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Iranian Journal of Veterinary Research 2021Newcastle disease (ND) has been categorized as a highly contagious viral disease, remaining as a constant threat to both wild birds and commercial chickens.
BACKGROUND
Newcastle disease (ND) has been categorized as a highly contagious viral disease, remaining as a constant threat to both wild birds and commercial chickens.
AIMS
In this study, we recovered and characterized the avian orthoavulavirus 1 (AOaV-1) strain, nominated as EM1, from the Eurasian magpie ().
METHODS
The nucleotide and amino acid sequence of the fusion protein (F protein) of EM1 were determined and its phylogenetic relationship was investigated with well-characterized AOaV-1 genotypes, which originated from wild bird species and chickens around the world.
RESULTS
Phylogenetic analysis and deduced amino acid sequences of the gene revealed that EM1 virus belonged to VIIl sub-genotype viruses with the characteristic multibasic amino acid sequences associated with the velogenic motif as RRQKRF at the cleavage site of its precursor fusion protein. EM1 shared a high level of similarity to the other virus sub-genotypes in nucleotide and amino acid sequences of F protein. Furthermore, the evolutionary difference between the studied virus and viruses belonging to the VIIl sub-genotype indicated that a close relatedness and the possibility of a common origin.
CONCLUSION
These results show that the virulent AOaV-1 of sub-genotype VIIl is circulating continuously in Iran, and is disseminating among wild and domestic bird species that can cause bidirectional spillover infection. Therefore, further epidemiological studies can be beneficial in the assessment of the evolution of AOaV-1 in its hosts and will help us to be well-equipped in facing the emergence of new sub-genotypes of this virus.
PubMed: 34306115
DOI: 10.22099/ijvr.2021.37584.5470 -
Journal of Neurological Surgery. Part... Dec 2019The complex anatomical relationships of neurovascular structures at the craniovertebral junction make the clipping of a posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA)...
The complex anatomical relationships of neurovascular structures at the craniovertebral junction make the clipping of a posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA) aneurysm surgically challenging. We demonstrate the clipping of a PICA aneurysm in the video. A 65-year-old woman presented with a nonsymptomatic unruptured left PICA aneurysm; follow-up angiography showed an increase in its size. Preoperative angiography demonstrated a PICA aneurysm with the neck close to the origin of the PICA. A daughter sac of the aneurysm was also noted. A left far lateral approach was performed. The vagoaccessory triangle was exposed after opening the arachnoid membrane. The origin of the PICA and the aneurysm were revealed after exploration. The aneurysm neck was identified both proximally and distally. Two fenestrated clips were applied; subsequent indocyanine green (ICG) videoangiography demonstrated that the PICA was obstructed. One clip was adjusted, and repeated ICG videoangiography showed the PICA was patent. An endoscope was used before and after the clip application to better understand the anatomy of the aneurysm and inspect clip positions ( Fig. 1 ). The patient was neurologically intact postoperatively and was discharged on postoperative day 4. PICA aneurysms require careful treatment. Impingement of adjacent structures can cause severe complications. Lower cranial nerve damage can cause dysphagia, and compromised vertebral/PICA circulation can cause brainstem symptoms, such as Wallenberg's syndrome. Intraoperative ICG videoangiography should be used to evaluate vessel patency, and the endoscope should be used to fully inspect the aneurysm and evaluate the clip application. The link to the video can be found at: https://youtu.be/dKxFQTRA89g .
PubMed: 31750053
DOI: 10.1055/s-0039-1698825 -
Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy =... Oct 2019Icariin (ICA) and phosphorylated icariin (pICA) have excellent antiviral and antioxidant effects. However, whether ICA and pICA cause anti-LPS-induced intestinal damage...
Icariin (ICA) and phosphorylated icariin (pICA) have excellent antiviral and antioxidant effects. However, whether ICA and pICA cause anti-LPS-induced intestinal damage remains unclear. In this study, we used Caco-2 cells as a model to investigate the protective effects of ICA and pICA on human colonic epithelial cells and explore their potential mechanisms. Our results indicated that ICA and pICA increased cell viability and decreased lactate dehydrogenase activity in Caco-2 cells. ICA and pICA also attenuated LPS-induced changes in intestinal epithelial cell permeability and reduced the levels of oxidative stress indicators, such as reactive oxygen species, malondialdehyde, and hydrogen peroxide, in Caco-2 cells. Antioxidant indicators, such as superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, catalase and total antioxidant capacity, were increased, while the levels of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α were reduced in the ICA and pICA groups. Furthermore, ICA and pICA decreased the gene abundance and enzyme activities of caspase-3, -8, -9 and -10 in Caco-2 cells. Our data suggest that ICA and pICA effectively attenuated LPS-induced changes in the oxidative stress, inflammation, apoptosis and intestinal permeability of intestinal epithelial cells. These findings provide new insight for treating LPS-induced intestinal injury.
Topics: Apoptosis; Caco-2 Cells; Cell Survival; Epithelial Cells; Flavonoids; Humans; Inflammation; Intestines; Lipopolysaccharides; Oxidation-Reduction; Phosphorylation; Protective Agents; Transcription Factor RelA
PubMed: 31387006
DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2019.109246 -
Chemical Science Feb 2021DNA amplification is one of the most valuable tools for the clinical diagnosis of nucleic acid-related diseases, but current techniques for DNA amplification are based...
DNA amplification is one of the most valuable tools for the clinical diagnosis of nucleic acid-related diseases, but current techniques for DNA amplification are based on intermolecular polymerization reactions, resulting in the risk of errors in the intermolecular reaction pattern. In this article, we introduce the concept of intramolecular polymerization and isomerization cyclic amplification (PICA), which extends a short DNA strand to a long strand containing periodic repeats of a sequence through cyclic alternating polymerization and isomerization. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that a real ssDNA self-extension method without any additional auxiliary oligonucleotides has been reported. By interfacing PICA with external molecular elements, it can be programmed to respond to different targets. Herein, we designed two distinct types of amplified nucleic acid detection platforms that can be implemented with PICA, including cyclic reverse transcription (CRT) and cyclic replication (CR). We experimentally demonstrate the mechanisms of CRT-PICA and CR-PICA using mammalian miRNA and virus DNA. The results showed that this proposed detection platform has excellent sensitivity, selectivity, and reliability. The detection level could reach the aM level, that is, several copies of target molecules can be detected if a small volume is taken into account.
PubMed: 34163716
DOI: 10.1039/d0sc05457g -
Interventional Neuroradiology : Journal... 2014We evaluated the outcomes of endovascular or surgical treatment of ruptured vertebral artery dissecting aneurysms (VADAs), and investigated the relations between... (Clinical Trial)
Clinical Trial
We evaluated the outcomes of endovascular or surgical treatment of ruptured vertebral artery dissecting aneurysms (VADAs), and investigated the relations between treatment complications and the development and location of the posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA). We treated 14 patients (12 men, two women; mean age, 56.2 years) with ruptured VADAs between March 1999 and June 2012 at our hospital. Six and eight patients had Hunt and Hess grades 1-3 and 4-5, respectively. Twelve patients underwent internal endovascular trapping, one underwent proximal endovascular occlusion alone, and one underwent proximal endovascular occlusion in the acute stage and occipital artery (OA)-PICA anastomosis and surgical trapping in the chronic stage. The types of VADA based on their location relative to the ipsilateral PICA were distal, PICA-involved, and non-PICA in nine, two, and three patients, respectively. The types of PICA based on their development and location were bilateral anterior inferior cerebellar artery (AICA)-PICA, ipsilateral AICA-PICA, extradural, and intradural type in one, two, two, and nine patients, respectively. Two patients with high anatomical risk developed medullary infarction, but their midterm outcomes were better than in previous reports. The modified Rankin scale indicated grades 0-2, 3-5, and 6 in eight, three, and three patients, respectively. A good outcome is often obtained in the treatment of ruptured VADA using internal endovascular trapping, except in the PICA-involved type, even with high-grade subarachnoid hemorrhage. Treatment of the PICA-involved type is controversial. The anatomical location and development of PICA may be predicted by complications with postoperative medullary infarction.
Topics: Aged; Aneurysm, Ruptured; Cerebral Revascularization; Embolization, Therapeutic; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Radiography; Treatment Outcome; Vertebral Artery Dissection
PubMed: 24976093
DOI: 10.15274/INR-2014-10024 -
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases Apr 2018West Nile virus (WNV), a zoonotic pathogen naturally transmitted by mosquitoes whose natural hosts are birds, has spread worldwide during the last few decades. Resident...
West Nile virus (WNV), a zoonotic pathogen naturally transmitted by mosquitoes whose natural hosts are birds, has spread worldwide during the last few decades. Resident birds play an important role in flavivirus epidemiology, since they can serve as reservoirs and facilitate overwintering of the virus. Herein, we report the first experimental infection of magpie (Pica pica) with two strains of West Nile virus, lineages 1 (NY-99) and 2 (SRB Novi-Sad/12), which are currently circulating in Europe. Magpies were highly susceptible to WNV infection, with similar low survival rates (30% and 42.8%) for both lineages. All infected magpies developed viremia detectable at 3 days post-infection with titers above those necessary for successful transmission of WNV to a mosquito. Neutralizing antibodies were detected at all time points analyzed (from 7 to 17 days post-infection). WNV genome was detected in the brains and hearts of all magpies that succumbed to the infection, and, in some of the surviving birds. WNV-RNA was amplified from swabs (oral and cloacal) at 3, 6 and 7 days post-infection and feather pulps, from 3 to 17 days post-infection, of infected animals. Even more, infectious virus was recovered from swabs up to 7 days post-infection and from feather pulps up to 10 days post infection. Sham-infected control animals were negative for viremia, viral RNA, and antibodies. These results suggest that the magpie, which is one of the most abundant corvid species in Europe, could represent a source of WNV transmission for birds and humans. Our observations shed light on the pathogenesis, transmission, and ecology of WNV and can benefit the implementation of surveillance and control programs.
Topics: Animals; Antibodies, Neutralizing; Antibodies, Viral; Bird Diseases; Culicidae; Disease Susceptibility; Europe; Female; Male; Mosquito Vectors; Pica; West Nile Fever; West Nile virus
PubMed: 29634743
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006394 -
Relationship between Stunting, Wasting, Underweight and Geophagy and Cognitive Function of Children.Journal of Tropical Pediatrics Oct 2020The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between anthropometric characteristics and both geophagy and cognitive function of children.
OBJECTIVES
The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between anthropometric characteristics and both geophagy and cognitive function of children.
STUDY DESIGN
The study prospectively followed singleton children whose mothers participated in the MiPPAD clinical trial in Allada, Benin, from birth to age 12 months. Anthropometric measurements were taken at birth and 9 and 12 months. Wasting, stunting and underweight were defined as weight-for-length, length-for-age and weight-for-age Z-scores less than -2, respectively. Cognitive and motor functions were assessed using the Mullen Scales of Early Learning. Parent-reported geophageous habits of children were collected when the children were 12 months. Multiple linear and logistic regressions were used to analyse the data.
RESULTS
A total of 632 children (49.7% girls) were involved in the study. Stunting, wasting and underweight were observed in 14.1%, 13.6% and 17.7%, respectively, at 9 months and 17.3%, 12.7% and 17.2%, respectively, at 12 months. The prevalence of geophagy among the children was 48.2%. Impaired growth at 9 and 12 months was consistently associated with low cognitive and gross motor (GM) score. Children stunted at 9 months had lower GM scores at 12 months compared with their non-stunted peers (β = -3.48, 95% confidence interval -6.62 to -0.35).
CONCLUSIONS
Stunting, wasting and underweight are associated with cognitive and GM deficits in infants. In this setting, impaired growth was not associated with geophagy. Further research evaluating geophagy and growth prospectively and concurrently from birth to 36 months is needed.
Topics: Cachexia; Cognition; Female; Growth Disorders; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Male; Pica; Pregnancy; Prevalence; Prospective Studies; Thinness
PubMed: 32129870
DOI: 10.1093/tropej/fmaa009 -
Frontiers in Neurology 2022Intracranial vertebral artery terminated in the posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA-VA) is the most popular variant of the posterior inferior cerebellar artery,...
OBJECTIVE
Intracranial vertebral artery terminated in the posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA-VA) is the most popular variant of the posterior inferior cerebellar artery, while its prevalence and clinical significance remained unclear. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the prevalence and clinical significance of PICA-VA.
METHODS
This was a multicenter hospital-based cross-sectional study. Patients were enrolled for cerebral MRI and MRA within 1 week of stroke onset. Clinical characteristics were recorded. PICA-VA is termed as a vertebral artery that does not communicate with the basilar artery but terminates in an ipsilateral PICA. We observed the prevalence of PICA-VA and identified a relationship between PICA-VA and vertebrobasilar stroke.
RESULTS
From 1 August 2015 to 31 May 2017, a total of 2,528 patients were enrolled in the present study. Among them, 95 patients (3.76%, 95/2,528) had the variation of PICA-VA, 51 of which (53.7%) were located on the right side. The prevalence of vertebrobasilar stroke was considerably higher in patients with PICA-VA than those without (40.2%, 37/92 vs. 17.1%, 417/2,436, < 0.01). PICA-VA was an independent risk for vertebrobasilar stroke after being adjusted for a history of intracranial hemorrhage, diabetes, body mass index, and triglyceride.
CONCLUSION
The present study showed that 3.76% of patients with acute stroke had PICA-VA, which independently increased the risk of acute vertebrobasilar stroke.
PubMed: 36425800
DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2022.1026614 -
Behavioural Brain Research Jun 2017Although pica is one of the most prominent signs in individuals with severe cognitive impairment, the mechanisms and neural basis for pica have not been well elucidated....
Although pica is one of the most prominent signs in individuals with severe cognitive impairment, the mechanisms and neural basis for pica have not been well elucidated. To address this issue, patients with acquired brain injury who showed pica and hyperorality were investigated. Eleven patients with pica, i.e., individuals who eat non-food items, and eight patients with hyperorality but who never eat non-food items were recruited. The cognitive and behavioral assessments and neural substrates of the two groups were compared. For basic cognitive and behavioral functions, two kinds of mental state examination-the mini-mental state examination and the new clinical scale for rating of mental states of the elderly-were administered. For pica-related behavioral features, frontal release signs, semantic memory deficits, and changes in eating behaviors were compared. Compared with the hyperorality group, the pica group had more severe semantic memory deficits and fewer frontal release signs, whereas there was no significant difference in changes in eating behaviors. Individuals in the pica group always had a lesion in the posterior part of the middle temporal gyrus. These findings suggest that semantic memory deficits following temporal lobe damage are associated with pica.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Brain Injuries; Brain Mapping; Cerebrovascular Disorders; Female; Humans; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Memory Disorders; Middle Aged; Neuropsychological Tests; Pica; Temporal Lobe; Young Adult
PubMed: 28465136
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2017.04.054 -
The Pan African Medical Journal 2016Pregnancy during the adolescent period is challenging mainly because of the nutritional demands of both the adolescent and pregnancy period. The risk for anaemia...
INTRODUCTION
Pregnancy during the adolescent period is challenging mainly because of the nutritional demands of both the adolescent and pregnancy period. The risk for anaemia increases especially in developing countries such as Ghana where malaria is endemic and the practice of pica is common. In this study, we sought to determine the prevalence of anaemia, pica practice and malaria infection among pregnant adolescent girls and assess the extent to which these factors are associated.
METHODS
Two hundred and sixty five (265) pregnant adolescent girls were recruited from three hospitals in Accra. Haemoglobin levels, malaria infection and the practice of pica were assessed. Pearson's Chi squared tests were used to determine associations and logistic regression analysis was used to determine the odds of being anaemic. Significance was set at p≤0.05.
RESULTS
Anaemia prevalence was 76% with severity ranging from mild (47.8%) to severe (0.8%). About 27.5% were moderately anaemic. Pica was practiced in only 9.1% of the girls. Malaria infection was prevalent in 17.7% of the girls. The logistic regression analysis indicated that pregnant girls with malaria infection were 3.56 times more likely to be anaemic when compared to those without malaria. Also, those who practiced pica were 1.23 times more likely to be anaemic when compared to those who did not practice pica.
CONCLUSION
Anaemia is very prevalent in pregnant adolescent girls and is a public health problem. Drastic measures should be taken to reduce the high prevalence.
Topics: Adolescent; Anemia; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Ghana; Humans; Logistic Models; Malaria; Pica; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications; Pregnancy Complications, Hematologic; Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic; Pregnancy in Adolescence; Prevalence; Severity of Illness Index; Young Adult
PubMed: 27642435
DOI: 10.11604/pamj.2016.24.96.9282