Search results for "emics"
showing 10 items of 867 documents
Origin of modern syphilis and emergence of a pandemic Treponema pallidum cluster
2016
The abrupt onslaught of the syphilis pandemic that started in the late fifteenth century established this devastating infectious disease as one of the most feared in human history1 . Surprisingly, despite the availability of effective antibiotic treatment since the mid-twentieth century, this bacterial infection, which is caused by Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum (TPA), has been re-emerging globally in the last few decades with an estimated 10.6 million cases in 2008 (ref. 2). Although resistance to penicillin has not yet been identified, an increasing number of strains fail to respond to the secondline antibiotic azithromycin3. Little is known about the genetic patterns in current infec…
Human molecular chaperones share with SARS-CoV-2 antigenic epitopes potentially capable of eliciting autoimmunity against endothelial cells: possible…
2020
Severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the cause of COVID-19 disease, has the potential to elicit autoimmunity because mimicry of human molecular chaperones by viral proteins. We compared viral proteins with human molecular chaperones, many of which are heat shock proteins, to determine if they share amino acid-sequence segments with immunogenic-antigenic potential, which can elicit cross-reactive antibodies and effector immune cells with the capacity to damage-destroy human cells by a mechanism of autoimmunity. We identified the chaperones that can putatively participate in molecular mimicry phenomena after SARS-CoV-2 infection, focusing on those for which endotheli…
SARS-CoV2 vertical transmission with adverse effects on the newborn revealed through integrated immunohistochemical, electron microscopy and molecula…
2020
Background: The occurrence of trans-placental transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection remains highly debated. Placental positivity for SARS-CoV-2 has been reported in selected cases, but infection or virus-associated disease of fetal tissues or newborns remains to be demonstrated. Methods: We screened for SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein expression placentas from 101 women who delivered between February 7 and May 15 2020, including 15 tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA, 34 tested negative, and 52 not evaluated as they did not meet testing criteria (32), or delivered before COVID-19 pandemic declaration (20). Immunostain for SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid…
European countries in the race to attract successful biopharma investment: Winners and laggers
2021
The post-coronavirus era will open myriad opportunities for the biopharma industry. However, the extent to which each country will take advantage of this promising new scenario will largely depend on its position in a few key areas. Here, we offer an overview of the European countries that are winning and those that are lagging behind in the race to attract the greatest investment in this industry and to attain the highest rate of successful new ventures. Our results highlight the vital importance of a sound, active funding base, especially in terms of venture capital. Our findings also suggests that general scientific foundations are not enough to secure an advantage in new venture formati…
Stochastic sampling effects favor manual over digital contact tracing.
2020
Isolation of symptomatic individuals, tracing and testing of their nonsymptomatic contacts are fundamental strategies for mitigating the current COVID-19 pandemic. The breaking of contagion chains relies on two complementary strategies: manual reconstruction of contacts based on interviews and a digital (app-based) privacy-preserving contact tracing. We compare their effectiveness using model parameters tailored to describe SARS-CoV-2 diffusion within the activity-driven model, a general empirically validated framework for network dynamics. We show that, even for equal probability of tracing a contact, manual tracing robustly performs better than the digital protocol, also taking into accou…
Pharmacological Agents Targeting Thromboinflammation in COVID-19: Review and Implications for Future Research.
2020
AbstractCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), currently a worldwide pandemic, is a viral illness caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The suspected contribution of thrombotic events to morbidity and mortality in COVID-19 patients has prompted a search for novel potential options for preventing COVID-19-associated thrombotic disease. In this article by the Global COVID-19 Thrombosis Collaborative Group, we describe novel dosing approaches for commonly used antithrombotic agents (especially heparin-based regimens) and the potential use of less widely used antithrombotic drugs in the absence of confirmed thrombosis. Although these therapies may have direct…
Mortality in COVID-19 disease patients: Correlating Association of Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) with severe acute respiratory syndrome 2 (S…
2020
Highlights • In addition to ethnicity, socio-economic factors, prior vaccinations and exposure to other coronaviruses, other factors need to be considered to explain geographical and regional variations in susceptibility, severity of clinical expression of COVID-19 disease and outcomes. • Differences in peptide binding of SARS-CoV-2 variants to MHC class II, but not to MHC class I alleles frequent in individuals with African, Asian or Caucasian descent could be identified. • Single mutations in the wildtype of SARS-CoV-2, the so called B strain or L strain impact on MHC presentation • Most likely there is selective pressure from MHC class II alleles in regard to binding of the ORF8 (L84S) v…
Beta-Hemolytic Streptococcal Infective Endocarditis: Characteristics and Outcomes From a Large, Multinational Cohort
2020
Abstract Background Beta-hemolytic streptococci (BHS) are an uncommon cause of infective endocarditis (IE). The aim of this study was to describe the clinical features and outcomes of patients with BHS IE in a large multinational cohort and compare them with patients with viridans streptococcal IE. Methods The International Collaboration on Endocarditis Prospective Cohort Study (ICE-PCS) is a large multinational database that recruited patients with IE prospectively using a standardized data set. Sixty-four sites in 28 countries reported patients prospectively using a standard case report form developed by ICE collaborators. Results Among 1336 definite cases of streptococcal IE, 823 were ca…
Burden of Disease in PWH Harboring a Multidrug-Resistant Virus: Data from the PRESTIGIO Registry
2020
AbstractBackgroundCurrently, no data are available on the burden of morbidity and mortality in people with HIV-1 (PWH) harboring a 4-class drug-resistant (4DR) virus (nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, protease inhibitors, integrase strand transfer inhibitors). The study aimed to assess the incidence of clinical events and death in this population.MethodsThis was a cohort study on PWH from the PRESTIGIO Registry with a documented 4DR virus. Burden of disease was defined as the occurrence of any new event including an AIDS-defining event (ADE) or non-AIDS-defining event (NADE) or death from any cause after 4DR evidence (baseline). Co…
Managing cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic:an ESMO multidisciplinary expert consensus
2020
We established an international consortium to review and discuss relevant clinical evidence in order to develop expert consensus statements related to cancer management during the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2-related disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The steering committee prepared 10 working packages addressing significant clinical questions from diagnosis to surgery. During a virtual consensus meeting of 62 global experts and one patient advocate, led by the European Society for Medical Oncology, statements were discussed, amended and voted upon. When consensus could not be reached, the panel revised statements until a consensus was reached. Overall, the expert panel agreed …