ANTIGENIC RELATIONSHIP OF BRITISH SWINE INFLUENZA STRAINS TO STANDARD HUMAN AND SWINE INFLUENZA VIRUSES : THE USE OF CHICKEN AND FERRET ANTISERA IN RED CELL AGGLUTINATION

The antigenic relationships of Type A (PR 8, WS) and Type B (Lee) human strains and the Shope and British (Cambridge, North Ireland) swine strains were studied by specific antiserum inhibition of chicken red cell agglutination by the influenza virus. The Cambridge and North Ireland strains were found to be closely related to the Type A strains and differentiated from the Shope virus. The distinctive antigenicity of the Lee strain of Type B was confirmed. Specific antibodies were developed in chickens following single intraperitoneal injections of influenza virus. Inhibition tests yielded results, in the antigenic analysis of the influenza viruses examined, comparable to those obtained with ferret antisera. Specific inhibition of hemagglutination by influenza virus proved an effective method for the study of strain relationships.     

Variations in screening and management practices for subsequent asymptomatic meningiomas in childhood,adolescent and young adult cancer survivors

Journal of Neuro-Oncology - Childhood, adolescent and young adult (CAYA) cancer survivors treated with cranial radiotherapy are at risk for developing subsequent meningiomas. There is insufficient...     

Inner blood-retina barrier involvement in dry age-related macular degeneration(AMD) pathology

Age-relatedmaculardegeneration(AMD)isaprogressiveneurodegenerative disease with a global prevalence of 8.7%in people over the age of 45. It is one of the leading causes of central retinal blindness in the industrialized world leading to loss of an individual’s ability to read, drive and see fine details, such as recognition of faces. By 2040, it is estimated that 288 million individuals worldwide will be diagnosed with AMD due to improved life expectancy(Wong et al., 2014).     

Molecular evidence for the presence of chlamydia in the synovium of patients with reiter's syndrome

Objective. There is much evidence indicating that chlamydial antigens in the synovium may be critical in the pathogenesis of Reiter's syndrome (RS), but it is not known whether intact organisms are present in that tissue in any stage of the disease. The present study was undertaken to begin to address this question. Methods. We used a highly specific and sensitive molecular hybridization screening system which detects chlamydial RNA, to examine synovial biopsy samples from 22 patients with various arthropathies, including 9 with RS. Results. Seven of the 9 RS patients were positive for chlamydial RNA, while 3 of the 13 non-RS patients were also positive; positive results in the non-RS patients probably indicate the actual presence of the organism, since these patients had arthritis that was otherwise incompletely explained. Conclusion. The detection of chlamydial RNA, in combination with previous findings of chlamydia-like particles and/or chlamydial antigens in the synovium of RS patients, suggests that whole bacterial cells are present in that tissue.