A human astrovirus (HAstV) strain from Kenya was characterized by nucleotide sequence analysis. Sequences from open reading frame 1a (ORF1a) clustered with genotype 6/7, those from ORF1b clustered with genotype 3, and those from ORF2 clustered with genotype 2. A recombination point in the ORF1b-ORF2 junction was identified, with a second possible recombination point within the ORF1a region.

OBJECTIVE To assess the role of Helicobacter pylori infection and interleukin 6 polymorphism -174 (rs1800795) in dyslipidemia. DESIGN Case-control study comparing serum lipids between H. pylori positive and negative patients and controlling for IL-6 -174 polymorphism, age, sex and smoking. SETTING 3 hospitals performing outpatient endoscopies in the city of Oulu, Finland. PARTICIPANTS 199...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE A J-shaped relationship has been demonstrated between alcohol and both clinical cardiovascular events and carotid atherosclerosis. A similar J-shaped relationship has been found between alcohol intake and inflammatory markers. If inflammation were on the intermediate causal pathway between alcohol intake and atherosclerosis, then genetic determinants of enhanced inflammat...

Current knowledge on the prevalence and genotypes of Cryptosporidium in fishes is still limited. This study investigated the prevalence of Cryptosporidium species in 171 ornamental fishes, belonging to 33 species, collected from 8 commercial aquariums around Perth, Western Australia. All samples were screened by nested PCR targeting the 18S rRNA locus. A total of 6 positives were identified by ...

Parvovirus B19 (B19V) can persist in immunocompetent symptomatic and non-symptomatic individuals, as demonstrated by the finding of viral DNA in different tissues, in absence of viremia and of anti-B19V IgM. The spread and the nature of this phenomenon have not been clearly determined. In order to investigate the frequency of persistence and the tissue distribution of the three genotypes of B19...

BACKGROUND This study evaluates the added benefit when estimating antiretroviral drug resistance of combining all available resistance test results in a cumulative genotype relative to using the latest genotype alone. METHODS The prevalence of resistance and genotypic sensitivity scores (GSS) predicted by the latest and the cumulative genotype, together with virological outcomes after the lat...

BACKGROUND Clopidogrel is a prodrug requiring metabolism by cytochrome P450 3A (CYP3A) isoenzymes, including CYP3A5, in order to be active. It is controversial whether clopidogrel interacts with CYP3A inhibitors. We investigated the influence of CYP3A5 polymorphism on the drug interaction of clopidogrel. METHODS In phase 1 of the study, we administered clopidogrel to 16 healthy volunteers who...

The genotypic distribution of hepatitis C virus (HCV) isolated from blood donors from four major regions of Thailand was studied by reverse hybridization assays. PCR-amplified products from the 5' noncoding and core regions of the viral genome were hybridized to genotype- and subtype-specific probes which were immobilized on the nitrocellulose membrane. Of 332 anti-HCV-positive plasma samples s...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the association between Haptoglobin (HP) gene polymorphisms with inflammatory status in obese subjects. MATERIALS AND METHODS A cross-sectional study was carried out. A total of 276 apparently healthy men and nonpregnant obese women were enrolled and allocated according to the HP genotype into the HP (1)/HP (1), HP (2)/HP (1), and HP (2)/HP (2) groups. Distribution of HP...