Emergence and Global Spread of a Dengue Serotype 3, Subtype III Virus

Over the past two decades, dengue virus serotype 3 (DENV-3) has caused unexpected epidemics of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) in Sri Lanka, East Africa, and Latin America. We used a phylogenetic approach to evaluate the roles of virus evolution and transport in the emergence of these outbreaks. Isolates from these geographically distant epidemics are closely related and belong to DENV-3, subtype III, which originated in the Indian subcontinent. The emergence of DHF in Sri Lanka in 1989 correlated with the appearance there of a new DENV-3, subtype III variant. This variant likely spread from the Indian subcontinent into Africa in the 1980s and from Africa into Latin America in the mid-1990s. DENV-3, subtype III isolates from mild and severe disease outbreaks formed genetically distinct groups, which suggests a role for viral genetics in DHF

Chiral Symmetry of Nucleon Resonances in QCD sum rules

The QCD sum rule approach is employed in order to study chiral properties of positive- and negative-parity nucleon resonances. It is pointed out that nucleons with an ``exotic'' chiral property, which can be represented by local five-quark operators, can be paired with a standard nucleon forming a single chiral multiplet. The sum rules of the five-quark operators, however, are shown not to couple strongly to chirally-``exotic'' nucleon resonances at the mass region of less than 2 GeV.Comment: 11 page

Disseminated Invasive Aspergillosis with Cerebral Involvement Successfully Treated with Caspofungin and Voriconazole

We describe a case of cerebral aspergillosis which was successfully treated with a combination of caspofungin and voriconazole. The patient remains in remission 18 months after stopping antifungal treatment. We discuss primary and salvage therapy of invasive aspergillosis with focus on cerebral involvement. Since historical data showed a fatal outcome in most cases, amphotericin B does not cross the blood brain barrier while voriconazole does, we chose a combination of voriconazole plus caspofungin as primary therap

Epidemics with multistrain interactions: The interplay between cross immunity and antibody-dependent enhancement

This paper examines the interplay of the effect of cross immunity and antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) in multistrain diseases. Motivated by dengue fever, we study a model for the spreading of epidemics in a population with multistrain interactions mediated by both partial temporary cross immunity and ADE. Although ADE models have previously been observed to cause chaotic outbreaks, we show analytically that weak cross immunity has a stabilizing effect on the system. That is, the onset of disease fluctuations requires a larger value of ADE with small cross immunity than without. However, strong cross immunity is shown numerically to cause oscillations and chaotic outbreaks even for low values of ADE. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3270261

eIF4E3 forms an active eIF4F complex during stresses (eIF4FS) targeting mTOR and re-programs the translatome.

The eIF4E are a family of initiation factors that bind the mRNA 5' cap, regulating the proteome and the cellular phenotype. eIF4E1 mediates global translation and its activity is controlled via the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. mTOR down-regulation results in eIF4E1 sequestration into an inactive complex with the 4E binding proteins (4EBPs). The second member, eIF4E2, regulates the translatome during hypoxia. However, the exact function of the third member, eIF4E3, has remained elusive. We have dissected its function using a range of techniques. Starting from the observation that it does not interact with 4EBP1, we demonstrate that eIF4E3 recruitment into an eIF4F complex occurs when Torin1 inhibits the mTOR pathway. Ribo-seq studies demonstrate that this complex (eIF4FS) is translationally active during stress and that it selects specific mRNA populations based on 5' TL (UTR) length. The interactome reveals that it associates with cellular proteins beyond the cognate initiation factors, suggesting that it may have 'moon-lighting' functions. Finally, we provide evidence that cellular metabolism is altered in an eIF4E3 KO background but only upon Torin1 treatment. We propose that eIF4E3 acts as a second branch of the integrated stress response, re-programming the translatome to promote 'stress resistance' and adaptation

Stadtklimatologie im Wandel der Zeit – Einblicke aus Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz

Dieser Beitrag zeichnet die Entwicklung der wissenschaftlichen Beschäftigung mit dem Klima und der Luftqualität von Städten in kurzen, exemplarischen Zügen nach. Die Quellenlage lässt eine Analyse der etwa über 2000-jährigen Geschichte der Stadtklimaforschung zu. Es dürften wohl indische und römische Kulturen gewesen sein, die sich dem Problem der Überwärmung und insbesondere dem der Luftverschmutzung in ihren aufstrebenden städtischen Siedlungen zuerst annahmen. Zu Beginn dieses Artikels wird im Rahmen einer internationalen Gesamtschau ein kurzer Abriss dieses Teilgebiets der Umweltmeteorologie gegeben. Anschließend wird die lebhafte Geschichte der Stadtklimaforschung für Deutschland, Österreich und die Schweiz (Akronym: D-A-CH) an zahlreichen Beispielen und Meilensteinen der Entwicklung referiert.This article reviews the development of scientific research on climate and air quality in cities in short, exemplary sections. The literature allows for an analysis of the 2000-year history of urban climate research. Probably the Indian and Roman cultures were the first who addressed the problem of overheating and especially that of air pollution in their emerging urban settlements. At the beginning of this article, a brief outline of this branch of environmental meteorology is given as part of an overall international review. Subsequently, the lively history of urban climate research for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland (acronym: D-A-CH) will be reported using numerous examples and milestones of its development

Social identity and risk perception explain participation in the Swiss youth climate strikes

Since late 2018, young people around the world have united to demand greater action on climate change. Aside from their stated concerns and demands, however, very little is known about why young people have been joining this growing movement. Using a large sample (N = 4057) of people in Switzerland aged between 14 and 25, we show that social identity is most strongly associated with participation, followed by beliefs about the effectiveness of youth strikes, level of education, and worry about climate change. Our findings affirm the relevance of both climate change risk perceptions and social identity-related processes for collective climate change action, and pave the way for promising opportunities in theory development and integration. The study also provides lessons for those who seek to maintain and increase collective action on climate change: concern about climate change is an important motivating factor, but social identity processes are at least as relevant for young people’s participation

Precision of cephalometric landmark identification: Cone-beam computed tomography vs conventional cephalometric views

In this study, we compared the precision of landmark identification using displays of multi-planar cone-beam computed tomographic (CBCT) volumes and conventional lateral cephalograms (Ceph)