Severity of Giardia infection associated with post-infectious fatigue and abdominal symptoms two years after

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A high rate of post-infectious fatigue and abdominal symptoms two years after a waterborne outbreak of giardiasis in Bergen, Norway in 2004 has previously been reported. The aim of this report was to identify risk factors associated with such manifestations.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>All laboratory confirmed cases of giardiasis (n = 1262) during the outbreak in Bergen in 2004 received a postal questionnaire two years after. Degree of post-infectious abdominal symptoms and fatigue, as well as previous abdominal problems, was recorded. In the statistical analyses number of treatment courses, treatment refractory infection, delayed education and sick leave were used as indices of protracted and severe <it>Giardia </it>infection. Age, gender, previous abdominal problems and symptoms during infection were also analysed as possible risk factors. Simple and multiple ordinal logistic regression models were used for the analyses.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The response rate was 81% (1017/1262), 64% were women and median age was 31 years (range 3-93), compared to 61% women and 30 years (range 2-93) among all 1262 cases. Factors in multiple regression analysis significantly associated with abdominal symptoms two years after infection were: More than one treatment course, treatment refractory infection, delayed education, bloating and female gender. Abdominal problems prior to <it>Giardia </it>infection were not associated with post-infectious abdominal symptoms. More than one treatment course, delayed education, sick leave more than 2 weeks, and malaise at the time of infection, were significantly associated with fatigue in the multiple regression analysis, as were increasing age and previous abdominal problems.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Protracted and severe <it>giardiasis </it>seemed to be a risk factor for post-infectious fatigue and abdominal symptoms two years after clearing the <it>Giardia </it>infection.</p

CHEMICAL CONTROL OF ANDROSPORE MORPHOGENESIS IN OEDOGONIUM DONNELLII (CHLOROPHYTA, OEDOGONIALES)1

ABSTRACT Under the influence of the pheromone, “circein,” produced by an oogonial mother cell of Oedogonium donnellii Wolle, the androspore of the same species progresses through several behavioral changes and a series of developmental stages which result in the formation of a sperm‐producing dwarf male thallus. When subjected instead to an environment with an increased nitrate or ammonium ion concentration [0.02 M KNO3 or 0.01 M (NH)2SO4], an androspore undergoes a series of developmental changes which result in the formation of a vegetative male thallus indistinguishable from the one which originally released it. If exposed to neither circein nor increased nitrate/ammonium ion concentration, the androspore enters a cycle of swimming androspore: cyst: swimming androspore. Thus, three separate paths are open to the androspore depending on its environment: (1) development into a dwarf male thallus under the influence of female‐produced pheromone, circein, (2) development into a vegetative thallus under the influence of increased nitrate/ammonium ion concentration, and (3) periodic regeneration through an encystment cycle in an unaltered environment. Treatments with transcriptional and translational inhibitors indicate that androspore development into either a dwarf male or a vegetative thallus requires several different phases of de novo synthesis of RXA and protein stimulated by circein or by nitrate ion

Seedling mortality during biphasic drought in sandy Mediterranean soils

Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of drought, and seedling response to a recurrent pattern of drought stress is necessary to understand vegetation establishment patterns in particularly for ecological restoration and conservation projects. A controlled environment study investigated seedling physiological response of framework Mediterranean tree species to simulated successive droughts. Six-month-old seedlings were grown in 1.0 m tall pots to emulate deep soil profiles and subjected to a well watered treatment and a drought treatment consisting of an initial 60 day drought (water withholding), followed by 120 days of re-watering and a subsequent 60 day drought. Soil water access, soil water content, maximum root depth and xylem water potential were assessed through successive harvests. To assess seedling response to multiple droughts, gas-exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence measurements were taken every 15 days after each drought, and multiple times throughout re-watering. No seedling mortality was observed during the initial drought, whereas 100% mortality of all species occurred within 48 days of the second drought. Seedling gas exchange and water potential decreased with decreasing water availability but was dependent on the isohydric or anisohydric behaviour of individual species. An absence of sustained photoprotection during the second drought phase heightened photodamage to foliar tissues resulting in a more rapid decrease of gs and leaf water potential. Therefore, biphasic drought proved detrimental to seedling establishment by reducing physiological resilience, highlighting the severity of future climate change predictions towards the regeneration capacity of Mediterranean ecosystems

Symptom Variability and Early Symptom Regression in the MAPP Study: A Prospective Study of Urological Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome

PurposeWe examined symptom variability in men and women with urological chronic pelvic pain syndrome. We describe symptom fluctuations as related to early symptom regression and its effect on estimated 1-year symptom change. We also describe a method to quantify patient specific symptom variability.Materials and methodsSymptoms were assessed biweekly in 424 subjects with urological chronic pelvic pain syndrome during 1 year. To evaluate the impact of early symptom regression subjects were classified as improved, no change or worse according to the rate of change using 1) all data, 2) excluding week 0 and 3)&nbsp;excluding weeks 0 and 2. Patient specific, time varying variability was calculated at each interval using a sliding window approach. Patients were classified as high, medium or low variability at each time and ultimately as high or low variability overall based on the variability for the majority of contacts.ResultsPrior to excluding early weeks to adjust for early symptom regression 25% to 38% and 5% to 6% of patients were classified as improved and worse, respectively. After adjustment the percent of patients who were improved or worse ranged from 15% to 25% and 6% to 9%, respectively. High and low variability phenotypes were each identified in 25% to 30% of participants.ConclusionsPatients with urological chronic pelvic pain syndrome show symptom variability. At study enrollment patients had worse symptoms on average, resulting in a regression effect that influenced the estimated proportion of those who were improved or worse. Prospective studies should include a run-in period to account for regression to the mean and other causes of early symptom regression. Further, symptom variability may be quantified and used to characterize longitudinal symptom profiles of urological chronic pelvic pain syndrome