Subcutaneous rupture of the Achilles tendon and ipsilateral fracture of the medial malleolus

BACKGROUND: Although ankle fractures and an Achilles tendon rupture are relatively frequent in isolation, their association in the same injury is uncommon. CASE PRESENTATION: A 38 year old male tree surgeon fell six meters from a tree, sustaining a subcutaneous rupture of the Achilles tendon and an ipsilateral closed fracture of the medial malleolus. The injuries were diagnosed following clinical examination and imaging. CONCLUSION: This injury combination is infrequent, and management of the Achilles tendon rupture should take into account the necessity not to secondarily displace the fracture of the medial malleollus

Ethnobotanical survey of wild edible plants used by Baka people in southeastern Cameroon

Background Forest inhabitants worldwide, and Indigenous Peoples especially, have depended for generations on plants and animals harvested in these ecosystems. A number of Baka Pygmy populations in south-eastern Cameroon became sedentarised in the 1950s, but still rely on hunting and gathering to meet their basic needs. The use of wild edible plants (WEP) by these communities remains largely undocumented. In this study we document the diversity of WEP used by Baka people in dense rainforests in the Mintom region. The area still contains relatively undisturbed forests areas, just south of the Dja Biosphere Reserve, one of the most important protected areas in the Congo Basin. Methods We conducted two ethnobotanical surveys in 2019 in four villages on the Mintom road. In the first survey, we interviewed a total of 73 individuals to determine WEP usage. In our second survey we specifically quantified WEP harvested and consumed daily in a number of households over a two-week period during the major raining season, when use of forest products is highest. Specimens of all recorded plants were collected and identified at the National Herbarium of Cameroon. Results We documented 88 plant species and 119 unique species/plant organ/recipes in 1,519 different citations. A total of 61 genera and 43 families were recorded. Excluding 14 unidentified wild yam species, 17 WEP species had not been reported in previous ethnobotanical surveys of the Baka. Our results showed that cultivated starchy plant foods make up a significant proportion of their daily nutritional intake. Conclusions A high diversity of WEP are consumed by the studied Baka communities. The study area is likely to be significant in terms of WEP diversity since 18 out of the 30 ‘key’ NTFP in Cameroon were quoted. Documentation of the use of WEP by Indigenous communities is vital to ensure the continuity of traditional knowledge and future food security

Stress-Induced Reinstatement of Drug Seeking: 20 Years of Progress

In human addicts, drug relapse and craving are often provoked by stress. Since 1995, this clinical scenario has been studied using a rat model of stress-induced reinstatement of drug seeking. Here, we first discuss the generality of stress-induced reinstatement to different drugs of abuse, different stressors, and different behavioral procedures. We also discuss neuropharmacological mechanisms, and brain areas and circuits controlling stress-induced reinstatement of drug seeking. We conclude by discussing results from translational human laboratory studies and clinical trials that were inspired by results from rat studies on stress-induced reinstatement. Our main conclusions are (1) The phenomenon of stress-induced reinstatement, first shown with an intermittent footshock stressor in rats trained to self-administer heroin, generalizes to other abused drugs, including cocaine, methamphetamine, nicotine, and alcohol, and is also observed in the conditioned place preference model in rats and mice. This phenomenon, however, is stressor specific and not all stressors induce reinstatement of drug seeking. (2) Neuropharmacological studies indicate the involvement of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), noradrenaline, dopamine, glutamate, kappa/dynorphin, and several other peptide and neurotransmitter systems in stress-induced reinstatement. Neuropharmacology and circuitry studies indicate the involvement of CRF and noradrenaline transmission in bed nucleus of stria terminalis and central amygdala, and dopamine, CRF, kappa/dynorphin, and glutamate transmission in other components of the mesocorticolimbic dopamine system (ventral tegmental area, medial prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, and nucleus accumbens). (3) Translational human laboratory studies and a recent clinical trial study show the efficacy of alpha-2 adrenoceptor agonists in decreasing stress-induced drug craving and stress-induced initial heroin lapse

Impaired neonatal macrophage phagocytosis is not explained by overproduction of prostaglandin E2

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Neonates and young infants manifest increased susceptibility to bacterial, viral and fungal lung infections. Previous work has identified a role for eicosanoids in mediating host defense functions of macrophages. This study examines the relationship between alveolar macrophage (AM) host defense and production of lipid mediators during the neonatal period compared to adult AMs.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>AMs were harvested from young (day 7 and day 14) and adult (~10 week) rats. The functionality of these cells was assessed by examining their ability to phagocytose opsonized targets, produce cytokines, eicosanoids and intracellular cAMP measured by enzyme immunoassays, and gene expression of proteins, enzymes and receptors essential for eicosanoid generation and phagocytosis measured by real time RT-PCR.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>AMs from young animals (day 7 and 14) were defective in their ability to phagocytose opsonized targets and produce tumor necrosis factor (TNF)- α. In addition, young AMs produce more prostaglandin (PG) E₂, a suppressor of host defense, and less leukotriene (LT) B₄, a promoter of host defense. Young AMs express higher levels of enzymes responsible for the production of PGE₂and LTB₄; however, there was no change in the expression of E prostanoid (EP) receptors or LT receptors. Despite the similar EP profiles, young AMs are more responsive to PGE₂as evidenced by their increased production of the important second messenger, cyclic AMP. In addition, young AMs express higher levels of PDE3B and lower levels of PDE4C compared to adult AMs. However, even though the young AMs produced a skewed eicosanoid profile, neither the inhibition of PGE₂by aspirin nor the addition of exogenous LTB₄rescued the defective opsonized phagocytosis. Examination of a receptor responsible for mediating opsonized phagocytosis showed a significant decrease in the gene expression levels of the Fcgamma receptor in young (day 7) AMs compared to adult AMs.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results suggest that elevated production of PGE₂and decreased production of LTB₄do not contribute to impaired opsonized macrophage phagocytosis and highlight an important difference between young and adult AMs.</p

Persistence of back pain symptoms after pregnancy and bone mineral density changes as measured by quantitative ultrasound - a two year longitudinal follow up study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Previous research has shown a loss of bone mineral density (BMD) during pregnancy. This loss has been correlated to the occurrence of back pain symptoms during pregnancy. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether persistence of back pain symptoms 2 years after pregnancy could be associated with BMD changes as measured by quantitative USG of the os calcis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cohort of patients who reported significant back pain symptoms during pregnancy were surveyed for persistent back pain symptoms 24 to 28 months after the index pregnancy. Os calcis BMD was measured by quantitative ultrasound and compared with the BMD values during pregnancy.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A cohort of 60 women who had reported significant back pain symptoms in their index pregnancy completed a 24-28 months follow-up survey and BMD reassessment. Persistence of significant back pain symptoms was seen in 24 (40%) of this cohort. These women had higher BMD loss during pregnancy compared to those without further pain (0.047 Vs 0.030 g/cm²; p = 0.03). Those that remained pain free after pregnancy appeared to have completely recovered their BMD loss in pregnancy, while those with persistent pain had lower BMD values (ΔBMD - 0.007 Vs - 0.025 g/cm²; p = 0.023) compared to their early pregnancy values.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Persistence of back pain symptoms after pregnancy could be related to an inability to recover fully from BMD loss during the index pregnancy.</p

Fermi Gamma-ray Imaging of a Radio Galaxy

The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has detected the gamma-ray glow emanating from the giant radio lobes of the radio galaxy Centaurus A. The resolved gamma-ray image shows the lobes clearly separated from the central active source. In contrast to all other active galaxies detected so far in high-energy gamma-rays, the lobe flux constitutes a considerable portion (>1/2) of the total source emission. The gamma-ray emission from the lobes is interpreted as inverse Compton scattered relic radiation from the cosmic microwave background (CMB), with additional contribution at higher energies from the infrared-to-optical extragalactic background light (EBL). These measurements provide gamma-ray constraints on the magnetic field and particle energy content in radio galaxy lobes, and a promising method to probe the cosmic relic photon fields.Comment: 27 pages, includes Supplementary Online Material; corresponding authors: C.C. Cheung, Y. Fukazawa, J. Knodlseder, L. Stawar

A change in the optical polarization associated with a gamma-ray flare in the blazar 3C 279

It is widely accepted that strong and variable radiation detected over all accessible energy bands in a number of active galaxies arises from a relativistic, Doppler-boosted jet pointing close to our line of sight. The size of the emitting zone and the location of this region relative to the central supermassive black hole are, however, poorly known, with estimates ranging from light-hours to a light-year or more. Here we report the coincidence of a gamma-ray flare with a dramatic change of optical polarization angle. This provides evidence for co-spatiality of optical and gamma-ray emission regions and indicates a highly ordered jet magnetic field. The results also require a non-axisymmetric structure of the emission zone, implying a curved trajectory for the emitting material within the jet, with the dissipation region located at a considerable distance from the black hole, at about 10^5 gravitational radii.Comment: Published in Nature issued on 18 February 2010. Corresponding authors: Masaaki Hayashida and Greg Madejsk

Quantifying trends in disease impact to produce a consistent and reproducible definition of an emerging infectious disease.

The proper allocation of public health resources for research and control requires quantification of both a disease's current burden and the trend in its impact. Infectious diseases that have been labeled as "emerging infectious diseases" (EIDs) have received heightened scientific and public attention and resources. However, the label 'emerging' is rarely backed by quantitative analysis and is often used subjectively. This can lead to over-allocation of resources to diseases that are incorrectly labelled "emerging," and insufficient allocation of resources to diseases for which evidence of an increasing or high sustained impact is strong. We suggest a simple quantitative approach, segmented regression, to characterize the trends and emergence of diseases. Segmented regression identifies one or more trends in a time series and determines the most statistically parsimonious split(s) (or joinpoints) in the time series. These joinpoints in the time series indicate time points when a change in trend occurred and may identify periods in which drivers of disease impact change. We illustrate the method by analyzing temporal patterns in incidence data for twelve diseases. This approach provides a way to classify a disease as currently emerging, re-emerging, receding, or stable based on temporal trends, as well as to pinpoint the time when the change in these trends happened. We argue that quantitative approaches to defining emergence based on the trend in impact of a disease can, with appropriate context, be used to prioritize resources for research and control. Implementing this more rigorous definition of an EID will require buy-in and enforcement from scientists, policy makers, peer reviewers and journal editors, but has the potential to improve resource allocation for global health

Proportions of Convective and Stratiform Precipitation Revealed in Water Isotope Ratios

Tropical and midlatitude precipitation is fundamentally of two types, spatially-limited and high-intensity convective or widespread and lower-intensity stratiform, owing to differences in vertical air motions and microphysical processes governing rain formation. These processes are difficult to observe or model and precipitation partitioning into rain types is critical for understanding how the water cycle responds to climate changes. Here, we combine two independent data sets – convective and stratiform precipitation fractions, derived from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite or synoptic cloud observations, and stable isotope and tritium compositions of surface precipitation, derived from a global network – to show that isotope ratios reflect rain type proportions and are negatively correlated with stratiform fractions. Condensation and riming associated with boundary layer moisture produces higher isotope ratios in convective rain, along with higher tritium when riming in deep convection occurs with entrained air at higher altitudes. Based on our data, stable isotope ratios can be used to monitor changes in the character of precipitation in response to periodic variability or changes in climate. Our results also provide observational constraints for an improved simulation of convection in climate models and a better understanding of isotope variations in proxy archives, such as speleothems and tropical ice

Plastic Traits of an Exotic Grass Contribute to Its Abundance but Are Not Always Favourable

In herbaceous ecosystems worldwide, biodiversity has been negatively impacted by changed grazing regimes and nutrient enrichment. Altered disturbance regimes are thought to favour invasive species that have a high phenotypic plasticity, although most studies measure plasticity under controlled conditions in the greenhouse and then assume plasticity is an advantage in the field. Here, we compare trait plasticity between three co-occurring, C4 perennial grass species, an invader Eragrostis curvula, and natives Eragrostis sororia and Aristida personata to grazing and fertilizer in a three-year field trial. We measured abundances and several leaf traits known to correlate with strategies used by plants to fix carbon and acquire resources, i.e. specific leaf area (SLA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), leaf nutrient concentrations (N, C∶N, P), assimilation rates (Amax) and photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency (PNUE). In the control treatment (grazed only), trait values for SLA, leaf C∶N ratios, Amax and PNUE differed significantly between the three grass species. When trait values were compared across treatments, E. curvula showed higher trait plasticity than the native grasses, and this correlated with an increase in abundance across all but the grazed/fertilized treatment. The native grasses showed little trait plasticity in response to the treatments. Aristida personata decreased significantly in the treatments where E. curvula increased, and E. sororia abundance increased possibly due to increased rainfall and not in response to treatments or invader abundance. Overall, we found that plasticity did not favour an increase in abundance of E. curvula under the grazed/fertilized treatment likely because leaf nutrient contents increased and subsequently its' palatability to consumers. E. curvula also displayed a higher resource use efficiency than the native grasses. These findings suggest resource conditions and disturbance regimes can be manipulated to disadvantage the success of even plastic exotic species