Psychosocial perception of adults with onychomycosis: a blinded,controlled comparison of 1,017 adult Hong Kong residents with or without onychomycosis

Background

A survey was conducted amongst 1,017 Hong Kong residents ages 18 and over to determine their knowledge of fungal nail infections (onychomycosis) and the psychosocial impact of the disease on the relationships, social lives and careers of sufferers.

Methods

The Fungal Nail Perception Survey was conducted by email and online between May 29th and June 10th, 2013. Participants were shown three photographs of people with and without onychomycosis of the toenails. Respondents were asked ten questions (repeated for each picture) to ascertain their perceptions of the people in the pictures. Questions were related to perceptions around the ability of sufferers and non-sufferers to form relationships with others, social activities of sufferers and non-sufferers, perceptions of the effect of the disease on the potential for career success, and awareness of fungal nail disease and health. The sub-population who themselves suffered from onychomycosis were asked about self-perception as well as their perception of others with onychomycosis.

Results

Compared with non-sufferers, survey respondents perceived those with onychomycosis as less likely to be able to form good relationships. They also indicated that they would be more likely to exclude sufferers than non-sufferers from social activities and that they would be more likely to feel uncomfortable when sitting or standing beside an infected person than beside an uninfected person. Respondents perceived people with onychomycosis to be less able to perform well in their chosen career than with someone without onychomycosis. Interestingly, those respondents who themselves were infected felt socially excluded, upset and embarrassed by their infection.

Conclusions

Onychomycosis may lead to stigmatization and social exclusion. Misconceptions of onychomycosis are high and education about the disease needs to be improved. Early recognition and treatment of the disease is essential to avoid complications and improve treatment outcomes, which would lead to reduced psychosocial impact on those with fungal nail infections.

     

The Gut Microbiota and Developmental Programming of the Testis in Mice

Nutrients and environmental chemicals, including endocrine disruptors, have been incriminated in the current increase in male reproductive dysfunction, but the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. The gastrointestinal tract represents the largest surface area exposed to our environment and thereby plays a key role in connection with exposure of internal organs to exogenous factors. In this context the gut microbiome (all bacteria and their metabolites) have been shown to be important contributors to body physiology including metabolism, cognitive functions and immunity. Pivotal to male reproduction is a proper development of the testis, including the formation of the blood-testis barrier (BTB) that encapsulates and protects germ cells from stress induced environmental cues, e.g. pathogenic organisms and xenobiotics. Here we used specific pathogen free (SPF) mice and germ-free (GF) mice to explore whether gut microbiota and/or their metabolites can influence testis development and regulation of BTB. Lumen formation in the seminiferous tubules, which coincides with the development of the BTB was delayed in the testes of GF mice at 16 days postpartum. In addition, perfusion experiments (Evans blue) demonstrated increased BTB permeability in these same mice. Reduced expressions of occludin, ZO-2 and E-cadherin in GF testis suggested that the microbiota modulated BTB permeability by regulation of cell-cell adhesion. Interestingly, exposure of GF mice to Clostridium Tyrobutyricum (CBUT), which secrete high levels of butyrate, restored the integrity of the BTB and normalized the levels of cell adhesion proteins. Moreover, the GF mice exhibited lower serum levels of gonadotropins (LH and FSH) than the SPF group. In addition, the intratesticular content of testosterone was lower in GF compared to SPF or CBUT animals. Thus, the gut microbiome can modulate the permeability of the BTB and might play a role in the regulation of endocrine functions of the testis.     

Serovars and biovars of Campylobacter strains isolated from humans and slaughterhouse animals in northern Germany

A total of 318 Campylobacter strains from sporadic cases of human enteritis (109 strains) and healthy slaughterhouse animals in northern Germany (209 strains) were bio- and serotyped according to the Lior typing schemes. Three hundred strains were typable (94.3%) and 38 serovars were identified. Among human strains 28 serovars were identified with 30% of them belonging to serovar 4. Strains from pigs were associated with 25 serovars, the most frequent being serovar 20 (21.2%). Fourteen serovars were identified in the ovine strains of which 31.1% were of serovar 49, and 22.2% of serovar 4. All of the strains from one chicken farm were of serovar 11, whereas in those from another serovar 1 was predominant (85.4%). Twenty-five of the 38 serovars identified were associated with at least two different biovars. Campylobacter jejuni biovar I was predominant in humans, sheep and chickens and Campylobacter coli biovar I in pigs. The results suggest that the combined use of bio- and serotyping according to the Lior typing schemes would be of use in studies on the epidemiology of human campylobacteriosis in Germany.     

Mesozooplankton of the Kosi Bay lakes,South Africa

The Kosi coastal lake system, a chain of four interconnected basins, is located in the subtropical north-eastern corner of South Africa. Little information is available on zooplankton of the system and the main aim of this study is to report on zooplankton samples collected during 2002 and 2003. The set of samples consists of seasonal, subsurface mesozooplankton samples that were collected during nighttime in each of the lakes. A well-developed salinity gradient was evident along the interconnected lakes in the subsurface water during all seasons, ranging from freshwater in the upper lake Amanzamnyama to a maximum of 22 recorded in Lake Makhawulani. The zooplankton community structures of the lakes reflected the salinity gradient of the system, with some coastal marine taxa recorded in the lakes closer to the mouth and only freshwater taxa recorded in Lake Amanzamnyama. Mesozooplankton diversity and abundance were relatively low compared to other estuarine systems along the eastern coast of South Africa. The dominant taxa were calanoid copepods Acartiella natalensis and Pseudodiaptomus stuhlmanni and the mysid Mesopodopsis africana in the lower lakes, whereas cyclopoids Mesocyclops sp. and Thermocyclops sp. dominated the freshwater lake Amanzamnyama.     

Phosphatase activity and nitrogen fixation reflect species differences,not nutrient trading or nutrient balance,across tropical rainforest trees

A fundamental biogeochemical paradox is that nitrogen‐rich tropical forests contain abundant nitrogen‐fixing trees, which support a globally significant tropical carbon sink. One explanation for this pattern holds that nitrogen‐fixing trees can overcome phosphorus limitation in tropical forests by synthesizing phosphatase enzymes to acquire soil organic phosphorus, but empirical evidence remains scarce. We evaluated whether nitrogen fixation and phosphatase activity are linked across 97 trees from seven species, and tested two hypotheses for explaining investment in nutrient strategies: trading nitrogen‐for‐phosphorus or balancing nutrient demand. Both strategies varied across species but were not explained by nitrogen‐for‐phosphorus trading or nutrient balance. This indicates that (1) studies of these nutrient strategies require broad sampling within and across species, (2) factors other than nutrient trading must be invoked to resolve the paradox of tropical nitrogen fixation, and (3) nitrogen‐fixing trees cannot provide a positive nitrogen‐phosphorus‐carbon feedback to alleviate nutrient limitation of the tropical carbon sink.     

CARBON AVAILABILITY AND THE PATTERN OF CYANOBACTERIAL DOMINANCE IN ENRICHED LOW-CARBON LAKES1

We hypothesize that the pattern of cyanobacterial dominance in experimentally enriched, low-carbon lakes is related not only to the resultant N:P ratio but also to the availability of carbon for gas-vesicle synthesis. We tested this hypothesis by determining the buoyancy responses of a highly gas-vacuolate, N₂-fixing cyanobacterium to P enrichment with and without induced C limitation. Enrichment of samples of Aphanizomenon schindleri (Kling et al. 1994) from blooms in Lake 227 with combinations of C, N, and P produced rapid buoyancy reductions in P treatments, reductions that were reversed within a generation time in treatments that included C or C and N as well as P. These responses are the first of their kind to be observed in experiments with lake populations of cyano-bacteria. The rapid buoyancy reductions were associated with polyphosphate accumulations in P-treated A. schindleri. Differences in buoyancy status after one generation time were linked to differences in relative gas vacuolation between samples treated with P only and samples treated with C and N as well as P. These results may explain the relative success of different types of cyanobacteria in newly enriched, low-carbon lakes. The availability of C for gasvesicle synthesis may determine whether a low N:P ratio induces N₂ fixation by benthic or by planktonic cyanobacteria and whether a high NP ratio leads to dominance by non-gas-vacuolate or by highly gas-vacuolate, non-N₂-fixers.     

THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES FOR THE INHIBITION OF INDUCIBLE NITRIC OXIDE SYNTHASE—POTENTIAL FOR A NOVEL CLASS OF ANTI-INFLAMMATORY AGENTS

In recent years, NO, a gas previously considered a potentially toxic chemical, has become established as a diffusible universal messenger mediating cell—cell communication throughout the body. In mammals, NO is a recognized mediator of blood vessel relaxation that helps to maintain blood pressure. In the central nervous system NO acts as a non-conventional neurotransmitter and participates in the establishment of long-term plasticity required for memory formation. In addition, NO is responsible for some parts of the host response to sepsis and inflammation and contributes to certain disease states. A number of strategies have emerged with regard to a pharmacological control of pathological NO overproductions. This review will discuss these novel therapeutic approaches that may provide new means for clinical medicine.     

Molecular phylogenetics at the population/species interface in cave spiders of the southern Appalachians (Araneae:Nesticidae:Nesticus)

This paper focuses on the relationship between population genetic structure and speciation mechanisms in a monophyletic species group of Appalachian cave spiders (Nesticus). Using mtDNA sequence data gathered from 256 individuals, I analyzed patterns of genetic variation within and between populations for three pairs of closely related sister species. Each sister-pair comparison involves taxa with differing distributional and ecological attributes; if these ecological attributes are reflected in basic demographic differences, then speciation might proceed differently across these sister taxa comparisons. Both frequency-based and gene tree analyses reveal that the genetic structure of the Nesticus species studied is characterized by similar and essentially complete population subdivision, regardless of differences in general ecology. These findings contrast with results of prior genetic studies of cave-dwelling arthropods that have typically revealed variation in population structure corresponding to differences in general ecology. Species fragmentation through both extrinsic and intrinsic evolutionary forces has resulted in discrete, perhaps independent, populations within morphologically defined species. Large sequence divergence values observed between populations suggest that this independence may extend well into the past. These patterns of mtDNA genealogical structure and divergence imply that species as morphological lineages are currently more inclusive than basal evolutionary or phylogenetic units, a suggestion that has important implications for the study of speciation mechanisms.      

Taxonomic identity determines N2 fixation by canopy trees across lowland tropical forests

Legumes capable of fixing atmospheric N₂ are abundant and diverse in many tropical forests, but the factors determining ecological patterns in fixation are unresolved. A long‐standing idea is that fixation depends on soil nutrients (N, P or Mo), but recent evidence shows that fixation may also differ among N₂‐fixing species. We sampled canopy‐height trees across five species and one species group of N₂‐fixers along a landscape P gradient, and manipulated P and Mo to seedlings in a shadehouse. Our results identify taxonomy as the major determinant of fixation, with P (and possibly Mo) only influencing fixation following tree‐fall disturbances. While 44% of trees did not fix N₂, other trees fixed at high rates, with two species functioning as superfixers across the landscape. Our results raise the possibility that fixation is determined by biodiversity, evolutionary history and species–specific traits (tree growth rate, canopy stature and response to disturbance) in the tropical biome.