First report of Paracapillaria philippinensis infection in flowerhorn cichlid in India.

The flowerhorn cichlid is a popular ornamental fish in many Asian countries. The present study reports the occurrence of Paracapillaria philippinensis (Chitwood et al., 1968), a parasitic nematode in flowerhorn cichlid (Cichlasoma sp.) from south India. The infected fish demonstrated clinical symptoms viz. dark coloration, poor appetite, lethargy, erratic swimming, and white stringy faeces. Microscopic observation of the intestinal content and faeces revealed the presence of adult worms, larvae, and unembryonated eggs. PCR amplification of eukaryotic 18S rRNA, P. philippinensis-specific SSU rRNA gene, and the subsequent sequence analysis confirmed the species identity as P. philippinensis. The generated sequences were submitted in the GenBank, NCBI, under the accession numbers, MK895507.1, MK895446.1, MW144993.1, and OR685675.1. This is the first scientific report of P. philippinensis in fish from India, and it confirms that the flowerhorn cichlid can act as a definitive host for P. philippinensis. This report alerts fish handlers and enthusiasts to undertake suitable precautionary measures while handling live flowerhorn cichlids to prevent possible transmission of P. Philippinensis, which has the potential to infect humans causing intestinal capillariasis.

Metagenomic Studies Reveal the Evidence of Akkermansia muciniphila and Other Probiotic Bacteria in the Gut of Healthy and Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei (EHP)-Infected Farmed Penaeus vannamei.

Penaeus vannamei (whiteleg shrimp) is the most widely cultured shrimp globally. Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei (EHP), a microsporidian parasite, infects P. vannamei and causes severe growth retardation, subsequent production, and economic losses in the shrimp culture. The influence of EHP infection in the shrimp gut microbiota is poorly studied, and this would be an interesting area to investigate since the gut microbiome of shrimp influences a number of key host processes such as digestion and immunity. In this study, a metagenomic approach was followed to compare the overall species richness of the gut microbiota of EHP-infected and healthy P. vannamei. Bacterial genomic DNA from the healthy and EHP-infected gut sample were profiled for the bacterial 16S rRNA gene, targeting the V3-V4 conserved region. Operational taxonomic units (OTUs), an approximation of definitive taxonomic identity, were identified based on the sequence similarity within the sample reads and clustered together using a cut-off of 97% identity using UCLUST. The OTUs were then used for the computation of alpha diversity and beta diversity for each sample. EHP-infected gut sample showed lower bacterial abundance throughout the family, class, order, genus, and species levels when compared to healthy gut sample. This study shows that the shrimp gut microbiota is sensitive and exhibits a high level of plasticity during a microsporidian infection like EHP. Furthermore, Akkermansia muciniphila, a novel probiotic bacterium, has been reported in the shrimp gut for the first time.

Coconut fragrance and cardiovascular response to laboratory stress: results of pilot testing.

There is preliminary evidence that pleasant fragrances may alter response to stressors in different settings. This pilot study examined the effect of coconut fragrance on cardiovascular response to standard laboratory stressors. While inhaling coconut fragrance (n = 17) or air (n = 15), subjects performed a Stroop color-word task and a mental arithmetic task. Heart rate (HR), heart period variability (HPV) and blood pressure were measured during the 5-minute baseline, the task, and the recovery periods. The results indicated that subjects breathing coconut fragrance had higher HR and lower HPV than those who performed tasks while breathing air. HR response to mental arithmetic seemed to be blunted in the subjects breathing coconut; however, the lack of a difference in HPV seems to indicate that the blunting may be due to decreased sympathetic response, not decreased parasympathetic withdrawal under stress. Blood pressure recovery was slightly enhanced in subjects under coconut fragrance. Thus, the results of this pilot test suggest that coconut fragrance may alter cardiovascular activity both at rest and in response to stressors. Future experimentation should attempt to replicate and extend these findings in larger samples in clinical settings.

Pharmacologic effects of grain weevil extract on isolated guinea pig tracheal smooth muscle.

The grain weevil, an insect (pest) that infects grain, is a frequent contaminant of processed wheat, and its presence may contribute to respiratory abnormalities in grain workers. We studied the in vitro effects of an extract of grain weevil (GWE) on airway smooth muscle. Pharmacologic studies included in vitro challenge of guinea pig trachea with GWE, in parallel organ baths, pretreated with mediator-modifying agents or a control solution. Dose-related contractions of nonsensitized guinea pig trachea (GPT) were demonstrated using this extract. Pharmacologic studies were performed by pretreating guinea pig tracheal tissue with drugs known to modulate smooth muscle contraction: atropine, indomethacin, pyrilamine, acivicin, NDGA, BPB, TMB8, captopril, and capsaicin. Atropine, pyrilamine, BPB, and capsaicin significantly reduced the contractile effects of the extract at most of the challenge doses (p < 0.01 or p < 0.05). Inhibition of GWE-induced contraction by blocking of other mediators was less complete. We suggest that GWE causes dose-related airway smooth muscle constriction of the GPT by nonimmunologic mechanisms involving a variety of airway mediators and possibly cholinergic receptors.

Respiratory findings in art and medical students. Effects of the art environment.

BACKGROUND: Art students are exposed to many noxious agents during their training, in contrast to medical students, who are not exposed to known environmental pollutants. OBJECTIVES: In order to investigate the potential effects of toxic agents in the art students' environment, we studied respiratory findings in a cohort of 117 art students and 128 medical students, matched for age, sex and smoking. METHODS: Acute and chronic respiratory symptoms were evaluated by modifying the British Medical Research Council questionnaire. Lung function studies were performed with a spirometer (Jaeger, Germany) measuring maximum expiratory flow-volume (MEFV) curves. On these curves we calculated the forced vital capacity (FVC), one second forced expiratory volume (FEV1) and the maximal expiratory flow at 50% and the last 25% of the FVC (FEF50, FEF25). RESULTS: Significantly higher prevalences of most of the chronic respiratory symptoms were recorded in art students compared to medical students (p < 0.05). Art students who were smokers had significantly higher prevalences of many of the chronic respiratory symptoms than nonsmoking art students. Among medical students these differences were not statistically significant (NS). High prevalences of acute symptoms related to the study environment were recorded for art students. Odds ratios in male and female art students were significant for chronic cough, chronic phlegm and chronic bronchitis for the risk factor of smoking. Significantly decreased lung function values compared to predicted values were recorded mostly for FEF50 and FEF25 in male and female art students. Smoking and non-smoking art students had similar reductions of lung function. Lung function data in medical students were within predicted values. CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicate that art students may be at risk of developing chronic respiratory symptoms and lung function changes as a result of their environmental exposure and their smoking habits.

Health problems in musicians--a review.

Among artists, musicians suffer from special health problems related to their occupation and lifestyle. These mainly include musculoskeletal disorders, skin disorders, respiratory disorders, and noise induced hearing impairment. In this review we point out the most prevalent health problems that musicians face in their professional lives as well as the means to prevent them. The characteristics of individual performer and the type of instrument that he/she plays will determine the occupational disorder or disease that a musician may suffer from. The main worry about health problems in musicians is that they can become potentially career-ending disabilities. Therefore well-planned preventive strategies should be employed to help musicians in obtaining long and healthy career.