Unilaterale sino-orbitale en subcutane aspergillose bij een kat

After a period of sneezing and conjunctivitis, a young female cat was presented with leftsided facial subcutaneous swellings and ocular disease characterized by a hyperemic conjunctiva with protrusion of the third eyelid. In the oral cavity, swellings were present labial of the premolar teeth and in the pterygopalatine fossa. The left submandibular lymphnode was enlarged. The cat sneezed from time to time but there was no nasal discharge. The skin lesions had a distinctive yellow color. Cytology of affected skin revealed pyogranulomatous inflammation with eosinophils. Only deep sampling of the skin contained representative tissue for cytologic, histopathologic and mycologic examination. Aspergillus section fumigatus was diagnosed on morphologic aspects of the mycologic culture and the fungus was identified by molecular technology as Aspergillus viridinutans. The definite diagnosis was sino-orbital aspergillosis with extensive subcutaneous invasion. Due to progressive disease despite therapy, the cat was euthanized

Microplastics : minuscule partikels met grote gevolgen?

Since the mass production of plastics, contamination of the marine environment with these persistent synthetic materials has become an ever-increasing problem. Lately, it has become clear that microplastics play a big part in this. These small plastic particles (< 5mm) are ubiquitous in seawater and sediments. There are various entryways, such as fragmentation of macroplastics and drainage of primary microplastic via wastewater. Recent studies have shown that microplastics may be ingested by numerous marine organisms. This could result in diverse health effects, including mechanical injury and cellular toxicity. Adverse effects of microplastics are possibly enhanced by the contamination of these plastic particles with toxic chemicals. Furthermore, microplastics and microplastic contaminants could accumulate in the food chain, eventually affecting humans. Despite the growing number of publications on microplastics, there are still many unanswered questions regarding this topic. In this article, the contemporary knowledge of microplastics in the marine environment is provided

Absent anterior cruciate ligament

This case report presents the MRI findings of aplasia of the anterior cruciate ligament with associated hypoplasia of the posterior cruciate ligament (Manner type 2). Radiographically the presence of a shallow femoral notch and hypoplastic tibial spines (the so-called "dromedar" sign) can aid in the diagnosis. Operative treatment is often not indicated since the congenital absence of the ACL implies long-standing altered biomechanics to which the knee has well adapted in the majority of cases

Oud word je niet alleen. Een enquête over eenzaamheid en sociaal isolement bij ouderen in België

Koning Boudewinjstichtin

Potent and Broad Inhibition of HIV-1 by a Peptide from the gp41 Heptad Repeat-2 Domain Conjugated to the CXCR4 Amino Terminus.

HIV-1 entry can be inhibited by soluble peptides from the gp41 heptad repeat-2 (HR2) domain that interfere with formation of the 6-helix bundle during fusion. Inhibition has also been seen when these peptides are conjugated to anchoring molecules and over-expressed on the cell surface. We hypothesized that potent anti-HIV activity could be achieved if a 34 amino acid peptide from HR2 (C34) were brought to the site of virus-cell interactions by conjugation to the amino termini of HIV-1 coreceptors CCR5 or CXCR4. C34-conjugated coreceptors were expressed on the surface of T cell lines and primary CD4 T cells, retained the ability to mediate chemotaxis in response to cognate chemokines, and were highly resistant to HIV-1 utilization for entry. Notably, C34-conjugated CCR5 and CXCR4 each exhibited potent and broad inhibition of HIV-1 isolates from diverse clades irrespective of tropism (i.e., each could inhibit R5, X4 and dual-tropic isolates). This inhibition was highly specific and dependent on positioning of the peptide, as HIV-1 infection was poorly inhibited when C34 was conjugated to the amino terminus of CD4. C34-conjugated coreceptors could also inhibit HIV-1 isolates that were resistant to the soluble HR2 peptide inhibitor, enfuvirtide. When introduced into primary cells, CD4 T cells expressing C34-conjugated coreceptors exhibited physiologic responses to T cell activation while inhibiting diverse HIV-1 isolates, and cells containing C34-conjugated CXCR4 expanded during HIV-1 infection in vitro and in a humanized mouse model. Notably, the C34-conjugated peptide exerted greater HIV-1 inhibition when conjugated to CXCR4 than to CCR5. Thus, antiviral effects of HR2 peptides can be specifically directed to the site of viral entry where they provide potent and broad inhibition of HIV-1. This approach to engineer HIV-1 resistance in functional CD4 T cells may provide a novel cell-based therapeutic for controlling HIV infection in humans

IceCube Science

We discuss the status of the kilometer-scale neutrino detector IceCube and its low energy upgrade Deep Core and review its scientific potential for particle physics. We subsequently appraise IceCube's potential for revealing the enigmatic sources of cosmic rays. After all, this aspiration set the scale of the instrument. While only a smoking gun is missing for the case that the Galactic component of the cosmic ray spectrum originates in supernova remnants, the origin of the extragalactic component remains as inscrutable as ever. We speculate on the role of the nearby active galaxies Centaurus A and M87.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures; Talk at Discrete 08, Valencia, Spai