A new record ofAchlya klebsiana from snakehead,Channa striatus,with fungal infection in Myanmar

This is the first record of the discovery in Myanmar ofAchlya klebsiana, belonging to the family Saprolegniaceae.     

Atypical B cells are part of an alternative lineage of B cells that participates in responses to vaccination and infection in humans

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The role of conventional antibodies targeting the CD4 binding site and CD4-induced epitopes in the control of HIV-1 CRF01_AE viruses

HIV-1 CRF01_AE viruses are highly prevalent in Southeast Asia. However, vulnerability sites in Env of CRF01_AE viruses have not been investigated sufficiently. We examined the sensitivity of CRF01_AE viruses from Japan and Vietnam, together with subtype B viruses from Japan, to neutralization and Fc-mediated signaling. Neutralization coverage of broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs), 2G12 and b12, was significantly low against CRF01_AE viruses, compared with subtype B viruses. In contrast, the conventional antibody targeting the CD4 binding site (CD4bs), 49G2, showed better neutralization and Fc-mediated signaling activities against CRF01_AE viruses than subtype B viruses. Fc-mediated signaling activity of anti-CD4 induced (CD4i) antibody, 4E9C, was also detected against CRF01_AE viruses more than subtype B viruses. These results suggest that conventional antibodies against CD4bs and CD4i may play an important role in the control of CRF01_AE viruses.     

Influence of membrane surface properties on the behavior of initial bacterial adhesion and biofilm development onto nanofiltration membranes

In order to investigate biofouling problems, the fundamental behaviors of initial bacterial adhesion and biofilm development on four different nanofiltration (NF) membranes were evaluated using Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 as a model bacterial strain. Initial cell adhesion was considerably higher on an aromatic polyamide-based NF membrane with a hydrophobic and rough surface, whereas cell aggregation on a polypiperazine-based NF membrane with a relatively hydrophilic and smooth surface was lower. Moreover, significant differences in the structural heterogeneity of the biofilms were observed among the four NF membranes. This study shows that the surface roughness and hydrophobicity of a membrane play an important role in determining initial cell adhesion, aggregation and favorable localization sites for colony formation. In addition, it was found that biofilm development was strongly influenced by the surface morphology of a membrane.     

Sequence comparison of the capsid region of hepatitis E viruses isolated from Myanmar and China.

Hepatitis E viruses (HEVs) were isolated during epidemics, one from Myanmar (formerly called Burma) and one from China and were partially sequenced. Another HEV Myanmar strain from sporadic hepatitis was previously sequenced by us. A cDNA sequence comparison was performed among them in the 3'-terminal region, approximately 750-base long. This region contained at least two immunological epitopes and was considered to correspond to the structural protein. The nucleotide sequence identity was 97.2% between the two Myanmar strains and 93.3 and 92.5% between the two Myanmar and the China strain. The deduced amino acid sequence identity ranged from 98.4 to 100.0% among the three strains. Thus this segment was well conserved on the amino acid level among the different strains isolated from these two Asian countries, although the China strain diverged more from the Myanmar strains on the nucleotide sequence level. This data may provide important information for the development of a vaccine and for identification of the virological link between different geographical locations.     

Increasing Disadvantages in Cancer Survival in New Zealand Compared to Australia,between 2000-05 and 2006-10

New Zealand has lower cancer survival compared to its neighbour Australia. If this were due to long established differences between the two patient populations, it might be expected to be either constant in time, or decreasing, as improving health services deals with inequities. In this study we compared trends in relative cancer survival ratios in New Zealand and Australia between 2000–05 and 2006–10, using data from the New Zealand Cancer Registry and the Australian Institute for Health and Welfare. Over this period, Australia showed significant improvements (6.0% in men, 3.0% in women) in overall 5-year cancer survival, with substantial increases in survival from major cancer sites such as lung, bowel, prostate, and breast cancers. New Zealand had only a 1.8% increase in cancer survival in men and 1.3% in women, with non-significant changes in survival from lung and bowel cancers, although there were increases in survival from prostate and breast cancers. For all cancers combined, and for lung and bowel cancer, the improvements in survival and the greater improvements in Australia were mainly in 1-year survival, suggesting factors related to diagnosis and presentation. For breast cancer, the improvements were similar in each country and seen in survival after the first year. The findings underscore the need to accelerate the efforts to improve early diagnosis and optimum treatment for New Zealand cancer patients to catch up with the progress in Australia.