RESUMO

We propose an index to prioritize preventive maintenance for medical equipment. Our index considers seven variables: type of equipment, equipment function, maintenance requirements, calibration, equipment age, equipment location, and equipment hazards. We developed a mathematical model using these variables, and its result is interpreted as an index of equipment maintenance priority. The numerical output of the index was classified into three categories: high, medium, and low priority. We proposed our index model to technical staff at the Department of Biomedical Engineering of the National Institute of Respiratory Diseases in Mexico as a protocol for scheduling appropriate preventive maintenance for medical equipment during the year. The index was tested in a sample of 16 different medical equipment. Our model provides a guide to define the priority and the number of preventive maintenance routines required for medical equipment per year.

RESUMO

Although the breeding seasonality in Macaca arctoides have been studied over a long period of time, it is still controversial whether reproduction in this primate tend to increase during certain months of the year as it happens in most of the macaque species. Many authors have classified Macaca arctoides as not being seasonal species. Nonetheless, there were no reports, about seasonal variations of female sexual hormones to demonstrate that asseveration. Therefore, in the present study we collect 1611 fecal samples from June 2009 to November 2010 from 10 female stump-tailed macaques to measure 17ß-estradiol and progesterone concentrations. Also, we included the birth frequency per year, in order to identify if sexual hormones peaked at a certain period of the year, thus, births would be occurring six months later according to the gestation length of stump-tailed macaques. Our results indicate two mating seasons per year in stump-tailed macaques: one in July-August and a second one in November. The distribution of the birth frequency, throughout the year support these results. We conclude that stump-tail macaques have a discrete seasonality no different than most of macaques' species.

Assuntos

RESUMO

The black-handed spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi) is a seasonal reproducer that requires a seclusiveness to copulate and has a fusion-fission social system. These features impose important restrictions to achieve reproduction of captive animals. We investigated if group composition in captive spider monkeys has any endocrine effects. We compared testosterone and cortisol concentrations during the mating season in all-male and multifemale-multimale groups to study if the former condition impairs reproductive potential and increases stress. Concentrations of testosterone and cortisol of males living with females were higher than those of all-male groups. In the multifemale-multimale condition, dominant males had the highest levels of testosterone, while the youngest males showed the highest concentrations of cortisol. Results show that males adjust well to isosexual grouping, this being an appropriate condition to keep animals when controlled reproduction is sought.

Assuntos

RESUMO

The ejaculate of diverse primate species consists of two portions, liquid and solid; the latter, known as the seminal coagulum, is thought to sequester large numbers of sperm. In the black-handed spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi), ejaculates collected by electroejaculation did not always contain seminal coagulum. The objective of the present study was to determine seasonal emission of seminal coagulum and in vivo sperm dynamics in the black-handed spider monkey. Seminal coagulum emission was related to season; it was more frequent in the dry season, coincident with maximal female fertility. Sperm concentration was higher (P = 0.02) in the dry season (dry vs. rainy season: 137.9 +/- 15.7 sperm/mL vs. 82.56 +/- 14.7 x1 0(6) sperm/mL; mean +/- S.E.M.) but also in ejaculates (collected during the rainy season) that had seminal coagulum (coagulum vs. no coagulum: 140.0 +/- 29.3 sperm/mL vs. 31.2+/-0.1 x 10(6) sperm/mL, P<0.001). In semen samples collected from the uterus after AI, the percentage of linearly motile sperm was higher during the dry season (dry vs. rainy: 9.1+/-2.1% vs. 5.9+/-2.5%), as well as whenever coagulum was present (coagulum vs. no coagulum: 13.0+/-3.2% vs. 2.0+/-0.9%, P<0.001).

Assuntos

RESUMO

Artificial insemination (AI) was performed in spider monkeys; these primates are vulnerable to extinction and usually do not reproduce spontaneously in captivity. Uterine cycles were followed by daily assessment of vaginal cytology, and corroborated a posteriori by concentrations of 17-beta estradiol and progesterone, measured by radioimmunoassay (RIA), in fecal samples collected once daily. Five females between 13 to 27 years old were inseminated intravaginally (with fresh semen) twice each during the periovulatory phase (Days 9-12 of the menstrual cycle; Day 0, first day of menstrual bleeding), from September to the first 3 weeks of November (most fertile months). Transcervical AI was not useful in this primate because the liquid portion of the semen completely solidified instead of liquefying as in other primates. Pregnancies were apparently achieved in 5 of 14 attempts. One female became pregnant after the first round of inseminations, delivered a healthy infant, was inseminated and got pregnant again (subsequently aborted). One female aborted, apparently due to an intramural uterine leiomyoma. Another two females stopped menstruating for a few months, then restarted menstruating (these females may have been pregnant and aborted). In conclusion, in spider monkeys: (1) captivity-induced stress did not inhibit reproduction; (2) fecal steroid hormones were useful to assess cyclicity; (3) the semen coagulum, which apparently is a tightly packed and large reservoir of spermatozoa, must not be discarded but used in AI; (4) old female spider monkeys did not have cessation of reproductive function.

Assuntos

RESUMO

A number of studies in free-ranging and captive spider monkeys (Ateles spp.) have shown that this genus is able to reproduce throughout the entire year. Nonetheless, it is still controversial whether births, and therefore conceptions, tend to be more frequent during certain seasons. In the present study, we monitored changes in fecal 17beta-estradiol and progesterone for approximately 1 years in five female black-handed spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) kept in captivity in Mexico City. The objective was to determine whether hormone concentrations and menstrual cycles of summer and autumn accounted for a greater chance of conception than those of winter and spring, consistent with birth patterns previously reported. We collected fecal samples from the five monkeys almost daily for 1 year (March 2004 to February 2005) and used radioimmunoassay of fecal extracts to determine concentrations of 17beta-estradiol and progesterone. Concurrently, menstrual cycle phases were determined by cytological evaluation of vaginal swabs. Periovulatory 17beta-estradiol concentrations were significantly higher in autumn than in winter, spring or summer. Moreover, as evidenced by progesterone peaks, most of the summer-autumn menstrual cycles were ovulatory; in contrast, most of the winter and spring cycles were anovulatory. In conclusion, our data supported the notion that, although not a strictly seasonal reproducer, the black-handed spider monkey is more likely to conceive at the end of the rainy season and throughout autumn.

Assuntos

RESUMO

The ovarian cycles of four adult female spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) were followed daily throughout 30 days by means of vaginal swabs and blood samplings. Cytological analyses of the vaginal swabs and radioimmunoassay determination of the daily levels of estradiol-17 beta (E2) and progesterone (P4) wer done in order to classify the kind of ovarian cycle of this species. Our results show that Ateles geoffroyi females display menstrual cycles of about 24 days on average. By comparison with the well-known menstrual cycles of women, apes, and Old World monkeys, the four distinctive cytological phases (bleeding, follicular, periovulatory, and luteal) could be recognized; mid-cycle E2 peaks followed by mid-luteal increases of the same hormone were present in all four females. P4 levels were higher after the E2 peak, although both hormones were present throughout the cycles. Also, age-dependent features, hormone profiles, and changes in menstrual phases lengths were detected.

Assuntos