Prevalence of Disorders Recorded in Dogs Attending Primary-Care Veterinary Practices in England

Purebred dog health is thought to be compromised by an increasing occurence of inherited diseases but inadequate prevalence data on common disorders have hampered efforts to prioritise health reforms. Analysis of primary veterinary practice clinical data has been proposed for reliable estimation of disorder prevalence in dogs. Electronic patient record (EPR) data were collected on 148,741 dogs attending 93 clinics across central and south-eastern England. Analysis in detail of a random sample of EPRs relating to 3,884 dogs from 89 clinics identified the most frequently recorded disorders as otitis externa (prevalence 10.2%, 95% CI: 9.1-11.3), periodontal disease (9.3%, 95% CI: 8.3-10.3) and anal sac impaction (7.1%, 95% CI: 6.1-8.1). Using syndromic classification, the most prevalent body location affected was the head-and-neck (32.8%, 95% CI: 30.7-34.9), the most prevalent organ system affected was the integument (36.3%, 95% CI: 33.9-38.6) and the most prevalent pathophysiologic process diagnosed was inflammation (32.1%, 95% CI: 29.8-34.3). Among the twenty most-frequently recorded disorders, purebred dogs had a significantly higher prevalence compared with crossbreds for three: otitis externa (P = 0.001), obesity (P = 0.006) and skin mass lesion (P = 0.033), and popular breeds differed significantly from each other in their prevalence for five: periodontal disease (P = 0.002), overgrown nails (P = 0.004), degenerative joint disease (P = 0.005), obesity (P = 0.001) and lipoma (P = 0.003). These results fill a crucial data gap in disorder prevalence information and assist with disorder prioritisation. The results suggest that, for maximal impact, breeding reforms should target commonly-diagnosed complex disorders that are amenable to genetic improvement and should place special focus on at-risk breeds. Future studies evaluating disorder severity and duration will augment the usefulness of the disorder prevalence information reported herein

Dominance, reproductive behaviours and female mate choice in sterilised versus non-sterilised invasive male crayfish

© 2020, The Author(s). Many methods of controlling invasive crayfishes have limited success because they fail to target all life stages of the population, notably by capturing only large adults that can result in increased juvenile recruitment by removing intraspecific predation. An alternative approach uses the sterile male release technique that involves the mass release of sterile males into the environment, which then mate with fertile females, resulting in unfertilised eggs and, ultimately, reduced juvenile recruitment. This does, however, rely on the sterilised males exhibiting behaviours similar to non-sterilised (entire) males and remaining attractive to females during mate choice. Post-copulatory male guarding behaviour and female promiscuity might also be affected by male sterilisation. To test for the presence of normal reproductive behaviours in sterilised male American signal crayfish Pacifastacus leniusculus, a two-stage experiment examined how sterilisation affects female mate choice and promiscuity, male hierarchical status (relative dominance) and post-copulation guarding. Sterilised males showed similar reproductive behaviours to entire males and remained as attractive to females, with no differences in relative dominance. Post-copulation, guarding behaviours were also unaffected. Females did not display promiscuous behaviour and this was unaffected by whether males were entire or sterilised. The results demonstrated that sterilised males were equally as capable as entire males of achieving dominance and winning mates. In combination, these findings suggest that male sterilisation could be an effective control technique to help reduce juvenile recruitment in wild P. leniusculus populations by reducing reproductive success

Sociodemographic correlates of food habits among school adolescents (12–15 year) in north Gaza Strip

Background: There is little information about meal patterns and food consumption of adolescents in Palestine. The objective of this study was to describe the association between sociodemographic factors and food intake, and meal patterns among Palestinian school adolescents (12–15 year) in North Gaza Strip. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2002 comprising 944 subjects in 10 schools in Gaza city, Jabalia village and Jabalia refugee camp. Self-administered questionnaires were filled in by students and parents to obtain data on frequency of meals, food intake and sociodemographic characteristics. Results: High household socioeconomic status (SES) was associated with the increased number of meals and the increased intakes of many nutritious foods such as; animal food items, fruits and vegetables and dairy foods. The percentage of adolescents having breakfast daily of high and low SES was 74.5% vs 55% in boys and 65.6% vs 45% in girls. The percentage of girls with refugee status who had lunch was higher (90.2%) compared to the local citizen girls (83.9%), (p = 0.03). Girls were less likely to skip daily lunch (OR = 0.55, 95% CI = 0.36–0.87, p = 0.01) compared to boys. Risk of skipping lunch was three times higher among adolescents living in the village compared to Gaza well-off area (OR = 3.3, 95% CI = 1.72–6.31, p < 0.001). Adolescents who were having lunch daily were less likely to skip breakfast or dinner. Only 11.6% of boys and 16.2% of girls consumed fruits daily. In multivariate analysis, SES was positively associated with food frequency intake scores in both genders. Boys from the refugee camp and the village had a significant higher consumption of fruits and vegetables than boys from high and low income area in Gaza City, while it was the opposite in girls. Conclusion: Meal skipping is common, particularly among those of low SES and the intakes of many nutritious foods such as animal food items, fruits and vegetables and dairy foods seem to be low among adolescents of low SES. The results of this study could be used as an important baseline for future monitoring of the nutritional situation of adolescents.Abdallah H Abudayya, Hein Stigum, Zumin Shi, Yehia Abed and Gerd Holmboe-Ottese

Bone mineral density and body composition in postmenopausal women with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis

Introduction: the aim of the present study was to compare bone mineral density (BMD) and body composition (BC) measurements as well as identify risk factors for low BMD and osteoporotic fractures in postmenopausal women with psoriasis (Ps) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA).Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in 45 PsA women, 52 Ps women and 98 healthy female controls (HC). Clinical risk factors for low bone density and osteoporotic fracture were evaluated by a specific questionnaire. An X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) at the lumbar spine, total femur and total body was performed on all patients. Skin and joint outcomes were measured by specific tools (PASI, HAQ and DAS28). Morphometric vertebral fractures were evaluated by lumbar and thoracic spine X-ray, according to Genant's method.Results: There were no significant differences in age, body mass index (BMI), total lean mass and bone mineral density among the groups. However, the PsA group had a significantly higher body fat percentage (BF%) than the Ps and HC groups. Osteoporotic fractures were more frequently observed in PsA and Ps groups than in the HC group (P = 0.01). Recurrent falls and a longer duration of disease increased the risk of fracture (odds ratio (OR) = 18.3 and 1.08, respectively) in the PsA group (P = 0.02). Disability was the main factor related to osteoporotic fracture in the Ps group (odds ratio (OR) = 11.1) (P = 0.02).Conclusions: Ps and PsA patients did not present lower BMD. However, they had a higher prevalence of osteoporotic fractures and higher risk of metabolic syndrome. Patients with a longer duration of disease, disability and recurrent falls need preventive measures.Rheumatology Division at UNIFESP/EPMUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, UNIFESP Paulista Sch Med, Div Rheumatol, EPM, BR-04023900 São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, UNIFESP Paulista Sch Med, Div Rheumatol, EPM, BR-04023900 São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis have an altered circulatory aggrecan profile

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic auto-immune disease with extensive articular cartilage destruction. Aggrecan depletion, mediated by aggrecanases is one of the first signs of early cartilage erosion. We investigated, whether measurement of aggrecan and fragments thereof in serum, could be used as biomarkers for joint-disease in RA patients and furthermore characterized the fragments found in the circulation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study consisted of 38 patients, 12 males (62.2 ± 16.0 years) and 26 females (59.8 ± 20.7 years) diagnosed with RA: 41.5 ± 27.5 mm/h erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), 38.4 ± 34.7 mg/ml C-reactive protein (CRP) and 4.8 ± 1.7 disease activity score (DAS) and 108 healthy age-matched controls. Aggrecan levels were measured using two immunoassays, i.e. the ³⁷⁴ARGSVI-G2 sandwich ELISA measuring aggrecanase-mediated aggrecan degradation and the G1/G2 sandwich assay, detecting aggrecan molecules containing G1 and/or G2 (total aggrecan) We further characterized serum samples by western blots, by using monoclonal antibodies F-78, binding to G1 and G2, or by BC-3, detecting the aggrecanase-generated N-terminal ³⁷⁴ARGSVI neo-epitope.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Total aggrecan levels in RA patients were significantly decreased from 824.8 ± 31 ng/ml in healthy controls to 570.5 ± 30 ng/ml (31% decrease, P < 0.0001), as measured by the G1/G2 ELISA. Western blot analysis with F-78 showed one strong band at 10 kDa, and weaker bands at 25 and 45 kDa in both healthy controls and RA patients. In contrast, staining for aggrecanase-activity revealed only one strong band in RA patients of 45 kDa.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This is the first study, which characterizes different aggrecan fragments in human serum. The data strongly suggests that total aggrecan levels, i.e. aggrecan molecules containing G1 and/or G2 are lower in RA patients, and that RA patients have at least one specific subpopulation of aggrecan fragments, namely aggrecanse generated ³⁷⁴ARGSVI fragments. Further clinical studies are needed to investigate the potential of G1/G2 as a structure-related biochemical marker in destructive joint-diseases.</p

Whole-Genome and Chromosome Evolution Associated with Host Adaptation and Speciation of the Wheat Pathogen Mycosphaerella graminicola

The fungus Mycosphaerella graminicola has been a pathogen of wheat since host domestication 10,000–12,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent. The wheat-infecting lineage emerged from closely related Mycosphaerella pathogens infecting wild grasses. We use a comparative genomics approach to assess how the process of host specialization affected the genome structure of M. graminicola since divergence from the closest known progenitor species named M. graminicola S1. The genome of S1 was obtained by Illumina sequencing resulting in a 35 Mb draft genome sequence of 32X. Assembled contigs were aligned to the previously sequenced M. graminicola genome. The alignment covered >90% of the non-repetitive portion of the M. graminicola genome with an average divergence of 7%. The sequenced M. graminicola strain is known to harbor thirteen essential chromosomes plus eight dispensable chromosomes. We found evidence that structural rearrangements significantly affected the dispensable chromosomes while the essential chromosomes were syntenic. At the nucleotide level, the essential and dispensable chromosomes have evolved differently. The average synonymous substitution rate in dispensable chromosomes is considerably lower than in essential chromosomes, whereas the average non-synonymous substitution rate is three times higher. Differences in molecular evolution can be related to different transmission and recombination patterns, as well as to differences in effective population sizes of essential and dispensable chromosomes. In order to identify genes potentially involved in host specialization or speciation, we calculated ratios of synonymous and non-synonymous substitution rates in the >9,500 aligned protein coding genes. The genes are generally under strong purifying selection. We identified 43 candidate genes showing evidence of positive selection, one encoding a potential pathogen effector protein. We conclude that divergence of these pathogens was accompanied by structural rearrangements in the small dispensable chromosomes, while footprints of positive selection were present in only a small number of protein coding genes

A Rapid and Sensitive Method for Measuring NAcetylglucosaminidase Activity in Cultured Cells

A rapid and sensitive method to quantitatively assess N-acetylglucosaminidase (NAG) activity in cultured cells is highly desirable for both basic research and clinical studies. NAG activity is deficient in cells from patients with Mucopolysaccharidosis type IIIB (MPS IIIB) due to mutations in NAGLU, the gene that encodes NAG. Currently available techniques for measuring NAG activity in patient-derived cell lines include chromogenic and fluorogenic assays and provide a biochemical method for the diagnosis of MPS IIIB. However, standard protocols require large amounts of cells, cell disruption by sonication or freeze-thawing, and normalization to the cellular protein content, resulting in an error-prone procedure that is material- and time-consuming and that produces highly variable results. Here we report a new procedure for measuring NAG activity in cultured cells. This procedure is based on the use of the fluorogenic NAG substrate, 4- Methylumbelliferyl-2-acetamido-2-deoxy-alpha-D-glucopyranoside (MUG), in a one-step cell assay that does not require cell disruption or post-assay normalization and that employs a low number of cells in 96-well plate format. We show that the NAG one-step cell assay greatly discriminates between wild-type and MPS IIIB patient-derived fibroblasts, thus providing a rapid method for the detection of deficiencies in NAG activity. We also show that the assay is sensitive to changes in NAG activity due to increases in NAGLU expression achieved by either overexpressing the transcription factor EB (TFEB), a master regulator of lysosomal function, or by inducing TFEB activation chemically. Because of its small format, rapidity, sensitivity and reproducibility, the NAG one-step cell assay is suitable for multiple procedures, including the high-throughput screening of chemical libraries to identify modulators of NAG expression, folding and activity, and the investigation of candidate molecules and constructs for applications in enzyme replacement therapy, gene therapy, and combination therapies

Towards the fast scrambling conjecture

Many proposed quantum mechanical models of black holes include highly nonlocal interactions. The time required for thermalization to occur in such models should reflect the relaxation times associated with classical black holes in general relativity. Moreover, the time required for a particularly strong form of thermalization to occur, sometimes known as scrambling, determines the time scale on which black holes should start to release information. It has been conjectured that black holes scramble in a time logarithmic in their entropy, and that no system in nature can scramble faster. In this article, we address the conjecture from two directions. First, we exhibit two examples of systems that do indeed scramble in logarithmic time: Brownian quantum circuits and the antiferromagnetic Ising model on a sparse random graph. Unfortunately, both fail to be truly ideal fast scramblers for reasons we discuss. Second, we use Lieb-Robinson techniques to prove a logarithmic lower bound on the scrambling time of systems with finite norm terms in their Hamiltonian. The bound holds in spite of any nonlocal structure in the Hamiltonian, which might permit every degree of freedom to interact directly with every other one.Comment: 34 pages. v2: typo correcte

Statin Therapy in Metabolic Syndrome and Hypertension Post-JUPITER: What is the Value of CRP?

Much evidence supports a pivotal role for inflammation in atherosclerosis. C-reactive protein (CRP), the prototypic marker of inflammation in humans, is a cardiovascular risk marker and may also promote atherogenesis. CRP levels are increased in metabolic syndrome and hypertension and confer increased risk of cardiovascular events in patients in these subgroups. Statins have been shown to lower low-density lipoproteins and CRP independently, and reduce cardiovascular events in subjects with and without metabolic syndrome and hypertension. In this review, we focus on the results from the primary prevention statin trial, Justification for the Use of statins in Primary prevention: an Intervention Trial Evaluating Rosuvastatin (JUPITER), which showed reductions in LDL, CRP, and cardiovascular events. Post-JUPITER, the new guidelines will now need to consider recommending high-sensitivity CRP testing to intermediate-risk metabolic syndrome patients and those with hypertension and intermediate risk so that we can better identify candidates at greater risk and reduce cardiovascular burden in these subjects with statin therapy