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A New Species of the Simulium (Simulium) multistriatum Species-Group (Diptera: Simuliidae) From Thailand and Its Phylogenetic Relationships With Related Species

Takaoka H, Srisuka W, Low VL, Saeung A

J Med Entomol, 2019 01 08;56(1):86-94.
PMID: 30398648 DOI: 10.1093/jme/tjy178

Simulium undecimum sp. nov. is described from Thailand. This new species is assigned to the Simulium multistriatum species-group, one of the 20 species-groups of the subgenus Simulium in the Oriental Region. It is characterized by the female cibarium with minute processes, male ventral plate with a narrow body having two vertical rows of distinct teeth on the posterior surface and without setae on the anterior and lateral surfaces, pupal gill with eight short filaments decreasing in length from dorsal to ventral, and divergent at an angle of around 90 degrees when viewed laterally, spine-combs only on abdominal segments 7 and 8, and cocoon wall-pocket shaped with anterolateral windows. Taxonomic notes to separate this new species from related species in Thailand and other countries are given. This new species is the 11th nominal member of this species-group recorded in Thailand. An analysis of the COI gene sequences shows that it is most closely related with S. malayense Takaoka & Davies (cytoform A) from Thailand but they are distantly separated by 3.01-8.87%.

Matched MeSH terms: Animals
A New Species of the Simulium (Simulium) striatum Species Group (Diptera: Simuliidae) from Thailand, and Its Differentiation from Two Related Species Based on a Fast-Evolving Nuclear Gene

Takaoka H, Srisuka W, Low VL, Saeung A

J Med Entomol, 2018 05 04;55(3):561-568.
PMID: 29361011 DOI: 10.1093/jme/tjx241

Simulium (Simulium) phraense sp. nov. (Diptera: Simuliidae) is described from females, males, pupae, and larvae from Thailand. This new species is placed in the Simulium striatum species group and is most similar to Simulium (Simulium) nakhonense Takaoka & Suzuki (Diptera: Simuliidae) from Thailand among species of the same species group but is barely distinguished from the latter species by lacking annular ridges on the surface of the pupal gill filaments. The fast-evolving nuclear big zinc finger (BZF) gene has successfully differentiated this new species from its allies, S. (S.) nakhonense and Simulium (Simulium) chiangmaiense Takaoka & Suzuki (Diptera: Simuliidae) of the S. striatum species group. The BZF gene sequences show that this new species is more closely related to S. (S.) nakhonense than to S. (S.) chiangmaiense, further supporting its morphological classification.

Matched MeSH terms: Animals
Fulltext A Novel Occulta-Type Spina Bifida Mediated by Murine Double Heterozygotes EphA2 and EphA4 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases

Abdullah NL, Mohd-Zin SW, Ahmad-Annuar A, Abdul-Aziz NM

Front Cell Dev Biol, 2017;5:105.
PMID: 29312933 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2017.00105

Members of the Eph receptor tyrosine kinase have previously been implicated in cranial neural tube development. Failure of neural tube closure leads to the devastating conditions known as anencephaly and spina bifida. EphA2 and EphA4 are expressed at the tips of the closing spinal neural folds prior and during neural tube closure. We investigated the possible role of murine EphA2 and EphA4 during the last step of primary neural tube closure, which is adhesion and fusion. The individual mouse knockouts of EphA2 and EphA4 per se do not exhibit neural tube defects (NTDs). The embryos generated by the crossing of double heterozygotes Epha2tm1Jrui/+Epha4rb-2J/+ displayed NTDs with a wide degree of severity including close exencephaly and close spina bifida (spina bifida occulta). Interestingly, mutants displaying NTDs had skin covering the underlying lesion. The tissue sections revealed the elevated neural folds had not adhered and fused. The phenotypes seen in Epha2tm1Jrui/+Epha4rb-2J/+ double heterozygous embryos suggest both genes play a compensatory role with each other in the adhesion and fusion of the neural tube. In this study, there exists a >50% penetrance of NTDs in the mouse mutants, which genetically have a single allele each of EphA2 and EphA4 absent.

Matched MeSH terms: Animals
Fulltext A Novel RNA Virus, Macrobrachium rosenbergii Golda Virus (MrGV), Linked to Mass Mortalities of the Larval Giant Freshwater Prawn in Bangladesh

Hooper C, Debnath PP, Biswas S, van Aerle R, Bateman KS, Basak SK, et al.

Viruses, 2020 10 02;12(10).
PMID: 33023199 DOI: 10.3390/v12101120

Mass mortalities of the larval stage of the giant freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii, have been occurring in Bangladesh since 2011. Mortalities can reach 100% and have resulted in an 80% decline in the number of hatcheries actively producing M. rosenbergii. To investigate a causative agent for the mortalities, a disease challenge was carried out using infected material from a hatchery experiencing mortalities. Moribund larvae from the challenge were prepared for metatranscriptomic sequencing. De novo virus assembly revealed a 29 kb single‑stranded positive-sense RNA virus with similarities in key protein motif sequences to yellow head virus (YHV), an RNA virus that causes mass mortalities in marine shrimp aquaculture, and other viruses in the Nidovirales order. Primers were designed against the novel virus and used to screen cDNA from larvae sampled from hatcheries in the South of Bangladesh from two consecutive years. Larvae from all hatcheries screened from both years were positive by PCR for the novel virus, including larvae from a hatchery that at the point of sampling appeared healthy, but later experienced mortalities. These screens suggest that the virus is widespread in M. rosenbergii hatchery culture in southern Bangladesh, and that early detection of the virus can be achieved by PCR. The hypothesised protein motifs of Macrobrachium rosenbergii golda virus (MrGV) suggest that it is likely to be a new species within the Nidovirales order. Biosecurity measures should be taken in order to mitigate global spread through the movement of post-larvae within and between countries, which has previously been linked to other virus outbreaks in crustacean aquaculture.

Matched MeSH terms: Animals
A Novel Recombinant Canine Adenovirus Type 1 Detected from Acute Lethal Cases of Infectious Canine Hepatitis

Wong M, Woolford L, Hasan NH, Hemmatzadeh F

Viral Immunol, 2017 05;30(4):258-263.
PMID: 28426340 DOI: 10.1089/vim.2016.0041

In this study, canine adenoviruses (CAdVs) from two acute fatal cases of infectious canine hepatitis (ICH) were analyzed using molecular detection and sequencing of the pVIII, E3, and fiber protein genes. Pathological findings in affected dogs were typical for CAdV-1 associated disease, characterized by severe centrilobular to panlobular necrohemorrhagic hepatitis and the development of disseminated intravascular coagulation in the terminal stages of disease. Comparison of partial genome sequences revealed that although these newly detected viruses mainly had CAdV-1 genome characteristics, their pVIII gene was more similar to that of CAdV-2. This likely suggests that a recombination has occurred between CAdV-1 and CAdV-2, which possibly explains the cause of vaccine failure or increased virulence of the virus in the observed ICH cases.

Matched MeSH terms: Animals
Fulltext A P. falciparum NF54 Reporter Line Expressing mCherry-Luciferase in Gametocytes, Sporozoites, and Liver-Stages

Marin-Mogollon C, Salman AM, Koolen KMJ, Bolscher JM, van Pul FJA, Miyazaki S, et al.

Front Cell Infect Microbiol, 2019;9:96.
PMID: 31058097 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2019.00096

Transgenic malaria parasites expressing fluorescent and bioluminescent proteins are valuable tools to interrogate malaria-parasite biology and to evaluate drugs and vaccines. Using CRISPR/Cas9 methodology a transgenic Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) NF54 line was generated that expresses a fusion of mCherry and luciferase genes under the control of the Pf etramp10.3 gene promoter (line mCherry-luc@etramp10.3). Pf etramp10.3 is related to rodent Plasmodium uis4 and the uis4 promoter has been used to drive high transgene expression in rodent parasite sporozoites and liver-stages. We examined transgene expression throughout the complete life cycle and compared this expression to transgenic lines expressing mCherry-luciferase and GFP-luciferase under control of the constitutive gapdh and eef1a promoters. The mCherry-luc@etramp10.3 parasites express mCherry in gametocytes, sporozoites, and liver-stages. While no mCherry signal was detected in asexual blood-stage parasites above background levels, luciferase expression was detected in asexual blood-stages, as well as in gametocytes, sporozoites and liver-stages, with the highest levels of reporter expression detected in stage III-V gametocytes and in sporozoites. The expression of mCherry and luciferase in gametocytes and sporozoites makes this transgenic parasite line suitable to use in in vitro assays that examine the effect of transmission blocking inhibitors and to analyse gametocyte and sporozoite biology.

Matched MeSH terms: Animals
A PCR-based sex determination method for possible application in caprine gender selection by simultaneous amplification of the Sry and Aml-X genes

Phua AC, Abdullah RB, Mohamed Z

J. Reprod. Dev., 2003 Aug;49(4):307-11.
PMID: 14967923

Sex determination of livestock is performed to achieve the objectives of livestock breeding programmes. Techniques for sex determination have evolved from karyotyping to detecting Y-specific antigens and recently to the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which appears to be the most sensitive, accurate, rapid and reliable method to date. In this study, a PCR-based sex determination method for potential application in goat breeding programmes was developed. Primers were designed to amplify a portion of the X amelogenin gene (Aml-X) on the X chromosome to give a 300 bp product and Sry gene on the Y chromosome to give a 116 bp product. PCR optimization was performed using DNA template extracted from a whole blood sample of Jermasia goats (German Fawn x Katjang) of both sexes. It was possible to identify the sex chromosomes by amplifying both male- and female-specific genes simultaneously in a duplex reaction with males yielding two bands and females yielding one band. The Aml-X primer set, which served as an internal control primer, did not interfere with amplification of the Y-specific sequence even when a low amount of DNA (1 ng) was used. The duplex reaction subjected to a blind test showed 100% (14/14) concordance, proving its accuracy and reliability. The primer sets used were found to be highly specific and were suitable for gender selection of goats.

Matched MeSH terms: Animals
Fulltext A PRELIMINARY SURVEY ON THE LEVEL OF AWARENESS OF DENGUE CONTROL PROGRAMMES AMONG RESIDENCES IN KUALA TERENGGANU

Han Shiou Feng, Nur Aida Hashim, Nur Adila Kamaruddin, Nur Syahida Wadhihah Kamarudin, Norasmah Basari

UMT Journal of Undergraduate Research, 2020;2(1):55-60.
MyJurnal

Dengue fever and dengue haemorrhagic fever are diseases caused by dengue virus transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes. Dengue fever has caused a high rate of mortalities among Malaysians every year. Even though many campaigns had been conducted by the government to reduce dengue cases, the number of infected people in this country is still high. We conducted this survey to determine the status of dengue fever awareness among residents in Kuala Terengganu. For data collection, face-to-face interviews were conducted, and a questionnaire was administered. There were three categories of respondents, namely urban area residents, rural area residents and university students. Results showed that respondents across the three groups were knowledgeable regarding dengue fever issues and there was no significant difference between the three categories of respondents in the number of residents who had been involved in dengue awareness programmes. However, most of the respondents regarded the dengue awareness programmes as moderately effective and could be overcome if prevention efforts and approaches were being carried out on a continuous basis.

Matched MeSH terms: Animals
Fulltext A Pharmacological Examination of the Cardiovascular Effects of Malayan Krait (Bungarus candidus) Venoms

Chaisakul J, Rusmili MR, Hodgson WC, Hatthachote P, Suwan K, Inchan A, et al.

Toxins (Basel), 2017 03 29;9(4).
PMID: 28353659 DOI: 10.3390/toxins9040122

Cardiovascular effects (e.g., tachycardia, hypo- and/or hypertension) are often clinical outcomes of snake envenoming. Malayan krait (Bungarus candidus) envenoming has been reported to cause cardiovascular effects that may be related to abnormalities in parasympathetic activity. However, the exact mechanism for this effect has yet to be determined. In the present study, we investigated thein vivoandin vitrocardiovascular effects ofB. candidusvenoms from Southern (BC-S) and Northeastern (BC-NE) Thailand. SDS-PAGE analysis of venoms showed some differences in the protein profile of the venoms.B. candidusvenoms (50 µg/kg-100 µg/kg, i.v.) caused dose-dependent hypotension in anaesthetised rats. The highest dose caused sudden hypotension (phase I) followed by a return of mean arterial pressure to baseline levels and a decrease in heart rate with transient hypertension (phase II) prior to a small decrease in blood pressure (phase III). Prior administration of monovalent antivenom significantly attenuated the hypotension induced by venoms (100 µg/kg, i.v.). The sudden hypotensive effect of BC-NE venom was abolished by prior administration of hexamethonium (10 mg/kg, i.v.) or atropine (5 mg/kg, i.v.). BC-S and BC-NE venoms (0.1 µg/kg-100 µg/ml) induced concentration-dependent relaxation (EC50= 8 ± 1 and 13 ± 3 µg/mL, respectively) in endothelium-intact aorta. The concentration-response curves were markedly shifted to the right by pre-incubation with L-NAME (0.2 mM), or removal of the endothelium, suggesting that endothelium-derived nitric oxide (NO) is likely to be responsible for venom-induced aortic relaxation. Our data indicate that the cardiovascular effects caused byB. candidusvenoms may be due to a combination of vascular mediators (i.e., NO) and autonomic adaptation via nicotinic and muscarinic acetylcholine receptors.

Matched MeSH terms: Animals
Fulltext A Pilot Study on Anti-Obesity Mechanisms of KappaphycusAlvarezii: The Role of Native κ-Carrageenan and the Leftover Sans-Carrageenan Fraction

Chin YX, Mi Y, Cao WX, Lim PE, Xue CH, Tang QJ

Nutrients, 2019 May 21;11(5).
PMID: 31117266 DOI: 10.3390/nu11051133

Kappaphycus is a commercially important edible red alga widely cultivated for carrageenan production. Here, we aimed to investigate the anti-obesity mechanism of Kappaphycusalvarezii by comparing the effects of whole seaweed (T), extracted native κ-carrageenan (CGN), and the leftover fraction sans-carrageenan (SCGN) supplementations (5%, w/w) on diet-induced obese C57BL/6J mice. A high-fat diet induced both a raised body fat percentage and serum cholesterol level, increased adipocytes size, abnormal levels of adipocytokines, and promoted gut dysbiosis. Our results showed that, overall, both CGN and SCGN were more effective in reversing obesity and related metabolic syndromes to normal levels than T. Furthermore, these findings suggested that CGN- and SCGN-modulated gut dysbiosis induced by a high-fat diet, which may play an influencing role in adiponectin dysregulation. Our data also showed some evidence that CGN and SCGN have distinct effects on selected genes involved in lipid metabolism. In conclusion, both κ-carrageenan and SCGN have novel anti-obesity potential with possible different mechanisms of action.

Matched MeSH terms: Animals
Fulltext A Plasmodium sp. from a glossy tree-starling (Aplonis panayensis strigatus)

SANDOSHAM AA, BENNETT GF, FONG YL, OMAR EI

Singapore Med J, 1965 Mar;6(1):47-8.
PMID: 14306412

An immature Glossy Tree-Starling (Aplonis panayensis strigatus), also known as ‘burong perling’ in Malay, was captured in the vicinity of the Institute for Medical Research, Kuala Lumpur. It was found to harbour a small malaria parasite which showed the characteristics of the sub-genus Novyella (Corradetti et al, 1963) viz:
1. Trophozoites small with little cytoplasm, relatively large nuclear elements, the parasite usually applied to the host-cell nucleus.
2. Schizonts with usually less than eight merozoites. 3. Pigment small and difficult to see except in the schizonts and in the gametocytes where the pigment granules are large and usually clustered at one end.
4. The parasite rarely distorts the host erythrocyte. Unfortunately the bird died a few days later before detailed work on duration of the schizogonic cycle and experimental transmission could be done. The parasite has the following morphological features and most of the larger forms, asexual and sexual, assume the characteristic position proximal to the nucleus of the avian erythrocyte. Trophozoites: The earliest forms are ‘rings’ with a fairly marked vacuole. As the organism grows older, it produces a grain or two of pigment. The parasite at this stage tends to occupy a polar position in the host erythrocyte. Schizonts: The segmenting forms are usually attached to the pole end of the host-cell nucleus. The number of chromatin segments varies from 3 to 8, with a prevalent range of 4 to 6. The cytoplasm is scanty and pale with a prominent little mass of blackish-brown pigment or a close collection of granules. A rare mature schizont with 8 merozoites was seen in which the nucleus of the parasitised erythrocyte was displaced somewhat similar to ﬁgure 20 of Plate I portrayed in the original paper by Manwell (1935). Gametocytes: The sexual forms are often narrow and elongate, and are closely applied to the nucleus of the host erythrocyte. The outline of the parasite is frequently irregular. The cytoplasm is pale and vacuolated with coarse conspicuous granules of blackish-brown pigment usually collected at one end; sometimes either one or both ends curved around the host-cell nucleus. Although this parasite has some affinites to both P. nucleophiltim and P. hexamerium the lack of adequate study of the avian malarias of South-East Asia precludes even provisional identiﬁcation of this parasite. On two occasions numerous gametocytes were seen in the peripheral blood of the bird and four species of laboratory-reared culicines (three indigenous to Malaya) were allowed to feed on it. Ten Andes togoi, 19 Culex sitiens and seven Culex fatigans were completely refractory to development of the parasite. Two of 17 Aedes aegypti had a single small oocyst each; both oocysts appeared to be degenerating. A Giemsa-stained thin blood ﬁlm together with drawings made from the microscope showing the different forms of the parasite were demonstrated. REFERENCES
Corradetti, A., Garnham, P. C. & Laird, M. (i963). Parassitologia, 5, 1-4.
Manwell, R. D. (l935). Amer. J. Trop. Med 15, 265-283.
...(1938). Ibid., 18, 565-575

Matched MeSH terms: Animals
A Plasmodium sp. from the crested agamid lizard (Gonyocephalus grandis) in Peninsular Malaysia

Fong YL, Liat LB, Colley FC

Southeast Asian J. Trop. Med. Public Health, 1974 Sep;5(3):456.
PMID: 4432107
Matched MeSH terms: Animals
Fulltext A Potential Link between the C5a Receptor 1 and the β1-Adrenoreceptor in the Mouse Heart

Khor KH, Moore TA, Shiels IA, Greer RM, Arumugam TV, Mills PC

PLoS One, 2016;11(1):e0146022.
PMID: 26727203 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0146022

PURPOSE: Inflammation may contribute to the pathogenesis of specific cardiovascular diseases, but it is uncertain if mediators released during the inflammatory process will affect the continued efficacy of drugs used to treat clinical signs of the cardiac disease. We investigated the role of the complement 5a receptor 1 (C5aR1/CD88) in the cardiac response to inflammation or atenolol, and the effect of C5aR1 deletion in control of baseline heart rate in an anesthetized mouse model.
METHODS: An initial study showed that PMX53, an antagonist of C5aR1 in normal C57BL6/J (wild type, WT) mice reduced heart rate (HR) and appeared to have a protective effect on the heart following induced sepsis. C5aR1 knockout (CD88-/-) mice had a lower HR than wild type mice, even during sham surgery. A model to assess heart rate variability (HRV) in anesthetized mice was developed to assess the effects of inhibiting the β1-adrenoreceptor (β1-AR) in a randomized crossover study design.
RESULTS: HR and LF Norm were constitutively lower and SDNN and HF Norm constitutively higher in the CD88-/- compared with WT mice (P< 0.001 for all outcomes). Administration of atenolol (2.5 mg/kg) reduced the HR and increased HRV (P< 0.05, respectively) in the wild type but not in the CD88-/- mice. There was no shift of the sympathovagal balance post-atenolol in either strains of mice (P> 0.05), except for the reduced LF/HF (Lower frequency/High frequency) ratio (P< 0.05) at 60 min post-atenolol, suggesting increased parasympathetic tone of the heart due to the effect of atenolol administration. The HR of the WT mice were lower post atenolol compared to the CD88-/- mice (P = 0.001) but the HRV of CD88-/- mice were significantly increased (P< 0.05), compared with WT mice.
CONCLUSION: Knockout of the C5aR1 attenuated the effect of β1-AR in the heart, suggesting an association between the β1-AR and C5aR1, although further investigation is required to determine if this is a direct or causal association.

Matched MeSH terms: Animals
Fulltext A Preliminary Study of Human Amniotic Membrane as a Potential Chondrocyte Carrier

Boo, L., Sofiah, S., Selvaratnam, L., Tai, C.C., Pingguan-Murphy, B., Kamarul, T.

Malays Orthop J, 2009;3(2):16-23.
MyJurnal

Purpose:To investigate the feasibilty of using processed human amniotic membrane (HAM) to support the attachment and proliferation of chondrocytes in vitro which it turn can be utilised as a cell delivery vehicle in tissue engineering applications. Methods: Fresh HAM obtained from patients undergoing routine elective ceasarean sections was harvested., processed and dried using either freez drying (FD) or air drying (AD) methods prior to sterilisation by gamma irradiation. Isolated, processed and characterised rabbit autologous chondrolytes were seeded on processsed HAM and cultured for up to three weeks. Cell attachment and proliferation were examined qualitatively using inverted brightfield microcospy. Results: Processed HAM appeared to allow cell attachment when implanted with chrondocytes. Although cells seeded on AD and FD HAM did not appear to attach as strongly as those seeded on glycerol preserved intact human amniotic membrane, these cells to be proliferated in cell culture conditions. Conclusion: Prelimanary results show that processed HAM chondrocyte attachment and proliferation.

Matched MeSH terms: Animals
Fulltext A Preliminary Survey of Species Composition of Termites (Insecta: Isoptera) in Samunsam Wildlife Sanctuary, Sarawak

Jamil N, Ismail WNW, Abidin SS, Amaran MA, Hazali R

Trop Life Sci Res, 2017 Jul;28(2):201-213.
PMID: 28890771 MyJurnal DOI: 10.21315/tlsr2017.28.2.15

A survey on termite species composition was conducted in Samunsam Wildlife Sanctuary, Sarawak in February 2015. Overall 19 species of termite belonging to 13 genera and 8 subfamilies was found in the sanctuary. It was recorded the subfamily of Termitinae had the highest number of species (6 species, equal to 31.58% of total species), followed by Nasutermitinae (3 species, 15.79%), Macrotermitinae, Amitermitinae, Rhinotermitinae, Coptotermitinae, (2 species, 10.53% respectively), and Heterotermitinae, Termitogetoninae (1 species, 5.26% respectively). Since this rapid survey is the first termite assemblage representation in Samunsam Wildlife Sanctuary, the preliminary result may serve as the baseline data for termite composition in the area. Therefore, a whole coverage for the area within this sanctuary would definitely increase the number of termite species found in the sanctuary.

Matched MeSH terms: Animals; Animals, Wild
A REVISION OF THE ANOPHELES AITKENII GROUP IN MALAYA AND BORNEO

REID JA

Ann Trop Med Parasitol, 1965 Mar;59:106-25.
PMID: 14297346
Matched MeSH terms: Animals
Fulltext A RNA-Seq Analysis of the Rat Supraoptic Nucleus Transcriptome: Effects of Salt Loading on Gene Expression

Johnson KR, Hindmarch CC, Salinas YD, Shi Y, Greenwood M, Hoe SZ, et al.

PLoS One, 2015;10(4):e0124523.
PMID: 25897513 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0124523

Magnocellular neurons (MCNs) in the hypothalamo-neurohypophysial system (HNS) are highly specialized to release large amounts of arginine vasopressin (Avp) or oxytocin (Oxt) into the blood stream and play critical roles in the regulation of body fluid homeostasis. The MCNs are osmosensory neurons and are excited by exposure to hypertonic solutions and inhibited by hypotonic solutions. The MCNs respond to systemic hypertonic and hypotonic stimulation with large changes in the expression of their Avp and Oxt genes, and microarray studies have shown that these osmotic perturbations also cause large changes in global gene expression in the HNS. In this paper, we examine gene expression in the rat supraoptic nucleus (SON) under normosmotic and chronic salt-loading SL) conditions by the first time using "new-generation", RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) methods. We reliably detect 9,709 genes as present in the SON by RNA-Seq, and 552 of these genes were changed in expression as a result of chronic SL. These genes reflect diverse functions, and 42 of these are involved in either transcriptional or translational processes. In addition, we compare the SON transcriptomes resolved by RNA-Seq methods with the SON transcriptomes determined by Affymetrix microarray methods in rats under the same osmotic conditions, and find that there are 6,466 genes present in the SON that are represented in both data sets, although 1,040 of the expressed genes were found only in the microarray data, and 2,762 of the expressed genes are selectively found in the RNA-Seq data and not the microarray data. These data provide the research community a comprehensive view of the transcriptome in the SON under normosmotic conditions and the changes in specific gene expression evoked by salt loading.

Matched MeSH terms: Animals
Fulltext A RT-PCR assay for the detection of coronaviruses from four genera

Xiu L, Binder RA, Alarja NA, Kochek K, Coleman KK, Than ST, et al.

J Clin Virol, 2020 07;128:104391.
PMID: 32403008 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcv.2020.104391

BACKGROUND: During the past two decades, three novel coronaviruses (CoVs) have emerged to cause international human epidemics with severe morbidity. CoVs have also emerged to cause severe epidemics in animals. A better understanding of the natural hosts and genetic diversity of CoVs are needed to help mitigate these threats.
OBJECTIVE: To design and evaluate a molecular diagnostic tool for detection and identification of all currently recognized and potentially future emergent CoVs from the Orthocoronavirinae subfamily.
STUDY DESIGN AND RESULTS: We designed a semi-nested, reverse transcription RT-PCR assay based upon 38 published genome sequences of human and animal CoVs. We evaluated this assay with 14 human and animal CoVs and 11 other non-CoV respiratory viruses. Through sequencing the assay's target amplicon, the assay correctly identified each of the CoVs; no cross-reactivity with 11 common respiratory viruses was observed. The limits of detection ranged from 4 to 4 × 102 copies/reaction, depending on the CoV species tested. To assess the assay's clinical performance, we tested a large panel of previously studied specimens: 192 human respiratory specimens from pneumonia patients, 5 clinical specimens from COVID-19 patients, 81 poultry oral secretion specimens, 109 pig slurry specimens, and 31 aerosol samples from a live bird market. The amplicons of all RT-PCR-positive samples were confirmed by Sanger sequencing. Our assay performed well with all tested specimens across all sample types.
CONCLUSIONS: This assay can be used for detection and identification of all previously recognized CoVs, including SARS-CoV-2, and potentially any emergent CoVs in the Orthocoronavirinae subfamily.

Matched MeSH terms: Animals
Fulltext A Rare Presentation of Spinal Schwannoma Causing Conus Medullaris Syndrome: A Case Series on Surgical Outcome

Khan ESKBM, Thean CAP, Zakaria ZB, Awang MSB, Karupiah RK, Awang MB

J Orthop Case Rep, 2020;10(2):101-105.
PMID: 32953668 DOI: 10.13107/jocr.2020.v10.i02.1718

Introduction: Spinal schwannoma can occur anywhere along the spinal cord but is predominantly seen in the cervical and thoracic region.It composes mainly of well-differentiated schwann cell and is benign in nature. It is typically seen in the peripheral nerves and is commonly associated with neurofibromatosis. Up to 80% of cases, spinal schwannoma is reported to be intradural in location and 15% of cases have both intradural and extradural components. Spinal schwannoma rarely causes conus medullaris syndrome.
Case Report: In this case series, all three female patients in their 4th and 5th decades of life presented with conus medullaris syndrome. Lower back pain, radiculopathy, lower limb weakness, and urinary incontinence are their main clinical presentation. Magnetic resonance imaging shows a well-defined intradural, extramedullary mass compressing onto the conus medullary region. These patients undergone microscopic assisted excision of the tumor and had remarkably good early outcome despite the advanced presentation of neurological deficit.
Conclusion: Despite the late presentation with significant neurological deficit, surgical excision of spinal schwannomas carries a good prognosis postoperatively due to their benign nature and extramedullary location.

Matched MeSH terms: Animals
A Real-Time Cell Analyzing Assay for Identification of Novel Antiviral Compounds against Chikungunya Virus

Zandi K

Methods Mol Biol, 2016;1426:255-62.
PMID: 27233278 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-3618-2_23

Screening of viral inhibitors through induction of cytopathic effects (CPE) by conventional method has been applied for various viruses including Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), a significant arbovirus. However, it does not provide the information about cytopathic effect from the beginning and throughout the course of virus replication. Conventionally, most of the approaches are constructed on laborious end-point assays which are not capable for detecting minute and rapid changes in cellular morphology. Therefore, we developed a label-free and dynamical method for monitoring the cellular features that comprises cell attachment, proliferation, and viral cytopathogenicity, known as the xCELLigence real-time cell analysis (RTCA). In this chapter, we provide a RTCA protocol for quantitative analysis of CHIKV replication using an infected Vero cell line treated with ribavirin as an in vitro model.

Matched MeSH terms: Animals

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