Imprisonment and internment: Comparing penal facilities North and South

Recent references to the ‘warehouse prison’ in the United States and the prisión-depósito in Latin America seem to indicate that penal confinement in the western hemisphere has converged on a similar model. However, this article suggests otherwise. It contrasts penal facilities in North America and Latin America in terms of six interrelated aspects: regimentation; surveillance; isolation; supervision; accountability; and formalization. Quantitatively, control in North American penal facilities is assiduous (unceasing, persistent and intrusive), while in Latin America it is perfunctory (sporadic, indifferent and cursory). Qualitatively, North American penal facilities produce imprisonment (which enacts penal intervention through confinement), while in Latin America they produce internment (which enacts penal intervention through release). Closely entwined with this qualitative difference are distinct practices of judicial involvement in sentencing and penal supervision. Those practices, and the cultural and political factors that underpin them, represent an interesting starting point for the explanation of the contrasting nature of imprisonment and internment

Ears of the Armadillo: Global Health Research and Neglected Diseases in Texas

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) have\ud been recently identified as significant public\ud health problems in Texas and elsewhere in\ud the American South. A one-day forum on the\ud landscape of research and development and\ud the hidden burden of NTDs in Texas\ud explored the next steps to coordinate advocacy,\ud public health, and research into a\ud cogent health policy framework for the\ud American NTDs. It also highlighted how\ud U.S.-funded global health research can serve\ud to combat these health disparities in the\ud United States, in addition to benefiting\ud communities abroad

Discovery of VHE Gamma Radiation from IC443 with the MAGIC Telescope

We report the detection of a new source of very high energy (VHE, E_gamma >= 100GeV) gamma-ray emission located close to the Galactic Plane, MAGIC J0616+225, which is spatially coincident with SNR IC443. The observations were carried out with the MAGIC telescope in the periods December 2005 - January 2006 and December 2006 - January 2007. Here we present results from this source, leading to a VHE gamma-ray signal with a statistical significance of 5.7 sigma in the 2006/7 data and a measured differential gamma-ray flux consistent with a power law, described as dN_gamma/(dA dt dE) = (1.0 +/- 0.2)*10^(-11)(E/0.4 TeV)^(-3.1 +/- 0.3) cm^(-2)s^(-1)TeV^(-1). We briefly discuss the observational technique used and the procedure implemented for the data analysis. The results are put in the perspective of the multiwavelength emission and the molecular environment found in the region of IC443.Comment: Accepted by ApJ Letter

Vaccine candidates derived from a novel infectious cDNA clone of an American genotype dengue virus type 2

BACKGROUND: A dengue virus type 2 (DEN-2 Tonga/74) isolated from a 1974 epidemic was characterized by mild illness and belongs to the American genotype of DEN-2 viruses. To prepare a vaccine candidate, a previously described 30 nucleotide deletion (Δ30) in the 3' untranslated region of DEN-4 has been engineered into the DEN-2 isolate. METHODS: A full-length cDNA clone was generated from the DEN-2 virus and used to produce recombinant DEN-2 (rDEN-2) and rDEN2Δ30. Viruses were evaluated for replication in SCID mice transplanted with human hepatoma cells (SCID-HuH-7 mice), in mosquitoes, and in rhesus monkeys. Neutralizing antibody induction and protective efficacy were also assessed in rhesus monkeys. RESULTS: The rDEN2Δ30 virus was ten-fold reduced in replication in SCID-HuH-7 mice when compared to the parent virus. The rDEN-2 viruses were not infectious for Aedes mosquitoes, but both readily infected Toxorynchites mosquitoes. In rhesus monkeys, rDEN2Δ30 appeared to be slightly attenuated when compared to the parent virus as measured by duration and peak of viremia and neutralizing antibody induction. A derivative of rDEN2Δ30, designated rDEN2Δ30-4995, was generated by incorporation of a point mutation previously identified in the NS3 gene of DEN-4 and was found to be more attenuated than rDEN2Δ30 in SCID-HuH-7 mice. CONCLUSIONS: The rDEN2Δ30 and rDEN2Δ30-4995 viruses can be considered for evaluation in humans and for inclusion in a tetravalent dengue vaccine

Characterising the KMP-11 and HSP-70 recombinant antigens' humoral immune response profile in chagasic patients

11 pages, 6 figures.-- The pre-publication history for this paper can be accessed here: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2334/9/186/pre pubBackground: Antigen specificity and IgG subclass could be significant in the natural history of Chagas' disease. The relationship between the different stages of human Chagas' disease and the profiles of total IgG and its subclasses were thus analysed here; they were directed against a crude T. cruzi extract and three recombinant antigens: the T. cruzi kinetoplastid membrane protein-11 (rKMP-11), an internal fragment of the T. cruzi HSP-70 protein192-433, and the entire Trypanosoma rangeli HSP-70 protein. Methods: Seventeen Brazilian acute chagasic patients, 50 Colombian chronic chagasic patients (21 indeterminate and 29 cardiopathic patients) and 30 healthy individuals were included. Total IgG and its subtypes directed against the above-mentioned recombinant antigens were determined by ELISA tests. Results: The T. cruzi KMP-11 and T. rangeli HSP-70 recombinant proteins were able to distinguish both acute from chronic chagasic patients and infected people from healthy individuals. Specific antibodies to T. cruzi crude antigen in acute patients came from IgG3 and IgG4 subclasses whereas IgG1 and IgG3 were the prevalent isotypes in indeterminate and chronic chagasic patients. By contrast, the specific prominent antibodies in all disease stages against T. cruzi KMP-11 and T. rangeli HSP-70 recombinant antigens were the IgG1 subclass.This work was supported by Colciencias Research project No. 1203-333- 18692. IDF was supported by Colciencias and the Universidad Javeriana's Young Researcher 2008 Programme (Bogotá, Colombia). MCT and MCL were supported by P06-CTS-02242 Grant from PAI (Junta de Andalucia) and RICET-RD06/0021-0014, Spain. MS received financial support from the Brazilian agency - CNPq.Peer reviewe

Lentiviral gene therapy rescues p47phox chronic granulomatous disease and the ability to fight Salmonella infection in mice

Chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) is an inherited primary immunodeficiency disorder characterised by recurrent and often life-threatening infections and hyperinflammation. It is caused by defects of the phagocytic NADPH oxidase, a multicomponent enzyme system responsible for effective pathogen killing. A phase I/II clinical trial of lentiviral gene therapy is underway for the most common form of CGD, X-linked, caused by mutations in the gp91phox subunit of the NADPH oxidase. We propose to use a similar strategy to tackle p47phox-deficient CGD, caused by mutations in NCF1, which encodes the p47phox cytosolic component of the enzymatic complex. We generated a pCCLCHIM-p47phox lentiviral vector, containing the chimeric Cathepsin G/FES myeloid promoter and a codon-optimised version of the human NCF1 cDNA. Here we show that transduction with the pCCLCHIM-p47phox vector efficiently restores p47phox expression and biochemical NADPH oxidase function in p47phox-deficient human and murine cells. We also tested the ability of our gene therapy approach to control infection by challenging p47phox-null mice with Salmonella Typhimurium, a leading cause of sepsis in CGD patients, and found that mice reconstituted with lentivirus-transduced hematopoietic stem cells had a reduced bacterial load compared with untreated mice. Overall, our results potentially support the clinical development of a gene therapy approach using the pCCLCHIM-p47phox vector

Myofascial trigger points in cluster headache patients: a case series

Active myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) have been found to contribute to chronic tension-type headache and migraine. The purpose of this case series was to examine if active trigger points (TrPs) provoking cluster-type referred pain could be found in cluster headache patients and, if so, to evaluate the effectiveness of active TrPs anaesthetic injections both in the acute and preventive headache's treatment. Twelve patients, 4 experiencing episodic and 8 chronic cluster headache, were studied. TrPs were found in all of them. Abortive infiltrations could be done in 2 episodic and 4 chronic patients, and preemptive infiltrations could be done in 2 episodic and 5 chronic patients, both kind of interventions being successful in 5 (83.3%) and in 6 (85.7%) of the cases respectively. When combined with prophylactic drug therapy, injections were associated with significant improvement in 7 of the 8 chronic cluster patients. Our data suggest that peripheral sensitization may play a role in cluster headache pathophysiology and that first neuron afferent blockade can be useful in cluster headache management

Heavy metals health risk assessment for population via consumption of vegetables grown in old mining area; a case study: Banat County, Romania

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aim of this study is to measure the levels of heavy metals (Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Ni, Cd and Pb) found in common vegetables (parsley, carrot, onion, lettuce, cucumber and green beans) grown in contaminated mining areas compared with those grown in reference clear area and to determine their potential detrimental effects via calculation of the daily metal intake (DImetal) and Target Hazard Quotients (THQ) for normal daily consumption of these vegetables, for male and female gender.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Compared with the reference in contaminated areas, soil and plant contents of all analyzed metals are higher, usually over normally content for Mn, Zn, Cu, Cd and Pb. Particularly, in soil, higher values than intervention threshold values (ITV) were found for Cu and Pb and higher than maximum allowable limits (MAL) for Zn, Cu, Cd and Pb for parsley roots and leaves, carrot roots, cabbage, lettuce and cucumber. DImetal and THQ values for male and female were calculated for each vegetable and metal and for which oral reference doses exist. The combined THQ values calculated are concerning in that they are usually below the safe level of THQ<1 for all vegetables grown in reference area. In contaminated Moldova Noua (M) area the combined THQ exceeded the safe level only for parsley roots, while in more contaminated Ruschita (R) area combined THQ exceeded the safe level for parsley and carrot roots, lettuce and cabbage. Cd and Pb, most toxic metals to humans, have an increasing prevalence in the combined THQ for leafy (cabbage and lettuce) and fruit vegetables (cucumber). In the root vegetables only Pb has an increasing prevalence in combined THQ values. In all areas female THQ is higher than male THQ.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results of this study regarding metal contents in soils, vegetables, DImetal and THQ suggest that the consumption of some vegetables (especially parsley, carrot and cabbage and less for lettuce, cucumber and green beans) is not free of risks in these areas. The complex THQ parameter use in health risk assessment of heavy metals provides a better image than using only a simple parameter (contents of metals in soils and vegetables).</p

Trazodone for the treatment of fibromyalgia: an open-label, 12-week study

Background: Despite its frequent use as a hypnotic, trazodone has not been systematically assessed in fibromyalgia patients. In the present study have we evaluated the potential effectiveness and tolerability of trazodone in the treatment of fibromyalgia. Methods: A flexible dose of trazodone (50-300 mg/day), was administered to 66 fibromyalgia patients for 12 weeks. The primary outcome measure was the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Secondary outcome measures included the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), the Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), and the Patients' Global Improvement Scale (PGI). Trazodone's emergent adverse reactions were recorded. Data were analyzed with repeated measures one-way ANOVA and paired Student's t test. Results: Trazodone markedly improved sleep quality, with large effect sizes in total PSQI score as well on sleep quality, sleep duration and sleep efficiency. Significant improvement, although with moderate effect sizes, were also observed in total FIQ scores, anxiety and depression scores (both HADS and BDI), and pain interference with daily activities. Unexpectedly, the most frequent and severe side effect associated with trazodone in our sample was tachycardia, which was reported by 14 (21.2%) patients. Conclusions: In doses higher than those usually prescribed as hypnotic, the utility of trazodone in fibromyalgia management surpasses its hypnotic activity. However, the emergence of tachycardia should be closely monitored. Trial registration: This trial has been registered with ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT-00791739