Genomes of cressdnaviruses, microviruses, a gyrovirus, and a caudovirus identified in the fecal samples of a mallard and double-crested cormorant.

Mallards and double-crested cormorants have a broad distribution across North America. In the fecal sample from two individual mallard and double-crested cormorant, we determined the genomes of a caudovirus, microviruses (n = 6), cressdnaviruses (n = 35), and a gyrovirus (chicken anemia virus, CAV). Here, we report double-crested cormorant as a CAV host.

Comparative assessment of solubility enhancement of itroconazole by solid dispersion and co-crystallization technique: Investigation of simultaneous effect of media composition on drug dissolution.

Solubility of the drug is an important property of the drug as it affects the release, absorption, dissolution rate and ultimately bioavailability of the drug. Hence, the poorly aqueous soluble drug, need to be processed, to enhance its solubility and dissolution. The Biopharmaceutical System of Classification (BCS) II drugs are poorly soluble and have high permeability. Though their good ability to permeate through the membrane make them clinically useful but the problem associated with the solubility restrict their clinical use. Therefore, there is need to improve the solubility of such drug molecules to get effective pharmacological action. Itraconazole (ITZ) is an antifungal agent used in the treatment of fungal infections having poor aqueous solubility as belonging to BCS class II. The present study was aim to enhance the solubility of ITZ by solid dispersion and co-crystallization techniques. Investigation of simultaneous effect of media composition on drug dissolution was also the objective of this work. The ITZ-SD and ITZ-CCs were prepared from ITZ and other excipients like PEG 4000, oxalic acid, fumaric and malic acid by solvent evaporation, kneading technique, slurry conversion and solvent drop grinding methods. The prepared ITZ-SD, ITZ-OA-CCs, ITZ-FA-CCs and ITZ-MA-CCs were evaluated for FTIR, DSC, PXRD, % yield, micromeritic properties. The optimized ITZ-SD and ITZ-CCs were used to compress a tablet and subject to post-compression parameters. The results of FTIR and DSC showed the absence of interaction between the drug and excipients. The PXRD pattern demonstrated the formation of crystalline structures with 6 folds increased in solubility during saturation solubility analysis. In vitro dissolution was carried out in dissolution media with different pH which shows the maximum release from ITZ-SD and ITZ-CCs in pH 6.8. This also revealed the highly pH dependent solubility and dissolution behavior of the weakly basic BCS class II drug (ITZ) with pKa value of 3.7. The overall results in this study indicated the potential of solid dispersion and co-crystals for enhancement of solubility of the poorly water-soluble drugs.

A Rare Case of Plasmablastic Lymphoma of the Ovary with Synchronous Lung Malignancy.

Primary ovarian lymphoma is a rare malignancy with <1% incidence. Plasmablastic lymphoma usually associated with immunocompromised diseases such as HIV rarely involves the ovary; only two case studies are reported in the literature - plasmablastic lymphomatous involvement of an ovarian teratoma and another of plasmablastic variant of B-cell lymphoma involving bilateral ovaries. There are reported case series of synchronous presentation of carcinomas usually including lung, stomach, and colon and nonaggressive lymphomas. Here, we report a rare case of synchronous aggressive primary plasmablastic ovarian lymphoma with adenocarcinoma of the lung, both of which are associated with immune-compromised conditions.

Demonstration of Multiple Metastatic Sites by Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography in a Rare Case of Epithelioid Angiosarcoma of the Scalp.

Epithelioid angiosarcoma is a rare subtype of angiosarcoma, with metastases occurring in more than 50% of cases and the lung is the most organ which is involved. Whole-body fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) has demonstrated its clinical utility in the early detection of metastases in angiosarcoma. It is helpful to differentiate between benign lesions with low FDG uptake as compared to malignancies with high FDG avidity. Here, we present a rare case of a young man with epithelioid angiosarcoma, in which FDG PET/CT has demonstrated metastatic sites (especially lung metastases).

FDG PET/CT in Metastatic Spindle Cell Sarcoma of Penile Origin: A Rare Malignancy.

ABSTRACT: Spindle cell sarcoma is a connective tissue tumor usually involving bone or muscle. Penis is an unusual and very rare site for the primary involvement of the tumor, especially mesenchymal tumor. We here present a case of a 27-year-old man diagnosed with spindle cell sarcoma of penile origin in which FDG PET/CT was done as part of workup.

Co-cultures of Glioma Stem Cells and Primary Neurons, Astrocytes, Microglia, and Endothelial Cells for Investigation of Intercellular Communication in the Brain.

Intercellular communication within complex biological and pathological systems via extracellular vesicles (EVs) and secreted factors is a highly attractive area of research. However, cell models enabling investigation of such communication in vitro are limited. Commonly utilized is the supplementation of hyper-concentrated EVs or other extracellular factors to the recipient cell cultures. This approach requires purification of the secreted complexes and is confounded by the contamination of media components. Two-chamber co-cultures of donor and recipient cells separated by a pore membrane may represent a more physiological and better-controlled system for the investigation of intercellular communication. Yet, distinct culture conditions for different neural cell types often make them incompatible for co-culturing. Here we optimized short-term co-cultures of patient-derived low-passage glioma-initiating stem cells with normal cells of the brain microenvironment, such as primary neurons, astrocytes, microglia, and brain endothelial cells. We demonstrate the culture compatibility of these cell types and internalization of glioma-derived extracellular RNA by the normal recipient cells. The presented protocols are valuable for the investigation of intercellular communication between glioma brain tumor and cells of its microenvironment, including but not limited to the EVs-mediated communication. RESEARCH IN CONTEXT: Cell-to-cell communication is essential in normal physiology and implicated in disease; however, experimental systems for its modeling in vitro are limited. Particularly, the investigation of communication between brain tumors and normal cells of the brain microenvironment has been challenged by the lack of adequate culture models. Here we developed co-cultures of glioma stem cells with various types of normal brain cells, including primary neurons, astrocytes, microglia, and brain endothelial cells, and demonstrated their utility for the study of intercellular communication. Detection of proposed markers in the recipient cells confirmed RNA transfer in these co-cultures.