Venom Composition in a Phenotypically Variable Pit Viper ( Trimeresurus insularis) across the Lesser Sunda Archipelago.

The genus Trimeresurus comprises a group of venomous pitvipers endemic to Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. Of these, Trimeresurus insularis, the White-lipped Island Pitviper, is a nocturnal, arboreal species that occurs on nearly every major island of the Lesser Sunda archipelago. In the current study, venom phenotypic characteristics of T.

Prospective Trial on the Use of Trough Concentration versus Area under the Curve To Determine Therapeutic Vancomycin Dosing.

We hypothesized that dosing vancomycin to achieve trough concentrations of >15 mg/liter overdoses many adults compared to area under the concentration-time curve (AUC)-guided dosing. We conducted a 3-year, prospective study of vancomycin dosing, plasma concentrations, and outcomes. In year 1, nonstudy clinicians targeted trough concentrations of 10 to 20 mg/liter (infection dependent) and controlled dosing.

Traffic-Related Air Pollution and All-Cause Mortality during Tuberculosis Treatment in California.

Background: Ambient air pollution and tuberculosis (TB) have an impact on public health worldwide, yet associations between the two remain uncertain.

Objective: We determined the impact of residential traffic on mortality during treatment of active TB.

Methods: From 2000-2012, we enrolled 32,875 patients in California with active TB and followed them throughout treatment.

Global trends in satellite-based emergency mapping.

Over the past 15 years, scientists and disaster responders have increasingly used satellite-based Earth observations for global rapid assessment of disaster situations. We review global trends in satellite rapid response and emergency mapping from 2000 to 2014, analyzing more than 1000 incidents in which satellite monitoring was used for assessing major disaster situations. We provide a synthesis of spatial patterns and temporal trends in global satellite emergency mapping efforts and show that satellite-based emergency mapping is most intensively deployed in Asia and Europe and follows well the geographic, physical, and temporal distributions of global natural disasters.

Treatment for preventing tuberculosis in children and adolescents: a randomized clinical trial of a 3-month, 12-dose regimen of a combination of rifapentine and isoniazid.

Importance: Three months of a once-weekly combination of rifapentine and isoniazid for treatment of latent tuberculosis infection is safe and effective for persons 12 years or older. Published data for children are limited.

Objectives: To compare treatment safety and assess noninferiority treatment effectiveness of combination therapy with rifapentine and isoniazid vs 9 months of isoniazid treatment for latent tuberculosis infection in children.

Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program: Implementing Effective Public-Private Partnerships to Assure Population Health.

With the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), it is essential for the public health sector to elucidate its role with respect to its mission of assuring population health, and to clarify its role with respect to the private health care system. To that end, we examined the value added to the population health enterprise of successful public-private partnerships (PPPs) such as those found in the Illinois Breast and Cervical Cancer Program (IBCCP), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP) in Illinois. Key Informant (KI) interviews focused on IBCCP implementation were conducted with IBCCP lead agency (LA) program coordinators (n = 35/36) in winter 2012-2013.

Diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection with T-SPOT(®).TB in a predominantly immigrant population with rheumatologic disorders.

Purpose: The objective of this study is to compare how likely positive tuberculin skin test (TST) and T-SPOT(®).TB (TSPOT) results predict risk factors for tuberculosis in a predominantly immigrant patient population at risk of latent TB infection (LTBI) and with rheumatologic conditions requiring immunomodulatory therapy (IMT).

Methods: Prospective study conducted at a referral rheumatology clinic.

Are vancomycin trough concentrations adequate for optimal dosing?

The current vancomycin therapeutic guidelines recommend the use of only trough concentrations to manage the dosing of adults with Staphylococcus aureus infections. Both vancomycin efficacy and toxicity are likely to be related to the area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC). We assembled richly sampled vancomycin pharmacokinetic data from three studies comprising 47 adults with various levels of renal function.

Relationship of Acute Phase Reactants and Fat Accumulation during Treatment for Tuberculosis.

Background. Tuberculosis causes inflammation and muscle wasting. We investigated how attenuation of inflammation relates to repletion of body composition during treatment in an underserved population.

The preparation of chicken tracheal organ cultures for virus isolation, propagation, and titration.

Chicken tracheal organ cultures (TOCs), comprising transverse sections of chick embryo trachea with beating cilia, have proved useful in the isolation of several respiratory viruses and as a viral assay system, using ciliostasis as the criterion for infection. A simple technique for the preparation of chicken tracheal organ cultures in glass test tubes, in which virus growth and ciliostasis can be readily observed, is described.

Brainstem tuberculoma in the immunocompetent: case report and literature review.

Brainstem tuberculoma is an uncommon entity especially in the immunocompetent adult. The authors describe the case of a 32-year-old immunocompetent woman with no systemic signs or symptoms of tuberculosis, presenting with sudden-onset hemiparesis and diplopia. MRI of brain revealed an enhancing lesion in the midbrain and thalamus.

Clinical evaluation of the nelfinavir-rifabutin interaction in patients with tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus infection.

Study Objective: To characterize the bidirectional interaction between twice-daily nelfinavir and twice-weekly rifabutin and isoniazid in patients with tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Setting: Three clinical research centers.

Treatment with CRH-1 antagonist antalarmin reduces behavioral and endocrine responses to social stressors in marmosets (Callithrix kuhlii).

Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) has multiple roles in coordinating the behavioral and endocrine responses to a host of environmental challenges, including social stressors. In the present study we evaluated the role of CRH in mediating responses to a moderate social stressor in Wied's black tufted-eared marmosets (Callithrix kuhlii). Male and female marmosets (n=14) were administered antalarmin (a selective CRH-1 receptor antagonist; 50 microg/kg, p.

Identification of cripto-1 as a novel serologic marker for breast and colon cancer.

Purpose: Human Cripto-1 (CR-1), a cell membrane glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored glycoprotein that can also be cleaved from the membrane, is expressed at high levels in several different types of human tumors. We evaluated whether CR-1 is present in the plasma of patients with breast and colon cancer, and if it can represent a new biomarker for these malignancies.

Experimental Design: We determined CR-1 plasma levels using a sandwich-type ELISA in 21 healthy volunteers, 54 patients with breast cancer, 33 patients with colon carcinoma, and 21 patients with benign breast lesions.

The efficacy of diazepam treatment for the management of acute wounding episodes in captive rhesus macaques.

The spontaneous development of self-injurious behavior (SIB) in singly housed monkeys poses a challenge for their management and well-being in captivity. Relatively little information is available on effective treatments for SIB. This study examined the effects of diazepam (Valium) on self-wounding and other abnormal behaviors in eight individually housed male rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta).

Acquired rifamycin resistance with twice-weekly treatment of HIV-related tuberculosis.

Rationale: Rifabutin was recommended in place of rifampin during treatment of HIV-related tuberculosis (TB) to facilitate concomitant potent antiretroviral therapy, but this approach has not been evaluated in a prospective study.

Objective: To evaluate the activity of intermittent rifabutin-based therapy.

Methods: Patients with culture-confirmed TB were treated under direct supervision with 2 mo of rifabutin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol (given daily, thrice-weekly, or twice-weekly per the local tuberculosis control program), followed by 4 mo of twice-weekly rifabutin plus isoniazid.

Notch4 intracellular domain binding to Smad3 and inhibition of the TGF-beta signaling.

We present evidence that Notch4ICD attenuates TGF-beta signaling. Cells expressing the activated form of the Notch4 receptor (ICD4) were resistant to the growth-inhibitory effects of TGF-beta. Notch4ICD was found to bind to Smad2, Smad3 and Smad4 but with higher affinity to Smad3.

Association between acquired rifamycin resistance and the pharmacokinetics of rifabutin and isoniazid among patients with HIV and tuberculosis.

Background: The occurrence of acquired rifamycin resistance despite use of directly observed therapy for tuberculosis is associated with advanced human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease and highly intermittent administration of antituberculosis drugs. Beyond these associations, the pathogenesis of acquired rifamycin resistance is unknown.

Methods: We performed a pharmacokinetic substudy of patients in a trial of treatment with twice-weekly rifabutin and isoniazid.

Clinical and radiographic features of HIV-related tuberculosis.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related tuberculosis can be life-threatening for the individual, transmissible to others, and difficult to diagnose. We review the clinical, radiographic, and histopathologic features of HIV-related tuberculosis, and the ways in which these features are affected by the degree of immunodeficiency. At CD4 cell counts greater than 350 cells/microL, HIV-related tuberculosis has a similar presentation to tuberculosis in HIV-uninfected adults, predominantly pulmonary involvement with fibronodular and/or cavitary infiltrates.

Identification and characterization of three immunodominant structural proteins of fowlpox virus.

Genes encoding fowlpox virus (FWPV) structural proteins have been identified mainly by sequence homology with those from vaccinia virus (VACV), but little is known about the encoded proteins. Production of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against Poxine and HP1-440 (Munich) clone FP9 allowed the identification of three immunodominant FWPV proteins: the 39-kDa core protein (encoded by FPV168, homologous to VACV A4L), a 30- and 35-kDa protein doublet, and an abundant 63-kDa protein. The 30- and 35-kDa proteins are nonglycosylated, antigenically related proteins present in the intracellular mature virus membrane and localizing closely with the viral factories.

Pulmonary manifestations of HIV/AIDS in the tropics.

The most significant pulmonary opportunistic infections in the tropics are TB and pneumococcal pneumonia. Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of these and other pulmonary manifestations of HIV are discussed. Ultimately, unless concerted efforts are made to treat underlying HIV infection in regions most devastated by AIDS, the impact of these diseases will continue to grow.