Gastric motility and pulmonary function in children with functional abdominal pain disorders and asthma: A pathophysiological study

Background An association has been shown between functional abdominal pain disorders (FAPDs) and asthma. However, the exact reason for this association is obscured. The main objective of this study is to identify the possible underlying pathophysiological mechanisms for the association between FAPDs and asthma using gastric motility and lung function tests. Methods This was a cross-sectional comparative study that consisted of four study groups. Twenty-four children (age 7–12 years) each were recruited for four study groups; asthma only, FAPDs only, both asthma and FAPDs, and healthy controls. Asthma was diagnosed using the history and bronchodilator reversibility test. The diagnosis of FAPDs was made using Rome IV criteria. All subjects underwent ultrasound assessment of gastric motility and pulmonary function assessment by spirometry, using validated techniques. Results All gastric motility parameters, gastric emptying rate, amplitude of antral contraction, and antral motility index, were significantly impaired in children with FAPDs only, children with asthma only, and children with both asthma & FAPDs, compared to controls (p<0.05). Pulmonary function parameters indicating airway obstruction (FEV1/FVC ratio, peak expiratory flow rate, FEF25-75%) were not impaired in children with FAPDs only compared to controls (p>0.05), but significantly impaired in children with asthma and children with both disorders. Antral motility index correlated with the FEV1/FVC ratio (r = 0.60, p = 0.002) and FEF25%-75% (r = 0.49, p = 0.01) in children with both asthma and FAPDs. Conclusions Gastric motor functions were significantly impaired in children with asthma, children with FAPDs, and children with both disorders. Motility index, measuring overall gastric motor activity, showed a significant positive correlation with lung function parameters that measure airflow limitation. Therefore, these diseases might arise as a result of primary disturbance of smooth muscle activity in the airways and gastrointestinal wall, which could be a possible pathophysiological mechanism for this association between asthma and FAPDs.

A prospective study of myoconjunctival enucleation for enhanced implant motility

Background: After enucleation rehabilitation and cosmesis remain the nemesis of an enophthalmic socket, the cosmetic goal is to replace the lost volume of the socket and to restore natural appearance and movement with an artificial eye. The aim of this is to determine implant motility after myoconjunctival enucleation technique.Methods: The study was conducted in 35 patients who underwent myoconjuctival enucleation at M and J Western Regional Institute of Ophthalmology, Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad from the period November 2019 to December 2021. Simple random sampling method was used and subjects were selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. All patients were evaluated on 1st post-operative day, 1st week, 4th week and 12th week of surgery. Post-operative results were compared on the follow-ups in terms of motility index.Results: Average motility index (sum of medial movement, lateral movement, upward movement and downward movement divided by 4) of the 35 patients measured after first week of surgery was 3.2 mm, which was 3.21 mm in 4th week and at 12th week it was 3.23 mm.Conclusions: In contrast to conventional enucleation technique, in myoconjunctival enucleation technique each rectus is sutured to the respective fornix thus preventing stretching, increasing implant stability and motility. Thus it is considered procedure of choice in primary enucleation.

High-Dose Irradiation Inhibits Motility and Induces Autophagy in Caenorhabditis elegans

Radiation damages many cellular components and disrupts cellular functions, and was previously reported to impair locomotion in the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans. However, the response to even higher doses is not clear. First, to investigate the effects of high-dose radiation on the locomotion of C. elegans, we investigated the dose range that reduces whole-body locomotion or leads to death. Irradiation was performed in the range of 0–6 kGy. In the crawling analysis, motility decreased after irradiation in a dose-dependent manner. Exposure to 6 kGy of radiation affected crawling on agar immediately and caused the complete loss of motility. Both γ-rays and carbon-ion beams significantly reduced crawling motility at 3 kGy. Next, swimming in buffer was measured as a motility index to assess the response over time after irradiation and motility similarly decreased. However, swimming partially recovered 6 hours after irradiation with 3 kGy of γ-rays. To examine the possibility of a recovery mechanism, in situ GFP reporter assay of the autophagy-related gene lgg-1 was performed. The fluorescence intensity was stronger in the anterior half of the body 7 h after irradiation with 3 kGy of γ-rays. GFP::LGG-1 induction was observed in the pharynx, neurons along the body, and the intestine. Furthermore, worms were exposed to region-specific radiation with carbon-ion microbeams and the trajectory of crawling was measured by image processing. Motility was lower after anterior-half body irradiation than after posterior-half body irradiation. This further supported that the anterior half of the body is important in the locomotory response to radiation.

Papanicolaou-Stained Cytosmear Preparations in the Evaluation of Leucocytospermia: A Tertiary Centre Experience and Assessment of Utility

Objectives Leucocytospermia is a rare cause of infertility with a variable incidence in infertile men. In many andrology laboratories, semen analysis is primarily centered on analyzing basic parameters (sperm count, motility, and viability). We examined the role of cytomorphological analysis on Papanicolaou (PAP)-stained smears in the work up of male infertility, with special reference to leukocytospermia and assessed the morphological features of sperms in these cases. Materials and Methods All cases signed out as “leukocytospermia” between November 2017 and January 2018 were evaluated. Cases showing pus cells (≥ 1/5hpf) on cytosmear evaluation were also analyzed. Parameters obtained on modified Neubauer’s chamber, wet mount preparations, and autoanalyzer SQA-IIC-P (Medical Electronic Systems, Israel) were tabulated. PAP-stained smears were examined to assess morphological defects and other findings, if any. Results Out of 348 semen samples, 6 (1.72%) were diagnosed as leukocytospermia, all displaying pus cells on cytomorphological evaluation. Five cases having white blood cells < 1 × 10 9/L were analyzed, which displayed the presence of pus cells (≥ 1/5 hpf) on cytosmear preparations (1.43%). Nine cases (81.8%) showed reduced motile sperm concentration, functional sperm concentration, and sperm motility index. Morphological evaluation of the PAP-stained smears showed mid-piece defects in 18.1% cases. Conclusion Diligent cytomorphological evaluation of semen is essential to diagnose leukocytospermia, assess morphological defects, and serve as a quality control measure.

Development of a smart post-hospitalization facility for older people by using domotics, robotics, and automated tele-monitoring

Recent studies showed that about the 8% of beds are occupied by patients who experience a delayed hospital discharge (DHD). This is attributed to a delay in the arrangement of home-care assistance or in admission to long-term care facilities. Recently a lot of technologies have been developed to improve caring and monitoring of older people. The aim of this study is to design, implement and test a prototype of a technology based post-hospitalization facility for older people at risk of DHD by using domotics, robotics and wearable sensors for tele-monitoring. A sensorised posthospitalization facility has been built inside the hospital. Thirty-five healthy volunteers aged from 20 to 82 years were recruited. Clinical and functional assessment, i.e. motility index (MI), and human-robot interaction satisfaction were measured. A significant correlation was observed between automatic MI and the Gait Speed, the time sit-to-stand, and the Timed Up and Go test. Domotics, robotics and technology-based telemonitoring may represent a new way to assess patient’s autonomy and functional and clinical conditions in an ecological way, reproducing as much as possible a real life at home.

Functional sperm assessments of African Lion Panthera leo (Mammalia: Carnivora: Felidae) in field conditions

Wild African Lion Panthera leo populations are decreasing due to inbreeding and reduced genetic variability. Thus, the use of assisted reproduction in the species could one day become essential. Before this is possible, however, studies need to be conducted on the basic reproductive traits of the species, especially those regarding sperm cells. This study aimed to analyze the semen of African Lions in field conditions. We included seven captive African Lions in our study. The animals were chemically restrained and electro-ejaculated. Twenty sperm samples were selected and analyzed for sperm motility and progressive motility, sperm motility index, and sperm morphology. In addition, the samples were analyzed for membrane and acrosome integrity (hypoosmotic swelling test and fast green/rose Bengal dyes, respectively) and assessed for cytochemical activity of the mitochondria. We found that sperm motility rate was 75.25%±2.03, progressive motility rate was 3.25%±0.10, and sperm motility index was 70.12%±1.71. We found morphologic abnormalities roughly at the expected rate with 34.61%±7.22 of the sperm cells having an intact plasma membrane and acrosome integrity of 92.27%±2.73; high mitochondrial activity was 54.26±4.88% and absence of mitochondrial activity was 2.72±0.68% in the sperm cells. These findings show that conventional tests for sperm motility and sperm morphology bring about the expected results for lions according scientific literature. Though a hypoosmotic swelling test may be performed using different concentrations, it might lead to a higher number of sperm cells with membrane damage. Fast green/rose Bengal stain and 3’3 diaminobenzidine assay, however, can be used in sperm analysis of lions in field conditions.