Large Animal Clinical Quiz

This article contains a quiz pertinent to knowledge about Large Animal medicine for the benefit of students

A very curious larder – Insects from post-medieval Skálholt, Iceland, and their implications for interpreting activity areas

Fossil insect assemblages from post-medieval Skálholt, the oldest episcopal see in Iceland, provide new information about indoor environments and the specific use of a structure which according to historical information was listed as a larder attached to the episcopal school. The assemblages recovered also provide information on the background fauna which comprises of species related to turves, used for building construction and indicating storage of peat. In addition to the introduced Sitophilus granarius, the granary weevil, a new pest, Callosobruchus maculatus which is a pan-tropical and subtropical field and storage pest of legumes, and a rarely introduced species in Iceland even today, were also recovered from the site. In view of the nature of the assemblages, these were probably accidental introductions into the room, perhaps in faeces. The historical record provides information about the life history and events at Skálholt and data about school supplies including imports of stored products to Iceland during this period. In addition, the high numbers of sheep keds, Melophagus ovinus, combined with high numbers of human lice, Pediculus humanus, point to the washing of wool and clothing in urine to get rid of ectoparasites. Intra-site comparisons and a review of all Icelandic archaeological sites suggest a clear correlation between the presence of ectoparasites and wool preparation and cleaning. The results from Skálholt clearly show that rooms and specific spaces in post-medieval buildings could have multiple functions, not only the one assigned to them in the historical record

Efficacy of a platelet-rich plasma injection for the treatment of proximal hamstring tendinopathy: A pilot study

Objectives: To determine the efficacy of an ultrasound-guided platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection in the treatment of patients with proximal hamstring tendinopathy (PHT). Design: Pilot prospective cohort study Methods: Administration of a single PRP injection under ultrasound guidance to 29 patients with PHT confirmed on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Pain, function and sporting activity were measured via the Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment-Proximal Hamstring Tendons (VISA-H) questionnaire, administered before injection and at 8-weeks follow-up. Results: The study sample consisted of 22 females and 7 males with a mean age of 45.2 years (95% CI40.8–49.5). When comparing pre-injection VISA-H scores (mean: 43.90; 95% CI 37.77–50.03) with 8-week post-injection VISA-H scores (mean: 51.14; 95% CI 43.39–58.88) in the total sample of patients, no statistically significant difference was found (p = 0.14). When performing separate analyses for patients with mild (n = 9), moderate (n = 16) or marked (n = 4) PHT, no statistically significant difference was found in pre-and post-injection VISA-H scores for any of the groups (p = 0.86, p = 0.13, p = 0.28 respectively). 69%of patients reported no change in their ability to undertake sport or other physical activity at 8-weeks follow-up. Conclusions: Patients with PHT receiving a PRP injection did not improve on clinical outcomes at 8-weeks follow-up

Detection of mecC-Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates in river water : a potential role for water in the environmental dissemination

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a public health concern due to limited treatment options. The recent description of a mecA homologue, mecC in human and cattle, led to studies to detect this new variant in human and other animal species. Detection of mecC in wild boar and fallow deer in a Spanish game estate led us to further investigate the presence of mecC-MRSA at this location. Samples from cattle, wild animals, workers and river water were tested. A further three mecC-MRSA isolates were obtained from river water. Molecular characterization (multilocus sequence typing and spa typing) and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (broth microdilution) showed that isolates were similar to those detected in wild animals. Whole genome sequencing confirmed that the isolates from the river water and wild animals in the same geographic area were all closely related isolates of ST425 mecC-MRSA. The presence of mecC-MRSA in the river water highlights the potential role of water in the dissemination of mecC-MRSA

Concert recording 2022-04-07

[Track 1]. Moose the mooche / Charlie Parker -- Red clay / Freddie Hubbard -- Mr. Tinfoil / Max Morrow -- Sonata for alto saxophone and piano. I. Andante moderato ; II. Adagio, dolce exspressivo ; II. Allegro con brio / John C. Worley -- Tsu / Max Morrow

Concert recording 2022-04-07

[Track 1]. Moose the mooche / Charlie Parker -- Red clay / Freddie Hubbard -- Mr. Tinfoil / Max Morrow -- Sonata for alto saxophone and piano. I. Andante moderato ; II. Adagio, dolce exspressivo ; II. Allegro con brio / John C. Worley -- Tsu / Max Morrow

Characterization of three-body loss in 166Er and optimized production of large Bose-Einstein condensates

Ultracold gases of highly magnetic lanthanide atoms have enabled the realization of dipolar quantum droplets and supersolids. However, future studies could be limited by the achievable atom numbers and hindered by high three-body loss rates. Here we study density-dependent atom loss in an ultracold gas of 166Er for magnetic fields below 4 G, identifying six previously unreported, strongly temperature-dependent features. We find that their positions and widths show a linear temperature dependence up to at least 15 µK. In addition, we observe a weak, polarization-dependent shift of the loss features with the intensity of the light used to optically trap the atoms. This detailed knowledge of the loss landscape allows us to optimize the production of dipolar Bose-Einstein condensates with more than 2 × 105 atoms and points towards optimal strategies for the study of large-atom-number dipolar gases in the droplet and supersolid regimes

Whole genome sequencing of Plasmodium falciparum from dried blood spots using selective whole genome amplification

BACKGROUND: Translating genomic technologies into healthcare applications for the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum has been limited by the technical and logistical difficulties of obtaining high quality clinical samples from the field. Sampling by dried blood spot (DBS) finger-pricks can be performed safely and efficiently with minimal resource and storage requirements compared with venous blood (VB). Here, the use of selective whole genome amplification (sWGA) to sequence the P. falciparum genome from clinical DBS samples was evaluated, and the results compared with current methods that use leucodepleted VB. METHODS: Parasite DNA with high (>95%) human DNA contamination was selectively amplified by Phi29 polymerase using short oligonucleotide probes of 8-12 mers as primers. These primers were selected on the basis of their differential frequency of binding the desired (P. falciparum DNA) and contaminating (human) genomes. RESULTS: Using sWGA method, clinical samples from 156 malaria patients, including 120 paired samples for head-to-head comparison of DBS and leucodepleted VB were sequenced. Greater than 18-fold enrichment of P. falciparum DNA was achieved from DBS extracts. The parasitaemia threshold to achieve >5× coverage for 50% of the genome was 0.03% (40 parasites per 200 white blood cells). Over 99% SNP concordance between VB and DBS samples was achieved after excluding missing calls. CONCLUSION: The sWGA methods described here provide a reliable and scalable way of generating P. falciparum genome sequence data from DBS samples. The current data indicate that it will be possible to get good quality sequence on most if not all drug resistance loci from the majority of symptomatic malaria patients. This technique overcomes a major limiting factor in P. falciparum genome sequencing from field samples, and paves the way for large-scale epidemiological applications