Ultra-rapid Electrophilic Cysteine Arylation.

Rapid bond-forming reactions are crucial for efficient bioconjugation. We describe a simple and practical strategy for facilitating ultra-rapid electrophilic cysteine arylation. Using a variety of sulfone-activated pyridinium salts, this uncatalyzed reaction proceeds with exceptionally high rate constants, ranging from 9800 to 320,000 M·s, in pH 7.

Rapid Electrophilic Cysteine Arylation with Pyridinium Salts.

Here, we present a series of fluorinated cationic reagents that enable rapid arylation of cysteine under mild conditions compatible with proteins and peptides. The highly polarized C-F bond and attractive nucleophile-electrophile Coulombic interactions substantially accelerate cysteine arylation, leading to unusually high rate constants on the order of 100 M·s and allowing for equimolar labeling of substrates at micromolar concentrations. The synthetic modularity of this approach promotes the direct coupling of structurally diverse phenol-containing functional motifs to cysteine residues of biomacromolecules with high efficiency.

Cytokine gene polymorphism associations with congenital cytomegalovirus infection and sensorineural hearing loss.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the most common viral agent of congenital infections and a leading nongenetic cause of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). The host immunologic factors that render a developing foetus prone to intrauterine CMV infection and development of hearing loss are unknown. The aim of this study was to assess the potential associations between the polymorphisms within cytokine and cytokine receptors genes, and the risk of congenital CMV infection, and the hearing outcome.

Recommended management of Toxoplasma gondii infection in pregnant women and their children.

Aforesaid recommendations for the management of T.gondii infection, elaborated by the group of experts, are intended for physicians of various specialties in order to standardize and facilitate diagnostic and therapeutic management. Early diagnosis of congenital toxoplasmosis, both symptomatic and asymptomatic, in neonatal period, initiation of adequate treatment and long-term, multispecialist monitoring, including multi-organ rehabilitation of children may prevent or reduce the complications of congenital toxoplasmosis.

Non-influenza viruses in acute respiratory infections among young children. High prevalence of HMPV during the H1N1V.2009 pandemic in Poland.

Unlabelled: In Poland the majority of hospitalized cases of pneumonia (annually more than 70000) were reported without determination of an aetiological agent (J18 of ICD-10), also because diagnosis of viral ARTI is limited to identification of influenza viruses or sometimes RSV.

Material And Methods: For determination the contribution of non-influenza viruses in ARTI among children, 381 nasopharyngeal swabs from hospitalized in period X.2008-IV.

Distribution of cytomegalovirus gN variants and associated clinical sequelae in infants.

Background: Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is the most widespread cause of congenital infection. The effects of various viral strains and viral loads on the infection outcome have been under debate.

Objectives: To determine the distribution of gN variants in HCMV strains isolated from children with congenital or postnatal infection and to establish the relationship between the viral genotype, the viral load, and the sequelae.

RSV respiratory infection in children under 5 y.o.--dynamics of the immune response Th1/Th2 and IgE.

Introduction: The imbalance of Th1/Th2 cytokine concentrations and increased level of IgE might be useful tool for prediction of severity of RSV infection among young children and possibility of sequels. The ratio of cytokines Th1/Th2 varied during the disease. THE AIM of our studies was the assessment of immunological response by dynamics of Th1 and Th2 cytokines and IgE in RSV infections.

Detection of hMPV antigen by EIA in clinical specimens.

Unlabelled: Human Metapneumovirus (hMPV) is one of the latest discovered viruses. It has been classified to Paramyxoviridae family. It is the second viral etiological agent, after RSV, which causes respiratory tract infections (RTI) in children, especially children below 5 years old.

Infections caused by RSV among children and adults during two epidemic seasons.

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is one of the most common causes of lower respiratory tract infections in young children, immunocompromised patients (children and adults), patients with chronic respiratory diseases and elderly people. Reinfections occur throughout the life, but the severity of disease decreased with subsequent infection. The aim of this study was to analyze the frequency of RSV infections in two selected subpopulations: young children (below 5 y.

Monitoring of plasma concentration of pyrimethamine (PYR) in infants with congenital Toxoplasma gondii infection--own observations.

The study objective was to determine plasma concentration of pyrimethamine in 24 infants aged 1-5 months, treated for congenital toxoplasmosis. Pyrimethamine was used in a single daily dose at an amount of 0.35-0.

[Analysis of causes and treatment of hearing loss in children from Department of Infant Diseases the Children's Memorial Health Institute, Warsaw].

Unlabelled: The aim was to identify the frequency of different causes of congenital hearing loss and to investigate the age of treatment intervention.

Material: 197 children with hearing loss, hospitalized in the Department of Infant Diseases between 2007-2009.

Methods: Three-level audiological examinations, clinical investigations, specific tests for selected congenital infections and GJB2 mutations, neuroimaging.

Evaluation of intellectual development of children following congenital, mildly symptomatic cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. A prospective study.

Aim: Assessment of intellectual development of 6-year-old children following asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic congenital cytomegalovirus infection in infancy.

Material And Methods: A longitudinal, prospective cohort study concerning 38 (2%) children with congenital cytomegalovirus infection confirmed by specific serological and molecular tests, selected from the group of 1895 neonates preliminarily enrolled into the study. The first specialistic clinical assessment was performed during the neonatal and early infancy period, the second at the age of 12-18 months, and the final comprehensive clinical evaluation was carried out at the age of 6-6.

[Congenital cytomegaly--advances in diagnosis and therapy].

Authors presented of a cytomegalovirus characteristics, its existing in human population and rare clinical presentation in immunocompetent persons (including pregnant women) after primary infection. The vertical transmission from mother to the fetus and the mode of acquisition of infection in perinatal period as well as symptoms of congenital cytomegaly together with late sequelae are also under discussion. Authors stressed, that advances in improvements in the diagnosis of maternal, fetal and newborn infection are not outpaced with improvements in the antiviral treatment of fetuses and infants, but improvement or stabilization of hearing loss after ganciclovir therapy is observed.

[Use of the PCR technique for diagnosis of symptomatic congenital toxoplasmosis based on own observations].

Unlabelled: The aim of our study was to determine the usefulness of PCR technique in postnatal diagnosis of congenital toxoplasmosis in 17 infants aged from 1 week to 10 months. In 13 cases the diagnosis was established. The diagnostic procedures involved: clinical examinations, serological tests, nested-PCR method and neuroimaging examinations.

[Congenital taxoplasmosis in twins in own material].

Little is known about congenital toxoplasmosis in twins. As in singletons fetal infection occurs usually in mothers seroconverted during second or third trimester of pregnancy. Infection affects usually both siblings, but there is posible that one child is not infected, especially in dizygotic pregnancies.

[Longitudinal study of children with bronchopulmonary dysplasia treated with disodium cromoglycate].

In order to improve the quality of life of children born prematurely, who developed chronic lung disease, clinical trials of drugs of different origin are undertaken. The aim of the work was the evaluation of the efficacy of disodium cromoglycate in the treatment of bronchopulmonary dysplasia in children. We retrospectively studied 15 infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) hospitalised in the Infant Care Department of Children's Health Memorial Institute from 01.

[Visual and auditory impairment in children with congenital cytomegalovirus and Toxoplasma gondii infection].

Intrauterine infections are an important cause of hearing and visual impairment in children. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the character and frequency of hearing and visual disturbances in children with congenital toxoplasmosis and cytomegalovirus infection. 38 out of 54 children with congenital toxoplasmosis as well as 34 out of 403 children with congenital human cytomegalovirus disease, with visual/auditory impairment, hospitalized in Infant Department in Children's Memorial Health Institute between 1995-2001 were enrolled in this study.

Risk factors for cerebral palsy in very low-birthweight infants in the 1980s and 1990s.

One-hundred twenty-nine very low-birthweight infants were treated in Newborn and Infant Care Department of Children's Memorial Health Institute between 1985 and 1994; 89 were taken to prospective neurodevelopmental care. The newborns were divided into two groups. Group I had 38 preterm infants born from 1985 to 1989 and followed up at 7 to 11 years of age.

[Chronic, infantile, neurologic, cutaneous and articular syndrome (CINCA) in an infant].

Background: CINCA syndrome is a clinical syndrome of unclear etiology, characterized by a chronic multi-organ inflammatory process unsusceptible to treatment.

Case Report: An 18-month-old boy was admitted because he suffered, since the age of 2 months, from cutaneous, articular and neurological changes, lymphadenopathy, hepatosplenomegaly, choroiditis and psychosomatic development retardation. These clinical symptoms were unsusceptible to anti-inflammatory and antihistaminic drugs.

The C3 plant Flaveria pringlei contains a plastidic NADP-malic enzyme which is orthologous to the C4 isoform of the C4 plant F. trinervia.

To study the molecular evolution of NADP-dependent malic enzyme (NADP-ME) in the genus Flaveria a leaf-specific cDNA library of the C3 plant F. pringlei was screened for the presence of sequences homologous to the C4 isoform gene (named modA) of the C4 plant F. trinervia.

[Clinical characteristics of infections with cytomegalovirus in infants from personal observations].

An infection with cytomegaly virus had been diagnosed in 13 infants (including 4 neonates examined up to 2 weeks of life) out of 960 infants hospitalized within 3 years. Clinical examination most frequently revealed hepato- and splenomegaly, pneumonia and neurological disorders, and during a further stage of the clinical course psychomotoric retardation was noted in 7 out of 13 infants, and hearing loss in 5 out of 13 infants. A specific immunoglobulin G preparation (Cytotect) has been successfully used in all children, producing recovery or clinical improvement together with serologic improvement.

[Coexistence of Toxoplasma gondii and Cytomegalovirus infections in infants].

Coexistence of Toxoplasma gondii and Cytomegalovirus infection in 3 dystrophic newborns is discussed. Also the not very characteristic course of the infection is stressed.