Blood lactate concentration is known to be a good prognostic indicator associated with the severity of illness and the patient's outcome both in human and veterinary medicine. It also plays a ...significant role in the assessment of the newborn, being a good indicator of fetal hypoxia and the ideal predictor of morbidity at term in babies. In veterinary neonatal medicine, hyperlactatemia is considered a valid prognostic marker in critically ill foals; moreover, blood lactate measurement has been proposed for the evaluation of newborn viability and the assessment of fetal distress during delivery in dogs. Unfortunately, only a few studies have been published concerning the canine species. The present work examines 67 brachycephalic newborn dogs and their mothers, with the aim to evaluate the time-dependent changes of blood lactate and glucose concentration during the first 24 h after vaginal or caesarean delivery both in puppies and bitches. To our knowledge, this is the first published study examining the time-dependent changes of these parameters in the bitch after parturition.
Within the studied population of puppies, non-surviving was significantly associated with a higher lactatemia and a lower APGAR score. Blood lactate was high at birth then progressively decreased during the first 24 h of life and a lack of normalization of blood lactate levels within this time interval was suggestive for a poor prognosis for the newborn dogs; moreover, the decrease appeared to be slower after vaginal delivery. Lactatemia also showed a positive correlation with glycemia at birth.
Concerning the bitches examined, blood lactate was found to be significantly higher after vaginal delivery than after caesarean section; the normalization occurred within 24 h after parturition. Blood glucose level was significantly higher at 2 h from delivery both in the group of bitches submitted to caesarean section and in those undergoing natural whelping but no statistical correlation was found between maternal glycemia and lactatemia.
The results of the present study highlighted that the monitoring of lactatemia during the first 24 h of life, in association with the assessment of the APGAR score at birth, can be an useful prognostic tool helping to identify the most severely distressed puppies and to provide them an adequate support.
•Lactate plays a significant role in the assessment of the newborn, both in human and veterinary medicine.•There are no studies about lactatemia in the first 24 h of life either in brachycephalic dogs or in other breeds.•Clearance of blood lactate is more rapid after caesarean section, since puppies do not experience the stress of labour.•Time-dependent decrease of blood lactate concentration is missing or very slow in non-surviving puppies.•Lactatemia in the first 24 h life, in association with the assessment of the APGAR score at birth, can be an useful prognostic tool helping to identify the most severely distressed puppies.
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Micromegas (Micro Mesh Gaseous Structures) chambers and sTGC (small-strip Thin Gap Chambers) have been chosen for the upgrade of the forward muon detectors of the ATLAS experiment to provide ...precision tracking and trigger capabilities. The Micromegas chambers for ATLAS have been designed to allow operation in a high rate environment, to guarantee a resolution below 100 mu m per point on a large area and to provide a fast trigger signal. In the last months several tests have been done on small area prototypes in order to verify that the requirements on resolution and rate capabilities are well matched. The results of the performance studies done on beams at CERN and of the ageing studies done at CEA Saclay are presented.
Large-scale fish mortality was observed in flood-affected fish farms across several parts of Kerala following heavy rainfall in August 2018 and 2019-nearly 53% above the normal monsoon rain that the ...region receives. The affected fish had severe haemorrhages and ulcers, typical of the highly infectious disease epizootic ulcerative syndrome (EUS) caused by the water mould Aphanomyces invadans. In freshwater, snakeheads Channa spp. and in brackish water mullet (Mugilidae) and pearl spot (Etroplus suratensis) were severely affected. EUS was observed in 4 freshwater fishes for the first time: dotted sawfin barb Pethia punctata (Cyprinidae), Malabar leaffish Pristolepis malabarica (Pristolepididae), mahecola barb Puntius mahecola (Cyprinidae) and giant snakehead Channa pseudomarulius (Channidae). Histology and molecular diagnosis confirmed the cause of mortality to be EUS. Fungal hyphae were also observed in deeply ulcerated fish, revealed by lactophenol cotton blue staining. The severity of the EUS outbreak was linked to the sudden change in water quality associated with the flood, such as lower water temperature, and decreases in pH, total alkalinity and total hardness.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence that different protocols of urethral catheterization after pharmacological induction (Ur.Ca.P.I.) may have on the semen quality of the domestic ...cat. The study has been divided into two experiments: one in which different dosages of medetomidine administrated are evaluated and the second one in which the timing of the catheterization after pharmacological induction is tested. In the first experiment, 18 cats were sedated with the recommended dosage of medetomidine (130 μg/kg i.m.) while the other 18 were sedated with a lower dose of the same drug (50 μg/kg i.m.). In the second experiment, three groups were implemented, each containing 25 subjects. In group 1, the semen collection was performed immediately once the pharmacological effect of the drug was reached; in group 2, the semen collection was performed three times every 5 min after the pharmacological effect was reached; finally, in group 3, Ur.Ca.P.I. was performed 20 min after the pharmacological effect was reached. All the different protocols permitted sperm collection, nevertheless the first experiment showed a better quality in terms of volume, concentration, total number of spermatozoa (p < 0.01) and quality of the movement (motility p < 0.05 and forward progressive motility p < 0.01), using a high medetomidine dosage rather than 50 μg/kg i.m. In the second experiment, forward motility was statistically higher (p < 0.01) in the first group and total volume was higher (p < 0.01) in the second and third group, while other parameters were statistically not different. Results suggest that a single catheterization immediately after the onset of the pharmacological effect leads to a good‐quality semen with the lowest possibility of damaging the urethra and that a sedation with 130 μg/kg of medetomidine leads to a better quality sperm collection than 50 μg/kg does.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
A full-size prototype of a Micromegas precision tracking chamber for the upgrade of the ATLAS detector at the LHC Collider has been built between October 2015 and April 2016. This paper describes in ...detail the procedures followed in the construction of the components of the chamber in various INFN laboratories and the final assembly in the Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati (LNF). In addition, the results of the chamber exposure to a particle beam at SPS/H8 at CERN in June 2016 are presented. The performances obtained in the construction and the results of the test beam are compared with the requirements set in order to sustain the high radiation levels expected during the data-taking of the LHC in the next years.
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Feline‐assisted reproduction is still not routinely performed in veterinary practice, although there is an increasing interest on the subject by cat breeders. In recent years, many techniques for ...artificial insemination in the domestic cat have been developed with regard to the intrauterine deposition of sperm through the catheterization of the cervix. Transcervical catheterization has been described also for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. This article provides the first description of a new method for cervical catheterization, under the direct visualization of the cervix, using a rigid endoscope and a new specially designed transcervical catheter. The procedure was performed on 14 queens with a success rate of 85.71%.
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Among heavy metals, up to now chromium has received little attention. The reasons for this lack of interest are diverse. One is that Cr was considered a “local source” contaminant, thus constituting ...a non-widespread environmental problem. A second reason is that the dominant naturally occurring form of chromium, Cr
2O
3, is considered essentially immobile in the environment, in contrast with the highly mobile and toxic Cr(VI).
Based on these assumptions, we have started a research program aimed at assessing the actual chromium accumulation in soils and plants of a tannery industrial district in NE Italy.
Further objectives of our study were:
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to highlight possible contamination of soils, plants and waters;
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to ascertain the potential risk to human health.
Large differences in Cr concentration were observed in the area investigated, with a very scattered distribution. Mean Cr concentration in soils is 210 mg/kg (range 50–10,000). Most of the investigated sites present surface Cr concentrations higher than subsurface, suggesting local sources of Cr to be responsible for soil contamination.
Chromium concentrations in selected plants (
Taraxacum officinale,
Plantago lanceolata) present wide ranges in both the species examined, with little translocation from roots to leaves (barrier effect).
To determine the groundwater pollution hazard in the surveyed district, we have compared the soil Cr concentration with the soil vulnerability map. Surface soils having the highest Cr concentration correspond to sites with very high to high vulnerability. Therefore, considering the present soil Cr concentrations and the pollution hazard, precaution and control acts are needed, in order to avoid more damage to land and waters. Moreover, considering all the above items, hazard for human health by direct contact with soil, ingestion, and inhalation should be taken in consideration by decision makers.
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The ratio Rη=Γ(η→π+π−γ)/Γ(η→π+π−π0) has been measured by analysing 22 million ϕ→ηγ decays collected by the KLOE experiment at DAΦNE, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 558 pb−1. The η→π+π−γ ...proceeds both via the ρ resonant contribution, and possibly a non-resonant direct term, connected to the box anomaly. Our result, Rη=0.1856±0.0005stat±0.0028syst, points out a sizable contribution of the direct term to the total width. The di-pion invariant mass for the η→π+π−γ decay could be described in a model-independent approach in terms of a single free parameter, α. The determined value of the parameter α is α=(1.32±0.08stat−0.09syst+0.10±0.02theo) GeV−2.
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The low energy tagger for the KLOE-2 experiment Babusci, D.; Bini, C.; Ciambrone, P. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
05/2010, Volume:
617, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
The KLOE experiment at the upgraded DAFNE
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collider in Frascati (KLOE-2) is going to start a new data taking at the beginning of 2010 with its detector upgraded with a tagging system for the ...identification of gamma–gamma interactions. The tagging stations for low-energy
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will consist in two calorimeters placed between the beam-pipe outer support structure and the inner wall of the KLOE drift chamber. This calorimeter will be made of LYSO crystals readout by Silicon Photomultipliers, to achieve an energy resolution better than 8% at 200
MeV.
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