Proterogynotaenia deblocki sp. nov. (Cestoda: Progynotaeniidae) from the Red-capped Plover, Charadrius ruficapillus, from King Island, Tasmania

A new species of cestode, Proterogynotaenia deblocki (Progynotaeniidae), is described from the Red-capped Plover, Charadrius rujicapillus, from King Island, Tasmania. The new species is characterised by its longer strobila (18-28 mm), large number of proglottids (60-85), number and size of the hooks on the rostellum (six large hooks 33-39 flm long, six small hooks 13-15 flm long) and large number of testes (62-83), which are divided by the uterus into two groups

Helminth parasite communities in four species of shorebirds (Charadriidae) on King Island, Tasmania

Helminth community composition and structure were examined among two resident shorebird species, red-capped plover, Charadrius ruficapillus (N = 20), and masked lapwing, Vanellus miles (N = 5), and rwo migrants, ruddy turnstone, Arenaria interpres (N ~ and curlew sandpiper, Calidris ftrruginea (N = 5), on King Island, Tasmania in March-April 1993, prior to northward migration to the grounds. The total number of species of helminths recovered was 28 and life cycles of at least 19 of these were occurring on the island. Twenty-five species were categorised as generalists and three were undetermined. One to three species of helminths were dominant in each host species. Eight species, to various degrees, were common among the four species of host. Most sharing occurred in the mucosal trematode guild. Similarities between resident Charadrius ruficapillus and migrant A. interpres was 32.7%, while the mean number of species and mean number of helminths were significantly higher in A. interpres. Except for five new species found in this study, all other species of helminths have been described or reported from charadriids or related hosts from other continents. The pool of helminth parasites capable of infecting shorebirds was well established on King Island

Helminth Communities of Owls (Strigiformes) Indicate Strong Biological and Ecological Differences from Birds of Prey (Accipitriformes and Falconiformes) in Southern Italy

We compared the helminth communities of 5 owl species from Calabria (Italy) and evaluated the effect of phylogenetic and ecological factors on community structure. Two host taxonomic scales were considered, i.e., owl species, and owls vs. birds of prey. The latter scale was dealt with by comparing the data here obtained with that of birds of prey from the same locality and with those published previously on owls and birds of prey from Galicia (Spain). A total of 19 helminth taxa were found in owls from Calabria. Statistical comparison showed only marginal differences between scops owls (Otus scops) and little owls (Athene noctua) and tawny owls (Strix aluco). It would indicate that all owl species are exposed to a common pool of 'owl generalist' helminth taxa, with quantitative differences being determined by differences in diet within a range of prey relatively narrow. In contrast, birds of prey from the same region exhibited strong differences because they feed on different and wider spectra of prey. In Calabria, owls can be separated as a whole from birds of prey with regard to the structure of their helminth communities while in Galicia helminths of owls represent a subset of those of birds of prey. This difference is related to the occurrence in Calabria, but not Galicia, of a pool of 'owl specialist' species. The wide geographical occurrence of these taxa suggest that local conditions may determine fundamental differences in the composition of local communities. Finally, in both Calabria and Galicia, helminth communities from owls were species-poor compared to those from sympatric birds of prey. However, birds of prey appear to share a greater pool of specific helmith taxa derived from cospeciation processes, and a greater potential exchange of parasites between them than with owls because of phylogenetic closeness

Helminth communities of herons (Aves: Ardeidae) in southern Italy

The helminth communities of nine species of herons from southern Italy were studied and compared. Of 24 taxa found including seven digeneans, seven nematodes, six cestodes and four acanthocephalans, only five taxa were found in more than one heron species, and five of the 21 taxa that could be identified to species level were classified as 'heron specialists'. The total number of helminth species per heron species ranged from 1 in Botaurus stellaris to 9 in Ixobrychus minutus with infection levels generally low. A statistical comparison was carried out for herons with a sample size >. 5. At the infracommunity level, only I. minutus clearly differed from other heron species. Diversity parameters of heminth infracommunities did not significantly differ among heron species. Species richness ranged from just 0.3 to 2.3 helminth taxa per individual host, and the Brillouin index, from 0 to 0.3. Total helminth abundance did not exceed 40 worms per host except in a single case of Ardeola ralloides. Infracommunities clearly were dominated by single helminth species. The present study confirms a depauperate helminth community in herons from southern Italy. Comparison with data from Spain and the Czech Republic showed strong quantitative similarities with values obtained in the present study. Results also suggest that the composition of local helminth communities are strongly variable depending on geographical location as is demonstrated by comparison with data from other European areas. However, whether herons in Europe naturally host depauperate helminth communities or these communities are depauperate because of other factors is unknow

Redefining the phenotype of ALSP and AARS2 mutation-related leukodystrophy

OBJECTIVE: To provide an overview of the phenotype of 2 clinically, radiologically, and pathologically similar leukodystrophies, adult-onset leukoencephalopathy with axonal spheroids and pigmented glia (ALSP) and alanyl-transfer RNA synthetase 2 mutation-related leukodystrophy (AARS2-L), and highlight key differentiating features. METHODS: ALSP and AARS2-L cases were identified from the adult-onset leukodystrophy database at our institution. In addition, cases with imaging findings were identified from a literature review. The phenotypic features were determined by combining published cases with those from our database. RESULTS: A combined total of 74 cases of ALSP and 10 cases of AARS2-L with neuroimaging data were identified. The mean age at onset was 42 years in ALSP and 26 years in AARS2-L. Cognitive and motor symptoms were the most common symptoms overall in both. Ovarian failure was exclusive to AARS2-L, present in all known female cases. Both ALSP and AARS2-L showed a confluent, asymmetric, predominantly frontoparietal, periventricular pattern of white matter disease with subcortical U-fiber sparing; pyramidal tract and corpus callosum involvement; and diffusion changes in the white matter which we have termed "deep white matter diffusion dots." Central atrophy and corpus callosal thinning were prominent in ALSP and disproportionately mild in AARS2-L when present. ALSP also occasionally showed ventricular abnormalities and calcifications in the frontal periventricular white matter, features not seen in AARS2-L. AARS2-L demonstrates white matter rarefaction which suppresses on fluid-attenuated inversion recovery MRI sequences, a feature not seen in ALSP. CONCLUSIONS: ALSP and AARS2-L share similar clinical, imaging, and pathologic characteristics with key differentiating features that we have highlighted

Use of intravenous immunoglobulin for the treatment of autoimmune encephalitis: audit of the NHS experience

OBJECTIVES: The treatments of limbic and other autoimmune encephalitis include immunosuppression, symptomatic treatment, and in the case of paraneoplastic syndromes, appropriate therapy for underlying neoplasms. When immunotherapy is considered, intravenous immunoglobulin is one option for treatment, either alone or in combination with corticosteroids. To date, however, evidence for the use of intravenous immunoglobulin in this context comes from case series/expert reviews as no controlled trials have been performed. We aimed to analyse the NHS England Database of intravenous immunoglobulin usage, which was designed to log use and guide procurement, to explore usage and therapeutic effect of intravenous immunoglobulin in autoimmune encephalitis in England. DESIGN: We conducted a retrospective audit and review of the NHS England Database on intravenous immunoglobulin use. Setting: NHS England Database of intravenous immunoglobulin use which covers secondary and tertiary care prescribing and use of intravenous immunoglobulin for all patients in hospitals in England. PARTICIPANTS: Hospital in-patients with confirmed or suspected autoimmune/limbic encephalitis between September 2010 and January 2017. RESULTS: A total of 625 patients who were 18 years of age or older were treated with intravenous immunoglobulin for autoimmune encephalitis, of whom 398 were determined as having 'highly likely' or 'definite' autoimmune/limbic encephalitis. Ninety-six percent were treated with a single course of intravenous immunoglobulin. The availability and accuracy of reporting of outcomes was very poor, with complete data only available in 27% of all cases. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first review of data from this unique national database. Whilst there was evidence for clinical improvement in many cases of patients treated with intravenous immunoglobulin, the quality of outcome data was generally inadequate. Methods to improve quality, accuracy and completeness of reporting are crucial to maximise the potential value of this resource as an auditing tool

Deriving a mutation index of carcinogenicity using protein structure and protein interfaces

With the advent of Next Generation Sequencing the identification of mutations in the genomes of healthy and diseased tissues has become commonplace. While much progress has been made to elucidate the aetiology of disease processes in cancer, the contributions to disease that many individual mutations make remain to be characterised and their downstream consequences on cancer phenotypes remain to be understood. Missense mutations commonly occur in cancers and their consequences remain challenging to predict. However, this knowledge is becoming more vital, for both assessing disease progression and for stratifying drug treatment regimes. Coupled with structural data, comprehensive genomic databases of mutations such as the 1000 Genomes project and COSMIC give an opportunity to investigate general principles of how cancer mutations disrupt proteins and their interactions at the molecular and network level. We describe a comprehensive comparison of cancer and neutral missense mutations; by combining features derived from structural and interface properties we have developed a carcinogenicity predictor, InCa (Index of Carcinogenicity). Upon comparison with other methods, we observe that InCa can predict mutations that might not be detected by other methods. We also discuss general limitations shared by all predictors that attempt to predict driver mutations and discuss how this could impact high-throughput predictions. A web interface to a server implementation is publicly available at http://inca.icr.ac.uk/

Social gradients in self-reported health and well-being among adults aged 50 and over in Pune District, India

Background: India’s older population is projected to increase up to 96 million by 2011 with older people accounting for 18% of its population by 2051. The Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health aims to improve empirical understanding of health and well-being of older adults in developing countries. Objectives: To examine age and socio-economic changes on a range of key domains in self-reported health and well-being amongst older adults. Design: A cross-sectional survey of 5,430 adults aged 50 and over using a shortened version of the SAGE questionnaire to assess self-reported assessments (scales of 1–5) of performance, function, disability, quality of life and well-being. Self-reported responses were calibrated using anchoring vignettes in eight key domains of mobility, self-care, pain, cognition, interpersonal relationships, sleep/energy, affect, and vision. WHO Disability Assessment Schedule Index and WHO health scores were calculated to examine for associations with socio-demographic variables. Results: Disability in all domains increased with increasing age and decreasing levels of education. Females and the oldest old without a living spouse reported poorer health status and greater disability across all domains. Performance and functionality self-reports were similar across all SES quintiles. Self-reports on quality of life were not significantly influenced by socio-demographic variables. Discussion: The study provides standardised and comparable self-rated health data using anchoring vignettes in an older population. Though expectations of good health, function and performance decrease with age, self-reports of disability severity significantly increased with age, more so if female, if uneducated and living without a spouse. However, the presence or absence of spouse did not significantly alter quality of life self-reports, suggesting a possible protective effect provided by traditional joint family structures in India, where older people are social if not financial assets for their children

Clinical and genetic characterization of leukoencephalopathies in adults

Leukodystrophies and genetic leukoencephalopathies are a rare group of disorders leading to progressive degeneration of cerebral white matter. They are associated with a spectrum of clinical phenotypes dominated by dementia, psychiatric changes, movement disorders and upper motor neuron signs. Mutations in at least 60 genes can lead to leukoencephalopathy with often overlapping clinical and radiological presentations. For these reasons, patients with genetic leukoencephalopathies often endure a long diagnostic odyssey before receiving a definitive diagnosis or may receive no diagnosis at all. In this study, we used focused and whole exome sequencing to evaluate a cohort of undiagnosed adult patients referred to a specialist leukoencephalopathy service. In total, 100 patients were evaluated using focused exome sequencing of 6100 genes. We detected pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants in 26 cases. The most frequently mutated genes were NOTCH3, EIF2B5, AARS2 and CSF1R. We then carried out whole exome sequencing on the remaining negative cases including four family trios, but could not identify any further potentially disease-causing mutations, confirming the equivalence of focused and whole exome sequencing in the diagnosis of genetic leukoencephalopathies. Here we provide an overview of the clinical and genetic features of these disorders in adults