Coltiviruses and Seadornaviruses in North America, Europe, and Asia

Neurotropic virus disease is often misdiagnosed as Japanese encephalitis

Development of comparative genomic hybridization(CGH) technique for the study of nasopharyngeal carcinoma(NPC)

NPC is a disease in which malignant cells are formed in the tissue of nasopharynx. It is a highly prevalent disease in Southern China and Southeast Asia including Malaysia. CGH is a molecular cytogenetic technique which is used to identify imbalanced genetic alterations in this malignancy. Twenty eight samples were obtained. Out of this; twelve tumors were extracted from twelve NPC biopsies while twelve references DNA was extracted from twelve normal controls peripheral blood. Tumor DNA and normal DNA was labeled by nick translation method with green and red fluorescent dyes. These were hybridized at metaphase chromosomes DNA and counterstained with DAPL Finally, the image was captured and analyzed. Chromosomal gains that were found in this study were 4q26, llql3-ql4, 9pl3, 8ql3-q22 and 10q22- q26 while chromosomal losses were found at region 20p12 and 13q21-q31. We believe this study has provided the platform for further investigations to locate possible tumorsuppressor genes and oncogenes in our NPC patients

Uncovering the Underlying Mechanisms Blocking Replication of Bluetongue Virus Serotype 26 (BTV-26) in Culicoides Cells

At least 12 serotypes of ‘atypical’ bluetongue virus (BTV-25 to BTV-36) have been identified to date. These atypical serotypes fail to infect/replicate in Culicoides-derived cell lines and/or adult Culicoides vectors and hence can no longer be transmitted by these vectors. They appear to be horizontally transmitted from infected to in-contact ruminants, although the route(s) of infection remain to be identified. Viral genome segments 1, 2 and 3 (Seg-1, Seg2 and Seg-3) of BTV-26 were identified as involved in blocking virus replication in KC cells. We have developed Culicoides-specific expression plasmids, which we used in transfected insect cells to assess the stability of viral mRNAs and protein expression from full-length open reading frames of Seg-1, -2 and -3 of BTV-1 (a Culicoides-vectored BTV) or BTV-26. Our results indicate that the blocked replication of BTV-26 in KC cells is not due to an RNAi response, which would lead to rapid degradation of viral mRNAs. A combination of degradation/poor expression and/or modification of the proteins encoded by these segments appears to drive the failure of BTV-26 core/whole virus-particles to assemble and replicate effectively in Culicoides cells

Continuous Cell Lines from the European Biting Midge Culicoides nubeculosus (Meigen, 1830)

Culicoides biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) transmit arboviruses of veterinary or medical importance, including bluetongue virus (BTV) and Schmallenberg virus, as well as causing severe irritation to livestock and humans. Arthropod cell lines are essential laboratory research tools for the isolation and propagation of vector-borne pathogens and the investigation of host-vector-pathogen interactions. Here we report the establishment of two continuous cell lines, CNE/LULS44 and CNE/LULS47, from embryos of Culicoides nubeculosus, a midge distributed throughout the Western Palearctic region. Species origin of the cultured cells was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and sequencing of a fragment of the cytochrome oxidase 1 gene, and the absence of bacterial contamination was confirmed by bacterial 16S rRNA PCR. Both lines have been successfully cryopreserved and resuscitated. The majority of cells examined in both lines had the expected diploid chromosome number of 2n = 6. Transmission electron microscopy of CNE/LULS44 cells revealed the presence of large mitochondria within cells of a diverse population, while arrays of virus-like particles were not seen. CNE/LULS44 cells supported replication of a strain of BTV serotype 1, but not of a strain of serotype 26 which is not known to be insect-transmitted. These new cell lines will expand the scope of research on Culicoides-borne pathogens. View Full-Tex

Psychological outcomes of family caregivers of mental illness patients

Previous research shows considerable variability in the impact of caring on family caregivers of mental illness but the multidimensional experience of caring remains unexplained. The study aimed to identify family experiences of caring in a developing country. There were 154 family caregivers recruited for the survey. In addition, twenty-four respondents participated in semi-structured interviews about their personal caring experiences. This study found that majority of caregivers was women and aged less than 60 years. More than half of the participants were found to be psychologically distressed. Consistent with the stress-coping model, only caregivers' negative appraisal was a strong predictor of psychological distress and accounted for a substantial proportion of its variance. Positive appraisal, ethnicity and residential area did not predict psychological distress. Interview findings related to the coping styles and social supports of the family caregivers. The implications for mental health services are that many of the caregivers need help in their own right. Not only the person with mental illness who should be targeted for evaluation but the differences in caregivers' appraisal on their caring role taken into consideration

Orbivirus NS4 Proteins Play Multiple Roles to Dampen Cellular Responses

Non-structural protein 4 (NS4) of insect-borne and tick-borne orbiviruses is encoded by genome segment 9, from a secondary open reading frame. Though a protein dispensable for bluetongue virus (BTV) replication, it has been shown to counter the interferon response in cells infected with BTV or African horse sickness virus. We further explored the functional role(s) of NS4 proteins of BTV and the tick-borne Great Island virus (GIV). We show that NS4 of BTV or GIV helps an E3L deletion mutant of vaccinia virus to replicate efficiently in interferon-treated cells, further confirming the role of NS4 as an interferon antagonist. Our results indicate that ectopically expressed NS4 of BTV localised with caspase 3 within the nucleus and was found in a protein complex with active caspase 3 in a pull-down assay. Previous studies have shown that pro-apoptotic caspases (including caspase 3) suppress type I interferon response by cleaving mediators involved in interferon signalling. Our data suggest that orbivirus NS4 plays a role in modulating the apoptotic process and/or regulating the interferon response in mammalian cells, thus acting as a virulence factor in pathogenesis

Psychosocial reactions of injecting drug users'(IDU) towards needle syringe exchange program in Malaysia

Needle and Syringe Exchange Program (NSEP) had been a hot topic since it was introduced in Malaysia, especially looking at it in the context of an Islamic country. This qualitative research was exploratory oriented. It investigated the Injecting Drug Users' (IDU) psychosocial reaction towards NSEP. In-depth interviews using semi-structured questions were conducted on 13 injecting drug users at One Stop Centre IKHLAS, Kuala Lumpur. Generally, the respondents had positive views on NSEP. They perceived NSEP as a social agent which (1) promoted the usage of sterilized needles, (2) changed their way of access to sterilized needles, (3) saved IDUs expenses and (4) made innovative effort in reducing HIV/AIDS infection in Malaysia. In order to make NSEP a success in changing IDUs behavior and reduced the spread of HIV/AIDS, this program had to be sustained and its services had to be upgraded in attracting more IDUs to join the program

Affordable housing livability attributes

Purpose - Housing plays an important role in people’s wellbeing, contributing to the physical and mental health, education, employment and security outcomes for individuals. Still, housing affordability has always been an issue worldwide. Governments have been scrambling to build sufficient affordable houses to meet the forever increasing demand. In light of this there is concern that the livability aspects of these affordable houses built have been compromised. For that reason, this study presents a research on the attributes of livable-affordable-homes. The findings indicated that there are seven significant affordable housing livability attributes.Methodology - Data was gathered by identifying all livable attributes from literature and previous research carried out with particular focus on Malaysia. A Focus Group Discussion was conducted to finalise and refine the attributes and sub-attributes of affordable-livable homes. The participatory organizations were picked based on their housing expertise and knowledge, which the researchers recognized as contributory towards the research according to the attributes identified. Findings - The aim of the FGD is to discuss and determine the attributes and sub-attributes of livable- affordable-homes.This discussion enables the researcher to gain a larger amount of information in a shorter period of time. Altogether 12 individuals representing related government bodies, public and private universities and NGOs participated.The findings indicated that there are seven significant affordable housing livability attributes namely physical factor, community and neighbourhood factor, public amenities, economic development, residence wellbeing, safety and security and also psychological impact.This research has taken into account of not only physical aspect but also psychological well being of the residents

ICTV virus taxonomy profile : Sedoreoviridae 2022

Sedoreoviridae is a large family of icosahedral viruses that are usually regarded as non- enveloped with segmented (10–12 linear segments) dsRNA genomes of 18–26 kbp. Sedoreovirids have a broad host range, infecting mammals, birds, crustaceans, arthropods, algae and plants. Some of them have important pathogenic potential for humans (e.g. rotavirus A), livestock (e.g. bluetongue virus) and plants (e.g. rice dwarf virus).Instituto de BiotecnologíaFil: Matthijnssens, Jelle. University of Leuven; BélgicaFil: Attoui, Houssam. National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA); FranciaFil: Bányai, Krisztián. Veterinary Medical Research Institute; HungríaFil: Brussaard, Corina P. D. NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research; Países BajosFil: Brussaard, Corina P. D. University of Utrecht; Países BajosFil: Danthi, Pranav. Indiana University; Estados UnidosFil: Del Vas, Mariana. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Agrobiotecnología y Biología Molecular (IABIMO); ArgentinaFil: Dermody, Terence S. University of Pittsburgh. School of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Duncan, Roy. Dalhousie University; CanadáFil: Fāng, Qín. Wuhan Institute of Virology; ChinaFil: Johne, Reimar. German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment; AlemaniaFil: Mertens, Peter P. C. University of Nottingham; Reino UnidoFil: Jaafar, Fauziah Mohd. Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort; FranciaFil: Patton, John T. Indiana University; Estados UnidosFil: Sasaya, Takahide. National Agriculture and Food Research Organization; JapónFil: Suzuki, Nobuhiro. Okayama University. JapónFil: Wei, Taiyun. Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University; Chin

Detection of a Fourth Orbivirus Non-Structural Protein

The genus Orbivirus includes both insect and tick-borne viruses. The orbivirus genome, composed of 10 segments of dsRNA, encodes 7 structural proteins (VP1–VP7) and 3 non-structural proteins (NS1–NS3). An open reading frame (ORF) that spans almost the entire length of genome segment-9 (Seg-9) encodes VP6 (the viral helicase). However, bioinformatic analysis recently identified an overlapping ORF (ORFX) in Seg-9. We show that ORFX encodes a new non-structural protein, identified here as NS4. Western blotting and confocal fluorescence microscopy, using antibodies raised against recombinant NS4 from Bluetongue virus (BTV, which is insect-borne), or Great Island virus (GIV, which is tick-borne), demonstrate that these proteins are synthesised in BTV or GIV infected mammalian cells, respectively. BTV NS4 is also expressed in Culicoides insect cells. NS4 forms aggregates throughout the cytoplasm as well as in the nucleus, consistent with identification of nuclear localisation signals within the NS4 sequence. Bioinformatic analyses indicate that NS4 contains coiled-coils, is related to proteins that bind nucleic acids, or are associated with membranes and shows similarities to nucleolar protein UTP20 (a processome subunit). Recombinant NS4 of GIV protects dsRNA from degradation by endoribonucleases of the RNAse III family, indicating that it interacts with dsRNA. However, BTV NS4, which is only half the putative size of the GIV NS4, did not protect dsRNA from RNAse III cleavage. NS4 of both GIV and BTV protect DNA from degradation by DNAse. NS4 was found to associate with lipid droplets in cells infected with BTV or GIV or transfected with a plasmid expressing NS4