Determination of nutrient salts by automatic methods both in seawater and brackish water: the phosphate blank

9 páginas, 2 tablas, 2 figurasThe main inconvenience in determining nutrients in seawater by automatic methods is simply solved: the preparation of a suitable blank which corrects the effect of the refractive index change on the recorded signal. Two procedures are proposed, one physical (a simple equation to estimate the effect) and the other chemical (removal of the dissolved phosphorus with ferric hydroxide).Support for this work came from CICYT (MAR88-0245 project) and Conselleria de Pesca de la Xunta de GaliciaPeer reviewe

Epidemic Microclusters of Blood-Culture Proven Sepsis in Very-Low-Birth Weight Infants: Experience of the German Neonatal Network

INTRODUCTION: We evaluated blood culture-proven sepsis episodes occurring in microclusters in very-low-birth-weight infants born in the German Neonatal Network (GNN) during 2009-2010. METHODS: Thirty-seven centers participated in GNN; 23 centers enrolled ≥50 VLBW infants in the study period. Data quality was approved by on-site monitoring. Microclusters of sepsis were defined as occurrence of at least two blood-culture proven sepsis events in different patients of one center within 3 months with the same bacterial species. For microcluster analysis, we selected sepsis episodes with typically cross-transmitted bacteria of high clinical significance including gram-negative rods and Enterococcus spp. RESULTS: In our cohort, 12/2110 (0.6%) infants were documented with an early-onset sepsis and 235 late-onset sepsis episodes (≥72 h of age) occurred in 203/2110 (9.6%) VLBW infants. In 182/235 (77.4%) late-onset sepsis episodes gram-positive bacteria were documented, while coagulase negative staphylococci were found to be the most predominant pathogens (48.5%, 95%CI: 42.01-55.01). Candida spp. and gram-negative bacilli caused 10/235 (4.3%, 95%CI: 1.68% -6.83%) and 43/235 (18.5%) late-onset sepsis episodes, respectively. Eleven microclusters of blood-culture proven sepsis were detected in 7 hospitals involving a total 26 infants. 16/26 cluster patients suffered from Klebsiella spp. sepsis. The median time interval between the first patient's Klebsiella spp. sepsis and cluster cases was 14.1 days (interquartile range: 1-27 days). First patients in the cluster, their linked cases and sporadic sepsis events did not show significant differences in short term outcome parameters. DISCUSSION: Microclusters of infection are an important phenomenon for late-onset sepsis. Most gram-negative cluster infections occur within 30 days after the first patient was diagnosed and Klebsiella spp. play a major role. It is essential to monitor epidemic microclusters of sepsis in surveillance networks to adapt clinical practice, inform policy and further improve quality of care

Neoplasmas oculares e de anexos em cães e gatos no Rio Grande do Sul: 265 casos (2009 -2014)

Neoplasias oculares causam desconforto, problemas de visão e podem refletir doenças sistêmicas. Um estudo retrospectivo foi realizado para identificar e analisar neoplasmas oculares e de anexos obtidos por biópsias enviadas ao Setor de Patologia Veterinária (SPV) da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). Durante o período de janeiro de 2009 a dezembro de 2014 realizou-se 265 diagnósticos de neoplasmas oculares e de anexos, destes 87,5% na espécie canina e em 12,5% na espécie felina. As neoplasias ocorreram mais em animais com idade superior a 12 meses e idosos, e os cães (52/232) e gatos (21/33) sem raça definida foram os mais acometidos. A pálpebra foi o local mais acometido na espécie canina (164/232) e felina (20/33), seguida pela terceira pálpebra em cães (20/232) e órbita nos felinos (5/33). O tumor mais diagnosticado nos cães foi o adenoma meibomiano (82/232) e nos gatos o carcinoma de células escamosas (10/33), ambos em pálpebras. Foram identificados nos cães 24 tipos tumorais e nos gatos 16. Em caninos as neoplasias benignas representaram o maior número de diagnósticos (56%) sendo que em felinos o maior número de casos foi de neoplasias malignas (75,8%)

Transitional carcinoma with extensive invasion of the bony orbit in a dog

A 12-year-old male English Pointer was examined due to a soft-tissue swelling at the medial canthus of the right orbital region, which was causing facial deformity. The dog had epiphora, purulent nasal discharge, epistaxis, dyspnea, and progressive weight loss. An intraoral mass was observed near the right maxillary premolars. Neoplastic disease was diagnosed based on ancillary tests, which included blood work, skull and intraoral radiographs, ocular ultrasonography and computed tomography. Histopathology revealed transitional carcinoma involving the nasal and oral cavities, maxilla, bony orbit and retrobulbar space. Nasal tumors represent approximately 2% of all tumors diagnosed in this species. Transitional carcinoma is the second most common type of malignant epithelial tumor in the nasal sinuses. This case illustrates the extensive destruction of the soft and bony tissues of the face, including the bony orbit that this type of tumor can cause