First evidence of long-distance dispersal of adult female wild boar (Sus scrofa) with piglets

Using GPS telemetry and ear tagging, we monitored wild boar sounder (a 2-year sow, a female yearling and eight piglets) captured in northern Slovenia. Five months after the capture, the sounder left its home range and first travelled 100 km west, to the three-border area between Slovenia, Austria and Italy, and from there toward southeast. The sow and three piglets were shot 2 months after start of dispersal 60 km from the capture site and in-between travelled at least 500 km. At least one piglet continued dispersal after the death of the sow, and the yearling split from the sounder during dispersal. This is the first documented case of long-distance dispersal of adult female wild boar with piglets. Several arguments suggest that long-distance dispersal of female wild boar is more common than previously reported in the literature. For wild boar and other species with predominant male dispersal, data on occasional far-dispersing females like presented here are important for understanding biology of species (e.g. metapopulations, rate of population expansion, local sex and age structure of population) and for management including control of diseases.     

Disposal of iNKT cell deficiency and an increase in expression of SLAM signaling factors characterizes sarcoidosis remission: a 4-year longitudinal study

Background

Invariant NKT (iNKT) cells are regulatory lymphocytes that may be important in disorders with increased Th1 responses. We utilized a 4-year longitudinal observational study of iNKT cells and SLAM signaling pathway factors, which are important for iNKT development in patients with newly diagnosed sarcoidosis.

Methods

Detailed clinical, functional, and radiographic evaluation and determination of iNKT peripheral blood cell counts and expression of SLAM signaling factors was carried out at presentation and after 3 months, 1 year, and 4 years of disease follow-up in 29 patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis. At presentation, we also evaluated the frequencies of pulmonary BALF iNKT cells. We also included 37 control subjects.

Results

We demonstrated a marked deficiency of blood and lung iNKT cells and decreased expression of SLAM signaling factors in patients with newly diagnosed sarcoidosis. During 4 years of disease follow-up, there was a significant increase in blood iNKT cell numbers and in expression of SLAM signaling factors, mainly SLAMF1, SLAMF6, and FYN. This increase clearly correlated with improvement in patients’ clinical symptoms. At the 4-year endpoint, the disease had gone into remission in the great majority of patients and thus also iNKT cell deficiency. Moreover, at the 4-year endpoint iNKT level reached the iNKT level of the control subjects.

Conclusions

Our longitudinal study showed that a disposal of iNKT deficiency in parallel with an increase in expression of SLAM signaling factors characterizes the clinical remission of sarcoidosis.     

High Prevalence of Multidrug Resistance and Random Distribution of Mobile Genetic Elements Among Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) of the Four Major Phylogenetic Groups

One hundred and ten UTI Escherichia coli strains, from Ljubljana, Slovenia, were analyzed for antibiotic resistances, mobile DNA elements, serotype, and phylogenetic origin. A high prevalence of drug resistance and multidrug resistance was found. Twenty-six percent of the isolates harbored a class 1 integron, while a majority of the strains (56%) harbored rep sequences characteristic of F-like plasmids. int as well as rep sequences were found to be distributed in a random manner among strains of the four major phylogenetic groups indicating that all groups have a similar tendency to acquire and maintain mobile genetic elements frequently associated with resistance determinants.     

The mitochondrial genome of stygobitic sponge Eunapius subterraneus: mtDNA is highly conserved in freshwater sponges

The complete mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genome of the Eunapius subterraneus (Porifera, Demospongiae), a unique stygobitic sponge, was analyzed and compared with previously published mitochondrial genomes from this group. The 24,850 bp long mtDNA genome is circular with the same gene composition as found in other metazoans. Intergenic regions (IGRs) comprise 24.7% of mtDNA and are abundant with direct and inverted repeats and palindromic elements as well as with open reading fames (ORFs) whose distribution and homology was compared with other available mt genomes with a special focus on freshwater sponges. Phylogenetic analyses based on concatenated amino acid sequences from 12 mt protein genes placed E. subterraneus in a well-supported monophyletic clade with the freshwater sponges, Ephydatia muelleri and Lubomirskia baicalensis. Our study showed high homology of mtDNA genomes among freshwater sponges, implying their recent split.     

Evaluation of CTLA-4 expression and relevance as a novel prognostic factor in patients with non-small cell lung cancer

The role of CTLA-4 in negative regulation of T-cell mediated immune response is particularly well established. Much less is known about its expression and function in tumour cells, and to our knowledge, no data are available on its possible impact on prognosis of NSCLC patients. We investigated CTLA-4 expression and prognostic role in 81 patients with radically resected stage I-III NSCLC. The analysis was performed by tissue microarray immunohistochemistry, and the median H-score of 20 was used as a threshold to define CTLA-4 overexpressing tumours. Correlation with standard prognostic factors was performed by using absolute and relative fold change indexes. Hazard ratios (HR) and corresponding 95% confidence limits (95% CL) were computed through the Cox model. A higher frequency of CTLA-4 overexpression (>20) was found in non-squamous than in squamous NSCLC (52.8 vs. 35.7%) and in Ki67 ≤ 15 expressing tumours, as compared to those with Ki67 > 15 (51.5 vs. 38.7%). A reduced death rate was found in CTLA-4 overexpressing tumours (HR = 0.60, 95% CL = 0.28/1.23), and a further decrease was observed when considering tumours with CTLA-4 > 20 and Ki67 ≤ 15, in comparison with tumours with CTLA-4 ≤ 20 and Ki67 > 15 (HR = 0.41; 95% CL = 0.15/1.13). Our observational and exploratory study provides a first and promising indication for an independent prognostic effect of CTLA-4 overexpression in radically resected NSCLC. We presume that this effect relies on modulation of the interaction of microscopic disease with CTLA-4-ligands expressing cells leading to NSCLC cell death.     

Causal connection of non-specific low back pain and disc degeneration in children with transitional vertebra and/or Spina bifida occulta: role of magnetic resonance--prospective study

The problem of low back pain (LBP) in children is very common and many specialists are dealing with it in everyday practice. The cause for low back pain often is not found and classified under the diagnosis of non specific low back pain. The objective of this prospective study is to determine wether children with non specific low back pain and existence of anomalies in LS spine (transitional vertebra- TV and/or Spina bifida occulta SBO) also have the degeneration of the intervertebral disc (DD) L4-L5 and/or L5-S1. This prospective study included 69 patients from 8 to 16 years of age (X 12.81) of whom 40 were male (57.97%), and 29 female (42.03%). They all were examinated in University of Zagreb, "Sestre milosrdnice" University Hospital Center, Zagreb Children's Hospital, Department of Orthopaedic, Zagreb, Croatia. The reason of their visit was non specific low back pain. Pain was measured by visual analog scale (VAS) and mean score was three, duration of pain was between two and four weeks. Also, pain was sporadic, during daytime and not connected with level of physical activity. They all have undergone an algorithm of radiological examinations. Standard AP and LL radiographs (RTG) were made, as well as magnetic resonance (MR) of LS spine and sacrum in sagittal and transversal plane in T1 and T2 weighted sequence. The anomalies of L5 and S1 were found in 65 patients: transitional vertebra classified according to Castellvi et al. and SBO. In MRI in T2 weighted sequence DD was found in 61 patients which was classified modified from Pearce. Data analysis and comparison showed that 56patients with TV and/or SBO have changes on vertebral dynamic segment L5-S1 (VDS) and that means DD. In 13 patients only DD or spinal anomaly (TV and/or SBO) were found. Correlation between anomalies and DD in those patients was established by McNemar analysis and has shown significant difference (p=0.581) in favour of the patients with anomaly and DD. This has established that all of 56 patients with spinal anomaly could have DD as known cause of LBP.     

Effect of cup inclination on predicted contact stress-induced volumetric wear in total hip replacement

In order to increase the lifetime of the total hip endoprosthesis, it is necessary to understand mechanisms leading to its failure. In this work, we address volumetric wear of the artificial cup, in particular the effect of its inclination with respect to the vertical. Volumetric wear was calculated by using mathematical models for resultant hip force, contact stress and penetration of the prosthesis head into the cup. Relevance of the dependence of volumetric wear on inclination of the cup (its abduction angle ?_A) was assessed by the results of 95 hips with implanted endoprosthesis. Geometrical parameters obtained from standard antero-posterior radiographs were taken as input data. Volumetric wear decreases with increasing cup abduction angle ?_A. The correlation within the population of 95 hips was statistically significant (P = 0.006). Large cup abduction angle minimises predicted volumetric wear but may increase the risk for dislocation of the artificial head from the cup in the one-legged stance. Cup abduction angle and direction of the resultant hip force may compensate each other to achieve optimal position of the cup with respect to wear and dislocation in the one-legged stance for a particular patient.