49 research outputs found
Valacyclovir in the treatment of acute retinal necrosis
Background: To report the outcome of oral valacyclovir as the sole antiviral therapy for patients with acute retinal
necrosis (ARN).
Methods: This study reports a retrospective, interventional case series of nine consecutive patients with ten eyes with
newly diagnosed ARN treated with oral valacyclovir as the sole antiviral agent. Eight patients received oral valacyclovir 2 g
tid (Valtrex, GlaxoSmithKline) and one patient with impaired renal function received oral 1 g tid. The main outcome
measures were response to treatment, time to initial response to treatment, time to complete resolution of retinitis, best
corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at final follow-up, retinal detachment and development of recurrent or second eye disease.
Results: Retinitis resolved in ten of ten (100%) affected eyes. The median time to initial detectable response was seven
days and the median time to complete resolution was 21 days. A final BCVA of 20/40 or better was achieved in 6/10
(60%) of eyes. 3/10 eyes (30%) developed a retinal detachment. No patients developed either disease reactivation or
second eye involvement over the course of the study (mean follow up 31 weeks, range 7 to 104 weeks).
Conclusions: Treatment with oral valacyclovir as the sole antiviral therapy resulted in complete resolution of retinitis.
Final BCVA and retinal detachment rate were comparable with previously reported outcomes for intravenous acyclovi
Psychiatric disorders and urbanization in Germany
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Epidemiological studies over the last decade have supplied growing evidence of an association between urbanization and the prevalence of psychiatric disorders. Our aim was to examine the link between levels of urbanization and 12-month prevalence rates of psychiatric disorders in a nationwide German population study, controlling for other known risk factors such as gender, social class, marital status and the interaction variables of these factors with urbanization.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The Munich Composite International Diagnostic Interview (M-CIDI) was used to assess the prevalence of mental disorders (DSM-IV) in a representative sample of the German population (N = 4181, age: 18â65). The sample contains five levels of urbanization based on residence location.</p> <p>The epidemiological study was commissioned by the German Ministry of Research, Education and Science (BMBF) and approved by the relevant Institutional Review Board and ethics committee. Written informed consent was obtained for both surveys (core survey and Mental Health Supplement). Subjects did not get any financial compensation for their study participation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Higher levels of urbanization were linked to higher 12-month prevalence rates for almost all major psychiatric disorders (with the exception of substance abuse and psychotic disorders). The weighted prevalence percentages were highest in the most urbanized category. Alongside urbanization, female gender, lower social class and being unmarried were generally found to be associated with higher levels of psychopathology. The impact of urbanization on mental health was about equal (for almost all major psychiatric disorders) in young people and elderly people, men and women, and in married and single people. Only people from a low social class in the most urbanized settings had more somatoform disorders, and unmarried people in the most urbanized settings had more anxiety disorders.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Psychiatric disorders are more prevalent among the inhabitants of more urbanized areas. probably because of environmental stressors.</p
Measurement of the Bottom-Strange Meson Mixing Phase in the Full CDF Data Set
We report a measurement of the bottom-strange meson mixing phase \beta_s
using the time evolution of B0_s -> J/\psi (->\mu+\mu-) \phi (-> K+ K-) decays
in which the quark-flavor content of the bottom-strange meson is identified at
production. This measurement uses the full data set of proton-antiproton
collisions at sqrt(s)= 1.96 TeV collected by the Collider Detector experiment
at the Fermilab Tevatron, corresponding to 9.6 fb-1 of integrated luminosity.
We report confidence regions in the two-dimensional space of \beta_s and the
B0_s decay-width difference \Delta\Gamma_s, and measure \beta_s in [-\pi/2,
-1.51] U [-0.06, 0.30] U [1.26, \pi/2] at the 68% confidence level, in
agreement with the standard model expectation. Assuming the standard model
value of \beta_s, we also determine \Delta\Gamma_s = 0.068 +- 0.026 (stat) +-
0.009 (syst) ps-1 and the mean B0_s lifetime, \tau_s = 1.528 +- 0.019 (stat) +-
0.009 (syst) ps, which are consistent and competitive with determinations by
other experiments.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, Phys. Rev. Lett 109, 171802 (2012
Understanding Plant-Microbe Interactions for Phytoremediation of Petroleum-Polluted Soil
Plant-microbe interactions are considered to be important processes determining
the efficiency of phytoremediation of petroleum pollution, however relatively
little is known about how these interactions are influenced by petroleum
pollution. In this experimental study using a microcosm approach, we examined
how plant ecophysiological traits, soil nutrients and microbial activities were
influenced by petroleum pollution in Phragmites australis, a
phytoremediating species. Generally, petroleum pollution reduced plant
performance, especially at early stages of plant growth. Petroleum had negative
effects on the net accumulation of inorganic nitrogen from its organic forms
(net nitrogen mineralization (NNM)) most likely by decreasing the inorganic
nitrogen available to the plants in petroleum-polluted soils. However, abundant
dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) was found in petroleum-polluted soil. In order
to overcome initial deficiency of inorganic nitrogen, plants by dint of high
colonization of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi might absorb some DON for their
growth in petroleum-polluted soils. In addition, through using a real-time
polymerase chain reaction method, we quantified hydrocarbon-degrading bacterial
traits based on their catabolic genes (i.e. alkB (alkane
monooxygenase), nah (naphthalene dioxygenase) and
tol (xylene monooxygenase) genes). This enumeration of
target genes suggests that different hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria experienced
different dynamic changes during phytoremediation and a greater abundance of
alkB was detected during vegetative growth stages. Because
phytoremediation of different components of petroleum is performed by different
hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria, plantsâ ability of phytoremediating
different components might therefore vary during the plant life cycle.
Phytoremediation might be most effective during the vegetative growth stages as
greater abundances of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria containing
alkB and tol genes were observed at these
stages. The information provided by this study enhances our understanding of the
effects of petroleum pollution on plant-microbe interactions and the roles of
these interactions in the phytoremediation of petroleum-polluted soil