Viral Infections and Schizophrenia: A Comprehensive Review.

Schizophrenia is a complex mental disorder with multiple genetic and environmental factors contributing to its pathogenesis. Viral infections have been suggested to be one of the environmental factors associated with the development of this disorder. We comprehensively review all relevant published literature focusing on the relationship between schizophrenia and various viral infections, such as influenza virus, herpes virus 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2), cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), retrovirus, coronavirus, and Borna virus.

Antimicrobial Resistance, FlaA Sequencing, and Phylogenetic Analysis of Isolates from Broiler Chicken Flocks in Greece.

Human campylobacteriosis caused by thermophilic species is the most commonly reported foodborne zoonosis. Consumption of contaminated poultry meat is regarded as the main source of human infection. This study was undertaken to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility and the molecular epidemiology of 205 isolates derived from Greek flocks slaughtered in three different slaughterhouses over a 14-month period.

Ugo Cerletti (1877-1963): An Early Italian Father of Electroshock and a Pioneer in Many Other Ways.

This article provides a biographical review of the life and the professional achievements of the Italian doctor Ugo Cerletti and an introduction on electroshock. Throughout his medical career, he travelled and studied in many countries all over the world. Building upon his systematic and comprehensive analysis of mental diseases, Cerletti introduced electroshock, which, at his time, was a novel therapeutic method.

Prevalence of and Risk Factors for spp. Colonization of Broiler Chicken Flocks in Greece.

The prevalence and risk factors for spp. colonization of broiler flocks and broiler carcass contamination in Greek slaughterhouses were investigated. Over a 14-month period, a pool of 10 ceca and 5 neck skin samples from chicken carcasses were collected from each of 142 batches of broiler flocks slaughtered in 3 different slaughterhouses.

The fascinating story of urine examination: From uroscopy to the era of microscopy and beyond.

The purpose of this study was to present the evolution of ideas on the examination of urine from antiquity till our days. A thorough study of texts, medical books from antiquity till twentieth century along with a thorough review of the available literature in PubMed was conducted. The first observation on urine examination can be traced back to the Babylonian and Sumerian texts.

Therapeutic options and emerging alternatives for multidrug resistant staphylococcal infections.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) remains the single biggest challenge in infectious disease in the civilized world. Moreover, vancomycin resistance is also spreading, leading to fears of untreatable infections as were common in ancient times. Molecular microbiology and bioinformatics have revealed many of the mechanisms involved in resistance development.

Persistence of frequently transmitted drug-resistant HIV-1 variants can be explained by high viral replication capacity.

Background: In approximately 10% of newly diagnosed individuals in Europe, HIV-1 variants harboring transmitted drug resistance mutations (TDRM) are detected. For some TDRM it has been shown that they revert to wild type while other mutations persist in the absence of therapy. To understand the mechanisms explaining persistence we investigated the in vivo evolution of frequently transmitted HIV-1 variants and their impact on in vitro replicative capacity.

Patterns of drug resistance among newly diagnosed HIV-1 infected patients in Greece during the last decade: the crucial role of transmission networks.

Introduction: The prevalence of drug resistance is approximately 10% in Europe and North America among newly infected patients. We aim to investigate the temporal patterns of resistance among drug naive HIV-infected individuals in Greece and also to determine transmission networking among those with resistant strains.

Materials And Methods: Protease (PR) and partial reverse transcriptase (RT) sequences were determined from 2499 newly diagnosed HIV-1 patients, in Greece, during 2003-2013.

50 years after the death of George Nicholas Papanicolaou (1883-1962): evaluation of his scientific work.

The purpose of this review article is to summarise the scientific work of George Nicholas Papanicolaou, one of the most eminent figures in the 20th century history of clinical cytology and medicine. Fifty years after his death, his work still remains invaluable, from the early steps in biology and zoology to the application of the Pap test as the most important advancement in the prevention of cervical cancer. The publication of his Atlas was the first important step for the foundation of a new branch in medicine, that of exfoliative cytology.

Highights in the history of epilepsy: the last 200 years.

The purpose of this study was to present the evolution of views on epilepsy as a disease and symptom during the 19th and the 20th century. A thorough study of texts, medical books, and reports along with a review of the available literature in PubMed was undertaken. The 19th century is marked by the works of the French medical school and of John Hughlings Jackson who set the research on epilepsy on a solid scientific basis.

Multilocus sequence typing (and phylogenetic analysis) of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli strains isolated from clinical cases in Greece.

Background: The molecular epidemiology of C. jejuni and C. coli clinical strains isolated from children with gastroenteritis, was investigated using the multilocus sequence typing method (MLST).

First report of a phylogenetic analysis of an autochthonous Plasmodium vivax strain isolated from a malaria case in East Attica, Greece.

Malaria has become an emerging infection in Greece, which is the doorstep to Europe for thousands of immigrants. With increasing immigration, cases with evidence of domestic transmission (autochthonous) are being reported. In the present study, an isolate of Plasmodium vivax from an autochthonous clinical case was subjected to phylogenetic analysis of the genes encoding the merozoite surface protein 1 (MSP-1) and the circumsporozoite protein (CSP).

Integrating phylodynamics and epidemiology to estimate transmission diversity in viral epidemics.

The epidemiology of chronic viral infections, such as those caused by Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), is affected by the risk group structure of the infected population. Risk groups are defined by each of their members having acquired infection through a specific behavior. However, risk group definitions say little about the transmission potential of each infected individual.

Milestones in the history of research on cardiac energy metabolism.

The present study summarizes the history of research on cardiac metabolism from antiquity till the 21st century. It describes important landmarks regarding the discovery of oxygen and of the 3 steps of cellular respiration, as well as major research on cardiac energy metabolism. For this purpose, we conducted a thorough search of original manuscripts, books, and contemporary reviews published in PubMed.

Dating the origin and dispersal of hepatitis B virus infection in humans and primates.

Unlabelled: The origin of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in humans and other primates remains largely unresolved. Understanding the origin of HBV is crucial because it provides a framework for studying the burden, and subsequently the evolution, of HBV pathogenicity with respect to changes in human population size and life expectancy. To investigate this controversy we examined the relationship between HBV phylogeny and genetic diversity of modern humans, investigated the timescale of global HBV dispersal, and tested the hypothesis of HBV-human co-divergence.

A brief chronicle of cytology: from Janssen to Papanicolaou and beyond.

The aim of our study was to outline and present the major hallmarks in the history of clinical cytology. For this purpose, an extensive research in modern literature and the PubMed database was undertaken. Furthermore, we studied original papers and books of the pioneers in cytopathology.

Assessment of phylogenetic sensitivity for reconstructing HIV-1 epidemiological relationships.

Phylogenetic analysis has been extensively used as a tool for the reconstruction of epidemiological relations for research or for forensic purposes. It was our objective to assess the sensitivity of different phylogenetic methods and various phylogenetic programs to reconstruct epidemiological links among HIV-1 infected patients that is the probability to reveal a true transmission relationship. Multiple datasets (90) were prepared consisting of HIV-1 sequences in protease (PR) and partial reverse transcriptase (RT) sampled from patients with documented epidemiological relationship (target population), and from unrelated individuals (control population) belonging to the same HIV-1 subtype as the target population.

Appearance of a single amino acid insertion at position 33 in HIV type 1 protease under a lopinavir-containing regimen, associated with reduced protease inhibitor susceptibility.

HIV drug resistance is a multifactorial phenomenon and constitutes a major concern as it results in therapy failure. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of an amino acid insertion identified at position 33 of the protease gene, derived from samples from three patients under lopinavir therapy, on viral fitness and protease inhibitor (PI) resistance. Successive samples were available from one of the patients for genotypic and phenotypic testing in order to investigate the role of this insertion.

The philosophic and biological views of the "atomic" philosophers, Leucippus and Democritus.

The purpose of this study was to describe and highlight the work of the so called "atomic" philosophers Leucippus and in particular, his student Democritus, after an extensive research of works written by numerous ancient Greek philosophers and historians. The work of these two philosophers is groundbreaking, covers a wide spectrum of science and humanities and shows their high level of scholarship, erudition, and analytical thinking. Their ideas are often mentioned by other ancient Greek philosophers, with positive and sometimes negative criticism.

The global spread of hepatitis C virus 1a and 1b: a phylodynamic and phylogeographic analysis.

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is estimated to affect 130-180 million people worldwide. Although its origin is unknown, patterns of viral diversity suggest that HCV genotype 1 probably originated from West Africa. Previous attempts to estimate the spatiotemporal parameters of the virus, both globally and regionally, have suggested that epidemic HCV transmission began in 1900 and grew steadily until the late 1980s.

Epilepsy during the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the Enlightenment.

The purpose of this study was to pinpoint the views on epilepsy as a disease and symptom during medieval times and the Renaissance. A thorough study of texts, medical books and reports along with a review of the available literature in PubMed was undertaken. With the exception of some early Byzantine doctors in the East and some of the representatives of Arab medicine, scientific views and observations on epilepsy in the West were overrun by the domination of the Catholic Church.