Efficient cellular and humoral immune response and production of virus-neutralizing antibodies by the Hepatitis B Virus S/preS1 antigen.

Despite the availability of improved antiviral therapies, infection with Hepatitis B virus (HBV) remains a3 significant health issue, as a curable treatment is yet to be discovered. Current HBV vaccines relaying on the efficient expression of the small (S) envelope protein in yeast and the implementation of mass vaccination programs have clearly contributed to containment of the disease. However, the lack of an efficient immune response in up to 10% of vaccinated adults, the controversies regarding the seroprotection persistence in vaccine responders and the emergence of vaccine escape virus mutations urge for the development of better HBV immunogens.

A Case of Sweet's Syndrome Secondary to Myelodysplastic Syndrome - Diagnostic and Treatment Challenges.

Sweet's Syndrome also knows as acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis, is a rare skin's condition, that can occur either idiopathic or secondary. In the case of the latter, the syndrome can develop after certain malignancies (paraneoplastic syndrome), because of exposure to some medication or post infectious. It is more frequent in women aged between 30 and 50 years, but concerning children, the disorder is extremely rare (8% of the total number of cases), having equal sex ratio distribution.

Study of an organoclay for the sorption of dissolved organic compounds in the wastewaters from offshore platform operation.

The goal of this research work was to find a sorbent able to selectively retain the harmful dissolved compounds in the wastewaters from offshore platform operation but not the carboxylic acids and to study the effects of the most important parameters on the sorption process. BTX compounds (benzene, toluene and p-xylene) and acetic acid were chosen as the representatives of the harmful compounds and carboxylic acids groups respectively since they are found in the highest concentrations. An organically modified clay was determined to be the most suitable sorbent, where performance was evaluated at different values of pH (3, 5 and 8), acetic acid concentration (0, 160 and 320 mg/l), salinity (0, 35 and 70 g/l) and temperature (20, 40 and 60 degrees C).

[Postoperative and posttraumatic meningitis. Comments on 87 cases].

Iatrogenic and traumatic cerebromeningitis infections are increasing in frequency in the last two decades. Retrospective analysis of 87 patients iatrogenic and traumatic bacterial meningitis were admitted in the Clinic of Infectious Diseases from Iaşi between 1, 01, 1990-31, 12, 1994. Head trauma, lumbar punctures and iatrogenic meningitis infections were the causes cerebromeningitis infections.

[Acute nosocomial bacterial meningitis. Apropos 27 cases].

Our series includes 27 patients with nosocomial meningitis (22 post neurosurgery and 5 post spinal puncture) of whom 15 with stated etiology (gram-negative bacilli and staphylococcus aureus in equal shares). Under the treatment with chloramphenicol + rifampicin + gentamicin a cure was obtained in 22 cases, improvement in 3 cases and 2 patients died.