An analysis of the subtypes of dengue fever infections in Barbados 2003–2007 by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To perform a retrospective analysis of patients with IgM antibodies to dengue fever infection to determine the serotypes present by molecular techniques. A representative sample (~20%/per year) of patients diagnosed with dengue fever infection were selected based on the detection of IgM antibodies in the acute phase serum sample. RNA was extracted from each sample and reverse transcribed. Following this, the amplicons were electrophoresed and serotyped based on band sizes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>This study consisted of 71 males and 101 females ranging in age from 0 – 50+ yrs giving a total of 172 persons with an average of 34.4 patients per year. Onset averaged 6.9 days ranging from 0–90 days. Common symptoms were as follows: fever (69%), headache (52%), arthralgia (36%), ocular pain (32%), emesis (15%) and lumbar pain (15%). All patients investigated with the exception of one, were infected with DENV-3.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>DENV-3 is currently circulating on the island and not DENV-1 or DENV-2 as in previous years. This has implications for the enhancement of clinical, laboratory and environmental surveillance systems.</p

Putting the “You” in “Thank You” Examining Other-Praising Behavior as the Active Relational Ingredient in Expressed Gratitude

Abstract. Although positive emotions as a class can build interpersonal resources, recent evidence suggests a unique and direct role for gratitude. In the current research, we shine the spotlight on what happens between a grateful person and the benefactor to illuminate what can build a bridge between them. Specifically, we draw on work calling gratitude an “other-praising” emotion. In an original study and a conceptual replication that included two independent samples, couples had video-recorded conversations in which one member expressed gratitude to the other (n = 370). Expresser’s other-praising behavior was robustly positively associated with the benefactor’s postinteraction perception of expresser responsiveness, personal good feelings in general, and felt loving in particular. Several practical and theoretical alternative explanations are ruled out. By clarifying the specific behavioral and subjective psychological mechanisms through which expressed gratitude promotes relationships, this work advances affective and relationship science, two domains that cut across disciplines within psychology

The Gamma-Ray Imager/Polarimeter for Solar Flares (GRIPS)

The balloon-borne Gamma-Ray Imager/Polarimeter for Solar flares (GRIPS) instrument will provide a near-optimal combination of high-resolution imaging, spectroscopy, and polarimetry of solar-flare gamma-ray/hard X-ray emissions from approximately 20 keV to greater than approximately 10 MeV. GRIPS will address questions raised by recent solar flare observations regarding particle acceleration and energy release, such as: What causes the spatial separation between energetic electrons producing hard X-rays and energetic ions producing gamma-ray lines? How anisotropic are the relativistic electrons, and why can they dominate in the corona? How do the compositions of accelerated and ambient material vary with space and time, and why? The spectrometer/polarimeter consists of sixteen 3D position-sensitive germanium detectors (3D-GeDs), where each energy deposition is individually recorded with an energy resolution of a few keV FWHM and a spatial resolution of less than 0.1 cubic millimeter. Imaging is accomplished by a single multi-pitch rotating modulator (MPRM), a 2.5-centimeter thick tungsten alloy slit/slat grid with pitches that range quasi-continuously from 1 to 13 millimeters. The MPRM is situated 8 meters from the spectrometer to provide excellent image quality and unparalleled angular resolution at gamma-ray energies (12.5 arcsec FWHM), sufficient to separate 2.2 MeV footpoint sources for almost all flares. Polarimetry is accomplished by analyzing the anisotropy of reconstructed Compton scattering in the 3D-GeDs (i.e., as an active scatterer), with an estimated minimum detectable polarization of a few percent at 150-650 keV in an X-class flare. GRIPS is scheduled for a continental-US engineering test flight in fall 2013, followed by long or ultra-long duration balloon flights in Antarctica

5-HT(2A/2C) receptor-mediated hypopnea in the newborn rat: relationship to Fos immunoreactivity.

Previous data derived from anesthetized, decerebrate, or in vitro preparations suggested that 5-HT(2) receptor activation might be responsible for respiratory dysfunction. Such a mechanism has not yet been documented in the intact animal, but might be of clinical relevance to the apneic spells of the premature infant. In the present investigation on conscious newborn rats we analyzed the respiratory response to the activation of 5-HT(2A/2C) receptors by the agonist 1-(2.5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenyl)-2-aminopropane (DOI), and we delineated central structures possibly involved in this response, using Fos expression as a marker of neuronal activation. We demonstrated that intraperitoneal injection of 5 mg/kg DOI produced a long-lasting decrease in respiratory frequency and tidal volume, which could be blocked by the antagonist ritanserin. Fos immunohistochemistry suggested that the rostral ventrolateral medulla and the lateral paragigantocellular nucleus might have a key role in the respiratory response to 5-HT(2) receptor activation. In addition, double immunostaining for Fos and tyrosine hydroxylase suggested that the contribution of catecholaminergic neurons to this response might be modest and indirect

Multi-omics profiling of living human pancreatic islet donors reveals heterogeneous beta cell trajectories towards type 2 diabetes

Most research on human pancreatic islets is conducted on samples obtained from normoglycaemic or diseased brain-dead donors and thus cannot accurately describe the molecular changes of pancreatic islet beta cells as they progress towards a state of deficient insulin secretion in type 2 diabetes (T2D). Here, we conduct a comprehensive multi-omics analysis of pancreatic islets obtained from metabolically profiled pancreatectomized living human donors stratified along the glycemic continuum, from normoglycemia to T2D. We find that islet pools isolated from surgical samples by laser-capture microdissection display remarkably more heterogeneous transcriptomic and proteomic profiles in patients with diabetes than in non-diabetic controls. The differential regulation of islet gene expression is already observed in prediabetic individuals with impaired glucose tolerance. Our findings demonstrate a progressive, but disharmonic, remodelling of mature beta cells, challenging current hypotheses of linear trajectories toward precursor or transdifferentiation stages in T2D. Furthermore, through integration of islet transcriptomics with preoperative blood plasma lipidomics, we define the relative importance of gene coexpression modules and lipids that are positively or negatively associated with HbA1c levels, pointing to potential prognostic markers

Location of Decimetric Pulsations in Solar Flares

This work investigates the spatial relation between coronal X-ray sources and coherent radio emissions, both generally thought to be signatures of particle acceleration. Two limb events were selected during which the radio emission was well correlated in time with hard X-rays. The radio emissions were of the type of decimetric pulsations as determined from the spectrogram observed by Phoenix-2 of ETH Zurich. The radio positions were measured from observations with the Nancay Radioheliograph between 236 and 432 MHz and compared to the position of the coronal X-ray source imaged with RHESSI. The radio pulsations originated at least 30 - 240 Mm above the coronal hard X-ray source. The altitude of the radio emission increases generally with lower frequency. The average positions at different frequencies are on a line pointing approximately to the coronal hard X-ray source. Thus, the pulsations cannot be caused by electrons trapped in the flare loops, but are consistent with emission from a current sheet above the coronal source.Comment: Solar Physics, in pres