First molecular report of Babesia gibsoni infection in pet dogs in Hunan province, subtropical China.

Canine babesiosis caused by Babesia spp. is a noteworthy tick-borne zoonotic disease of domestic dogs and wild canids. In present study, a total of 556 blood samples were randomly collected from pet dogs in eight cities of Hunan province, subtropical China. Genomic DNA was extracted and Babesia DNA was detected by amplification of partial 18S rRNA gene sequences. A total of 56 (10.1%) blood samples were tested positive for Babesia species. Sequence analysis showed that 29 dogs (5.2%) were positive for B. gibsoni, and other 27 dogs for B. vogeli (4.9%). The age and health status were considered as important risk factors for B. gibsoni and B. vogeli infections in pet dogs in this study (P<0.05). Phylogenetic analysis showed that the examined positive samples were highly clustered in the same branch with B. gibsoni and B. vogeli, respectively. This is the first molecular report of B. gibsoni infection in pet dogs in Hunan province, subtropical China. Our finding has provided a guide for the control of dog babesiosis in China and elsewhere.

First molecular report of Babesia gibsoni infection in pet dogs in Hunan province, subtropical China

@#Canine babesiosis caused by Babesia spp. is a noteworthy tick-borne zoonotic disease of domestic dogs and wild canids. In present study, a total of 556 blood samples were randomly collected from pet dogs in eight cities of Hunan province, subtropical China. Genomic DNA was extracted and Babesia DNA was detected by amplification of partial 18S rRNA gene sequences. A total of 56 (10.1%) blood samples were tested positive for Babesia species. Sequence analysis showed that 29 dogs (5.2%) were positive for B. gibsoni, and other 27 dogs for B. vogeli (4.9%). The age and health status were considered as important risk factors for B. gibsoni and B. vogeli infections in pet dogs in this study (P<0.05). Phylogenetic analysis showed that the examined positive samples were highly clustered in the same branch with B. gibsoni and B. vogeli, respectively. This is the first molecular report of B. gibsoni infection in pet dogs in Hunan province, subtropical China. Our finding has provided a guide for the control of dog babesiosis in China and elsewhere.

Discovery of novel genic-SSR markers from transcriptome dataset of an important non-human primate, Macaca fascicularis.

Macaca fascicularis, also known as the cynomolgus macaque, is an important non-human primate animal model used in biomedical research. It is an Old-World primate widely distributed in Southeast Asia and is one of the most abundant macaque species in Malaysia. However, the genetic structure of wild cynomolgus macaque populations in Malaysia has not been thoroughly elucidated. In this study, we developed genic-simple sequence repeat (genic-SSR) markers from an in-house transcriptome dataset generated from the Malaysian cynomolgus macaque via RNA sequencing, and applied these markers on 26 cynomolgus macaque individuals. A collection of 14,751 genic-SSRs were identified, where 13,709 were perfect SSRs. Dinucleotide repeats were the most common repeat motifs with a frequency of 65.05%, followed by trinucleotide repeats (20.55%). Subsequently, we designed 300 pairs of primers based on perfect di- and trinucleotide SSRs, in which 105 SSRs were associated with functional genes. A subset of 30 SSR markers were randomly selected and validated, yielding 19 polymorphic markers with an average polymorphism information content value of 0.431. The development of genic-SSR markers in this study is indeed timely to provide useful markers for functional and population genetic studies of the cynomolgus macaque and other related non-human primate species.

Predictors of difficulty in intubation in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate predictors of difficult intubation in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). METHODOLOGY: Prospective series of 405 OSA patients (350 males/55 females) who had upper airway surgery. Procedures included functional endoscopic sinus surgery, septoplasty, turbinate reduction, palate/tonsil surgery, and/or tongue base surgery. Intubation difficulty (ID) was assessed using Mallampati grade, Laryngoscopic grade (Cormack and Lehane), and clinical parameters including BMI, neck circumference, thyromental distance, jaw adequacy, neck movements and glidescope grading. RESULTS: Mean age was 41.6 years old; mean BMI 26.6; mean neck circumference 44.5cm; mean Apnea Hypopnea Index (AHI) was 25.0; and mean LSAT 82%. The various laryngeal grades (based on Cormack and Lehane), grade 1 - 53 patients (12.9%), grade 2A - 127 patients (31.0%), grade 2B - 125 patients (30.5%), grade 3 - 93 patients (22.7%) and grade 4 - seven patients (1.7%); hence, 24.4% had difficulties in intubation. Parameters that adversely affected intubation were, age of the patient, opening of mouth, retrognathia, overbite, overjet, limited neck extension, thyromental distance, Mallampati grade, and macroglossia (p<0.001). Body mass index (BMI) (p=0.087), neck circumference (p=0.645), neck aches (p=0.728), jaw aches (p=0.417), tonsil size (p=0.048), and AHI (p=0.047) had poor correlation with intubation. BMI-adjusted for Asians and Caucasians, showed that Asians were more likely to have difficulties in intubation (adjusted OR = 4.6 (95%Confidence Interval: 1.05 to 20.06) (p=0.043), compared to the Caucasian group. CONCLUSION: This study illustrates that difficult intubation can be predicted pre-surgery in order to avert any anaesthetic morbidity.

[Therapeutic effect of burr-hole operation combined with dural inversion and temporalis-periosteal synangiosis for ischemic moyamoya disease of adults].

Objective: To explore the therapeutic effect of burr-hole operation combined with dural inversion and temporalis-periosteal synangiosis for ischemic moyamoya disease of adults. Methods: The burr-hole operation combined with dural inversion and temporalis-periosteal synangiosis was performed on 21 adults with ischemic moyamoya disease since January 2013 in the second hospital of Shandong university.All of the patients were followed up for 3 months to 3 years.Digital subtraction angiogram (DSA) reexamination was performed and the cerebral MR perfusion imaging (PWI) was used to observe the perfusion of cerebral ischemic area before and after operation quantificationally, and the KPS scores before and after the surgery were analysed by the statistics.The clinical symptoms of the 21 patients gradually improved after the operation, there was statistical significance by paired t test of the KPS scores (P<0.001). Results: 19 patients were reexamined by DSA and PWI.The DSA results revealed there was apparent neovascularization in 65 burr-holes of total 72 holes , mainly came from the middle meningeal artery and superficial artery, and there was neovascularization in 33 burr-holes of total 35 holes whose arachnoid was completed, there was no statistical significance by χ(2) test (P>0.05). The revascularization of the ischemic cerebral tissue was obtained through the PWI.The postoperative complications included 1 case of subdural hematoma, 3 cases of postoperative temporary neurological deficits. Conclusion: The burr-hole operation combined with dural inversion and temporalis-periosteal synangiosis was effective, the MR perfusion imaging could assessment the effect exactly, there was no significant difference of neovascularization whether or not opening the arachnoid.

The effects of different velogenic NDV infections on the chicken bursa of Fabricius.

BACKGROUND: Virulent Newcastle disease virus (NDV) was reported to cause rapid depletion of chicken bursa of Fabricius. Severe pathological condition of the organ is commonly associated with high levels of virus replication, intense inflammatory response and also the degree of apoptosis. In this study, the responses of chicken bursa of Fabricius infected with two different strains of velogenic NDV, namely AF2240 and IBS002, were investigated by observing cell population changes, oxidative stress, viral replication and cytokine expression in the organ. Subsequently, apoptosis of enriched bursal IgM+ cells was determined to help us elucidate possible host pathogen relationships between the chicken bursa of Fabricius and NDV infection. RESULTS: The depletion of IgM+ cells and infiltration of macrophages were observed to be higher in bursa infected with AF2240 as compared to IBS002. In line with the increment of the macrophage population, higher nitric oxide (NO) and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents which indicated higher oxidative stress were also detected in bursa infected with NDV AF2240. In addition, higher pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokine gene expression such as chicken CXCLi2, IL-18 and IFN-γ were observed in AF2240 infected bursa. Depletion of IgM+ cells was further confirmed with increased cell death and apoptosis of the cells in AF2240 infected bursa as compared to IBS002. However, it was found that the viral load for NDV strain IBS002 was comparatively higher than AF2240 although the magnitude of the pro- inflammatory cytokines expression and cell apoptosis was lower than AF2240. CONCLUSION: The results of our study demonstrated that infection of NDV strains AF2240 and IBS002 caused apoptosis in bursa IgM+ cells and its severity was associated with increased expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines/chemokine, macrophage infiltration and oxidative stress as the infection duration was prolonged. However, of the two viruses, we observed that NDV AF2240 induced a greater magnitude of apoptosis in chicken bursa IgM+ cells in comparison to IBS002. This might be due to the high level of oxidative stress and inflammatory cytokines/chemokine as well as lower IL10 expression which subsequently led to a high rate of apoptosis in the chicken bursa of Fabricius although the detected viral load of AF2240 was lower than IBS002.

First report of seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in domestic geese in Hunan province, subtropical China.

Toxoplasma gondii is one of the most common protozoan parasites with widespread distribution globally. However, little information is available about the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection in geese (Anser domestica) in China. In the present study, the seroprevalence of T. gondii in geese were investigated in Hunan province, China. A total of 900 serum samples were collected from ten administrative regions in Hunan province, China, and assayed for T. gondii antibodies by Indirect Haemagglutination (IHA) test. Overall, 21.1% of the animals were positive for T. gondii antibodies. The results of the present survey indicated the presence of T. gondii infection in geese in Hunan province, China. Therefore, it is important to execute integrated control strategies and measures to prevent and control T. gondii infection in geese in this province. This is the first report seroprevalence of T. gondii in geese in Hunan province, China.

First report of seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in domestic geese in Hunan province, subtropical China

. Toxoplasma gondii is one of the most common protozoan parasites with widespread distribution globally. However, little information is available about the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection in geese (Anser domestica) in China. In the present study, the seroprevalence of T. gondii in geese were investigated in Hunan province, China. A total of 900 serum samples were collected from ten administrative regions in Hunan province, China, and assayed for T. gondii antibodies by Indirect Haemagglutination (IHA) test. Overall, 21.1% of the animals were positive for T. gondii antibodies. The results of the present survey indicated the presence of T. gondii infection in geese in Hunan province, China. Therefore, it is important to execute integrated control strategies and measures to prevent and control T. gondii infection in geese in this province. This is the first report seroprevalence of T. gondii in geese in Hunan province, China.

Topological state transport in topological insulators under the influence of hexagonal warping and exchange coupling to in-plane magnetizations.

A hexagonal warping term has been proposed recently to explain the experimentally observed 2D equal energy contours of the surface states of the topological insulator Bi2Te3. Differing from the Dirac fermion Hamiltonian, the hexagonal warping term leads to the opening up of a band gap by an in-plane magnetization. We study the transmission between two Bi2Te3 segments subjected to different in-plane magnetizations and potentials. The opening up of a bandgap, and the accompanying displacement and distortion of the constant energy surfaces from their usual circular shapes by the in-plane magnetizations, modify the transverse momentum overlap between the two Bi2Te3 segments, and strongly modulate the transmission profile. The strong dependence of the TI surface state transport of Bi2Te3 on the magnetization orientation of an adjacent ferromagnetic layer may potentially be utilized in, e.g., a memory readout application.

Chiral tunneling modulated by a time-periodic potential on the surface states of a topological insulator.

Time-periodic perturbation can be used to modify the transport properties of the surface states of topological insulators, specifically their chiral tunneling property. Using the scattering matrix method, we study the tunneling transmission of the surface states of a topological insulator under the influence of a time-dependent potential and finite gate bias voltage. It is found that perfect transmission is obtained for electrons which are injected normally into the time-periodic potential region in the absence of any bias voltage. However, this signature of Klein tunneling is destroyed when a bias voltage is applied, with the transmission probability of normally incident electrons decreasing with increasing gate bias voltage. Likewise, the overall conductance of the system decreases significantly when a gate bias voltage is applied. The characteristic left-handed helicity of the transmitted spin polarization is also broken by the finite gate bias voltage. In addition, the time-dependent potential modifies the large-angle transmission profile, which exhibits an oscillatory or resonance-like behavior. Finally, time-dependent transport modes (with oscillating potential in the THz frequency) can result in enhanced overall conductance, irrespective of the presence or absence of the gate bias voltage.

Morphological and genetic variations of the freshwater leech, Hirudinaria spp., in Peninsular Malaysia.

In this study the genetic diversity of local freshwater leeches (Hirudinaria spp.) was inferred using mtDNA COI gene analysis and compared with the gross external variations of 26 freshwater leech specimens obtained from the wild and leech farms. Based on a neighbor-joining tree generated from 516 COI base sequences, four distinct clades of Hirudinaria were seen with interspecific genetic divergence in the range of 7.6-14.5%. The external morphological variations based on the presence of stripes, location of gonopores, and anus separated the samples into four morphologically distinct groups matching the four clades obtained from the molecular data. Two black stripes at the ventral region were observed only in specimens found clustered with clades that contained the GenBank-reported H. manillensis, whereas the brown or dark green coloration without stripes on the ventral region was seen in samples that clustered with H. javanica and H. bpling clades.

Chronic pain after caesarean delivery: an Australian cohort.

We investigated the incidence of and risk factors for persistent pain after caesarean delivery. Over a 12-month period, women having caesarean delivery were recruited prospectively at an Australian tertiary referral centre. Demographic, anaesthetic and surgical data were collected and at 24 hour follow-up, women were assessed for immediate postoperative pain and preoperative expectations of pain. Long-term telephone follow-up was conducted at two and 12 months postoperatively. Complete data were obtained from 426 of 469 women initially recruited (90.6%). The incidence of persistent pain at the abdominal wound at two months was 14.6% (n=62) but subsequently reduced to 4.2% (n=18) at 12 months. At two months, 33 patients (7.8%) experienced constant or daily pain. At 12 months, five patients (1.1%) continued to have constant or daily pain which was mild. There was no apparent increase in incidence of persistent pain associated with general versus regional anaesthesia (relative risk [RR] 0.89, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.49 to 1.6); emergency vs elective procedure (RR 0.65, 95% CI 0.39 to 1.07); higher acute pain scores (RR 1.1, 95% CI 0.69 to 1.75); or history of previous caesarean delivery (RR 0.81, 95% CI 0.50 to 1.33). Persistent pain, usually of a mild nature, is reported by some women two months after their caesarean delivery, but by 12 months less than 1% of women had pain requiring analgesia or affecting mood or sleep. All declined a pain clinic review. Clinicians and patients can be reassured that caesarean delivery is unlikely to lead to severe persistent pain in the long-term.

Recycling of superfine resolution agarose gel.

Genetic markers are now routinely used in a wide range of applications, from forensic DNA analysis to marker-assisted plant and animal breeding. The usual practice in such work is to extract the DNA, prime the markers of interest, and sift them out by electrically driving them through an appropriate matrix, usually a gel. The gels, made from polyacrylamide or agarose, are of high cost, limiting their greater applications in molecular marker work, especially in developing countries where such technology has great potential. Trials using superfine resolution (SFR) agarose for SSR marker screening showed that it is capable of resolving SSR loci and can be reused up to 14 times, thus greatly reducing the cost of each gel run. Furthermore, for certain applications, low concentrations of agarose sufficed and switching to lithium borate buffer, instead of the conventional Tris-borate-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid buffer, will further save time and cost. The 2.5% gel was prepared following the Agarose SFR(TM) manual by adding 2.5 g agarose powder into 100 mL 1X lithium borate buffer in a 250-mL flask with rapid stirring. Two midigels (105 x 83 mm, 17 wells) or 4 minigels (50 x 83 mm, 8 wells), 4 mm thickness can be prepared from 100 mL gel solution. A total of 1680 PCR products amplified using 140 SSR markers from oil palm DNA samples were tested in this study using SFR recycled gel. As average, the gel can be recycled 8 times with good resolution, but can be recycled up to 14 times before the resolutions get blurred.

Segregation and genetic linkage analyses of river catfish, Mystus nemurus, based on microsatellite markers.

The river catfish Mystus nemurus is an important fresh water species for aquaculture in Malaysia. We report the first genetic linkage map of M. nemurus based on segregation analysis and a linkage map using newly developed microsatellite markers of M. nemurus. A total of 70 of the newly developed polymorphic DNA microsatellite markers were analyzed on pedigrees generated using a pseudo-testcross strategy from 2 mapping families. In the first mapping family, 100 offspring were produced from randomly selected dams of the same populations; dams of the second family were selected from 2 different populations, and this family had 50 offspring. Thirty-one of the 70 markers segregated according to the Mendelian segregation ratio. Linkage analysis revealed that 17 microsatellite markers belonging to 7 linkage groups were obtained at a logarithm of the odds score of 1.2 spanning 584 cM by the Kosambi mapping function, whereas the other 14 remained unlinked. The results from this study will act as primer to a more extensive genetic mapping study aimed towards identifying genetic loci involved in determining economically important traits.

Pain vs comfort scores after Caesarean section: a randomized trial.

BACKGROUND: The use of negative words, such as 'sting' and 'pain', can increase patient pain and anxiety. We aimed to determine how pain scores compare with comfort scores and how the technique of pain assessment affects patient perceptions and experiences after operation. METHODS: After Caesarean section, 300 women were randomized before post-anaesthesia review. Group P women were asked to rate their pain on a 0-10-point verbal numerical rating scale (VNRS), where '0' was 'no pain' and '10' was 'worst pain imaginable'. Group C women were asked to rate comfort on a 0-10-point VNRS, where '0' was 'no comfort' and '10' was 'most comfortable'. All women were asked whether the Caesarean wound was bothersome, unpleasant, associated with tissue damage, and whether additional analgesia was desired. RESULTS: The median (inter-quartile range) VNRS pain scores was higher than inverted comfort scores at rest, 2 (1, 4) vs 2 (0.5, 3), P=0.001, and movement, 6 (4, 7) vs 4 (3, 5), P<0.001. Group P women were more likely to be bothered by their Caesarean section, had greater VNRS 'Bother' scores, 4 (2, 6) vs 1 (0, 3), P<0.001, perceived postoperative sensations as 'unpleasant' [relative risk (RR) 3.05, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.20, 4.23], P<0.001, and related to tissue damage rather than healing and recovery (RR 2.03, 95% CI 1.30, 3.18), P=0.001. Group P women were also more likely to request additional analgesia (RR 4.33, 95% CI 1.84, 10.22), P<0.001. CONCLUSIONS: Asking about pain and pain scores after Caesarean section adversely affects patient reports of their postoperative experiences.

Microsatellite markers uncover cryptic species of Odontotermes (Termitoidae: Termitidae) from Peninsular Malaysia.

Termites from the genus Odontotermes are known to contain numerous species complexes that are difficult to tell apart morphologically or with mitochondrial DNA sequences. We developed markers for one such cryptic species complex, that is, Odontotermes srinakarinensis sp. nov. from Maxwell Hill Forest Reserve (Perak, Malaysia), and characterised them using a sample of 41 termite workers from three voucher samples from the same area. We then genotyped 150 termite individuals from 23 voucher samples/colonies of this species complex from several sites in Peninsular Malaysia. We analysed their population by constructing dendograms from the proportion of shared-alleles between individuals and genetic distances between colonies; additionally, we examined the Bayesian clustering pattern of their genotype data. All methods of analysis indicated that there were two distinct clusters within our data set. After the morphologies of specimens from each cluster were reexamined, we were able to separate the two species morphologically and found that a single diagnostic character found on the mandibles of its soldiers could be used to separate the two species quite accurately. The additional species in the clade was identified as Odontotermes denticulatus after it was matched to type specimens at the NHM London and Cambridge Museum of Zoology.

An investigation of arsenic contamination in Peninsular Malaysia based on Centella asiatica and soil samples.

The first objective of this study was to provide data of arsenic (As) levels in Peninsular Malaysia based on soil samples and accumulation of As in Centella asiatica collected from 12 sampling sites in Peninsular Malaysia. The second objective was to assess the accumulation of As in transplanted C. asiatica between control and semi-polluted or polluted sites. Four sites were selected which were UPM (clean site), Balakong (semi-polluted site), Seri Kembangan (semi-polluted site) and Juru (polluted site). The As concentrations of plant and soil samples were determined by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis. The As levels ranged from 9.38 to 57.05 µg/g dw in soils, 0.21 to 4.33 µg/g dw in leaves, 0.18 to 1.83 µg/g dw in stems and 1.32-20.76 µg/g dw in roots. All sampling sites had As levels exceeding the CCME guideline (12 µg/g dw) except for Kelantan, P. Pauh, and Senawang with P. Klang having the highest As in soil (57.05 µg/g dw). In C. asiatica, As accumulation was highest in roots followed by leaves and stems. When the As level in soils were higher, the uptake of As in plants would also be increased. After the transplantation of plants to semi-polluted and polluted sites for 3 weeks, all concentration factors were greater than 50 % of the initial As level. The elimination factor was around 39 % when the plants were transplanted back to the clean sites for 3 weeks. The findings of the present study indicated that the leaves, stems and roots of C. asiatica are ideal biomonitors of As contamination. The present data results the most comprehensive data obtained on As levels in Malaysia.