Search

The authors dispensed by oral way the rabies vaccine SAD B 19 Tü to 15 healthy cats and to 15 cats treated with corticosteroids (dexamethasone). After a period of clinical observation the animals were killed in different times after vaccination. Virological assays were carried out on some necroscopical samples to evaluate the possible latency and dissemination of the vaccinal virus and serological assays to evaluate the titres of seroconversion and the tetracycline test to detect the cats which received the baits. The experiments on cats showed: - The suitability of the baits; - the lack of clinical signs related to the rabies virus SAD B 19; - the negative results concerning the latency and dissemination of the vaccinal strain; - the sensitivity of the tetracycline test to detect the subjects which received the marked baits; - low titres of vaccinal seroconversion; - the same reactivity to the vaccine in the healthy cats as in the corticosteroid-treated cats. Zusammenfassung Untersuchungen über die Empfänglichkeit von Katzen auf die orale Gabe der Tollwut-Vaccine SAD B 19 Tü 15 gesunden und 15 corticosteroid-behandelten (Dexamethason) Katzen wurde die SAD B 19 Tü-Vakzine peroral verabreicht. Nach klinischer Beobachtung wurden die Tiere in unterschiedlichen Zeiträumen nach der Impfung euthanasiert. An den Proben wurden virologische Untersuchungen durchgeführt, um Aussagen über eine potentielle Latenz und Ausscheidung des Impfvirus machen zu können. Weiterhin wurden die Serumtiter festgestellt sowie der Tetracyclintest durchgeführt, um die Katzen zu registrieren, die die Köder aufgenommen hatten. Die Untersuchungen zeigten folgende Ergebnisse: - die verwendeten Köder wurden angenommen; - das Tollwutvirus SAD B 19 verursachte keine klinischen Erscheinungen; - Hinweise über Latenz und Ausscheidung des Impfstammes lagen nicht vor; - der Tetracyclintest war sensitiv genug, um die Köderempfänger zu registrieren; - die Impfung induzierte niedrige Serumtiter; - die Vakzine hatte dieselbe Wirkung bei gesunden wie corticosteroid-behandelten Katzen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The results of the researches are reported on the diffusion and latency of vaccinal virus SAD/BHK21 in the brains, salivary glands and tonsils of 30 healthy foxes (Group A) and of 14 foxes treated with corticosteroids (Group B). All the animals of the two groups receive by oral way one dose of antirabies vaccine SAD/BHK21 in vaccinal bait. Fourteen foxes were injected with 2 mg/kg of methyl-prednisolone acetate daily for five days beginning two days before vaccination. The antigen rabies presence in the vaccinated foxes is performed by fluorescent antibody test (FAT). The isolation of SAD vaccinal strain is performed in mouses and in tissue cultures. To execute these tests, the foxes are euthanized according this plan: Group A (8-14-16-21-22-30-42 days after vaccination), Group B (7-10-14-15-30-70 days after vaccination). Experiments on red foxes showed that: - The live attenuated vaccine SAD/BHK21 appeared to be harmeless for the foxes. - Rabies antigen in the brains, in the salivary glands and in tonsils of all vaccinated foxes was not detected by FAT. - Rabies vaccinal virus was reisolated from vaccinated foxes in mouses. The viral isolation in BHK21 cell cultures was obtained only in one fox. - The results of viral isolation were: 2/30 in healthy foxes and 2/14 in foxes immunosuppressed with corticosteroids. - The presence of vaccinal virus in healthy foxes is only detected into the tonsils; in immunosuppressed foxes the virus is detected in brain (one fox), salivary glands and tonsils. The time of viral reisolation is different between two groups: 7 days after vaccination in healthy foxes, 8 and 14 days after vaccination in immunosuppressed foxes. Zusammenfassung Die Ergebnisse dieser Forschungsarbeit berichten über die Verteilung und Latenz des Impfvirus SAD/BHK21 in Gehirnen, Speicheldrüsen und Mandeln von 30 gesunden Füchsen (Gruppe A) und 14 mit Corticosteroiden behandelten Füchsen (Gruppe B). Alle Tiere dieser beiden Gruppen erhielten oral eine Dosis der Antitollwutvaccine SAD/BHK21 in Impfködern. Vierzehn Füchsen wurde täglich, 2 Tage vor der Vaccination beginnend, 2 mg/kg Methyl-Prednisolon-Acetat 5 Tage lang injiziert. Der Tollwutantigennachweis in den geimpften Füchsen wurde im Fluoreszenzantikörpertest (FAT) durchgeführt. Die Isolierung des SAD-Impfstammes wurde in Mäusen und Zellkulturen vorgenommen. Zur Durchführung dieser Tests wurden die Füchse nach folgendem Plan euthanasiert: Gruppe A (8-14-16-21-22-30-42 Tage nach der Impfung), Gruppe B (7-10-14-15-30-70 Tage nach der Impfung). Die Untersuchungen an Rotfüchsen zeigten, daß: - Die attenuierte Lebendvaccine SAD/BHK21 für die Füchse unschädlich zu sein scheint. - In allen geimpften Füchsen kein Tollwutantigen in Gehirnen, Speicheldrüsen und Mandeln mit dem FAT nachgewiesen werden konnte. - Das Tollwut-Impfvirus von geimpften Füchsen in Mäusen reisoliert werden konnte. Die Virusisolation in BHK21-Zellkulturen gelang nur von einem Fuchs. - Die Ergebnisse der Virusisolation waren: 2/30 von gesunden Füchsen und 2/14 von Füchsen, die durch Corticosteroide immungeschwächt waren. - Die Anwesenheit des Impfvirus in gesunden Füchsen wurde nur in den Mandeln festgestellt; in immungeschwächten Füchsen konnte das Virus in Gehirn (ein Fuchs), Speicheldrüsen und Mandeln nachgewiesen werden. Der Zeitpunkt der Virusisolation zwischen beiden Gruppen ist unterschiedlich: 7 Tage nach der Impfung in gesunden Füchsen, 8 und 14 Tage nach der Impfung in immungeschwächten Füchsen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transposable elements (TEs) are repetitive DNA sequences which create mutations and generate genetic diversity across the tree of life. In amniote vertebrates, TEs have been mainly studied in mammals and birds, whose genomes generally display low TE diversity. Squamates (Order Squamata; including ∼11,000 extant species of lizards and snakes) show as much variation in TE abundance and activity as they do in species and phenotypes. Despite this high TE activity, squamate genomes are remarkably uniform in size. We hypothesize that novel, lineage-specific genome dynamics have evolved over the course of squamate evolution. To understand the interplay between TEs and host genomes, we analyzed the evolutionary history of the chicken repeat 1 (CR1) retrotransposon, a TE family found in most tetrapod genomes which is the dominant TE in most reptiles. We compared 113 squamate genomes to the genomes of turtles, crocodilians, and birds and used ancestral state reconstruction to identify shifts in the rate of CR1 copy number evolution across reptiles. We analyzed the repeat landscapes of CR1 in squamate genomes and determined that shifts in the rate of CR1 copy number evolution are associated with lineage-specific variation in CR1 activity. We then used phylogenetic reconstruction of CR1 subfamilies across amniotes to reveal both recent and ancient CR1 subclades across the squamate tree of life. The patterns of CR1 evolution in squamates contrast other amniotes, suggesting key differences in how TEs interact with different host genomes and at different points across evolutionary history., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.)

Background and Objectives: Cancer is a disease that affects nearly all multicellular life, including the broad and diverse taxa of Aves. While little is known about the factors that contribute to cancer risk across Aves, life history trade-offs may explain some of this variability in cancer prevalence. We predict birds with high investment in reproduction may have a higher likelihood of developing cancer. In this study, we tested whether life history traits are associated with cancer prevalence in 108 species of birds., Methodology: We obtained life history data from published databases and cancer data from 5,729 necropsies from 108 species of birds across 24 taxonomic orders from 25 different zoological facilities. We performed phylogenetically controlled regression analyses between adult body mass, lifespan, incubation length, clutch size, sexually dimorphic traits, and both neoplasia and malignancy prevalence. We also compared the neoplasia and malignancy prevalence of female and male birds., Results: Providing support for a life history trade-off between somatic maintenance and reproduction, we found a positive relationship between clutch size and cancer prevalence across Aves. There was no significant association with body mass, lifespan, incubation length, sexual dimorphism, and cancer., Conclusions and Implications: Life history theory presents an important framework for understanding differences in cancer defenses across various species. These results suggest a trade-off between reproduction and somatic maintenance, where Aves with small clutch sizes get less cancer., Competing Interests: We declare we do not have any conflicts of interest., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Foundation for Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health.)

There is increasing interest in the African spiny mouse (Acomys cahirinus) as a model organism because of its ability for regeneration of tissue after injury in skin, muscle, and internal organs such as the kidneys. A high-quality reference genome is needed to better understand these regenerative properties at the molecular level. Here, we present an improved reference genome for A. cahirinus generated from long Nanopore sequencing reads. We confirm the quality of our annotations using RNA sequencing data from 4 different tissues. Our genome is of higher contiguity and quality than previously reported genomes from this species and will facilitate ongoing efforts to better understand the regenerative properties of this organism., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest DEM is engaged in a research agreement with Oxford Nanopore, and they have paid for him to travel to speak on their behalf. DEM is on a scientific advisory board at Oxford Nanopore. The other authors have no conflicts to declare., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Genetics Society of America.)

Here, we examined mechanisms that affect retrograde memory in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (a-MCI) as a function of longitudinal clinical outcome. 8 a-MCI who converted to Alzheimer's dementia (AD) during the subsequent 3-year follow-up (converter a-MCI) and 10 a-MCI who remained clinically stable during the same period (stable a-MCI) were compared at the baseline evaluation (i.e., when they were diagnosed as a-MCI) using a remote memory questionnaire for public events that allows disentangling the differential contribution of storage and retrieval mechanisms to performance accuracy. Results suggest that deficits in remote memory are primarily explained by impaired retrieval abilities in stable a-MCI and by impaired storage in converter-to-AD a-MCI. This distinction between retrograde amnesia due to defective trace utilisation in stable a-MCI and trace storage in converter a-MCI is consistent with the temporal unfolding of declining anterograde memory over the course of disease progression to AD., (© 2023 The British Psychological Society.)

Objective: Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) was recently proposed as an early risk factor for future mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, we investigated the sensitivity of novel neuropsychological testing paradigms (which have been proposed as potentially challenging tools for the identification of preclinical AD) in capturing the subtle cognitive changes leading to SCD but not objectively detected by traditional tests., Method: The performances of 18 patients with SCD and 15 healthy individuals with no worries of cognitive decline (healthy controls [HC]) was compared on demanding tasks that investigated, respectively, associative memory, memory binding, spatial pattern separation processes and semantic memory. The diagnostic utility of these tests in capturing the subtle cognitive changes associated with SCD and possible relationships with SCD-related worries were investigated., Results: No significance between-group difference was found on the standard neuropsychological tests. Conversely, the performance of patients with SCD and HC differed significantly on specific indexes derived from experimental tasks assessing face-name associative memory and spatial pattern separation. Moreover, these measures correctly classified group membership with good overall accuracy (between 79% and 82%) and were significantly associated with self-perceived memory functioning., Conclusions: Our preliminary findings suggest that specific measures derived from demanding cognitive paradigms could be sensitive neuropsychological indexes for detecting the subtle cognitive impairment associated with SCD. These observations could be useful for further refining cognitive assessment aimed at early detection of AD. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Squamates include more than 11,000 extant species of lizards, snakes, and amphisbaenians, and display a dazzling diversity of phenotypes across their over 200-million-year evolutionary history on Earth. Here, we introduce and define squamates (Order Squamata) and review the history and promise of genomic investigations into the patterns and processes governing squamate evolution, given recent technological advances in DNA sequencing, genome assembly, and evolutionary analysis. We survey the most recently available whole genome assemblies for squamates, including the taxonomic distribution of available squamate genomes, and assess their quality metrics and usefulness for research. We then focus on disagreements in squamate phylogenetic inference, how methods of high-throughput phylogenomics affect these inferences, and demonstrate the promise of whole genomes to settle or sustain persistent phylogenetic arguments for squamates. We review the role transposable elements play in vertebrate evolution, methods of transposable element annotation and analysis, and further demonstrate that through the understanding of the diversity, abundance, and activity of transposable elements in squamate genomes, squamates can be an ideal model for the evolution of genome size and structure in vertebrates. We discuss how squamate genomes can contribute to other areas of biological research such as venom systems, studies of phenotypic evolution, and sex determination. Because they represent more than 30% of the living species of amniote, squamates deserve a genome consortium on par with recent efforts for other amniotes (i.e., mammals and birds) that aim to sequence most of the extant families in a clade.