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5,800 |
Alterations in RSV induced pulmonary illness due to mutations in the attachment protein G
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5,801 |
ISNI 2010 Abstracts: Tuesday October 26(th), 2010 10th Course of the European School of Neuroimmunology
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5,802 |
Enteroviral infections and idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy: is there a causal relationship?
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5,803 |
Erkrankungen der Atemwege und der Lunge
|
Der italienische Arzt Girolamo Cardano (1501–1576), der zu seiner Zeit als einer der größten Gelehrten und Ärzte in ganz Europa galt, wurde im Jahre 1552 von John Hamilton, dem Erzbischof von St. Andrews in Edinburgh, zur Konsultation eingeladen. Hamilton, der Bruder des Regenten von Schottland, litt seit mehreren Jahren an Husten, Dyspnoe und Expektoration, die nach Ansicht der königlichen Leibärzte von einem kalten und feuchten Hirn herrührten, in dem sich durch Destillation Phlegma anhäufte, das anschließend durch die Luftröhre in die Lunge absank.
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5,804 |
NHG-Standaard Influenzapandemie
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Deze standaard is opgesteld op verzoek van het ministerie van Volksgezondheid, Welzijn en Sport. Zij geeft huisartsen richtlijnen voor een vooralsnog hypothetische situatie waarin een voor mensen nieuw influenzavirus zich wereldwijd verspreidt. Omdat deze richtlijnen volledig worden bepaald door de fase waarin een influenzapandemie zich bevindt, heeft deze standaard een andere opbouw dan gebruikelijk. De paragraaf ‘Achtergronden’ is relatief uitgebreid en geeft uitleg over het ontstaan en de mogelijke gevolgen van een influenzapandemie. Daarna wordt het beleid uiteengezet in drie delen. Eerst worden de algemene principes besproken: de virusverspreiding in de populatie indammen en de gevolgen voor de individuele patiënt beperken. De daaropvolgende onderdelen beschrijven het beleid (inclusief diagnostiek) in twee verschillende situaties: een dreigende pandemie en een manifeste pandemie. Voor de uitvoerbaarheid van het geadviseerde beleid is het van groot belang dat de huisartsgeneeskundige zorg goed georganiseerd is en dat huisartsen tijdens een influenzapandemie samenwerken met andere disciplines. Het NHG heeft implementatiemateriaal ontwikkeld waarin deze aspecten aan de orde komen. Het is onvoorspelbaar hoe een nieuwe influenzapandemie zich zal ontwikkelen en wat de aard zal zijn van een nieuw pandemisch influenzavirus. Er kunnen zich ontwikkelingen voordoen die aanpassing van het geadviseerde beleid nodig maken. Deze NHGStandaard zal daarom regelmatig geactualiseerd worden op de website van het NHG (http://www.nhg.org). Voor de meest recente informatie wordt verwezen naar overheidsrichtlijnen waarop deze standaard is gebaseerd.(49)
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5,805 |
Civil Society Involvement in National HIV/AIDS Programs
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Globally, the AIDS response relies on active participation of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society. In China, the government is the main provider of health and social services, and the role of NGOs is more limited than in other countries. Despite this, China has opened the door for NGO participation in its AIDS response, initially because of donor pressure but increasingly due to official acknowledgment of the important role these groups play in controlling the epidemic. Since the first AIDS NGOs were established in China in the 1990s, Chinese AIDS NGOs have made unique contributions to China’s AIDS response in critical areas like access to drugs, support for treatment compliance, outreach to marginalized at-risk groups, and efforts to reduce stigma among marginalized populations. However, there has been a substantial drop-off in donor funding in recent years, and although the Chinese government has filled the funding gap, demonstrating its commitment to the sector, recent policy moves toward greater control over the work and funding of NGOs threatens their survival. Thus far, China’s AIDS response has been noteworthy, but these new NGO funding and regulatory developments pose significant challenges to the next phase of outreach, prevention, treatment, and care.
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5,806 |
Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy
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5,807 |
Structure and Organization of Virus Genomes
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This chapter provides an in depth study on the structure, composition, and organization of viral genomes, their classification into double stranded and single stranded DNA viruses, positive and negative stranded RNA viruses with and their genome diversity. Segmentation and re-assortment of viral genomes have been discussed along with the multipartite virus genomes. Genome details of 13 different viruses have been provided as type studies for better understanding of these topics. Concepts of viral genome evolution have also been discussed.
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5,808 |
Human Coronaviruses
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Human Coronaviruses (HCoVs) are recognised to be an important cause of the common cold. In 1962 HCoV-229E and HCoV-OC43 where first recognised, more recently HCoV-NL63 and HCoV-HKU-1 have been discovered in respiratory specimens from children and adults [3]. This protocol describes two real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) methods, a single target and triplex RT-PCR that identifies and differentiates HCoV infection.
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5,809 |
Thinking like a Virus: Contagion, Postmodernist Epistemology, and the Ethics of Belief
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This chapter explores how postmodernism and its rejection of grand narratives inform current epistemological theory, emerging from the study of contagion as a fluid and transgressive phenomenon. Donner proposes a drastic re-centering of epistemology around the notion of belief as well as the abandonment of truth and knowledge as possible objects of enquiry. By embracing the idea that the foundations of every belief cannot but themselves be the unjustified and unjustifiable products of an epistemic act, the result of an arbitrary cultural or individual decision, this chapter suggests a new approach to epistemology. Re-framing belief as akin to an insidious form of viral programming, lurking endemically in every belief and act, this new theory signals the invariably performative dimension of every belief and, ultimately, the necessary ethical responsibility revealed by applying epidemiological thinking to epistemological problems.
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5,810 |
Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
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Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a specific clinicopathologic syndrome presenting in older adults with the predominant features: dyspnea, dry cough, restrictive defect on pulmonary function tests (PFTs), hypoxemia, characteristic abnormalities on high-resolution thin section computed tomographic (HRCT) scans, usual interstitial pneumonitis (UIP) pattern on lung biopsy. Surgical lung biopsy is the gold standard of diagnosis, but the diagnosis can be established in some cases by HRCT, provided the clinical features are consistent. The cause of IPF is unknown. However, IPF is more common in adults >60 years old, smokers (current or ex), and patients with specific occupational or noxious exposures. Familial IPF, associated with several distinct genetic mutations, accounts for 1.5–3% of cases. Unfortunately, the prognosis is poor, and most patients die of respiratory failure within 3–6 years of diagnosis. However, the course is highly variable. In some patients, the disease is fulminant, progressing to lethal respiratory failure within months, whereas the course may be indolent, spanning >5 years in some patients. Therapy has not been proven to alter the course of the disease or influence mortality, but recent studies with pirfenidone and tyrosine kinase inhibitors are promising. Lung transplantation is the best therapeutic option, but is limited to selected patients with severe, life-threatening disease and no contraindications to transplant.
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5,811 |
Respiratory Tract Diseases That May Be Mistaken for Infection
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The differential diagnosis of lung infiltrates in transplant patients includes non-infectious processes that may mimic pneumonia. Hydrostatic and non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema, as well as transfusion-related lung injury, may cause bilateral airspace opacification that may be confused with an infectious process. Chemotherapeutic agents, whether administered for treatment of an underlying hematologic malignancy, for induction prior to transplant, or for the treatment of GVHD or graft rejection after transplant, may cause lung injury that in some cases may not become apparent until years later. Radiation-induced lung injury may cause a distinct pattern of lung injury, which may present months after exposure. In hematopoietic stem cell transplant patients, pulmonary diagnoses such as engraftment syndrome, idiopathic pneumonia syndrome, and diffuse alveolar hemorrhage can mimic pneumonia. After lung transplantation, infiltrates may be seen as a consequence of primary graft dysfunction or allograft rejection. Organizing pneumonia may be seen both in recipients of solid organ and hematopoietic stem cell transplants. Organizing pneumonia may be cryptogenic or associated with the use of the mTOR inhibitor sirolimus. Failure to accurately diagnose non-infectious infiltrates may lead to unnecessary antibiotic treatment and failure to address the underlying pathophysiologic process.
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5,812 |
Laboratory Test for Diagnosis of Parasitic Diseases
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Parasitic diseases generally develop chronically, and most patients experience non-specific symptoms and show unobvious physical signs. Except medical history and physical examination, the diagnosis is mainly based on the laboratory tests. The commonly applied laboratory tests for the diagnosis of parasitic diseases include etiological examination, immunological assay and molecular biological examination.
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5,813 |
Bio-Microfluidics: Overview: Coupling Biology and Fluid Physics at the Scale of Microconfinement
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With a view to establish unique interfacial synergistic interactions between two seemingly distant fields of microfluidics and biology, Bio-microfluidics has become a progressive arena of research in recent times. Bio-microfluidic tools in the format of lab-on-a-chip devices have been extensively utilized to uncouth hitherto un-illuminated regions of cellular-molecular biology, biotechnology and biomedical engineering. This chapter elaborately delineates the linking between the fundamental microscale physics and biologically relevant physico-chemical events and how, in practice, these relations are exploited in microfluidic devices. Finally, potential directions of future biomicrofluidic research are also discussed.
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5,814 |
Animal Models in Virology
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The knowledge we have gained from the study of many diseases that affect humans comes from the study of disease processes in different animal species, and this has enhanced our understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease in humans. The American Medical Association says almost every advance in medical science in the twentieth century, from antibiotics and vaccines to antidepressant drugs and organ transplants, has been achieved either directly or indirectly through the use of animals as models of disease. In this chapter a brief overview of the uses of animal models for research on human viral diseases is presented.
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5,815 |
Inflammatory Diseases of the Meninges
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Neuroimaging is of major importance in all cases of suspected infectious meningitis in order to get quick information about the extent of the disease, typical lesion patterns, and potential complications, such as hydrocephalus, involvement of the underlying brain parenchyma, or vasculitis. In bacterial meningitis, abnormal and asymmetrical enhancement of the leptomeninges and the subarachnoid space is typical. Initial neuroimaging has to rule out infectious foci of the skull base such as purulent sinusitis or mastoiditis. In patients with focal deficits or seizures, MRI is the tool of choice to diagnose vascular or septic complications. Neoplastic, viral, or fungal infections of the CNS may present with similar changes of the meninges; however, fungal meningitis normally causes a thicker and more nodular enhancement. In case of basal accentuation of the leptomeningeal contrast enhancement and conspicuous signal changes in the basal cisterns, one has to consider tuberculous meningitis for differential diagnosis, especially in patients with HIV infection. Non-infectious causes of meningeal enhancement comprise several primary and secondary tumors (e.g., CNS lymphoma, medulloblastoma, or breast cancer), granulomatous diseases, and post-operative changes.
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5,816 |
Neonatologie
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Noch vor 10 Jahren war die häufigste Todesursache Frühgeborener das akute Lungenversagen. Die sensationellen Ergebnisse von Mary Ellen Avery ebneten dann den Weg für eine kausale Therapie des Atemnotsyndroms. M.E. Avery beobachtete, dass die Lungen eines verstorbenen Frühgeborenen luftleer und „schwer“ waren und kein „schäumendes Material“ („foam“)enthielten. Wiesie durch Experimente belegen konnte, fehlte diesen Lungen in der Tat eine Substanz, die die Oberflächenspannung in den Alveolen vermindert: das pulmonale Surfactant. Die 1959 publizierten Ergebnisse ihrer Untersuchungen fanden zunächst nicht die ihnen gebührende Aufmerksamkeit. Um die weitere Resonanz auf ihre Entdeckung zu beschreiben, verweist M.E. Avery gerne auf den deutschen Philosophen Schopenhauer. Dieser hatte erkannt, dass sich neues Wissen in 3 Phasen verbreitet: Die 1. Phase, in der neue Ergebnisse bekannt gegeben werden, wird meist ignoriert. In der 2. Phase rufen die inzwischen von anderen nicht mehr zu leugnenden Ergebnisse Feindseligkeiten hervor, in der 3. und letzten Phase besteht eine generelle Übereinstimmung darüber, dass man schon immervon dieser Tatsacheausgegangen sei.(CPS)
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5,817 |
Revolutionary Struggle for Existence: Introduction to Four Intriguing Puzzles in Virus Research
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Cellular life is immersed into an ocean of viruses. Virosphere forms the shadow of this cell-based tree of life: completely dependent on the tree for existence, yet, the tree is equally unable to escape its ever evolving companion. How important role has the shadow played in the evolution of life? Is it a mere ethereal partner or a constitutive factor? In this chapter four puzzles in virus research are taken under the scope in order to probe some of the intriguing ways by which viruses can help us understand life on Earth. These puzzles consider the origin of genetic information in viruses, viruses as symbiotic partners, the structural diversity of viruses and the role of viruses in the origin of cellular life. More than providing answers, this introduction exemplifies how viruses can be approached from various angles and how each of the angles can open up new ways to appreciate their potential contributions to life.
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5,818 |
Viroporins
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Virus encoded ion channels, termed viroporins, are expressed by a diverse set of viruses and have been found to target nearly every host cell membrane and compartment, including endocytic/exocytic vesicles, ER, mitochondria, Golgi, and the plasma membrane. Viroporins are generally very small (<100 amino acids) integral membrane proteins that share common structure motifs (conserved cluster of basic residues adjacent to an amphipathic alpha-helix) but only limited sequence homology between viruses. Ion channel activity of viroporins is either required for replication or greatly enhances replication and pathogenesis. Channel characteristics have been investigated using standard electrophysiological techniques, including planar lipid bilayer, liposome patch clamp or whole-cell voltage clamp. In general, viroporins are voltage-independent non-specific monovalent cation channels, with the exception of the influenza A virus M2 channel that forms a highly specific proton channel due to a conserved HXXXW motif. Viroporin channel currents range between highly variable (‘burst-like’) fluctuations to well resolved unitary (‘square-top’) transitions, and emerging data indicates the quality of channel activity is influenced by many factors, including viroporin synthesis/solubilization, the lipid environment and the ionic composition of the buffers, as well as intrinsic differences between the viroporins themselves. Compounds that block viroporin channel activity are effective antiviral drugs both in vitro and in vivo. Surprisingly distinct viroporins are inhibited by the same compounds (e.g., amantadines and amiloride derivatives), despite wide sequence divergence, raising the possibility of broadly acting antiviral drugs that target viroporins. Electrophysiology of viroporins will continue to play a critical role in elucidating the functional roles viroporins play in pathogenesis and to develop new drugs to combat viroporin-encoding pathogens.
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5,819 |
Special Considerations in Preschool Age
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The diagnosis of asthma can be particularly difficult in young children, in whom wheezing is not always synonym with asthma. It is also difficult to predict which preschool children with wheeze will go on to be true asthmatics. In this chapter, we will characterize preschool wheezing and asthma and discuss early risk factors for the development of severe asthma. We will also review risk factors for severe acute wheezing in young children. Finally, we will describe the natural history and prognosis of wheezing and some of the attempts at early identification of children who will develop severe asthma.
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5,820 |
Interpretation and Relevance of Advanced Technique Results
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Advanced techniques in the field of diagnostic microbiology have made amazing progress over the past two decades due largely to a technological revolution in the molecular aspects of microbiology [1, 2]. In particular, rapid molecular methods for nucleic acid amplification and characterization combined with automation and user-friendly software have significantly broadened the diagnostic capabilities of modern clinical microbiology laboratories. Molecular methods such as nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) rapidly are being developed and introduced in the clinical laboratory setting. Indeed, every section of the clinical microbiology laboratory, including bacteriology, mycology, mycobacteriology, parasitology, and virology, have benefited from these advanced techniques. Because of the rapid development and adaptation of these molecular techniques, the interpretation and relevance of the results produced by such molecular methods has lagged somewhat behind. The purpose of this chapter is to review and discuss the interpretation and relevance of results produced by these advanced molecular techniques. Moreover, this chapter will address the “myths” of NAATs, as these myths can markedly influence the interpretation and relevance of these results.
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5,821 |
Swine and Avian Influenza Outbreaks in Recent Times
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Influenza A is a zoonotic virus and wild waterfowls are the main reservoir of avian influenza viruses, which are precursors of human influenza A viruses. Through mutations and gene reassortment, some strains of avian influenza viruses establish stable lineages in poultry species, pigs, horses, and humans. The first zoonotic influenza pandemic of the twenty-first century, the swine H1N1 pandemic of 2009, originated from Mexico, and fortunately the virus was only of modest virulence. However, lessons have been learned on the shortcomings of the global preparedness for influenza pandemic, and this should be considered as a valuable experience for the preparation of the next major outbreak. Of more concern is the emergence of the highly pathogenic avian influenza A [H5N1], ongoing since 1996, and the low pathogenic avian influenza A [H7N9], since 2013, which have crossed the species barrier to humans in China. Risks of a H5N1 pandemic appear to be receding with declining human cases, and the H7N9 influenza virus is now the leading candidate as the next pandemic influenza virus. However, influenza pandemics are unpredictable in their timing, specific strain of virus, and origin. Most experts predict that the next influenza pandemic will arise from Asia, especially China, and will be directly of avian origin. Continued influenza surveillance in animals and humans globally with prompt reporting to the WHO and the World Animal Health Organization with sharing of data promptly between countries is essential. Long-term solutions to prevent cross-species transmission of zoonotic influenza viruses to humans and development of more effective, longer-lasting vaccines against emerging avian influenza viruses are needed. Currently there is no evidence of an impending zoonotic or avian influenza pandemic, and the viruses of interest, H5N1 and H7N9 avian influenza A viruses, have not mutated to allow for easy transmission to humans nor human to human.
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5,822 |
Alveolar Hemorrhage
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Diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH) is a clinical syndrome characterized by generalized intra-alveolar bleeding originating from the pulmonary microcirculation. The finding of DAH carries an extended differential diagnosis and may be associated with a number of histopathologic patterns. The prompt recognition and diagnosis of DAH is of critical importance to the practicing clinician as accurate diagnosis and prompt initiation of therapy may dramatically improve patient outcomes. This chapter reviews the diagnosis and management of diffuse alveolar hemorrhage.
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5,823 |
Multidetektor-CT-Diagnostik der infektiösen Lungenerkrankungen
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Die Thorax-Übersichtsaufnahme ist aufgrund der VerfÜgbarkeit und der exzellenten Kosten-Nutzen-Relation die häufigste verwendete Untersuchungsmethode in der Diagnostik der infektiösen Lungenerkrankungen. Allerdings ist ihre Zuverlässigkeit durch eine große Interobserver-Variabilität in der radiologischen Interpretation limitiert [1]. Die Rolle der Computertomographie und der High-Resolution-CT (HRCT) ist aufgrund der Überlegenen Detektion und Charakterisation pulmonaler Infiltrate gut etabliert.
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5,824 |
Eukaryote Genomes
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General overviews of eukaryote genomes are first discussed, including organelle genomes, introns, and junk DNAs. We then discuss the evolutionary features of eukaryote genomes, such as genome duplication, C-value paradox, and the relationship between genome size and mutation rates. Genomes of multicellular organisms, plants, fungi, and animals are then briefly discussed.
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5,825 |
Weibliche und männliche Fertilitätsstörungen und Risiken der assistierten Fertilisation
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Ca. 10–15% der Paare im reproduktionsfähigen Alter bleiben ungewollt kinderlos. Der Anteil steigt tendentiell durch den zunehmend „späten Kinderwunsch“. Das durchschnittliche Alter der Erstgebärenden hat sich u.a. aus Gründen der Ausbildungszeit und Berufstätigkeit der Frau zwischen 1970 und 2000 vom 24. auf das 30. Lebensjahr verschoben. Eine gewollte Kinderlosigkeit kommt in ca. 10% der Ehen vor.
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5,826 |
Litigation in Infections of Obstetrics and Gynecology
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A 28-year-old female Native American Indian, in her third trimester of pregnancy (34 weeks), presented to an isolated, stand-alone medical center serving the local community (Indian Reservation) at 6 p.m. on a Sunday evening. This center serves the dual purpose of medical clinic and emergency facility. Available teleconsultation and transportation to a tertiary care center via air ambulance were accessible 24 h/day. Normally, air ambulance transfer to a distant tertiary care hospital can be accomplished within 3–4 h after notification by phone.
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5,827 |
Corticosteroidi
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I corticosteroidi sono ormoni secreti dalla porzione corticale del surrene in seguito a stimolazione ipofisaria mediata dall’ormone adrenocorticotropo (ACTH). Sapendo che la surrenale è l’organo per eccellenza che controlla l’omeostasi dell’organismo, si evince come gli effetti dei cortisonici siano importanti e numerosi. Essi influenzano il metabolismo glucidico, lipidico e proteico, il sistema immunitario, il bilancio idroelettrolitico, le funzioni del sistema cardiovascolare, del rene, del sistema nervoso e del tessuto muscolare. Inoltre rendono l’organismo capace di resistere a numerosi stimoli nocivi, ai cambiamenti ambientali e agli eventi stressanti. Il cortisolo rappresenta il glucocorticoide fisiologico, ma alcune modificazioni della sua struttura hanno portato alla sintesi di molte molecole, che possiedono effetti farmacologici e durata di azione diversificati rispetto al composto di base.
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5,828 |
Risks and Disasters
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5,829 |
Mechanism-based Screening for Cancer Therapeutics with Examples from the Discovery of Marine Natural Product-based HIF-1 Inhibitors
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Recent advances in cancer genetics combined with an increasing number of new methods in molecular and cell biology provide exciting new antitumor drug targets and a wide array of means to design bioassay systems for the discovery of novel cancer chemotherapeutics. Marine natural products continue to play a vital role in molecular-targeted antitumor drug discovery. Although most recognize the critical and expanding role mechanism-based antitumor bioassays play in modern anticancer drug discovery, few natural products chemists have specific training in bioassay technology. Critical bioassay development factors are outlined and introduced at a level intended to provide a basic understanding to a general audience. These include molecular target identification, antitumor target validation, selection of assayable biochemical processes, data acquisition methods, experimental controls, bioassay validation and statistical methods, experimental artifacts, active compound identification, and the dereplication of nuisance compounds. Marine natural products have been identified that inhibit the activation of the anticancer drug target hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1). Bioassay systems and recent results from marine HIF-1 inhibitor discovery programs are used to illustrate important factors that must be considered when using molecular-targeted antitumor bioassay methods.
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5,830 |
Evolution in Lateral Flow–Based Immunoassay Systems
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5,831 |
Coronavirus, humanpathogenes
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Humanes Coronavirus, Gruppe 1 Coronavirus
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5,832 |
Myokarditis
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5,833 |
Local Angiotensin Generation and AT(2) Receptor Activation
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5,834 |
Neurologic Implications of Critical Illness and Organ Dysfunction
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Critical illness has consequences for the nervous system. Patients experiencing critical illness are at risk for common global neurologic disturbances, such as delirium, long-term cognitive dysfunction, ICU-acquired weakness, sleep disturbances, recurrent seizures, and coma. In addition, complications related to specific organ dysfunction may be anticipated. Cardiovascular disease presents the possibility for CNS injury after cardiac arrest, sequelae of endocarditis, aberrancies of blood flow autoregulation, and malperfusion. Respiratory disease is known to cause short-term effects of hypoxia and long-term effects after ARDS. Sepsis encephalopathy and sickness behavior syndrome are early signs of infection in patients. In addition, commonly encountered organ dysfunction including uremia, hepatic failure, endocrine, and metabolic disturbances present with neurologic findings which may manifest in the critically ill patient as well.
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5,835 |
The Realization Path of Network Security Technology Under Big Data and Cloud Computing
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This paper studies the cloud and big data technology based on the characters of network security, including virus invasion, data storage, system vulnerabilities, network management etc. It analyzes some key network security problems in the current cloud and big data network. Above all, this paper puts forward technical ways of achieving network security. Cloud computing is a service that based on the increased usage and delivery of the internet related services, it promotes the rapidly development of the big data information processing technology, improves the processing and management abilities of big data information. With tie rapid development of computer technology, big data technology brings not only huge economic benefits, but the evolution of social productivity. However, serials of safety problems appeared. How to increase network security has been become the key point. This paper analyzes and discusses the technical ways of achieving network security.
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5,836 |
Modeling Evolutionary Dynamics of HIV Infection
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We have modelled the within-patient evolutionary process during HIV infection. We have studied viral evolution at population level (competition on the same receptor) and at species level (competitions on different receptors). During the HIV infection, several mutants of the virus arise, which are able to use different chemokine receptors, in particular the CCR5 and CXCR4 coreceptors (termed R5 and X4 phenotypes, respectively). Phylogenetic inference of chemokine receptors suggests that virus mutational pathways may generate R5 variants able to interact with a wide range of chemokine receptors different from CXCR4. Using the chemokine tree topology as conceptual framework for HIV viral speciation, we present a model of viral phenotypic mutations from R5 to X4 strains which reflect HIV late infection dynamics. Our model investigates the action of Tumor Necrosis Factor in AIDS progression and makes suggestions on better design of HAART therapy.
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5,837 |
Analysis of Infectious Disease Data Based on Evolutionary Computation
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An international cooperative research project on intelligence and security informatics (ISI) was initialized in 2005 with funding support by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. This abstract summarizes an ongoing study on ISI data analysis using evolutionary computation methods, conducted by the Chinese team of this international project.
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5,838 |
Urbanization and Infectious Diseases: General Principles, Historical Perspectives, and Contemporary Challenges
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In 2009, a major demographic line was crossed: for the first time in history, the majority of the world population lived in cities rather than in towns and countryside (Fig. 4.1). This shift has been occurring over the past 100 years, with the most rapid rate of urban growth occurring over in the latter half of the twentieth century. Urban centers in the more developed regions of the world (i.e., North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe) experienced earlier growth in the 1920s–1950s, and since then, the rapid rate of urban growth has been concentrated in the cities and towns of developing nations [1].
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5,839 |
Detection, Occurence And Isolation
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Lectins are ubiquitous in nature, and are found in all classes of organism. They are easy to detect and often to isolate. In addition, many are available from commercial suppliers. They are now obtainable also by recombinant techniques. The classic, and still simplest, way to detect the presence of a lectin in a biological material is to prepare an extract from the material and examine its ability to agglutinate erythrocytes (Fig. 3.1) (Rüdiger, 1993). A more refined screening procedure is based on the ability of these proteins to precipitate polysaccharides (Goldstein, 1976) (Fig. 3.2) or glycoproteins. If a positive result is obtained, it is essential to show that the agglutination or precipitation is specifically inhibited by mono- or oligosaccharides, i.e., it is sugar specific (Fig. 3.1). Hemagglutination is commonly assayed by the serial dilution technique using erythrocytes from humans or rabbits. Occasionally erythrocytes that have been treated with trypsin or sialidase are employed, since such cells are often more sensitive to agglutination than the untreated cells (Fig. 3.3). Hemagglutination also serves to monitor and quantify the activity of lectins in the course of purification. Because of the wide use of the agglutination reaction, it deserves some comments (Lis & Sharon, 1986). For agglutination to occur, the lectin must bind to the cells and form cross-bridges between them. There is however no simple relation between the amount of lectin bound and agglutination. Cases are even known where considerable amounts of lectin are bound to cells, without causing agglutination. This is because agglutination is affected by many factors, among them accessibility of receptor sites, membrane fluidity and metabolic state of the cells. It is also influenced by external conditions of the assay, such as temperature, cell concentration, mixing and so on. The relative contribution of the different factors depends on both the lectin and the cells examined. When agglutination does occur and it is inhibited by monoor oligosaccharides, it serves as an indication that carbohydrate structures for which the lectin is specific are present on the surface of the cell. Additional information on the nature of the receptors may be obtained with erythrocytes pretreated with enzymes, in particular glycosidases, or with sugar-modifying reagents, such as periodate. Agglutination with lectins is also of use in following changes on cell surfaces during physiological and pathological processes.
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5,840 |
Membrane Transport
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Every living cell has to exchange molecules across the membrane for cellular functions. The hydrophobic or lipophilic molecules do not require energy for crossing the membrane. They can diffuse freely from higher to lower concentration till equilibrium is established. This process is called passive transport or diffusion.
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5,841 |
Event Relationship Analysis for Temporal Event Search
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There are many news articles about events reported on the Web daily, and people are getting more and more used to reading news articles online to know and understand what events happened. For an event, (which may consist of several component events, i.e., episodes), people are often interested in the whole picture of its evolution and development along a time line. This calls for modeling the dependent relationships between component events. Further, people may also be interested in component events which play important roles in the event evolution or development. To satisfy the user needs in finding and understanding the whole picture of an event effectively and efficiently, we formalize in this paper the problem of temporal event search and propose a framework of event relationship analysis for search events based on user queries. We define three kinds of event relationships which are temporal relationship, content dependence relationship, and event reference relationship for identifying to what an extent a component event is dependent on another component event in the evolution of a target event (i.e., query event). Experiments conducted on a real data set show that our method outperforms a number of baseline methods.
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5,842 |
The Future of Mesothelioma Research: Basic Science Research
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Our current understanding of mesothelioma in terms of disease induction, development, and treatment is underpinned by decades of basic laboratory science. In this chapter, we discuss the tools that have been developed to aid our understanding of mesothelioma such as cell lines and animal models. We then go on to detail the current use and understanding of conventional therapies for mesothelioma, e.g. chemotherapy, surgery, and radiotherapy, plus their mechanisms of action, and why they may be ineffective. Finally, we discuss a range of newer treatments that are either undergoing clinical trials or are still in the earlier stages of preclinical investigation. These include a growing number of immunotherapies (e.g. checkpoint inhibitors), plus targeted therapies, the search for clinical biomarkers to predict whether patients with mesothelioma might respond to particular treatments, and combined therapies where conventional treatments may be added to newer drugs. The strategy of repositioning existing drugs, approved for other diseases, to treat mesothelioma is also discussed.
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5,843 |
A Cognitive-Behavioral Perspective
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5,844 |
Antibody-Dependent Enhancement of Viral Infections
|
Antiviral antibodies constitute an important component of the host immune response against viral infections and serve to neutralize and reduce infectivity of the virus. However, these antibodies, intended to protect the host, may sometimes prove beneficial to the virus, by facilitating viral entry and replication in the target cell. This phenomenon, known as antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) of infection, is a result of interaction of virus–antibody immune complexes with Fcγ and/or complement receptors on certain types of host cells and promotes viral entry into the host cells. The internalized immune complexes then modulate host immune response so as to enhance viral replication and aggravate disease severity. The possibility of induction of ADE remains a concern in the development and implementation of viral vaccines and immunotherapeutics.
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5,845 |
Treatment of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever
|
Ribavirin is a synthetic purine nucleoside analog with a modified base and D-ribose sugar, also known as virazol, first synthesized by Sidwell and colleagues in 1972 [43, 49] (Fig. 19-1). It is of particular interest, because it was the first synthetic nucleoside to exhibit broad spectrum antiviral activity, and it is one of few antiviral drugs in clinical use effective against agents other than HIV and herpesviruses [43]. It inhibits the replication of a wide range of RNA and DNA viruses in vitro, including orthomyxo, paramyxo, arena, bunya, flavi, herpes, adeno, pox, and retroviruses [49]. In current clinical practice, ribavirin is commonly used for certain viral infections (Table 19-1). Most notably, it is used in combination with interferon-α for treatment of HCV infection [66]. Ribavirin aerosol is used for treatment of pediatric infection by respiratory syncytial virus [19]. It is the only antiviral drug that could be also used in viral hemorrhagic fever syndromes. Besides Crimean- Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF), it is used in Lassa fever [70]. Viruses in the Bunyaviridae family are generally sensitive to ribavirin [92]. A prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 242 patients with serologically confirmed Hantaan virus in the People’s Republic of China found a sevenfold decrease in mortality among ribavirin-treated patients [54], other studies did not confirm these benefits. Ribavirin was found to be effective against CCHF virus (CCHFV) in vitro [99, 104].
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5,846 |
Nucleotide sugar transporters of the Golgi apparatus
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The Golgi apparatus is the major site of protein, lipid and proteoglycan glycosylation. The glycosylation enzymes, as well as kinases and sulfatases that catalyze phosphorylation and sulfation, are localized within the Golgi cisternae in characteristic distributions that frequently reflect their order in a particular pathway (Kornfeld and Kornfeld 1985; Colley 1997). The glycosyl-transferases, sulfotransferases and kinases are “transferases” that require activated donor molecules for the reactions they catalyze. For eukaryotic, fungal and protozoan glycosyltransferases these are the nucleotide sugars UDP-N-acetylglucosamine (UDP-GlcNAc), UDP-galactose (UDP-Gal), GDP-fucose (GDP-Fuc), CMP-sialicacid (CMP-Sia), UDP-glucuronicacid (UDP-GlcA), GDP-mannose (GDP-Man), and UDP-xylose (UDP-Xyl) (Hirschberg et al. 1998). For the kinases, ATP functions as the donor, while for the sulfotransferases, adenosine 3′-phosphate 5′-phosphate (PAPS) acts as the donor (Hirschberg et al. 1998). The active sites of all these enzymes are oriented towards the lumen of the Golgi cisternae. This necessitates the translocation of their donors from the cytosol into the lumenal Golgi compartments. In this chapter we will focus on the structure, function and localization of the Golgi nucleotide sugar transporters (NSTs), and highlight the diseases and developmental defects associated with defective transporters. We direct the reader to several excellent reviews on Golgi transporters for additional details and references (Hirschberg et al. 1998; Berninsone and Hirschberg 2000; Gerardy-Schahn et al. 2001; Handford et al. 2006; Caffaro and Hirschberg 2006).
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5,847 |
Pneumonia
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Despite antibiotic therapy, pneumonia remains a significant worldwide cause of morbidity and mortality. The term pneumonia covers several distinct clinical entities, and correct classification is vital as the aetiology, infective organism, antibiotic management and outcome are determined by how and where pneumonia was contracted. Early recog-nition and appropriate treatment improve outcome. Critical care physicians must be familiar with all aspects of pneumonia, as they will be expected to advise on and manage severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) and opportunistic pneumonias in immuno-compromised patients in the wards, high depend-ency units (HDUs) and intensive care units (ICUs). Differences in the recently published antibiotic guidelines between the British and American Tho-racic Societies are highlighted in this chapter.
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5,848 |
Fundamentals of Vaccine Delivery in Infectious Diseases
|
Infectious diseases continue to be the major causes of illness, disability, and death. Moreover, in recent years, new infectious agents and diseases are being identified, and some diseases that were previously considered under control have reemerged. Furthermore, antimicrobial resistance has grown rapidly in a variety of hospital as well as community acquired infections. Thus, humanity still faces big challenges in the prevention and control of infectious diseases. Vaccination, generally considered to be the most effective method of preventing infectious diseases, works by presenting a foreign antigen to the immune system to evoke an immune response. The administered antigen can either be a live, but weakened, form of a pathogen (bacteria or virus), a killed or inactivated form of the pathogen, or a purified material such as a protein. However, no vaccine is completely safe; therefore, vaccine safety research and monitoring are necessary to minimize vaccine related harms. From the formulation point of view, the goal continues to be to improve the quality and global availability of vaccine delivery systems. This chapter provides an introduction to vaccine formulation, describes the delivery routes that are utilized, and discusses the factors that affect the safety and stability of a vaccine formulation.
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5,849 |
Veterinary Immunologists Meet
| null |
5,850 |
8 Plotselinge uitbraken
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Er is sprake van een plotselinge uitbraak van ziekte als het aantal nieuwe ziektegevallen dat men in een bepaalde situatie en in een relatief korte tijd waarneemt aanzienlijk groter is dan men zou verwachten. Eigenlijk is dit ook de definitie van een epidemie, maar toch prefereren veel epidemiologen die term voor meer grootschalige en geografisch meer uitgebreide stijgingen van de ziekte-incidentie.
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5,851 |
Progress of Research in Neonatal Sepsis
|
Neonatal sepsis remains a significant global problem with little progress made despite major efforts. At present, there is a lack of an accepted international consensus on the definition, diagnosis, and treatment of neonatal sepsis; the unclear understanding of the pathogenesis of neonatal sepsis leads to blindness in treatment, which will result in an unsatisfactory therapeutic outcome. In addition, some serious diseases caused by noninfectious factors, such as trauma, stress, asphyxia, and so on, have very similar pathophysiological results with neonatal sepsis. In this review we synthesize the recent advances in definition, incidence, causative agents, risk factors, pathophysiology, clinical manifestations, and diagnosis and treatment of neonatal sepsis. Of course, there are still many challenges to neonatal sepsis in many ways.
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5,852 |
Occupational and Public Health Risks
|
Symptoms reported by passengers and crewmembers on commercial aircraft are described according to individual air quality-related sources, including: (1) elevated levels of bioeffluents; (2) infectious agents; (3) extreme temperatures; (4) exhaust fumes, deicing fluid, fuel fumes, and cleaning products; (5) heated engine oil and hydraulic fluid; (6) reduced oxygen supply; (7) ozone gas; and (8) insecticides. A brief overview of the aircraft regulatory environment and available sources of data on the hazards and associated health effects is also provided.
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5,853 |
The Chemistry of Marine Sponges(∗)
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Marine sponges continue to attract wide attention from marine natural product chemists and pharmacologists alike due to their remarkable diversity of bioactive compounds. Since the early days of marine natural products research in the 1960s, sponges have notoriously yielded the largest number of new metabolites reported per year compared to any other plant or animal phylum known from the marine environment. This not only reflects the remarkable productivity of sponges with regard to biosynthesis and accumulation of structurally diverse compounds but also highlights the continued interest of marine natural product researchers in this fascinating group of marine invertebrates. Among the numerous classes of natural products reported from marine sponges over the years, alkaloids, peptides, and terpenoids have attracted particularly wide attention due to their unprecedented structural features as well as their pronounced pharmacological activities which make several of these metabolites interesting candidates for drug discovery. This chapter consequently highlights several important groups of sponge-derived alkaloids, peptides, and terpenoids and describes their biological and/or pharmacological properties.
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5,854 |
Important Databases Related to Genomes
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Genome databases are the locations, which permits storing, sharing, retrieving and comparison of the information related to the genomes of various individuals and organisms. Traditionally the databases were confined to the updated information of certain vital model organisms. Rapid development of technology and high speed internet facilities have created an explosion of databases resulting in the development of specific databases of almost all model organisms and a group of organisms with a common specificity. In the present chapter, details of the databases related to the genomes of viruses, archaea, bacteria, cell organelle, invertebrates, vertebrates, plants, and human beings are provided in a table format which provides an instant information, about different databases and their URLs.
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5,855 |
An Introduction to Biotechnology
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Biotechnology is multidisciplinary field which has major impact on our lives. The technology is known since years which involves working with cells or cell-derived molecules for various applications. It has wide range of uses and is termed “technology of hope” which impact human health, well being of other life forms and our environment. It has revolutionized diagnostics and therapeutics; however, the major challenges to the human beings have been threats posed by deadly virus infections as avian flu, Chikungunya, Ebola, Influenza A, SARS, West Nile, and the latest Zika virus. Personalized medicine is increasingly recognized in healthcare system. In this chapter, the readers would understand the applications of biotechnology in human health care system. It has also impacted the environment which is loaded by toxic compounds due to human industrialization and urbanization. Bioremediation process utilizes use of natural or recombinant organisms for the cleanup of environmental toxic pollutants. The development of insect and pest resistant crops and herbicide tolerant crops has greatly reduced the environmental load of toxic insecticides and pesticides. The increase in crop productivity for solving world food and feed problem is addressed in agricultural biotechnology. The technological advancements have focused on development of alternate, renewable, and sustainable energy sources for production of biofuels. Marine biotechnology explores the products which can be obtained from aquatic organisms. As with every research area, the field of biotechnology is associated with many ethical issues and unseen fears. These are important in defining laws governing the feasibility and approval for the conduct of particular research.
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5,856 |
Diagnosis and Assessment of Microbial Infections with Host and Microbial MicroRNA Profiles
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MicroRNAs (miRNAs) encoded by viral genome or host have been found participating in host-microbe interactions. Differential expression profiles of miRNAs were shown linking to specific disease pathologies which indicated its potency as diagnostic/prognostic biomarkers of infectious disease. This was emphasized by the discovery of circulating miRNAs which were found to be remarkably stable in mammalian biofluids. Standardized methods of miRNA quantification including RNA isolation should be established before they will be ready for use in clinical practice.
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5,857 |
Acute Kidney Injury in the Tropics: Epidemiology, Presentation, Etiology, Specific Diseases, and Treatment
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The characteristics of AKI are significantly influenced by the setting in which it develops. The unique characteristics in the tropical ecosystem along with the prevailing socioeconomic circumstances in the region make AKI in the tropics different regarding etiology, clinical characteristics, and outcomes. Community-acquired AKI caused by infections; animal, plant, or chemical toxins; and obstetric complications are common in the tropics, compared to predominantly hospital-acquired AKI from sepsis and diagnostic and therapeutic interventions elsewhere. It is possible to discern certain distinct “AKI syndromes” in the tropics, like febrile illness with AKI, envenomation-related AKI, and obstetric AKI, where the patients develop AKI along with a typical constellation of clinical features, allowing more specific and quick diagnostic and therapeutic approach. Changes in disease epidemiology and ongoing socioeconomic transitions in the tropics are reflected in changing epidemiology of tropical AKI. While the incidence of obstetric AKI has shown a steady decline, HIV-associated AKI emerged as a significant entity in regions where HIV was endemic in the past few decades. There is better recognition of scrub typhus as a significant contributor to AKI with availability of better diagnostic techniques, and it is well recognized that the epidemiology of AKI associated with post-infectious glomerulonephritis is different in the tropics. Rapid urbanization has made large swaths of population susceptible to emerging infections like dengue fever, with increased incidence of AKI. Climate change and scarcity of potable water are expected to pose significant challenges to kidney health in the tropics in the future. However, community-acquired AKI in the tropics also presents a unique opportunity for prevention of AKI, and attendant morbidity and mortality as most of the contributing factors can be addressed by public health interventions and innovative strategies to deliver healthcare.
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5,858 |
Current Practices for Infection Prevention in the Hospital Settings
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The principles and practices aimed at prevention and control of hospital-acquired infections are directed at various links in the chain of transmission. They include the following: (1) to contain or eliminate the reservoirs of agents and/or to curtail the persistence of agents in a specific setting, (2) to protect the host against disease caused by microorganisms, and (3) to interrupt the transmission of infection. Interventions to modify environmental reservoirs are aimed at interrupting the transmission for these inanimate environmental sources. The barriers, e.g., masks, were used to keep the smells and “contagion” away even before the germ theory of disease was conceived. The appropriate barriers now include gloves, gowns, and eye protection for blood/body fluid–borne infections and high-filtration masks for infections transmitted by droplet nuclei. The most important and effective nosocomial infection control intervention remains the routine washing of hands before, between, and after patient contact in healthcare settings. This chapter focuses on the interruption of transmission of infectious agents in the hospital setting by Standard Precautions recommended for all patients and “isolation” of patients using precautions based on known methods of transmission.
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5,859 |
Modified ELISPOT: Modifications of the Elispot Assay for T Cell Monitoring in Cancer Vaccine Trials
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The use of the IFN-γ ELISPOT assay to evaluate cellular immune responses has gained increasing popularity, especially as a surrogate measure for CTL responses. We developed and validated some modifications of the IFN-γ ELISPOT assay to optimize immunological monitoring of various cancer vaccine trials. Taking into consideration that the main mechanism of cell-mediated cytotoxicity is the release of cytolytic granules that contain, among others, cytolytic protein Granzyme B (GrB), we developed the GrB ELISPOT assay. Extensive studies demonstrated that the GrB ELISPOT assay is specific, accurately measures the rapid release of GrB, is more sensitive than the 51Cr-release assay, and that it may be successfully applied to measuring CTL precursory frequency in PBMC from cancer patients. Assuming that immunological assays that demonstrate recognition of native tumor cells (tumor-specific) may be more clinically relevant than assays that demonstrate recognition of tumor protein or peptide (antigen-specific), we developed and validated the Autologous Tumor IFN-γ ELISPOT assay using PBMC from idiotype vaccinated lymphoma patients as effectors and autologous B cell lymphoma tumor cells as targets. The precursor frequency of tumor-reactive T cells was significantly higher in the postvaccine PBMC, compared with prevaccine samples in all patients tested. Furthermore, the specificity of these T cells was established by the lack of reactivity against autologous normal B cells. These results demonstrate the feasibility of evaluating tumor-specific T cell responses when autologous, primary tumor cells are available as targets. Modifications of ELISPOT assay described in this chapter allow more comprehensive assessment of low frequency tumor-specific CTL and their specific effector functions and can provide valuable insight with regards to immune responses in cancer vaccine trials.
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5,860 |
Airway Disease
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There are few conditions in emergency medicine as potentially challenging and high risk as the acute airway obstruction. Time is often limited, the patient’s condition may be critical, and a failed airway has the potential for significant morbidity or death. Chest radiography (CXR) is useful in diagnosing and evaluating the progression of atelectasis, aspiration, pulmonary edema, pneumonia, and pleural fluid collections. Lung ultrasonography (LUS) is an excellent complementary diagnostic tool in emergency diagnosis. For patients who can tolerate lying flat for the study, thin-section multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) provides the anatomic detail that permits planning of therapy and is useful when the clinical and radiologic presentations are discrepant and the patient is not responding to therapy or in further defining a radiographic abnormality. Imaging plays a key role in the diagnosis and monitoring of bronchiectasis and the management of complications. Exacerbation of bronchiectasis can confer substantial potential morbidity, usually secondary to recurrent infection. In severe cases of bronchiectasis, massive hemoptysis can lead to death. CXR is useful as an initial screening tool and during acute exacerbations, but has limited sensitivity and specificity. Thin-section MDCT is the reference standard for diagnosis and quantification of bronchiectasis, providing detailed morphological informations. Radiologists must know various causes of bronchiectasis, including common causes, such as recurrent infection or aspiration, and uncommon causes, such as congenital immunodeficiencies and disorders of cartilage development. In industrialized countries, inhalational exposures to various toxicants are commonplace. Most acute toxic inhalations come from industries, home, and recreational sources. In addition to individual susceptibility, the characteristics of inhaled substances such as water solubility, size of substances, and chemical properties may affect disease severity as well as its location. A detailed history becomes even more important in such a patient and may help make a difference in the often chaotic setting of the emergency department. Laboratory evaluation, arterial blood gas analysis, and supportive measures, including the ABCs (airway, breathing, and circulation), may be required. Unfortunately, the varied presentations result in a nonspecific clinical syndrome and make diagnosis somewhat difficult. Despite substantial limitations, imaging can help in showing diffuse interstitial, alveolar, or mixed infiltrates, segmental consolidation, hyperinflation, pneumothorax, and pleural effusion. Thin-section MDCT can be used to further characterize lung abnormalities and continues to demonstrate previously unidentified characteristics that shape our understanding of noxious inhaled toxicant injury.
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5,861 |
RNA-Cleaving DNA Enzymes and Their Potential Therapeutic Applications as Antibacterial and Antiviral Agents
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DNA catalysts are synthetic single-stranded DNA molecules that have been identified by in vitro selection from random sequence DNA pools. The most prominent representatives of DNA catalysts (also known as DNA enzymes, deoxyribozymes, or DNAzymes) catalyze the site-specific cleavage of RNA substrates. Two distinct groups of RNA-cleaving DNA enzymes are the 10-23 and 8-17 enzymes. A typical RNA-cleaving DNA enzyme consists of a catalytic core and two short binding arms which form Watson–Crick base pairs with the RNA targets. RNA cleavage is usually achieved with the assistance of metal ions such as Mg(2+), Ca(2+), Mn(2+), Pb(2+), or Zn(2+), but several chemically modified DNA enzymes can cleave RNA in the absence of divalent metal ions. A number of studies have shown the use of 10-23 DNA enzymes for modest downregulation of therapeutically relevant RNA targets in cultured cells and in whole mammals. Here we focus on mechanistic aspects of RNA-cleaving DNA enzymes and their potential to silence therapeutically appealing viral and bacterial gene targets. We also discuss delivery options and challenges involved in DNA enzyme-based therapeutic strategies.
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5,862 |
Laboratory Test for Diagnosis of Influenza
|
Laboratory tests for diagnosis of influenza include 4 aspects of examinations, virus culture and isolation, serological test, immunoassay, and molecular biological examination.
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5,863 |
Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for Acute Pediatric Respiratory Failure
|
The use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) to support children with acute respiratory failure has steadily increased over the past several decades, with major advancements having been made in the care of these children. There are, however, many controversies regarding indications for initiating ECMO in this setting and the appropriate management strategies thereafter. Broad indications for ECMO include hypoxia, hypercarbia, and severe air leak syndrome, with hypoxia being the most common. There are many disease-specific considerations when evaluating children for ECMO, but there are currently very few, if any, absolute contraindications. Venovenous rather than veno-arterial ECMO cannulation is the preferred configuration for ECMO support of acute respiratory failure due to its superior side-effect profile. The approach to lung management on ECMO is variable and should be individualized to the patient, with the main goal of reducing the risk of VILI. ECMO is a relatively rare intervention, and there are likely a minimum number of cases per year at a given center to maintain competency. Patients who have prolonged ECMO runs (i.e., greater than 21 days) are less likely to survive, though no absolute duration of ECMO that would mandate withdrawal of ECMO support can be currently recommended.
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5,864 |
Neuromyopathies in the Critically Ill
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After studying this chapter, you should be able to: Be aware of the different neuromuscular disorders that are encountered in the ICU. Know the effects of neuromuscular dysfunction on the respiratory system. Know the proper initial evaluation and management of patients with neuromuscular dysfunction and respiratory failure. Be aware of the various therapies used to treat neuromuscular disorders that are most commonly encountered in the ICU.
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5,865 |
Pseudoknot-Dependent Programmed —1 Ribosomal Frameshifting: Structures, Mechanisms and Models
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Programmed —1 ribosomal frameshifting is a translational recoding strategy that takes place during the elongation phase of protein biosynthesis. Frameshifting occurs in response to specific signals in the mRNA; a slippery sequence, where the ribosome changes frame, and a stimulatory RNA secondary structure, usually a pseudoknot, located immediately downstream. During the frameshift the ribosome slips backwards by a single nucleotide (in the 5′-wards/—1 direction) and continues translation in the new, overlapping reading frame, generating a fusion protein composed of the products of both the original and the —1 frame coding regions. In eukaryotes, frameshifting is largely a phenomenon of virus gene expression and associated predominantly with the expression of viral replicases. Research on frameshifting impacts upon diverse topics, including the ribosomal elongation cycle, RNA structure and function, tRNA modification, virus replication, antiviral intervention, evolution and bioinformatics. This chapter focuses on the structure and function of frameshift-stimulatory RNA pseudoknots and mechanistic aspects of ribosomal frameshifting. A variety of models of the frameshifting process are discussed in the light of recent advances in our understanding of ribosome structure and the elongation cycle.
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5,866 |
Systematic Survey of Zoonotic and Sapronotic Microbial Agents
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Viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and metazoa (parasitic worms and arthropods) are among the aetiological agents of zoonoses and sapronoses. Our survey only concerns the agents of microbial diseases (i.e., not the metazoan invasions and infestations), and is arranged according to systematic position. In addition, a new zoonotic disease caused by prions – variant of Creutzfeld-Jakob disease – is included.
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5,867 |
Viral Disease, Air Pollutants, Nanoparticles, and Asthma
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Health care providers who treat patients with respiratory disease are often asked by their patients, “What caused my asthma? And what causes my asthma suddenly to become worse?” These questions have always been difficult to answer, and moving directly to a discussion of the management of asthma is a much easier road to take. In recent years, though, enough information has accumulated about the causes of asthma that one can weave a story containing useful advice that may help patients participate in the management of their disease. And there are also recent studies that can provide answers to the questions posed by physicians who have watched in puzzlement as their previously well-controlled asthma patients have spiraled rapidly out of control. This story has been growing increasingly complex, with an ever-expanding cast of players that sometimes creates a tangled web of interactions.
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5,868 |
Viral Dynamics and Mathematical Models
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Mathematical tools have been widely applied in understanding the dynamics and control of viral infections. Here we present some fundamental aspects of infection dynamics, starting with acute immunising infections as a case study for herd immunity and other important factors in the spread and control of infection. We then discuss the dynamics of infections with more complex life histories, including chronic infections, and those showing evolution for immune escape. We conclude with a discussion of important gaps in our current understanding of viral dynamics, along with future research needs.
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5,869 |
Multidrug Resistant Gram-Negative Bacteria in Community-Acquired Pneumonia
|
Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is associated with high morbidity and mortality worldwide [1]. Although several different bacteria and respiratory viruses can be responsible for CAP, Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) remains the most common causative pathogen. A small proportion of CAP cases are caused by Gram-negative bacteria, especially Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii and Stenotrophomona maltophilia [2, 3]. The main problem concerning the treatment of Gram-negative bacterial infections is their related antibiotic resistance, reported as multidrug resistant (MDR = resistant to at least one agent in three or more groups of antibiotics), extensively drug resistant (XDR = resistant to at least one agent in all but two or fewer groups of antibiotics) and pan-drug resistant (PDR = resistant to all groups of antibiotics) [4]. This makes the clinical management of pneumonia caused by such pathogens a challenge for physicians. Taking into account the clinical severity that may be associated with CAP caused by Gram-negative bacteria (respiratory failure, bacteremia, shock, acute respiratory distress syndrome [ARDS]) the magnitude of the global health problem is tremendous.
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5,870 |
The Many Roads to an Ideal Paper-based Device
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The recent Zika and Ebola virus outbreaks highlight the need for low-cost diagnostics that can be rapidly deployed and used outside of established clinical infrastructure. This demand for robust point-of-care (POC) diagnostics is further driven by the increasing burden of drug-resistant diseases, concern for food and water safety, and bioterrorism. As has been discussed in previous chapters, paper-based tests provide a simple and compelling solution to such needs.
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5,871 |
Ethical and Legal Issues Impacting Migrant Health
| null |
5,872 |
Other Allergic Skin Disorders
|
In this chapter we discuss allergic skin disorders other than atopic dermatitis (AD): the urticaria-angioedema syndrome, allergic contact dermatitis (ACD), protein contact dermatitis (PCD), phytodermatitis, allergic photodermatitis and allergic vasculitis.
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5,873 |
Rare and Emerging Viral Infections in the Transplant Population
|
Viral infections account for a large proportion of emerging infectious diseases, and the agents included in this group consist of recently identified viruses as well as previously identified viruses with an apparent increase in disease incidence. In transplant recipients, this group can include viruses with no recognized pathogenicity in immunocompetent patients and those that result in atypical or more severe disease presentations in the immunocompromised host. In this chapter, we begin by discussing viral diagnostics and techniques used for viral discovery, specifically as they apply to emerging and rare infections in this patient population. Focus then shifts to specific emerging and re-emerging viruses in the transplant population, including human T-cell leukemia virus 1, rabies, lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, human bocavirus, parvovirus 4, measles, mumps, orf, and dengue. We have also included a brief discussion on emerging viruses and virus families with few or no reported cases in transplant recipients: monkeypox, nipah and hendra, chikungunya and other alphaviruses, hantavirus and the Bunyaviridae, and filoviruses. Finally, concerns regarding infectious disease complications in xenotransplantation and the reporting of rare viral infections are addressed. With the marked increase in the number of solid organ and hematopoietic stem cell transplants performed worldwide, we expect a corresponding rise in the reports of emerging viral infections in transplant hosts, both from known viruses and those yet to be identified.
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5,874 |
Viral-associated Ventilator-associated Pneumonia
|
Nosocomial pneumonia is the most commonly acquired infection in intensive care units (ICUs). Its frequency is approximately 10 cases/1000 admissions; however, the incidence may increase to 20 times that number in patients undergoing invasive mechanical ventilation [1–3]. The overall incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) may range between 15 % to 20 % [2–6]. This complication prolongs the length of hospital stay, increases healthcare costs and may increase mortality [4, 5, 7, 8].
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5,875 |
Immunosenescence Modulation by Vaccination
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A decline in immune function is a hallmark of aging that leads to complicated illness from a variety of infectious diseases, cancer and other immune-mediated disorders, and may limit the ability to appropriately respond to vaccination. How vaccines might alter the senescent immune response and what are the immune correlates of protection will be addressed from the perspective of 1) stimulating a previously primed response as in the case of vaccines for seasonal influenza and herpes zoster, 2) priming the response to novel antigens such as pandemic influenza or other viruses, 3) vaccination against bacterial pathogens such as pneumococcus, and 4) altering the immune response to an endogenous protein as in the case of a vaccine against Alzheimer’s disease. In spite of the often limited efficacy of vaccines for older adults, influenza vaccination remains the only cost-saving medical intervention in this population. Thus, considerable opportunity exists to improve current vaccines and develop new vaccines as a preventive approach to a variety of diseases in older adults. Strategies for selecting appropriate immunologic targets for new vaccine development and evaluating how vaccines may alter the senescent immune response in terms of potential benefits and risks in the preclinical and clinical trial phases of vaccine development will be discussed.
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5,876 |
A Brief Comparison Between In Vivo DNA Replication and In Vitro PCR Amplification
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In principle, PCR generates large quantities of DNA from a minute amount of nucleic acid starting material using a methodology similar to (but much simpler than) that seen in living cells. For living cells, in vivo DNA synthesis is dependent upon a well defined but complex set of enzymes and co-factors, which have evolved to act in a concerted fashion during the synthetic phase (S-phase) of the cell cycle. In comparison, PCR facilitates in vitro DNA synthesis in a much simpler fashion, making use of a smaller set of defined ingredients and reaction conditions involving relatively high temperatures. The range of factors contributing to successful PCR amplification is reviewed below.
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5,877 |
Lung Defenses
|
We breathe to live, but the air we breathe carries many potentially harmful agents. To protect us against these constant challenges, our lungs have defenses that are remarkably effective, biologically complex, and scientifically fascinating. It is not hyperbole to say that the pathogenesis of most lung disease begins with a breach of these defenses. This chapter surveys these normal lung defense systems. Just as this text assumes familiarity with general pathology, we also assume knowledge of basic immunology. This chapter emphasizes the lung’s variations on themes of innate and adaptive immunity, and discusses the special role of granulomatous inflammation in lung defenses.
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5,878 |
Therapy of Ebola and Marburg virus infections
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5,879 |
Infection
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Community-Acquired Pneumonia (CAP) is the first leading cause of death due to infection worldwide.Many gram-positive, gram-negative bacteria, funguses and viruses can cause the infectious pulmonary disease, and the severity of pneumonia depends on the balance between the microorganism charge, the body immunity defenses and the quality of the underlying pulmonary tissue. The microorganisms may reach the lower respiratory tract from inhaled air or from infected oropharyngeal secretions. The same organism may produce several different patterns that depend on the balance between the microorganism charge and the body immunity defenses.CAP is classified into three main groups: lobar pneumonia, bronchopneumonia and interstitial pneumonia.Lobar pneumonia is characterized by the filling of alveolar spaces by edema full of white and inflammatory cells. Necrotizing pneumonia consists of a fulminant process associated with focal areas of necrosis that results in abscesses. Bronchopneumonia or lobular pneumonia, is characterized by a peribronchiolar inflammation with thickening of peripheral bronchial wall, the diffusion of inflammation to the centrilobular alveolar spaces and development of nodules.The interstitial pneumonia represents with the destruction and esfoliation of the respiratory ciliated and mucous cells. The interstitial septa, the bronchial and bronchiolar walls become thickened for the inflammation process and lymphocytes interstitial infiltrates.Chest radiography represents an important initial examination in all patients suspected of having pulmonary infection and for monitoring response to therapy.Its role is to identify the pulmonary opacities, their internal characteristics and distribution, pleural effusion and presence of other complications as abscesses and pneumothorax.High spatial CT resolution allows accurate assessment of air space inflammation.The CT findings include nodules, interlobular septal thickening, intralobular reticular opacities, ground-glass opacities, tree-in-bud pattern, lobar-segmental consolidation, lobular consolidation, abscesses, pneumatocele, pleural effusion, pericardial effusion, mediastinal and hilar lymphoadenopaties, airway dilatation and emphysema.
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5,880 |
Design Points for Negative Pressure Isolation Ward
|
According to “Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases” issued on December 1st in 2004, infectious diseases can be classified as the first class, the second class and the third class.
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5,881 |
Erkrankungen des Pankreas
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Leitsymptom der Pankreaserkrankungen ist der gürteiförmige Oberbauchschmerz mit Ausstrahlung in den Rücken, häufig mit Übelkeit und Erbrechen, bei chronischem Verlauf mit den Zeichen des progredienten Funktionsverlustes.
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5,882 |
Pulmonary Infections
|
Pneumonia is a lung infection involving the alveoli and can be caused by a variety of microbes including bacteria, viruses, and fungi. It is the leading infectious cause of hospitalization and death in the United States [1]. In 2010, in the United States, pneumonia resulted in 1.1 million discharges from the hospital with an average length of stay of 5.2 days. Pneumonia accounted for 3.4 % of hospital deaths in 2006. In 2013 it accounted for 16.9 deaths per 100,000 population [2]. Pneumonia continues to be the leading killer of young children around the world, causing 14 % of all deaths in children ages 1 month to 5 years [3].
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5,883 |
Considerations for the Development of Nasal Dosage Forms
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The anatomy and physiology of the nasal cavity provide unique advantages for accessing targets for local, systemic, and potentially central nervous system drug delivery. This chapter discusses these advantages and the challenges that must be overcome to reach these targets. The chapter then comprehensively reviews nasal dosage forms, analytical testing, and regulatory requirements in the context of existing nasal spray products. Since nasal sprays are moving towards being preservative-free, the chapter covers specialized methods of achieving a sterile product, namely, formulation strategies, manufacturing strategies, and the device landscape that support this upcoming platform. Finally, the chapter reviews various pathways for regulatory approval around the world, for brand and generic, with particular emphasis on the growing acceptance of in vitro data for locally acting nasal spray products.
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5,884 |
The Interaction Between Nutrition and Inflammatory Stress Throughout the Life Cycle
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The human race inhabits a world in which it is surrounded by a myriad of different microorganisms—yeasts, bacteria, protozoa, and viruses. Most of these are benign, and some, such as the normal gut flora, play an important part in promoting health via the synthesis of vitamins and stimulation of normal function of gut epithelia. Approximately 0.1% of microbes in our environment have catastrophic effects if they penetrate the epithelial surfaces of the body (Bryson, 2003). History reveals many instances in which armies have been defeated and civilizations have collapsed because of encounters between humans and such microorganisms (Diamond, 1999).
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5,885 |
Lung Disease in Older Patients with HIV
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Successful treatment of HIV with combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) has resulted in an aging HIV-infected population. As HIV-infected patients are living longer, noninfectious pulmonary diseases are becoming increasingly prevalent with a proportional decline in the incidence of opportunistic infections (OIs). Pulmonary OIs such as Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PCP) and tuberculosis are still responsible for a significant proportion of pulmonary diseases in HIV-infected patients. However, bacterial pneumonia (BP) and noninfectious pulmonary diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer, pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), and interstitial lung disease (ILD) account for a growing number of pulmonary diseases in aging HIV-infected patients. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the spectrum and management of pulmonary diseases in aging HIV-infected patients, although limited data exists to guide management of many noninfectious pulmonary diseases in HIV-infected patients. In the absence of such data, treatment of lung diseases in HIV-infected patients should generally follow guidelines for management established in HIV-uninfected patients.
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5,886 |
Infectious Diseases
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Livelihoods play a role in the infectious diseases that a population can be exposed to and the risk attached to it. Poor living conditions, lack of income and other basic amenities such as safe drinking water and toilets, poor healthcare facilities and low literacy levels have contributed to the spread of infectious diseases in rural communities. Depending on the mode of transmission these diseases can spread from one person, to communities, to a country, across borders and a whole region. This makes infectious diseases one of the most dangerous threats to the global population. There are still millions of people affected by infectious diseases worldwide, most of which live in poor rural regions of developing countries. These rural communities, which depend on livelihoods such as farming, fishing, livestock rearing, hunting and so on, are vulnerable to infectious diseases and their livelihoods are affected by the impact of these diseases.
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5,887 |
Multiple Sklerose — eine neuroimmunendokrine Erkrankung
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Die Multiple Sklerose (MS) ist eine chronische, entzündlich-demyelinisierende Erkrankung des Zentralnervensystems (ZNS), betrifft also Gehirn und Rückenmark, wobei heute eine autoimmune Ätiologie allgemein angenommen wird. Sie ist die häufigste Entmarkungserkrankung des ZNS in Nordeuropa und Nordamerika (Prävalenz 1:1000) und die häufigste chronisch-neurologische Erkrankung, die bei jungen Erwachsenen zu bleibender Behinderung führt.
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5,888 |
Infections in Liver Transplantation
|
Liver transplantation has become an important treatment modality for patients with end-stage liver disease/cirrhosis, acute liver failure, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Although surgical techniques and immunosuppressive regimens for liver transplantation have improved significantly over the past 20 years, infectious complications continue to contribute to the morbidity and mortality in this patient population. The use of standardized screening protocols for both donors and recipients, coupled with targeted prophylaxis against specific pathogens, has helped to mitigate the risk of infection in liver transplant recipients. Patients with chronic liver disease and cirrhosis have immunological deficits that place them at increased risk for infection while awaiting liver transplantation. The patient undergoing liver transplantation is prone to develop healthcare-acquired infections due to multidrug-resistant organisms that could potentially affect patient outcomes after transplantation. The complex nature of liver transplant surgery that involves multiple vascular and hepatobiliary anastomoses further increases the risk of infection after liver transplantation. During the early post-transplantation period, healthcare-acquired bacterial and fungal infections are the most common types of infection encountered in liver transplant recipients. The period of maximal immunosuppression that occurs at 1–6 months after transplantation can be complicated by opportunistic infections due to both primary infection and reactivation of latent infection. Severe community-acquired infections can complicate the course of liver transplantation beyond 12 months after transplant surgery. This chapter provides an overview of liver transplantation including indications, donor-recipient selection criteria, surgical procedures, and immunosuppressive therapies. A focus on infections in patients with chronic liver disease/cirrhosis and an overview of the specific infectious complications in liver transplant recipients are presented.
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5,889 |
Human Adenovirus Type 12: Crossing Species Barriers to Immortalize the Viral Genome
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When viruses cross species barriers, they often change their biological and pathogenetic properties. In the author's laboratory the nonproductive interaction of Syrian hamster cells with human adenovirus type 12 (Ad12) has been studied. Ad12 induces undifferentiated tumors in newborn hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) at high frequency. Ad12 inefficiently enters hamster (BHK21) cells, and only small amounts of viral DNA reach the nucleus. Viral DNA replication and late transcription are blocked. In Ad12-induced tumor cells, multiple copies of viral DNA are chromosomally integrated. The integrated viral DNA becomes de novo methylated. Cellular DNA methylation and transcription patterns in Ad12-transformed cells and in Ad12- induced tumor cells are altered. These changes may be related to the oncogenic potential of Ad12 in hamsters. In this chapter, concepts and techniques for the study of the Ad12-hamster cell system are summarized.
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5,890 |
Uncharakteristisches Fieber (UF), afebrile Allgemeinreaktion (AFAR), Luftwegekatatthe, Tonsillitis
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uncharakteristisches Fieber (UF), gleichartige, jedoch afebrile Verläufe (afebrile Allgemeinreaktion/AFAR), Angina tonsillaris (die häufig genug das Symptom einer viralen Allgemeinerkrankung darstellt), sowie; verschiedene fieberfreie Katarrhe der Luftwege (◘ Tabelle 1.1).
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5,891 |
The Role of Immunity and Inflammation in IPF Pathogenesis
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IPF is thought to be a consequence of repetitive micro-injury to ageing alveolar epithelium by factors including tobacco smoke, environmental exposures, microbial colonisation/infection, microaspiration, endoplasmic reticulum stress and oxidative stress, with resultant aberrant wound healing. Though partially effective antifibrotic therapies have focused attention away from older inflammation-based hypotheses for IPF pathogenesis, innate and adaptive immune cells and processes may play roles potentially in initiation and/or disease progression in IPF and/or in IPF acute exacerbations, based on multiple lines of evidence. Members of the Toll-like family of innate immune receptors have been implicated in IPF pathogenesis, including a potential modulatory role for the lung microbiome. A variety of chemokines are associated with the presence of IPF, and an imbalance of angiogenic chemokines has been linked to vascular remodelling in the disease. Subsets of circulating monocytes, including fibrocytes and segregated-nucleus-containing atypical monocytes (SatM), have been identified that may facilitate progression of fibrosis, and apoptosis-resistant pulmonary macrophages have been shown to demonstrate pro-fibrotic potential. Inflammatory cells that have been somewhat dismissed as irrelevant to IPF pathogenesis are being re-evaluated in light of new mechanistic data, such as activated neutrophils which release their chromatin in a process termed NETosis, which appears to mediate age-related murine lung fibrosis. A greater understanding is needed of the role of lymphoid aggregates, a histologic feature of IPF lungs found in close proximity to fibroblastic foci and highly suggestive of the presence of chronic immune responses in IPF, as are well-characterised activated circulating T lymphocytes and distinct autoantibodies that have been observed in IPF. There is a pressing need to discern whether or not the indisputably present immune dysregulation of IPF constitutes cause or effect in the ongoing search for more effective therapeutic strategies.
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5,892 |
The Role of Neuropeptide Endopeptidases in Cutaneous Immunity
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Proteolytic processing and degradation plays an important role in modulating the generation and bioactivity of neuroendocrine peptide mediators, a class of key molecules in cutaneous biology. Accordingly, the cellular localization and expression, and the molecular biology and structural properties of selected intracellular prohormone convertases and ectopically expressed zinc-binding metalloendoproteases are discussed. A special reference will be made to the physiologic and pathophysiologic significance of these endopeptidases in cutaneous immunobiology. Because of the number of pathologically relevant changes in inflammation and tumor progression that can be directly attributed to neprilysin and angiotensin-converting enzyme, a particular focus will be on the role of these enzymes in modulating innate and adaptive immune responses in the skin.
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5,893 |
Emerging Plant Viruses: a Diversity of Mechanisms and Opportunities
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Although emerging plant viruses receive much less publicity than their animal- or human-infecting cousins, they pose a serious threat to worldwide agricultural production. These viruses can be new (i.e., not previously known) or already known; however, they share the common characteristic of occupying and spreading within new niches. Factors driving the emergence of plant viruses include genetic variability in the virus, changes in agricultural practices, increases in the population and/or distribution of insect vectors and long-distance transport of plant materials. In recent years, individual as well as entire groups of viruses have emerged, and this has involved a variety of mechanism(s), depending on the virus and the environment. Here, we will discuss some of these viruses, and highlight the mechanisms that have mediated their emergence. Special emphasis is placed upon the whiteflytransmitted geminiviruses (begomoviruses) and the thrips-transmitted tosposviruses, which have emerged as major threats to crop production throughout the world. Other examples include the recent emergence of novel viruslike agents, the acquisition and role of satellite DNA or RNA molecules in emergence of plant viruses, and cases where emerging viruses have had only a transient impact. It seems clear that global movement of plant materials, expansion of agriculture and large-scale monoculture will continue to favor emergence of plant viruses. However, improved diagnostics should allow for rapid identification of emerging viruses and better understanding of viral biology. This information can be used in the development of effective management strategies, which will hopefully minimize impact on agricultural production.
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5,894 |
Using Rough Set to Find the Factors That Negate the Typical Dependency of a Decision Attribute on Some Condition Attributes
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In real world, there are a lot of knowledge such as the following: most human beings that are infected by a kind of virus suffer from a corresponding disease, but a small number human beings do not. Which are the factors that negate the effects of the virus? Standard rough set method can induce simplified rules for classification, but cannot generate this kind of knowledge directly. In this paper, we propose two algorithms to find the factors. In the first algorithm, the typical rough set method is used to generate all the variable precision rules firstly; secondly reduce attributes and generate all the non-variable precision rules; lastly compare the variable precision rules and non-variable precision rules to generate the factors that negate the variable precision rules. In the second algorithm, firstly, induce all the variable precision rules; secondly, select the examples corresponding to the variable precision rules to build decernibility matrixes; thirdly, generate the factors that negate the variable precision rules. Three experimental results show that using the two algorithms can get the same results and the computational complexity of the second algorithm is largely less than the firs one.
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5,895 |
Immunology of Norovirus Infection
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Noroviruses are the leading cause of epidemic non-bacterial gastroenteritis worldwide. Despite their discovery over three decades ago, little is known about the host immune response to norovirus infection. The purpose of this chapter is to review the field of norovirus immunology and discuss the contributions of outbreak investigations, human and animal challenge studies and population-based studies. This chapter will survey both humoral and cellular immunity as well as recent advances in norovirus vaccine development.
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5,896 |
Infection in the Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Recipient
| null |
5,897 |
Medicinal Applications of Plant Lectins
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Plant lectins are a unique group of proteins and glycoproteins with potent biological activity and have received widespread attention for many years. They can be found in wheat, corn, tomatoes, peanuts, kidney beans, bananas, peas, lentils, soybeans, mushrooms, tubers, seeds, mistletoe and potatoes among many others. Due to their ability to bind reversibly with specific carbohydrate structures and their abundant availability, plant lectins have commonly been used as a molecular tool in various disciplines of biology and medicine. Whilst once thought of being a dietary toxin, the focus on plant lectins has since shifted to understanding the useful properties of these lectins and utilizing them in medicinal applications to advance human health. This chapter reviews the current and potential applications of plant lectins in various areas of medically related research.
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5,898 |
Ventilatory Strategy Used for Management of Acute Respiratory Failure Due to Novel Influenza A(H1N1) Infection
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The first cases of the novel influenza A(H1N1) virus were reported in April 2009, especially in Mexico and the United States [1, 2]. The disease spread rapidly, becoming a pandemic by June 2009. On August 21, 2009, a total of 177 reported cases of novel influenza 182.166 A(H1N1) infection, of which 1,799 were fatal [2]. It has been observed in animal studies that the novel influenza virus A has a high replication rate in lung tissue, with a great capacity to invade the lower respiratory tract in humans, causing especially acute fulminant respiratory failure.
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5,899 |
Viral Interactions with Glycans
|
The cell surface of mammalian cells is covered with complex glycans or polysaccharides. Several viruses attach to cells via glycans present on the host cell surface. These cell surface glycans such as heparan sulfate proteoglycan enhance the infectivity of host cells. Cell surface glycans also serve as cellular receptors involved in the transmission of endocytosis-inducing signals or in the induction of fusion between viral envelope and cellular membrane for some other viruses. In contrast, viruses can use host cell functions to glycosylate viral proteins, which affects viral glycoprotein stability and function during host cell entry. Glycosylation of viral glycoproteins is also involved in viral antigenicity responsible for immune evasion by viruses. In this review, functions of glycan-mediated interactions between host cells and viruses are discussed.
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