Schistosomiasis (mansoni) has a negative impact on serum levels of estradiol, progesterone and prolactin in the female baboon (Papio cynocephalus anubis)

To meet the growing concern for the well-being of laboratory animals, group-housing is now recommended for rats. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of group-housing and relative weight within the group on feedingbehaviour in rats. Studies of the individual feeding behaviour of group-housed animals have been carried out in many farm animals. In these studies, when effects of group-housing and hierarchy on individual feeding behaviour are studied, theresults are often confounded by differences in age, body weight, genetic differences and earlier experience of the animal. All these factors were standardised in the present study. The individual meal patterns of 12 male Sprague-Dawley rats, ofthe same weight and age, housed singly were compared to their meal patterns after two weeks of housing in groups of three per cage, The feed intake and the feeding behaviour were recorded by computerised balances in combination with timelapse video recordings, during the group-housing period. Although when group-housed the rats made the same number of visits to the food cup as when housed singly, they ate more quickly, ate less per visit, and hence spent less time per dayeating. The increase in eating rate was significant for the rats assigned to be the medium weight or lightest in their groups but not for the rats designated to be heaviest in their groups, indicating that the relative weight of the rats had an effect on their eating behaviour

The effect of instant arabica coffee on the viability of lactobacillus acidophilus and bifidobacterium bifidum in a probiotic, lacto-free dessert.

O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a viabilidade de bactérias probióticas Bifidobacterium bifidum subsp. lactis e Lactobacillus acidophilus em uma sobremesa sem lactose, à base de extrato de soja, com diferentes concentrações de café (0 a 1,5%), armazenada a 7 [graus] C. Quatro formulações produzidas foram avaliadas quanto ao pH, acidez e contagem das bactérias probióticas após 0, 7, 14 e 21 dias de armazenamento. Nem o tempo, nem o teor de café influenciaram significativamente o teor de ácido lático e o pH das amostras estudadas. De acordo com a ANVISA, para que o produto possa ser considerado probiótico, a contagem total de cada cepa por porção (100g) deve ser igual ou superior a 10 [elevado a 8]. No presente estudo, este valor foi observado para L.acidophilus até 21 dias, e para B.bifidum até 7 dias de armazenamento, ambos sem interferência do teor ou percentual de café.Food: the tree that sustains life. 1636

Electrocatalytic properties of prussian blue nanoparticles supported on poly(m-aminobenzenesulfonic acid)–functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes toward the detection of dopamine

Edged plane pyrolytic graphite electrode (EPPGE) was modified with and without Prussian blue (PB) nanoparticles and polyaminobenzene sulphonated single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTPABS) using the chemical deposition method. The electrodes were characterised using microscopy, spectroscopy and electrochemical techniques. Results showed that edged plane pyrolytic graphite-single-walled carbon nanotubes-prussian blue (EPPGE-SWCNT-PB) electrode gave the best dopamine (DA) current response which increases with increasing PB layers

Mapping contacts between regulatory domains of skeletal muscle TnC and Tnl by analyses of a single-chain chimeras.

The troponin (Tn) complex is formed by TnC, TnI and TnT and is responsible for the calcium-dependent inhibition of muscle contraction. TnC and TnI interact in an antiparallel fashion in which the N domain of TnC binds in a calcium-dependent manner to the C domain of TnI, releasing the inhibitory effect of the latter on the actomyosin interaction. While the crystal structure of the core cardiac muscle troponin complex has been determined, very little high resolution information is available regarding the skeletal muscle TnITnC complex. With the aim of obtaining structural information regarding specific contacts between skeletal muscle TnC and TnI regulatory domains, we have constructed two recombinant chimeric proteins composed of the residues 191 of TnC linked to residues 98182 or 98147 of TnI. The polypeptides were capable of binding to the thin filament in a calcium-dependent manner and to regulate the ATPase reaction of actomyosin. Small angle X-ray scattering results showed that these chimeras fold into compact structures in which the inhibitory plus the C domain of TnI, with the exception of residues 148182, were in close contact with the N-terminal domain of TnC. CD and fluorescence analysis were consistent with the view that the last residues of TnI (148182) are not well folded in the complex. MS analysis of fragments produced by limited trypsinolysis showed that the whole TnC N domain was resistant to proteolysis, both in the presence and in the absence of calcium. On the other hand the TnI inhibitory and C-terminal domains were completely digested by trypsin in the absence of calcium while the addition of calcium results in the protection of only residues 114137

A Fatal Outbreak of Campylobacter jejuni Enteritis in a Colony of Vervet Monkeys in Kenya

In a group of 50 wild-caught vervet monkeys trapped for experimental studies, 23 developed severe diarrhoea  during the quarantine period. While 10 of these responded well to routine treatment with metronidazole,  kaomycin and oral electrolytes, 13 initially showed slight improvement but later relapsed. Five of  these failed to respond altogether and were euthanised. Fresh faecal samples were collected from the surviving  eight monkeys and analysed for microbiology and drug sensitivity. Campylobacter jejuni, sensitive  to erythromycin, was isolated from all the faecal samples. Following treatment with erythromycin, seven  monkeys recovered fully within ten days but one died before the end of therapy. This study indicates that  wild non-human primates may play a significant role as a reservoir of C. jejuni, whereby they may act as  natural carriers of this human pathogen. Screening for Campylobacter sp in newly acquired monkeys is  advisable as part of the quarantine procedures.

Preliminary study of in vitro propagation of a selected high yielding clone of kacip fatimah (Labisia pumila VAR. alata)

Kacip Fatimah (Labisia pumila), an undershrub herb from the Myrsinaceae family, is traditionally used as medicine, particularly by Malay women during post-natal care. The development of L. pumila as a medicinal herb has led to its commercialization and increasing demand. To ensure its sustainable supply, the propagation of kacip Fatimah on a large scale such as through tissue culture needs to be explored. In this study, the leaves of a selected high yielding clone of kacip Fatimah, clone AA28, were used as explants. After surface sterilization, the explants were cultured on MS basal medium containing 0.5 mg/l NAA with different concentrations of BAP ranging from 0.05 to 0.15 mg/l for shoot induction. The explants cultured in MS medium containing 0.5 mg/l NAA in combination with 0.05 mg/l BAP produced the highest mean number of shoots per explants (10 ± 0.1). The shoot multiplication study is in progress and will be reported in a future paper

Illness severity and outcomes among enteric fever cases from Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan: Data from the surveillance for enteric fever in Asia project, 2016-2019

Background: Enteric fever can lead to prolonged hospital stays, clinical complications, and death. The Surveillance for Enteric Fever in Asia Project (SEAP), a prospective surveillance study, characterized the burden of enteric fever, including illness severity, in selected settings in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan. We assessed disease severity, including hospitalization, clinical complications, and death among SEAP participants.Methods: We analyzed clinical and laboratory data from blood culture-confirmed enteric fever cases enrolled in SEAP hospitals and associated network laboratories from September 2016 to September 2019. We used hospitalization and duration of hospital stay as proxies for severity. We conducted a follow-up interview 6 weeks after enrollment to ascertain final outcomes.Results: Of the 8705 blood culture-confirmed enteric fever cases enrolled, we identified 6 deaths (case-fatality ratio, .07%; 95% CI, .01-.13%), 2 from Nepal, 4 from Pakistan, and none from Bangladesh. Overall, 1.7% (90/5205) of patients recruited from SEAP hospitals experienced a clinical complication (Bangladesh, 0.6% [18/3032]; Nepal, 2.3% [12/531]; Pakistan, 3.7% [60/1642]). The most identified complications were hepatitis (n = 36), septic shock (n = 22), and pulmonary complications/pneumonia (n = 13). Across countries, 32% (2804/8669) of patients with hospitalization data available were hospitalized (Bangladesh, 27% [1295/4868]; Nepal, 29% [455/1595]; Pakistan, 48% [1054/2206]), with a median hospital stay of 5 days (IQR, 3-7).Conclusions: While defined clinical complications and deaths were uncommon at the SEAP sites, the high proportion of hospitalizations and prolonged hospital stays highlight illness severity and the need for enteric fever control measures, including the use of typhoid conjugate vaccines

Utilization of blood culture in south Asia for the diagnosis and treatment of febrile illness

Background: Blood culture is the current standard for diagnosing bacteremic illnesses, yet it is not clear how physicians in many low- and middle-income countries utilize blood culture for diagnostic purposes and to inform treatment decisions.Methods: We screened suspected enteric fever cases from 6 hospitals in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan, and enrolled patients if blood culture was prescribed by the treating physician. We used generalized additive regression models to analyze the probability of receiving blood culture by age, and linear regression models to analyze changes by month to the proportion of febrile cases prescribed a blood culture compared with the burden of febrile illness, stratified by hospital. We used logistic regression to analyze predictors for receiving antibiotics empirically. We descriptively reviewed changes in antibiotic therapy by susceptibility patterns and coverage, stratified by country.Results: We screened 30 809 outpatients resulting in 1819 enteric fever cases; 1935 additional cases were enrolled from other hospital locations. Younger outpatients were less likely to receive a blood culture. The association between the number of febrile outpatients and the proportion prescribed blood culture varied by hospital. Antibiotics prescribed empirically were associated with severity and provisional diagnoses, but 31% (1147/3754) of enteric fever cases were not covered by initial therapy; this was highest in Pakistan (50%) as many isolates were resistant to cephalosporins, which were commonly prescribed empirically.Conclusions: Understanding hospital-level communication between laboratories and physicians may improve patient care and timeliness of appropriate antibiotics, which is important considering the rise of antimicrobial resistance