Increased Resin Collection after Parasite Challenge: A Case of Self-Medication in Honey Bees?

The constant pressure posed by parasites has caused species throughout the animal kingdom to evolve suites of mechanisms to resist infection. Individual barriers and physiological defenses are considered the main barriers against parasites in invertebrate species. However, behavioral traits and other non-immunological defenses can also effectively reduce parasite transmission and infection intensity. In social insects, behaviors that reduce colony-level parasite loads are termed “social immunity.” One example of a behavioral defense is resin collection. Honey bees forage for plant-produced resins and incorporate them into their nest architecture. This use of resins can reduce chronic elevation of an individual bee's immune response. Since high activation of individual immunity can impose colony-level fitness costs, collection of resins may benefit both the individual and colony fitness. However the use of resins as a more direct defense against pathogens is unclear. Here we present evidence that honey bee colonies may self-medicate with plant resins in response to a fungal infection. Self-medication is generally defined as an individual responding to infection by ingesting or harvesting non-nutritive compounds or plant materials. Our results show that colonies increase resin foraging rates after a challenge with a fungal parasite (Ascophaera apis: chalkbrood or CB). Additionally, colonies experimentally enriched with resin had decreased infection intensities of this fungal parasite. If considered self-medication, this is a particularly unique example because it operates at the colony level. Most instances of self-medication involve pharmacophagy, whereby individuals change their diet in response to direct infection with a parasite. In this case with honey bees, resins are not ingested but used within the hive by adult bees exposed to fungal spores. Thus the colony, as the unit of selection, may be responding to infection through self-medication by increasing the number of individuals that forage for resin

The utilization of buprenorphine in chronic pain

Reclassification of chronic pain as a disease may be helpful because patients with chronic pain require significant treatment and rehabilitation with a clear diagnosis. This can help address critical factors including suffering, quality of life, participation, and with family and social life, which continue to become more important in evaluating the quality of the health care we give our patients today. During the past decade of the opioid epidemic, methadone was the primary treatment for opioid addiction until buprenorphine was approved. Buprenorphine\u27s high-affinity partial agonist properties make it a good alternative to methadone due to lower abuse potential and safer adverse effect profile while maintaining significant efficacy. Expanded out-patient prescribing options have allowed physician and physician extenders such as physician assistants and nurse practitioners to treat these patients that otherwise would have been required to utilize methadone. With unique pharmacological properties, buprenorphine is a safe and effective analgesic for chronic pain. The literature for buprenorphine shows great potential for its utilization in the treatment of chronic pain

Anatomical Anomalies of Femoral Vein are Not Observed in Indian Patients with Renal Failure: Ultrasound-based Study

BackgroundFemoral vein catheterization is the easiest and safest method for obtaining temporary vascular access in hemodialysis patients. We studied the structure and anatomical variation of femoral veins in uremic patients using ultrasound imaging.MethodsUltrasonography of femoral vessels was carried out bilaterally in patients with acute renal failure (ARF) and chronic renal failure (CRF). The relationship between ultrasonographic measurements of femoral vessels and anthropometric data were evaluated using Pearson's method.ResultsA total of 157 patients (67 ARF, 90 CRF) were included in the study. The majority of the patients were male (68.8%), and mean age was 43.29 ± 16.74 years. Mean height, weight, and body mass index were 163.94 ± 8.53 cm, 61.96 ± 12.37 kg, and 22.99 ± 3.68 kg/m2, respectively. Mean depth of the femoral artery was 10.74 ± 4.74 mm on the left side and 9.92 ± 3.98 mm on the right side. Mean diameter of the femoral artery was 7.77 ± 1.57 mm on the left side and 7.64 ± 1.45 mm on the right side. Mean distance of the femoral vein from the skin surface was 13.68 ± 4.98 mm on the left side and 12.76 ± 4.85 mm on the right side. Mean diameter of the femoral vein was 9.47 ± 2.15 mm on the left side and 9.37 ± 2.25 mm on the right side. The femoral vein had adequate diameter (≥ 5 mm) on both sides in all patients. Abnormal location of the femoral vein was not observed in our study. The depth of femoral vasculature was deeper in overweight and obese patients compared to normal weight patients. Femoral artery puncture, multiple attempts before successful catheterization, and hematoma formation were observed in 11.0%, 13.5%, and 5.4% of patients, respectively.ConclusionAnatomical variation and location anomalies of the femoral vein were not observed in Indian uremic patients. Femoral vein diameter was adequate (≥ 5 mm) in all patients bilaterally. However, there was a slight variation in depth (> 1 mm) and diameter (0.1 mm) of femoral vasculature between the left and right sides (left > right)

Association of HLA Typing and Alloimmunity With Posttransplantation Membranous Nephropathy: A Multicenter Case Series.

RATIONALE & OBJECTIVES: Posttransplantation membranous nephropathy (MN) represents a rare complication of kidney transplantation that can be classified as recurrent or de novo. The clinical, pathologic, and immunogenetic characteristics of posttransplantation MN and the differences between de novo and recurrent MN are not well understood. STUDY DESIGN: Multicenter case series. SETTING & PARTICIPANTS: We included 77 patients from 5 North American and European medical centers with post-kidney transplantation MN (27 de novo and 50 recurrent). Patients with MN in the native kidney who received kidney allografts but did not develop recurrent MN were used as nonrecurrent controls (n = 43). To improve understanding of posttransplantation MN, we compared de novo MN with recurrent MN and then contrasted recurrent MN with nonrecurrent controls. FINDINGS: Compared with recurrent MN, de novo MN was less likely to be classified as primary MN (OR, 0.04; P \u3c 0.001) and had more concurrent antibody-mediated rejection (OR, 12.0; P \u3c 0.001) and inferior allograft survival (HR for allograft failure, 3.2; P = 0.007). HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DR17 antigens were more common in recipients with recurrent MN compared with those with de novo MN; however, the frequency of these recipient antigens in recurrent MN was similar to that in nonrecurrent MN controls. Among the 93 kidney transplant recipients with native kidney failure attributed to MN, older recipient age (HR per each year older, 1.03; P = 0.02), recipient HLA-A3 antigen (HR, 2.5; P = 0.003), steroid-free immunosuppressive regimens (HR, 2.84; P \u3c 0.001), and living related allograft (HR, 1.94; P = 0.03) were predictors of MN recurrence. LIMITATIONS: Retrospective case series, limited sample size due to rarity of the disease, nonstandardized nature of data collection and biopsies. CONCLUSIONS: De novo and recurrent MN likely represent separate diseases. De novo MN is associated with humoral alloimmunity and guarded outcome. Potential predisposing factors for recurrent MN include recipients who are older, recipient HLA-A3 antigen, steroid-free immunosuppressive regimen, and living related donor kidney