Inter‐serotype reassortment among epizootic haemorrhagic disease viruses in the United States

First described in 1955 in New Jersey, epizootic haemorrhagic disease (EHD) causes a severe clinical disease in wild and domestic ruminants worldwide. Epizootic haemorrhagic disease outbreaks occur in deer populations each year from summer to late autumn. The etiological agent is EHD virus (EHDV) which is a double‐stranded segmented icosahedral RNA virus. EHD virus utilizes point mutations and reassortment strategies to maintain viral fitness during infection. In 2018, EHDV serotype 2 was predominantly detected in deer in Illinois. Whole genome sequencing was conducted for two 2018 EHDV2 isolates (IL41747 and IL42218) and the sequence analyses indicated that IL42218 was a reassortant between different serotypes whereas IL41747 was a genetically stable strain. Our data suggest that multiple strains contribute to outbreaks each year.     

Oral intra vascular papillary endothelial hyperplasia in the floor of the mouth.

Intravascular papillary endothelial hyperplasia (IPEH) is an unusual vascular lesion of proliferating endothelial cells. It is more frequently seen in the extremities, particularly in the fingers. Oral IPEH has been reported with the common sites being lip, tongue, and buccal mucosa. In this article, we present a case of oral IPEH of the floor of the mouth, an unusual location, presenting in a 9-month-old male. The histogenesis, histologic features, and ultrastructural features are also reviewed. A misdiagnosis of angiosarcoma can be made in a case of IPEH due to similar histopathologic features. It is imperative to rule out this error by an elaborate histopathologic evaluation ofthese lesions.     

Cytological study of copper in oral submucous fibrosis.

BACKGROUND: Habitual arecanut chewing is associated with Oral Submucous Fibrosis (OSF). High copper content in arecanut plays a vital role in pathogenesis of OSF. This study evaluates the copper-staining pattern of buccal epithelial cells in oral cytological smears of non-chewers, chewers, and OSF. MATERIALS & METHODS: Alcohol fixed buccal epithelial smears of 10 histopathologically confirmed cases of OSF, 10 chewers without lesion, and 5 nonchewers were stained with modified Rhodamine technique and studied under the light microscope. Buccal epithelial smears of non-chewers dipped in copper sulphate solution were used as known positive for copper. RESULT: Copper appeared as shades of palered within the cytoplasm of chewers and did not show any stain in non-chewers. Intense red stain was seen in OSF smears as dark granules within the cytoplasm. CONCLUSION: Intense staining of copper in OSF buccal smears, than in the chewers supports the role of copper in the pathogenesis of OSF.     

Site-specific cleavage and joining of single-stranded DNA by VirD2 protein of Agrobacterium tumefaciens Ti plasmids: analogy to bacterial conjugation.

As an early stage of plant transformation by Agrobacterium tumefaciens, the Ti plasmid is nicked at the border sequences that delimit the T-DNA. Cleavage results in covalent attachment of VirD2 to the 5' terminal of the nicked strand by a process resembling initiation of DNA transfer that occurs in the donor cell during bacterial conjugation. We demonstrate that this cleavage can be reproduced in vitro: VirD2 protein, the border-cleaving enzyme, was overproduced and purified. Cleavage assays were performed with single-stranded oligodeoxyribonucleotides encompassing the Ti plasmid border region or the transfer origin's nick region of the conjugative plasmid RP4. VirD2 of pTiC58 cleaves both border- and nick region-containing oligonucleotides. However, the relaxase TraI of RP4 can cut only the cognate nick regions. The respective proteins remain covalently bound to the 5' end of the cleavage sites, leaving the 3' termini unmodified. VirD2-mediated oligonucleotide cleavage was demonstrated to be an equilibrium reaction that allows specific joining of cleavage products restoring border and nick regions, respectively. The possible role of VirD2 in T-DNA integration into the plant cell's genome is discussed in terms of less stringent target-sequence requirements.     

Aeromonas spp. and their association with human diarrheal disease.

Between January 1988 and December 1989 Aeromonas species were isolated from 45 (1.8%) of 2,480 patients with acute gastroenteritis. No other bacterial enteric pathogens were found in any of these 45 patients. Of the 45 Aeromonas isolates, 35 strains (77.8%) were Aeromonas hydrophila, 7 (15.5%) were Aeromonas sobria, and 3 (6.7%) were Aeromonas caviae. Most of the patients were under 5 years of age. No bacterial enteric pathogens, including Aeromonas species, were isolated from 512 age- and sex-matched control subjects. Examination of the Aeromonas isolates for exotoxin production (enterotoxin and hemolysin) indicated that all strains, irrespective of species, were enterotoxin positive (rabbit ileal loop model) and hemolysin positive (rabbit erythrocyte model). These results suggest that Aeromonas species are potential enteric pathogens in our geographical region.     

The Impact of Culturally-Centered Care on Peripartum Experiences of Autonomy and Respect in Community Birth Centers: A Comparative Study

Maternal and Child Health Journal - National studies report that birth center care is associated with reduced racial and ethnic disparities and reduced experiences of mistreatment. In the US, there...     

Aortic root enlargement in patients undergoing double valve replacement for rheumatic etiology–preliminary results

Introduction  

Combined aortic and mitral valve disease is usually of rheumatic origin. In these patients we often encounter problem of small valve annuli particularly with aortic annulus. It is still debated whether a small prosthesis should be used or aortic root should be enlarged to prevent Patient Prosthesis Mismatch (PPM). This study was undertaken to review our strategy and feasibility of Aortic Root Enlargement (ARE) in patient undergo Double Valve Replacement (DVR) to avoid mismatch without increase in cost of treatment, morbidity or mortality.     

Sequence identity in the nick regions of IncP plasmid transfer origins and T-DNA borders of Agrobacterium Ti plasmids.

The IncP antibiotic-resistance plasmids transfer to a broad range of bacterial species. The RK2 origin of DNA transfer (oriT) consists of a 250-base-pair segment including the single-stranded cleavage site (nic) needed to generate the DNA strand believed to be transferred. Deletion derivatives and a bank of hydroxylamine-generated oriT mutants were screened for loss of transferability. DNA regions flanking both sides of nic are required for optimal transfer of the oriT clone. Of the chemically induced mutants, critical base-pair changes that dramatically reduced transfer frequency were found in a 10-base-pair region adjacent to nic. Relaxation (nicking) assays performed with these point mutants using protein-DNA complexes reconstituted in vitro revealed a correlation between DNA nicking and transfer frequency. Base-pair changes within the proximal arm of an inverted repeat upstream from the nick site resulted in reduced binding of the essential transfer protein TraJ and correspondingly reduced transfer frequencies. The results support a model of relaxosome formation involving at least two essential proteins: TraI and TraJ. The nick region defined by the point mutants was located in a segment known to be nearly identical in the related plasmid R751. This sequence was also found to be highly conserved in both border junctions of the transfer DNA (T-DNA) of plant tumor-inducing plasmids of Agrobacterium tumefaciens, indicating a relationship between IncP-mediated broad-host-range bacterial conjugation and T-DNA transfer to plants.     

Safety and Efficacy of Oral Transmucosal Fentanyl Citrate Compared to Morphine Sulphate Immediate Release Tablet in Management of Breakthrough Cancer Pain

Aim:

To compare the efficacy and safety of oral transmucosal fentanyl citrate (OTFC) and oral morphine in Indian patients with breakthrough episodes of cancer pain.

Materials and Methods:

In this randomized, open label, active controlled, clinical study, total 186 patients who regularly experienced 1-4 episodes of breakthrough cancer pain (BTCP) daily, over the persistent pain controlled by taking oral morphine 60 mg/day or its equivalent were randomized to receive either OTFC 200 mcg or oral morphine 10 mg for the treatment of BTCP for 3 days. Improvement in pain as determined by numerical rating scale (NRS) at 5, 15, 30, and 60 minutes of drug administration and percentage of BTCP episodes showing reduction in pain intensity by >33% at 15 minutes were primary efficacy endpoints. Secondary efficacy endpoints were requirement for rescue analgesia and global assessment by physician and patient. Data of both treatment groups were analysed by appropriate statistical test using software, STATISTICA, version 11.

Results:

Patients treated with OTFC experienced significantly greater improvement in pain intensity of breakthrough episodes compared to those treated with oral morphine at all assessment time points (P < 0.0001). 56% of breakthrough pain episodes treated with OTFC showed a greater than 33% reduction in pain intensity from baseline at 15 minutes compared to 39% episodes treated with oral morphine (P < 0.0001). Patient''s and physician''s global assessment favoured OTFC than oral morphine (P < 0.0001). Requirement of rescue analgesia in both the study groups was similar (P > 0.05). Both study drugs were well tolerated.

Conclusions:

OTFC was found to provide faster onset of analgesic effect than immediate release oral morphine in management of breakthrough cancer pain.