Flying Over an Infected Landscape: Distribution of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 Risk in South Asia and Satellite Tracking of Wild Waterfowl

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus persists in Asia, posing a threat to poultry, wild birds, and humans. Previous work in Southeast Asia demonstrated that HPAI H5N1 risk is related to domestic ducks and people. Other studies discussed the role of migratory birds in the long distance spread of HPAI H5N1. However, the interplay between local persistence and long-distance dispersal has never been studied. We expand previous geospatial risk analysis to include South and Southeast Asia, and integrate the analysis with migration data of satellite-tracked wild waterfowl along the Central Asia flyway. We find that the population of domestic duck is the main factor delineating areas at risk of HPAI H5N1 spread in domestic poultry in South Asia, and that other risk factors, such as human population and chicken density, are associated with HPAI H5N1 risk within those areas. We also find that satellite tracked birds (Ruddy Shelduck and two Bar-headed Geese) reveal a direct spatio-temporal link between the HPAI H5N1 hot-spots identified in India and Bangladesh through our risk model, and the wild bird outbreaks in May–June–July 2009 in China (Qinghai Lake), Mongolia, and Russia. This suggests that the continental-scale dynamics of HPAI H5N1 are structured as a number of persistence areas delineated by domestic ducks, connected by rare transmission through migratory waterfowl

The influence of visual flow and perceptual load on locomotion speed

Visual flow is used to perceive and regulate movement speed during locomotion. We assessed the extent to which variation in flow from the ground plane, arising from static visual textures, influences locomotion speed under conditions of concurrent perceptual load. In two experiments, participants walked over a 12-m projected walkway that consisted of stripes that were oriented orthogonal to the walking direction. In the critical conditions, the frequency of the stripes increased or decreased. We observed small, but consistent effects on walking speed, so that participants were walking slower when the frequency increased compared to when the frequency decreased. This basic effect suggests that participants interpreted the change in visual flow in these conditions as at least partly due to a change in their own movement speed, and counteracted such a change by speeding up or slowing down. Critically, these effects were magnified under conditions of low perceptual load and a locus of attention near the ground plane. Our findings suggest that the contribution of vision in the control of ongoing locomotion is relatively fluid and dependent on ongoing perceptual (and perhaps more generally cognitive) task demands

Autoimmunity to HSP60 during diet induced obesity in mice

Adaptive immunity has been implicated in adipose tissue inflammation, obesity and its adverse metabolic consequences. No obesity-related autoantigen has yet been identified, although heat shock protein 60 (HSP60) has been implicated in other autoimmune diseases. We investigated whether feeding a high-fat diet to C57BL/6J mice would cause autoimmunity to HSP60 and whether immunomodulation with peptides from HSP60 would reverse the resulting obesity or metabolic dysfunction. Obese mice had higher circulating levels of HSP60 associated with increased T-lymphocyte proliferation responses and the emergence of circulating IgG1 and IgG2c antibody levels against HSP60. Treatment with escalating doses of a mixture of three proven immunomodulatory HSP60 peptides did not reduce weight but completely reversed the increase in VLDL/LDL levels and partially reversed the glucose intolerance in obese mice. Obese mice mount an autoimmune response to HSP60, which partly underlies the resulting metabolic disturbances

Evaluation of appendicitis risk prediction models in adults with suspected appendicitis

Background Appendicitis is the most common general surgical emergency worldwide, but its diagnosis remains challenging. The aim of this study was to determine whether existing risk prediction models can reliably identify patients presenting to hospital in the UK with acute right iliac fossa (RIF) pain who are at low risk of appendicitis. Methods A systematic search was completed to identify all existing appendicitis risk prediction models. Models were validated using UK data from an international prospective cohort study that captured consecutive patients aged 16–45 years presenting to hospital with acute RIF in March to June 2017. The main outcome was best achievable model specificity (proportion of patients who did not have appendicitis correctly classified as low risk) whilst maintaining a failure rate below 5 per cent (proportion of patients identified as low risk who actually had appendicitis). Results Some 5345 patients across 154 UK hospitals were identified, of which two‐thirds (3613 of 5345, 67·6 per cent) were women. Women were more than twice as likely to undergo surgery with removal of a histologically normal appendix (272 of 964, 28·2 per cent) than men (120 of 993, 12·1 per cent) (relative risk 2·33, 95 per cent c.i. 1·92 to 2·84; P < 0·001). Of 15 validated risk prediction models, the Adult Appendicitis Score performed best (cut‐off score 8 or less, specificity 63·1 per cent, failure rate 3·7 per cent). The Appendicitis Inflammatory Response Score performed best for men (cut‐off score 2 or less, specificity 24·7 per cent, failure rate 2·4 per cent). Conclusion Women in the UK had a disproportionate risk of admission without surgical intervention and had high rates of normal appendicectomy. Risk prediction models to support shared decision‐making by identifying adults in the UK at low risk of appendicitis were identified

Distribution of the slenderbilled gull (Larus genei Breme) in the Gulf of Kachchh, Gujarat

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A Randomized Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study to Evaluate the Anti-Skin-Aging Effect of LactoSporin &ndash; The Extracellular Metabolite from Bacillus coagulans (Weizmannia coagulans) MTCC 5856 in Healthy Female Volunteers

Muhammed Majeed,1,2 Kalyanam Nagabhushanam,2 Shaji Paulose,1 HR Rajalakshmi,1 Lakshmi Mundkur1 1Sami-Sabinsa Group Limited, Bengaluru (Bangalore), Karnataka, 560 058, India; 2Sabinsa Corporation, East Windsor, NJ, 08520, USACorrespondence: Lakshmi Mundkur, Sami-Sabinsa Group Limited, 19/1& 19/2, I Main, II Phase, Peenya Industrial Area, Bengaluru, Karnataka, 560 058, India, Fax +91 8068527706, Email [email protected]: There has been a growing interest in the use of probiotics and their products for skin care, over the last decade. LactoSporin is the extracellular metabolite of a spore-forming probiotic Bacillus coagulans (Weizmannia coagulans) MTCC 5856, with antimicrobial and skin protecting activity.Patients and Methods: The anti-skin-aging potential of LactoSporin was evaluated in a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study in healthy female participants (70 screened and 56 randomized). The participants applied either LactoSporin or matched placebo formulation (N=28 in each group) for 10 weeks, and the effects were assessed by dermatological, and non-invasive instrument-based evaluation using Antera, Cutometer, Corneometer, and Tewameter. All the 56 participants completed the study and were included for the analysis.Results: The regular use of LactoSporin cream for 10 weeks showed a significant reduction in visibility of wrinkles around crow’s feet, nasolabial folds, frown lines, and facial fine lines compared to baseline and placebo by dermatological and Antera assessments. LactoSporin showed improvement in skin elasticity and hydration by dermatological assessments, but the effect was not significantly different from placebo when assessed by Cutometer, Corneometer, and Tewameter. No adverse events or skin irritation was observed in any participants during the study.Conclusion: These results suggest that LactoSporin could be a safe natural ingredient to reduce wrinkles and fine lines in cosmetic formulations.Keywords: LactoSporin, safety, dermatological assessments, corneometer, tewameter, cutomete