Could the different estrus periods significantly affect body temperature on clinical examination in bitches?

Clinical examination is essential to make a differential diagnosis list, and body temperature measurement is an indispensable part of the clinical examination. Throughout the estrus cycle, body temperature may fluctuate high enough to affect the clinical examination results. Aim of this study, whether there were any differences between the different estrus periods, body parts (rectal, intravaginal and corneal), and methods (contact thermography and infrared thermography) in regard to temperature in bitches. The animal material of this study consisted of 61 healthy, non-pregnant, non-sportive bitches (2.78 ± 0.22 mean years of age; mean weight 23.81 ± 1.61kg) of different breeds. Corneal temperature measurement results were found the least constant and significant differences were observed between different estrus periods except in the anestrus period. Rectal temperature (RT) measurement results were the most constant. However, in ANOVA analysis, significant differences were observed between the different estrus periods, and the difference between the anestrus and diestrus periods was very close to 0.5 °C. Although, in the Bland-Altman plot analysis, the agreement was observed only between rectal and intravaginal temperature (p: 0.572, r2: 0.70), the limits of agreement were not clinically acceptable. In conclusion, neither corneal temperature measurement with infrared technology nor intravaginal temperature measurement should not be an alternative to RT measurement, and RT measurement results should evaluate carefully considering the estrus period.

Use of relative motion orthoses from the perspective of hand-injured patients: A qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Relative motion (RM) orthoses have gained popularity with therapists as their versatility lends to "protective," "exercise," and "adaptive" uses. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: To ask for comments from patients wearing RM orthoses for protective or exercise reasons. STUDY DESIGN: Interpretive descriptive qualitative study. METHODS: Semi-structured face-to-face interviews comprised of nine open-ended questions were conducted with 20 hand injured patients who were advised to wear a protective or exercise RM orthosis for at least 4 weeks. RESULTS: Twenty patients participated in the interviews. Thirteen patients wore the protective RM orthoses had a mean age of 28 years (range,16-54) and the mean age was 34 years (range, 20-51) for 7 patients using exercise RM orthoses. Interviews generated 4 major themes: physical characteristics of the orthoses, challenges in daily living activities, emotional response to orthotic wear, and impact of social environment. DISCUSSION: Comments from both groups of patients suggested the small size of the orthosis contributed to wearing the orthosis as advised. Most found the orthosis comfortable, when not, comments were related to rubbing of the orthosis causing pain and rigidity of the orthosis resulting in finger swelling. A few were impacted by the orthosis drawing attention to their injured hand. Those wearing the exercise RM orthosis often removed it instead of using it for nonintentional exercise. CONCLUSIONS: Comments obtained from the limited structured interview of 20 patients wearing protective or exercise RM orthosis may offer therapists with some understanding from the patient's perspective. Additional study is worthwhile.

The Relationship of Comorbidities with Intensive Care Unit Admission and Mortality in Patients with COVID-19.

OBJECTIVE: Comorbid conditions are known to be associated with poor prognosis in coronavirus disease 2019. This study aimed to investigate the effects of comorbidity burdens of inpatients, identified by the Charlson Comorbidity Index, on their mortalities. METHODS: A total of 150 patients who presented to the emergency department of our hospital with various complaints and symptoms were diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 as a result of the testing and received inpatient treatment (87 males, mean age 61.6 ± 13.8 years) were included in the study. Charlson Comorbidity Index scores were calculated. Patients were classified into 2 groups based on the state of exitus: group 1, those who did not survive; 33 patients, 19 males; 68.3 ± 11.8 years and group 2, those who survived; 117 patients, 68 males; 59.7 ± 13.8 years. RESULTS: In all patients, the exitus rate was 22%, the rate of intensive care follow-up was 46%, and the intubation rate was 37.3%. The Charlson Comorbidity Index scores were significantly higher in group 1 compared to group 2. Multivariate logistic regression analyses demonstrated that the Charlson Comorbidity Index score was an independent predictor of in-hospital mortality (odds ratio: 1.990, 95% CI: 1.314-3.015, P = .001). The cut-off value for the Charlson Comorbidity Index to predict in-hospital mortality was 5.5, with 81.8% sensitivity and 73.5% specificity. CONCLUSIONS: The Charlson Comorbidity Index score, which can be obtained at the time of admission, could be associated with the prognosis of coronavirus disease 2019 patients. Those with a Charlson Comorbidity Index score greater than 5.5 could be more associated with negative outcomes and mortality.

Low-intensity low-frequency pulsed ultrasound ameliorates sciatic nerve dysfunction in a rat model of cisplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy.

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy is a neurological complication that frequently occurs during chemotherapeutic intervention, resulting in damaged myelin sheath, motor weakness and/or sensory impairment. This study aims to investigate the therapeutic efficiency of low-intensity pulsed low-frequency ultrasound on cisplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy. Rats were randomly divided into five experimental groups as control, cisplatin administration, 10 mg/kg melatonin treatment after cisplatin administration, 1 MHz frequency 0.5 W/cm2 pulsed ultrasound treatment after cisplatin administration and 1 MHz frequency 1.5 W/cm2 pulsed ultrasound treatment after cisplatin administration. Chemical neuropathy was induced by the injection of 3 mg/kg/week of cisplatin (i.p.) for 5 weeks. Afterwards, melatonin and pulsed ultrasound treatments were applied for 15 consecutive days. Cisplatin administration resulted in a decrease in nociceptive pain perception and nerve conduction velocities together with a decrease in myelin thickness and diameters of axons and myelinated fibers, indicating a dysfunction and degeneration in sciatic nerves. In addition, cisplatin administration led to a decrease, in superoxide dismutase activity, and an increase in malondialdehyde and IL-1ß levels together with an increase in caspase-3 protein expression levels and a decrease in Bcl-2 and Parkin levels. The ultrasound treatments resulted in an increase in nociceptive pain perception and sciatic nerve conduction; led to a decrease in oxidative stress and inflammation, restored nerve degeneration and regulated apoptosis and mitophagy. Taken together, low-intensity pulsed low-frequency ultrasound was efficient in restoring the alterations attributable to cisplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy, and warrants further investigations.

A BODIPY-Based Fluorescent Probe to Visually Detect Phosgene: Toward the Development of a Handheld Phosgene Detector.

A boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY)-based fluorescent probe with a phosgene-specific reactive motif shows remarkable selectivity toward phosgene, in the presence of which the nonfluorescent dye rapidly transforms into a new structure and induces a fluorescent response clearly observable to the naked eye under ultraviolet light. Given that dynamic, a prototypical handheld phosgene detector with a promising sensing capability that expedites the detection of gaseous phosgene without sophisticated instrumentation was developed. The proposed method using the handheld detector involves a rapid response period suitable for issuing early warnings during emergency situations.