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Biomedical subjects

B Bauer

Publications and source records attributed to B Bauer.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Tsetse control in cattle from pyrethroid footbaths.

In Burkina Faso, we assessed the efficacy of treating cattle with a footbath containing aqueous formulations of pyrethroids to control two tsetse-fly species, Glossina tachinoides Westwood, 1850 (Diptera, Glossinidae) and Glossina palpalis gambiensis Vanderplank 1949. Legs were the most targeted parts of the body for tsetse-fly blood meals: 81% (95% CI: 73, 89) for G. tachinoides and 88% (81, 95) for G. palpalis. The in-stable efficacy of footbath treatments was compared with manual full spraying with a 0.005% alphacypermethrin (Dominex, FMC, Philadelphia, USA) formulation (250mL versus 2L). The proportions of knocked-down flies were the same with footbath and full spray but the latter was more protective against fly bites. In field use, the efficacy of both methods should be similar given the recommended treatment frequency: 3 days for footbath versus 7 days for full spray. Among 96 cattle drinking at the same water point in Dafinso (Burkina Faso), 68 (71%) were treated with a footbath containing a 0.005% deltamethrin formulation (Vectocid, CEVA SA, Libourne, France). We observed the effect of this live-bait technique on the one hand on released cohorts of reared, irradiated flies, and on the other hand on wild tsetse flies. In both cases, the footbath treatment was associated with a reduction of the apparent fly density probably related to an increased mortality.

Animals↗

[Scapho-trapezio-trapezoidal arthrodesis for scapho-trapezio-trapezoidal osteoarthritis].

Scapho-trapezio-trapezoid arthrodesis was originally performed for the treatment of scapho-lunate instability. However, only a few publications have described this technique for treatment of osteoarthritis of the scapho-trapezio-trapezoid (STT) joint. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the results of triscaphoid arthrodesis for STT osteoarthritis with a long-term follow-up. Thirteen cases of osteoarthritis of the STT joint in twelve patients, all treated by STT arthrodesis, were reviewed with an average follow-up of 60 months. Pain was classified according to Alnot's classification: eight patients were classified as grade III, two as grade IV and two as grade II. The average preoperative range of motion of the wrist was 51 degrees for flexion, 39 degrees for extension, 9 degrees for radial deviation and 28 degrees for ulnar deviation. Grip strength was compared to the contralateral side. Radiographic changes were classified according to Crosby's classification, including sublevels for carpal instability. Four wrists were classified 2a and nine wrists were classified 2b. The average radio-lunate and scapho-lunate angles were 14 and 45 degrees respectively. Pain was improved in all patients (P = 0.05) all of whom were subjectively satisfied. Strength and range-of-motion did not statistically decrease after STT arthrodesis except for wrist extension (P = 0.03). Radio-lunate and scapho-lunate angles were unchanged in five patients and improved in five patients. There were four non-unions of whom two patients without pain were not re-operated. The other two were re-operated with the same technique leading to fusion. Scapho-trapezio-trapezoid arthrodesis is an efficient procedure for STT osteoarthritis with regard to pain reduction. Strength and global range-of-motion are not modified by this procedure. Moreover, as it limits carpal instability, this procedure is preferable in active patients.

Adult↗

[Not Available].

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Journal Article↗

Prevalence of the -295 T-to-C promoter polymorphism of the interleukin (IL)-16 gene in periodontitis.

Interleukin (IL)-16 is involved in the regulation of the expression of several proinflammatory cytokines, i.e. tumour necrosis factor (TNF)alpha and interleukin (IL)-1beta. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of the -295 promoter polymorphism of the interleukin (IL)-16 gene in periodontal disease. A total of 123 patients with periodontal disease and 122 healthy controls were genotyped for the -295 IL-16 promoter polymorphism. Genotyping has been performed by PCR and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. The frequencies of alleles and genotypes as well of haplotypes within both study groups were compared using the Pearson chi(2) test at a level of significance of 5% (P < 0.05). The distribution of genotypes for the -295 IL-16 gene polymorphism showed no significant difference between periodontitis patients and healthy control subjects (P = 0.886). Also stratification analysis according to the disease severity revealed no significant difference regarding the genotype distribution among both study groups. Herein the IL-16 -295 gene polymorphism was not associated with chronic periodontitis.

Adult↗

Effects of hypervaccination with bovine herpesvirus type 1 gE-deleted marker vaccines on the serological response and virological status of calves challenged with wild-type virus.

Twenty-four calves were immunised four times with gE-deleted infectious bovine rhinotracheitis marker vaccines before being challenged with small doses of wild-type bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BHV-1). The repeated vaccinations induced strong immunity that prevented detectable virus replication and gE-seroconversion after the challenge infection in most of the calves. The hypervaccinated calves that shed virus after the challenge infection showed no delay in gE-seroconversion compared with unvaccinated control calves. Using a sensitive nested PCR, BHV-1 gE sequences could be detected in the trigeminal ganglia of several of the gE-seronegative, challenge-infected calves, possibly indicating the presence of wild-type BHV-1 DNA.

Animals↗

Validation of the 'Vienna List' as a proxy measure of quality of life for geriatric rehabilitation patients.

The reason for the study was to investigate the discriminative, content- and criterion-related validity of the 'Vienna List', a newly developed proxy-rating measurement for quality of life in very old and severely demented persons. The total population of patients of a geriatric rehabilitation clinic of one year (from November 2001 to October 2002; n = 687) was evaluated at admission and discharge by means of this proxy rating method together with the mini mental state examination, the timed up and go test, the Tinetti measure, the Barthel Index, and the Katz activities of daily living list. Differences, mainly on factors communication, mobility, aggression, and negative affect, appeared between seven diagnostic groups as well between several care-related categories and destination after discharge. The five factors of the measurement explained a significant amount of variance with a high specificity and more than 50% of the Barthel Index scores. The 'Vienna List', originally developed for the assessment of quality of life in severely demented patients, proved to be a useful, differentiating, less time-consuming and practical tool for the documentation of the outcome of geriatric inpatient rehabilitation, as well.

Activities of Daily Living↗

In vivo study of acetylcholine esterase in basal forebrain, amygdala, and cortex in mild to moderate Alzheimer disease.

It is currently unclear whether impairment of the cholinergic system is present in Alzheimer disease (AD) already at an early stage and to what extent it depends on degeneration of the nucleus basalis of Meynert (nbM). We examined acetylcholine esterase activity in vivo in the nbM, the amygdala, and cerebral neocortex. Measurements were performed in normal controls and in patients with mild to moderate AD with positron emission tomography (PET) and C-11-labeled N-methyl-4-piperidyl-acetate (MP4A) which is a specific substrate of AChE. AChE activity was reduced significantly in amygdala and cerebral cortex. In contrast, AChE activity and glucose metabolism appeared preserved or even increased in the nbM. The results support the concept that neocortical and amygdaloid functional changes of the cholinergic system are an early and leading event in AD, rather than the consequence of neurodegeneration of basal nuclei.

Acetates↗

Autoantibodies to prothrombin and phosphatidylserine/prothrombin-complexes: do they contribute to the serodiagnosis of primary and secondary anti-phospholipid syndrome?

The diagnostic and clinical relevance of Ab to pure and phosphatidylserine-complexed prothrombin for primary and secondary APS was investigated in a total of 357 patients with (n = 169) and without (n = 188) connective tissue diseases. The overall frequency of anti-prothrombin Ab in sAPS, pAPS and patients without APS-related symptoms were found to be 50.0, 37.5 and 22.0%, respectively. From a total of 72 anti-prothrombin-positive samples, 12.5% were specific for pure prothrombin, 31.9% for phosphatidylserine/prothrombin-complexes and 55.6% recognized both antigenic forms. The simultaneous occurrence of other anti-phospholipid Ab was observed in 84% of all sera. Both types of anti-prothrombin Ab are significantly associated with lupus anticoagulant activity, but only Ab to pure prothrombin display such a relationship to clinical manifestations of APS. Based on these results, it cannot be recommended at present to include anti-prothrombin assays in the routine procedure for the serodiagnosis of APS. However, patients negative for lupus anticoagulant and typical APS-related anti-phospholipid Ab should be tested for anti-prothrombin reactivity, favoring, mainly due to its higher specificity, the ELISA containing pure prothrombin as antigen.

Adult↗

PET-based molecular imaging in neuroscience.

Positron emission tomography (PET) allows non-invasive assessment of physiological, metabolic and molecular processes in humans and animals in vivo. Advances in detector technology have led to a considerable improvement in the spatial resolution of PET (1-2 mm), enabling for the first time investigations in small experimental animals such as mice. With the developments in radiochemistry and tracer technology, a variety of endogenously expressed and exogenously introduced genes can be analysed by PET. This opens up the exciting and rapidly evolving field of molecular imaging, aiming at the non-invasive localisation of a biological process of interest in normal and diseased cells in animal models and humans in vivo. The main and most intriguing advantage of molecular imaging is the kinetic analysis of a given molecular event in the same experimental subject over time. This will allow non-invasive characterisation and "phenotyping" of animal models of human disease at various disease stages, under certain pathophysiological stimuli and after therapeutic intervention. The potential broad applications of imaging molecular events in vivo lie in the study of cell biology, biochemistry, gene/protein function and regulation, signal transduction, transcriptional regulation and characterisation of transgenic animals. Most importantly, molecular imaging will have great implications for the identification of potential molecular therapeutic targets, in the development of new treatment strategies, and in their successful implementation into clinical application. Here, the potential impact of molecular imaging by PET in applications in neuroscience research with a special focus on neurodegeneration and neuro-oncology is reviewed.

Alzheimer Disease↗

Relatedness and heterogeneity at the near-terminal end of the genome of a parapoxvirus bovis 1 strain (B177) compared with parapoxvirus ovis (Orf virus).

The present study provides for the first time an extended investigation of individual genes located at the near-terminal right end of the genome of parapoxvirus bovis 1, Bovine papular stomatitis virus (BPSV) strain B177 and Orf virus (ORFV). Comparison of the respective DNA sequences of ORFV strain D1701 (9.9 kbp) and BPSV B177 (7.7 kbp) revealed a very similar organization of closely related genes transcribed in a rightward orientation. The most salient findings of this study were: (i) the absence of the ORFV-specific vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-E) gene in the BPSV isolate; (ii) the presence of an interleukin-10 (IL-10) orthologue; and (iii) the detection of three new genes encoding ankyrin-repeat-containing polypeptides. These results not only contribute to potential improvements of future molecular differentiation between the parapoxvirus species, but also shed new light on different pathobiologies among parapoxviruses.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Reactivity profiles of autoantibodies to different phospholipids and the phospholipid-binding protein beta2-glycoprotein I in patients with clinical symptoms related to thromboembolic and/or vasculopathic events with or without connective tissue diseases.

To study the antigenic and epitope specificities of anti-phospholipid Ab in detail, we investigated 177 patients without (62 with APS-related systemic clinical symptoms, 115 with microangiopathies) and 164 patients with connective tissue diseases (CTD). Ab associated with primary APS (pAPS) seem to show a restricted specificity (phospholipid/beta2-GPI-complexes), whereas those in secondary APS (sAPS) react additionaly with pure beta2-GPI. Simultaneously, beta2-GPI-independent Ab were also frequently present in both conditions (50% of all Ab-positive sera). In CTD patients, the reactivity profile "pure beta2-GPI + phospholipid/beta2-GPI-complexes" is significantly associated with clinically manifest sAPS. Comparing cardiolipin and phosphatidylserine as antigenic target, the overall concordance (crossreactivity?) between both assays was lower than expected (52%), being highest in pAPS (87%) and sAPS (65%). Based on these results, a two-step procedure for reliable serological diagnosis of APS could be recommended: Ab-screening using a mix of phospholipids complexed with beta2-GPI (sensitivity > 90% for Ab concentrations above 20 U/ml) followed by an assay allowing the simultaneous detection of all relevant antigenic and epitope specificities.

Adult↗

Impaired benzodiazepine receptor binding in peri-lesional cortex of patients with symptomatic epilepsies studied by [(11)C]-flumazenil PET.

Individual benzodiazepine receptor (BZR) binding of peri-lesional cortex was investigated in symptomatic epilepsies. Eleven patients aged 19-44 years were studied whose diagnosis was established by medical history, clinical, electroencephalographic, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings. Three-dimensional [11C]-flumazenil (FMZ) positron emission tomography and MRI scans were obtained and coregistered. Lesions (five low-grade brain tumours, one AV malformation, one cavernoma, one cystic lesion of unknown aetiology, one traumatic brain injury, one post-operative and one post-haemorrhagic defect) were outlined on individual MRI scans. Adjacent to those lesions, and in homologous contralateral structures, FMZ binding was analysed in four pairs of cortical 9 x 9-mm regions of interest (ROIs) placed on transaxial and coronal slices, respectively, as well as in the lesion volume and its mirror region. Percentage asymmetry ratios were calculated and those at or outside the 90-110% range were operationally defined significant. Peri-lesional FMZ binding asymmetries ranged from 70 to 125%, lesional asymmetries from 38 to 82%. Only one patient showed no significant change, whilst nine exhibited significant reductions of FMZ binding in at least one ROI (3 x 1, 4 x 2, 1 x 3, 1 x 4), and significant increases were observed in two ROIs of another patient. Therefore, peri-lesional disturbances of BZR binding are common but variable in location. Because a close correlation between regional decreases in FMZ binding and spiking activity was recently demonstrated in neocortical epilepsies, abnormal peri-lesional FMZ binding may bear some relation to the mechanisms of epileptogenesis in symptomatic epilepsies.

Adult↗

Complex formation and cooperation of protein kinase C theta and Akt1/protein kinase B alpha in the NF-kappa B transactivation cascade in Jurkat T cells.

Protein kinase C theta (PKC theta) is known to induce NF-kappa B, an essential transcriptional element in T cell receptor/CD28-mediated interleukin-2 production but also T cell survival. Here we provide evidence that PKC theta is physically and functionally coupled to Akt1 in this signaling pathway. First, T cell receptor/CD3 ligation was sufficient to induce activation as well as plasma membrane recruitment of PKC theta. Second, PKC theta selectively cooperated with Akt1, known to act downstream of CD28 co-receptor signaling, in activating a NF-kappa B reporter in T cells. Third, Akt1 function was shown to be required for PKC theta-mediated NF-kappa B transactivation. Fourth, PKC theta co-immunoprecipitated with Akt1; however, neither Akt1 nor PKC theta served as a prominent substrate for each other in vitro as well as in intact T cells. Finally, plasma membrane targeting of PKC theta and Akt1 exerted synergistic transactivation of the I-kappa B kinase beta/inhibitor of NF-kappa B/NF-kappa B signaling cascade independent of T cell activation. Taken together, these findings suggest a direct cross-talk between PKC theta and Akt1 in Jurkat T cells.

Base Sequence↗

Standardised tests in mice and cattle for the detection of drug resistance in tsetse-transmitted trypanosomes of African domestic cattle.

Resistance to the drugs used to control African animal trypanosomosis is increasingly recognised as a constraint to livestock production in sub-Saharan Africa. The most commonly used tests for detection of trypanocidal drug resistance are tests using mice or ruminants, but these suffer from lack of standardisation and hence it may be difficult to compare the results of different investigators. Tests in mice are less expensive than tests in ruminants, but while tests in mice they may be useful as a general guide to resistance in a geographic area they should not be extrapolated to cattle on an individual trypanosome level. Moreover, the commonly used protocols are too laborious for their application to large number of trypanosome isolates on an area-wide basis. This paper presents guidelines for standardised testing of trypanocidal drugs in vivo, and introduces a simplified single-dose test for use in mice, which is convenient for use in areas with limited laboratory facilities. The single-dose test is appropriate for characterisation of geographic areas in terms of trypanocidal drug resistance using large numbers of trypanosome isolates, for making comparisons between areas, and for monitoring changes in trypanocidal drug resistance over time. Multiple-dose tests may be used to determine the degree of resistance of individual stabilates to be determined precisely in mice are also described, but for logistical reasons these will rarely be conducted on more than a few stabilates, and testing of a larger number of stabilates in the single-dose test will generally provide more useful information. Finally, we describe tests in cattle that may be used to determine the efficacy of recommended curative doses of trypanocidal drugs for the treatment of infection with individual trypanosome isolates, including Trypanosoma vivax, which is rarely infective for mice.

Animals↗

Medial portion of M. Temporalis and its potential involvement in facial pain.

We describe the morphology, functional capabilities, and clinical anatomical implications of the medial portion of the temporalis muscle. Although recognized in Brazilian, German, French, and Hispanic American textbooks of anatomy, this portion of the temporalis has been unappreciated in those published in England and the United States. Given its morphology, and functional anatomy as revealed in this paper, we conclude that the medial portion of the temporalis could entrap the maxillary nerve and its zygomatic branches inside the pterygopalatine fossa. On these bases we identify this portion of the temporalis as a possible factor in the etiology of some forms of tic douloureux.

Aged↗

PET measurement of cerebral acetylcholine esterase activity without blood sampling.

Measurement of cerebral acetylcholine esterase (AChE) activity is of clinical interest for the differential diagnosis of memory disorders and dementia. We developed and tested a non-invasive method for quantitation of regional cortical AChE activity with carbon-11-labelled N-methyl-4-piperidyl acetate (11C-MP4A) that does not require arterial blood sampling. AChE activity was measured in terms of the rate constant for hydrolysis of 11C-MP4A (k3). The physiological model is based on the very high AChE activity in the basal ganglia, which are used as a reference structure. Non-invasive k3 was compared with k3 determined with a standard technique by fitting kinetic tissue and metabolite-corrected plasma data in nine subjects with and without dementia. Across all regional values, a very high correlation of 0.92 was found, with a tendency towards moderate underestimation of k3 by 5%-14% with the non-invasive technique as compared to the invasive technique. In addition to its advantages with respect to practicability, the new non-invasive technique overcomes problems of the invasive technique that are related to interindividual variation of delay times between cerebral and peripheral tracer arrival and measurement of very small amounts of non-hydrolysed tracer in plasma samples.

Acetates↗

Farmers' perceptions of the impacts of tsetse and trypanosomosis control on livestock production: evidence from southern Burkina Faso.

Interviews with all the households in the Agropastoral Zone (ZAP) of Yalé, southern Burkina Faso, were conducted in 1994 and again in 1997 to assess the impacts of a tsetse control programme implemented from 1994, using insecticide-impregnated targets and pour-on treatments of all cattle with deltamethrin 1%. In the absence of health and productivity monitoring, data were collected in single-visit surveys in order to generate quantitative estimates of relevant reproductive performance variables for cattle and to assess changes in the inputs used and outputs produced. The results indicate a 25% increase in herd size and an increase in the number of oxen from 0.1 to 1.1 per household; a reduction in mortality from 63.1% to 7.1% and reductions in the rates of abortions and stillbirth of 55.9% and 51.3%, respectively; and an increase in the rate of live births of 57.6% and in the milk yield from 0.2 to 2.2 litres/cow per day in the dry season. These results show the dramatic impacts that trypanosomosis control can have on Zebu cattle exposed to high tsetse challenge. Well-designed surveys can be a cost-effective way to obtain estimates of productivity impacts that can be used to simulate projections of herd growth and meat and milk production in herd models. While there are many confounding factors associated with farmers' perception of a gain in productivity, these estimates form a useful alternative to subjective assessments in modelling the economic benefits of tsetse and trypanosomosis control.

Agriculture↗