Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

J Cogn Dev 2018 15;19(4):456-476. Epub 2018 Aug 15.

Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University.

The four experiments reported here used the preferential looking and habituation paradigms to examine whether 5-month-olds possess a perceptual template for snakes, sharks, and rodents. It was predicted that if infants possess such a template then they would attend preferentially to schematic images of these non-human animal stimuli relative to scrambled versions of the same stimuli. The results reveal that infants look longer at a schematic snake than at two scrambled versions of that image and generalize from real snakes to the schematic image. Read More

Clin Toxicol (Phila) 2019 Feb 18:1-8. Epub 2019 Feb 18.

a Departamento de Biología Molecular y Bioprocesos , Instituto de Biotecnología Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , Cuernavaca , México.

Context: Historically, administration and dosing of antivenom (AV) have been guided primarily by physician judgment because of incomplete understanding of the envenomation process. As demonstrated previously, lymphatic absorption plays a major role in the availability and pharmacokinetics (PK) of coral snake venom injected subcutaneously, which suggests that absorption from subcutaneous tissue is the limiting step for venom bioavailability, supporting the notion that the bite site is an ongoing venom depot. This feature may underlie the recurrence phenomena reported in viperid envenomation that appear to result from a mismatch between venom and AV PK. Read More

PDA J Pharm Sci Technol 2019 Feb 15. Epub 2019 Feb 15.

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.

Snake antivenoms are the only definitive management of snake envenoming's. Endotoxin contamination is a serious threat to the safety of parenteral drugs. A greater understanding of the nature of LAL-Test interferences and the use permissible dilutions has minimized enhancement problems. Read More

Toxins (Basel) 2019 Feb 14;11(2). Epub 2019 Feb 14.

Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia.

The protein abundances of phospholipases A₂ in cobra venom proteomes appear to vary among cobra species. To determine the unique distribution of snake venom phospholipases A₂ (svPLA₂) in the cobras, the svPLA₂ activities for 15 cobra species were examined with an acidimetric and a colorimetric assay, using egg yolk suspension and 4-nitro-3-octanoyloxy benzoic acid (NOBA) as the substrate. The colorimetric assay showed significant correlation between svPLA₂ enzymatic activities with the svPLA₂ protein abundances in venoms. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2019 Feb 15;13(2):e0007171. Epub 2019 Feb 15.

Department of Renal Medicine, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, Australia.

Introduction: Every year millions of people in developing countries suffer from snakebite, causing a large number of deaths and long term complications. Prevention and appropriate first aid could reduce the incidence and improve the health outcomes for those who suffer bites. However, many communities where snakebite is a major issue suffer from a lack of information about prevention and first aid measures that a family or community member could take to prevent severe envenoming, complications and poor outcomes. Read More

Mol Ecol 2019 Feb 15. Epub 2019 Feb 15.

School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.

Dermal phototaxis has been reported in a few aquatic vertebrate lineages spanning fish, amphibians and reptiles. These taxa respond to light on the skin of their elongate hind-bodies and tails by withdrawing under cover to avoid detection by predators. Here, we investigated tail phototaxis in sea snakes (Hydrophiinae), the only reptiles reported to exhibit this sensory behaviour. Read More

J Proteomics 2019 Feb 11. Epub 2019 Feb 11.

Technische Universität Berlin, Institut für Chemie, Strasse des 17. Juni 124, 10623 Berlin, Germany. Electronic address:

We report on the variable venom composition of a population of the Caucasus viper (Vipera kaznakovi) in Northeastern Turkey. We applied a combination of venom gland transcriptomics, and de-complexing bottom-up and top-down venomics. In contrast to sole bottom-up venomics approaches and gel or chromatography based venom comparison, our combined approach enables a faster and more detailed comparison of venom proteomes from multiple individuals. Read More

Emotion 2019 Feb 14. Epub 2019 Feb 14.

Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University.

Using breaking continuous flash suppression (b-CFS; a perceptual suppression technique), Gomes, Soares, Silva, and Silva (2018) showed that human observers have an advantage in detecting images of snakes (constituting an evolutionarily old threat) over birds. In their study, images of snakes and birds were filtered to contain either coarse-scale or fine-grained information. The preferential detection of snakes relied on coarse-scale (rather than fine-grained) information, which was taken as support for the existence of an evolutionarily old subcortical pathway dedicated to snake detection. Read More

J Exp Biol 2019 Feb 13. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Department of Zoology and Botany, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Rua Cristóvão Colombo, 2265, São José do Rio Preto - SP, 15054-000, Brazil

Orthostatic hypotension is a phenomenon triggered by a change in the position or posture of an animal, from a horizontal to a vertical head-up orientation, characterised by a blood pooling in the lower body and a reduction in central and cranial arterial blood pressure (). This hypotension elicits systemic vasoconstriction and tachycardia, which generally reduce blood pooling and increase Little is known about the mediation and importance of such cardiovascular adjustments that counteracts the haemodynamic effects of orthostasis in ectothermic vertebrates, and some discrepancies exist in the knowledge available on this subject. Thus, we sought to expand the knowledge on this issue by investigating it in a more elaborate way, through an pharmacological approach considering temporal circulatory changes during head-up body inclinations in unanaesthetised To do so, we analysed temporal changes in , heart rate () and cardiac autonomic tones associated with 30° and 60° inclinations, before and after muscarinic blockade with atropine, double blockade with atropine and propranolol, and α-adrenergic blockade with prazosin. Read More

Clin Toxicol (Phila) 2019 Feb 14. Epub 2019 Feb 14.

a Georgia Poison Center , Atlanta , GA , USA.

JAMA Surg 2019 Feb 13. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Department of Emergency Medicine and Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center, Denver Health, Denver, Colorado.

Importance: Venomous snakebite severity ranges from an asymptomatic dry bite to severe envenomation and death. The clinical evaluation aids in prognosis and is essential to determine the risks and potential benefits of antivenom treatment.

Objectives: To identify historical features, clinical examination findings, basic laboratory testing, and clinical grading scales that will risk-stratify patients with pit viper snake envenomation for severe systemic envenomation, severe tissue injury, and/or severe hematologic venom effects. Read More

Biomed Res Int 2019 13;2019:9830243. Epub 2019 Jan 13.

Department of Orthopedics, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.

Purpose: Because Hirayama disease is stereotyped as a self-limited disease in the absence of a definite pathology, we investigated the potential relationship between snake-eyes appearance (SEA) and Hirayama disease to bring a new perspective in the pathological process of Hirayama disease based on relevant radiological and clinical evidence.

Methods: A total of 30 cases observed SEA were selected from 293 patients with Hirayama disease to constitute the SEA group, and an equal number of cases were randomly selected from the remaining patients to form the non-SEA group. Cervical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed and subsequently used to measure the anteroposterior diameter and anterior shifting of the spinal cord. Read More

PeerJ 2019 6;7:e6154. Epub 2019 Feb 6.

Ecology and Evolution Unit and Division of Faculty Affairs, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Onna, Kunigami-gun, Okinawa, Japan.

NAD glycohydrolase (EC 3.2.2. Read More

Toxins (Basel) 2019 Feb 11;11(2). Epub 2019 Feb 11.

Venom Research and Toxicology Laboratory, Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The equatorial spitting cobra, , is a distinct species of medically important venomous snakes, listed as WHO Category 1 in Southeast Asia. The diversity of its venom genes has not been comprehensively examined, although a few toxin sequences annotated to were reported previously through cloning studies. To investigate this species venom genes' diversity, venom-gland transcriptomics of from West Malaysia was conducted using next-generation sequencing technology. Read More

Cytogenet Genome Res 2019 Feb 13. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

The suborder Serpentes is divided into 2 infraorders, Scolecophidia and Alethinophidia, which diverged at an early stage of snake diversification. In this study, we examined karyotypes of 4 scolecophidian species (Letheobia simonii, Xerotyphlops vermicularis, Indotyphlops braminus, and Myriopholis macrorhyncha) and performed FISH with 18S-28S rDNA as well as microchromosomal and Z chromosome-linked genes of Elaphe quadrivirgata (Alethinophidia) to investigate the karyotype evolution in the scolecophidian lineage. Diploid chromosome numbers of X. Read More

J Anat 2019 Feb 10. Epub 2019 Feb 10.

Zoologische Staatssammlung München (ZSM-SNSB), Munich, Germany.

The emerging picture of non-monophyly of scolecophidian snakes is increasingly indicative that fossorial lifestyle, myrmecophagous diet, and miniaturisation are powerful drivers of morphological evolution in squamate skulls. We provide a detailed description of the skull of Xenotyphlops grandidieri, with reference to the skulls of other scolecophidian snakes. The skull, which shows dramatic ventral inflection of the snout complex, is remarkably bizarre, and the mouth opening is more ventrally oriented than in other typhlopoids. Read More

Ann Parasitol 2018 ;64(4):399–405

Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral (CECOAL), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Ruta Provincial Número 5, km 2,5; W 3400 AMD; Corrientes, Argentina

This is the first record of the nematode parasite Kalicephalus subulatus (Strongylida, Diaphanocephalidae) in Wagler’s snakes, Xenodon merremi (Squamata, Colubridae), collected in Corrientes, Argentina. The species was observed using light and scanning electron microscope (SEM) and compared to previous studies from Tropical America. As for the metric characters, the specimens collected in Argentina are smaller than all of those found so far in other hosts. Read More

Methods Mol Biol 2019 ;1920:219-246

Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.

Reptiles (lizards, snakes, turtles, and crocodilians) are becoming increasingly popular as models for developmental investigations. In this review the leopard gecko, Eublepharis macularius, is presented as a reptilian model for embryonic and tissue regeneration studies. We provide details of husbandry and breeding and discuss aspects of embryonic nutrition, egg anatomy, and sex determination. Read More

Toxins (Basel) 2019 Feb 6;11(2). Epub 2019 Feb 6.

Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

is a montane pit viper that causes bites and envenomation to various communities in the central highland region of Malaysia, in particular Cameron's Highlands. To unravel the venom composition of this species, the venom proteins were digested by trypsin and subjected to nano-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for proteomic profiling. Snake venom metalloproteinases (SVMP) dominated the venom proteome by 48. Read More

Toxins (Basel) 2019 Feb 6;11(2). Epub 2019 Feb 6.

Department of Anesthesiology, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA.

Snakebite with hemotoxic venom continues to be a major source of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Our laboratory has characterized the coagulopathy that occurs in vitro in human plasma via specialized thrombelastographic methods to determine if venoms are predominantly anticoagulant or procoagulant in nature. Further, the exposure of venoms to carbon monoxide (CO) or -phenylhydroxylamine (PHA) modulate putative heme groups attached to key enzymes has also provided mechanistic insight into the multiple different activities contained in one venom. Read More

Vet Rec 2019 Feb;184(6):170

Thromb Res 2019 Mar 30;175:76-83. Epub 2019 Jan 30.

Instituto Butantan, Laboratório de Fisiopatologia, São Paulo, SP, Brazil; Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. Electronic address:

Von Willebrand disease (VWD) is a common cause of bleeding worldwide. Analysis of von Willebrand factor (VWF) multimer distribution (VWF:MD) is essential to properly classify and treat different types of VWD, and it is performed using a SDS agarose gel electrophoresis followed by Western blotting, a handmade technique that demands days to be completed and requires skillful execution. Aiming both to facilitate gel production and to shorten the preparation time, we developed an uncomplicated technique to provide agility in the analysis of VWF:MD, so that it can be easily accomplished in the routine practice of hemostasis laboratories. Read More

PLoS One 2019 7;14(2):e0212099. Epub 2019 Feb 7.

ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.

Acquisition of fresh water (FW) is problematic for FW-dependent animals living in marine environments that are distant from sources of FW associated with land. Knowledge of how marine vertebrates respond to oceanic rainfall, and indeed the drinking responses of vertebrates generally following drought, is extremely scant. The Yellow-bellied Sea Snake (Hydrophis platurus) is the only pelagic species of squamate reptile and ranges across the Indo-Pacific oceans, having one of the largest geographic distributions of any vertebrate species. Read More

J Exp Zool B Mol Dev Evol 2019 Feb 6. Epub 2019 Feb 6.

Department of Life Sciences, Zoological Institute, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany.

Experimental work in the early 20th century showed that background albedo experienced by larvae of the fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra) induce a durable morphological modification of the postmetamorphic color pattern, which needed confirmation due to the controversies regarding Paul Kammerer's experiments. Such a carry-over effect would be relevant as the black and yellow pattern of the alkaloid-containing adult fire salamanders has been suggested to serve as an aposematic signal. Hence, we hypothesized that (a) adult coloration is conspicuous to potential predators under light conditions at night, given the nocturnal activity of this species, and (b) a condition affecting the salamander's coloration pattern would also affect its toxicity to maintain a quantitatively honest aposematic signal. Read More

Radiat Prot Dosimetry 2018 Dec 17. Epub 2018 Dec 17.

Institute for Applied Physics and Metrology, Universität der Bundeswehr München, Werner-Heisenberg-Weg 39, Neubiberg, Germany.

The biophysical simulation tool PARTRAC contains modules for DNA damage response representing non-homologous end joining of DNA double-strand breaks (DSB) and the formation of chromosomal aberrations. Individual DNA ends from the induced DSB are followed regarding both their enzymatic processing and spatial mobility, as is needed for chromosome aberrations to arise via ligating broken ends from different chromosomes. In particular, by tracking the genomic locations of the ligated fragments and the positions of centromeres, the induction of dicentrics can be modeled. Read More

Sci Rep 2019 Feb 4;9(1):1276. Epub 2019 Feb 4.

CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Snakes are an extremely modified and long-lived clade of lizards that have either lost or highly altered many of the synapomorphies that would clearly link them to their closest sister-group among squamates. We focus here on one postcranial morphological complex, the intercentrum system which in most non-ophidian squamates is limited to the cervical and caudal regions. The Cervical Intercentrum System (CeIS) is composed of a single intercentral element that sometimes articulates with a ventral projection (hypapophyses) of the centrum; the Caudal Intercentrum System (CaIS) is formed by an intercentral element, the haemal arch/chevron bone, and paired ventral projections of the centrum, the haemapophyses. Read More

Toxins (Basel) 2019 Feb 1;11(2). Epub 2019 Feb 1.

Laboratorio de Venómica Evolutiva y Traslacional, CSIC, Jaime Roig 11, 46010 Valencia, Spain.

The common European adder, , is a medically relevant species, which is widely distributed in Russia and thus, is responsible for most snakebite accidents in Russia. We have investigated the toxic and enzymatic activities and have determined the proteomic composition of its venom. Phospholipases A (PLA₂, 25. Read More

Toxins (Basel) 2019 Feb 1;11(2). Epub 2019 Feb 1.

Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, Bandar Sunway 47500, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.

Cancer is a deadly disease and there is an urgent need for the development of effective and safe therapeutic agents to treat it. Snake venom is a complex mixture of bioactive proteins that represents an attractive source of novel and naturally-derived anticancer agents. Malaysia is one of the world's most biodiverse countries and is home to various venomous snake species, including cobras. Read More

Mol Phylogenet Evol 2019 Feb 1;134:61-65. Epub 2019 Feb 1.

Science and Education, Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605, USA.

The Brown Vine Snake, Oxybelis aeneus, is considered a single species despite the fact its distribution covers an estimated 10% of the Earth's land surface, inhabiting a variety of ecosystems throughout North, Central, and South America and is distributed across numerous biogeographic barriers. Here we assemble a multilocus molecular dataset (i.e. Read More

Vet Ophthalmol 2019 Feb 4. Epub 2019 Feb 4.

Department of Pathological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin.

Purpose: To describe the clinical and histopathologic features secondary to ocular and periocular snakebites in dogs requiring enucleation.

Methods: Retrospective review of patients with recorded snakebite envenomation from the archives of the Comparative Ocular Pathology Laboratory of Wisconsin (COPLOW) and Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (1997-2017). The cases included in this study required witnessed snakebites to the dog by the owner, clinical signs supportive of periocular or ocular envenomation, and/or histopathologic lesions compatible with snakebites. Read More

Infect Dis Clin North Am 2019 Mar;33(1):17-38

Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Headington, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK. Electronic address:

This article discusses the epidemiology, prevention, clinical features, and treatment of venomous bites by snakes, lizards, and spiders; stings by fish, jellyfish, echinoderms, insects, and scorpions; and poisoning by ingestion of fish, turtles, and shellfish. Invertebrate stings cause fatalities by anaphylaxis, secondary to acquired hypersensitivity (Hymenoptera, such as bees, wasps, and ants; and jellyfish), and by direct envenoming (scorpions, spiders, jellyfish, and echinoderms). Simple preventive techniques, such as wearing protective clothing, using a flashlight at night, and excluding venomous animals from sleeping quarters, are of paramount importance to reduce the risk of venomous bites and stings. Read More

Lancet Infect Dis 2019 Jan 29. Epub 2019 Jan 29.

Microbiology, Old Medical School, Leeds General Infirmary, Leeds, UK.

Background: Cadazolid is a novel quinoxolidinone antibiotic developed for treating Clostridium difficile infection. We aimed to investigate the safety and efficacy of cadazolid compared with vancomycin in patients with C difficile infection.

Methods: IMPACT 1 and IMPACT 2 were identically designed, multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled, non-inferiority, randomised phase 3 trials. Read More

Vet Rec 2019 Feb;184(5):157-158

Great Western Exotic Vets, County Business Park, Units 10-16, Shrivenham Road, Swindon SN1 2NR.

Clin Toxicol (Phila) 2019 Feb 1:1-3. Epub 2019 Feb 1.

a Instituto de Pesquisa Clínica Carlos Borborema, Fundacão de Medicina Tropical Dr. Heitor Vieira Dourado , Manaus , Brazil.

Introduction: The common lancehead snakes (Bothrops atrox) are responsible for up to 90% of snakebites in the Amazon, especially in remote areas. The prevalence of microhematuria is similar to that of coagulopathy in B. atrox envenomation in the Amazon. Read More

Mol Phylogenet Evol 2019 Jan 29;134:35-49. Epub 2019 Jan 29.

Hielscherstr. 25, 13158 Berlin, Germany.

The process of species diversification is often associated with niche shifts in the newly arising lineages so that interspecific competition is minimized. However, an opposing force known as niche conservatism causes that related species tend to resemble each other in their niche requirements. Due to the inherent multidimensionality of niche space, some niche components may be subject to divergent evolution while others remain conserved in the process of speciation. Read More

Bioinspir Biomim 2019 Jan 30. Epub 2019 Jan 30.

UMR CNRS 7636, Laboratoire de Physique et Mécanique des Milieux Hétérogènes (PMMH), ESPCI Paris, Paris, Île-de-France, FRANCE.

Transient locomotion under water is highly constrained by drag and added mass, yet some aquatic snakes catch their prey using a fast forward acceleration, with the mouth opened. These aquatic snakes show a convergence of their head shape in comparison with closely related species that do not forage under water. As both drag and added mass are related to some extent to the shape of the moving object, we explored how shape impacts the hydrodynamic forces applied to the head of a snake during a prey capture event. Read More

J Comp Neurol 2019 Jan 29. Epub 2019 Jan 29.

Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Institut de la Vision, Paris, France.

In Bilaterians, commissural neurons project their axons across the midline of the nervous system to target neurons on the opposite side. In mammals, midline crossing at the level of the hindbrain and spinal cord requires the Robo3 receptor which is transiently expressed by all commissural neurons. Unlike other Robo receptors, mammalian Robo3 receptors do not bind Slit ligands and promote midline crossing. Read More

Curr Zool 2019 Feb 6;65(1):1-9. Epub 2018 Apr 6.

Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.

We obtained geo-referenced occurrence and climatic data from individual localities for 59 species of terrestrial elapid snakes, used phylogenetic generalized least squares regression to investigate spatial and cladistic patterns of variation in climatic niche breadths, and compared patterns within and across regions and clades to see if they parallel or differ from each other. Specifically, we test (1) whether a species' climatic niche breadth on a given niche axis relates to its position along that axis, and to its climatic niche breadth on another niche axis, and (2) whether variation in niche breadths among species is explained by within-locality variation in climatic conditions or by among-locality variation. We found that: (1) there is an overall global pattern, and patterns in individual regions or clades generally parallel each other and global patterns; (2) species in warmer environments have narrower temperature niche breadths (TNBs); (3) precipitation niche breadth (PNB) and position are positively related; (4) TNB and PNB are not related; and (5) within-locality variation in climatic conditions explains most variation in TNBs, whereas among-locality variation explains most variation in PNBs. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2019 Jan 29;13(1):e0007041. Epub 2019 Jan 29.

School of Pharmacy, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom.

Snakebite is a major neglected tropical health issue that affects over 5 million people worldwide resulting in around 1.8 million envenomations and 100,000 deaths each year. Snakebite envenomation also causes innumerable morbidities, specifically loss of limbs as a result of excessive tissue/muscle damage. Read More

Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2019 Jan 29. Epub 2019 Jan 29.

Laboratory of Neuroanatomy and Neuropsychobiology, Department of Pharmacology, Ribeirão Preto Medical School of the University of São Paulo (FMRP-USP), Av. Bandeirantes 3900, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, 14049-900, Brazil.

Rationale: The endocannabinoid system plays an important role in the organization of panic-like defensive behavior. Threatening situations stimulate brain areas, such as the dorsomedial hypothalamus (DMH). However, there is a lack of studies addressing the role of the DMH endocannabinoid system in panic-like responses. Read More

Front Physiol 2018 14;9:1910. Epub 2019 Jan 14.

Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany.

Atypical atrial flutter (AFlut) is a reentrant arrhythmia which patients frequently develop after ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF). Indeed, substrate modifications during AF ablation can increase the likelihood to develop AFlut and it is clinically not feasible to reliably and sensitively test if a patient is vulnerable to AFlut. Here, we present a novel method based on personalized computational models to identify pathways along which AFlut can be sustained in an individual patient. Read More

Asian J Transfus Sci 2018 Jul-Dec;12(2):127-135

Department of Paediatrics, Apollo Children's Hospitals, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.

Introduction: Outcome data in pediatric plasma exchange, especially in nonrenal indications are scarce. We aimed to evaluate its role and outcome in our patients.

Subjects And Methods: A retrospective study of children admitted in the year 2016 to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit requiring plasma exchange for nonrenal indications was undertaken. Read More

Sci Rep 2019 Jan 28;9(1):781. Epub 2019 Jan 28.

Cardio-Respiratory Section, National Heart and Lung Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, Sir Alexander Fleming Building, SW7 2AZ, London, UK.

Snake venom L-amino acid oxidases (LAAOs) are flavoproteins, which perform diverse biological activities in the victim such as edema, myotoxicity and cytotoxicity, contributing to the development of clinical symptoms of envenomation. LAAO cytotoxicity has been described, but the temporal cascade of events leading to cell death has not been explored so far. This study evaluates the involvement of LAAO in dermonecrosis in mice and its cytotoxic effects in normal human keratinocytes, the major cell type in the epidermis, a tissue that undergoes extensive necrosis at the snakebite site. Read More

J Immunol 2019 Jan 28. Epub 2019 Jan 28.

Institute of Physiological Chemistry and Pathobiochemistry, Westfalian Wilhelm University Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany;

The neuropilin-1 (NRP1)-MET signaling axis regulates the motility of individual endothelial cells (ECs). It is unknown how this signaling pathway affects the endothelial barrier in coherent ECs forming a tight monolayer. We hypothesized that it is involved both in modulation of the endothelial barrier and in EC activation. Read More

Toxins (Basel) 2019 Jan 25;11(2). Epub 2019 Jan 25.

Mathematics and Science Academy, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Brownsville, TX 78520, USA.

Phospholipase A₂ (PLA₂) is a major component in snake venoms and it is found in many different isoforms. To identify transcripts encoding different PLA₂ isoforms, we developed a simple, rapid procedure. Total RNA was extracted from the venoms of three cottonmouth snakes and two diamondback rattlesnakes, and further reverse-transcribed into complementary DNA (cDNA). Read More

Med Biol Eng Comput 2019 Jan 28. Epub 2019 Jan 28.

Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Frank H. Dotterweich College of Engineering, Texas A&M University - Kingsville, MSC 192, 700 University Blvd., Kingsville, TX, 78363-8202, USA.

A rapid method for left and right ventricular endocardial volume segmentation and clinical cardiac parameter calculation from MRI images of cardiac patients is presented. The clinical motivation is providing cardiologists a tool for assessing the cardiac function in a patient through the left ventricular endocardial volume's ejection fraction. A new method combining adapted fuzzy membership-based c-means pixel clustering and connected regions component labeling is used for automatic segmentation of the left and right ventricular endocardial volumes. Read More

PLoS One 2019 28;14(1):e0211229. Epub 2019 Jan 28.

Laboratório de Farmacologia das Toxinas, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas-Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro-RJ, Brazil.

Background: It is known that local tissue injuries incurred by snakebites are quickly instilled causing extensive, irreversible, tissue destruction that may include loss of limb function or even amputation. Such injuries are not completely neutralized by the available antivenins, which in general are focused on halting systemic effects. Therefore it is prudent to investigate the potential antiophidic effects of natural and synthetic compounds, perhaps combining them with serum therapy, to potentially attenuate or eliminate the adverse local and systemic effects of snake venom. Read More

Clin Toxicol (Phila) 2019 Jan 28:1-4. Epub 2019 Jan 28.

e Department of Dermatology, Graduate School of Medical Science , Kyushu University , Fukuoka , Japan.

Objective: Rhabdophis tigrinus (Yamakagashi in Japanese) is a venomous non-front-fanged colubroid snake capable of inflicting envenoming with life-threatening defibrinating coagulopathy. However, because of the uncommon incidence of bites and tendency for late development of symptoms/signs, the early effects of the venom on the coagulation system are poorly known.

Case Report: We describe a boy bitten by a wild R. Read More

Zookeys 2019 15(817):131-157. Epub 2019 Jan 15.

CIBIO/InBIO (Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos), Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrario De Vairão, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal.

Tobago is a small island on the southeast edge of the Caribbean Plate with a continental flora and fauna. Using DNA sequences from Genbank, new sequences, and morphological data from the snakes , , , and , the species status of specimens of a Tobago snake previously considered to be was assessed. , long considered a subspecies of , was found to be a northern Venezuela-Trinidad endemic and the sister to . Read More