Clinical Manifestations and Case Management of Ebola Haemorrhagic Fever caused by a newly identified virus strain, Bundibugyo, Uganda, 2007-2008

A confirmed Ebola haemorrhagic fever (EHF) outbreak in Bundibugyo, Uganda, November 2007-February 2008, was caused by a putative new species (Bundibugyo ebolavirus). It included 93 putative cases, 56 laboratory-confirmed cases, and 37 deaths (CFR = 25%). Study objectives are to describe clinical manifestations and case management for 26 hospitalised laboratory-confirmed EHF patients. Clinical findings are congruous with previously reported EHF infections. The most frequently experienced symptoms were non-bloody diarrhoea (81%), severe headache (81%), and asthenia (77%). Seven patients reported or were observed with haemorrhagic symptoms, six of whom died. Ebola care remains difficult due to the resource-poor setting of outbreaks and the infection-control procedures required. However, quality data collection is essential to evaluate case definitions and therapeutic interventions, and needs improvement in future epidemics. Organizations usually involved in EHF case management have a particular responsibility in this respect

Sequencing at sea: challenges and experiences in Ion Torrent PGM sequencing during the 2013 Southern Line Islands Research Expedition

Genomics and metagenomics have revolutionized our understanding of marine microbial ecology and the importance of microbes in global geochemical cycles. However, the process of DNA sequencing has always been an abstract extension of the research expedition, completed once the samples were returned to the laboratory. During the 2013 Southern Line Islands Research Expedition, we started the first effort to bring next generation sequencing to some of the most remote locations on our planet. We successfully sequenced twenty six marine microbial genomes, and two marine microbial metagenomes using the Ion Torrent PGM platform on the Merchant Yacht Hanse Explorer. Onboard sequence assembly, annotation, and analysis enabled us to investigate the role of the microbes in the coral reef ecology of these islands and atolls. This analysis identified phosphonate as an important phosphorous source for microbes growing in the Line Islands and reinforced the importance of L-serine in marine microbial ecosystems. Sequencing in the field allowed us to propose hypotheses and conduct experiments and further sampling based on the sequences generated. By eliminating the delay between sampling and sequencing, we enhanced the productivity of the research expedition. By overcoming the hurdles associated with sequencing on a boat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean we proved the flexibility of the sequencing, annotation, and analysis pipelines

A aquisição da periferia esquerda da sentença em portugues brasileiro

Orientador : Maria Cecilia PerroniDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Estudos da LinguagemResumo: Esta Dissertação utiliza o arcabouço teórico da teoria gerativa em sua versão Princípios e Parâmetros (Chomsky (1981)) e busca descrever a aquisição da periferia esquerda da sentença em Português Brasileiro (PB). Foram coletados dados longitudinais de uma criança brasileira dos 2;0 aos 4;0 de idade e foram analisados todos os enunciados da criança sujeito deste estudo que continham um dos fenômenos seguintes: construções de tópico-comentário, orações clivadas, perguntas QU e orações relativas. Pôde-se constatar que a aquisição da periferia esquerda da sentença em PB é relativamente lenta, se iniciando logo aos 2;0 de idade, com as primeiras perguntas QU da criança e, até a última sessão de gravação, estruturas inéditas são encontradas. Este processo é extremamente rico e a criança apresentou um grande número de construções sofisticadas que envolvem mais de um fenômeno num só enunciado, como por exemplo, a sentença a seguir: 'a boneca, foi o papai que comprou na loja', contendo, além de um tópico ('a boneca'), uma sentença c1ivada('foi o papai que comprou na loja'). Além de uma descrição detalhada dos fenômenos citados acima, apresenta-se também uma análise para as construções envolvendo resumptivos e perguntas com QU in situ na fala da criança. Constata-se que a aquisição de pronomes resumptivos segue um caminho bastante particular. Tenta-se explicar tal fato com base na hipótese de que os pronomes resumptivos são uma estratégia de 'último recurso' que somente devem ser inseridos para salvar derivações que de outro modo seriam agramaticais. Sendo uma estratégia de último recurso disponível somente em algumas línguas, o padrão encontrado na aquisição destes elementos é até mesmo esperado. A relativa demora na aquisição das perguntas com QU in situ, por outro lado, constituiu-se um fato surpreendente, que é explicado com base na teoria de pistas (Lightfoot (1999), dentre outros)Abstract: This Dissertation makes use of the Generative framework in its PrincipIes and Parameters version (Chomsky (1981» and tries to describe the acquisition of the left perlphery of sentences in Brazilian Portuguese (BP). All the child's productions containing one of the following phenomena were collected: topic-comment structures, cleft sentences, WH questions and relative sentences. The acquisition ofthe left periphery in BP is relatively slow, starting at 2;0, with the child's first WH questions, and, until the last recording session, some new structures can be found, as WH in situ questions. This process is extremely rich and, during this period, the child shows a great number of sophisticated constructions involving more than one phenomenon at once, for example: 'a boneca, foi o papai que comprou na loja' ('the doll, it was daddy that bought it at the store'). This sentence involves a topic (the doll) and a c1eftsentence (it was daddy that bought it at the store). The study also offers an analysis of the constructions with resumptive pronouns and WH in situ questions that occur in the child' s corpus. It is shown that the acquisition of resumptive pronouns takes a very particular path. This is explained based on the hypothesis that resumptive pronouns are a last resort strategy, that must be used to save a construction that, otherwise, would be agrammatical. Because resumptive pronouns are a last resort strategy avaliable only in a few languages, the pattem found in the acquisition of such elements is expected. The relative delay in the acquisition of WH in situ, on the other hand, constitutes a surprising fact, that can be explained if the cue-based hypothesis (Lightfoot (1999), among others) is adopted.MestradoMestre em Linguístic

Estratégias infantis na aquisição da expressão "ele mesmo" em português brasileiro

Este estudo investiga a aquisição da forma anafórica ‘ele mesmo' em Português Brasileiro. Mais especificamente, estuda-se o comportamento das crianças quando confrontadas com essa forma anafórica e um verbo preferencialmente reflexivo ou preferencialmente recíproco. Dado que estudos anteriores observaram a aquisição tardia da expressão ‘ele mesmo' (Grolla 2011), no presente estudo, investiga-se o comportamento das crianças em uma nova tarefa, a fim de detectar padrões de respostas quando esta forma é testada com tipos diferentes de verbos. Os resultados mostram que as crianças, mesmo aos 6 anos, ainda não se comportam como adultos e atribuem a ‘ele mesmo' uma interpretação reflexiva ou recíproca de forma aleatória

Panmicrobial oligonucleotide array for diagnosis of infectious diseases

To facilitate rapid, unbiased, differential diagnosis of infectious diseases, we designed GreeneChipPm, a panmicrobial microarray comprising 29,455 sixty-mer oligonucleotide probes for vertebrate viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites. Methods for nucleic acid preparation, random primed PCR amplification, and labeling were optimized to allow the sensitivity required for application with nucleic acid extracted from clinical materials and cultured isolates. Analysis of nasopharyngeal aspirates, blood, urine, and tissue from persons with various infectious diseases confirmed the presence of viruses and bacteria identified by other methods, and implicated Plasmodium falciparum in an unexplained fatal case of hemorrhagic feverlike disease during the Marburg hemorrhagic fever outbreak in Angola in 2004-2005

Pericytes: jack-of-all-trades in cancer-related inflammation.

Pericytes, recognized as mural cells, have long been described as components involved in blood vessel formation, playing a mere supporting role for endothelial cells (ECs). Emerging evidence strongly suggests their multifaceted roles in tissues and organs. Indeed, pericytes exhibit a remarkable ability to anticipate endothelial cell behavior and adapt their functions based on the specific cells they interact with. Pericytes can be activated by pro-inflammatory stimuli and crosstalk with immune cells, actively participating in their transmigration into blood vessels. Moreover, they can influence the immune response, often sustaining an immunosuppressive phenotype in most of the cancer types studied. In this review, we concentrate on the intricate crosstalk between pericytes and immune cells in cancer, highlighting the primary evidence regarding pericyte involvement in primary tumor mass dynamics, their contributions to tumor reprogramming for invasion and migration of malignant cells, and their role in the formation of pre-metastatic niches. Finally, we explored recent and emerging pharmacological approaches aimed at vascular normalization, including novel strategies to enhance the efficacy of immunotherapy through combined use with anti-angiogenic drugs

Estratégias infantis na aquisição da expressão "ele mesmo" em português brasileiro

Este estudo investiga a aquisição da forma anafórica ‘ele mesmo\u27 em Português Brasileiro. Mais especificamente, estuda-se o comportamento das crianças quando confrontadas com essa forma anafórica e um verbo preferencialmente reflexivo ou preferencialmente recíproco. Dado que estudos anteriores observaram a aquisição tardia da expressão ‘ele mesmo\u27 (Grolla 2011), no presente estudo, investiga-se o comportamento das crianças em uma nova tarefa, a fim de detectar padrões de respostas quando esta forma é testada com tipos diferentes de verbos. Os resultados mostram que as crianças, mesmo aos 6 anos, ainda não se comportam como adultos e atribuem a ‘ele mesmo\u27 uma interpretação reflexiva ou recíproca de forma aleatória

MassTag polymerase chain reaction for differential diagnosis of viral hemorrhagic fevers

Viral hemorrhagic fevers are associated with high rates of illness and death. Although therapeutic options are limited, early differential diagnosis has implications for containment and may aid in clinical management. We describe a diagnostic system for rapid, multiplex polymerase chain reaction identification of 10 different causes of viral hemorrhagic fevers