Individual and community socioeconomic status : impact on mental health in individuals with arthritis

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Presence and molecular characterization of Clostridium difficile and Clostridium perfringens in intestinal compartments of healthy horses

BACKGROUND: Clostridium difficile and Clostridium perfringens are commonly associated with colitis in equids, but healthy carriers exist. Scarce information is available on the prevalence of Clostridium spp. in gastrointestinal compartments other than faeces in healthy horses, and it is unknown whether faecal samples are representative of proximal compartments. The objectives were to investigate the prevalence of C. difficile and C. perfringens in different intestinal compartments of healthy adult horses and to determine whether faecal samples are representative of colonization in proximal sites and overall carrier status. RESULTS: Toxigenic C. difficile was isolated from 14/135 (10.3%) samples from 8/15 (53.3%) horses. Between zero and three sites were positive per horse, and multiple sites were positive in four horses. Isolates were recovered from duodenum, jejunum, ileum, right dorsal colon, small colon and rectum. When multiple compartments were positive in a single horse, two different C. difficile ribotypes were always present. Clostridium perfringens Type A (CPE, β2 toxin gene negative) was recovered from the left ventral colon of one horse (0.74%, 1/135 samples). Agreement between faeces and overall C. difficile carrier status was good. CONCLUSIONS: Clostridium difficile can be found in different compartments of the gastrointestinal tract of healthy horses, and multiple strains can be present in an individual horse. The prevalence of C. perfringens in healthy adult hoses was low, consistent with previous reports. Faecal samples were representative for presence of C. difficile in proximal compartments in 5/8 horses (63%) but were not representative for the specific strain

A new routing protocol for ad hoc wireless networks design, implementation and performance evaluation

A collection of mobile nodes can form a multi-hop radio network with a dynamic topology and without the need for any infrastructure such as base stations or wired network. Such a Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs) maintain their structure and connectivity in a decentralised and distributed fashion. Each mobile node acts as both a router for other nodes traffic, as well as a source of traffic of its own In this thesis we develop and present a new hybrid routing protocol called Multipath Distance Vector Zone Routing Protocol, which is referred to as MDVZRP. In MDVZRP we assume that all the routes in the routing table are active and usable at any time, unless the node received or discovered a broken link. There is no need to periodically update the routing tables, therefore reducing the periodic update messages and hence reducing the control traffic in the entire network. The protocol guarantees loop freedom and alternative disjoint paths. Routes are immediately available within each routing zone. For destinations outside the zone, MDVZRP employs a route discovery technique known as routing information on demand. Once the node is informed by either the MAC layer or itself that it should discover the non- reachable nodes, MDVZRP adopts a new technique. First, we discuss the Ad Hoc networks and routing in general, then the motivation of MDVZRP regarding the nodes‟ flat view, and the selection and acquisition of multipath getting and selection. Furthermore, we describe the stages of MDVZRP and the protocol routing process with examples. The performance of MDVZRP is then evaluated to determine its operating parameters, and also to investigate its performance in a range of different scenarios. Finally, MDVZRP is compared with DSDV and AODV ordinary routing protocols (standard) delivering CBR traffic. Simulation results show that MDVZRP gives a better performance than DSDV in all circumstances, it is also better than AODV in most of the scenarios, especially at low mobility

Prevalence of nasal shedding of equid gammaherpesviruses in healthy Swiss horses

Equid Gamma herpesvirus (eGHV) infections have been reported worldwide and may be correlated with clinical signs, e.g., affecting the respiratory tract in young horses. eGHV are shed by healthy horses as well as horses with respiratory tract disease. The prevalence in healthy Swiss horses is unknown to date but this data would provide valuable information for causal diagnosis in clinical cases and formulation of biosecurity recommendations. Nasal swabs from 68 healthy horses from 12 Swiss stables and 2 stables near the Swiss border region in Germany were analyzed by panherpes nested PCR. Positive samples were sequenced. A multivariable model was used to determine if sex, age, breed, canton, or stable had a significant effect on the shedding status of each detected eGHV. Overall, the eGHV prevalence was 59% (n = 68); the prevalence for equid herpesvirus-2 (EHV-2), equid herpesvirus-5 (EHV-5) and asinine herpesvirus-5 (AHV-5) was 38%, 12% and 9%, respectively. Co-infections with multiple eGHVs were observed in 25% of the positive samples. The odds of shedding EHV-2 decreased with age (p = 0.01) whereas the odds of shedding AHV-5 increased with age (p = 0.04). Breed, sex, canton, or stable had no significant association with eGHV shedding. As EHV-2 shedding was common in healthy horses a positive PCR result must be interpreted with caution regarding the formulation of biosecurity recommendations and causal diagnosis. As EHV-5 and AHV-5 shedding was less common than EHV-2, a positive test result is more likely to be of clinical relevance. Shedding of multiple eGHV complicates the interpretation of positive test results in a horse

Una ofrenda a la arquitectura monumental precerámica en el sitio los morteros como parte de un ritual de clausura

En 2012 comenzaron las excavaciones arqueológicas del Proyecto Arqueológico Los Moteros-Pampa de las Salinas, las cuales demostraron que Los Morteros (5726-5041 cal. AP), un sitio arqueológico del Periodo Precerámico, ubicado en Pampa de las Salinas, valle bajo de Chao, en la costa norte de Perú, es un montículo artificial formado por varias fases de ocupación, que incluían la construcción de arquitectura monumental de adobes fechadas alrededor de 5500 cal. AP. Posteriormente, en la temporada 2016- 2017, en las excavaciones realizadas al interior de un ambiente de características monumentales hecho de adobes, se halló un contexto compuesto por fogones con huesos de animales marinos, moluscos marinas, abundantes restos de carbón, cuerpos y partes óseas humanas, estos restos se hallaban bajo escombros de adobes, arena y una capa de arena con abundantes conchas de choro azul o choro zapato. El objetivo general de esta tesis es analizar contextual y bioarqueológicamente los restos hallados en dicho ambiente de adobes, a fin de establecer una relación entre estos restos y el espacio en el cual fueron depositados y ver si se trata de un solo evento o de eventos sucesivos. Para este fin, nos centramos principalmente en el estudio de los restos óseos humanos, buscando identificar patrones en cuanto a edad, posibles traumatismos y tratamiento funerario, es decir, información que nos permita entender la naturaleza de estas inhumaciones y el tratamiento dado en este contexto. En base a los datos de excavación y los análisis efectuados, la hipótesis de esta investigación es que los restos óseos humanos, así como los restos de animales y la forma en la que fueron hallados, indican la ocurrencia de una ofrenda, que fue parte de un ritual de clausura de la arquitectura de adobes del sitio Los Morteros. La metodología aplicada es un análisis contextual, un análisis bioarqueológico para observar estimar edades, tratamientos funerarios, traumatismos, patologías, así como también intentar aplicar criterios sobre quema de cuerpos, todo ello complementado con fechados radiocarbónicos. De esta manera, se concluye que el contexto analizado es parte de un ritual de clausura de la arquitectura monumental de adobes, lo cual contribuyó a construir la significación social y ritual de Los Morteros al interior de Pampa de las Salinas y el valle de Chao.In 2012, archaeological excavations carried out by Los Morteros-Pampa de las Salinas Archaeological Project demonstrated that Los Morteros (5726-5041 cal. AP), a prepottery archaeological site located in Pampa de las Salinas, lower Chao Valley, northern Peruvian coast, is an artificial mound formed by several ocupation phases, including the construction of adobe-brick monumental architecture dating before 5500 cal. yrs. BP. Lately, in 2016-2017, excavations inside that adobe-brick architecture uncovered a context composed by hearths containing marine animal bones, shells, abundant charcoal, bodies and several other unarticulated human bones. The main goal of this thesis is to make contextual, bioarchaeological and radiocarbon analyses to the remains found in the adobe-brick architecture to find relations between them and the space where they were placed and see if it has been done in just one moment or in many events, identify age patterns, possible trauma, and funerary treatments. According to the context information and the analyses, the hipothesis of this investigation is that the human remains, the faunal remains and the way all them were found, denote an offering as part of a ritual entombment of the adobe-brick architecture of Los Morteros. For that, the methodology is a contextual analysis, bioarchaeological analysis to estimate ages, see funerary treatments, traumas, pathologies, and try to apply ideas of burning human bodies, all of that complemented with radiocarbon dating. In this way, the conclusion of this thesis is that the context found and analyzed is part of a ritual entombment of the adobe-brick architecture, contributing to construct the social and ritual significance of Los Morteros inside Pampa de las Salinas and the Chao Valley.Tesi

Validation of a point-of-care quantitative equine IgG turbidimetric immunoassay and comparison of IgG concentrations measured with radial immunodiffusion and a point-of-care IgG ELISA

Background: Point-of-care (POC) diagnostic tests with good sensitivity and specificity are needed for diagnosing failure of transfer of passive immunity (FTPI) in foals. Turbidimetric immunoassays (TIA) have these characteristics and provide quantitative results. A commercially available TIA-based POC test (POC-TIA) has not been validated in horses. Objective: To validate a POC-TIA and compare results of POC-TIA, a POC-ELISA, and radial immunodiffusion (RID). Animals: Heparinized blood samples (n = 127) from 48 hospitalized foals (<12 hour to 48 days). Methods: Prospective validation study. IgG concentrations were measured using RID (gold standard), POC-TIA, and POC-ELISA. Agreement between assays was assessed using Bland–Altman analysis. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated using ROC curves. Inter- and intra-assay coefficients of variation (CVs) and linearity were evaluated for POC-TIA. Results: The mean bias (95% limits of agreement) between RID and POC-TIA was −4 (−185 to 176), 27 (−201 to 255), and 308 (−377 to 993) mg/dL for samples with IgG concentrations of 800 mg/dL, respectively. Sensitivity and specificity at optimal cutoff were 94 and 100% for the POC-TIA and 94 and 100% for the POC-ELISA to detect IgG 0.96). Conclusions and Clinical Importance: The POC-TIA provided unambiguous results and had sufficient sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and precision to be used as an alternative to other POC tests to assess FTPI in foals

Acidification is required for calcium and magnesium concentration measurements in equine urine

Background: Acidification of equine urine to promote dissociation of ion complexes is a common practice for urine ion concentration measurements. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of acidification and storage after acidification on calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and phosphate (P) concentrations and on fractional excretion (FE) of these electrolytes. Thirty-two fresh equine urine samples were analysed between December 2016 and July 2020. Complete urinalysis (stick and sediment) was performed on all samples. Ca, Mg, P and creatinine concentrations were measured in supernatant of centrifuged native urine, urine directly centrifuged after acidification and urine centrifuged 1 hour after acidification. Urine was acidified with hydrochloric acid to reach a pH of 1–2. Ca, Mg, P and creatinine concentrations were also measured in blood plasma, and fractional excretion of each electrolyte was calculated. Equality of medians was tested with Friedman tests and Bland-Altman bias plots were used to show the agreement between conditions. Results: Acidification had a statistically significant effect on Ca and Mg concentrations, FE$_{Ca}$ and FE$_{Mg}$. Bland-Altman plot revealed a strong positive proportional bias between Ca concentration in native and acidified urine with a mean bias of 17.6 mmol/l. For Mg concentration, the difference between native and acidified urine was small with a mean bias of 1.8 mmol/l. The increase in FE$_{Ca}$ was clinically relevant. Storage of acidified urine had no effect on any of the measured ion concentrations. All P concentrations in native urine samples were below the detection limit of the assay and statistical analysis and calculation of FE$_{P}$ was not possible. Conclusions: Urine acidification is essential for accurate measurement of Ca and Mg concentrations and therefore FE calculations in equine urine. Storage time of 1 hour after acidification does not significantly change Ca and Mg concentrations

Targeting eosinophils by active vaccination against interleukin-5 reduces basophil counts in horses with insect bite hypersensitivity in the 2nd year of vaccination

Previously, virus-like particle (VLP)-based self-vaccinations targeting interleukin (IL)-5 or IL-31 have been suggested to treat equine insect bite hypersensitivity (IBH), a seasonal recurrent allergic dermatitis in horses. The IL-5-targeting equine vaccine significantly reduced blood eosinophil counts in horses, similar to human monoclonal antibodies targeting IL-5 or the IL-5 receptor alpha (IL-5Rα). Previous studies in humans have also reported an additional effect on reduction of basophil counts. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether an equine anti-IL-5 vaccine affected blood basophil counts. Horses with IBH were followed in a 3-year trial consisting of a placebo administered in the 1st year, followed by vaccination using an equine (e)IL-5-VLP vaccine in the 2nd and 3rd years. There was a strong reduction in circulating eosinophil counts after vaccination against IL-5. Additionally, there were reduced basophil counts, but only in the 3rd year of the study, suggesting a bystander effect of the anti-IL-5 vaccine on basophil counts

Exercise‐induced airflow changes in horses with asthma measured by electrical impedance tomography

Background: Equine asthma (EA) causes airflow impairment, which increases in severity with exercise. Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is an imaging technique that can detect airflow changes in standing healthy horses during a histamine provocation test. Objectives: To explore EIT-calculated flow variables before and after exercise in healthy horses and horses with mild-to-moderate (MEA) and severe equine asthma (SEA). Animals: Nine healthy horses 9 horses diagnosed with MEA and 5 with SEA were prospectively included. Methods: Recordings were performed before and after 15 minutes of lunging. Absolute values from global and regional peak inspiratory (PIF, positive value) and expiratory (PEF, negative value) flows were calculated. Data were analyzed using a mixed model analysis followed by Bonferroni's multiple comparisons test to evaluate the impact of exercise and diagnosis on flow indices. Results: Control horses after exercise had significantly lower global PEF and PIF compared to horses with SEA (mean difference [95% confidence interval, CI]: 0.0859 arbitrary units [AU; 0.0339-0.1379], P < .001 and 0.0726 AU [0.0264-0.1188], P = .001, respectively) and horses with MEA (0.0561 AU [0.0129-0.0994], P = .007 and 0.0587 AU [0.0202-0.0973], P = .002, respectively). No other significant differences were detected. Conclusions and clinical importance: Electrical impedance tomography derived PIF and PEF differed significantly between healthy horses and horses with SEA or MEA after exercise, but not before exercise. Differences between MEA and SEA were not observed, but the study population was small