Research Note: Molecular and pathologic characterization of avian adenovirus isolated from the oviducts of laying hens in eastern Japan.

Cases of poor egg production were investigated in 2 layer farms from Ibaraki Prefecture in eastern Japan. To identify any microbial agents that may have caused the problem, necropsy, bacterial isolation, histopathology, and virus detection were performed. Members of the avian adenoviruses was detected by PCR in oviduct samples from both farms; chicken anemia virus coinfection was also confirmed in one of the farms. Avian adenovirus was isolated from the oviducts of the affected chickens on each farm. Inoculation into chick embryos showed tropism for the chorio-allantoic membrane. Stunting and hemorrhaging was observed in all infected embryos, as well as death in a few. Inoculation of 1-day-old specific pathogen-free chicks, and 400-day-old commercial hens, did not result in any significant findings. The isolated viruses were analyzed by sequencing of the hexon gene and were confirmed as fowl adenovirus type-c serotype-4 (FAdV-4). The 2 virus strains were found to be 99.29% similar to each other. One of the strains, Japan/Ibaraki/Y-H6/2016, was 99.15% similar to the KR5 strain. The other, Japan/Ibaraki/M-HB2/2016, was 99.57% similar to the KR5 strain. Fiber-2 gene analysis confirmed the identity as FAdV-4 that is closely related to nonpathogenic strains. Although nonpathogenic to chicks and laying hens, this infection can possibly cause economic damage. Perhaps the bigger concern is the effect on infected breeder operations. Because the virus is fatal to 9.09% of infected embryos, this could translate to a considerable loss in chick production owing to embryonic death. This is the first report of detection and isolation of FAdV-4 from the chicken oviduct; however, further studies are needed to elucidate its impact on both layer and breeder flocks. Indeed, FAdV-4 has negative effects on the avian reproductive tract as well.

The Expanded Role of Roof-Rats (Rattus rattus) in Salmonella spp. Contamination of a Commercial Layer Farm in East Japan.

Rodents serve as amplifiers of Salmonella infections in poultry flocks and can serve as a source of Salmonella contamination in the environment even after thorough cleaning and disinfection. This study aims to determine the dynamics of Salmonella occurrence in rodents and its relation to Salmonella contamination in the layer farm environment, including air dusts and eggs. From 2008 to 2017, roof rats (Rattus rattus), environmental swabs, air dusts, and eggs were collected from an intensive commercial layer farm in East Japan and were tested for Salmonella spp. using standard procedures. In roof rat samples, the Salmonella isolation rate was reached at 10% (95% confidence interval [CI] 8.1-21.9) in which Salmonella Corvallis, Salmonella Infantis, Salmonella Potsdam, and Salmonella Mbandaka were the frequent isolates from the cecal portion of the intestines. On the other hand, the prevalence rate of Salmonella in environmental swabs was at 5.1% (95% CI 2.2-7.4) while air dusts were at 0.9% (95% CI 0.2-1.8). It was observed that the prevalence of predominant Salmonella serotypes shifted over time; in roof rats, it was noted that Salmonella Potsdam gradually replaced Salmonella Infantis. In environmental swabs and eggs, Salmonella Corvallis and Salmonella Potsdam increased significantly while Salmonella Infantis became less frequent. In air dusts, Salmonella Corvallis was observed to decrease and Salmonella Potsdam became more common. Based on our findings, the role of roof rats in the epidemiology of Salmonella in layer farms was expanded from being a reservoir and an amplifier host into a shifting vessel of the most predominant serotypes.

Severe megaloblastic anemia: Vitamin deficiency and other causes.

Megaloblastic anemia causes macrocytic anemia from ineffective red blood cell production and intramedullary hemolysis. The most common causes are folate (vitamin B9) deficiency and cobalamin (vitamin B12) deficiency. Megaloblastic anemia can be diagnosed based on characteristic morphologic and laboratory findings. However, other benign and neoplastic diseases need to be considered, particularly in severe cases. Therapy involves treating the underlying cause-eg, with vitamin supplementation in cases of deficiency, or with discontinuation of a suspected medication.

Mobile phones: the next step towards healthcare delivery in rural India?

BACKGROUND: Given the ubiquity of mobile phones, their use to support healthcare in the Indian context is inevitable. It is however necessary to assess end-user perceptions regarding mobile health interventions especially in the rural Indian context prior to its use in healthcare. This would contextualize the use of mobile phone communication for health to 70% of the country's population that resides in rural India. OBJECTIVES: To explore the acceptability of delivering healthcare interventions through mobile phones among users in a village in rural Bangalore. METHODS: This was an exploratory study of 488 mobile phone users, residing in a village, near Bangalore city, Karnataka, South India. A pretested, translated, interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to obtain data on mobile phone usage patterns and acceptability of the mobile phone, as a tool for health-related communication. The data is described using basic statistical measures. RESULTS: The primary use of mobile phones was to make or receive phone calls (100%). Text messaging (SMS) was used by only 70 (14%) of the respondents. Most of the respondents, 484 (99%), were willing to receive health-related information on their mobile phones and did not consider receiving such information, an intrusion into their personal life. While receiving reminders for drug adherence was acceptable to most 479 (98%) of our respondents, 424 (89%) preferred voice calls alone to other forms of communication. Nearly all were willing to use their mobile phones to communicate with health personnel in emergencies and 367 (75%) were willing to consult a doctor via the phone in an acute illness. Factors such as sex, English literacy, employment status, and presence of chronic disease affected preferences regarding mode and content of communication. CONCLUSION: The mobile phone, as a tool for receiving health information and supporting healthcare through mHealth interventions was acceptable in the rural Indian context.

Fingerprint pattern differences in early- and late-onset primary degenerative dementia.

The frequency distribution of major fingerprint patterns (ulnar or radial loops, arches, and whorls) was studied in 47 men with early-onset (aged, less than or equal to 64 years), 35 men with late-onset primary degenerative dementia (aged, greater than or equal to 65 years), and 100 control subjects (aged, 29 to 78 years). Patients with an early, but not those with a late, onset of dementia had significantly more ulnar loops than the control group. This finding, along with other data, is interpreted as indicating that there may be a biologic basis for distinguishing these two forms of dementia.

Ictal-interictal unit firing pattern differences in penicillin-induced primary and secondary epileptogenic foci.

Single-unit activity occurring during seizures and interictal periods was studied in primary (penicillin) and secondary (mirror) neocortical epileptogenic foci in the rat. The results revealed that significant differences exist between the behavior of primary and dependent secondary focus neurons. The most prominent difference appeared to be the marked tendency for suppression of neuronal firing in secondary focus units, which was evident both interictally and during seizures. Moreover, seizures did not appear to be more potent than interictal discharges alone, in shifting the firing patterns of secondary focus neurons toward that displayed by primary focus neurons. These data have relevance for current theories regarding the induction of independent (chronic) secondary epileptogenic foci.

Left-handedness in early and late onset dementia.

Sixty-five men with the diagnosis of dementia of the Alzheimer type were divided into two groups, according to age at onset of dementia before or after 65 years. A handedness questionnaire was then completed for each patient. There was a significantly higher prevalence of left-handedness in the early, as compared with the late, onset group. Taken together with other data, this finding suggests that presenile dementia (Alzheimer's disease) and senile dementia "of the Alzheimer type " may not be biologically identical.

A comparison of clinical features in early- and late-onset primary degenerative dementia. One entity or two?

The prevalence of a number of clinical features occurring in patients with early- (before age 65) and late-onset primary degenerative dementia of the Alzheimer type (PDDAT) are compared. The data from a total of 65 patients demonstrated a greater prevalence of language disturbance, a disproportionate number of left-handers, and a much shorter relative survival time in the early-onset group. Taken together with other data, these findings indicate a degree of heterogeneity in the clinical features of patients with PDDAT and suggest a possible heightened selective vulnerability of the left hemisphere in early-onset cases. We interpret the data as raising the possibility that the current view of PDDAT as a unitary disorder may not be entirely valid.

Prevalence of psychosis in epilepsy as a function of the laterality of the epileptogenic lesion.

Retrospective analysis of the psychiatric diagnoses in a group of patients surgically relieved of medically intractable epilepsy tested the hypothesis that patients with left-sided temporal lobe epileptogenic lesions are at greater risk for the development of a so-called schizophrenic-like psychosis than are those with right-sided temporal lobe epileptogenic lesions. The data confirmed the hypothesis and also demonstrated an increased prevalence of sinistrals in the psychotic group. Thus, epilepsy involving the dominant hemisphere at the inception of the seizure disorder is the significant risk factors. The data also indicated that a psychosis is unlikely to develop in patients with other (nontemporal) forms of focal epilepsy. On the basis of these data and data from other studies, the prevalence of psychosis in patients with poorly controlled temporal lobe epilepsy was estimated to be approximately 10% to 15%.

Psychosis associated with epilepsy: significance of the laterality of the epileptogenic lesion.

The psychiatric histories in a group of patients who had previously undergone temporal lobectomy for intractable epilepsy, were analysed for the occurrence of psychosis. The data suggest that epileptic patients with left temporal lobe lesions are especially disposed to develop a schizophrenic-like psychosis.

Interictal--ictal transition in the feline penicillin epileptogenic focus.

A study was undertaken to examine those EEG features which characterize interictal--ictal (II--I) transitions in the feline penicillin focus. The study describes certain complex changes in spike frequency and their statistical analysis, which appear to have predictive value in signaling II--I transitions. The significance of these data with respect to the conflicting results of other studies and their possible application to clinical epilepsy are discussed.

"Organic brain syndromes": an empirical study and critical review.

The authors found that all but 3 of 80 randomly chosen patients in a Veterans Administration hospital who had been given a primary nonspecific neuropsychiatric diagnosis (organic brain syndrome, organic psychosis, chronic brain syndrome, etc.) could be assigned to specific diagnostic categories. Diagnosis was based on chart review and thorough neurological and clinical evaluation. Senile and alcoholic dementia and Korsakoff's syndrome were seen most often, and 15% of the patients were diagnosed as having functional disorders of the mental state. The authors review the organic brain syndrome diagnosis in light of this and other evidence. They believe that fractionation into more specific diagnoses is essential to further understanding of this group of diseases. Use of the general term can result in inappropriate or no treatment; further, it hampers essential psychological, pharmacological, and biomedical research on these disorders.