Objectives: Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1–associated myelopathy (HAM) involves not only spinal cord but also the cerebral cortex and the white matter in histopathological analysis. In addition, a previous study found that T2 hyperintensities on brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in HAM patients were increased only in white matter. However, conventional neurophysiological examinatio...

One of the efficient and powerful schemes to solve linear and nonlinear equations is homotopy analysis method (HAM). In this work, we obtain the approximate solution of a system of partial differential equations (PDEs) by means of HAM. For this purpose, we develop the concept of HAM for a system of PDEs as a matrix form. Then, we prove the convergence theorem and apply the proposed method to fi...

HTLV-1 is the causative agent of a severe form of adult T cell leukemia/Lymphoma (ATL), and of a chronic progressive neuromyelopathy designated HTLV-1 associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). Two important HTLV-1-encoded proteins, Tax-1 and HBZ, play crucial roles in the generation and maintenance of the oncogenic process. Less information is instead available on the molecu...

Research here explored the use of controlled atmospheres (CA) for managing arthropod pests that infest dry-cured hams. Experiments were conducted with low oxygen (O₂) achieved with low pressure under a vacuum, high carbon dioxide (CO₂), and ozone (O₃). Results showed that both low O₂ and high CO₂ levels required exposures up to 144 h to kill 100% of all stages of red-legged ham beetle, Necrobia...

A high human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) proviral load is described in HTLV-1-associated diseases, especially HAM/TSP. However, the cut-off value to define high levels of HTLV-1 proviral load is not well established. 281 HTLV-1-infected patients from the HTLV reference center in Salvador, Brazil, were followed from 2005 to 2008. Patients were classified as asymptomatic, possible-,...

Human T-lymphotropic virus-type 1 (HTLV-1) is the etiologic agent of the neurologic disease HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). Tax viral protein plays a critical role in viral pathogenesis. Previous studies suggested that extracellular Tax might involve cytokine-like extracellular effects. We evaluated Tax secretion in 18 h-ex vivo peripheral blood mononuclear ...

The inflammatory disease human T cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I)-associated myelopathy (HAM/TSP) occurs in only 1-2% of HTLV-I-infected individuals and is associated with a high provirus load of HTLV-I. We hypothesize that a person's risk of developing HAM/TSP depends upon the efficiency of their immune response to the virus, which differs between individuals because of polymorphism in ...

Human T cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) infection can lead to development of adult T cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) or HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) in a subset of infected subjects. Understanding the interaction between host and HTLV-1 and the molecular mechanisms associated with disease pathogenesis is critical for development efficient therapies. T...

Although some recent studies concluded that dexterity is not a reliable predictor of performance in preclinical laboratory courses in dentistry, they could not disprove earlier findings which confirmed the worth of manual dexterity tests in dental admission. We developed a wire bending test (HAM-Man) which was administered during dental freshmen's first week in 2008, 2009, and 2010. The purpose...

Human T-lymphotropic virus type 1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) is a rare neurodegenerative disease characterized by chronic inflammation in the spinal cord. We hypothesized that a positive feedback loop driven by chemokines may be responsible for the chronic inflammation in HAM/TSP. We aimed to determine the identity of these chemokines, where they are produced, ...