Impact of a Dexmedetomidine Intravenous Infusion in Septic Dogs: Preliminary Study

Simple Summary Sepsis is a widespread concern in human and veterinary medicine. Over the past several years, numerous strategies have been implemented to try to combat it; however, mortality remains high in all species. The use of dexmedetomidine, an alpha-two agonist drug with sedative and analgesic properties, is gaining popularity as a synergistic treatment strategy in the management of sepsis, thanks to its anti-apoptotic and neuroprotective properties and its ability to preserve hemodynamic function. We therefore hypothesized that a continuous rate infusion of dexmedetomidine in septic patients, undergoing emergency surgery, could decrease the requirement for vasopressors. The results of this study show that an infusion of 1 mcg/kg/h of dexmedetomidine decreases intraoperative vasopressor use and improves 28-day mortality. However, given the small sample size, a larger prospective study should be undertaken to confirm these findings.Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine if a continuous rate infusion (CRI) of dexmedetomidine decreases vasopressor requirements in septic dogs undergoing surgery. Vital parameters, sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score, vasopressor requirement, and 28-day mortality were recorded. Dogs were randomly divided into two groups: a dexmedetomidine (DEX) (1 mcg/kg/h) group and a control group (NaCl), which received an equivalent CRI of NaCl. Dogs were premedicated with fentanyl 5 mcg/kg IV, induced with propofol, and maintained with sevoflurane and a variable rate fentanyl infusion. DEX or NaCl infusions were started 10 min prior to induction. Fluid-responsive hypotensive patients received repeated Ringer's lactate boluses (2 mL/kg) until stable or they were no longer fluid-responsive. Patients that remained hypotensive following fluid boluses received norepinephrine at a starting dose of 0.05 mcg/kg/min, with increases of 0.05 mcg/kg/min. Rescue adrenaline boluses were administered (0.001 mg/kg) if normotension was not achieved within 30 min of starting norepinephrine. The NaCl group received a significantly higher dose of norepinephrine (0.8, 0.4-2 mcg/kg/min) than the DEX group (0.12, 0-0.86 mcg/kg/min). Mortality was statistically lower in the DEX group (1/10) vs. the NaCl group (5/6). Results of this study suggest that a 1 mcg/kg/h CRI of dexmedetomidine decreases the demand for intraoperative vasopressors and may improve survival in septic dogs

Role of body condition score and adiponectin expression in the progression of canine mammary carcinomas

Obesity has been identified as a risk factor for developing breast cancer in post-menopausal period in humans and has been suspected to be associated with a worse prognosis also in the bitch. The aims of this study were to investigate the association between body condition score (BCS) and the prognosis of canine mammary carcinomas (CMCs) and the relationships between adiponectin expression and tumour behaviour. Seventy-three bitches with tubular, tubulopapillary, solid or complex carcinomas were included in the present study. For each dog, evaluation of BCS was conducted using a nine-point BCS system and the study population was divided into normal weight (4–5/9 points; n = 42), overweight (6–7/9 points; n = 19) and obese (8–9/9 points; n = 12). Type of diet (commercial, homemade or mixed) was recorded. After surgical excision, histological type, tumour size and nodal status were assessed and adiponectin expression was determined and quantified by immunohistochemistry and morphometric analysis. CMC histotype was not correlated with BCS, while a positive correlation between BCS and histological grade (p <.01) was observed. Overweight and obese bitches combined showed a shorter cancer-specific survival than normal weighted bitches (p <.01). Bitches fed with a homemade diet had a higher BCS than dogs fed with a commercial one, although no relationship was observed between diet and cancer-specific survival. Thirty-six CMCs scored positive for adiponectin expression (49%), but no correlation was found between the hormone expression and either CMC characteristics or prognosis. In conclusion, a higher BCS seems to be related with a higher prevalence of more aggressive CMCs and negatively affects the survival time in bitches with these mammary tumours

The Use of Wearable Sensors for Preventing, Assessing, and Informing Recovery from Sport-Related Musculoskeletal Injuries: A Systematic Scoping Review

Wearable technologies are often indicated as tools that can enable the in-field collection of quantitative biomechanical data, unobtrusively, for extended periods of time, and with few spatial limitations. Despite many claims about their potential for impact in the area of injury prevention and management, there seems to be little attention to grounding this potential in biomechanical research linking quantities from wearables to musculoskeletal injuries, and to assessing the readiness of these biomechanical approaches for being implemented in real practice. We performed a systematic scoping review to characterise and critically analyse the state of the art of research using wearable technologies to study musculoskeletal injuries in sport from a biomechanical perspective. A total of 4952 articles were retrieved from the Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed databases; 165 were included. Multiple study features—such as research design, scope, experimental settings, and applied context—were summarised and assessed. We also proposed an injury-research readiness classification tool to gauge the maturity of biomechanical approaches using wearables. Five main conclusions emerged from this review, which we used as a springboard to propose guidelines and good practices for future research and dissemination in the field

The path from trigeminal asymmetry to cognitive impairment: a behavioral and molecular study

Trigeminal input exerts acute and chronic effects on the brain, modulating cognitive functions. Here, new data from humans and animals suggest that these effects are caused by trigeminal influences on the Locus Coeruleus (LC). In humans subjects clenching with masseter asymmetric activity, occlusal correction improved cognition, alongside with reductions in pupil size and anisocoria, proxies of LC activity and asymmetry, respectively. Notably, reductions in pupil size at rest on the hypertonic side predicted cognitive improvements. In adult rats, a distal unilateral section of the trigeminal mandibular branch reduced, on the contralateral side, the expression of c-Fos (brainstem) and BDNF (brainstem, hippocampus, frontal cortex). This counterintuitive finding can be explained by the following model: teeth contact perception loss on the lesioned side results in an increased occlusal effort, which enhances afferent inputs from muscle spindles and posterior periodontal receptors, spared by the distal lesion. Such effort leads to a reduced engagement of the intact side, with a corresponding reduction in the afferent inputs to the LC and in c-Fos and BDNF gene expression. In conclusion, acute effects of malocclusion on performance seem mediated by the LC, which could also contribute to the chronic trophic dysfunction induced by loss of trigeminal input

Superconducting thermal neutron detectors

A neutron detection concept is presented that is based on superconductive niobium nitride (NbN) strips coated by a boron (B) layer. The working principle is well described by a hot spot mechanism: upon the occurrence of the nuclear reactions n + 10B → α + 7Li + 2.8 MeV, the energy released by the secondary particles into the strip induces a superconducting-normal state transition. The latter is recognized as a voltage signal which is the evidence of the incident neutron. The above described detection principle has been experimentally assessed and verified by irradiating the samples with a pulsed neutron beam at the ISIS spallation neutron source (UK). It is found that the boron coated superconducting strips, kept at a temperature T below 11K and current-biased below the critical current IC, are driven into the normal state upon thermal neutron irradiation. Measurements on the counting rate of the device are presented and the basic physical features of the detector are discussed and compared to those of a borated Nb superconducting strip

Oleic acid variation and marker-assisted detection of Pervenets mutation in high- and low-oleic sunflower cross

High-oleic sunflower oil is in high demand on the market due to its heart-healthy properties and richness in monounsaturated fatty acids that makes it more stable in processing than standard sunflower oil. Consequently, one of sunflower breeder's tasks is to develop stable high-oleic sunflower genotypes that will produce high quality oil. We analyzed variability and inheritance of oleic acid content (OAC) in sunflower, developed at the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, by analyzing F-1 and F-2 progeny obtained by crossing a standard linoleic and high-oleic inbred line. F-2 individuals were classified in two groups: low-oleic with OAC of 15.24-31.28% and high-oleic with OAC of 62.49-93.82%. Monogenic dominant inheritance was observed. Additionally, several molecular markers were tested for the use in marker-assisted selection in order to shorten the period of detecting high-oleic genotypes. Marker F4-R1 was proven to be the most efficient in detection of genotypes with Pervenets (high-oleic acid) mutation