Oxidative metabolism of the human eosinophil

We have compared the oxidative metabolism of human eosinophils (80%-90% purity) to that of neutrophils. Hexose monophosphate (HMP) shunt activity of eosinophils was higher than that of neutrophils under either resting or phagocytizing conditions. Eosinophil HMP shunt activity also was stimulated by phorbol myristate acetate, a membrane- active agent. Eosinophils showed a marked incorporation of 125I into trichloroacetic acid-insoluble material under resting conditions, which increased markedly during phagocytosis. Eosinophils likewise showed a greater reduction of nitroblue tetrazolium dye during phagocytosis than did neutrophils. Measurement of other parameters of oxidative metabolism indicated that eosinophils generated superoxide anion following phagocytosis and also elicited a burst of chemiluminescence similar to that observed during phagocytosis by neutrophils. Measurement of NADPH oxidase activity demonstrated that this enzyme was 3-6 times more active in fractions isolated from eosinophils than in corresponding fractions isolated from neutrophils; this was observed over a range of substrate concentrations. The eosinophil enzyme sedimented differently than the neutrophil enzyme with differential centrifugation; neither showed sedimentation characteristics of peroxidase. These data indicate that eosinophils possess a similar, although in some ways more potent, oxidative burst than neutrophils and are consistent with a role for NADPH oxidase in the initiation of that burst.     

Equine trypanosomosis in central and western Punjab: Prevalence,haemato-biochemical response and associated risk factors

The detection of Trypanosoma evansi in blood is intricate, primarily in chronic stage of infection, as the parasitaemia is often low and fluctuating. The climatic conditions of the target area of Punjab (a province of India with a total of 34,000 horses and ponies used for sports and transport) are conducive for the parasite propagation. The objective of present investigation was to assess the prevalence of T. evansi in central and western Punjab by PCR and card agglutination test (CATT/T. evansi) in relation to clinico-haematobiochemical alterations and risk factors associated with latent trypanosomosis. A total of 169 equine blood and serum samples tested by CATT/T. evansi revealed 16 cases positive, with 6.8% from central plain and 13.63% from western zone. To assess the specificity of serological test, PCR₁ was performed using established primer pair TR3 5′-GCG CGG ATT CTT TGC AGA CGA-3′ and TR4 5′-TGC AGA CAC TGG AAT GTT ACT-3′ for T. evansi. PCR₂ applied with primer pair RoTat1.2F: 5′-ATG TCA ACG ATG CCT GTT ACA TTA CGC AC-3′ and RoTat1.2R: 5′-TAA ATA TCA CTG TCA AGA CCT GCT GCG G-3′ to rule out the consensus between the finding of the two PCR assays and agglutination test for T. evansi, which displayed results in concordance with PCR₁. PCR assays showed 1.92 and 1.51% positive samples from central plain and western zone, respectively. With respect to PCR assay, CATT/T. evansi showed 100% sensitivity and 92.1% specificity. Microscopy showed a very low prevalence rate of 0.59% with only one sample positive with teaming parasitaemia. Comparison between sexes revealed higher positivity in mares by the three tests (BSE: 0.95%, PCR: 2.88%, CATT/T. evansi: 14.42%). The haemato-biochemical factors were found to be altered in PCR positive cases, while the mean value of vital parameters lied in normal range in seropositive cases. The female horse (RR = 0.0937, 95% CI = 1.388–190.223%) population was found to be at the highest risk of seropositivity for T. evansi, particularly in the unorganized farms (RR = 19.726, 95% CI = 2.918–400.221%).     

A Prospective Study Evaluating Factors Affecting Functional Outcome in Patients with Floating Elbow Injury

BackgroundFloating elbow injuries are complex injuries. Due to frequent association with severe soft tissue injuries and polytrauma, they have unpredictable functional outcome. This prospective study is aimed to evaluate the factors affecting functional outcome.MethodsThirty patients with floating elbow injuries were treated at a level 1 trauma center from July 2018 to June 2019 with minimum follow-up of 9 months. The outcome was assessed by disability for arm shoulder and hand score (DASH) and mayo elbow performance score (MEPS).ResultsThe overall incidence was 16.09 per 1000, mostly caused by road traffic accidents and all cases were managed surgically. Age, gender, education, occupation, arm dominance, and mechanism of injury did not significantly affect the outcomes. Open fractures and patients requiring staged procedure were associated with poorer outcomes (p < 0.05); however, delay in surgery for more than 24 h significantly increased the rate of complications. There was no statistical difference in the proportion of patients who had nerve injury pre operatively and post operatively on the final outcome.ConclusionFloating elbow injuries are relatively rare but nowadays the numbers are on the rise. Timely intervention with a multimodal approach and well-supervised rehabilitation can assure better final outcome.     

Sociodemographic,clinical characteristics,and service utilization of young children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at a research center in Saudi Arabia: The road to autism spectrum disorder diagnosis

Objectives:To assess how clinical services are accessed and utilized by young children with suspected autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and identifying factors that prevent the early identification of developmental concerns and diagnosis.Methods:This retrospective study examined the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of a convenience sample of children diagnosed with ASD at the Center for Autism Research, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia between 2016 and 2018. The characteristics of ASD assessment and intervention service use were examined. Additionally, we examined the association between sociodemographic, clinical, and service use variables with the child’s age at the time of the parent’s initial concern and first ASD diagnosis, and the time from first concern to diagnosis.Results:Out of 127 cases, 67 were diagnosed with ASD (mean: 46.88 months, SD: 18.88, median: 42.00, range, 19-93). Most ASD cases had one previous assessment (n=28, 41.8%). Higher sibling numbers were associated with a later age of first concern (p=0.0278). Applied behavior analysis service utilization was associated with later age of first ASD diagnosis (p=0.0336) and longer time to ASD diagnosis (p=0.0301).Conclusion:Larger sample size is needed to further investigate whether these findings are representative of the national experience. Community-based intervention outcome studies should assess the quality of services being provided.     

Vesiculobullous Hailey-Hailey disease: Successful treatment with oral retinoids

A 56-year-old male presented with a pruritic, generalized vesiculobullous eruption. His past history revealed classical symptoms of limited Hailey-Hailey disease for 34 years. Clinically, vesicles, bullae and occasional pustules were present and multiple biopsies confirmed this to be an unusual presentation of Hailey-Hailey disease. Various therapeutic modalities including topical and oral antibiotics, oral prednisone and dapsone failed to achieve sustained remission. Treatment with lowdose oral etretinate (25 mg daily) produced marked clinical improvement with complete suppression of new vesicle formation after 6 weeks.     

Bimodal optomotor response to plaids in blowflies: mechanisms of component selectivity and evidence for pattern selectivity

Many animals estimate their self-motion and the movement of external objects by exploiting panoramic patterns of visual motion. To probe how visual systems process compound motion patterns, superimposed visual gratings moving in different directions, plaid stimuli, have been successfully used in vertebrates. Surprisingly, nothing is known about how visually guided insects process plaids. Here, we explored in the blowfly how the well characterized yaw optomotor reflex and the activity of identified visual interneurons depend on plaid stimuli. We show that contrary to previous expectations, the yaw optomotor reflex shows a bimodal directional tuning for certain plaid stimuli. To understand the neural correlates of this behavior, we recorded the responses of a visual interneuron supporting the reflex, the H1 cell, which was also bimodally tuned to the plaid direction. Using a computational model, we identified the essential neural processing steps required to capture the observed response properties. These processing steps have functional parallels with mechanisms found in the primate visual system, despite different biophysical implementations. By characterizing other visual neurons supporting visually guided behaviors, we found responses that ranged from being bimodally tuned to the stimulus direction (component-selective), to responses that appear to be tuned to the direction of the global pattern (pattern-selective). Our results extend the current understanding of neural mechanisms of motion processing in insects, and indicate that the fly employs a wider range of behavioral responses to multiple motion cues than previously reported.