Genetic diversity of bovine Picobirnavirus, Brazil.

Picobirnaviruses (PBVs) are emerging and opportunistic viruses with possible zoonotic potential. In this study, we present the detection, molecular characterization, and genotypic differentiation of PBVs from genogroup I in bovine stool samples from different Brazilian regions. A high proportion of PCR-positive samples (23.

Sex hormone levels in patients with sudden cardiac arrest.

Background: Sex hormones are known to have significant effects on the pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to study the association between sex hormone levels and sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).

Methods: In the ongoing Oregon Sudden Unexpected Death Study (catchment population approximately 1 million), cases of SCA were compared with matched controls.

Prolonged QRS duration on the resting ECG is associated with sudden death risk in coronary disease, independent of prolonged ventricular repolarization.

Background: Abnormalities of ventricular repolarization as well as depolarization have been associated with increased risk of ventricular arrhythmias.

Objective: To evaluate the relative contribution of these predictors to risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD).

Methods: In the ongoing Oregon Sudden Unexpected Death Study, adult residents from the Portland, Oregon, metropolitan area (population ~1 million) who suffered SCD were identified prospectively (2002-2007).

Common variants in CASQ2, GPD1L, and NOS1AP are significantly associated with risk of sudden death in patients with coronary artery disease.

Background: Recent evidence suggests a genetic component for sudden cardiac death (SCD) in subjects with coronary artery disease (CAD). We conducted a systematic candidate-gene approach using haplotype-tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (htSNPs) to identify genes associated with SCD risk in the context of CAD.

Methods And Results: We investigated 1424 htSNPs representing 18 genes with mutations described in patients with ventricular arrhythmias in 291 subjects from the Oregon Sudden Unexpected Death Study (Ore-SUDS).

Costs and benefits of HAART for patients with HIV in a public hospital in Mexico.

Background: The Mexican government is currently implementing strategies to improve and expand comprehensive treatment for people living with HIV. Limited data, however, are available on the benefits obtained and costs incurred by these strategies.

Objective: To estimate the effects of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) on a cohort of people living with HIV and to estimate the cost of extending patients' lives.