Serum Proteome and Cytokine Analysis in a Longitudinal Cohort of Adults with Primary Dengue Infection Reveals Predictive Markers of DHF

10.1371/journal.pntd.0001887PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases611

Differential expression of aldolase, alpha tubulin and thioredoxin peroxidase in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever patients

We determined the differential expression levels of proteins in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with dengue fever (DF) and dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF). Proteins were subjected to two-dimensional electrophoresis, mass spectrometry and Western blot analysis. We identified 8 proteins that were 2-fold or more LIP-regulated in patients compared to healthy control, three of which, aldolase, thioredoxin peroxidase and alpha tubulin, were related to dengue infection. Both thioredoxin peroxidase and alpha tubulin were over-expressed 4.9 and 3.3 times respectively in DHF compared to DF patients while aldolase was up-regulated 2.2 times in DF compared to DHF patients. Alpha tubulin and thioredoxin peroxidase have the potential to be utilized as biomarkers for DHF

Development and evaluation of a one-step SYBR-Green I-based real-time RT-PCR assay for the detection and quantification of Chikungunya virus in human, monkey and mosquito samples

This paper reports the development of a one-step SYBR-Green I-based real-time RT-PCR assay for the detection and quantification of Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) in human, monkey and mosquito samples by targeting the El structural gene. A preliminary evaluation of this assay has been successfully completed using 71 samples, consisting of a panel of negative control sera, sera from healthy individuals, sera from patients with acute disease from which CHIKV had been isolated, as well as monkey sera and adult mosquito samples obtained during the chikungunya fever outbreak in Malaysia in 2008. The assay was found to be 100-fold more sensitive than the conventional RT-PCR with a detection limit of 4.12x10(0) RNA copies/mu l. The specificity of the assay was tested against other related viruses such as Dengue (serotypes 1-4), Japanese encephalitis, Herpes Simplex, Parainfluenza, Sindbis, Ross River, Yellow fever and West Nile viruses. The sensitivity, specificity and efficiency of this assay were 100%, 100% and 96.8% respectively. This study on early diagnostics is of importance to all endemic countries, especially Malaysia, which has been facing increasingly frequent and bigger outbreaks due to this virus since 1999

The use of two-dimension etectrophoresis to identify serum biomarkers from patients with dengue haemorrhagic fever

Dengue infection is a major public health problem affecting millions of people living in tropical countries. With no suitable vaccines and specific antiviral drugs, treatment for dengue is usually symptomatic and supportive. Early diagnosis and recognition of severe disease is therefore crucial for better management of the patient. Two-dimension electrophoresis was used to identify disease-associated proteins that can be used for diagnosis and as drug targets for treatment. Two markers, identified by mass spectrometry analysis as alpha 1-antitrypsin and NS1 proteins were found to be upregulated in dengue fever (DF, n=10) and dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF; n=10) patients compared with healthy individuals (n=8). Both alpha 1-antitrypsin and NS1 proteins were overexpressed two-foid in DHF patients compared with DF patients. Our study suggests that alpha 1-antitrypsin and NS1 protein could be used as biomarkers as early indicators of DHF risk among patients with suspected dengue infection. (C) 2008 Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Avian influenza (H7N9) virus infection in chinese tourist in Malaysia, 2014

10.3201/eid2101.141092Emerging Infectious Diseases211142-14

Air Flow Optimization of Discharge Duct based on Peregrine Falcon’s Diving Wing Shape for Forward Curve Centrifugal Blower

Centrifugal blowers are one of the largest electrical equipment in Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) because it is equipment which is regularly running and contributes to high electrical power consumption. The air flow optimization of a centrifugal blower operated inside a biosafety cabinet (BSC) is the main objective for this paper. Air movement can be accelerated when it passes through an aerodynamic duct inspired from an aerodynamic shape of Peregrine Falcon’s diving flight. The impact of aerodynamic shape to air movement was determined by using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis. Results showed that by introducing this methodology, air velocity discharge improves three times as the ones without any duct modifications. As a conclusion, a novel design of aerodynamic duct shape successfully developed and proved that air velocity can be increase naturally with the same impeller speed or energy consumption. It is a vital design approach in improving BSC designs while increasing its energy efficiency and containmen