181 research outputs found
New Lymphogranuloma Venereum Chlamydia trachomatis Variant, Amsterdam
We retrospectively conducted a study of men who have sex with men who visited the Amsterdam, the Netherlands, sexually transmitted diseases clinic from January 2002 to December 2003 and had rectal Chlamydia trachomatis infections. We found that symptomatic (73%) as well as asymptomatic (43%) patients were infected with a new C. trachomatis LGV variant
String compactification, QCD axion and axion-photon-photon coupling
It is pointed out that there exist a few problems to be overcome toward an
observable sub-eV QCD axion in superstring compactification. We give a general
expression for the axion decay constant. For a large domain wall number
, the axion decay constant can be substantially lowered from a generic
value of a scalar singlet VEV. The Yukawa coupling structure in the recent
model is studied completely, including the needed nonrenormalizable
terms toward realistic quark and lepton masses. In this model we find an
approximate global symmetry and vacuum so that a QCD axion results but its
decay constant is at the GUT scale. The axion-photon-photon coupling is
calculated for a realistic vacuum satisfying the quark and lepton mass matrix
conditions. It is the first time calculation of in
realistic string compactifications: .Comment: 33 pages, 2 figures, JHEP format, some errors in the superpotential
couplings are corrected and the following discussions are changed
correspondingl
Electrically Evoked Cortical Potentials (EECP) in Rabbits Using Implantable Retinal Stimulation System
NBS-ERC Supported by KOSEF (Grant R11-2000-075-01001-0) & Korea
Health 21 R&D Project MOHW A05025
SARS Coronavirus Detection Methods
Using clinical samples from patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome, we showed that the sensitivities of a quantitative reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (80% for fecal samples and 25% for urine samples) were higher than those of the polyclonal (50% and 5%) and monoclonal (35% and 8%) antibody-based nucleocapsid antigen capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays
Aetiology of allergic rhinitis in Hong Kong
ABSTRACTIn a 1993 survey, allergic rhinitis was identified as the most common allergic disease in Hong Kong, affecting 29.1% of schoolchildren. Recently (1995), the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) also reported 44.5% current rhinitis among Hong Kong teenagers. Our objective was to study the aetiology of allergic rhinitis in Hong Kong using serological tests of allergen sensitization. In 57 allergic rhinitis patients and in the same number of age- and sex-matched controls the following were measured: serum total IgE, mixed aeroallergen IgE (Phadiatop™) and specific IgE versus house dust mite (HDM), cockroach, cat and dog dander, mould mixture (Penicillium, Cladosporium, Aspergillus and Alternaria species) and four local pollens (Bermuda grass, Timothy, ragweed and mugwort). Compared with controls, allergic rhinitis patients (26 males, 31 females; mean (± SD) age 25 ±11 years) had a significantly elevated serum total IgE concentration (mean ± SEM: 496 ± 88 vs 179 ± 38 kU/L) and an increased proportion of positive Phadiatop (95 vs 33%) and specific IgE tests versus HDM (90 vs 44%) and cockroach (42 vs 9%; Mann-Whitney U-test and χ2 tests all P < 0.005). There was no significant difference in sensitization to other allergens tested. House dust mite and cockroach are ubiquitous in Hong Kong with a warm, humid climate and crowded living conditions. Their identification as aetiological agents of allergic rhinitis should help in the development of environmental strategies for reducing the inhalant allergen load to prevent and control this prevalent and costly health problem in our community
Viral Loads in Clinical Specimens and SARS Manifestations
The number of anatomical sites with detectable viral loads by RT-qPCR appeared to correlate with death risk
Channel Coupling in Reactions
The sensitivity of momentum distributions, recoil polarization observables,
and response functions for nucleon knockout by polarized electrons to channel
coupling in final-state interactions is investigated using a model in which
both the distorting and the coupling potentials are constructed by folding
density-dependent effective interactions with nuclear transition densities.
Calculations for O are presented for 200 and 433 MeV ejectile energies,
corresponding to proposed experiments at MAMI and TJNAF, and for C at 70
and 270 MeV, corresponding to experiments at NIKHEF and MIT-Bates. The relative
importance of charge exchange decreases as the ejectile energy increases, but
remains significant for 200 MeV. Both proton and neutron knockout cross
sections for large recoil momenta, MeV/c, are substantially
affected by inelastic couplings even at 433 MeV. Significant effects on the
cross section for neutron knockout are also predicted at smaller recoil
momenta, especially for low energies. Polarization transfer for proton knockout
is insensitive to channel coupling, even for fairly low ejectile energies, but
polarization transfer for neutron knockout retains nonnegligible sensitivity to
channel coupling for energies up to about 200 MeV. The present results suggest
that possible medium modifications of neutron and proton electromagnetic form
factors for can be studied using recoil
polarization with relatively little sensitivity due to final state
interactions.Comment: Substantially revised version accepted by Phys. Rev. C; shortened to
49 pages including 21 figure
Rotavirus group : a genotype circulation patterns across Kenya before and after nationwide vaccine introduction, 2010-2018
Background
Kenya introduced the monovalent G1P [8] Rotarix® vaccine into the infant immunization schedule in July 2014. We examined trends in rotavirus group A (RVA) genotype distribution pre- (January 2010–June 2014) and post- (July 2014–December 2018) RVA vaccine introduction.
Methods
Stool samples were collected from children aged < 13 years from four surveillance sites across Kenya: Kilifi County Hospital, Tabitha Clinic Nairobi, Lwak Mission Hospital, and Siaya County Referral Hospital (children aged < 5 years only). Samples were screened for RVA using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and VP7 and VP4 genes sequenced to infer genotypes.
Results
We genotyped 614 samples in pre-vaccine and 261 in post-vaccine introduction periods. During the pre-vaccine introduction period, the most frequent RVA genotypes were G1P [8] (45.8%), G8P [4] (15.8%), G9P [8] (13.2%), G2P [4] (7.0%) and G3P [6] (3.1%). In the post-vaccine introduction period, the most frequent genotypes were G1P [8] (52.1%), G2P [4] (20.7%) and G3P [8] (16.1%). Predominant genotypes varied by year and site in both pre and post-vaccine periods. Temporal genotype patterns showed an increase in prevalence of vaccine heterotypic genotypes, such as the commonly DS-1-like G2P [4] (7.0 to 20.7%, P < .001) and G3P [8] (1.3 to 16.1%, P < .001) genotypes in the post-vaccine introduction period. Additionally, we observed a decline in prevalence of genotypes G8P [4] (15.8 to 0.4%, P < .001) and G9P [8] (13.2 to 5.4%, P < .001) in the post-vaccine introduction period. Phylogenetic analysis of genotype G1P [8], revealed circulation of strains of lineages G1-I, G1-II and P [8]-1, P [8]-III and P [8]-IV. Considerable genetic diversity was observed between the pre and post-vaccine strains, evidenced by distinct clusters.
Conclusion
Genotype prevalence varied from before to after vaccine introduction. Such observations emphasize the need for long-term surveillance to monitor vaccine impact. These changes may represent natural secular variation or possible immuno-epidemiological changes arising from the introduction of the vaccine. Full genome sequencing could provide insights into post-vaccine evolutionary pressures and antigenic diversity
Proceedings of the 2016 Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA) Scientific Meeting
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