Decomposition and arthropod succession on exposed rabbit carrion during summer at high altitudes in Colorado, USA

Six rabbit carcasses were exposed during summer at elevations ranging from 2,713 to 4,191 m in Colorado to determine decomposition rates and arthropod succession patterns. Biomass removal, bloat, and internal and ambient air temperatures were measured and the arthropod community was monitored during 51-d succession studies. A total of 53 taxa was collected (range, 8-36 taxa), with diversity apparently decreasing as a negative function of elevation. Extensive scavenging altered decomposition rates and arthropod succession. Rates and duration of biomass removal and bloating of carcasses were slowed and prolonged at higher elevations.     

Necrophilous insect succession on rabbit carrion in sand dune habitats in northern France.

Six freshly killed rabbit carcasses were exposed in different habitats in the coastal dune massif of Ambleteuse (northern France) during the spring seasons of 1996 and 1997. In total, 66 arthropod species were collected during the decomposition of these carcasses, and particular attention was paid to taxa of necrophilic significance. The pattern of insect activity was recorded and is discussed in relation to meteorological conditions. One significant feature in this study was the delay in initial oviposition by flies during 1996, which demonstrates the need for caution in estimation of postmortem interval by entomological techniques in early spring. Although daily temperatures may be favorable for adult fly activity, flies may be absent because of small population size and low nocturnal temperatures during this period.     

Immunoglobulin allotypes in systemic lupus erythematosus--results of a central European multicenter study. SLE Study Group

Immunoglobulin heavy chains (G1m, G2m, G3m, A2m) and kappa light chain (Km) allotype and phenotype frequencies were examined in 323 central European Caucasian patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). No significant differences were found between the different allotype or phenotype frequencies of the SLE patients and a control group of healthy individuals. Our results indicate that Gm, A2m and Km allotypes do not represent susceptibility factors for SLE in Caucasians.     

Skin prick-test reactivity to aeroallergens and allergic symptoms in an urban population of central Italy: a longitudinal study

BACKGROUND: Cross-sectional studies report an increasing prevalence of allergic diseases, such as rhinitis and asthma. Not thoroughly known, instead, is the natural history of allergic sensitization and the progress of the allergic disease-related symptoms. AIM: The purpose of this study was to evaluate longitudinally the skin reactivity for the most common aeroallergens and the allergic symptoms in an urban population living in Perugia, a town of central Italy with a low-level of air pollution exposure. METHODS: In the 1998-1999 period 788 subjects were tested for skin reactivity to a panel of aeroallergens and underwent the administration of a questionnaire. These same subjects were part of a cohort of 1200 subjects who participated in a previous epidemiological study performed in 1984-1985 using the same tools. Subjects were aged between 14 and 64 years at the time of the first survey. RESULTS: In the present survey 196 subjects (24.9%) had skin reactivity to at least one aeroallergen, while in the previous survey 143 subjects (18.1%) had skin prick-test reactivity. The increase of the skin reactivity between the two observations was highly significant (P<0.001) and was mainly observed in subjects <40-years old. The greatest increment in skin reactivity was seen to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (house dust mite) allergen. Data obtained from questionnaires showed that subjects who declared allergic symptoms increased from 341 (43.3%) to 380 (48.2%). However, the increase was significant (P<0.01) only in subjects who had a positive association between allergic symptoms and prick-test reactivity and was greater for rhino-conjunctivitis than for asthma-related symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: In a cohort of urban population of the centre of Italy, exposed to a low and stable level of air pollution, the sensitization to common aeroallergens increased with time, mostly in people <40-years of age. The greatest increment was found for indoor allergens such as Dermatophagoides pteronysimus. A significant increase in allergic symptoms, mainly related to rhino-conjunctivitis, was observed only in the presence of positive prick test.     

Comparative yield of different active TB case finding interventions in a large urban TB project in central Uganda: a descriptive study

IntroductionSystematic screening for TB among patients presenting to care and among high risk populations is recommended to improve TB case finding. We aimed to describe the comparative yield of three TB screening approaches implemented by a large urban TB project in central Uganda.MethodsWe abstracted data on the screening cascade from 65 health facilities and their surrounding communities (numbers screened, with presumptive TB, receiving a diagnostic test and diagnosed with TB) from the different clinic and community TB registers.ResultsFrom January 2018 to December 2019, 93,378 (24%) of all patients screened at health facilities had presumptive TB; 77,381 (82.9%) received a diagnostic test and 14,305 (18.5%) were diagnosed with TB. The screening yield (the number of patients diagnosed with TB out of all patients screened) was 0.3% and was three times higher among men than women (0.6% vs 0.2% p<0.01). During targeted community screening interventions, 9874 (21.1%) of all patients screened had presumptive TB; 7034 (71.2%) of these received a diagnostic test and 1699 (24.2%) were diagnosed with TB. The screening yield was higher among men, (3.7% vs 3.3% p<0.01) and highest among children 0–14 (4.8% vs 3.2% p<0.01).ConclusionTargeted community TB screening interventions improve access to TB diagnosis for men and children 0–14 years.     

Age at natural menopause in three Central and Eastern European urban populations: The HAPIEE study

Objectives

To investigate the age at menopause in three urban populations in Central and Eastern Europe and to assess whether the (suspected) differences can be explained by a range of socioeconomic, reproductive and behavioural factors.

Methods

The Health, Alcohol and Psychosocial factors in Eastern Europe (HAPIEE) Study examined random samples of populations aged 45–69 years in Novosibirsk (Russia), Krakow (Poland) and six Czech towns. Participants completed a questionnaire and attended an examination in clinic. A total of 12,676 of women were included in these analyses.

Results

The median age at menopause was 50 years in Novosibirsk, 51 years in Czech towns and 52 years in Krakow; the Cox regression hazard ratios of menopause, compared with Krakow, were 1.47 (95% CI 1.40–1.55) for Novosibirsk and 1.10 (1.04–1.16) for Czech women. In multivariate analyses, higher education, using vitamin and mineral supplements and ever use of oral contraceptives were associated with later menopause, while smoking, abstaining from alcohol and low physical activity were associated with earlier menopause. These factors, however, did not explain the differences between populations; the multivariate hazard ratios of menopause, compared with Krakow, were 1.48 (1.40–1.57) for Novosibirsk and 1.11 (1.05–1.17) for Czech women.

Conclusions

In this large population based study, differences in age at menopause between Central and Eastern Europe populations were substantial and unexplained by a range of risk factors. Associations of age at menopause with risk factors were largely consistent with studies in other populations.     

Analysis of the successional patterns of insects on carrion in southwest Virginia

Studies of carrion-insect succession on domestic pig, Sus scrofa L., were conducted in the spring and summer of 2001 and 2002 in Blacksburg, VA, to identify and analyze the successional patterns of the taxa of forensic importance in southwest Virginia. Forty-seven insect taxa were collected in the spring. These were represented by 11 families (Diptera: Calliphoridae, Sarcophagidae, Muscidae, Sepsidae, Piophilidae; Coleoptera: Staphylinidae, Silphidae, Cleridae, Trogidae, Dermestidae, Histeridae). In the summer, 33 taxa were collected that were represented by all of the families collected in the spring, except Trogidae. The most common flies collected were the calliphorids: Phormia regina (Meigen) and Phaenicia coeruleiviridis (Macquart). The most common beetles were Creophilus maxillosus L. (Staphylinidae), Oiceoptoma noveboracense Forster, Necrophila americana L., Necrodes surinamensis (F.) (Silphidae), Euspilotus assimilis (Paykull), and Hister abbreviatus F. (Histeridae). Occurrence matrices were constructed for the successional patterns of insect taxa during 21 sampling intervals in the spring and 8 intervals in the summer studies. Jackknife estimates (mean+/-95% confidence limits) of overall Jaccard similarity in insect taxa among sampling intervals in the occurrence matrices were 0.213+/-0.081 (spring 2001), 0.194+/-0.043 (summer 2001), 0.257+/-0.068 (spring 2002), and 0.274+/-0.172 (summer 2002). Permutation analyses of the occurrence matrices showed that the patterns of succession of insect taxa were similar between spring 2001 and 2002 (P = 0.001) and between summer 2001 and 2002 (P = 0.007). The successional patterns seem to be typical for the seasonal periods and provide data on baseline fauna for estimating postmortem interval in cases of human death. This study is the first of its kind for southwest Virginia.     

Secular trends in growth among urban Brazilian children of European descent

Primary objective: The purpose of this paper is to describe and discuss a significant secular trend in stature and weight in an urban Brazilian population.

Methodology: Anthropometric measurements of 7878 children and adolescents from São Paulo, Brazil, obtained in 1997/98 were compared with data from a previous study carried out in 1978. Both samples include children of middle-class urban families of European ancestry.

Main outcomes and results: Comparisons between the two samples reveal strong positive secular trends in both height and weight. Furthermore, the 1997/98 sample shows no growth deficits in relation to the WHO/NCHS international reference.

Conclusions: The positive trend can be explained as the result of economic development and improvement of social indicators, while the absence of growth deficits, contrary to what is reported in other studies carried out in developing countries, follows from the common genetic background of the Brazilian sample surveyed here and the US sample which is the basis of the NCHS/WHO reference.

Zielsetzung: In diesem Artikel wird ein signifikanter säkularer Trend bei der Körperhöhe und dem Körpergewicht in einer städtischen brasilianischen Population beschrieben und diskutiert. Methodik: Anthropologische Messungen bei 7878 Kindern und Jugendlichen von Sao Paulo, Brasilien, welche 1997/98 durchgeführt wurden, werden mit Daten einer früheren Studie aus dem Jahr 1978 verglichen. Beide Stichproben umfassen Kinder von städtischen Mittelklassefamilien europäischer Abstammung. Hauptbefunde und Ergebnisse: Die Vergleiche zwischen den beiden Stichproben zeigen stark positive säkulare Trends bei der Körperhöhe und dem Körpergewicht. Außerdem weist die Stichprobe von 1997/98 keine Wachstumsdefizite verglichen mit der internationalen WHO/NCHS Referenz auf. Schlußfolgerungen: Der positive Trend kann als das Resultat der ökonomischen Entwicklung und der Verbesserung sozialer Indikatoren erklärt werden, während das Fehlen von Wachstumsdefiziten, im Gegensatz zu den Befunden anderer Studien, die in Entwicklungsländern durchgeführt werden, eine Folge der gemeinsamen genetischen Basis der brasilianischen Stichprobe wie auch der US-Stichprobe, welche der NCHS/WHO Referenz zugrunde liegt, ist.

Objectif premier: Cet article décrit et discute l'évolution séculaire significative de la stature et du poids d'une population urbaine du Brésil. Méthode: Des mensurations anthropométriques de 7878 enfants et adolescents brésiliens de Sao Paulo obtenues en 1997/98 sont comparées avec des données d'une étude antérieure effectuée en 1978. Les deux échantillons sont constitués à partir de familles urbaines de classe moyenne et d'origine européenne. Principaux résultats: Les comparaisons entre les deux échantillons révèlent l'existence d'une forte tendance séculaire affectant la stature et le poids. De plus, l'échantillon de 1997/98 ne montre pas de déficit de croissance par rapport aux références internationales de l'OMS/NCHS. Conclusions: La tendance séculaire à l'accroissement peut être expliquée par l'amélioration des indicateurs sociaux et par le développement économique. L'absence de déficits de croissance, contrairement à ce qui est décrit dans d'autres études effectuées dans les pays en développement, provient du partage d'un même fond génétique par l'échantillon brésilien étudié et par l'échantillon américain qui est à la base de la référence OMS/NCHS.     

Secular trends in growth among urban Brazilian children of European descent

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this paper is to describe and discuss a significant secular trend in stature and weight in an urban Brazilian population. METHODOLOGY: Anthropometric measurements of 7878 children and adolescents from S?o Paulo, Brazil, obtained in 1997/98 were compared with data from a previous study carried out in 1978. Both samples include children of middle-class urban families of European ancestry. MAIN OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Comparisons between the two samples reveal strong positive secular trends in both height and weight. Furthermore, the 1997/98 sample shows no growth deficits in relation to the WHO/NCHS international reference. CONCLUSIONS: The positive trend can be explained as the result of economic development and improvement of social indicators, while the absence of growth deficits, contrary to what is reported in other studies carried out in developing countries, follows from the common genetic background of the Brazilian sample surveyed here and the US sample which is the basis of the NCHS/WHO reference.     

HLA-DQ relative risks for coeliac disease in European populations: a study of the European Genetics Cluster on Coeliac Disease

Coeliac disease is an enteropathy due to an intolerance to gluten. The association between HLA-DQ genes and CD is well established. The majority of patients carry the HLA-DQ heterodimer encoded by DQA1*05/DQB1*02, either in cis or in trans. The remaining patients carry either part of the DQ heterodimer or DQA1*03-DQB1*0302. The aim of the study was to estimate the risks associated with different DQ genotypes in European populations. HLA information was available for 470 trio families from four countries: France (117), Italy (128), and Norway and Sweden (225). Five DQA1-DQB1 haplotypes were considered and control haplotype frequencies were estimated from the set of parental haplotypes not transmitted to the affected child. The possible genotypes were grouped into five genotype groups, based on the hierarchy of risk reported in the literature. A north-south gradient in the genotype group frequencies is observed in probands: homogeneity is strongly rejected between all country pairs. For each country, the relative risks associated with each genotype group were computed taking into account the control haplotype frequencies. Homogeneity of relative risks between countries was tested pairwise by maximum likelihood ratio statistics. The hypothesis of homogeneity of relative risks is rejected (P is approximately 10(-6)) for all country pairs. In conclusion, the gradient in the genotype group frequencies in probands is not only due to differences in haplotype frequencies but also due to differences in genotype relative risks in the studied populations; the relative risks associated with each DQ genotype group are different between northern and southern European countries; neither are they ordered in the same way.     

Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto in yellow-necked mice and feeding Ixodes ricinus ticks in a forest habitat of west central Poland

Wild rodents and the subadult Ixodes ricinus (L.) ticks infesting them were examined for the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi Johnson, Schmid, Hyde, Steigerwalt & Brenner s.l. in a sylvatic habitat in west central Poland during May-September 2002. In total, 818 feeding ticks were recovered from 73 infested yellow-necked mice, Apodemus flavicollis Melchior; in addition, bank voles, Clethrionomys glareolus Schreber, were rarely captured and proved to be weakly parasitized. Only 2.7% of A. flavicollis and 2.2% of 320 engorging larvae were polymerase chain reaction (PCR) positive for the bacterium. All spirochete-PCR-positive samples yielded exclusively B. burgdorferi s.s. This genospecies was also the most prevalent in questing nymphs and accounted for 87.5% of the total number of Borrelia infections in nymphal ticks collected during May and June 2 yr later. The presence of the same genospecies both in naturally engorged larvae and blood-positive animals as well as the high predominance of B. burgdorferi s.s. in questing nymphs strongly differs from most study sites investigated in Europe. This unique pattern of Borrelia-diversity in both rodents and ticks seems to be determined by highly site-specific host vertebrate cenosis, and yellow-necked mice are involved in the maintenance of B. burgdorferi s.s. in the forest habitat. However, the transmission efficiency of this spirochete from the mice to the I. ricinus vector seems to be very low. The research provides additional information on the complexity of B. burgdorferi s.l. ecology in Europe, pointing to the importance of the local host community.     

Ultrastructural study of a tetratrichomonad isolated from pig fecal samples

The migratory response of peripheral blood granulocytes and monocytes from the European eel Anguilla anguilla (L.) to infective larvae of the swimbladder nematode Anguillicola crassus Kuwahara, Niimi and Hagaki, 1974 was examined by means of light microscopical histology and with an in vitro assay using a modified Boyden chamber. Histological examination of experimentally infected eels revealed that, already 8 days postinfection, an infiltration of inflammatory cells around L₃ of A. crassus in the swimbladder tissue can occur. In the Boyden chamber, in presence of infective larvae of A. crassus (L₃), neutrophil granulocytes and monocytes showed a higher migration activity than in the absence of L₃. In conclusion, infection of European eels with A. crassus leads to an activation of the defence cells resulting in an increased migration activity compared to uninfected eels.     

Differential dose effects of central CRF and effects of CRF astressin on pig behavior

The elevation of central corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) causes an increase in behavioral activity, including increases in overall activity and oral/nasal/facial (ONF) chewing-rooting-rubbing behaviors in the pig and similar behaviors in other species. This study detailed changes in the frequency, duration and sequences of behaviors after central administration of vehicle or porcine CRF (pCRF at 0.5, 5.0, 50 and 150 microg). A sequential analysis described the complex behaviors induced in a dose-dependent fashion by central pCRF. The frequency and duration of ONF behaviors were significantly increased among pigs receiving 50 microg of pCRF. For behaviors such as ONF, 50 microg represented a breakpoint at which the frequency and duration of single behaviors increased. Pigs receiving 50 microg of pCRF were considerably more active and exhibited more ONF behaviors than did pigs receiving lower doses. The highly sensitive sequential analysis revealed that very low doses of central pCRF induced subtle changes in sequences of behaviors. Low doses of central pCRF (0.5 microg) induced fear-related behavioral sequences that included ONF behaviors alternating with periods of inactivity. Central injection of astressin, a CRF receptor antagonist, blocked many, but not all, of CRF-induced behaviors. Compared with saline-injected control pigs, central pCRF increased general activity, ONF, fear-related freezing and sham chewing behaviors. When pCRF was given following astressin, fear-related freezing behaviors were not different compared with pigs receiving saline. However, pigs given astressin plus pCRF showed elevated sham chewing compared with saline-injected control pigs, as did pigs receiving intracerebroventricular (ICV) pCRF. These data indicate that central pCRF activates brain mechanisms associated with hyperactivity, ONF and fear-related behaviors, whereas other behaviors induced by pCRF may be nonspecifically mediated by CRF. Astressin antagonized some, but not all, pCRF-induced behaviors. This model represents the induction of hyperactivity and stereotyped behaviors, which may represent a new model for the study of mania or obsessive-compulsive behaviors.     

Synaptic responses of guinea pig and rat central amygdala neurons in vitro.

1. To investigate postsynaptic potentials (PSPs), we made intracellular recordings from neurons of the amygdaloid central nucleus in slices from the guinea pig and rat brains maintained in vitro. The results from guinea pigs and rats were very similar. 2. In the presence of bicuculline (20 microM), focal electrical stimulation of the amygdaloid basal nucleus with low intensities elicited short-latency excitatory PSPs (EPSPs) followed by long-latency EPSPs. The short-latency EPSP was selectively blocked by 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dion (CNQX; 10-20 microM). The long-latency EPSP was preferentially abolished by D,L-2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid (D,L-APV; 40 microM) and was augmented by removal of extracellular Mg2+. The compound EPSP reversed at -4 mV, which was close to -1 mV, the reversal potential for pressure-ejected glutamate (Glu). 3. When the intensity of the focal stimulation was increased in the presence of bicuculline (20 microM), CNQX (20 microM), and D,L-APV (50 microM), a second EPSP with a short latency and a prolonged duration could be evoked in approximately 65% of the neurons. The EPSPs were reversibly blocked by d-tubocurarine (50 microM) or hexamethonium (200 microM) but were unaffected by atropine (1 microM) or a 5-hydroxytryptamine type 3 receptor antagonist, ICS-205930 (5-10 microM). In these neurons, acetylcholine (ACh; 1-3 mM) caused a depolarization, associated with a decreased input resistance. 4. In the presence of CNQX (20 microM) and D,L-APV (50 microM), single focal stimulation of the dorsolateral subdivision in the central nucleus with low intensities elicited a depolarizing inhibitory PSP (IPSP). The IPSP was reversibly abolished by bicuculline (20-40 microM). The reversal potential (-63 mV) for the IPSP was similar to the reversal potential (-61 mV) for the response to gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) applied by pressure ejection. 5. In the presence of bicuculline (20-40 microM) and CNQX (20 microM), a repetitive focal stimulus with high intensities delivered to the dorsolateral subdivision produced a hyperpolarizing PSP followed by a slow depolarization in most neurons. Of putative inhibitory amino acid transmitters, glycine (Gly; 3 mM) produced only a hyperpolarization, associated with a decrease in input resistance. Strychnine (1-2 microM) reversibly blocked both the Gly hyperpolarization and the synaptically evoked hyperpolarization. The reversal potential of -81 mV for the hyperpolarizing PSP was close to -82 mV for the Gly hyperpolarization. The reversal potential for the Gly response was shifted to less negative values by increasing the external K+ concentration or decreasing the extracellular Cl- concentration.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Lack of evidence for persistent nasal colonization with community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a central European cohort

One hundred and three patients who had previously tested positive for community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (cMRSA) were followed up for a mean time of 32.6 months. Eighty patients had a history of skin or soft tissue infection, and the remainder were mostly asymptomatic carriers. Of 103 patients, only two reported ongoing symptoms with abscess formation. Of 81 nasal swabs available, 30.9% were positive for S. aureus but only four yielded Panton–Valentine leukocidin-positive methicillin-resistant S. aureus. In summary, we were unable to find persistent health issues or nasal colonization with cMRSA in a cohort of previously cMRSA-infected/colonized patients.     

Topographic anatomy of bronchial arteries in the pig: a corrosion cast study

The anatomy of porcine bronchial circulation has not been fully described. The purpose of this study was to investigate the extrapulmonary topographic anatomy of bronchial arteries in pig. Ten pigs weighing 15-25 kg were studied. Between one and four bronchial arteries were found in each pig. The bronchoesophageal artery (BEA), tracheobronchial artery (TBA), inferior bronchial artery (IBA) and accessory bronchial artery (ABA) were present in 10/10, 8/10, 6/10 and 2/10 animals, respectively. The trunk of BEA had a diameter of about 3 mm, a length of 1-7 mm, and originated from the anterior and medial aspect of the descending thoracic aorta at the level between the 2nd and 4th thoracic vertebrae (T2-T4) in all animals. The extrapulmonary topographic anatomy of bronchial arteries in pigs exhibits similarities to that of humans. BEA is the main blood supplier of the porcine tracheobronchial tree with a relatively constant location of origin and a sufficient size for anastomosis. These characteristics render BEA the ideal vessel for bronchial revascularization in pigs.