Sonographic findings of transient marked proximal bowel dilatation in a growth-restricted fetus at 35 weeks' gestation.

Etiologies underlying the relatively infrequent third-trimester sonographic depiction of dilated fetal bowel include (functional or mechanical) bowel obstruction, intestinal atresia, volvulus, annular pancreas, intestinal malrotation, intussusception, gastrointestinal duplications, cystic fibrosis-associated meconium ileus, congenital chloride diarrhea, microvillus inclusion disease, intestinal neuronal dysplasia, and meconium plug syndrome. Fetal bowel obstruction may be associated with aneuploidy (mostly Trisomy 21 in association with esophageal or duodenal atresia), and rarely select microduplications or deletions. We present unusual sonographic findings associated with transient marked proximal fetal bowel dilatation in association with concurrent development of oligohydramnios, in a growth-restricted fetus at 35 weeks' gestation. This case supports that upon observation of dilated loops of fetal bowel, while not negating the potential need for delivery secondary to potential bowel compromise, consideration should be given for observation in anticipation of potential spontaneous resolution of this condition, especially among growth-restricted fetuses with decreased amniotic fluid volume in prematurity.

Salinity and temperature affect the symbiont profile and host condition of Florida USA blue crabs Callinectes sapidus.

Subtropical Florida blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus, exhibit differing life history traits compared to their temperate counterparts, likely influencing symbiont infection dynamics. Little information exists for Florida C. sapidus symbiont profiles, their distribution among various habitats, and influence on crab condition. Using histopathology, genomics, and transmission electron microscopy, we describe the first symbiont profiles for Florida C. sapidus occupying freshwater to marine habitats. Twelve symbiont groups were identified from 409 crabs including ciliophorans, digenean, microsporidian, Haplosporidia, Hematodinium sp., Nematoda, filamentous bacteria, gregarine, Callinectes sapidus nudivirus, Octolasmis sp., Cambarincola sp., and putative microcell. Overall, 78% of C. sapidus were documented with one or more symbiont groups demonstrating high infection rates in wild populations. Environmental variables water temperature and salinity explained 48% of the variation in symbiont groups among Florida habitats, and salinity was positively correlated with C. sapidus symbiont diversity. This suggests freshwater C. sapidus possess fewer symbionts and represent healthier individuals compared to saltwater populations. Crab condition was examined using the reflex action mortality predictor (RAMP) to determine if reflex impairment could be linked to symbiont prevalence. Symbionts were found positively correlated with crab condition, and impaired crabs were more likely to host symbionts, demonstrating symbiont inclusion may boost predictive ability of the RAMP application. The microsporidian symbiont group had a particularly strong effect on C. sapidus reflex response, and impairment was on average 1.57 times higher compared to all other symbiont groups. Our findings demonstrate the importance of considering full symbiont profiles and their associations with a spatially and temporally variable environment to fully assess C. sapidus population health.

Current Perspectives of Prenatal Cell-free DNA Screening in Clinical Management of First-Trimester Septated Cystic Hygroma.

First-trimester septated cystic hygroma occurs in approximately 1 in 268 pregnancies and has long been associated with a markedly increased risk of fetal aneuploidy and, among euploid fetuses, an increased risk of structural anomalies primarily affecting the cardiac and skeletal systems. Invasive prenatal diagnosis - chorionic villus sampling and/or amniocentesis - encompasses the time-honored clinical tools for the next step in management following prenatal sonographic diagnosis of first-trimester septated cystic hygroma. Currently, prenatal cell-free DNA (cfDNA) screening for fetal aneuploidy with select microdeletions is gradually replacing the considerably less sensitive, and labor-intensive combined first-trimester screening. These new technologies have opened potential new venues in the clinical management of this ominous late first-trimester sonographic diagnosis. Advances in cfDNA technologies are now permitting detection of chromosomal copy number variants (CNV) larger than 7Mb across genome and select serious single-gene disorders (mainly impacting skeletal and neurological development), affecting quality of life and may benefit from medical and/or surgical management. This commentary will address the available non-invasive prenatal screening technologies, which clearly enhance immediate genetic analysis modalities applicable in the presence of the complex sonographic finding of first-trimester septated cystic hygroma.

Rediscovering "Baculovirus-A" (Johnson, 1976): The complete genome of 'Callinectes sapidus nudivirus'.

Callinectes sapidus, or the 'blue crab', supports an extensive east-coast USA fishery and was one of the first crustacean species in which viruses were observed. Pioneering research by Dr Phyllis Johnson led to these initial discoveries, one of which included the discovery of a virus termed "Baculovirus-A". This virus was considered a potential member of the Baculoviridae, Nimaviridae, or Nudiviridae, in which all viral members are rod-shaped dsDNA viruses found in the nucleus of their host cell. With the availability of genomic and bioinformatic tools, such as Illumina HiSeq and assembly programs, it is now possible to assemble the genomes of viruses and gain additional genomic insight, which can shed light on viral taxonomy. Using these tools, alongside electron micrographs and histology slides, we reveal that the hepatopancreas-infecting 'Baculovirus-A' from Callinectes sapidus is a member of the Nudiviridae, resembling genetic and protein similarity to other crab and lobster infecting nudiviruses from the Gammanudivirus genus. Histologically, the virus causes nuclear hypertrophy as observed for other gammanuriviruses. The genome of the virus is circular, 122,436 bp in length, and encodes a predicted 98 protein coding genes, including all of the nudivirus core genes. The prevalence of virus from across Florida, USA, is provided alongside a genomic comparison of the new viral genome against other Gammanudivirus species, revealing the average prevalence to be 2.2% and that Callinectes sapidus nudivirus is distantly similar to the recently described Carcinus maenas nudivirus from Canada.

Improved method of in vivo respiratory-gated micro-CT imaging.

The presence of motion artifacts is a typical problem in thoracic imaging. However, synchronizing the respiratory cycle with computed tomography (CT) image acquisition can reduce these artifacts. We currently employ a method of in vivo respiratory-gated micro-CT imaging for small laboratory animals (mice). This procedure involves the use of a ventilator that controls the respiratory cycle of the animal and provides a digital output signal that is used to trigger data acquisition. After inspection of the default respiratory trigger timing, we hypothesized that image quality could be improved by moving the data-acquisition window to a portion of the cycle with less respiratory motion. For this reason, we developed a simple delay circuit to adjust the timing of the ventilator signal that initiates micro-CT data acquisition. This delay circuit decreases motion artifacts and substantially improves image quality.