Small Molecules in the Venom of the Scorpion Hormurus waigiensis.

Despite scorpion stings posing a significant public health issue in particular regions of the world, certain aspects of scorpion venom chemistry remain poorly described. Although there has been extensive research into the identity and activity of scorpion venom peptides, non-peptide small molecules present in the venom have received comparatively little attention. Small molecules can have important functions within venoms; for example, in some spider species the main toxic components of the venom are acylpolyamines. Other molecules can have auxiliary effects that facilitate envenomation, such as purines with hypotensive properties utilised by snakes. In this study, we investigated some non-peptide small molecule constituents of Hormurus waigiensis venom using LC/MS, reversed-phase HPLC, and NMR spectroscopy. We identified adenosine, adenosine monophosphate (AMP), and citric acid within the venom, with low quantities of the amino acids glutamic acid and aspartic acid also being present. Purine nucleosides such as adenosine play important auxiliary functions in snake venoms when injected alongside other venom toxins, and they may have a similar role within H. waigiensis venom. Further research on these and other small molecules in scorpion venoms may elucidate their roles in prey capture and predator defence, and gaining a greater understanding of how scorpion venom components act in combination could allow for the development of improved first aid.

Institutional Experience with Curricular Renewal during the OIE Veterinary Education Twinning Program between the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, and Massey University, New Zealand.

The Veterinary Education Twinning Program between the University of Peradeniya (UP) and Massey University (MU) was carried out within the mandate of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) to create opportunities for developing countries to establish educational facilities and methods based on current and accepted international standards. This article describes how the twinning partnership between UP and MU enabled a strong flow of expertise that benefited Sri Lanka to develop a new veterinary undergraduate curriculum. The new curriculum was created to improve the relevance and quality of veterinary education, incorporating current international best practices, to strengthen national veterinary services. Adoption of an outcome-based educational framework has allowed the incorporation of tools such as problem-based learning and student-centered pedagogies and assessments. Extending the duration of the program from 4 academic years to 5 has expanded the scope for clinical learning, particularly in terms of student exposure to livestock veterinary services. This article documents the processes followed during the twinning program to highlight those factors that were critical for success or that were found surprising, difficult, or problematic.

Leading Significant Institutional Change in the Context of an OIE-Endorsed Veterinary Twinning Project.

A 5-year World Organisation for Animal Health Veterinary Twinning Program between Massey University, New Zealand, and the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, was initiated in 2014. The key aims of the project were renewal of the curriculum, rejuvenation of teaching methodology, and creation of a platform for sustainable clinical and extension livestock services within the teaching program. The project succeeded in facilitating the development of a new veterinary undergraduate curriculum that was based upon student-centered and problem-based approaches to teaching and learning. Key reasons for the success of the project were (a) perceptions for the necessity of changes at the University of Peradeniya; (b) the management of expectations of both partners in the program along with their key stakeholders; (c) allowing sufficient time (i.e., 5 years) for agreement, establishment, and implementation of the changes; and (d) the development of the relationships of trust between faculty of the partner institutions at both decision-making and grassroots levels. From a project management perspective, the project required bringing about significant change in another organization, in a foreign country, and with a distinctly different culture. Moreover, notwithstanding the value of a long project, project managers should be prepared for significant political, organizational, and personnel change over the duration of such a project.

The Aromatic Head Group of Spider Toxin Polyamines Influences Toxicity to Cancer Cells.

Spider venoms constitute incredibly diverse libraries of compounds, many of which are involved in prey capture and defence. Polyamines are often prevalent in the venom and target ionotropic glutamate receptors. Here we show that a novel spider polyamine, PA366, containing a hydroxyphenyl-based structure is present in the venom of several species of tarantula, and has selective toxicity against MCF-7 breast cancer cells. By contrast, a polyamine from an Australian funnel-web spider venom, which contains an identical polyamine tail to PA366 but an indole-based head-group, is only cytotoxic at high concentrations. Our results suggest that the ring structure plays a role in the cytotoxicity and that modification to the polyamine head group might lead to more potent and selective compounds with potential as novel cancer treatments.

Atypical scrapie/Nor98 in a sheep from New Zealand.

In a consignment of sheep brains from New Zealand, to be used in Europe as negative control material in scrapie rapid screening test evaluations, brain samples from 1 sheep (no. 1512) gave the following initially confusing results in various screening tests: the brainstem repeatedly produced negative results in 2 very similar screening kits (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay [ELISA]-1, ELISA-2), a macerate made from brainstem and cerebellum returned a clearly positive result in ELISA-2, and the macerate and a brainstem sample gave negative results in a third screening test (ELISA-3). In subsequent testing, cerebellum tissue alone tested strongly positive in ELISA-1 and produced a banding pattern very similar to atypical scrapie/Nor98 in a confirmatory Western blot (WB). The macerate showed weak staining in the confirmatory WB but presented a staining pattern identical to atypical scrapie/Nor98 in the scrapie-associated fibril WB. The latter test confirmed conclusively the first case of atypical scrapie/Nor98 in a sheep from New Zealand. Other parts of the brain either tested negative or very weak positive in ELISA-2 and in WBs, or tested with negative results by histopathology and immunohistochemistry. It appears that sheep no. 1512 is a case of atypical scrapie/Nor98 in which the abnormal prion protein was detected mainly in the cerebellum. This case emphasizes the need to retain brainstem, and cerebral and cerebellar tissues, as frozen and fixed materials, for conclusive confirmatory testing. Furthermore, consideration should be given to which screening method to use.

Detecting emerging diseases in farm animals through clinical observations.

Predicting emerging diseases is among the most difficult challenges facing researchers and health managers. We present available approaches and tools to detect emerging diseases in animals based on clinical observations of farm animals by veterinarians. Three information systems are described and discussed: Veterinary Practitioner Aided Disease Surveillance in New Zealand, the Rapid Syndrome Validation Project-Animal in the United States, and "émergences" in France. These systems are based on syndromic surveillance with the notification of every case or of specific clinical syndromes or on the notification of atypical clinical cases. Data are entered by field veterinarians into forms available through Internet-accessible devices. Beyond challenges of implementing new information systems, minimizing economic and health effects from emerging diseases in animals requires strong synergies across a group of field partners, in research, and in international animal and public health customs and practices.