Oro-facial aspects of leprosy : report of two cases with literature review

Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease affecting primarily the skin, peripheral nerves, respiratory system and the eyes. Leprosy induces various types of clinical presentation affecting the patient´s immune response. Cellmediated immunity is considered to be the crucial defence against the disease and the magnitude of this immunity defines the extent of the disease. The article presents two case reports of manifestations of leprosy in the oro-facial region, with a brief review of various other important oro-facial manifestations of leprosy. The first report deals with granulomatous nodules in the palate while the second report presents bilateral facial palsy in leprosy patients. Both the reports gain importance due to rare oral manifestation in a borderline leprosy patient in the first case, while the second case presents a rare bilateral Bell´s sign. The role of the dental profession and especially the Oral Medicine specialist is of great importance in early diagnosis of oral lesions

Do digital innovations for HIV and sexually transmitted infections work? Results from a systematic review (1996-2017).

OBJECTIVE: Digital innovations with internet/mobile phones offer a potential cost-saving solution for overburdened health systems with high service delivery costs to improve efficiency of HIV/STI (sexually transmitted infections) control initiatives. However, their overall evidence has not yet been appraised. We evaluated the feasibility and impact of all digital innovations for all HIV/STIs. DESIGN: Systematic review. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: All settings/all participants. INTERVENTION: We classified digital innovations into (1) mobile health-based (mHealth: SMS (short message service)/phone calls), (2) internet-based mobile and/or electronic health (mHealth/eHealth: social media, avatar-guided computer programs, websites, mobile applications, streamed soap opera videos) and (3) combined innovations (included both SMS/phone calls and internet-based mHealth/eHealth). PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Feasibility, acceptability, impact. METHODS: We searched databases MEDLINE via PubMed, Embase, Cochrane CENTRAL and Web of Science, abstracted data, explored heterogeneity, performed a random effects subgroup analysis. RESULTS: We reviewed 99 studies, 63 (64%) were from America/Europe, 36 (36%) from Africa/Asia; 79% (79/99) were clinical trials; 84% (83/99) evaluated impact. Of innovations, mHealth based: 70% (69/99); internet based: 21% (21/99); combined: 9% (9/99).All digital innovations were highly accepted (26/31; 84%), and feasible (20/31; 65%). Regarding impacted measures, mHealth-based innovations (SMS) significantly improved antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence (pooled OR=2.15(95%CI: 1.18 to 3.91)) and clinic attendance rates (pooled OR=1.76(95%CI: 1.28, 2.42)); internet-based innovations improved clinic attendance (6/6), ART adherence (4/4), self-care (1/1), while reducing risk (5/5); combined innovations increased clinic attendance, ART adherence, partner notifications and self-care. Confounding (68%) and selection bias (66%) were observed in observational studies and attrition bias in 31% of clinical trials. CONCLUSION: Digital innovations were acceptable, feasible and generated impact. A trend towards the use of internet-based and combined (internet and mobile) innovations was noted. Large scale-up studies of high quality, with new integrated impact metrics, and cost-effectiveness are needed. Findings will appeal to all stakeholders in the HIV/STI global initiatives space

The potential of RFID technology for tracking Mangalica pigs in the extensive farming system–a research from Hungary

Context: In recent years, the focus on sustainable meat production in large-scale pig farming has increased. An essential element is acquiring and evaluating digital data on ecological, outdoor pig housing environments and individuals. Objective: Some of the precision farming Internet of Things (IoT) tools that can be used in pasture-based, extensive pig production include those that have been proven in pasture-based ruminants and have been used in confined pig production for many years. These include Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) technology, in which passive RFID tags attached to pigs’ ears capture signals from a reader equipped with an antenna. The reader can also be used to collect weather parameters. Methods: In our on-farm research, which lasted 7 months and covered three seasons, we used RFID technology to investigate the effects of ambient temperature, humidity, air pressure, and hour of day on the appearance of breeding sows kept on pasture at the wallowing site. Results and conclusion: We found that all three weather parameters and hour-of-day had a significant effect (p < 0.001) on the appearance of sows at the wallow. We calculated the THI (Temperature Humidity Index) and found days in summer and early autumn when there was a risk of heat stress. This is essential information for the pig farmer because heat stress has a strong negative effect on sow fertility. Our on-farm study found that RFID technology is suitable for detecting the presence of pigs in the pasture. However, the limitations of the technology, both in terms of the housing environment and the species specificity of the pigs, need to be taken into account. Significance: In pasture-based pig production systems, the meat production process is performed under extensive conditions of natural animal-environment interaction. The negative impact on the natural environment is much lower, but animal welfare is higher than in intensive pig farming. It is also a profit-oriented activity, where the production of traceable and reliable animal products is a social and economic requirement. Collecting information from trusted sources using precision livestock farming (PLF) techniques is also feasible in this type of farming, providing significant added value for pig farmers and consumers

Evaluation of the Diuretic Activity of Alocasia macrorrhizos in Rats

ABSTRACT Alocasia macrorrhizos (AM) belongs to the family Araceae, different parts of this plant have shown hepatoprotective, anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory action. Though it is traditionally used as a diuretic it needs substantial experimental evidence to support this. Hence we aimed to evaluate the diuretic activity of hydroalcoholic extract of leaves of AM in wistar rats. Acute diuretic activity of hydroalcoholic (50%) extract of leaves of AM (250 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg body weight orally) was studied in saline primed wistar albino rats (n=6). Furosemide (10 mg/kg) orally was used as the standard. Total 24 hours urine volume was measured using metabolic cages. The concentration of Na + , K + in the urine at the end of 24 hours was estimated. Data was analyzed by One-way ANOVA followed by Dunnett test. Hydroalcoholic extract of leaves of AM showed a significant (P &lt; 0.05) dose dependent increase in urine volume (8.1 ± 0.97ml/100g/24hr and 9.7±0.75 ml/100gm/24hr). At 500 mg/kg AM increased the excretion of sodium but decreased the excretion of potassium significantly compared to control. This preclinical study showed a potential diuretic activity but further studies regarding the mechanism of action is required to validate this finding

Transcriptome and chromatin alterations in social fear indicate association of MEG3 with successful extinction of fear

Social anxiety disorder is characterized by a persistent fear and avoidance of social situations, but available treatment options are rather unspecific. Using an established mouse social fear conditioning (SFC) paradigm, we profiled gene expression and chromatin alterations after the acquisition and extinction of social fear within the septum, a brain region important for social fear and social behaviors. Here, we particularly focused on the successful versus unsuccessful outcome of social fear extinction training, which corresponds to treatment responsive versus resistant patients in the clinics. Validation of coding and non-coding RNAs revealed specific isoforms of the long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) Meg3 regulated, depending on the success of social fear extinction. Moreover, PI3K/AKT was differentially activated with extinction success in SFC-mice. In vivo knockdown of specific Meg3 isoforms increased baseline activity of PI3K/AKT signaling, and mildly delayed social fear extinction. Using ATAC-Seq and CUT&RUN, we found alterations in the chromatin structure of specific genes, which might be direct targets of lncRNA Meg3

Convex geometries representable by at most 5 circles on the plane

A convex geometry is a closure system satisfying the anti-exchange property. In this work we document all convex geometries on 4- and 5-element base sets with respect to their representation by circles on the plane. All 34 non-isomorphic geometries on a 4-element set can be represented by circles, and of the 672 geometries on a 5-element set, we made representations of 623. Of the 49 remaining geometries on a 5-element set, one was already shown not to be representable due to the Weak Carousel property, as articulated by Adaricheva and Bolat (Discrete Mathematics, 2019). In this paper we show that 7 more of these convex geometries cannot be represented by circles on the plane, due to what we term the Triangle Property.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figures, appendices 433 pages, PolyMath REU Summer 202

Association between Serum Interleukin-6 Concentrations and Mortality in Older Adults: The Rancho Bernardo Study

Background: Interleukin-6 (IL-6) may have a protective role in acute liver disease but a detrimental effect in chronic liver disease. It is unknown whether IL-6 is associated with risk of liver-related mortality in humans. Aims: To determine if IL-6 is associated with an increased risk of all-cause, cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer, and liverrelated mortality. Methods: A prospective cohort study included 1843 participants who attended a research visit in 1984–87. Multiple covariates were ascertained including serum IL-6. Multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were used to examine the association between serum IL-6 as a continuous (log transformed) variable with all-cause, CVD, cancer, and liver-related mortality. Patients with prevalent CVD, cancer and liver disease were excluded for cause-specific mortality. Results: The mean (6 standard deviation) age and body-mass-index (BMI) of participants was 68 (610.6) years and 25 (63.7) Kg/m 2, respectively. During the 25,802 person-years of follow-up, the cumulative all-cause, CVD, cancer, and liverrelated mortality were 53.1 % (N = 978), 25.5%, 11.3%, and 1.3%, respectively. The median (6IQR) length of follow-up was 15.3610.6 years. In multivariable analyses, adjusted for age, sex, alcohol, BMI, diabetes, hypertension, total cholesterol, HDL, and smoking, one-SD increment in log-transformed serum IL-6 was associated with increased risk of all-cause, CVD, cancer, and liver-related mortality, with hazard ratios of 1.48 (95 % CI, 1.33–1.64), 1.38 (95 % CI, 1.16–1.65), 1.35 (95 % CI, 1.02–1.79)

Real-Time Imaging Reveals the Dynamics of Leukocyte Behaviour during Experimental Cerebral Malaria Pathogenesis

During experimental cerebral malaria (ECM) mice develop a lethal neuropathological syndrome associated with microcirculatory dysfunction and intravascular leukocyte sequestration. The precise spatio-temporal context in which the intravascular immune response unfolds is incompletely understood. We developed a 2-photon intravital microscopy (2P-IVM)-based brain-imaging model to monitor the real-time behaviour of leukocytes directly within the brain vasculature during ECM. Ly6Chi monocytes, but not neutrophils, started to accumulate in the blood vessels of Plasmodium berghei ANKA (PbA)-infected MacGreen mice, in which myeloid cells express GFP, one to two days prior to the onset of the neurological signs (NS). A decrease in the rolling speed of monocytes, a measure of endothelial cell activation, was associated with progressive worsening of clinical symptoms. Adoptive transfer experiments with defined immune cell subsets in recombinase activating gene (RAG)-1-deficient mice showed that these changes were mediated by Plasmodium-specific CD8+ T lymphocytes. A critical number of CD8+ T effectors was required to induce disease and monocyte adherence to the vasculature. Depletion of monocytes at the onset of disease symptoms resulted in decreased lymphocyte accumulation, suggesting reciprocal effects of monocytes and T cells on their recruitment within the brain. Together, our studies define the real-time kinetics of leukocyte behaviour in the central nervous system during ECM, and reveal a significant role for Plasmodium-specific CD8+ T lymphocytes in regulating vascular pathology in this disease. © 2014 Pai et al

A crowdsourced set of curated structural variants for the human genome.

Funder: U.S. Food and Drug Administration; funder-id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000038A high quality benchmark for small variants encompassing 88 to 90% of the reference genome has been developed for seven Genome in a Bottle (GIAB) reference samples. However a reliable benchmark for large indels and structural variants (SVs) is more challenging. In this study, we manually curated 1235 SVs, which can ultimately be used to evaluate SV callers or train machine learning models. We developed a crowdsourcing app-SVCurator-to help GIAB curators manually review large indels and SVs within the human genome, and report their genotype and size accuracy. SVCurator displays images from short, long, and linked read sequencing data from the GIAB Ashkenazi Jewish Trio son [NIST RM 8391/HG002]. We asked curators to assign labels describing SV type (deletion or insertion), size accuracy, and genotype for 1235 putative insertions and deletions sampled from different size bins between 20 and 892,149 bp. 'Expert' curators were 93% concordant with each other, and 37 of the 61 curators had at least 78% concordance with a set of 'expert' curators. The curators were least concordant for complex SVs and SVs that had inaccurate breakpoints or size predictions. After filtering events with low concordance among curators, we produced high confidence labels for 935 events. The SVCurator crowdsourced labels were 94.5% concordant with the heuristic-based draft benchmark SV callset from GIAB. We found that curators can successfully evaluate putative SVs when given evidence from multiple sequencing technologies