Skeletal evidence of tuberculosis in a modern identified human skeletal collection (Certosa cemetery,Bologna, Italy)

The diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) in osteoarcheological series relies on the identification of osseous lesions caused by the disease. The study of identified skeletal collections provides the opportunity to investigate the distribution of skeletal lesions in relation to this disease. The aim of this study was to examine the skeletal evidence for TB in late adolescent and adult individuals from the identified human collection of the Certosa cemetery of Bologna (Italy, 19th–20th c.). The sample group consists of 244 individuals (138 males, 106 females) ranging from 17 to 88 years of age. The sample was divided into three groups on the basis of the recorded cause of death: TB (N = 64), pulmonary non‐TB (N = 29), and other diseases (N = 151). Skeletal lesions reported to be related to TB were analyzed. The vertebral lesions were classified into three types: enlarged foramina (EnF, vascular foramina with diameter of 3–5 mm), erosions (ER), and other foramina (OtF, cavities of various shapes > 3 mm). A CT scan analysis was also performed on vertebral bodies. Some lesions were seldom present in our sample (e.g., tuberculous arthritis). OtF (23.7%) and subperiosteal new bone formation on ribs (54.2%) are significantly more frequent in the TB group with respect to the other groups. The CT scan analysis showed that the vertebrae of individuals who have died of TB may have internal cavities in the absence of external lesions. These traits represent useful elements in the paleopathological diagnosis of TB. Am J Phys Anthropol 157:389–401, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The risk for depression in patients with ankylosing spondylitis: a population-based cohort study

Introduction

Depression is frequent in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients. However, epidemiological data about the potential increase in risk are lacking. This study compares the rate of doctor-diagnosed depression in a well defined cohort of AS patients to the general population seeking care.

Methods

The Skåne Healthcare Register comprises healthcare data of each resident in Region Skåne, Sweden (population 1.2 million), including ICD-10 diagnoses. Using physician coded consultation data from years 1999 to 2011, we calculated depression consultation rates for all AS patients. We obtained standardized depression-rate ratios by dividing the observed depression rate in AS patients by the expected rate based on the corresponding age- and sex-specific rates of depression in the general population seeking care. A ratio >1 equals a higher rate of depression among AS patients.

Results

The AS cohort consisted of 1738 subjects (65% men) with a mean age of 54 years. The reference population consisted of 967,012 subjects. During the 13-year observation period 10% (n = 172) of the AS cohort had a doctor-diagnosed depression compared to 6% (n = 105) to be expected. The standardized estimate of depression-rate ratio was 1.81 (95% confidence interval 1.44 to 2.24) in women men and 1.49 (1.20 to 1.89) in men.

Conclusions

The rate of doctor-diagnosed depression is increased about 80% in female and 50% in male AS patients. Future challenges are to timely identify and treat the AS patients who suffer from depression.     

A novel liver specific isoform of the rat LAR transcript is expressed as a truncated isoform encoded from a 5'UTR located within intron 11

Background  

The leukocyte common antigen related receptor (LAR) protein has been shown to modulate the signal transduction of a number of different growth factors, including insulin and insulin-like growth factor 1. Splice variants exhibit differing roles and are expressed according to tissue type and developmental stage.     

Enterococcal surface protein Esp is not essential for cell adhesion and intestinal colonization of Enterococcus faecium in mice

Background  

Enterococcus faecium has globally emerged as a cause of hospital-acquired infections with high colonization rates in hospitalized patients. The enterococcal surface protein Esp, identified as a potential virulence factor, is specifically linked to nosocomial clonal lineages that are genetically distinct from indigenous E. faecium strains. To investigate whether Esp facilitates bacterial adherence and intestinal colonization of E. faecium, we used human colorectal adenocarcinoma cells (Caco-2 cells) and an experimental colonization model in mice.     

PERMANENT GENETIC RESOURCES: Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci in the Mediterranean shore crab Carcinus aestuarii (Decapoda, Portunidae)

We characterized nine polymorphic microsatellites in the Mediterranean shore crab Carcinus aestuarii (Decapoda: Portunidae). Microsatellites were isolated from a partial genomic library enriched for multiple motifs. All loci were polymorphic, with number of alleles ranging from two to 16 and a mean observed heterozygosity of 0.75. Seven loci were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, and two showed weak heterozygote deficiency. No linkage disequilibrium was found between loci. In addition, we tested Hardy-Weinberg and linkage equilibrium of three Carcinus maenas loci, already reported to cross-amplify in C. aestuarii. These molecular markers will be potentially useful to investigate genetic structure of this species.