Current and Future Therapies for Hepatitis C Virus Infection

To the Editor: In their review of drug therapy for chronic hepatitis C infection, Liang and Ghany (May 16 issue)(1) summarize boceprevir- and telaprevir-based regimens. Figure 2 of the article describes the regimens according to the response to the previous therapy, the response-guided therapy, and the stopping rules. The boceprevir regimen they describe represents the labeling information in the United States.(2) However, the information about boceprevir in European regimens has some differences(3) the duration of therapy for patients who have not had a response to previous therapy (whether the patient had a relapse, a partial response, or no response) ..

More on hepatic granulomas

We have read the case report of Nihon-Yanagi et al. The patient they described developed hepatic granuloma two times and the granulomatous lesion was surrounding metal staples/clips suggesting that the granuloma was due to surgical staples/clips

Epidemiology of HBV subgenotypes D

The natural history of hepatitis B virus infection is not uniform and affected from several factors including, HBV genotype. Genotype D is a widely distributed genotype. Among genotype D, several subgenotypes differentiate epidemiologically and probably clinically. D1 is predominant in Middle East and North Africa, and characterized by early HBeAg seroconversion and low viral load. D2 is seen in Albania, Turkey, Brazil, western India, Lebanon, and Serbia. D3 was reported from Serbia, western India, and Indonesia. It is a predominant subgenotype in injection drug use-related acute HBV infections in Europe and Canada. D4 is relatively rare and reported from Haiti, Russia and Baltic region, Brazil, Kenya, Morocco and Rwanda. Subgenotype D5 seems to be common in Eastern India. D6 has been reported as a rare subgenotype from Indonesia, Kenya, Russia and Baltic region. D7 is the main genotype in Morocco and Tunisia. D8 and D9 are recently described subgenotypes and reported from Niger and India, respectively. Subgenotypes of genotype D may have clinical and/or viral differences. More subgenotype studies are required to conclude on subgenotype and its clinical/viral characteristics. (C) 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved

Evaluation of eutrophication control strategies for the Keban Dam reservoir

The reservoir of the Keban Dam in eastern Anatolia is a very deep and large water body subject to significant seasonal water level fluctuations within a given hydrological year. At the present time, different sections of the reservoir have different trophic status and the upper portion of the reservoir, in particular, is eutrophic. In this regard, there is a need for the assessment of alternative strategies to be implemented for phosphorus and thus eutrophication control in this segment of the reservoir. In this study, mathematical modeling techniques are used to compare various alternatives in terms of their relative effectiveness for phosphorus control. With this intention, a two dimensional depth-averaged hydrodynamic model and a three-dimensional compartmental water quality model are coupled to represent the complex water body dynamics prevailing in the reservoir, After calibration and verification, the coupled model was used to simulate dissolved oxygen and euphotic chlorophyll-a concentrations under different scenario conditions corresponding to various strategies proposed for phosphorus control. The modelling effort has yielded valuable information that can be used by decision makers for the evaluation of different management alternatives including reduction of the phosphorus load coming from point as well as diffuse sources within the catchment area, use of baffles and construction of pre-dam structures. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V