Abstract The European sero-epidemiology network (ESEN2) aims to standardise serological surveillance of varicella zoster virus (VZV) in 11 participant countries. In each country, serum banks were ...collected between 1996 and 2003 and tested for VZV antibodies. Assay results were standardised so that international comparisons could be made. Age-specific forces of infection were calculated for three age groups (<5, 5–9 and ≥10 years of age) and used to estimate the base reproduction number ( R0 ) and the herd immunity threshold ( H ). Most VZV infection occurred in childhood, but there was a wide variation in transmissibility, with R0 ranging from 16.9 in the Netherlands to 3.3 in Italy. Herd immunity thresholds varied from 70% in Italy to 94% in the Netherlands. There are substantial differences in VZV sero-epidemiology within the European region, which will need to be taken into account in designing national policies regarding VZV vaccination.
Abstract
The paper describes our vision of a green conversion of selected administrative building in Košice, which is supported by the research project APVV-18-0360 ACHIEve Active Hybrid ...Infrastructure for a sponge city. The greenIZOLA vision represents a set of complex measures, the result of which is a logically, economically, and environmentally justified design of a green building. Within separate stages, the individual parts of the complex and the building are gradually transformed into structures with a potential for retaining rainwater. At the same time, the proposed architectural structures introduce a potential for the creation of experimental structures designed for multidisciplinary research of synergistic links between the building, the environment and vegetation units. The transformation process uses a multidisciplinary approach (BIM, data analysis, life cycle analysis, water retention modelling in the environment, analysis of vegetation units, energy and multiphysical simulations). By applying these approaches, it is possible to monitor the proposed structures, analyse their effects, predict their behaviour, and then optimise the system.
The information on candidate cancer driver alterations available from public databases is often descriptive and of limited mechanistic insight, which poses difficulties for reliable distinction ...between true driver and passenger events. To address this challenge, we performed in-depth analysis of whole-exome sequencing data from cell lines generated by a barrier bypass-clonal expansion (BBCE) protocol. The employed strategy is based on carcinogen-driven immortalization of primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts and recapitulates early steps of cell transformation. Among the mutated genes were almost 200 COSMIC Cancer Gene Census genes, many of which were recurrently affected in the set of 25 immortalized cell lines. The alterations affected pathways regulating DNA damage response and repair, transcription and chromatin structure, cell cycle and cell death, as well as developmental pathways. The functional impact of the mutations was strongly supported by the manifestation of several known cancer hotspot mutations among the identified alterations. We identified a new set of genes encoding subunits of the BAF chromatin remodeling complex that exhibited Ras-mediated dependence on PRC2 histone methyltransferase activity, a finding that is similar to what has been observed for other BAF subunits in cancer cells. Among the affected BAF complex subunits, we determined Smarcd2 and Smarcc1 as putative driver candidates not yet fully identified by large-scale cancer genome sequencing projects. In addition, Ep400 displayed characteristics of a driver gene in that it showed a mutually exclusive mutation pattern when compared with mutations in the Trrap subunit of the TIP60 complex, both in the cell line panel and in a human tumor data set. We propose that the information generated by deep sequencing of the BBCE cell lines coupled with phenotypic analysis of the mutant cells can yield mechanistic insights into driver events relevant to human cancer development.
In patients with typical angina pectoris, inducible myocardial ischaemia and macroscopically normal coronaries (cardiac syndrome X (CSX)), a significantly elevated plasma level of terminal complement ...complex (TCC), the common end product of complement activation, has been observed without accompanying activation of the classical or the alternative pathways. Therefore, our aim was to clarify the role of the ficolin–lectin pathway in CSX. Eighteen patients with CSX, 37 stable angina patients with significant coronary stenosis (CHD) and 54 healthy volunteers (HC) were enrolled. Serum levels of ficolin‐2 and ficolin‐3, ficolin‐3/MASP‐2 complex and ficolin‐3‐mediated TCC deposition (FCN3‐TCC) were determined. Plasma level of TCC was significantly higher in the CSX than in the HC or CHD group (5.45 versus 1.30 versus 2.04 AU/ml, P < 0.001). Serum levels of ficolin‐2 and ficolin‐3 were significantly lower in the CSX compared to the HC or CHD group (3.60 versus 5.80 or 5.20 μg/ml, P < 0.05; 17.80 versus 24.10 or 26.80 μg/ml, P < 0.05). The ficolin‐3/MASP‐2 complex was significantly lower in the CSX group compared to the HC group (92.90 versus 144.90 AU/ml, P = 0.006). FCN3‐TCC deposition was significantly lower in the CSX group compared to the HC and CHD groups (67.8% versus 143.3% or 159.7%, P < 0.05). In the CSX group, a significant correlation was found between TCC and FCN3‐TCC level (r = 0.507, P = 0.032) and between ficolin‐3/MASP‐2 complex level and FCN3‐TCC deposition (r = 0.651, P = 0.003). In conclusion, in patients with typical angina and myocardial ischaemia despite macroscopically normal coronary arteries, low levels of several lectin pathway parameters were observed, indicating complement activation and consumption. Complement activation through the ficolin–lectin pathway might play a role in the complex pathomechanism of CSX.
The effect of probiotic strains (
EF55,
CCM7420,
CCM8558,
ED26E/7,
CCM7421,
17L/1) on the production of superoxide anion (O
) in peritoneal macrophages of
infected mice was examined.
EF55 and
CCM8558 ...strains increased the O
production prior to parasitic infection,at the day7of application.A significant inhibition of the O
production caused by
infection on day 5
infection (p.i.) was prevented by all examined strains. Lactobacilli stimulated metabolic activity of macrophages during intestinal and early muscular phase (from day 5 to 25 p.i.) of trichinellosis. Enterococci increased the O
production in early intestinal phase (day 5 p.i.) and during the muscular phase of trichinellosis (days 25 and 32 p.i.). Respected increase in macrophage’s metabolic activity induced by probiotic treatment in the intestinal phase of trichinellosis augmented the host antiparasite defence (damage and killing of newborn larvae with reactive oxygen species from macrophages).
Agrimonia eupatoria L. is an herb of the Rosaceae family, widely used in traditional (folk) medicine for its beneficial effects. Its water extracts (infusions and decoctions) are used in the ...treatment of airway and urinary system diseases, digestive tract diseases, and chronic wounds. Phytochemical analyses of Agrimonia eupatoria L. identified a variety of bioactive compounds including tannins, flavonoids, phenolic acids, triterpenoids and volatile oils possessing antioxidant, immunomodulatory and antimicrobial activities. The authors review the available literature sources examining and discussing the therapeutic and pharmacological effects of Agrimonia eupatoria L. at the molecular level in vitro and in vivo.
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