Molekularni dokaz vrste Ehrlichia canis u uzorcima krvi prirodno zaraženih pasa u Indiji

The nested PCR assay for the detection of 16S rRNA gene fragment of Ehrlichia canis from the blood of dogs was standardized for the first time in India. The genus-specific primers amplified a 477 bp band of Ehrlichia sp. in the first PCR. The nested PCR assay using species-specific primers produced a 387 bp band of E. canis. The nested PCR detected E. canis organisms in 50% of samples as against the routine blood smear examination, which revealed morulae in only 19.38% of samples. This protocol could detect the presence of E. canis, even one month after specific antibiotic therapy.Ugniježđena lančana reakcija polimerazom za dokaz odsječka gena 16S rRNA vrste Ehrlichia canis uzoraka krvi pasa standardizirana je prvi put u Indiji. U prvom krugu lančane reakcije polimerazom umnožene su bile početnice od 477 baznih parova specifične za rod Ehrlichia. Postupkom ugniježđene PCR upotrebom vrstno specifičnih početnica umnožen je odsječak gena E. canis od 387 baznih parova. Ugniježđenom lančanom reakcijom polimerazom vrsta E. canis mogla se dokazati u 50% uzoraka u odnosu na rutinske pretrage razmazaka krvi pomoću kojih su se morule mogle dokazati samo u 19,38% uzoraka. Ugniježđenom lančanom reakcijom polimerazom mogla se dokazati prisutnost E. canis čak do mjesec dana nakon specifičnoga liječenja antibioticima

Molekularni dokaz vrste Ehrlichia canis u uzorcima krvi prirodno zaraženih pasa u Indiji

The nested PCR assay for the detection of 16S rRNA gene fragment of Ehrlichia canis from the blood of dogs was standardized for the first time in India. The genus-specific primers amplified a 477 bp band of Ehrlichia sp. in the first PCR. The nested PCR assay using species-specific primers produced a 387 bp band of E. canis. The nested PCR detected E. canis organisms in 50% of samples as against the routine blood smear examination, which revealed morulae in only 19.38% of samples. This protocol could detect the presence of E. canis, even one month after specific antibiotic therapy.Ugniježđena lančana reakcija polimerazom za dokaz odsječka gena 16S rRNA vrste Ehrlichia canis uzoraka krvi pasa standardizirana je prvi put u Indiji. U prvom krugu lančane reakcije polimerazom umnožene su bile početnice od 477 baznih parova specifične za rod Ehrlichia. Postupkom ugniježđene PCR upotrebom vrstno specifičnih početnica umnožen je odsječak gena E. canis od 387 baznih parova. Ugniježđenom lančanom reakcijom polimerazom vrsta E. canis mogla se dokazati u 50% uzoraka u odnosu na rutinske pretrage razmazaka krvi pomoću kojih su se morule mogle dokazati samo u 19,38% uzoraka. Ugniježđenom lančanom reakcijom polimerazom mogla se dokazati prisutnost E. canis čak do mjesec dana nakon specifičnoga liječenja antibioticima

What contributes to wellbeing gains – proficiency or duration of meditation related practices?

Several studies have shown physical and mental health benefits associated with different schools of meditation. However, reviews have recommended interpretation of study outcomes in the context of school specific traditional practices. In the literature, practice proficiency is often conflated with hours or years of meditation practice and it is difficult to attribute wellbeing gains directly to the proficiency of practice. We carried out two studies to examine wellbeing, practice proficiency, and duration of practice amongst Brahma Kumaris Rajayoga (BKRY) practitioners from India. In Study 1, we surveyed participants (n = 1009) to record the socio-demographics, spiritual lifestyle components, and wellbeing enhancement attributed to their spiritual practice. We developed new measures for evaluating proficiency of BKRY practice and for assessment of progress in wellbeing attributed to BKRY practice. Both measures had high internal consistency scores (alphas 0.95, 0.93). Block-wise hierarchical linear regression analysis showed that after accounting for demographic variables, BKRY practice proficiency strongly predicted progress in wellbeing, explaining over 51.6% of the total variance. In Study 2, we took three well-matched groups (n = 86) that were distinct on the basis of duration of practice (long term, short term and zero term). We examined wellbeing differences in these three groups and the extent of correlation of wellbeing with practice proficiency, progress in wellbeing and duration of practice. We conclude that meditation practice does improve wellbeing and that proficiency of practice is better correlated with most aspects of wellbeing than duration of practice but there are a few aspects of wellbeing that increase with sustained practice over a long time. We recommend that studies involving other schools of spiritual/religious practice incorporate tradition-specific proficiency assessment (instead of using years of practice as a proxy) and also use the Progress in Wellbeing scale for assessing practice-aided improvements in wellbeing

Practice and proficiency of Isha Yoga for better mental health outcomes: insights from a COVID-19 survey

IntroductionThe COVID-19 pandemic has brought about unparalleled suffering on a global scale, affecting both physical and mental well-being. In such challenging times, it becomes crucial to identify interventions that can alleviate negative mental health outcomes, such as stress, while promoting positive mental health outcomes, like well-being. We report the effectiveness of a mind–body practise, Isha Yoga, in promoting well-being.MethodsWe conducted an online survey, during the COVID-19 pandemic, with Yoga practitioners (n = 1,352) from the Isha Yoga tradition in Karnataka, India. We evaluated stress and well-being attributes using conventional psychometric questionnaires. Subsequently, we requested the Isha Yoga practitioners to share another survey with their friends and family members, assessing similar outcomes. From the respondents of this shared survey (n = 221), we identified individuals who currently did not engage in any form of Yoga or meditation, constituting the non-Yoga control group (n = 110). To enhance the reliability and validity of our study and minimize the limitations commonly associated with online surveys, we adhered to the CHERRIES guidelines for reporting survey studies.ResultsIsha Yoga practitioners had significantly lower levels of stress (p < 0.001, gHedges = 0.94) and mental distress (p < 0.001, gHedges = 0.75) while reporting significantly higher levels of well-being (p < 0.001, gHedges = 0.78) and affective balance (p < 0.001, gHedges = 0.80) compared to the control group. Furthermore, expertise-related improvements were observed in these outcomes, and a dose–response relationship was found between regularity of Isha Yoga practice and outcome changes. A minimum 3–4 days of weekly practice showed significant differences with the control group. In addition, we investigated the effect of Isha Yoga on stress and well-being among the healthcare workers (HCWs) in our sample and observed better mental health outcomes.DiscussionThese findings collectively underscore the benefits of Mind and Body practices like Isha Yoga on various aspects of mental health and well-being, emphasizing its potential as an effective and holistic approach for promoting a healthy lifestyle among diverse populations, including healthcare workers, even in difficult circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic

An Ixodes scapularis protein required for survival of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in tick salivary glands

Anaplasma phagocytophilum is the agent of human anaplasmosis, the second most common tick-borne illness in the United States. This pathogen, which is closely related to obligate intracellular organisms in the genera Rickettsia, Ehrlichia, and Anaplasma, persists in ticks and mammalian hosts; however, the mechanisms for survival in the arthropod are not known. We now show that A. phagocytophilum induces expression of the Ixodes scapularis salp16 gene in the arthropod salivary glands during vector engorgement. RNA interference–mediated silencing of salp16 gene expression interfered with the survival of A. phagocytophilum that entered ticks fed on A. phagocytophilum–infected mice. A. phagocytophilum migrated normally from A. phagocytophilum–infected mice to the gut of engorging salp16-deficient ticks, but up to 90% of the bacteria that entered the ticks were not able to successfully infect I. scapularis salivary glands. These data demonstrate the specific requirement of a pathogen for a tick salivary protein to persist within the arthropod and provide a paradigm for understanding how Rickettsia-like pathogens are maintained within vectors

Calcium-activated potassium channels mediated blood-brain tumor barrier opening in a rat metastatic brain tumor model

BACKGROUND: The blood-brain tumor barrier (BTB) impedes the delivery of therapeutic agents to brain tumors. While adequate delivery of drugs occurs in systemic tumors, the BTB limits delivery of anti-tumor agents into brain metastases. RESULTS: In this study, we examined the function and regulation of calcium-activated potassium (K(Ca)) channels in a rat metastatic brain tumor model. We showed that intravenous infusion of NS1619, a K(Ca )channel agonist, and bradykinin selectively enhanced BTB permeability in brain tumors, but not in normal brain. Iberiotoxin, a K(Ca )channel antagonist, significantly attenuated NS1619-induced BTB permeability increase. We found K(Ca )channels and bradykinin type 2 receptors (B2R) expressed in cultured human metastatic brain tumor cells (CRL-5904, non-small cell lung cancer, metastasized to brain), human brain microvessel endothelial cells (HBMEC) and human lung cancer brain metastasis tissues. Potentiometric assays demonstrated the activity of K(Ca )channels in metastatic brain tumor cells and HBMEC. Furthermore, we detected higher expression of K(Ca )channels in the metastatic brain tumor tissue and tumor capillary endothelia as compared to normal brain tissue. Co-culture of metastatic brain tumor cells and brain microvessel endothelial cells showed an upregulation of K(Ca )channels, which may contribute to the overexpression of K(Ca )channels in tumor microvessels and selectivity of BTB opening. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that K(Ca )channels in metastatic brain tumors may serve as an effective target for biochemical modulation of BTB permeability to enhance selective delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs to metastatic brain tumors

Rural Indian tribal communities: an emerging high-risk group for HIV/AIDS

BACKGROUND: Rural Indian tribes are anthropologically distinct with unique cultures, traditions and practices. Over the years, displacement and rapid acculturation of this population has led to dramatic changes in their socio-cultural and value systems. Due to a poor health infrastructure, high levels of poverty and ignorance, these communities are highly vulnerable to various health problems, especially, communicable diseases including HIV/AIDS. Our study sought to assess knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding sexuality, and the risk factors associated with the spread of HIV/AIDS and STDs among these communities. METHODS: A nested cross sectional study was undertaken as part of the on going Reproductive and Child Health Survey. A total of 5,690 participants age 18–44 were recruited for this study. Data were obtained through home interviews, and focused on socio-demographics, knowledge, attitudes and behaviors regarding sexuality, HIV/AIDS and other STDs. RESULTS: The study revealed that only 22% of adults had even heard of AIDS, and 18 % knew how it is transmitted. In addition, only 5% knew that STDs and AIDS were related to each other. AIDS awareness among women was lower compared to men (14% vs.30 %). Regarding sexual practices, 35% of the respondents reported having had extramarital sexual encounters, with more males than females reporting extramarital affairs. CONCLUSION: Lack of awareness, permissiveness of tribal societies for premarital or extra-marital sexual relationships, and sexual mixing patterns predispose these communities to HIV/AIDS and STD infections. There is a dire need for targeted interventions in order to curtail the increasing threat of HIV and other STDs among these vulnerable populations

Hospital length of stay for COVID-19 patients: Data-driven methods for forward planning.

From Europe PMC via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: ppub 2021-07-01, epub 2021-07-22Publication status: PublishedFunder: Medical Research Council; Grant(s): MR/R502236/1Funder: Royal Society; Grant(s): 202562/Z/16/Z, INF/R2/180067BackgroundPredicting hospital length of stay (LoS) for patients with COVID-19 infection is essential to ensure that adequate bed capacity can be provided without unnecessarily restricting care for patients with other conditions. Here, we demonstrate the utility of three complementary methods for predicting LoS using UK national- and hospital-level data.MethodOn a national scale, relevant patients were identified from the COVID-19 Hospitalisation in England Surveillance System (CHESS) reports. An Accelerated Failure Time (AFT) survival model and a truncation corrected method (TC), both with underlying Weibull distributions, were fitted to the data to estimate LoS from hospital admission date to an outcome (death or discharge) and from hospital admission date to Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission date. In a second approach we fit a multi-state (MS) survival model to data directly from the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT). We develop a planning tool that uses LoS estimates from these models to predict bed occupancy.ResultsAll methods produced similar overall estimates of LoS for overall hospital stay, given a patient is not admitted to ICU (8.4, 9.1 and 8.0 days for AFT, TC and MS, respectively). Estimates differ more significantly between the local and national level when considering ICU. National estimates for ICU LoS from AFT and TC were 12.4 and 13.4 days, whereas in local data the MS method produced estimates of 18.9 days.ConclusionsGiven the complexity and partiality of different data sources and the rapidly evolving nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is most appropriate to use multiple analysis methods on multiple datasets. The AFT method accounts for censored cases, but does not allow for simultaneous consideration of different outcomes. The TC method does not include censored cases, instead correcting for truncation in the data, but does consider these different outcomes. The MS method can model complex pathways to different outcomes whilst accounting for censoring, but cannot handle non-random case missingness. Overall, we conclude that data-driven modelling approaches of LoS using these methods is useful in epidemic planning and management, and should be considered for widespread adoption throughout healthcare systems internationally where similar data resources exist