Application of blood parameters for the early diagnosis of natural ascending placentitis in pregnant mares.

Placental infection is an important cause of late-term pregnancy loss and neonatal diseases in horses. Detection of changes in blood parameters especially during early placentitis could improve the diagnostic accuracy, treatment decision, and potential outcomes. The objectives of this 2-part study were to identify differences in circulating immunological, inflammatory, and hormonal parameters between mares with natural ascending placentitis and control mares; evaluate each and combination of parameters as predictors of placentitis; and determine how these parameters indicate severity of placentitis.

Effectiveness of a SNAPPS in psychiatric residents assessed using objective structured teaching encounters: a case-control study.

Background: Residents play the role of teachers in almost one-quarter of their activities in residency programs.

Objective: To evaluate whether a 45-minute class using summarize, narrow, analyze, probe, plan, and select (SNAPPS) could improve psychiatry residents' case discussion skills in diverse practical learning settings.

Design And Setting: This case-control, randomized, blinded study was conducted in a psychiatry hospital at Fortaleza-Ceará.

Different Transcriptomic Response to Infection in hiPSC-Derived Cardiomyocytes From Chagas Disease Patients With and Without Chronic Cardiomyopathy.

Chagas disease is a tropical zoonosis caused by . After infection, the host present an acute phase, usually asymptomatic, in which an extensive parasite proliferation and intense innate immune activity occurs, followed by a chronic phase, characterized by low parasitemia and development of specific immunity. Most individuals in the chronic phase remain without symptoms or organ damage, a state called indeterminate IND form.

Development and testing of iAware model for ubiquitous care of patients with symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression.

Background And Objective: This work proposes a model for ubiquitous care of patients with anxiety, depression and stress disorders using gamification and biodata, called iAware. Depression and anxiety are the most prevalent mental disorders, reaching million people worldwide. As they share many characteristics these two disorders can manifest themselves together.

Teaching skills for medical residents: are these important? A narrative review of the literature.

Background: There is extensive evidence, mainly from the United States and Canada, that points towards the need to train medical residents in teaching skills. Much of the "informal curriculum", including professional values, is taught by residents when consultants are not around. Furthermore, data from the 1960s show the importance of acquiring these skills, not only for residents but also for all doctors.

Cortisol, progesterone, 17αOHprogesterone, and pregnenolone in foals born from mare's hormone-treated for experimentally induced ascending placentitis.

This study aimed to evaluate steroid hormones in foals born from mares treated for ascending placentitis with different combinations of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMS), flunixin meglumine (FM), long-acting altrenogest (ALT) and estradiol cypionate (ECP) for ten consecutive days, starting two days after experimental induction of placentitis with Streptococcus zooepidemicus. Fourty-six pregnant mares and respective foals were assigned as healthy group (Control, n = 8) or treated groups as follows: TMS+FM (n = 8), TMS+FM+ALT (n = 8), TMS+FM+ALT+ECP (n = 6), TMS+FM+ECP (n = 6) and no treatment (NO TREAT n = 10). At delivery, foals were classified as high-risk or low-risk based on clinical and hematologic findings, and survival rates were recorded during the first week of life for comparisons across groups.

Global Longitudinal Strain Accuracy for Cardiotoxicity Prediction in a Cohort of Breast Cancer Patients During Anthracycline and/or Trastuzumab Treatment.

Background: The high cardiotoxicity morbidity and mortality rates associated with the antineoplastic therapy for breast cancer could be reduced with the early use of cardioprotective drugs. However, the low sensitivity of left ventricular ejection fraction limits its use in that preventive strategy. New parameters, such as global longitudinal strain, are being used in the early detection of contractile function changes.

Estradiol cypionate aided treatment for experimentally induced ascending placentitis in mares.

The overall goal of this study was to assess the efficacy of various therapeutic combinations of estradiol cypionate (ECP, a long-acting estrogen) and altrenogest (ALT, a long-acting progestin) in addition to basic treatment for placentitis with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMS) and flunixin meglumine (FM). Specific outcomes measured in this experiment were (i) time from induction of bacterial placentitis to delivery, and foal parameters (high-risk, survival, and birth weight); and (ii) serum steroid concentrations (progesterone, 17α-hydroxyprogesterone, 17β-estradiol, and cortisol) in response to treatment. Pregnant mares (∼300 days gestation, n = 46) were randomly assigned into healthy mares (control group, CONT, n = 8) and mares with experimentally induced ascending placentitis (n = 38).

Histomorphometry of the placental vasculature and microcotyledons in Thoroughbred mares with chronic laminitis.

The objective of this study was to assess the placental vasculature and microcotyledons in pregnant mares with chronic laminitis. Twenty-six pregnant mares were enrolled in the study, 13 had chronic laminitis (Laminitis Group) and 13 were healthy mares (Healthy Group). Arterial systolic pressure and heart rate were measured in the last 30 days of gestation.

Comparison of cushioned centrifugation and SpermFilter filtration on longevity and morphology of cooled-stored equine semen.

This study compares two methods for seminal plasma removal by evaluating sperm recovery rates, and motility and morphology of cooled-stored semen. Ejaculates were divided into three groups: control, filtration and cushioned centrifugation. Semen was extended to 25 million sperm/ml using a skim-milk-based extender and stored at 5°C for all groups.

[Accuracy of probabilistic record linkage for identifying deaths in a cohort of patients with decompensated heart failure].

Probabilistic record linkage has been used increasingly to identify outcomes in cohort studies. This study aimed to assess the method's accuracy for identifying deaths in a cohort of 450 patients admitted to a university hospital for decompensated heart failure over a six-year period. Vital status of cohort members was determined from electronic patient file data (gold standard).

Diagnosis and effects of urine contamination in cooled-extended stallion semen.

Urospermia is known to affect semen quality in many mammals, including stallions. Determinations of semen pH and creatinine and urea concentrations have been used to diagnose urine contamination in raw stallion semen. Unfortunately, practitioners suspecting urine contamination in cooled-shipped samples have no proven means to confirm the presence of urine.

Atrial fibrillation in decompensated heart failure: associated factors and in-hospital outcome.

Background: Studies on atrial fibrillation (AF) in decompensated heart failure (DHF) are scarce in Brazil.

Objectives: To determine AF prevalence, its types and associated factors in patients hospitalized due to DHF; to assess their thromboembolic risk profile and anticoagulation rate; and to assess the impact of AF on in-hospital mortality and hospital length of stay.

Methods: Retrospective, observational, cross-sectional study of incident cases including 659 consecutive hospitalizations due to DHF, from 01/01/2006 to 12/31/2011.

Effects of the continuous positive airway pressure on the airways of patients with chronic heart failure.

Background: Heart failure can present with asymptomatic dysfunction at decompensation, with limitations and decrease in the productive capacity. The Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) is a non-pharmacological means to decrease afterload.

Objective: To analyze the effects of CPAP (10 cmH2O), for 30 days in patients with chronic heart failure.

Retirada do leito após a descontinuação da ventilação mecânica: há repercussão na mortalidade e no tempo de permanência na unidade de terapia intensiva?

Objective: To describe the withdrawal of the bed frequency in mechanic ventilation patients and its impact on mortality and length of stay in the intensive care unit.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study in mechanical ventilation patients. Clinical and epidemiological variables, withdrawal of bed related motor therapy, intensive care unit length of stay and mortality were evaluated.

Mothers' depressed mood and anxiety levels are reduced after massaging their preterm infants.

Forty mothers whose preterm infants were about to be discharged from the Neonatal Intermediate Care Nursery (NICU) were randomly assigned to two groups: the first group of mothers conducted preterm infant massage and the second group only observed their preterm infants receiving massage. Both groups of mothers had lower depressed mood scores following the session. However, only the group who massaged their infants had lower anxiety scores after the session.

Prenatal, perinatal and neonatal stimulation: a survey of neonatal nurseries.

A recent survey was conducted on stimulation of mothers and babies during pregnancy and the neonatal period. The survey was responded to by 82 neonatology staff members from Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) at hospitals in the United States. Some forms of stimulation were extremely common including (1) skin-to-skin following birth in the delivery room (83% of hospitals); (2) containment (swaddling and surrounded by blanket rolls) in the NICU (86%); (3) music in the NICU (72%); (4) rocking in the NICU (85%); (5) kangaroo care (98%); (6) non-nutritive sucking during tubefeedings in the NICU (96%); and (7) breastfeeding in the NICU (100%).

Lavender fragrance cleansing gel effects on relaxation.

Alertness, mood, and math computations were assessed in 11 healthy adults who sniffed a cosmetic cleansing gel with lavender floral blend aroma, developed to be relaxing using Mood Mapping. EEG patterns and heart rate were also recorded before, during, and after the aroma session. The lavender fragrance blend had a significant transient effect of improving mood, making people feel more relaxed, and performing the math computation faster.

[Mesenteric venous thrombosis after azygos-portal disconnection with splenectomy for the treatment of bleeding esophageal varices in mansonian schistosomiasis. Three cases reports].

The consequence of an acute mesenteric venous thrombosis following porta-azygos disconnection for the treatment of bleeding esophageal varices due to mansonian schistosomiasis has not been well defined in the literature. The clinical manifestations reported were fever, spasmodic abdominal pain associated with food intake. We treated three patients with thrombosis of the portal-mesenteric trunk following porta-azygos disconnection and adopted a conservative clinical approach in two patients while one had to have a surgical small bowel ressection.

Is CK-MB isoenzyme useful for diagnosis of cardiac involvement in icteric leptospirosis?

In the absence of heart failure or cardiogenic shock, cardiac involvement diagnosis in icteric leptospirosis is possible on the basis of abnormal electrocardiograms. As metabolic and electrolytic disorders are frequently seen during acute leptospirosis infection, they may be responsible for some electrocardiograms changes. We conducted a study to assess if creatine phosphokinase isoenzyme determinations are useful in selecting patients with a high cardiac involvement suspicion.

Predicting the donor liver lobe weight from body weight for split-liver transplantation.

It is possible to obtain two good-quality hepatic transplants from a single cadaveric liver by separation of the right and left lobes of the liver. We attempted to define a relationship based only on donor body weight for predicting donor total liver weight as well as donor right (segments V-VIII) and left (segments II-IV) hepatic lobe weight. Segment I (caudate lobe) is resected and thus lost in this procedure.

[Hepatic venous system and its application in the so-called split-liver transplantation technic].

Sixty fresh adult livers were obtained from cadavers together with celiac trunk, head of the pancreas and superior mesenteric artery. The right portal vein, left portal vein and their respective branches were dissected as well as the hepatic veins. There was only one right hepatic vein in 59 cases.