Cytotoxic Lesion of the Corpus Callosum in an Adolescent with Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome and SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children is a recently described complication in the late phase of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection involving systemic hyperinflammation and multiorgan dysfunction. The extent of its clinical picture is actively evolving and has yet to be fully elucidated. While neurologic manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 are well-described in the adult population, reports of neurologic complications in pediatric patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection are limited. We present a pediatric patient with SARS-CoV-2 infection with development of multisystem inflammatory syndrome and acute encephalopathy causing delirium who was found to have a cytotoxic lesion of the corpus callosum on neuroimaging. Cytotoxic lesions of the corpus callosum are a well-known, typically reversible entity that can occur in a wide range of conditions, including infection, seizure, toxins, nutritional deficiencies, and Kawasaki disease. We hypothesized that the cytotoxic lesion of the corpus callosum, in the index case, was secondary to the systemic inflammation from SARS-CoV-2 infection, resulting in multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children.

1,2,4-triazolo[3,4-a]pyridine as a novel, constrained template for fibrinogen receptor (GPIIb/IIIa) antagonists

Conformationally constrained analogues of the GPIIb/IIIa antagonist elarofiban (RWJ-53308) have been synthesized and biologically evaluated. The 1,2,4-triazolo[3,4-a]pyridine scaffold provided potent antagonists with favorable pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic attributes in dogs. Compounds 12a and 13a exhibited enhancements in oral bioavailability, t(1/2), and ex vivo duration of action (inhibition of ADP-induced platelet aggregation) relative to elarofiban.

Extreme resistance to Potato leafroll virus in potato cv. Russet Burbank mediated by the viral replicase gene

High levels of field resistance to Potato leafroll virus (PLRV; Genus: Polerovirus; Family: Luteoviridae) were achieved by expression of the unmodified, full-length PLRV replicase gene in potato plants cv. Russet Burbank. A high degree of resistance was also achieved, but less frequently, by expression of a truncated construct of the replicase gene. In limited testing, neither miss-frame nor antisense constructs of the replicase gene conferred resistance. The degree of resistance expressed among different transformant lines ranged from near immunity to full susceptibility. Resistance to the Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say) was combined with resistance to PLRV by expression of the cry3A insect control protein gene from Bacillus thuringiensis var. tenebrionis in combination with the unmodified, full-length, viral replicase gene. Resistance was expressed as a reduced incidence of infection detectable by foliage symptoms or serological tests. Reduced incidence of infection was not associated with a decrease in virus antigen concentration in the few plants of resistant lines that became infected. Virus was not detected in the foliage of symptomless plants but was detected in progeny plants produced from the tubers of inoculated but symptomless test plants of some resistant lines. The resistance was effective under natural exposure and against plant-to-plant spread of PLRV by the aphid vector, Myzus persicae Sulzer. Three of the resistant lines selected in these studies were released and are now in commercial production.

Reduced Field Spread of Potato Leafroll Virus in Potatoes Transformed with the Potato Leafroll Virus Coat Protein Gene

Russet Burbank potato was transformed with plant expression vectors containing the potato leafroll luteovirus (PLRV) coat protein (CP) gene. Transgenic potato lines contained a gene expression cassette with two copies of a PLRV CP gene in which the nucleotide sequence was modified to improve expression of the gene. In addition, the two copies of the PLRV CP gene were each driven by a different promoter. Field test screening for PLRV resistance identified 15 lines which showed moderate resistance to PLRV infection and virus titer build-up and a longer incubation period for systemic infection. By conducting field resistance assays during a period when the vector of PLRV was not present, it was possible to test whether the observed resistance was sufficient to restrict aphid transmission of PLRV in a field test. Two years of field testing demonstrated that PLRV-spread from an infected plant to adjacent healthy plants of the same line was severely restricted in nearly all the transgenic lines in the field. These lines have useful resistance to PLRV and could aid in managing PLRV disease in Russet Burbank potato.

Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of Solanum tuberosum L. cv. 'Russet Burbank'

Stem sections from shoot cultures maintained in vitro were used to produce transgenic plants of the potato, Solanum tuberosum L. cv. 'Russet Burbank'. Stem internode pieces inoculated with Agrobacterium tumefaciens containing coat protein genes from potato virus X and potato virus Y, produced shoots with a frequency of 60% in the absence of selection and 10% on medium containing 100 mg/l kanamycin monosulfate. Regenerated shoots were assayed for kanamycin resistance by placing stem segments on callus induction medium containing an increased level of kanamycin. Of a total 255 regenerated shoots, 47 (18%) were kanamycin resistant. Of the kanamycin resistant shoots, 25 (53%) expressed the PVX or PVY coat protein genes as assayed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay or Western immunoblot analysis.

Application of Isoelectric Focusing to the Taxonomic Identification of Meloidogyne spp

Meloidogyne incognita, M. arenaria, M. hapla, and M. javanica were distinguishable from each other by isoelectric focusing (IEF) of nematode egg proteins. Proteins extracted from larvae and adults of Hoplolaimus columbus and from eggs of Heterodera glycines had distinctive profiles, also. Protein profiles from eggs, preparasitic larvae and egg-laying adults of M. incognita showed differences. It was necessary to compare samples run at the same time to ensure reliability.

Violence in geriatric patients

Two hundred twenty-two patients admitted to a geriatric psychiatry unit were surveyed for the commission of acts dangerous to others. Eighteen of these patients had used either guns or knives in acts of violence. Organic illness accounted for a minority of such acts, the majority having been perpetrated by patients with functional diagnoses of late paraphrenia, schizophrenia, or mania. The most dangerous patients were those who, in a clear sensorium, experienced paranoid delusions, hallucinations, or both, and believed that they were in danger of being attacked. One hundred twenty-one aggressive patients who did not use weapons against others were also identified. This group, which included a larger percentage of patients suffering from dementia, posed a much less serious threat to others than the violent group.