title: Reproductive and genetic consequences of founding isolated lion populations

text: Species survival is critically dependent on reproductive performance, a complex physiological process under rigorous genetic control. Classical studies of inbreeding in laboratory animals and livestock have shown that increased homozygosity can adversely affect spermatogenesis, ovulation and perinatal mortality and morbidity(1–3). For wild populations, the consequences of inbreeding depression have not been examined intensively, although our recent studies of the African cheetah revealed a striking degree of genetic uniformity(4,5) combined with an extremely high incidence of structurally abnormal spermatozoa (>70%) in captive(6) as well as free-ranging(7) males. In this study, we report definitive evidence that the reproductive function of free-ranging mammals can be impaired as a result of demographic contraction followed by inbreeding. In an examination of three distinct lion populations (two from the Serengeti ecosystem in East Africa and a third descended from lions in the Gir Forest of western India), a direct correlation was observed between genetic variability and two physiological traits, incidence of abnormal sperm and circulating testosterone, a critical hormone for spermatogenesis.


title: Bacteriology: Pathogens in perspective

text: Andrew Jermy travels with Hugh Pennington on the arc of humanity's long, troubled relationship with microorganisms.


Earth science: Suspect terranes


title: Towards the Absolute Zero

text: Low Temperature Physics Four Lectures. By F. E. Simon, N. Kurti, J. F. Allen, K. Mendelssohn. Pp. vi + 132. (London: Pergamon Press, Ltd., 1952.) 21s.


Pittsburgh Award of the Pittsburgh Section, American Chemical Society: Dr. W. A. Gruse


title: SARS vaccine trial spotlights continued peril

text: Vigilance remains but other infectious diseases loom large.


ACMT 2020 Annual Scientific Meeting Abstracts – New York, NY


Unorthodox epidemiology


title: Fears of the return of SARS

text: Quarantines and animal culls in China aim to stop the disease.


2002 Pioneer in NeuroVirology lecture


title: Bird flu spreads to China

text: The World Health Organization warns that a safe cull of birds is needed.


Acute lung injury/Airway


Spotlight on Wuhan


PS 0446-0765


Emerging virus evolves in camels


title: SARS linked to sweat

text: Could you catch the disease from a handshake?


title: West Africans at risk from bat epidemics

text: Ecologists hope to avert public-health disaster without a cull.


Poster Sessions 323-461


title: Disease monitors 'looking in the wrong places'

text: Health leaders need global strategy for spotting disease threats.


Oral Presentations 208–237


title: Bird flu data languish in Chinese journals

text: Untranslated reports noted in January that pigs had been infected by avian virus.


title: SARS vaccines speed towards clinic

text: Researchers urge caution to avoid jabs pitfall.


Highlight: British Columbia


Part-time Work in Chemical Engineering


title: SARS threatens reappearance in China

text: Authorities respond swiftly to suspected cases.


PS 339-563


title: West Nile Virus may have felled Alexander the Great

text: Conservation and medicine collide in the jungle.


Poster Sessions 91-226


Reviews in neurovirolgy: An introduction


title: Gossip mongers push for national networks

text: Surveillance of disease rumours looks set to expand.


Antibodies for Middle East virus


Molecular lines in the red


PS 0849-1170


title: Portrait of a probable killer

text: Viral double act implicated in 'killer flu' epidemic.


title: Zoos help track spread of pandemics

text: Avian flu will be monitored in American zoos but no plans yet for swine flu.


title: The constraints of history

text: The Most Solitary of Afflictions: Madness and Society in Britain, 1700–1900. By Andrew Scull. Yale University Press: 1993. Pp. 448. $45, £29.95.


title: Pigs test positive for bird flu

text: Unconfirmed report suggests fatal strain of virus has managed to infect swine.


title: SARS database ramps up

text: Coronavirus website collates viral vitals.


Poster Sessions 499–563


title: SARS may be mammal-bird merger

text: Genetic shuffle might have allowed human infection.


Express delivery


title: Infectious disease: Chronicles of a killer virus

text: Just over 30 years after HIV/AIDS was first recognized, three accounts of its ravages intrigue Robin Weiss.


Poster Sessions 555 - 719


title: SARS sources widen

text: Labs brace for disease comeback.


Prognosis, classification, organisation


title: SARS' Achilles' heel revealed

text: Drugs to treat common cold may be effective against the virus.


title: German virologist's race for swine flu test

text: Christian Drosten talks to Nature about tackling the threat of a pandemic.


Poster Sessions 292 - 465


title: Spotlight on Israeli science products

text: As an accompaniment to this week's special feature on Science in Israel, the spotlight falls on a collection of Israeli diagnostics, drugs, research reagents, and medical products.


Living with the Neanderthals


title: Identity of mystery pneumonia bug sharpens

text: Questions raised over readiness for lethal SARS epidemic.


title: Procalcitonin for differential diagnosis of graft rejection and infection in patients with heart and/or lung grafts

text: Objectives: Investigation of the reliability of Procalcitonin (PCT) for differential diagnosis of acute rejections and non-viral infections in heart and lung transplanted patients.¶Design: Retrospective study.¶Setting: Transplant intensive care unit (ICU) at a university hospital.¶Patients: 57 heart, 18 lung and 3 heart-lung transplant patients.¶Measurements: PCT was measured in plasma samples of heart and lung transplanted patients using a commercial immuno-luminescence assay and was compared with values of C-reactive protein (CRP) and leukocytes (WBC).¶Results: PCT was elevated in patients suffering from bacterial and fungal infections. The magnitude of values was clearly associated with the severity of the infection. Rejections and viral infections did not interfere with the PCT release.¶Conclusion: PCT is a reliable predictor with discriminating power for non-viral systemic infections in patients after heart and/or lung transplantation. PCT allows an early differential diagnosis between rejection (AR) and bacterial/fungal infection (IF) and thus a rapid and focused therapeutic intervention. It avoids unnecessary antibiotic treatment which could be toxic for the graft itself in patients with rejection only. PCT provides vital information early to clinicians and allows them to improve the management of bacterial/fungal infections in immunocompromized transplant patients. PCT thus facilitates and improves the outcome of survival rate and the quality of life in the postoperative period of patients with heart and/or lung grafts.


title: Labs crack killer's code

text: Sequence shows that animal spawned SARS virus.


title: Liquorice may tackle SARS

text: After trying all sorts of compounds researchers say root extract looks promising.


Abstracts of the Annual Meeting of the “Societé de Réanimation de Langue Française”, Paris, 26–29 November 1981: Acute pulmonary failure and artificial ventilation


US politics and the test ban


PS 0036-0344


Abstracts DGPPN 2007


Einzelreferate und Buchbesprechungen


Abstracts der 45. Gemeinsamen Jahrestagung der DGIIN und ÖGIAIN


Mitteilungen der DGIM


title: Die Hypokotylfarbe als Markierungsfaktor von Genomstufen der Zuckerrübe

text: In zunehmendem Maße werden anisoploideBeta-Rübensorten angebaut, deren zytologische Kontrolle zwecks Feststellung der Genomstufenprozentanteile recht arbeitszeitaufwendig ist. Übereinstimmend mit polnischen Autoren wurde festgestellt, daß die Hypokotylfarbe ein geeigneter Markierungsfaktor für die einzelnen Genomstufen darstellt. Kreuzt man tetraploide Pflanzen, die ein grünes Hypokotyl besitzen, mit diploiden Pflanzen, die ein rosa Hypokotyl aufweisen, so erhält man von dem tetraploiden Partner tetraploide “grüne” und triploide “hellbraune”, von dem diploiden Partner diploide “rosa” und triploide “hellbraune” Nachkommenschaften. Die in bezug auf die Hypokotylfarbe heterozygoten Pflanzen kann man demnach von den homozygot “grünen” und homozygot “rosa” Individuen unterscheiden. Die Kreuzung diploid grünxtetraploid rosa ist für diese Zwecke nicht brauchbar, da sich die triploiden Heterozygoten mit einem “grünen” und zwei “rosa” Allelen in der Hypokotylfarbe nicht deutlich von den homozygoten “rosa” Pflanzen abheben. Auf die Bedeutung dieser Markierungsmöglichkeit für bestimmte Forschungsprobleme, die Züchtung und die Saatgutkontrolle wird hingewiesen.


Union of Swiss Societies of Experimental Biology: Abstracts of the 16(th) Annual Meeting


New from NPG


Abstracts der Jahrestagung


News In Brief


How epidemics happen


title: Gentransfer mit adenoviralen Vektoren

text: Adenoviral vectors are promising vectors for somatic gene therapy in a number of inherited and acquired disorders. In this contribution, the current scientific knowledge as it relates to production and function of adenoviral vectors is summarized. The different types of adenoviral vectors are described and their respective advantages and disadvantages are delineated. Current problems with adenoviral vectors, and implications as they derive from the fatality observed in the Philadelphia gene therapy trial are discussed.


title: Atemwegsinfektionen bei immunsupprimierten Personen

text: Pulmonary infections in immunocompromised patients remain a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge.New methods for the early detection of fungal and viral diseases might allow an immediate and specific therapy, thereby lowering the high mortality associated with such infections.The development of new drugs will hopefully lead to more effective treatment while decreasing the incidence of adverse effects. Interdisciplinary team work between internal medicine, radiology, surgery, microbiology, and virology is essential for the successful management of these patients.


Biomedical briefing


Hope and hype


title: Notable advances 2012

text: From the microbiome to the microenvironment, certain areas of biomedicine saw fast-paced discovery this year. Here's a rundown of the papers that helped these fields advance quickly in 2012.


2003: The good, the bad and the unexpected


Oral Communications and Posters


Abstracts des Kongresses für Kinder- und Jugendmedizin 2019


Abstracts der 110. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Kinder- und Jugendmedizin e.V. (DGKJ)


title: News in brief

text: Timeline of events...a brief history of the important news stories this month


title: Timeline of events: A brief history of what made news this year

text: Biomedical research in 2013 saw some dramatic developments, with unprecedented government action in the US ranging from the budget sequester in the spring to a dramatic government shutdown in autumn. But throughout the year, bright spots in science around the globe continued to dazzle, including multimillion-dollar partnerships to advance drug discovery and the go-ahead for highly anticipated trials of regenerative medicine.


Abstractband zum 119. Kongress der DGIM 2013


Abstracts der 46. Gemeinsamen Jahrestagung der DGIIN und ÖGIAIN


Falldefinitionen des Robert Koch-Instituts zur Übermittlung von Erkrankungs- oder Todesfällen und Nachweisen von Krankheitserregern § 4 (2) des Gesetzes zur Verhütung und Bekämpfung von Infektionskrankheiten beim Menschen (Infektionsschutzgesetz – IfSG): § 4 (2) des Gesetzes zur Verhütung und Bekämpfung von Infektionskrankheiten beim Menschen (Infektionsschutzgesetz – IfSG)


Abstracts des Kongresses für Kinder- und Jugendmedizin 2018


Abstracts der 51. Gemeinsamen Jahrestagung der DGIIN und ÖGIAIN


Abstracts der 48. Gemeinsamen Jahrestagung der DGIIN und ÖGIAIN. Der Mensch – ein anspruchsvoller Arbeitsplatz. 8.-10. Juni 2016 in Berlin, Estrel Berlin


Abstracts der 44. Jahrestagung der Gesellschaft für Neonatologie und Pädiatrische Intensivmedizin (GNPI): Gemeinsam mit der 26. Jahrestagung der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Neonatologie Mecklenburg-Vorpommern e. V.


Emerging infectious diseases


U. R. Fölsch


Mitteilungsseiten der DGIM


Plagues and people meet the microbe hunters


64. wissenschaftliche Jahrestagung der GPOH


title: Hämovigilanz von Blutkomponenten Meldungen an das Paul-Ehrlich-Institut vom 1.1.1995 bis zum 15.11.1998: Meldungen an das Paul-Ehrlich-Institut vom 1.1.1995 bis zum 15.11.1998

text: In Germany cellular blood products are a licensed medicinal product. In the following we would like to present the reporting procedure, analysis and evaluation of suspected cases from spontaneously recorded data. During the time period from 1.1.95 until 1.1. 98 a total of 1488 suspected adverse events were reported in connection with cellular blood products and fresh plasma. In 1270 (85.34%) of these case reports viral transmissions were implicated, in 187 (12.56%) immunological transfusion reactions and in 31 (2.06%) bacterial infections. The case reports concerning viral transmission were further evaluated in a look-back-procedure according to the guidelines of the „Arbeitskreis Blut”, a working party on acute issues arising in the transfusion medicine area. In 864 (68%) of the 1270 cases the causality of the blood product could be excluded by re-testing the donor. In 118 cases (9.3%) infectious donors were subsequently identified; 21 were HIV-, 81 HCV- and 16 HBV transmissions. The reports were decoded according to year of treatment to differentiate those cases that occurred before the introduction of mandatory donor screening from those that occurred afterwards. 51 transmissions arose from the time prior to screening for viral antibodies. A total of 67 cases (3 HIV, 48 HCV, 16 HBV) can be traced back to the diagnostic window of each infection. In Germany transfusion reactions are most likely to be underreported compared to France or theUnited Kingdom. The frequency of infections that arose from cellular blood products is comparable to the remaining risk described in scientific literature.


Abstracts der 41. Jahrestagung der Gesellschaft für Neonatologie und Pädiatrische Intensivmedizin


Einzelreferate Und Buchbesprechungen


Buchbesprechungen


Reviews and comment from the nature publishing group


Plavix fzzranchise in jeopardy


title: A comparison of oligonucleotide-based microarray and real-time PCR for the detection of sexually transmitted infections

text: Many diagnostic methods for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have been developed. Because various infection agents are associated with STIs, and because infected persons sometimes show no symptoms, the diagnosis of STIs using nucleic acid amplification tests(NAATs) has required not only simultaneous multi-targeting, but also sensitive detection. Here, we compare microarray and real-time PCR for the detection of three common STIs agents, Ureaplasma urealyticum, Mycoplasma genitalium, and Chlamydia trachomatis, using human urine samples. The detection results showed that microarray and real-time PCR technology are both effective tools for the detection of STI agents. In conclusion, real-time PCR detection offers more sensitivity and specificity than microarray, because of the quantitative method employed. But, microarray offers better performance, in terms of high-throughput and simultaneous multi-targeting.


Bovine Respiratory Disease in Finland


Cause of SARS still uncertain


SARS escaped Beijing lab twice


Latest SARS evidence


SARS-CoV ancestor found in Chinese bats


Wednesday posters


Glucocorticoid contribution to lymphopaenia and immunpathology in patients with SARS


IN BRIEF


Genetics hits the headlines


Research Highlights


Thursday posters


Bat immunology takes off


Anthony Fauci


In Brief


title: In vitro estimation of metal-induced disturbance in chicken gut-oviduct chemokine circuit

text: BACKGROUNDS: Heavy metals affect various processes in the embryonic development. Embryonic fibroblasts (EFs) play key roles in the innate recognition and wound healing in reproductive tissues. METHODS: Based on the relative toxicities of different inorganic metals and inorganic nonmetallic compounds against murine and chicken EF cells, mechanistic estimations were performed based on transcriptomic analyses. RESULTS: Lead (II) acetate induced preferential injuries in the chicken EF and mechanistic analyses using transcriptome revealed that chemokine receptor-associated events are potently involved in metal-induced adverse actions. As an early sentinel of metal exposure, the precision-cut intestine slices (PCIS) induced the expression of chemokines including CXCLi1 or CXCLi2, which were potent gut-derived factors that activate chemokine receptors in reproductive organs after circulation. CONCLUSION: EF-selective metals can be estimated to trigger the chemokine circuit in the gut-reproductive axis of chickens. This in vitro methodology using PCIS-EF culture could be used as a promising alternate platform for the reproductive immunotoxicological assessment.


Small scares


Erratum: Emerging regulation and functions of autophagy


T cells calm the storm


3rd Winfocus Italian Congress, Bologna, Italy, 28–30 November 2009


Dix-huitième réunion du Comité local de la SPE à La Réunion, 15 mars 2011


Faster drugs for unknown bugs


Infections and perinatal diseases – a comparative overview


Novel coronavirus spreads


SARS unanswered questions


title: In the news

text: Our monthly round up of infectious diseases news, which this month includes inhibiting autophagy to target H5N1 influenza, how MRSA gained resistance down on the farm and 're-education' for the boy who cried outbreak.


title: Structural genomics in the spotlight

text: Structural genomics efforts have spurred the continuing development of new methods and technologies, benefiting a broad community.


title: Expanding role for the apelin/APJ system in physiopathology

text: Apelin is a bioactive peptide known as the ligand of the G protein-coupled receptor APJ. Diverse active apelin peptides exist under the form of 13, 17 or 36 amino acids, originated from a common 77-amino-acid precursor. Both apelin and APJ mRNA are widely expressed in several rodent and human tissues and have functional effects in both the central nervous system and peripheral tissues. Apelin has been shown to be involved in the regulation of cardiovascular functions, fluid homeostasis, vessel formation and cell proliferation. More recently, apelin has been described as an adipocyte-secreted factor (adipokine), up-regulated in obesity. By acting as circulating hormone or paracrine factor, adipokines are involved in physiological regulations (fat depot development, energy storage, metabolism or eating behavior) or in the promotion of obesity-associated disorders (type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular dysfunctions). In this regard, expression of apelin gene in adipose tissue is increased by insulin and TNFα. This review will consider the main roles of apelin in physiopathology with particular attention on its role in energy balance regulation and in obesity-associated disorders.


title: Prediction for Target Sites of Small Interfering RNA Duplexes in SARS Coronavirus

text: RNA interference is used for SARS-related pharmaceutical research and development. Following bioinformatic method twenty seven 21~25 base-long sequence segments in SARS-CoV genome are predicted as the optimal target sites of small interfering RNA duplexes.


title: Safety first

text: With a potential influenza pandemic looming, how practical is it to conduct vital experiments on emergent and often lethal pathogens?


title: Three decades of antiviral drugs

text: Thirty years ago, just three drugs were available for the treatment of viral infections, but now more than forty have been approved. What have been the guiding principles in these achievements and what might the future hold for antiviral drug development? SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version of this article (doi:10.1038/nrd2485) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.


Glucocorticoid treatment of patients with SARS: implications for mechanisms of immunopathology


Günter Witzany (ed): Viruses: essential agents of life: Springer, 2012, ISBN 978-94-007-4898-9


Abstracts of the EPSM-ABEC 2008 conference


Preemptive SARS patents


Living and dying with viruses


title: Articles selected by Faculty of1000: identifying antigens involved in autoimmune response; statistics in genomics; mouse full-length cDNA encylopedia; screen for Drosophila neural development genes; proteome of SARS-coronavirus

text: A selection of evaluations from Faculty of 1000 covering the identification of antigens involved in an autoimmune reseponse, the difference between false positive and false discovery rate, a mouse full-length cDNA encylopedia, analysis of bristle number in Drosophila mutants to identify neural development genes and an analysis of the proteome of SARS-coronavirus.


Quick custom flu vaccines


title: Direct buffer composition of blood pre-process for nucleic acid based diagnostics

text: Recently, a variety of methods, so called “direct buffer”, have been developed to utilize nucleic acid in the blood for the measurement of infectious bacteria and virus without any equipment in the field. In here, we first investigated the individual and combinatory effects of candidate chemicals which might be composed of the direct buffer on the PCR inhibition reduction of main compositions in whole blood. The long and short PEGs, Na(2)SO(4) and GuSCN were selected as representative kosmotropic and chaotropic salts, respectively. MgCl(2) were chosen as divalent cation source and NaOH was used to control blood pH. The effect of common non-ionic biological detergent was tested with Triton X-100 and SDS (Sodium Dodecyl sulfate) was chosen as anionic detergent. These results could provide a foundation for the development of sample preparation solution in nucleic acid based diagnostic field. As a result, the direct buffer developed in this study was able to detect viruses with a concentration of 10(2) pfu/100 μL of whole blood by a very simple method.


title: A microbial decade

text: In celebration of our tenth anniversary, we revisit selected topics from the first few issues of the journal and assess the progress that has been made over the past decade.


title: Functional analysis of the receptor binding domain of SARS coronavirus S1 region and its monoclonal antibody

text: Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is caused by the SARS coronavirus (CoV). The spike protein of SARS-CoV consists of S1 and S2 domains, which are responsible for virus binding and fusion, respectively. The receptor-binding domain (RBD) positioned in S1 can specifically bind to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) on target cells, and ACE2 regulates the balance between vasoconstrictors and vasodilators within the heart and kidneys. Here, a recombinant fusion protein containing 193-amino acid RBD (residues 318–510) and glutathione S-transferase were prepared for binding to target cells. Additionally, monoclonal RBD antibodies were prepared to confirm RBD binding to target cells through ACE2. We first confirmed that ACE2 was expressed in various mouse cells such as heart, lungs, spleen, liver, intestine, and kidneys using a commercial ACE2 polyclonal antibody. We also confirmed that the mouse fibroblast (NIH3T3) and human embryonic kidney cell lines (HEK293) expressed ACE2. We finally demonstrated that recombinant RBD bound to ACE2 on these cells using a cellular enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunoassay. These results can be applied for future research to treat ACE2-related diseases and SARS.


Death by viroporin


Structure Watch


Targeting SARS


WHO says coronavirus causes SARS


title: Conference conundrum

text: Does the popularity of a recent online photonics conference signify a growing appetite for a change in scientific interaction?


Vingt-quatrième réunion du comité local de la Société de pathologie exotique, 18 mars 2014


In this issue


A common cure for SARS?


title: News review of 2003

text: A month-by-month rundown and follow-up of this year's news highlights in drug discovery


Reply to “Lack of support for an association between CLEC4M homozygosity and protection against SARS coronavirus infection”


Unravelling SARS lethality


Some recent patent applications in the area of protease inhibitors


Awareness and outreach


SARS resource


title: Risikomanagement besonderer Infektionssituationen

text: The WHO considers that there is considerable danger of an influenza pandemic. One result of globalisation is that other highly contagious infectious diseases, such as SARS or Ebola, which are potentially endemic, can also be brought into Germany. Bioterorrism must also be considered. As well as all other medical disciplines, hospital surgical departments must be armed against this now. National pandemic planning will be taken as an example to illustrate the planning needed in hospitals to prepare for emergencies arising from infections in such specific situations.


title: C-X-C Motif Chemokine 10 Contributes to the Development of Neuropathic Pain by Increasing the Permeability of the Blood–Spinal Cord Barrier

text: Neuropathic pain is among the most debilitating forms of chronic pain. Studies have suggested that chronic pain pathogenesis involves neuroimmune interactions and blood–spinal cord barrier (BSCB) disruption. However, the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. We modeled neuropathic pain in rats by inducing chronic constriction injury (CCI) of the sciatic nerve and analyzed the effects on C-X-C motif chemokine 10 (CXCL10)/CXCR3 activation, BSCB permeability, and immune cell migration from the circulation into the spinal cord. We detected CXCR3 expression in spinal neurons and observed that CCI induced CXCL10/CXCR3 activation, BSCB disruption, and mechanical hyperalgesia. CCI-induced BSCB disruption enabled circulating T cells to migrate into the spinal parenchyma. Intrathecal administration of an anti-CXCL10 antibody not only attenuated CCI-induced hyperalgesia, but also reduced BSCB permeability, suggesting that CXCL10 acts as a key regulator of BSCB integrity. Moreover, T cell migration may play a critical role in the neuroimmune interactions involved in the pathogenesis of CCI-induced neuropathic pain. Our results highlight CXCL10 as a new potential drug target for the treatment of nerve injury–induced neuropathic pain.


title: Managing the social amplification of risk: a simulation of interacting actors

text: A central problem in managing risk is dealing with social processes that either exaggerate or understate it. A longstanding approach to understanding such processes has been the social amplification of risk framework. But this implies that some true level of risk becomes distorted in social actors’ perceptions. Many risk events are characterised by such uncertainties, disagreements and changes in scientific knowledge that it becomes unreasonable to speak of a true level of risk. The most we can often say in such cases is that different groups believe each other to be either amplifying or attenuating a risk. This inherent subjectivity raises the question as to whether risk managers can expect any particular kinds of outcome to emerge. This question is the basis for a case study of zoonotic disease outbreaks using systems dynamics as a modelling medium. The model shows that processes suggested in the social amplification of risk framework produce polarised risk responses among different actors, but that the subjectivity magnifies this polarisation considerably. As this subjectivity takes more complex forms it leaves problematic residues at the end of a disease outbreak, such as an indefinite drop in economic activity and an indefinite increase in anxiety.


Pathology Elsewhere


The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History


Multisensory processes


Protein Crystallography in Drug Discovery


Disinfection, Sterilization, and Control of Hospital Waste


Liver Disease Associated With Systemic Viral Infection


Inside Lab Invest


Pandemic Influenza — Prevention and Treatment: Past, Present and Future


The social ecology of infectious diseases by Kenneth H. Mayer and H.F. Pizer


title: MURINE CYTOMEGALOVIRUS INFECTION OF PHAGOCYTIC LEUKOCYTES

text: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections have been associated with altered host defense and increased susceptibility to secondary infection. In previous experiments, we observed impaired migratory and chemotactic activity of neutrophils harvested from mice during sublethal murine CMV (MCMV) infection. To investigate further the effects of CMV infection upon phagocytic leukocytes, we incubated murine leukocyte suspensions (95% neutrophils) in vitro with MCMV derived either from tissue culture passage or salivary gland homogenate. Neutrophils incubated with salivary gland MCMV had depressed chemotactic activity at 2 and 4 h. For example, at 4 h the mean chemotactic index of neutrophils incubated with MCMV was 0.92 vs 2.56 in controls (p<0.01). Phagocytic activity at 4 h was also reduced (mean of 1.53 latex particles/cell in MCMV-incubated vs 2.39 in controls, p<0.01). In contrast, tissue culture-passed MCMV did not alter leukocyte function. Adherence of MCMV to phagocytic leukocytes was comparable to adherence of virus to mouse embryo fibroblast cells (2 to 3 log plaque forming units of MCMV/10(6) cells). Transmission electron microscopy at 4 h demonstrated occasional intracytoplasmic virions. These results indicate that impaired chemotactic and phagocytic activity of phagocytic leukocytes occurs after in vitro incubation with salivary gland-derived MCMV but not with tissue culture-passed virus. These differences may be attributable to altered virulence of MCMV or to the presence of soluble factors in salivary gland MCMV pools


Management of SARS relies on supportive measures and preventing the spread of infection


title: Single Dose Treatments in Tropical Infectious Diarrhoea: The Place of Secnidazole

text: Single dose treatments have the important advantages of simple administration, excellent compliance, short-lived side effects (if any) and short period of drug pressure. However, drugs used for single dose treatments must possess important characteristics, namely, long half-life, effective concentration in tissues over a long period, and low toxicity. In tropical medicine, such drugs are an important advance in the treatment of malaria (mefloquine and halofantrine), schistosomiasis (praziquantel and metrifonate), filariasis (ivermectin), and genitourinary tract and intestinal infections. Intestinal infections are one of the most frequent problems in tropical medicine. While a large number of cases of diarrhoea are of viral (rotavirus) or bacterial (Salmonella, Escherichia coli) origin, necessitating only oral rehydration, some are of parasitological origin (Giardia, Entamoeba histolytica, Strongyloides, Trichuris, Schistosoma) and can be cured by a single dose treatment (tinidazole, secnidazole, ivermectin, albendazole, praziquantel). Secnidazole is the nitroimidazole with the longest half-life and is, therefore, used in single dose treatments for Giardia, acute intestinal amoebiasis and E. histolytica cyst carriers. Single dose treatments of most intestinal parasites will be a major advance in the management of tropical infectious diarrhoea. In the next decade, opportunistic intestinal infections (Cryptosporidium, Isospora, Enterocytozoon) in AIDS patients that are refractory to treatment could be the major problem.


title: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for pulmonary parenchymal disease in older children

text: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for the support of children outside the newborn period who have pulmonary failure is only recently becoming accepted. It is again being applied, after earlier failures, because well-trained teams and improved equipment and techniques are available following the success of neonatal ECMO. In addition, in Europe extracorporeal CO(2) removal (ECCO(2)R) in adults has been more successful. The use of ECMO for pulmonary failure in children does not have fixed indications and has had considerably less success than neonatal ECMO. Patients who require inspired oxygen fractions of over 0.5 and positive end-expiratory pressures of over 6 cm H(2)O for more than 12 h after being treated for more than 48 h should be considered candidates, given the high mortality of children with ARDS (70%). Survival averages 50% to 60%. Circuits and patient management techniques are very similar to those for newborn ECMO, but patients usually require longer times on ECMO. There are many more options for cannulation for both venoarterial and venovenous techniques than in neonatal and cardiac ECMO. The improving results indicate that ECMO will play a part in treating children with pulmonary failure. Further studies will be required to determine which patients can benefit from ECMO as well as the exact application in each case.


49th Annual Meeting of the Austrian Society of Surgery, Innsbruck, May 21–23, 2008 (Guest Editors: Beate Neuhauser, Dietmar Öfner, Elfriede Ruttmann-Ulmer, and Anton Schwabegger)


title: THE PREVALENCE OF CYTOMEGALOVIRUS (CMV) VIRURIA AMONG HOSPITALIZED CHILDREN AND THE RISK OF CMV ACQUISITION BY NURSES

text: In 17 months 2198 children had admission urines cultured for CMV. 4.7% had CMV viruria (105 positive cultures), but significant age differences were observed. In the intensive care nursery the prevalence of CMV viruria (congenital and acquired infections) was 3.3% (18 of 551 newborns with viruria). On the nursing units for children ages 0 to 2 yrs, the prevalence of CMV viruria was 6.8% (32 of 544 positive, P<0.01, Chi square=7.3, when compared to newborns). The prevalence of CMV viruria on a nursing unit for children ages 2 to 5 yrs was 7.2% (27 of 382), similar to that for children 0 to 2 yrs (P>0.5 Chi square=0.004). On a nursing unit for children ages 5 to 12 yrs the prevalence of CMV viruria decreased to 4.2% (20 of 476, P=0.01, Chi square=6.6 when compared to children 2 to 5 yrs). For 12 to 18 year olds the prevalence of CMV viruria was only 1.2% (3 of 245, P<.001, Chi square=9.2, when compared to children 5 to 12 yrs). Among 72 seronegative nurses with daily patient contact, none acquired CMV but only 20 worked with the high prevalence age group (0 to 5 yrs). These results suggest that in spite of constant exposure CMV transmission occurs infrequently.


39th ESCP European symposium on clinical pharmacy & 13th SFPC congress: clinical pharmacy at the front line of innovations. 21–23 October 2010, Lyon, France


title: Chondrogenic differentiation and three dimensional chondrogenesis of human adipose-derived stem cells induced by engineered cartilage-derived conditional media

text: Due to lack of optimal inductive protocols, how to effectively improve chondrogenesis of adiposederived stem cells (ASCs) is still a great challenge. Our previous studies demonstrated that the culture media derived from chondrocyte-scaffold constructs (conditional media) contained various soluble chondrogenic factors and were effective for directing chondrogenic differentiation of bone marrow stem cells. Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether the conditional media can induce ASCs towards chondrogenic differentiation, especially for three-dimensional (3D) cartilage formation in a preshaped scaffold. In this study, it demonstrated that the conditional media derived from chondrocyte-scaffold constructs could promote ASCs to differentiate into chondrocyte-like cells, with similar expression of type II collagen to those induced by chondrogenic growth factors. Moreover, the expression level of chondrocyte-specific genes, such as SOX9, type II collagen, and COMP, was even higher in conditional medium group (CM) than that in optimized chondrogenic growth factor group (GF), indicating that the conditional media can serve as an effective inducer for chondrogenic differentiation of ASCs. Most importantly, the conditional media could also induce ASC-scaffold constructs to form 3D cartilage-like tissue with typical lacunae structures and positive expression of cartilage specific matrices, even higher contents of GAG and type II collagen were achieved in CM group compared to GF group. The current study establishes a simple, but stable, efficient, and economical method for directing 3D cartilage formation of ASCs, a strategy that may be more closely applicable for repairing cartilage defects.


Techniques


Special Issue: Abstracts of the 9(th) International Conference on Environmental Health Science, 2-3 November 2016, Incheon, Republic of Korea: Global Issues in Marine Environmental Conservation and Health Diagnosis November 2 (Wed) – 3 (Thu), 2016 Ghent University Songdo Global Campus Incheon, Republic of Korea


Pflege Perspektiven


Pflegepolitik in 5 Minuten


Es gibt auch noch etwas Anderes


title: Role of Viral Infection in the Aetiology of Multiple Sclerosis: Status of Current Knowledge and Therapeutic Implications

text: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disease of the CNS that typically begins in late adolescence or early adulthood. It is highly variable in its expression and severity. The cause of MS is unknown, but both genetic and environmental factors have been implicated in its pathogenesis. It is known that viruses can induce chronic neurological disease, but the pathogenetic process in unclear. A viral cause for MS has been postulated, but to date no single virus has been confirmed to be associated with the disease. Although most viral candidates are no longer considered as possible aetiological agents in MS, a few are still being investigated.


Sustaining Hospital Readiness for Ebola


Literature in pediatric radiology


European Society of Pediatric Radiology 32nd Congress Utrecht, The Netherlands, May 18–20,1995 Abstracts of Oral Presentations and Poster Presentations


Book review


title: Differentially expressed genes in human gingival fibroblasts cultured on microgrooved titanium substrata: A pilot study

text: The purpose of this study was to determine the differentially expressed genes in human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs) cultured on titanium (Ti) substrata with topographies presenting microgrooves and acid-etched roughness. Microgrooves were fabricated with a truncated V-shape in cross-section at 15/3.5, 30/10, and 60/10 μm (width/depth) by photolithography. Subsequent acid etching was applied to the entire surface of the fabricated Ti substratum to generate etched microgrooves and ridges (designated as E15/3.5, E30/10, and E60/10). Both smooth and acidetched-only Ti were used as controls (designated as NE0 and E0). Large-scale gene expression analyses were performed using differential display PCR, and the results were confirmed using RT-PCR and quantitative real-time PCR. Of the 21 genes with altered expression determined by differential display PCR and sequencing, we verified through RT-PCR that MTDH and TIMP1 were up-regulated and TGF-β1, TPM1, and VIM were down-regulated in the HGFs cultured on E60/10 versus NE0. We also confirmed, by quantitative real-time PCR, that MTDH and TIMP1 expression in HGFs on E60/10 was significantly up-regulated compared to HGFs on the other Ti substrata. This study indicates that acid-etched ridges and microgrooves on Ti with a width and depth of 60 and 10 μm (E60/10) induce alterations in the expression of genes involved in cell adhesion, proliferation, and regulation of the cytoskeleton in HGFs.


Canicules, La Santé Publique en Question


Mixed and blended emotional reactions to 2014 Ebola outbreak


BACKGROUND: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is endemic worldwide. Although CMV reactivation often becomes a serious problem in immunocompromised patients, the prevalence of CMV reactivation caused by methylprednisolone therapy for ARDS after esophagectomy has yet to be determined. METHOD: Among 175 consecutive patients with thoracic squamous cell esophageal cancer who underwent esophagectomy with extensive lymph node dissection at Akita University Hospital between 2007 and 2010, 11 patients (6.3 %) diagnosed with ARDS during the acute phase of esophagectomy were enrolled and treated with steroid pulse therapy, high-dose (15–20 mg/kg/day) administration and tapering in this retrospective study. RESULTS: Seven of the 11 patients (63.6 %) were diagnosed with CMV reactivation based on CMV antigenemia assayed 19.1 days after the start of methylprednisolone administration and were treated with ganciclovir for 39.6 days. Six of the 7 patients (85.7 %) diagnosed with CMV reactivation were administered a total methylprednisolone dose of more than 4,000 mg. Though there was no significant difference between patients with and without CMV reactivation, there was a tendency that patients with CMV reactivation showed a lower minimum number of lymphocytes during the acute phase of esophagectomy (p = 0.051, Student’s t test, average 223.3 and 298.0/μl, respectively). CONCLUSION: Though the number of study patients is small, the prevalence of CMV reactivation caused by high-dose methylprednisolone therapy for ARDS after esophagectomy is remarkably high. This result strikes a note of warning concerning the management of these patients and suggests the importance of screenings for CMV reactivation so as to make an accurate diagnosis and initiate treatment in a timely manner.


Abstracts of the 35th annual meeting of the GTH


43. Jahrestagung der Österreichischen Gesellschaft für Pneumologie. 3. Jahrestagung der Österreichischen Gesellschaft für Thoraxchirurgie


Inside the USCAP Journals


25. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Hämatologie und Onkologie gemeinsam mit der Österreichischen Gesellschaft für Hämatologie und Onkologie: Kongreß 1980, Homburg/Saar, 5. bis 8. Oktober 1980 Referate 1–32, Freie Vorträge 33–140


XVI meeting of the European Association for Haematopathology 2012 Abstracts


Selected Abstracts from the National Congress of the Italian Society of Hypertension (SIIA 2009): 2009 October 1–4, Rome, Italy


Abstracts presented at the 13th International Congress on Amino acids, peptides and proteins


title: Stomata and plasmodesmata

text: In developing epidermal tissue ofPhaseolus vulgare L. complete plasmodesmatal connections occurred between guard cells and epidermal cells and between sister guard cells of a stoma but they were not seen in fully differentiated tissue. However, incomplete, aborted plasmodesmata were occasionally seen in the common guard/epidermal cell wall, usually connected to the epidermal cell protoplast, in mature tissue. Plasmodesmatal connections between neighbouring epidermal cells were commonly observed in tissue at all stages of development. In all locations, the plasmodesmata were usually unbranched occurring singly or in small pit fields; very rarely branched, incomplete plasmodesmata were also seen in the wall between mature guard and epidermal cells. The significance of these findings were related to stomatal functioning and to the development of plasmodesmata in general.


PP4 - Displayed on Wednesday, September 12


Abstracts of papers and posters advanced activities in pharmaceutical care 24th European Symposium on Clinical Pharmacy


Hinweise auf Artikel in dieser Ausgabe


Abstract of the 68th Meeting (Spring Meeting) 6–9 March 1990, Heidelberg


BHS Abstracts


Abstracts for the IPNA Congress, 30 August - 3 September 2013, Shanghai, China


title: The pathogenesis of inflammatory disease: Surgical shock and multiple system organ failure

text: Chronic inflammatory disease, embracing rheumatoid arthritis (RA), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), hepatitis, asthma, atherosclerosis, multiple system organ failure (MSOF), etc., is mediated by reactive oxygen species (ROS). These ROS originate from activated neutrophils in infections and in immune and autoimmune reactions, from tissue deposits of ferritin, and from futile cycling of cytochrome P450 (CYP) following exposure to persistent chemicals, and may be perpetuated by the actions of complement, cytokines and eicosanoids. Acute inflammation is normally arrested by removal of ROS by tissue glutathione (GSH) and the antioxidant vitamins, A, C and E, all of which are regenerated by NADH and NADPH. Failure of this antioxidant defence system can lead to oxidative stress and to chronic inflammatory disease, including surgical shock and MSOF. The roles of oxidative stress and microcirculatory arrest in promoting MSOF, and of GSH, the antioxidant defence system, and fibronectin in preventing this, are reviewed in the light of recent experimental studies of surgical shock, including fasting, anaesthesia, hepatic ischaemia and reperfusion.


43. Jahrestagung der Österreichischen Gesellschaft für Innere Medizin


Kardiopulmonale Reanimation „oben ohne“. Mode oder Wissenschaft


AUTHOR INDEX


Abstracts of the 37th annual meeting of the GTH (Gesellschaft für Thrombose- und Hämostase-forschung)


Transgenesis and genome analysis, Nantes, France, June 6th 2011


Subject Index to Volume 35


Traumatologie II


title: Viruseinschlüsse in der Zellwand und in Protoplasten vonin vitro kultiviertenArmoracia-Geweben

text: Root explants ofArmoracia rusticana were cultivatedin vitro on theMurashige, andSkoog 1962 nutrient medium with addition of 2,4 D (2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid). Under such conditions callus tissue containing several apical meristems developed. Without 2,4 D the explants were growing to aseptic small plants; when further cultivated in soil they developed into big plants showing leaves with different deformations. These leaves, aseptically cultivated plants and callus tissue were examined by light and electron microscopy. There occured two types of inclusions consisting of isometric and elongated particles, respectively. Those of the isometric type were observed in the cytoplasm of meristematic cells of the callus; the isometric particles had a diameter of about 20–22 nm and were arranged hexagonally or in curvilinear arrays. In all other tissues that were examined such aggregates were to be seen only in vacuoles. Isometric particles were also found in plasmodesmata of all tissues examined. They lay in a tubulus which protrudes into the cytoplasm on one side of the cell wall. Desmotubuli appeared only in particle-free plasmodesmata. Protrusions of the cell wall into the cytoplasm containing tubuli and isometric particles within were observed only in callus tissue and in epidermic cells of leaves. In the cell wall of callus cells, conspicuous cavities connected with the cytoplasm by plasmodesmata contained many particles which were arranged in hexagonal structures. It seemed as if they had been put away into the cell walls or into the vacuoles. The occurence of fibrillar inclusions together with those consisting of isometric particles in the same cell was extremely rare. The fibrillar inclusions were observed in the cytoplasm and in the nucleus. The diameter of one fibril is about 12 nm. The thylacoids in well differentiated chloroplasts in callus and in cells of leaves are curved; single swelled thylacoids lie as vesicles in peripheral stroma. As tissues ofArmoracia rusticana plants from different localities do not contain such inclusions we assume that the root segment examined was infected with two different viruses. The isolation of the viruses has not yet been possible.


Irish thoracic society: Proceedings of Meeting held November, 1691 in Belfast


Author and Subject Indexes—Volume 27, 2003


Abstracts, IAP'98 8th Meeting of the International Association of Pancreatology July 13–15, 1988 Tokyo, Japan


Jahrestagung 2011 der Österreichischen Gesellschaft für Pneumologie


35th Annual Meeting of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Pädiatrische Nephrologie, 18 - 20 March 2004, Mainz, Germany


Inaugural national scientific medical meeting


Scientific Programme


Abstracts of the contributed papers


Abstracts of the 9th Congress of the International Pediatric Nephrology Association, August 30–September 4, 1992, Jerusalem, Israel


Neuroimmunomodulation: Stress and immune function: The Lovelace Institutes, Albuquerque, New Mexico 7–9 October 1994


Joint Esctaic – Sfimar Meeting


Nierenerkrankungen undihre Beziehungen zu Infektherden im Hals-Nasen-Ohrengebiet und an den Zähnen


15(th) Congress of the International Pediatric Nephrology Association: 29 August – 2 September, 2010 New York, NY, USA


ESCP 36th European Symposium on Clinical Pharmacy ‘Implementing Clinical Pharmacy in Community and Hospital Settings: Sharing the Experience’, Istanbul, Turkey 25–27 October 2007; Abstracts


Irish Society of Gastroenterology: Proceedings for summer meeting – 26th/27th May 1995 in Galway


title: Successive changes in the ultrastructure ofOryza sativa L. cells during growth and aging

text: The ultrastructure ofOryza sativa L. cells in suspension was determined as cells developed, matured and senesced at 3, 10, and 17 days, respectively, after transfer to fresh medium. Although cultures of 3-day-old cells contained some senescent cells, the symptoms of cell aging were very conspicuous at 10 days and were most pronounced at 17 days. The amount of cytoplasm decreased as the number of lytic areas, myelin figures and vesicle bodies increased. Other noticeable subcellular changes observed were ultrastructural modifications of mitochondria, proplastids, amyloplasts, and nuclei. Such changes were associated with a general deterioration of the lipoprotein complex of the cell during its growth. A fibrous structure without an external membrane was observed and its reported for the first time for cells grown in suspension culture.


Abstract 7th International Symposium Supportive Care in Cancer, Luxembourg, 20–23 September 1995


title: The ultrastructure of plasmodesmata

text: It is suggested that the central strand which traverses plasmodesmata is in open continuity with the endoplasmic reticulum of adjacent cells, and that this strand (desmotubule) represents a modulation of a normal ER membrane so that it comprises solely spherical protein subunits. This concept is used to illustrate how plasmodesmata could form a median nodule or anastomosing central strands. The implications of this model in relation to current theories of symplasmic transport are discussed, and the possibility for further experimental work is outlined.


Seventeenth Sir Peter Freyer memorial lecture and surgical symposium: September 23rd & 24th, 1993


31st Workshop for Pediatric Research: held at the Kinderklinik of the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen 16–17 February 1995


Irish Society of Gastroenterology: Proceedings of winter meeting held in Dublin on 25th/26th November 1994.


Abstracts of the 64th Annual Conference of IACTS, February 2018


title: Strongyloidiasis: Epidemiology, clinical manifestations and new methods for diagnosis and treatment

text: Strongyloidosis is a parasitic disease of the intestines, seen mainly in tropical areas. It is quite likely that, because its manifestations are milder than those of other tropical diseases, it may be overlooked in regions where parasitic diseases such as hookworms and roundworms are endemic. With future improvements in hygiene and the resulting decreases in parasitic diseases, increasing attention will be focused on strongyloidiasis in tropical regions — a phenomenon currently being observed in Okinawa. Studies on the diagnosis and treatment of apparently healthy Strongyloides carriers have only just started. These studies can be expected to play a major role in improving the near-future health and welfare of people in tropical regions of the world. Parasitic diseases in Japan have a strong local character; a long-term eradication program, with due consideration to HTLV-1 infection, must be instituted.


Abstracts Jahrestagung 2015 der Österreichischen Gesellschaft für Pneumologie: Graz, 15.–17. Oktober 2015


2012 CIS Annual Meeting: Primary Immune Deficiency Diseases North American Conference


Abstracts of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine Congress: 20–24 May, 1990 Amsterdam, The Netherlands


10th Asian Congress of Pediatric Nephrology 2008 (ACPN 2008) Innovation in Prevention and Therapeutic Strategies August 28–30, 2008 Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at Central World, Bangkok, Thailand


20th ECP


title: Beijing's Hard and Soft Repression in Hong Kong

text: Hong Kong's new Police Commissioner Chris Tang announced in Beijing on December 7, 2019, that he would use “both hard and soft approaches” to end the anti-government protests. This article argues that such “approaches” amount to physical and non-physical repression—hard power, but employed by Hong Kong, rather than mainland, forces, combined with sharp power exercised by both Beijing and the local authorities. These measures are responses to the limits on what Beijing can do under the “one country, two systems” model. As Beijing cannot send the People's Liberation Army (PLA), it has subverted Hong Kong's once-respected civilian police force to act like the mainland's public security. And as Hong Kong's judiciary is relatively autonomous and many of the arrested would not be convicted or sentenced, the police have resorted to a decapacitation campaign to inflict direct violence on protesters. Moreover, as the city's freedom has allowed the public to support protesters in various ways, Beijing has launched a program of dismissal of pro-democracy individuals in both public and private sectors. To zoom in on Beijing's hard and soft repression, this article examines in closer detail the other “frontliners” at protest sites who provide professional services vital to the sustainability of protests: medics, firefighters, lawyers, journalists, and educators.


Les exacerbations sévères de l’asthme : quels sont les acteurs saisonniers ? Les infections virales


ESPR 2017


In Kürze


Abstracts_Poster presentations


SPR 2013


Abstracts Scientific Papers Honorary Lectures Categorical Courses Workshops State-of-the-Art Symposia


Satellite Symposia and Meet-the-Professor Sessions: Satellite Symposium I


B scientific sessions (SS)


2001 Scientific Session of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) St. Louis, Missouri, USA, 18–21 April 2001 Poster presentations


C scientific exhibits (SE)


Scientific Programme — Abstracts


3rd Central European Congress of Surgery, Norman Barrett Symposium & 5th Croatian Congress of Surgery with International Participation. Dubrovnik, April 28–May 1, 2010. Guest Editor: Božidar Župančić (Zagreb, Croatia)


25th Annual Meeting of the Austrian Society of Transplantation, Transfusion and Genetics Graz, October 19–21, 2011


8th Annual Meeting of Chinese College of Surgeons and 19th Annual Meeting of the European Society of Surgery: Beijing, May 15—17, 2015


34th Seminar of the Austrian Society for Surgical Research. Wagrain, November 11–13, 2010. Guest Editor: H. Cerwenka, Graz, Austria


48th Annual Meeting of the Austrian Society of Surgery, Graz, June 7–9, 2007


50th Annual Meeting of the Austrian Society of Surgery. Vienna, June 18–20, 2009. Guest Editors: Albert Tuchmann, Erhard Schwanzer, Benedikt Walzel


55th Annual Meeting of the Austrian Society of Surgery: Graz, June 25—27, 2014


Abstracts of the world congresses


National scientific medical meeting 1996 abstracts


Review of the proceedings


Waterford Surgical October Club Royal Academy of Medicine, Surgical Section proceedings of meeting held 19th October 1996 at Waterford Regional Hospital


Postgraduate Course: Integrating Basic Science into Clinical Practice


title: Potential therapies for coronaviruses

text: Coronavirus replication offers several attractive targets for chemotherapy. These include: viral entry (inhibited by chloroquine and peptides); viral RNA (targeted by antisense approaches/RNAi); the main protease 3CLpro (inhibited by peptidic molecules such as HIV-1 protease inhibitors and miscellaneous compounds); the accessory protease(s) PLpro(s) (inhibited by zinc ions); RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (inhibited by aurintricarboxylic acid and antisense approaches); and helicase (inhibited by bananins). Chloroquine and HIV-1 protease inhibitors (with well-known toxicity profiles) should be considered for clinical tests if severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) re-emerges; however, there are other attractive compounds. Lessons should be learnt from AIDS research for choosing the best strategies.


Symposium


10th Congress of International Society of Systemic Auto-Inflammatory Diseases (ISSAID): Genoa, Italy. 31 March - 3 April 2019


April 2020 People & Events


Calendar


Komkommertijd


title: Posttraumatic stress disorder in survivors of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and septic shock

text: Acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) define medical conditions of acute respiratory insufficiency deriving from direct and indirect damage of the alveolar parenchyma and often associated with multiorgan dysfunction (MODS). As a rule, intensive care is based on mechanical ventilation often requiring high doses of sedatives and narcotics. Despite major progress in intensive care medicine the rate of mortality is still very high. Whereas in the past the level of medical progress has been rated based on the mortality rate alone, the many negative somatic and psychological sequelae in long-term-survivors of ARDS are only now being appreciated. From a perspective of C/L psychiatry persisting cognitive dysfunctions, anxiety and mood disorders, posttraumatic stress disorders (PTSD) in their negative impact on health-related quality of life are intensively investigated. In the etiopathogenesis of PTSD associated with ALI/ARDS, many influences have to be discussed, e.g., increases in CO(2) triggering panic affects, a mismatch of norepinephric overstimulation and cortisol insufficiency, negative effects of high doses of benzodiazepines resulting in oversedation, prolonged phases of weaning and more frequent states of delirium. Consolidation and retrieval of traumatic memories of the ICU stay are influenced by complex factors. From a clinical point of view prophylactic stress doses of hydrocortisone may reduce the major risk of PTSD associated with ALI / ARDS.


title: 1345 The Use of Hood Cpap to Improve Compliance with Non-Invasive Ventilation (NIV): A Single Centre Experience

text: Background: The Ca-Star CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway pressure) Hood is a relatively novel method of delivering CPAP to infants and children. Aims: To report the experience of a single centre in the application of Hood CPAP for provision of NIV. Methods: We retrospectively analysed all children admitted to a six bedded PCCU for NIV over a 2 year period. Children included in the study were those who had failed conventional mask CPAP yet gone on to tolerate Hood CPAP for >24 hours or until NIV was no longer required. Results: Six patients (4 males) were identified with mean age of 14 months (range 6 months - 3 years). The reasons for failing conventional CPAP were pressure areas on face (1), child intolerance of mask pressing on face (4) and inability to get seal due to facial abnormalities (1). The indications for CPAP included primary Respiratory condition (5) and neuromuscular (1). The underlying co-morbidities were ex pre-maturity (2), Trisomy 21 (2), congenital abnormalities (1) and none (1). Hypothermia was observed as a complication in 2 patients. Conclusions: Intolerance of the mask is a problem in the ‘toddler’ age range, and in our experience the HOOD is an under-utilised but useful interface to provide CPAP in these patient groups. It can be used successfully as an alternative to intubation, for relief of facial pressure areas and to provide an effective seal in case of facial abnormalities.


title: THE EFFECT OF GESTATIONAL AGE AND LABOR UPON INTRACELLULAR SURVIVAL OF HERPES SIMPLEX VIRUS (HSV)

text: Neonatal HSV infection is often characterized by rapid, life-threatening dissemination. Perinatal immunologic factors examined to date incompletely account for this tendency to disseminate, for the rapid disappearance of this vulnerability early in postnatal life, and for the disproportionate occurrence in prematures. To determine a possible influence of gestational age or perinatal events upon this phenomenon, we studied 29 placental specimens of varying gestational age and mode of delivery. The intracellular survival of type 2 HSV within placental lymphocytes was assessed at 48 hour intervals for 6 days to determine the frequency and magnitude of virus titer changes. Early (0-48hrs) titer increases were significantly (p=0.015) more frequent in specimens with gestational age ≤ 35 wks (3/8) than those with ≥ 36 wks (0/21) gestations. Titer increases from 48 to 96 hours were common (14/29) but bore no relationship to gestational age, labor, or mode of delivery. Most importantly, late (>96 hrs) titer increases were most influenced by the occurrence of labor and unrelated to gestational age. Late titer increases did not occur in specimens from caesarian section without labor(0/12) and were significantly (p=0.023) more frequent in specimens where labor occurred (7/17). These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that early gestational age and the occurrence of labor transiently provide a more permissive intracellular environment for HSV replication and dissemination.


POSTER SESSION I


Pathobiology


title: DETECTION OF DONOR'S LYMPHOCYTES IN THE PERIPHERAL BLOOD OF NEONATES FOLLOWING EXCHANGE-TRANSFUSION

text: Twenty preterm and term female neonates were exchange-transfused with males donor fresh blood during their first days of life because of hyperbilirubinaemia or severe septicaemia. In order to study the presence of donor lymphocytes in the neonates peripheral blood, chromosome studies were performed immediately after,12 and 72 hours following the exchange transfusion. We used the fluorescent-binding technique in order to distinguish the donor's cells by the presence of the γ-chromosone or other fluorescent markers in at least 300 mitotic figures in each speciment. We found that in jaundiced babies immediately following exchange transfusion less than 10% of the lymphocytes came from the donor and 12 hours later only 1-2% were still present.However in neonates exchange-transfusion for septicaemia the percentage of donor's lymphocytes immediately following the proceedure sometimes reached 50% and dropped to less than 10% by 12 hours.This shows the inability of the depressed by the infection host defence mechanisms of the newborn to deal with the donor's lymphocytes.


title: POLYMORPHONUCLEAR LEUKOCYTE SUPEROXIDE ANION GENERATION IN CRITICALLY ILL CHILDREN

text: Generation of active oxygen species by activated PMNs plays a paramont role in human immunologic defenses. However, numerous in vitro experiments have demonstrated that inadvertant release of highly reactive oxygen metabolites by the PMN into the surrounding milieu results in autoinjury and is associated with diffuse capillary leak syndromes (septic shock, ARDS). NADPH oxidoreductase, the superoxide anion generating enzyme, is a PMN membrane bound flavoprotein normally dormant but inducible by a variety of agents. We studied the specific activity of this enzyme in critically ill children to determine if detection of its activation might provide an early clue of impending in inflammatory amplification injury. Venous blood specimens from 12 healthy young adult controls reflected an induced enzyme activity of 8.23 ± 2.1 nmoles superoxide/min./10(6) PMNs ± S.D. Similarly the induced activity in a group of 6 pediatric intensive care patients without evidence of capillary leak syndrome was 7.3 ± 2.2 . In constrast the mean induced activity from a group of 6 critically ill children with evidence of capillary leak syndrome was 3.0 ± 1.1 (p<.001). No activity was demonstrated in non-induced PMNs from any group. No differences in induced enzyme activity were appreciated between venous and arterial blood samples. Such findings may demonstrate the phenomena of desensitization of previously in vivo activated neutrophils to additional stimulation, and may represent a host defense which minimizes autoinjury.


Bone and Soft Tissue Pathology


Genitourinary


title: 1347 Non Invasive Ventilation in Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

text: Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the benefit of the Non Invasive Ventilation (NIV) in children admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). Methods: We studied 22 children supported by NIV, aged 1 month to 15 years. The duration of the study was 4 years (January 2006- December 2009). The total number of admissions to ICU during this period was 759 (2,9% supported by NIV). The causes of the respiratory failure in these children supported by NIV were: chronic diseases-infection (n=11; 50%), neuromuscular diseases (n=4; 18,18%), renal transplantations-immunosuppression (n=3; 13,63%), leukemias (n=2; 9,09%), respiratory infections (n=2; 9,09%). We selected the Biphasic Ventilation mode (Bi-Vent) by facial mask, because our patients were in severe respiratory distress. The parameters in this mode were as follow: PIP: 10-16 cmH2O and PEEP 6-12 cmH2O. The mean duration of NIV was 4 days (3 hours to 14 days). Results: Facial mask was well tolerated and with no injuries from her use. Results showed that 19 patients (86,36%) recovered and 3 patients (13,63%) died because of their underlying disease and not from the respiratory failure. Two of our patients continued the NIV ventilation as home care treatment. Conclusions: NIV support of respiratory failure is a very useful tool in the pediatric intensivists' hands because it is good alternative to mechanical ventilation. It is well tolerated, reduces the need of sedation and the PICU stay in these patients.


title: CEFOTAXIME IN THE TREATMENT OF BACTERIAL MENINGITIS

text: We evaluated the efficacy of cefotaxime in the treatment of bacterial meningitis and the diffusion of the drug into CSF. Eleven children(9 days to 5 yrs) with meningitis due to H. influenzae (7 cases), S. pneumoniae(2) , group B streptococcus (1) , and Salmonella sp.(1), were treated with 40 mg/kg of IV cefotaxime q6hrs. Cefotaxime levels were determined by HPLC. The mean cefotaxime plasma level 3 hrs after a dose early in the treatment was 14.1 mg/L(range 5.1-42.2 mg/L), and the mean CSF level was 3.9 mg/L(0.7-16.6 mg/L). The mean CSF diffusion rate was 26.4%. At the end of treatment, the mean plasma level was 7.9 mg/L(1.5-13.6 mg/L) and the mean CSF level was 1.23 mg/L(0.5-3.1 mg/L) representing a mean diffusion rate of 21.9%. Cefotaxime MBC for the infecting organisms ranged between 0.015 mg/L and 0.25 mg/L. CSF was bactericidal to the infecting organisms at dilutions between 8 and 256. The CSF diffusion correlated positively with the cefotaxime plasma level (r=0.86), CSF protein (r=0.63), CSF leukocyte count (r=0.61) and negatively with CSF sugar (r=-0.37).All patients responded well to treatment with no apparent sequelae. Serial levels were also determined in 5 infants with ventriculostomies. Following a single dose of 40 mg/kg, the mean cefotaxime CSF levels (and mean plasma levels) were 6.6 mg/L(28.4 mg/L) at 2 hrs, 5.7 mg/L(8.9 mg/L) at 4 hrs, and 4.5 mg/L (1.8 mg/L) at 6 hrs. Cefotaxime diffuses sufficiently and consistently into CSF. Further assessment of its efficacy in the treatment of childhood meningitis is warranted.


Infectious Disease Pathology


Physicians Poster Abstracts: EBMT 2012


title: 1348 Influenza a H1N1 Virus Infection in a Pediactric Intensive Care Unit

text: Background: the main form of clinical presentation in critically ill patients with H1N1 infection is rapidly progressive respiratory failure, shock, neurological involvement and renal failure. Children with comorbidity and aged < 2 years are at particular risk. Methods: a descriptive, retrospective study on the clinical presentation and management of patients with H1N1 infection was performed in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). All children admitted in PICU of Coimbra's Pediatrics Hospital (CPH) were described, from July 15(th) to November 30(th) of 2009. Results: during this period, 241 children with laboratory confirmation of H1N1 infection were observed in CPH, of whom 38 (16%) required hospitalization, 4 (1.7%) in PICU-CPH. The age ranged from 4 months to 21 years. Three patients had previous co-morbidities. All met clinical criteria for H1N1 infection and were admitted with respiratory distress (4), rapidly progressive and evolution to ARDS (2), associated with shock (2) and lethargy (2). Three patients required mechanical ventilation (conventional and high-frequency oscillatory ventilation); the duration ranged between 4-12 days. Two patients received intravenous catecholamines support, two developed acute renal failure and two had pancytopenia. There were two bacterial coinfections. All received treatment with oseltamivir. Length of PICU stay ranged from 5-22 days, with a favorable outcome in all cases. Conclusion: in the 1st peak of H1N1 outbreak, 10% of the hospitalized children required PICU admission. Despite severe respiratory disease and multiple organ dysfunction, a good outcome was achieved, with no mortality.


title: 1346 Flutisane Propionate in Prevention of Rhynitis Alergica with Children

text: Introduction: In childhood rhynitis alergica is medical and social problem. The nasal mucous membrane first gets in touch with a lot of causes, including causes of allergy. Objective: Improvement of quality of the life with children who are treated with Fluticasone propionate. Material and Methods: We processed the data from medical records of 58 children on the age of 6 and 12 years in the period of 2 years (2008 - 2009), and 43 children from them were put on prevention with Fluticasone propionate. For processing the data we used analytic and descriptive method. Results: We processed 58 cases with rhynitis alergica proved with: skin tests or RIDA screen tests, total IgE, eosinophyles in nose and drainage secretion. 15 children were put only on symptom's therapy, and 43 children were put on therapy with Fluticasone propionate in a period of a few months. With 9 children rhinitis alergica was followed by conjuctivitis alergica and they get antihistaminic medicaments. All children that were put on prevention had minimal symptoms of Rhynitis and they had normal physical activities and attend a school regularly. Conclusion: Suitable and therapy on time allows normal and healthy life and free activity with children who have proved rhynitis alergica.


Scientific Program & Abstracts: 57™ Annual Meeting March 24–27, 2010


title: Design and application of the method for isolating magnetotactic bacteria

text: A simple apparatus was designed to effectively isolate magnetotactic bacteria from soils or sediments based on their magnetotaxis. Through a series of processes including sample incubation, MTB harvesting, isolation, purification and identification, several strains of bacteria were isolated from the samples successfully. By Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Energy-Dispersive X-ray Analysis (EDXA), these bacteria were certificated to be magnetotactic bacteria. The phylogenetic relationship between the isolated magnetic strains and some known magnetotactic bacteria was inferred by the construction of phylogenetic tree based on 16SrDNA sequences. This apparatus has been proven to have the advantages of being inexpensive, simple to assemble, easy to perform and highly efficient to isolate novel magnetotactic bacteria. The research indicated that the combined approach of harvesting MTB by home-made apparatus and the method of plate colony isolation could purify and isolate magnetotactic bacteria effectively.


title: A GMC Oxidoreductase GmcA Is Required for Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation in Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae

text: GmcA is a FAD-containing enzyme belonging to the GMC (glucose-methanol-choline oxidase) family of oxidoreductases. A mutation in the Rhizobium leguminosarum gmcA gene was generated by homologous recombination. The mutation in gmcA did not affect the growth of R. leguminosarum, but it displayed decreased antioxidative capacity at H(2)O(2) conditions higher than 5 mM. The gmcA mutant strain displayed no difference of glutathione reductase activity, but significantly lower level of the glutathione peroxidase activity than the wild type. Although the gmcA mutant was able to induce the formation of nodules, the symbiotic ability was severely impaired, which led to an abnormal nodulation phenotype coupled to a 30% reduction in the nitrogen fixation capacity. The observation on ultrastructure of 4-week pea nodules showed that the mutant bacteroids tended to start senescence earlier and accumulate poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) granules. In addition, the gmcA mutant was severely impaired in rhizosphere colonization. Real-time quantitative PCR showed that the gmcA gene expression was significantly up-regulated in all the detected stages of nodule development, and statistically significant decreases in the expression of the redoxin genes katG, katE, and ohrB were found in gmcA mutant bacteroids. LC-MS/MS analysis quantitative proteomics techniques were employed to compare differential gmcA mutant root bacteroids in response to the wild type infection. Sixty differentially expressed proteins were identified including 33 up-regulated and 27 down-regulated proteins. By sorting the identified proteins according to metabolic function, 15 proteins were transporter protein, 12 proteins were related to stress response and virulence, and 9 proteins were related to transcription factor activity. Moreover, nine proteins related to amino acid metabolism were over-expressed.


title: The polymerase chain reaction and pathology practice

text: Pathology practice is increasingly augmented with molecular tests for improved diagnostics and patient management. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is foremost amongst these techniques. This review explains the principles of PCR and the methodological factors that contribute to a successful assay. Key PCR technique variations, such as reverse transcription (RT)-PCR and quantitative real-time (q) PCR, are described and an overview is provided of how PCR products are analysed. The review includes examples of PCR usage in clinical practice for the detection of infectious and genetic diseases, for tumour diagnostics and in molecular forensic applications such as specimen identity confirmation.


title: Rodent Diagnostic Testing

text: Clinical medicine is an important part of scientific medicine that is all too often neglected when treating rodents and small mammal pets. As with more traditional pets, a progressive diagnostic regimen should include a thorough history, clinical signs, physical examination, and laboratory findings.


title: The American Organization of Nurse Executives and Global Citizenship

text: Globalization is impacting many aspects of American society, and nursing has especially been impacted over the past few decades. Global issues such as nurse migration, pandemic infections, natural disasters, man-made disasters, and geopolitical unrest have made it clear that no nation can remain isolated and unaffected by world events and trends. With these facts, the American Organization of Nurse Executives' (AONE) leaders and members increasingly understand that leaders along with their communities and health care organizations work in all arenas, from local to national and international.


title: Paraplegia in a Domestic Ferret (Mustela Putorius Furo) Secondary to Metastatic Adrenocortical Carcinoma with Myxoid Differentiation

text: Neurologic disease is a common presentation of domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) with infectious, neoplastic, and traumatic etiologies documented. Adrenocortical neoplasia is also well documented in domestic ferrets, with metastatic lesions rarely described. This case report describes an abnormal presentation of adrenocortical adenocarcinoma with myxoid differentiation and subsequent metastasis to the spinal cord and vertebral bodies, resulting in hind limb paraplegia in an adult spayed female ferret.


title: Systemic Infection Due to Candida parapsilosis in a Domestic Ferret (Mustela putorius furo)

text: An 18-month-old castrated male ferret (Mustela putorius furo) was presented to the veterinary hospital for acute collapse but died despite initiation of emergency treatment. The body was submitted for a complete postmortem examination. The pathologist determined the ferret was suffering from severe necrotizing encephalitis, necrogranulomatous mediastinal lymphadenitis, and ulcerative dermatitis attributable to systemic Candida parapsilosis. This is the first report of systemic Candida parapsilosis in a ferret.


title: Current Approach to Rodents as Patients

text: Rodent species are routinely presented to veterinary hospitals for wellness checks and different illnesses. When rodents are presented to the veterinarian for diagnosis and treatment, they deserve the same thorough approach that any other domestic species receives. The purpose of this article is to provide readers a review of the current information regarding examination, diagnosis, and treatment of some of the most common conditions for which rodent patients are presented. This article will cover 5 of the most common rodent species presented to veterinarians: guinea pigs, chinchillas, rats, mice, and hamsters.


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title: The hog-badger is not an edentate: systematics and evolution of the genus Arctonyx (Mammalia: Mustelidae)

text: Hog-badgers (mustelid carnivorans classified in the genus Arctonyx) are distributed throughout East and Southeast Asia, including much of China, the eastern Indian Subcontinent, Indochina and the large continental Asian island of Sumatra. Arctonyx is usually regarded as monotypic, comprising the single species A. collaris F. Cuvier, 1825, but taxonomic boundaries in the genus have never been revised on the basis of sizeable series from throughout this geographical range. Based on a review of most available specimens in world museums, we recognize three distinctive species within the genus, based on craniometric analyses, qualitative craniodental features, external comparisons, and geographical and ecological considerations. Arctonyx albogularis (Blyth, 1853) is a shaggy-coated, medium-sized badger widely distributed in temperate Asia, from Tibet and the Himalayan region to eastern and southern China. Arctonyx collaris F. Cuvier, 1825, is an extremely large, shorter-haired badger, distributed throughout Southeast Asia, from eastern India to Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. The world's largest extant badger, A. collaris co-occurs with A. albogularis in eastern India and probably in southern China, and fossil comparisons indicate that its geographical range may have extended into central China in the middle Pleistocene. The disjunctly distributed species Arctonyx hoevenii (Hubrecht, 1891), originally described within the order ‘Edentata’ by a remarkable misunderstanding, is the smallest and darkest member of the genus and is endemic to the Barisan mountain chain of Sumatra. Apart from A. hoevenii, no other Arctonyx occurs on the Sunda Shelf below peninsular Thailand. The natural history of each species of Arctonyx, so far as is known, is briefly reviewed. No claim to original US Government works.


2001 SPSS & SCAD Abstracts - Subject Index


title: Etiology and clinical characteristics of influenza-like illness in healthy adults by hospitalization status

text: BACKGROUND: Viral respiratory infections are a common cause of hospitalization for younger, otherwise-healthy populations. In this study, we describe the epidemiology of influenza-like illness in non-elderly adults within the U.S. Military Health System (MHS) by pathogen and hospitalization status. METHODS: The Acute Respiratory Infection Consortium (ARIC) is a prospective cohort of patients with influenza-like illness within the MHS. Participants between 18 and 65 years of age were identified in outpatient settings between 2012 and 2017, and were excluded if pregnant, if reporting chronic cardiac, respiratory, renal, or neurologic disease, or if on long-term aspirin therapy. Demographics, nasopharyngeal swabs and symptom data were collected; swabs were tested for viral pathogens using a target-enriched multiplex PCR panel (TEM-PCR(TM), Diatherix LLC). Data were analyzed to compare clinical features and risks for hospitalization. RESULTS: 397 participants met inclusion criteria. 34 participants required hospitalization; 363 were outpatients. Median length of hospitalization was 2 days. A virus was identified in 58.4% of outpatients (OP) and 55.9% of inpatients (IP); coronaviruses (63/363), enteroviruses (50/363), and influenza A (73/363) predominated in OP, whereas influenza A predominated among IP (35.3%, 12/34). There were no significant differences between OP and IP in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, or tobacco use. IP were more likely to be obese (BMI ≥30, 43.3% vs. 20.5%, P = 0.004) and less likely to have received influenza vaccination (45.5% vs. 16.9%, P > 0.001). IP with influenza did not report more severe symptoms (chills, cough, sore throat, diarrhea, myalgia, or headache) on enrollment but were more likely to have fever (temperature ≥38.0⁰ C) than OP (92.9 vs. 57.1%, P = 0.014). CONCLUSION: Influenza A is the most frequently identified cause of hospitalization among healthy, non-elderly adults with viral respiratory infection. Although age and tobacco use may be risks for viral acquisition, they do not appear to increase the risk of hospitalization in infected patients. Non-obese BMI and influenza vaccination appear protective against hospitalization, even in a relatively healthy cohort. DISCLOSURES: L. Malone, Diatherix Laboratories: Employee, Salary; E. Grigorenko, Diatherix Laboratories: Employee, Salary; D. Stalons, Diatherix Laboratories: Employee, Salary


title: Evaluation of Serum TNF-alpha, IL-6, IL-10, and IFN-gamma Levels in Patients with Crimean–Congo Hemorrhagic Fever

text: BACKGROUND: Crimean–Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a potentially fatal disease caused by a tick-borne virus from the Bunyaviridae family. Cytokines plays an important role in the pathogenesis of viral, bacterial, and immunologic diseases. This study aimed to investigate the role of TNF-alpha, IL-6, IL-10, and IFN-gamma levels in the severity of infection and clinical outcome of patients with CCHF. METHODS: Patients with confirmed CCHF were divided into two groups (severe cases: Patients who exhibited hemorrhage during their hospital stay, and mild/moderate cases: Patients who displayed no hemorrhage during their hospital stay). Demographic characteristics, laboratory tests on admission of all patients with CCHF were investigated, and serum TNF-alpha, IL-6, IL-10, and IFN-gamma levels were measured. RESULTS: A total of 154 patients with confirmed CCHF were investigated. Forty-six (29.9%) of these patients were in the severe group. In patients with severe CCHF, significantly higher serum levels of TNF-alpha (68.2 ± 23.5; P = 0.008) and IL-6 (73.1 ± 41.6; P = 0.003) were detected, compared with cytokine levels in patients who mild/moderate CCHF (Table 1). No differences in serum IL-10 and IFN-gamma levels between patients who severe CCHF and those who mild/moderate CCHF were detected (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Cytokines, chemokines, and other inflammatory mediators function in a manner, acting on many different cell types to regulate the host’s immune response. When cytokines present in high concentrations, they might toxic or even lethal effects. In accordance with this view, we have detected increased serum TNF-alpha, IL-6 levels in the patients with severe CCHF. DISCLOSURES: All authors: No reported disclosures.


title: PCR Array Profiling of Antiviral Genes in Human Embryonic Kidney Cells Expressing Human Coronavirus OC43 Structural and Accessory Proteins

text: BACKGROUND: Human coronavirus OC43 (HCoV-OC43) causes common cold, and is associated with severe respiratory symptoms in infants, elderly and immunocompromised patients. HCoV-OC43 is a member of Betacoronavirus genus that includes also the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronaviruses. Both SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV were shown to express proteins with the potential to evade early innate immune responses. However, the ability of HCoV-OC43 to antagonise the intracellular antiviral defences has not yet been investigated. The objective of this study was to investigate the role of HCoV-OC43 structural (membrane and nucleocapsid) and accessory (ns5a and ns2a) proteins in the modulation of antiviral gene expression profile in human embryonic kidney 293 (HEK-293) cells using PCR array analysis. METHODS: HCoV-OC43 membrane (M), nucleocapsid (N), ns5a and ns2a mRNA were amplified and cloned into the pAcGFP1-N expression vector (Clontech), followed by transfection in HEK-293 cells. Expression of M, N, ns5a and ns2a proteins were confirmed by indirect immunofluorescence test. Three days post-transfection, the cells were challenged by Sendai virus. The Human Antiviral Response PCR array system (Qiagen) was used to profile the antiviral gene expression in HEK-293 cells, using the fold regulation comparison and the manual normalisation methods. RESULTS: Around 50–60 genes were downregulated by HCoV-OC43 proteins, the most prominent genes being those critical for the activation of transcription factors involved in the antiviral response like interferon regulatory factors (IRFs) and activator protein 1 (AP-1). Among the most important downregulated genes were those coding for Interferons (IFNs) mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), pro-apoptotic and pyroptotic proteins (Caspases, cathepsins, tumour necrosis factor), pro-inflammatory cytokines (Interleukins), pattern recognition receptors (PRRs; toll-like receptors and NOD-like receptors) and their signaling transduction proteins (TICAM1, MAVS). CONCLUSION: This study shows for the first time that similarly to SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, HCoV-OC43 has the ability to downregulate the transcription of genes critical for the activation of different antiviral signaling pathways. DISCLOSURES: All authors: No reported disclosures.


Subject Index of Original Papers, Volume 87, 2008


title: Quantitative Assessment of the Bioburden of High-Touch Environmental Surfaces in Pediatric Operating Rooms

text: BACKGROUND: Previous studies have linked healthcare-associated infections to bacterial pathogens in the operating room (OR) environment. The purpose of this study was to determine the bioburden on OR surfaces to guide future quality improvement efforts and optimize OR cleanliness. METHODS: This study was performed in the pediatric ORs of a 200-bed, academically affiliated, children’s hospital with ~6000 general and subspecialty surgical procedures annually. Immediately after cases were finished, but prior to cleaning, the 3M Clean-Trace Clinical Hygiene Monitoring System was used to quantify bioburden (in surface ATP concentration) on 24 surfaces in each of 8 ORs. These 24 surfaces were previously identified by the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses as high-touch surfaces and various disciplines are responsible for their cleaning. Each OR was sampled 1–4 times. A surface passed the test of cleanliness if the result was <250 relative light units (RLUs). RESULTS: In all, 364 surfaces were tested. The median RLUs were <250, 250–850, and >850 RLUs for 7, 11, and 6 surfaces, respectively. Of the 24 surfaces tested, all demonstrated bioburden ≥250 at least once. Median RLUs for each surface ranged from 39-2282 and median RLUs for each OR ranged from 196 to 1534. The highest bioburden occurred following cardiac surgery (median 1534, range 24-13275 RLU) and the lowest bioburden occurred after neurosurgery (median 196, range 23-2475 RLU). The surfaces with the highest bioburden were the anesthesia keyboards (median 2282, range 347-38376 RLU) and core door handles (median 1471, range 140–6788 RLU) and those with the lowest bioburden were the Mayo stand (median 39, range 19-765 RLU) and back table (median 39, range 17-406 RLU). CONCLUSION: ATP testing demonstrated that most OR surfaces were contaminated with organic material. While OR surfaces prior to cleaning are expected to be contaminated, these data highlight the importance of cleaning/disinfection. These findings are being used to develop educational tools and interventions for the interdisciplinary OR team, which will focus on delineation of cleaning responsibilities, the use of appropriate cleaning products, and audits of end-of-case cleaning and terminal cleaning. DISCLOSURES: All authors: No reported disclosures.


title: Coronavirus Infection in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Recipients

text: BACKGROUND: Hematopoietic stem cell transplants (HSCT) recipients are at increased risk of respiratory viral infections and their associated complications. Although the epidemiology of many respiratory viruses has been well characterized in this population, little is known about the epidemiology of human coronavirus (HoCV) infection. METHODS: We identified HSCT recipients with symptoms of a respiratory tract infection who tested positive for HoCV by nasopharyngeal (NP) swab from January 2013 to December 2016 at our hospital. NP swabs were analyzed by the FilmArray® Respiratory Panel, which detects 17 respiratory viruses, including 4 coronavirus serotypes. We reviewed the demographics, transplant type, comorbidities, smoking status, respiratory symptoms, co-pathogens, and radiographic findings of infected patients. We then assessed the incidence of developing a lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI), defined as new pulmonary infiltrates or detection of HoCV in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, within 30 days of initial diagnosis. RESULTS: We identified 58 HSCT recipients who tested positive for HoCV. The median patient age was 54 years, 29 (50%) were men, and 24 (41%) were current or prior smokers. Fifty (86%) patients had received an allogeneic HSCT and 8 (14%) had received an autologous HSCT. The coronavirus serotypes were: OC43 (n = 19, 33%), NL63 (n = 18, 31%), HKU1 (n = 16, 28%), and 229E (n = 5, 9%). The median time from transplant until detection of HoCV infection was 135 days (IQR=256). Seventeen (29%) patients were lymphopenic at the time of diagnosis and 17 (29%) were receiving corticosteroids. The most common initial symptoms were cough (n = 41, 71%), rhinorrhea (n = 31, 53%), and dyspnea (n = 17, 29%), and 19 (33%) and 16 (28%) patients had fever and hypoxia, respectively. Seventeen patients (29%) developed a LRTI within 30 days of diagnosis and 43% harbored a co-pathogen in the blood or respiratory tract. Three patients (5%) were intubated for respiratory failure and 1 (2%) died within 30 days. CONCLUSION: HoCV infection is common in HSCT recipients and is caused by multiple serotypes. Nearly one-third of patients have fever and hypoxia upon initial diagnosis or progress to LRTI. Further research is needed to identify risk factors for HoCV LRTI in this population. DISCLOSURES: All authors: No reported disclosures.


title: Respiratory Viral Infections in Multiple Myeloma Patients

text: BACKGROUND: Multiple myeloma (MM) patients are at increased risk of respiratory viral infections (RVIs) due to disease-related alterations in their immune systems. Data in the literature specific to MM patients is limited. We reviewed four years of multiplex respiratory viral panel (RVP) data in MM patients at our institution to evaluate incidence and seasonality of RVIs. methods. The results from all positive RVPs, obtained via nasopharyngeal swab and as identified by polymerase chain reaction during the years 2013 to 2016, were analyzed. A positive result less than 6 weeks apart was considered a duplicate and removed. All specimens were analyzed in the molecular diagnostics laboratory using the eSensor® Respiratory Viral Panel (GenMark Dx, Carlsbad, CA). This assay is a qualitative nucleic acid multiplex in vitro diagnostic test that provides for the simultaneous detection and identification of 14 respiratory viral nucleic acids. Results. RVIs were reported in every month in all four years. The peak months were January and February, driven by the peak activity of Influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Rhinovirus was isolated the most frequently. The least isolated was Adenovirus. A seasonality was observed with Influenza, RSV, human parainfluenza and human metapneumovirus; however, infections with each virus occurred outside of peak months including an outbreak of Influenza in July and August 2013. The total number of viral infections varied each year as did the total number for each virus. The year 2015 had the lowest number of RVIs reported at 427, followed by the year 2016 with the most RVIs reported at 515. However, 2016 was not the peak incidence for each virus; it was the peak incidence for RSV and Rhinovirus. In fact, Influenza had its lowest number of cases in 2016. Conclusion. At our institution, we have shown that RVIs are more common than previously described in MM patients. RVIs occur in every month throughout the year. Although a seasonality is seen with these viral infections, infections do occur outside of the months considered to be peak months for each virus. Infection control policies, therefore, must be enforced year round. More studies, however, are needed to assess the proportion of community vs. healthcare acquired. Two DISCLOSURES: All authors: No reported disclosures.


title: The Management of Outpatient Cellulitis at The Moncton Hospital before and after the Initiation of a Clinical Treatment Pathway

text: BACKGROUND: Antimicrobial Stewardship is a coordinated effort to improve and measure the appropriate use of antimicrobials. Antibiotic resistance is an emerging world health problem and unnecessary prescribing of broad-spectrum antibiotics is a major contributor to this. Skin and soft-tissue infections are a common reason to receive a prescription for antibiotics. Currently there exists a trend for using broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotics for moderate to severe infections when more narrow-spectrum options would be adequate. This study aimed to characterize the choice of antibiotic being prescribed for the management of outpatient cellulitis requiring intravenous antibiotics and evaluate the success of a clinical order set outlining optimal therapy. METHODS: This study was a retrospective chart review looking at antibiotic prescribing through the Emergency Department at The Moncton Hospital, in Moncton, New Brunswick. Charts were reviewed before and after the introduction of a clinical order set outlining optimal antibiotic therapy. The goal was to review charts from the pre- and post-intervention group and compare antibiotic usage, treatment failure rates, and adverse events. RESULTS: Of the 54 patients receiving IV antibiotics in the pre-intervention group, 3 received cefazolin, 50 received ceftriaxone, while 1 received levofloxacin. The median duration of IV therapy was four days. After the introduction of the clinical order set there was an absolute increase of 53.8% (n = 35) in the use of cefazolin and absolute decrease of 53.7% (n = 23) in the use of ceftriaxone in the post-intervention group of 59 patients. Both results were statistically significant (P < 0.001). The median duration of IV therapy in this group was 3.5 days. In eligible patients, the clinical order set was utilized 61.1% of the time. There was no significant difference in rates of treatment failure or adverse events between cefazolin and ceftriaxone. CONCLUSION: The introduction of a clinical order set outlining the preferential use of once-daily cefazolin plus probenecid for the treatment of outpatient cellulitis lead to a statistically significant increase use of cefazolin, and decrease use of ceftriaxone, thus demonstrating a positive stewardship effect at a local level. DISCLOSURES: All authors: No reported disclosures.


title: Preventing Respiratory Viruses in the Neonatal ICU

text: BACKGROUND: Infants in the neonatal ICU can acquire respiratory viruses from ill healthcare personnel (HCP), visitors, or other infants. We describe the epidemiology of respiratory viruses and infection prevention and control interventions aimed to reduce acquisition and transmission of respiratory viruses in our NICU. METHODS: From May 2012 to December 2016, we tracked respiratory viruses detected by a multiplex reverse-transcriptase (RT)-PCR assay (FilmArray, Biofire, Inc.) in our 58-bed level IV NICU (~1,000 annual admissions). Testing was ordered by treating clinicians for symptomatic infants. Infants with positive RT-PCR tests generally remained on contact/ droplet precautions throughout their NICU stay. HCP were instructed not to work sick and report to Workforce Health and Safety if they became ill at work. Ill visitors were not permitted in the NICU, as enforced by written educational materials and signage, but formal screening was not performed. Starting in January 2015, asymptomatic infants exposed to RT-PCR-positive index cases were screened by RT-PCR, put on contact/ droplet precautions for the incubation period (IP) of the index case’s virus, and screened again at IP end. Starting in December 2015, visitors <12 years old were banned year-round. We assessed dyad transmission events (2 infants), clusters (3 infants), and outbreaks (>3 infants); all were defined as detecting geographically related cases within the relevant IP. We determined screened infants who had positive RT-PCR tests. RESULTS: During the 56 month observation period, 79 infants had 83 viruses detected (~1.8% of admissions). Rhino/ enterovirus (RV/EV) were most common (n = 59) and caused 1 outbreak of 7 infants, 4 clusters, and 5 dyad transmissions. Adenovirus caused 1 outbreak of 5 infants. Two dyad transmissions occurred for parainfluenza. Sporadic cases of RSV (n = 5), coronavirus (n = 5), and influenza (n = 2) occurred. Ill household contacts were identified for 10 infants. No HCPs were identified with respiratory illnesses. Since January 2015, 8 screened infants had positive RT-PCR tests. Since December 2015, only 1 transmission dyad (RV/EV) occurred. CONCLUSION: Preliminary data suggest that our interventions have reduced the burden of respiratory viruses in the NICU. DISCLOSURES: All authors: No reported disclosures.