Non-tuberculous Mycobacteria can Cause Disseminated Mycobacteriosis in Cats

Mycobacteriosis caused by non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) is a rising concern in human medicine both in immunocompromised and immunocompetent patients. In cats, mycobacteriosis caused by NTM is considered mostly to be a focal or dermal infection, with disseminated disease mostly caused by Mycobacterium avium. We describe three cases of disseminated mycobacteriosis in cats, caused by Mycobacterium malmoense, Mycobacterium branderi/shimoidei and M. avium, with no identified underlying immunosuppression. In all cases, extracellular mycobacteria were seen in the pulmonary epithelium, intestinal lumen and glomerular tufts, which could affect the shedding of the organism. The present study highlights the importance of mycobacteriosis as a differential even in immunocompetent animals. Considering the close relationship of owners and pets and the potential presence of free mycobacteria in secretions, cats should be considered as a possible environmental reservoir for mycobacteria. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Altered Basal Autophagy Affects Extracellular Vesicle Release in Cells of Lagotto Romagnolo Dogs With a Variant ATG4D

Lagotto Romagnolo breed dogs develop a progressive neurological disease with intracellular vacuolar storage when homozygous for a variant in the autophagy-related gene 4D (ATG4D). A lysosomal enzyme deficiency has not been proven in this disease, despite its overlapping morphology with lysosomal storage diseases. Instead, basal autophagy was altered in fibroblasts from affected dogs. The aim of this study was to clarify the origin of the limiting membrane of the accumulating vacuoles and determine whether altered basal autophagy affects the extracellular release of vesicles in cells from diseased dogs. When assessed by immunoelectron microscopy, the membrane of the cytoplasmic vacuoles in affected tissues contained ATG4D, markers for autolysosomes (microtubule-associated protein 1A/B light chain 3 and lysosome-associated membrane protein 2) and for recycling endosomes (transferrin receptor 2), indicating that the vacuoles are hybrid organelles between endocytic and autophagic pathways. Ultracentrifugation, nanoparticle tracking analysis, and mass spectrometry were used to analyze the vesicles released from cultured fibroblasts of affected and control dogs. The amount of extracellular vesicles (EVs) released from affected fibroblasts was significantly increased during basal conditions in comparison to controls. This difference disappeared during starvation. The basal EV proteome of affected cells was enriched with cytosolic, endoplasmic reticulum, and mitochondrial proteins. Heat shock proteins and chaperones, some of which are known substrates of basal autophagy, were identified among the proteins unique to EVs of affected cells. An increased release of extracellular vesicles may serve as a compensatory mechanism in disposal of intracellular proteins during dysfunctional basal autophagy in this spontaneous disease

Yhteistoimintaa ja yksilöllisiä valintoja kuntoutumisen polulla : Kelan työhönkuntoutuksen kehittämishankkeen tapaustutkimus

Tämä tutkimus on osa Kelan työhönkuntoutuksen kehittämishankkeeseen (TK2-hanke) kohdistunutta arviointitutkimusta, jonka tehtävä oli arvioida kuntoutusmallin toteutumista ja toimivuutta sekä sen vaikutuksia ja hyötyjä kuntoutujan, työpaikan, työterveyshuollon ja kuntoutuksen palvelutuottajan näkökulmista. Tapaustutkimuksen tavoite oli tuottaa tietoa kuntoutujan kuntoutus- ja kuntoutumisprosessista, sen sisällöstä ja etenemisestä sekä kuntoutumista edistävistä ja haittaavista mekanismeista. Monimenetelmällinen tapaustutkimus koski 11:tä kuntoutujaa. Siinä sovellettiin fenomenologista ajattelutapaa, realistisen arvioinnin käsitteitä ja vertailevan analyysin metodia. Tutkimuksessa oli moninäkökulmainen haastatteluaineisto sekä asiakirja- ja kyselyaineistot. Aineistojen analyysissä koottiin ensin kaikista aineistoista tutkimuskysymyksittäin tapauskuvaukset, ja toisessa vaiheessa tapauksia vertailtiin kuntoutujan työuraan liittyvien vaikutusten näkökulmasta. Toimijoiden yhteistoiminta edisti kuntoutumista. Kuntoutujan oman toimijuuden lisäksi keskeistä oli esimiehen tai työpaikan osallistuminen. Vaikutukset, jotka kytkeytyivät työhön ja työuraan, edellyttivät työpaikan ja esimiehen aktiivista osallistumista kuntoutusprosessiin. Kuntoutuksen tulokset rajoittuivat kuntoutujan omaan terveyteen ja hyvinvointiin, jos kuntoutumista edistävä mekanismi työpaikalla ja esimiestyössä ei toiminut. Työterveyshuollon aktiivinen kumppanuus edisti erityisesti osatyökykyisten kuntoutumista. TK2-malli vaikutti merkittävästi yksilön hyvinvointiin ja tuki työssä jatkamista, kun kuntoutujan toimijuutta tuettiin ja hän sai riittävästi tietoa tavoitteiden asettamista ja päätöksentekoa varten.25,00 euro

The determinants of social sustainability in work integration social enterprises: the effect of entrepreneurship

Work integration social enterprises (WISEs) exist to fight poverty and social exclusion. They offer support and guidance to those at risk of exclusion to help these individuals join the labour market. This study examines the relationship between social enterprises (specifically, work integration social enterprises) and their social impact, considered here in the form of social sustainability. This article presents the results of empirical analysis of 62 Spanish work integration social enterprises using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis. The article focuses on the entrepreneurial characteristics of the companies’ founders and managers as drivers of social value creation. Specifically, the study examines their entrepreneurial traits, capabilities, orientation, and behaviour. The results show the importance of the training that social entrepreneurs receive, as well as the structure and planning of social enterprises

Long-term outcome and use of 6-Minute Walk test in West Highland white Terriers with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

BACKGROUND: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is an incurable interstitial lung disease occurring mainly in West Highland White Terriers (WHWTs). The effects of IPF on survival and on exercise tolerance in WHWTs are unknown. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate survival, prognostic factors, and exercise tolerance in WHWTs with IPF. ANIMALS: Privately owned WHWTs; 15 with IPF and 11 healthy controls. METHODS: Prospective case‐control study conducted in 2007–2012. For survival, descriptive statistics and Kaplan–Meier (KM) survival curves with Cox proportional hazard ratios were performed. For the prognostic factor study, KM curves, Cox regression analysis, and logistic regression models were used. The 6‐minute walk test (6MWT) was used for measurement of exercise tolerance. RESULTS: The median IPF‐specific survival of deceased WHWTs (7/15) with IPF was 32 (range 2–51) months from onset of clinical signs. The risk of death from birth in WHWTs with IPF in age‐adjusted Cox model was significantly higher (hazard ratio 4.6; 95% confidence interval 1.05–19.74, P = .04) than in control WHWTs. No significant prognostic factors were identified. In 6MWT, WHWTs with IPF walked a shorter distance, median 398 m (range 273–519 m), than healthy controls, median 492 m (420–568 m), P = .05, and the partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood in diseased dogs had a moderate positive correlation with walking distance (Kendall′s tau‐b = 0.69, P = .06). CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: IPF had a negative impact on life expectancy, but individual survival varied considerably. 6MWT proved to be a well‐tolerated, noninvasive test to evaluate exercise tolerance

Cerebellar cortical abiotrophy in Lagotto Romagnolo dogs.

This case report documents two pathological variations of potentially inherited, cerebellar cortical abiotrophy in two unrelated Lagotto Romagnolo breed dogs. The first dog had an atypical lesion in the cerebellar cortex with depletion of cerebellar granular cell layer and sparing of the Purkinje cell layer. The second case had degenerative changes in both Purkinje and granular cell layers. The clinical picture was similar in both cases presented, although the severity of the signs of cerebellar dysfunction varied

Cerebellar cortical abiotrophy in Lagotto Romagnolo dogs.

This case report documents two pathological variations of potentially inherited, cerebellar cortical abiotrophy in two unrelated Lagotto Romagnolo breed dogs. The first dog had an atypical lesion in the cerebellar cortex with depletion of cerebellar granular cell layer and sparing of the Purkinje cell layer. The second case had degenerative changes in both Purkinje and granular cell layers. The clinical picture was similar in both cases presented, although the severity of the signs of cerebellar dysfunction varied