Urinary excretion of a novel hexasaccharide and glycopeptide analogue in fucosidosis.

Repeated Biogel P6 chromatography of the urine from a patient with fucosidosis yielded several fractions containing fucosyloligosaccharides and glycopeptides. Two of these were shown by ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H-n.m.r.) spectroscopy and permethylation analysis to have the following structures respectively: (I) αfuc (1→3) [βgal (1→4)] βglcNAc (1→2) αman ($\text{1→}\text{3}\text{6}$) βman (1→4) glcNAc and (II) αfuc (1→3) [βgal (1→4)] βglcNAc (1→2) αman ($\text{1→}\text{3}\text{6}$) βman (1→4) βglcNAc (1→4) [αfuc ($\text{1→}\text{3}\text{6}$)] βglcNAc-Asn.     

A chromosome‐level genome assembly reveals the genetic basis of cold tolerance in a notorious rice insect pest,Chilo suppressalis

The rice stem borer, Chilo suppressalis, is one of the most damaging insect pests to rice production worldwide. Although C. suppressalis has been the focus of numerous studies examining cold tolerance and diapause, plant–insect interactions, pesticide targets and resistance, and the development of RNAi‐mediated pest management, the absence of a high‐quality genome has limited deeper insights. To address this limitation, we generated a draft C. suppressalis genome constructed from both Illumina and PacBio sequences. The assembled genome size was 824.35 Mb with a contig N₅₀ of 307 kb and a scaffold N₅₀ of 1.75 Mb. Hi‐C scaffolding assigned 99.2% of the bases to one of 29 chromosomes. Based on universal single‐copy orthologues (BUSCO), the draft genome assembly was estimated to be 97% complete and is predicted to encompass 15,653 protein‐coding genes. Cold tolerance is an extreme survival strategy found in animals. However, little is known regarding the genetic basis of the winter ecology of C. suppressalis. Here, we focused our orthologous analysis on those gene families associated with animal cold tolerance. Our finding provided the first genomic evidence revealing specific cold‐tolerant strategies in C. suppressalis, including those involved in glucose‐originated glycerol biosynthesis, triacylglycerol‐originated glycerol biosynthesis, fatty acid synthesis and trehalose transport‐intermediate cold tolerance. The high‐quality C. suppressalis genome provides a valuable resource for research into a broad range of areas in molecular ecology, and subsequently benefits developing modern pest control strategies.     

Noisy Interlimb Coordination Can Be a Main Cause of Freezing of Gait in Patients with Little to No Parkinsonism

Freezing of gait in patients with Parkinson’s disease is associated with several factors, including interlimb incoordination and impaired gait cycle regulation. Gait analysis in patients with Parkinson’s disease is confounded by parkinsonian symptoms such as rigidity. To understand the mechanisms underlying freezing of gait, we compared gait patterns during straight walking between 9 patients with freezing of gait but little to no parkinsonism (freezing patients) and 11 patients with Parkinson’s disease (non-freezing patients). Wireless sensors were used to detect foot contact and toe-off events, and the step phase of each foot contact was calculated by defining one stride cycle of the other leg as 360°. Phase-resetting analysis was performed, whereby the relation between the step phase of one leg and the subsequent phase change in the following step of the other leg was quantified using regression analysis. A small slope of the regression line indicates a forceful correction (phase reset) at every step of the deviation of step phase from the equilibrium phase, usually at around 180°. The slope of this relation was smaller in freezing patients than in non-freezing patients, but the slope exhibited larger step-to-step variability. This indicates that freezing patients executed a forceful but noisy correction of the deviation of step phase, whereas non-freezing patients made a gradual correction of the deviation. Moreover, freezing patients tended to show more variable step phase and stride time than non-freezing patients. Dynamics of a model of two coupled oscillators interacting through a phase resetting mechanism were examined, and indicated that the deterioration of phase reset by noise provoked variability in step phase and stride time. That is, interlimb coordination can affect regulation of the gait cycle. These results suggest that noisy interlimb coordination, which probably caused forceful corrections of step phase deviation, can be a cause of freezing of gait.     

Factors Associated with Nursing Home Placement of All Patients Admitted for Inpatient Rehabilitation in Singapore Community Hospitals from 1996 to 2005: A Disease Stratified Analysis

Objectives

To (1) identify social and rehabilitation predictors of nursing home placement, (2) investigate the association between effectiveness and efficiency in rehabilitation and nursing home placement of patients admitted for inpatient rehabilitation from 1996 to 2005 by disease in Singapore.

Design

National data were retrospectively extracted from medical records of community hospital.

Data Sources

There were 12,506 first admissions for rehabilitation in four community hospitals. Of which, 8,594 (90.3%) patients were discharged home and 924 (9.7%) patients were discharged to a nursing home. Other discharge destinations such as sheltered home (n = 37), other community hospital (n = 31), death in community hospital (n = 12), acute hospital (n = 1,182) and discharge against doctor’s advice (n = 24) were excluded.

Outcome Measure

Nursing home placement.

Results

Those who were discharged to nursing home had 33% lower median rehabilitation effectiveness and 29% lower median rehabilitation efficiency compared to those who were discharged to nursing homes. Patients discharged to nursing homes were significantly older (mean age: 77 vs. 73 years), had lower mean Bathel Index scores (40 vs. 48), a longer median length of stay (40 vs. 33 days) and a longer time to rehabilitation (19 vs. 15 days), had a higher proportion without a caregiver (28 vs. 7%), being single (21 vs. 7%) and had dementia (23 vs. 10%). Patients admitted for lower limb amputation or falls had an increased odds of being discharged to a nursing home by 175% (p<0.001) and 65% (p = 0.043) respectively compared to stroke patients.

Conclusions

In our study, the odds of nursing home placement was found to be increased in Chinese, males, single or widowed or separated/divorced, patients in high subsidy wards for hospital care, patients with dementia, without caregivers, lower functional scores at admission, lower rehabilitation effectiveness or efficiency at discharge and primary diagnosis groups such as fractures, lower limb amputation and falls in comparison to strokes.     

Noise Exposure and Hearing Impairment among Chinese Restaurant Workers and Entertainment Employees in Hong Kong

Background

Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is a major concern in the non-manufacturing industries. This study aimed to investigate the occupational noise exposure and the NIHL among Chinese restaurant workers and entertainment employees working in the service industry in Hong Kong.

Methods

This cross-sectional survey involved a total of 1,670 participants. Among them, 937 were randomly selected from the workers of Chinese restaurants and 733 were selected from workers in three entertainment sectors: radio and television stations; cultural performance halls or auditoria of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD); and karaoke bars. Noise exposure levels were measured in the sampled restaurants and entertainment sectors. Each participant received an audiometric screening test. Those who were found to have abnormalities were required to take another diagnostic test in the health center. The “Klockhoff digit” method was used to classify NIHL in the present study.

Results

The main source of noise inside restaurants was the stoves. The mean hearing thresholds showed a typical dip at 3 to 6 KHz and a substantial proportion (23.7%) of the workers fulfilled the criteria for presumptive NIHL. For entertainment sectors, employees in radio and television stations generally had higher exposure levels than those in the halls or auditoria of the LCSD and karaoke bars. The mean hearing thresholds showed a typical dip at 6 KHz and a substantial proportion of the employees fulfilled the criteria for presumptive NIHL (38.6%, 95%CI: 35.1–42.1%). Being male, older, and having longer service and daily alcohol consumption were associated with noise-induced hearing impairment both in restaurant workers and entertainment employees.

Conclusion

Excessive noise exposure is common in the Chinese restaurant and entertainment industries and a substantial proportion of restaurant workers and entertainment employees suffer from NIHL. Comprehensive hearing conservation programs should be introduced to the service industry in Hong Kong.     

Inhibition of Megakaryocyte Development in the Bone Marrow Underlies Dengue Virus-Induced Thrombocytopenia in Humanized Mice

A characteristic clinical feature of dengue virus infection is thrombocytopenia, though its underlying mechanism is not definitively determined. By adoptive transfer of human CD34⁺ fetal liver cells into immunodeficient mice, we have constructed humanized mice with significant levels of human platelets, monocytes/macrophages, and hepatocytes. Infection of these mice with both lab-adapted and clinical strains of dengue virus induces characteristic human hematological changes, including transient leukopenia and thrombocytopenia. We show that the specific depletion of human platelets is not mediated by antibodies in the periphery or reduced production of human thrombopoietin in the liver but reduction of human megakaryocytes and megakaryocyte progenitors in the bone marrow of the infected mice. These findings identify inhibition of platelet production in the bone marrow as a key mechanism underlying dengue-induced thrombocytopenia and suggest the utility of the improved humanized mouse model in studying dengue virus infection and pathogenesis in a human cell context.