Eumycetoma caused by Curvularia lunata in a dog

Curvularia lunata was cultured from black granules found in granulomatous tumefactions excised from the subcutis of a three year old Medium Schnauzer dog. Draining sinuses were present in some of the tumefactions. Accordingly the diagnosis of eumycotic mycetoma was made. This diagnosis was confirmed by histopathological examination. During the four years following the first surgical intervention, several more similar tumefactions were excised on three different occasions. The dog died of chronic renal failure at the age of 8 years. There was no bone involvement or visceral diffusion of the fungus. The granules were examined by scanning electron microscopy. Immunoglobulins in the dog's serum, assessed by a qualitative test, proved to be equal to immunoglobulins in the serum of a control dog. Precipitating antibodies against C. lunata were not found. The dog was treated for 150 days with itraconazole. In spite of good initial results, recurrence of the fungal lesions were observed after the treatment's interruption. Further treatment with itraconazole for 45 days proved ineffective. No side effects of the drug were observed. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first case in which C. lunata is identified as the causative agent of an animal eumycetoma.     

Gas dispersion in volume-cycled tube flow. I. Theory.

A mathematical theory is derived for the dispersion of a contaminant bolus introduced into a fully developed volume-cycled oscillatory pipe flow. The convection-diffusion equation is solved for a tracer gas bolus by expressing the local concentration field as a series expansion of derivatives of the area-averaged concentration. The local, as well as the area-averaged, concentration is determined for a uniform initial slug or Gaussian bolus. The effect of various flow parameters such as Womersley parameter, Schmidt number, and tidal volume is investigated. The overall dispersion is characterized by a time-averaged effective diffusion coefficient, which for long duration coincides with previous dispersion theories based on a constant linear axial concentration profile. The effective diffusion coefficient can be determined from the local time history of concentration, independent of the spatial location or the initial tracer bolus. Furthermore the local peaks of the concentration-time curve follow a decaying curve dictated by the time-averaged effective diffusion coefficient. Thus the theory is directly applicable for dispersion measurements in oscillatory tube flows, a basis for the pulmonary airways application, as shown by Gaver et al. (J. Appl. Physiol. 72: 321-331, 1992).     

Fish Gut Microbiome: Current Approaches and Future Perspectives

In recent years, investigations of microbial flora associated with fish gut have deepened our knowledge of the complex interactions occurring between microbes and host fish. The gut microbiome not only reinforces the digestive and immune systems in fish but is itself shaped by several host-associated factors. Unfortunately, in the past, majority of studies have focused upon the structure of fish gut microbiome providing little knowledge of effects of these factors distinctively and the immense functional potential of the gut microbiome. In this review, we have highlighted the recently gained insights into the diversity and functions of the fish gut microbiome. We have also delved on the current approaches that are being employed to study the fish gut microbiome with an aim to collate all the knowledge gained and make accurate conclusions for their application based perspectives. The literature reviewed indicated that the future research should shift towards functional microbiomics to improve the maximum sustainable yield in aquaculture.     

Mechanobiology of conjunctival epithelial cells exposed to wall shear stresses

Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology - The human conjunctival epithelial cells (HCEC) line the inner sides of the eyelids and the anterior part of the sclera. They include goblet cells that...     

Defensive Medicine among Obstetricians and Gynecologists in Tertiary Hospitals

Objective

To describe the daily work practice under the threat of defensive medicine among obstetricians and gynecologists.

Study Design

A prospective cross-sectional survey of obstetricians and gynecologists working at tertiary medical centers in Israel.

Results

Among the 117 obstetricians and gynecologists who participated in the survey, representing 10% of the obstetricians and gynecologists registered by the Israel Medical Association, 113 (97%) felt that their daily work practice is influenced by concern about being sued for medical negligence and not only by genuine medical considerations. As a result, 102 (87%) physicians are more likely to offer the cesarean section option, even in the absence of a clear medical indication, 70 (60%) follow court rulings concerning medical practices, and 85 (73%) physicians mentioned that discussions about medical negligence court rulings are included in their departments'' meetings.

Conclusions

Defensive medicine is a well-embedded phenomenon affecting the medical decision process of obstetricians and gynecologists.     

Detection of Vero Cells Infected with Herpes Simplex Types 1 and 2 and Varicella Zoster Viruses Using Raman Spectroscopy and Advanced Statistical Methods

Of the eight members of the herpes family of viruses, HSV1, HSV2, and varicella zoster are the most common and are mainly involved in cutaneous disorders. These viruses usually are not life-threatening, but in some cases they might cause serious infections to the eyes and the brain that can lead to blindness and possibly death. An effective drug (acyclovir and its derivatives) is available against these viruses. Therefore, early detection and identification of these viral infections is highly important for an effective treatment. Raman spectroscopy, which has been widely used in the past years in medicine and biology, was used as a powerful spectroscopic tool for the detection and identification of these viral infections in cell culture, due to its sensitivity, rapidity and reliability. Our results showed that it was possible to differentiate, with a 97% identification success rate, the uninfected Vero cells that served as a control, from the Vero cells that were infected with HSV-1, HSV-2, and VZV. For that, linear discriminant analysis (LDA) was performed on the Raman spectra after principal component analysis (PCA) with a leave one out (LOO) approach. Raman spectroscopy in tandem with PCA and LDA enable to differentiate among the different herpes viral infections of Vero cells in time span of few minutes with high accuracy rate. Understanding cell molecular changes due to herpes viral infections using Raman spectroscopy may help in early detection and effective treatment.     

Molecular understandings on ‘the never thirsty’ and apomictic <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cenchrus</Emphasis> grass

The genus Cenchrus comprises around 25 species of ‘bristle clade’ grasses. Cenchrus ciliaris (buffel grass) is a hardy, perennial range grass that survives in poor sandy soils and limiting soil moisture conditions and, due to the very same reasons, this grass is one of the most prevalent fodder grasses of the arid and semi-arid regions. Most of the germplasms of Cenchrus produce seeds asexually through the process of apomeiosis. Therefore, the lack of sufficient sexual lines has hindered the crop improvement efforts in Cenchrus being confined to simple selection methods. Many attempts have been initiated in buffel grass to investigate the various molecular aspects such as genomic signatures of different species and genotypes, molecular basis of abiotic stress tolerance and reproductive performance. Even though it is an important fodder crop, molecular investigations in Cenchrus lack focus and the molecular information available on this grass is scanty. Cenchrus is a very good gene source for abiotic stress tolerance and apomixis studies. Biotechnological interventions in Cenchrus can help in crop improvement in Cenchrus as well as other crops through transgenic technology or marker assisted selection. To date no consolidated review on biotechnological interventions in Cenchrus grass has been published. Therefore we provide a thorough and in depth review on molecular research in Cenchrus focusing on molecular signatures of evolution, tolerance to abiotic stress and apomictic reproductive mechanism.     

Deterministic Somatic Cell Reprogramming Involves Continuous Transcriptional Changes Governed by Myc and Epigenetic-Driven Modules

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