The role of B-cells in immunity against adult Strongyloides venezuelensis

BACKGROUND: Strongyloides venezuelensis has been used as a tool and model for strongyloidiasis research. Elimination of S. venezuelensis adult worms from mice has been particularly associated with proliferation and activation of intestinal mast cells and eosinophils. To date, the role of B-cells in the protective mechanism against adult Strongyloides infection in experimental animals has not been reported in the literature. Therefore, the present study was carried to investigate the role of B-lymphocytes in immunity against adult S. venezuelensis infection using mice with a targeted deletion of the JH locus. METHODS: JHD knockout mice with its wild-type Balb/c mice were infected by intra-duodenal implantation of adult S. venezuelensis. Fecal egg count, intestinal worm recovery, mucosal mast cells and eosinophils were counted. RESULTS: At day 11 post infection, parasites in wild-type mice stopped egg laying, while in JHD knockout mice parasites continued to excrete eggs until the end of the observation period, day 107. The higher number of parasite eggs expelled in the feces of JHD knockout infected mice was a consequence of higher worm burdens, which established in the small intestine of these animals. On the other hand worm fecundity was comparable in both groups of mice. Both B-cell-deficient mice and wild-type mice, showed an influx of mucosal mast cells and eosinophils. The absolute numbers in JHD knockout mice were lower than those seen in wild-type mice at day 11, but not to a level of significance. JHD knockout mice could not recover from infection despite the recruitment of both types of cells. CONCLUSION: Our findings highlight a role of B cells in mucosal immunity against invasion of adult S. venezuelensis and in its expulsion. Therefore, we conclude that B-cells together with mucosal mast cells and eosinophils, contribute to immunity against adult S. venezuelensis by mechanism(s) to be investigated

Systematic Review of Auditory Training in Pediatric Cochlear Implant Recipients.

Objective The purpose of this systematic review is to evaluate the published research in auditory training (AT) for pediatric cochlear implant (CI) recipients. This review investigates whether AT in children with CIs leads to improvements in speech and language development, cognition, and/or quality of life and whether improvements, if any, remain over time post AT intervention. Method A systematic search of 7 databases identified 96 review articles published up until January 2017, 9 of which met the inclusion criteria. Data were extracted and independently assessed for risk of bias and quality of study against a PICOS (participants, intervention, control, outcomes, and study) framework. Results All studies reported improvements in trained AT tasks, including speech discrimination/identification and working memory. Retention of improvements over time was found whenever it was assessed. Transfer of learning was measured in 4 of 6 studies, which assessed generalization. Quality of life was not assessed. Overall, evidence for the included studies was deemed to be of low quality. Conclusion Benefits of AT were illustrated through the improvement in trained tasks, and this was observed in all reviewed studies. Transfer of improvement to other domains and also retention of benefits post AT were evident when assessed, although rarely done. However, higher quality evidence to further examine outcomes of AT in pediatric CI recipients is needed

An analysis of ototoxicity in children: Audiological detection, clinical practice and genetic susceptibility

Ototoxicity is the damage to the ear from exposure to medications. The inner ear is the commonest site of damage where cochlear and/or vestibular functions are affected. Ototoxic medications can cause irreversible toxicity, with aminoglycosides (AGs) and cisplatin being the most established agents. A series of studies are reported in this research under three main themes. Theme A focused on audiological assessments and assessment tools; Theme B focused on causation; and Theme C focused on the impact of ototoxicity and current service provision. The main Theme A study was a clinical observational study with a cross-sectional design assessing the auditory status of children with cystic fibrosis (CF) exposed to AGs. Theme B investigated potential risk factors and aspects in genetics that may be associated with increasing patient susceptibility to the ototoxic effect of AGs. Theme C assessed the effect of ototoxicity on the quality of life (QoL) of children surviving cancer. It also included a survey of current UK practice regarding auditory monitoring for ototoxicity. The novel outcomes of these studies included showing that the prevalence of AG ototoxicity in children with CF is higher than previously reported and evaluating the efficacy of auditory assessment tools. They stressed the importance of choosing appropriate criteria to define ototoxicity and identified potential risk factors associated with it. The genetic studies highlighted a rare case of normal hearing in a child with the m.1555 A>G mutation despite exposure to AGs. They complemented the limited research on the impact of ototoxicity in children on their QoL and on current practice. The latter identified gaps in the provision of ototoxicity monitoring services in the UK, especially due to the absence of nationally agreed guidelines. This research has generated recommendations for several future studies and has informed the clinical management of patients with CF

Monitoring Ototoxicity with DPOAEs

Ototoxicity is damage to the ears following exposure to medications. It is a common yet a preventable cause of hearing and/or balance problems. There are hundreds of drugs and chemicals that can cause hearing loss with the most established ototoxic drugs including aminoglycoside antibiotics and platinum-based chemotherapeutic drugs like cisplatin where high frequency progressive hearing loss develops initially through damage of the outer hair cells of the basal turn of the cochlea then progresses apically to affect frequencies needed for speech and communication. Early detection of damage is key to prevention of further damage and can only be achieved by active monitoring of hearing/balance function as waiting for patients to start complaining means that permanent damage has already occurred. Previous research has shown that high frequency audiometry has the highest sensitivity to detecting early ototoxicity however as it is a time-consuming procedure requiring active patient cooperation DPOAEs have significant advantages in the active repeated monitoring of the generally unwell patients exposed to these drugs. During this presentation we will explore key points to consider when using DPOAEs for ototoxicity monitoring including repeatability of DPOAE’s and parameters used in monitoring protocols, what constitutes a significant change, how sensitive they are to change, how and when to use them and how to record/report results in order to allow clinicians to make informed decisions to avoid this adverse effect while maintaining the survival and general wellbeing of their patients. 3 key learning objectives: 1. Introduction to ototoxicity and the need for active audiological monitoring to allow for early detection and prevention of further damage 2. Exploring the evidence base supporting the use of DPOAEs in monitoring for auditory damage caused by ototoxicity 3. Identifying key points needed in order to effectively use DPOAEs as a monitoring tool e.g. recording parameters, repeatability and pass/fail criteria that confirm cochlear damage, precautions that need to beconsidered to increase test sensitivity and specificity

When Shall Coronavirus Disease-19 Stop? Review of Literature

In December 2019, a new coronavirus, now labeled as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, induced an episode of acute atypical respiratory illness started in Wuhan, Province of Hubei, China. The illness triggered by this virus was called coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19). The infection is spread within humans and has triggered a global pandemic. The amount of death tolls continues to increase and a growing number of countries have been driven to create social barriers and lock-ups. The shortage of tailored counseling remains an issue. Epidemiological researches have shown that elderly patients are more vulnerable to serious diseases, while children tend to have milder symptoms. Here, we checked the latest understanding of this disease and found a possible explanation of the potential sequel and the expectations for the future

Plasma Β-Endorphin and Cortisol Profiles around Periparturient Period at Stressful Conditions in Egyptian Buffalo

The study determined the level of plasma β-endorphin and cortisol concentrations in peripheral blood circulation of buffalo cows suffering from reproductive disorders (dystocia and retained placenta) and weakness body condition score during periparturient period. Twenty multi-parous Egyptian buffalo cows at late pregnancy period were used for two months before parturition. β-endorphin concentrations were higher in buffalo suffering from reproductive disorders groups. Whereas, β-endorphin concentrations were 134.9±4.8 for retained placenta, 121.3±4.9 for dystocia, 114.2±8.4 for weakness and 113.5±6.5 pg/ml for control. In the closer period around parturition both of plasma β-endorphin and cortisol followed the same trend toward a gradually increased values during -2,-1days and zero time in all groups. A concomitant trend was noticed in β-endorphin and cortisol concentrations in postpartum period with reduce values were observed in all groups after parturition continued for month or more. Buffalo suffering from reproductive disorders were showed a high relative values in β-endorphin and cortisol concentrations. A significant differences (P<0.01) were observed between the experimental groups. Generally, buffaloes suffering reproductive disorders had a clear impact on blood plasma β-endorphin concentration around parturition process.The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between various reproductive disorders as a stress factors with plasma β–endorphin and cortisol in buffalo cows around parturition and changes in these parameters could be used as an objective measure of the stress associated labour. Stress has been hypothesized to be a cause of impaired reproductive efficiency. Stress may cause an overproduction of beta-endorphins and free radical

Preliminary assessment of the feasibility of using AB words to assess candidacy in adults

Background: Adult cochlear implant (CI) candidacy is assessed in part by the use of speech perception measures. In the United Kingdom the current cut-off point to fall within the CI candidacy range is a score of less than 50% on the BKB sentences presented in quiet (presented at 70 dBSPL). Goal: The specific goal of this article was to review the benefit of adding the AB word test to the assessment test battery for candidacy. Results: The AB word test scores showed good sensitivity and specificity when calculated based on both word and phoneme scores. The word score equivalent for 50% correct on the BKB sentences was 18.5% and it was 34.5% when the phoneme score was calculated; these scores are in line with those used in centres in Wales (15% AB word score). Conclusion: The goal of the British Cochlear Implant Group (BCIG) service evaluation was to determine if the pre-implant assessment measures are appropriate and set at the correct level for determining candidacy, the future analyses will determine whether the speech perception cut-off point for candidacy should be adjusted and whether other more challenging measures should be used in the candidacy evaluation

mec A AND mec C GENES PROFILE OF CLINICAL ISOLATES OF Staphylococcus aureus

Methicillin resistant Staph. aureus (MRSA) was a substantial bacteria that caused diversehospital and systemic infections. The detection of mec gene of this pathogen must be used as arapid screening technique. The current study was aimed to characterize the frequency of mecAand mecC genes in Staph. aureus were isolates which phenotypically were resistance tomethicillin which were recovered from patients with tonsillitis that was happened at Al-Habboby teaching hospital during the period from February to November, 2016 in Thi-Qarprovince/Iraq by using PCR technique. From a complete of 109 (63%) Staph. aureus isolates,only 71 isolates were identified phenotypically as MRSA. The molecular results weredocumented that (62% and 31%) of isolates expressed mecA and mecC, respectively. Sixty ninepercentage of all Staph. aureus isolates showed negative results of mecC gene. The currentresults of were established the significance of mecC gene in MRSA recognition than mecA geneand highlighted the increasing manner of its frequency in south of Iraq

Target Therapy in Neuroblastoma

Neuroblastoma is an embryonal malignancy that originates in the sympathetic nervous system. It is the most common solid tumor in infants and the most frequent extracranial solid tumor in children. Neuroblastoma accounts for 10% of childhood malignancies with 75% occurring in children <4 years. Stage, age, clinical and tumor genomic features are the principal criteria for determining treatment policy. Treatment modalities traditionally employed in the management of neuroblastoma are surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. Intensive multimodal treatment in patients with neuroblastoma has resulted in improved survival rates. However, there is a considerable percentage of patients with refractory and relapsed disease. Targeted therapy for neuroblastoma involves treatment aimed at molecular targets that have a unique expression in this childhood cancer. A large number of molecular targets have been identified for the treatment of high-risk and relapsed neuroblastoma. Treatment in this way aims at providing a more selective way to treat the disease and decreasing toxicities associated with the conventional treatment regimen

Systemic aminoglycosides-induced vestibulotoxicity in humans

Objectives: This systematic review aimed to investigate the prevalence and characteristics of vestibular adverse effects of aminoglycoside (AG) therapy in humans and to analyze objective vestibular tests for the detection of AG-induced vestibulotoxicity. Design: PubMed, Cochrane Database, Web of Science, and reference lists of all included studies were screened by two independent researchers. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines were followed. Studies were included according to preset inclusion criteria and reported outcomes of studies evaluating vestibular function using one or more objective vestibular function tests in adults and children after systemic AG administration. The methodological quality of each study was assessed using the quality assessment tool for quantitative studies. Interrater reliability was established using Cohen's Kappa. Results: Twenty-seven studies were included, with the vast majority showing AG-induced vestibulotoxic side effects, ranging from 0 to 60%. Most studies reported AG-induced abnormalities by caloric and rotatory testing, whereas only a few studies reported using video Head Impulse test and vestibular evoked myogenic potential testing. Conclusions: Because type I hair cells (particularly of the semicircular canals) are more susceptible to ototoxicity, video Head Impulse test and vestibular evoked myogenic potential testing seem more promising for the early detection of vestibulotoxicity than caloric and rotatory testing. Prospective studies using an extensive vestibular test battery are needed to further characterize the impact of AGs on the different vestibular end organs and to identify the most sensitive vestibular technique for the early detection of vestibulotoxicity