Thermography and ultrasonography in back pain diagnosis of equine athletes

The object of the current study was to evaluate the efficacy of thermography and ultrasonography in the diagnosis of thoracolumbar lesions in Quarter Horse athletes and associate the different types of lesions found with the athletic modality practiced. Twenty-four horses were admitted to the Surgery Service for Large Animals of the Veterinary and Animal Science Faculty, UNESP, Botucatu, Brazil, with complaints of back problems. All the horses were submitted for physical examinations to confirm the existence of thoracolumbar alterations and then for thermography and ultrasonography Thermography was used to map the lesioned areas of this region and ultrasonography for lesion characterization. The lesions found were supraspinous desmitis, interspinous desmitis, dorsal intervertebral osteoarthritis, and impingement of the spinous processes or kissing spines. The existence of a relation between the type of event practiced by the horse and the type of lesion found was determined. In horses that competed in the barrel race, a predominance of lesions in the thoracic caudal, thoracolumbar, and cranial lumbar regions occurred, with intervertebral osteoarthritis and interspinous desmitis being the most common. In cutting horses, most of the lesions were observed in the caudal lumbar region, whereas horses competing in reining showed a preferential location for lesions in the middle lumbar, with a predominance of supraspinous desmitis and myositis. Thermography associated with ultrasonography was shown to be efficient in the diagnosis of the thoracolumbar lesions of these horses.

Clinical applications of non-culture based methods for the diagnosis and management of opportunistic and endemic mycoses

Nonculture based methods for the detection of infections caused by fungal pathogens are becoming more important tools in the management of infected patients. Detection of fungal antigens and DNA appear to be the most promising in this respect for both opportunistic and endemic mycoses. In this article we present an overview of the most recent developments in nonculture based methods and examine their value in clinical practice.

The instantaneous-space-phasor a powerful diagnosis tool

This paper presents the instantaneous-space-phasor (ISP) definition and describes its properties and possible applications for three-phase systems. It is shown that the ISP provides the mathematical base for a new approach to the measurement of active, reactive, and apparent power. Moreover, the ISP helps separate the positive and negative-sequence components and fits perfectly into the Buchholz-Goodhue apparent power definition.

Diagnosis and environmental planning for Paranagud - PR - Brazil

The main goal of this study was to identify and analyse environmental problems related to human occupation at the south part of the city of Paranagua PR, Brazil, aiming the diagnosis and conceptual evaluation of landscape use. For landscape use assessments and degradation diagnosis purposes, the environment was classified considering mainly geological and geomorphologic characteristics, such as declivity and sediment origin. The identification of potential environmental impacts was made by aerial photographs, Landsat-TM images, photographic records, surface sediment samples, water-column samples, and mainly observation visits to each classified unit. Surface sediment samples were taken with a Petit-Ponar sampler, in 13 station located in Paranagua Bay. In order to characterize the contamination level on sediments, the concentration of the following elements were analysed: arsenic (As), copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni), lead (Ph) e zinc (Zn). For the extraction of these elements, samples were treated with HCl 0.1N for 12 hours. This method has the advantage of determining contaminants which are weakly bind to the sediment, thus more available to the system. Analysis were performed by atomic absorption spectroscopy. According to the adopted criteria, sectors were classified as hills, mangroves, continental sediments and beach ridges urban and port industrial. Water quality and concentrations of metallic elements were determined at three sectors one control and two with the influence of urban and port/industrial activities, respectively the major upland impacts found were: deforestation due to disordered occupation, and solid waste emission through domestic and industrial sewage. The diagnosis of the actual situation was used as a basis for a management plan, once it allows the identification of impacts, and consequent environmental irregularities. Based on this considerations, suggestions for land use and management were presented, which offers a better approach for recuperation and protection of the studied ecosystem.

Development of an open case-based decision-support system for diagnosis in oral pathology

Making diagnoses in oral pathology are often difficult and confusing in dental practice, especially for the lessexperienced dental student. One of the most promising areas in bioinformatics is computer-aided diagnosis, where a computer system is capable of imitating human reasoning ability and provides diagnoses with an accuracy approaching that of expert professionals. This type of system could be an alternative tool for assisting dental students to overcome the difficulties of the oral pathology learning process. This could allow students to define variables and information, important to improving the decision-making performance. However, no current open data management system has been integrated with an artificial intelligence system in a user-friendly environment. Such a system could also be used as an education tool to help students perform diagnoses. The aim of the present study was to develop and test an open case-based decisionsupport system.Methods: An open decision-support system based on Bayes' theorem connected to a relational database was developed using the C++ programming language. The software was tested in the computerisation of a surgical pathology service and in simulating the diagnosis of 43 known cases of oral bone disease. The simulation was performed after the system was initially filled with data from 401 cases of oral bone disease.Results: the system allowed the authors to construct and to manage a pathology database, and to simulate diagnoses using the variables from the database.Conclusion: Combining a relational database and an open decision-support system in the same user-friendly environment proved effective in simulating diagnoses based on information from an updated database.

Canine bartonellosis: serological and molecular prevalence in Brazil and evidence of co-infection with Bartonella henselae and Bartonella vinsonii subsp berkhoffii

The purpose of this study was to determine the serological and molecular prevalence of Bartonella spp. infection in a sick dog population from Brazil. At the São Paulo State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Botucatu, 198 consecutive dogs with clinicopathological abnormalities consistent with tick-borne infections were sampled. Antibodies to Bartonella henselae and Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii were detected in 2.0% ( 4/197) and 1.5% ( 3/197) of the dogs, respectively. Using 16S-23S rRNA intergenic transcribed spacer ( ITS) primers, Bartonella DNA was amplified from only 1/198 blood samples. Bartonella seroreactive and/or PCR positive blood samples ( n = 8) were inoculated into a liquid pre-enrichment growth medium ( BAPGM) and subsequently sub-inoculated onto BAPGM/blood-agar plates. PCR targeting the ITS region, pap31 and rpoB genes amplified B. henselae from the blood and/or isolates of the PCR positive dog ( ITS: DQ346666; pap31 gene: DQ351240; rpoB: EF196806). B. henselae and B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii ( pap31: DQ906160; rpoB: EF196805) co-infection was found in one of the B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii seroreactive dogs. We conclude that dogs in this study population were infrequently exposed to or infected with a Bartonella species. The B. henselae and B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii strains identified in this study are genetically similar to strains isolated from septicemic cats, dogs, coyotes and human beings from other parts of the world. To our knowledge, these isolates provide the first Brazilian DNA sequences from these Bartonella species and the first evidence of Bartonella co-infection in dogs.

Uterine evaluation and gestation diagnosis in owl monkey (Aotus azarai infulatus) using the B mode ultrasound

Background Gynecological and obstetrical ultrasonography has become an indispensable tool in the routine management, health evaluation and research on captive non-human primates.Methods Ultrasound was used to evaluate the uterus and estimate the gestation of owl monkeys. Twelve couples were selected, where five were primiparous and seven multiparous females from the National Primate Center reproductive colony, Ananindeua-PA, Brazil. The procedures were carried out using the GE (R) Logiq 100 MP, equipped with a 7.5 MHz linear probe.Results the females showed a simple uterus, of elongated shape, regular outline and homogeneous echogenic texture. In the uterine measurements craniocaudal diameter, dorsoventral diameter and uterine volume (UV), significant differences were identified (P < 0.05) between ultrasound examinations of primiparous and multiparous females. The UV showed a positive correlation with the number of births. The gestational sac and the embryonic echo were visible between 28 and 38 days after mating. Between 48 and 68 days after mating, embryonic death was identified in all the gestations.Conclusions the chemical (use of tranquilizers) and husbandry factors (capture stress) may be related to the prenatal death. The establishing methods of conditioning the female to the ultrasonographic exam may offer a solution to this problem.

Criteria for the diagnosis of diffuse uterine myohypertrophy

Objectives: Diffuse uterine myohypertrophy (DUMH) is a condition clinically diagnosed by the presence of uterine bleeding, homogeneous and diffuse uterine enlargement, and absence of any myoendometrial cause of bleeding. Since the morphologic criteria for the diagnosis of this entity are still controversial, this study aimed to investigate the clinical presentation and the morphologic findings of the cases of DUMH presenting at the University Hospital of Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil, Methods: We retrospectively studied 43 consecutive patients with DUMH submitted to hysterectomy (test group) and compared the findings with those obtained from 28 patients submitted to hysterectomy due to a prolapsed uterus (control group). There were no significant differences in age, weight or height between the two groups. Results: the uterine weight of the DUMH group (mean +/- S.D. 157.4 +/- 46.4 g) was significantly heavier than that of the control group (99.5 +/- 35.4 g) and myometrial thickness was significantly greater in the DUMH group (2.5 +/- 0.5 cm) than in the control group (1.9 +/- 0.4 cm). No positive correlation was observed between increased uterine weight and parity, but there was a positive correlation between uterine weight and myometrial thickness. on the basis of the present study, we suggest that the diagnosis of DUMH be made clinically and in cases of uterine weight greater than or equal to 120 g and myometrial thickness greater than or equal to 2.0 cm. In addition, 10 cases of each group were analyzed by morphometry to evaluate interstitial fibrosis and myometrial hypertrophy. The data showed that the increase in uterine weight in DUMH is caused by enlargement of individual myometrial fibers rather than accumulation of interstitial collagen. Conclusion: Discriminant analysis to estimate the diagnostic significance of a number of clinical and pathologic variables (age, parity, uterine weight and morphometric parameters) was able to differentiate cases of DUMH from controls in 100% of the patients.