Facial expression is widely used as a measure of pain in infants; whether nonhuman animals display such pain expressions has never been systematically assessed. We developed the mouse grimace scale (MGS), a standardized behavioral coding system with high accuracy and reliability; assays involving noxious stimuli of moderate duration are accompanied by facial expressions of pain. This measure of spontaneously emitted pain may provide insight into the subjective pain experience of mice.

Longitudinal shifts in pollen onset, duration, and intensity are public health concerns for the growing number of individuals with pollen sensitization. National analyses of long-term pollen changes are influenced by how a plant's main pollen season (MPS) is defined. Prior Swiss studies have inconsistently applied MPS definitions, leading to heterogeneous conclusions regarding the magnitude, directionality, and significance of multi-decade pollen trends. We examined national pollen data in Switzerland between 1990 and 2020, applying six MPS definitions (2 percentage-based and 4 threshold-based) to twelve relevant allergenic plants. We analyzed changes in pollen season using both linear regression and locally estimated scatterplot smoothing (LOESS). For 4 of the 12 plant species, there is unanimity between definitions regarding earlier onset of pollen season ( p < 0.05), with magnitude of 31-year change dependent on specific MPS definition (hazel: 9–18 days; oak: 5–13 days; grasses: 8–25 days; and nettle/hemp: 6–25 days). There is also consensus ( p < 0.05) for modified MPS duration among hazel (21–104% longer), nettle/hemp (8–52% longer), and ash (18–38% shorter). Between-definition agreement is highest for MPS intensity analysis, with consensus for significant increases in seasonal pollen quantity ( p < 0.05) among hazel, birch, oak, beech, and nettle/hemp. The largest relative intensification is noted for hazel (110–146%) and beech (162–237%). LOESS analysis indicates that these multi-decade pollen changes are typically nonlinear. The robustness of MPS definitions is highly dependent on annual pollen accumulation, with definition choice particularly influential for long-term analysis of low-pollen plants such as ragweed. We identify systematic differences between MPS definitions and suggest future aerobiologic studies apply multiple definitions to minimize bias. In summary, national pollen onset, duration, and intensity have shifted for some plants in Switzerland, with MPS definition choice affecting magnitude and significance of these variations. Future public health research can determine whether these temporal and quantitative pollen changes correlate with longitudinal differences in population pollen sensitization.

In the US, H. pylori vacA shows allelic variation in the signal sequence (which may be type sla, slb or s2) and the mid-region (type ml or m2). Previous PCR-based vacA mid-region typing classified most, but not all, Asian and South American strains tested as ml or m2. We now sought to investigate vacA mid-region diversity further.MotlmodL We studied 13 Japanese, 6 Chinese, 9 Thai, and 8 Peruvian H. pylori isolates. cagA was identified by colony hybridisation (CH), vacA signal sequence was typed by PCR, and vacA mid-region was typed proximally by CH and distally by PCR. Sections of the vacA mid-region from 8 strains were PCR-amplified, sequenced, and compared with known sequences from 8 other strains.Rcuts Of the 36 Asian and South American strains studied, 35 were cagA+ (the cagA-was Peruvian) and 35 were vacA sla (1 cagA + Peruvian was slb). vacA mid-regions from the 13 Japanese strains were not PCR-amplified by ml or m2-specific primers, but hybridised weakly with an ml probe. Sequence analysis of vacA from 1 Japanese strain revealed 91% nucleotide identity with the ml probe but only 71% identity with the m2 probe. The previously equivocal Thai and Peruvian strains also had ml-like mid-region sequences. A Chinese strain was ml in the proximal mid-region and m2 distally, showing a clear crossover site. Final mid-region types were: Japanese, all 13 ml; Chinese, 1 ml, 1 ml/m2, 4 m2; Thai, 3 ml, 6 m2; Peruvian 4 ml, 4 m2. Distal mid-region sequences of 16 strains, compared over 294 bp, clustered into 2 groups, ml and m2. Nucleotide identity between ml and m2 strains ranged from 73-78%. Within groups, m2 strains were less diverse than ml strains (m2 range 94-99.7%, ml 88-99.3%, p<0.001). Sequence analysis of 7 ml and 3 m2 strains over 1.1kb proximally showed maintenance of clustering outside the 294bp region C duions These Asian and South American strains are similar in terms of cagA status and vacA sla genotype, but fall into 2 vacA midregion groups. ml sequences are more diverse than m2, and thus may be phylogenetically older. The vacA sequence of 1 Chinese strain suggests recombination in vivo between ml and m2 alleles. Introduction: H.pylori antimicrobial susceptibility is an important determinant ofthe efficacy of eradication therapies'. The prevalence of antimicrobial resistance varies within the UK and may increase given the increased use of eradication therapy. This multicentre study assesses the prevalence and possible associations ofH.pylon antimicrobial resistance. Methods: H.pylon was isolated from antral biopsies of patients undergoing routine endoscopy and cultured according to standard microbiological methods. Antimicrobial resistance was determined using "E-tests" or disc tests (tinidazole only) with breakpoints defined by previous studies. Results: H.pyloni was isolated from 32% (1222/3823) of patients and antimicrobial susceptibility determined in 90% (1077/1222) Previous case-control studies of IBD have used hospital or community derived controls. There are obvious inherent biases in both metho...

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