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

Modified Fermi's golden rule rate expressions

Fermi's golden rule (FGR) serves as the basis for many expressions of spectroscopic observables and quantum transition rates. The utility of FGR has been demonstrated through decades of experimental confirmation. However, there still remain important cases where the evaluation of a FGR rate is ambiguous or ill-defined. Examples are cases where the rate has divergent terms due to the sparsity in the density of final states or time dependent fluctuations of system Hamiltonians. Strictly speaking, assumptions of FGR are no longer valid for such cases. However, it is still possible to define modified FGR rate expressions that are useful as effective rates. The resulting modified FGR rate expressions resolve a long standing ambiguity often encountered in using FGR and offer more reliable ways to model general rate processes. Simple model calculations illustrate the utility and implications of new rate expressions.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure

CPO: Change Robust Panorama to Point Cloud Localization

We present CPO, a fast and robust algorithm that localizes a 2D panorama with respect to a 3D point cloud of a scene possibly containing changes. To robustly handle scene changes, our approach deviates from conventional feature point matching, and focuses on the spatial context provided from panorama images. Specifically, we propose efficient color histogram generation and subsequent robust localization using score maps. By utilizing the unique equivariance of spherical projections, we propose very fast color histogram generation for a large number of camera poses without explicitly rendering images for all candidate poses. We accumulate the regional consistency of the panorama and point cloud as 2D/3D score maps, and use them to weigh the input color values to further increase robustness. The weighted color distribution quickly finds good initial poses and achieves stable convergence for gradient-based optimization. CPO is lightweight and achieves effective localization in all tested scenarios, showing stable performance despite scene changes, repetitive structures, or featureless regions, which are typical challenges for visual localization with perspective cameras.Comment: Accepted to ECCV 202

Regulation of Lymphocyte Apoptosis by Interferon Regulatory Factor 4 (IRF-4)

To ensure that homeostasis of the immune system is maintained, the sensitivity of lymphocytes to Fas-mediated apoptosis is differentially regulated during their activation. The molecular mechanisms that link the activation program of lymphocytes to changes in sensitivity to Fas-mediated apoptosis have, however, not been fully characterized. In these studies, we have investigated whether Fas-mediated apoptosis can be regulated by interferon regulatory factor 4 (IRF-4), a lymphoid-restricted member of the IRF family of transcription factors. IRF-4 expression is upregulated during lymphocyte activation and IRF-4–deficient mice have defects in both lymphocyte activation and homeostasis. Here, we show that stable expression of IRF-4 in a human lymphoid cell line that normally lacks IRF-4 leads to a significantly enhanced apoptotic response on Fas receptor engagement. A systematic examination of the downstream effectors of Fas signaling in IRF-4–transfected cells demonstrates an increased activation of caspase-8, as well as an increase in Fas receptor polarization. We demonstrate that IRF-4–deficient mice display defects in activation-induced cell death, as well as superantigen-induced deletion, and that these defects are accompanied by impairments in Fas receptor polarization. These data suggest that IRF-4, by modulating the efficiency of the Fas-mediated death signal, is a novel participant in the regulation of lymphoid cell apoptosis

Effect of Combination Therapy with Sodium Ozagrel and Panax Ginseng on Transient Cerebral Ischemia Model in Rats

Sodium ozagrel (SO) prevents platelet aggregation and vasoconstriction in the cerebral ischemia. It plays an important role in the prevention of brain damage induced by cerebral ischemia/reperfusion. Recently, many animal studies have suggested that the Panax ginseng (PG) has neuroprotective effects in the ischemic brain. In this study, we assessed the neuroprotective effects that come from a combination therapy of SO and PG in rat models with middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). Animals with MCAO were assigned randomly to one of the following four groups: (1) control (Con) group, (2) SO group (3 mg/kg, intravenously), (3) PG group (200 mg/kg, oral feeding), and (4) SO + PG group. The rats were subjected to a neurobehavior test including adhesive removal test and rotarod test at 1, 3, 7, 10, and 15 days after MCAO. The cerebral ischemic volume was quantified by Metamorph imaging software after 2-3-5-triphenyltetrazolium (TTC) staining. The neuronal cell survival and astrocytes expansion were assessed by immunohistofluorescence staining. In the adhesive removal test, the rats of PG or SO + PG group showed significantly better performance than those of the control group (Con: 88.1 ± 24.8, PG: 43.6 ± 11, SO + PG: 11.8 ± 7, P < .05). Notably, the combination therapy group (SO + PG) showed better performance than the SO group alone (SO: 56 ± 12, SO + PG: 11.8 ± 7, P < .05). In TTC staining for infarct volume, cerebral ischemic areas were also significantly reduced in the PG group and SO + PG group (Con: 219 ± 32, PG: 117 ± 8, SO + PG: 99 ± 11, P < .05). Immunohistofluorescence staining results showed that the group which received SO + PG group therapy had neuron cells in the normal range. They also had a low number of astrocytes and apoptotic cells compared with the control or SO group in the peri-infarction area. During astrocytes staining, compared to the SO + PG group, the PG group showed only minor differences in the number of NeuN-positive cells and quantitative analysis of infarct volume. In conclusion, these studies showed that in MCAO rat models, the combination therapy with SO and PG may provide better neuroprotective effects such as higher neuronal cell survival and inhibition of astrocytes expansion than monotherapy with SO alone