Diagnostic Findings in a Confirmed Outbreak of Brucella ovis Infection in a Traditional Sheep Farm in Sicily (South-Italy)

Aim of this study is to report a laboratory investigation performed following the isolation of Brucella ovis, causing ovine epididymitis, in a traditional sheep farm in Sicily (South Italy). This disease represents a newly emerging risk for Italian livestock and is listed among diseases of EU priority (EU Reg 2016/429). Blood samples from 56 rams and 143 ewes were analyzed by both Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) and Complement Fixation Test (CFT). Genital swabs from all rams and 15 lactating ewes were collected to perform real-time PCR. Eighteen serologically positive rams were slaughtered and postmortem-inspected. Samples of testicle, epididymis, lymph nodes, and urine were also collected in order to perform microbiological, molecular, and histopathological analysis. Twelve slaughtered rams showed anatomo-pathological lesions. Real-time PCR for B. ovis BOV_A0504 gene was positive for 13 testicles and epididymis and 11 urine while B. ovis was isolated from epididymis and testicles of 7 slaughtered rams. This is the first exhaustive laboratory report of a microbiological, molecular, and serological pattern of the disease in sheep in Italy. Despite the impact on health and animal welfare, the epidemiology of B. ovis infection is still unknown, particularly in our country where the disease is considered endemic.

Physicians' Satisfaction with The Service Quality of A Clinical Laboratory in Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro

Clinical laboratory service assessment is essential in improving the quality of care and guaranteeing that quality standards are achieved. Physicians are their primary clients as physicians rely extensively on laboratory findings to make reliable diagnoses. Thus, the study aimed to assess physicians' satisfaction at a clinical laboratory in Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro, Philippines, based on the quality of service they provide, by identifying which factors greatly influence physicians' satisfaction and the physicians' concerns and recommendations. The laboratory accessibility, report format, information system, turnaround time, and service provision are the five factors evaluated in this study. A mixed-method approach was utilized wherein an online survey consisting of a 5-point Likert scale, and open-ended questions were deployed using Google forms and answered by 42 physicians. IBM SPSS Statistics 22 and the MAXQDA system were used to evaluate the responses. Overall, the physicians were satisfied with the clinical laboratory's services (X=3.9762). The laboratory report format has the most significant impact on physicians' overall satisfaction and is the factor with which physicians are most satisfied. Improvement of the turnaround time is advised. Future studies, including more laboratories and participants, are suggested.

Augmented Reality-Assisted Craniotomy for Parasagittal and Convexity En Plaque Meningiomas and Custom-Made Cranio-Plasty: A Preliminary Laboratory Report

Background: This report discusses the utility of a wearable augmented reality platform in neurosurgery for parasagittal and convexity en plaque meningiomas with bone flap removal and custom-made cranioplasty. Methods: A real patient with en plaque cranial vault meningioma with diffuse and extensive dural involvement, extracranial extension into the calvarium, and homogeneous contrast enhancement on gadolinium-enhanced T1-weighted MRI, was selected for this case study. A patient-specific manikin was designed starting with the segmentation of the patient’s preoperative MRI images to simulate a craniotomy procedure. Surgical planning was performed according to the segmented anatomy, and customized bone flaps were designed accordingly. During the surgical simulation stage, the VOSTARS head-mounted display was used to accurately display the planned craniotomy trajectory over the manikin skull. The precision of the craniotomy was assessed based on the evaluation of previously prepared custom-made bone flaps. Results: A bone flap with a radius 0.5 mm smaller than the radius of an ideal craniotomy fitted perfectly over the performed craniotomy, demonstrating an error of less than ±1 mm in the task execution. The results of this laboratory-based experiment suggest that the proposed augmented reality platform helps in simulating convexity en plaque meningioma resection and custom-made cranioplasty, as carefully planned in the preoperative phase. Conclusions: Augmented reality head-mounted displays have the potential to be a useful adjunct in tumor surgical resection, cranial vault lesion craniotomy and also skull base surgery, but more study with large series is needed.

Effectiveness of COVID-19 Vaccines Against SARS-CoV-2 Infection During a Delta Variant Epidemic Surge in Multnomah County, Oregon, July 2021

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines have been shown to be highly effective in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection within controlled trials and real-world vaccine effectiveness (VE) studies. Recent reports have estimated reduced VE with the emergence and dissemination of the B.1.617.2 variant (Delta variant). During July 2021, Multnomah County experienced an epidemic expansion coinciding with increased Delta variant prevalence. We assess COVID-19 VE during this time. Methods: A test-negative design (TND) matched case-control analysis was performed to estimate the effectiveness of vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 infection during July 2021. Cases included a random sample of individuals that tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 and were reported by electronic laboratory report, were >15 years of age, and had no prior known SARS-CoV-2 infections. Controls were age and postal code matched individuals that tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 during July 2021. Immunization status was assessed using the Oregon ALERT Immunization Information system (ALERT IIS). Results: 500 case-control pairs were matched (n=1000). Overall effectiveness of any completed COVID-19 immunization was 73% (95% Confidence Interval [CI] 49-86%) and 74% (95% CI 65-85%) for mRNA immunizations and 72% (95% CI 47-85%) for individuals that had started but not completed mRNA immunizations. Conclusions: Our findings estimate high, yet reduced, VE during Delta variant dissemination. These results highlight the importance of COVID-19 immunizations for reducing SARS-CoV-2 infection while juxtaposing the need for additional non-pharmaceutical interventions. Importantly, the reduced VE identified here may predict future reductions in vaccine performance in the context of ongoing viral genetic drift.

The student laboratory report genre: A genre analysis

© 2016 Elsevier Ltd This article provides a move analysis of the student laboratory report, a genre which is central to science and engineering study, and to which students may have had little prior exposure. Using a data set of 60 highly-graded laboratory reports from the BAWE corpus (British Academic Writing in English, Gardner & Nesi, 2013), moves are described, together with typical linguistic features. Laboratory report moves are compared with moves previously identified in empirical research articles (RAs), a genre which has the same macrostructure and also presents experimental findings. The different writer-reader relationships and different purposes in these genres (pedagogical in the laboratory report, and presenting new research in RAs) result in some significant differences in the realization of moves. The findings are potentially useful to teachers of science writing.

The student laboratory report genre: A genre analysis

© 2016 Elsevier Ltd This article provides a move analysis of the student laboratory report, a genre which is central to science and engineering study, and to which students may have had little prior exposure. Using a data set of 60 highly-graded laboratory reports from the BAWE corpus (British Academic Writing in English, Gardner & Nesi, 2013), moves are described, together with typical linguistic features. Laboratory report moves are compared with moves previously identified in empirical research articles (RAs), a genre which has the same macrostructure and also presents experimental findings. The different writer-reader relationships and different purposes in these genres (pedagogical in the laboratory report, and presenting new research in RAs) result in some significant differences in the realization of moves. The findings are potentially useful to teachers of science writing.

Cystic Echinococcosis/Hydatid Cyst Coinfection with HIV: A Report from Shiraz, Iran

HIV coinfected with other parasitic diseases may cause a serious problem for the patients. A few case reports describing echinococcosis with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection have been reported in the world; however, it has not been reported in Iran, so far. Here, the first case of liver hydatid cyst coinfected with HIV in Iran is reported. The patient is a 46-year-old female HIV-positive based on the laboratory report. Her clinical symptoms included abdominal pain, abdominal enlargement, and anorexia. Ultrasound showed three large hepatic hydatid cysts with hundreds of daughter cysts. Ultrasonography of the cyst revealed it as a CE2 stage according to the WHO classification. The patient went under complete anesthesia followed by complete cyst removal by surgery. Observation of the hydatid cyst fluid using eosin 0.1% revealed more than 70% viable protoscoleces. Histopathology examination, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and viable protoscoleces confirmed the diagnosis of echinococcosis. The IgG ELISA test with native AgB for E. granulosus infection was also positive. mtDNA amplification using PCR and sequencing showed the cyst as E. granulosus sensu stricto genotype. Our observations show that huge, large, and high-pressure cysts with hundreds of daughter cysts are difficult to be completely removed, and drug treatment has not been able to reduce their size. Therefore, in HIV coinfection with hydatid cyst, surgery is preferable to other treatments.

Determination of gas-saturated oil density at reservoir conditions and development of quality control index of PVT laboratory report

The oil density at the bubble point is an important thermodynamic property required in reservoir simulation and production engineering. A higher-accuracy estimate of this property would improve the accuracy of reservoir and production engineering calculations. The bubble point oil density is obtained either from separator tests of reservoir fluids or from differential gas liberation tests. A new procedure utilizing separator and differential tests is proposed whereby the experimental data yield a unique value with high accuracy for the bubble point oil density. A consistent correction of other PVT properties, which are influenced by the bubble point oil density, is required to reflect the unique density value. A quantitative quality control index is defined to measure the quality of PVT laboratory reports. This is achieved by utilizing the unique property of the bubble point oil density, which is usually ignored.