Infectious Bronchitis Virus: a major cause of respiratory disease outbreaks in chickens in Ghana

Infectious Bronchitis Virus (IBV) causes respiratory diseases with significant economic losses in the global poultry industry. The possible presence of this pathogen in the commercial poultry industry in Ghana has not yet been evaluated and thus there is no control strategy in place. In the present study, the RT-PCR technique was used to detect IBV in respiratory disease outbreaks in 6 chicken farms in the Ga East district of Accra. RNA was extracted from tracheal swabs of birds with respiratory signs and used in an RT-PCR to amplify the S1 glycoprotein gene of IBV. Forty seven (47) samples were obtained and analyzed during a 3 month period from broilers, layers and broiler breeders. Thirty (30) of the samples were positive for IBV by RT-PCR, giving a prevalence of 64%. This study confirms the presence of IBV in the study area and provides initial evidence of IBV involvement in respiratory disease outbreaks. Additional studies including virus isolation attempts and characterization will provide necessary data to outline and implement an effective control strategy in the country. Keywords: Infectious Bronchitis Virus, RT-PCR, chickens, Ghan

Cell-based therapies for the treatment of sports injuries of the upper limb

Introduction: The use of cell-based therapies in the management of sports injuries of the upper limb is increasingly popular despite the limited scientific evidence available for their use. We aim to evaluate the evidence for the use of cell-based therapies in these injuries and recommend areas for further research. Areas covered: In accordance with a published protocol (PROSPERO; Registration No. CRD42020193258), a comprehensive search of the literature was performed using the MEDLINE and EMBASE databases from inception to June 2020. All human studies reporting on the clinical, histological, or radiological outcomes following the use of cell-based therapies in the management of epicondylitis or rotator cuff pathology were included in this study. This resulted in 22 studies being included in this review, all of which underwent risk of bias assessments. Expert opinion: The evidence for the use of cell-based therapies in upper limb sports injuries is limited and generally of low quality. Given the heterogeneity in the cell types used, their harvesting methods and cell amounts, future research should be targeted at developing standardization of the reporting of these studies and more direct comparative studies looking at the efficacy of the different cell types

Development of Quantitative Lateral Flow Strip Biosensors for the Detection of Cancer Biomarkers

The detection of cancer biomarkers is of great importance in oncology. Cancer biomarkers can provide diagnostic information which can aid disease screening and early diagnosis. Further, cancer biomarkers can help predict disease prognosis and response to therapy, and also help in the monitoring of disease. Thence, the accurate and sensitive detection of cancer biomarkers which may be present at very low concentrations is of great clinical importance. Traditionally, these biomarkers have been detected predominantly by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay. The traditional biomarker detection assays generally require multiple washing steps, long assay times, and have the need for trained expertise and expensive instrumentation. In this dissertation, Lateral Flow Strip Biosensors (LFSB) that provide rapid, low-cost and user-friendly screening of cancer biomarkers are discussed. The developed biosensors have the added advantages of being portable, sensitive and highly selective, which makes them ideal for routine cancer screening. Gold nanoparticles (GNP)-based Lateral Flow Strip Immunosensors (LFSI) that colorimetrically detected carbohydrate antigen (CA 19-9) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) were developed for the screening of human plasma and pancreatic cyst fluid, respectively. Further, carbon nanotube based-LFSBs that targeted CA 19-9 and CEA were developed. The CNT-based LFSBs showed improved detection limits over the conventional GNP-based LFSB. A GNP-based LFSB was also developed for the detection of exosomes using an aptamer that targeted a cell surface protein, epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM). The developed assays showed good performance and were used for the screening of pancreatic cancer patient samples. Upon further development, the assays discussed in this dissertation could find application in the clinical screening and monitoring of cancer, especially in limited resource settings.National Institutes of Health (U.S.)NIH-COBRE (1P20GM09024)North Dakota State University. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistr

Periprosthetic femoral fractures around the original cemented polished triple-tapered C-stem femoral implant : a consecutive series of 500 primary total hip arthroplasties with an average follow-up of 15 years

IntroductionThe true incidence of periprosthetic femoral fracture (PFF) around cemented polished taper-slip implants remains largely unknown. Registries usually only capture PFFs that result in revision, missing those managed non-operatively or treated by open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF). This study reports the long-term rate of PFF with the original triple-tapered C-stem femoral implant.Materials and methodsA prospective review of a consecutive series of 500 primary total hip arthroplasties (THAs) performed at a single centre between March 2000 and December 2005, with average follow-up of 15 years (12-19 years).ResultsThere were 500 consecutive THAs in 455 patients. Seven PFFs (1.4%) occurred in seven patients at an average of 7.9 years (range 2-11.5) from the primary arthroplasty. Five PFFs were managed by ORIF, one Vancouver B3 fracture was revised for a loose implant and one patient was treated non-operatively. Average age at primary operation was 74 years (67-87) and BMI averaged 27.3 (22-31). There was no typical fracture pattern and no statistically significant associations with patient demographics (age, gender, BMI, diagnosis) or prosthetic details (size, offset, alignment, cement mantle, subsidence). Survivorship to the occurrence of PFF was 99% (97.3-99.6%) at 10 years and 97.8% (95.5-99.0%) at 15.ConclusionA PFF rate of 1.4% at an average follow-up of 15 years represents the true incidence of PFF with the use of the original triple-tapered C-Stem femoral implant, similar to that of published Exeter series (1.85%) but lower than the CPT (3.3%)

Gold-Nanoparticle-Decorated Silica Nanorods for Sensitive Visual Detection of Proteins

We report a rapid and highly sensitive approach based on gold-nanoparticle-decorated silica nanorods (GNP-SiNRs) label and lateral-flow strip biosensor (LFSB) for visually detecting proteins. Owing to its biocompatibility and convenient surface modification, SiNRs were used as carriers to load numerous GNPs, and the GNP-SiNRs were used as labels for the lateral-flow assay. The LFSB detection limit was lowered 50 times compared to the traditional GNP-based lateral-flow assay. Rabbit IgG was used as a model target to demonstrate the proof-of-concept. Sandwich-type immunoreactions were performed on the immunochromatographic strips, and the accumulation of GNP-SiNRs on the test zone produced the characteristic colored bands, enabling visual detection of proteins without instrumentation. The quantitative detection was performed by reading the intensities of the colored bands with a portable strip reader. The response of the optimized device was highly linear for the range of 0.05–2 ng mL^–1, and the detection limit was estimated to be 0.01 ng mL^–1. The GNP-SiNR-based LFSB, thus, offered an ultrasensitive method for rapidly detecting trace amounts of proteins. This method has a potential application with point-of-care screening for clinical diagnostics and biomedical research

Students' participation in collaborative research should be recognised

Letter to the editor