Fluorescent amplified fragment length polymorphism genotyping of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli strains and its relationship with host specificity, serotyping, and phage typing

Fluorescent amplified fragment length polymorphism (FAFLP) analysis was applied to 276 Campylobacter jejuni strains and 87 Campylobacter coli strains isolated from humans, pigs, cattle, poultry, and retail meats to investigate whether certain FAFLP genotypes of C. jejuni and C. coli are associated with a particular host and to determine the degree of association between FAFLP-defined genotypes and heat-stable serotypes and/or phage types. Within C. coli, the poultry strains clustered separately from those of porcine origin. In contrast, no evidence of host specificity was detected among C. jejuni strains. While C. coli strains show host specificity by FAFLP genotyping, C. jejuni strains that are genotypically similar appear to colonize a range of hosts, rather than being host adapted. Some serotypes and/or phage types (C. jejuni serotype HS18, phage type PT6, and serophage type HS19/PT2 and C. coli HS66, PT2, and HS56/PT2) were the most homogeneous by FAFLP genotyping, while others were more heterogeneous (C. jejuni HS5 and PT39, and C. coli HS24 and PT44) and therefore poor indicators of genetic relatedness between strains. The lack of host specificity in C. jejuni suggests that tracing the source of infection during epidemiological investigations will continue to be difficult. The lack of congruence between some serotypes and/or phage types and FAFLP genotype underlines the need for phenotypic testing to be supplemented by genotyping. This study also demonstrates how, in general, FAFLP generates "anonymous" genetic markers for strain characterization and epidemiological investigation of Campylobacter in the food chain.     

Increased prevalence of the HFE C282Y hemochromatosis allele in women with breast cancer.

Individuals with the major hemochromatosis (HFE) allele C282Y and iron overload develop hepatocellular and some extrahepatic malignancies at increased rates. No association has been previously reported between the C282Y allele and breast cancer. We hypothesized that due to the pro-oxidant properties of iron, altered iron metabolism in C282Y carriers may promote breast carcinogenesis. Because 1 in 10 Caucasians of Northern European ancestry carries this allele, any impact it may have on breast cancer burden is potentially great. We determined C282Y genotypes in 168 patients who underwent high-dose chemotherapy and blood cell transplantation for cancer: 41 with breast cancer and 127 with predominantly hematological cancers (transplant cohort). Demographic, clinical, and tumor characteristics were reviewed in breast cancer patients. The frequency of C282Y genotypes in breast cancers was compared with the frequency in nonbreast cancers, an outpatient sample from Tennessee (n = 169), and a published United States national sample. The frequency of at least one C282Y allele in breast cancers was higher (36.6%, 5 homozygotes/10 heterozygotes) than frequencies in Tennessee (12.7%, P < 0.001), the general population (12.4%, P < 0.001), and similarly selected nonbreast cancers (17.0%, P = 0.008). The likelihood of breast cancer in the transplant cohort increased with C282Y allele dose (P(trend) = 0.010). These results were supported by the finding in a nontransplant cohort of a higher frequency of C282Y mutations in Caucasian (18.4%, P = 0.039) and African-American (8.5%, P = 0.005) women with breast cancer than race-specific national frequency estimates. A high prevalence of C282Y alleles in women with breast cancer with and without poor risk features suggests that altered iron metabolism in C282Y carriers may promote the development of breast cancer and/or more aggressive forms of the disease.     

Biomarker System for Genetic Analysis of Stored Grain Pests Callosobruchus maculatus and Callosobruchus chinensis

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, India Section B: Biological Sciences - Random amplified polymorphic DNA-PCR (RAPD-PCR) analysis was used in combination with morphological...     

Unusual fungal bodies in conventional cervical smears: Report of nine cases

Candida spp have often been reported in cervical cytology, other fungal organisms are very rare in modern literature. We report nine cases of conventional cervical smears showing Penicillium, Aspergillus, and Cladosporium spp in healthy imunocompetent females. Penicillium spp seen in four out of nine smears, Cladosporium spp alone in three out of nine smears, and Cladosporium spp along with Aspergillus spp in two out of nine smears. A detail of these nine cases is presented with discussion on importance of these structures when observed in conventional cervical smears. Awareness of such contaminants is important to differentiate from true infection for relevant therapeutic implications. A systematic step‐wise approach to such structures is also suggested. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2015;43:234–237. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Twenty-four-hour intensivist staffing in teaching hospitals: tensions between safety today and safety tomorrow

There is an inherent tension between the training needs of inexperienced clinicians and the safety of the patients for whom they are responsible. Our society has accepted this tension as a necessary trade-off to maintain a competent workforce of physicians year after year. However, recent trends in medical education have diminished resident autonomy in favor of the safety of current patients. One dramatic example is the rapid increase in the number of academic ICUs that provide coverage by attending physicians at all hours. The potential benefits of this staffing model have strong face validity: improved quality and efficiency from the constant involvement of experienced intensivists, increased family and staff satisfaction from the immediate availability of attending physicians, and reduced burn-out among intensivists from reduced on-call responsibilities. Thus, many hospitals have moved toward 24-h coverage by attending intensivist physicians without evidence that these benefits actually accrue and perhaps without full consideration of possible unintended consequences. In this article, we discuss the potential benefits and risks of nocturnal intensivist staffing, considering the needs of current and future patients. Furthermore, we suggest that there remains sufficient uncertainty about these benefits and risks that it is both necessary and ethical to study the effects in earnest.     

Pulmonary function tests in beta thalassemia

To study pulmonary function tests (PFT) in multiple transfusion recipient thalassemics, PFTs were done for 30 thalassemics and 20 matched controls. Confirmed cases of thalassemia on regular transfusion therapy were the subject of study. Apart from history and physical examination of the thalassemics, serum ferritin estimation and spirometry were done. Parameters studied included lung volumes—functional residual capacity (FRC), forced vital capacity (FVC), residual volume (RV) and total lung capacity (TLC); and flow rates —forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV,), forced expiratory volume in 1 second/forced vital capacity (FEV,/FVC), peak expiratory flow 25–75 (PEF 25–75%) and peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR). Single breath carbon monoxide diffusing capacity (DLco) and arterial blood gas (ABG) were also analysed. The mean height and weight of thalassemics were below that of age matched controls. A restrictive abnormality in PFT was found in 86.6% cases. These patients were found to have a decrease in all the lung volumes namely FVC, FRC, RV and TLC with a proportional decrease in the flow rates, FEV1, PEF 25–75% and PEF with a normal (> 0.75) FEV1/FVC ratio. DLco was decreased in all the patients with restrictive lung disease and fall in DLco showed a good correlation (r = 0.7, P <. 001) with the severity of restrictive disease suggesting that some intrapulmonary pathology is likely to be responsible for the restrictive pattern. None of the cases had an obstructive or mixed pattern of pulmonary dysfunction. No correlation was found between severity of restrictive disease and the serum ferritin levels. A negative correlation with degree of hepatosplenomegaly was found. No correlation was found between severity of the defect and age, number of blood transfusions received and hemoglobin at the time of doing the test. To conclude, restrictive lung disease is the predominant abnormality in multi-transfused thalassemics, which is probably due to pulmonary parenchymal pathology. The abnormality of PFTs is not directly related to iron overload.     

Is Routine Use of High Resolution Computerized Tomography of Temporal Bone in Patients of Atticoantral Chronic Suppurative Otitis Media without Intracranial Complications Justified?

Role of high resolution computerized tomography (HRCT) of temporal bone is established in cases of atticoantral chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) with intracranial complications. Routine use of HRCT in management of patients of atticoantral CSOM without intracranial complications has been an issue of debate. The aim of this study was to evaluate the routine use of HRCT of temporal bone in such cases. This study was a prospective study done at LG hospital, AMC MET Medical College, Ahmedabad to evaluate and compare the temporal bone findings in HRCT and intraoperative findings in 100 patients with atticoantral CSOM. All patients underwent HRCT screening followed by surgical exploration of middle ear cleft. In extent of disease HRCT showed very high sensitivity and specificity for epitympanum (100, 94%) and mesotympanum (98, 98%) areas. It gave valuable information of disease extent in hidden areas like sinus tympani and facial recess of mesotympanum. HRCT satisfactorily delineated malleus and incus erosion but had 75% sensitivity for detecting erosion of stapes suprastructure, though specificity was of 97%. For bony anatomical landmarks HRCT showed very high sensitivity and specificity for detecting erosion of lateral semicircular canal, tegmen tympani and sinus plate. Detection of facial canal erosion on HRCT had moderate sensitivity of 75%. We concluded that routine use of HRCT is justified as a reliable preoperative tool in patients with atticoantral CSOM without intracranial complications and it helps to plan type of surgical intervention. HRCT has limited role to distinguish between granulations and cholesteatoma and also to delineate stapes supra structure and facial nerve canal.     

The effects of interpolated reinforcement on resistance to extinction in children diagnosed with autism: a preliminary investigation

Studies on the "interpolation of reinforcement" effect (IRE) suggest that switching from an intermittent (INT) to a continuous (CRF) reinforcement schedule may result in less resistance to extinction than if extinction had followed INT alone. The finding has been examined with both human and animal participants using both free- and restricted-operant research preparations with equivocal results. In the present study, the IRE was examined in four young children diagnosed with autism using a free-operant preparation. Participants were matched into pairs and were exposed, in a counterbalanced order, to extinction following CRF "interpolated" between INT and extinction, and to extinction following INT alone. Resistance to extinction was examined by comparing the number of responses emitted during extinction and the number of sessions required to reach an extinction criterion. Responding may be less resistant to extinction following interpolated CRF reinforcement than following INT alone. Methodological refinements necessary for more conclusively demonstrating the IRE are discussed.