Quantification of functional abilities in Rett syndrome: a comparison between stages III and IV

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Electroencephalographic Responses to a Noxious Surgical Stimulus in Mules, Horses, and Ponies

The aim of this study was to investigate the electroencephalographic (EEG) response of equidae to a castration stimulus. Study 1 included 11 mules (2 1/2-8 years; 230-315 kg) and 11 horses (1 1/2-3 1/2 years; 315-480 kg); study 2 included four ponies (15-17 months; 176-229 kg). They were castrated under halothane anesthesia after acepromazine premedication (IV [study 1] and intramuscular [study 2]) and thiopental anesthetic induction. Animals were castrated using a semiclosed technique (study 1) and a closed technique (study 2). Raw EEG data were analyzed and the EEG variables, median frequency (F50), total power (Ptot), and spectral edge frequency (F95), were derived using standard techniques at skin incision (skin) and emasculation (emasc) time points. Baseline values of F50, Ptot, and F95 for each animal were used to calculate percentage change from baseline at skin incision and emasculation. Differences were observed in Ptot and F50 data between hemispheres in horses but not mules (study 1) and in one pony (study 2). A response to castration (>10% change relative to baseline) was observed in eight horses (73% of animals) and four mules (36% of animals) for F50 and nine horses (82%) and four mules (36%) for Ptot. No changes in F95 data were observed in any animal in study 1. Responses to castration were observed in three ponies (75% of animals) for F50, one pony (25%) for F95, and all ponies for Ptot Alteration of acepromazine administration and castration technique produced a protocol that identified changes in EEG frequency and power in response to castration. (c) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of cardiorespiratory and biochemical effects of ketamine-propofol and guaifenesin-ketamine-xylazine anesthesia in donkeys (Equus asinus)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Dissemination of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus USA300 sequence type 8 lineage in Latin America.

BACKGROUND: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococus aureus (MRSA) is an important nosocomial and community-associated (CA) pathogen. Recently, a variant of the MRSA USA300 clone emerged and disseminated in South America, causing important clinical problems. METHODS: S. aureus isolates were prospectively collected (2006-2008) from 32 tertiary hospitals in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. MRSA isolates were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and were categorized as health care-associated (HA)-like or CA-like clones on the basis of genotypic characteristics and detection of genes encoding Panton-Valentine leukocidin and staphylococcal cassette chromosome (SCC) mec IV. In addition, multilocus sequence typing of representative isolates of each major CA-MRSA pulsotype was performed, and the presence of USA300-associated toxins and the arcA gene was investigated for all isolates categorized as CA-MRSA. RESULTS: A total of 1570 S. aureus were included; 651 were MRSA (41%)--with the highest rate of MRSA isolation in Peru (62%) and the lowest in Venezuela (26%)--and 71%, 27%, and 2% were classified as HA-like, CA-like, and non-CA/HA-like clones, respectively. Only 9 MRSA isolates were confirmed to have reduced susceptibility to glycopeptides (glycopeptide-intermediate S. aureus phenotype). The most common pulsotype (designated ComA) among the CA-like MRSA strains was found in 96% of isolates, with the majority (81%) having a < or =6-band difference with the USA300-0114 strain. Representative isolates of this clone were sequence type 8; however, unlike the USA300-0114 strain, they harbored a different SCCmec IV subtype and lacked arcA (an indicator of the arginine catabolic mobile element). CONCLUSION: A variant CA-MRSA USA300 clone has become established in South America and, in some countries, is endemic in hospital settings.