lane across a horizontally narrower region. Inexperienced drivers increased the number of short fixations towards cars, while experienced drivers increased the number of short fixations on the speedometer. Although anxiety impairs processing efficiency and performance effectiveness for both groups, attentional changes differ as a function of experience. Inexperienced drivers tended to shift attention to threatening stimuli, while experienced drives were more likely to consciously monitor task goal

Access to infertility consultations: what women tell us about it?

The main objective of the present paper is to evaluate the perception of women concerning the barriers and access to infertility consultations. Socio cultural and economic access to infertility consultations is detached and three municipalities of the northwest of Portugal were chosen as an example of a peripheral country. A quantitative/qualitative study was done with 60 women. Three dimensions were evaluated: geographic and structural and functional access; economic access; and sociocultural access. The main barriers were mainly identified in the last two dimensions. The economic access was the less well evaluated by women being the cost of treatment (medication, and concentration of costs in a short period) difficult to bear. This can justify a greater involvement of the Portuguese Government, by developing policies for the reimbursement of part of the costs. Also, some changes in structural and functional access must be done with special regard to the separation of the infertility consultations from the reproductive medicine section. The setting of the teams, with a follow-up by the same team of health professionals is also needed

Outcome in patients perceived as receiving excessive care across different ethical climates: a prospective study in 68 intensive care units in Europe and the USA

Purpose: Whether the quality of the ethical climate in the intensive care unit (ICU) improves the identification of patients receiving excessive care and affects patient outcomes is unknown. Methods: In this prospective observational study, perceptions of excessive care (PECs) by clinicians working in 68 ICUs in Europe and the USA were collected daily during a 28-day period. The quality of the ethical climate in the ICUs was assessed via a validated questionnaire. We compared the combined endpoint (death, not at home or poor quality of life at 1 year) of patients with PECs and the time from PECs until written treatment-limitation decisions (TLDs) and death across the four climates defined via cluster analysis. Results: Of the 4747 eligible clinicians, 2992 (63%) evaluated the ethical climate in their ICU. Of the 321 and 623 patients not admitted for monitoring only in ICUs with a good (n = 12, 18%) and poor (n = 24, 35%) climate, 36 (11%) and 74 (12%), respectively were identified with PECs by at least two clinicians. Of the 35 and 71 identified patients with an available combined endpoint, 100% (95% CI 90.0–1.00) and 85.9% (75.4–92.0) (P = 0.02) attained that endpoint. The risk of death (HR 1.88, 95% CI 1.20–2.92) or receiving a written TLD (HR 2.32, CI 1.11–4.85) in patients with PECs by at least two clinicians was higher in ICUs with a good climate than in those with a poor one. The differences between ICUs with an average climate, with (n = 12, 18%) or without (n = 20, 29%) nursing involvement at the end of life, and ICUs with a poor climate were less obvious but still in favour of the former. Conclusion: Enhancing the quality of the ethical climate in the ICU may improve both the identification of patients receiving excessive care and the decision-making process at the end of life