Granulocytic anaplasmosis in captive ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) in Poland.

BACKGROUND: Anaplasma are obligate intracellular bacteria and aetiological agents of tick-borne diseases of both veterinary and medical interest. The genus Anaplasma comprises six species: Anaplasma marginale, Anaplasma centrale, Anaplasma ovis, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Anaplasma bovis and Anaplasma platys. They can infect humans, carnivores, ruminants, rodents, insectivores, birds and reptiles. The aim of this study was to present the first clinical case of granulocytic anaplasmosis in a captive ring-tailed lemur in Poland. CASE PRESENTATION: A 4-year-old female lemur presented anorexia, epistaxis and tick infestation. The microscopic examination of a blood smear revealed morulae in neutrophils. Polymerase chain reaction test and sequencing of obtained PCR product confirmed infection by the GU183908 Anaplasma phagocytophilum strain. Therapeutic protocol included doxycycline (2.5 mg/kg p.o., b.i.d.) for 3 weeks and the lemur recovered within 24 h. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report on granulocytic anaplasmosis in a ring-tailed lemur in Europe, indicating that A. phagocytophilum infection must also be considered in differential diagnosis in this animal species, especially in individuals with thrombocytopenia associated with Ixodes ricinus parasitism.

3D Chitin Scaffolds of Marine Demosponge Origin for Biomimetic Mollusk Hemolymph-Associated Biomineralization Ex-Vivo.

Structure-based tissue engineering requires large-scale 3D cell/tissue manufacture technologies, to produce biologically active scaffolds. Special attention is currently paid to naturally pre-designed scaffolds found in skeletons of marine sponges, which represent a renewable resource of biomaterials. Here, an innovative approach to the production of mineralized scaffolds of natural origin is proposed. For the first time, a method to obtain calcium carbonate deposition ex vivo, using living mollusks hemolymph and a marine-sponge-derived template, is specifically described. For this purpose, the marine sponge Aplysin aarcheri and the terrestrial snail Cornu aspersum were selected as appropriate 3D chitinous scaffold and as hemolymph donor, respectively. The formation of calcium-based phase on the surface of chitinous matrix after its immersion into hemolymph was confirmed by Alizarin Red staining. A direct role of mollusks hemocytes is proposed in the creation of fine-tuned microenvironment necessary for calcification ex vivo. The X-ray diffraction pattern of the sample showed a high CaCO3 amorphous content. Raman spectroscopy evidenced also a crystalline component, with spectra corresponding to biogenic calcite. This study resulted in the development of a new biomimetic product based on ex vivo synthetized ACC and calcite tightly bound to the surface of 3D sponge chitin structure.

Functionalization of 3D Chitinous Skeletal Scaffolds of Sponge Origin Using Silver Nanoparticles and Their Antibacterial Properties.

Chitin, as one of nature's most abundant structural polysaccharides, possesses worldwide, high industrial potential and a functionality that is topically pertinent. Nowadays, the metallization of naturally predesigned, 3D chitinous scaffolds originating from marine sponges is drawing focused attention. These invertebrates represent a unique, renewable source of specialized chitin due to their ability to grow under marine farming conditions. In this study, the development of composite material in the form of 3D chitin-based skeletal scaffolds covered with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and Ag-bromide is described for the first time. Additionally, the antibacterial properties of the obtained materials and their possible applications as a water filtration system are also investigated.

Prevalence of Encephalitozoon cuniculi Infection in Guinea Pigs (Cavia porcellus) in Poland with Different Clinical Disorders-A Pilot Study.

Encephalitozoonosis is a disease caused by E. cuniculi. It is diagnosed primarily in rabbits but is less frequently so in other animal species. E. cuniculi is classified among Microsporidia-fungi frequently found in the environment, that are resistant to numerous external factors. Apart from rabbits, rodents form the next group of animals most exposed to infection with these pathogens. The objective of the study was to analyze the prevalence of E. cuniculi infection in guinea pigs with different clinical disorders. The study included 67 animals with E. cuniculi infection confirmed via real-time PCR. The infected animals most frequently exhibited nervous and urinary system symptoms, as well as issues with vision organs, while several animals were also recorded as having problems with the respiratory system and thyroid gland dysfunction. The study shows that encephalitozoonosis constitutes a significant problem in rodents kept as domestic animals, which in turn may be a source of infection for humans.

Effect of Bathing in a 0.1% Aqueous Solution of Ethacridine Lactate on Selected Physiological Parameters of Cornu Aspersum Müller Edible Snails.

INTRODUCTION: The prohibition of antibiotic use in edible snails obligates breeders to treat bacterial infections by different means, of which a common one is a bath in Gram-positive- and partially Gram-negative-bactericidal ethacridine lactate solution. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of bathing Cornu aspersum Müller snails in a 0.1% aqueous solution of ethacridine lactate on selected physiological parameters of haemolymph. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 80 snails, divided into two equal groups (study and control). The study group was subjected to bathing in ethacridine lactate and the control group to bathing in tap water. Both groups were treated daily for seven days. The number of haemocytes in the haemolymph, the activity of alanine (ALT) and aspartate (AST) aminotransferases, and the concentration of urea were determined. RESULTS: In the study group, after exposure to ethacridine lactate solution an increase in ALT activity, changes in the De Ritis ratio, an increase in the amount of haemocytes, and a decrease in body weight were found. No such changes were detected in the control group snails or in animals after the first bath. CONCLUSION: Multiple applications of a 0.1% ethacridine lactate bath may adversely affect Cornu aspersum Müller snails.

Differences in the blood serum levels of soluble HLA-G concentrations between the menstrual cycle phases and menopause in patients with ovarian endometriosis and uterine leiomyoma.

BACKGROUND: HLA-G is an antigen whose participation in the regulation of the immune system is well documented. The aim of the present study has therefore been to evaluate the sHLA-G blood serum concentrations levels in both women with ovarian endometriosis and women with uterine leiomyomas. METHODS: In our study, the soluble HLA-G concentration level was evaluated in the blood serum samples obtained from 98 women who underwent laparotomies or laparoscopies due to either ovarian endometriosis or leiomyomatous uterus. The control group consisted of 42 women, including women on whom a diagnostic laparoscopy identified no lesions, and volunteers-healthy women who returned their blood serum samples during menstrual bleeding. RESULTS: Patients who underwent surgical treatment because of ovarian endometriosis or uterine leiomyoma, as well as patients from the control group, exhibited no sHLA-G blood serum concentration level fluctuations between the proliferative and secretory menstrual cycle phases. The sHLA-G levels were significantly lower in the patients with ovarian endometriosis and in the patients from the control group during the menstrual cycle phase than in those patients with leiomyoma. A similar relation between the sHLA-G levels of the postmenopausal patients suffering from leiomyoma and the control patients was found. In contrast, the postmenopausal women suffering from endometriosis were typified by levels of sHLA-G blood serum concentration comparable to those of the patients with leiomyoma, and the levels were significantly higher than those observed in the blood sera of the postmenopausal patients from the control group. CONCLUSION: The soluble HLA-G blood serum level would seem to be a useful marker for evaluating the status of the microenvironment, where the tumor-immune cell and ectopic and eutopic endometrial interactions take place.

Soluble HLA-G changes in maternal blood serum during the progression of labor.

BACKGROUND: The expression of the HLA-G antigen from implantation toward term is crucial for the growth of a semiallogenic fetus as it shields this fetus from the maternal cytotoxic response. Little is known, however, about the potential role of soluble HLA-G isoforms during delivery. The initiation of labor is associated with a complex molecular response leading to a brief activation of the maternal immune system with an accompanying capacity to restrict this activation, and HLA-G seems to be an important factor in enabling the proper immune response at the maternal fetal interface. METHODS: In our study the levels of soluble HLA-G concentration were evaluated in the blood serum samples obtained from 47 pregnant women who either underwent cesarean sections or delivered vaginally. The patients were divided into three subgroups according to the progression of labor at the time of the cesarean or, in cases of vaginal delivery, according to the duration of the pregnancy. RESULTS: We have observed that the progression of labor is associated with a continuous increase in the sHLA-G plasma level. The sHLA-G levels were statistically significantly higher in the blood sera obtained from the women in advanced labor than from the women who were at the beginning of labor. CONCLUSION: The changes in sHLA-G concentration levels observed during the stages of labor may indicate that this isoform participates in maintaining reproductive tract homeostasis.

[Prognostic value of chosen parameters of mechanical and bioelectrical uterine activity in prediction of threatening preterm labour]. / Wartosc wybranych parametrów mechanicznej i bioelektrycznej aktywnosci miesnia macicy w przewidywaniu zagrozenia porodem przedwczesnym.

OBJECTIVES: To record and analyse bioelectrical activity of the uterine muscle in the course of physiological pregnancy, labour and threatening premature labour; to define which parameters from the analysis of both electrohysterogram and mechanical activity signal allow us to predict threatening premature labour. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Material comprised 62 pregnant women: Group I--27 patients in their first physiological pregnancy, Group II--21 patients in their first pregnancy with symptoms of threatening premature labour, and Group III--14 patients in the first labour period. The on-line analysis of the mechanical (TOCO) and electrical (EHG) contraction activity relied on determination of quantitative parameters of detected uterine contractions. RESULTS: The obtained statistical results demonstrated a possibility to differentiate between Group I and II through the amplitude and contraction area for EHG signal, and only the contraction amplitude for TOCO signal. Additionally, significant differentiating parameters for electrohysterogram are: contraction power and its median frequency. Analyzing Group I and III, significant differences were noted for contraction amplitude and area obtained both from EHG and TOCO signals. Similarly, the contraction power (from EHG) enables us to assign the contractions either to records from Group I or to labour type. There was no significant difference noted between Group II and III. CONCLUSIONS: Identification of pregnant women at risk of premature labour should lead to their inclusion in rigorous perinatal surveillance. This requires novel, more sensitive methods that are able to detect early symptoms of the uterine contraction activity increase. Electrohysterography provides complete information on principles of bioelectrical uterine activity. Quantitative parameters of EHG analysis enable the detection of records (contractions) with the symptoms of premature uterine contraction activity.

[Mechanical and electrical uterine activity. Part I. Contractions monitoring]. / Aktywnosc mechaniczna i elektryczna macicy. Czesc I. Monitorowanie skurczów.

Correct uterine contraction activity during labour determines physiological fetal delivery and ensures its satisfactory outcome. Contraction activity monitoring may be accomplished by either recording of the mechanical properties of the uterine muscle and/or by measurement of the action potentials produced by the uterus during contraction. In the following paper, the current state of knowledge concerning the methods for assessment and monitoring of the uterine contraction activity was evaluated. The electrophysiological properties of the uterus were given. The mechanical methods of uterine activity monitoring: internal and external tocography were described. The development of the electrohysterography as the method providing the signal comprising complete information on bioelectrical properties of the uterine muscle was presented. The conclusion was that the analysis of the electrohysterogram enables a description of the source of the uterine contraction activity, whereas currently applied mechanical methods merely record the results of this activity.

[Mechanical and electrical uterine activity. Part II. Contractions parameters]. / Aktywnosc mechaniczna i elektryczna macicy. Czesc II. Parametry skurczów.

Frequency and strength of the uterine contractions monitoring enables to control the labour progress and also, although in a restricted way, to determine the beginning of labour, as long as it is not preterm. Mechanical approach provides only the low frequency signal, which describes the contractions more or less accurately, depending on whether an intrauterine pressure measurement is used in the former case or whether an external stress measurement is applied in the latter case. This signal does not comprise information on contractions characteristics and enables only to estimate their basic timing parameters. Description of the electrophysiological properties may be obtained only by means of the uterine electrical signals measurement. In the following paper, the classical interpretation of the uterine contraction activity which relies upon its mechanical and electrical activity was presented. Additionally, the frequency parameters provided exclusively by the electrical signal were proposed. The possibility of the electrohysterogram analysis may provide more complete information on uterine muscle functioning. Results of the research studies show that further development of electrohysterography will enable its wider application in pregnancy and labour diagnostics.

Homocysteine, folic acid and vitamin B12 concentration in patients with recurrent miscarriages.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the project was the assessment of clinical usefulness of the determination of blood serum homocysteine concentration, folic acid and vitamin B12 in recurrent miscarriages. METHODS: 30 non-pregnant women with recurrent miscarriages (examined group-I) and for 20 non-pregnant women without obstetric failures in medical history (control group-II) were examined. RESULTS: In the examined group (group I), the average concentration of homocysteine (9,45 micromol/l) was not statistically higher in comparison to the control group (group II) (8,47 micromol/l) (p>0,05). In group I the average vitamin B12 concentration in blood serum was 178,3 pg/ml and it was statistically lower (p<0,001) in comparison with the control group (II) (268,6 pg/ml). Such a relation was not observed for the vitamin B12, where the average concentration of this parameter was not dependent on the miscarriage number. A high negative correlation (R= -0,5397, p<0,01) was observed between the level of folic acid and homocysteine concentration in the group of women with recurrent miscarriages and a very high negative correlation (r = -0,9586 p<0,001) in the control group. No relation (R=0,0992 p>0,05) between the average concentration of vitamin B12 in blood serum and the average homocysteine in the nullipara group with recurrent miscarriages CONCLUSIONS: Together with the increasing number of abortions, the average homocysteine concentrations grew and the average folic acid concentrations lowered.

Homocysteine serum concentration and uterine artery color Doppler examination in cases of recurrent miscarriages with unexplained etiology.

OBJECTIVES: To study the assessment of diagnostic value and clinical usefulness of the determination of homocysteine concentration in blood serum in cases of recurrent miscarriages and the relation between the concentration of homocysteine in blood serum and parameter values determining the Doppler blood flow in the uterine arteries. METHODS: Homocysteine concentration in blood serum was determined in a group of 30 women with at least two subsequent miscarriages with no clear reason and in the control group consisted of 20 non-pregnant women without a medical history of obstetric failures, having at least one healthy child. In all cases Color Doppler sonography was performed to determine flow velocity waveforms of the uterine arteries in luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. RESULTS: Both pulsatility (PI) and resistance indices (RI) were considerably higher (p<0.01, p<0.05) for the group of women with recurrent abortions. In the group of women with obstetrical failures high positive correlation (R=0.6903, p<0.001) and in the control group very high positive correlation (r=0.8163, p<0.001) was found, between average values of PI and average HC concentration. High positive correlation (R=0.6260, p<0.001) in the examined group and very high positive correlation (r=0.9201, p<0.001) in the control group was obtained between average values of RI, and average HC concentrations in blood serum . CONCLUSIONS: The recurring miscarriages occur in connection with the elevated homocysteine concentration, in consequence they can point out the pathology within the uterine-fetal blood vessels.