False‑positive technetium‑99m methylene diphosphonate bone scan activity in the orbit in a patient with a history of breast carcinoma

Metastasis of breast carcinoma to the orbit is an uncommon entity and carries a poor prognosis. This case report presents false-positive technetium-99m methylene diphosphonate activity in the right orbit of a patient with a history of a primary breast neoplasm. Orbital computed tomography imaging was obtained to further characterize the radiotracer uptake identified on the bone scan and demonstrated diffuse right globe intraocular calcifications secondary to degenerative intraocular changes. A brief literature review of orbital metastasis from breast carcinoma and causes of intraocular calcification in the context of chronic vision loss are provided

IrSPI, a tick serine protease inhibitor involved in tick feeding and Bartonella henselae infection

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.-- et al.Ixodes ricinus is the most widespread and abundant tick in Europe, frequently bites humans, and is the vector of several pathogens including those responsible for Lyme disease, Tick-Borne Encephalitis, anaplasmosis, babesiosis and bartonellosis. These tick-borne pathogens are transmitted to vertebrate hosts via tick saliva during blood feeding, and tick salivary gland (SG) factors are likely implicated in transmission. In order to identify such tick factors, we characterized the transcriptome of female I. ricinus SGs using next generation sequencing techniques, and compared transcriptomes between Bartonella henselae-infected and non-infected ticks. High-throughput sequencing of I. ricinus SG transcriptomes led to the generation of 24,539 isotigs. Among them, 829 and 517 transcripts were either significantly up- or down-regulated respectively, in response to bacterial infection. Searches based on sequence identity showed that among the differentially expressed transcripts, 161 transcripts corresponded to nine groups of previously annotated tick SG gene families, while the others corresponded to genes of unknown function. Expression patterns of five selected genes belonging to the BPTI/Kunitz family of serine protease inhibitors, the tick salivary peptide group 1 protein, the salp15 super-family, and the arthropod defensin family, were validated by qRT-PCR. IrSPI, a member of the BPTI/Kunitz family of serine protease inhibitors, showed the highest up-regulation in SGs in response to Bartonella infection. IrSPI silencing impaired tick feeding, as well as resulted in reduced bacterial load in tick SGs. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of I. ricinus SG transcriptome and contributes significant genomic information about this important disease vector. This in-depth knowledge will enable a better understanding of the molecular interactions between ticks and tick-borne pathogens, and identifies IrSPI, a candidate to study now in detail to estimate its potentialities as vaccine against the ticks and the pathogens they transmit.XYL was supported by funds from the China Scholarship Council (CSC). This work was funded by INRA and EU grant FP7-261504 EDENext and is catalogued by the EDENext Steering Committee as EDENext037 (http://www.edenext.eu). This work was also partially supported by the Spanish Secretaría de Estado de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad project BFU2011-23896.Peer Reviewe

Noise bias in weak lensing shape measurements

Weak lensing experiments are a powerful probe of cosmology through their measurement of the mass distribution of the universe. A challenge for this technique is to control systematic errors that occur when measuring the shapes of distant galaxies. In this paper we investigate noise bias, a systematic error that arises from second order noise terms in the shape measurement process. We first derive analytical expressions for the bias of general Maximum Likelihood Estimators (MLEs) in the presence of additive noise. We then find analytical expressions for a simplified toy model in which galaxies are modeled and fitted with a Gaussian with its size as a single free parameter. Even for this very simple case we find a significant effect. We also extend our analysis to a more realistic 6-parameter elliptical Gaussian model. We find that the noise bias is generically of the order of the inverse-squared signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the galaxies and is thus of the order of a percent for galaxies of SNR of 10, i.e. comparable to the weak lensing shear signal. This is nearly two orders of magnitude greater than the systematics requirements for future all-sky weak lensing surveys. We discuss possible ways to circumvent this effect, including a calibration method using simulations discussed in an associated paper.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, submitted to MNRA

Reliability of molecular host-identification methods for ticks: an experimental in vitro study with Ixodes ricinus

Background: Reliable information on host use by arthropod vectors is required to study pathogen transmission ecology and to predict disease risk. Direct observation of host use is often difficult or impossible and indirect methods are therefore necessary. However, the reliability of currently available methods to identify the last host of blood-feeding arthropods has not been evaluated, and may be particularly problematic for ticks because host blood has been digested at capture. Biases in host detection may lead to erroneous conclusions on both vector ecology and pathogen circulation. Methods: Here, we experimentally tested for biases in host detection using the generalist three-host tick Ixodes ricinus as a model system. We fed ticks using an artificial feeding system and amplified blood meal traces post-moult (i.e., in the succeeding unfed life stage) via both a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction assay and a reverse line blotting method. We then experimentally tested for three types of biases in host detection: 1) time post-moult, 2) tick life stage and 3) host type (non-nucleated mammal blood versus nucleated avian blood), and compared these biases between the two molecular methods. Results: Our results show that all three factors can influence host detection in ticks but not necessarily in the expected way. Although host detection rates decreased with time post-moult, mammal blood tended to be more readily detected than bird blood. Tick life stage was also an important factor; detection was higher in nymphs than in adults and, in some cases, remnants from both larval and nymphal blood meals could be detected in the adult stage. These biases were similar for the two detection techniques. Conclusions: We show that different factors associated with questing ticks may influence our ability to correctly infer previous host use and that these factors may bias inferences from field-based studies. As these biases may be common to other vector-borne disease systems, their implications for our understanding of vector ecology and disease transmission require more explicit consideration

Ixodes ricinus and Its Transmitted Pathogens in Urban and Peri-Urban Areas in Europe: New Hazards and Relevance for Public Health.

Tick-borne diseases represent major public and animal health issues worldwide. Ixodes ricinus, primarily associated with deciduous and mixed forests, is the principal vector of causative agents of viral, bacterial, and protozoan zoonotic diseases in Europe. Recently, abundant tick populations have been observed in European urban green areas, which are of public health relevance due to the exposure of humans and domesticated animals to potentially infected ticks. In urban habitats, small and medium-sized mammals, birds, companion animals (dogs and cats), and larger mammals (roe deer and wild boar) play a role in maintenance of tick populations and as reservoirs of tick-borne pathogens. Presence of ticks infected with tick-borne encephalitis virus and high prevalence of ticks infected with Borrelia burgdorferi s.l., causing Lyme borreliosis, have been reported from urbanized areas in Europe. Emerging pathogens, including bacteria of the order Rickettsiales (Anaplasma phagocytophilum, "Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis," Rickettsia helvetica, and R. monacensis), Borrelia miyamotoi, and protozoans (Babesia divergens, B. venatorum, and B. microti) have also been detected in urban tick populations. Understanding the ecology of ticks and their associations with hosts in a European urbanized environment is crucial to quantify parameters necessary for risk pre-assessment and identification of public health strategies for control and prevention of tick-borne diseases

Biodiversity Informatics: An interactive computer- aided identification and knowledge base on tree species of Lao PDR

International audienceObjectives • To enrich the existing knowledge base (BIOTIK project*) on a major "hot spot" of biodiversity: the rain forests of Annamite Mountain range of Lao PDR, in the framework of the Inventory of biodiversity of forest canopies conducted in 2012 in Lao PDR under F. Hallé scientific direction, and also to participate to broader initiatives such as Pl@ntNet project**. • To translate the identification tool in the Lao language in order to contribute to the capacity-building in plant taxonomy in the country. • To transfer the identification system to touch pads, enabling plant identification and entering data directly in the field

Histoire naturelle d'un virus zoonotique en mode insulaire : cas de la propagation du virus grippal pandémique H1N1p 2009 à la Réunion, de l'homme au porc, il n'y a qu'un pas

Bien que n'ayant jamais été identifié chez le porc avant d'être détecté chez l'Homme, il a été craint, dès l'émergence du virus influenza A/H1N1 responsable de la pandémie de 2009 (pH1N1), que ce multi-réassortant n'ait la capacité de transgresser facilement la barrière d'espèce Homme/porc puisque tous ses gènes proviennent de virus influenza préalablement adaptés à l'espèce porcine. Peu de temps après son identification chez l'Homme fin avril 2009, des élevages étaient d'ailleurs déclarés infectés en Amérique du Nord, puis partout dans le monde. A l'issue de la phase pandémique en août 2010, des cas étaient rapportés dans une vingtaine de pays. L'Homme a été suspecté être à l'origine de l'infection dans la majorité d'entre eux. Les porcs touchés ont généralement développé un syndrome grippal commun, sans mortalité. On relèvera que certains cas ont également été détectés dans le cadre de programmes de surveillance active menée chez des porcs asymptomatiques. Des inoculations expérimentales ont par ailleurs confirmé la grande sensibilité des porcins. Les animaux inoculés ont présenté de l'hyperthermie, de l'apathie, des difficultés respiratoires et des lésions pulmonaires caractéristiques des infections à virus influenza chez le porc. Du virus a été retrouvé dans les sécrétions nasales jusqu'à 10 jours post-infection et a été transmis à des porcs sentinelles. Considérant ces données, il était légitime de craindre que le pH1N1 s'adapte à l'espèce porcine, comme d'ailleurs les virus responsables des pandémies de 1918 et 1968, la transmission des virus influenza de l'Homme vers le porc étant en outre favorisée lorsque la pression d'infection est très forte. Des investigations sérologiques ont donc été menées sur des animaux reproducteurs, la mise en évidence d'anticorps spécifiques chez ces animaux pouvant révéler l'éventuel passage du virus pH1N1 dans la population porcine. Ainsi, 120 reproducteurs (115 truies de réforme et 5 verrats) âgés de 3 à 5 ans et provenant de 57 élevages différents, ont été prélevés suite à tirage au sort dans l'unique abattoir de l'île, entre novembre 2009 et février 2010. 98/120 sérums (81,6% de l'échantillon analysé) se sont révélés contenir des anticorps anti-virus pH1N1, ceci à des titres relativement élevés puisque 54,2 % d'entre eux ont présenté un titre IHA supérieur ou égal à 160. Une deuxième étude, menée en juin-juillet 2010, a alors porté sur 390 porcs charcutiers, âgés au maximum de 7 mois, c'est dire nés au plus tôt en novembre 2009 et n'ayant donc pas pu être infectés par l'Homme, le virus ne circulant plus de manière significative dans la population humaine à compter de cette date. L'objectif de cette enquête était i) de déterminer le statut sérologique de cette génération de porcs charcutiers vis-à-vis du pH1N1 et ii) de tenter, par des analyses virologiques, de détecter le virus en cas de circulation active. Des anticorps ont été détectés dans 9/320 sérums analysés (soit 2,8%), à des titres allant de 20 à 160. Les analyses virales ont été effectuées par RT-PCR sur le gène M puis H1 et N1 ; du génome de virus influenza A pH1N1 a été détecté dans 14 / 390 prélèvements, lesquels provenaient de 5 élevages différents. Les caractérisations antigéniques (par tests IHA) et génétiques (séquençage des gènes HA et NA) de cet isolat (A/Sw/LaRéunion/0164/10) ont confirmé son appartenance au lignage pH1N1. Depuis la surveillance est maintenue mais les cas d'infection des porcs avec le virus Influenza A pH1N1 restent sporadiques. (Texte intégral

Novel Insights into the Bovine Polled Phenotype and Horn Ontogenesis in Bovidae

Despite massive research efforts, the molecular etiology of bovine polledness and the developmental pathways involved in horn ontogenesis are still poorly understood. In a recent article, we provided evidence for the existence of at least two different alleles at the Polled locus and identified candidate mutations for each of them. None of these mutations was located in known coding or regulatory regions, thus adding to the complexity of understanding the molecular basis of polledness. We confirm previous results here and exhaustively identify the causative mutation for the Celtic allele (PC) and four candidate mutations for the Friesian allele (PF). We describe a previously unreported eyelash-and-eyelid phenotype associated with regular polledness, and present unique histological and gene expression data on bovine horn bud differentiation in fetuses affected by three different horn defect syndromes, as well as in wild-type controls. We propose the ectopic expression of a lincRNA in PC/p horn buds as a probable cause of horn bud agenesis. In addition, we provide evidence for an involvement of OLIG2, FOXL2 and RXFP2 in horn bud differentiation, and draw a first link between bovine, ovine and caprine Polled loci. Our results represent a first and important step in understanding the genetic pathways and key process involved in horn bud differentiation in Bovidae

Babesia and its hosts: adaptation to long-lasting interactions as a way to achieve efficient transmission

Babesia, the causal agent of babesiosis, are tick-borne apicomplexan protozoa. True babesiae (Babesia genus sensu stricto) are biologically characterized by direct development in erythrocytes and by transovarial transmission in the tick. A large number of true Babesia species have been described in various vertebrate and tick hosts. This review presents the genus then discusses specific adaptations of Babesia spp. to their hosts to achieve efficient transmission. The main adaptations lead to long-lasting interactions which result in the induction of two reservoirs: in the vertebrate host during low long-term parasitemia and throughout the life cycle of the tick host as a result of transovarial and transstadial transmission. The molecular bases of these adaptations in vertebrate hosts are partially known but few of the tick-host interaction mechanisms have been elucidated

Experimental in vitro transmission of Babesia sp. (EU1) by Ixodes ricinus

Babesia sp. (EU1), first characterized in 2003, has been implicated in human cases of babesiosis in Italy, Austria and Germany. It has been identified in roe deer and in its suspected tick vector, Ixodes ricinus, in several European countries. The aim of the present study was to validate the competence of I. ricinus as a vector of Babesia sp. (EU1) via experimental infections. For this purpose, a parasite strain isolated from roe deer was cloned in sheep erythrocytes. After experimental infections, parasite DNA was successfully amplified by PCR in both eggs and larvae originating from infected I. ricinus females and in the salivary glands of females exposed to Babesia sp. (EU1) as nymphs. We also demonstrate that infected females were able to transmit parasite DNA during a new blood meal. Together with previous epidemiological studies, these results validate I. ricinus as a competent vector for Babesia sp. (EU1)