Identification of a novel coronavirus in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome

BACKGROUND: The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) has recently been identified as a new clinical entity. SARS is thought to be caused by an unknown infectious agent. METHODS: Clinical specimens from patients with SARS were searched for unknown viruses with the use of cell cultures and molecular techniques. RESULTS: A novel coronavirus was identified in patients with SARS. The virus was isolated in cell culture, and a sequence 300 nucleotides in length was obtained by a polymerase-chain-reaction (PCR)-based random-amplification procedure. Genetic characterization indicated that the virus is only distantly related to known coronaviruses (identical in 50 to 60 percent of the nucleotide sequence). On the basis of the obtained sequence, conventional and real-time PCR assays for specific and sensitive detection of the novel virus were established. Virus was detected in a variety of clinical specimens from patients with SARS but not in controls. High concentrations of viral RNA of up to 100 million molecules per milliliter were found in sputum. Viral RNA was also detected at extremely low concentrations in plasma during the acute phase and in feces during the late convalescent phase. Infected patients showed seroconversion on the Vero cells in which the virus was isolated. CONCLUSIONS: The novel coronavirus might have a role

Effects of 30days bed rest and exercise countermeasures on PBMC bioenergetics

Abstract Aim: Altered mitochondrial function across various tissues is a key determinant of spaceflight-induced physical deconditioning. In comparison to tissue biopsies, blood cell bioenergetics holds promise as a systemic and more readily accessible biomarker, which was evaluated during head-down tilt bed rest (HDTBR), an established ground-based analog for spaceflight-induced physiological changes in humans. More specifically, this study explored the effects of HDTBR and an exercise countermeasure on mitochondrial respiration in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Methods: We subjected 24 healthy participants to a strict 30-day HDTBR protocol. The control group (n=12) underwent HDTBR only, while the countermeasure group (n=12) engaged in regular supine cycling exercise followed by veno-occlusive thigh cuffs post-exercise for 6h. We assessed routine blood parameters 14 days before bed rest, the respiratory capacity of PBMCs via highresolution respirometry, and citrate synthase activity 2days before and at day 30 of bed rest. We confirmed PBMC composition by flow cytometry. Results: The change of the PBMC maximal oxidative phosphorylation capacity (OXPHOS) amounted to an 11% increase in the countermeasure group, while it decreased by 10% in the control group (p=0.04). The limitation of OXPHOS increased in control only while other respiratory states were not affected by either intervention. Correlation analysis revealed positive associations between white blood cells, lymphocytes, and basophils with PBMC bioenergetics in both groups. Conclusion: This study reveals that a regular exercise countermeasure has a positive impact on PBMC mitochondrial function, confirming the potential application of blood cell bioenergetics for human spaceflight

Venous thromboembolism in critically ill COVID-19 patients receiving prophylactic or therapeutic anticoagulation: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Many aspects of care such as management of hypercoagulable state in COVID-19 patients, especially those admitted to intensive care units is challenging in the rapidly evolving pandemic of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We seek to systematically review the available evidence regarding the anticoagulation approach to prevent venous thromboembolism (VTE) among COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care units. Electronic databases were searched for studies reporting venous thromboembolic events in patients admitted to the intensive care unit receiving any type of anticoagulation (prophylactic or therapeutic). The pooled prevalence (and 95% confidence interval [CI]) of VTE among patients receiving anticoagulant were calculated using the random-effects model. Subgroup pooled analyses were performed with studies reported prophylactic anticoagulation alone and with studies reported mixed prophylactic and therapeutic anticoagulation. We included twelve studies (8 Europe; 2 UK; 1 each from the US and China) in our systematic review and meta-analysis. All studies utilized LMWH or unfractionated heparin as their pharmacologic thromboprophylaxis, either prophylactic doses or therapeutic doses. Seven studies reported on the proportion of patients with the previous history of VTE (range 0–10%). The pooled prevalence of VTE among ICU patients receiving prophylactic or therapeutic anticoagulation across all studies was 31% (95% CI 20–43%). Subgroup pooled analysis limited to studies reported prophylactic anticoagulation alone and mixed (therapeutic and prophylactic anticoagulation) reported pooled prevalences of VTE of 38% (95% CI 10–70%) and 27% (95% CI 17–40%) respectively. With a high prevalence of thromboprophylaxis failure among COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care units, individualised rather than protocolised VTE thromboprophylaxis would appear prudent at interim

Orientia tsutsugamushi Stimulates an Original Gene Expression Program in Monocytes: Relationship with Gene Expression in Patients with Scrub Typhus

Orientia tsutsugamushi is the causal agent of scrub typhus, a public health problem in the Asia-Pacific region and a life-threatening disease. O. tsutsugamushi is an obligate intracellular bacterium that mainly infects endothelial cells. We demonstrated here that O. tsutsugamushi also replicated in monocytes isolated from healthy donors. In addition, O. tsutsugamushi altered the expression of more than 4,500 genes, as demonstrated by microarray analysis. The expression of type I interferon, interferon-stimulated genes and genes associated with the M1 polarization of macrophages was significantly upregulated. O. tsutsugamushi also induced the expression of apoptosis-related genes and promoted cell death in a small percentage of monocytes. Live organisms were indispensable to the type I interferon response and apoptosis and enhanced the expression of M1-associated cytokines. These data were related to the transcriptional changes detected in mononuclear cells isolated from patients with scrub typhus. Here, the microarray analyses revealed the upregulation of 613 genes, which included interferon-related genes, and some features of M1 polarization were observed in these patients, similar to what was observed in O. tsutsugamushi-stimulated monocytes in vitro. This is the first report demonstrating that monocytes are clearly polarized in vitro and ex vivo following exposure to O. tsutsugamushi. These results would improve our understanding of the pathogenesis of scrub typhus, during which interferon-mediated activation of monocytes and their subsequent polarization into an M1 phenotype appear critical. This study may give us a clue of new tools for the diagnosis of patients with scrub typhus

Privatrecht 2050 – Blick in die (digitale) Zukunft. Jahrbuch Junge Zivilrechtswissenschaft 2019

Der Band enthält die Beiträge der 30. Jahrestagung der Gesellschaft Junge Zivilrechtswissenschaft e.V., die im September 2019 von Bayreuther Nachwuchswissenschaftlern ausgerichtet wurde. Die Beiträge befassen sich mit den Auswirkungen des digitalen Wandels auf die Entwicklung des Privatrechts in den kommenden Jahrzehnten

Real-time PCR for detection of Strongyloides stercoralis in human stool samples from Côte d'Ivoire : diagnostic accuracy, inter-laboratory comparison and patterns of hookworm co-infection

Human infections with the helminth species Strongyloides stercoralis encompass a wide clinical spectrum, ranging from asymptomatic carriage to life-threatening disease. The diagnosis of S. stercoralis is cumbersome and the sensitivity of conventional stool microscopy is low. New molecular tools have been developed to increase sensitivity. We compared the diagnostic accuracy of real-time PCR with microscopy for the detection of S. stercoralis and hookworm in human stool samples, and investigated the inter-laboratory agreement of S. stercoralis-specific real-time PCR in two European laboratories. Stool specimens from 256 randomly selected individuals in rural Côte d'Ivoire were examined using three microscopic techniques (i.e. Kato-Katz, Koga agar plate (KAP) and Baermann (BM)). Additionally, ethanol-fixed stool aliquots were subjected to molecular diagnosis. The prevalence of S. stercoralis and hookworm infection was 21.9% and 52.0%, respectively, whilst co-infections were detected in 35 (13.7%) participants. The diagnostic agreement between real-time PCR and microscopy was excellent when both KAP and BM tested positive for S. stercoralis, but was considerably lower when only one microscopic technique was positive. The sensitivity of KAP, BM and real-time PCR for detection of S. stercoralis as compared to a combination of all diagnostic techniques was 21.4%, 37.5% and 76.8%, respectively. The inter-laboratory agreement of S. stercoralis-specific PCR was substantial (κ=0.63, p<0.001). We conclude that a combination of real-time PCR and stool microscopy shows high accuracy for S. stercoralis diagnosis. Besides high sensitivity, PCR may also enhance specificity by reducing microscopic misdiagnosis of morphologically similar helminth larvae (i.e. hookworm and S. stercoralis) in settings where both helminth species co-exist