Macrolide Therapy in Respiratory Viral Infections

Background. Macrolides have received considerable attention for their anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory actions beyond the antibacterial effect. These two properties may ensure some efficacy in a wide spectrum of respiratory viral infections. We aimed to summarize the properties of macrolides and their efficacy in a range of respiratory viral infection. Methods. A search of electronic journal articles through PubMed was performed using combinations of the following keywords including macrolides and respiratory viral infection. Results. Both in vitro and in vivo studies have provided evidence of their efficacy in respiratory viral infections including rhinovirus (RV), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and influenza virus. Much data showed that macrolides reduced viral titers of RV ICAM-1, which is the receptor for RV, and RV infection-induced cytokines including IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α. Macrolides also reduced the release of proinflammatory cytokines which were induced by RSV infection, viral titers, RNA of RSV replication, and the susceptibility to RSV infection partly through the reduced expression of activated RhoA which is an RSV receptor. Similar effects of macrolides on the influenza virus infection and augmentation of the IL-12 by macrolides which is essential in reducing virus yield were revealed. Conclusion. This paper provides an overview on the properties of macrolides and their efficacy in various respiratory diseases

Convergent and divergent patterns of morphological differentiation provide more evidence for reproductive character displacement in a wood cricket Gryllus fultoni (Orthoptera: Gryllidae)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In ecological character displacement, traits involved in reproductive isolation may not evolve in arbitrary directions when changes in these traits are by-products of adaptation to an ecological niche. In reproductive character displacement, however, selection acts directly on reproductive characters to enhance the degree of reproductive isolation between sympatric populations. Thus, the direction of change in reproductive characters may be arbitrary in relation to changes in other morphological characters. We characterized both tegminal characters and characters indicative of body size in sympatric and allopatric populations of <it>Gryllus fultoni</it>, a species displaying character displacement in its calling song characters in areas of sympatry with <it>G. vernalis </it>populations, to infer the nature and direction of selection acting on reproductive and morphological characters in sympatry.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Except for mirror area, the number of teeth in a file, and ovipositor length of <it>G. fultoni</it>, all male and female morphological characters in <it>G. fultoni </it>and <it>G. vernalis </it>exhibited a uniform tendency to decrease in size with increasing latitude. There was no significant variation in female morphological characters between sympatric and allopatric <it>G. fultoni </it>populations. However, males of sympatric and allopatric <it>G. fultoni </it>populations significantly differed in head width, hind femur length, and mirror area even after controlling for clinal factors. Head width and hind femur length of <it>G. fultoni </it>were more similar to those of <it>G. vernalis </it>in sympatric populations than in allopatric populations, resulting in morphological convergence of <it>G. fultoni </it>and <it>G. vernalis </it>in sympatry. However, the mirror area of <it>G. fultoni </it>displayed the divergent pattern in relation to the sympatric <it>G. vernalis </it>populations.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Divergence-enhancing selection may be acting on mirror area as well as calling song characters, whereas local adaptation or clinal effects may explain variation in other morphological characters in sympatric populations of <it>G. fultoni</it>. This study also suggests that structures and behaviors that directly enhance reproductive isolation may evolve together, independently of other morphological traits.</p

The More Friends, the Less Political Talk? Predictors of Facebook Discussions Among College Students

Although previous research has indicated that Facebook users, especially young adults, can cultivate their civic values by talking about public matters with their Facebook friends, little research has examined the predictors of political discussion on Facebook. Using survey data from 442 college students in the United States, this study finds that individual characteristics and network size influence college students' expressive behavior on Facebook related to two controversial topics: gay rights issues and politics. In line with previous studies about offline political discussion, the results show that conflict avoidance and ambivalence about target issues are negatively associated with Facebook discussions. Perhaps the most interesting finding is that users who have a large number of Facebook friends are less likely to talk about politics and gay rights issues on Facebook despite having access to increasing human and information resources. Theoretical implications of these findings and future directions are addressed.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/140346/1/cyber.2013.0477.pd

Controlled release of human growth hormone fused with a human hybrid Fc fragment through a nanoporous polymer membrane

Nanotechnology has been applied to the development of more effective and compatible drug delivery systems for therapeutic proteins. Human growth hormone (hGH) was fused with a hybrid Fc fragment containing partial Fc domains of human IgD and IgG(4) to produce a long-acting fusion protein. The fusion protein, hGH-hyFc, resulted in the increase of the hydrodynamic diameter (ca. 11 nm) compared with the diameter (ca. 5 nm) of the recombinant hGH. A diblock copolymer membrane with nanopores (average diameter of 14.3 nm) exhibited a constant release rate of hGH-hyFc. The hGH-hyFc protein released in a controlled manner for one month was found to trigger the phosphorylation of Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) in human B lymphocyte and to exhibit an almost identical circular dichroism spectrum to that of the original hGH-hyFc, suggesting that the released fusion protein should maintain the functional and structural integrity of hGH. Thus, the nanoporous release device could be a potential delivery system for the long-term controlled release of therapeutic proteins fused with the hybrid Fc fragment.X111313sciescopu