Search

Metastases to the liver from gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors are varied in their presentation and echogenicity on ultrasound. We present a case of adenocarcinoma of the pancreas with sporadic neuroendocrine differentiation and metastasis to the liver, referred for inclusion in a clinical study. Standard ultrasound showed two hypoechoic focal liver lesions. On contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) the larger tumour bore an enhancement resemblance to that of a focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH). This result necessitated a histological confirmation, which indicated neuroendocrine, highly differentiated tumour tissue, compatible with metastasis from the patient's pancreatic cancer. This case showcases the role of histologically confirmed diagnosis in liver lesions with atypical imaging characteristics, especially in patients with a history of malignancy and potential oncological treatment.

Objectives: The objective of the present study was to examine the diversity of Staphylococcus aureus from mastitis milk samples of cows in Rwanda., Methods: A total of 1080 quarter milk samples from 279 dairy cows were collected in 80 different farms from all five provinces of Rwanda. In total, 135 S. aureus isolates were obtained and subjected to genotyping (spa typing, DNA microarray, whole-genome sequencing (WGS)), antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) and phenotypic profiling by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy (including capsular serotyping)., Results: Resistance to penicillin and/or tetracycline was most frequently observed. Ten sequence types (STs) (ST1, ST151, ST152, ST5477, ST700, ST7110, ST7983, ST7984, ST8320, ST97) belonging to seven clonal complexes (CCs) (CC1, CC130, CC152, CC3591, CC3666, CC705, CC97) were detected. The Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) genes (lukF-PV/lukS-PV), the bovine leukocidin genes (lukM/lukF-P83) and the human and bovine toxic shock syndrome toxin gene tst-1 variants were detected. FTIR-based capsular serotyping showed CC-specific differences. Most CC97 (cap5 allele) isolates were primarily nonencapsulated (82%), whereas isolates of CC3591 and CC3666 (cap8 allele) were mostly encapsulated (86.4% and 57.8%, respectively). Our results underline the widespread global distribution of cattle-adapted CC97., Conclusion: The presence of CC3591 and CC3666 in bovine mastitis suggests an important role in cattle health and dairy production in Rwanda. The results of the present study support the need for a rigorous One-Health Surveillance program of the bovine-human interface., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Aims: To examine the diversity of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from nasal swabs of ruminants in Rwanda., Methods and Results: A total of 454 nasal swabs from 203 cows, 170 goats, and 81 sheep were examined for the presence of S. aureus, and 30 S. aureus isolates were detected and characterized pheno- and genotypically. Resistance to penicillin and/or tetracycline was observed. The isolates were assigned to eight different spa types (t21057 (novel), t10103, t18853, t20842, t318, t355, t458, and t9432) belonging to six clonal complexes (CCs) (CC152, CC30, CC3591, CC3666, CC522, and CC97). Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) genes (lukF-PV/lukS-PV), the bovine leukocidin genes (lukM/lukF-P83), and the human and bovine variants of the toxic shock syndrome toxin gene tst-1 variants were detected., Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that the nares of ruminants in Rwanda are colonized with mastitis-associated S. aureus, including lineages that are also carried by humans, underscoring the zoonotic risk, especially for livestock keepers. These results highlight the crucial importance of hygiene measures when handling livestock., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Applied Microbiology International.)

Drones have become valuable tools for biodiversity studies by providing aerial photographs; however, for most entomological studies, images, in particular those taken remotely, are usually insufficient; rather sampling of specimens is required. We equipped a cheap off-the-shelf drone with a net bag, flew it over the ground, sweeping the vegetation, and sampled adult and larval insects as well as spiders. 'Drone-netting' proved to be a versatile method for general insect sampling, particularly in inaccessible terrains. It is time- and cost-effective, minimally invasive, and adaptable for many research tasks in entomofaunistics; it shows a degree of representativeness similar to hand-netting, and caught specimens stay alive and can be released if not needed., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America.)

The involvement of the diverticula, a synapomorphy for Itunina, in protrusion and expansion of hairpencils by male Lycorea halia (Hübner, 1816) is demonstrated for the first time. They facilitate maintaining the haemolymph pressure necessary to keep the hairpencils everted. The diverticula are curved hook-like lobes, open to the body cavity and densely filled with tracheae and threads made by units of two staggered cells surrounding a central extracellular fibril bundle. Such complex structures, apparently metabolically active, have not been reported for insects previously and might indicate additional functions, but their functional role(s) remains a puzzle. When a male emerges from pupa, the diverticula are not yet formed; this happens only during the first protrusion of the hairpencils.

Scales, exoskeletal features characteristic of the Lepidoptera, occur in enormous structural and functional diversity. They cover the wing membranes and other body parts and give butterflies and moths their often stunning appearance. Generally, the patterns made by scales are visual signals for intra- and interspecific communication. In males, scales and/or bristles also make up the androconial organs, which emit volatile signals during courtship. Here, a structurally and putative functionally novel type of scales and bristles is reported: 'crystal macrosetae'. These lack trabeculae and windows, are made up by a very thin and flexible envelope only and contain crystallizing material. In 'crystal scales', there is a flat surface ornamentation of modified ridges, while 'crystal bristles' often show large protrusions. Crystal macrosetae usually cannot be reliably recognized without destruction. Apparently, they serve as containers for large amounts of material that is viscous in living moths, highly hygroscopic, crystallizes when specimens dry up, and can be visualized by scanning electron microscopy. Crystal macrosetae occur in males only, always associated with or making up androconial organs located on various parts of the body, and have numerous forms with diverse surface ornamentation across many species and genera. The newly identified structures and the discovery of crystallizing material in scales and bristles raise many questions and could shed new light on ontogenetic development of macrosetae, and on the biology and physiology as well as the evolution and systematics of Arctiinae. There is evidence that crystal macrosetae occur in other moths too., (© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America.)

Pupae of numerous Papilionidae and Nymphalidae produce twitter sounds when wriggling in response to mechanical stimulation. The structural basis comprises distinct pairs of sound-producing organs (SPOs) located at intersegmental membranes of the abdomen. They differ-as the twitters do-in sampled taxa of Papilioninae, Epicaliini, and Heliconiini. The opposing sculptured cuticular sound plates (SPs) of each SPO appear structurally the same but are actually mirror-images of each other. Results suggest that sounds are not generated by stridulation (friction of a file and a scraper) but when these inversely sculptured and interlocking surfaces separate during pupal wriggling, representing a stick-slip mechanism. Twitter sounds comprise series of short broadband pulses with the main energy in the frequency range 3-13 kHz; they can be heard by humans but extend into ultrasonic frequencies up to 100 kHz.

Introduction: Within the Apocynoideae (Apocynaceae) pro-toxic dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloids have been reported only in Echiteae. However, attraction of pyrrolizidine alkaloid-pharmacophagous insects suggested their presence in Alafia cf. caudata Stapf (Nerieae: Alafiinae) and Amphineurion marginatum (Roxb.) D.J. Middleton (Apocyneae: Amphineuriinae), both used as medicinal plants., Objective: To confirm the presence of dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloids in Alafia cf. caudata and Amphineurion marginatum and identify their structures., Methods: Methanol extracts of air-dried roots, stems and leaves of non-flowering plants were analysed using HPLC-ESI(+)MS and MS/MS or collision-induced dissociation MS in low and/or high resolution modes. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids were tentatively identified based on the mass spectrometry data. Solid phase extraction combined with semi-preparative HPLC were used to isolate major alkaloids. Structures were elucidated using NMR spectroscopy., Results: Monoesters of retronecine with senecioic, hydroxysenecioic or syringic acids were identified in roots of Alafia cf. caudata. Two unprecedented 10-membered macrocyclic dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloid diesters were isolated from roots of Amphineurion marginatum. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids were detected in root and leaf material of Alafia cf. caudata at 0.34 and 0.01% dry weight (DW), and 0.13, 0.02 and 0.09% DW in root, leaf and stem material of Amphineurion marginatum., Conclusions: The presence of pro-toxic dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloids suggests that medical preparations of these plants pose potential health risks to consumers. Dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloids are evidently more widespread in Apocynoideae than previously assumed, and it would seem rewarding to study other members of this family for the presence of pyrrolizidines, dehydropyrrolizidines and dihydropyrrolizines. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., (Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Using HPLC-ESI-MS, several saturated and 1,2-dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloids were detected, mainly as their N-oxides, in fresh pollen collected from flowers of the pyrrolizidine alkaloid-producing plants Echium vulgare, E. plantagineum, Senecio jacobaea, S. ovatus, and Eupatorium cannabinum, and/or pollen loads from bees (bee pollen) that foraged on those plants. A major alkaloidal metabolite in S. ovatus was tentatively identified, using its mass spectrometric data and biogenic considerations, as the previously unreported, saturated alkaloid, 2-hydroxysarracine. Heating had very little effect on the 1,2-dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloids and their N-oxides from a variety of sources. Considered in conjunction with international concerns about the adverse effects of these alkaloids, the results strongly indicate a need for monitoring pollen supplies intended for human consumption, at least until conditions for processing and/or selection are clearly defined such as to significantly reduce the hepatotoxic (and potentially carcinogenic and genotoxic) pyrrolizidine alkaloid content of bee pollen.