An Investigation of the Ability of the Glutaraldehyde Test to Distinguish between Acute and Chronic Inflammatory Disease in Horses

The Glutaraldehyde test (GT), a rapid and inexpensive test, has been utilized empirically for many years in bovine practice for diagnosing inflammatory diseases. GT is used primarily to demonstrate increased serum concentrations of fibrinogen and globulin. Glutaraldehyde binds with free amino groups in fibrinogen and immunoglobulin to create a clot in a first degree chemical reaction. The clotting time of the GT estimates the content of proteins produced in response to inflammation. The applicability of GT for diagnosing inflammation in the horse has never been investigated. The objective of this study was to determine the ability of GT to distinguish between acute and chronic inflammatory disease in horses. Thirty-seven horses with suspected inflammatory diseases were evaluated using the GT, history, complete clinical examination and routine blood analysis. GT-times, laboratory results and clinical outcome were compared statistically. Horses that were determined to be acutely affected (based on history, clinical examination and routine blood analysis) tended to have a negative GT (75%). Results of the GT did not correlate with blood fibrinogen concentration. Positive GT also predicted a fatal outcome in 69% of the clinical cases. The results of this trial indicate that GT can be a useful screening test to distinguish between acute and chronic inflammatory disease in horses.     

d-Amino Acid Substitution of Peptide-Mediated NF-κB Suppression in mdx Mice Preserves Therapeutic Benefit in Skeletal Muscle,but Causes Kidney Toxicity

In Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) patients and the mdx mouse model of DMD, chronic activation of the classical nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) pathway contributes to the pathogenesis that causes degeneration of muscle fibers, inflammation and fibrosis. Prior studies demonstrate that inhibition of inhibitor of κB kinase (IKK)-mediated NF-κB activation using l-isomer NF-κB essential modulator (NEMO)-binding domain (NBD) peptide-based approaches reduce muscle pathology in the mdx mouse. For our studies, the NBD peptide is synthesized as a fusion peptide with an eight-lysine (8K) protein transduction domain to facilitate intracellular delivery. We hypothesized that the d-isoform peptide could have a greater effect than the naturally occurring l-isoform peptide due to the longer persistence of the d-isoform peptide in vivo. In this study, we compared systemic treatment with low (1 mg/kg) and high (10 mg/kg) doses of l- and d-isomer 8K-wild-type-NBD peptide in mdx mice. Treatment with both l- or d-isoform 8K-wild-type-NBD peptide resulted in decreased activation of NF-κB and improved histology in skeletal muscle of the mdx mouse. However, we observed kidney toxicity (characterized by proteinuria), increased serum creatinine, activation of NF-κB and pathological changes in kidney cortex that were most severe with treatment with the d-isoform of 8K-wild-type-NBD peptide. The observed toxicity was also seen in normal mice.     

7th SOSORT consensus paper: conservative treatment of idiopathic & Scheuermann's kyphosis

Abstract

Thoracic hyperkyphosis is a frequent problem and can impact greatly on patient's quality of life during adolescence. This condition can be idiopathic or secondary to Scheuermann disease, a disease disturbing vertebral growth. To date, there is no sound scientific data available on the management of this condition. Some studies discuss the effects of bracing, however no guidelines, protocols or indication's of treatment for this condition were found. The aim of this paper was to develop and verify the consensus on managing thoracic hyperkyphosis patients treated with braces and/or physiotherapy.

Methods

The Delphi process was utilised in four steps gradually modified according to the results of a set of recommendations: we involved the SOSORT Board twice, then all SOSORT members twice, with a Pre-Meeting Questionnaire (PMQ), and during a Consensus Session at the SOSORT Lyon Meeting with a Meeting Questionnaire (MQ).

Results

There was an unanimous agreement on the general efficacy of bracing and physiotherapy for this condition. Most experts suggested the use of 4-5 point bracing systems, however there was some controversy with regards to physiotherapeutic aims and modalities.

Conclusion

The SOSORT panel of experts suggest the use of rigid braces and physiotherapy to correct thoracic hyperkyphosis during adolescence. The evaluation of specific braces and physiotherapy techniques has been recommended.     

First record of a spiral form of Aulacoseira,A. ambigua f. japonica (F.Meister) Tuji & D.M.Williams,in South African fresh waters

Water quality and algal populations in the Vaal River Barrage Reservoir have been monitored extensively for many decades, because of its importance as a water source for the most densely populated area in South Africa. Although Aulacoseira granulata (Ehrenberg) Simonsen is frequently found and at it times dominates algal assemblages in the Barrage, Aulacoseira ambigua (F.Meister) Tuji & D.M.Williams has never before been recorded at this locality. During a countrywide proficiency-testing scheme for algae counting, coordinated by Rand Water, spiral-shaped diatom colonies with distinctly curved cells were detected during May 2015. Upon investigation, it was found that the spiral colonies were Aulacoseira ambigua f. japonica, its presence in the fresh waters of South Africa being recorded for the first time. Since their first appearance during May 2015, colonies of Aulacoseira ambigua f. japonica have been constantly present in the surface waters of the Barrage. Their presence at this site can be linked to increasing eutrophication in the Vaal River, because the spiral form is known to prefer eutrophic conditions. Centric diatoms rarely form spiral colonies and there is some confusion in the literature as to the identity of this particular form, therefore in this paper we discuss this taxon, its nomenclature and ecological significance.     

Structure and organization of the bovine beta-globin genes

Genomic clones spanning the entire cow beta-globin gene locus have been isolated and characterized. These clones demonstrate that the linkage of embryonic-like (epsilon) genes and pseudogenes (psi) to the previously described fetal (gamma) and adult (beta) genes is as follows: 5'-epsilon 3-epsilon 4-psi 3-beta-epsilon 1-epsilon 2-psi 1- psi 2-gamma-3'. Present data indicate that, like that of the goat, the fetal and adult genes arose via block duplication of an ancestral four- gene set: epsilon-epsilon-psi-beta. This duplication event preceded the divergence of cows and goats, which occurred greater than or equal to 18-20 Myr ago. However, cows do not have the additional four-gene block containing a preadult/stress globin gene (beta C). Furthermore, the cow fetal cluster contains an extra beta-like pseudogene, which apparently arose by a small-scale duplication. The fixation of this duplication may indicate a possible evolutionary role for pseudogenes.      

Microsatellite allele frequencies in humans and chimpanzees, with implications for constraints on allele size

The distributions of allele sizes at eight simple-sequence repeat (SSR) or microsatellite loci in chimpanzees are found and compared with the distributions previously obtained from several human populations. At several loci, the differences in average allele size between chimpanzees and humans are sufficiently small that there might be a constraint on the evolution of average allele size. Furthermore, a model that allows for a bias in the mutation process shows that for some loci a weak bias can account for the observations. Several alleles at one of the loci (Mfd 59) were sequenced. Differences between alleles of different lengths were found to be more complex than previously assumed. An 8-base-pair deletion was present in the nonvariable region of the chimpanzee locus. This locus contains a previously unrecognized repeated region, which is imperfect in humans and perfect in chimpanzees. The apparently greater opportunity for mutation conferred by the two perfect repeat regions in chimpanzees is reflected in the higher variance in repeat number at Mfd 59 in chimpanzees than in humans. These data indicate that interspecific differences in allele length are not always attributable to simple changes in the number of repeats.      

Analysis of the pH requirement for membrane fusion of different isolates of the paramyxovirus parainfluenza virus 5

Paramyxoviruses enter cells by fusing their envelopes with the plasma membrane, a process that occurs at neutral pH. Recently, it has been found that there is an exception to this dogma in that a porcine isolate of the paramyxovirus parainfluenza virus 5 (PIV5), known as SER, requires a low-pH step for fusion (S. Seth, A. Vincent, and R. W. Compans, J. Virol. 77: 6520-6527, 2003). As a low-pH activation mechanism for fusion would greatly facilitate biophysical studies of paramyxovirus-mediated membrane fusion, we have reexamined the triggering of the PIV5 SER fusion protein. Using multiple assays, we could not find a requirement for low-pH triggering of PIV5 SER fusion. The challenge of discovering how the paramyxovirus receptor binding protein (HN, H, or G) activates the metastable fusion protein to cause membrane fusion at neutral pH remains.     

Experimental evaluation of the relationship between lethal or non-lethal virulence and transmission success in malaria parasite infections

Background  

Evolutionary theory suggests that the selection pressure on parasites to maximize their transmission determines their optimal host exploitation strategies and thus their virulence. Establishing the adaptive basis to parasite life history traits has important consequences for predicting parasite responses to public health interventions. In this study we examine the extent to which malaria parasites conform to the predicted adaptive trade-off between transmission and virulence, as defined by mortality. The majority of natural infections, however, result in sub-lethal virulent effects (e.g. anaemia) and are often composed of many strains. Both sub-lethal effects and pathogen population structure have been theoretically shown to have important consequences for virulence evolution. Thus, we additionally examine the relationship between anaemia and transmission in single and mixed clone infections.