Kambo: Natural drug or potential toxic agent? A literature review of acute poisoning cases.

Kambo is the name of a natural substance derived from the glandular secretions of the amphibian Phyllomedusa bicolor, a species native to regions in South America. The communities living in these areas administer the substance generally transdermally during rituals for religious-purifying purposes, producing small skin burns. The scientific literature has reported some cases of intoxication following the use of Kambo but this aspect is still poorly understood. In fact, no shared therapy protocols exist for these events nor any real legislation on Kambo. The purpose of this work was to examine all cases of acute intoxication resulting from the administration of Kambo and published over the last 10 years, illustrating clinical signs, laboratory findings, instrumental tests, and therapy. The several cases identified in our review confirm that acute Kambo intoxication can occur, with serious and life-threatening effects. We developed a protocol aimed at the early diagnosis of cases of suspected acute intoxication by creating a treatment algorithm. The study aims to investigate the pathophysiology of these events in humans, proposing a protocol for the diagnosis and treatment of these cases that can be used by healthcare professionals.

A forensic case of erosive cystitis and septic pulmonary embolism: is there a correlation?

Septic pulmonary embolism (SPE) is an uncommon disease in which a microorganism- containing thrombus causes an inflammatory reaction and a mechanical obstruction in the vascular system of the lungs. Usually it is associated with tricuspid valve vegetation, septic thrombophlebitis or infected venous catheters. We present a rare and fatal case of massive septic pulmonary thromboembolism occurred in a diabetic woman, who complained in previous days dyspnoea, abdominal pain and nausea. Autopsy findings showed evidence of an erosive cystitis, while lungs examination showed total occlusion of pulmonary circulation system due to thrombo-embolic clots. In literature cases report about an association between septic pulmonary thromboembolism and erosive cystitis haven't been reported. So, we here show the first reported fatal case of a septic pulmonary thromboembolism as a lethal evolution of an erosive cystitis.

The use of scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy in a case of occupational death.

Scanning electron microscopy is a technique that provides high-resolution images at the micro- and nano-scale. The combination of scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis is developing fast for application in forensic science. In this work, we report a case of work-related traumatic death of a 50-year-old man. The autopsy showed cranial fractures with cerebral haemorrhage. It was more difficult to understand the accident dynamics because the body had been shifted from the accident site to mask what had really taken place. Scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy was used to identify the material of the impacting tool and to establish the possible legal responsibility of the employer. In this study, we demonstrate that scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy is a useful forensic tool for the analysis of biological samples. Further, for studying the lacerations on the corpse from doubtful blunt tools, scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy can assist in demonstrating that the scene has been falsified, as it was in this case.

The "Social-mobile autopsy": The evolution of psychological autopsy with new technologies in forensic investigations on suicide.

Suicide is a huge deal in general public health, representing the second cause of mortality in young people worldwide. The suicidal setting analysis is usually performed through psychological autopsy, a method of investigation commonly used to study what leads to suicide. Psychological autopsy, though, requires the involvement of family and friends, or the finding of a diary or a suicide note. Nowadays, this is not always possible, especially during adolescence, the more if we consider new categories of people that are more used to live in a web dimension, than in a real one. So, with the advent of a new kind of social system including the web, psychological autopsy, as we know it, is not enough to determine the setting of an event. We here report the case of a 17-year old girl who committed suicide by hanging down from her house, leaving no suicide note. We propose a new investigation method developed through the analysis of phone messages and Facebook profile in order to better reconstruct the event. Although the standing difficulties in reconsidering the intimate motivations leading to such a decision, psychological autopsy nowadays needs to consider also social networks in order to prevent similar situations and even reconstruct the psychological dimension of the fact. We propose a model of Social-mobile autopsy.

Segregation of EAV-HP ancient endogenous retroviruses within the chicken population.

Avian leukosis virus subgroup J (ALV-J), an exogenous avian retrovirus, is thought to have evolved by recombination with the highly identical env gene of the endogenous avian retrovirus EAV-HP. Embryonic expression of EAV-HP env has been suggested to be associated with the induction of immunological tolerance, a feature observed in a significant proportion of meat-type chickens infected with ALV-J. In support of this hypothesis, we demonstrate that EAV-HP loci, some of which could be associated with tolerance, are still segregating within the chicken population.

Intact EAV-HP endogenous retrovirus in Sonnerat's jungle fowl.

The EAV-HP group of chicken endogenous retrovirus elements was previously shown to be defective, with large deletions of the pol gene. In this report, we demonstrate that genomes of other Gallus species also maintain EAV-HP elements with similar deletions. The chicken EAV-HP1 locus was detected in both red (Gallus gallus gallus) and Sonnerat's (Gallus sonneratii) jungle fowl with identical integration sites, indicating that these elements had integrated before separation of the Gallus species. Furthermore, we demonstrate for the first time that the G. sonneratii genome carries EAV-HP elements with intact pol regions.

Avian endogenous retrovirus EAV-HP shares regions of identity with avian leukosis virus subgroup J and the avian retrotransposon ART-CH.

The existence of novel endogenous retrovirus elements in the chicken genome, designated EAV-HP, with close sequence identity to the env gene of avian leukosis virus (ALV) subgroup J has been reported (L. M. Smith, A. A. Toye, K. Howes, N. Bumstead, L. N. Payne, and K. Venugopal, J. Gen. Virol. 80:261-268, 1999). To resolve the genome structure of these retroviral elements, we have determined the complete sequence of two proviral clones of EAV-HP from a line N chicken genomic DNA yeast artificial chromosome library and from a meat-type chicken line 21 lambda library. The EAV-HP sequences from the two lines were 98% identical and had a typical provirus structure. The two EAV-HP clones showed identical large deletions spanning part of the gag, the entire pol, and part of the env genes. The env region of the EAV-HP clones was 97% identical to the env sequence of HPRS-103, the prototype subgroup J ALV. The 5' region of EAV-HP comprising the R and U5 regions of the long terminal repeat (LTR), the untranslated leader, and the 5' end of the putative gag region were 97% identical to the avian retrotransposon sequence, ART-CH. The remaining gag sequence shared less than 60% identity with other ALV sequences. The U3 region of the LTR was distinct from those of other retroviruses but contained some of the conserved motifs required for functioning as a promoter. To examine the ability of this endogenous retroviral LTR to function as a transcriptional promoter, the EAV-HP and HPRS-103 LTR U3 regions were compared in a luciferase reporter gene assay. The low luciferase activity detected with the EAV-HP LTR U3 constructs, at levels close to those observed for a control vector lacking the promoter or enhancer elements, suggested that these elements function as a weak promoter, possibly accounting for their low expression levels in chicken embryos.