The vestigial pinna-orienting system in humans briefly suppresses superior auricular muscle activity during reflexive orienting towards auditory stimuli.

The vestigial pinna-orienting system in humans is capable of increasing the activity of several auricular muscles in response to lateralized transient auditory stimuli. For example, transient increases in electromyographic activity in the posterior auricular muscle (PAM) to an attention-capturing stimulus have been documented. For the current study, surface electromyograms (EMGs) were recorded from the PAMs and superior auricular muscles (SAMs) of ten normal-hearing participants. During the experiments, lateralized transient auditory stimuli, such as, a crying baby, a shattering vase, or the participant's first names, were presented. These transient stimuli were either presented in silence, or when participants actively listened to a podcast. While ipsilateral PAM activity increased in response to transient stimuli, the SAM displayed the opposite behaviour, i.e., a brief, ipsilateral suppression of activity. This suppression of ipsilateral SAM activity was more frequent on the right (75%) than left side (35%), whereas an ipsilateral PAM increase was roughly equal in prevalence on the two sides (left: 90%, right: 95%). During the active listening task, SAM suppression on the right ear was significantly larger in response to ipsilateral stimuli, compared to contralateral ones (p = 0.002), whereas PAM activity increased significantly (p = 0.002). Overall, this study provides evidence of a systematic transient suppression of the SAM during exogenous attention. This could suggest a more complex system than previously assumed, as the presence of synchronized excitatory and inhibitory components in different auricular muscles points towards a coordinated attempt at reflexively orienting the pinna towards a sound.

COVID-19 and its prevention in internally displaced person (IDP) camps in Somalia: impact on livelihood, food security and mental health.

BACKGROUND: Somalia has over 2.6 million internally displaced people (IDP) that depend on daily wages and humanitarian assistance for their livelihoods. This study investigated the impact of COVID-19 on livelihoods, food security and mental health of Somalia's IDPs. METHODS: A questionnaire was conducted with "breadwinners" (n = 585) residing in 15 randomly selected IDP camps. Mental health was assessed using the 5-item World Health Organization Wellbeing Index (WHO-5) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Multivariable regression was used to explore the effect of depressive symptoms on soap use and ability to pay for food/medicine/rent. RESULTS: Knowledge of COVID-19 symptoms, transmission and prevention was relatively high, however only 55% reported using soap for hand washing. Around one third perceived that prohibition of public gatherings had negatively impacted weekly earnings. Participants reported difficulty buying food (85%), medicine (82%) and paying rent (51%) because of COVID-19. The majority were assessed as having low wellbeing and high depressive symptoms (mean WHO-5 = 44.2/100; mean PHQ-9 = 18.6/27), with most (74%) indicating that they felt worse than before the pandemic. Compared to people with low depressive symptoms, people with high depressive symptoms were less likely to use soap (aOR = 0.3, 95% CI = 0.2, 0.7; P < 0.001) and more likely to report difficulty buying food (aOR = 2.2; 95% CI = 1.1, 4.3; P = 0.02). CONCLUSION: COVID-19 and associated restrictions have negatively impacted Somalia's internally displaced population. Livelihood and mental health support is urgently needed in the recovery phase of the pandemic and should be factored into future pandemic planning.

Speech induced binaural beats: Electrophysiological assessment of binaural interaction.

This paper introduces and evaluates a speech signal manipulation scheme that generates transient speech induced binaural beats (SBBs). These SBBs can only be perceived when different signals are presented dichotically (to both ears). Event-related potentials were recorded in 22 normal-hearing subjects. Dichotic stimulus presentation reliably evoked auditory late responses (ALRs) in all subjects using such manipulated signals. As control measurements, diotic stimulation modalities were presented to confirm that the ALRs were not evoked by the speech signal itself or that the signal manipulation scheme created audible artifacts. Since diotic measurements evoked no ALRs, responses from dichotic stimulation are a pure correlate of binaural interaction. While there are several auditory stimuli (mostly modulated sinusoids or noise) that share this characteristic, none of them are based on running speech. Because SBBs can be added to any arbitrary speech signal, they could easily be combined with psychoacoustic tests, for example speech reception thresholds, adding an objective measure of binaural interaction.

Baboon vaginal microbial flora.

BACKGROUND: Knowledge of the composition of vaginal microbial ecosystem is essential for understanding the etiology, prevention, and treatment of vaginal diseases. A baboon model has been used to provide detailed understanding of reproductive physiology and immunology applicable to women. However, little is known about the composition of its vaginal microbial ecosystem. METHODS: Gram stain and Nugent scores were used for assessment of baboon vaginal microbial flora. Biochemical identification and analysis of isolates were performed using the api(®) kits and identification software. RESULTS: Species of Lactobacilli, Staphylococci, Clostridia, Bacilli, Corynebacteria, Gram-negative rods, other Gram-positive rods, cocci and Candida, were isolated. Healthy vaginal microbiota consisted mainly of lactobacillus morphotypes. Animals with high Nugent scores had increased number of Gram-positive cocci and variable rods, with increased number of Gram-negative morphotypes. CONCLUSIONS: The baboon vaginal microbiota is heterogeneous in terms of species composition and is typified by a scarcity of lactobacilli.

Prevalence and Risk Factors of Psychological Distress among Older People Seeking Health Care at Hospital in Dhaka City.

Increasing age is the main risk factor for chronic illnesses. The illnesses are not only physical, but also affect their psychological well-being and this has a significant effect on their quality of life. Numerous researches have shown that there is high prevalence of psychological distress in different medical and surgical patients while considerable percentage that is not detected by doctors. The study was conducted to identify the prevalence and risk factors of psychological distress in older people seeking health care at hospital in Dhaka city. This was a cross-sectional study conducted in the Bangladesh Association for the Aged and Institution of Geriatric Medicine (Bangladesh Probin Hospital) in Dhaka city, Bangladesh. A total of 451 older people seeking for healthcare was interviewed face-to-face using a standard Bengali validated General Health Care Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12). Recruitment of respondents was based on the systematic random sampling of the older people aged at or more than 60 years who were seeking health care at hospital in Dhaka city. A total of 59.65% (n=269) participants were found to have psychological distress. Age of more than 75, education up to secondary level, being unemployment, living alone, respondents with lower socioeconomic background, not having spouse, history of bereavement was found to be significantly associated with psychological distress. Other factors such as smokers, respondents who consume alcohol, physically inactive older people, older people with multiple comorbidities and having diagnosed with a disease more than 6 months were found to be associated with psychological distress. Majority of the older patients with physical illness were distressed. The prevalence of psychological distress among older peoples seeking for healthcare with multiple comorbidities who seek care in the hospital was very high (59.65%). Age, education, marital status, history of bereavement, smoking, alcohol use, physical activity and presence of multiple comorbidities were independent determinants of psychological distress among older people seeking for healthcare. Encouraging healthy lifestyle through cessation of smoking and alcohol use and increasing physical activity could be an effective step in reducing psychological comorbidities among older people seeking for healthcare.

The role of attention in immersion: The two-competitor model.

Currently, we face an exponentially increasing interest in immersion, especially sensory-driven immersion, mainly due to the rapid development of ideas and business models centered around a digital virtual universe as well as the increasing availability of affordable immersive technologies for education, communication, and entertainment. However, a clear definition of 'immersion', in terms of established neurocognitive concepts and measurable properties, remains elusive, slowing research on the human side of immersive interfaces. To address this problem, we propose a conceptual, taxonomic model of attention in immersion. We argue (a) modeling immersion theoretically as well as studying immersion experimentally requires a detailed characterization of the role of attention in immersion, even though (b) attention, while necessary, cannot be a sufficient condition for defining immersion. Our broader goal is to characterize immersion in terms that will be compatible with established psychophysiolgical measures that could then in principle be used for the assessment and eventually the optimization of an immersive experience. We start from the perspective that immersion requires the projection of attention to an induced reality, and build on accepted taxonomies of different modes of attention for the development of our two-competitor model. The two-competitor model allows for a quantitative implementation and has an easy graphical interpretation. It helps to highlight the important link between different modes of attention and affect in studying immersion.

Complete Common Bile Duct Injury after Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy in Situs Inversus Totalis: A Case Report, Review of the Literature and Illustrative Case Video.

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE: Situs Inversus Totalis (SIT) is a rare condition characterized by the transposition of internal organs. Given the anatomical variations in SIT, surgeons must exercise extreme caution when performing laparoscopic cholecystectomy to avoid iatrogenic bile duct injury. Despite the high difficulty index associated with laparoscopic cholecystectomy in SIT, there is only one case report of common bile duct (CBD) injury in the English-language literature. CASE PRESENTATION: A 41-year-old female patient, known to have Kartagener syndrome, underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy for acute cholecystitis and was discharged home on post-operative day one. However, on post-operative day five, the patient presented to the emergency room with abdominal pain, fever, and jaundice. Laboratory tests revealed leukocytosis and hyperbilirubinemia. Radiological images revealed complete occlusion of the CBD. A delayed approach was chosen, and six weeks after her initial operation, a hepaticojejunostomy was performed. CLINICAL DISCUSSION: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is the standard operative procedure for gallbladder disease. The unique anatomy of SIT increases the risk of CBD injury during laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Surgeons are required to perform a mirror-image procedure and adhere to the basic principles of safe laparoscopic cholecystectomy in SIT. This is only the second reported case of CBD injury in SIT patients. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy in SIT presents a significant challenge. In patients with SIT, preventing CBD injury is the best approach, and referral to an experienced hepato-pancreato-biliary (HPB) surgeon is recommended. A delayed approach to CBD injuries in SIT allows thorough planning and understanding of the complex anatomical variations in these patients.

Zoonoses research in Somalia: A scoping review using a One Health approach.

Zoonoses are likely to cause a substantial burden on both human and animal health systems in Somalia, given the close proximity between the pastoralist majority and their livestock. However, decades of instability leading to weak disease surveillance have meant that data on the burden of zoonoses is lacking. The aim of this scoping review was to assess and synthesize the available literature on the presence and burden of zoonoses in Somalia. We used keywords to search Web of Science for relevant publications. Studies were included if they contained relevant data on a zoonosis and were undertaken in Somalia or were undertaken in another country where exposure could reasonably be assumed to have occurred in Somalia (e.g., migrants/refugees, returning soldiers, exported animals). Studies were not included if they focused on Somali ethnic communities permanently living elsewhere or if zoonotic aspects were not considered. We extracted data on disease(s) reported, geographic focus, data reported (human, animal, environment), study design and author affiliation. A total of 22 zoonotic infections were documented in 76 publications. The most frequently studied diseases were Rift Valley Fever (n = 15, 17%), brucellosis (n = 13, 14%) and hepatitis E (n = 10, 11%). Around 30% of papers reported data from relevant populations outside Somalia. Only 18 papers undertook laboratory analysis within Somalia. Most papers reported data on humans (45%) and animals (36%) with limited research on the environmental domain. Descriptive studies (47%) dominated and most were led by non-Somali researchers (89% in first authors and 95% of last authors). This study highlights the need for well-designed zoonoses research in Somalia supported by capacity building of local researchers and investments in diagnostic laboratories.

Assessment of Vestigial Auriculomotor Activity to Acoustic Stimuli Using Electrodes In and Around the Ear.

Recently, it has been demonstrated that electromyographic (EMG) activity of auricular muscles in humans, especially the postauricular muscle (PAM), depends on the spatial location of auditory stimuli. This observation has only been shown using wet electrodes placed directly on auricular muscles. To move towards a more applied, out-of-the-laboratory setting, this study aims to investigate if similar results can be obtained using electrodes placed in custom-fitted earpieces. Furthermore, with the exception of the ground electrode, only dry-contact electrodes were used to record EMG signals, which require little to no skin preparation and can therefore be applied extremely fast. In two experiments, auditory stimuli were presented to ten participants from different spatial directions. In experiment 1, stimuli were rapid onset naturalistic stimuli presented in silence, and in experiment 2, the corresponding participant's first name, presented in a "cocktail party" environment. In both experiments, ipsilateral responses were significantly larger than contralateral responses. Furthermore, machine learning models objectively decoded the direction of stimuli significantly above chance level on a single trial basis (PAM: ≈ 80%, in-ear: ≈ 69%). There were no significant differences when participants repeated the experiments after several weeks. This study provides evidence that auricular muscle responses can be recorded reliably using an almost entirely dry-contact in-ear electrode system. The location of the PAM, and the fact that in-ear electrodes can record comparable signals, would make hearing aids interesting devices to record these auricular EMG signals and potentially utilize them as control signals in the future.

Prioritization of zoonoses for multisectoral, One Health collaboration in Somalia, 2023.

Background: The human population of Somalia is vulnerable to zoonoses due to a high reliance on animal husbandry. This disease risk is exacerbated by relatively low income (poverty) and weak state capacity for health service delivery in the country as well as climate extremes and geopolitical instability in the region. To address this threat to public health efficiently and effectively, it is essential that all sectors have a common understanding of the priority zoonotic diseases of greatest concern to the country. Methods: Representatives from human, animal (domestic and wildlife), agriculture, and environmental health sectors undertook a multisectoral prioritization exercise using the One Health Zoonotic Disease Prioritization (OHZDP) tool developed by the United States CDC. The process involved: reviewing available literature and creating a longlist of zoonotic diseases for potential inclusion; developing and weighting criteria for establishing the importance of each zoonoses; formulating categorical questions (indicators) for each criteria; scoring each disease according to the criteria; and finally ranking the diseases based on the final score. Participants then brainstormed and suggested strategic action plans to prevent, and control prioritized zoonotic diseases. Results: Thirty-three zoonoses were initially considered for prioritization. Final criteria for ranking included: 1) socioeconomic impact (including sensitivity) in Somalia; 2) burden of disease in humans in Somalia); 3) availability of intervention in Somalia; 4) environmental factors/determinants; and 5) burden of disease in animals in Somalia. Following scoring of each zoonotic disease against these criteria, and further discussion of the OHZDP tool outputs, seven priority zoonoses were identified for Somalia: Rift Valley fever, Middle East respiratory syndrome, anthrax, trypanosomiasis, brucellosis, zoonotic enteric parasites (including Giardia and Cryptosporidium), and zoonotic influenza viruses. Conclusions: The final list of seven priority zoonotic diseases will serve as a foundation for strengthening One Health approaches for disease prevention and control in Somalia. It will be used to: shape improved multisectoral linkages for integrated surveillance systems and laboratory networks for improved human, animal, and environmental health; establish multisectoral public health emergency preparedness and response plans using One Health approaches; and enhance workforce capacity to prevent, control and respond to priority zoonotic diseases.

Speech Tracking in Complex Auditory Scenes with Differentiated In- and Out-Field-Of-View Processing in Hearing Aids.

In naturalistic auditory scenes, relevant information is rarely concentrated at a single location, but rather unpredictably scattered in- and out-field-of-view (in-/out-FOV). Although the parsing of a complex auditory scene is a fairly simple job for a healthy human auditory system, the uncertainty represents a major issue in the development of effective hearing aid (HA) processing strategies. Whereas traditional omnidirectional microphones (OM) amplify the complete auditory scene without enhancing signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) between in- and out-FOV streams, directional microphones (DM) may greatly increase SNR at the cost of preventing HA users to perceive out-FOV information. The present study compares the conventional OM and DM HA settings to a split processing (SP) scheme differentiating between in- and out-FOV processing. We recorded electroencephalographic data of ten young, normal-hearing listeners who solved a cocktail-party-scenario-paradigm with continuous auditory streams and analyzed neural tracking of speech with a stimulus reconstruction (SR) approach. While results for all settings exhibited significantly higher SR accuracies for attended in-FOV than unattended out-FOV streams, there were distinct differences between settings. In-FOV SR performance was dominated by DM and SP and out-FOV SR accuracies were significantly higher for SP compared to OM and DM. Our results demonstrate the potential of a SP approach to combine the advantages of traditional OM and DM settings without introduction of significant compromises.

Causes and management of red eye in pediatric ophthalmology.

Red eye is the most common ocular sign encountered in emergency and outpatient settings. Recognition of vision-threatening causes and those requiring referral to an ophthalmologist is of utmost importance. This article reviews causes and management of red eye in children with an emphasis on allergic etiology, pathophysiology, and recent advances in therapy.

Clinical Characteristics and Prognosis of Young Middle Eastern Adults with ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction: One-Year Follow-Up.

AIMS: Few studies have investigated premature ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in the Middle East. We aimed to compare the clinical characteristics and one-year prognosis of young (<45 years) and older (≥45 years) Middle Eastern adults with STEMI. METHODS AND MATERIAL: A total of 706 patients with STEMI, who were prospectively enrolled in the First Jordanian Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Registry, were stratified into two groups (<45 or ≥45 years). Baseline clinical variables and one-year major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) were evaluated. RESULTS: Young patients (<45 years) comprised 17.4% of STEMI patients (123 of 706). Compared with older patients (≥45 years), young patients were mostly male (96% vs 82%, P<0.001), smokers (86% vs 49%, P<0.001) and less likely to have multi-vessel disease (26% vs 44%, P=0.001). Anterior STEMI was the most common diagnosis and left anterior descending artery was the most common culprit vessel in both groups. There were no significant differences between the younger and older patients in in-hospital (20% vs 19%, P=0.12) and one-year MACE (24% vs 26%, P=0.68). However, none (0%) of the young died during one-year follow-up while 21 (4%) of the older patients died (P=0.036). CONCLUSIONS: Young adult patients in the Middle East with STEMI are more likely to be smoking men with multiple risk factors and single vessel disease by angiography. Although, younger patients had similar one-year MACE to older patients, their mortality rate appears to be better. A larger study is warranted to investigate this vulnerable group of patients to prevent future events.

A Novel Benzopyrane Derivative Targeting Cancer Cell Metabolic and Survival Pathways.

(1) Background: Today, the discovery of novel anticancer agents with multitarget effects and high safety margins represents a high challenge. Drug discovery efforts indicated that benzopyrane scaffolds possess a wide range of pharmacological activities. This spurs on building a skeletally diverse library of benzopyranes to identify an anticancer lead drug candidate. Here, we aim to characterize the anticancer effect of a novel benzopyrane derivative, aiming to develop a promising clinical anticancer candidate. (2) Methods: The anticancer effect of SIMR1281 against a panel of cancer cell lines was tested. In vitro assays were performed to determine the effect of SIMR1281 on GSHR, TrxR, mitochondrial metabolism, DNA damage, cell cycle progression, and the induction of apoptosis. Additionally, SIMR1281 was evaluated in vivo for its safety and in a xenograft mice model. (3) Results: SIMR1281 strongly inhibits GSHR while it moderately inhibits TrxR and modulates the mitochondrial metabolism. SIMR1281 inhibits the cell proliferation of various cancers. The antiproliferative activity of SIMR1281 was mediated through the induction of DNA damage, perturbations in the cell cycle, and the inactivation of Ras/ERK and PI3K/Akt pathways. Furthermore, SIMR1281 induced apoptosis and attenuated cell survival machinery. In addition, SIMR1281 reduced the tumor volume in a xenograft model while maintaining a high in vivo safety profile at a high dose. (4) Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate the anticancer multitarget effect of SIMR1281, including the dual inhibition of glutathione and thioredoxin reductases. These findings support the development of SIMR1281 in preclinical and clinical settings, as it represents a potential lead compound for the treatment of cancer.

Pediatric Dyspnea Scale for use in hospitalized patients with asthma.

BACKGROUND: Asthma is a leading cause of pediatric hospitalizations across the country, yet no clinical instrument exists that incorporates the child's perception of dyspnea in determining discharge readiness. OBJECTIVE: We sought to develop the Pediatric Dyspnea Scale (PDS) to support discharge decision making in hospitalized asthmatic patients and to compare the performance of the PDS with traditional markers of asthma control in predicting outcomes after discharge. METHODS: Asthmatic children aged 6 to 18 years hospitalized for an exacerbation were included in the study. The PDS score, demographics, asthma severity, spirometric results, peak expiratory flow rate, and fraction of exhaled nitric oxide were assessed at the time of discharge. A telephone call 14 days after discharge determined relapse, activity limitation, asthma control, and asthma-related quality-of-life outcomes. RESULTS: Eighty-nine patients were enrolled, of whom 70 completed the telephone follow-up. Eight patients had a relapse, and 29 complained of limited activity. A PDS score of greater than 2 on the 7-point scale was a significant predictor of these poor outcomes, with each additional point of the PDS doubling the risk. A higher score on the PDS also correlated with worse asthma control and poor asthma-specific quality of life. The PDS performed better than FEV(1), peak expiratory flow rate, or fraction of exhaled nitric oxide in predicting the outcomes of interest. CONCLUSION: The PDS, which is easy to use in children as young as 6 years of age, might be able to predict adverse outcomes after hospitalization for an asthma exacerbation and should be used as a tool to help guide inpatient discharge decisions.

Vestigial auriculomotor activity indicates the direction of auditory attention in humans.

Unlike dogs and cats, people do not point their ears as they focus attention on novel, salient, or task-relevant stimuli. Our species may nevertheless have retained a vestigial pinna-orienting system that has persisted as a 'neural fossil' within in the brain for about 25 million years. Consistent with this hypothesis, we demonstrate that the direction of auditory attention is reflected in sustained electrical activity of muscles within the vestigial auriculomotor system. Surface electromyograms (EMGs) were taken from muscles that either move the pinna or alter its shape. To assess reflexive, stimulus-driven attention we presented novel sounds from speakers at four different lateral locations while the participants silently read a boring text in front of them. To test voluntary, goal-directed attention we instructed participants to listen to a short story coming from one of these speakers, while ignoring a competing story from the corresponding speaker on the opposite side. In both experiments, EMG recordings showed larger activity at the ear on the side of the attended stimulus, but with slightly different patterns. Upward movement (perking) differed according to the lateral focus of attention only during voluntary orienting; rearward folding of the pinna's upper-lateral edge exhibited such differences only during reflexive orienting. The existence of a pinna-orienting system in humans, one that is experimentally accessible, offers opportunities for basic as well as applied science.

Dogs, cats, monkeys and other animals perk their ears in the direction of sounds they are interested in. Humans and their closest ape relatives, however, appear to have lost this ability. Some humans are able to wiggle their ears, suggesting that some of the brain circuits and muscles that allow automatic ear movements towards sounds are still present. This may be a 'vestigial feature', an ability that is maintained even though it no longer serves its original purpose. Now, Strauss et al. show that vestigial movements of muscles around the ear indicate the direction of sounds a person is paying attention to. In the experiments, human volunteers tried to read a boring text while surprising sounds like a traffic jam, a baby crying, or footsteps played. During this exercise, Strauss et al. recorded the electrical activity in the muscles of their ears to see if they moved in response to the direction the sound came from. In a second set of experiments, the same electrical recordings were made as participants listened to a podcast while a second podcast was playing from a different direction. The individuals' ears were also recorded using high resolution video. Both sets of experiments revealed tiny involuntary movements in muscles surrounding the ear closest to the direction of a sound the person is listening to. When the participants tried to listen to one podcast and tune out another, they also made ear 'perking' movements in the direction of their preferred podcast. The results suggest that movements of the vestigial muscles in the human ear indicate the direction of sounds a person is paying attention to. These tiny movements could be used to develop better hearing aids that sense the electrical activity in the ear muscles and amplify sounds the person is trying to focus on, while minimizing other sounds.

Immunospecific immunoglobulins and IL-10 as markers for Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense late stage disease in experimentally infected vervet monkeys.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the usefulness of IL-10 and immunoglobulin M (IgM) as biomarkers for staging HAT in vervet monkeys, a useful pathogenesis model for humans. METHODS: Vervet monkeys were infected with Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense and subsequently given sub-curative and curative treatment 28 and 140 days post-infection (dpi) respectively. Matched serum and CSF samples were obtained at regular intervals and immunospecific IgM, immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IL-10 were quantified by ELISA. RESULTS: There was no detectable immunospecific IgM and IgG in the CSF before 49 dpi. CSF IgM and IgG and serum IgM were significantly elevated with peak levels coinciding with meningoencephalitis 98 dpi. The serum IL-10 was upregulated in both early and late disease stage, coinciding with primary and relapse parasitaemia respectively. CSF white cell counts (CSF WCC) were elevated progressively till curative treatment was given. After curative treatment, there was rapid and significant drop in serum IgM and IL-10 concentration as well as CSF WCC. However, the CSF IgM and IgG remained detectable to the end of the study. CONCLUSIONS: Serum and CSF concentrations of immunospecific IgM and CSF IgG changes followed a pattern that mimics the progression of the disease and may present reliable and useful biomarkers of the disease stage. Due to rapid decline, serum IgM and IL-10 are, additionally, potential biomarkers of the success of chemotherapy.

Reversal of ketamine/xylazine combination anesthesia by atipamezole in olive baboons (Papio anubis).

BACKGROUND: The potential of Atipamezole (ATI) to reverse Ketamine/Xylazine (KET/XYL) anesthesia in the Olive baboon (Papio anubis) was studied. METHODS: Anesthesia was induced with 10 mg/kg KET and 0.5 mg/kg XYL intramuscularly. Mean arousal time (MAT), heart rate (HR), systolic arterial blood pressure (SAP), rectal temperature, respiratory rate (RR), and hemoglobin oxygen saturation (SpO(2)) were monitored. Baboons were treated with: KET/XYL only, KET/XYL followed by 100 microg/kg ATI or by 200 microg/kg ATI administered 25 minutes after KET/XYL. RESULTS: Atipamezole rapidly reversed depressed HR and SAP (10 +/- 5.2 minutes), RR (5 +/- 2 minutes) and SpO(2) (3 +/- 6 minutes) and significantly decreased MAT (13 +/- 2.2 minutes) vs. KET/XYL alone (35 +/- 5 minutes). Emesis was absent and salivation was observed after administration of 200 microg/kg ATI only. CONCLUSIONS: Atipamezole at 100 microg/kg is sufficient for rapid and smooth reversal of KET/XYL anesthesia in the Olive baboon with minimal side effects.

Comparing the habituation of late auditory evoked potentials to loud and soft sound.

The objective fitting of hearing aids and cochlear implants remains a challenge. In particular, the determination of whether sound is perceived as too loud or comfortable represents an unsolved problem in noncooperative patients. In a first step of an ongoing study, we assess the feasibility of habituation correlates in late auditory evoked potentials (LAEPs) to discriminate between a soft sound (SS) of 50 dB SPL and a loud sound (LS) of 100 dB SPL. We applied a new sweep-to-sweep time-scale coherence measure to analyse the habituation in LAEPs, i.e., relative changes within sweep sequences. From the comparison between both stimulation levels, a total discrimination of responses to SS and LS in the individual normal hearing subject was possible. As just relative changes in SS and LS sweep sequences were considered, purely exogenously driven morphological alternations in the responses such as intensity related amplitude and latency changes were excluded from the analysis. It is concluded that the proposed method allows for the reliable detection of auditory habituation and differentiation of SS from LS. The proposed scheme might provide an electrophysiological measurement and signal processing framework for the objective detection of the most comfortable loudness level and can be used in further, more clinically oriented studies.

Safety studies of a recently developed microbicidal contraceptive gel (UniPron) in female baboons (Papio anubis).

To identify any toxicity on the vaginal epithelium, liver and kidney following UIniPron administration, ten healthy female olive baboons (Papio anubis) of reproductive age and of proven fertility were used. Five baboons were each treated with 15 g of UniPron intravaginally twice a week for 20-weeks and venous blood collected before and after each treatment. Venous blood was collected from five control animals as in the experimental females, but these control animals were not given any treatment. The endpoints that were evaluated included clinical chemistry profiles on kidney and liver functions and vaginal histopathology. Female baboons treated with 15 g of UniPron intravaginally showed no detectable adverse effects on clinical chemistry profiles investigated and vaginal histopathology. Repeated intravaginal exposure of female baboons to UniPron did not induce detectable vaginal irritation and there were no detectable histological changes. We conclude that administration of UniPron into baboon vagina did not cause any detectable toxicity.