Detection of Pathogenic Viruses in Sewage Provided Early Warnings of Hepatitis A Virus and Norovirus Outbreaks

Most persons infected with enterically transmitted viruses shed large amounts of virus in feces for days or weeks, both before and after onset of symptoms. Therefore, viruses causing gastroenteritis may be detected in wastewater, even if only a few persons are infected. In this study, the presence of eight pathogenic viruses (norovirus, astrovirus, rotavirus, adenovirus, Aichi virus, parechovirus, hepatitis A virus [HAV], and hepatitis E virus) was investigated in sewage to explore whether their identification could be used as an early warning of outbreaks. Samples of the untreated sewage were collected in proportion to flow at Ryaverket, Gothenburg, Sweden. Daily samples collected during every second week between January and May 2013 were pooled and analyzed for detection of viruses by concentration through adsorption to milk proteins and PCR. The largest amount of noroviruses was detected in sewage 2 to 3 weeks before most patients were diagnosed with this infection in Gothenburg. The other viruses were detected at lower levels. HAV was detected between weeks 5 and 13, and partial sequencing of the structural VP1protein identified three different strains. Two strains were involved in an ongoing outbreak in Scandinavia and were also identified in samples from patients with acute hepatitis A in Gothenburg during spring of 2013. The third strain was unique and was not detected in any patient sample. The method used may thus be a tool to detect incipient outbreaks of these viruses and provide early warning before the causative pathogens have been recognized in health care.     

Molecular analysis of the first avian influenza H5N1 isolates from fowl in Romania

Since the events of avian influenza (AI) caused by H5N1 subtype from Hong Kong (1997), the people worldwide have been confronted with new waves of epizootic influenza. In 2005 in Romania an unprecedent H5N1 epizootic occurred in domestic and wild birds. Therefore an immediate investigation by molecular approach of this highly pathogenic H5N1 strain was necessary. The virus isolation and the RNA extraction were performed in the Institute of Diagnosis and Animal Health while PCR and sequencing were carried out in Cantacuzino Institute. Herein we report the first evidence of H5N1 presence in Romanian fowls. The phylogenetic analysis of haemagglutinin and neuraminidase gene indicated a close relationship of Romanian strains to those from Siberia and China. The virological and molecular analysis of the first strains of avian virus from Romania confirmed the presence of H5N1 subtype, belonging to the genetic line Z. These results indicate that the avian virus from this genetic line is directly derived from the highly pathogenic viruses isolated in China and Russia in 2005.     

The influence of sodium metavanadate on the process of diabetogenesis in BB rats

Vanadium has been shown to be beneficial in the oral treatment of animal models of type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The aim of the study was to evaluate the short-term effects of sodium metavanadate in prediabetic BB-DP rats. To do this, 96 rats were divided into 4 equal groups. Groups VI, V2, V3 were treated with sodium metavanadate (0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 mg/ml respectively) and sodium chloride (0.5 mg/ml) in drinking water for 7 days. Group C received only sodium chloride (0.5 mg/ml). Blood glucose (BG), glycosuria, ketonuria, body weight and insulinemia were determined. The age of onset of diabetes was significantly higher for groups V2, V3 compared to group C, (p < 0.05) and depends on the metavanadate concentration (V3 vs. V1, p=0.006). The incidence of diabetes was lower in the rats treated with metavanadate than in the control group, but this difference was not statistically significant. In diabetic rats, the BG at the onset was higher in group C than in groups V, p < 0.05. Insulinemia, at the onset of the treatment as well as immediately after its cessation showed a drop in the treatment groups, proportionally to the dosage of vanadium, but later increased slowly and continuously until the end of the experiment. In conclusion, metavanadate delays the development of diabetes in BB-DP rats, but does not prevent its onset. A milder form of diabetes occurs in diabetic rats treated with metavanadate. The effects depend on the metavanadate concentration and 0.2 mg/ml is preferable.     

Influence of C-5 substituted cytosine and related nucleoside analogs on the formation of benzo[a]pyrene diol epoxide-dG adducts at CG base pairs of DNA

Endogenous 5-methylcytosine ((Me)C) residues are found at all CG dinucleotides of the p53 tumor suppressor gene, including the mutational 'hotspots' for smoking induced lung cancer. (Me)C enhances the reactivity of its base paired guanine towards carcinogenic diolepoxide metabolites of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) present in cigarette smoke. In the present study, the structural basis for these effects was investigated using a series of unnatural nucleoside analogs and a representative PAH diolepoxide, benzo[a]pyrene diolepoxide (BPDE). Synthetic DNA duplexes derived from a frequently mutated region of the p53 gene (5'-CCCGGCACCC GC[(15)N(3),(13)C(1)-G]TCCGCG-3', + strand) were prepared containing [(15)N(3), (13)C(1)]-guanine opposite unsubstituted cytosine, (Me)C, abasic site, or unnatural nucleobase analogs. Following BPDE treatment and hydrolysis of the modified DNA to 2'-deoxynucleosides, N(2)-BPDE-dG adducts formed at the [(15)N(3), (13)C(1)]-labeled guanine and elsewhere in the sequence were quantified by mass spectrometry. We found that C-5 alkylcytosines and related structural analogs specifically enhance the reactivity of the base paired guanine towards BPDE and modify the diastereomeric composition of N(2)-BPDE-dG adducts. Fluorescence and molecular docking studies revealed that 5-alkylcytosines and unnatural nucleobase analogs with extended aromatic systems facilitate the formation of intercalative BPDE-DNA complexes, placing BPDE in a favorable orientation for nucleophilic attack by the N(2) position of guanine.     

Erratum to: Modeling precision treatment of breast cancer

During the type-setting of the final version of the article [1] some of the additional files were swapped. The correct files are republished in this Erratum.The online version of the original article can be found under doi:10.1186/s13059-015-0658-5.     

Polyamine conjugates of meso-tritolylporphyrin and protoporphyrin IX: potential agents for photodynamic therapy of cancers

An efficient five-step synthesis method was developed to obtain tritolylporphyrin and protoporphyrin IX polyamine conjugates. These compounds were composed of either one polyamine unit (spermidine or spermine) covalently tethered to monocarboxyphenyl tritolylporphyrin or two molecules of polyamines borne by protoporphyrin IX. In each compound, an aliphatic spacer arm is linked to the N(4) polyamine position. Photocytotoxicity of these new compounds was evaluated against K562 human chronic myelogenous leukemia cells and compared to Photofrin II; protoporphyrin IX polyamine conjugates exhibited much stronger photocytocicity than Photofrin II and were shown to readily induce necrosis in treated cells.     

Coping with everyday bordering: Roma migrants and gatekeepers in Helsinki

ABSTRACT

The article analyses intra-European bordering on the local level through the case of Eastern European Roma in Helsinki. Precarious EU migrants outside the Nordic labour markets have formed a group neither “in” nor completely “out” of national welfare structures. We argue that various level authorities have responded to the loss of direct control over legitimate yet unwanted migrants by mobilizing municipal workers and local police as everyday gatekeepers. Policy towards the Roma migrants in Helsinki is ethnicized (conceptualizing them as a special category requiring targeted measures) and “NGOized” (relegating elementary social provision to the third sector). Their presence of is not formally challenged, yet they are effectively without access to social rights and pathways to permanent residence. Meanwhile, the migrants strive to improve their disadvantaged position through transnational, family-based livelihood strategies, which are actively adapted to the shifting European and Finnish borderscapes.     

Halophilic bacteria are able to decontaminate dichlorvos, a pesticide, from saline environments

Dichlorvos (DDVP) is an organophosphorous pesticide with a high degree of dangerous effect towards the environment. We have investigated the growth and susceptibility to DDVP of halophilic bacteria isolated from Romanian salt lakes. The growth of four strains was affected by DDVP, which may be correlated with the rate constant values of DDVP disappearance from the saline solutions. This is due not to a chemical degradation in solution but to the diffusion process and namely DDVP penetration into the cell cytoplasm by an “organic-osmolyte” mechanism. The permeability coefficient P was calculated.