Prophylaktische und therapeutische DNA-Immunisierung gegen das humane Papillomvirus 16

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Sex and Gender Differences in Travel-Associated Disease

Background. No systematic studies exist on sex and gender differences across a broad range of travel-associated diseases. Methods. Travel and tropical medicine GeoSentinel clinics worldwide contributed prospective, standardized data on 58,908 patients with travel-associated illness to a central database from 1 March 1997 through 31 October 2007. We evaluated sex and gender differences in health outcomes and in demographic characteristics. Statistical significance for crude analysis of dichotomous variables was determined using hi; 2 tests with calculation of odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The main outcome measure was proportionate morbidity of specific diagnoses in men and women. The analyses were adjusted for age, travel duration, pretravel encounter, reason for travel, and geographical region visited. Results. We found statistically significant (Pµ.001) differences in morbidity by sex. Women are proportionately more likely than men to present with acute diarrhea (OR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.09-1.38), chronic diarrhea (OR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.19-1.37), irritable bowel syndrome (OR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.24-1.57), upper respiratory tract infection (OR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.14-1.33); urinary tract infection (OR, 4.01; 95% CI, 3.34-4.71), psychological stressors (OR, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.14-1.48), oral and dental conditions, or adverse reactions to medication. Women are proportionately less likely to have febrile illnesses (OR, 0.15; 95% CI, 0.10-0.21); vector-borne diseases, such as malaria (OR, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.41-0.51), leishmaniasis, or rickettsioses (OR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.43-0.74); sexually transmitted infections (OR, 0.68; 95% CI 0.58-0.81); viral hepatitis (OR, 0.34; 95% CI, 0.21-0.54); or noninfectious problems, including cardiovascular disease, acute mountain sickness, and frostbite. Women are statistically significantly more likely to obtain pretravel advice (OR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.23-1.32), and ill female travelers are less likely than ill male travelers to be hospitalized (OR, 0.45; 95% CI, 0.42-0.49). Conclusions. Men and women present with different profiles of travel-related morbidity. Preventive travel medicine and future travel medicine research need to address gender-specific intervention strategies and differential susceptibility to diseas

PD-1 Regulates Neural Damage in Oligodendroglia-Induced Inflammation

We investigated the impact of immune regulatory mechanisms involved in the modulation of the recently presented, CD8+ lymphocyte mediated immune response in a mouse model of oligodendropathy-induced inflammation (PLPtg-mutants). The focus was on the role of the co-inhibitory molecule PD-1, a CD28-related receptor expressed on activated T- and B-lymphocytes associated with immune homeostasis and autoimmunity. PLPtg/PD-1-deficient double mutants and the corresponding bone marrow chimeras were generated and analysed using immunohistochemistry, light- and electron microscopy, with particular emphasis on immune-cell number and neural damage. In addition, the immune cells in both the CNS and the peripheral immune system were investigated by IFN-gamma elispot assays and spectratype analysis. We found that mice with combined pathology exhibited significantly increased numbers of CD4+ and CD8+ T-lymphocytes in the CNS. Lack of PD-1 substantially aggravated the pathological phenotype of the PLPtg mutants compared to genuine PLPtg mutants, whereas the PD-1 deletion alone did not cause alterations in the CNS. CNS T-lymphocytes in PLPtg/PD-1-/- double mutants exhibited massive clonal expansions. Furthermore, PD-1 deficiency was associated with a significantly higher propensity of CNS but not peripheral CD8+ T-cells to secrete proinflammatory cytokines. PD-1 could be identified as a crucial player of tissue homeostasis and immune-mediated damage in a model of oligodendropathy-induced inflammation. Alterations of this regulatory pathway lead to overt neuroinflammation of high pathogenetic impact. Our finding may have implications for understanding the mechanisms leading to the high clinical variability of polygenic or even monogenic disorders of the nervous system

A Prospective Study on the Impact and Out-of-Pocket Costs of Dengue Illness in International Travelers.

Although the costs of dengue illness to patients and households have been extensively studied in endemic populations, international travelers have not been the focus of costing studies. As globalization and human travel activities intensify, travelers are increasingly at risk for emerging and reemerging infectious diseases, such as dengue. This exploratory study aims to investigate the impact and out-of-pocket costs of dengue illness among travelers. We conducted a prospective study in adult travelers with laboratory-confirmed dengue and recruited patients at travel medicine clinics in eight different countries from December 2013 to December 2015. Using a structured questionnaire, we collected information on patients and their health-care utilization and out-of-pocket expenditures, as well as income and other financial losses they incurred because of dengue illness. A total of 90 patients participated in the study, most of whom traveled for tourism (74%) and visited countries in Asia (82%). Although 22% reported hospitalization and 32% receiving ambulatory care while traveling, these percentages were higher at 39% and 71%, respectively, after returning home. The out-of-pocket direct and indirect costs of dengue illness were US$421 (SD 744) and US$571 (SD 1,913) per episode, respectively, averaging to a total out-of-pocket cost of US$992 (SD 2,052) per episode. The study findings suggest that international travelers incur important direct and indirect costs because of dengue-related illness. This study is the first to date to investigate the impact and out-of-pocket costs of travel-related dengue illness from the patient's perspective and paves the way for future economic burden studies in this population

Interferon-driven alterations of the host’s amino acid metabolism in the pathogenesis of typhoid fever

Enteric fever, caused by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi, is an important public health problem in resource-limited settings and, despite decades of research, human responses to the infection are poorly understood. In 41 healthy adults experimentally infected with wild-type S. Typhi, we detected significant cytokine responses within 12 h of bacterial ingestion. These early responses did not correlate with subsequent clinical disease outcomes and likely indicate initial host–pathogen interactions in the gut mucosa. In participants developing enteric fever after oral infection, marked transcriptional and cytokine responses during acute disease reflected dominant type I/II interferon signatures, which were significantly associated with bacteremia. Using a murine and macrophage infection model, we validated the pivotal role of this response in the expression of proteins of the host tryptophan metabolism during Salmonella infection. Corresponding alterations in tryptophan catabolites with immunomodulatory properties in serum of participants with typhoid fever confirmed the activity of this pathway, and implicate a central role of host tryptophan metabolism in the pathogenesis of typhoid fever

VIRTEX – Lehr- und Lernmaterialien für den Fachsprachenunterricht in Hotel und Gastronomie

Ballweg S. VIRTEX – Lehr- und Lernmaterialien für den Fachsprachenunterricht in Hotel und Gastronomie. In: Chlosta C, Leder G, Krischer B, eds. Auf neuen Wegen. Deutsch als Fremdsprache in Forschung und Praxis. Tagungsband der 35. Jahrestagung des Fachverbandes Deutsch als Fremdsprache 2007 an der Freien Universität Berlin. Göttingen: Universitätsverlag; 2008: 443-452

„Zunächst ist zu fragen, ob ...“ ... man das Gutachtenschreiben nicht doch lernen kann – das Jura-Fachsprachenangebot an der Universität Bielefeld

Langelahn E. „Zunächst ist zu fragen, ob ..“ .. man das Gutachtenschreiben nicht doch lernen kann – das Jura-Fachsprachenangebot an der Universität Bielefeld. In: Chlosta C, Leder G, Krischer B, eds. Auf neuen Wegen. Deutsch als Fremdsprache in Forschung und Praxis. Göttingen; 2008: 227-236

Encoded Library Technologies as Integrated Lead Finding Platforms for Drug Discovery

The scope of targets investigated in pharmaceutical research is continuously moving into uncharted territory. Consequently, finding suitable chemical matter with current compound collections is proving increasingly difficult. Encoded library technologies enable the rapid exploration of large chemical space for the identification of ligands for such targets. These binders facilitate drug discovery projects both as tools for target validation, structural elucidation and assay development as well as starting points for medicinal chemistry. Novartis internalized two complementing encoded library platforms to accelerate the initiation of its drug discovery programs. For the identification of low-molecular weight ligands, we apply DNA-encoded libraries. In addition, encoded peptide libraries are employed to identify cyclic peptides. This review discusses how we apply these two platforms in our research and why we consider it beneficial to run both pipelines in-house