Urinary Retention and Severe Hyponatremia: An Unusual Presentation of COVID-19

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first reported in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome virus coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). A few published cases have linked COVID-19 and hyponatremia. The mechanism of hyponatremia in these cases is related to the syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH). Here we present a unique case of urinary retention and SIADH as unusual presenting features of SARS-CoV-2 infection

Competency of Anopheles stephensi mysorensis strain for Plasmodium vivax and the role of inhibitory carbohydrates to block its sporogonic cycle

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Despite the abundance of studies conducted on the role of mosquitoes in malaria transmission, the biology and interaction of <it>Plasmodium </it>with its insect host still holds many mysteries. This paper provides the first study to follow the sporogonic cycle of <it>Plasmodium vivax </it>in a wild insecticide-resistant mysorensis strain of <it>Anopheles stephensi</it>, a major vector of vivax malaria in south-eastern Iran. The study subsequently demonstrates that host-parasite sugar binding interactions are critical to the development of this parasite in the salivary glands of its mosquito host. The identity of the receptors or sugars involved was revealed by a receptor "pre-saturation" strategy in which sugars fed to the mosquitoes inhibited normal host-parasite interactions.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p><it>Anopheles stephensi </it>mysorensis mosquitoes were artificially infected with <it>P. vivax </it>by feeding on the blood of gametocytaemic volunteers reporting to local malaria clinics in the Sistan-Baluchistan province of south-eastern Iran. In order to determine the inhibitory effect of carbohydrates on sporogonic development, vector mosquitoes were allowed to ingest blood meals containing both gametocytes and added carbohydrates. The carbohydrates tested were GlcNAc, GalNAc, arabinose, fucose, mannose, lactose, glucose and galactose. Sporogonic development was assessed by survival of the parasite at both the oocyst and sporozoite stages.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Oocyst development was observed among nearly 6% of the fed control mosquitoes but the overall number of mosquitoes exhibiting sporozoite invasion of the salivary glands was 47.5% lower than the number supporting oocysts in their midgut. Of the tested carbohydrates, only arabinose and fucose slightly perturbed the development of <it>P. vivax </it>oocysts at the basal side of the mosquito midgut, and the remaining sugars caused no reductions in oocyst development. Strikingly however, sporozoites were completely absent from the salivary glands of mosquitoes treated with mannose, GalNAc, and lactose.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The study indicates that <it>An. stephensi </it>in southern Iran has the potential to survive long enough to be re-infected and transmit vivax malaria several times, based on the average adult female longevity (about 30 days) and its gonotrophic cycle (2–3 days) during the malaria transmission season. Certain sugar binding interactions are important for the development of <it>P. vivax </it>sporozoites, and this information may be instrumental for the development of transmission blocking strategies.</p

What About my Privacy, Habibi? Understanding Privacy Concerns and Perceptions of Users From Different Socioeconomic Groups in the Arab World

This paper contributes an in-depth understanding of privacy concerns and perceptions of Arab users. We report on the first comparison of privacy perceptions among (1) users from high socioeconomic groups in Arab countries (HSA), (2) users from medium to low socioeconomic groups in Arab countries (LSA), and (3) as a baseline, users from high socioeconomic groups in Germany (HSG). Our work is motivated by the fact that most research in privacy focused on Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) societies. This excludes a segment of the population whose cultural norms and socioeconomic status influence privacy perception and needs. We report on multiple novel findings and unexpected similarities and differences across the user groups. For example, shoulder surfing is more common across LSA and HSG, and defamation is a major threat in LSA. We discuss the implications of our findings on the design of privacy protection measures for investigated groups

Glycans in Sera of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Patients and Their Role in Killing Neuronal Cells

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease caused by degeneration of upper and lower motor neurons. To date, glycosylation patterns of glycoproteins in fluids of ALS patients have not been described. Moreover, the aberrant glycosylation related to the pathogenesis of other neurodegenerative diseases encouraged us to explore the glycome of ALS patient sera. We found high levels of sialylated glycans and low levels of core fucosylated glycans in serum-derived N-glycans of patients with ALS, compared to healthy volunteer sera. Based on these results, we analyzed the IgG Fc N297-glycans, as IgG are major serum glycoproteins affected by sialylation or core fucosylation and are found in the motor cortex of ALS patients. The analyses revealed a distinct glycan, A2BG2, in IgG derived from ALS patient sera (ALS-IgG). This glycan increases the affinity of IgG to CD16 on effector cells, consequently enhancing Antibody-Dependent Cellular Cytotoxicity (ADCC). Therefore, we explore whether the Fc-N297-glycans of IgG may be involved in ALS disease. Immunostaining of brain and spinal cord tissues revealed over-expression of CD16 and co-localization of intact ALS-IgG with CD16 and in brain with activated microglia of G93A-SOD1 mice. Intact ALS-IgG enhanced effector cell activation and ADCC reaction in comparison to sugar-depleted or control IgG. ALS-IgG were localized in the synapse between brain microglia and neurons of G93A-SOD1 mice, manifesting a promising in vivo ADCC reaction. Therefore, glycans of ALS-IgG may serve as a biomarker for the disease and may be involved in neuronal damage

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb−1 of √ s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente

Bacterial Communities in the Sediments of Dianchi Lake, a Partitioned Eutrophic Waterbody in China

Bacteria play an important role in the decomposition and cycling of a variety of compounds in freshwater aquatic environments, particularly nutrient-rich eutrophic lakes. A unique Chinese eutrophic lake - Dianchi - was selected for study because it has two separate and distinct basins, Caohai with higher organic carbon levels and Waihai with lower organic carbon levels. Sediment bacterial communities were studied in the two basins using samples collected in each season from June 2010 to March 2011. Barcoded pyrosequencing based on the 16 S rRNA gene found that certain common phyla, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes and Chloroflexi, were dominant in the sediments from both basins. However, from the class to genus level, the dominant bacterial groups found in the sediments were distinct between the two basins. Correlation analysis revealed that, among the environmental parameters examined, total organic carbon (TOC) accounted for the greatest proportion of variability in bacterial community. Interestingly, study results suggest that increasing allochthonous organic carbon could enhance bacterial diversity and biomass in the sediment. In addition, analysis of function genes (amoA and nosZ) demonstrated that ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) were dominant in sediments, with 99% belonging to Nitrosomonas. Denitrifying bacteria were comparatively diverse and were associated with some cultivatable bacteria

Identification of surface proteins in Enterococcus faecalis V583

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Surface proteins are a key to a deeper understanding of the behaviour of Gram-positive bacteria interacting with the human gastro-intestinal tract. Such proteins contribute to cell wall synthesis and maintenance and are important for interactions between the bacterial cell and the human host. Since they are exposed and may play roles in pathogenicity, surface proteins are interesting targets for drug design.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Using methods based on proteolytic "shaving" of bacterial cells and subsequent mass spectrometry-based protein identification, we have identified surface-located proteins in <it>Enterococcus faecalis </it>V583. In total 69 unique proteins were identified, few of which have been identified and characterized previously. 33 of these proteins are predicted to be cytoplasmic, whereas the other 36 are predicted to have surface locations (31) or to be secreted (5). Lipid-anchored proteins were the most dominant among the identified surface proteins. The seemingly most abundant surface proteins included a membrane protein with a potentially shedded extracellular sulfatase domain that could act on the sulfate groups in mucin and a lipid-anchored fumarate reductase that could contribute to generation of reactive oxygen species.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The present proteome analysis gives an experimental impression of the protein landscape on the cell surface of the pathogenic bacterium <it>E. faecalis</it>. The 36 identified secreted (5) and surface (31) proteins included several proteins involved in cell wall synthesis, pheromone-regulated processes, and transport of solutes, as well as proteins with unknown function. These proteins stand out as interesting targets for further investigation of the interaction between <it>E. faecalis </it>and its environment.</p

The clinical efficacy of artemether/lumefantrine (Coartem®)

Current World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria recommend the use of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT). Artemether/lumefantrine is an ACT prequalified by the WHO for efficacy, safety and quality, approved by Swissmedic in December 2008 and recently approved by the USA FDA. Coartem® is a fixed-dose combination of artemether and lumefantrine. Its two components have different modes of action that provide synergistic anti-malarial activity. It is indicated for the treatment of infants, children and adults with acute, uncomplicated infection due to Plasmodium falciparum or mixed infections including P. falciparum. A formulation with improved palatability has been developed especially for children (Coartem® Dispersible), which rapidly disperses in a small amount of water for ease of administration