Molecular epidemiology of Giardia duodenalis and Cryptosporidium spp on swine farms in Ontario, Canada

A subset of swine farms in Ontario, Canada have been monitored for Cryptosporidium and Giardia. Fecal samples were collected from different stages of production as well as from manure pits. G. duodenalis cysts and Cryptosporidium spp. oocysts were detected in the manure samples using immunofluorescence microscopy. A nested PCR and sequencing method was performed to determine the genotypes. A mixed multivariable method was used to compare the prevalence of Cryptosporidium and Giardia in samples from different sources

On the value of using an interactive electronic textbook in an introductory programming course

E-books including interactive elements are rapidly becoming more popular and are likely to largely replace traditional textbooks at university level education. In this paper, we report our initial observations on the changes we noticed in students’ motivational factors and learning results when a static PDF textbook was replaced by an interactive e-textbook in a large CS1 service course. We found increase in both motivational factors, as well as learning gain. In addition, students’ feedback on the learning resources improved. While the changes were not large, they encourage to continue integrating more interactive learning content into course learning environment

Female patients with follicular lymphoma have a better prognosis if primary remission lasts over 24 months

Findings regarding the role of sex in follicular lymphoma (FL) are contradictory and the prognostic value of sex among patients with early progression of disease (POD) remains unclear. We collected real-life data from nine hospitals in Finland and Spain including 1020 FL patients to study the influence of sex on disease outcome. The median follow-up duration was 67 months (range 0-226 months). Female patients showed better progression-free survival (PFS) (hazard ratio [HR], 0.720; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.588-0.881), disease-specific survival (DSS) (HR, 0.653; 95% CI, 0.448-0.951), and overall survival (OS) (HR, 0.653; 95% CI, 0.501-0.853) than male patients. However, there were no significant sex differences in prognosis in patients with early POD. This study strengthens the understanding that male sex is an adverse prognostic factor for FL. However, this difference does not apply to patients with early POD.Peer reviewe

A review of hyperfibrinolysis in cats and dogs

The fibrinolytic system is activated concurrently with coagulation; it regulates haemostasis and prevents thrombosis by restricting clot formation to the area of vascular injury and dismantling the clot as healing occurs. Dysregulation of the fibrinolytic system, which results in hyperfibrinolysis, may manifest as clinically important haemorrhage. Hyperfibrinolysis occurs in cats and dogs secondary to a variety of congenital and acquired disorders. Acquired disorders associated with hyperfibrinolysis, such as trauma, cavitary effusions, liver disease and Angiostrongylus vasorum infection, are commonly encountered in primary care practice. In addition, delayed haemorrhage reported in greyhounds following trauma and routine surgical procedures has been attributed to a hyperfibrinolytic disorder, although this has yet to be characterised. The diagnosis of hyperfibrinolysis is challenging and, until recently, has relied on techniques that are not readily available outside referral hospitals. With the recent development of point‐of‐care viscoelastic techniques, assessment of fibrinolysis is now possible in referral practice. This will provide the opportunity to target haemorrhage due to hyperfibrinolysis with antifibrinolytic drugs and thereby reduce associated morbidity and mortality. The fibrinolytic system and the conditions associated with increased fibrinolytic activity in cats and dogs are the focus of this review article. In addition, laboratory and point‐of‐care techniques for assessing hyperfibrinolysis and antifibrinolytic treatment for patients with haemorrhage are reviewed

One-carbon metabolism in cancer

Cells require one-carbon units for nucleotide synthesis, methylation and reductive metabolism, and these pathways support the high proliferative rate of cancer cells. As such, anti-folates, drugs that target one-carbon metabolism, have long been used in the treatment of cancer. Amino acids, such as serine are a major one-carbon source, and cancer cells are particularly susceptible to deprivation of one-carbon units by serine restriction or inhibition of de novo serine synthesis. Recent work has also begun to decipher the specific pathways and sub-cellular compartments that are important for one-carbon metabolism in cancer cells. In this review we summarise the historical understanding of one-carbon metabolism in cancer, describe the recent findings regarding the generation and usage of one-carbon units and explore possible future therapeutics that could exploit the dependency of cancer cells on one-carbon metabolism

Canine ovariohysterectomy: a survey of surgeon concerns and surgical complications encountered by newly graduated veterinarians

The objective of this study was to document newly qualified veterinarians’ concerns and surgical complications encountered during canine ovariohysterectomy (cOVH) during the first year of general practice. A questionnaire investigating concerns about cOVH procedures was sent to all final-year veterinary students (group 1) enrolled at five UK universities. Participants were later asked to complete a similar questionnaire 6 months (group 2) and 12 months (group 3) after graduation, which involved grading their concern about different aspects of the cOVH procedure and reporting surgical complications encountered after completing three cOVHs. Responses were compared between different time points. There were 196 respondents in group 1, 55 in group 2, and 36 in group 3. Between groups 1 and 2, there was a statistically significant reduction in the respondents’ levels of concern in every aspect of cOVH (p < .05). Between groups 2 and 3, there was no statistically significant change in respondents’ levels of concern in any aspect of cOVH (pb.21). There was a significant reduction in the number of complications encountered by veterinarians in group 3 (39/102, 38.2%) compared to those in group 2 (117/206, 56.8%) (p ¼ .002). Employers should anticipate high levels of concern regarding all aspects of cOVHs in new graduates, and supervision during the first 6 months may be particularly useful

Phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase diverts glycolytic flux and contributes to oncogenesis

Most tumors exhibit increased glucose metabolism to lactate, however, the extent to which glucose-derived metabolic fluxes are used for alternative processes is poorly understood [1, 2]. Using a metabolomics approach with isotope labeling, we found that in some cancer cells a relatively large amount of glycolytic carbon is diverted into serine and glycine metabolism through phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PHGDH). An analysis of human cancers showed that PHGDH is recurrently amplified in a genomic region of focal copy number gain most commonly found in melanoma. Decreasing PHGDH expression impaired proliferation in amplified cell lines. Increased expression was also associated with breast cancer subtypes, and ectopic expression of PHGDH in mammary epithelial cells disrupted acinar morphogenesis and induced other phenotypic alterations that may predispose cells to transformation. Our findings show that the diversion of glycolytic flux into a specific alternate pathway can be selected during tumor development and may contribute to the pathogenesis of human cancer.National Institutes of Health (U.S.)National Cancer Institute (U.S.)Smith Family FoundationDamon Runyon Cancer Research FoundationBurroughs Wellcome Fun

Oncogene Activation Induces Metabolic Transformation Resulting in Insulin-Independence in Human Breast Cancer Cells

Normal breast epithelial cells require insulin and EGF for growth in serum-free media. We previously demonstrated that over expression of breast cancer oncogenes transforms MCF10A cells to an insulin-independent phenotype. Additionally, most breast cancer cell lines are insulin-independent for growth. In this study, we investigated the mechanism by which oncogene over expression transforms MCF10A cells to an insulin-independent phenotype. Analysis of the effects of various concentrations of insulin and/or IGF-I on proliferation of MCF10A cells demonstrated that some of the effects of insulin were independent from those of IGF-I, suggesting that oncogene over expression drives a true insulin-independent proliferative phenotype. To test this hypothesis, we examined metabolic functions of insulin signaling in insulin-dependent and insulin-independent cells. HER2 over expression in MCF10A cells resulted in glucose uptake in the absence of insulin at a rate equal to insulin-induced glucose uptake in non-transduced cells. We found that a diverse set of oncogenes induced the same result. To gain insight into how HER2 oncogene signaling affected increased insulin-independent glucose uptake we compared HER2-regulated gene expression signatures in MCF10A and HER2 over expressing MCF10A cells by differential analysis of time series gene expression data from cells treated with a HER2 inhibitor. This analysis identified genes specifically regulated by the HER2 oncogene, including VAMP8 and PHGDH, which have known functions in glucose uptake and processing of glycolytic intermediates, respectively. Moreover, these genes specifically implicated in HER2 oncogene-driven transformation are commonly altered in human breast cancer cells. These results highlight the diversity of oncogene effects on cell regulatory pathways and the importance of oncogene-driven metabolic transformation in breast cancer