Herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia occur more often with increasing age. In this controlled trial among 38,546 adults 60 years of age or older, vaccination with a live attenuated ...varicella–zoster vaccine reduced the incidence of postherpetic neuralgia by 66.5 percent (as compared with placebo) and the incidence of herpes zoster by 51.3 percent.
In adults 60 years of age or older, vaccination with a live attenuated varicella–zoster vaccine reduced the incidence of postherpetic neuralgia by 66.5 percent (as compared with placebo) and the incidence of herpes zoster by 51.3 percent.
Herpes zoster, or shingles, is characterized by unilateral radicular pain and a vesicular rash that is generally limited to a single dermatome.
1
,
2
Herpes zoster results from reactivation of latent varicella–zoster virus (VZV) within the sensory ganglia.
3
,
4
The incidence and severity of herpes zoster increase with advancing age; more than half of all persons in whom herpes zoster develops are older than 60 years. Complications occur in almost 50 percent of older persons with herpes zoster.
3
–
5
The most frequent debilitating complication is postherpetic neuralgia, a neuropathic pain syndrome that persists or develops after the dermatomal rash has healed. . . .
In 1995 a fatal epidemic of spongiform encephalopathy appeared in Great Britain. The new epidemic condition was clinically and pathologically similar to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), a rare ...sporadic encephalopathy, and was called "variant CJD" (vCJD). The vCJD epidemic was detected by active epidemiologic surveillance, which had been set up in response to a British epizootic of another new disease called "bovine spongiform encephalopathy" (BSE). Widespread cattle exposure to the BSE agent (a prion) had presumably been occurring in Britain since about 1982, when changes in the rendering process allowed infected material to contaminate cattle feed. Concern that the bovine disease might transmit to humans via beef consumption led to the active surveillance program. Tragically, BSE transmission to humans appears to have led to over 100 cases of vCJD. Millions of affected cattle were eventually slaughtered throughout Europe. Cattle are now routinely tested for BSE at 24-30 months of age, and affected herds are destroyed. These measures have exponentially reduced the BSE epizootic. Britain and other European countries that received contaminated beef or cattle feed nevertheless remain concerned about the combination of nearly universal past human exposure in Britain, variable exposure elsewhere, an unknown incubation period, vCJD case totals that continue to mount, and worst-case predictions that extend to many thousands of eventual human cases.
Full text
Available for:
BFBNIB, NUK, PNG, UL, UM, UPUK
•Gammarus roeseli females are less sensitive to cadmium than males.•Energy mobilization under chemical stress is difference according to gender.•Gender could take into account to an overview of ...xenobiotics effects on population.
To investigate xenobiotic impacts on organism physiology, several studies involve biomarker assessment. However, most studies do not take into account the toxic effect on both males and females. Here, we have investigated the influence of gender on the detoxification response (reduced glutathione, metallothionein, γ-glutamylcystein ligase and carotenoid), energy reserves (protein, lipids and glycogen) and biomarker of toxic effects (malondialdehyde) in Gammarus roeseli exposed to cadmium. A principal component analysis revealed that G. roeseli males and females were differently impacted by cadmium. We observed lower malondialdehyde levels in females than in males, whatever the condition tested (i.e. control, 2 and 8μgCdL−1), although the pattern of responses of control and exposures to 2 or 8μgL−1 was the same for both genders. Results could be linked to apparently more effective detoxification displayed by females than by males. Protein concentrations were unchanged in both genders, lipids contents were always significantly decreased and glycogen contents decreased only in females. This study supports the importance of taking into account the gender in ecotoxicological studies to have an overview of xenobiotics effects on a population.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Variations of atmospheric CO
during the Pleistocene ice-ages have been associated with changes in the drawdown of carbon into the deep-sea. Modelling studies suggest that about one third of the ...glacial carbon drawdown may not be associated to the deep ocean, but to the thermocline or intermediate ocean. However, the carbon storage capacity of thermocline waters is still poorly constrained. Here we present paired
Th/U and
C measurements on scleractinian cold-water corals retrieved from ~ 450 m water depth off the Maldives in the Indian Ocean. Based on these measurements we calculate ∆
C, ∆∆
C and Benthic-Atmosphere (B
) ages in order to understand the ventilation dynamics of the equatorial Indian Ocean thermocline during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Our results demonstrate a radiocarbon depleted thermocline as low as -250 to -345‰ (∆∆
C), corresponding to ~ 500-2100 years (B
) old waters at the LGM compared to ~ 380 years today. More broadly, we show that thermocline ventilation ages are one order of magnitude more variable than previously thought. Such a radiocarbon depleted thermocline can at least partly be explained by variable abyssal upwelling of deep-water masses with elevated respired carbon concentrations. Our results therefore have implications for radiocarbon-only based age models and imply that upper thermocline waters as shallow as 400 m depth can also contribute to some of the glacial carbon drawdown.
Full text
Available for:
IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Class 2 CRISPR-Cas systems, such as Cas9 and Cas12, have been widely used to target DNA sequences in eukaryotic genomes. However, class 1 CRISPR-Cas systems, which represent about 90% of all CRISPR ...systems in nature, remain largely unexplored for genome engineering applications. Here, we show that class 1 CRISPR-Cas systems can be expressed in mammalian cells and used for DNA targeting and transcriptional control. We repurpose type I variants of class 1 CRISPR-Cas systems from Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes, which target DNA via a multi-component RNA-guided complex termed Cascade. We validate Cascade expression, complex formation and nuclear localization in human cells, and demonstrate programmable CRISPR RNA (crRNA)-mediated targeting of specific loci in the human genome. By tethering activation and repression domains to Cascade, we modulate the expression of targeted endogenous genes in human cells. This study demonstrates the use of Cascade as a CRISPR-based technology for targeted eukaryotic gene regulation, highlighting class 1 CRISPR-Cas systems for further exploration.
Full text
Available for:
EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
We investigated the influence of the acanthocephalan parasite
Polymorphus minutus
on the mortality of its intermediate host,
Gammarus roeseli
, exposed to cadmium, by the measure of LC
50–96h
values ...as well as the bioaccumulation of cadmium both in the host and in its parasite. LC
50
results revealed that infected
G. roeseli
males died less under cadmium stress than uninfected ones; while the converse has been observed in females. Cadmium resistance of infected males could be explained by a weaker bioconcentration factor (BCF) than in females. The lower BCF in infected individuals was closely related with an uptake of cadmium by
P. minutus
in its host. Nevertheless, although infected females had both weaker BCF and cadmium concentration in their body, the presence of
P. minutus
did not induce lower mortality than uninfected females. On the contrary, their sensitivity to cadmium was increased by the presence of
P. minutus
. We discuss the hypothesis that differences of mortality between uninfected and infected gammarids could be explained by a difference of cadmium bioconcentration in host, and by the cadmium bioaccumulation in the parasite. Indeed, results suggested that
P. minutus
could help
G. roeseli
to face with stress, what contributed to keep the host alive and favour the parasite transmission.
Full text
Available for:
EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
In disturbed environments, infected organisms have to face both parasitic and chemical stresses. Although this situation is common, few studies have been devoted to the effects of infection on hosts' ...energy reserves and antitoxic defence capacities, while parasite survival depends on host survival. In this study, we tested the consequences of an infection by Polymorphus minutus on the energy reserves (protein, lipid and glycogen) and antioxidant defence capacities (reduced glutathione, γ-glutamylcysteine ligase activity) of Gammarus roeseli males and females, in the absence of chemical stress. Moreover, malondialdehyde concentration was used as a toxicity biomarker. The results revealed that in infected G. roeseli, whatever their gender and the sampling month, protein and lipid contents were lower, but glycogen contents were higher. This could be explained by the fact that the parasite diverts part of the host's energy for its own development. Moreover, glutathione concentrations and γ-glutamylcysteine ligase activity were both lower, which could lead to lower antitoxic defence in the host. These results suggest negative effects on individuals in the case of additional stress (e.g. pollutant exposure). In the absence of chemical stress, the lower malondialdehyde level in infected gammarids could imply a probable protective effect of the parasite.
Genomic sequencing is essential to track the evolution and spread of SARS-CoV-2, optimize molecular tests, treatments, vaccines, and guide public health responses. To investigate the global ...SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance, we used sequences shared via GISAID to estimate the impact of sequencing intensity and turnaround times on variant detection in 189 countries. In the first two years of the pandemic, 78% of high-income countries sequenced >0.5% of their COVID-19 cases, while 42% of low- and middle-income countries reached that mark. Around 25% of the genomes from high income countries were submitted within 21 days, a pattern observed in 5% of the genomes from low- and middle-income countries. We found that sequencing around 0.5% of the cases, with a turnaround time <21 days, could provide a benchmark for SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance. Socioeconomic inequalities undermine the global pandemic preparedness, and efforts must be made to support low- and middle-income countries improve their local sequencing capacity.
Tumor-specific genomic aberrations are routinely determined by high-throughput genomic measurements. It remains unclear how complex genome alterations affect molecular networks through changing ...protein levels and consequently biochemical states of tumor tissues.
Here, we investigate the propagation of genomic effects along the axis of gene expression during prostate cancer progression. We quantify genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic alterations based on 105 prostate samples, consisting of benign prostatic hyperplasia regions and malignant tumors, from 39 prostate cancer patients. Our analysis reveals the convergent effects of distinct copy number alterations impacting on common downstream proteins, which are important for establishing the tumor phenotype. We devise a network-based approach that integrates perturbations across different molecular layers, which identifies a sub-network consisting of nine genes whose joint activity positively correlates with increasingly aggressive tumor phenotypes and is predictive of recurrence-free survival. Further, our data reveal a wide spectrum of intra-patient network effects, ranging from similar to very distinct alterations on different molecular layers.
This study uncovers molecular networks with considerable convergent alterations across tumor sites and patients. It also exposes a diversity of network effects: we could not identify a single sub-network that is perturbed in all high-grade tumor regions.
The establishment and maintenance of mitotic and meiotic stable (epigenetic) transcription patterns is fundamental for cell determination and function. Epigenetic regulation of transcription is ...mediated by epigenetic activators and repressors, and may require the establishment, 'spreading' and maintenance of epigenetic signals. Although these signals remain unclear, it has been proposed that chromatin structure and consequently post-translational modification of histones may have an important role in epigenetic gene expression. Here we show that the epigenetic activator Ash1 (ref. 5) is a multi-catalytic histone methyl-transferase (HMTase) that methylates lysine residues 4 and 9 in H3 and 20 in H4. Transcriptional activation by Ash1 coincides with methylation of these three lysine residues at the promoter of Ash1 target genes. The methylation pattern placed by Ash1 may serve as a binding surface for a chromatin remodelling complex containing the epigenetic activator Brahma (Brm), an ATPase, and inhibits the interaction of epigenetic repressors with chromatin. Chromatin immunoprecipitation indicates that epigenetic activation of Ultrabithorax transcription in Drosophila coincides with trivalent methylation by Ash1 and recruitment of Brm. Thus, histone methylation by Ash1 may provide a specific signal for the establishment of epigenetic, active transcription patterns.
Full text
Available for:
DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
PDF
