Incidence of respiratory viruses in a pediatric population: molecular and epidemiological aspects
Respiratory viruses, Human Influenza A, H1N1
Introduction: Respiratory infections are not well defined and the etiology is often unknown. Material and method: four hundred fortynine subjectrs were enrolled in the study; in all patientes there was a suspect of inflammatory diseases of the respiratory tract. At admission, a nasopharyngeal swab was made. A multiplex PCR was performed after extraction and reverse transcription of viral RNA. The amplified fragments were revealed by using an electrophoresis separation. Results: Two hundred and four patients (45.4%) were hospitalized for infection of the upper respiratory tract, 141 (31.4%) for lower respiratory infection and the remaining (23%) for other symptoms. One hundred fiftyseven (35%) patients were positive for human influenza A (H1N1 subtype) and 184 for other respiratory viruses,of which 59 (32%) gave a positive for respiratory syncytial virus, 42 (23%) for rhinovirus, 31 (17%) for parainfluenza virus, 12 (6.5%) for coronavirus, 28 (15%) for adenovirus and 6 (3%) for influenza B (3%) and 6 (3%) for metapneumovirus. The M1 gene sequence of influenza A H1N1 strains from 12 patients had a high identity with that of the reference virus. Conclusion: Furthermore H1N1 and RSV were the main causative agents of acute respiratory infection. A molecular approach provides an accurate and rapid aetiological diagnosis of viral respiratory infections. The molecolar features in the M1 gene suggested that the H1N1 influenza strains circulating in Apulia region had a conserved genetic make up.
Anna Di Taranto, Rosella De Nittis, Mariantonietta Di Stefano, Giuseppina Faleo, Maria Rosaria Lipsi, Valeria Delli Carri, Mariangela Pugliese, Teresa Colapietra, Rosaria Agriesti, Raffaele Antonetti
Investigation of Methane Oxy-Fuel Combustion in a Swirl-Stabilised Gas Turbine Model Combustor
Oxy-fuel, methane flame, lean blowout, CO emission, Gas turbine combustion
CO2 has a strong impact on both operability and emission behaviours in gas turbine combustors. In the present study, an atmospheric, preheated, swirl-stabilised optical gas turbine model combustor rig was employed. The primary objectives were to analyse the influence of CO2 on the fundamental characteristics of combustion, lean blowout (LBO) limits, CO emission and flame structures. CO2 dilution effects were examined with three preheating temperatures (396.15, 431.15, and 466.15 K). The fundamental combustion characteristics were studied utilising chemical kinetic simulations. To study the influence of CO2 on the operational range of the combustor, equivalence ratio (Ф) was varied from stoichiometric conditions to the LBO limits. CO emissions were measured at the exit of the combustor using a water-cooled probe over the entire operational range. The flame structures and locations were characterised by performing CH chemiluminescence imaging. The inverse Abel transformation was used to analyse the CH distribution on the axisymmetric plane of the combustor. Chemical kinetic modelling indicated that the CO2 resulted in a lower reaction rate compared with the CH4/air flame. Fundamental combustion properties such as laminar flame speed, ignition delay time and blowout residence time were found to be affected by CO2. The experimental results revealed that CO2 dilution resulted in a narrower operational range for the equivalence ratio. It was also found that CO2 had a strong inhibiting effect on CO burnout, which led to a higher concentration of CO in the combustion exhaust. CH chemiluminescence showed that the CO2 dilution did not have a significant impact on the flame structure.
Mao Li, Yiheng Tong, Marcus Thern, Jens Klingmann
Erratum: Li, M., et al. Middle East Respiratory Syndrome and Medical Students: Letter from China. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2015, 12, 13289–13294
We wish to make the following correction to the published paper [1].[...]
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Editorial Office
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Sequencing for Surveillance of Emerging Infectious Diseases: from Laboratory to Field
emerging infectious diseases, Surveillance, Sequencing
Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) have affected both human and animal populations throughout history, and can be grouped into four categories: 1) newly identified pathogens, 2) zoonotic pathogens, 3) pathogens or vectors adapted to new environments, and 4) pathogens with enhanced virulence. In recent decades, several EIDs have threatened the global community and drawn both public and scientific attention. These include human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome, severe acute respiratory syndrome, Middle East respiratory syndrome, influenza strains H7N9 (bird flu) and H1N1 (swine flu), Ebola virus disease, expanded multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis and other antimicrobial-resistant microorganisms, and most recently, Zika virus disease. These events underscore the need for comprehensive surveillance and quick response systems to combat today’s EIDs and prevent those of tomorrow.
Infectious Diseases and Translational Medicine
International Biological and Medical Journals Publishing House Co., Limited
IFN-γ protects from lethal IL-17 mediated viral encephalomyelitis independent of neutrophils
central nervous system, Encephalomyelitis, CD4+ T cells, IFN-γ, IL17, Neutrophils, Neurotropic coronavirus
Abstract Background The interplay between IFN-γ, IL-17 and neutrophils during CNS inflammatory disease is complex due to cross-regulatory factors affecting both positive and negative feedback loops. These interactions have hindered the ability to distinguish the relative contributions of neutrophils, Th1 and Th17 cell-derived effector molecules from secondary mediators to tissue damage and morbidity. Methods Encephalitis induced by a gliatropic murine coronavirus was used as a model to assess the direct contributions of neutrophils, IFN-γ and IL-17 to virus-induced mortality. CNS inflammatory conditions were selectively manipulated by adoptive transfer of virus-primed wild-type (WT) or IFN-γ deficient (GKO) memory CD4+ T cells into infected SCID mice, coupled with antibody-mediated neutrophil depletion and cytokine blockade. Results Transfer of GKO memory CD4+ T cells into infected SCID mice induced rapid mortality compared to recipients of WT memory CD4+ T cells, despite similar virus control and demyelination. In contrast to recipients of WT CD4+ T cells, extensive neutrophil infiltration and IL-17 expression within the CNS in recipients of GKO CD4+ T cells provided a model to directly assess their contribution(s) to disease. Recipients of WT CD4+ T cells depleted of IFN-γ did not express IL-17 and were spared from mortality despite abundant CNS neutrophil infiltration, indicating that mortality was not mediated by excessive CNS neutrophil accumulation. By contrast, IL-17 depletion rescued recipients of GKO CD4+ T cells from rapid mortality without diminishing neutrophils or reducing GM-CSF, associated with pathogenic Th17 cells in CNS autoimmune models. Furthermore, co-transfer of WT and GKO CD4+ T cells prolonged survival in an IFN-γ dependent manner, although IL-17 transcription was not reduced. Conclusions These data demonstrate that IL-17 mediates detrimental clinical consequences in an IFN-γ-deprived environment, independent of extensive neutrophil accumulation or GM-CSF upregulation. The results also suggest that IFN-γ overrides the detrimental IL-17 effector responses via a mechanism downstream of transcriptional regulation.
Savarin Carine, Stohlman Stephen A, Hinton David R, Ransohoff Richard M, Cua Daniel J, Bergmann Cornelia C
Neurology. Diseases of the nervous system
Method for the Identification of Taxon-Specific k-mers from Chloroplast Genome: A Case Study on Tomato Plant (Solanum lycopersicum)
k-mer-based method, taxon-specific k-mers, plant taxon identification, raw sequencing reads, Solanum lycopersicum
Polymerase chain reaction and different barcoding methods commonly used for plant identification from metagenomics samples are based on the amplification of a limited number of pre-selected barcoding regions. These methods are often inapplicable due to DNA degradation, low amplification success or low species discriminative power of selected genomic regions. Here we introduce a method for the rapid identification of plant taxon-specific k-mers, that is applicable for the fast detection of plant taxa directly from raw sequencing reads without aligning, mapping or assembling the reads. We identified more than 800 Solanum lycopersicum specific k-mers (32 nucleotides in length) from 42 different chloroplast genome regions using the developed method. We demonstrated that identified k-mers are also detectable in whole genome sequencing raw reads from S. lycopersicum. Also, we demonstrated the usability of taxon-specific k-mers in artificial mixtures of sequences from closely related species. Developed method offers a novel strategy for fast identification of taxon-specific genome regions and offers new perspectives for detection of plant taxa directly from sequencing raw reads.
A Rapid and Specific Assay for the Detection of MERS-CoV
Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification, nucleic acid visualization, visual detection, RT-LAMP-VF
Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a novel human coronavirus that can cause human respiratory disease. The development of a detection method for this virus that can lead to rapid and accurate diagnosis would be significant. In this study, we established a nucleic acid visualization technique that combines the reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification technique and a vertical flow visualization strip (RT-LAMP-VF) to detect the N gene of MERS-CoV. The RT-LAMP-VF assay was performed in a constant temperature water bath for 30 min, and the result was visible by the naked eye within 5 min. The RT-LAMP-VF assay was capable of detecting 2 × 101 copies/μl of synthesized RNA transcript and 1 × 101 copies/μl of MERS-CoV RNA. The method exhibits no cross-reactivities with multiple CoVs including SARS-related (SARSr)-CoV, HKU4, HKU1, OC43 and 229E, and thus exhibits high specificity. Compared to the real-time RT-PCR (rRT-PCR) method recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), the RT-LAMP-VF assay is easy to handle, does not require expensive equipment and can rapidly complete detection within 35 min.
Pei Huang, Hualei Wang, Zengguo Cao, Hong-li Jin, Hang Chi, Jincun Zhao, Beibei Yu, Feihu Yan, Xingxing Hu, Fangfang Wu, Cuicui Jiao, Pengfei Hou, Shengnan Xu, Yongkun Zhao, Na Feng, Jian-Zhong Wang, Weiyang Sun, Tiecheng Wang, Yuwei Gao, Songtao Yang, Xianzhu Xia
Structure and Antioxidant Activity Relationships of Isoflavonoids from Dalbergia parviflora
Antioxidant, Isoflavonoids, Dalbergia parviflora, DPPH, ORAC, xanthine/xanthine oxidase assay, structure-activity relationship
The antioxidant activities of 24 isoflavonoids that were previously isolated as pure compounds from Dalbergia parviflora were evaluated using three different in vitro antioxidant-based assay systems: xanthine/xanthine oxidase (X/XO), ORAC, and DPPH. The isolates consisted of three subgroups, namely isoflavones, isoflavanones, and isoflavans, each of which appeared to have diversified substituents, and were thus ideal for the study of their structure-activity relationships (SARs). The SAR analysis was performed using the results obtained from both the inter-subgroup isoflavonoids with the same substitution pattern and the intra-subgroup compounds with different substitution patterns. The inter-subgroup comparison showed that the isoflavones exhibited the highest antioxidant activities based on all three assays. The intra-subgroup analysis showed that the additional presence of an OH group in Ring B at either R3′ or R5′ from the basic common structure of the R7-OH of Ring A and the R4′-OH (or -OMe) of Ring B greatly increased the antioxidant activities of all of the isoflavonoid subgroups and that other positions of OH and OMe substitutions exerted different effects on the activities depending on the subgroup and assay type. Therefore, based on the structural diversity of the isoflavonoids in D. parviflora, the present study provides the first clarification of the detailed antioxidant SARs of isoflavonoids.
Worrawat Promden, Orawan Monthakantirat, Kaoru Umehara, Hiroshi Noguchi, Wanchai De-Eknamkul
Mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) receptor as a determinant of the mouse susceptibility to MHV infection
coronavirus, mouse, Receptor, gene replacement, MHV, MHV receptor
In this review, we report that the receptor of mouse hepatitis virus (MHV), carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 1 (CEACAM1), is an important determinant of mouse susceptibility to MHV infection. This finding was revealed by using mouse strains with two different allelic forms of the MHV receptor, Ceacam1a and Ceacam1b. Although previous studies indicated that susceptibility is determined by a single gene, Ceacam1, our recent work in gene-replaced mice with chimeric Ceacam1 pointed toward the involvement of other host factors (genes) in the susceptibility. Studies on mouse susceptibility to MHV, as well as the factors involved in their susceptibility, are overviewed.
New records of Cladocera (Crustacea: Branchiopoda) from the Tomo River, Vichada, Colombia
Cladocera, taxonomy, new records, Neotropical region, geographic distribution
Abstract Five species of cladocerans are reported from the Tomo River, Vichada, Colombia. Zooplankton samples were collected from the littoral zone with vegetation (Campsiandra comosa Benth). Three of them, namely Streblocerus pygmaeus Sars, 1901, Disparalona cf. hamata (Birge, 1879) and Alona isabellae Sousa, Elmoor-Loureiro and Santos, 2016 are new to the Colombian cladoceran fauna. Descriptive notes, comparative comments on morphology and variability and illustrations are also provided for some remarkable taxa. This is the first report on the cladoceran fauna in the Tomo River.
Juan M. Fuentes-Reinés, Lourdes M. A. Elmoor-Loureiro, Cristian E. Granados-Martínez