Adverse event classification and signal detection of data from the customer service and pharmacovigilance of a multinational veterinary pharmaceutical company.

The pharmacovigilance of a veterinary company may include the analysis of spontaneous reports of adverse events (AE) related to its products. The present study developed an AE classification flowchart to analyze AE notified to the customer service and pharmacovigilance department of a multinational veterinary pharmaceutical company in Brazil. The product-AE binomials using the flowchart were characterized in terms of their frequencies and subsequently, three signal detection models were used: Reporting Odds Ratio, Bayesian confidence propagation neural network, and Gamma Poisson Shrinker. The signals detected with the three methods were classified according to their intensity, always with the most intense signal in the first position. Among the signals detected by the three methods, the positions of each signal were summed to obtain an aggregated classification that considered the results of the three methods and allowed a serial interpretation. Among the 531 reports, 20 types of AE; 88 product-AE binomials were identified. From the total of reports, seven were signs identified by the three methods. The classification of AE following explicit criteria and the combined use of more than one signal detection method enhances spontaneous-reports-based pharmacovigilance.

Prognostic value of immunohistochemical markers in canine cutaneous mast cell tumours: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Histological grading systems remain cornerstones in the prognosis of canine cutaneous mast cell tumours (MCTs), but the distinct biological behaviour of each tumour often necessitates the use of complementary markers. Although a plethora of immunohistochemical markers have been proposed as prognostic factors, few are presently applied in routine diagnosis. This systematic review and meta-analysis was designed to establish which immunohistochemical markers have verifiable prognostic value for cutaneous MCTs in dogs. A Boolean search of five databases identified 200 articles for screening, of which 73 were selected for full-text assessment and 24 ultimately included in the systematic review. Odds Ratio (OR) was adopted as the summary measure for subsequent meta-analysis but only 15 articles, relating to the immunomarkers Ki-67 (9), KIT (5), and BAX (2), provided either a value for OR or sufficient data to calculate this statistic. Meta-analysis verified that canine cutaneous MCTs with elevated expression of Ki-67 or BAX, as well aberrant immuno-expression of KIT, showed an increased odds of death, with respective OR values of 11.2 (95% CI 6.3-20.0; p < .01), 9.9 (95% CI 1.3-73.6; p = .03), and 4.1 (95% CI 1.1-15.3; p = .03). Despite KIT, Ki67, and BAX arise as suitable prognostic factor for canine MCTs, this study highlighted the lack of important clinical and statistical data in many published articles, rendering it impossible to complete the meta-analysis of several potentially valuable immunohistochemical markers.

The population of donkeys and mules in Brazil according to agricultural censuses from 1960 to 2017 / População de jumentos e muares no Brasil segundo os censos agropecuários de 1960 a 2017

To better understand and manage the population of donkeys and mules, it is essential to know information about its size. In developing countries, these animals are often used as working animals, mainly by poor populations in agricultural and livestock labor, but their use is decreasing in Brazil. Brazilian official data regarding donkeys and mules started to be measured at the agricultural census of 1960 and, from that time, eight agricultural censuses were published. But until the writing of this paper, no scientific paper was dedicated to the analysis of the results of the official agricultural censuses on the population of donkeys and mules in Brazil. Thus, we aim to compile and analyze the official Brazilian data from 1960 until 2017 to enhance the actions of stakeholders, researchers, and decision-makers concerned with Brazilian donkeys and mules.(AU)

Para entender e gerenciar melhor a população de jumentos e mulas é essencial saber informações sobre seu tamanho. Em países em desenvolvimento, esses animais são frequentemente usados como animais de trabalho, principalmente por populações pobres na agricultura e pecuária, mas seu uso está diminuindo no Brasil. Os dados oficiais brasileiros sobre jumentos e mulas começaram a ser mensurados no censo agrícola de 1960 e a partir dessa época foram realizados oito censos agrícolas. Até a redação deste artigo, porém, nenhum trabalho científico analisou os resultados dos censos agropecuários quanto à população de jumentos e mulas no Brasil. Deste modo, nosso objetivo é compilar e analisar os dados oficiais brasileiros de 1960 até 2017, para aprimorar as ações dos stakeholders, pesquisadores e tomadores de decisão preocupados com os jumentos e mulas brasileiras.(AU)

Brazilian owners perception of the body condition score of dogs and cats.

BACKGROUND: The knowledge of how owners view the body condition of their animals is an important factor for the success of the prevention/treatment of obesity and the engagement/adherence to nutritional interventions, which are fundamental to improve the animal prognosis. For this reason, the objective of this study was to evaluate the perception of the owners regarding the body condition score of their animals, compare the perception between cat vs. dog owners, and owners from the countryside vs. metropolitan region of São Paulo State in Brazil. RESULTS: 601 dogs and 110 cats were included in this study. There was no significant difference in body condition score assigned by owners by species. Owners of dogs and cats classified by the veterinarian as ideal, overweight, and obese who disagree with body condition score assigned by veterinarian mainly underestimate the body condition score of their animals, while lean dogs' owners overestimate it. Countryside dog owners had a higher rate of disagreement with the veterinarian and more often underestimate the body condition score than owners from the metropolitan region. The owners of lean cats have the same judgments with veterinarians. CONCLUSIONS: Owners of dogs and cats have difficulty assessing the body condition score, especially owners from countryside.

Stereotypic Behavior in Sows Is Related to Emotionality Changes in the Offspring.

Some effects of expressing stereotypic behavior have not yet been elucidated. During gestation, the environment has the potential to interfere with offspring development and to have prenatal or longer-term consequences. We tested the hypothesis that the occurrence of stereotypic behavior during gestation could affect the phenotype of the offspring. Twenty-eight pregnant sows were studied by comparing two groups differing in the amount of stereotypy shown. We analyzed emotionality in the offspring from sows showing high or low stereotypy frequency using the open field and novel object tests. In the open field test, piglets from sows with a high rate of stereotypies walked more in central sectors (p < 0.0001) and lateral sectors (p = 0.04) than piglets from sows with a low rate of stereotypies. In the novel object test, the offspring from low stereotypy sows vocalized more (p = 0.008). We demonstrate for the first time that the stereotypic behavior by the mother during gestation changes the phenotype of the offspring, in particular, their emotionality.

Starch sources influence lipidaemia of diabetic dogs.

BACKGROUND: Hyperlipidaemia is considered a cause of other diseases that are clinically important and potentially life threatening. Combination of pea and barley as exclusive starch sources is known to interfere with glycemic control in diabetic dogs, but their effect on lipid profile of hiperlipidaemic dogs is yet to be evaluated. Twelve adult diabetic dogs were fed three dry extruded diets with different starch sources and different fat levels: peas and barley (PB), maize (Mi), and peas, barley and rice (Ba) with 15.7, 15.6 and 9.0% of their dry matter as fat, respectively. Plasmatic cholesterol and triglycerides concentration curves over 10 h were obtained after 60 days on each diet and with the same NPH insulin dose. ANOVA test or Friedman test were used to compare the dietary effects on triglycerides and cholesterol variables among the diets. RESULTS: Dogs presented lower mean (p = 0.05), fasting (p = 0.03), and time 8-h postprandial (p = 0.05) triglyceridemia after PB diet period than Ba diet period and time 4-h postprandial (p = 0.02) lower after PB than Mi diet. Cholesterolemia mean, minimum, maximum, area under the cholesterol curve and times points: 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10-h postprandial, had lower values after PB ingestion in comparison to Mi, without difference to Ba diet. CONCLUSION: Inclusion of pea and barley, as exclusive starch sources, in therapeutic diets for diabetic dogs can minimize plasmatic triglycerides and cholesterol concentration at fasting and at different postprandial time, compared to the maize diet or diet with lesser fat content.

Divulgação científica: difusão do conhecimento permitindo a geração de mais conhecimentos / Popular science: dissemination of knowledge allowing the generation of more knowledge

A difusão do conhecimento é muito importante, tanto entre os pares, no meio acadêmico-científico, como para a população, por meio da divulgação científica. O presente ensaio tem como objetivo discutir a importância do preparo de cientistas para a comunicação com seus pares acadêmicos e com a sociedade visto que hoje em dia os interesses mudaram e a postura exigida dos pesquisadores mudou também. Além disso, verifica-se a não valorização da ciência por parte da sociedade brasileira, e isso se mistura com a necessidade de se obter fundos para realizar estudos e a falta de mecanismos nacionais que permitam maior disseminação das pesquisas brasileiras. Uma divulgação científica malfeita ou sua escassez criam lacunas ocupadas por notícias falsas (fake news), teorias da conspiração ou a pseudociência. Todo cientista consciente de seupapel na sociedade merece que seu trabalho seja compreendido pelo maior número de pessoas, beneficiando a vida em comunidade e o uso sustentável dos recursos do planeta. A divulgação científica quando feita com dedicação e de forma deliberada auxilia também na criação de novas parcerias e o aporte de mais verbas para as pesquisas.

Size, spatial and household distribution, and rabies vaccination coverage of the Brazilian owned-dog population.

Dog rabies and human rabies transmitted by dogs can be prevented through adequate dog vaccination coverage. For surveillance purposes, this coverage must be calculated using accurate population size estimates to avoid misleading conclusions. We used data from a Brazilian national survey comprising 64,348 households, to calculate point estimates and confidence intervals of the size, household density, and rabies vaccination coverage of the owned-dog population in Brazilian federative units. We also evaluated the precision of owned-dog population size estimates, based on the extrapolation among different areas, of the mean number of dogs per household and the human/dog ratio. The estimated owned-dog population size in Brazil was 52,198,324 (95% CI = 51,028,583-53,368,066) and the dog vaccination coverage was 80.09% (95% CI = 79.09%-81.09%). Both estimates had marked variation across Brazilian federative units and urban/rural strata. Only two of the 27 federative units had a confidence interval in rural vaccination coverage above 70% and six did not pass this threshold in their urban stratum. For the first time, we reported probabilistic estimates for an entire country and its main administrative areas. The estimated coverage for the country was high because the most populated federative unit also had high coverage. The mean number of dogs per household and the human/dog ratio were useful as survey estimates to characterize owned-dog density. However, the simple extrapolation of these parameters resulted in estimates of owned-dog population sizes with large errors (up to 254%) that must be interpreted with caution to avoid misleading conclusions. To evaluate the dog population size, we recommend the use of probabilistic sampling designs instead of simple human/dog ratio extrapolations, and the inclusion of animal-related questions in censuses and national surveys to obtain reliable estimates to support improvements in animal and human health.