Seasonal variations in ostracod species in two freshwater lakes in Yavatmal District (Maharashtra) India

The diversity and density of ostracods (zooplankton) in two freshwater lakes in the Yavatmal district of Maharashtra, India, were studied from June 2020 to May 2021 to determine seasonal variations. Plankton net (64m pore size) was used to collect the samples and analysis was performed using standard keys. In all, 11 species from 8 genera belonging to 3 families of Ostracoda were identified from Mama Lake and Singhada Lake of the Yavatmal district of Maharashtra, India. The overall population of Ostracoda is greater in Mama Lake than in Singhada Lake. Additionally, the species diversity was higher in the summer season and lowest in winter

Study of metastasis in lymph node by fine needle aspiration cytology: our institutional experience

Background:Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is a reliable as well as an inexpensive diagnostic method. It is suitable for the developing countries for the diagnosis of lymphadenopathy at any approachable site. Fine needle aspiration cytology not only confirms the presence of metastatic disease but also, in most cases, gives the clue regarding the origin of the primary tumor, prognosis as well in the management of patient for staging purposes. The aim of the study was to detect and diagnose metastasis in lymph nodes. Methods:A study was done of all metastatic lymph node lesions reported in Department of Pathology, Govt. Medical College, Surat from May 2011 to April 2012.Results:A total of 2355 cases of fine needle aspiration cytology were carried out of which 580 cases were of lymph node. Cytology results were positive for metastasis in 157 specimens (27.06%). The most common site was cervical lymph nodes. Maximum numbers of cases of metastatic tumors were in 41-50 yrs age group. There were 115 males and 42 females with a male predominance (Male:Female= 2.8:1). The most common malignancy was squamous cells carcinoma, seen in 118 cases (75.15%), followed by metastatic mammary carcinoma (13 cases, 8.29%). In 26 cases out of 580 cases, histopathological confirmation was done and diagnostic accuracy of FNAC was 100%. Conclusions:Fine needle aspiration cytology of lymphadenopathy is a useful tool in diagnosing metastatic lesions with good certainty

Genes related to cell-mediated cytotoxicity and interferon response are induced in the retina of European sea bass upon intravitreal infection with nodavirus

Viral diseases are responsible for high rates of mortality and subsequent economic losses in modern aquaculture. The nervous necrosis virus (NNV) produces viral encephalopathy and retinopathy (VER), which affects the central nervous system, is considered one of the most serious viral diseases in marine aquaculture. Although some studies have localized NNV in the retina cells, none has dealt with immunity in the retina. Thus, for the first time, we intravitreally infected healthy specimens of European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) with NNV with the aim of characterizing the immune response in the retina. Ultrastructural analysis detected important retinal injuries and structure degradation, including pycnosis, hydropic degeneration and vacuolization in some cell layers as well as myelin sheaths in the optic nerve fibres. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated that NNV re- plicated in the eyes. Regarding retinal immunity, NNV infection elicited the transcription of genes encoding proteins involved in the interferon (IFN) and cell-mediated cytotoxicity (CMC) responses as well as B and T cell markers, demonstrating that viral replication influences innate and adaptive responses. Further studies are needed to understand the retina immunity and whether the main retinal function, vision, is affected by noda- virus.Versión del edito

Characterisation and expression analysis of the Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus L.) cytokines: IL-1β, IL-6, IL-11, IL-12β and IFNγ

Genes encoding the five Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus L.) cytokines; interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-11b, IL-12βc, and interferon (IFN) γ, were cloned and characterised at a molecular level. The genomic organisation of the halibut cytokine genes was similar to that seen in mammals and/or other fish species. Several mRNA instability motifs were found within the 3′-untranslated region (UTR) of all cytokine cDNA sequences. The putative cytokine protein sequences showed a low sequence identity with the corresponding homologues in mammals, avian and other fish species. Nevertheless, important structural features were presumably conserved such as the presence, or absence in the case of IL-1β, of a signal peptide, secondary structure and family signature motifs. The relative expression pattern of the cytokine genes was analyzed in several halibut organs, revealing a constitutive expression in both lymphoid and non-lymphoid organs. Interestingly, the gills showed a relatively high expression of IL-1β, IL-12βc and IFNγ. The real time RT-PCR data also showed that the mRNA level of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-12βc and IFNγ was high in the thymus, while IL-11b was relatively highly expressed in the posterior kidney and posterior gut. Moreover, the halibut brain showed a relatively high level of IL-6 transcripts. Anterior kidney leucocytes in vitro stimulated with imiquimod showed a significant increase in mRNA level of the five halibut cytokine genes. The sequence and characterisation data presented here will be useful for further investigation of both innate and adaptive immune responses in halibut, and be helpful in the design of vaccines for the control of various infectious diseases

Pan-Cancer Analysis of lncRNA Regulation Supports Their Targeting of Cancer Genes in Each Tumor Context

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are commonly dys-regulated in tumors, but only a handful are known toplay pathophysiological roles in cancer. We inferredlncRNAs that dysregulate cancer pathways, onco-genes, and tumor suppressors (cancer genes) bymodeling their effects on the activity of transcriptionfactors, RNA-binding proteins, and microRNAs in5,185 TCGA tumors and 1,019 ENCODE assays.Our predictions included hundreds of candidateonco- and tumor-suppressor lncRNAs (cancerlncRNAs) whose somatic alterations account for thedysregulation of dozens of cancer genes and path-ways in each of 14 tumor contexts. To demonstrateproof of concept, we showed that perturbations tar-geting OIP5-AS1 (an inferred tumor suppressor) andTUG1 and WT1-AS (inferred onco-lncRNAs) dysre-gulated cancer genes and altered proliferation ofbreast and gynecologic cancer cells. Our analysis in-dicates that, although most lncRNAs are dysregu-lated in a tumor-specific manner, some, includingOIP5-AS1, TUG1, NEAT1, MEG3, and TSIX, synergis-tically dysregulate cancer pathways in multiple tumorcontexts

The effectiveness of a low-intensity problem-solving intervention for common adolescent mental health problems in New Delhi, India: protocol for a school-based, individually randomized controlled trial with an embedded stepped-wedge cluster randomized controlled recruitment trial

Background Conduct, anxiety and depressive disorders account for over 75% of the adolescent mental health burden globally. The current protocol will test a low-intensity problem-solving intervention for school-going adolescents with common mental health problems in India. The protocol also tests the effects of a classroom-based sensitization intervention on the demand for counselling services in an embedded recruitment trial. Methods We will conduct a two-arm individually randomized controlled trial in six Government-run secondary schools in New Delhi. The targeted sample is 240 adolescents in grades 9-12 with persistent, elevated mental health symptoms and associated impact. Participants will receive either a brief problem-solving intervention delivered over 3 weeks by lay counsellors (intervention), or enhanced usual care comprised of problem-solving booklets (control). Self-reported adolescent mental health symptoms and idiographic problems will be assessed at 6 weeks (co-primary outcomes) and again at 12 weeks post-randomization. In addition, adolescent-reported impact of mental health difficulties, perceived stress, mental wellbeing and clinical remission, as well as parent-reported adolescent mental health symptoms and impact scores, will be assessed at 6 and 12 weeks post-randomization. We will also complete a parallel process evaluation, including estimations of the costs of delivering the interventions. An embedded recruitment trial will apply a stepped-wedge, cluster (class)-randomized controlled design in 70 classes across the six schools. This will evaluate the added impact of a classroom-based sensitization intervention over school-level recruitment sensitization activities on the primary outcome of referral rate into the host trial (i.e. the proportion of adolescents referred as a function of the total sampling frame in each condition of the embedded recruitment trial). Other outcomes will be the proportion of referrals eligible to participate in the host trial, proportion of self-generated referrals, and severity and pattern of symptoms among referred adolescents in each condition. Power calculations were undertaken separately for each trial. A detailed statistical analysis plan will be developed separately for each trial prior to unblinding. Discussion Both trials were initiated on 20 August 2018. A single research protocol for both trials offers a resource-efficient methodology for testing the effectiveness of linked procedures to enhance uptake and outcomes of a school-based psychological intervention for common adolescent mental health problems

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

Orbital Chondroma: A rare mesenchymal tumor of orbit

While relatively common in the skeletal system, cartilaginous tumors are rarely seen originating from the orbit. Here, we report a rare case of an orbital chondroma. A 27-year-old male patient presented with a painless hard mass in the superonasal quadrant (SNQ) of left orbit since 3 months. On examination, best-corrected visual acuity of both eyes was 20/20, with normal anterior and posterior segment with full movements of eyeballs and normal intraocular pressure. Computerized tomography scan revealed well defined soft tissue density lesion in SNQ of left orbit. Patient was operated for anteromedial orbitotomy under general anesthesia. Mass was excised intact and sent for histopathological examination (HPE). HPE report showed lobular aggregates of benign cartilaginous cells with mild atypia suggesting of benign cartilaginous tumor - chondroma. Very few cases of orbital chondroma have been reported in literature so far