The epidermal basement membrane (BM) is readily identified on skin biopsy specimens stained with periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) and PAS with diastase (PAS-D). Thickening of BM can be evidenced in several inflammatory and tumoral conditions. We noticed that most of our biopsy specimens of mycosis fungoides (MF) showed thickening of the BM. We decided to retrospectively study BM thickness in 27 biopsy specimens of MF and compare them with 27 cutaneous biopsy specimens of inflammatory diseases. We studied PAS and PAS-D stains in all cases and we measured BM thickness with an ocular micrometer. Cases were scored in a four-tiered system 0 no detectable staining; 1+ (mild 9 μm). The difference between both groups (MF vs controls) was highly significant for BM thickness values by both one- and two-tailed t tests (P  less then  0.0006). While only 3 biopsy specimens from the controls (11.11%) showed areas of 3+ thickening, 12 biopsy specimens of MF (44.44%) showed areas of 3+ thickening, and most cases showed diffuse, at least 2+ thickening, while the controls showed more segmental, mostly 1 or 2+ staining. We conclude that thickening of BM can be useful in the differential diagnosis with inflammatory conditions.Patients often experience a functional decline due to physical inactivity during illness. Nurses can influence the physical activity of patients while assisting them with activities of daily living. The purpose of this study was to identify effective interventions that are embedded in daily nursing care (irrespective of care setting) that aim to optimize the functional status of patients by increasing their physical activity. A systematic review was performed and reported following the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses. PubMed, CINAHL, and Cochrane were searched for studies from January 2002 to March 2019. The critical appraisal tools from the Joanna Briggs Institute were used to assess the risk of bias in individual studies. Study characteristics, intervention key components, and reported effects of included studies were extracted, summarized narratively, and compared. Twenty studies, evaluating nine different interventions were included. In these interventions, eight key components were identified. Four components were included in all six interventions with a positive effect on mobility, physical activity, or functional status. These components were assessment of patient's functionality; goal setting with the patient; establishment of an individualized plan; and engagement of patients in physical and daily activity. The effects were limited due to the risk of bias in the studies, small sample sizes, limited clinical meaning of the effects, and variability of the adherence to the interventions. Multicomponent interventions were the most promising to enhance the functional status of patients. Future research should evaluate these interventions using research methods aiming at producing more rigorous evidence.Scale drop disease virus (SDDV) is a novel viral pathogen considered to be distributed in farmed barramundi (Lates calcarifer) in South-East Asia. Despite the severity of the disease, only limited genomic information related to SDDV is available. In this study, samples of SDDV-infected fish collected in 2019 were used.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/CP-690550.html  The microbiome of brain tissue was investigated using Illumina HiSeq DNA sequencing. Taxonomic analysis showed that SDDV was the main pathogen contained in the affected barramundi. De novo metagenome assembly recovered the SDDV genome, named isolate TH2019, 131 kb in length, and comprised of 135 ORFs. Comparison between this genome and the Singaporean SDDV reference genome revealed that the nucleotide identity within the aligned region was 99.97%. Missense, frameshift, insertion and deletion mutations were identified in 26 ORFs. Deletion of four deduced amino acid sequence in ORF_030L, identical to the SDDV isolate previously identified in Thailand, would be a potential biomarker for future strain classification. Interestingly, the genome of SDDV TH2019 harboured a unique 7,695-bp-long genomic region containing six hypothetical protein-encoded genes. Collectively, this study demonstrated that the SDDV genome can be sequenced directly, although with limited coverage depth, using metagenomic analysis of barramundi sample with severe infection.
  Pagetoid Spitz nevus is a rare subtype of Spitz nevus usually found on the lower extremities, particularly on the thigh of women. As a rare and under-recognized entity that can be misdiagnosed as melanoma, further characterization of clinical and histopathological features is needed to improve its recognition.
 
  A retrospective analysis of all melanocytic neoplasms from the thigh diagnosed over a 3-year period.
 
  Fifty-five (15.4%) of the 357 melanocytic neoplasms on the thigh were Spitz nevi, the majority of them occurring in women (87.3%). Of the 55 Spitz nevi, 33 (60.0%) were pagetoid Spitz nevi, 14 (25.5%) were Reed nevi, and eight (14.5%) were conventional Spitz nevi. The mean age of patients with pagetoid Spitz nevi was 47.2, the majority being women (84.9%). Pagetoid Spitz nevi were small, with a mean histopathologic diameter of 4 mm, and often junctional (63.6%). Compared to Clark nevi of the thigh, pagetoid Spitz nevi comprised significantly more solitary melanocytes with a greater degree of scatter.
 
  These results suggest that Spitz nevi and, in particular, pagetoid Spitz nevi constitute a significant percentage of nevi on the thigh. Previously reported benign clinical and histopathological features of pagetoid Spitz nevi are confirmed in this study.
 These results suggest that Spitz nevi and, in particular, pagetoid Spitz nevi constitute a significant percentage of nevi on the thigh. Previously reported benign clinical and histopathological features of pagetoid Spitz nevi are confirmed in this study.The eggs of salmonid fishes are an important food source for many aquatic predators that detect eggs using olfaction. Moreover, chemicals from eggs and ovarian fluid aid sperm cells in detecting and locating eggs for fertilization, and ovarian fluid is attractive to conspecific males. Thus chemicals from eggs and ovarian fluid may facilitate reproduction but may also attract egg predators. The authors sampled mature females of three Pacific salmon species - Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and sockeye (Oncorhynchus nerka) - and determined the proportional representation of amino acids, potent fish odorants, from their eggs and ovarian fluid (Chinook and coho salmon only). They then tested juvenile coho salmon, an egg predator, for responses to ovarian fluid and egg odours using the electro-olfactogram (EOG) recording technique. The amino acid compositions of the salmon species were significantly and positively correlated with each other, and the interspecific differences were comparable to those between individuals of the same species.