Assessment of the tissue distribution of transplanted human endothelial progenitor cells by radioactive labeling

Background— Transplantation of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) improves vascularization and left ventricular function after experimental myocardial ischemia. However, tissue distribution of transplanted EPCs has not yet been monitored in living animals. Therefore, we tested whether radioactive labeling allows us to detect injected EPCs

The Social and Political Dimensions of the Ebola Response: Global Inequality, Climate Change, and Infectious Disease

The 2014 Ebola crisis has highlighted public-health vulnerabilities in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea – countries ravaged by extreme poverty, deforestation and mining-related disruption of livelihoods and ecosystems, and bloody civil wars in the cases of Liberia and Sierra Leone. Ebola’s emergence and impact are grounded in the legacy of colonialism and its creation of enduring inequalities within African nations and globally, via neoliberalism and the Washington Consensus. Recent experiences with new and emerging diseases such as SARS and various strains of HN influenzas have demonstrated the effectiveness of a coordinated local and global public health and education-oriented response to contain epidemics. To what extent is international assistance to fight Ebola strengthening local public health and medical capacity in a sustainable way, so that other emerging disease threats, which are accelerating with climate change, may be met successfully? This chapter considers the wide-ranging socio-political, medical, legal and environmental factors that have contributed to the rapid spread of Ebola, with particular emphasis on the politics of the global and public health response and the role of gender, social inequality, colonialism and racism as they relate to the mobilization and establishment of the public health infrastructure required to combat Ebola and other emerging diseases in times of climate change

Lung cancer risk among German male uranium miners: a cohort study, 1946–1998

From 1946 to 1990 extensive uranium mining was conducted in the southern parts of the former German Democratic Republic. The overall workforce included several 100 000 individuals. A cohort of 59 001 former male employees of the Wismut Company was established, forming a large retrospective uranium miners' cohort for the time period 1946–1998. Mean duration of follow-up was 30.5 years with a total of 1 801 630 person-years. Loss to follow-up was low at 5.3%. Of the workers, 16 598 (28.1%) died during the study period. Based on 2388 lung cancer deaths, the radon-related lung cancer risk is evaluated. The excess relative risk (ERR) per working level month (WLM) was estimated as 0.21% (95% CI: 0.18–0.24). It was dependent on time since exposure and on attained age. The highest ERR/WLM was observed 15–24 years after exposure and in the youngest age group (<55 years of age). While a strong inverse exposure-rate effect was detected for high exposures, no significant association was detected at exposures below 100 WLM. Excess relative risk /WLM was not modified by duration of exposure. The results would indicate the need to re-estimate the effects of risk modifying factors in current risk models as duration of exposure did not modify the ERR/WLM and there was only a modest decline of ERR/WLM with increasing time since exposure

Sequencing by Hybridization of Long Targets

Sequencing by Hybridization (SBH) reconstructs an n-long target DNA sequence from its biochemically determined l-long subsequences. In the standard approach, the length of a uniformly random sequence that can be unambiguously reconstructed is limited to due to repetitive subsequences causing reconstruction degeneracies. We present a modified sequencing method that overcomes this limitation without the need for different types of biochemical assays and is robust to error

The European Legal Framework on Cybercrime

This article analyzes the European legal framework on cybercrime. Initially, it argues the challenges of cybercrime to traditional criminal justice systems. Subsequently, it focuses on the criminal law framework on cybercrime with a mainly European perspective. The European legal framework provides a three-path solution: the reduction of frictions among national legislations, the introduction of new investigative powers and the facilitation of international cooperation. The article presents and discusses each solution. Further, it argues that the effective implementation of the main legal instruments does not seem to depend on the legal enforceability of these international measures. Contrarily, other, non legal, factors such as national security, politics, the economy and the public opinion appear to stimulate the spontaneous implementation of the European legal framework. In this context, the added value of the EU action is rather low, although the Treaty of Lisbon and the Stockholm Programme may improve this situation in the long ter

Liver Enzymes: Interaction Analysis of Smoking with Alcohol Consumption or BMI, Comparing AST and ALT to γ-GT

A detrimental interaction between smoking and alcohol consumption with respect serum γ-glutamyltransferase (γ-GT) has recently been described. The underlying mechanisms remain unknown. The present work aimed to provide further insights by examining similar interactions pertaining to aspartate and alanine transaminase (AST, ALT), routine liver markers less prone to enzyme induction.<0.0001). The interactions all were in the same directions as for γ-GT, i.e. synergistic with alcohol and opposite with BMI.The patterns of interaction between smoking and alcohol consumption or BMI with respect to AST and ALT resembled those observed for γ-GT. This renders enzyme induction a less probable mechanism for these associations, whereas it might implicate exacerbated hepatocellular vulnerability and injury

Increased HIV Incidence in Men Who Have Sex with Men Despite High Levels of ART-Induced Viral Suppression: Analysis of an Extensively Documented Epidemic

Background: There is interest in expanding ART to prevent HIV transmission, but in the group with the highest levels of ART use, men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM), numbers of new infections diagnosed each year have not decreased as ART coverage has increased for reasons which remain unclear. Methods: We analysed data on the HIV-epidemic in MSM in the UK from a range of sources using an individual-based simulation model. Model runs using parameter sets found to result in good model fit were used to infer changes in HIV-incidence and risk behaviour. Results: HIV-incidence has increased (estimated mean incidence 0.30/100 person-years 1990–1997, 0.45/100 py 1998–2010), associated with a modest (26%) rise in condomless sex. We also explored counter-factual scenarios: had ART not been introduced, but the rise in condomless sex had still occurred, then incidence 2006–2010 was 68% higher; a policy of ART initiation in all diagnosed with HIV from 2001 resulted in 32% lower incidence; had levels of HIV testing been higher (68% tested/year instead of 25%) incidence was 25% lower; a combination of higher testing and ART at diagnosis resulted in 62% lower incidence; cessation of all condom use in 2000 resulted in a 424% increase in incidence. In 2010, we estimate that undiagnosed men, the majority in primary infection, accounted for 82% of new infections. Conclusion: A rise in HIV-incidence has occurred in MSM in the UK despite an only modest increase in levels of condomless sex and high coverage of ART. ART has almost certainly exerted a limiting effect on incidence. Much higher rates of HIV testing combined with initiation of ART at diagnosis would be likely to lead to substantial reductions in HIV incidence. Increased condom use should be promoted to avoid the erosion of the benefits of ART and to prevent other serious sexually transmitted infections

H. pylori Seropositivity before Age 40 and Subsequent Risk of Stomach Cancer: A Glimpse of the True Relationship?

Stomach carcinogenesis involves mucosal and luminal changes that favor spontaneous disappearance of Helicobacter pylori. Therefore, the association between the infection and cancer risk might typically be underestimated. As acquisition of the infection almost invariably occurs before adulthood, the serostatus at age 16–40 should best reflect the lifetime occurrence of the infection. We therefore conducted a case-control study nested within a historic cohort of about 400,000 individuals who donated sera before age 40 to either of two large Swedish Biobanks between 1968 and 2006, and whose records were linked to complete nationwide registers. For each stomach adenocarcinoma case occurring at least 5 years after serum donation 2 controls were selected matched on age, sex and year of donation and biobank. Serum immunoglobulin G antibodies against H. pylori cell-surface antigens (Hp-CSAs) were measured with an enzyme–linked immunosorbent assay and antibodies against CagA with an immunoblot assay. Conditional logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) for stomach adenocarcinoma among H. pylori infected relative to uninfected. We confirmed 59 incident cases of stomach adenocarcinoma (41 non-cardia tumors) during follow-up. ORs for non-cardia stomach adenocarcinoma among subjects with Hp-CSA antibodies (regardless of CagA serostatus), antibodies against CagA (regardless of Hp-CSA serostatus), and antibodies to both, relative to those who were seronegative to both, were 17.1 (95% confidence interval [CI] 4.0–72.9), 10.9 (95% CI 3.2–36.9), and 48.5 (95% CI 5.8–407.4), respectively. H. pylori infection is a much stronger risk factor for non-cardia stomach adenocarcinoma than initially realized. However, further studies are needed to answer whether it is a necessary cause, as the possibility of misclassification of H. pylori status could not be ruled out in our study

Epidemiological study of phylogenetic transmission clusters in a local HIV-1 epidemic reveals distinct differences between subtype B and non-B infections

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The number of HIV-1 infected individuals in the Western world continues to rise. More in-depth understanding of regional HIV-1 epidemics is necessary for the optimal design and adequate use of future prevention strategies. The use of a combination of phylogenetic analysis of HIV sequences, with data on patients' demographics, infection route, clinical information and laboratory results, will allow a better characterization of individuals responsible for local transmission.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Baseline HIV-1 <it>pol </it>sequences, obtained through routine drug-resistance testing, from 506 patients, newly diagnosed between 2001 and 2009, were used to construct phylogenetic trees and identify transmission-clusters. Patients' demographics, laboratory and clinical data, were retrieved anonymously. Statistical analysis was performed to identify subtype-specific and transmission-cluster-specific characteristics.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Multivariate analysis showed significant differences between the 59.7% of individuals with subtype B infection and the 40.3% non-B infected individuals, with regard to route of transmission, origin, infection with <it>Chlamydia </it>(p = 0.01) and infection with Hepatitis C virus (p = 0.017). More and larger transmission-clusters were identified among the subtype B infections (p < 0.001). Overall, in multivariate analysis, clustering was significantly associated with Caucasian origin, infection through homosexual contact and younger age (all p < 0.001). Bivariate analysis additionally showed a correlation between clustering and syphilis (p < 0.001), higher CD4 counts (p = 0.002), <it>Chlamydia </it>infection (p = 0.013) and primary HIV (p = 0.017).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Combination of phylogenetics with demographic information, laboratory and clinical data, revealed that HIV-1 subtype B infected Caucasian men-who-have-sex-with-men with high prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases, account for the majority of local HIV-transmissions. This finding elucidates observed epidemiological trends through molecular analysis, and justifies sustained focus in prevention on this high risk group.</p