Subsequent Counts Research Articles

Rates of delayed hemolytic transfusion reactions observed in a trauma center.

Delayed hemolytic transfusion reactions (DHTRs) are reported to be rare occurrences but may be more frequently observed in the trauma setting where patients are heavily transfused, followed over long inpatient admissions, and have frequent subsequent blood counts as they undergo multiple surgical interventions. We examined the rates of DHTRs on a per transfusion and per patient basis in an academic county hospital with a level 1 trauma center serving a four-state region and over a 3-year period. DHTRs were entered sequentially into a registry as they were observed, and a retrospective review of all new alloantibodies detected was performed to identify any additional DHTRs. The number of units of red blood cells (RBCs), the number of unique patients, types of alloantibodies, and number of transfusions were extracted from blood bank records. Twenty-nine DHTRs were observed from January 1, 2017, through December 31, 2019, from newly observed alloantibodies after a median of 12 red blood cells (RBCs) transfusions per patient. These reactions occurred in response to 24,633 unique transfusions in 6905 unique patients, so the observed rates were about 1:849 RBC transfusions and 1:238 transfused patients. Evidence of delayed hemolysis was seen in five additional patients who were transfused during emergency resuscitation and later found to have had known RBC antibodies. We report a higher rate of DHTRs than previously described to demonstrate that DHTRs are not rare in trauma centers.

Risk Factors Influencing Cyberbullying Perpetration among Middle School Students in Korea: Analysis Using the Zero-Inflated Negative Binomial Regression Model.

This cross-sectional descriptive study identified risk factors and predictors related to the perpetration of and potential for cyberbullying among adolescents, respectively. The analysis included a zero-inflated negative binomial regression model. Data were assessed from 2590 middle-school student panels obtained during the first wave of the Korean Child and Youth Panel Survey 2018. Of these respondents, 63.7% said they had not experienced the perpetration of cyberbullying. However, a subsequent count model analysis showed that several factors were significantly associated with cyberbullying, including offline delinquency, aggression, smartphone dependency, and smartphone usage on weekends (either 1–3 h or over 3 h). A logit model analysis also showed several predictive factors that increased the likelihood of cyberbullying, including gender (boys), offline delinquency, aggression, smartphone usage during weekdays (1–3 h), computer usage during weekends (1–3 h), and negative parenting. These identified risks and predictors should be useful for interventions designed to prevent the perpetration of cyberbullying among middle school students.

Meropenem-induced pancytopenia in a preterm neonate: a case report

BackgroundA post-marketing surveillance study has reported an association between meropenem use and the incidence of hematologic abnormalities, including leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, hemolysis, and neutropenia, but the precise incidence in neonates is unknown. Here, we report meropenem-induced pancytopenia in a preterm neonate.Case presentationA preterm newborn Pakistani received intravenous meropenem 40 mg/kg every 8 hours to treat Klebsiella pneumoniae in blood cultures and suspected meningitis. The baby developed severe thrombocytopenia, with a platelet count of 22 × 103 cells/mm3, low hemoglobin level of 9.7 g/dl, and low absolute neutrophil count (ANC) of 816 cells/mm3 on days 3, 14, and 17 of meropenem therapy, respectively. Based on the blood culture and institutional guidelines, meropenem treatment was continued with monitoring and supportive care for a total of 19 days. After discontinuation of meropenem, the baby was monitored continuously for hematological changes, and low counts persisted for 3 days. ANC improved to > 1500 cells/mm3 on the fourth day, and the platelet count reached > 150 × 103 cells/mm3 for the first time on the seventh day of meropenem discontinuation. All subsequent complete blood count (CBC) reports showed improving trends. The baby was discharged on the 48th day of life (DOL), with follow-up monitoring of CBC. The baby was kept on iron supplements, and hemoglobin level of 11.2 g/dl was observed on the 59th DOL.ConclusionNeonatal pancytopenia may lead to serious health complications; therefore, clinicians and pharmacists need to vigilantly monitor CBC in this vulnerable population, even when administering meropenem in septic doses for the recommended duration.

EVALUATION OF THE EUCALYPTUS CAMALDULENSIS-KILLED CERCARIAE AS A CANDIDATE VACCINE FOR EXPERIMENTAL SCHISTOSOMIASIS MANSONI

Schistosomiasis is the second commonest parasitic disease worldwide. It is responsible for thousandsof deaths per year in addition to the associating serious morbidities that burden both individuals andcommunities. To date, the main preventive measure of infection is mass treatment with praziquantel. itcarries the risk of reinfection and rising resistance which makes the discovery of an effective vaccinean urgent necessity. The present study evaluated E. camaldulensis killed cercariae immunogen (KCI)as a candidate vaccine for experimental schistosomiasis mansoni and to detect the possible immunologicalmechanisms of action of this immunogen. The KCI caused a significant reduction of bothschistosomula and adult worm counts with subsequent ova count reduction. Hepatic granulomas werereduced in number or size. Also, levels of IgG, IgG1 & IgG2a as well as INF-γ & IL-10 fluctuatedlarger than in natural infection.

Effect of rehydration with whey and inoculation with Lactobacillus plantarum and Propionibacterium acidipropionici on the chemical composition, microbiological dynamics, and fermentative losses of corn grain silage

The objective of this study was to compare rehydrated corn grain silages using water or whey and inoculated (Lactobacillus plantarum and Propionibacterium acidipropionici) or not. We also verified whether rehydration with whey associated with the bacterial inoculant improves material conservation. The treatments were as follows: silages rehydrated with water without inoculant (SWa); silages rehydrated with water and inoculated (SWaI); silages rehydrated with whey without inoculant (SWe); silages rehydrated with whey and inoculated (SWeI). A completely randomized design was used, with three replications, treatments in a 2 × 2 factorial scheme (RE: rehydration with water or whey, and IN: inoculation or addition of water without chlorine), during the following storage periods (T): 0, 4, 8, 16, 32, and 64 days. There was an RE x IN x T interaction (P < 0.001) for dry matter (DM), with lower values over time for SWe and higher values in SWeI. An interaction between RE x IN (P < 0.001) and IN x T (P < 0.001) was observed for pH, with higher values for SWe at 64 days of storage and a reduction from the first days of ensiling for SWaI and SWeI. The microbiological variables showed an RE x IN x T interaction (P < 0.001), with the highest counts of lactic acid bacteria for SWaI and SWeI up to 8 days of storage and subsequent higher counts in SWa and SWe. Higher counts were obtained in SWe. For the variables of fermentative losses, there was an RE x IN x T interaction (P < 0.001), with SWeI showing lower losses. The inoculation associated with whey for rehydration of corn grain improved the fermentation profile of the silage, with lower pH values and reduced losses.

The association between Twitter content and suicide.

A growing body of research has established that specific elements of suicide-related news reporting can be associated with increased or decreased subsequent suicide rates. This has not been systematically investigated for social media. The aim of this study was to identify associations between specific social media content and suicide deaths. Suicide-related tweets (n = 787) geolocated to Toronto, Canada and originating from the highest level influencers over a 1-year period (July 2015 to June 2016) were coded for general, putatively harmful and putatively protective content. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine whether tweet characteristics were associated with increases or decreases in suicide deaths in Toronto in the 7 days after posting, compared with a 7-day control window. Elements independently associated with increased subsequent suicide counts were tweets about the suicide of a local newspaper reporter (OR = 5.27, 95% CI = [1.27, 21.99]), 'other' social causes of suicide (e.g. cultural, relational, legal problems; OR = 2.39, 95% CI = [1.17, 4.86]), advocacy efforts (OR = 2.34, 95% CI = [1.48, 3.70]) and suicide death (OR = 1.52, 95% CI = [1.07, 2.15]). Elements most strongly independently associated with decreased subsequent suicides were tweets about murder suicides (OR = 0.02, 95% CI = [0.002, 0.17]) and suicide in first responders (OR = 0.17, 95% CI = [0.05, 0.52]). These findings largely comport with the theory of suicide contagion and associations observed with traditional news media. They specifically suggest that tweets describing suicide deaths and/or sensationalized news stories may be harmful while those that present suicide as undesirable, tragic and/or preventable may be helpful. These results suggest that social media is both an important exposure and potential avenue for intervention.

Clinical significance and prognostic role of tumor-associated macrophages infiltration according to histologic location in canine mammary carcinomas

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) have been involved in growth and metastases of human and canine mammary tumors. However, the prognostic importance of TAM specific location in canine mammary tumors (CMT) was not evaluated. In this study, we evaluated the potential role of TAMs in specific histologic locations – intratumoral (iTAM) and stromal (sTAM), as well as total macrophage (tTAM) counts – as prognostic indicators in CMT. Clinicopathologic data from 66 animals with mammary carcinoma and their tumors were used in this study. Samples were stained with anti-macrophage antibody for subsequent TAM count. High levels of iTAM, sTAM, and tTAM were related with advanced clinical stage and vascular invasion. Additionally, tTAM revealed a relation with larger tumor size, while high levels of sTAM and tTAM were also correlated with node metastasis and a poor prognosis based on survival analysis. CMT with aggressive features can reveal higher TAM counts. TAMs are associated with vascular invasion and nodal metastasis, and sTAM and tTAM counts are correlated with overall survival, suggesting they could be used as prognostic indicators in canine mammary carcinomas.

Genomic Study of Babesia bovis Infection Level and Its Association With Tick Count in Hereford and Braford Cattle.

Bovine babesiosis is a tick-borne disease caused by intraerythrocytic protozoa and leads to substantial economic losses for the livestock industry throughout the world. Babesia bovis is considered the most pathogenic species, which causes bovine babesiosis in Brazil. Genomic data could be used to evaluate the viability of improving resistance against B. bovis infection level (IB) through genomic selection, and, for that, knowledge of genetic parameters is needed. Furthermore, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) could be conducted to provide a better understanding of the genetic basis of the host response to B. bovis infection. No previous work in quantitative genetics of B. bovis infection was found. Thus, the objective of this study was to estimate the genetic correlation between IB and tick count (TC), evaluate predictive ability and applicability of genomic selection, and perform GWAS in Hereford and Braford cattle. The single-step genomic best linear unbiased prediction method was used, which allows the estimation of both breeding values and marker effects. Standard phenotyping was conducted for both traits. IB quantifications from the blood of 1,858 animals were carried using quantitative PCR assays. For TC, one to three subsequent tick counts were performed by manually counting adult female ticks on one side of each animal's body that was naturally exposed to ticks. Animals were genotyped using the Illumina BovineSNP50 panel. The posterior mean of IB heritability, estimated by the Bayesian animal model in a bivariate analysis, was low (0.10), and the estimations of genetic correlation between IB and TC were also low (0.15). The cross-validation genomic prediction accuracy for IB ranged from 0.18 to 0.35 and from 0.29 to 0.32 using k-means and random clustering, respectively, suggesting that genomic predictions could be used as a tool to improve genetics for IB, especially if a larger training population is developed. The top 10 single nucleotide polymorphisms from the GWAS explained 5.04% of total genetic variance for IB, which were located on chromosomes 1, 2, 5, 6, 12, 17, 18, 16, 24, and 26. Some candidate genes participate in immunity system pathways indicating that those genes are involved in resistance to B. bovis in cattle. Although the genetic correlation between IB and TC was weak, some candidate genes for IB were also reported in tick infestation studies, and they were also involved in biological resistance processes. This study contributes to improving genetic knowledge regarding infection by B. bovis in cattle.

М’ясна продуктивність молодняку овець різного походження

Meat quality and slaughter indices of sheep depend primarily on breed peculiarities and are connected with age, fatness, sex, feeding and keeping conditions. According to the pre-slaughter mass, slaughter mass and mass of paired carcass, crossbred animals exceed their pure-bred counterparts. Experimental work was сonducted at Terra Rich LLC in the Pologivskyi district of Zaporizhia region. Tupping rams (Rom) and Hisar (H) were used on ewes of the Romanivska breed. Two groups of cowslip were formed: a control from purebred animals of the Romanivska breed (Rm × Rm) and experimental crossbreed with Hisar (Rm × H). Control slaughter of young rams was performed in accordance with the method of estimating the slaughtering performance (meet productivity) of sheep at 8 months of age. The morphological composition of the carcasses was determined by the results of the deboned half-carcass after 24-hour cooling to determine the dressing percentage of pulp, bones and fat. The chemical composition was determined in the average meat sample, in the longest muscle of the back (mus. longissimus dorsi) the amount of intramuscular fat was determined with the subsequent caloricity count of the meat. Crossbreed animals had higher indices of productivity than the pure-bred born in the same year of the Romanivska breed. The pre-slaughter live weight of crossbreed animals was greater by 29.2 %; slaughter weight – by39.7 %. Dressing percentage of the crossbreed animals was 47.4 %, and in pure-breds – 43.8 %. The crossbreed animals had absolute preference of varietal cuts: meat of the first сlass – 94.57 %, of the second – 5.43 %, in purebreds – 91.60 and 8.40 %, respectively. The preference for purebred Romanivska sheep on the caloricity of the muscle tissue was 8.7 %. In carcasses of crossbreed young animals, the relative mass of muscle tissue was 78.8 %, bones – 21.2%, versus 73.3% and 26.7 %, respectively, in purebred counterparts. The pulpiness ratio for crossbreed young rams was 3.7 and for purebred young rams was only 2.7. The positive effect of crossbreeding on the meat productivity of young animals has been established. Crossing the ewes of the Romanivska breed with the tupping rams of the Hisar breed can be successfully used in commercial sheep raisings.

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus mimicking lymphoproliferative malignancy in a child

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a chromic autoimmune disease with multisystemic involvement. The estimated prevalence of SLE among children is 1-6/100000. Here we report a child who presented with generalized lymphadeopathy as the first manifestation of SLE. A 13 year old previously healthy girl presented with cervical lymphadenopathy and low grade remitting fever for 1 month duration. On examination she was found to have generalized lymphadenopathy and unremarkable rest of the clinical examination. Her basic haematological and biochemical parameters were normal. ESR was 110mm/hr and CRP was 6mg/dL. Ultrasound scan and Contrast CT of the abdomen and pelvis revealed extensive mediastinal, mesenteric, para-aortic, splenic hilar, bilateral axillary and inguinal lymphadenopathy suggestive of lymphoproliferative malignancy. However, her bone marrow and lymph node biopsies revealed reactive pattern. Meantime she developed a malar rash, oral ulcers and 2 episodes of generalized tonic-clonic convulsions. Her urinalysis revealed microscopic haematuria and sub nephrotic range proteinuria. Her ANA and dsDNA levels were positive. Her subsequent full blood count revealed severe bicytopenia, predominetly lymphopenia.The diagnosis of SLE was made and she was started on Hydroxychloroquine, high dose prednisolone and cyclophosphamide pulse therapy. The most common presenting symptoms of SLE in children include, constituitional symptoms, joint symptoms and haematological abnormalities. It is estimated 23-34% children with SLE are having lymphadenopathy. Though, generalized lymphadenopathy as the presenting symptom of SLE is uncommon, it should not be forgotten in order to avoid diagnostic delay.

The use of immature platelet fraction to predict time to platelet recovery in patients with dengue infection

ABSTRACTBackground: In dengue infection, knowing time to platelet recovery is essential for optimal management.Aims: To determine a predictor for platelet recovery in patients with dengue infection.Methods: Platelet count and immature platelet fraction (IPF) from daily blood samples of patients with dengue infection during hospitalisation and 1–4 weeks after discharge were retrospectively analysed. The levels of patients’ IPF were compared with normal controls recruited from healthy children with normal platelet counts.Results: A total of 244 EDTA blood samples were collected daily from 64 patients (45 males) with dengue infection (36 dengue fever, 28 dengue haemorrhagic fever) during hospitalisation and after discharge from the hospital. They did not receive any platelet concentrate transfusion. The median IPF among normal children was 3.6% with a 95 percentile of 9.9%. In dengue patients, an IPF of ≥10.0% after defervescence was associated with a subsequent platelet count of ≥60 × 109/L within 72 hours.Conclusion: In patients with dengue infection, IPF ≥10.0% after defervescence is a predictor of subsequent platelet recovery to a haemostatic level ≥60 × 109/L within 72 hours.

Long Term Discontinuation of Eltrombopag after Remission in Primary Immune Thrombocytopenia: 8-Year Follow-up Data from 15 Spanish Centers

Background: Successful discontinuation of eltrombopag in certain immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) patients after complete response has already been demonstrated. However, the frequency of this phenomenon and type of candidate patients are still matter of discussion. Moreover, possibility of long term discontinuation responses is not clearly established. Methods: Here we retrospectively evaluated our whole cohort of 508 adult patients (aged 18 years or more) with primary ITP treated with eltrombopag included in the Spanish Eltrombopag Registry with a focus on the patients who achieved a durable (at least six months) platelet response after stopping eltrombopag. Successful discontinuation of eltrombopag (SDOE) was defined as those patients who reached remission and maintained platelet counts ≥ 50x109/l for at least 6 months in absence of eltrombopag or any rescue therapies administered. Long term discontinuation of eltrombopag (LTDOE) was defined as those patients who reached remission and maintained platelet counts ≥ 50x109/l for at least 36 months in the absence of eltrombopag or any rescue therapies administered. The study was approved by the Hospital Universitario de Burgos Ethics Committee and fulfilled Helsinki declaration standards. Results: While 37.4% of our patients relapsed of ITP with subsequent platelet count drop sometime during first six months of discontinuation of eltrombopag, a total of 74 patients (14.6%) were able to achieve SDOE. The median age of SDOE patients was 62 [range, 47-79] years. There were 47 women and 27 men. According to the standard definition, patients were allocated to newly diagnosed (n=17), persistent (n=15) and chronic (n=42) ITP groups. The median time from diagnosis to eltrombopag initiation was 31 [range, 4-104] months. The median number of previous therapies was 2 [range, 1-2], including splenectomy (14%), rituximab (18%) and romiplostim (12%). As expected, all patients but 1 achieved a complete response (platelet count ≥100 x 109/L) prior to eltrombopag discontinuation The median duration of eltrombopag treatment was 7 [range, 2-19] months. Reasons for eltrombopag discontinuation were: persistent response despite a reduction in dose over time (n=43), platelet count >400x109/L (n=16), aspartate aminotransferase elevation (n=5), diarrhea (n=4), thrombosis (n=3), patient's request (n=2) and other reasons (n=1). Analysis of these SDOE discontinued patients show that with a median follow-up of 55 [range, 29-79] months, 38 patients (51.3%) maintained treatment-free response 36 months after stopping eltrombopag with no need of additional ITP therapies (median time of eltrombopag discontinuation was 70 [range, 50-77] months).This condition is what we define now as LTDOE. Nevertheless, 36 patients relapsed beyond 6 months but before 36 months of eltrombopag discontinuation (median time of eltrombopag discontinuation was 10 [range,7 -22] months). Characteristics of LTDOE population were a median time since ITP diagnosis of 32 [range, 5-88] months with 15/38 patients having ITP <1 year. 9 patients (24%) were male and their median age was 50 [range, 37-64] years. They had received a median of only two previous treatment lines [range: 1-2 lines]. The median platelet count before starting eltrombopag was 19 x 109/L [range, 8-40]. Meanwhile, platelet count before eltrombopag stop was 218 x 109/L [range, 123-356]. The main characteristics (age, gender, duration of ITP, prior ITP lines, platelet count before starting eltrombopag, duration of eltrombopag treatment, and platelet count before eltrombopag withdrawal) of the 38 patients with LTDOE were compared with those of the SDOE cohort who did not achieve a LTDOE. Unfortunately, no predictive factors of LTDOE could be identified. Conclusion: Durable platelet response following eltrombopag cessation may be observed in only 15% of primary ITP patients treated with this drug. On the contrary, half of patients who achieve a sustained response after eltrombopag withdrawal will get a long term discontinuation. However, we are lacking predictor factors for successful and long-term discontinuation of eltrombopag in primary ITP. Disclosures Gonzalez-Lopez: Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Pascual Izquierdo:Novartis: Consultancy; Sanofi: Consultancy. Sánchez-González:Amgen: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Gilead: Speakers Bureau; Navartis: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Shire: Speakers Bureau; Takeda: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau. Jarque:Takeda: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Shire: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Shionogi: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Servier: Speakers Bureau; Roche: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Pfizer: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; MSD: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Grifols: Consultancy; Gilead: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; CellTrion: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Amgen: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Abbie: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Alexion: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau.

Bidirectional Associations of Momentary Affect with Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviors in Working Adults.

Affective experiences and movement-based behaviors form a system that has been shown to influence exercise adherence and mental health outcomes. Little is known about the naturalistic dynamics of the reciprocal associations in this system. We examined the time intervals at which momentary affect precedes and follows movement-based behaviors in everyday life. A community sample of working adults (n = 111) completed ecological momentary assessments (EMA) asking about current affect states (sad, happy, tired, and interested) six times a day for three consecutive days. Ratings were used to generate scores for momentary affective arousal and valence. Participants also wore an activity monitor. Total activity counts and sedentary duration in the shorter to longer time intervals (5-120 min) before or after EMA were used as indicators of movement-based behaviors. Multilevel modeling showed that current affective arousal predicted higher subsequent activity counts in the longer time intervals (120 min) and less subsequent sedentary behavior in the shorter to longer time intervals (5, 60, and 120 min). For the reversed sequence, neither movement-based behavior predicted subsequent momentary arousal or valence. Affective valence was unrelated to movement-based behaviors in either temporal direction. Some naturally occurring affective experiences (i.e., arousal) might precede, rather than follow, movement-based behaviors. Understanding affective arousal may contribute to improved management of subsequent movement-based behaviors in everyday life.

In vitro expression of vital virulent genes of clinical and environmental isolates of Cryptococcus neoformans/gattii in endothelial cells of human blood-brain barrier

BackgroundEvaluation of the pathogenesis of clinical and environmental cryptococcal isolates to the central nervous system is necessary for understanding the risk. This study was designed to determine the in vitro expression of six important virulent genes of Cryptococcus neoformans/gattii in Human Brain Microvascular Endothelial cells (hBMEC). MethodsThe hBMEC were infected with Cryptococcus to determine invasion and survival rate at 3, 12 and 24hours by subsequent colony count of internalized yeasts. The whole RNA of the intracellular Cryptococcus was extracted to quantify the expression of CAP10, PLB1, ENA1, URE1, LAC1, and MATα genes by real-time quantitative PCR for 3 and 12hours of infection. ResultsInvasion and survival rates were higher in clinical and standard strains of C. neoformans. A significant difference was observed among the clinical and environmental isolates for the expression of CAP10, ENA1, LAC1, MATα and URE1 at 3hours, and ENA1, LAC1, MATα, PLB1 and URE1 at 12hours. Clinical isolates showed significant upregulation of all the genes except PLB1, which was higher in environmental isolates. Relative expressions at the two time-points showed statistically significant (P=0.043) changes for the clinical isolates and no significance (P=0.063) for environmental isolates. ConclusionThe C. gattii (VGI) isolates showed significantly lower invasion and survival than C. neoformans (VNI, and VNII) irrespective of their sources. Clinical isolates exhibited higher expression for the majority of the virulent genes until 12hours of infection, probably due to their better adaptation in the host system and enhanced pathogenicity than the environmental counterparts.

English

Cord blood can be used as an alternative source for bone marrow transplantation and its use is developing into a new field of treatment for patients presenting with haematological disorders, immunological defects and specific genetic diseases; including haemoglobinopathies. The aim was to assess the viability of frozen cord blood as a source of HSC which may be suitable for transplantation. Blood specimens were obtained from umbilical cords of 30 consenting mothers and dispensed into 5 cryovials with glycerine for freezing at -20°C; while quantitative assay was carried out on a fresh citrated sample by immunophenotyping using CD34 as marker of HSC. Partec Cyflow cube 6 was used to measure viable cells after labelling the cells with specific fluorochrome/antibody obtained from Sysmex Partec. A repeat quantification was carried out at one month interval for 5 consecutive months and results generated were analysed using T- independent test. The mean ± standard error of mean (SEM) for the 6 consecutive counts were 20,798±2750, 19849±2691, 19223±2637, 18363±2582, 17052±2583 and 16184±2423. The p values obtained when the cryoprotected samples were compared to the baseline were 0.806, 0.681, 0.521, 0.325 and 0.213; reflecting that subsequent counts were insignificantly different from the baseline count. Thus, it is a safe alternative in resource-poor setting to store stem cells in a cryoprotective agent and freeze at -20°C for up to 6 months, without significant depreciation in viability. This alternative should be explored and further researches should be conducted with possibility of extending the number of months. Key words: CD34+ cells, immunophenotyping, stem cells, cryopreservation. &nbsp

The application of faecal egg count results and statistical inference for clinical decision making in foals

This study investigated the impact of variability in Parascaris spp. and strongyle faecal egg counts (FEC) from foals on treatment decision-making and detection of a patent infection. A single faecal sample was collected once daily for three days from 53 foals and a FEC was performed on three separate portions of each sample (total of nine egg counts per foal). Differences in the decision to administer an anthelmintic using the results of a single count (C1), the mean of three (X¯1–3) or nine counts (X¯1–9) and the upper 5% confidence limit of the gamma confidence interval (CI) of the estimate of the distribution mean (μ) from three (UCL1–3) and nine counts (UCL1–9) were determined for a range of egg count thresholds. The UCL1–9 was used as the best estimate of μ, hypothesis testing for treatment and the comparison of treatment decision-making using C1, X¯1–3, X¯1–9 and UCL1–3. The results of this study demonstrated that a point estimate (C1 or X¯1–3) was of limited value for estimating the distribution mean of egg counts in faeces and there was overall poor agreement in treatment decision-making for individual foals using C1 compared with UCL1–9. Of the foals with C1 of zero eggs per gram, 54% and 47% had Parascaris and strongyle eggs in subsequent counts, respectively. The egg density in faeces is inhomogeneous, resulting in considerable variability in egg count results for an individual foal: between faecal piles, different portions of a faecal pile and days. The use of the negative binomial distribution CI for μ takes this variability into account and is recommended for use when interpreting FEC data from horses.

Fruit and seeds biometry and germination of Psidium cauliflorum Landrum & Sobral

The biometric characterization of fruits and seeds, obtaining optimum temperatures and photoperiods for germi­nation and the definition of numbers and counting intervals in the germination tests of Psidium cauliflorum were the objectives of this work. Fruits were obtained from four matrices located in the Environmental Protection Area of Lago de Pedra do Cavalo, in Sao Goncalo dos Campos-BA. The following temperatures were tested: 25 °C; 30 °C; and 25-30 °C, in addition to three light conditions: absence of light; 8 h photoperiod; and 12 h photoperiod. One kilogram of fruit contains about 260 fruits and 1.344 seeds. Germination performance was higher at the alternating temperatures of 25-30 °C, in the presence of light (8 h photoperiod). The germination test lasted 77 days, with the first count at 21 days and subsequent counts at 15 day-intervals.

Effect of using internal teat sealant with or without antibiotic therapy at dry-off on subsequent somatic cell count and milk production

The objective of this study was to assess the effect of treating cows with teat sealant only compared with antibiotic plus teat sealant at drying off on weekly somatic cell count, potential intramammary infection, and milk production across the entire subsequent lactation. In 3 research herds in the south of Ireland, cows with SCC that did not exceed 200,000 cells/mL in the previous lactation (LowSCC) were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 treatments at drying off: internal teat sealant alone (ITS) or antibiotic plus teat sealant (AB+ITS). Cows with SCC that exceeded 200,000 cells/mL in the previous lactation were treated with AB+ITS and included in the analyses as a separate group (HighSCC). Weekly individual animal composite SCC records were available for 654 cow lactations and were transformed to somatic cell scores (SCS) for the purpose of analysis. Data were divided into 3 data sets to represent records obtained (1) up to 35 DIM, (2) up to 120 DIM, and (3) across the lactation. Foremilk secretions were taken from all quarters at drying off, at calving, 2 wk after calving, and in mid-lactation and were cultured to detect the presence of bacteria. The LowSCC cows treated with ITS alone had higher daily milk yield (0.67 kg/d) across lactation compared with LowSCC cows treated with AB+ITS. The LowSCC cows treated with ITS alone had higher SCS in early, up to mid, and across lactation compared with LowSCC cows treated with AB+ITS. We detected no difference in weekly SCS of LowSCC cows treated with ITS alone and SCS of HighSCC cows. The least squares means back-transformed SCC across lactation of the LowSCC cows treated with ITS alone, LowSCC cows treated with AB+ITS, and HighSCC cows were 41,523, 34,001, and 38,939 cells/mL respectively. The odds of LowSCC cows treated with ITS alone having bacteria present in their foremilk across lactation was 2.7 (95% confidence interval: 1.91 to 3.85) and 1.6 (1.22 to 2.03) times the odds of LowSCC cows treated with AB+ITS and of HighSCC cows treated with AB+ITS, respectively. In this study, Staphylococcus aureus was the most prevalent pathogen isolated from the population. Recategorizing the threshold for LowSCC cows as ≤150,000 cells/mL or ≤100,000 cells/mL in the previous lactation had no effect on the results. The results indicate that herds with good mastitis control programs may use ITS alone at dry-off in cows with SCC <200,000 cells/mL across lactation with only a small effect on herd SCC.

Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Differences in Results of Quantitative Winter Studies on Selected Species of Corvids in Urban Green Areas

Winter quantitative studies on the Rook Corvus frugilegus, Hooded Crow Corvus cornix and Jackdaw Corvus monedula were conducted independently by two observers in the season 1999/2000 in fragments of urban green areas in Bydgoszcz and Torun. Each observer visited all plots six times at different dates and did two subsequent counts the same day, noted as the early and the late one, respectively. The number of birds from all single counts done in the same plot by one observer at a stable time of a day was averaged and called a control. Comparisons of controls obtained from the same plot by the same observer were called the “effect of repeatability of counts” while comparisons of controls between the observers from the same area were defined as the “observer’s effect”. No statistically significant differences were found in estimates of the similarity of the bird (Renkonen’s coefficient) domination structure between the “observer’s effect” and the “effect of comparability of counts” (Mann-Whitney U-test: U = 12, n = 12, P = 0.50). Statistically significant differences between totals for each species stated during single counts by the same observer within the same day were found in both study plots and for both observers (χ2-test: df = 1, P < 0.05). Differences in bird numbers stated in subsequent controls in the same site were statistically significant only in the case of the plot BYD (χ2 = 25.93, df = 3, P = 0.00001). These differences occurred for both „effect of repeatability of counts” and „observer’s effect” (χ2-test: df = 1, P < 0.05). The impediment to unambiguous estimation of the total numbers of the studied corvids in small fragments of urban green areas mainly resulted from nomadic movements of these birds over large areas and their non-directional movements caused by high human penetration.

Robust Multi-Frame Joint Frequency Hopping Radar Waveform Parameters Estimation Under Low Signal-Noise-Ratio

Robust estimation of frequency hopping radar signal parameters is the key to achieving stable jam in frequency hopping communication. In order to deal with the poor noise resistance performance of conventional time-frequency analysis based parameter estimation method under low signal-noise-ratio conditions. A robust method is proposed in this paper for frequency hopping radar waveform parameters estimation. The method is performed in time domain. Firstly, the pulse repetition interval of the received radar signal is extracted by matching filtering, which is used as the window length to divide the signal into multiple frames. The coherent integration process is performed on the multi-frame signal to increase the signal-noise-ratio, which effectively ensures the robustness of the algorithm under low signal-noise-ratio conditions. Secondly, the short-time Fourier transform is used to realize the rough estimation of the frequency hopping number, which reduces the range of subsequent hopping counts and reduces the amount of algorithm calculation. Finally, an accurate estimation of the waveform parameters including frequency hopping sequence, hop duration, frequency hopping interval and carrier frequency is realized. Simulation experiments verify the effectiveness of the algorithm and the robustness under various signal-noise-ratio conditions.