Development of a Rift Valley fever virus viremia challenge model in sheep and goats

Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV), a member of the family Bunyaviridae, causes severe to fatal disease in newborn ruminants, as well as abortions in pregnant animals; both preventable by vaccination. Availability of a challenge model is a pre-requisite for vaccine efficacy trials. Several modes of inoculation with RVFV ZH501 were tested on goats and sheep. Differences in development of infectious viremia were observed between animals inoculated with RVFV produced in mosquito C6/36 cells compared to Vero E6 cell-produced inoculum. Only C6/36-RVFV inoculation led to development of viremia in all inoculated sheep and goats. The C6/36 cell-produced RVFV appeared to be more infectious with earlier onset of viremia, especially in sheep, and may also more closely represent a field situation. Goats were somewhat more resistant to the disease development with lower and shorter infectious virus viremia, and with only some animals developing transient increase in rectal temperature in contrast to sheep. In conclusion, a challenge protocol suitable for goat and sheep vaccine efficacy studies was developed using subcutaneous inoculation of 10⁷ PFU per animal with RVFV ZH501 produced in C6/36 cells.     

Renal parenchymal thickness in children with solitary functioning kidney

Background

Reduced renal parenchymal thickness (PT) is a parameter used by clinicians to assess the degree of hydronephrosis. In patients with a congenital hydronephrotic solitary functioning kidney (SFK), PT is difficult to determine as there is no comparison with the contralateral kidney. The aim of this study was to obtain ultrasound measurements of PT in children with normal SFK and to compare these data with PT measurements in children with two functioning kidneys.

Methods

This was a prospective multicenter study carried out between 2006 and 2011 in which 236 children aged 11 days to 18.96 years with healthy SFK were examined. The SFK etiologies were unilateral renal agenesis or a nonfunctioning contralateral kidney, mostly due to multicystic dysplasia. In addition to determining other parameters, we measured PT in the middle third of the kidney by ultrasound. Correlations between PT and age, height and weight were assessed.

Results

Correlation analysis showed a positive correlation with renal PT for all parameters. The correlation coefficients for age, height and weight were 0.863, 0.873 and 0.874, respectively. In most age categories, the renal parenchyma was significantly thicker in the SFK than in two functioning kidneys.

Conclusions

Based on our results, we suggest that PT in the SFK is correlated with height, weight and age of the patient. Consequently, measurements of PT may be used for monitoring the development of the healthy SFK and may contribute to a more accurate assessment of the severity of SFK anomalies.     

Pathophysiological characterization of drug hypersensitivity to tribenoside

Background

Tribenoside is a semisynthetic sugar derivative that is mainly indicated for treatment of chronic venous insufficiency. Up to 10% of patients treated by tribenoside can suffer from skin side effects. The adverse effects usually present as angioedema, urticaria, or maculopapular exanthema. The pathophysiology of the reaction has not as yet been elucidated.

Methods

In this study, we examined 22 patients with drug eruptions caused by tribenoside. Patch tests were performed to investigate in vivo cellular reactions. Laboratory investigations were carried out by lymphocyte transformation tests and basophil activation tests.

Results

We found a positive patch test reaction to tribenoside in one patient. The lymphocyte transformation test elicited a borderline positive reaction in one patient, and the basophil activation test gave a clearly positive reaction in another patient.

Conclusion

The diagnosis of drug hypersensitivity reactions is a challenge. Both delayed and immediate immunologic response may play a role in the etiology of tribenoside-induced exanthemas. Our investigation and results indicate that benzoic acid could be the antigenic determinant in drug hypersensitivity to tribenoside.     

Emergency department presentation changes due to the coronavirus disease pandemic in Nova Scotia,Canada

<正>Multiple studies have reported decreased emergency department(ED) patient volumes during the coronavirus disease(COVID-19) pandemic,^[1-6] including areas most affected by the virus.^[7]Most existing studies have investigated general trends in ED presentations and have not examined the impact of COVID-19 on different types of EDs, specific ED patient groups, or illness presentations.     

Omega-3 Fatty Acid Intake during Pregnancy and Child Neuropsychological Development: A Multi-Centre Population-Based Birth Cohort Study in Spain

Background: There are few studies that look at the intake of all types of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) during the different stages of pregnancy along with a long-term neuropsychological follow-up of the child. This study aims to explore the association between maternal n-3 PUFA intake during two periods of pregnancy and the child’s neuropsychological scores at different ages. Methods: Prospective data were obtained for 2644 pregnant women recruited between 2004 and 2008 in population-based birth cohorts in Spain. Maternal n-3 PUFA intake during the first and third trimester of pregnancy was estimated using validated food frequency questionnaires. Child neuropsychological functions were assessed using Bayley Scales of Infant Development version one (BSID) at 1 year old, the McCarthy Scale of Children’s Abilities (MSCA) at 4 years old, and the Attention Network Test (ANT) at 7 years old. Data were analysed using multivariate linear regression models and adjusted for potential covariates, such as maternal social class, education, cohort location, alcohol consumption, smoking, breastfeeding duration, and energy intake. Results: Compared to participants in the lowest quartile (<1.262 g/day) of n-3 PUFA consumption during the first trimester, those in the highest quartile (>1.657 g/day) had a 2.26 points (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.41, 4.11) higher MSCA general cognitive score, a 2.48 points (95% CI: 0.53, 4.43) higher MSCA verbal score, and a 2.06 points (95% CI: 0.166, 3.95) higher MSCA executive function score, and a 11.52 milliseconds (95% CI: −22.95, −0.09) lower ANT hit reaction time standard error. In the third pregnancy trimester, the associations were weaker. Conclusions: Positive associations between n-3 PUFA intake during early pregnancy and child neuropsychological functions at 4 and 7 years of age were found, and further clinical research is needed to confirm these findings.     

Cod Liver Oil,but Not Retinoic Acid,Treatment Restores Bone Thickness in a Vitamin A-Deficient Rat

Vitamin A plays a prominent role for maintaining optimal bone status, but its impact upon the bone in response to vitamin A deficiency is not well defined. The purpose of this study was to evaluate how replenishing vitamin A by either whole food cod liver oil (COD) or the active metabolite of vitamin A, retinoic acid (RA), altered bone thickness of vitamin A-deficient (VAD) rats. Weanling rats were administered a control diet (CTRL) or VAD diet for 9 weeks. This was followed by four weeks of treatment in which the VAD group was divided into the following 4 subgroups: (1) VAD (9 weeks)-VAD (4 weeks); (2) VAD-CTRL; (3) VAD-COD; and (4) VAD-RA. Compared to controls, VAD rats had thicker bones which showed marked dysplasia. VAD-rats treated with COD produced a thinner bone that was not significantly different from that of untreated rats. In contrast, RA did not significantly change the thicker bone, and also had significantly greater periosteal and endosteal osteoblast numbers compared to VAD-COD. Active osteoclasts were not detected in VAD rats, nor during the treatment period. These findings suggest that the abnormal bone thickness in VAD rats appears to be more effectively restored to bone thickness of untreated control rats when treated with COD.