Expression of tissue remodelling,inflammation- and angiogenesis-related factors after eccentric exercise in humans

Molecular Biology Reports - Eccentric exercise has been extensively used as a model to study the contraction-induced muscle damage and its consequent processes. This study aimed at examining...     

Aetiology of Acute Respiratory Tract Infections in Hospitalised Children in Cyprus

In order to improve clinical management and prevention of viral infections in hospitalised children improved etiological insight is needed. The aim of the present study was to assess the spectrum of respiratory viral pathogens in children admitted to hospital with acute respiratory tract infections in Cyprus. For this purpose nasopharyngeal swab samples from 424 children less than 12 years of age with acute respiratory tract infections were collected over three epidemic seasons and were analysed for the presence of the most common 15 respiratory viruses. A viral pathogen was identified in 86% of the samples, with multiple infections being observed in almost 20% of the samples. The most frequently detected viruses were RSV (30.4%) and Rhinovirus (27.4%). RSV exhibited a clear seasonality with marked peaks in January/February, while rhinovirus infections did not exhibit a pronounced seasonality being detected almost throughout the year. While RSV and PIV3 incidence decreased significantly with age, the opposite was observed for influenza A and B as well as adenovirus infections. The data presented expand our understanding of the epidemiology of viral respiratory tract infections in Cypriot children and will be helpful to the clinicians and researchers interested in the treatment and control of viral respiratory tract infections.     

Circulation of enteroviruses in Cyprus assessed by molecular analysis of clinical specimens and sewage isolates

Aims: To study the circulation of non‐polio enteroviruses in the Cypriot population and assess the clinical relevance of different serotypes by the analysis of clinical specimens and environmental samples. Methods and Results: Sewage samples were collected on a monthly basis for 2 years from all five districts of Cyprus. Enteroviruses were isolated using the VIRADEN method and typed by partial VP1 region sequencing. In addition, all enterovirus‐positive clinical samples received during this 2‐year period were typed, and a phylogenetic comparison of clinical and sewage samples based on the partial VP1 sequences was made. A significant difference between the most common serotypes found in sewage and clinical samples was observed. While Coxsackieviruses B constituted the most frequent serotypes in sewages, Echoviruses 30 and 18 prevailed in clinical samples. Conclusions: The phylogenetic analysis revealed that certain enterovirus strains circulate in the population over long period of time, while others are observed only sporadically and disappear quickly. For some serotypes, it was observed that several strains were cocirculating in the population but only some of them being detected also in clinical specimens. Significance and Impact of the Study: This study, for the first time, compares enteroviruses isolated from environmental samples and clinical specimens on a molecular level, which allowed for strain identification and discrimination. A more comprehensive molecular analysis of these strains will help identify factors, which determine different degrees of pathogenicity.