In vivo efficacy of Ingavirin against pandemic A (H1N1/09)v influenza virus

Ingavirin was shown to be efficient in inhibition of the pandemic influenza virus strains A/California/04/2009 (H1N1)v, A/California/07/2009 (H1N1)v, A/Moscow/225/2009 (H1N1)v and A/Moscow/226/2009 (H1N1)v. as well as the influenza virus strain A/Aichi/2/68 (H3N2) in the lungs of the infected mice. After oral administration of Ingavirin the titers of the influenza virus strains in the lung homogenates lowered.     

Forest refugia revisited: nSSRs and cpDNA sequences support historical isolation in a wide‐spread African tree with high colonization capacity,Milicia excelsa (Moraceae)

The impact of the Pleistocene climate oscillations on the structure of biodiversity in tropical regions remains poorly understood. In this study, the forest refuge theory is examined at the molecular level in Milicia excelsa, a dioecious tree with a continuous range throughout tropical Africa. Eight nuclear microsatellites (nSSRs) and two sequences and one microsatellite from chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) showed a deep divide between samples from Benin and those from Lower Guinea. This suggests that these populations were isolated in separate geographical regions, probably for several glacial cycles of the Pleistocene, and that the nuclear gene pools were not homogenized despite M. excelsa’s wind‐pollination syndrome. The divide could also be related to seed dispersal patterns, which should be largely determined by the migration behaviour of M. excelsa’s main seed disperser, the frugivorous bat Eidolon helvum. Within Lower Guinea, a north–south divide, observed with both marker types despite weak genetic structure (nSSRs: F_ST = 0.035, cpDNA: G_ST = 0.506), suggested the existence of separate Pleistocene refugia in Cameroon and the Gabon/Congo region. We inferred a pollen‐to‐seed dispersal distance ratio of c. 1.8, consistent with wide‐ranging gene dispersal by both wind and bats. Simulations in an Approximate Bayesian Computation framework suggested low nSSR and cpDNA mutation rates, but imprecise estimates of other demographic parameters, probably due to a substantial gene flow between the Lower Guinean gene pools. The decline of genetic diversity detected in some Gabonese populations could be a consequence of the relatively recent establishment of a closed canopy forest, which could negatively affect M. excelsa’s reproductive system.     

Diagnostic value of different laboratory methods in the diagnosis of pneumonia caused by Haemophilus influenzae type B

Comparative analysis of the diagnostic value of different laboratory methods in the diagnosis of H. influenzae b (Hib) pneumonia in children (bacteriological method, latex agglutination, counter immunoelectrophoresis, the passive hemagglutination test and the enzyme immunoassay (EIA) was carried out. EIA proved to be the most informative method for the diagnosing Hib pneumonia. EIA makes it possible to detect specific Hib antigens in different clinical materials in 48.8% of cases, as well as high titers of antibodies to mis infective agent in 61.7% of cases. The authors propose the unified criteria of the laboratory diagnosis of Hib infection in children.     

Glucocerebrosidase mutations in Gaucher disease.

BACKGROUND: Thirty-six mutations that cause Gaucher disease, the most common glycolipid storage disorder, are known. Although both alleles of most patients with the disease contain one of these mutations, in a few patients one or both disease-producing alleles have remained unidentified. Identification of mutations in these patients is useful for genetic counseling. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The DNA from 23 Gaucher disease patients in whom at least one glucocerebrosidase allele did not contain any of the 36 previously described mutations has been examined by single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis, followed by sequencing of regions in which abnormalities were detected. RESULTS: Eight previously undescribed mutations were detected. In exon 3, a deletion of a cytosine at cDNA nt 203 was found. In exon 6, three missense mutations were identified: a C-->A transversion at cDNA nt 644 (Ala176-->Asp), a C-->A transversion at cDNA nt 661 that resulted in a (Pro182-->Thr), and a G-->A transition at cDNA nt 721 (Gly202-->Arg). Two missense mutations were found in exon 7: a G-->A transition at cDNA nt 887 (Arg257-->Gln) and a C-->T at cDNA nt 970 (Arg285-->Cys). Two missense mutations were found in exon 9: a T-->G at cDNA nt 1249 (Trp378-->Gly) and a G-->A at cDNA nt 1255 (Asp380-->Asn). In addition to these disease-producing mutations, a silent C-->G transversion at cDNA nt 1431, occurring in a gene that already contained the 1226G mutation, was found in one family. CONCLUSIONS: The mutations described here and previously known can be classified as mild, severe, or lethal, on the basis of their effect on enzyme production and on clinical phenotype, and as polymorphic or sporadic, on the basis of the haplotype in which they are found. Rare mutations such as the new ones described here are sporadic in nature.