Immunization with Plasmid DNA Encoding for the Measles Virus Hemagglutinin and Nucleoprotein Leads to Humoral and Cell-Mediated Immunity

AbstractWe have evaluated the DNA vaccination strategy for measles virus (MV) hemagglutinin (HA) and nucleoprotein (NP) genes. Plasmids encoding either the MV, HA, or NP proteins inoculated intramuscularly into Balb/c mice induced both humoral and CTL class I restricted responses. Antibody responses were not increased by multiple inoculations. The major antibody isotype induced by both the HA and NP was IgG2a consistent with a Th1 response. In contrast, immunization with a plasmid which directed the synthesis of a partially secreted form of HA gave mainly IgG1 antibodies. When the amount of DNA was reduced for the HA plasmid (1 or 10 μg/animal), although the antibody was not induced, a CTL response was observed

Serological and virological characterization of clinically diagnosed cases of measles in suburban Khartoum

Measles continues to be a major childhood disease in terms of global morbidity and mortality. In the main areas of its endemicity the only available means of diagnosis are based on clinical criteria: the presence of a maculopapular rash and fever accompanied by cough, coryza, and/or conjunctivitis. We have studied 38 clinically diagnosed cases of measles in Khartoum, Sudan, by means of serology, reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) on throat swabs and virus isolation from lymphocytes. On the basis of serology, 28 patients were diagnosed as having an acute measles virus (MV) infection, while in 10 cases the clinical symptoms proved to have other causes. It was shown that in cases with low serum immunoglobulin M (IgM) levels, an additional measurement of IgG or virus-neutralizing antibodies was necessary to discriminate between patients with an acute MV infection sampled during an early stage of the disease and patients who had experienced an MV infection in the more distant past. The serological laboratory diagnosis was validated by an MV-specific RT-PCR: for all confirmed measles cases tested a fragment of the correct size which hybridized with a third MV-specific primer could be amplified, while all serologically negative cases were also RT-PCR negative. MV could be isolated from 17 out of 23 of the serologically confirmed cases, demonstrating that virus isolation is less reliable as a diagnostic tool than serology or RT-PCR. This study stresses the urgent need for a rapid diagnostic field test for measles

A dual center and dual vendor comparison study of automated perfusion‐weighted phase‐resolved functional lung magnetic resonance imaging with dynamic contrast‐enhanced magnetic resonance imaging in patients with cystic fibrosis

For sensitive diagnosis and monitoring of pulmonary disease, ionizing radiation-free imaging methods are of great importance. A noncontrast and free-breathing proton magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique for assessment of pulmonary perfusion is phase-resolved functional lung (PREFUL) MRI. Since there is no validation of PREFUL MRI across different centers and scanners, the purpose of this study was to compare perfusion-weighted PREFUL MRI with the well-established dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI across two centers on scanners from two different vendors. Sixteen patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) (Center 1: 10 patients; Center 2: 6 patients) underwent PREFUL and DCE MRI at 1.5T in the same imaging session. Normalized perfusion-weighted values and perfusion defect percentage (QDP) values were calculated for the whole lung and three central slices (dorsal, central, ventral of the carina). Obtained parameters were compared using Pearson correlation, Spearman correlation, Bland–Altman analysis, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and Wilcoxon rank-sum test. Moderate-to-strong correlations between normalized perfusion-weighted PREFUL and DCE values were found (posterior slice: r = 0.69, p  0.07). The feasibility of PREFUL MRI across two different centers and two different vendors was shown in patients with CF and obtained results were in agreement with DCE MRI

A golden hamster model for human acute Nipah virus infection

A predominantly pig-to-human zoonotic infection caused by the novel Nipah virus emerged recently to cause severe morbidity and mortality in both animals and man. Human autopsy studies showed the pathogenesis to be related to systemic vasculitis that led to widespread thrombotic occlusion and microinfarction in most major organs especially in the central nervous system. There was also evidence of extravascular parenchymal infection, particularly near damaged vessels (Wong KT, Shieh WJ, Kumar S, Norain K, Abdullah W, Guarner J, Goldsmith CS, Chua KB, Lam SK, Tan CT, Goh KJ, Chong HT, Jusoh R, Rollin PE, Ksiazek TG, Zaki SR, Nipah Virus Pathology Working Group: Nipah virus infection: Pathology and pathogenesis of an emerging paramyxoviral zoonosis. Am J Pathol 2002, 161:2153-2167). We describe here a golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) model that appears to reproduce the pathology and pathogenesis of acute human Nipah infection. Hamsters infected by intranasal or intraperitoneal routes died within 9 to 29 days or 5 to 9 days, respectively. Pathological lesions were most severe and extensive in the hamster brain. Vasculitis, thrombosis, and more rarely, multinucleated endothelial syncytia, were found in blood vessels of multiple organs. Viral antigen and RNA were localized in both vascular and extravascular tissues including neurons, lung, kidney, and spleen, as demonstrated by immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization, respectively. Paramyxoviral-type nucleocapsids were identified in neurons and in vessel walls. At the terminal stage of infection, virus and/or viral RNA could be recovered from most solid organs and urine, but not from serum. The golden hamster is proposed as a suitable model for further studies including pathogenesis studies, anti-viral drug testing, and vaccine development against acute Nipah infection

Beyond Mechanical Recycling: Giving New Life to Plastic Waste

Increasing the stream of recycled plastic necessitates an approach beyond the traditional recycling via melting and re-extrusion. Various chemical recycling processes have great potential to enhance recycling rates. In this Review, a summary of the various chemical recycling routes and assessment via life-cycle analysis is complemented by an extensive list of processes developed by companies active in chemical recycling. We show that each of the currently available processes is applicable for specific plastic waste streams. Thus, only a combination of different technologies can address the plastic waste problem. Research should focus on more realistic, more contaminated and mixed waste streams, while collection and sorting infrastructure will need to be improved, that is, by stricter regulation. This Review aims to inspire both science and innovation for the production of higher value and quality products from plastic recycling suitable for reuse or valorization to create the necessary economic and environmental push for a circular economy