Biocidal effects of a wipe-down procedure using common veterinary cleansers on microbial burden within working canine exterior coats

IntroductionRecent work demonstrating reduction of aerosolized contamination via a wipe-down procedure using common veterinary antiseptics offers promise regarding health concerns associated with cross-contamination from working canines to humans. While mechanical reduction can be achieved via a wipe-down procedure, the biocidal impact on flora within the exterior coat is unknown.MethodologyThis study assessed the biocidal impact of antiseptics on the exterior bacterial community of the canine. Lint-free towels were saturated with 2% chlorhexidine gluconate scrub, or 7.5% povidone-iodine scrub diluted at a 1:4 ratio. Treatments were rotated across the dorsal aspect of kennel housed Foxhounds (n = 30). Sterile swabs were collected in triplicate prior to, and following wipe down, stored in Amies solution at 4°C, plated onto nutrient agar and reduction in colony forming units (CFU) was measured across both treatments. Statistical analysis utilizing PROC GLM examined effects of treatment (p ≤ 0.05). Molecular analysis of the 16S rRNA gene was completed for 3 hounds.ResultsReduction in CFU was measured (p < 0.001) for both antiseptics. Qualitative molecular data indicated that both antiseptics had a biocidal effect on the dominant microbial community on the exterior coat with gram-positive, spore-forming taxa predominating post-treatment.ConclusionEffective wipe-down strategies using common veterinary cleansers should be further investigated and incorporated to safeguard working canine health and prevent cross-contamination of human personnel

A canine model to evaluate the effect of exercise intensity and duration on olfactory detection limits: the running nose

Detection canines serve critical roles to support the military, homeland security and border protection. Some explosive detection tasks are physically demanding for dogs, and prior research suggests this can lead to a reduction in olfactory detection sensitivity. To further evaluate the effect of exercise intensity on olfactory sensitivity, we developed a novel olfactory paradigm that allowed us to measure olfactory detection thresholds while dogs exercised on a treadmill at two different exercise intensities. Dogs (n = 3) showed a decrement in olfactory detection for 1-bromooctane at 10−3 (v/v) dilutions and lower under greater exercise intensity. Dogs' hit rate for the lowest concentration dropped from 0.87 ± 0.04 when walking at low intensity to below 0.45 ± 0.06 when trotting at moderate intensity. This decline had an interaction with the duration of the session in moderate intensity exercise, whereby dogs performed near 100% detection in the first 10 min of the 8 km/h session, but showed 0% detection after 20 min. Hit rates for high odor concentrations (10−2) were relatively stable at both low (1 ± 0.00) and moderate (0.91 ± 0.04) exercise intensities. The paradigm and apparatus developed here may be useful to help further understand causes of operationally relevant olfactory detection threshold decline in dogs

GATA4 controls regionalization of tissue immunity and commensal-driven immunopathology

There is growing recognition that regionalization of bacterial colonization and immunity along the intestinal tract has an important role in health and disease. Yet, the mechanisms underlying intestinal regionalization and its dysregulation in disease are not well understood. This study found that regional epithelial expression of the transcription factor GATA4 controls bacterial colonization and inflammatory tissue immunity in the proximal small intestine by regulating retinol metabolism and luminal IgA. Furthermore, in mice without jejunal GATA4 expression, the commensal segmented filamentous bacteria promoted pathogenic inflammatory immune responses that disrupted barrier function and increased mortality upon Citrobacter rodentium infection. In celiac disease patients, low GATA4 expression was associated with metabolic alterations, mucosal Actinobacillus, and increased IL-17 immunity. Taken together, these results reveal broad impacts of GATA4-regulated intestinal regionalization on bacterial colonization and tissue immunity, highlighting an elaborate interdependence of intestinal metabolism, immunity, and microbiota in homeostasis and disease.</p

Autoantibodies Against Proteins Previously Associated With Autoimmunity in Adult and Pediatric Patients With COVID-19 and Children With MIS-C

The antibody profile against autoantigens previously associated with autoimmune diseases and other human proteins in patients with COVID-19 or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) remains poorly defined. Here we show that 30% of adults with COVID-19 had autoantibodies against the lung antigen KCNRG, and 34% had antibodies to the SLE-associated Smith-D3 protein. Children with COVID-19 rarely had autoantibodies; one of 59 children had GAD65 autoantibodies associated with acute onset of insulin-dependent diabetes. While autoantibodies associated with SLE/Sjögren's syndrome (Ro52, Ro60, and La) and/or autoimmune gastritis (gastric ATPase) were detected in 74% (40/54) of MIS-C patients, further analysis of these patients and of children with Kawasaki disease (KD), showed that the administration of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) was largely responsible for detection of these autoantibodies in both groups of patients. Monitoring in vivo decay of the autoantibodies in MIS-C children showed that the IVIG-derived Ro52, Ro60, and La autoantibodies declined to undetectable levels by 45-60 days, but gastric ATPase autoantibodies declined more slowly requiring >100 days until undetectable. Further testing of IgG and/or IgA antibodies against a subset of potential targets identified by published autoantigen array studies of MIS-C failed to detect autoantibodies against most (16/18) of these proteins in patients with MIS-C who had not received IVIG. However, Troponin C2 and KLHL12 autoantibodies were detected in 2 of 20 and 1 of 20 patients with MIS-C, respectively. Overall, these results suggest that IVIG therapy may be a confounding factor in autoantibody measurements in MIS-C and that antibodies against antigens associated with autoimmune diseases or other human proteins are uncommon in MIS-C

Immunopathological signatures in multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children and pediatric COVID-19

: Pediatric Coronavirus Disease 2019 (pCOVID-19) is rarely severe; however, a minority of children infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) might develop multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), with substantial morbidity. In this longitudinal multi-institutional study, we applied multi-omics (analysis of soluble biomarkers, proteomics, single-cell gene expression and immune repertoire analysis) to profile children with COVID-19 (n = 110) and MIS-C (n = 76), along with pediatric healthy controls (pHCs; n = 76). pCOVID-19 was characterized by robust type I interferon (IFN) responses, whereas prominent type II IFN-dependent and NF-κB-dependent signatures, matrisome activation and increased levels of circulating spike protein were detected in MIS-C, with no correlation with SARS-CoV-2 PCR status around the time of admission. Transient expansion of TRBV11-2 T cell clonotypes in MIS-C was associated with signatures of inflammation and T cell activation. The association of MIS-C with the combination of HLA A*02, B*35 and C*04 alleles suggests genetic susceptibility. MIS-C B cells showed higher mutation load than pCOVID-19 and pHC. These results identify distinct immunopathological signatures in pCOVID-19 and MIS-C that might help better define the pathophysiology of these disorders and guide therapy

L'evoluzione dell'assetto dell'area napoletana e lo sviluppo dei trasporti nella seconda metà del novecento

Sintetica ricostruzione dell'evoluzione dell'area metropolitana di Napoli e del suo sistema dei trasporti nella seconda metà del '900. Vengono sostenute due tesi: a) il sistema dei trasporti ha svolto una funzione catalizzatrice e spesso anticipatrice delle trasformazioni territoriali; b) l'assetto della rete dei trasporti deve la sua sostanziale razionalità, nonostante la quasi totale assenza di piani formalmente approvati, ad un processo spontaneo e colletivo che ha prodotto la sedimentazione del "sapere comune" e che solo a tratti è stato guidato e sostenuto dall'azione dei governi locali e nazionali

Intraepithelial lymphocytes in celiac disease immunopathology

Celiac disease is a T cell-mediated immune disorder induced by dietary gluten that is characterized by the development of an inflammatory anti-gluten CD4 T cell response, anti-gluten antibodies, and autoantibodies against tissue transglutaminase 2 and the activation of intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) leading to the destruction of the intestinal epithelium. Intraepithelial lymphocytes represent a heterogeneous population of T cells composed mainly of cytotoxic CD8 T cells residing within the epithelial layer, whose main role is to maintain the integrity of the epithelium by eliminating infected cells and promoting epithelial repair. Dysregulated activation of IELs is a hallmark of CD and is critically involved in epithelial cell destruction and the subsequent development of villous atrophy. In this review, we compare and contrast the phenotype and function of human and mouse small intestinal IELs under physiological conditions. Furthermore, we discuss how conditions of epithelial distress associated with overexpression of IL-15 and non-classical MHC class I molecules induce cytotoxic IELs to become licensed killer cells that upregulate activating NKG2Dand CD94/NKG2C natural killer receptors, acquiring lymphokine killer activity. Pathways leading to dysregulated IEL activation could eventually be targeted to prevent villous atrophy and treat patients who respond poorly to glutenfree diet. © Springer-Verlag 2012