New quick test for farm animals will stop deadly outbreaks of infections on farms
Deadly infections in farm animals can now be detected in minutes thanks to a new rapid test created at McMaster University.
The test – developed over four years by biochemist Mac Yingfu Li and engineer Leila Soleimani – mixed a small sample of saliva with a chemical reagent. The mixture is then applied to a small microchip reader, which quickly transmits the results to an attached smartphone.
McMaster says the scientific breakthrough could help stem the growing threat of dangerous livestock outbreaks, which often require the euthanasia of entire herds and cause severe economic and environmental consequences.
A prototype of the test has already proved successful in detecting devastating diarrhea in pigs, first identified in Canada in 2014.
Once widely available, McMaster says the test is expected to be a valuable tool for identifying and isolating outbreaks on farms and limiting the risk of transmitting infections from animals to humans.
Inhaled vaccines provide better protection, require fewer doses of nasal sprays
Vaccines delivered by inhaled aerosols provide much better protection and stronger immunity against viruses than nasal sprays, according to a McMaster University study.
The study, recently published in the journal Frontiers in Immunology, found that inhaled aerosols bypass the nose and deliver vaccine droplets deep into the airways, directly targeting respiratory pathogens. It elicits a broader protective immune response than nasal sprays, which mainly reach only the nose and throat, according to the study.
The researchers used a tuberculosis vaccine to compare delivery methods by measuring droplet distribution, immune response and potency in animals. They found that vaccines delivered deep into the lungs had much stronger immune responses than the nose, mainly because the tissues and cells in both pathways were very different.
While nasal mist vaccines are very effective in children, they are much less effective in adults, the researchers said.
In addition to being needle-free and painless, researchers say oral vaccines are so effective at targeting the lungs that they can achieve maximum protection with much lower doses.
Elderly people with type 1 diabetes are at greater risk of muscle weakness, cardiovascular problems
A research project at McMaster University found that older people with type 1 diabetes (T1D) are at a much higher risk of muscle weakness and cardiovascular complications.
The researchers compared the grip strength of 126 people – half with T1D, half without – with an average age of 59 in the three-year study, which hopes to guide clinical practice and help diabetics make better health decisions.
They found that older patients with T1D had abnormally low diastolic blood pressure (when the heart muscle is relaxed between strokes), an early indicator of an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
While some people with T1D avoid exercise for fear of lowering their blood sugar, the study suggests that patients should try to maintain strength with resistance-based exercise.
Researchers said the evidence was already “extremely clear” that a decrease in muscle strength was strongly linked to higher mortality.
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