112 research outputs found

    BK virus associated meningoencephalitis in an AIDS patient treated with HAART

    Get PDF
    A severely immune-suppressed AIDS patient was suspected of suffering from BK virus (BKV) meningoencephalitis, after being studied for common causes of neurological complications of co-infectious origin. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequence analysis of cerebrospinal fluid and brain samples, confirmed the presence of BKV. His clinical condition improved along with the regression of brain lesions, after modifications on his antiretroviral regime. Five months after discharge, the patient was readmitted because of frequent headaches, and a marked inflammatory reaction was evidenced by a new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The symptoms paralleled a rising CD4+ lymphocyte count, and immune reconstitution syndrome was suspected. This is the first non-postmortem report of BKV meningoencephalitis in an AIDS patient, showing clinical and radiographic improvement solely under HAART

    The Pampa-2016 experiment

    Get PDF
    ABSTRACTThe Pampa‐2016 experimental campaign was performed in a typical Pampa lowland South American region. It consisted of both surface flux measurements (at 3 and 29 m) and a radiosonde launched every 3 h. The resulting meteorological observations allowed for the analysis of turbulent properties associated with both a stable and a convective boundary layer. The combined analysis of the surface data and vertical soundings has revealed some general characteristics of the atmospheric boundary layer for both the nocturnal stable conditions and the daytime convective environment. The continuous surface measurements showed that the nocturnal stable inversion, occurring in calm winds, is basically generated by the radiative cooling mechanism that is established after the late afternoon transition. The analysis of night‐time surface data also showed that, under stable conditions in the case of vanishing wind speed, the friction velocity has unrealistic values that are very close to zero. This situation is undesirable for numerical models that generally use this quantity as a lower boundary condition. The analysis of night‐time temperature profiles revealed two contrasting patterns in agreement with the classical classification of radiative night (a very stable boundary layer) and a turbulent night (a weakly stable boundary layer). In contrast, the analysis of the daytime temperature profiles provided an estimation of the convective time scale that is of the order of 10 min, in agreement with experimental values. A spectral analysis and the consequent estimation of the spectral peaks under unstable and stable conditions were in agreement with literature values

    Characterization of Dengue Virus Type 2: New Insights on the 2010 Brazilian Epidemic

    Get PDF
    Dengue viruses (DENV) serotypes 1, 2, and 3 have been causing yearly outbreaks in Brazil. In this study, we report the re-introduction of DENV2 in the coast of São Paulo State. Partial envelope viral genes were sequenced from eighteen patients with dengue fever during the 2010 epidemic. Phylogenetic analysis showed this strain belongs to the American/Asian genotype and was closely related to the virus that circulated in Rio de Janeiro in 2007 and 2008. The phylogeny also showed no clustering by clinical presentation, suggesting that the disease severity could not be explained by distinct variants or genotypes. The time of the most recent common ancestor of American/Asian genotype and the São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro (SP/RJ) monophyletic cluster was estimated to be around 40 and 10 years, respectively. Since this virus was first identified in Brazil in 2007, we suggest that it was already circulating in the country before causing the first documented outbreak. This is the first description of the 2010 outbreak in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, and should contribute to efforts to control and monitor the spread of DENVs in endemic areas
    corecore