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Mathios E Mylonakis, Iris Kalli, Timoleon S Rallis Companion Animal Clinic, School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece Abstract: Canine parvovirus type 2 is the cause of a highly contagious acute enteritis associated with high morbidity and mortality, with very low survival rates in untreated dogs. Although severe clinical disease typically occurs in dogs younger than 6 months of age, adults with insufficient immunity may potentially be affected. In this article, the current state of knowledge is reviewed regarding the diagnostic aspects of parvoviral enteritis, with special emphasis placed on the clinical relevance of the detection of viral antigens in the feces, detection of viral antibodies in the serum, or the polymerase chain reaction-based amplification of the viral DNA in the feces. In addition, the components of the supportive and symptomatic treatment aiming to optimize the outcome of the disease in the clinical setting are thoroughly reviewed. Immunization guidelines for the prevention of the disease are also updated. Keywords: dog, parvovirus type 2, acute enteritis, treatment, vaccination

Episodic memory decline is the prominent neuropsychological feature of typical Alzheimer's Disease (AD), for which current treatments have a limited clinical response. Recently, gamma entrainment therapy has been used as a non-invasive treatment in AD, providing evidence that it may have the potential to alleviate brain pathology and improve cognitive function in AD patients. At the same time, the precuneus (PC) has been recognized as a key area involved in AD related memory deficits and as a key node of the Default Mode Network. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a 40 Hz Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) intervention, delivered bilaterally to the precuneus for 10 days, in improving the patients' episodic memory performance. Secondary outcome variables investigated included general cognitive function, semantic and spatial memory, as well as attention and executive function. A concurrent multiple baseline design across five cases was employed. Four patients completed the study. Visual analysis combined with effect size indices were used to evaluate changes across phases. An increase in the average level of immediate recalled words was observed in three out of four patients. Effect size indices indicated significant improvement of attention skills in two patients. No treatment effect was observed for semantic and visual memory, or for executive function. An immediate treatment effect was observed in all patients' general cognitive function as assessed with the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale (mean reduction of 5 points), which was maintained and improved further three months post-treatment. The neuropsychological evaluations indicated improved performance three months post-treatment in immediate and delayed recall, attention, phonological verbal fluency, anxiety, and neuropsychiatric symptoms. This study provides preliminary evidence for the efficacy of a novel non-pharmacological treatment using gamma-band TMS in addressing cognitive dysfunction in AD., (© 2022 The Authors. Journal of Neuropsychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The British Psychological Society.)

The aim of the present study was to characterize Canine parvovirus 2 (CPV-2) variants currently circulating in Greece. Between March 2008 and March 2009, 167 fecal samples were collected from diarrheic dogs from different regions of Greece. Canine parvovirus 2 was detected by standard polymerase chain reaction, whereas minor groove binder probe assays were used to distinguish genetic variants and discriminate between vaccine and field strains. Of 84 CPV-2-positive samples, 81 CPV-2a, 1 CPV-2b, and 2 CPV-2c were detected. Vaccine strains were not detected in any sample. Sequence analysis of the VP2 gene of the 2 CPV-2c viruses revealed up to 100% amino acid identity with the CPV-2c strains previously detected in Europe. The results indicated that, unlike other European countries, CPV-2a remains the most common variant in Greece, and that the CPV-2c variant found in Europe is also present in Greece.

Purpose of Review: The demand for anesthesia care outside the operating room continues to grow, driven by trends in advanced diagnostic techniques and the financial advantages of providing care out of the hospital setting. This review examines recent literature identifying new equipment and environmental issues that impact on nonoperating-room anesthesia care., Recent Findings: This review addresses the safety implications of the new high-field-strength (3 Tesla) magnetic resonance imaging scanners and also the differences in anesthesia delivery system design that influence the duration of function when only gas cylinders are available., Summary: Practitioners who render anesthesia care outside of the operating room need to be cognizant of changing equipment design, which raises new challenges for rendering safe care.

The duration of effects of vecuronium has previously been studied in paediatric patients only during inhalation anaesthesia. We therefore studied the age-related differences in duration of action after administration of 0.1 mg kg-1 of vecuronium in 66% N2O in O2, fentanyl anaesthesia without inhalation agents. Forty-nine children (2 wk-14 yr, ASA 1-2) were selected for study and divided into four groups according to age. Evoked EMG monitor (Relaxograph, Datex, Finland) was calibrated with hypothenar muscle recording. The completely restored first twitch (T1) level was used as reference for recovery calculations. In infants (age less than 1 yr) the onset time (68 s) was only 0.6-0.8 times that of older patients (P less than 0.01). In infants the duration of surgical relaxation to T1 10% (42 min) and the recovery index (21 min) were 1.7-2.9 times longer than in older patients (P less than 0.01). It took 55 min from the beginning of recovery to full restoration of T1 in infants, compared with 20-24 min in 3-15-year-old children. Interestingly, the younger the child, the more rapidly train-of-four ratio recovered compared with T1 (P less than 0.01). Because of the age-dependent prolongation of vecuronium relaxation and spontaneous recovery in small children, the level of relaxation should be monitored also in clinical practice.

Spontaneous recovery of neuromuscular function after a bolus dose of 0.40 mg/kg atracurium was assessed in 60 newborn to adolescent patients during balanced anesthesia. Each patient was allowed to recover spontaneously until complete recovery of the single twitch (T1) response and the train-of-four ratio measured from the hypothenar muscle evoked compound EMG. The recovery times of T1 from the onset of relaxation to 10% recovery and to 100% recovery were significantly longer in patients under 10 kg of body weight than in the heavier patients (25 and 56 min vs 19 and 45 min, respectively, P less than 0.01). The rate of recovery, calculated as the recovery index (time between 25% recovery and 75% recovery of T1) was significantly longer in patients under 2 months of age than in older infants or children and adolescents. Atracurium remains, nevertheless, a relaxant of intermediate duration of action even in small infants.