Several Recombinant Capsid Proteins of Equine Rhinitis A Virus Show Potential as Diagnostic Antigens

Equine rhinitis A virus (ERAV) is a significant pathogen of horses and is also closely related to Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV). Despite these facts, knowledge of the prevalence and importance of ERAV infections remains limited, largely due to the absence of a simple, robust diagnostic assay. In this study, we compared the antigenicities of recombinant full-length and fragmented ERAV capsid proteins expressed in Escherichia coli by using sera from experimentally infected and naturally exposed horses. We found that, from the range of antigens tested, recombinant proteins encompassing the C-terminal region of VP1, full-length VP2, and the N-terminal region of VP2 reacted specifically with antibodies present in sera from each of the five experimentally infected horses examined. Antibodies to epitopes on VP2 (both native and recombinant forms) persisted longer postinfection (>105 days) than antibodies specific for epitopes on other fragments. Our data also suggest that B-cell epitopes within the C terminus of VP1 and N terminus of VP2 contribute to a large proportion of the total reactivity of recombinant VP1 and VP2, respectively. Importantly, the reactivity of these VP1 and VP2 recombinant proteins in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) correlated well with the results from a range of native antigen-based serological assays using sera from 12 field horses. This study provides promising candidates for development of a diagnostic ERAV ELISA.     

Pancreatic exocrine function

Summary The relative value of certain tests of pancreatic exocrine function was assessed by the sequential administration of (1) an augmented dose of secretin, (2) an augmented dose of pancreozymin, and (3) a test meal. Eighty-one individuals were studied—namely, the control group of 47 persons (24 healthy volunteers and 23 patients with nonpancreatic disease) and a group of 34 patients with pancreatic disease. The latter group included 17 patients with chronic pancreatitis: 2 with subacute relapsing pancreatitis and 15 with carcinoma of the pancreas. Measurements of volume, bicarbonate output (peak and total), and bicarbonate concentration (maximal and 60-min.) were made with and without reference to body weight, after administration of secretin. Concentrations and outputs of trypsin and amylase were measured after the administration of pancreozymin and the test meal.The augmented secretin test yielded the most reliable results, both in indicating pancreatic disease and in differentiating between chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic carcinoma; measurements of volume output per kilogram of body weight, peak or total bicarbonate output, and maximal bicarbonate concentration were the most appropriate data for these purposes. Satisfactory, but less reliable, results were those of secretion that followed the administration of an augmented dose of pancreozymin or a test meal; the findings after these two tests were comparable. Mayo Clinic Rochester, Minn. 55902This investigation was supported in part by Research Grant AM-06908 from the National Institutes of Health, U. S. Public Health Service.We are grateful to our colleagues for referring patients for this study, and to Sister Victor, Director of Dietetics, St. Marys Hospital, Rochester, Minnesota, for preparation of the special test meal.Research assistant in gastroenterology and recipient of a Wellcome Travel Grant.Research assistant in biochemistry.     

Principles of preoperative assessment and enhanced recovery optimization for thoracic anaesthesia

A comprehensive preoperative assessment is imperative for patients undergoing lung surgery, ideally by way of a multidisciplinary team approach. This not only allows for clinicians to risk stratify patients and gain informed consent, but also to explore avenues in optimizing patients prior to surgery and plan for the delivery of the most appropriate postoperative care. A tripartite risk assessment combining risks of operative mortality, perioperative adverse cardiac events and postoperative dyspnoea should be assessed and discussed with patients. Those patients who continue towards surgical management may then be optimized with patient education addressing nutritional status, smoking cessation and alcohol dependency as well as the management of anaemia and physiological prehabilitation. This article aims to review existing guidelines for preoperative assessment in thoracic surgery as well as the latest preoperative guidance for enhanced recovery specific to thoracic surgery.     

Effect of beta blockade on plasma catecholamine levels during psychological and exercise stress

The effect of a single oral dose of 50 mg of metoprolol on plasma catecholamine levels was examined in 11 healthy young men. Subjects were studied during baseline at rest, postural challenge, psychological Stressors and graded maximal exercise testing. Metoprolol induced significant increases in plasma norepinephrine (NE) levels across most experimental conditions. Metoprolol did not have a consistent effect on plasma epinephrine levels. Because of wide interindividual variation in drug levels, the NE levels in subjects with high drug levels were compared with the NE levels in subjects who had negligible drug levels. NE levels were higher in subjects with higher drug levels.     

Marital satisfaction and parenting experiences of mothers and fathers of adolescents and adults with autism

The association of marital satisfaction with parenting burden and quality of the parent?child relationship was examined in 91 married mothers and fathers of co-residing adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorders. Within-couple differences between mothers and fathers in how child characteristics related to these parenting experiences were also evaluated. Multilevel modeling was used to control for the dependency in couple data. Marital satisfaction was an important predictor of parenting experiences, particularly for fathers. Mothers reported feeling closer to their son or daughter than did fathers. Fathers' parenting experiences were more strongly impacted by child characteristics than were mothers' parenting experiences. Results emphasized the connection between the marital relationship and parenting experiences and overlapping but unique experiences of mothers and fathers.     

The game of bridge as an exercise in working memory and reasoning

Fifty bridge players and 50 nonplayers, between the ages of 55 and 91, were given tests of working memory, reasoning, reaction time, and vocabulary. Data were analyzed using multivariate and univariate analyses of variance with age as a covariate. Results indicated that the players outperformed nonplayers in measures of working memory and reasoning, but not vocabulary and reaction time. Results were consistent with the hypothesis that bridge, which provides specific experience in working memory and reasoning, should enhance performance in tasks tapping these abilities and not enhance performance in unrelated abilities. Because the data were correlational, the rival hypothesis that bridge playing selects for individuals who perform better at working memory and reasoning tasks could not be rejected.     

Kinetics and pathogenicity of autoantibodies induced by mercuric chloride in the brown Norway rat.

Repeated low-dose injections of mercuric chloride (HgCl2) in the brown Norway (BN) rat result in polyclonal activation which includes the induction of anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM) autoantibodies. We examined the kinetics of various autoantibodies produced in vivo, general features of polyclonal activation such as total IgG levels and immune complex formation, and the relationship between organ specific autoimmunity and tissue injury in the kidney and thyroid. The production of immune complexes and autoantibodies to GBM and thyroglobulin was short lived, and the increase in levels of total IgG and antibodies to ssDNA and dsDNA was prolonged; the antibody response to collagen types I and II was intermediate in duration. Autoantibodies induced by HgCl2 caused only mild and variable tissue injury in the kidneys and did not induce abnormalities in the thyroid. These studies demonstrate that immunostimulation by mercury may result in the formation of a range of autoantibodies, with variable kinetics and pathogenicity.     

The boundary vector cell model of place cell firing and spatial memory

We review evidence for the boundary vector cell model of the environmental determinants of the firing of hippocampal place cells. Preliminary experimental results are presented concerning the effects of addition or removal of environmental boundaries on place cell firing and evidence that boundary vector cells may exist in the subiculum. We review and update computational simulations predicting the location of human search within a virtual environment of variable geometry, assuming that boundary vector cells provide one of the input representations of location used in mammalian spatial memory. Finally, we extend the model to include experience-dependent modification of connection strengths through a BCM-like learning rule - the size and sign of strength change is influenced by historic activity of the postsynaptic cell. Simulations are compared to experimental data on the firing of place cells under geometrical manipulations to their environment. The relationship between neurophysiological results in rats and spatial behaviour in humans is discussed.     

Police trauma and cardiovascular disease: association between PTSD symptoms and metabolic syndrome

Although prior evidence exists concerning the association between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and cardiovascular disease, few studies have examined associations of PTSD symptomatology and the metabolic syndrome in the high stress occupation of police work. The metabolic syndrome is a clustering of cardiovascular disease risk factors that have also been independently associated with psychological conditions. The aim of this study was to examine associations between the PTSD symptoms and metabolic syndrome in police officers. A stratified sample of 115 police officers was randomly selected from the Buffalo, NY Police Department. PTSD symptoms were measured with the Impact of Event scale (IES), divided into categories of subclinical, mild, moderate and severe symptom levels. The metabolic syndrome was considered present if three or more of its component parameters (obesity, elevated blood pressure, reduced high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, elevated triglycerides, and abnormal glucose levels) were present in each officer. Results indicated a significantly increased prevalence of the metabolic syndrome among those officers in the severe PTSD symptom category compared with the lowest PTSD severity category (prevalence ratio (PR) = 3.31, 95% C.I. = 1.19 - 9.22). Adjustment for age did not alter the association appreciably (PR = 3.12, 95% C.I. = 1.15 - 8.50). Adjustment for several demographic and lifestyle factors (age, education, smoking, alcohol intake) reduced the magnitude of the prevalence ratio slightly for the severe versus subclinical PTSD category (PR = 2.69, 95% C.I. = 0. 79 - 9.13), with adjustment for age and education accounting for most of the attenuation (PR = 2.71, 95% C.I. = 0.99 - 7.37). Thus, officers with severe PTSD symptoms were approximately three times more likely to have the metabolic syndrome and education may account for some of this association.