Emerg Microbes Infect
December 2023
Currently, West-Nile virus (WNV) is spreading worldwide to colder regions due to climate change. Human mortality and morbidity are prevalent and steadily increasing, associated with costs to public health systems. Therefore, the question of the impact of scientific engagement arises.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMosquito species belonging to the genus Aedes have attracted the interest of scientists and public health officers because of their capacity to transmit viruses that affect humans. Some of these species were brought outside their native range by means of trade and tourism and then colonised new regions thanks to a unique combination of eco-physiological traits. Considering mosquito physiological and behavioural traits to understand and predict their population dynamics is thus a crucial step in developing strategies to mitigate the local densities of invasive Aedes populations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Vector-borne diseases are on the rise on a global scale, which is anticipated to further accelerate because of anthropogenic climate change. Resource-limited regions are especially hard hit by this increment with the currently implemented surveillance programs being inadequate for the observed expansion of potential vector species. Cost-effective methods that can be easily implemented in resource-limited settings, e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe present a new perspective on Earth's land surface, providing a normalised microwave backscatter map from spaceborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) observations. The Sentinel-1 Global Backscatter Model (S1GBM) describes Earth for the period 2016-17 by the mean C-band radar cross section in VV- and VH-polarisation at a 10 m sampling. We processed 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMosquito-borne diseases are a continuous challenge to public health. To prevent transmission, Integrated Vector Management (IVM) applies preventive, control, and communicational strategies that should be feasible, environmentally benign, and sustainable. IVM shows higher efficiency when being supported by local communities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCovering: 1975-2020The ibophyllidine alkaloids are unique pyrroloindole alkaloids exhibiting a five-membered D-ring in contrast to the six-membered D-ring of the more common Aspidosperma and Strychnos alkaloids. This structural feature has made them sought-after targets for organic chemists as well as for the elucidation of their biosynthesis. Beginning with the first and eponymous member ibophyllidine, isolation and structure determination is discussed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In many regions in Germany, demographic changes are affecting general practitioners (GPs). The 2017 "Delegation Agreement" (D-A) rolled out the 2015 reform and was introduced initially only for regions with GP shortages, allowing delegation to non-medical practice personnel for all regions in Germany.
Objectives: This article explores GPs' knowledge regarding current regulations and the task-based delegation inside and outside their office.
A divergent approach to the pyrroloquinoline scaffold as present in the class of alkaloids was developed. As a case study, abundant and renewable nicotinic acid was transformed via pericyclic framework reconstruction into aspidodispermine, a unique member of pyrroloquinoline alkaloids. The sequence comprises a [2 + 2]-photocycloaddition, a Ramberg-Bäcklund contraction, and a strain-promoted formal electrocyclic rearrangement of a bicyclo[2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAngew Chem Int Ed Engl
June 2020
The features of two iconic chemical classes are united in the structure of the highly complex diterpene canataxpropellane and set a daunting challenge that has been met by the Gaich group. Their daring strategy and its benefit to the field of terpene chemistry is presented and discussed in this Highlight.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The invasive temperate mosquito Aedes japonicus japonicus is a potential vector for various infectious diseases and therefore a target of vector control measures. Even though established in Germany, it is unclear whether the species has already reached its full distribution potential. The possible range of the species, its annual population dynamics, the success of vector control measures and future expansions due to climate change still remain poorly understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClassical steroids are long-known privileged leads in drug discovery. Their rearranged counterparts, though, have so far received less attention, although recent isolation and biological testing programmes have revealed a plethora of molecular entities that are both structurally intriguing, as well as biologically relevant. This review will highlight those natural products, and focus on ergostane-derived seco- and abeo-steroids.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: As ectothermic animals, temperature influences insects in almost every aspect. The potential disease spreading Asian bush mosquito (Aedes japonicus japonicus) is native to temperate East Asia but invasive in several parts of the world. We report on the previously poorly understood temperature-dependence of its life history under laboratory conditions to understand invasion processes and to model temperature niches.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus is an extremely invasive, globally distributed and medically important vector of various human and veterinary pathogens. In Germany, where this species was recently introduced, its establishment may become modulated by interspecific competition from autochthonous mosquito species, especially Culex pipiens (s.l.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe combination of an in situ formed MnL complex (HL = Hacac or R(C═O)CHCOR) and a chiral phosphoric acid HX* allows for a fully catalytic, asymmetric synthesis of 4H-chromenes starting from 2-alkyl-substituted phenols. The aerobic oxidation toward a transient ortho-quinone methide was efficiently catalyzed by a manganese(III) species MnL while the ensuing Michael addition of β-dicarbonyl compounds proved to be catalyzed by a chiral manganese phosphate MnLX*.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFc gamma receptors (FcγR) bind the Fc region of antibodies and therefore play a prominent role in antibody-dependent cell-based immune responses such as ADCC, CDC and ADCP. The immune effector cell activity is directly linked to a productive molecular engagement of FcγRs where both the protein and glycan moiety of antibody and receptor can affect the interaction and in the present study we focus on the role of the FcγR glycans in this interaction. We provide a complete description of the glycan composition of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) expressed human Fcγ receptors RI (CD64), RIIa (CD32a), RIIb (CD32b) and RIIIa (CD16a) and analyze the role of the glycans in the binding mechanism with IgG.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIt is not unexpected that a proposal, such as ours [1], of four new mammalian species stirs up controversy, as evident in the correspondence by Bercovitch et al.[2]. We appreciate that their concerns are unrelated to the quality of the genetic data, the methodological approach or analyses, but are focused on the interpretation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTraditionally, one giraffe species and up to eleven subspecies have been recognized [1]; however, nine subspecies are commonly accepted [2]. Even after a century of research, the distinctness of each giraffe subspecies remains unclear, and the genetic variation across their distribution range has been incompletely explored. Recent genetic studies on mtDNA have shown reciprocal monophyly of the matrilines among seven of the nine assumed subspecies [3, 4].
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFosalvudine tidoxil is a prodrug derived from the nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor 3-deoxy-3-fluorothymidine (FLT; alovudine). FLT effectively inhibits resistant human immunodeficiency virus type 1, but its clinical development was stopped due to bone marrow and liver toxicity. In this study, we examined the long-term in vivo effects of fosalvudine tidoxil on the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) contents in rats.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To review clinical studies assessing the effect of phytoestrogen supplementation on the signs and symptoms of the climacteric syndrome and on the incidence of breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, and skeletal fractures.
Design: Literature research using PubMed and the Cochrane controlled trials register.
Setting: None.
Amphotropic murine leukemia virus (MLV) replicates in cells from various mammalian species including humans and is a potential contaminant in MLV vector preparations for human gene transfer studies. Because MLV replication proceeds through an RNA genome that is generated under the control of viral enhancer and promoter elements, vectors were developed that delete such elements during transduction to reduce the generation of replication-competent virus. It was shown recently that replication of amphotropic MLV in certain human cells is possible without the 75 bp transcription enhancers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAmphotropic murine leukemia virus (MLV) replicates in cells from various mammalian species including humans and is a potential contaminant in MLV vector preparations for human gene transfer studies. In general, MLV replication depends on the expression of viral genes under the control of 75 bp enhancer elements in the long terminal repeat. However, in specific human fibrosarcoma and lymphoma lines replication of amphotropic MLV is possible without these enhancers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAmphotropic murine leukemia virus (MLV) replicates in cells from various mammalian species, including humans, and is a potential contaminant in MLV vector preparations for human gene transfer studies. Mus dunni fibroblasts are routinely used for amplification and detection of contaminating virus. We have recently characterized an amphotropic MLV mutant lacking the 75-bp viral enhancer elements and spontaneous MLV-(RCMV) recombinants that have acquired cytomegalovirus (CMV) transcription elements.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAmphotropic murine leukemia virus (MLV) can replicate in human cells and is a potential contaminant in vector preparations for human gene transfer studies. We have recently shown that replication of amphotropic MLV in specific human sarcoma and lymphoma lines is possible in the absence of the viral 75-bp transcription enhancer elements. Here, we have tested the replication of an amphotropic MLV, MLV-(MOA), and an enhancer-deficient mutant of this virus in human breast carcinoma-derived cell lines.
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