Rabies elimination research: juxtaposing optimism, pragmatism and realism

More than 100 years of research has now been conducted into the prevention, control and elimination of rabies with safe and highly efficacious vaccines developed for use in human and animal populations. Domestic dogs are a major reservoir for rabies, and although considerable advances have been made towards the elimination and control of canine rabies in many parts of the world, the disease continues to kill tens of thousands of people every year in Africa and Asia. Policy efforts are now being directed towards a global target of zero human deaths from dog-mediated rabies by 2030 and the global elimination of canine rabies. Here we demonstrate how research provides a cause for optimism as to the feasibility of these goals through strategies based around mass dog vaccination. We summarize some of the pragmatic insights generated from rabies epidemiology and dog ecology research that can improve the design of dog vaccination strategies in low- and middle-income countries and which should encourage implementation without further delay. We also highlight the need for realism in reaching the feasible, although technically more difficult and longer-term goal of global elimination of canine rabies. Finally, we discuss how research on rabies has broader relevance to the control and elimination of a suite of diseases of current concern to human and animal health, providing an exemplar of the value of a ‘One Health’ approach

Cervical nodal volume for prognostication and risk stratification of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and implications on the TNM-staging system

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Octa­aqua­bis(μ2-1H-pyrazole-3,5-di­carboxyl­ato)tricopper(II) tetra­hydrate

In the trinucler CuII complex mol­ecule of the title compound, [Cu3(C5HN2O4)2(H2O)8]·4H2O, the central CuII atom is located on an inversion centre and is coordinated in a distorted octa­hedral geometry. The equatorial sites are occupied by two N and two O atoms from two pyrazole-3,5-dicarboxyl­ate ligands and the axial positions are occupied by two water mol­ecules. The two other symmetry-related CuII atoms are penta­coordinated and assume a square-pyramidal geometry. In the crystal structure, coordinated and uncoordinated water mol­ecules and carboxyl­ate O atoms are linked by O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds

Effect modification of environmental factors on influenza-associated mortality: a time-series study in two Chinese cities

Background: Environmental factors have been associated with transmission and survival of influenza viruses but no studies have ever explored the role of environmental factors on severity of influenza infection.Methods: We applied a Poisson regression model to the mortality data of two Chinese metropolitan cities located within the subtropical zone, to calculate the influenza associated excess mortality risks during the periods with different levels of temperature and humidity.Results: The results showed that high absolute humidity (measured by vapor pressure) was significantly (p < 0.05) associated with increased risks of all-cause and cardiorespiratory deaths, but not with increased risks of pneumonia and influenza deaths. The association between absolute humidity and mortality risks was found consistent among the two cities. An increasing pattern of influenza associated mortality risks was also found across the strata of low to high relative humidity, but the results were less consistent for temperature.Conclusions: These findings highlight the need for people with chronic cardiovascular and respiratory diseases to take extra caution against influenza during hot and humid days in the subtropics and tropics. © 2011 Yang et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.published_or_final_versio

Collaborative agencies and quality discharge support for the long-term care inpatients with mental illness

Long-term hospitalization is a problem for psychiatric care in Japan. The purpose of this research was to clarify the demands placed on public health nurses’ (PHN) involved in the discharge of long-term inpatients (LIPs) with mental illness, and their lack of support. A questionnaire was mailed to 516 health centers, and 112 health centers replied. The response rate was 21.7 percent. The mail survey questionnaire was based on original questionnaire developed by the authors. Significant differences were found among collaborative agencies selected as essential for the discharge support project for the LIPs with mental illness. These differences were evident in the following question items on insufficiency of support : “Incompatibility with the policy of the public health center on discharge support” ; “Opposition to discharge of a LIPs with mental illness by hospital staff” ; and “Shortage of PHN in charge of the discharge support project for the LIPs with mental illness”. It was clarified that the discharge support project required not only the involvement of health and medical welfare personnel but also the cooperation of local human resources such as local residents, neighbor associations, social workers, real-estate agencies and others

Relationship between temporomandibular joint dynamics and mouthguards: feasibility of a test method

A test system was developed establishing the feasibility of collecting biomechanical data as they relate to the use of mouthguards. Previous experimental studies have examined the physical and mechanical properties of mouthguard materials. This information has been used as a guide for establishing material standards and specifications for the fabrication of mouthguards, but it lacks the key biomechanical parameters required for a thorough mouthguard evaluation. The current study was designed to assess whether the impact force, condylar deflection, and strain superior to the temporomandibular joint region could be measured. A drop test was conducted on a cadaveric specimen to simulate loading at the chin point. To measure the force of impact, an accelerometer was attached to an impactor of known mass. High-speed biplanar (1000 frames per second) radiographs were used to determine condylar displacement. Radio-opaque markers were inserted into the bone at predetermined locations. Total displacement of these markers was determined in reference to anatomical landmarks. Strain gauges were attached to the mandible and skull to monitor the effects of the condyle impacting the base of the skull. Based on the data collected, forces were calculated by determining the product of the time-based acceleration and known mass. A measurable change in force between the mouthguards and the control (no mouthguard) was demonstrated. The average condylar displacement was successfully measured and indicated as an increase in total deflection for impacts conducted with mouthguards. Quantifiable strain was measured in the region above the mandibular fossa with and without the insertion of a mouthguard at all impact conditions. However, it was determined that additional gauges would provide critical data. Key biomechanical parameters for chin-point impacts were determined in the current study. The technique demonstrated that both displacement within the mandibular fossa and loading of the condyles occur during the impact event. Although the current study established a technique that can be used to examine the relationship between mouthguards and jaw-joint injuries, the role, if any, mouthguards play in the reduction of injuries cannot be established until a thorough analysis is completed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/74031/1/j.1600-9657.2004.00213.x.pd

Placental syncytiotrophoblast constitutes a major barrier to vertical transmission of Listeria monocytogenes.

Listeria monocytogenes is an important cause of maternal-fetal infections and serves as a model organism to study these important but poorly understood events. L. monocytogenes can infect non-phagocytic cells by two means: direct invasion and cell-to-cell spread. The relative contribution of each method to placental infection is controversial, as is the anatomical site of invasion. Here, we report for the first time the use of first trimester placental organ cultures to quantitatively analyze L. monocytogenes infection of the human placenta. Contrary to previous reports, we found that the syncytiotrophoblast, which constitutes most of the placental surface and is bathed in maternal blood, was highly resistant to L. monocytogenes infection by either internalin-mediated invasion or cell-to-cell spread. Instead, extravillous cytotrophoblasts-which anchor the placenta in the decidua (uterine lining) and abundantly express E-cadherin-served as the primary portal of entry for L. monocytogenes from both extracellular and intracellular compartments. Subsequent bacterial dissemination to the villous stroma, where fetal capillaries are found, was hampered by further cellular and histological barriers. Our study suggests the placenta has evolved multiple mechanisms to resist pathogen infection, especially from maternal blood. These findings provide a novel explanation why almost all placental pathogens have intracellular life cycles: they may need maternal cells to reach the decidua and infect the placenta

The Effect of Transposable Element Insertions on Gene Expression Evolution in Rodents

Background:Many genomes contain a substantial number of transposable elements (TEs), a few of which are known to be involved in regulating gene expression. However, recent observations suggest that TEs may have played a very important role in the evolution of gene expression because many conserved non-genic sequences, some of which are know to be involved in gene regulation, resemble TEs. Results:Here we investigate whether new TE insertions affect gene expression profiles by testing whether gene expression divergence between mouse and rat is correlated to the numbers of new transposable elements inserted near genes. We show that expression divergence is significantly correlated to the number of new LTR and SINE elements, but not to the numbers of LINEs. We also show that expression divergence is not significantly correlated to the numbers of ancestral TEs in most cases, which suggests that the correlations between expression divergence and the numbers of new TEs are causal in nature. We quantify the effect and estimate that TE insertion has accounted for ~20% (95% confidence interval: 12% to 26%) of all expression profile divergence in rodents. Conclusions:We conclude that TE insertions may have had a major impact on the evolution of gene expression levels in rodents