Stray dogs as indicators of Toxoplasma gondii distributed in the environment: the first report across an urban-rural gradient in China

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Toxoplasmosis is an important parasitic zoonosis caused by the protozoan <it>Toxoplasma gondii </it>that is distributed world-wide and infects a variety of hosts. However, the prevalence of <it>T. gondii </it>in the environment (such as soil, water and food) is largely unknown. Due to the technical difficulty in oocyst counting directly, an alternative assay using the serologic status of <it>T. gondii </it>in free-living animals, such as stray or free-living dogs, as an indicator, can be used to evaluate environmental contamination indirectly, as they are exposed to the same risk of infection as humans and other animals.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In the present study, 231 stray or free-living dogs across an urban-rural gradient were examined to assess the frequency of <it>T. gondii </it>in the environment. Specific antibodies to <it>T. gondii </it>were found in 93 dogs (40.3%) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and no statistically significant differences were observed in seroprevalences of <it>T. gondii </it>between urban dogs (38.7%) and rural dogs (41%) (<it>p </it>> 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A high seroprevalence of <it>T. gondii </it>in stray or free-living dogs in the present study indicates that there would be a wide distribution and a constant infection pressure of <it>T. gondii </it>across an urban-rural gradient, and the oocysts of <it>T. gondii </it>in the environment would be an important source of infection for humans and other animals both in urban and rural areas in China.</p

Case Report: Exome Sequencing Identified a Novel Frameshift Mutation of α-Actin 1 in a Chinese Family With Macrothrombocytopenia and Mild Bleeding

Inherited macrothrombocytopenia (IMTP) is a rare disorder characterized by a reduced platelet count and abnormally large platelets. The main clinical symptom of IMTP is mild bleeding in some patients. At present, more than 30 genes have been identified in patients with syndromic and non-syndromic IMTP. In this study, a 3-year-old boy and his mother who presented with mild epistaxis and/or gingival bleeding were diagnosed as having IMTP. Wen then selected whole sequencing to explore the genetic lesion of the patients. After data filtering and mutation validation, a novel frameshift mutation (NM_001130004: c.398_399insTGCG, p.F134AfsX60) of α-actin 1 (ACTN1) was identified in the proband and his mother but absent in other unaffected individuals. Previous studies have proven that mutations in ACTN1 may lead to IMTP with mild to absent bleeding phenotype. The novel mutation, resulting in a truncated protein in exon 4 of the ACTN1 gene, was absent in the public database, such as 1000G and genomAD. Further Western blot revealed that the expression of α-actin 1 in the proband was decreased overtly, which indicated that the novel frameshift mutation may induce non-sense-mediated mRNA decay. In summary, this study not only broadened the variants spectrum of ACTN1 gene, which may contribute to the genetic counseling of IMTP, but also confirmed the diagnosis of IMTP, which may help the management and prognosis for the family members

Comparison of ultrasound−based ADNEX model with magnetic resonance imaging for discriminating adnexal masses: a multi-center study

ObjectivesThe ADNEX model offered a good diagnostic performance for discriminating adnexal tumors, but research comparing the abilities of the ADNEX model and MRI for characterizing adnexal tumors has not been reported to our knowledge. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the ultrasound-based ADNEX (Assessment of Different NEoplasias in the adneXa) model in comparison with that of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for differentiating benign, borderline and malignant adnexal masses.MethodsThis prospective study included 529 women with adnexal masses who underwent assessment via the ADNEX model and subjective MRI analysis before surgical treatment between October 2019 and April 2022 at two hospitals. Postoperative histological diagnosis was considered the gold standard.ResultsAmong the 529 women, 92 (17.4%) masses were diagnosed histologically as malignant tumors, 67 (12.7%) as borderline tumors, and 370 (69.9%) as benign tumors. For the diagnosis of malignancy, including borderline tumors, overall agreement between the ADNEX model and MRI pre-operation was 84.9%. The sensitivity of the ADNEX model of 0.91 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.85–0.95) was similar to that of MRI (0.89, 95% CI: 0.84–0.94; P=0.717). However, the ADNEX model had a higher specificity (0.90, 95% CI: 0.87–0.93) than MRI (0.81, 95% CI: 0.77–0.85; P=0.001). The greatest sensitivity (0.96, 95% CI: 0.92–0.99) and specificity (0.94, 95% CI: 0.91–0.96) were achieved by combining the ADNEX model and subjective MRI assessment. While the total diagnostic accuracy did not differ significantly between the two methods (P=0.059), the ADNEX model showed greater diagnostic accuracy for borderline tumors (P&lt;0.001).ConclusionThe ultrasound-based ADNEX model demonstrated excellent diagnostic performance for adnexal tumors, especially borderline tumors, compared with MRI. Accordingly, we recommend that the ADNEX model, alone or with subjective MRI assessment, should be used for pre-operative assessment of adnexal masses

A Hybrid Reliable Heuristic Mapping Method Based on Survivable Virtual Networks for Network Virtualization

The reliable mapping of virtual networks is one of the hot issues in network virtualization researches. Unlike the traditional protection mechanisms based on redundancy and recovery mechanisms, we take the solution of the survivable virtual topology routing problem for reference to ensure that the rest of the mapped virtual networks keeps connected under a single node failure condition in the substrate network, which guarantees the completeness of the virtual network and continuity of services. In order to reduce the cost of the substrate network, a hybrid reliable heuristic mapping method based on survivable virtual networks (Hybrid-RHM-SVN) is proposed. In Hybrid-RHM-SVN, we formulate the reliable mapping problem as an integer linear program. Firstly, we calculate the primary-cut set of the virtual network subgraph where the failed node has been removed. Then, we use the ant colony optimization algorithm to achieve the approximate optimal mapping. The links in primary-cut set should select a substrate path that does not pass through the substrate node corresponding to the virtual node that has been removed first. The simulation results show that the acceptance rate of virtual networks, the average revenue of mapping, and the recovery rate of virtual networks are increased compared with the existing reliable mapping algorithms, respectively

Yiqi Huoxue Recipe Improves Heart Function through Inhibiting Apoptosis Related to Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Myocardial Infarction Model of Rats

Objective. To explore the mechanism of cardioprotective effects of Chinese medicine, Yiqi Huoxue recipe, in rats with myocardial infarction- (MI-) induced heart failure. Methods. Male Sprague-Dawley rats underwent left anterior descending artery (LAD) ligation or sham operation. The surviving MI rats were divided randomly into three groups: MI (5 mL/kg/d NS by gavage), MI + Metoprolol Tartrate (MT) (12 mg/kg/d MT by gavage), and MI + Yiqi Huoxue (5 mL/kg recipe by gavage). And the sham operation rats were given 5 mL/kg/d normal saline. Treatments were given on the day following surgery for 4 weeks. Then rats were detected for heart structure and function by transthoracic echocardiography. Apoptosis in heart tissues was detected by TUNEL staining. To determine whether the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response pathway is included in the cardioprotective function of the recipe, ER stress related proteins such as GRP78 and caspase-12 were examined. Results. Yiqi Huoxue recipe attenuated heart function injury, reversed histopathological damage, alleviated myocardial apoptosis and inhibited ER stress in MI rats. Conclusion. All the results suggest that Yiqi Huoxue recipe improves the injured heart function maybe through inhibition of ER stress response pathway, which is a promising target in therapy for heart failure

Gum karaya (Sterculia urens) stabilized zero-valent iron nanoparticles: characterization and applications for the removal of chromium and volatile organic pollutants from water

This paper illustrates a method for the stabilization of nanoscale zerovalent iron (NZVI) suspensions with a “green” biopolymer, Gum Karaya (GK). The stability, sedimentation, aggregation behavior and reactivity towards Cr(VI) and volatile organic compounds using NZVI–GK (GK stabilized NZVI) and bare NZVI, were assessed. The stabilization mechanism of NZVI–GK was demonstrated using ATR-FTIR, XRD, XPS, TEM, SEM, TGA and particle size analysis. The NZVI–GK nanoparticle suspension was found to be stable for at least three months, suggesting a superior stability rendering property of GK which forms a scaffold to prevent NZVI from aggregating. Batch experiments, centred on Cr(VI) reduction and degradation of volatile organic compounds, confirmed that NZVI–GK was more reactive than bare NZVI. Furthermore, XPS and ICP-MS results revealed that Cr(VI) was reduced to Cr(III) by NZVI–GK and the remaining Cr(III) in solution was adsorbed onto GK, thereby completely removing chromium from the contaminated water. Our study suggests that an important role is played due to the attributes of GK (which include non-toxicity, biodegradability and cost-effectiveness) in conjunction with the ability of NZVI to remove all chromium viz. [Cr(VI) and Cr(III)] coupled with the total degradation and removal of VOCs (cis-1,2-dichloroethene, perchloroethene and trichloroethene) from water

Supporting new product commercialization through managerial social ties and market knowledge development in an emerging economy

University of Tasmania, Australi