Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) glycoprotein G mimics fractalkine, a CX(3)C chemokine, which mediates chemotaxis of leukocytes expressing its receptor, CX(3)CR1. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between RSV infection and expression of perforin and IFN-gamma in CX(3)CR1-expressing peripheral blood CD8(+) T cells. Samples were collected from infants with RSV bronchiolitis, ...

β-Carotene (BC), β-cryptoxanthin (CX) and α-carotene (AC) are common carotenoids that form retinol. The amount of retinol (vitamin A) formed from carotenoid-rich foods should depend chiefly on the bioavailability (absorption and circulation time in the body) of carotenoids from their major food sources and the selectivity and reactivity of carotene cleavage enzymes towards them. The objective o...

The population genetics and phylogenetic relationships of Culex mosquitoes inhabiting the Sonoran Desert region of North America were studied using mitochondrial DNA and microsatellite molecular markers. Phylogenetic analyses of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) from mosquitoes collected over a wide geographic area, including the Baja California peninsula, and mainland localiti...

We recorded from 118 neurons in the visual sector of the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) in anesthetized rabbits. Cells were identified by their location and characteristic burst responses to stimulation of the primary visual cortex (Cx) and optic chiasm (OX) and were classified into two groups. Type I cells had relatively short latencies from both OX and Cx stimulation, and the latency from O...

It is well known that if Fis a field of characteristic zero and K=F(ax,..., ot„) is a finite algebraic extension of F, then K contains a primitive element, i.e. an element a such that F(oti,..., an) = F(a). Moreover, by means of Galois theory, it is possible to characterize those elements of the extension field which are primitive. In the case of finite differentially algebraic extensions the t...

Resting adults Culicidae were collected from January 1992 through January 1993 in several habitats of the Ribeira Valley region. The diversity of species found among them suggested that the vegetation remaining within human settlements favored the survival and the population increase of some mosquitoes. Among there are: Ae. scapularis, Ae. serratus, Cx. (Culex), Cx. nigripalpus and Cx. (Melanoc...

Culex pipiens complex mosquitoes (Cx. p. pipiens and Cx. p. quinquefasciatus) are among the principal vectors of St. Louis encephalitis (SLE) virus in the eastern United States; Cx. restuans and Cx. salinarius play secondary roles in the transmission and maintenance of the virus cycle. Accurate identification of these three species in field collections is required for epidemiologic studies of S...

West Nile (WN) virus transmission in the United States during 2000 was most intense on Staten Island, New York, where 10 neurologic illnesses among humans and 2 among horses occurred. WN virus was isolated from Aedes vexans, Culex pipiens, Cx. salinarius, Ochlerotatus triseriatus, and Psorophora ferox, and WN viral RNA was detected in Anopheles punctipennis. An elevated weekly minimum infection...

Fourteen isolations of West Nile (WN) virus were obtained from four mosquito species (Culex pipiens [5], Cx. restuans [4], Cx. salinarius [2], and Culiseta melanura [3]) in statewide surveillance conducted from June through October 2000. Most isolates were obtained from mosquitoes collected in densely populated residential locales in Fairfield and New Haven counties, where the highest rates of ...