Diagnosis of Hepatozoon canis in young dogs by cytology and PCR

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Hepatozoon canis </it>is a widespread tick-borne protozoan affecting dogs. The diagnosis of <it>H. canis </it>infection is usually performed by cytology of blood or buffy coat smears, but this method may not be sensitive. Our study aimed to evaluate the best method to achieve a parasitological diagnosis of <it>H. canis </it>infection in a population of receptive young dogs, previously negative by cytology and exposed to tick infestation for one summer season.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 73 mongrel dogs and ten beagles younger than 18 months of age, living in an animal shelter in southern Italy where dogs are highly infested by <it>Rhipicephalus sanguineus</it>, were included in this study. In March-April 2009 and in October 2009, blood and bone marrow were sampled from each dog. Blood, buffy coat and bone marrow were examined by cytology only (at the first sampling) and also by PCR for <it>H. canis </it>(second sampling). In March-April 2009, only one dog was positive for <it>H. canis </it>by cytological examination, whereas in October 2009 (after the summer season), the overall incidence of <it>H. canis </it>infection by cytological examinations was 43.9%. Molecular tests carried out on samples taken in October 2009 showed a considerably higher number of dogs positive by PCR (from 27.7% up to 51.2% on skin and buffy coat tissues, respectively), with an overall positivity of 57.8%. All animals, but one, which were positive by cytology were also PCR-positive. PCR on blood or buffy coat detected the highest number of <it>H. canis</it>-positive dogs displaying a sensitivity of 85.7% for both tissues that increased up to 98% when used in parallel. Twenty-six (74.8%) out of the 28 <it>H. canis</it>-positive dogs presented hematological abnormalities, eosinophilia being the commonest alteration observed.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results suggest that PCR on buffy coat and blood is the best diagnostic assay for detecting <it>H. canis </it>infection in dogs, although when PCR is not available, cytology on buffy coat should be preferred to blood smear evaluation. This study has also demonstrated that <it>H. canis </it>infection can spread among young dogs infested by <it>R. sanguineus </it>and be present in the majority of the exposed population within 6 months.</p

Cardiac biomarkers of acute coronary syndrome: from history to high-sensitivity cardiac troponin

The role of cardiac troponins as diagnostic biomarkers of myocardial injury in the context of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is well established. Since the initial 1st-generation assays, 5th-generation high-sensitivity cardiac troponin (hs-cTn) assays have been developed, and are now widely used. However, its clinical adoption preceded guidelines and even best practice evidence. This review summarizes the history of cardiac biomarkers with particular emphasis on hs-cTn. We aim to provide insights into using hs-cTn as a quantitative marker of cardiomyocyte injury to help in the differential diagnosis of coronary versus non-coronary cardiac diseases. We also review the recent evidence and guidelines of using hs-cTn in suspected ACS

A survey of canine tick-borne diseases in India

Background: There are few published reports on canine Babesia, Ehrlichia, Anaplasma, Hepatozoon and haemotropic Mycoplasma infections in India and most describe clinical disease in individual dogs, diagnosed by morphological observation of the microorganisms in stained blood smears. This study investigated the occurrence and distribution of canine tick-borne disease (TBD) pathogens using a combination of conventional and molecular diagnostic techniques in four cities in India. Results: On microscopy examination, only Hepatozoon gamonts were observed in twelve out of 525 (2.3%; 95% CI: 1.2, 4) blood smears. Using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a total of 261 from 525 dogs (49.7%; 95% CI: 45.4, 54.1) in this study were infected with one or more canine tick-borne pathogen. Hepatozoon canis (30%; 95% CI: 26.0, 34.0) was the most common TBD pathogen found infecting dogs in India followed by Ehrlichia canis (20.6%; 95% CI: 17.2, 24.3), Mycoplasma haemocanis (12.2%; 95% CI: 9.5, 15.3), Anaplasma platys (6.5%; 95% CI: 4.5, 8.9), Babesia vogeli (5.5%, 95% CI: 3.7, 7.8) and Babesia gibsoni (0.2%, 95% CI: 0.01, 1.06). Concurrent infection with more than one TBD pathogen occurred in 39% of cases. Potential tick vectors, Rhipicephalus (most commonly) and/or Haemaphysalis ticks were found on 278 (53%) of dogs examined. Conclusions: At least 6 species of canine tick-borne pathogens are present in India. Hepatozoon canis was the most common pathogen and ticks belonging to the genus Rhipicephalus were encountered most frequently. Polymerase chain reaction was more sensitive in detecting circulating pathogens compared with peripheral blood smear examination. As co-infections with canine TBD pathogens were common, Indian veterinary practitioners should be cognisant that the discovery of one such pathogen raises the potential for multiple infections which may warrant different clinical management strategies

ATHENA detector proposal - a totally hermetic electron nucleus apparatus proposed for IP6 at the Electron-Ion Collider

ATHENA has been designed as a general purpose detector capable of delivering the full scientific scope of the Electron-Ion Collider. Careful technology choices provide fine tracking and momentum resolution, high performance electromagnetic and hadronic calorimetry, hadron identification over a wide kinematic range, and near-complete hermeticity.This article describes the detector design and its expected performance in the most relevant physics channels. It includes an evaluation of detector technology choices, the technical challenges to realizing the detector and the R&D required to meet those challenges

First measurement of coherent ρ0 photoproduction in ultra-peripheral Xe–Xe collisions at √sNN = 5.44 TeV

The first measurement of the coherent photoproduction of ρ0 vector mesons in ultra-peripheral Xe–Xe collisions at sNN=5.44 TeV is presented. This result, together with previous HERA γp data and γ–Pb measurements from ALICE, describes the atomic number (A) dependence of this process, which is particularly sensitive to nuclear shadowing effects and to the approach to the black-disc limit of QCD at a semi-hard scale. The cross section of the Xe+Xe→ρ0+Xe+Xe process, measured at midrapidity through the decay channel ρ0→π+π−, is found to be dσ/dy=131.5±5.6(stat.)−16.9+17.5(syst.) mb. The ratio of the continuum to resonant contributions for the production of pion pairs is also measured. In addition, the fraction of events accompanied by electromagnetic dissociation of either one or both colliding nuclei is reported. The dependence on A of cross section for the coherent ρ0 photoproduction at a centre-of-mass energy per nucleon of the γA system of WγA,n=65 GeV is found to be consistent with a power-law behaviour σ(γA→ρ0A)∝Aα with a slope α=0.96±0.02(syst.). This slope signals important shadowing effects, but it is still far from the behaviour expected in the black-disc limit.publishedVersio