Vaccination Coverage and Prevalence of Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (1999 - 2008) in Two Transboundary States of North-Western Nigeria

Nigerian Veterinary Journal, Vol. 32(3): 2011; 169 - 17

Spatiotemporal in vivo tracking of polyclonal human regulatory T cells (Tregs) reveals a role for innate immune cells in Treg transplant recruitment

Supplemental information is available online at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2329050120302515#appsec2 .Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are emerging as a new cell-based therapy in solid organ transplantation. Adoptive transfer of Tregs has been shown preclinically to protect from graft rejection, and the safety of Treg therapy has been demonstrated in clinical trials. Despite these successes, the in vivo distribution and persistence of adoptively transferred Tregs remained elusive, which hampers clinical translation. Here we isolated human Tregs using a GMP-compatible protocol and lentivirally transduced them with the human sodium iodide symporter to render them traceable in vivo by radionuclide imaging. Engineered human Tregs were characterized for phenotype, survival, suppressive capacity, and reporter function. To study their trafficking behavior, they were subsequently administered to humanized mice with human skin transplants. Traceable Tregs were quantified in skin grafts by non-invasive nano-single-photon emission computed tomography (nanoSPECT)/computed tomography (CT) for up to 40 days, and the results were validated ex vivo. Using this approach, we demonstrated that Treg trafficking to skin grafts was regulated by the presence of recipient Gr-1+ innate immune cells. We demonstrated the utility of radionuclide reporter gene-afforded quantitative Treg in vivo tracking, addressing a fundamental need in Treg therapy development and offering a clinically compatible methodology for future Treg therapy imaging in humans.This work was supported by the British Heart Foundation (RG/13/12/30395), the MRC Centre for Transplantation at King's College London (MR/J006742/1), Cancer Research UK (C48390/A21153), and the Wellcome/EPSRC Centre for Medical Engineering (WT203148/Z/16/Z). This research was funded/supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre based at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London and/or the NIHR Clinical Research Facility

Clinical characteristics and risk factors for septic shock in patients receiving emergency drainage for acute pyelonephritis with upper urinary tract calculi

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Acute pyelonephritis (APN) is a common complication of ureteral obstruction caused by urolithiasis, and it can be lethal if it progresses to septic shock. We investigated the clinical characteristics of patients undergoing emergency drainage and assessed risk factors for septic shock.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A retrospective study was performed of 98 patients (101 events) requiring emergency drainage at our urology department for obstructive APN associated with upper urinary tract calculi from January 2003 to January 2011. Clinical characteristics were summarized, and risk factors for septic shock were assessed by logistic regression analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Objective evidence of sepsis was found in 64 (63.4%) events, and 21 events (20.8%) were categorized as septic shock. Ninety-six patients recovered, but 2 patients died of septic shock. Multivariate analysis revealed that age and the presence of paralysis were independent risk factors for septic shock.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>APN associated with upper urinary tract calculi is a severe disease that should be treated with caution, particularly when risk factors are present.</p

Integrating protein-protein interactions and text mining for protein function prediction

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Functional annotation of proteins remains a challenging task. Currently the scientific literature serves as the main source for yet uncurated functional annotations, but curation work is slow and expensive. Automatic techniques that support this work are still lacking reliability. We developed a method to identify conserved protein interaction graphs and to predict missing protein functions from orthologs in these graphs. To enhance the precision of the results, we furthermore implemented a procedure that validates all predictions based on findings reported in the literature.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Using this procedure, more than 80% of the GO annotations for proteins with highly conserved orthologs that are available in UniProtKb/Swiss-Prot could be verified automatically. For a subset of proteins we predicted new GO annotations that were not available in UniProtKb/Swiss-Prot. All predictions were correct (100% precision) according to the verifications from a trained curator.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our method of integrating CCSs and literature mining is thus a highly reliable approach to predict GO annotations for weakly characterized proteins with orthologs.</p

Identification of the initial molecular changes in response to circulating angiogenic cells-mediated therapy in critical limb ischemia

BackgroundCritical limb ischemia (CLI) constitutes the most aggressive form of peripheral arterial occlusive disease, characterized by the blockade of arteries supplying blood to the lower extremities, significantly diminishing oxygen and nutrient supply. CLI patients usually undergo amputation of fingers, feet, or extremities, with a high risk of mortality due to associated comorbidities.Circulating angiogenic cells (CACs), also known as early endothelial progenitor cells, constitute promising candidates for cell therapy in CLI due to their assigned vascular regenerative properties. Preclinical and clinical assays with CACs have shown promising results. A better understanding of how these cells participate in vascular regeneration would significantly help to potentiate their role in revascularization.Herein, we analyzed the initial molecular mechanisms triggered by human CACs after being administered to a murine model of CLI, in order to understand how these cells promote angiogenesis within the ischemic tissues.MethodsBalb-c nude mice (n:24) were distributed in four different groups: healthy controls (C, n:4), shams (SH, n:4), and ischemic mice (after femoral ligation) that received either 50 mu l physiological serum (SC, n:8) or 5x10(5) human CACs (SE, n:8). Ischemic mice were sacrificed on days 2 and 4 (n:4/group/day), and immunohistochemistry assays and qPCR amplification of Alu-human-specific sequences were carried out for cell detection and vascular density measurements. Additionally, a label-free MS-based quantitative approach was performed to identify protein changes related.ResultsAdministration of CACs induced in the ischemic tissues an increase in the number of blood vessels as well as the diameter size compared to ischemic, non-treated mice, although the number of CACs decreased within time. The initial protein changes taking place in response to ischemia and more importantly, right after administration of CACs to CLI mice, are shown.ConclusionsOur results indicate that CACs migrate to the injured area; moreover, they trigger protein changes correlated with cell migration, cell death, angiogenesis, and arteriogenesis in the host. These changes indicate that CACs promote from the beginning an increase in the number of vessels as well as the development of an appropriate vascular network.Institute of Health Carlos III, ISCIII; Junta de Andaluci

Magnetism, FeS colloids, and Origins of Life

A number of features of living systems: reversible interactions and weak bonds underlying motor-dynamics; gel-sol transitions; cellular connected fractal organization; asymmetry in interactions and organization; quantum coherent phenomena; to name some, can have a natural accounting via $physical$ interactions, which we therefore seek to incorporate by expanding the horizons of `chemistry-only' approaches to the origins of life. It is suggested that the magnetic 'face' of the minerals from the inorganic world, recognized to have played a pivotal role in initiating Life, may throw light on some of these issues. A magnetic environment in the form of rocks in the Hadean Ocean could have enabled the accretion and therefore an ordered confinement of super-paramagnetic colloids within a structured phase. A moderate H-field can help magnetic nano-particles to not only overcome thermal fluctuations but also harness them. Such controlled dynamics brings in the possibility of accessing quantum effects, which together with frustrations in magnetic ordering and hysteresis (a natural mechanism for a primitive memory) could throw light on the birth of biological information which, as Abel argues, requires a combination of order and complexity. This scenario gains strength from observations of scale-free framboidal forms of the greigite mineral, with a magnetic basis of assembly. And greigite's metabolic potential plays a key role in the mound scenario of Russell and coworkers-an expansion of which is suggested for including magnetism.Comment: 42 pages, 5 figures, to be published in A.R. Memorial volume, Ed Krishnaswami Alladi, Springer 201

Haemodynamic consequences of changing potassium concentrations in haemodialysis fluids

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A rapid decrease of serum potassium concentrations during haemodialysis produces a significant increase in blood pressure parameters at the end of the session, even if effects on intra-dialysis pressure are not seen. Paradoxically, in animal models potassium is a vasodilator and decreases myocardial contractility. The purpose of this trial is to study the precise haemodynamic consequences induced by acute changes in potassium concentration during haemodialysis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In 24 patients, 288 dialysis sessions, using a randomised single blind crossover design, we compared six dialysate sequences with different potassium profiles. The dialysis sessions were divided into 3 tertiles, casually modulating potassium concentration in the dialysate between the value normally used K and the two cut-off points K+1 and K-1 mmol/l. Haemodynamics were evaluated in a non-invasive manner using a finger beat-to-beat monitor.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Comparing K-1 and K+1, differences were found within the tertiles regarding systolic (+5.3, +6.6, +2.3 mmHg, p < 0.05, < 0.05, ns) and mean blood pressure (+4.3, +6.4, -0.5 mmHg, p < 0.01, < 0.01, ns), as well as peripheral resistance (+212, +253, -4 dyne.sec.cm^-5, p < 0.05, < 0.05, ns). The stroke volume showed a non-statistically-significant inverse trend (-3.1, -5.2, -0.2 ml). 18 hypotension episodes were recorded during the course of the study. 72% with K-1, 11% with K and 17% with K+1 (p < 0.01 for comparison K-1 vs. K and K-1 vs. K+1).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A rapid decrease in the concentration of serum potassium during the initial stage of the dialysis-obtained by reducing the concentration of potassium in the dialysate-translated into a decrease of systolic and mean blood pressure mediated by a decrease in peripheral resistance. The risk of intra-dialysis hypotension inversely correlates to the potassium concentration in the dialysate.</p> <p>Trial Registration Number</p> <p><a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01224314">NCT01224314</a></p

Evaluating the role of human papillomaviruses in conjunctival neoplasia

Mucosal, cutaneous and Epidermodysplasia verruciformis (EV)-related human papillomaviruses (HPVs) were searched by broad-spectrum PCR in 86 conjunctival neoplasia biopsies and 63 conjunctival non-neoplastic control tissue from Ugandan subjects. Seven different EV-related HPV types, including a putative new HPV, and two mucosal HPVs were detected in 25% (14 out of 56) of HIV-positive, in 10% (three out of 30) of HIV-negative conjunctival neoplasia samples, and rarely (0–1.6%) in control subjects. The absence of high-risk HPVs and the low detection frequency of EV-related HPV types in more advanced tumour stages (10%) raise doubts about their role in conjunctival carcinomas