Plasmodium falciparum variant erythrocyte surface antigens: a pilot study of antibody acquisition in recurrent natural infections.

BACKGROUND: During intra-erythrocytic replication Plasmodium falciparum escapes the human host immune system by switching expression of variant surface antigens (VSA). Piecemeal acquisition of variant specific antibody responses to these antigens as a result of exposure to multiple re-infections has been proposed to play a role in acquisition of naturally acquired immunity. METHODS: Immunofluorescence was used to explore the dynamics of anti-VSA IgG responses generated by children to (i) primary malaria episodes and (ii) recurrent P. falciparum infections. RESULTS: Consistent with previous studies on anti-VSA responses, sera from each child taken at the time of recovery from their respective primary infection tended to recognize their own secondary parasites poorly. Additionally, compared to patients with reinfections by parasites of new merozoite surface protein 2 (MSP2) genotypes, baseline sera sampled from patients with persistent infections (recrudescence) tended to have higher recognition of heterologous parasites. This is consistent with the prediction that anti-VSA IgG responses may play a role in promoting chronic asymptomatic infections. CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study validates the utility of recurrent natural malaria infections as a functional readout for examining the incremental acquisition of immunity to malaria

Reproduction of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia via aerosol-based challenge with Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides.

Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) is a respiratory disease caused by Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides. Infection occurs via Mycoplasma-containing droplets and therefore requires close contact between animals. The current infection models are suboptimal and based on intratracheal installation of mycoplasmas or in-contact infection. This work tested the infection of adult cattle via aerosols containing live mycoplasmas mimicking the infection of cattle in the field. Therefore, we infected six cattle with aerosolized Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides strain Afadé over seven consecutive days with altogether 109 colony forming units. All animals seroconverted between 11-24 days post infection and five out of six animals showed typical CBPP lesions. One animal did not show any lung lesions at necropsy, while another animal had to be euthanized at 25 days post infection because it reached endpoint criteria. Seroconversion confirmed successful infection and the spectrum of clinical and lesions observed mirrors epidemiological models and the field situation, in which only a fraction of animals suffers from acute clinical disease post infection

‘A storm of post-it notes’:experiences of perceptual capacity in autism and ADHD

Lab-based tasks suggest autistic people have increased perceptual capacity (i.e., process more information at any one time) compared to non-autistic people. Here, we explored whether this increase is reflected in autistic people’s day-to-day perceptual experiences and, when compared to those with ADHD/neurotypical people, whether commonalities/divergences in these experiences can illuminate differences between neurotypes. UK-based adults (108 autistic, 40 with ADHD, 79 autistic with ADHD, 85 neurotypical) completed an online survey about experiences of attention and distraction. Responses were analysed using thematic analysis. We found that participants of all neurotypes experienced periods of intense focus. Neurodivergent participants reported experiencing a barrage of information; autistic participants found this overwhelming, whereas those with ADHD referred to overload. This finding may reflect increased perceptual capacity for autistic people (adding ecological validity to previous findings regarding increased autistic perceptual capacity) vs. difficulties maintaining attentional priorities for those with ADHD. While differences between neurodivergent and neurotypical people were evident, discrepancies between experiences of neurodivergent groups were more subtle, suggesting that increased perceptual capacity may extend beyond autism. Consequently, perceptual capacity offers a useful framework to promote better understanding of one’s own perceptual experiences, and to guide strategies to ameliorate any challenges encountered

Coding neurodiverse profiles of attentional and perceptual experiences.

A content analysis of neurodiverse attentional and perceptual experiences

sj-docx-1-ndy-10.1177_27546330241229004 - Supplemental material for ‘A storm of post-it notes’: Experiences of perceptual capacity in autism and ADHD

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-ndy-10.1177_27546330241229004 for ‘A storm of post-it notes’: Experiences of perceptual capacity in autism and ADHD by Brian Irvine, Freya Elise, Jana Brinkert, Daniel Poole, Emily K. Farran, Elizabeth Milne, Gaia Scerif, Laura Crane and Anna Remington in Neurodiversity</p