Unnamed: 0
int64 0
10k
| title
stringlengths 3
547
| abstract
stringlengths 10
122k
⌀ |
|---|---|---|
6,300 |
COrona-rap
| null |
6,301 |
Hospital Environments and Epidemiology of Healthcare-Associated Infections
|
Today, hospitals are facing difficult challenges: increasing proportion of immunologically vulnerable patients often affected by diseases requiring high complex level of healthcare; rapidly evolving medical technologies and healthcare models; and budget restrictions. All these features interfere with healthcare and can modify the risk of acquiring healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs). Therefore, HCAI prevention is a high priority for healthcare systems. Authors describe human and environmental origin of HCAIs, focusing on the modality of transmission of those airborne pathogens, including the new insight derived from the recent acquisitions about SARS and Ebola epidemiology. They also describe the state of the art about microorganism concentration (infective dose) required to determine a HCAI and the role played by other virulence factors. Finally, the effective control measures used for the prevention of airborne pathogen transmission are described, focusing mainly on the risk assessment and infection control.
|
6,302 |
Defining Drug Interactions with the Viral Membrane Protein Vpu from HIV-1
|
The replication of HIV-1 is strongly enhanced by a small membrane protein called virus protein U (Vpu). Vpu achieves its task by (a) interacting with CD4, the HIV-1 receptor, and (b) by amplifying particle release at the site of the plasma membrane. While the first role is due to interactions of the cytoplasmic site of Vpu with CD4, the second role may be due to ion channel activity caused by the self-assembly of the protein. Recently, a blocker has been proposed which abolishes channel activity. In this chapter, the mechanism of blocking is described using computational methods, including a brief overview of other viral ion channel blockers.
|
6,303 |
Cysteine Proteases
| null |
6,304 |
Pulmonary Infections
|
The lungs are a frequent site of infectious diseases. Pleuropulmonary infections include bronchitis and bronchiolitis, pneumonia, lung abscess, cavity formation, allergic bronchopulmonary reaction, as well as pleural effusion and empyema. An accurate diagnosis of infection by means of cytology can be lifesaving. Sputum, lung FNA, bronchoscopic brushing, washing, and BAL are useful procedures that can help provide a fast, cost-effective, and noninvasive diagnosis of pulmonary infection. This chapter covers a wide variety of viral, bacterial, fungal, and parasitic infections that involve the lower respiratory system.
|
6,305 |
Modeling the Spread and Outbreak Dynamics of Avian Influenza (H5N1) Virus and Its Possible Control
|
Avian Influenza, commonly known as Bird Flu, is an epidemic caused by H5N1 Virus, that primarily affects birds such as chickens, wild water birds, ducks, and swans etc. On rare occasions, pigs and humans will also be affected with this virus In recent years this epidemic has emerged as a major global health concern. The present chapter is aimed at developing mathematical models that predict the spread and outbreak diversity of low pathogenic avian influenza virus. Essentially, we present (1) a deterministic mathematical model which deals with the dynamics of human infection by avian influenza both in birds and in human, (2) a discrete dynamical model for the spread of H5N1, and (3) the statistical transmission model of bird flu taking into account the factors that affect the epidemic transmission such as source of infection and social and natural factors.
|
6,306 |
Critical Care
|
This chapter contains 16 tables on critical care principles. It features tables on the management of sepsis/septic shock, PAD guidelines, neuromuscular blocker use and reversal, management of malignant hyperthermia, use of red blood cell transfusions, drug-induced fever, stress-related mucosal damage prophylaxis, therapeutic drug monitoring, and select antidotes.
|
6,307 |
Co-evolutionary Models for Reconstructing Ancestral Genomic Sequences: Computational Issues and Biological Examples
|
The inference of ancestral genomes is a fundamental problem in molecular evolution. Due to the statistical nature of this problem, the most likely or the most parsimonious ancestral genomes usually include considerable error rates. In general, these errors cannot be abolished by utilizing more exhaustive computational approaches, by using longer genomic sequences, or by analyzing more taxa. In recent studies we showed that co-evolution is an important force that can be used for significantly improving the inference of ancestral genome content. In this work we formally define a computational problem for the inference of ancestral genome content by co-evolution. We show that this problem is NP-hard and present both a Fixed Parameter Tractable (FPT) algorithm, and heuristic approximation algorithms for solving it. The running time of these algorithms on simulated inputs with hundreds of protein families and hundreds of co-evolutionary relations was fast (up to four minutes) and it achieved an approximation ratio < 1.3. We use our approach to study the ancestral genome content of the Fungi. To this end, we implement our approach on a dataset of 33,931 protein families and 20,317 co-evolutionary relations. Our algorithm added and removed hundreds of proteins from the ancestral genomes inferred by maximum likelihood (ML) or maximum parsimony (MP) while slightly affecting the likelihood/parsimony score of the results. A biological analysis revealed various pieces of evidence that support the biological plausibility of the new solutions.
|
6,308 |
From Influenza-Induced Acute Lung Injury to Multiorgan Failure
|
Influenza viruses are among the most common causes of human respiratory infection, causing high morbidity and mortality. In the United States, influenza results in approximately 200,000 hospitalizations and 36,000 deaths during a seasonal epidemic [1]. During a pandemic, up to 50% of the population can be infected by influenza, increasing the number of deaths [2]. In 1918, the worst influenza pandemic recorded in history caused up to 50 million deaths worldwide, with elderly, infants, and people with underlying illness having the highest risk of fatality [3].
|
6,309 |
Regulation of Cardiovascular Control Mechanisms by Angiotensin-(1–7) and Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2
|
Among the molecular forms of angiotensin peptides generated by the action of renin on angiotensinogen (Aogen), both angiotensin II (Ang II) and the amino terminal heptapeptide angiotensin-(1–7) [Ang-(1–7)] are critically involved in the long-term control of tissue perfusion, cell-cell communication, development, and growth. Whereas an impressive body of literature continues to uncover pleiotropic effects of Ang II in the regulation of cell function, research on Ang-(1–7) has a shorter history as it was only 16 yr ago that a biological function for this heptapeptide was first demonstrated in the isolated rat neuro-hypophysial explant preparation (1). On the contrary, the synthesis of angiotonin/ hypertensin (now Ang II) was first obtained in 1957 (2), three decades ahead of the discovery of Ang-(1–7) biological properties.
|
6,310 |
Astrovirus Structure and Assembly
|
Recent structural studies on the astrovirus virion and viral proteins have yielded exciting new insights into the molecular mechanisms of the astrovirus life cycle. The 25 Å-resolution cryo-electron microscopy (Cryo-EM) reconstructions of the astrovirus virion reveal a solid capsid shell studded with spikes. Proteolytic maturation of the virus particle results in capsid conformational changes, most prominently at the spikes. High-resolution crystal structures of the human and avian astrovirus capsid spike domains have shed light on potential host receptors and species specificity. Together, both the structural studies on the astrovirus virion and capsid spike domains have revealed similarities to hepatitis E virus, suggesting an evolutionary relationship. The only other structural information on astrovirus is from the high-resolution crystal structure of the protease that is involved in nonstructural polyprotein processing. Overall, these structural studies have led a better understanding of the astrovirus life cycle, including astrovirus assembly, virus release, maturation, receptor binding, antibody neutralization, and nonstructural polyprotein processing.
|
6,311 |
HIV Coreceptors and Their Roles in Leukocyte Trafficking During Neuroinflammatory Diseases
|
Due to the increasing resistance of HIV-1 to antiretroviral therapies, there has been much emphasis on the discovery and development of alternative therapeutics for HIV-1-infected individuals. The chemokine receptors CXCR4 (Bleul et al. 1996a; Feng et al. 1996; Nagasawa et al. 1996; Oberlin et al. 1996) and CCR5 (Alkhatib et al. 1996; Deng et al. 1996; Dragic et al. 1996) were identified as target molecules from the time their role as coreceptors for HIV-1 entry into leukocytes was first discovered 10 years ago. Initial studies focused on the use of the chemokine ligands, or altered derivatives, of CXCR4 and CCR5 to prevent the entrance of HIV-1 into immune cells (Schols 2006). While these studies showed some initial promise, there was evidence of significant caveats to their use, including selection of alternative coreceptor utilizing strains (Marechal et al. 1999; Mosier et al. 1999) and the potential to cause inflammatory side effects. These data prompted the development and study of small molecule inhibitors of CXCR4 and CCR5, which have also been used to examine the roles of these molecules in a variety of inflammatory and infectious diseases.
|
6,312 |
The Impact of Population Growth on the Epidemiology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases
|
It is generally expected that in developing countries the epidemiological transition, with improved health and lower mortality rates, will eventually lead to a demographic transition with lower fertility rates. The reductions in mortality characterising the epidemiological transition are often associated with controlling the infectious diseases within populations, which leaves the chronic diseases associated with old age, cancer and heart disease dominating the causes of death. However, if the demographic transition does not occur quickly, populations can grow rapidly, creating an increased potential for spread of infectious disease. These infectious diseases could, in turn, increase death rates amongst young people and reverse the epidemiological transition. The relationship between population growth, size and infection depends upon the changes in contact pattern associated with there being more people. If facilities can keep pace with growth, then the increase in contact rates can be kept to a minimum, and the potential reversal in the epidemic transition prevented. This makes development a crucial adjunct to population growth if the global community is not to be increasingly exposed to pandemics of infectious disease. Here we review the epidemiological and demographic theory which relates population growth and infectious disease.
|
6,313 |
Epidemiology of Respiratory Infections
|
The study of respiratory infections using epidemiologic tools allow the clinician to better understand the most frequently involved agents—viruses and bacteria, which usually originate in humans. Many strategies have been implemented to track the epidemic season of pathogenic agents to improve recognition at a local level, especially for virus detection. A surveillance program implemented a decade ago has allow pediatricians to improve the diagnostic yield on a regular basis.
|
6,314 |
Infectieziekten
|
De mens wordt belaagd door talloze micro-organismen. Sommige daarvan kunnen een infectieziekte veroorzaken. Op een infectie volgt een ontstekingsreactie die het lichaam helpt om de infectie te bestrijden, maar soms is die ontstekingsreactie onvoldoende. In dat geval zijn er geneesmiddelen nodig om de infectie te behandelen. In dit hoofdstuk gaan we nader in op de veroorzakers van infectieziekten, zoals bacteriën, schimmels, virussen, protozoa en wormen, luizen en mijten. Voor elke ziekteverwekker zullen we geneesmiddelen bespreken die voor de behandeling worden gebruikt.
|
6,315 |
Interactions of Piriformospora indica with Medicinal Plants
|
The microbial world exerts a negative as well a positive impact on living plants and animals, and forms an association either pathogenic or symbiotic with the other partners of the living world. Mycorrhiza refers to an association or symbiosis between plants and fungi that colonize the roots during periods of active plant growth. The intimate symbiotic relationships developed between mycorrhizal fungi and plants, since the colonization of land by the latter, have led to interdependence between these organisms for many basic processes. The fungi require plants to accomplish their life cycle. Plants depend heavily on mycorrhizal fungi for many different functions, such as mineral nutrition and abiotic and biotic stress resistance. Substantial evidence has accumulated in the recent past about how the use of the microsymbiont could significantly contribute in decreasing use of fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture, forestry and flori-hortriculture, especially if combined with other beneficial soil microorganisms. The most common and prevalent arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi play an indispensable role in upgrading plant growth, vigor and survival by a positive impact on the nutritional and hydratic status of the plant and on soil health, by increasing the reproductive potential, improving root performance, and providing a natural defence against invaders, including pests and pathogens. The described species of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi mainly belong to Zygomycetes placed in the order Glomerales. However, the growing of arbuscular mycorrhizae in pure culture in the absence of living host roots is a matter of global concern. Unfortunately, their biotechnological applications cannot be exploited to the level they deserve due to their axenically unculturable nature.
|
6,316 |
Psittacosis
|
Psittacosis, also known as ornithosis, is an acute infectious disease caused by Chlamydia psittaci (Cps) and commonly prevails in poultry and other species of bird. Humans infected by Chlamydia psittaci may suffer from unapparent subclinical infection, with symptoms ranging from mild flulike illness to severe SARS. As a typical animal-based infectious disease, psittacosis rarely has pulmonary signs but a long illness course, despite its clinical manifestation characterized by severe pulmonary lesions. Repeated onsets of psittacosis may lead to chronic diseases.
|
6,317 |
Interferon-Induced Effector Proteins and Hepatitis C Virus Replication
|
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a small, enveloped RNA virus that is often capable of establishing a persistent infection, which may lead to chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and eventually death. For more than 20 years, hepatitis C patients have been treated with interferon-alpha (IFN-α). Current treatment usually consists of polyethylene glycol-conjugated IFN-α that is combined with ribavirin, but even the most advanced IFN-based therapies are still ineffective in eliminating the virus from a large proportion of individuals. Therefore, a better understanding of the IFN-induced innate immune response is urgently needed. By using selectable self-replicating RNAs (replicons) and, more recently, recombinant full-length genomes, many groups have tried to elucidate the mechanism(s) by which IFNs inhibit HCV replication. This chapter attempts to summarize the current state of knowledge in this interesting field of HCV research.
|
6,318 |
Infections: Viruses
|
Viruses can cause meningitis, encephalitis, myelitis, arteritis when affecting the nervous system. Viruses are classified as DNA viruses and RNA viruses. Imaging of viral encephalitis is often nonspecific showing focal or diffuse edema (acute infection) or focal atrophy (chronic infection). Location of the lesion depends on causative agent, thus, HSV encephalitis displays an almost pathognomonic involvement of the limbic system. The various steps in the pathogenesis include entry into the body, delivery of the virus to the target tissue, interaction of virus with target tissue, cytopathogenesis, host responses, immunopathology, virus production in a tissue with release of the virus to other people (contagion), and transmission of viruses. Treatment consists of administration of antiviral drugs which aim at altering virion disruption, attachment, penetration and uncoating, RNA synthesis, genome replication, virion assembly and release. Clinical outcome depends on age of infection, nature of disease, severity of disease, and progression of viral disease. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 infection is a serious health problem worldwide as 33 million adults and 2 million children are infected with HIV-1. The brain is often involved which leads to the HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) of which asymptomatic neurocognitive impairment (ANI), mild neurocognitive disorder (MND), and HIV-associated dementia (HAD) represent various stages. The neuropathologic changes in HIV-1 induced lesions, i.e. HIV-1 encephalitis (characterized by multiple disseminated foci composed of microglia, macrophages, and multinucleated giant cells (MGCs) predominantly located in the cortex, deep gray matter, and the white matter), HIV-1 leukoencephalopathy (diffuse damage to the white matter), lymphocytic meningitis (LM), perivascular lymphocytic infiltration (PLI), vacuolar myelopathy (VM), vacuolar leukoencephalopathy (VL) are described. Therapy might lead to the immune restituiton inflammatory syndrome (IRIS). The sequelae of HIV-1 infection of the nervous system include changes in neuronal number, neuronal size, synapses, dendrites, nerve fibers, astroglia, oligodendroglia, microglia/macrophages, vessels, vascular endothelial cells, and capillaries. Pathogenetic mechanisms deal with the mode of entrance of HIV-1 into the brain, target cells of HIV-1, mechanisms of brain lesions, and interactions between the blood–brain-barrier (BBB) and HIV. Cytomegalovirus infection (CMV), progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) encephalitis, and Tick-borne encephalitis are further described.
|
6,319 |
Plague as a Biological Weapon
|
Three well-documented plague pandemics have occurred in the past two millennia, resulting in more than 200 million deaths and great social and economic chaos (Perry and Fetherston, 1997; Pollitzer, 1954). The Justinian pandemic arose in northern Africa in the mid-6th century, and by the 7th century had spread throughout the Mediterranean and near-eastern regions—severely impacting both the Roman and Byzantine empires. The second pandemic, the Black Death or great pestilence, originated in Central Asia, was carried to Sicily in 1347 via ships from the Crimea, and rapidly swept through medieval Europe. By 1352, it had killed 30% or more of afflicted populations, slowly playing itself out in successive epidemics, including the Great Plague of London in 1665 (Perry and Fetherston, 1997). The third (Modern) pandemic began in southwestern China in the mid-19th, struck Hong Kong in 1894, and was soon carried by rat-infested steamships to port cities on all inhabited continents, including several in the United States (US) (Link, 1955; Pollitzer, 1954). By 1930, the third pandemic had caused more than 26 million cases and 12 million deaths. Plague in these three pandemics was predominantly the bubonic form, emanating from Yersinia pestis-infected rats and fleas, although terrifying outbreaks of the more virulent person-to-person spreading pneumonic form were recorded during the course of each. The explosive contagiousness and severity of pneumonic plague was most completely documented in Manchurian epidemics in the early 20th century, which involved tens of thousands of cases, virtually all of them fatal (Wu, 1926).
|
6,320 |
Assessment of sustainability effects in the context of specific applications
|
In an initial investigation possible nanotechnology application contexts were considered and qualitatively evaluated. Also studies to life cycle aspects of nanotechnology were analyzed. So far, only a handful of life cycle assessments (LCAs) on nanotechnologies have been completed. A summary of studies of life cycle aspects identified are provided.
|
6,321 |
Transiente aplastische Krise (TAC)
| null |
6,322 |
Role of the Renin-Angiotensin System in ARDS
|
The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is a powerful biological system that plays an important role in regulation of systemic blood pressure through the maintenance of fluid and salt homeostasis. It is a multifactorial system since it includes different components (Fig. 1): The first, renin, was discovered in 1898 [1], whereas the discovery of the last component, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE 2), is relatively recent, from 2000 [2, 3]. Three kinds of RAS are known: A) circulating, B) local, and C) intracellular.
|
6,323 |
Erkrankungen der oberen Atemwege
|
Eine akute Rhinitis ist meist Folge einer Tröpfcheninfektion durch respiratorische Viren (⊡ Übersicht). Durch akute viral bedingte zytopathische Schleimhautveränderungen wird der Boden für Abflussbehinderungen der Nasennebenhöhlen und für eine bakterielle Infektion bereitet. Bei einer bakteriellen Superinfektion spielen Streptococcus pneumoniae (Pneumokokken) und andere typische Pathogene der Atemwege die Hauptrolle. Eine Sinusitis, die aufgrund der anatomischen Verhältnisse bei Kindern in bis zu 5% bei akuter Rhinitis auftritt, folgt auf die entzündliche Blockade des Sinusostiums. Auch sie ist überwiegend primär viral bedingt. Bakterielle Superinfektionen folgen gelegentlich. Anatomische Varianten (Septumdeviation, Nasenmuschelhyperplasie, Conchae bullosae, Adeno-ide) wirken dabei begünstigend. Bei Sinusitis maxilla-ris muss eine dentogene Genese bedacht werden, die Infektion ist in diesem Fall bakterieller Natur.
|
6,324 |
The Elderly Patient and the Intensive Care Unit
|
At least 20–50 % of all ICU admissions occur in patients older than 65 years of age, and geriatric patients account for almost 60 % of all ICU days. Unfortunately, many older patients’ final days are spent in the ICU; 40 % of Medicare patients who die are admitted to an ICU during their terminal illness, accounting for 25 % of all Medicare expenditures. Additionally, of those who survive, many are discharged to a subacute facility with persistent organ failure where they will eventually die. Furthermore, those discharged to a subacute care facility have a higher mortality rate compared to those discharged home (31 vs. 17 %). The decision to admit an elderly patient to an ICU should be based not only on their comorbidities, acuity of illness, and prehospital functional status, including quality of life, but also on their preference for the use of life-sustaining treatments if it is known. The underlying disease process is not altered despite the use of invasive procedures in terminally ill patients, and potential harm or discomfort can occur if invasive procedures are used inappropriately. To avoid such unintended consequences and enhance optimal end-of-life decision making, healthcare providers need to identify, explain, and negotiate consensus therapeutic goals.
|
6,325 |
Zorgvuldig en verantwoord handelen in de basiszorg
|
Basisverpleegkunde of basiszorg is de meest omvangrijke vorm van zorgverlening in de gezondheidszorg. Verpleegkundigen, verzorgenden, helpenden en mantelzorgers helpen dagelijks mensen met hun lichamelijke verzorging, hun toiletgang, het verschonen van hun kleding en het opruimen en schoonmaken van hun omgeving. Hun aandacht gaat daarbij ook uit naar het psychisch welzijn van degenen die zij helpen, in de vorm van een gesprek, een troostend of opbeurend woord of een aardig gebaar. Het een hoeft niet belangrijker te zijn dan het ander, afhankelijk van welke gewoonten en wensen de patiënt zelf heeft voor zijn verzorging. Zo wil de een elke dag twee keer onder de douche en een ander wil zichzelf liever elke dag aan de wastafel wassen.
|
6,326 |
The Post-Modern Era: Chronic Disease and the Onslaught of a Sedentary Lifestyle
|
New technologies have speeded research in many areas of Exercise Science during the Post-Modern Era. Political interest in physical fitness and sport remains spasmodic, but the U.S. has finally introduced a scheme of universal health insurance. The cardiovascular disease epidemic is partially contained, but obesity and diabetes show a growing prevalence. Consensus conferences have underlined both the safety and the health benefits of physical activity and disease, and Universities offer an increasing range of doctoral programmes in Exercise Sciences and Kinesiology. However, optimal evidence-based exercise prescriptions have yet to be defined for many conditions. Health and fitness landmarks over the past 50 years include the standardization of test methodology, development of tools for population screening and testing, completion of representative National Health and Fitness surveys, quasi-experimental evaluations of school and employee fitness programmes, definition of minimum occupational fitness needs, demonstration of the beneficial effects of exercise on the aging process, and documentation of the high fitness levels associated with a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Attempts to increase physical activity in the general population have as yet had only modest success. In Public Schools, the emphasis of Physical Educators is shifting from the training of sports teams to the teaching of life-long exercise skills. International sports programmes have received ever growing support from governments and commercial sponsors, with a multiplication of the corresponding professional associations. Olympic and Masters Games now cater to women, athletes with disability and the elderly, but athletic competition has lost much of its earlier idealism, and any positive impact upon population health and fitness is limited.
|
6,327 |
Disease Management in Endangered Mammals
|
One quarter of all mammal species are considered threatened with extinction (IUCN 2007). The rate of loss of biodiversity is accelerating because increasing pressure from an expanding human population is shrinking natural habitat and over-exploiting wild animal populations. Although processes such as habitat loss and over-harvesting are usually identified as the major drivers of extinction, recent evidence suggests that disease can also be a significant threat to endangered species (Lyles and Dobson 1993; Daszak and Cunningham 1999; Daszak et al. 2000b; de Castro and Bolker 2004; Choisy and Rohani 2006; Lips et al. 2006; Smith et al. 2006). Disease has already been documented as a cause of extinction of a land snail (Partula turgida) (Cunningham and Dazsak 1998), and several amphibian species (Schloegel et al. 2006; Skerrat et al. 2007). Diseases are also known to cause significant population declines, as illustrated by the impact of canine distemper virus in black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes) (Williams et al. 1988) and lions (Panthera leo) (Roelke-Parker et al. 1996), rabies virus in African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) (Woodroffe and Ginsberg 1999), Ebola virus in apes (Leroy et al. 2004), squirrelpox virus in red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) (Rushton et al. 2006) and transmissible facial tumour disease in Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) (Pearse and Swift 2006).
|
6,328 |
Imaging of Parasitic Diseases of the Thorax
|
A broad spectrum of parasitic infections frequently affects the lungs, mediastinum, and thoracic wall, manifesting with abnormal imaging findings that often make diagnosis challenging. Although most of these infections result in nonspecific abnormalities, familiarity with their imaging features and the diagnostic pathways help the radiologist to formulate an adequate differential diagnosis and to guide diagnosticians in reaching a definitive diagnosis.
|
6,329 |
Molecular Determinants of Coronavirus Mhv- Induced Demyelination
|
Mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) is a member of the coronavirus family of the nidovirales order. MHV is an enveloped virus with single-stranded, positive genomic RNA of about 31kb. Infection of susceptible strains of mice with the MHV-JHM and A59 strains results in acute encephalomyelitis and chronic demyelinating disease with features similar to the human demyelination disease multiple sclerosis (MS). Because the mechanism of demyelination in MS is not completely understood, various experimental models, including MHV infection in mice, have been used to study the pathogenesis of inflammatory autoimmune demyelination. The spike (S) glycoprotein of MHV has been implicated as the most critical genomic determinant of MHV pathogenesis and demyelination. However, other genes and proteins are likely to contribute to MHV pathogenesis as well.
|
6,330 |
Asthma
|
Asthma has been recognized as a disease since the earliest times. In the Corpus Hippocraticum, Hippocrates used the term “ασθμα” to indicate any form of breathing difficulty manifesting itself by panting. Aretaeus of Cappadocia, a well-known Greek physician (second century A.D.), is credited with providing the first detailed description of an asthma attack [13], and to Celsus it was a disease with wheezing and noisy, violent breathing. In the history of Rome, we find many members of the Julio-Claudian family affected with probable atopic respiratory disorders: Caesar Augustus suffered from bronchoconstriction, seasonal rhinitis as well as a highly pruritic skin disease. Claudius suffered from rhinoconjunctivitis and Britannicus was allergic to horse dander [529]. Maimonides (1136–1204) warned that to neglect treatment of asthma could prove fatal, whereas until the 19th century, European scholars defined it as “nervous asthma,” a term that was given to mean a defect of conductivity of the ninth pair of cranial nerves.
|
6,331 |
The Social and Political Dimensions of the Ebola Response: Global Inequality, Climate Change, and Infectious Disease
|
The 2014 Ebola crisis has highlighted public-health vulnerabilities in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea—countries ravaged by extreme poverty, deforestation and mining-related disruption of livelihoods and ecosystems, and bloody civil wars in the cases of Liberia and Sierra Leone. Ebola’s emergence and impact are grounded in the legacy of colonialism and its creation of enduring inequalities within African nations and globally, via neoliberalism and the Washington Consensus. Recent experiences with new and emerging diseases such as SARS and various strains of HN influenzas have demonstrated the effectiveness of a coordinated local and global public health and education-oriented response to contain epidemics. To what extent is international assistance to fight Ebola strengthening local public health and medical capacity in a sustainable way, so that other emerging disease threats, which are accelerating with climate change, may be met successfully? This chapter considers the wide-ranging socio-political, medical, legal and environmental factors that have contributed to the rapid spread of Ebola, with particular emphasis on the politics of the global and public health response and the role of gender, social inequality, colonialism and racism as they relate to the mobilization and establishment of the public health infrastructure required to combat Ebola and other emerging diseases in times of climate change.
|
6,332 |
Respiratorische Erkrankungen
|
Dieses Kapitel gibt kurz und knapp einen Überblick über respiratorische Erkrankungen, insbesondere Dyspnoe, Apnoen, Krupp-Syndrom, Epiglottitis, Tracheitis und Fremdkörperaspiration. Ebenso werden Informationen zum akuten Asthmaanfall sowie dem Status asthmaticus, der bronchopulmonale Dysplasie, Bronchiolitis, Schocklunge und den Pneumonien gegeben.
|
6,333 |
The Human Antibody Response Against WNV
|
Experimental evidence has shown that antibody responses to West Nile virus (WNV) are critical for protection from WNV-mediated disease. Antibody responses are also an important immune correlate of protection for the clinical evaluation of WNV vaccines. However, little direct study has been carried out on the characteristics of the human antibody response to natural WNV infection. Preliminary evidence suggests that there are important differences in the way humans and experimental animals mount humoral responses to WNV. In humans, IgM is remarkably persistent in the serum and specific IgG is slow to appear. In addition, mapping of the IgG response to the functionally relevant E-protein suggests that it directed away from critical protective epitopes and towards weakly neutralizing immunodominant epitopes. These findings have important implications for vaccine design and testing.
|
6,334 |
Aircraft Cabin Air Quality Trends Relative to Ground Level Standards
|
Aircraft cabin air quality has attracted much attention, summarized recently by a detailed examination and commentary by a U.S. National Academy of Sciences Committee. Ventilation of aircraft has several significant variables that require control measures that are seldom of concern for occupied space at ground level. The principal of these special requirements are the need to compensate for the substantial difference between cabin and outside pressures, the much lower available space per occupant in aircraft cabins, and the need for coping with more extreme external temperatures than are common at ground level. The breadth of these concerns is of interest in the policies and regulatory aspects of a number of agencies which are briefly described, and their roles and areas of potential interest outlined. Types of possible contaminants are listed, and the limits which have been set by several of these agencies for many of these potential contaminants are tabulated. In addition recent measured aircraft cabin concentrations of several key contaminants are listed. This chapter provides an overview of the general air quality variables affecting enclosed space to enable these to be related to the special needs of some of the less common enclosed spaces described in the following chapters.
|
6,335 |
A Multiagent-Based Model for Epidemic Disease Monitoring in DR Congo
|
Any infectious diseases have been reported in sub-Saharan countries over the past decade due to the inefficiency of health structures to anticipate outbreaks. In a poorly-infrastructure country such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with inadequate health staff and laboratories, it is difficult to respond rapidly to an epidemic, especially in rural areas. As the DRC’s health system has three levels (peripheral, regional and national), from the production of health data at the peripheral level to the national level that makes the decision, meantime the disease can spread to many people. Lack of communication between health centres of the same health zone and Health zones of the same Health Provincial Division does not contribute to the regional response. This article, an extended version of [1], proposes a well elaborated solution track to deal with this problem by using an agent-centric approach to study by simulation how to improve the process. A new experiment is described by arranging twenty-eight health zones of Kinshasa to show how their collaboration can provide unique health data source for all stakeholders and help reducing disease propagation. It concerns also 47 health centres, 1 medical laboratory, 1 Provincial Health Division and 4 Rapid Riposte Teams. The simulation data, provided by Provincial Health Division of Kinshasa, concerned cholera outbreak from January to December 2017. The interaction between these agents demonstrated that Health Zone Agent can automatically alert his neighbours whenever he encountered a confirmed case of an outbreak. This action can reduce disease propagation as population will be provided with prevention measures. These interactions between agents have provided models to propose to the current system in order to find out the best that can help reducing decision time.
|
6,336 |
Antiviral and Antimicrobial Evaluation of Some Heterocyclic Compounds from Turkish Plants
|
Antibiotic resistance has become a problem since the discovery of antibiotics. Not long after the introduction of penicillin, Staphylococcus aureus, which can be also transmitted to humans via milk and milk products, began developing penicillin-resistant strains. Therefore, one approach that has been used for the discovery of new antimicrobial agents from natural sources is based on the evaluation of traditional plant extracts. Natural products have played a pivotal role in antibiotic drug innovation and include aminoglycosides, cephalosporins, macrolides, cycloserine, novobiocin, and lipoproteins. However, only a few antiviral agents are available on the market. To this purpose, we have screened a great number of herbal extracts along with some pure natural substances and obtained interesting findings. This chapter covers the results of our rigorous search for new antiviral and antimicrobial alternative compounds from a number of Turkish plants.
|
6,337 |
Pulmonary Interstitium
|
The first step in the radiographic evaluation of interstitial lung disease begins with a fundamental knowledge of the anatomy of the pulmonary interstitium and the different patterns of disruption. The anatomy of the pulmonary interstitium as demonstrated on CT of the chest with high resolution cuts is largely essential to establish the various radiological patterns that define interstitial lung disease such as the tree-in-bud, ground-glass opacity, crazy -paving, etc.
|
6,338 |
The Domestic Cat, Felis catus, as a Model of Hereditary and Infectious Disease
|
The domestic cat, currently the most frequent of companion animals, has enjoyed a medical surveillance, as a nonprimate species, second only to the dog. With over 200 hereditary disease pathologies reported in the cat, the clinical and physiological study of these feline hereditary diseases provides a strong comparative medicine opportunity for prevention, diagnostics, and treatment studies in a laboratory setting. Causal mutations have been characterized in 19 felid genes, with the largest representation from lysosomal storage enzyme disorders. Corrective therapeutic strategies for several disorders have been proposed and examined in the cat, including enzyme replacement, heterologous bone marrow transplantation, and substrate reduction therapy. Genomics tools developed in the cat, including the recent completion of the 2-fold whole genome sequence of the cat and genome browser, radiation hybrid map of 1793 integrated coding and microsatellite loci, a 5-cM genetic linkage map, arrayed BAC libraries, and flow sorted chromosomes, are providing resources that are being utilized in mapping and characterization of genes of interest. A recent report of the mapping and characterization of a novel causative gene for feline spinal muscular atrophy marked the first identification of a disease gene purely from positional reasoning. With the development of genomic resources in the cat and the application of complementary comparative tools developed in other species, the domestic cat is emerging as a promising resource of phenotypically defined genetic variation of biomedical significance. Additionally, the cat has provided several useful models for infectious disease. These include feline leukemia and feline sarcoma virus, feline coronavirus, and Type C retroviruses that interact with cellular oncogenes to induce leukemia, lymphoma, and sarcoma.
|
6,339 |
Tracing the Diffusion of Infectious Diseases in the Transport Sector
| null |
6,340 |
Microbiology of Acute, Subacute, and Chronic Rhinosinusitis in Children
|
Acute, subacute, and chronic rhinosinusitis may involve an infectious etiology. Knowledge of the microbiology of sinusitis is necessary because it impacts the choice of antibiotic therapy. The sinus aspirate is the most reliable source of microbiological data in sinusitis in children. However, sinus aspirates are rarely done in cases of patients with rhinosinusitis; the last time one was done in a child was in 1984. When they are done, sinus aspirate studies of children showed the presence of Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae), Haemophilus influenzae, and Moraxella catarrhalis (M. catarrhalis). Unlike sinus aspirates, nasopharyngeal and middle meatal cultures are not reliable in determining the bacteriology of children with acute sinusitis. The observation of an increase in the proportion of cases of acute otitis media caused by H. influenzae may reflect that in acute sinusitis as well. Staphylococcus aureus does not play a significant role in uncomplicated acute bacterial sinusitis. The microbiology of acute otitis media can be used as a surrogate for that of acute bacterial sinusitis in children. In contrast to bacteria, the contribution of viruses to the pathogenesis of acute bacterial sinusitis has not been studied systematically. The pathogenesis of chronic sinusitis may be related to bacterial biofilms as a stimulant of chronic inflammation.
|
6,341 |
Airborne/Droplet Infection Isolation
|
Airborne/droplet infection is caused by infected agents in the air around a person. Microbial pathogenic agents that are mainly transmitted airborne are aerosols, re-aerosols, microbe-carrying particles, huge amounts of bacteria-carrying airborne skin cells, dust, droplets and droplet nuclei. At the same time, there is always a contact transmission from contaminated environment, equipment, textiles and waste. Droplet nuclei are small evaporated droplet residues (<5 μm) produced by coughing, sneezing, shouting, singing and speaking very distinct—especially the consonants. Droplet nuclei remain for many hours in the air and may be carried by normal air currents in long distances outside the room. Therefore, “droplet isolation and droplet precaution” is included in the airborne isolation regime. The source of infection is usually a patient but may also be a healthy carrier. The patient should be placed in isolate dedicated for airborne infections.
|
6,342 |
Part II Acronyms and Abbreviations
| null |
6,343 |
Human Infected H5N1 Avian Influenza
|
Avian influenza is an infectious disease caused by avian influenza virus, which is also known as avian plague or European avian plague.
|
6,344 |
Human Pathogenic Viruses in the Marine Environment
|
Indigenous marine virus strains outnumber any form of life in the sea, usually occurring in billion amounts per liter (Danovaro et al., 2001; Fuhrman, 1999). However, although transspecific propagation of viruses may take place, the virus—host relationship tends to be quite constrained, and consequently human viruses are the only viral agents of public health concern in the marine environment.
|
6,345 |
Vaccines
|
Vaccines continue to offer the key line of protection against a range of infectious diseases; however, the range of vaccines currently available is limited. One key consideration in the development of a vaccine is risk-versus-benefit, and in an environment of perceived low risk, the benefit of vaccination may not be recognised. To address this, there has been a move towards the use of subunit-based vaccines, which offer low side-effect profiles but are generally weakly immunogenic. This can be compensated for by the development of effective adjuvants. Nanotechnology offers key attributes in this field through the ability of nanoparticulates to incorporate and protect antigens from rapid degradation, combined with their potential to effectively deliver the antigens to appropriate cells within the immune system. These characteristics can be exploited in the development of new adjuvants. This chapter will outline the applications of nanosystems in vaccine formulations and consider the mechanisms of action behind a range of formulations.
|
6,346 |
Postoperative Care of the Cardiac Surgical Patient
|
The subspecialty of interventional cardiology began in 1977. Since then, the discipline of interventional cardiology has matured rapidly, particularly with regards to ischemic heart disease. As a result, more patients are undergoing percutaneous catheter interventional therapy for ischemic heart disease and fewer patients are undergoing surgical myocardial revascularization. Those patients referred for surgical revascularization are generally older and have more complex problems. Furthermore, as the population ages more patients are referred to surgery for valvular heart disease. The result of these changes is a population of surgical patients older and sicker than previously treated.
|
6,347 |
Housing And Welfare
| null |
6,348 |
Human Infected H7N9 Avian Influenza
|
Human infected H7N9 avian influenza is an acute respiratory infectious disease caused by subtype H7N9 of avian influenza virus. Since the first case was reported in Yangzi River Delta of China in Feb. 2013, the total cases with definitive diagnosis had been up to 451 cases, including 176 cases of death, by Dec. 31, 2014, with a mortality rate of roughly 39 %.
|
6,349 |
Antimicrobial Use in Surgical Intensive Care
|
Intensive care has evolved over its 50-year history to yield previously unimaginable recovery from major trauma, multi-organ system failure, and extensive surgery, including organ transplantation. Antimicrobial therapy plays an essential role in combating invasive infections in the intensive care population that are often the ultimate causes of death. However, a parallel evolution of antimicrobial compensation has occurred, engendering resistance and virulence mechanisms to circumvent each new antimicrobial agent. The surgical intensive care unit provides the ultimate microcosm of antimicrobial resistance selection, combining complex and severe underlying illness with invasive devices, bypassed defenses, compromised tissues, and proximity to other high-risk patients, all in one intimate environment. New resistance mechanisms may be introduced from referring institutions or can emerge in response to treatments, and then may spread to others within or outside the ICU. Multidrug-resistant organisms have become a dominant issue in modern health care; a strategic response is essential to short- and long-term success.
|
6,350 |
Apoptosis in MHV-Induced Demyelination
|
Mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) induced encephalitis, hepatitis and chronic demyelinating disease involves inflammatory and parenchymal cell death. TUNEL assays and electron microscopy reveal that brain parenchymal cells such as neurons, astrocytes, microglia/macrophages and oligodendrocytes are undergoing apoptosis during acute and chronic infection with a neurotropic strain MHV-A59. Although apoptosis is a normal phenomenon in helping the turnover of inflammatory cells, apoptosis of brain parenchymal cells may have significant implications for the pathogenesis of viral-induced demyelination.
|
6,351 |
Polmoniti
|
Non è semplice ordinare una materia così articolata come la patologia infettiva respiratoria. La gestione delle polmoniti si presenta complessa per le problematiche ad esse connesse (aspetti epidemiologici, microbiologici, farmacoeconomici, ecc.) per cui è necessario confrontare costantemente le conoscenze di quanti hanno dimestichezza in questo settore per proporre e condividere linee strategiche che tengano in considerazione da un lato i suggerimenti contenuti nelle linee guida più accreditate e dall’altro le esperienze prodotte dalla pratica quotidiana al fine di migliorare potenzialità e metodi di cura e razionalizzare i percorsi diagnostico-terapeutici più idonei a fronteggiarle. L’incremento costante delle infezioni respiratorie sostenute dai patogeni emergenti e interessate dal fenomeno delle resistenze batteriche è oggi un elemento preoccupante che rischia, tra l’altro, di vanificare, in carenza di un adeguamento costante, tutti gli schemi, le linee guida e i protocolli diagnostico-terapeutici elaborati in questi ultimi anni per un razionale trattamento delle patologie pneumoinfettivologiche. Il trattamento delle polmoniti acquisite in comunità (CAP) rappresenta uno degli argomenti più dibattuti in pneumologia negli ultimi anni, sottoposto a continue revisioni, aggiornamenti, precisazioni dottrinarie.
|
6,352 |
News Timeline Generation: Accounting for Structural Aspects and Temporal Nature of News Stream
|
The number of news articles that are published daily is larger than any person can afford to study. Correct summarization of the information allows for an easy search for the event of interest. This research was designed to address the issue of constructing annotations of news story. Standard multi-document summarization approaches are not able to extract all information relevant to the event. This is due to the fact that such approaches do not take into account the variability of the event context in time. We have implemented a system that automatically builds timeline summary. We investigated impact of three factors: query extension, accounting for temporal nature and structure of news article in form of inverted pyramid. The annotations that we generate are composed of sentences sorted in chronological order, which together contain the main details of the news story. The paper shows that taking into account the described factors positively affects the quality of the annotations created.
|
6,353 |
Plant,Animal, and Microbe Invasive Species in the United States and World
|
Approximately 50,000 plant, animal, and microbe invasive species are present in the United States, and an estimated 500,000 plant, animal, and microbe invasive species have invaded other nations of the world. Immediately, it should be pointed out that the US and world agriculture depend on introduced food crops and livestock.Approximately 99 % of all crops and livestock in all nations are intentionally introduced plants, animals, and microbes (Pimentel 2002). Worldwide, the value of agriculture (including beneficial non-indigenous species) is estimated to total $ 30 trillion per year. Other exotic species have been introduced for landscape restoration, biological pest control, sport, and food processing, also contributing significant benefits. Calculating the negative economic impacts associated with the invasion of exotic species is difficult.For a few species, there are sufficient data to estimate some impacts on agriculture, forestry, fisheries, public health, and the natural ecosystem in the US and worldwide. In this article, we estimate the magnitude of the economic benefits, and environmental and economic costs associated with a variety of invasive species that exist in the United States and elsewhere in the world.
|
6,354 |
Learning the Lessons of the BSE Crisis
|
By any standard, the BSE crisis was a most difficult period in the public health of the UK. This period saw a previously unknown TSE emerge in cattle and then transmit to humans, a scenario which by August 2009 had cost 164 people their lives in the UK and which has resulted in an unknown number of other people incubating variant CJD (vCJD). The economic damage caused by this disease has been considerable. In April 2000, the government estimated that by the end of the 2001/2002 financial year, the total net cost of the BSE crisis to the Exchequer would be £3.7 billion (BSE Inquiry Report, Volume 10: 1). Less quantifiable consequences have also stemmed from this crisis. Chief amongst them has been significant damage to the public’s ability to trust the pronouncements of government on matters of food safety and risk. The scientific community has suffered inestimable damage to its expertise and to its capacity to provide objective, consistent scientific advice to the public. With such serious consequences emanating from the BSE affair, it is incumbent on all those who were involved in this tragic episode to reflect on the events that took place and to consider how things could have been done better. Such a reflective exercise has, of course, been conducted by Lord Phillips and his inquiry team who examined all the events that took place during the BSE epidemic and drew a wide-ranging set of lessons from these events. A reflective purpose is also a central motivation of the current chapter. However, the focus of this reflection – scientific reasoning in contexts of uncertainty – is altogether narrower than that undertaken during the public inquiry into BSE. Moreover, the question of reasoning in contexts of uncertainty was omitted from Lord Phillips’ inquiry into BSE and has also been overlooked within the vast literature that has been written on the topic of BSE both before and after this inquiry was conducted.
|
6,355 |
Acronimi ed abbreviazioni
|
“The patient went from the ER to the OR and then to the ICU”. Indubbiamente il lessico dei medici è ricco di abbreviazioni, tanto che gli operatori della sanità in generale ed i radiologi in particolare adoperano perlomeno dieci abbreviazioni per minuto (questa è una statistica fatta in casa, per favore non citatela).
|
6,356 |
Environmental Pathology
|
Humans are constantly exposed to hazardous pollutants in the environment—for example, in the air, water, soil, rocks, diet, or workplace. Trace metals are important in environmental pathology because of the wide range of toxic reactions and their potential adverse effects on the physiological function of organ systems. Exposures to toxic trace metals have been the subject of numerous environmental and geochemical investigations, and many studies have been published on the acute and/or chronic effects of high-level exposures to these types of agents; however, much fewer data are available concerning the health effects of low-dose chronic exposure to many trace metals. Chronic low-dose exposures to toxic elements such as cadmium and arsenic have been shown to cause these metals to accumulate in tissues over time, leading to multiple adverse effects in exposed individuals.
|
6,357 |
Dynamic Chromatin Loops and the Regulation of Gene Expression
|
Although we have a draft sequence of the human genome, little is known about how the chromatin fiber is packed in three-dimensional (3D) space, or how packing affects function (Jackson 2003). We know packing plays a major role; the rate of transcription of a typical gene can vary over eight orders of magnitude (Ivarie et al. 1983), but deleting local elements like promoters and enhancers reduces expression by less than 5000-fold in transient transfection assays where the 3D “context” is missing. Common sense suggests the fiber cannot be packed randomly, but elucidating what any underlying order might be has proved difficult. First, the foldings of the chromatin fiber have dimensions below the resolution (≈200 nm) of the light microscope (LM) and so can only be seen by electron microscopy (EM), but then the fixation required can distort structure. Second, DNA is so long and packed so tightly it breaks and/or aggregates easily on isolation. Third, chromatin is poised in a metastable state so small charge alterations trigger changes in structure and function, and replacing the natural environment with our buffers often promotes aggregation.
|
6,358 |
Specific Serum Markers of IPF: What Is the Significance of KL-6, SP-A, and SP-D?
|
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is defined as a specific form of chronic, progressive, fibrosing interstitial pneumonia of unknown cause. It is characterized by the progressive worsening of lung function and has a poor prognosis (median survival is approximately 3 years). However, the clinical course of disease shows considerable individual variability. Therefore, it is important to monitor the clinical course and to predict prognosis for optimal therapy. Serum biomarkers are both less invasive and reproducible diagnostic tools. Useful biomarkers for patients with IPF are strongly coveted; however, to date, there are no biomarkers that are globally known. In Japan, surfactant protein (SP)-A, SP-D, and KL-6 are commonly used as serum markers of interstitial pneumonia, including IPF, in the clinical setting, and empirical data has been accumulated over 10 years. SP-A and SP-D are hydrophilic proteins and members of the collectin family. These collectins have been shown to function as host defense lectins in the lung. KL-6 is a high molecular weight glycoprotein and now classified as a human MUC1 mucin protein. These three proteins are mainly synthesized by alveolar type II cells. The mechanisms of increase for these protein levels in sera of patients with IPF are probably a combination of a loss of epithelial integrity due to injury and an increased mass of type II cells due to hyperplasia. It has been revealed that those proteins are useful for monitoring the clinical course and predicting prognosis as well as for the diagnosis of IPF. In this review article, the molecular structures and biological functions of these biomarkers are outlined, and we discuss the clinical application of these biomarkers for patients with IPF.
|
6,359 |
Issue Framing: Making Your Concerns a Global Priority
|
One of the challenges stakeholders in global public health negotiations face is how to focus media, public and policy-maker attention on a specific public health concern in a way that motivates action. Whether the issue is the threat posed by a new virus (e.g., HIV/AIDS, SARS, H5N1/avian flu, H1N1/swine flu), the impact of the WTO’s TRIPS agreement on the access to essential medicines, or the marketing of unhealthy foods to children, defining the issue in a compelling manner is a key first step in any negotiating process.
|
6,360 |
Economic Assessment of the Damages Caused by Global Warming
|
Damages avoided – the principal benefit of mitigating climate change – are investigated in this chapter, particularly the potential adverse impacts on the primary sectors, biodiversity and human health. A review of studies indicates that climate change is unlikely to have much impact on agriculture and forestry; projected climate change will increase productivity in some regions while reducing it in others, leading to a redistribution of land rents with little impact on overall output. When CO(2) fertilization is taken into account, there might even be an overall increase in primary sector productivity that results in more undisturbed land, thus protecting biodiversity. Other findings in this chapter also run counter to current shibboleths: The biggest threat to polar bears is hunting, not climate change; current trends in Arctic ice extent are not without historical precedent; sea level rise is not an imminent threat; extreme weather events are not increasing; malaria is not only a tropical disease; and human health is a function of income, not climate, with bottom-up models using UN data predicting that death rates from almost all causes will be lower with projected global warming than without it. Meanwhile, integrated assessment models (IAMs) simply assume damages are an arbitrary function of temperature; upon balancing discounted costs and benefits, IAMs can be used to find an optimal path (usually of a carbon tax or emissions cap) for mitigating climate change. It is shown that different assumptions regarding damages, the discount rate, and/or the probability of catastrophic damage can be used to justify completely different policies for addressing global warming. Therefore, a carbon tax that is contingent on the temperature in the troposphere above the tropics – where the earliest indication of global warming is predicted to occur – is considered to be the preferred policy strategy as it should appeal to global warming proponents and skeptics alike. Finally, the Kaya identity is used to demonstrate the policy dilemma that decision makers face in reducing CO(2) emissions.
|
6,361 |
A Brief History of Advances Toward Health
|
Three major discoveries determined the health and history of the human species. The first occurred almost a million years ago, when our hominid precursors discovered how to use fire to cook the meat they had hunted. They found that cooked meat tasted better, it didn’t go bad so quickly, and eating it was less likely to make them ill. Our understanding of nutrition, a basic tenet of public health science, and the art of cooking have been improving ever since.
|
6,362 |
Diffuse Alveolar Hemorrhage
|
Diffuse alveolar hemorrhage[DAH] is a serious condition that can be life threatening. It can be caused by a constellation of disorders which presents with hemoptysis, anemia, and diffuse alveolar infiltrates. Respiratory failure from DAH can be so severe that it has been called an ARDS mimic/imitator. Early recognition is crucial because prompt diagnosis and treatment are required for survival. DAH should be distinguished from other causes of pulmonary hemorrhage caused by localized pulmonary abnormalities and the bronchial circulation. Early bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) is generally required to confirm the diagnosis of DAH and rule out infection. Progressively bloody bronchoalveolar lavage samples can distinguish DAH. Systemic vasculitis is one of the most common causes of DAH and can be pathologically defined by the presence of cellular inflammation, vessel destruction, tissue necrosis, and eventually, organ dysfunction. Corticosteroids and immunosuppressive agents remain the gold standard for the treatment. The following case illustrates a patient who was dependent on dialysis, then presented with hemoptysis. Bronchoscopy demonstrated progressively bloody bronchoalveolar lavage samples consistent with diffuse alveolar hemorrhage. Serologic testing was consistent with microscopic polyangiitis. The patient experienced a clinical remission with cyclophosphamide and corticosteroids.
|
6,363 |
Prologue
|
All living things are associated with a boundary defined ecological niche. Steady state conditions are rarely constant but evolutionary adaptation is too slow to adapt to daily threats so a surrogate variation mechanism is necessary. The genome defines the most basic instructions for life so that a molecular biology perspective provides the foundation for understanding resilience. Variations in the expression of RNA offers rapid variation and this book proposes this is the basis of resilience. This book attempts to illuminate mechanisms of resilience beginning with elaborating threats leading to disruption in steady state conditions. Recognition of threats and defense systems are described followed by adaptive changes in gene expression that refine responses. Finally, environmental conditions are discussed that serve to dampen the adaptive response oscillator to disruptive threats at the level of RNA expression. This prologue is intended to acquaint the reader with my background and the genesis of optimism for an idea that the benefit of transcriptome plasticity is resilience. I grew up in several National Parks, remote regions of the United States that are set aside to preserve natural environments. I attended 12 schools by the time I graduated from high school, a fact that forced me to develop personal resilience. My career path as a scientist followed a path from ecologist to pharmacologist to molecular biologist. I was a professor that transitioned to biotechnology ensuring research subjects involving very diverse in subject matter so I appreciate the value of plasticity.
|
6,364 |
Viral Integration and Consequences on Host Gene Expression
|
Upon cell infection, some viruses integrate their genome into the host chromosome, either as part of their life cycle (such as retroviruses), or incidentally. While possibly promoting long-term persistence of the virus into the cell, viral genome integration may also lead to drastic consequences for the host cell, including gene disruption, insertional mutagenesis and cell death, as well as contributing to species evolution. This review summarizes the current knowledge on viruses integrating their genome into the host genome and the consequences for the host cell.
|
6,365 |
Emergency Logistics Distribution Optimization Model and Algorithm in Disaster Chain
|
Emergency logistics distribution of disasters and accidents is an effective means to reduce the loss of lives and property. On the condition of meeting the timeliness requirement of emergency logistics, the study of emergency logistics distribution can rationally schedule vehicle, substantially reduce the vehicle allocation time and the logistical cost. Through the analysis of the characteristics of rescue emergency logistics, the system structure of emergency logistics distribution is proposed. After the material distribution optimization model for emergency logistics is established, an improved genetic algorithm is designed to solve this problem. In improved genetic algorithm, the best individual reservations, roulette selection, blend crossover, and blend mutation have been adopted to avoid premature convergence and enhance the process efficiency. A numeric example is presented to validate the feasibility and effectiveness of the model and its algorithm.
|
6,366 |
Respiratory Syncytial Virus and Other Pediatric Respiratory Virus Infections
|
Infants and young children undergoing their primary infection with common human respiratory viruses are at risk of serious, even life-threatening, lower respiratory tract infection, A multiplicity of viruses infect the human respiratory tract but a relatively small number are responsible for the majority of significant illness. Of these the most commonly diagnosed in the pediatric population is respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which infects essentially all children in their first or second year of life, bringing approx 1% into the hospital with bronchiolitis or pneumonia (1). Children with underlying cardiac or pulmonary disease, or born prematurely are particularly at risk. The virus also causes problems in the immunosuppressed and mortality rates are alarmingly high for RSV pneumonia after bone marrow transplantation (2). The availability of therapy with ribavirin (3) or high titer anti-RSV γ-globulin (4), which may be of benefit in these at risk groups, places a premium on rapid and accurate, but cost effective, diagnosis.
|
6,367 |
Interleukin-35: A Novel Mediator of Peripheral Tolerance
|
Interleukin-35 is a potent suppressive cytokine of the IL-12 family. Although other members of the IL-12 family are produced mainly by antigen-presenting cells (APCs), IL-35 is produced by regulatory T (Treg) cells and suppresses cell proliferation. It has been shown to play an important role in many disease models and has been recently shown to have additional functions aside from inhibition of proliferation, including inducing its own expression in non-Treg cells. In this chapter, we discuss the history and current status of IL-35 biology, as well as suggest where the field might move in the future.
|
6,368 |
Edible Rabies Vaccines
|
Rabies has been one of the most feared diseases throughout history. Human rabies remains an important public health problem in many developing countries. The WHO reports that more than 55,000 people die of this disease every year. Most of these cases occur in developing countries. In most Latin American countries, the major reservoirs of rabies are the dog and the hematophagous bat (Desmodus rotundus), which is present in the tropical and subtropical areas from Northern Mexico to Northern Argentina and Chile and transmits the disease to cattle. One of the better options for controlling rabies is vaccination. The expression of rabies virus G protein in different plant systems for developing an oral rabies vaccine could reduce costs of production and distribution and would be convenient for developing countries where the disease is endemic.
|
6,369 |
Diagnosis and Assessment of Microbial Infections with Host and Microbial microRNA Profiles
|
Biomarkers are continuously being sought in the field of diagnostic microbiology for the laboratory diagnosis and assessment of microbial infections. A set of clinical and laboratory criteria necessary for an ideal diagnostic marker of infection have previously been proposed by Ng and his colleagues [1]. According these criteria, an ideal biomarker should possess at a minimum the following characteristics: (a) biochemically, a biomarker should be stable and remain significantly deregulated in the body fluid compartment for at least 12–24 h even after commencement of appropriate treatment that may allow an adequate time window for specimen collection or storage without significant decomposition of the active compound until laboratory processing; (b) its concentration should be determined quantitatively and the method of measurement should be automatic, rapid, easy, and inexpensive; (c) the collection of a specimen should be minimally invasive and require a small volume (e.g., <0.5 mL blood). Numerous biomarkers have been found and tested in clinical practice. Currently, microRNA (miRNA) molecules are without a doubt the biomarkers with the greatest potential capacities in the diagnostic microbiology field.
|
6,370 |
Probe Selection with Fault Tolerance
|
Microarray techniques play an important role for testing some reactions of diseases which are caused by viruses. Probes in microarray are one kind of the most important materials. Usually, scientists use a unique probe for marking a special target sequence. Thus, for identifying n different viruses, we need n different probes. Recently, some researchers study non-unique probes to identify viruses by using less number of probes. In this case, a virus can be identified by a combination of some probes. In this paper, we study the problem of finding a set of probes that can identify all the given targets. We consider the k-fault tolerance selection of probes. That is, if any k probes fail, then we still can identify each target. We propose a practical algorithm for this k-fault tolerance probe selection problem. Some experiments are studied on SARS, H5N1, and so on.
|
6,371 |
Gli antagonisti dei recettori AT1
|
Nella storia del SRA, la sintesi degli antagonisti dei recettori AT1 può essere considerata nello stesso tempo come un punto di arrivo ed un punto di partenza, perché essa ha sicuramente contribuito a rendere più efficace e razionale il trattamento di numerose patologie, ma - proprio per i risultati ottenuti, spesso inaspettati - ha dato anche il via a nuove ricerche, necessarie per chiarire il meccanismo con cui funzionano realmente questi antagonisti: essi infatti si sono dimostrati efficaci non solo nella IA e nello scompenso cardiaco (cioè in condizioni in cui è sicuramente coinvolto il SRA) (Pitt 2002; Ruddy e Kostis 2005), ma anche in altre patologie, che non appaiono legate in via primitiva ad un disordine di questo sistema, come lo stroke, l’aterosclerosi, la nefropatia diabetica, il decadimento delle funzioni cognitive e perfino di quelle sessuali (Koh e coll. 2003; Sierra e de la Sierra 2005).
|
6,372 |
A Model for Characterizing Annual Flu Cases
|
Influenza outbreaks occur seasonally and peak during winter season in temperate zones of the Northern and Southern hemisphere. The occurrence and recurrence of flu epidemics has been alluded to variability in mechanisms such temperature, climate, host contact and traveling patterns [4]. This work promotes a Gaussian–type regression model to study flu outbreak trends and predict new cases based on influenza–like–illness data for France (1985–2005). We show that the proposed models are appropriate descriptors of these outbreaks and can improve the surveillance of diseases such as flu. Our results show that limited data reduces our ability to predict unobserved cases. Based on laboratory surveillance data, we prototype each season according to the dominating virus (H3N2, H1N1, B) and show that high intensity outbreaks are correlated with early peak times. These findings are in accordance with the dynamics observed for influenza outbreaks in the US.
|
6,373 |
Accelerating Dock6’s Amber Scoring with Graphic Processing Unit
|
In the drug discovery field, solving the problem of virtual screening is a long term-goal. The scoring functionality which evaluates the fitness of the docking result is one of the major challenges in virtual screening. In general, scoring functionality in docking requires large amount of floating-point calculations and usually takes several weeks or even months to be finished. This time-consuming disadvantage is unacceptable especially when highly fatal and infectious virus arises such as SARS and H1N1. This paper presents how to leverage the computational power of GPU to accelerate Dock6 [1]’s Amber [2] scoring with NVIDIA CUDA [3] platform. We also discuss many factors that will greatly influence the performance after porting the Amber scoring to GPU, including thread management, data transfer and divergence hidden. Our GPU implementation shows a 6.5x speedup with respect to the original version running on AMD dual-core CPU for the same problem size.
|
6,374 |
The Aerobiology Pathway
| null |
6,375 |
Population Mobility and the Geography of Microbial Threats
| null |
6,376 |
TCR Analyses: T-cell receptor CDR3 analysis: Molecular fingerprinting of the T-cell receptor repertoire
|
T-cells play a crucial role in immune surveillance against transformed cells and intracellular infections; they are involved in auto-immune reactions. They recognize their targets, i.e. MHC / peptide complexes, trough the T-cell receptor. TCR usage determines the molecular interaction of the immune system with biologically relevant MHC/peptide molecules. The TCR coding genes (variable, diversity and junctional) determine the molecular composition of the TCR alpha and beta heterodimer. The random association of the VDJ genes constitutes the complementarity determining region 3 (CDR3) responsible for antigen recognition and TCR specificity. The molecular composition of a T-cell population can be objectively defined by measuring the CDR3 region. Qualitative and quantitative comparisons of the TCR composition in different anatomic compartments, or longitudinally over time, allow to asses the entire TCR repertoire. This methodology can be supplemented with functional T-cell based assays and aids to objectively describe any alteration in the T-cell pool. TCR CDR3 analysis is useful in immunomonitoring, e.g. examining patients after BMT or solid organ transplantation, patients with HAART therapy, or patients receiving molecularly defined vaccines.
|
6,377 |
Implications of Human Microbiome Research for the Developing World
|
The human microbiome refers to all of the species that inhabit the human body, residing both on and in it. Over the past several years, there has been a significantly increased interest directed to the understanding of the microorganisms that reside on and in the human body. These studies of the human microbiome promise to reveal all these species and increase our understanding of the normal inhabitants, those that trigger disease and those that vary in response to disease conditions. It is anticipated that these directed research efforts, coupled with new technological advances, will ultimately allow one to gain a greater understanding of the relationships of these species with their human hosts. The various chapters in this book present a range of aspects of human microbiome research, explain the scientific and technological rationale, and highlight the significant potential that the results from these studies hold. In this chapter, we begin to address the potential and long-term implications of the knowledge gained from human microbiome research (which currently is centered in the developed world) for the developing world, which has often lagged behind in the benefits of these new technologies and their implications to new research areas.
|
6,378 |
Early Outbreak Detection Using an Automated Data Feed of Test Orders from a Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory
|
Disease surveillance in animals remains inadequate to detect outbreaks resulting from novel pathogens and potential bioweapons. Mostly relying on confirmed diagnoses, another shortcoming of these systems is their ability to detect outbreaks in a timely manner. We investigated the feasibility of using veterinary laboratory test orders in a prospective system to detect outbreaks of disease earlier compared to traditional reporting methods. IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. automatically transferred daily records of laboratory test orders submitted from veterinary providers in Ohio via a secure file transfer protocol. Test products were classified to appropriate syndromic category using their unique identifying number. Counts of each category by county were analyzed to identify unexpected increases using a cumulative sums method. The results indicated that disease events can be detected through the prospective analysis of laboratory test orders and may provide indications of similar disease events in humans before traditional disease reporting.
|
6,379 |
Impact of Disasters and Disaster Risk Management in Singapore: A Case Study of Singapore’s Experience in Fighting the SARS Epidemic
|
Singapore is vulnerable to both natural and man-made disasters alongside its remarkable economic growth. One of the most significant disasters in recent history was the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic in 2003. The SARS outbreak was eventually contained through a series of risk mitigating measures introduced by the Singapore government. This would not be possible without the engagement and responsiveness of the general public. This chapter begins with a description of Singapore’s historical disaster profiles, the policy and legal framework in the all-hazard management approach. We use a case study to highlight the disaster impacts and insights drawn from Singapore’s risk management experience with specific references to the SARS epidemic. The implications from the SARS focus on four areas: staying vigilant at the community level, remaining flexible in a national command structure, the demand for surge capacity, and collaborative governance at regional level. This chapter concludes with a presence of the flexible command structure on both the way and the extent it was utilized.
|
6,380 |
The 2003 SARS Outbreaks in Taiwan
|
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is caused by SARS-associated coronaviruses (SARS-CoVs) (Drosten et al., 2003; Fouchier et al., 2003; Peiris et al., 2003b; Ksiazek et al., 2003). The first known outbreak of SARS occurred in China’s Guangdong province in November, 2002 (Chinese SARS Molecular Epidemiology Consortium, 2004). By August 7 of the following year, SARS had spread to more than 30 countries, affecting 8,096 people and resulting in 774 deaths worldwide (World Health Organization, 2004). In 2003, Taiwan experienced a series of SARS outbreaks and the Municipal Hoping Hospital (referred to hereafter as HP) in Taipei City suffered the first and the most serious outbreak of SARS-CoV nosocomial infections: 137 probable cases and 26 deaths (Division of Surveillance and Investigation, Center for Disease Control, Taiwan, 2003; Lan et al., 2005b). According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Taiwan, 364 of the 664 probable Taiwanese SARS cases reported to the World Health Organization were confirmed by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and/or neutralizing antibody tests (Center for Disease Control, 2003a). In this chapter, we will discuss the molecular and clinical epidemiology of SARS infection in Taiwan during 2003.
|
6,381 |
Animals and Mechanisms of Disease Transmission
|
More than 60% of human infectious diseases are shared with domestic or wild animals, with over a billion illnesses in the global population and millions of deaths each year. It is estimated that 75% of emerging infectious diseases are zoonoses. There is a great diversity of animals, terrestrial and marine vertebrates, which can directly or indirectly transmit a wide variety of microbial pathogens to humans. This chapter reviews the means of transmission by different groups of animals [pets, farm animals, and wildlife] that can result in zoonoses. The diverse range of infectious agents encompasses the gamut of microbes that can affect humans: bacteria [including rickettsiae and mycobacteria], viruses, fungi, parasites [protozoa, metazoan, and helminths], and prions. Infectious agents can be transmitted by animals by several different mechanisms: fecal-oral route with foodborne zoonoses or accidentally through contamination of drinking water or the unwashed hands, direct contact with or without bites or scratches, indirectly through various vectors [mosquitos, sandflies, fleas, and ticks], and incidentally by environmental contamination with animal pathogens, including aerosol of dried infected animal excrements.
|
6,382 |
Community Acquired Pneumonia
|
Early identification of patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia (SCAP) who require ICU care is important as delayed transfer is associated with increased mortality. In such patients, aggressive diagnostic testing is warranted given the increased probability of detecting a pathogen resistant to usual empirical therapy. Despite aggressive culture and other routine diagnostic testing, the majority of cases of SCAP remain without a definitive etiology. Early coverage of S. pneumoniae, methicillin-susceptible S. aureus, and L. pneumophila is crucial and adequate in the absence of risk factors for drug-resistant pathogens. Combination antibiotics with a beta-lactam and either a macrolide or fluoroquinolone are strongly recommended. When methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is suspected, linezolid is superior to vancomycin. Several aspects of managing severe CAP remain without consensus, including risk factors for multidrug resistant pathogens, need for suppression of exotoxin production, the role of procalcitonin, and adjunctive treatment with corticosteroids and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.
|
6,383 |
Viral Genomics: Implications for the Understanding and Control of Emerging Viral Diseases
|
In recent decades, many infectious diseases have significantly increased in incidence and/or geographic range, in some cases impacting heavily on human, animal or plant populations. Some of these ‘emerging infectious diseases’ are associated with pathogens that have appeared in populations for the first time as a result of cross-species transmission (e.g. human immunodeficiency virus—acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV-AIDS), severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)), while others were previously known but are rapidly increasing in incidence or geographic range as a result of underlying epidemiological changes (e.g. multi-drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection, dengue, West Nile encephalitis, foot and mouth disease, cassava mosaic disease). The latter include prominent diseases as tuberculosis, malaria and yellow fever that were once on the decline but are now ‘re-emerging diseases’.
|
6,384 |
Exposure
| null |
6,385 |
Risk Assessment for Airworthiness Security
|
The era of digital avionics is opening a fabulous opportunity to improve aircraft operational functions, airline dispatch and service continuity. But arising vulnerabilities could be an open door to malicious attacks. Necessity for security protection on airborne systems has been officially recognized and new standards are actually under construction. In order to provide development assurance and countermeasures effectiveness evidence to certification authorities, security objectives and specifications must be clearly identified thanks to a security risk assessment process. This paper gives main characteristics for a security risk assessment methodology to be integrated in the early design of airborne systems development and compliant with airworthiness security standards.
|
6,386 |
Multiorganinfektionen — komplexe klinisch infektiologische Krankheiten
|
Wir verfügen über ein hochwirksames Arsenal an Antibiotika, wir können auf der Suche nach einem Fokus mit bildgebenden, diagnostischen Verfahren jeden Bereich des menschlichen Körpers darstellen und ggf. punktieren, und doch sind unsere therapeutischen Erfolge bei der Sepsis nach wie vor enttäuschend. Die Letalität der schweren Sepsis und des septischen Schocks liegt unverändert hoch bei 40–70%.
|
6,387 |
Adult-Onset Still’s Disease
|
Adult-onset Still’s disease (AOSD) is a rare systemic, autoinflammatory disorder that often presents in adolescence and early adulthood with fever, rash, and polyarthritis. There are significant genetic and clinical similarities with systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA) with a different chronological disease onset. The disease can have many protean characteristics leading to delays in diagnosis. Treatment includes corticosteroids; traditional immunomodulators, such as methotrexate; and targeted biologic treatments that include IL-1 and IL-6 inhibitors.
|
6,388 |
Infektionskrankheiten
|
Virale Infektionen zählen immer noch weltweit, besonders in den Entwicklungsländern, zu den häufigsten Todesursachen. Durch internationale systematische Impfkampagnen der WHO ist die Welt pockenfrei geworden. Die Inzidenz der Infektionen, die durch eine Immunprophylaxe verhindert werden können, wurde drastisch gesenkt (Poliomyelitis, Tollwut). In den 80er Jahren trat eine neue Tierseuche beim Rind auf, die bovine spongyforme Enzephalopathie (BSE), die mit der neuen Variante der Creutzfeldt-Jakob-Krankheit (vCJK) in Zusammenhang steht (Nahrungskette). Im selben Zeitraum begann die explosionsartige weltweite Verbreitung eines neuen Retrovirus, des HIV. Trotz intensiver Aufklärungskampagnen und neuen therapeutischen Möglichkeiten (hochaktive antiretrovirale Therapie, HAART) ist es nicht gelungen, die weitere Ausbreitung der HIV-Infektion zu verhindern.
|
6,389 |
Two Critical Issues in Quantitative Modeling of Communicable Diseases: Inference of Unobservables and Dependent Happening
|
In this chapter, we discuss two critical issues which must be remembered whenever we examine epidemiologic data of directly transmitted infectious diseases. Firstly, we would like the readers to recognize the difference between observable and unobservable events in infectious disease epidemiology. Since both infection event and acquisition of infectiousness are generally not directly observable, the total number of infected individuals could not be counted at a point of time, unless very rigorous contact tracing and microbiological examinations were performed. Directly observable intrinsic parameters, such as the incubation period and serial interval, play key roles in translating observable to unobservable information. Secondly, the concept of dependent happening must be remembered to identify a risk of an infectious disease or to assess vaccine efficacy. Observation of a single infected individual is not independent of observing other individuals. A simple solution for dependent happening is to employ the transmission probability which is conditioned on an exposure to infection.
|
6,390 |
Pathophysiology of Acute Respiratory Failure in Children with Bronchiolitis and Effect of CPAP
|
Acute bronchiolitis is the most common lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) during the first year of life. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection is the most prevalent virus found in these children, accounting for 60–80 % of cases. The rate of hospitalization is less than 2 %. Up to 8 % of those hospitalized require ventilatory support [1, 2].
|
6,391 |
Quantitative Real-Time PCR
|
Changes in mRNA expression levels occur during physiological and pathological processes in the cardiovascular system. An increase inDNAtranscription results in increasedmRNAlevels and will subsequently result in increased protein levels that regulate processes inside and outside the cell. To determine alterations in mRNA levels, traditional methods such as Northern blot and ribonuclease protection assay can be used; however, large amounts of RNA are necessary and the methods are very labor intensive. In this chapter, we focus on the newest advancements in reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rt-pcr) technology, the real-time PCR or quantitative PCR, using small amounts of RNA to determine expression levels.We discuss the technique in general and describe two different approaches.
|
6,392 |
Viral Genome Packaging Machines: An Overview
| null |
6,393 |
Production of Recombinant Pharmaceutical Proteins
|
The proteins produced in the body control and mediate the metabolic processes and help in its routine functioning. Any kind of impairment in protein production, such as production of mutated protein, or misfolded protein, leads to disruption of the pathway controlled by that protein. This may manifest in the form of the disease. However, these diseases can be treated, by supplying the protein from outside or exogenously. The supply of active exogenous protein requires its production on large scale to fulfill the growing demand. The process is complex, requiring higher protein expression, purification, and processing. Each product needs unique settings or standardizations for large-scale production and purification. As only large-scale production can fulfill the growing demand, thus it needs to be cost-effective. The tools of genetic engineering are utilized to produce the proteins of human origin in bacteria, fungi, insect, or mammalian host. Usage of recombinant DNA technology for large-scale production of proteins requires ample amount of time, labor, and resources, but it also offers many opportunities for economic growth. After reading this chapter, readers would be able to understand the basics about production of recombinant proteins in various hosts along with the advantages and limitations of each host system and properties and production of some of the important pharmaceutical compounds and growth factors.
|
6,394 |
Telencephalon: Neocortex
|
The neocortex is an ultracomplex, six-layered structure that develops from the dorsal palliai sector of the telencephalic hemispheres (Figs. 2.24, 2.25, 11.1). All mammals, including monotremes and marsupials, possess a neocortex, but in reptiles, i.e. the ancestors of mammals, only a three-layered neocortical primordium is present [509, 511]. The term neocortex refers to its late phylogenetic appearance, in comparison to the “palaeocortical” olfactory cortex and the “archicortical” hippocampal cortex, both of which are present in all amniotes [509].
|
6,395 |
Pathogen Detection in the Genomic Era
|
In the 21st century, one of the greatest challenges to public health and clinical microbiologists is the rapid detection and identification of emerging and reemerging pathogens. Complex factors such as genetic variation in the host and pathogen, environmental changes, population pressures, and global travel can all influence the emergence of infectious diseases. The SARS epidemic of 2003 highlighted the potential of an emerging pathogen to spread globally in a very short time frame (Peruski and Peruski, 2003). The diagnostics of such infectious diseases has been greatly affected in the past 20 years. No longer is cultivation and microscopy the only means of detecting infectious agents. With the introduction of molecular diagnostics, the ability to detect minute amounts of microbial nucleic acids in clinical specimens has revolutionized clinical microbiology. In particular, the utility of PCR allows the detection and quantitation of specific agents in a matter of hours. PCR sequencing of specific segments of nucleic acid allows for the determination of specific drug resistance that now aids in guiding viral therapies.
|
6,396 |
Ademhaling
|
Dyspneu is een subjectieve sensatie van inefficiënte ventilatie. Het betreft een van de meest voorkomende klachten waarmee patiënten zich op een SEH melden. De opname-indicaties zijn zeer divers. De behandeling is vooral gericht op onderliggende pathofysiologische mechanismen. Tracheobronchitis is een van de meest gestelde diagnoses; verder worden toegelicht: pneumonie, pneumothorax, longembolie, asthma bronchiale, ARDS, longoedeem, pleura-effusie en hemoptoë. Een patiënt met een acute bovensteluchtwegobstructie krijgt, zolang op gespecialiseerde hulp wordt gewacht, een zo hoog mogelijke concentratie zuurstof toegediend en er moet een noodtracheostomieset klaarstaan. Met niet-invasieve monitoring kan men de ingestelde behandeling evalueren; voor diagnosticering blijven de anamnese en het lichamelijk onderzoek van belang. Indien onverwacht een moeilijke intubatie vereist is, moeten alternatieve plannen beschikbaar zijn. Er kan een reanimatiesituatie ontstaan waarbij artsen én verpleegkundigen gerechtigd zijn alle benodigde maatregelen te nemen. Idealiter beschikt elke SEH over een algoritme/protocol dat men volgt bij patiënten met een ‘moeilijke luchtweg’.
|
6,397 |
Planning and Managing Mass Prophylaxis Clinic Operations
|
Along with their federal, tribal, and state counterparts, local health departments, as part of the public health system, are on the front lines to assist the community to prepare, respond, and recover from public health emergencies. Local health departments have many roles during a public health emergency; one important role is to create a successful mass prophylaxis operation for the public using points of dispensing (PODs). This chapter outlines the specific functions necessary for a successful and efficient POD operation. A step-by-step process is described and can be used both for emergency and everyday planning of POD operations. In addition, researchers continue to work to solve many of the complex challenges facing local health departments attempting to prevent morbidity and mortality during a biological disaster. A discussion of some of these challenges and opportunities for future research is outlined in this chapter.
|
6,398 |
Acute and chronic liver insufficiency
| null |
6,399 |
Novel Natural Products From Rainforest Endophytes
|
Endophytic microorganisms are found in virtually every higher plant on earth. These organisms reside in the living tissues of the host plant and do so in a variety of relationships, ranging from symbiotic to pathogenic. Endophytes may contribute to their host plant by producing a plethora of substances that provide protection and survival value to the plant. Ultimately, these compounds, once isolated and characterized, may also have potential for use in modern medicine. Novel antibiotics, antimycotics, immunosuppressants, and anticancer compounds are only a few examples of what has been found after the isolation and culturing of individual endophytes followed by purification and characterization of some of their natural products. The potential of finding new drugs that may be effective candidates for treating newly developing diseases in humans is great.
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.