Canine trypanosomosis: a case report

ΔΕΝ ΔΙΑΤΙΘΕΤΑΙ ΠΕΡΙΛΗΨΗTrypanosomosis is a haemoprotozoan infection affecting a broad range of wild and domestic animals including dogs. Infected dogs may die within 2-4 weeks in the acute and fatal form of the disease. A dog was presented with the complaint of anorexia, persistent recumbency and loss of body weight which lasted for few days. On clinical examination, the affected dog revealed rise in temperature (105°F), lachrimation, anaemia, unilateral corneal opacity, swelling of throat, enlargement of lymph nodes and severe loss of bodily condition. Wet smear, thin blood smear and hematological parameters were observed. Motile trypanosomes were found in wet smear, while trypanosomes with a characteristic flagellum, kinetoplast and undulating membrane were present outside the red blood cells in the thin smear. The dog was successfully recovered with a single dose of diminazene aceturate. This report may provide a way forward to establish effective and safe therapeutic protocols for the control of canine trypanosomosis

Epidemiology, burden and seasonal variation of fasciolosis determined through faecal examination and excretory/secretory antigens based ELISA

ΔΕΝ ΔΙΑΤΙΘΕΤΑΙ ΠΕΡΙΛΗΨΗThe study was conducted to evaluate predominance and the related risk factors of sheep fasciolosis in Faisalabad district, Punjab, Pakistan. In addition, comparison of the coprological examinationand excretory/secretory antigens (ES Ag)-based ELISA was also performed to determine the variation in the prevalence of fasciolosis. Ofthe1200 faecal and blood samples,128 (10.67%) and 241 (20.08%) samples were found positive for Fasciola infection and anti-Fasciola antibodies respectively.The prevalence of fasciolosis was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in female and adultanimals. Most of the animals showed moderate (55.47%) infection which was significantly higher than mild (28.91%) and severe (15.63%) infections. The highest prevalence of fasciolosis was determined in December (26.00% through faecal examination; 42.00% through ELISA) with a mean EPG of 842.3 while lowest in May (02.00% through faecal examination; 07.00% through ELISA) with a mean EPG of 650. The frequency distribution of fasciolosis was significantly (P < 0.05) highest in the winter (faecal examination 20.67%; ELISA 34.67%) followed in order by the monsoon (faecal examination 09.00%; ELISA 18.67%), spring (faecal examination 08.33%; ELISA 17.33%) and summer (faecal examination 04.67%; ELISA 09.67%). The highest mean EPG of fasciolosis was determined in the spring (894) followed in order by the winter (851.67), summer (654.67) and monsoon (616.33). Although the faecal examination is the gold standard and the “best method” in the diagnosis of sheep fasciolosis; however, the serological tests should not be excluded especially the home-made ES Ag-based ELISA which might be preferred and more affordable risk assessment tool in the field epidemiology

Nrf2-dependent persistent oxidative stress results in stress-induced vulnerability to depression.

Stressful life events produce a state of vulnerability to depression in some individuals. The mechanisms that contribute to vulnerability to depression remain poorly understood. A rat model of intense stress (social defeat (SD), first hit) produced vulnerability to depression in 40% of animals. Only vulnerable animals developed a depression-like phenotype after a second stressful hit (chronic mild stress). We found that this vulnerability to depression resulted from a persistent state of oxidative stress, which was reversed by treatment with antioxidants. This persistent state of oxidative stress was due to low brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels, which characterized the vulnerable animals. We found that BDNF constitutively controlled the nuclear translocation of the master redox-sensitive transcription factor Nrf2, which activates antioxidant defenses. Low BDNF levels in vulnerable animals prevented Nrf2 translocation and consequently prevented the activation of detoxifying/antioxidant enzymes, ultimately resulting in the generation of sustained oxidative stress. Activating Nrf2 translocation restored redox homeostasis and reversed vulnerability to depression. This mechanism was confirmed in Nrf2-null mice. The mice displayed high levels of oxidative stress and were inherently vulnerable to depression, but this phenotype was reversed by treatment with antioxidants. Our data reveal a novel role for BDNF in controlling redox homeostasis and provide a mechanistic explanation for post-stress vulnerability to depression while suggesting ways to reverse it. Because numerous enzymatic reactions produce reactive oxygen species that must then be cleared, the finding that BDNF controls endogenous redox homeostasis opens new avenues for investigation

Hepatocellular carcinoma in Pakistan: where do we stand?

Context: From the 1970s till the mid 1990s, hepatitis B was the most common etiological factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Pakistan. Afterwards, a shift in HCC etiology was observed with a steady rise in hepatitis C virus (HCV) related HCC cases. HCV-3a, which is the most prevalent genotype, is also most frequent in HCV related HCC. There was an increase in the proportion of non-B non-C (NBNC) HCC cases as well, which might be attributed to an increase in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Evidence Acquisition: The age-standardized rate for HCC is 7.64/100 000 in males and 2.8/100 000 in females. Male to female ratio is 3.6:1. Usual age of presentation is in the fifth and sixth decade. Most patients present with advanced disease, as they are not in a regular surveillance program. This is more so for patients with NBNC chronic liver disease. As many sonologists in Pakistan are practicing without sufficient training to pick up early lesions, alpha-fetoprotein is still recommended to compliment ultrasound in the surveillance of HCC. Results: Majority of HCC patients present with nonresectable disease. Interventions such as transarterial chemoembolization, radiofrequency ablation, resection and chemotherapy including sorafenib are available in selected centers. Pakistan appears to be in an area of intermediate endemicity for HCC. There is a need for population based epidemiological studies to estimate the exact disease burden. Conclusions: Measures to prevent the spread of hepatitis C and B can slow down the epidemic rise in the incidence of HCC in the coming decades. There is a need to implement a proper surveillance program to identify HCC cases at an early stage

Evolving uses of oral reverse transcriptase inhibitors in the HIV-1 epidemic: From treatment to prevention

The HIV epidemic continues unabated, with no highly effective vaccine and no cure. Each new infection has significant economic, social and human costs and prevention efforts are now as great a priority as global antiretroviral therapy (ART) scale up. Reverse transcriptase inhibitors, the first licensed class of ART, have been at the forefront of treatment and prevention of mother to child transmission over the past two decades. Now, their use in adult prevention is being

Fast field-cycling magnetic resonance detection of intracellular ultra-small iron oxide particles in vitro: Proof-of-concept.

PurposeInflammation is central in disease pathophysiology and accurate methods for its detection and quantification are increasingly required to guide diagnosis and therapy. Here we explored the ability of Fast Field-Cycling Magnetic Resonance (FFC-MR) in quantifying the signal of ultra-small superparamagnetic iron oxide particles (USPIO) phagocytosed by J774 macrophage-like cells as a proof-of-principle.MethodsRelaxation rates were measured in suspensions of J774 macrophage-like cells loaded with USPIO (0-200 μg/ml Fe as ferumoxytol), using a 0.25 T FFC benchtop relaxometer and a human whole-body, in-house built 0.2 T FFC-MR prototype system with a custom test tube coil. Identical non-imaging, saturation recovery pulse sequence with 90° flip angle and 20 different evolution fields selected logarithmically between 80 μT and 0.2 T (3.4 kHz and 8.51 MHz proton Larmor frequency [PLF] respectively). Results were compared with imaging flow cytometry quantification of side scatter intensity and USPIO-occupied cell area. A reference colorimetric iron assay was used.ResultsThe T1 dispersion curves derived from FFC-MR were excellent in detecting USPIO at all concentrations examined (0-200 μg/ml Fe as ferumoxytol) vs. control cells, p ≤ 0.001. FFC-NMR was capable of reliably detecting cellular iron content as low as 1.12 ng/µg cell protein, validated using a colorimetric assay. FFC-MR was comparable to imaging flow cytometry quantification of side scatter intensity but superior to USPIO-occupied cell area, the latter being only sensitive at exposures ≥ 10 µg/ml USPIO.ConclusionsWe demonstrated for the first time that FFC-MR is capable of quantitative assessment of intra-cellular iron which will have important implications for the use of USPIO in a variety of biological applications, including the study of inflammation

A Review on Recent Advancement in the Molecular Diagnostics of Leishmania

Leishmaniasis is a protozoan infection with chronic manifestation, having high morbidity and mortality rates, and adversely affecting almost every species of animals. It is a globally prevalent vector-borne disease throughout all tropical and subtropical regions. Twenty intracellular species belonging to the genus leishmania cause all types of leishmaniasis infection, including cutaneous, mucocutaneous, and visceral leishmaniasis in animals and human beings. Sandfly, as a vector, is responsible for its transmission between different hosts. Animals and humans affected with leishmaniasis may be prone to re-infection of another disease, especially the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) syndrome, through trans-activation modification of the immune system. Several diagnostic procedures have been developed and are being used for its detection and confirmation. Hence, there is a need for standard as well as advanced diagnostic tools that are immediately required to identify the species for further treatment and to adopt precautionary and safety measures against leishmaniasis. The current review constitutes a brief picture flowing from microscopic evaluation to all possible immunological techniques that can detect the species and can differentiate between different types of leishmaniasis, along with the morphology and various routes of transmission of the parasite. These methods include serological antigenic screening like direct and indirect agglutination tests, indirect fluorescent antibody test, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, western blotting, and immuno-chromatographic test to advanced molecular techniques like nucleic acid sequence-based amplification, polymerase chain reaction, loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay and some modern techniques like proteomics, transcriptomics and protein biomarkers. The aim of this brief overview of all these diagnostic techniques is to summarize the recent development in the diagnosis to find a cheap and early diagnostic procedure for better detection and control of the infection

Heterogeneous Catalyzed Biodiesel Production Using Cosolvent: A Mini Review

Biodiesel is gaining recognition as a good replacement for typical diesel owing to its re-newability, sustainability, and eco-friendly nature. Transesterification is the leading route for biodiesel generation, which occurs during homogeneous/heterogeneous/enzymatic catalysis. Besides this, the usage of heterogeneous catalysts is considered more advantageous over homogeneous catalysts due to the easy catalyst recovery. Consequently, numerous heterogeneous catalysts have been synthesized from multiple sources with the intention of making the manufacturing process more efficient and cost-effective. Alongside this, numerous researchers have attempted to improve the biodiesel yield using heterogeneous catalysts by introducing cosolvents, such that phase limitation between oil and alcohol can be minimized. This short review is aimed at examining the investigations performed to date on heterogeneously catalyzed biodiesel generation in the presence of different cosolvents. It encompasses the techniques for heterogeneous catalyst synthesis, reported in the literature available for heterogeneous catalyzed biodiesel generation using cosolvents and their effects. It also suggests that the application of cosolvent in heterogeneously catalyzed three-phase systems substantially reduces the mass transfer limitation between alcohol and oil phases, which leads to enhancements in biodiesel yield along with reductions in values of optimized parameters, with catalyst weight ranges from 1 to 15 wt. %, and alcohol/oil ratio ranges from 5.5 to 20. The reaction time for getting the maximum conversion ranges from 10 to 600 min in the presence of different cosolvents. Alongside this, most of the time, the biodiesel yield remained above 90% in the presence of cosolvents