Efficacy of afoxolaner against Ixodes scapularis ticks in dogs.

Efficacy of afoxolaner, a novel isoxazoline insecticide/acaricide, against Ixodes scapularis was evaluated in a laboratory study. One day prior to treatment, beagle dogs (n=16) were infested with 50 unfed wild adult ticks. Repeat infestations were performed weekly for four additional weeks.

Intraperitoneal development of the filarial nematode Brugia malayi in the Mongolian jird (Meriones unguiculatus).

In the present study, we describe intraperitoneal development of the FR3 strain of Brugia malayi in Mongolian jirds (Meriones unguiculatus). The third molt for male worms occurred between 4 and 7 days postinfection (dpi) and between 4 and 8 dpi for females. The fourth and final molt occurred between days 21 and 29 for males and 25 and 34 for females, considerably earlier than the times reported for subcutaneous infection models using cats and jirds.

Renal artery embolization prior to nephrectomy for locally advanced renal cell carcinoma.

Background: To assess the outcomes of patients undergoing percutaneous renal artery embolization (PRAE) prior to radical nephrectomy.

Methods: We performed retrospective chart review of patients undergoing PRAE in Auckland Public Hospital from January 2004 to December 2011. PRAE was performed under epidural anaesthesia and within 24 h of nephrectomy.

Communication and computing technology in biocontainment laboratories using the NEIDL as a model.

The National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL), Boston University, is a globally unique biocontainment research facility housing biosafety level 2 (BSL-2), BSL-3, and BSL-4 laboratories. Located in the BioSquare area at the University's Medical Campus, it is part of a national network of secure facilities constructed to study infectious diseases of major public health concern. The NEIDL allows for basic, translational, and clinical phases of research to be carried out in a single facility with the overall goal of accelerating understanding, treatment, and prevention of infectious diseases.

Inflammatory pseudotumor-like follicular dendritic cell tumor of liver and spleen: granulomatous and eosinophil-rich variants mimicking inflammatory or infective lesions.

Inflammatory pseudotumor-like follicular dendritic cell (FDC) tumor is an uncommon, Epstein-Barr virus-associated neoplasm of the liver or spleen, characterized by spindly tumor cells dispersed in a background of small lymphocytes and plasma cells. We report 6 diagnostically challenging cases in which the neoplastic component is further overshadowed by granulomas or eosinophils. The patients included 2 men and 4 women with a median age of 45.

Hippocampal long-term potentiation is disrupted during expression and extinction but is restored after reinstatement of morphine place preference.

Learned associations between environmental cues and morphine use play an important role in the maintenance and/or relapse of opioid addiction. Although previous studies suggest that context-dependent morphine treatment alters glutamatergic transmission and synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus, their role in morphine conditioned place preference (CPP) and reinstatement remains unknown. We investigated changes in synaptic plasticity and NMDAR expression in the hippocampus after the expression, extinction, and reinstatement of morphine CPP.

An allele of sequoia dominantly enhances a trio mutant phenotype to influence Drosophila larval behavior.

The transition of Drosophila third instar larvae from feeding, photo-phobic foragers to non-feeding, photo-neutral wanderers is a classic behavioral switch that precedes pupariation. The neuronal network responsible for this behavior has recently begun to be defined. Previous genetic analyses have identified signaling components for food and light sensory inputs and neuropeptide hormonal outputs as being critical for the forager to wanderer transition.

Fabrication and application of flexible, multimodal light-emitting devices for wireless optogenetics.

The rise of optogenetics provides unique opportunities to advance materials and biomedical engineering, as well as fundamental understanding in neuroscience. This protocol describes the fabrication of optoelectronic devices for studying intact neural systems. Unlike optogenetic approaches that rely on rigid fiber optics tethered to external light sources, these novel devices carry wirelessly powered microscale, inorganic light-emitting diodes (μ-ILEDs) and multimodal sensors inside the brain.

Oral sucrose for pain control in nonneonate infants during minor painful procedures.

Purpose: To provide information regarding the effective use of oral sucrose as an analgesic for immunization and venipuncture procedures in the older infant.

Data Sources: Evidence-based literature including original clinical trials, reviews, and clinical practice guidelines.

Conclusions: Most infants are exposed to multiple minor painful procedures during the first year of life.

Erratum: Thermal analysis of injectable, cellular-scale optoelectronics with pulsed power.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1098/rspa.2013.

Trauma and cultural safety: providing quality care to HIV-infected women of aboriginal descent.

In Canada, the Aboriginal community is most at risk for HIV infection. Aboriginal peoples have disproportionately high rates of violence, drug use, and challenging socioeconomic circumstances. All of this is related to a history of colonization that has left Aboriginal people vulnerable to HIV infection through unsafe sex, needle sharing, and lack of access to health promotion and education.

Systematic review of pathophysiological changes following hepatic resection.

Objectives: Major hepatic resection is now performed frequently and with relative safety, but is accompanied by significant pathophysiological changes. The aim of this review is to describe these changes along with interventions that may help reduce the risk for adverse outcomes after major hepatic resection.

Methods: The MEDLINE, EMBASE and CENTRAL databases were searched for relevant literature published from January 2000 to December 2011.

Exposure to chronic mild stress prevents kappa opioid-mediated reinstatement of cocaine and nicotine place preference.

Stress increases the risk of drug abuse, causes relapse to drug seeking, and potentiates the rewarding properties of both nicotine and cocaine. Understanding the mechanisms by which stress regulates the rewarding properties of drugs of abuse provides valuable insight into potential treatments for drug abuse. Prior reports have demonstrated that stress causes dynorphin release, activating kappa opioid receptors (KOR) in monoamine circuits resulting in both potentiation and reinstatement of cocaine and nicotine conditioned place preference.

Locus coeruleus kappa-opioid receptors modulate reinstatement of cocaine place preference through a noradrenergic mechanism.

Activation of kappa-opioid receptors (KORs) in monoamine circuits results in dysphoria-like behaviors and stress-induced reinstatement of drug seeking in both conditioned place preference (CPP) and self-administration models. Noradrenergic (NA) receptor systems have also been implicated in similar behaviors. Dynorphinergic projections terminate within the locus coeruleus (LC), a primary source of norepinephrine in the forebrain, suggesting a possible link between the NA and dynorphin/kappa opioid systems, yet the implications of these putative interactions have not been investigated.

Cranberry impairs selected behaviors essential for virulence in Proteus mirabilis HI4320.

Proteus mirabilis is an etiological agent of complicated urinary tract infections. North American cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon) have long been considered to have protective properties against urinary tract infections. This work reports the effects of cranberry powder (CP) on the motility of P.

Primary hepatocellular neoplasms in a MODY3 family with a novel HNF1A germline mutation.

Maturity onset diabetes of the young type 3 (MODY3) and hepatocellular adenomas (HCAs) are associated with mutations in the HNF1A gene. HNF1A codes for the transcription factor HNF1α, which interacts with DNA as a homodimer or a heterodimer with HNF1β, to regulate multiple cellular functions including glucidic metabolism, lipidic transport, and detoxication. We report three members of one family with a novel germline in-frame deletion of HNF1A exons 2-3 identified initially using array CGH and direct sequence analysis.

D2MOPSO: MOPSO based on decomposition and dominance with archiving using crowding distance in objective and solution spaces.

This paper improves a recently developed multi-objective particle swarm optimizer (D2MOPSO) that incorporates dominance with decomposition used in the context of multi-objective optimization. Decomposition simplifies a multi-objective problem (MOP) by transforming it to a set of aggregation problems, whereas dominance plays a major role in building the leaders' archive. D2MOPSO introduces a new archiving technique that facilitates attaining better diversity and coverage in both objective and solution spaces.

Injectable, cellular-scale optoelectronics with applications for wireless optogenetics.

Successful integration of advanced semiconductor devices with biological systems will accelerate basic scientific discoveries and their translation into clinical technologies. In neuroscience generally, and in optogenetics in particular, the ability to insert light sources, detectors, sensors, and other components into precise locations of the deep brain yields versatile and important capabilities. Here, we introduce an injectable class of cellular-scale optoelectronics that offers such features, with examples of unmatched operational modes in optogenetics, including completely wireless and programmed complex behavioral control over freely moving animals.

VBP15: preclinical characterization of a novel anti-inflammatory delta 9,11 steroid.

Δ9,11 modifications of glucocorticoids (21-aminosteroids) have been developed as drugs for protection against cell damage (lipid peroxidation; lazaroids) and inhibition of neovascularization (anecortave). Part of the rationale for developing these compounds has been the loss of glucocorticoid receptor binding due to the Δ9,11 modification, thus avoiding many immunosuppressive activities and deleterious side effect profiles associated with binding to glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid receptors. We recently demonstrated that anecortave acetate and its 21-hydroxy analog (VBP1) do, in fact, show glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid receptor binding activities, with potent translocation of the glucocorticoid receptor to the cell nucleus.

Does senescence affect lymph node number and morphology? A systematic review.

Background: Immunosenescence may contribute to an observed increase in infections and specific cancers in the elderly. Lymph nodes play a key role in the body's immune system. A systematic review was undertaken to investigate the effects of senescence on lymph node number and morphology.

A pilot review of the long-term impact of burn injury on sleep architecture in children.

Distorted sleep patterns exist in the acutely burned pediatric population. No prior study has used polysomnography to assess sleep proficiency in children years after discharge. The objective of this retrospective, pilot investigation was to examine sleep in children multiple years after burn injury to characterize the long-term impact of burns on sleep.