Search

The flow of information between farms and slaughterhouses about animal health, is a fundamental process for modern meat inspection. The information provided by Food Chain Information (FCI) systems in medium-small sized slaughterhouses in central Italy, focusing on the data provided on the animal's health status, was performed through a five-year survey together with the number of organ and carcass condemnation for bovine, swine and ovine. The annual prevalence of condemnation was higher in bovine (from 10.49% in 2015 to 17.16% in 2019) than swine (from 6.39% in 2015 to 12.64% in 2019) and ovine (from 8.05% in 2019 to 8.98% in 2017), and an overall prevalence increase was observed in bovine and swine, throughout the years. The frequent lack of Food Chain Information (FCI) from farms to slaughterhouses should be emphasised, taking into consideration that a poor implementation of the system by farmers, could lead to a persistent risk of disease at farm level for these two species., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: The authors declare no potential conflict of interest., (©Copyright: the Author(s).)

Background: Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) are a significant contributor to adverse patient outcomes and excess cost of inpatient care. Adjunct ultraviolet-C (UV-C) disinfection may be a viable strategy for reducing HAIs. This study aimed to measure the clinical, operational, and financial impact of a UV-C terminal disinfection intervention in a community hospital setting., Methods: Using a pre-post study design, we compared the HAI rates of 5 multidrug-resistant bacteria (Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumoniae, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) from 6 culture sites before and after a 12-month facility-wide UV-C intervention. To measure impact of UV-C disinfection on hospital operations, mean inpatient emergency room wait time was calculated. Finally, we conducted a cost saving analysis to evaluate the financial benefits of the intervention., Results: Overall, 245 HAIs among 13,177 inpatients were observed during a 12-month intervention period, with an incidence rate of 3.94 per 1,000 patient days. This observed HAIs incidence was 19.2% lower than the preintervention period (4.87 vs 3.94 per 1,000 patient days; P = .006). The intervention did not adversely impact emergency department admissions (297.9 vs 296.2 minutes; P = .18) and generated a direct cost savings of $1,219,878 over a 12-month period., Conclusions: The UV-C disinfection intervention was associated with a statistically significant facility-wide reduction of multidrug-resistant HAIs and generated substantial direct cost savings without adversely impacting hospital operations., (Copyright © 2018 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Epicardial Adipose Tissue (EAT) has been associated with adverse cardiovascular events in the general population. We studied the association of general adiposity measures (body mass index, waist circumference) and ectopic adipose tissue [visceral adipose tissue (VAT); liver fat (LF); EAT) with prevalent cardiovascular disease (CVD) (prior myocardial infarction, coronary revascularization, stroke, peripheral vascular disease] in 583 HIV-infected men. VAT, EAT, and LF (liver/spleen attenuation ratio < 1.1) were measured by computed tomography. Patients' mean age was 48.5 ± 8.1 years, prior CVD was present in 33 (5.7%) patients. Factors independently associated with CVD on multivariable analyses were age [incidence-rate ratio (IRR) = 1.07, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.02 to 1.12], smoking (IRR = 2.70, 95% CI: 1.22 to 6.01), Center for Disease Control group C (IRR = 3.09, 95% CI: 1.41 to 6.76), EAT (IRR = 1.13, 95% CI: 1.04 to 1.24, per 10 cm), LF (IRR = 1.17, 95% CI: 1.04 to 1.32), and VAT (IRR = 1.05, 95% CI: 1.00 to 1.10, per 10 cm). Ectopic fat but not general adiposity measures were associated with prevalent CVD in men with HIV.

Aim: To assess whether investments for medical equipments assigned by a team of experts to a mother and child health hospital located in Mongolia were correlated with structural, organizational, and educational level of its services/departments., Methods: A score was used for evaluating the level of each service/department. It was based on a 'structural area' and an 'organizational and educational area'. Destination of funds was determined by a team of experts in collaboration with the head of the service/department., Results: Thirty-three of 36 services/departments (91.6%) were evaluated. A total sum of 4,432,140 Euros to invest in medical equipment was estimated. Assigned investments were inversely correlated with the total (structural plus organizational and educational area) score (n = 33; r =  -0.59; p = 0.0002), and the specific scores for structural area (n = 33; r = -0.46; p = 0.005) and organizational and educational area (n = 33; r =  -0.56; p = 0.0006)., Conclusions: A large part of the funds for medical equipment was destined to services/departments with low organizational and educational conditions, limiting the potential effect of the aid meanwhile supporting the most in need departments. Educational efforts and monitoring of specific long-term indicators are mandatory.

Purpose: We characterized and compared psychosocial phenotypes in a female interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome cohort and an age matched cohort without that diagnosis., Materials and Methods: Female patients with interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome and controls without the condition completed a psychosocial phenotyping questionnaire battery, including a demographics/history form and validated questionnaires focused on a range of presenting symptoms, psychosocial parameters and quality of life. Specific measures included interstitial cystitis symptom and problem index, McGill Pain Questionnaire, Medical Outcomes Study Sleep Scale, Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Pain Catastrophizing Scale, Female Sexual Functioning Index and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-12 quality of life. Direct comparisons and correlations were made to establish group differences and the strength of associations for psychosocial parameters in patients with interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome., Results: Questionnaires completed by 207 patients with interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome were compared to those of 117 controls matched for age, partner status and education. Compared to controls patients reported significantly more pain (total, sensory and affective), worse physical quality of life, increased sleep dysfunction, depression, catastrophizing, anxiety, stress and moderately more sexual/social function problems. These suffering, coping and social parameters correlated with the degree of general pain but stress, anxiety, depression and catastrophizing further correlated with IC specific symptoms and strongly with decreased quality of life. Pain was strongly associated with physical quality of life, while depression, catastrophizing and stress, and to a lesser extent social support were associated with poor mental quality of life., Conclusions: Patients with interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome have significant cognitive and psychosocial alterations compared to controls.

Neurolinguistic studies have provided important evidence regarding the organization of lexical representations and the structure of underlying conceptual knowledge; in particular, it has been shown that the retrieval of verbs and nouns can be damaged selectively. Dissociated lexical damage is proof of an independent mental organization of lexical representations and/or of the underlying processes. The aim of the present study is to estimate the rate of dissociated impairments for nouns and verbs on a large sample of mild to moderate aphasic patients and to investigate the mechanisms underlying such phenomena. In addition, the authors wished to verify to what degree the impairment for nouns and verbs is related to a specific type of language disorder. A confrontation naming task for verbs and nouns was administered to 58 aphasic patients. The major lexical (word frequency and age of acquisition) and semantic variables (familiarity and imageability of the underlying concept) were considered for each noun and verb used in the task. Verbs were distinguished by major functional classes (transitive, intransitive, and ergative verbs). The data collected from this task were analyzed twice: (i) as a group study comparison of major aphasic subgroups and (ii) as a multiple single case study to evaluate the differences on the naming of verbs and nouns and the effect of the lexical semantic variables on each individual patient. The results confirm the existence of dissociated naming impairments of verbs and nouns. Selective impairment of verbs is more frequent (34%) than that of nouns (10%). In many cases, the dissociated pattern of naming impairment disappeared when the effect of the concomitant variables (word frequency and imageability) was removed, but in approximately one-fifth of the cases the noun or verb superiority was preserved. Noun superiority emerged in five of six agrammatic patients. Both the naming of verbs (n = 9) or of nouns (n = 6) could be impaired selectively in fluent aphasic patients. The results lend support to the hypothesis of an independent mental organization of nouns and verbs, but a substantial effect of imageability and word frequency suggests an interaction of the naming impairment with underlying lexical and semantic aspects., (Copyright 2002 Elsevier Science (USA).)

The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the prevalence of HIV infection and AIDS in Argentina, to study the dynamics of the spread of HIV and to predict the future course by means of an epidemic model. The model was constructed using differential equations to describe the interactions between members of the various groups at risk. The functional form of the solutions was used in a back calculation procedure using data from cohort studies which were done in other countries (U.S.A. and France) together with data of AIDS cases reported to the National AIDS Program, to determine the time evolution of HIV-infection in each of the groups at risk defined. Results show that HIV was introduced in Argentina during the early 80's and affected persons of the homosexual/bisexual group in a first stage. In April 1990 it was estimated that there were a total of 34,131 HIV-infected persons. Intravenous drug users (IVDU) represented 39.5%, homosexual/bisexual men 47.6% and heterosexual adults 11%. It is estimated that in December 1992 there will be 107,946 HIV-infected persons where heterosexuals contribute with more than 20% of that value. AIDS cases predicted for the same period are 4130, with 1958 among homosexual/bisexual, 1483 among IVDU, 449 in heterosexual adults, 153 in children under 4 years old and 87 among hemophiliacs or patients with blood coagulation disorders. By the end of 1994 the model predicts more than 200,000 HIV infected persons with an important proportion of heterosexual adults and more than 12,000 AIDS cases. The values of this period must be considered as a future possible scenario if the present spread conditions are preserved. Infection among heterosexual adults is at the present time in a first and exponential phase of spread and dominated by transmission from IVDU group and bisexual men. It is concluded that the future course of AIDS epidemic in Argentina may be particularly influenced by changes in the heterosexual behavior particularly in those with a higher degree of exposure to HIV-infection.

Carotid endarterectomy has been used increasingly in the management of cerebrovascular disease. However, morbidity and mortality statistics for this procedure have caused criticism. The authors believe neurologic and medical complications can be reduced with the use of regional anesthesia for carotid endarterectomy.

In summary, the clinical goal in regional anesthesia for hand surgery is to constantly approach the ideal of a well-conducted, smooth, "balanced regional technique." This begins with the preoperative interview, assurance, and preoperative sedation (po). In the operating room, monitoring (EKG, BP) and safety measures (IV port, nasal oxygen) precede the regional technique. The block is performed with asepsis, minimal "needling," and correct dosages. The complement to neural blockade anxiolytic medication is titrated, thus the balance of IV sedation and regional block is achieved. The patient's symptoms, vital signs, and general comfort should be attended to during the hand surgery. Monitoring is continued in the recovery room, where special attention is given to positioning, cushioning of pressure areas, dressing, analgesia, and specific physical rehabilitation exercises. With a "balanced regional technique," the patient becomes an early participant in his or her own postoperative care and result. This balanced technique reduces the patient's overall operative risk and maximizes the surgical result.

A combination epidural technique using local anesthetics intraoperatively and morphine postoperatively is shown to offer many advantages. These benefits include inhibition of the surgical stress response, decreased cardiorespiratory depression, decreased blood loss, decreased intubation and pulmonary infection, decreased thromboembolism, decreased hyperglycemic and hypertensive response, nitrogen sparing, a stable resting metabolic rate, prevention of immunosuppression, simplification of cerebral status monitoring, and earlier ambulation and hospital discharge. The main disadvantage in patients undergoing vascular procedures is the risk of epidural hematoma. A review of the literature confirms the extreme rarity of this risk and, in view of the emerging benefits, argues for reconsideration of epidural technique in vascular patients. The addition of epidural morphine to this combined technique affords a postoperative pain-free continuum unmatched by any other method. This significantly decreased pain stress in cardiac patients increases safety and comfort. In conclusion, epidural anesthesia and postoperative epidural narcotics provide a safe and reliable method of management for patients undergoing vascular procedures.