Avian influenza A virus constitutes a large threat to human health. Recent outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus in poultry and in humans have raised concerns that an influenza pandemic will occur ...Avian influenza A virus constitutes a large threat to human health. Recent outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus in poultry and in humans have raised concerns that an influenza pandemic will occur in the near future. Transmission from avian species to humans remains sporadic, but the mortality associated with human infection is very high (about 62%). To date, there are no effective therapeutic drugs or a prophylactic vaccines available, which means that there is still a long way to go before we can eradicate or cure avian influenza. This review focuses on the molecular pathogenesis of avian influenza H5N1 virus infection. An understanding of the viral pathogenesis may facilitate the development of novel treatments or effective eradication of this fatal disease.展开更多
Background: 1-3, 1-6 β-glucan derived from Baker’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) has been widely studied for its immune stimulatory capabilities and safety. Previous studies found β-glucan to have efficacy at re...Background: 1-3, 1-6 β-glucan derived from Baker’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) has been widely studied for its immune stimulatory capabilities and safety. Previous studies found β-glucan to have efficacy at reducing incidence of URTIs as well as being a low risk for negative side effects. The current study aimed to examine the effects of yeast β-glucan (Angel Yeast) on cold and flu incidences and symptoms in healthy adults. Methods: Two hundred and thirty-one males and females aged 18 to 65 years old supplemented with either β-glucan or a placebo for 3-months. Participants completed a general health questionnaire every 4 weeks and in addition, if participants experienced any cold or flu symptoms, these were recorded daily (along with severity) until resolved or up to 2 weeks. Results: Supplementation with β-glucan reduced the self-reported severity of sore throats and improved sleep quality compared to the placebo group. Conclusions: Yeast β-glucan supplementation appears to be able to help reduce certain symptoms experienced during a cold or flu episode and is safe and well tolerated.展开更多
In this work, the comparative study of total electron content (TEC) between recurrent and quiet geomagnetic periods of solar cycle 24 at Koudougou station with geographical coordinates 12°15'N;- 2°20'...In this work, the comparative study of total electron content (TEC) between recurrent and quiet geomagnetic periods of solar cycle 24 at Koudougou station with geographical coordinates 12°15'N;- 2°20'E was addressed. This study aims to analyze how geomagnetic variations influence the behavior of TEC in this specific region. The geomagnetic indices Kp and Dst were used to select quiet and recurrent days. Statistical analysis was used to interpret the graphs. The results show that the mean diurnal TEC has a minimum before dawn (around 0500 UT) and reaches a maximum value around 1400 UT, progressively decreasing after sunset. In comparison, the average diurnal TEC on recurrent days is slightly higher than on quiet days, with an average difference of 7 TECU. This difference increases with the level of geomagnetic disturbance, reaching 21 TECU during a moderate storm. The study also reveals significant monthly variations, with March and October showing the highest TEC values for quiet and recurrent days, respectively. Equinox months show the highest mean values, while solstice months show the lowest. Signatures of semi-annual, winter and equatorial ionization anomalies were observed. When analyzing annual variations, it was found that the TEC variation depends significantly on F10.7 solar flux, explaining up to 98% during recurrent geomagnetic activity and 92% during quiet geomagnetic activity.展开更多
The 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic has attracted worldwide attention. The new virus first emerged in Mexico in April, 2009 was identified as a unique combination of a triple- reassortant swine influenza A virus, compose...The 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic has attracted worldwide attention. The new virus first emerged in Mexico in April, 2009 was identified as a unique combination of a triple- reassortant swine influenza A virus, composed of genetic information from pigs, hu- mans, birds, and a Eurasian swine influenza virus. Several recent studies on the 2009 H1N1 virus util-ized small datasets to conduct analysis. With new sequences available up to date, we were able to extend the previous research in three areas. The first was finding two networks of co-mutations that may po-tentially affect the current flu-drug binding sites on neuraminidase (NA), one of the two surface proteins of flu virus. The second was discovering a special stalk motif, which was dominant in the H5N1 strains in the past, in the 2009 H1N1 strains for the first time. Due to the high virulence of this motif, the second finding is significant in our current research on 2009 H1N1. The third was updating the phylogenetic an- alysis of current NA sequences of 2009 H1N1 and H5N1, which demonstrated that, in clear contrast to previous findings, the N1 sequences in 2009 are di-verse enough to cover different major branches of the phylogenetic tree of those in previous years. As the novel influenza A H1N1 virus continues to spread globally, our results highlighted the importance of performing timely analysis on the 2009 H1N1 virus.展开更多
文摘Avian influenza A virus constitutes a large threat to human health. Recent outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus in poultry and in humans have raised concerns that an influenza pandemic will occur in the near future. Transmission from avian species to humans remains sporadic, but the mortality associated with human infection is very high (about 62%). To date, there are no effective therapeutic drugs or a prophylactic vaccines available, which means that there is still a long way to go before we can eradicate or cure avian influenza. This review focuses on the molecular pathogenesis of avian influenza H5N1 virus infection. An understanding of the viral pathogenesis may facilitate the development of novel treatments or effective eradication of this fatal disease.
文摘Background: 1-3, 1-6 β-glucan derived from Baker’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) has been widely studied for its immune stimulatory capabilities and safety. Previous studies found β-glucan to have efficacy at reducing incidence of URTIs as well as being a low risk for negative side effects. The current study aimed to examine the effects of yeast β-glucan (Angel Yeast) on cold and flu incidences and symptoms in healthy adults. Methods: Two hundred and thirty-one males and females aged 18 to 65 years old supplemented with either β-glucan or a placebo for 3-months. Participants completed a general health questionnaire every 4 weeks and in addition, if participants experienced any cold or flu symptoms, these were recorded daily (along with severity) until resolved or up to 2 weeks. Results: Supplementation with β-glucan reduced the self-reported severity of sore throats and improved sleep quality compared to the placebo group. Conclusions: Yeast β-glucan supplementation appears to be able to help reduce certain symptoms experienced during a cold or flu episode and is safe and well tolerated.
文摘In this work, the comparative study of total electron content (TEC) between recurrent and quiet geomagnetic periods of solar cycle 24 at Koudougou station with geographical coordinates 12°15'N;- 2°20'E was addressed. This study aims to analyze how geomagnetic variations influence the behavior of TEC in this specific region. The geomagnetic indices Kp and Dst were used to select quiet and recurrent days. Statistical analysis was used to interpret the graphs. The results show that the mean diurnal TEC has a minimum before dawn (around 0500 UT) and reaches a maximum value around 1400 UT, progressively decreasing after sunset. In comparison, the average diurnal TEC on recurrent days is slightly higher than on quiet days, with an average difference of 7 TECU. This difference increases with the level of geomagnetic disturbance, reaching 21 TECU during a moderate storm. The study also reveals significant monthly variations, with March and October showing the highest TEC values for quiet and recurrent days, respectively. Equinox months show the highest mean values, while solstice months show the lowest. Signatures of semi-annual, winter and equatorial ionization anomalies were observed. When analyzing annual variations, it was found that the TEC variation depends significantly on F10.7 solar flux, explaining up to 98% during recurrent geomagnetic activity and 92% during quiet geomagnetic activity.
文摘The 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic has attracted worldwide attention. The new virus first emerged in Mexico in April, 2009 was identified as a unique combination of a triple- reassortant swine influenza A virus, composed of genetic information from pigs, hu- mans, birds, and a Eurasian swine influenza virus. Several recent studies on the 2009 H1N1 virus util-ized small datasets to conduct analysis. With new sequences available up to date, we were able to extend the previous research in three areas. The first was finding two networks of co-mutations that may po-tentially affect the current flu-drug binding sites on neuraminidase (NA), one of the two surface proteins of flu virus. The second was discovering a special stalk motif, which was dominant in the H5N1 strains in the past, in the 2009 H1N1 strains for the first time. Due to the high virulence of this motif, the second finding is significant in our current research on 2009 H1N1. The third was updating the phylogenetic an- alysis of current NA sequences of 2009 H1N1 and H5N1, which demonstrated that, in clear contrast to previous findings, the N1 sequences in 2009 are di-verse enough to cover different major branches of the phylogenetic tree of those in previous years. As the novel influenza A H1N1 virus continues to spread globally, our results highlighted the importance of performing timely analysis on the 2009 H1N1 virus.
