scholarly journals Mycobacteria in water, soil, plants and air: a review

2013 ◽  
Vol 57 (No. 12) ◽  
pp. 623-679 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Hruska ◽  
M. Kaevska

Amazingly, despite the 24 143 papers on mycobacteria, indexed in the Web of Science database during the last six years, published by 67 008 authors from 13 128 organizations located in 166 countries or territories, internationally accepted legal directives on how to control the public health risk associated with environmental mycobacteria have yet to be developed. Mycobacteria are human and animal pathogens, causing not only tuberculosis and leprosy, but mycobacterioses of skin, soft tissues and lung. Due to their cell wall composition and their adaptability mycobacteria can survive in different habitats for years. Their immunomodulatory ability has been recognised for more than 50 years and hundreds of papers published during the last two decades have demonstrated that small chemical products derived from mycobacterial cells participate in inflammatory pathways involved the pathogenesis of important human diseases like Crohn’s disease, asthma, type 1 diabetes mellitus, psoriasis, arthrosis, Blau syndrom, sarcoidosis, autism etc. Mycobacteria can influence inflammatory pathways not only as live organisms, but also by means of components derived from dead cells. Pasteurisation or cooking does not affect this ability. Hence, how many mycobacterial cells are ingested, what factors play a role concurrently, and how long the harmful effect persists become important questions. This paper presents only a short review based on selected papers about mycobacteria in water, soil, plants and air with the aim of attracting attention to this significant global problem and of making the first steps towards protection of people. Selected bibliographic references of published data from 2007 to 2012 are presented in easy-to-navigate tables.

Genes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 268
Author(s):  
Marta Ferrari ◽  
Stefano Stagi

Within immune system-related diseases, autoimmunity has always represented a field of great interest, although many aspects remain poorly understood even today. Genetic syndromes associated with immunity disorders are common and represent an interesting model for a better understanding of the underlying mechanism of autoimmunity predisposition. Among these conditions, Down syndrome (DS) certainly deserves special attention as it represents the most common genetic syndrome associated with immune dysregulation, involving both innate and adaptive immunity. Autoimmunity represents a well-known complication of DS: it is estimated that people affected by this disease present a risk four to six times higher than the normal population to develop autoimmune diseases such as celiac disease, type 1 diabetes mellitus, and hypo- or hyperthyroidism. Several factors have been considered as possible etiology, including genetic and epigenetic modifications and immune dysregulation. In times in which the life expectancy of people with DS has been extremely prolonged, thanks to improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart disease and infectious complications, knowledge of the mechanisms and proper management of autoimmune diseases within this syndrome has become essential. In this short review, we aim to report the current literature regarding the genetic, immune, and environmental factors that have been proposed as the possible underlying mechanism of autoimmunity in individuals with DS, with the intent to provide insight for a comprehensive understanding of these diseases in genetic syndromes.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Cao ◽  
Junxiao Zheng ◽  
Yixue Chen

Atmospheric dispersion modeling and radiation dose calculations have been performed for a hypothetical AP1000 SGTR accident by HotSpot code 3.03. TEDE, the respiratory time-integrated air concentration, and the ground deposition are calculated for various atmospheric stability classes, Pasquill stability categories A–F with site-specific averaged meteorological conditions. The results indicate that the maximum plume centerline ground deposition value of1.2E+2 kBq/m2occurred at about 1.4 km and the maximum TEDE value of1.41E-05 Sv occurred at 1.4 km from the reactor. It is still far below the annual regulatory limits of 1 mSv for the public as set in IAEA Safety Report Series number 115. The released radionuclides might be transported to long distances but will not have any harmful effect on the public.


2006 ◽  
Vol 84 (10) ◽  
pp. 1294-1300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith Vaughan ◽  
Shasta Lee Moser ◽  
Reid Tingley ◽  
M Brad Peori ◽  
Valerio Bertolasi

Reaction of a series of diazonium salts with a mixture of formaldehyde and 1,2-diamino-2-methylpropane affords the 3-({5,5-dimethyl-3-[2-aryl-1-diazenyl]-1-imidazolidinyl}methyl)-4,4-dimethyl-1-[2-aryl-1-diazenyl]imidazolidines (1a–1f) in excellent yield. The products have been characterized by IR and NMR spectroscopic analysis, elemental analysis, and X-ray crystallography. The X-ray crystal structure of the p-methoxycarbonyl derivative (1c) establishes without question the connectivity of these novel molecules, which can be described as linear bicyclic oligomers with two imidazolidinyl groups linked together by a one-carbon spacer. This is indeed a rare molecular building block. The molecular structure is corroborated by 1H and 13C NMR data, which correlates with the previously published data of compounds of types 5 and 6 derived from 1,3-propanediamine. The triazene moieties in the crystal of 1c display significant π conjugation, which gives the N—N bond a significant degree of double-bond character. This in turn causes restricted rotation around the N—N bond, which leads to considerable broadening of signals in both the 1H and 13C NMR spectra. The molecular ion of the p-cyanophenyl derivative (1b) was observed using electrospray mass spectrometry (ES + Na). The mechanism of formation of molecules of type 1 is proposed to involve diazonium ion trapping of the previously unreported bisimidazolidinyl methane (13).Key words: triazene, bistriazene, imidazolidine, synthesis, X-ray crystallography, NMR spectroscopy.


2010 ◽  
Vol 2010 ◽  
pp. 1-3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jagadeesh K. Kalavakunta ◽  
Vishwaroop Bantu ◽  
Hemasri Tokala ◽  
Mihas Kodenchery

Introduction. Brugada syndrome accounts for about 4% of sudden cardiac deaths (SCD). It is characterized by an ST-segment elevation in the right precordial electrocardiogram (EKG) leads.Case Presentation. We describe a 39-year-old healthy Caucasian man who was admitted to the intensive care unit after being cardioverted from ventricular fibrillation (VF) arrest. His past history was significant for an episode of syncope one month prior to this presentation for which he was admitted to an outlying hospital. EKG during that admission showed ST elevations in V1 and V2 leads, a pattern similar to Type 1 Brugada. A diagnosis of Brugada syndrome was missed and the patient had a cardiac arrest a month later. We discuss a short review of Brugada syndrome and emphasize the need to look for it in patients presenting with SCD and malignant arrhythmias.Conclusion. Physicians should always consider Brugada syndrome in the differential diagnosis of ST-segment elevation in anterior precordial leads of EKG and associated VT/VF. Although more than 17 years have passed since the first case was reported, increased awareness of this syndrome is needed to identify patients with EKG changes and treat them accordingly to prevent incidence of (SCD) and its deleterious complications.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 175394471986813 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uma Markan ◽  
Samhitha Pasupuleti ◽  
Celina M. Pollard ◽  
Arianna Perez ◽  
Beatrix Aukszi ◽  
...  

Since the launch of the first orally available angiotensin II (AngII) type 1 receptor (AT1R) blocker (ARB) losartan (Cozaar) in the late 1990s, the class of ARBs (or ‘sartans’, short for Angiotensin-RecepTor-ANtagonistS) quickly expanded to include candesartan, eprosartan, irbesartan, valsartan, telmisartan, and olmesartan. All ARBs have high affinity for the AT1 receptor, expressed in various tissues, including smooth muscle cells, heart, kidney, and brain. Since activation of AT1R, the target of these drugs, leads, among other effects, to vascular smooth muscle cell growth, proliferation and contraction, activation of fibroblasts, cardiac hypertrophy, aldosterone secretion from the adrenal cortex, thirst-fluid intake (hypervolemia), etc., the ARBs are nowadays one of the most useful cardiovascular drug classes used in clinical practice. However, significant differences in their pharmacological and clinical properties exist that may favor use of particular agents over others within the class, and, in fact, two of these drugs, candesartan and valsartan, continuously appear to distinguish themselves from the rest of the ‘pack’ in recent clinical trials. The reason(s) for the potential superiority of these two agents within the ARB class are currently unclear but under intense investigation. The present short review gives an overview of the clinical properties of the ARBs currently approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration, with a particular focus on candesartan and valsartan and the areas where these two drugs seem to have a therapeutic edge. In the second part of our review, we outline recent data from our laboratory (mainly) on the molecular effects of the ARB drugs on aldosterone production and on circulating aldosterone levels, which may underlie (at least in part) the apparent clinical superiority of candesartan (and valsartan) over most other ARBs currently in clinical use.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-10
Author(s):  
Andreas Putro Ragil Santoso ◽  
Devyana Dyah Wulandari

Diabetes is a disease of metabolic disorders caused by poor production of insulin by the pancreas or due to the use of body insulin which is not maximal, causing interference. The main diabetes that often occurs in the community is type 1 and type 2 diabetes because of the influence of body insulin. Examination for detection is intended so that the public can find out about the presence of glucose in the urine so that the community can immediately recover faster, considering that if there is a glucose level in the urine, there is an increase in the level of glucose in the blood. The method used in this community service is to collect residents at the center, which is then carried out by examining the urine sample using a urine dysptic. Based on the results of examinations carried out on 62 people consisting of mothers and the elderly, it showed that there were 10 positive people or 19% of the total sample. This shows that early detection is important because there are still people who do not know the importance of early detection of disease in themselves, especially in the Kedung Pandan area.


BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. e019833 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillaume Fontaine ◽  
Andréane Lavallée ◽  
Marc-André Maheu-Cadotte ◽  
Julien Bouix-Picasso ◽  
Anne Bourbonnais

IntroductionThe optimisation of health science communication (HSC) between researchers and the public is crucial. In the last decade, the rise of the digital and social media ecosystem allowed for the disintermediation of HSC. Disintermediation refers to the public’s direct access to information from researchers about health science-related topics through the digital and social media ecosystem, a process that would otherwise require a human mediator, such as a journalist. Therefore, the primary aim of this scoping review is to describe the nature and the extent of the literature regarding HSC strategies involving disintermediation used by researchers with the public in the digital and social media ecosystem. The secondary aim is to describe the HSC strategies used by researchers, and the communication channels associated with these strategies.Methods and analysisWe will conduct a scoping review based on the Joanna Briggs Institute’s methodology and perform a systematic search of six bibliographical databases (CINAHL, EMBASE, IBSS, PubMed, Sociological Abstracts and Web of Science), four trial registries and relevant sources of grey literature. Relevant journals and reference lists of included records will be hand-searched. Data will be managed using the EndNote software and the Rayyan web application. Two review team members will perform independently the screening process as well as the full-text assessment of included records. Descriptive data will be synthesised in a tabular format. Data regarding the nature and the extent of the literature, the HSC strategies and the associated communication channels will be presented narratively.Ethics and disseminationThis review does not require institutional review board approval as we will use only collected and published data. Results will allow the mapping of the literature about HSC between researchers and the public in the digital and social media ecosystem, and will be published in a peer-reviewed journal.


Author(s):  
Alan Murray

The media and sections of the public have shown recently an acute interest in Pipeline operational performance incident statistics. Published data for North America shows that 99.999% of crude oil and petroleum products shipped by pipelines reach their destination safely. Some pipeline operators claim even better performance, 99.9996 % being one example. However, should failing to deliver 4 barrels of product for every million shipped be a legitimate cause for concern? If not how about the more general case of 1 per one hundred thousand? Is pipeline performance being singled out unreasonably when compared to other threats to public and environmental wellbeing such as medical malpractice or industrial waste contamination? Evidence from Canada and elsewhere, indicates that, during their hospital stay, an appreciable number of patients, one in every 18, experience adverse events, such as medication error, injurious falls, infections, and other medical misadventures. Errors (mostly minor), in fulfilling pharmaceutical prescriptions show an even higher error rate — 1 in 4 in one recent study, yet the public appears to be unperturbed. A common thread is determining what constitutes an acceptable level of risk whether individual or societal, voluntary or involuntary. Besides providing a broader context for pipeline risk, the paper explores the origin and intent of the environmental screening standard of 1 in 10−6, as well as the concept of setting risk tolerance to be as low as reasonably practicable — ALARP. The question of why there may be a reticence for many Pipeline Regulators to set, as other industries have, a prescriptive value for ALARP is considered.


2002 ◽  
Vol 76 (7) ◽  
pp. 3248-3256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul L. Boyer ◽  
Stefan G. Sarafianos ◽  
Edward Arnold ◽  
Stephen H. Hughes

ABSTRACT The M184V mutation in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) reverse transcriptase (RT) causes resistance to lamivudine, but it also increases the sensitivity of the virus to zidovudine (3′-azido-3′-deoxythymidine; AZT). This sensitization to AZT is seen both in the presence and the absence of the mutations that confer resistance to AZT. AZT resistance is due to enhanced excision of AZT 5′-monophosphate (AZTMP) from the end of the primer by the RT of the resistant virus. Published data suggest that the excision reaction involves pyrophosphorolysis but that the likely in vivo pyrophosphate donor is not pyrophosphate but ATP. The mutations that lead to AZT resistance enhance ATP binding and, in so doing, enhance pyrophosphorolysis. The excision reaction is specific for AZT because HIV-1 RT, which can form a closed complex with a dideoxy-terminated primer and an incoming deoxynucleoside triphosphate (dNTP), does not form the closed complex with an AZTMP-terminated primer and an incoming dNTP. This means that an AZTMP-terminated primer has better access to the site where it can be excised. The M184V mutation alters the polymerase active site in a fashion that specifically interferes with ATP-mediated excision of AZTMP from the end of the primer strand. The M184V mutation does not affect the incorporation of AZT 5′-triphosphate (AZTTP), either in the presence or the absence of mutations that enhance AZTMP excision. However, in the presence of ATP, the M184V mutation does decrease the ability of HIV-1 RT to carry out AZTMP excision. Based on these results, and on the results of other excision experiments, we present a model to explain how the M184V mutation affects AZTMP excision.


2010 ◽  
Vol 30 (01) ◽  
pp. 29-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Watson ◽  
M. Daly ◽  
B. Dawood ◽  
P. Gissen ◽  
M. Makris ◽  
...  

SummaryPlatelet number or function disorders cause a range of bleeding symptoms from mild to severe. Patients with platelet dysfunction but normal platelet number are the most prevalent and typically have mild bleeding symptoms. The study of this group of patients is particularly difficult because of the lack of a gold-standard test of platelet function and the variable penetrance of the bleeding phenotype among affected individuals.The purpose of this short review is to discuss the way in which this group of patients can be investigated through platelet phenotyping in combination with targeted gene sequencing. This approach has been used recently to identify patients with mutations in key platelet activation receptors, namely those for ADP, collagen and thromboxane A2 (TxA2). One interesting finding from this work is that for some patients, mild bleeding is associated with heterozygous mutations in platelet proteins that are co-inherited with other genetic disorders of haemostasis such as type 1 von Willebrand‘s disease. Thus, the phenotype of mild bleeding may be multifactorial in some patients and may be considered to be a complex trait.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document