Pulmonary hemorrhage syndrome associated with dengue fever, High-resolution computed tomography findings: a case report

Dengue hemorrhagic fever is an acute infectious disease caused by dengue virus. We described the high-resolution CT findings in a 70-year-old male with the disease, which was diagnosed by clinical examination and confirmed by serological methods. High-resolution CT demonstrated bilateral areas of consolidation with air bronchogram and ground glass opacities, as well as small bilateral pleural effusions. Dengue hemorrhagic fever should be considered in the differential diagnosis of diffuse pulmonary hemorrhage

Urban wild meat consumption and trade in Central Amazonia

The switch from hunting wild meat for home consumption to supplying more lucrative city marketsin Amazonia can adversely affect some game species. Despite this, information on the amounts of wild meateaten in Amazonian cities is still limited. We estimated wild meat consumption rates in 5 cities in the State ofAmazonas in Brazil through 1046 door-to-door household interviews conducted from 2004 to 2012. With thesedata, we modeled the relationship between wild meat use and a selection of socioeconomic indices. We thenscaled up our model to determine the amounts of wild meat likely to be consumed annually in the 62 urbancenters in central Amazonia. A total of 80.3% of all interviewees reported consuming wild meat during an averageof 29.3 (CI 11.6) days per year. Most wild meat was reported as bought in local markets (80.1%) or hunted by afamily member (14.9%). Twenty-one taxa were cited as consumed, mostly mammals (71.6%), followed by reptiles(23.2%) and then birds (5.2%). The declared frequency of wild meat consumption was positively correlated withthe proportion of rural population as well as with the per capita gross domestic product of the municipality(administrative divisions) where the cities were seated. We estimated that as much as 10,691 t of wild meat mightbe consumed annually in the 62 urban centers within central Amazonia, the equivalent of 6.49 kg per person peryear. In monetary terms, this amounts to US$21.72 per person per year or US$35.1 million overall, the latter figureis comparable to fish and timber production in the region. Given this magnitude of wild meat trade in centralAmazonia, it is fundamental to integrate this activity into the formal economy and actively develop policies thatallow the trade of more resilient taxa and restrict trade in species sensitive to hunting

Role of NAD(P)H Oxidase in Superoxide Generation and Endothelial Dysfunction in Goto-Kakizaki (GK) Rats as a Model of Nonobese NIDDM

Background: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality in diabetics, and it has a complex etiology that operates on several levels. Endothelial dysfunction and increased generation of reactive oxygen species are believed to be an underlying cause of vascular dysfunction and coronary artery disease in diabetes. This impairment is likely the result of decreased bioavailability of nitric oxide (NO) within the vasculature. However, it is unclear whether hyperglycemia per se stimulates NADPH oxidase-derived superoxide generation in vascular tissue. Methods and Results: This study focused on whether NADPH oxidase-derived superoxide is elevated in vasculature tissue evoking endothelial/smooth muscle dysfunction in the hyperglycemic (16964 mg%) Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rat. By dihydroethidine fluorescence staining, we determined that aorta superoxide levels were significantly elevated in 9 month-old GK compared with age matched Wistar (GK; 19566%, Wistar; 10063.5%). Consistent with these findings, 10 26 mol/L acetylcholine-induced relaxation of the carotid artery was significantly reduced in GK rats compared with age matched Wistar (GK; 4167%, Wistar; 10065%) and measurements in the aorta showed a similar trend (p =.08). In contrast, relaxation to the NO donor SNAP was unaltered in GK compared to Wistar. Endothelial dysfunction was reversed by lowering of superoxide with apocynin, a specific Nox inhibitor. Conclusions: The major findings from this study are that chronic hyperglycemia induces significant vascular dysfunction i

Partial Deletion of Chromosome 8 β-defensin Cluster Confers Sperm Dysfunction and Infertility in Male Mice

β-defensin peptides are a family of antimicrobial peptides present at mucosal surfaces, with the main site of expression under normal conditions in the male reproductive tract. Although they kill microbes in vitro and interact with immune cells, the precise role of these genes in vivo remains uncertain. We show here that homozygous deletion of a cluster of nine β-defensin genes (DefbΔ9) in the mouse results in male sterility. The sperm derived from the mutants have reduced motility and increased fragility. Epididymal sperm isolated from the cauda should require capacitation to induce the acrosome reaction but sperm from the mutants demonstrate precocious capacitation and increased spontaneous acrosome reaction compared to wild-types but have reduced ability to bind the zona pellucida of oocytes. Ultrastructural examination reveals a defect in microtubule structure of the axoneme with increased disintegration in mutant derived sperm present in the epididymis cauda region, but not in caput region or testes. Consistent with premature acrosome reaction, sperm from mutant animals have significantly increased intracellular calcium content. Thus we demonstrate in vivo that β-defensins are essential for successful sperm maturation, and their disruption leads to alteration in intracellular calcium, inappropriate spontaneous acrosome reaction and profound male infertility

Analysis of chemokine and chemokine receptor expression in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) cell lines

The purpose of this work was to analyze chemokine and chemokine receptor expression in untreated and in irradiated squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) tumor cell lines, aiming at the establishment of assays to test for the relevance of chemokine and chemokine receptor expression in the response of SCCHN to radiotherapy and radiochemotherapy. Five low passage and 10 established SCCHN lines, as well as two normal cell lines, were irradiated at 2 Gy or sham-irradiated, and harvested between 1 and 48 h after treatment. For chemokines with CC and CXC structural motifs and their receptors, transcript levels of target and reference genes were quantified relatively by real-time PCR. In addition, CXCL1 and CXCL12 protein expression was analyzed by ELISA. A substantial variation in chemokine and chemokine receptor expression between SCCHN was detected. Practically, all cell lines expressed CCL5 and CCL20, while CCL2 was expressed in normal cells and in some of the tumor cell lines. CXCL1, CXCL2, CXCL3, CXCL10, and CXCL11 were expressed in the vast majority of the cell lines, while the expression of CXCL9 and CXCL12 was restricted to fibroblasts and few tumor cell lines. None of the analyzed cell lines expressed the chemokines CCL3, CCL4, or CCL19. Of the receptors, transcript expression of CCR1, CCR2, CCR3, CCR5, CCR7, CCXR2, and CCXR3 was not detected, and CCR6, CXCR1, and CXCR4 expression was restricted to few tumor cells. Radiation caused up- and down-regulation with respect to chemokine expressions, while for chemokine receptor expressions down-regulations were prevailing. CXCL1 and CXCL12 protein expression corresponded well with the mRNA expression. We conclude that the substantial variation in chemokine and chemokine receptor expression between SCCHN offer opportunities for the establishment of assays to test for the relevance of chemokine and chemokine receptor expression in the response of SCCHN to radiotherapy and radiochemotherapy

Phylodynamics of HIV-1 from a Phase III AIDS Vaccine Trial in Bangkok, Thailand

In 2003, a phase III placebo-controlled trial (VAX003) was completed in Bangkok, Thailand. Of the 2,546 individuals enrolled in the trial based on high risk for infection through injection drug use (IDU), we obtained clinical samples and HIV-1 sequence data (envelope glycoprotein gene gp120) from 215 individuals who became infected during the trial. Here, we used these data in combination with other publicly available gp120 sequences to perform a molecular surveillance and phylodynamic analysis of HIV-1 in Thailand.Phylogenetic and population genetic estimators were used to assess HIV-1 gp120 diversity as a function of vaccination treatment, viral load (VL) and CD4(+) counts, to identify transmission clusters and to investigate the timescale and demographics of HIV-1 in Thailand. Three HIV-1 subtypes were identified: CRF01_AE (85% of the infections), subtype B (13%) and CRF15_AE (2%). The Bangkok IDU cohort showed more gp120 diversity than other Asian IDU cohorts and similar diversity to that observed in sexually infected individuals. Moreover, significant differences (P<0.02) in genetic diversity were observed in CRF01_AE IDU with different VL and CD4(+) counts. No phylogenetic structure was detected regarding any of the epidemiological and clinical factors tested, although high proportions (35% to 50%) of early infections fell into clusters, which suggests that transmission chains associated with acute infection play a key role on HIV-1 spread among IDU. CRF01_AE was estimated to have emerged in Thailand in 1984.5 (1983-1986), 3-6 years before the first recognition of symptomatic patients (1989). The relative genetic diversity of the HIV-1 population has remained high despite decreasing prevalence rates since the mid 1990s.Our study and recent epidemiological reports indicate that HIV-1 is still a major threat in Thailand and suggest that HIV awareness and prevention needs to be strengthened to avoid AIDS resurgence