Stem Cells 2017 May 22. Epub 2017 May 22.

Max Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC), Mitochondrial and Cell Fate Reprogramming, Department of Neuroproteomics, Berlin, Germany.

High attrition rates and loss of capital plague the drug discovery process. This is particularly evident for mitochondrial disease that typically involves neurological manifestations and is caused by nuclear or mitochondrial DNA defects. This group of heterogeneous disorders is difficult to target because of the variability of the symptoms among individual patients and the lack of viable modeling systems. Read More

Metallomics 2017 May 25. Epub 2017 May 25.

Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.

A number of bacterial pathogens require the ZnuABC Zinc (Zn(2+)) transporter and/or a second Zn(2+) transport system to overcome Zn(2+) sequestration by mammalian hosts. Previously we have shown that in addition to ZnuABC, Yersinia pestis possesses a second Zn(2+) transporter that involves components of the yersiniabactin (Ybt), siderophore-dependent iron transport system. Synthesis of the Ybt siderophore and YbtX, a member of the major facilitator superfamily, are both critical components of the second Zn(2+) transport system. Read More

BMB Rep 2017 May 25. Epub 2017 May 25.

Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Pusan National University, Yangsan 50612, Republic of Korea; Research Institute of Convergence Biomedical Science and Technology, Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, Yangsan 50612, Gyeongsangnam-do, Republic of Korea.

Ischemia is a major plague of modern life. In the search of peptide drug candidates for curing ischemic disease, we evaluated the effects of an anti-microbial peptide SR-0379 on stem cell-mediated therapy of ischemic diseases. Migration and tube-forming ability of human endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) were enhanced by SR-0379 treatment in vitro. Read More

Arq Bras Cardiol 2017 Apr;108(4):383-385

Near East University-Nicosia-Cyprus.

Infect Immun 2017 May 22. Epub 2017 May 22.

State Key laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, China;

Pathogenic yersiniae harbor a type III secretion system (T3SS) that injects Yersinia outer protein (Yop) into host cells. YopK has been shown to control Yop translocation and prevent inflammasome recognition of T3SS by the innate immune system. Here, we demonstrate that YopK inhibits bacterial adherence to host cells by binding to the extracellular matrix adaptor protein matrilin-2 (MATN2). Read More

Endocrinology 2017 May 22. Epub 2017 May 22.

Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Vasomotor symptoms (VMS, or hot flashes) plague millions of reproductive age men and women who have natural or iatrogenic loss of sex steroid production. Many affected individuals are left without treatment options because of contraindications to hormone replacement therapy and the lack of equally effective non-hormonal alternatives. Moreover, development of safer, more effective therapies has been stymied by the lack of an animal model that recapitulates the hot flash phenomenon and enables direct testing of hypotheses regarding the pathophysiology underlying hot flashes. Read More

Lit Med 2017 ;35(1):167-182

Though written amid an atmosphere of unprecedented medical advance in both diagnosis and therapeutics, Karel Čapek's The White Plague takes a starkly critical stance against overconfidence in medical science and its dubious ethical orbit. This article explores Čapek's censure of those who would privilege scientific interest in disease over the holistic plight of the sufferer. Provocatively, Čapek achieves this not only via the play's content, but also-prefiguring aspects of contemporary live art practice by several decades-by placing audience members in worrying proximity to abject ill bodies. Read More

Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis 2017 May 18. Epub 2017 May 18.

Department of Biology, University of South Dakota , Vermillion, South Dakota.

Maintenance of sylvatic plague in prairie dogs (Cynomis spp.) was once thought unlikely due to high mortality rates; yet more recent findings indicate that low-level enzootic plague may be maintained in susceptible prairie dog populations. Another hypothesis for the maintenance of sylvatic plague involves small mammals, other than prairie dogs, as an alternative reservoir in the sylvatic plague system. Read More

J Prev Med Hyg 2017 Mar;58(1):E1-E8

Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa, Italy.

Cases of diarrhoeal disease number from 1.7 to 5 billion per year worldwide. One of the main causes of diarrhoeal disease is typhoid fever, which is a potentially life-threatening multi-systemic illness. Read More

Transplantation 2017 May 17. Epub 2017 May 17.

1 Operations Research Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 2 Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114 3 Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114.

Background: When a deceased-donor kidney is offered to a waitlisted candidate, the decision to accept or decline the organ relies primarily upon a practitioner's experience and intuition. Such decisions must achieve a delicate balance between estimating the immediate benefit of transplantation and the potential for future higher-quality offers. However, the current experience-based paradigm lacks scientific rigor and is subject to the inaccuracies that plague anecdotal decision-making. Read More

MBio 2017 May 16;8(3). Epub 2017 May 16.

Howard T. Ricketts Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, lllinois, USA

Glutathionylation, the formation of reversible mixed disulfides between glutathione and protein cysteine residues, is a posttranslational modification previously observed for intracellular proteins of bacteria. Here we show that Yersinia pestis LcrV, a secreted protein capping the type III secretion machine, is glutathionylated at Cys(273) and that this modification promotes association with host ribosomal protein S3 (RPS3), moderates Y. pestis type III effector transport and killing of macrophages, and enhances bubonic plague pathogenesis in mice and rats. Read More

J Vector Ecol 2017 Jun;42(1):171-177

Genesis Laboratories, Inc., Wellington, CO, U.S.A.

Bubonic plague (Yersinia pestis) is a deadly zoonosis with black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) as a reservoir host in the United States. Systemic insecticides are a promising means of controlling the vectors, Oropsylla spp. fleas, infesting these prairie dogs, subsequently disrupting the Y. Read More

J Biol Chem 2017 May;292(19):8101-8102

From the Departments of Pathology and Cell Biology and Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322

Pathogenic Yersinia species employ several strategies to evade the host immune system, including interfering with cytoskeletal remodeling as a way to block macrophage phagocytosis. The kinase YopO binds directly to monomeric actin and phosphorylates the actin-remodeling protein gelsolin, but the functional importance of this gelsolin modification has not been clear. A combined biochemical, computational, and biophysical study now reveals that YopO-mediated phosphorylation activates host gelsolin, leading to severed actin filaments and disturbed actin dynamics. Read More

J Laparoendosc Adv Surg Tech A 2017 May 10. Epub 2017 May 10.

Department of Urology, Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research , Kolkata, India .

Background: Genitourinary tuberculosis still continues to plague developing countries and is a significant cause of morbidity as well as mortality in the developing world. At present, nearly 55% of the patients of genitourinary tuberculosis (GUTB) need surgical management. Owing to the presence of dense adhesions and loss of normal anatomical planes, GUTB was considered to be a contraindication to laparoscopic surgery. Read More

J Med Entomol 2017 May 9. Epub 2017 May 9.

Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523

Scientists and health-care professionals sometimes use a swabbing technique to collect fleas from rodent burrows, and later test the fleas for Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague. Detection of Y. pestis is enhanced when large pools of fleas are available. Read More

J Microbiol Biotechnol 2017 May 4. Epub 2017 May 4.

Department of Biological Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Chonnam National University, Yong-Bong Dong, Buk-Gu, Gwang ju 500-757, Korea.

Several medicinal plants are ethnomedically used in Korea as agents for treating infection, anti-inflammation, and pain relief. However, beyond typical inhibitory effects on cell growth, little is known about the potential anti-biofilm activity of these herbs, which may help to prevent cavities and maintain good oral health. This study aims to investigate the antimicrobial and anti-biofilm activity of the methanol extracts of 37 Korean medicinal plants against dental pathogens Streptococcus mutans and Candida albicans, which synergize their virulence so as to induce the formation of plague biofilms in the oral cavity. Read More

Zhonghua Yi Shi Za Zhi 2017 Mar;47(2):87-90

Department of Medical History, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150086, China.

In 1913, after the Russian Prostitutes Sanatorium of Harbin Eastern Railway was received by the board of directors, they established the "Harbin City Board Hospital" and funded its expansion. In March 1926, the provisional Committee of the Harbin autonomous renamed the "City Board of First Hospital" to "The Public Hospital" . In November 1926, "The Public Hospital" was renamed as "Harbin Special Municipal Hospital" by the Harbin City Council and further funds were invested in its construction. Read More

J Wildl Dis 2017 May 2. Epub 2017 May 2.

1 Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife, Wildlife Health Program, Foothills Wildlife Research Facility, 4330 Laporte Ave., Fort Collins, Colorado 80521-2153, USA.

We confirmed safety and immunogenicity of mass-produced vaccine baits carrying an experimental, commercial-source plague vaccine (RCN-F1/V307) expressing Yersinia pestis V and F1 antigens. Forty-five juvenile black-tailed prairie dogs ( Cynomys ludovicianus ) were randomly divided into three treatment groups (n=15 animals/group). Animals in the first group received one standard-dose vaccine bait (5×10(7) plaque-forming units [pfu]; STD). Read More

Rev Med Interne 2017 Jun 28;38(6):402-406. Epub 2017 Apr 28.

62, avenue du Val-de-Beauté, 94130 Nogent-sur-Marne, France.

Although the plague has practically disappeared from Europe since the beginning of the 20th century, it is still present in everyone's memory. Owing to three pandemics, it has left an indelible mark on mankind and has given rise to many popular phrases, paintings, books or more recently movies and video games. After a brief description of the plague as a disease, we will try to trace the history of the plague through some of the works of art it inspired and then to show how the plague is still haunting our collective memory. Read More

Appl Environ Microbiol 2017 Apr 28. Epub 2017 Apr 28.

Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164. Tel: 5093356043 Fax: 5093356328

Plague is a flea-borne rodent-associated zoonotic disease caused by Yersinia pestis The disease is characterized by epizootics with high rodent mortalities, punctuated by inter-epizootic periods when the bacterium persists in an unknown reservoir. This study investigates the interaction between Y. pestis and the ubiquitous soil free-living amoeba (FLA), Acanthamoeba castellanii, to assess if the bacterium can survive within soil amoeba and whether intracellular mechanisms are conserved between infection of mammalian macrophages and soil amoeba. Read More

Chem Sci 2017 Feb 14;8(2):1062-1067. Epub 2016 Sep 14.

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering , National University of Singapore , 4 Engineering Drive 4 , Singapore 117585 , Singapore . Email: ; ; Tel: +65 6516 7262.

Tumor suppressive microRNAs are potent molecules that might cure cancer, one day. Despite the many advanced strategies for delivery of these microRNAs to the cell, there are few therapeutic microRNAs in clinical use. Progress in microRNA bioapplications is hindered by a high vulnerability of exogeneous microRNA molecules to RNase degradation that occurs in extra- and intracellular physiological conditions. Read More

Pan Afr Med J 2017 31;26:45. Epub 2017 Jan 31.

Service de Pneumologie, Hôpital Arrazi, CHU Mohammed VI, Marrakech, Maroc.

Smoking is a major public health problem. Doctors and paramedical staff are not excluded from this plague. Smoking ban in hospitals originated from government effort to reduce passive smoking. Read More

Vet World 2017 Mar 21;10(3):336-341. Epub 2017 Mar 21.

Department of Veterinary Pathology, West Bengal University of Animal & Fishery Sciences, Kolkata - 700 037, West Bengal, India.

Aim: The study was undertaken to detect the clinical signs, postmortem lesions of embryonated duck plague (DP) infected eggs, and histopathological changes of chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) in non-descriptive ducks of West Bengal with special reference to standardize nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Materials And Methods: After postmortem of suspected carcasses, samples were collected for virus isolation and identification through specific pathogen free (Khaki Campbell) embryonated duck eggs. PCR was also done as confirmatory test after doing postmortem of duck embryos. Read More

Med Microbiol Immunol 2017 Apr 22. Epub 2017 Apr 22.

Max von Pettenkofer Institute, National Reference Centre for Retroviruses, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of München, Pettenkofer Str 9A, 80336, Munich, Germany.

Transmission of infectious agents might be associated with iatrogenic actions of charitable help in health care. An example is the vaccination against yellow fever in USA that transmitted hepatitis B virus. Another example is injections of praziquantel for treatment and cure of schistosomiasis in Central and Northern Africa, with a focus in Egypt that has spread hepatitis C virus. Read More

Ophthalmologica 2017 Apr 20. Epub 2017 Apr 20.

Department of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.

Diabetic retinal disease is envisioned to become the plague of the coming decades with a steep increase of worldwide diabetes incidence followed by a substantial rise in retinal disease. Improvements in diagnostic and therapeutic care have to cope with this dilemma in a clinically and socioeconomically efficient manner. Laser treatment has found a less destructive competitor in pharmacological treatments. Read More

Front Neurol 2017 4;8:114. Epub 2017 Apr 4.

Institute for Clinical Neurosciences, German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, Germany.

Seasickness and its triggers, symptoms, and preventive measures were well known in antiquity. This chapter is based on an analysis of descriptions of motion sickness, in particular seasickness, in ancient Greek, Roman, and Chinese literature. A systematic search was made from the Greek period beginning with Homer in 800 BC to the late Roman period and ending with Aetios Amidenos in 600 AD, as well as in the Chinese medical classics dating from around 300 AD. Read More

J Wildl Dis 2017 Apr 18. Epub 2017 Apr 18.

1 College of Veterinary Medicine, Oregon State University, 700 SW 30th Street, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA.

Rodents and other small wild mammals are often considered to be pests and vectors for disease in zoos that house small populations of valuable threatened and endangered animals. In 2005, three nonhuman primates at a drive-through zoo in Oregon, USA, acquired tularemia from an unknown source. Due to an abundance of California ground squirrels ( Spermophilus beecheyi ) on zoo grounds, we instituted serosurveillance of this species from July through September 2008 to determine the prevalence of antibodies against pathogens considered to be potentially transmissible to collection animals. Read More

Pak J Pharm Sci 2016 Nov;29(6(Special)):2191-2198

Fushan District People's Hospital, Yantai, Shandong Province, China.

To investigate the epidemic characteristics and prevention strategies of main infectious diseases. From 2010 to 2012, 23 notifiable diseases were reported in Yantai with average reported cases of 17,376. The morbidity was the highest in 2012 and the lowest in 2011. Read More

J Med Entomol 2017 May;54(3):719-725

Department of Clinical Microbiology, The University of Zambia, P.O. Box 32379, Lusaka, Zambia

A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Eastern part of Zambia that previously reported a plague outbreak. The aim of the study was to evaluate the potential role of pigs, goats, and sheep as sero-surveillance hosts for monitoring plague, and to investigate the flea vectors and potential reservoir hosts to establish the current status of plague endemicity in the district. Serum samples were collected from 96 rodents, 10 shrews, 245 domestic pigs, 232 goats, and 31 sheep, whereas 106 organs were eviscerated from rodents and shrews. Read More

Birth Defects Res 2017 Mar;109(5):391-398

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.

Intentional release of infectious agents and biological weapons to cause illness and death has the potential to greatly impact pregnant women and their fetuses. We review what is known about the maternal and fetal effects of seven biological threats: Bacillus anthracis (anthrax); variola virus (smallpox); Clostridium botulinum toxin (botulism); Burkholderia mallei (glanders) and Burkholderia pseudomallei (melioidosis); Yersinia pestis (plague); Francisella tularensis (tularemia); and Rickettsia prowazekii (typhus). Evaluating the potential maternal, fetal, and infant consequences of an intentional release of an infectious agent requires an assessment of several key issues: (1) are pregnant women more susceptible to infection or illness compared to the general population?; (2) are pregnant women at increased risk for severe illness, morbidity, and mortality compared to the general population?; (3) does infection or illness during pregnancy place women, the fetus, or the infant at increased risk for adverse outcomes and how does this affect clinical management?; and (4) are the medical countermeasures recommended for the general population safe and effective during pregnancy? These issues help frame national guidance for the care of pregnant women during an intentional release of a biological threat. Read More

Zhonghua Yu Fang Yi Xue Za Zhi 2017 Apr;51(4):353-357

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Urumqi 830002, China.

Objective: To observe the dynamics of antibody response in great gerbils infected with Yersinia pestis in experiment. Method: A total of 211 great gerbils were captured in the southern margin of plague natural focus of Junggar Basin of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in 2011. Among them, there were 167 great gerbils without infection of Y. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2017 Apr 10;11(4):e0005535. Epub 2017 Apr 10.

Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, National Reference Laboratory for Plague, Tularemia and Q Fever, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Akanlu, Kabudar-Ahang, Hamadan, Iran.

Background: Q fever is an endemic disease in different parts of Iran. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of acute Q fever disease among at-risk individuals in northwestern Iran.

Methodology: An etiological study was carried out in 2013 in Tabriz County. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2017 Apr 10;11(4):e0005521. Epub 2017 Apr 10.

Department of Bacteriology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.

Background: Q fever is a main zoonotic disease around the world. The aim of this meta-analysis was to estimate the overall seroprevalence of Coxiella burnetii among human and animal population in Iran.

Methods: Major national and international databases were searched from 2005 up to August 2016. Read More

J Interferon Cytokine Res 2017 Apr 7. Epub 2017 Apr 7.

1 Institute of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University , Chengdu, China .

Type III interferons (IFN-λ1/λ2/λ3, also known as IL-29/28A/28B, and IFN-λ4) are a recently discovered interferon group. In this study, we first identified the Chinese goose IFN-λ (goIFN-λ). The full-length sequence of goIFN-λ was found to be 823 bp. Read More

JAMA 2017 04;317(13):1298-1299

University of California San Francisco, AIDS Research Institute.

J Wildl Dis 2017 Apr 6. Epub 2017 Apr 6.

1   Department of Biology, University of South Dakota, 414 East Clark St., Vermillion, South Dakota 57069, USA.

Sylvatic plague is one of the major impediments to the recovery of the black-footed ferret ( Mustela nigripes ) because it decimates their primary prey species, prairie dogs ( Cynomys spp.), and directly causes mortality in ferrets. Fleas are the primary vector of Yersinia pestis , the causative agent of sylvatic plague. Read More

J Biol Chem 2017 Apr 5. Epub 2017 Apr 5.

Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute, CAAS, China

Rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV), an important member of the caliciviridae family, cannot be propagated in vitro, which has greatly impeded the progress of investigations into the mechanisms of pathogenesis, translation, and replication of this and related viruses. In this study, we have successfully bypassed this obstacle by constructing a mutant RHDV (mRHDV) by using a reverse genetics-technique. By changing two amino acids (305S→R, 307N→D), we produced a specific receptor recognition motif (Arg-Gly-Asp, called RGD) on the surface of the RHDV capsid protein. Read More

J Pediatric Infect Dis Soc 2017 Apr 4. Epub 2017 Apr 4.

Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases.

Plague is a disease caused by Yersinia pestis. Septicemic and pneumonic plague have a high mortality rate if untreated. Here we describe the challenges of accurately diagnosing a nonfatal pediatric case of septicemic plague with involvement of multiple organs; to our knowledge, the first documented case of multifocal plague osteomyelitis. Read More

J BUON 2017 Jan-Feb;22(1):6-20

Transplantation Unit, "Laikon" General Hospital, Athens, Greece.

Liver carcinogenesis in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a subject of intense research nowadays, since NAFLD is the most common chronic liver disease, affecting a great percentage of the population worldwide, while hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which represents the most common primary liver malignancy, is the third leading cause of cancer-related mortality. The underlying pathogenic pathways of both NAFLD and HCC are not completely understood, but there is growing evidence that they share many common pathophysiologic mechanisms and risk factors. Due to lack of solid evidence, though, the ultimate goal of designing effective diagnostic tools, treatment options and screening policies remain unmet for the time being. Read More

Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2017 Mar 30. Epub 2017 Mar 30.

Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair, Department of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair, University of South Florida College of Medicine, 12901 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. MDC 78, Tampa, FL 33612, USA. Electronic address:

Brain insults with progressive neurodegeneration are inherent in pathological symptoms that represent many psychiatric illnesses. Neural network disruptions characterized by impaired neurogenesis have been recognized to precede, accompany, and possibly even exacerbate the evolution and progression of symptoms of psychiatric disorders. Here, we focus on the neurodegeneration and the resulting psychiatric symptoms observed in fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and epilepsy, in an effort to show that these two diseases are candidate targets for stem cell therapy. Read More

J Wildl Dis 2017 Mar 31. Epub 2017 Mar 31.

1 Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife, Wildlife Health Program, 4330 Laporte Avenue, Fort Collins, Colorado 80521-2153, USA.

Technology and infrastructure costs can limit access to oral vaccination tools for wildlife disease control. We describe vaccine bait mass manufacturing employing off-the-shelf technologies. Our approach has helped advance scaling-up of plague vaccination campaigns, but components of this production system could be translated into other wildlife vaccination applications. Read More

Bull Exp Biol Med 2017 Mar 31;162(5):666-670. Epub 2017 Mar 31.

Research Center of Family Health and Reproduction Problems, Irkutsk, Russia.

The effects of nanostructurized composites argentogalactomannan and argento-poly-1-vinyl-1,2,4-triasole on the kinetics of T cell maturation in the thymus of albino mice were studied. These nanocomposites stimulated the formation of CD3(+)CD4(+)CD8(-) and CD3(+)CD4(-)CD8(+) cells from CD3(-)CD4(-)CD8(-) cells, the effect of argentogalactomannan was more potent. The efficiency of these compounds as agents improving the defense potential deserves special studies. Read More

J Parasitol 2017 Mar 30. Epub 2017 Mar 30.

* Colorado State University Colorado State University.

Fleas (Insecta: Siphonaptera) are hematophagous ectoparasites that can reduce the fitness of vertebrate hosts. Laboratory populations of fleas decline under dry conditions, implying that populations of fleas will also decline when precipitation is scarce under natural conditions. If precipitation and hence vegetative production are reduced, however, then herbivorous hosts might suffer declines in body condition and have weakened defenses against fleas, so that fleas will increase in abundance. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2017 Mar;96(13):e6173

aAix Marseille Univ, URMITE, UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, INSERM 1095, IHU Méditerranée Infection, Marseille bAPHM, Service de Pneumologie, Equipe de Transplantation pulmonaire cAPHM, Service d'Anatomo-Pathologie dAPHM, Service de Chirurgie Thoracique, Equipe de Transplantation pulmonaire eAPHM, Service de Réanimation Détresses Respiratoires et Infections Sévères, Hôpital Nord, Marseille, France.

Rationale: Solid organ transplant recipients, especially after lung transplantation, are at increased risk for Mycobacterium tuberculosis pulmonary tuberculosis due to lifelong immunosuppression.

Patient Concerns: A 41-year-old woman underwent a second bilateral lung transplantation that was complicated by fatal pulmonary tuberculosis.

Diagnoses: Histological examination of a lung biopsy performed 6 weeks after retransplantation revealed a caseating granuloma and necrosis. Read More

Expert Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 2017 Jun 5;11(6):507-521. Epub 2017 Apr 5.

a Medicinal Chemistry , University of Washington, Puget Sound VA HCS , Seattle , WA , USA.

Introduction: C. difficile infections (CDI) have been a challenging disease to treat, much less to prevent, for decades. Efforts for primary prevention have mainly focused on improving infection control practices, but CDI outbreaks continue to plague healthcare facilities. Read More

Vet Q 2017 Dec;37(1):57-80

g ICAR - Indian Veterinary Research Institute , Izatnagar , India.

Duck virus enteritis (DVE), also called duck plague, is one of the major contagious and fatal diseases of ducks, geese and swan. It is caused by duck enteritis virus (DEV)/Anatid herpesvirus-1 of the genus Mardivirus, family Herpesviridae, and subfamily Alpha-herpesvirinae. Of note, DVE has worldwide distribution, wherein migratory waterfowl plays a crucial role in its transmission within and between continents. Read More

Front Microbiol 2017 28;8:312. Epub 2017 Feb 28.

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Israel Institute for Biological Research Ness-Ziona, Israel.

The early symptoms of tularemia and plague, which are caused by Francisella tularensis and Yersinia pestis infection, respectively, are common to other illnesses, resulting in a low index of suspicion among clinicians. Moreover, because these diseases can be treated only with antibiotics, rapid isolation of the bacteria and antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) are preferable. Blood cultures of patients may serve as a source for bacteria isolation. Read More

Kardiologiia 2017 Jan(1):42-47

Russian Cardiology Research and Production Complex, Moscow, Russia.

Purpose: Determination of computed tomography angiography (CTA) informativeness in assessment of state of atherosclerotic coronary plaque (ACP) and identification of signs of its instability compared with intravascular ultrasound (IVUS).

Materials And Methods: Coronary CTA was carried out in 52 patients with clinical presentation of non-ST elevation (NSTE) acute coronary syndrome on the first day of hospitalization. ACPs were identified in 32 of 52 patients (61. Read More

Front Cardiovasc Med 2017 24;4. Epub 2017 Feb 24.

Department of Anatomical Sciences, All Saints University School of Medicine , Roseau , Dominica.

The finances of patients and countries are increasingly overwhelmed with the plague of cardiovascular diseases as a result of having to chronically manage the associated complications of ischemia such as heart failures, neurological deficits, chronic limb ulcers, gangrenes, and amputations. Hence, scientific research has sought for alternate therapies since pharmacological and surgical treatments have fallen below expectations in providing the desired quality of life. The advent of stem cells research has raised expectations with respect to vascular regeneration and tissue remodeling, hence assuring the patients of the possibility of an improved quality of life. Read More

PLoS One 2017 9;12(3):e0173528. Epub 2017 Mar 9.

Coxiella Pathogenesis Section, Laboratory of Bacteriology, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, United States of America.

Published data show that murine bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM) restrict growth of avirulent phase II, but not virulent phase I, Coxiella burnetii. Growth restriction of phase II bacteria is thought to result from potentiated recognition of pathogen-associated molecular patterns, which leads to production of inhibitory effector molecules. Past studies have used conditioned medium from L-929 murine fibroblasts as a source of macrophage-colony stimulating factor (M-CSF) to promote differentiation of bone marrow-derived myeloid precursors into macrophages. Read More