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Musculoskeletal abnormalities in neonate equids represent a common condition, which includes angular limb deformities, defective carpal/tarsal bone ossification, contracted limb and mandibular/maxillary prognathism. The present case report described the presentation and surgical management of multiple musculoskeletal abnormalities in a mule foal. A newborn mule foal was presented for several musculoskeletal abnormalities, such as angular deviation from the sagittal plane of both carpal joints, hind limb ligament laxity, and severe mandibular prognathism. Surgical management of mandibular prognathism was then treated through the application of a tension orthodontic wire. Postoperatively, there was a significant improvement in the correction of mandibular malocclusion and no further correction was needed. Management of other anomalies was mainly conservative, with stall rest and exercise limitations, with a considerable improvement in the first month of life. Thus, jaw malformations might be observed also in mule foals, and might be associated with multiple congenital abnormalities. Early recognition, appropriate management, and surgical treatment were essential., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Objective: To evaluate the impact of a 30% end-inspiratory pause (EIP) on alveolar tidal volume (V Talv ), airway (V Daw ) and physiological (V Dphys ) dead spaces in mechanically ventilated horses using volumetric capnography, and to evaluate the effect of EIP on carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) elimination per breath (Vco 2 br -1 ), PaCO 2, and the ratio of PaO 2 -to-fractional inspired oxygen (PaO 2 :FiO 2 )., Study Design: Prospective research study., Animals: A group of eight healthy research horses undergoing laparotomy., Methods: Anesthetized horses were mechanically ventilated as follows: 6 breaths minute -1 , tidal volume (V T ) 13 mL kg -1 , inspiratory-to-expiratory time ratio 1:2, positive end-expiratory pressure 5 cmH 2 O and EIP 0%. Vco 2 br -1 and expired tidal volume (V TE ) of 10 consecutive breaths were recorded 30 minutes after induction, after adding 30% EIP and upon EIP removal to construct volumetric capnograms. A stabilization period of 15 minutes was allowed between phases. Data were analyzed using a mixed-effect linear model. Significance was set at p < 0.05., Results: The EIP decreased V Daw from 6.6 (6.1-6.7) to 5.5 (5.3-6.1) mL kg -1 (p < 0.001) and increased V Talv from 7.7 ± 0.7 to 8.6 ± 0.6 mL kg -1 (p = 0.002) without changing the V TE . The V Dphys to V TE ratio decreased from 51.0% to 45.5% (p < 0.001) with EIP. The EIP also increased PaO 2 :FiO 2 from 393.3 ± 160.7 to 450.5 ± 182.5 mmHg (52.5 ± 21.4 to 60.0 ± 24.3 kPa; p < 0.001) and Vco 2 br -1 from 0.49 (0.45-0.50) to 0.59 (0.45-0.61) mL kg -1 (p = 0.008) without reducing PaCO 2 ., Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: The EIP improved oxygenation and reduced V Daw and V Dphys , without reductions in PaCO 2 . Future studies should evaluate the impact of different EIP in healthy and pathological equine populations under anesthesia., (Copyright © 2023 Association of Veterinary Anaesthetists and American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To evaluate two transducer and needle handling methods, along the visual axis (AL) and across the visual axis (AC), in non-skilled and skilled clinicians., Study Design: Prospective randomized crossover study., Method: A total of 26 students with no ultrasound locoregional anaesthesia experience (non-skilled group) and six clinicians experienced and familiar with ultrasound locoregional anaesthesia (skilled group) were enrolled. The non-skilled group was asked to perform two tasks: the first on a phantom and the second on canine cadavers, whilst the skilled group performed only the second task. The tasks consisted of guiding the tip of the needle to a target point (simulated nerve on the jelly phantom and sciatic nerve on the cadavers) using two different methods of needle handling-AL or AC. All operators performed each task three times for each method. The time to drive the needle to the target for the two methods was analysed with a paired Student t test, and the number of times the needle was not visualized on the screen between the groups was compared using an unpaired Student t test. Data are presented as mean ± standard deviation. Value of p < 0.05 was considered significant., Results: The AL method, compared with the AC method, resulted in shorter performance time in both skilled (9 ± 5 versus 20 ± 8 seconds for the second task) and non-skilled groups (9 ± 8 versus 17 ± 15 seconds for the first task and 18 ± 11 versus 32 ± 26 seconds for the second task)., Conclusion and Clinical Relevance: In both groups, the AL method significantly reduced the time to complete the task. Results from this study indicate that the AL method should be the preferred method for learning/teaching ultrasound-guided regional anaesthesia., (Copyright © 2020 Association of Veterinary Anaesthetists and American College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Here, long-circulating behaviors of Inulin-based nanomicelles are demonstrated for the first time in vivo. We show the synthesis and evaluation of biotin (BIO)-decorated polymeric INVITE micelles constituted of substances of natural origin, Inulin (INU) and Vitamin E (VITE), as long-circulating carriers for receptor-mediated targeted drug delivery. The resulting INVITE or INVITE-BIO micelles, nanometrically sized, did not reveal any cytotoxicity after 24h of incubation with Caco-2 cells. Moreover, in vitro studies on Caco-2 cells monolayers indicated that the transport of INVITE-BIO micelles was faster than surface unmodified INVITE micelles. In vivo optical imaging studies evidenced that, upon intravenous administration, INVITE-BIO micelles were quantitatively present in the body up to 48h. Instead, after oral administration, the micelles were not found in the systemic circulation but eliminated with the normal intestinal content. In conclusion, INVITE-BIO micelles may enhance drug accumulation in tumor-cells over-expressing the receptor for biotin through receptor mediated endocytosis., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The primary aim of the present work was to evaluate the in vitro uptake of 6-Coumarin (6COUM) loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) by two gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata L.) cell types: an established cell line (SAF-1 cells) and the primary cultures of head-kidney (HK)-the main haemopoietic organ in fish, equivalent to mammalian bone marrow-leucocytes. For this purpose, after the physicochemical characterization of SLN, the uptake by those immunocompetent fish cells was evaluated using flow cytometry and confocal microscopy. Concomitantly, the uptake of 6-COUM loaded SLN was compared with that achieved with 6-COUM loaded pectin microparticles (MPs), which were selected as a competitor of the delivery carriers. After SLN and MP physicochemical characterization, the results demonstrated that SAF-1 cells were able to internalize high percentages of 6-COUM SLNs when incubated for 4, 8 and 24h, with the highest SLN concentration tested (10 μg/ml). The ability of HK leucocytes to internalize SLN was also found to vary depending on both incubation time and SLN concentration. The highest values of HK leucocytes internalizing SLN particles (around 16%) were detected at the maximum SLN concentration (20 μg/ml) at incubation times of 4 or 8h. Conversely, HK leucocytes were unable to internalize MPs at any tested concentration and incubation time. A possible mechanism explaining the uptake into cells is proposed. The present work constitutes the first approximation to consider SLN as nanocarriers for delivering biologically active substances to fish., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The use of photoacoustic spectroscopy and mid-infrared quantum-cascade lasers (QCLs) for the detection of hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) is reported. A detection limit of 200 parts in 10(9) is found using a Fabry-Perot QCL operated at 8.4 microm in pulsed mode and a photoacoustic cell equipped with four electret microphones. The laser multimode spectrum matches the range of the N-H bending absorption band of HMDS. Further improvements to reach lower detection limits are discussed.