Retirement or Semi-Retirement: Implications for Health…Some Food for Thought

Dr. Earl Shive, Professor Emeritus, East Stroudsburg University, reflects on his career as an educator and his experiences with the process of retirement or “semi-retirement.

Experimental infection of hamsters with avian paramyxovirus serotypes 1 to 9

Avian paramyxoviruses (APMVs) are frequently isolated from domestic and wild birds throughout the world and are separated into nine serotypes (APMV-1 to -9). Only in the case of APMV-1, the infection of non-avian species has been investigated. The APMVs presently are being considered as human vaccine vectors. In this study, we evaluated the replication and pathogenicity of all nine APMV serotypes in hamsters. The hamsters were inoculated intranasally with each virus and monitored for clinical disease, pathology, histopathology, virus replication, and seroconversion. On the basis of one or more of these criteria, each of the APMV serotypes was found to replicate in hamsters. The APMVs produced mild or inapparent clinical signs in hamsters except for APMV-9, which produced moderate disease. Gross lesions were observed over the pulmonary surface of hamsters infected with APMV-2 & -3, which showed petechial and ecchymotic hemorrhages, respectively. Replication of all of the APMVs except APMV-5 was confirmed in the nasal turbinates and lungs, indicating a tropism for the respiratory tract. Histologically, the infection resulted in lung lesions consistent with bronchointerstitial pneumonia of varying severity and nasal turbinates with blunting or loss of cilia of the epithelium lining the nasal septa. The majority of APMV-infected hamsters exhibited transient histological lesions that self resolved by 14 days post infection (dpi). All of the hamsters infected with the APMVs produced serotype-specific HI or neutralizing antibodies, confirming virus replication. Taken together, these results demonstrate that all nine known APMV serotypes are capable of replicating in hamsters with minimal disease and pathology

Immunogenicity of unprocessed and photooxidized bovine and human osteochondral grafts in collagen-sensitive mice

BACKGROUND: Autologous and allogeneic osteochondral grafts have been used to repair damaged or diseased cartilage. There are drawbacks to both of these methods, however. Another possible source for osteochondral grafting is photooxidized xenograft scaffolds. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the adaptive immune response to unprocessed and photooxidized xenogeneic osteochondral grafts in a collagen-sensitive mouse model. METHODS: Unprocessed and photooxidized bovine and human osteochondral grafts were used. The grafts were implanted subcutaneously in collagen-sensitive DBA/1LacJ mice for four or twelve weeks. ELISPOT assays were conducted with spleen cells to evaluate the number of collagen-specific T cells that produce IL-2, IL-4, IL-5 or IFN-γ. Serum was collected and ELISA assays were performed to determine the titers of collagen-specific and total IgG, IgG1, IgG2a, or IgM antibodies. Histology was conducted on the retrieved osteochondral grafts. RESULTS: Results indicated that, with respect to adaptive T cell immunity, the photooxidized bovine grafts, unprocessed human grafts and photooxidized human grafts did not induce a significant response to collagen. The unprocessed bovine grafts, however, were slightly more immunogenic, inducing a weak immune response. With respect to antibody production, the bovine grafts were less immunogenic than the human grafts. Bovine collagen-specific IgG antibodies were not induced by these grafts, but production of IgM after twelve weeks was observed with both the unprocessed and photooxidized bovine grafts. In contrast, photooxidized human osteochondral grafts induced IgG1 and IgG2a antibodies, while the unprocessed human grafts did not. Pre-existing human collagen-specific IgM antibodies were present in all mice, including sham-operated negative controls that did not receive an implant. Histological analysis revealed some degree of fibrous encapsulation and inflammatory infiltrations in both bovine and human implants, whether unprocessed or photooxidized. CONCLUSION: Both bovine and human cartilage grafts showed weak, but clear immunogenicity in the DBA/1LacJ mice, indicating that immunogenic collagen was still contained in the grafts, even after cleaning and photooxidation. The process of photooxidation is still important in osteochondral grafting, since it stabilizes the surface of the cartilage by cross-linking the collagen fibers, and allows for immediate load bearing and joint resurfacing

Follow-up study evaluating the long term outcome of chondromimetic in the treatment of osteochondral defects in the knee

© 2020 by the authors. Scaffolds are thought to be a key element needed for successful cartilage repair treatments, and this prospective extension study aimed to evaluate long-term structural and clinical outcomes following osteochondral defect treatment with a cell-free biphasic scaffold. Structural outcomes were assessed using quantitative 3-D magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and morphological segmentation to determine the percentage of defect filling and repair cartilage T2 relaxation times, and clinical outcomes were determined with the modified Cincinnati Rating System, and the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS). Seventeen subjects with osteochondral defects in the knee were treated with ChondroMimetic scaffolds, from which 15 returned for long-term evaluation at a mean follow-up of 7.9 - 0.3 years. The defects treated were trochlear donor sites for mosaicplasty in 13 subjects, and medial femoral condyle defects in 2 subjects. MRI analysis of scaffold-treated defects found a mean total defect filling of 95.2 - 3.6%, and a tissue mean T2 relaxation time of 52.5 - 4.8 ms, which was identical to the T2 of ipsilateral control cartilage (52.3 - 9.2 ms). The overall modified Cincinnati Rating System score was statistically significant from baseline (p = 0.0065), and KOOS subscales were equivalent to other cartilage repair techniques. ChondroMimetic treatment resulted in a consistently high degree of osteochondral defect filling with durable, cartilage-like repair tissue at 7.9 years, potentially associated with clinical improvement

Micro-satellite based diversity estimation of Local hill fowl (Uttara fowl): A unique poultry strain of Uttarakhand

Nainital and Pithoragarh districts of Uttarakhand in Himalayan region have 2 types of poultry populations. Uttara fowl is reared under backyard system. But no information is available in the literature of Uttara fowl. The aim of the study was to analyze the genetic diversity in Local hill fowl of Uttarakhand (Uttara Fowl) using panel of micro-satellite markers recommended by FAO. The 50 blood samples were collected from randomly selected Uttara fowl. A total of 25 micro-satellite loci were used for this study. All the analyzed 25 loci were polymorphic and a total of 158 alleles were observed in the present study of Uttara Fowl. The observed and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.292 (LEI-155) to 0.729 (LEI-90) and from 0.414 (MCW–250) to 0.838 (MCW-228) in Uttara fowl, respectively. Wright’s fixation index (Fis) values among loci ranged from –0.085 (for LEI-90) to 0.747(MCW-84). The mean Fis for 25 microsatellite loci was estimated 0.168. Deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was observed in Uttara fowl in the commercial cross. The overall population heterozygote deficiency was 0.168. The existence of sufficient genetic diversity within Local hill fowls, estimated through molecular markers analysis would further aid in a conservation scheme, enabling the planning of new strategies for the improvement of in situ conservation schemes

Predicting the Spread of Financial Innovations: An Epidemiological Approach

I construct an estimable statistic that predicts whether a financial innovation will spread. The approach embeds the multi-host SIR model from epidemiology within a financial model of correlated securities trade; and takes advantage of the related predictive tools from mathematical epidemiology, including the basic reproductive ratio (R0) and herd immunity. In the model, banks and their creditors are assumed to have imperfect information about a newly-created security, and must search over the portfolios of other investors and intermediaries to infer the security's properties. In the absence of historical returns data, a large mass of firms holding the new security and not experiencing insolvency provides a positive signal about the distribution of its returns within the current period, and perpetuates further holding of the security. The model yields a set of structural equations that are used to construct the statistic. I provide two estimation strategies for the statistic; and identify 12 theoretical parameter restrictions that enable inference when only a subset of the model's parameters are identifiable. I use the approach to predict the spread of exchange traded funds (ETFs) and asset-backed securities (ABS). Additionally, I show how regulators can use the method to monitor the joint solvency of depository institutions within a given geographic region

Palaeomagnetism and magnetostiatigraphy of Triassic strata in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and Tucumcari Basin, New Mexico, USA

We report palaeomagnetic data and a composite magnetic polarity sequence for Middle and Upper Triassic rocks assigned to the Anton Chico Member of the Moenkopi Formation and Chinle Group, respectively, exposed along the eastern flank of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and in the Tucumcari Basin of eastern and northeastern New Mexico. Thermal demagnetization isolates a well-defined, dual polarity, characteristic magnetization, carried in most cases by haematite and interpreted as an early acquired chemical remanent magnetization (CRM). Characteristic magnetizations from 74 palaeomagnetic sites (one site = one bed) are used to define a magnetic polarity sequence, which we correlate with previously published Triassic data obtained from both marine and non-marine rocks. Preliminary correlation suggests that the resolution of magnetostratigraphic data derived from continental strata is not necessarily of lesser quality than that from marine rocks. On the basis of the magnetostratigraphic data, a profound unconformity is believed to separate lower-middle Norian and upper Norian-Rhaetian strata of the Chinle Group. Palaeomagnetic poles derived from selected sites in steeply dipping (> 85°) strata for the Middle Triassic (Anisian, ∼240 Ma: 50°N 121°E; N = 8), late Carman-early Norian (∼225 Ma: 53°N 104°E; N = 16), and late Norian-Rhaetian (∼208 Ma: 59°N 77°E; N = 8) are in relatively good agreement with previously published data for the Moenkopi Formation and Chinle Group and related strata in southwest North America. None the less, comparison with palaeomagnetic poles obtained from gently dipping or flat-lying Triassic strata from this study (Anisian, 46°N 112°E; N = 13; late Carnian, 54°N 87°E; N =12) and previously published Triassic poles in southwest North America suggest that a modest ‘apparent rotation’ not greater than about 5° affects declinations from steeply dipping rocks. The distribution of palaeomagnetic poles indicates ∼25° (angular distance) of apparent polar wander between about 240 and 208 Ma.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73972/1/j.1365-246X.1996.tb05646.x.pd