Plos One
-
Due to the presence of the lake Quarun and to the particular nature of its irrigation system, it has been speculated that the Fayum, a large depression 80 kilometers south-west of modern Cairo, was exposed to the hazards of malaria in historic times. Similarly, it has been speculated that, in the same area, also human tuberculosis might have been far more widespread in the antiquity than in its recent past. If these hypotheses were confirmed, it would imply that frequent cases of co-infection between the two pathogens might have occurred in ancient populations. ⋯ Our data confirm that the hydrography of Fayum was extremely conducive to the spread of malaria. They also support the notion that the agricultural boom and dense crowding occurred in this region, especially under the Ptolemies, highly increased the probability for the manifestation and spread of tuberculosis. Here we extend back-wards to ca. 800 BC new evidence for malaria tropica and human tuberculosis co-occurrence in ancient Lower Egypt.
-
Dual/mixed-tropic HIV-1 strains are predominant in a significant proportion of patients, though little information is available regarding their replication-capacity and susceptibility against CCR5-antagonists in-vitro. The aim of the study was to analyze the replication-capacity and susceptibility to maraviroc of HIV-1 clinical isolates with different tropism characteristics in primary monocyte-derived-macrophages (MDM), peripheral-blood-mononuclear-cells (PBMC), and CD4(+) T-lymphocytes. ⋯ Maraviroc is effective in-vitro against viruses with dual-characteristics in both MDM and lymphocytes, despite the potential X4-mediated escape. This suggests that the concept of HIV-entry through one of the two coreceptors "separately" may require revision, and that the use of CCR5-antagonists in patients with dual/mixed-tropic viruses may be a therapeutic-option that deserves further investigations in different clinical settings.
-
We investigated auditory, dorsal attention, and default mode networks in adults with tinnitus and hearing loss in a resting state functional connectivity study. Data were obtained using continuous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while the participants were at "rest" and were not performing any task. Participants belonged to one of three groups: middle-aged adults with tinnitus and mild-to-moderate high frequency hearing loss (TIN), age-matched controls with normal hearing and no tinnitus (NH), and a second control group with mild-to-moderate high frequency hearing loss without tinnitus (HL). ⋯ In the default mode network, there was a strong decrease in correlation between the seed regions and the precuneus when compared to both control groups. The findings of this study identify specific alterations in the connectivity of the default mode, dorsal attention, and auditory resting state networks due to tinnitus. The results suggest that therapies for tinnitus that mitigate the increased connectivity of limbic regions with auditory and attention resting state networks and the decreased coherence of the default mode network could be effective at reducing tinnitus-related distress.
-
We evaluated a neural network model for prediction of glucose in critically ill trauma and post-operative cardiothoracic surgical patients. A prospective, feasibility trial evaluating a continuous glucose-monitoring device was performed. After institutional review board approval, clinical data from all consenting surgical intensive care unit patients were converted to an electronic format using novel software. ⋯ No hypoglycemic events occurred in these patients. Use of neural network models for real-time prediction of glucose in the surgical intensive care unit setting offers healthcare providers potentially useful information which could facilitate optimization of glycemic control, patient safety, and improved care. Similar models can be implemented across a wider scale of biomedical variables to offer real-time optimization, training, and adaptation that increase predictive accuracy and performance of therapies.
-
Representative population-based data on the epidemiology of bronchiectasis in Europe are limited. The aim of the present study was to investigate the current burden and the trends of bronchiectasis-associated hospitalizations and associated conditions in Germany in order to inform focused patient care and to facilitate the allocation of healthcare resources. ⋯ The present study provides evidence of a changing epidemiology and a steadily increasing prevalence of bronchiectasis-associated hospitalizations. Moreover, it confirms the diversity of bronchiectasis-associated conditions and the possible association between bronchiectasis and COPD. As the major burden of disease may be managed out-of-hospital, prospective patient registries are needed to establish the exact prevalence of bronchiectasis according to the specific underlying condition.