Infection of Enteromyxum leei in cultured starry flounder Platichthys stellatus

Enteromyxum leei has been identified as the causative agent of emaciation disease in a wide range of marine fish hosts. In this study, we aimed to determine the effect of the parasitic infection of Enteromyxum species on starry flounder that were cultured in aquaculture farms of Jeju island in Korea. As the mortality of cultured olive flounder Paralichthys olivaceus because of E. leei infection increased, some fish farms on Jeju island attempted to culture the starry flounder Platichthys stellatus, as an alternative. Myxosporeans with a developmental stage similar to E. leei were found in the intestines of cultured starry flounders. The partial 18S rDNA of myxosporeans showed 100% similarity with E. leei. To reveal the effect of E. leei infection on starry flounder, the intensity of E. leei infection measured using quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and the condition factor (CF) of fish were measured and analyzed statistically. The results showed that high-intensity E. leei infection significantly decreased the CF of the starry flounder. However, the pathogenicity of E. leei to starry flounder is low, considering its mortality and clinical signs

Information Assurance in Federated Identity Management: Experimentations and Issues

Abstract. Identity management has been recently considered to be a viable solution for simplifying user management across enterprise appli-cations. When users interact with services on the Internet, they often tailor the services in some way for their personal use through their per-sonalized accounts and preferences. The network identity of each user is the global set of such attributes constituting the various accounts. In this paper, we investigate two well-known federated identity management (FIM) solutions, Microsoft Passport and Liberty Alliance, attempting to identify information assurance (IA) requirements in FIM. In particular, this paper focuses on principal IA requirements for Web Services that plays an integral role in enriching identity federation and management. We also discuss our experimental analysis of those models.

Body extract of tail amputated zebrafish promotes culturing of primary fin cells from glass catfish

The most spectacular regenerative events in vertebrates are epimorphic regeneration. In this study, interestingly, a whole-body extract 24 h after tail amputation enhanced primary cell growth and viability compared to that of a non-tail amputated body. Additionally, these effects of extract treatment in vitro were dose-dependent occurring at concentrations of 0.02, 0.05 and 0.1 mg/ml. This is the first in vitro study on the interaction between primary fin cells from glass catfish and tail amputated body extracts of zebrafish. These results provide an essential knowledge base for rational approaches to tissue and organ regeneration.Keywords: Cell growth, cell viability, extract, glass catfish, regeneration, zebrafishAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(12), pp. 1449-145

Predictors of Hospitalization Among Newly Admitted Skilled Nursing Facility Residents: Rethinking the Role of Functional Decline

Purpose: Hospital transfer from a skilled nursing facility (SNF) is costly, and many are potentially preventable. This study examines: 1) whether functional decline is a predictor of hospital transfer, and 2) the magnitude of relationships between predictors (functional impairment and chronic medical illness) and hospital transfer from SNFs. Methods: We used Minimum Data Set (MDS) Version 2.0 in the state of Michigan between 2007 and 2009. In total, 196,662 new SNF admissions were observed. Multilevel generalized estimating equations and regression models were performed for each functional and clinical domain while adjusting for demographic variables and change in activities of daily living (ADL). Results: 65% of recently admitted SNF residents experienced functional decline after SNF admission, and 58% were readmitted to a hospital. Residents who needed extensive assistance or were completely dependent in their functional domains had pressure ulcers, deteriorated mood or lower cognitive performance scale scores. These residents experienced higher chances of hospital transfer. However, a deteriorated ADL played a significant role in all multivariate models, indicating that a decline in ADL is a stronger predictor of hospital transfer than other functional or clinical predictors. Conclusion: Although all functional impairments and chronic medical illness can be associated with hospital transfer, functional decline may be the most important predictor of hospital transfer in patients newly admitted to an SNF

Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis with Eosinophilic Dermatitis

Eosinophilic gastroenteritis (EG) is characterized by eosinophilic infiltration of the bowel wall and variable gastrointestinal manifestations. Clinicians should have a high index of suspicion for EG when faced with gastrointestinal symptoms and peripheral eosinophilia to avoid incorrect diagnosis and inappropriate treatments. A 24-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital complaining of acute right lower quadrant abdominal pain and a laparoscopic appendectomy performed for a presumed diagnosis of an acute appendicitis. However, the procedure revealed bowel edema and a moderate amount of ascites without evidence of a suppurative appendicitis. Postoperatively, she showed persistent and progressive eosinophilia, exudative eosinophilic ascites, eosinophilic infiltration of the resected appendix wall, and eosinophilic infiltration of gastroduodenal mucosa. A punch biopsy of the abdominal skin also revealed inflammation with marked eosinophilic infiltration of the skin. She recovered after the treatment with a low dose of steroid for the EG with eosinophilic dermatitis. EG with eosinophilic dermatitis has not been reported yet and is considered fortuitous in this case

Uric acid regulates α-synuclein transmission in Parkinsonian models

Ample evidence demonstrates that α-synuclein (α-syn) has a critical role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease (PD) with evidence indicating that its propagation from one area of the brain to others may be the primary mechanism for disease progression. Uric acid (UA), a natural antioxidant, has been proposed as a potential disease modifying candidate in PD. In the present study, we investigated whether UA treatment modulates cell-to-cell transmission of extracellular α-syn and protects dopaminergic neurons in the α-syn-enriched model. In a cellular model, UA treatment decreased internalized cytosolic α-syn levels and neuron-to-neuron transmission of α-syn in donor-acceptor cell models by modulating dynamin-mediated and clathrin-mediated endocytosis. Moreover, UA elevation in α-syn-inoculated mice inhibited propagation of extracellular α-syn which decreased expression of phosphorylated α-syn in the dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra leading to their increased survival. UA treatment did not lead to change in markers related with autophagolysosomal and microglial activity under the same experimental conditions. These findings suggest UA may control the pathological conditions of PD via additive mechanisms which modulate the propagation of α-syn