Glatiramer Acetate Complexes CpG Oligodeoxynucleotides into Nanoparticles and Boosts Their TLR9-Driven Immunity.

Unmethylated cytosine-guanine oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG ODNs) have a storied history as agonists for Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9). CpG ODNs have shown promising antitumor effects in preclinical studies by inducing potent proinflammatory immune responses. However, clinical success has been hindered by inconsistent efficacy and immune-related toxicities caused by systemic exposure to CpG ODNs.

Updated ASM Curriculum Guidelines describe core microbiology content to modernize the framework for microbiology education.

Curricular guidelines promote standardized approaches to coverage of essential knowledge and skills in undergraduate education. The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Curriculum Guidelines for Undergraduate Microbiology were developed in 2012. Continuous, rapid growth of knowledge in science and a dynamic, changing world necessitate updates to these guidelines.

Estimating water user demand for certification of forest watershed services.

Eco-certification is one solution to the common problem of verification of delivery of services in payment for ecosystem services (PES) schemes. Certification incurs costs, which may limit uptake, so it should be able to benefit users of certified services for it succeeds. In part to inform a project targeting expansion of the Forest Stewardship Council's forest management certification to include ecosystem services, we tested market demand for a potential certification scheme for watershed services.

Combination of essential oil of Melaleuca alternifolia and iodine in the treatment of molluscum contagiosum in children.

Molluscum contagiosum is a common childhood viral skin condition and is increasingly found as a sexually transmitted disease in adults. Current treatment options are invasive, requiring tissue destruction and attendant discomfort. Fifty-three children (mean age 6.

Public attitudes and risk perception toward land application of biosolids within the south-eastern United States.

A descriptive-correlational study of biosolids recycling was conducted in the south-eastern United States to assess current knowledge, attitudes and risk perceptions of participants in two communities that land apply biosolids as part of their waste management programs. One community, Amelia County VA, has been outspoken against biosolids recycling in the past, whereas the second community, Knoxville, TN region, has voiced few concerns about biosolids recycling. Additionally, gender differences within the entire study population were assessed.

Discordant tuberculin skin and interferon-gamma tests during contact investigations: a dilemma for tuberculosis controllers.

Current recommendations conflict over the appropriate use of interferon-gamma whole blood assays to screen for tuberculosis (TB) infection in contact investigations. We report here on a worksite TB contact investigation in which tuberculin skin test (TST) and QuantiFERON-TB Gold (QFT-G) were both used to identify infection among 61 co-workers. Of the 27 (44%) who had a TST > or =15 mm, 11 (41%) had negative QFT-G, raising concerns that QFT-G may not be sufficiently sensitive when used alone in contact investigations.

Endotoxin in patients with terminal renal failure undergoing dialysis with re-processing dialyser.

Aim: to determine the level of endotoxin in the blood of patients with renal failure prior to and following hemodialysis using re-processing dialyser to know possibility of pyrogenic reactions in hemodialysis patients.

Methods: this study subjects consisted of 10 patients with terminal renal failure undergoing regular hemodialysis. The collected samples were then sent in frozen condition for endotoxin examination in Japan.

Correlation between cortisol levels and myocardial infarction mortality among intensive coronary care unit patients during first seven days in hospital.

Aim: To measure cortisol level, its relationship with myocardial infarction, and to determine the correlation of elevated cortisol levels with the outcome of myocardial infarction.

Methods: This study was designed as a pre and post study. The diagnosis of myocardial infarction was established based on the WHO criteria.

Renal involvement in leptospirosis at Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo and Persahabatan Hospitals.

Aim: To describe clinical pattern of ARF caused by leptospirosis and its related factors.

Methods: A cross-sectional study using medical record data of all leptospirosis cases admitted to Cipto Mangunkusumo and Persahabatan General Hospitals between January 1993 and December 1996. Patient identification included age, sex, and occupation.

Outbreak of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections caused by commercial piercing of upper ear cartilage.

Context: Sporadic infections following ear piercing are well documented, but common-source outbreaks are rarely recognized.

Objective: To investigate reports of auricular chondritis subsequent to commercial ear piercing.

Design, Setting, And Subjects: Outbreak investigation by Oregon public health agencies, including cohort study of persons pierced at a jewelry kiosk in August-September 2000, environmental sampling, and molecular subtyping of isolates.

A comparison of valsartan and captopril in patients with essential hypertension in Indonesia.

Adult Indonesian outpatients were randomised to receive either valsartan 80 mg once daily or captopril 25 mg twice daily for 8 weeks. The main criterion for tolerability was the incidence of adverse events. The primary efficacy variable was the change in mean sitting diastolic blood pressure (SDBP) from baseline to endpoint.

Micromechanical models for the Brownian motion of hair cell stereocilia.

Brownian motion of the hairs (stereocilia) of amphibian hair cells has been shown in experiments to be in the range of some nm. Our models of the Brownian motion of coupled harmonic oscillators with mechanical properties of stereocilia lead to similar displacements. Computer simulation shows that stochastic fluctuations enhance the encoding of low level acoustic signals.

The effects of light intensity on hatching of Echinostoma caproni Miracidia.

Egg cultures of Echinostoma caproni were exposed to 25-W incandescent light at control intensities (9.7 mumol s-1 m-2) and reduced intensities (1.0, 0.