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Biomedical subjects

D Haines

Publications and source records attributed to D Haines.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Cutaneous neosporosis in a dog in Israel.

Cutaneous neosporosis manifested by pyogranulomatous ulcerative dermatitis was diagnosed in an 11-year-old male Boxer. Histology revealed numerous intralesional protozoal tachysoites within macrophages and neutrophils. Occasionally, tachysoites were observed within endothelial and epithelial cells. Infection with Neospora caninum was confirmed by avidin biotin complex immunohistochemistry using a Neospora-specific monoclonal antibody. Cutaneous neosporosis is rare and has only been previously described in three cases. This report represents the first case of canine neosporosis in Israel and the Middle East.

Animals

Peripheral T-cell activation in non-segmental vitiligo.

Vitiligo is a hypopigmentary dermatosis of probable autoimmune origin. Previously reported aberrations in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), especially T cells and T cell subsets, have been inconsistent. Lymphocyte subpopulations were examined using flow cytometry and monoclonal antibodies against CD4, CD8, CD20, CD25, CD45RA, and HLA-DR in 34 patients with non-segmental vitiligo. Twelve patients had not received any previous treatment and 22 had previously received at least one course of PUVA therapy that was discontinued at least four months prior to our study. Compared to matched controls, we found significant increases in CD25 and HLA-DR in vitiligo patients (p = 0.000). An inverse correlation was observed between HLA-DR and patient status with regard to treatment (p = 0.001). These results suggest a role for T cells in the pathogenesis of vitiligo and imply that previous PUVA therapy may be reflected by an alteration in circulating DR +ve cells.

Adult

Isolation of circovirus from lesions of pigs with postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome.

Postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS), an apparently new disease, has been recognized in swine herds in western Canada. Young pigs with this disease have progressive weight loss, tachypnea, dyspnea, and jaundice, accompanied by interstitial pneumonia, lymphadenopathy, hepatitis, and nephritis. We examined more than 400 pigs from more than 70 herds in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba with cases of PMWS. A small virus was isolated from a range of tissues from 8 of 8 affected pigs examined. The agent was identified as a circovirus-like virus using electron microscopy, immunohistochemical staining with porcine and rabbit immune serum, and in situ hybridization. Immunohistochemical examination of tissues from more than 100 affected pigs has revealed widespread viral antigen, often contained in circovirus-like inclusion bodies, in lesions from numerous organs. Although Koch's postulates remain to be fulfilled, these results demonstrate a high degree of association between the presence of the circovirus-like virus and PMWS in affected swine.

Alberta

An outbreak of vampire bat-transmitted rabies in cattle in northeastern Mexico.

An outbreak of bovine rabies occurred on a ranch when cattle were bitten by vampire bats. Microscopic lesions showed a nonsuppurative encephalitis with intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated viral antigen in the brain, and monoclonal antibodies identified a serotype 1 (vampire strain) of the rabies virus.

Animals

Tracking H-2 alleles in transgenic mice by RFLP and heteroduplex analysis.

Transgenic mice provide valuable tools for biological research including many areas of immunology. In studies involving the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), it is often necessary to place the desired transgene in a specific H-2 (the murine MHC) environment. In this regard, the strains commonly used for the production of transgenic mice also carry well characterized H-2 alleles and provide an appropriate genetic background for MHC related experiments. In this study, a highly polymorphic microsatellite of tetranucleotide repeats from the second intron of the class II Eb gene within the H-2 complex was used in order to identify the corresponding alleles. The relevant H-2 allele(s) along with the transgene were then tracked throughout the production of a chicken ovalbumin-specific transgenic strain. The technique involved PCR-amplification of a DNA sequence encompassing the H-2 specific microsatellite followed by RFLP and heteroduplex analyses. This approach is likely to find wide application in the background checking of transgenic mice, especially in immunological research requiring a defined H-2 background.

Alleles

Lymphangiosarcoma in a young dog.

Lymphangiosarcoma was diagnosed from biopsy material obtained from an 8-week-old puppy with a progressively enlarging subcutaneous inguinal swelling. Histologically, the tumor was composed of endothelial cells immediately adjacent to large collagen bundles. Tumor cells formed irregular vascular channels which extended along the connective tissue investments of small vessels and nerves of the subcutis and deep dermis. Similar neoplastic tissue extensively infiltrated an inguinal lymph node. Neoplastic cells were immunohistochemically stained for factor 8-related antigen and were weakly positive when compared with several hemangiomas and hemangiosarcomas. Transmission electron microscopy revealed numerous micropinocytotic vesicles and a continuous basal lamina. The puppy was euthanatized at 8 months of age due to severe septic polyarthritis. Lymphangiosarcoma was documented at the site of the original tumor as well as in the axillary lymph node at necropsy.

Animals

Expression of HERV-K proviruses in human leukocytes.

HERV-K is a 50-copy, human endogenous, class 1 retroviral element that contains some polycistrons with gag, pol, and env open reading frames. Although expression of HERV-K proviruses has been shown in cultured human cell lines, expression of these elements has not been shown in human blood leukocytes. Using both reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and ribonuclease protection techniques, we show HERV-K pol gene expression in human blood leukocytes. Expression in blood leukocytes from 7 normal individuals was from a variety of different HERV-K proviruses, while restricted expression was observed in blood cells of 5 leukemia patients and 3 polycythemia vera patients. Evidence is presented suggesting that the restricted expression in leukemia blood cells is a result of gene regulation, not gene amplification.

Adult

Intelligent Medical Record--entry (IMR-E).

This paper describes an automated medical record designed to allow providers to enter patient data at the point of care. The system runs on PCs and Macintoshes and uses a graphical user interface and object-oriented programming to take advantage of current mouse and pen technologies. The provider acquires all relevant patient data by pointing and clicking at selections on input screens, many of which contain anatomical drawings to help the provider quickly and accurately describe patient findings. The system also generates a grammatically correct progress note using the problem-oriented structure. Furthermore, items identified in the assessment and plans portion of the program can be ported to expert systems for medical decisions assistance or to billing systems. The system allows the provider to obtain the necessary information on a focused patient visit in less than 5 min or to enter a complete history and physical.

Artificial Intelligence

Resistance to desiccation and skin fatty acids in outbreak strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Resistance to desiccation and to skin fatty acids was measured in three groups of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains and a group of control strains. Organisms from a large outbreak on a special care baby unit (SCBU), where MRSA had been isolated from staff hands but not from the environment, were significantly more sensitive to drying than strains from a burns unit where extensive environmental contamination had been demonstrated. MRSA from other wards, in the same hospital but not associated with large outbreaks, gave heterogeneous results. Fatty-acid resistance, determined by an agar dilution method, was not associated with strain origin. Some epidemic strains of MRSA were relatively sensitive to desiccation, and the abilities of such strains to spread widely on a SCBU by the hand-borne route could not be explained by enhanced resistance to skin fatty acids.

Cross Infection

Detection of equine herpesvirus and differentiation of equine herpesvirus type 1 from type 4 by the polymerase chain reaction.

Although both equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) and equine herpesvirus type 4 (EHV-4) can be associated with respiratory disease, epizootics caused by EHV-1 are much more serious because the virus can cause abortions and paralysis. It is, therefore, important to identify the type of EHV involved in an outbreak by a test that is quick, sensitive, and reliable. We have adapted the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect and distinguish between EHV-1 and EHV-4 in the same reaction. Primers for PCR were designed from the sequences of the glycoprotein B genes of EHV-1 and EHV-4. The PCR products derived from EHV-1 and EHV-4 were 135 and 326 base pairs, respectively, and could be readily separated by electrophoresis. The identity of the PCR products was confirmed by determining their nucleotide sequence, which agreed with the published sequence of the gB genes. The test could be performed directly on virus pelleted from small volumes (300 microL) of medium in which nasal swabs were transported and did not rely on the presence of infectious virus. The PCR was unaffected by conditions that reduced the infectivity of a virus preparation by 99%. The PCR detected EHV-4 in 5 of 10 nasal mucous samples taken from an outbreak of respiratory disease in race horses. Virus isolation in indicator cells was successful in detecting virus in four of the five samples positive by PCR.

Animals

Development of a murine model to study the pathogenesis of rotavirus infection.

A murine model to study enteritis induced by bovine (BRV) and murine rotavirus (MRV) has been developed. The course of infection was determined by clinical symptoms of diarrhea and virus isolation as well as histopathological, immunohistochemical, and electron microscopic methods. Both isolates were able to replicate and produce clinical symptoms in neonatal mice. Rotavirus-free neonates were orally inoculated with MRV or BRV and observed over a 192-hr postinoculation (HPI) period. Following infection with 10(4) PFU of virus, diarrhea and maximal intestinal dysfunction, as measured by xylose absorption, did not occur until beyond 20 hr postinfection even though maximal virus production occurred at 10-15 HPI. Immunohistochemically and by electron microscopy we were able to demonstrate viral antigen and virus particles in the enterocytes of villous tips at 5-8 HPI. The appearance of diarrheal symptoms was dependent on the virus dose and the type of virus isolate inoculated. The disease could be induced with doses as low as 1 x 10(2) PFU/mouse of BRV and 1 x 10(1) PFU/mouse of MRV. On the basis of these results, MRV was found to be more virulent than BRV in this model. The model should prove useful for studies designed to assess rotavirus virulence genes and for vaccine protection studies. This work emphasizes the need for early sample collection for critical evaluation of any vaccine or antiviral agent using this model.

Animals

Enzymatic amplification of RNA purified from crude cell lysate by reversible target capture.

For increased clinical applications of nucleic acid probes to gene diagnosis, current procedures must be modified to become more amenable to the rapid processing of many samples with as few manipulations as possible. Here we summarize progress in the development of a strategy for performing molecular hybridization directly in lysate of biological samples dissolved in solutions containing the chaotropic agent, guanidine thiocyanate. Hybrids are purified by a process referred to as "reversible target capture," in which specific nucleic acid sequences are rapidly purified from crude lysate. We illustrate the use of this strategy to assay HIV-1 RNA and to rapidly purify HIV-1 RNA before enzymatic amplification by the polymerase chain reaction method.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

Seroepidemiology of Campylobacter pyloridis.

A total of 1158 sera were tested by an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for IgG and IgA antibodies to Campylobacter pyloridis. When used to test sera from gastroendoscopy patients this method had a sensitivity of 91% and a specificity of 75%. Ninety-eight of 108 infected patients (91%) were seropositive whereas only 23 of 92 (25%) uninfected patients were seropositive (p less than 0.001). Positive serology was also associated with histological gastritis (p less than 0.001). When sera from occupational groups were compared to random blood donor sera, meat workers, freezing works veterinary surgeons and pest control officers had significantly higher seropositivity. Cook Island (33 of 85 (39%)), Samoan (57 of 129 (44%)) and Tongan (39 of 56 (70%)) blood donors also had greater seropositivity than random blood donors (15 of 102 (15%)), (p less than 0.001 for all three ethnic groups). Seropositivity increased with age. The results indicate that C pyloridis infection is common among certain groups within New Zealand. The implication of this finding with respect to the hypothesis that C pyloridis is aetiologically related to dyspepsia and peptic ulcer disease is discussed.

Adolescent