Specific increase of Fusobacterium in the faecal microbiota of neonatal calves infected with Cryptosporidium parvum.

The faecal microbiota plays a critical role in host health, with alterations in the human faecal microbial composition associated with various conditions, particularly diarrhoeal diseases. However, little is known about microbial changes during cryptosporidiosis, one of the most important diarrhoeal diseases caused by protozoa in cattle. In this study, alterations in the faecal microbiota of neonatal calves as a result of Cryptosporidium parvum infection were investigated on a C.

Characterization of H5N1 Influenza Virus Quasispecies with Adaptive Hemagglutinin Mutations from Single-Virus Infections of Human Airway Cells.

Transmission of avian influenza (AI) viruses to mammals involves phylogenetic bottlenecks that select small numbers of variants for transmission to new host species. However, little is known about the AI virus quasispecies diversity that produces variants for virus adaptation to humans. Here, we analyzed the hemagglutinin (HA) genetic diversity produced during AI H5N1 single-virus infection of primary human airway cells and characterized the phenotypes of these variants.

Antigenic analysis of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 sublineages co-circulating in Egypt.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 has spread across Eurasia and Africa, and outbreaks are now endemic in several countries, including Indonesia, Vietnam and Egypt. Continuous circulation of H5N1 virus in Egypt, from a single infected source, has led to significant genetic diversification with phylogenetically separable sublineages, providing an opportunity to study the impact of genetic evolution on viral phenotypic variation. In this study, we analysed the phylogeny of H5 haemagglutinin (HA) genes in influenza viruses isolated in Egypt from 2006 to 2011 and investigated the effect of conserved amino acid mutations in the HA genes in each of the sublineages on their antigenicity.

Hyperventilation versus standard ventilation for infants in postoperative care for congenital heart defects with pulmonary hypertension.

Purpose: In infants undergoing surgery for cardiac defects with left-to-right shunt, a hyperventilation strategy has been applied to prevent pulmonary hypertensive crisis (PHC). Hyperventilation with a large tidal volume and/or higher airway pressure, however, may be detrimental to the lung. This randomized study compared the effects of hyperventilation versus standard ventilation.

Neutrophil elastase activity in acute lung injury and respiratory distress syndrome.

Background And Objective: Neutrophil elastase (NE) may play a key role in the development of acute lung injury (ALI) or ARDS. NE activity (NEA) was measured in patients with ALI treated with a selective NE inhibitor.

Methods: NEA and NE-alpha1-antitrypsin (NE-AT) complex were measured in plasma before, during and after the administration of the selective NE inhibitor, sivelestat, in 32 patients with a diagnosis of ALI or ARDS.

A randomized trial of ultrasound image-based skin surface marking versus real-time ultrasound-guided internal jugular vein catheterization in infants.

Background: Ultrasound-guided central venous catheterization has been recommended to increase the procedural success rate and enhance patient safety. However, few studies have examined the potential advantages of one ultrasound technique with another, specifically in small infants.

Methods: The authors randomly assigned 60 neonates and infants weighing less than 7.

[Neovascularization and HGF: neovascularization in proliferative diabetic retinopathy and intraocular HGF].

Human hepatocyte growth factor (hHGF) has a strong angioneogenetic action. The present study was designed to investigate the possible involvement of hHGF in neovascularization in proliferative diabetic retinopathy by measuring vitreous hHGF concentration, and to examine the gene expression of hHGF in retinal Müller cells, which are presumed to play a role in proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Patients who had undergone pars plana vitrectomy were studied (33 diabetic patients with proliferative retinopathy and 20 nondiabetic subjects).

Neuronal responsiveness to three-dimensional motion in cat posteromedial lateral suprasylvian cortex.

The neuronal responsiveness to three-dimensional (3D) motion in cat posteromedial lateral suprasylvian (PMLS) cortex was studied using a computer-controlled, stereoscopic 3D graphic display capable of reproducing the major visual cues for natural 3D motion, including motion disparity, size, texture, and shading changes. The animals were anesthetized with nitrous oxide supplemented with alphaxalone, and paralysis prevented eye movement. Systematic investigation of neuronal responsiveness to 3D motions in 26 different directions revealed that more than half of the PMLS cells were selectively responsive to approaching (AP cells, 112 of 271) or recessive motion (RC cells, 64 of 271).

Binocular neuronal responsiveness in Clare-Bishop cortex of Siamese cats.

Retinotopy and binocular responsiveness were studied extracellularly in a total of 278, 61, 110 and 275 cells sampled in areas 17, 18, 19 and Clare-Bishop (CB) of Siamese cats. The misalignment of the visual axes of the two eyes was determined by the pupil reflex method in the behaving animal. The recording sessions were conducted under N2O anesthesia, supplemented with continuous infusion of short-lasting anesthetics (Saffan, Glaxo) and muscle relaxants (Gallamine triethiodide) using two types of visual stimulators presenting two-dimensional (2D) motion stimuli and the visual cues for three-dimensional (3D) motion.

Functional differentiation between the anterior and posterior Clare-Bishop cortex of the cat.

A total of 783 cells were studied extracellularly in anterior (A10-13), posterior (A4-8), and intermediate regions (A8.1-9.9) of Clare-Bishop (CB) cortex of the cat, which were defined according to the anteroposterior coordinate of the stereotaxic axis and probably corresponded to the antero- (AMLS), postero-medial lateral suprasylvian cortex (PMLS), and the border region between the two subareas, respectively.

Neural connections between the lateral geniculate nucleus and visual cortex in vitro.

Neural connections were established in cocultures of rat visual cortex (VC) and lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), which were isolated in early infancy. Morphological and electrophysiological studies showed that the cortical laminar organization of afferent and efferent connections in the coculture preparations was similar to that in the adult VC. The results indicate the existence of intrinsic mechanisms in VC and LGN that guide the formation of synaptic connections with the appropriate targets.

Intracortical connectivity revealed by spike-triggered averaging in slice preparations of cat visual cortex.

Intracortical connectivity was studied in slice preparations of cat's visual cortex by spike-triggered averaging. The experiments documented the unitary postsynaptic potentials underlying the inhibitory and excitatory connections from layer III-IV border cells to supragranular cells, as demonstrated previously by cross-correlation studies. In addition the analysis demonstrated the existence of two excitatory connections, between supragranular and layer V cells, that were not detectable in previous cross-correlation studies.

Neuronal responsiveness in area 21a of the cat.

Photic responsiveness was studied in cells of area 21a which was identified as a region containing few cells projecting to area 17, and was bounded to two other visual areas (posteromedial lateral suprasylvian area and area 19) providing abundant efferent projection to area 17. Area 21a cells were characterized by strong orientation, but demonstrated poor direction and end-stop selectivity, in contrast to strong direction or end-stop selectivity of cells in another two visual areas.

Long-term potentiation of synaptic transmission in kitten visual cortex.

1. Potentiation of synaptic transmission in visual cortex (areas 17 and 18) of kittens was investigated by extracellular recording of field potentials (FPs) and cortical units in cortical slices and whole-animal preparations. Responses to test stimulation (0.

Visual cortical plasticity in infant kittens.

The visual cortex of the cat is characterized by marked modifiability of neuronal responsiveness by visual experience in infancy, and stereotyped pattern of functional architectures in adulthood. The question of how the plasticity of the infant visual cortex is compatible with the regular patterns of the adult visual cortex has been a central problem of the brain neuroscience. This question was answered by quantifying the plasticity in the visual cortical circuitry of the infant kittens as changes in synaptic transmission produced after conditioning stimulation of the visual pathway.