Conference Handbook - targetmeeting.comtargetmeeting.com/files/pdf/handbook49.pdf · Conference Handbook TM’s 2nd World Virology & Microbiology Online Conference April 16-18, 2013

Conference Handbook

TM’s 2nd World Virology & Microbiology Online Conference

April 16-18, 2013

Dear colleagues

Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to participate in online

conference - TM’s 2nd World Virology & Microbiology Online Conference, which

will be held on April 16 - 18, 2013. It will be very helpful to speakers, attendees, and

other researchers. Target Meeting appreciates your attendances and generous

contribution. We hope you will enjoy the difference.

Sincerely Yours

Target Meeting Team in USA

Instructions

1. Attendees can participate in all or part of tracks (sessions). It depends on your time or

interest. All conference information is available on

http://targetmeeting.com/Modules/Meetings/MeetingDetails.aspx?Id=49.

2. Double click the track links at scheduled date & time to join the conference. The

conference component software will be downloaded and installed on your computer

automatically (about 30 seconds) when you click the track links. If not, please manually

download the component software on your computer after you click the track links.

Normally the component software will be saved in the download folder, my document,

desktop, or somewhere. It depends on your computer. Double click it to run this software

(You must have right to install software on your computer). Then you will enter the

“Conference Room”. It is completely secure.

3. If you want to talk with speakers at the Q&A sessions, please click the icon “hand” on

the conference control panel. The conference organizer will unmute your headset, then

you can discuss with them in real time. Do not close the control panel on your computer

during the sessions. Please type messages in the control panel and sent it to organizers if

you have any questions during the conference. Organizers will reply you in private.

http://targetmeeting.com/Modules/Meetings/MeetingDetails.aspx?Id=49

Conference Media Partners

The International Society for Antiviral Research (ISAR) is

an internationally recognized organization for scientists

involved in basic, applied, and clinical aspects of antiviral

research. The Society main event is the annual

International Conference on Antiviral Research (ICAR), a

truly interdisciplinary meeting which attracts the interest of chemists, biologists, and

clinicians. The 26th ICAR will be held in San Francisco, CA, USA. The conference will

begin on May 11, 2013 and end on May 15, 2013. Check out the ICAR website

(http://www.isar-icar.com/) to learn more about our exciting program and speakers.

The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID)

is a non-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization founded

in 1973 dedicated to educating the public and healthcare

professionals about the causes, treatment, and prevention

of infectious diseases. NFID carries out its mission by:

Educating the Public; Educating Healthcare Professionals;

Supporting Research and Training in Infectious Diseases; Building Coalitions; Honoring

Scientific and Public Health Achievement, Legislative Contributions, and Philanthropy in

Infectious Diseases. Visit website: www.nfid.org.

Bulgarian association of microbiologists (BAM) is the

biggest microbiological society in Bulgaria. BAM unites

medical microbiologists and general microbiologists with

other specialists whose practice is healing, researching and

teaching in the field of fighting with infectious and

infective diseases. Annually, BAM organizes the biggest National congress of

microbiology with international participation focused on diagnostics, treatment and

prevention of infections, general research in microbiology and specific topics. The goals

of BAM are: To support practicing of the microbiological profession. To assist in

approving microbiological diagnostics and etiological therapy of infectious and infective

diseases in Bulgaria.

Mabtech AB is a biotech company founded in 1986 and a

leader in development of ELISpot products and technology

and T-cell measurements. ELISpot is one of the most

sensitive and easiest methods to analyze antigen-specific

immune responses and ideal when studying the roles of T

and B cells in e.g. infections, cancer, allergy and

autoimmune disease. A straightforward protocol and ability to screen large numbers of

samples has made ELISpot a standard method in evaluations of new vaccines. Mabtech

offers kits and reagents for investigations of cellular responses in human, non-human

primates, mouse, and other species. FluoroSpot was developed for a more detailed

qualitative analysis of antigen-specific T cells. With the strengths of ELISpot and

fluorescent spot visualization FluoroSpot allows simultaneous detection of more than one

cytokine. It can be used for demonstration of polyfunctional T cells and in situations with

limited cell numbers. ELISA kits are available for quantification of cytokine levels in

various samples. Mabtech strives to offer the highest quality products and technical

support to fulfill the needs from the frontline to clinical researchers. Our head office and

research laboratory are in Stockholm, Sweden with offices or distributors in countries

including Australia, China, France, Germany, Japan and the USA.

Lumiprobe would like to give you 5% discount on your

orders. When ordering, please use discount code:

targetmeet. Free shipping orders over $400 US, over $400

Euro to Europe and FREE worldwide shipping, orders over

$800. Since 2006, Lumiprobe manufacture and sell

advanced chemicals for life science research, and

diagnostics. Our catalog includes fluorescent dyes, phosphoramidites for oligonucleotide

synthesis. Click chemicals, and other reagents. Lumiprobe also offers special conditions

for bulk and custom orders. Most of the items are kept in stock, and ready for immediate

shipping to worldwide locations. High quality products, Prices among the lowest on the

market, Quick turnaround time, stock availability, and flexible return/refund policy make

ordering easy. Wherever you are in the world, it usually takes no more than a week to

receive your order. FREE tech support - Lumiprobe's quick and qualified technical

support help with advice and solving technical difficulties. Please feel free to contact us

to get additional information and free assistance before or after you order.

http://lumiprobe.com Lumiprobe would like to give you 5% discount on your orders.

When ordering, please use discount code: targetmeet.

Medical News Today is the largest independent medical

and health news site on the web - with over 2,500,000

unique monthly users it is ranked number one for medical

news on Google and Yahoo!. Medical News Today is used

by Blue Chip pharmaceutical and health organizations,

advertising agencies, PR companies and vertical ad networks to deliver targeted

disease/condition and general health campaigns. For more information, please visit

www.medicalnewstoday.com.

Clocate.com is a leading international search engine and

directory for worldwide conferences and exhibitions. The

events cover the following areas: Industry and

manufacturing, Health and medicine, Technology and IT,

Business and finance, sciences, education, services

(banking, insurance, tourism, Hospitality and more), government, environment, life style

and arts. The details for each event include: description, dates, location, address, prices

and more.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/

Conference Program (All times are New York Time)

Track 1: 8:00AM – 17:00 PM, April 16, 2013

Session 1: Molecular Mechanisms of Infectious Diseases-I

8:30 AM – 10:30 AM

Session 2: Molecular Mechanisms of Infectious Diseases-II

10:30 AM – 12:30 PM

Session 3: HIV/AIDS-I

12:30 PM – 14:30 PM

Session 4: HIV/AIDS-II

14:30 PM – 17:00 PM

Track 2: 8:00AM – 17:00 PM, April 17, 2013

Session 5: Epidemiology and Microbiology-I

8:30 AM – 10:30 AM

Session 6: Epidemiology and Microbiology-II

10:30 AM – 12:30 PM

Session 7: HCV

12:30 PM – 15:00 PM

Session 8: Antibacterial Discovery & Development -I

15:00 PM – 17:00 PM

Track 3: 8:00AM – 17:00 PM, April 18, 2013

Session 9: Antibacterial Discovery & Development -II

8:30 AM – 10:30 AM

Session 10: Clinical Case Report

10:30 AM – 12:30 PM

Session 11: Infection and Immunity-I

12:30 PM – 14:30 PM

Session 12: Infection and Immunity-II

14:30 PM – 17:00 PM

Track 1: 8:00 AM– 17:00 PM, April 16, 2013 8:00 – 8:30 AM

Speakers and attendees can login the online conference.

Session 1: Molecular Mechanisms of Infectious Diseases-I

8:30 AM – 10:30 AM

Session Chair: Dr. Mutien Garigliany

8:30 – 9:00 AM

Presentation Title: “Viral Inducible Receptor”, An Alternative Concept for Viral

Vaccination.

Tirasak Pasharawipas, Microbiology Unit, Department of Medical Science, Faculty of

Science, Rangsit University, Paholyothin Rd., Pathumthani, Thailand.

Q&A Session, presenter answers questions from other speakers or attendees.

9:00 – 9:30 AM

Presentation Title: Oral azithromycin versus its combination with miltefosine for the

treatment of experimental old world cutaneous leishmaniasis.

Eglal Ibrahim Amer, MB Ch B, MSc, PhD, Lecturer in Dept. of Parasitology,

Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Egypt.


9:30 – 10:00 AM

Presentation Title: Mouse models of Schmallenberg virus infection.

Mutien Garigliany, Systemic Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Liège,

Belgium.


10:00 – 10:30 AM

Presentation Title: Viral infections in patients with hematologic malignancies and stem

cell transplant recipients.

Alessandro Busca, MD, Department of Paediatrics, University of Turin, Italy.


Panel Discussion. This session is to provide speakers and attendees with in-depth

discussion and networking. You can discuss what you want with other speakers. All

speakers are unmuted, so speakers can talk freely during the session.

Session 2: Molecular Mechanisms of Infectious Diseases-II 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM

Session Chair: Dr. Arieh Zaritsky

10:30 – 11:00 AM

Presentation Title: RNA silencing mediated resistance to a quarantine virus in fruit tree.

Vincenza Ilardi, Consiglio per la Ricerca e la Sperimentazione in Agricoltura (CRA),

Italy.


11:00 – 11:30 AM

Presentation Title: Biological Control of Insect Pests by Transgenic Organisms

Expressing Toxin Genes from Bacillus thuringiensis.

Arieh Zaritsky, Life Sciences Department, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel.


11:30 – 12:00 PM

Presentation Title: Metrology for Microbiology – Microbial Surface Sampling.

Sandra M Da Silva, PhD, Researcher Chemist, Biosystems and Biomaterials Science

Division, Advanced Chemical Science Laboratory, USA.


12:00 – 12:30 PM

Presentation Title: New Scope on the Relationship between Rotifers and Biomphalaria

alexandrina Snails.

Eglal Ibrahim Amer, MB Ch B, MSc, PhD, Lecturer in Dept. of Parasitology,

Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Egypt.





Session 3: HIV/AIDS-I

12:30 PM – 14:30 PM

Session Chair: Dr. Amanda Brown

12:30 – 13:00 PM

Presentation Title: An update in facial wasting rehabilitation strategies.

Raffaele Rauso, MD, Assistant Professor University of Foggia, Consultant Aesthetic

Plastic Surgery, Cranio-Maxillo-Facial Surgery, Naples, Rome, Milan, Italy.


13:00 – 13:30 PM

Presentation Title: Cellular Immune Response Boost by Complement Opsonization of

HIV-1.

Doris Wilflingseder, Associate professor, Department of Hygiene, Microbiology and

Social Medicine, Section of Hygiene and Medical Microbiology (HMM), Innsbruck,

Austrian.


13:30 – 14:00 PM

Presentation Title: Osteopontin and Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type I (HIV-1)

Interaction at the Neuroimmune Axis.

Amanda Brown, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology, Co-Director,

Translational Research in Neuro-AIDS and Mental Health, Co-Director, JHU NIMH

Development Core, Director, Johns Hopkins Internship in Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins

University School of Medicine, USA.


14:00 – 14:30 PM

Presentation Title: Application of Paraffin Metabolism for Performing Stand Alone

Conventional Isolation, ConventionalAntibiotic Sensitivity Testing, with the ability to

easily link up with Advanced Molecular Based Technologies in Concomitant TB and

Non-Tuberculous Mycobacterial Infections in HIV Patients.

Robert-A. Ollar, Assistant Professor of Neurology, New York Medical College,

Director, Molecular Biology Research Program, Biliary and Pancreatic Surgery Division,

Comprehensive Digestive Diseases Center of New York, at Beth Israel Medical Center of

New York, USA.





Session 4: HIV/AIDS-II 14:30 PM – 17:00 PM

Session Chair: Dr. Yuntao Wu

14:30 – 15:00 PM

Presentation Title: Role of cortical actin and chemotactic actin activity in HIV infection

of human memory and naïve CD4 T cells.

Yuntao Wu, Professor, National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Diseases Dept. of

Molecular and Microbiology George Mason University, Manassas, USA.


15:00 – 15:30 PM

Presentation Title: Drug Screening and Structural Biology of HIV-1 fusion

glycoprotein-41.

Miriam Gochin, Principal Investigator, Department of Basic Sciences, Touro University

College of Medicine, Vallejo, CA 94592, USA.


15:30 – 16:00 PM

Presentation Title: Kidney and HIV infection.

Mohamed G. Atta, M.D., M.P.H., Associate Professor of Medicine, Johns Hopkins

School of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, USA.


16:00 – 16:30 PM

Presentation Title: Mechanisms for establishment of early latent HIV provirus in T

cells.

Ivan Sadowski, Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,

Molecular Epigenetics, LSI, University of British Columbia, Canada.


16:30 – 17:00 PM

Presentation Title: HIV in global Indigenous population: data gaps and challenges.

Victor Minichiello, Professor, Pro Vice Chancellor & Dean, Faculty of The Professions,

University of New England, Australia.





Track 2: 8:00 AM – 17:00 PM, April 17, 2013

8:00 – 8:30 AM


Session 5: Epidemiology and Microbiology-I

8:30 AM – 10:30 AM

Session Chair: Dr. Arun Yadav

8:30 – 9:00 AM

Presentation Title: Therapeutic and toxicological evaluations of Acorus calamus Linn.,

a traditional anthelmintic plant of Northeast India.

Arun Yadav, Professor, North Eastern Hill University, India.


9:00 – 9:30 AM

Presentation Title: From Waste to Employment Opportunities and Wealth Creation; A

Case Study of Utilization of Livestock By-Products in Hargeisa, Somaliland.

Wamalwa Kinyanjui, Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations, Somalia,

Nairobi.


9:30 – 10:00 AM

Presentation Title: Factors associated with death in intensive care unit patients having

ventilator associated pneumonia.

Slobodan Jankovic, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Kragujevac; Clinical

Center, Kragujevac.


10:00 – 10:30 AM

Presentation Title: Virulence Characterization of Salmonella Typhimurium 1,4,[5],12:i:-

, the new pandemic strain.

Manuela Oliveira, CIISA/Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Technical University of

Lisbon, Avenida da Universidade Técnica, 1300-477, Lisboa, Portugal.





Session 6: Epidemiology and Microbiology-II 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM

Session Chair: Dr. Kieran Jordan

10:30 – 11:00 AM

Presentation Title: Bird Flu threat again?

Firdous Jahan, Associate professor, Head of the Department, Family Medicine

(FAMCO), Oman Medical College, Al Tareef, Sohar-Sultanate of Oman.


11:00 – 11:30 AM

Presentation Title: Biotracing – combining mathematical modelling and microbiology

in a multidisciplinary approach to food safety.

Kieran Jordan, Principal Research Officer, Teagasc, Moorepark Food Research Centre,

Fermoy, Co. Cork, Ireland.


11:30 – 12:00 PM

Presentation Title: Human Pathogenic Viruses in the environment.

Apostolos Vantarakis, Assistant Professor, Department of Public Health, Medical

School, University of Patras, Patras, Greece.


12:00 – 12:30PM

Presentation Title: The effects of co-infection with human parvovirus B19 and

Plasmodium falciparum on type and degree of anaemia in Ghanaian children.

Kwabena Obeng Duedu, Department of Microbiology, University of Ghana Medical

School, Korle-Bu, Accra, Ghana; Institute of Cell Biology, School of Biological

Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.





Session 7: HCV

12:30 PM – 15:00 PM

Session Chair: Dr. Limin Chen

12:30 – 13:00 PM

Presentation Title: Persistent Elevation of Liver Enzymes during Pegylated Interferon

Therapy of Chronic Hepatitis C Virus: Role of Occult Hepatitis B.

Mohamed H Emara, Lecturer in the Department of Tropical Medicine,

(Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Infectious Diseases), Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig

University, Egypt.


13:00 – 13:30 PM

Presentation Title: A Novel Therapeutic Strategy for Hepatitis C using Nanotechnology.

Ahmed Abd-Rabou, Assistant Professor, CAAD, l city of science and technology,

Egypt.


13:30 – 14:00 PM

Presentation Title: Hepatitis C virus alternate reading frame suppresses type I interferon

induction through RIG-I/MDA-5 pathway.

Jinah Choi, Assistant Professor, School of Natural Sciences, University of California,

Merced, CA, USA.


14:00 – 14:30 PM

Presentation Title: Hepatitis C Virus (HCV): a smart virus that exploits host innate

immunity to benefit its replication- implications for treatment failure.

Limin Chen, Professor, Institute of Blood Transfusion, Chinese Academy of Medical

Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Chengdu, Sichuan 610052, PR China.


14:30 – 15:00 PM

Presentation Title: Mechanism of Resistance of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV).

Dimas Kliemann, Pulmonary Sciences, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul,

Porto Alegre, Brazil.





Session 8: Antibacterial Discovery & Development -I 15:00 PM – 17:00 PM

Session Chair: Dr. Donovan C. Haines

15:00 – 15:30 PM

Presentation Title: Percutaneous antibotic delivery technique for osteomyelitis

treatment.

Jeff Karr, Lakeland Regional Medical Center, 5421 S Florida Ave, Lakeland, FL 33813,

USA.


15:30 – 16:00 PM

Presentation Title: Xenobiotic Metabolism of Bacterial Acyl Homoserine Lactones.

Donovan C. Haines, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, Sam Houston State

University, USA.


16:00 – 16:30 PM

Presentation Title: Biosynthesis of Metallic Nanoparticles and Oxidative Stress Induced

in Microorganisms.

Dra. Paulina L. Páez, Dpto. Farmacia- Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad

Nacional de Córdoba. Haya de la Torre y Medina Allende. Ciudad Universitaria,

Córdoba, Argentina.


16:30 – 17:00 PM

Presentation Title: Are there differences in culture results from milk samples submitted

to commercial laboratories in New Zealand and Australia?

Kiro R Petrovski1, The University of Adelaide, School of Animal and Veterinary

Sciences, Roseworthy, SA 5118, Australia.





Track 3: 8:00 AM – 17:00 PM, April 18, 2013

8:00 – 8:30 AM


Session 9: Antibacterial Discovery & Development -II

8:30 AM – 10:30 AM

Session Chair: Dr. Mohamed H Emara

8:30 – 9:00 AM

Presentation Title: Fabrication of medical implants: Antibacterial coatings with

preventive oral drugs against biofilm producing infectious agents.

Elayarajah Balasubramanian, Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology and

Bioinformatics, Affiliated to Bharathiar University, India.


9:00 – 9:30 AM

Presentation Title: In vitro efficacy of tigecycline against Metallo-β-lactamase

producing carbapenem resistant bacterial pathogens isolated from clinical specimens.

Fatima Kaleem, Assistant Professor of Microbiology at Foundation University Medical

College.


9:30 – 10:00 AM

Presentation Title: Effect of alternative antibiotics in treatment of cefotaxime resistant

spontaneous bacterial peritonitis.

Mohamed H Emara, Lecturer in the Department of Tropical Medicine,

(Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Infectious Diseases), Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig

University, Egypt.


10:00 – 10:30 AM

Presentation Title: Giardia lamblia: A new target for miltefosine.

Maha M. Eissa, Department of Medical Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria

University, Alexandria, Egypt.





Session 10: Clinical Case Report 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM

Session Chair: Dr. Patricia O. Ayanbadejo

10:30 – 11:00 AM

Presentation Title: Cure of HIV by Elimination of Viral Reserve from stages of CD4

Progenitors in Bone Marrow Hematopoietic Niche in Two Patients in Nairobi, Kenya.

Barasa Simon, Kenya Polytechnic University College, Nairobi, Kenya.


11:00 – 11:30 AM

Presentation Title: Nephrotic Syndrome in previously undiagnosed HIV infection in

Lagos, Nigeria: a case report.

Theophilus Umeizudike, MBBS, FWACP, ISN Fellow., Consultant Physician /

Nephrologist, Nephrology Unit, Department of Medicine, Lagos State University

Teaching Hospital, Nigeria.


11:30 – 12:00 PM

Presentation Title: Treatment Outcome of HIV Positive Patients to Non-surgical

Periodontal Therapy in Lagos, Nigeria.

Umeizudike Kehinde Adesola, BDS, FMCDS, Lecturer/Consultant Periodontologist,

Department of Preventive Dentistry, Faculty of Dental Sciences, College of Medicine,

University of Lagos, Nigeria.


12:00 – 12:30 PM

Presentation Title: Verruciform xanthoma: a case report.

Patricia O. Ayanbadejo, Senior Lecturer/Consultant Periodontologist, Department of

Preventive Dentistry, Faculty of Dental Sciences, College of Medicine, University of

Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria.





Session 11: Infection and Immunity-I

12:30 PM – 14:30 PM

Session Chair: Dr. David H. Van Thiel

12:30 – 13:00 PM

Presentation Title: Genomics and Proteomics in Vaccine Discovery and

Immunotherapy.

Guido Grandi, Senior Project Leader, member of the Novartis Vaccines Siena Board of

Directors, Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics, Italy.


13:00 – 13:30 PM

Presentation Title: Cytopathology of Infectious Diseases.

Liron Pantanowitz, Associate Professor of Pathology at the University of Pittsburgh

Medical Center in the USA.


13:30 – 14:00 PM

Presentation Title: Ascites is associated with a proinflammatory state with it origin in

the pritoncal cavity in the absence of infection.

David H. Van Thiel, M.D., Professor of Medicine / Surgery, Senior Vice President for

Academic Affairs., Medical Director of Liver Transplantation, Rush University Medical

Center and Oak Park Hospital, USA.


14:00 – 14:30 PM

Presentation Title: Metabolic Characterization of Chronic Wound Biofilms.

Mary Cloud B. Ammons, PhD, Assistant Research Professor in the department of

Chemistry and Biochemistry at Montana State University in Bozeman, MT, USA.





Session 12: Infection and Immunity-II

14:30 PM – 17:00 PM

Session Chair: Dr. Suraiya Rasheed

14:30 – 15:00 PM

Presentation Title: Proteomics Analysis of HIV-Infected T-Cells in vitro Reveals Novel

Proteins Involved in the Development of Leukemia and Lymphoma.

Suraiya Rasheed, Professor of Pathology, Director, Laboratory of Viral Oncology,

AIDS and Proteomics Research, Edmondson Bldg., Department of Pathology, Keck

School of Medicine University of Southern California, USA.


15:00 – 15:30 PM

Presentation Title: Impact of Maternal HIV Infection on Cord Blood Passive Antibody

Levels Against Protein and Polysaccharide Antigens in Exposed Uninfected Compared to

the Unexposed Infants.

Shahana Choudhury, Associate Professor, Pediatric Medicine, Meharry Medical

College, USA.


15:30 – 16:00 PM

Presentation Title: Mylodysplastic diseases and association with ehrlichia: identification

with culture, fluorescent antibody, and polymerase chain reaction. .

Charles Kallick, Assistant Professor, Rush University Medical Center, Department of

Medicine, United States.


16:00 – 16:30 PM

Presentation Title: SIV intra-host phylogeography and phylodynamics on the rhesus

macaque model of neuroAIDS.

Marco Salemi, Department of Pathology, Immunology, and Laboratory Medicine,

University of Florida, College of Medicine, USA.


16:30 – 17:00 PM

Presentation Title: Temporal Chromatin Signatures Induced by Marek’s Disease

Infection.

Jiuzhou Song, Ph.D, Associate Professor, Department of Animal and Avian Sciences,

University of Maryland, College Park MD 20742-2311, USA.





Presentation Summaries (Alphabetical Order)

1 Ahmed A. Abd-Rabou 27 Kwabena Obeng Duedu

2 Alessandro Busca 28 Levon Abrahamyan

3 Amanda Brown 29 Limin Chen, Professor

4 Apostolos Vantarakis 30 Liron Pantanowitz

5 Arieh Zaritsky 31 Maha M. Eissa

6 Arun Yadav 32 Marco Salemi

7 Barasa Simon 33 Mary Cloud B. Ammons

8 Charles Kallick 34 Miriam Gochin

9 David H. Van Thiel 35 Mohamed G. Atta

10 Dimas Kliemann 36 Mohamed H Emara

11 Donovan C. Haines 37 Mohamed H Emara

12 Doris Wilflingseder 38 Mutien Garigliany

13 Dra. Paulina L. Páez 39 Patricia O. Ayanbadejo

14 Eglal Ibrahim Amer 40 Raffaele Rauso

15 Eglal Ibrahim Amer 41 Robert-A. Ollar

16 Elayarajah Balasubramanian 42 Rui Seixas

17 Fatima Kaleem 43 Shahana Choudhury

18 Firdous Jahan 44 Slobodan Jankovic

19 Guido Grandi 45 Suraiya Rasheed

20 Ivan Sadowski 46 Theophilus Umeizudike

21 Jayne B. Morrow 47 Tirasak Pasharawipas

22 Jeff Karr 48 Umeizudike Kehinde Adesola

23 Jinah Choi 49 Victor Minichiello

24 Jiuzhou Song 50 Vincenza Ilardi

25 Kieran Jordan 51 Wamalwa Kinyanjui

26 Kiro R Petrovski 52 Yuntao Wu

1. A Novel Therapeutic Strategy for Hepatitis C using Nanotechnology. Ahmed A. Abd-Rabou, Center for Aging and Associated diseases & Center for Genomics,

Zewail City of Science and Technology, and at Medical Research Division, National

research center, Cairo, Egypt.

Summary: End-stage of liver disease, owing to hepatitis C (HCV) infection, is a major

cause of worldwide morbidity and mortality. While, during the Early-stage of infection,

the first six months of infection, patients' self-immunity is trying to clear virus

spontaneously. Recently, authors designed a new model of 3D hydrogel structure to be

infected by HCV rapidly, so I hypothesize to be used as sponge for trapping HCV more

rapidly compared to 2D hepatocytes. Intriguingly, they found that human progenitor and

liver-derived cells can be readily encapsulated in 3D PEG-based hydrogels.

Provocatively, the diameters of these virus particles range from ∼ 50 to 100 nm, while

the calculated mesh size of the 8 k hydrogel is 44.6 ± 1.7oA. To reconcile how viral

particles can penetrate the hydrogels to infect the encapsulated cells, they propose that

microfractures/ defects of the hydrogel result in a functional pore size of up to 20 fold

greater than predicted by theoretical mesh calculations.

2. Viral infections in patients with hematologic malignancies and stem cell

transplant recipients.

Alessandro Busca, Department of Paediatrics, University of Turin, Italy.

Summary: Despite two decades of improvements made in the management of bacterial,

viral and fungal infections in immunocompromised host, these complications still

represent one of the major limiting factor to the successful treatment of patients with

hematological malignancies. The categories of patients at high risk for viral infections

include those with acute leukemia receiving induction or consolidation chemotherapy

who are at risk of herpes simplex viruses (HSV) reactivation, patients receiving

bortezomib who are at high risk of varicella zoster virus (VZV) infection, and patients

treated with alemtuzumab who are at high risk of HSV, VZV and cytomegalovirus

(CMV) infection. Also patients receiving an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell

transplantation (HSCT) are exposed at the high risk of viruses reactivation. Viral

infections in hematological patients may result from reactivation of latent infection or,

rarely, from acquisition of a new infection. Viruses commonly involved are Herpes

viruses (CMV, HSV, HZV, EBV, HHV6), community respiratory viruses (RSV,

metapneumovirus, influenza, parainfluenza, adenovirus, rhinovirus, enterovirus,

bocavirus), polyomavirus (virus BK-JC), parvovirus and hepatitis B and C. Overall, there

are few epidemiologic studies evaluating the incidence of viral infections in

hematological patients. A recent Italian study analyzed 528 febrile episodes among 747

patients with AML receiving induction chemotherapy: only 4 episodes (0.8%) of viral

infections have been reported confirming that these infectious complications represent a

major problem in HSCT recipients rather than in hematological patients receiving

chemotherapy. Cytomegalovirus represents one of the most common viral infection that

is associated with significant morbidity and mortality in patients with hematologic

malignancies. As other herpesviruses, CMV remains in the human body after primary

infection for life, and it has been estimated that approximately 50 to 85% of young adults

in the US have encountered the virus. Cells of the granulocyte-monocyte lineage carry

CMV and these cells may be one site for latency and persistence. Immunologic control of

CMV infection involves both the innate immune and the adaptive immune response to

CMV: the role of humoral immunity is not clear, while T-cell mediated cellular immunity

(CMV-specific CD8+CTL responses, CMV-specific CD4+ responses and γδ T-cells) is

the most important factor in controlling CMV replication. Clinical symptoms of CMV

infection and disease may vary from an asymptomatic form to a systemic syndrome with

fever, leuko-thrombocytopenia, increase of hepatic transaminases and malaise or a frank

disease with signs and symptoms of organ involvement, usually GI tract, lungs, liver and

CNS. Two major categories of patients are at risk and need to be closely monitorized for

CMV reactivation: HSCT recipients and patients receiving campath, while more

controversial is autologous transplantation (with an indication CII for monitoring CMV

according to ECIL-4). Patients receiving an allograft should be monitored for at least 100

days but a longer period of surveillance is recommended in patients with severe GVHD,

and those receiving haploidentical cord blood or unrelated transplant; patients treated

with alemtuzumab should be monitorized for at least 2 months after the end of treatment.

The prevention of primary infection may be done with the selection of the right donor: If

a patient is found to be seronegative, a CMV seronegative donor should be used if

possible. In addition, CMV seronegative recipients with CMV seronegative donors

should receive leukocyte depleted or CMV seronegative blood products only. During the

last decade two major improvements had a remarkable impact on the prevention of an

infected patient from developing CMV disease. The first factor that has modified the

outcome of CMV infection is the possibility to diagnose the infection in an early phase

and with a test that has a great sensibility and specificity: CMV antigenemia and more

recently CMV quantitavive PCR are strongly recommended for diagnosis of CMV

infection in the peripheral blood. The second factor that had a remarkable impact on the

outcome of the infection is the introduction of new drugs potentially being effective

against CMV, including ganciclovir, valganciclovir, foscarnet and cidofovir. The

possibility of having rapid diagnostic tests and highly effective compounds led to the

development of new treatment strategies, namely CMV pre-emptive treatment, based on

a positive antigenemia or PCR, triggering the initiation of antiviral therapy: either

ganciclovir or foscarnet can be used for first line preemptive treatment, while

valganciclovir may be considered as an alternative therapy particularly in low-risk

patients (except those with intestinal GVHD). In the allogeneic HSCT setting 10

thousand copies may be considered as the threshold to start the preemptive treatment. 55

patients grafted from alternative donors who received rituximab 200 mg on day +5 and

were compared to 68 patients who did not receive any EBV prophylaxis: patients

receiving rituximab had a lower rate of DNAemia (56% vs 85%) and a reduced risk of

exceeding 1000 EBV copies (14% vs 49%). A preemptive approach for EVB-DNAemia

represents at the present the standard of care, based on the administration of Rituximab

associated with the reduction of systemic immunosuppression whenever possible.

Antiviral drugs are not recommended for preemptive therapy. The response to therapy

could be identified by a decrease in EBV DNAemia of at least 1 log of magnitude in the

first week of treatment. Respiratory viruses include a great variety of viruses such as

RSV, metapneumovirus, influenza, parainfluenza, adenovirus, rhinovirus, enterovirus,

bocavirus. In immunocompromized host, respiratory viruses may be associated to many

symptoms. These span from cold episodes to croup, bronchiolitis in children and

exacerbation of asthma or frank pneumonia in adults. The incidence of respiratory viruses

infections differs significantly among the studies; this observation is underscored by the

study of Ljungman et al were the incidence varied from 0 to 18% between the 37

european partecipating centers. The treatment of established CMV disease is based on the

use of ganciclovir or foscarnet with the addition of immune globulin; cidofovir or the

combination of ganciclovir and foscarnet can be use as second line therapy. Some

questions are still pending. First, drug toxicity such as nephrotoxicity and

myelosuppression represent a limiting factor to the extensive use of the medications

effective for the treatment of CMV infection. Second, drug resistance to ganciclovir

resulting from mutations in either the UL97 phosphotransferase gene (the kinase product

responsible for ganciclovir phosphorylation and activation) or in the UL54 gene coding

for the DNA polymerase or in both, may represent a clinically significant problem in

some patients. Human Herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) is detected in the blood of 40-60% of

HSCT patients. Clinical syndromes associated with the infection include delayed

engraftment and impaired platelet recovery, fever, rash, hepatitis, pneumonitis,

gastroduodenitis and encephalitis. It should be emphasized that no disease has been

associated with HHV6 in patients with hematological malignancies who have not

undergone HSCT. Encephalitis may be considered as the most serious clinical syndrome,

although is a rare event: only 40 cases have been described in the literature so far, usually

1-2 months post-HSCT. Apparently encephalitis due to HHV-6 is more common after

cord blood or HLA-mismatched graft; clinical picture includes short-term memory loss,

seizures, hyponatraemia, CSF pleocytosis and elevated CSF protein levels. The diagnosis

of HHV-6 infection may be obtained using quantitative PCR-based evaluation of HHV6

DNA copies/mL in whole blood, plasma or serum. Nevertheless, chromosomally

integrated HHV6 should be excluded: the prevalence of vertical transmission from

mother/father is about 1% and is characterized by persistent high HHV6 DNA level (7.0

log10 copies/mL whole blood). Whether HHV6 viremia increases mortality remains to be

determined: most studies found no association between mortality and HHV6 infection,

likely because of the frequent occurrence of spontaneously resolving viremia and the

multifactorial interaction of immune deficiency, GVHD and concomitant complications

in HSCT recipients who develop HHV6 viremia. Additional prospective studies are

required to determine whether anti-HHV6 therapy clears HHV6 and influences survival.

Epstein Barr Virus (EBV). The most serious and life threatening event associated to the

EBV infection is the occurrence of post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD),

an heterogeneous group of EBV diseases with neoplastic lymphoproliferation caused by

iatrogenic suppression of T-cell function. Major risk factors for PTLD include

unrelated/mismatched, T-cell depletion (in particular with ATG), use of cord blood, EBV

serology mismatched (recipient negative, donor positive). According to these

considerations, prospective monitoring of EBV DNAemia is strongly recommended in

high-risk patients once a week up to 3 months after the transplant or longer in those

patients with GVHD. There are very few data regarding the prophylaxis of EBV disease.

B cell depletion might potentially reduce the risk of EBV disease. A recent study

described Reactivation of latent HBV may occur in the setting of significant

immunosuppression such as HSCT recipients. Moreover, patients with B-cell lymphoid

malignancies treated with anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies may have increased risk for

HBV reactivation and HBV disease, including are cases of fulminant hepatitis or death.

In conclusion, viral infections remain a common complication in patients with leukemia,

particularly in those receiving intensive chemotherapy, monoclonal antibodies and HSCT

recipients. Many of these infections represent reactivation of latent infection. A growing

number of antiviral medications are allowing for more effective prophylaxis and

treatment of these infections.

3. Osteopontin and Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type I (HIV-1) Interaction at

the Neuroimmune Axis. Amanda Brown, Department of Neurology, Translational Research in Neuro-AIDS and

Mental Health, JHU NIMH Development Core, Johns Hopkins Internship in Brain

Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, USA.

Summary: HIV infection of the central nervous system can lead to neuronal

degeneration and in the absence of treatment, progress to frank neuronal loss.

Osteopontin (OPN) is a multifunctional, multi-domain proinflammatory cytokine, linked

to cell-mediated immunity, cancer, inflammation, and neurodegenerative disease. More

recently elevated levels of OPN in the cerebrospinal fluid and brains of individuals

infected with HIV-1 have been reported. Whether OPN expression and function in HIV

infection is protective or deleterious remains unknown. Molecular, biochemical and

cellular approaches are being used to uncover the role of OPN in HIV infection. First,

high-throughput next generation sequencing was used to identify the genes and

investigate the signaling networks that are regulated by OPN in human monocyte-derived

macrophages. Second, a surrogate cell culture model was devised to determine the

contribution of defined motifs in the N- and C-terminal halves of OPN in upregulating

HIV replication. Third, to determine which cell (s) in the brain express OPN and whether

it is associated with neuronal degeneration, double-label immunohistochemistry on brain

tissue from HIV-infected individuals with and without cognitive impairment and controls

was performed. Our results show that in macrophages OPN regulates several key

inflammatory and chemokine pathways, and also interacts with additional signaling

networks for which a role for OPN has not been previously identified. Multiple domains

of OPN, as well as exclusively intracellular forms of the protein, can enhance HIV

replication through mechanisms that include integrin inside-out as well as outside-in

signaling. Additionally, the exposure of cell fusion inducing motifs in the C-terminal

domain of OPN also contributes to the enhancement of virus replication. In the brain,

cells other than macrophages express OPN. With our experimental approach we have

begun to reveal the molecular basis for the multifunctional abilities of OPN, a protein at

the interface of the neuroimmune axis.

4. Human Pathogenic Viruses in the environment. Apostolos Vantarakis, Department of Public Health, Medical School, University of

Patras, Patras, Greece.

Summary: Environmental factors causing risks to public health are physical, mechanical,

chemical, biological and that have known or potential impact on public health. Examples

of such environmental factors are pesticides (chemical agents), ionizing radiation

(physical agents) microorganisms such as waterborne pathogens (bacteria and viruses).

Some of these factors can be detected in the air, in the food, in the water, or in the soil.

Many environmental factors, mainly microbial agents, may cause viral gastroenteritis.

These factors may be waterborne or foodborne. Exposure to these factors can happen at

home, school, workplace, healthcare facilities and is often associated with the type of

food consumed, the type of food production and processing. Among the important factors

that could cause outbreaks are viruses that cause viral gastroenteritis such as Noroviruses,

Hepatitis A virus, enteroviruses, Rotaviruses, adenoviruses, etc. The laboratory

investigation of the presence of viruses that cause viral gastroenteritis can be performed

by molecular, cultural and immunological techniques. The development of molecular

techniques in the mid eighties provided a major tool for the detection and identification of

pathogenic viruses. Although initially, these techniques were primarily qualitative,

further development of these technologies over the past two decades has greatly increased

the ability for rapid identification, standardization and quantification in environmental

samples. This significant progress has helped substantially to treatment and control of the

main viral disease caused by environmental viruses such as epidemic viral gastroenteritis.

5. Biological Control of Insect Pests by Transgenic Organisms Expressing Toxin

Genes from Bacillus thuringiensis. Arieh Zaritsky and Eitan Ben-Dov, Ben-Gurion university of the Negev, POB 653, Be’er-

Sheva 84105, Israel.

Summary: Various subspecies of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are considered the best

agents known so far to control insects, being highly specific and safe, easily mass

produced and with long shelf life. The para-crystalline bodies that are produced during

sporulation in the exosporium include polypeptides named δ-endotoxins, each killing a

specific set of insects. The different entomo-pathogenic toxins of these Bt ssp. can be

manipulated genetically in an educated way to construct more efficient transgenic

bacteria or plants that express combinations of toxin genes to control the pests. The

following three research projects will be described: (a) implementing ideas using cry and

cyt genes from Bt ssp. israelensis (Bti) to control mosquitos, vectors of tropical diseases,

particularly with cyanobacteria; (b) preliminary experiments to form transgenic plants to

control mosquitoes (Diptera) and certain Lepidopteran and Coleopteran agricultural pest

species; (c) exploiting a system by which genes that may be hazardous to the

environment such as coding for antibiotic resistance can be removed from the

recombinants thus alleviating procedures for obtaining permits to release them in nature.

6. Therapeutic and toxicological evaluations of Acorus calamus Linn., a traditional

anthelmintic plant of Northeast India.

Arun Yadav, North Eastern Hill University, India.

Summary: The rhizomes of Acorus calamus Linn. (family Acoraceae) have been

frequently employed to treat intestinal-worms and for other therapeutic purposes in India

and elsewhere. The aim of the present study was to investigate the in-vitro and in-vivo

anthelmintic activity and potential toxicity of a standardized methanol extract of A.

calamus (AC) rhizomes. Anthelmintic activity of AC rhizomes was investigated against a

zoonotic tapeworm species, Hymenolepis diminuta. For in vitro tests, 10, 20 and 40

mg/ml concentrations of plant extract were tested against the adult stages of parasite. For

in vivo tests, 200, 400 and 800 mg/kg doses of extract was tested against the immature

and adult stages of parasite in rats. The characterization of active principle was done

using standard chromatographic and spectroscopic methods. The acute and sub-acute

toxicity studies of the standardized methanolic extract of AC rhizomes were performed in

mice and rats. The rhizome extract of AC showed dose-dependent anthelmintic effects

against H. diminuta. In in vitro tests, exposure of worms to 40 mg/ml concentration of

extract revealed that the worms get paralysed first and than show an early mortality. In in

vivo tests, administration of 800 mg/kg dose of extract for 5 days revealed comparatively

more significant effects on adults than immature worms. In the sub-acute toxicity study, a

daily oral administration of extract at 800 mg/kg dose for 14 days to rats did not revealed

any mortality, but significant increase in serum levels of liver enzymes aspartate amino

transferase, alanine amino transferase, alkaline phosphatise and number of RBCs, WBCs

and platelet counts were evident. Similarly, the histology of liver and kidney of treated

animals also showed evidence of toxicity. In conclusion, the results indicate that A.

calamus rhizomes possesses significant anthelmintic effects against H. diminuta. The

efficacy of extract is quite comparable with that of active principle, β-asarone. In toxicity

tests, 800 mg/kg dose of rhizome extract given for 14 days did not caused any mortality,

but noticeable toxic effects were visible in liver enzymes, some haematological

parameters and histopathology of liver and kidney. Therefore, it is vital to use this plant

appropriately and judiciously in local folk medicine owing to evidence of toxicity in its

extract at concentrations of 800 kg/mg.

7. Cure of HIV by Elimination of Viral Reserve from stages of CD4 Progenitors in

Bone Marrow Hematopoietic Niche in Two Patients in Nairobi, Kenya.

Barasa Simon, Kenya Polytechnic University College, Nairobi, Kenya.

Summary: Elucidation of reverse dissemination as the true mechanism by which human

immunodeficiency virus (HIV) maintains chronic infection while discounting of the

generally accepted model of latent reserve has led to development of radical cure of HIV.

I have demonstrated the HIV cure in two people by stopping rapid expansion of

hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) within the bone marrow niche using methotraxate,

hence causing elimination of the virus from differentiating stages of CD4 T-lymphocyte

progenitor cells, and thus breaking the cross-infection between older and new cells,

achieving the first complete clinical cure case without bone marrow transplantation, using

methotraxate in combination with other agents in a methodology subject to patent. The

methodology is simple, safe, acceptable and cheap, although not scientifically competent

or validated. The prospect of eradication of HIV from the world is a real possibility if

further research conducted using more competent methodology can demonstrate veracity

of these findings. This work needs further research. Key words: HIV, clinical cure, CD4

progenitors.

8. Mylodysplastic diseases and association with ehrlichia: identification with

culture, flourescnt antibody, and polymerase chain reaction.

Charles Kallick, Rush University Medical Center, Department of Medicine, United

States.

Summary: The myelodysplastic group of hematologic disease (MG) includes aplastic

anemia, polycythemia and the extensive list of malfunction of the production of

hematologic products of the bone marrow. The Ehrlichia (EA) is an obscure bacterial

family that infects leucocytes, and presumably their precursors. Using a diagnostic

method designed for E. canis, which harvests patient monocytes to support the growth of

this extremely difficult group, we found that a 55 year old patient with AA had evidence

of EA in the Leighton culture apparatus LT) identified by cellular inclusions in the

derived macrophages, and fluorescein conjugated anti E. canis serum (FA). The

infective material from the LT was injected into a Rhesus monkey (RM), with subsequent

demonstration of infection of the RM by LT culture as before. Infective material from

the second LT was injected into a second RM, and both demonstrated infection by LT

and FA. Neither RM demonstrated hematologic abnormalities, nor became clinically ill.

The patient with AA, demonstrated evidence of inclusions in peripheral erythrocyte and

leucocytes. Another patient with PVC, had a splenectomy for splenomegaly, and her

peripheral blood demonstrated 2% erythrocyte inclusions morphologically identical to

an EA. PCR of this parent’s blood using a proprietary primer for EA, demonstrated a

single gene within 97% of Anaplasma phagocytophillium (APC). The patent with PCV

converted to a rapidly fatal acute myelocytic leukemia (AML), not uncommon in PCV.

Auer rod (AR) s are seen in AML, and FA examination of peripheral cells with AR,

showed evidence of antigens to E canis in the peripheral cells of other patients with

AML. Genera of the EA have been shown to share antigens, thus allowing use of

antibodies against of species to be used in FA identification. only part of this

investigation was conducted with appropriately controlled techniques. The authors

believe that these data suggest a possible etiological or associated role of EA in the MG.

Further studies are essential using the techniques and materials used for this study in

large controlled groups of patients to demonstrate the possible role of EA in the

myelodysplastic disorders.

9. Ascites is associated with a proinflammatory state with it origin in the pritoncal

cavity in the absence of infection.

David H. Van Thiel, Medicine / Surgery, Rush University Medical Center and Oak Park

Hospital, USA.

Summary: Background: Ascites is a common manifestation of decompensated cirrhosis

with increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Hypothesis: Ascites, evenin non-infected

cirrhotic patients, is associated with both periperitoneal and systemically derived

inflammatory cytokines. Methods: 88 non-infected cirrhotic patients were divided into

two groups, those with and without ascites. Serum and ascitic fluid levels of an array of

inflammatory markers, including procalcitonin, were measured and compared to each

other and a normal plasma panel. Results: Serum procalcitonin levels were increased in

cirrhotics with ascites compared to cirrhotics without ascites (p < 0.05), but serum levels

were similar to ascites levels within the ascites group. Additionally, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-

8, MCP-1, IFNγ and EGF serum levels were elevated (p < 0.05) in ascites patients

compared to non-ascites patients. Furthermore, many of these cytokines, but not

procalcitonin, demonstrate an ascites-to serum gradient. Serum procalcitonin does not

demonstrate any significant difference segregated by liver etiology in the ascites group;

but ascitic fluid procalcitonin is elevated significantly (p < 0.05) in cardiac

cirrhosis/miscellaneous subgroup compared to the hepatitis Cvirus and alcoholic cirrhosis

subgroups. Conclusion: (1) ascites in cirrhotic patinets is associated with increased levels

of procalcitonin and a panel of inflammatory markers; (2) the levels of many

inflammatory markers when comparing serum and ascitic fluid are consistent with a

predominantly peri-peritoneal rather than systemic origin; (3) procalcitonin in the ascitic

fluid, but not in the serum, differentiates between cirrhotic subgroups; (4) this data

documents the dynamic interplay of ascites, bacterial translocation and the peri-peritoneal

cytokine inflammatory response in non-infected cirrhotic patients. Keywords: Ascites;

Bacterial translocation; Cirrhosis; Inflammatory markers; Procalcitonin.

10. Mechanism of Resistance of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV). Dimas Kliemann, Pulmonary Sciences, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul,

Porto Alegre, Brazil.

Summary: Recent advances in molecular biology have led to the development of novel

small molecules that target specific viral proteins of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) life

cycle. These drugs, collectively termed directly acting antivirals (DAA) against HCV,

include a range of non-structural (NS) 3/NS4A protease, NS5B polymerase, and NS5A

inhibitors at various stages of clinical development. The rapid replication rate of HCV,

along with the low fidelity of its polymerase, gives rise to generations of mutations

throughout the viral genome resulting in remarkable sequence variation in the HCV

population, known as a quasispecies. The efficacy of DAAs is limited by the presence of

those mutations that give rise to amino-acid substitutions within the targeted protein, and

that affect the viral sensitivity to these compounds. Thus, due to the high genetic

variability of HCV, variants with reduced susceptibility to DAA can occur naturally even

before treatment begins, but usually at low levels. Not surprisingly then, these changes

are selected in patients either breaking through or not responding to potent DAA

treatment. In vitro or in vivo, six major position mutations in the NS3 HCV protease (36,

54, 155, 156, 168, and 170) have now been reported associated with different levels of

resistance. The amino acid composition at several of the drug resistance sites can vary

between the HCV genotypes/subtypes, resulting in different consensus amino acids

leading to a reduction in replicative fitness as well as reduced DAA sensitivity. Different

amino acid diversity profiles for HCV genotypes/subtypes suggest differences in the

position/type of immune escape and drug resistance mutations. Also, different pathways

of resistance profiles based on the chemical scaffold (linear or macrocyclic) of the

protease inhibitors have been described. Future potential therapeutic strategies to assist

patients who do develop resistance to protease inhibitors are also outlined. The challenge

developing new HCV protease inhibitors should take into consideration not only the

antiviral potency of the drugs, the occurrence and importance of side effects, the

frequency of oral administration, but also the resistance profiles of these agents.

11. Xenobiotic Metabolism of Bacterial Acyl Homoserine Lactones. Donovan C. Haines, Department of Chemistry, Sam Houston State University, USA.

Summary: Acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs) are lipid derived signals used by some

bacteria to sense their population density and possibly some features of their

environment. It has been shown that AHL degrading enzymes exist in organisms

competing with AHL-dependent bacteria, and that degradation of AHLs can be a

powerful mechanism to protect hosts from infection by AHL-dependent pathogens. We

previously reported a bacterial cytochrome P450 capable of interfering with quorum

signaling by hydroxylating AHLs near the w-end. Realizing that the bacterial P450 was

an often used model for human P450s, we have now screened for the ability of human

xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes to inactivate AHLs. Commercially available human

liver microsomes did in fact show an NADPH-dependent AHL inactivation activity

similar to the previous bacterial system. This activity is largely inhibited by the fatty acid

hydroxylase inhibitor 17-octadecynoic acid, suggesting that one or more P450s from the

CYP4 family are responsible for the observed activity. We further examined whether

glucuronidation of AHLs also occurs and see preliminary signs of UDP-glucuronic acid

dependent AHL inactivating activity in human liver microsomes, although this activity is

less than the NADPH-dependent activity. The two activities appeared to occur

independently of each other. In light of these results, cytochrome P450 and

glucuronidating enzymes (UGTs) join paraoxonases as human enzyme systems that are

capable of AHL metabolism. It appears that xenobiotic metabolizing systems may be a

previously unexplored direct part of the defense against infection.

12. Cellular Immune Response Boost by Complement Opsonization of HIV-1.

Wilflingseder D, Lass-Flörl C, Posch W, Division of Hygiene and Medical Microbiology,

Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria.

Summary: Persistent infections such as HIV, hepatitis B and C virus are major causes of

mortality world-wide. Dendritic cells (DC), which are essential for the generation of a

protective antiviral immune response, are exploited by the viruses to evade innate and

adaptive immunity. When HIV enters the body, virus becomes opsonized with

complement fragments and antibodies within a short time which should help to eradicate

the virions immediately by the innate immune system. The adaptive immune system

needs longer for activation, and B cells and T cell responses further assist in the immune

response against HIV. DC play a major role in this anti-viral responses but they can also

get infected and transmit HIV, thereby acting as ´Trojan Horse´. So far understanding of

HIV-1 infection and transmission was studied with non-opsonized virus, which might not

reflect the in vivo situation, where HIV-1 was found opsonized with complement

fragments and antibodies in all compartments tested so far (e.g. seminal fluid, plasma, or

stripped from tonsillar tissue). Antigen opsonization can modulate the capture of antigen,

its presentation and the priming of specific CD8+ or CD4+ T cell responses. Therefore

we investigated interactions of DC with differentially opsonized HIV-1 preparations, i.e.

non-, complement- and IgG-opsonized HIV-1, and could demonstrate that the

complement system not only induces stronger CTLs but also protective T helper cell as

well as increased antiviral responses via DCs. Thereby, specifically modifying the

complement signaling pathway could serve as a therapeutic target for HIV-1 infection.

The authors are supported by the Austrian Science Fund [FWF, P22165 and P24598 to

DW, P25389 to WP] and the Austrian National Bank [14875 to WP].

13. Biosynthesis of Metallic Nanoparticles and Oxidative Stress Induced in

Microorganisms.

Dra. Paulina L. Páez, Dra. Inés Albesa. Dpto. Farmacia- Facultad de Ciencias

Químicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Haya de la Torre y Medina Allende.

Ciudad Universitaria, Córdoba, Argentina.

Summary: Nanoparticles show unique physical and chemical properties and have

attracted much attention for their distinct characteristics. That’s because they represent an

increasingly important material in the development of nanotechnology and nanoparticles

which can be used in numerous applications. Microorganisms play an important role in

the eco-friendly synthesis of metal nanoparticles. Resistance of bacteria to antimicrobial

agents has increased in recent years. Nanoparticles interaction with biomolecules and

microorganisms is expanding the field of research. This study illustrates the synthesis of

silver nanoparticles (Ag-Nps) using the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa and their

antibacterial activity. Moreover, focuses on the processes resulting in oxidative stress and

on up-to-date studies of Ag-NPs-induced intracellular changes leading to such stress in

microorganisms.

14. Oral azithromycin versus its combination with miltefosine for the treatment of

experimental old world cutaneous leishmaniasis. Eglal Ibrahim Amer, Dept. of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University,

Egypt.

Summary: Leishmaniasis is one of the neglected infectious diseases included in the

World Health Organization’s list of the top guns of antimicrobial resistance. Miltefosine

is the first and the only available oral effective therapy for leishmaniasis. For fear of its

potential resistance, identification of alternative, effective and safe drugs is urgently

needed. Therefore, in view of azithromycin promising activity against a number of

Leishmania species, this work was carried out to evaluate the efficacy of oral

azithromycin alone versus its combination with miltefosine against experimental Old

World Cutaneous leishmaniasis thus, can provide another alternative oral therapy or for

the first time an oral combination therapy for leishmaniasis. The current work

demonstrated superior activity of oral azithromycin over oral miltefosine in the treatment

of experimentally infected mice with Leishmania major (MHOM/IL/81/FEBNI).

Unfortunately, oral combination therapy of azithromycin and miltefosine for short

duration though, induced dramatic clinical improvement yet, relapse rapidly developed

after cessation of therapy. Further research is recommended to investigate the

leishmanicidal activity of oral azithromycin against other Leishmania species thus;

another alternative oral therapy for leishmaniasis can be rapidly available.

15. New Scope on the Relationship between Rotifers and Biomphalaria alexandrina

Snails.

Eglal Ibrahim Amer, Dept. of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University,

Egypt.

Summary: Occurrence of diverse organisms within snails is not surprising since the

snail's natural habitats are shared by a variety of flora and fauna. Numerous metazoa live

in close association with Biomphalaria snails.This study revealed the capability of

rotifers; Philodina spp, which naturally exist on the shells of Biomphalaria snails to

invade the tissues of laboratory-maintained Biomphalaria alexandrina snail. Their

histopathological impact on snail tissues and their effect on cercarial biology were

investigated before and after exposure to Schistosoma mansoni miracidia. Snail

contamination with Philodina, two weeks before miracidial exposure, hindered the

preliminary development of Schistosoma mansoni cercariae inside snail tissues. While,

snail contamination with rotifers, two weeks post miracidial exposure, retarded the

growth of the already established cercariae. The consequent influence of internalized

rotifers within the snail tissue was clearly reflected on cercarial emergence, activity, and

infectivity along four weeks of shedding. Correlation between snail histopathological

findings and altered cercarial biology indicated that the rotifers affected the levels of the

snail's energy reservoirs which eventually affected reproduction, growth and survival of

the parasite within the snail host, together with its performance outside the snail. From

this perspective, it is worthwhile to seriously reconsider such priceless highly

reproducible organisms in the future biological control strategies of schistosomiasis;

which continues to be parasitic scourge of humanity.

16. Fabrication of medical implants: Antibacterial coatings with preventive oral

drugs against biofilm producing infectious agents.

Elayarajah Balasubramanian, Department of Microbiology and Bioinformatics,

Affiliated to Bharathiar University, India.

Summary: Pending.

17. In vitro efficacy of tigecycline against Metallo-β-lactamase producing

carbapenem resistant bacterial pathogens isolated from clinical specimens.

Fatima Kaleem, Microbiology at Foundation University Medical College.

Summary: Background: The rapid spread of acquired Metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs)

among carbapenem resistant major pathogens and their highly resistant antibiogram is an

emerging threat and matter of particular concern all over the world. Aims and objectives:

To find out in vitro efficacy of tigecycline against metallo beta lactamase producing

carbapenem resistant organisms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This descriptive study

was carried out over a period of one year in the department of Microbiology, Army

Medical College, National University of Sciences and Technology, Pakistan to find out in

vitro efficacy of tigecycline against metallo beta lactamase producing Gram negative rods

from clinical isolates of a tertiary care Hospital. All clinical samples were dealt by

standard microbiological methods, isolated Gram negative rods were subjected to

susceptibility testing against various antibiotics by disc diffusion method as per the

Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines. Carbapenem resistant isolates

were subjected to the detection of metallo beta lactamase production by E-test metallo

beta lactamase strip method. All metallo beta lactamase producers were subjected to

susceptibility testing of tigecycline by minimum inhibitory concentrations using E-strips.

Minimum inhibitory concentrations 50 and minimum inhibitory concentrations 90 were

calculated. RESULTS: Among 149 metallo beta lactamase producers, Acinetobacter

baumannii were the most frequent metallo beta lactamase producers followed by

Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Around 89 % of the metallo beta lactamase producers were

sensitive to tigecycline. Most of the metallo beta lactamase producers were isolated from

nasobronchial lavage followed by catheter tip samples. CONCLUSION: Our study

showed that tigecycline has good in vitro activity against metallo beta lactamase

producing organisms. Keywords: Carbapenems resistant bacteria, E-test, Metallo beta

lactamase, Sensitivity, Tigecycline.

18. Bird Flu threat again? Firdous Jahan, Department, Family Medicine(FAMCO), Oman Medical College, Al

Tareef, Sohar-Sultanate of Oman.

Summary: Avian influenza, or “bird flu”, is a contagious disease of animals caused by

viruses called H5N1.They normally infect only birds and, less commonly, pigs. Wild

birds carry the viruses but may not get sick. Domestic birds, including chickens, ducks,

and turkeys get very sick and die. Infected birds shed flu virus in their saliva, nasal

secretions, and feces. Susceptible birds become infected when they have contact with

contaminated excretions or surfaces that are contaminated with excretions. Avian

influenza viruses are highly species-specific, but have, on rare occasions, crossed the

species barrier to infect humans. Several cases of human infection with bird flu viruses

have been reported since 1997. A second risk, of even greater concern, is that the virus –

if given enough opportunities – will change into a form that is highly infectious for

humans and spreads easily from person to person. Such a change could mark the start of a

global outbreak (a pandemic). According to the World Health Organization (WHO),

Egypt, China, and Cambodia have all had cases of confirmed H5N1 in humans. This

makes ten people with the bird flu already in 2013. The one infected person in Egypt has

died and six out of the seven people infected in Cambodia have died. Of the two cases in

China, one person has died.

19. Genomics and Proteomics in Vaccine Discovery and Immunotherapy. Guido Grandi, Novartis Vaccines Siena Board of Directors, Novartis Vaccines &

Diagnostics, Italy.

Summary: Pending.

20. Mechanisms for establishment of early latent HIV provirus in T cells.

Ivan Sadowski, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Molecular

Epigenetics, LSI, University of British Columbia, Canada.

Summary: During infection of T cells with HIV-1, a population of latently infected cells

is established which produces a major barrier for eradication of the virus from patients

with AIDS. Traditionally this population of cells was thought to result from gradual

silencing, by epigenetic modification of LTR-associated chromatin, of virus that is

transcriptionally active upon initial infection. However, several observations, including

our own results using double-reporter recombinant HIV, has shown that a significant

fraction of virus in newly infected cells becomes immediately transcriptional repressed to

produce provirus. We have begun to analyze the mechanisms necessary to produce this

“early latent” virus population and find that multiple factors can contribute to the effect,

including active NF-kB levels at the time of infection, as well as the function of the

multifaceted transcriptional activator/repressor YY1. Based on our results, we propose

that establishment of early latent HIV provirus is produced stochastically as a

consequence of a balance between transcriptional activator and repressor function during

infection.

21. Metrology for Microbiology in the Age of Genomic Sequencing.

Jayne B. Morrow, Materials Measurement Laboratory, National Institute of Standards

and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA.

Summary: Recent innovations in genomic measurement techniques such as quantitative

polymerase chain reaction and whole genome sequencing, have led to ever increasing

accessibility and a better understanding of technique applicability across the field of

microbiology. Current measurement techniques applied to detect and characterize

microbial populations are relevant to environmental, food and clinical infectious disease

research communities alike. The broad applicability of genomic measurement techniques

has led to development of critical elements of a metrological infrastructure including

methods validation and measurement assurance in support the emerging field of

microbial genomic characterization. To further support the nascent field of metrology for

microbiology, the international metrology community formed an ad hoc Steering Group

on Microbial Measurements to advance the metrology of microbial systems and to

support international commerce and trade of food products. The Steering group under the

BIPM, Consultative Committee for Amount of Substance (CCQM) is tasked with

generating the conceptual framework for metrology that supports the field of

microbiology. The Steering Group is composed of a diverse group of stakeholders

(including Federal Agencies in the US and abroad and private institutions and standards

development organizations), and the National Metrology Institutes representing 11

countries. In order to better define the measurement challenges, two focus groups were

stood up to develop metrics for microbial identification and quantitation. Focus group

activities have generated metrological definitions for microbial identity and characterized

measurement challenges for microbial quantitation accuracy. For a pilot study to support

microbial identity, participants were asked to sequence the 16S rRNA gene of two whole

genome microbial DNA standard reference materials were used; Escherichia coli O157

strain EDL 933 (IRMM 449) and Listeria monocytogenes strain 4B, NCTC 11994

(IRMM 447). A metric was created to evaluate the confidence of the consensus base

calls for the sequencing results from each of the participating Institutes and sequences for

each of the participants were compared to the overall consensus. The results of key pilot

studies to establish metrics for both microbial identity and quantity will be presented.

22. Percutaneous antibotic delivery technique for osteomyelitis treatment.

Jeff Karr, Lakeland Regional Medical Center, 5421 S Florida Ave, Lakeland, FL 33813,

USA.

Summary: A new percutaneous antibiotic delivery surgical procedure (PAD-T) is

presented for adjunctive management of osteomyelitis. This technique involves a simple

bone cortez incision with antibiotic or antifungal delivery directly into the area of

osteomyelitis utilizing a calcium sulphate and hydroxyapatite bone void filler as the

carrier vehicle. This percutaneous antibiotic delivery technique is reviewed in detail with

outcome and case presentation.

23. Hepatitis C virus alternate reading frame suppresses type I interferon induction

through RIG-I/MDA-5 pathway. Seung Bum Park, Bhargav Koduru, Wasima Mayer, David Ojcius, and Jinah Choi, Dept.

Molecular Cell Biology, School of Natural Sciences, University of California, Merced

(UC-Merced), Merced, CA, USA.

Summary: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) actively evades the host type I interferon (IFN)

response through proteolytic inactivation of pattern recognition receptor (PRR) signaling

proteins by NS3/4A protease, among other mechanisms. However, multiple mechanisms

whereby HCV evades the host innate immunity are not yet completely understood. In this

study, we demonstrate a novel mechanism of PRR signaling modulation by HCV that can

function independently of NS3/4A. Point mutations in the HCV core protein-coding

sequence that disrupt the -2/+1 frame coding for frameshift/alternate reading frame

protein (F/ARFP) without affecting the core protein sequence or substantially altering

RNA stem loops V and VI enhanced IFNα and IFNβ induction by HCV. This effect

could be diminished by siRNAs to retinoic-acid-inducible gene inhibitor (RIG-I), by

using Huh7.5 cells that are defective in RIG-I, and by adding F/ARFP back by

transcomplementation. Comparison of HCV RNA PAMP and poly(IC)-induced type I

IFN responses in cells expressing core or F/ARFP further suggested that the suppression

can occur independently of and cooperatively with NS3/4A and that the viral element

involved is likely to be F/ARFP. Frameshift mutants, on the other hand, were not

resistant to antiviral effects of exogenous IFNα. Therefore, the HCV alternate reading

frame is likely to cooperate with other viral factors to suppress the type I IFN induction

occurring through RIG-I/melanoma differentiation associated gene-5 (MDA-5) signaling

pathway. This study suggests a biological function of the HCV -2/+1 reading frame in the

modulation of host innate immunity.

24. Temporal Chromatin Signatures Induced by Marek’s Disease Infection.

Apratim Mitra1, Juan Luo1, Yulan Gu1, Huanmin Zhang2, Keji Zhao3 & Jiuzhou Song1

1 Department of Animal & Avian Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, MD,

USA 2 USDA, ARS, Avian Disease and Oncology Laboratory, East Lansing, MI, USA 3

Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute,

National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.

Summary: Marek’s disease (MD) is a highly contagious, lymphomatous disease of

chickens induced by a herpesvirus, Marek’s disease virus (MDV) that causes major

annual losses to the poultry industry. Similar to other herpesviral infections, MD

pathogenesis involves multiple stages including early cytolytic and latency, and

transitions between these stages are governed by several host and environmental factors.

The success of vaccination strategies has led to increased virulence of MDV and selective

breeding of naturally resistant chickens is seen as a viable alternative. While multiple

gene expression studies have been performed in resistant and susceptible populations

little is known about the epigenetic effects of infection. Thus, in this study, we

investigated temporal chromatin signatures induced by MDV by analyzing early cytolytic

and latent phases of infection in the bursa of Fabricius of MD-resistant and –susceptible

birds. Several pathways that have been previously reported in connection with MD,

including apoptosis, p53 signaling and cytokine cytokine receptor-interaction, displayed

changes in histone modification marks. In addition, several novel pathways were

enriched. The neuroactive ligand receptor-interaction pathway showed marked reductions

in H3K4me3 marks, particularly in MD-resistant chickens and several genes belonging to

the spliceosome pathway showed increased H3K4me3 marks in resistant birds at the

latent stage of infection. Variations in chromatin marks suggest greater inflammation in

susceptible chickens at the early cytolytic stage of infection, while the resistant line

exhibited recuperative symptoms. During latent MD, the resistant line showed

widespread reduction in H3K4me3 marks suggesting epigenetic silencing. Our

observations regarding chromatin profiles were also largely in agreement with previous

reports. The temporal analysis of chromatin signatures, therefore, revealed further clues

about the epigenetic effects of MDV infection. Further studies are necessary to

understand the functional implications of the observed variations in histone

modifications.

25. Biotracing – combining mathematical modelling and microbiology in a

multidisciplinary approach to food safety. Kieran Jordan, Teagasc, Moorepark Food Research Centre, Fermoy, Co. Cork,

IRELAND.

Summary: In the European Union, the responsibility for food safety is put on the food

manufacturer. Food manufacturers need support to help them accomplish food safety

targets and meet this responsibility. There are a number of initiatives that support food

safety in the industry, for example Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS), Hazard

Analysis of Critical Control Points (HACCP) and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP).

Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (QMRA) facilitates prediction of the

consequences of a contamination event, but there is a gap in mechanisms for identifying

the source of a contamination event. Biotracing can facilitate prediction of the source of

contamination so that a targeted approach can be taken to addressing that source. It

complements other food safety systems in a processing facility. Biotracing is a multi-

disciplinary approach to food safety, combining microbiology and mathematical

modelling. It was developed in collaboration between experts in mathematical modelling,

food and molecular microbiologists, database developers and software companies. It is

dependent on improved detection methodologies for bacterial quantification, a better

understanding of the physiology of the bacteria and a novel approach to mathematical

modelling. Biotracing can support decision making in the industry with respect to

contamination sources, and therefore reduce the costs associated with addressing these

issues, while at the same time improving food safety.

26. Are there differences in culture results from milk samples submitted to

commercial laboratories in New Zealand and Australia?

Kiro R Petrovski1*, Jeanette Perry*, Darren J Trott* 1Author for correspondence. *The

University of Adelaide, School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Roseworthy, SA 5118,

Australia.

Summary: AIMS: This study analysed data on microbial isolations from milk samples

submitted to veterinary diagnostic laboratories in New Zealand (NZ) and Australia (AU).

METHODS: The culture results of milk samples submitted to a group of veterinary

diagnostic laboratories in NZ (n=25,288; collected 2003 to 2006) and AU (n=19,400;

collected 2008 to 2012) were assembled, reviewed and summarised. RESULTS: In NZ

there were 87, whilst in AU 65 aetiological agents were identified as the most probable

cause of mastitis. A significant proportion of samples (22.9% of NZ and 47.0% of AU

samples) yielded no definitive diagnosis (either no growth, mixed growth (min 2 or 3

species per sample) or contamination). The most commonly isolated mastitis-causing

organisms from the pure cultures in NZ were: Streptococcus uberis (23.6%),

Staphylococcus aureus (23.5%), coagulase-negative staphylococci (7.2%), Strep.

dysgalactiae (6.2%), Bacillus spp. (4.0%), and coliforms (3.7%). The most commonly

isolated mastitis-causing organisms from the pure cultures in AU were: Strep. uberis

(42.9%), Staph. aureus (24.6%), Strep. dysgalactiae (7.7%), coliforms (7.6%), and Strep.

agalactiae (4.4%). CONCLUSION: The pattern of isolation of common mastitis-causing

organisms isolated from milk samples submitted to diagnostic laboratories in NZ and AU

has changed significantly over the last 5 decades years, with a substantial increase in the

proportion of isolates which are Strep. uberis and a decrease in isolates of Strep.

agalactiae. There is a clear difference in the prevalence of various mastitis-causing

organisms between the country of origin. Strep. uberis, Strep. agalactiae and coliforms

are more frequent in AU, whilst coagulase-negative staphylococci and Bacillus spp. are

more frequent in NZ (P<0.001). Although, there was a slight discrepancy in years of

collection of samples, it is most likely that the variability in the prevalence of common

mastitis-causing organisms is due to differences in dairy systems, NZ predominantly

pasture-based while AU employs both pasture-based and feedlot systems. CLINICAL

RELEVANCE: Knowledge of the aetiological agents causing bovine mastitis on a farm is

of value in determining the choice of treatment. This dataset shows that, although mastitis

aetiology in NZ and AU are relatively similar the treatment cannot be based on

presumptions only. KEY WORDS: Aetiology, mastitis, Staphylococcus aureus,

Streptococcus uberis, Streptococcus dysgalactiae, Streptococcus agalactiae.

27. Presentation Title: The effects of co-infection with human parvovirus B19 and

Plasmodium falciparum on type and degree of anaemia in Ghanaian children.

Kwabena Obeng Duedu a, b, Kwamena William Coleman Sagoe a, Patrick Ferdinand

Ayeh-Kumi a, c, Raymond Bedu Affrim d, Theophilus Adiku a; a Department of

Microbiology, University of Ghana Medical School, Korle-Bu, Accra, Ghana; b Institute

of Cell Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK; c

Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, University of Ghana School of Allied

Health Sciences, Korle-Bu, Accra, Ghana; d Laboratory Department, Princess Marie

Louis Children's Hospital, Derby Avenue, Accra, Ghana.

Summary: Objective: To determin the extent to which parvovirus B19 (B19V) and co-

infection of B19V and malaria contribute to risk of anaemia in children. Methods: B19V

DNA and malaria parasites were screened for 234 children at the PML Children's

Hospital in Accra. The role of B19V and co-infection with B19V and malaria in anaemia

was evaluated by analysing full blood cell counts, malaria and B19V DNA results from

these children. Results: The prevalence of B19V, malaria and co-infection with B19V

and malaria was 4.7%, 41.9% and 2.6%, respectively. Malaria posed a greater risk in the

development of mild anaemia compared to severe anaemia (OR=5.28 vrs 3.15) whereas

B19V posed a higher risk in the development of severe anaemia compared to mild

anaemia (OR=4.07 vrs 1.00) from a non-anaemic child. Persons with co-infection with

B19V and malaria had 2.23 times the risk (95% CI=0.40-12.54) of developing severe

anaemia should they already have a mild anaemia. The degree of anaemia was about

three times affected by co-infection (Pillai's trace=0.551, P=0.001) as was affected by

malaria alone (Pillai's trace=0.185, P=0.001). B19V alone did not significantly affect the

development of anaemia in a non-anaemic child. Microcytic anaemia was associated with

B19V and co-infection with B19V and malaria more than normocytic normochromic

anaemia. Conclusions: B19V was associated with malaria in cases of severe anaemia.

The association posed a significant risk for exacerbation of anaemia in mild anaemic

children. B19V and co-infection with B19V and malaria may be associated with

microcytic anaemia rather than normocytic normochromic anaemia as seen in cases of

B19V infection among persons with red cell abnormalities. Keywords: Malaria; Human

parvovirus B19; Anaemia; Ghana; Children.

28. New insights into our understanding of HIV-1 Vpr-mediated cell cycle arrest.

Levon Abrahamyan, Nebraska Center for Virology, School of Biological Sciences,

University of Nebraska – Lincoln, USA.

Summary: Pending.

29. Hepatitis C Virus (HCV): a smart virus that exploits host innate immunity to

benefit its replication- implications for treatment failure.

Limin Chen 1,2, Bing Liu 1, Shilin Li 1, Xiaoqiong Duan 1, and Yujia Li1. 1 Institute of

Blood Transfusion, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences/Peking Union Medical

College, Chengdu, Sichuan 610052, China; 2 Toronto General Research Institute,

University of Toronto, Toronto M5G 1L6 Canada.

Summary: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a blood-borne pathogen that infects 170 million

people worldwide. HCV utilizes a variety of strategies to evade host immune attack,

including 1) inhibition of type I interferon (IFN) production; 2) blocking Jak/STAT

signaling pathway; and 3) modulate anti-viral activities of interferon stimulated genes

(ISGs). These strategies are so successful that up to 80% of patients develop into chronic

infections. Most recently, we found that HCV even exploits host innate immunity to

favor its replication and to blunt IFN anti-HCV activity. Using cDNA microarray gene

expression profiling, we identified an 18-gene response signature that can be used to

predict whether a given patient will respond to IFN-based therapy or not, with an

accuracy of 96%. Further investigation into these 18 genes revealed an ubiquitin-like

ISG15/USP18 signaling pathway is involved in IFN resistance. Functional studies using

HCV in vitro cell culture (HCVcc) system indicated that both ISG15 and USP18 have

pro-HCV activity and are able to blunt the anti-HCV activity of IFN. In addition to the

mechanisms employed by HCV to combat type I IFN system to evade innate immunity,

HCV is even smarter to exploit this host anti-viral innate immune response to benefit its

own production, contributing to persistent infections.

30. Cytopathology of Infectious Diseases.

Liron Pantanowitz, Pathology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in the USA.

Summary: Microorganisms are often encountered in cytology specimens. It may be

difficult sometimes to determine if they represent contamination, colonization or true

infection. There are also many mimics of bugs in cytology samples. Since cytological

specimens may be the primary method used to detect infectious agents, the identification

of microorganisms based upon cytomorphologic appearance can on occasion prove

difficult. This talk will focus on the utility of cytopathology in the diagnosis of infectious

diseases, and emphasize the detection of common and rare microorganisms in various

cytologic specimens.

31. Giardia lamblia: A new target for miltefosine. Maha M. Eissa, Eglal I. Amer, Department of Medical Parasitology, Faculty of

Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.

Summary: Giardia lamblia, the causative agent of giardiasis, is an intestinal infection

with worldwide distribution and high rates of prevalence. Increased resistance of the

parasite and the side effects of the reference drugs employed in the treatment of giardiasis

make it necessary to seek new therapeutic agents. Therefore, the aim of this study was to

examine the activity of hexadecylphosphocholine (miltefosine), a membrane active

alkylphospholipid, that is licensed as an antileishmanial agent against giardiasis. The

efficacy of miltefosine was evaluated both in vitro and in vivo in Swiss albino mice.

Results of the in vitro testing revealed susceptibility of G. lamblia trophozoites to

miltefosine with the following effective concentrations: EC50s of between 20 and 40 lM,

and EC90s of between 20 and 80 lM. Immediate total lysis of the organisms was

achieved by 100 lM. In vivo testing showed that oral administration of miltefosine, in a

daily dose regimen course of 20 mg/kg for three successive days, to infected mice

resulted in total elimination of the parasite from the intestine and amelioration of

intestinal pathology. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy studies revealed that

miltefosine induced severe morphological alterations to G. lamblia trophozoites, mainly

at the level of cell membrane and adhesive disc. In conclusion, we believe that this is the

first study highlighting G. lamblia as a possible new target for miltefosine.

32. SIV intra-host phylogeography and phylodynamics on the rhesus macaque

model of neuroAIDS. Marco Salemi, Department of Pathology, Immunology, and Laboratory Medicine,

University of Florida, College of Medicine, USA.

Summary: Pending.

33. Metabolic Characterization of Chronic Wound Biofilms.

Mary Cloud B. Ammons, the department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Montana State

University in Bozeman, MT, USA.

Summary: Hospital-acquired infections are the sixth leading cause of death in the United

States and often result in non-healing wounds. A recent trend regards hospital-acquired

infections and pressure ulcers as the result of conditions in (and thus the burden of)

healthcare facilities, causing the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to cease

paying hospitals for these “preventable complications”, resulting in a significant shift in

the burden of the cost of healthcare ultimately back to the patient, with substantial

economic and social ramifications. Studies of interest include uncovering the

mechanisms at the root of the failure of the normal healing process that results in the

development of chronic wounds and with the promise of discovering novel therapeutic

paths by manipulation of metabolic phenotypes, including bacterial biofilm.

34. Drug Screening and Structural Biology of HIV-1 fusion glycoprotein-41.

Miriam Gochin, Shidong Chu, Hardeep Kaur, Vladimir Sofiyev, Joseph Walsh,

Guangyan Zhou, Principal Investigator, Department of Basic Sciences, Touro University

College of Medicine, Vallejo, CA 94592.

Summary: The HIV-1 transmembrane glycoprotein-41 (gp41) is responsible for fusion

of viral and host cell membranes during virus entry. Inhibition of gp41 can prevent new

infections from occurring. In this presentation, we will describe our work on specific

targeting of gp41 by fragments and small molecules. Such molecules could be useful for

preventing both viral and cell-to-cell transmission of HIV, including resurgence of latent

virus, or as an alternative therapy for multidrug resistant viral strains. Small molecules

described previously have shown only moderate activity against the virus, inhibiting at

low micromolar concentrations. For many of these molecules, mechanism of action was

not entirely clear, making optimization difficult. We have adopted a structure-based

approach that provides detailed and specific knowledge of the exact location and

orientation of bound ligands, a necessary prerequisite for optimization. Furthermore, we

have developed methods for identifying concomitant binding of ligands to adjacent

pockets on gp41, which provides opportunities for fragment linking and growing. By this

approach, we hope to enhance the activity of small molecules against HIV fusion.

35. Kidney and HIV infection. Mohamed G. Atta, Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Division of Nephrology,

USA.

Summary: This lecture describes the evolving kidney disorders in HIV patients in the

era of combined antiretroviral therapies and defines the role of various mediators in the

development of these disorders.

36. Persistent Elevation of Liver Enzymes during Pegylated Interferon Therapy of

Chronic Hepatitis C Virus: Role of Occult Hepatitis B. Mohamed H Emara1*, Ehab M Darweish1, Ahmed S Bihery1 , Salem Yousef 2, Heba F

Pasha3, 1 Tropical Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University,

Zagazig, Egypt. 2 Internal Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig

University, Zagazig, Egypt. 3Medical Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Medicine,

Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt.

Summary: Background and study aim: Lack of liver enzymes normalization may

discourage patients with chronic HCV from continuing therapy and may worry the

clinician about treatment outcomes, raising the suspicion about the presence of

concomitant causes of liver damage. The decision of discontinuing treatment solely on

the basis of elevated liver enzymes in patients who are HCV-RNA-negative would result

in a substantial proportion of patients not being cured of infection. We conducted this

study to test the assumption that persistent liver enzymes elevation in patients with

chronic HCV under pegylated interferon therapy who have achieved HCV clearance may

be due to an underlying occult hepatitis B virus infection. Patients and Methods: Seventy

six chronic HCV patients under treatment with pegylated-interferon/ribavirin therapy

were included. Group I (n=38); patients with persistent liver enzymes elevation despite

therapy, while group II (n=38); patients with persistently non elevated liver enzymes. All

patients were not viremic for HCV at the time of examination to hepatitis b virus. All

patients were investigated for occult hepatitis B virus infection. Results: HBV DNA was

detected in 3 patients (3.9%), anti-HBc and anti-HBs were detected each in 14 patients

(18.4%). None of the HBV markers showed statistical significance in relation to

persistently elevated liver enzymes. Conclusions: Occult hepatitis B virus infection is not

a cause of persistent elevation of liver enzymes during pegylated-interferon therapy of

chronic HCV. Key words: Occult hepatitis B, chronic HCV, liver enzymes , pegylated-

interferon.

37. Effect of alternative antibiotics in treatment of cefotaxime resistant spontaneous

bacterial peritonitis. Mohamed H Emara, Department of Tropical Medicine,(Gastroenterology, Hepatology

and Infectious Diseases), Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, Egypt, M.Sc. in

Tropical Medicine, MD in Tropical Medicine.

Summary: AIM: To evaluate effective alternative antibiotics in treatment of cefotaxime

resistant spontaneous bacterial peritonitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred

cirrhotic patients with spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (ascitic fluid polymorphonuclear

cell count (PMNLs) ≥ 250 cells/mm3 at admission) were empirically treated with

cefotaxime sodium 2 g/12 h and volume expansion by intravenous human albumin. All

patients were subjected to history taking, complete examination, laboratory tests

(including a complete blood cell count, prothrombin time, biochemical tests of liver and

kidney function, and fresh urine sediment), chest x-ray film, a diagnostic abdominal

paracentesis, and the sample subjected to total and differential cell count, chemical

examination, aerobic and anaerobic cultures. Patients were divided after 2 d by a second

ascitic PMNLs count into group I; patients sensitive to cefotaxime (n=81), group II

(n=19); cases resistant to cefotaxime (less than 25% decrease in ascitic PMNLs count).

Patients of group II were randomly assigned into meropenem (n=11) or levofloxacin

(n=8) subgroups. All patients performed an end of treatment ascitic PMNLs count.

Patients were considered improved when: PMNLs decreases to <250 cells/mm3, no

growth in previously positive culture cases, and improved clinical manifestations with at

least 5 d of antibiotic therapy. RESULTS: Age (49.4±7.74 years, 51.5±8.08 years), sex

(male/female was 59.3%/40.7% vs 57.9%/42.1%), Child classes (B/C were 21%/79% and

5.3%/94.7%) showed non significant difference between group I and group II

respectively. Fever and abdominal pain were the most frequent manifestations and were

reported in 82.7% and 80.2% of patients in group I and in 94.7% and 84.2% of patients in

group II respectively. Patients of group II had a more severe ascitic inflammatory

response than group I and this was noticed by more ascitic LDH (range: 150-1200 IU/L,

median: 540 vs range: 180-500 IU/L, median: 240, P=0.000) and PMNLs (range: 957-

23822 cell/mm3, median: 15000 vs range: 695-26400 cell/mm3, median: 3400 P=0.000)

counts. Ascitic fluid culture was positive in 32% of cases (26 in group I and 6 in group

II). Cefotaxime failed in 19% of patients, of them meropenem gave response in 11

patients (100%) and levofloxacin gave response in 6 patients (75%) and 2 patients with

failed levofloxacin therapy were treated according to the in vitro culture and sensitivity

(one case was treated by vancomycin and one case was treated by ampicillin/sulbactam).

In group II meropenem subgroup had higher LDH (range: 108-860 IU/L vs range: 120-

491 IU/l, P=0.042) and PMNLs counts (range: 957-23822 cell/mm3 vs range: 957-

15222 cell/mm3, P=0.000) at initiation of the alternative antibiotic therapy; there was no

significant difference in the studied parameters between patients responsive to

meropenem and patients responsive to levofloxacin at the end of therapy (PMNLs/mm3,

mean±SD: 316.01±104.03 vs mean±SD: 265.63±69.61, P= 0.307). The isolated

organisms of group II were; enterococci, acinetobacter, expanded-spectrum β-lactamase

producing E. coli, β-lactamase producing Enterobacter and Staphylococcus aureus.

CONCLUSION: Empirical treatment with cefotaxime is effective in 81% of cases;

meropenem is effective in cefotaxime resistant cases.

38. Mouse models of Schmallenberg virus infection.

Mutien Garigliany, Systemic Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Liège, Belgium.

Summary: Schmallenberg virus is a recently discovered arthropod-born virus of the

Orthobunyaviridae family. It targets domestic and wild ruminants and is associated with a

milk-drop syndrome in adult cattle and severe reproductive disorders in cattle and sheep.

The risk of zoonotic transmission is considered as negligible. Mice are naturally resistant

to the infection, like humans. A first model using IFNAR-/- knock-out mice has been

proposed. Recently, a new model based on temporary inhibition of the type I interferon

response in immunocompetent mice has been described and a mouse strain has been

shown to be spontaneously susceptible. These models will shed new light on the

pathogenesis of this new virus and already raise questions about the supposed

harmlessness of the virus in humans.

39. Verruciform xanthoma: a case report. Ayanbadejo PO1, Umueizudike K A1, Ameh PO2, Ibukun-Obaro OO3, 1Department of

Preventive Dentistry, Faculty of Dental Sciences, College of Medicine, University of

Lagos, Idi-Araba, Nigeria. 2Department of Preventive Dentistry, Lagos University

Teaching Hospital, Lagos State, Nigeria. 3Department of Dental and Maxillofacial

Surgery, National Hospital Abuja, Nigeria.

Summary: Verruciform xanthoma first reported by Shafer in 1971, is an uncommon

benign mucocutaneous exophytic lesion with verrucous or papillomatous appearance but

may also be polypoid or sessile. Its colour varies from reddish pink to gray. It is found

most commonly on the oral mucosa particularly the gingiva and alveolar ridge. Less

common sites are the anogenital area. The age of occurrence is from 2 – 89 years, but

most oral cases occur between 40 - 50 years, with no gender predilection. Its

characteristic distinguishing histological feature is the presence of large number of foam

cells or xanthoma cells which are lipid laden histiocytes in the connective tissue of the

papillae of the lesion. We report a rare case of recurrent verruciform xanthoma in a 29

year old female in her 2nd trimester of pregnancy.

40. An update in facial wasting rehabilitation strategies.

Raffaele Rauso, University of Foggia, Consultant Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, Cranio-

Maxillo-Facial Surgery, Naples, Rome, Milan, Italy.

Summary: Nowadays facial wasting is considered a stigma of HIV-infection; well-

known are the devastant effects on facial features of the drugs used for the higly active

anti-retroviral therapy. Years after years, several techniques and filling devices have been

proposed to restore facial features of these patients. Several authors stated that when

facial wasting is associated with trunk lipohypertrophy (another side effect related to the

drugs intake), structural fat graft is the best option achievable, because at the same time,

removing the lipohypertrophied fat of the body, and using it to fill the face, let to reach a

great improvement both at the face and the body. However, often and often, the injected

fat can be resorbed in a very high percentage, so the use of dermal filler is quite frequent

to help the physicians in treating these patients in removing facial wasting’s stigma.

Several fillers have been proposed for this purpose, however, HIV-infected patients

presenting facial wasting are not like cosmetic patients seeking a little improvement,

these patients need a treatment more reconstructive than cosmetic; this is why long

lasting or permanent fillers are often used, and in these cases the physician need different

skills. Furthermore, it is very important how these fillers act once injected, and if late side

effects can be seen; so, only long follow-up let a physician, involved in this tretament, to

really understand what works and what doesn’t. The author presents what he learned by

its own experince, in using long-lasting and non-resorbable fillers for facial wasting

rehabilitation.

41. Application of Paraffin Metabolism for Performing Stand Alone Conventional

Isolation, ConventionalAntibiotic Sensitivity Testing, with the ability to easily link

up with Advanced Molecular Based Technologies in Concomitant TB and Non-

Tuberculous Mycobacterial Infections in HIV Patients.

Robert-A. Ollar, Neurology, New York Medical College, Molecular Biology Research

Program, Biliary and Pancreatic Surgery Division, Comprehensive Digestive Diseases

Center of New York, at Beth Israel Medical Center of New York, USA.

Summary: The current global crisis involving the pathogenic duo of TB and HIV is

further complicated by Multiple Drug Resistant and Extremely Drug Resistant TB and

concomitant Non-tuberculous Mycobacteriosis. This new scenario has made life more

difficult for clinical mycobacteriologists all over the world. This is especially the case

for small rural labs. The old venerable acid-fast smear which aided the early TB

pioneers such and Erhlich and Koch, unfortunately, does not enable us to simply and

rapidly distinguish between TB and Non-Tuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM). The

problem being that classical TB and NTM are both acid-fast. A distinction between TB

and NTM organisms needs to be made since the latter group of Mycobacterial Pathogens

require different antibiotics than those effectively used against TB. In the developed

world we can use advanced and expensive molecular based technologies to overcome this

problem. But what can be done in the developing countries of Africa especially in small

rural areas where both financial resources and highly skilled manpower are often in short

supply. Thus, and effective and low cost methodology is thus required to address this

new and extremely important complication of concomitant NTM Mycobacteriosis in

seropositive. Paraffin wax sole carbon source utilization by Non-Tuberculous

Mycobacteria such as M. avium Complex organisms and the inability of Mycobacterium

tuberculosis Complex to utilize paraffin wax as a sole carbon source in basal media is a

useful and often forgotten. For a period of more than a decade we have successfully

utilized paraffin wax sole carbon source baiting in labs in the USA, UK and India to

successfully perform, isolations, antibiotic sensitivity assays, and DNA extractions in

HIV scenarios where concomitant NTM infection. This methodology could readily

utilized in the developing countries of Africa.

42. Virulence Characterization of Salmonella Typhimurium 1,4,[5],12:i:-, the new

pandemic strain. Rui Seixas1, Jorge Machado2, Fernando Bernardo1, Cristina Lobo Vilela1, Manuela

Oliveira1, 1 CIISA/Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Technical University of Lisbon,

Avenida da Universidade Técnica, 1300-477, Lisboa, Portugal. 2 The National Health

Institute Doutor Ricardo Jorge (INSA), Avenida Padre Cruz, 1649-016 Lisboa, Portugal.

Summary: Salmonella spp. is the main bacterial pathogen responsible for foodborne

mortality in the United States and Europe. It may be responsible for gastroenteritis,

bacteremia and focal infections in humans, and may also affect several animal species.

Emergence of new pathogenic strains and serotypes with increased virulence has been

observed. They can rapidly spread among production animals and humans, representing a

major public health issue. In the mid-1990s has been reported in Europe the emergence of

a monophasic variant of Salmonella Typhimurium, Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica

serotype 1,4,[5],12:i:-. In 2010, the European Food Safety Authority Panel on Biological

Hazards alerted for the increasing number of outbreaks promoted by “Salmonella

Typhimurium-like” strains. Nowadays it seems to be one of the major serotypes

responsible for human salmonellosis cases worldwide. It has been isolated from several

animal species, such as poultry, cattle, swine, and turtles, and food products, such as

poultry and pork products. This serotype is very similar to S. Typhimurium at the

molecular level, but do not express fljB. Infections pathogenesis requires colonization,

invasion and intracellular survival, and virulence factors genes already identified in S.

Typhimurium 1,4,[5],12:i:- include spvC (virulence plasmid), invE and invA (invasion),

stn (enterotoxin), slyA (cytolysin) and pho (survival within macrophages) and genes

associated with fimbriae and adhesins expression. Although S. Typhimurium

antimicrobial resistance levels have been decreasing, incidence of resistant S.

“Typhimurium-like” strains has been escalating. The most frequent multidrug resistance

pattern is the ASSuT (ampicillin, streptomycin, sulfonamides, tetracyclines)

tetraresistance pattern, isolated from 30% of the human infection cases and also from

farming animals. Genes responsible for this MDR phenotype (blaTEM, strA-strB, sul2

and tet(B) genes) are present in a chromosomal resistance island. In Portugal, this

serotype has already been reported is chicken and pig carcasses, but genotypic and

phenotypic characterization studies are lacking and should be performed.

43. Impact of Maternal HIV Infection on Cord Blood Passive Antibody Levels

Against Protein and Polysaccharide Antigens in Exposed Uninfected Compared to

the Unexposed Infants. Shahana Choudhury, Pediatric Medicine, Meharry Medical College, USA.

Summary: Introduction: Little is known on passive antibody transfer of vaccine

preventable infections (VPI) in infants of HIV infected mothers. Differential placental

transfer of IgG1 versus IgG2 subclass antibodies from mother to her infant has been

documented in the literature. The purpose of the study was to assess if maternal HIV

infection has an impact on differential placental transfer of antibodies against protein

versus polysaccharide antigens. Methods: We evaluated antibody levels to bacterial and

viral antigens including tetanus, Streptococcuc pneumoniae (SPN), Hemophilus

influenzae type b (Hib), measles and varicella in a group of HIV infected and uninfected

mothers and cord blood of their infants. Both HIV infected and uninfected pregnant

women were enrolled into the study during their first, second, or third trimesters of

pregnancy and cord blood of their infants were prospectively collected at delivery.

Protective levels of the antibodies were defined for each infection. Antibody assays

included enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for SPN, Hib, tetanus and

measles; and indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) test for varicella. Results: Antibody

levels were considerably lower in HIV infected mothers compared to their uninfected

counterparts for measles, Hib and SPN. Cord blood antibody levels were also

considerably lower in HIV- exposed uninfected infants compared to their unexposed

counterparts for measles and SPN. Mother- infant pair analysis demonstrated

considerably lower placental transfer of antibodies for Hib and SPN in HIV unexposed

infants only. Lower maternal CD4 counts (<500/mm3) in HIV infected mothers were

associated with significantly lower cord blood antibody levels to tetanus compared to

those with higher (>500/mm3) CD4 count. Conclusions: Infants born to HIV infected

mothers who are exposed but uninfected, may have considerably lower levels of

antibodies to VPI compared to their unexposed counterparts. There is also evidence of

significantly reduced transplacental transfer of T-cell dependent antibodies (protein

antigens) but not the T-cell independent (polysaccharide antigens). Larger prospective

studies may need to be performed to conclude these findings. Maternal immunization

during pregnancy against VPI may be justifiable in areas with higher prevalence of HIV

infection.

44. Factors associated with death in intensive care unit patients having ventilator

associated pneumonia.

Slobodan Jankovic1,2, Zorana Djordevic2, 1 - Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of

Kragujevac, 2 - Clinical Center, Kragujevac.

Summary: Background. The incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP)

among patients on mechanical ventilation is from 15% to 25%, and mortality ranges from

33% to 38%. Aim. The aim of our study was to analyze importance of previously un-

investigated potential risk factors for death in intensive care unit (ICU) patients with

VAP. Methods. A cross-sectional design was chosen for this study. The study population

consisted of all patients who developed ventilator associated pneumonia in the central

ICU of a tertiary care hospital (n = 65) during the period of 6 months. Cases (n=45) were

patients who died during their treatment in the ICU, if their primary cause of death was

ventilator associated pneumonia. Controls (n=20) were patients with VAP who survived

their treatment in the ICU, and were transferred to other hospital wards. Results.

Significant associations were found between death and age over 65 (ORadjusted 10.66;

CI 1.22, 93.12; p = 0.032), death and hospitalization at another hospital ward prior to

ICU (ORadjusted 1.25; CI 1.03, 1.52; p = 0.28), death and infection on admission to ICU

(ORadjusted 434.39; CI 3.07, 61449.65; p = 0.016), and death and administration of

ceftriaxone prior to VAP (ORadjusted 69.32; 1.74, 2768.92; p = 0.024). Synergistic

effect on death was found only for age over 65 and infection on admission to ICU.

Conclusions. The ICU patients with VAP have increased mortality if they receive

ceftriaxone prophylactically, if they have an infection at admission to ICU and when their

age is advanced. Key Words. Ventilator-associated pneumonia; risk factors; death;

ceftriaxone.

45. Proteomics Analysis of HIV-Infected T-Cells in vitro Reveals Novel Proteins

Involved in the Development of Leukemia and Lymphoma. Suraiya Rasheed, Pathology, Laboratory of Viral Oncology, AIDS and Proteomics

Research, Edmondson Bldg., Department of Pathology, Keck School of Medicine

University of Southern California, USA.

Summary: Chronically HIV-infected individuals develop leukemia and lymphoma at a

higher frequency than the uninfected population groups. Most of these cancers have been

associated with the progression of immunosuppression and/or co-infections primarily

with HTLV-1, Epstein-Barr virus and other environmental risk factors. To study the

effects of chronic HIV infection, we studied genome-wide proteins from HIV-infected

and uninfected T-lymphocytes by subtractive proteomics analyses at various stages of

virus and cell growth in vitro over a period of 2-years. Herein, we report that T-cells

infected with HIV produce multiple proteins (transcription factors, tyrosine kinases,

serine-threonine kinases, growth factors, adhesion molecules, and other diffusible

signaling proteins) that have been significantly associated with the development of

lymphoma and leukemia (p= 8x10¹¹).

46. Nephrotic Syndrome in previously undiagnosed HIV infection in Lagos, Nigeria:

a case report.

Theophilus Umeizudike, Nephrology Unit, Department of Medicine, Lagos State

University Teaching Hospital, Nigeria.

Summary: This is a case of a previously undiagnosed 45 year old HIV infected male

patient presenting with features of Nephrotic syndrome at the nephrology outpatient

clinic of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), in Nigeria. Nigeria

currently ranks second in HIV prevalence in Africa. No obvious high risk behaviour for

HIV infection was elicited from his family and social history, except the habitual clipper

at the barbers’. Haematological and serum biochemistry were done for the patient.

System review revealed a pulse rate of 80 beats/min, blood pressure (BP) of 150/100

mmHg and LDL cholesterol of 164mg/dl. Serology for HIV infection, requested as part

of hospital routine protocol for nephrotic syndrome was positive, this was later confirmed

by Western blot . CD4 counts and viral load were 284 cell/mm3 and 100,000 copies/ml

respectively. Both kidneys were found to be highly echogenic following a kidney scan. A

preliminary diagnosis of HIV related kidney disease complicated by

hypercholesterolemia and hypertension was made. Renal biopsy revealed a collapsing

variant of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis with dilated tubules characteristic of HIV

associated nephropathy (HIVAN). Patient was commenced on antiretroviral,

antihypertensive and lipid lowering therapies. Remarkable improvement was observed in

the patient within 2 months of initial therapy, as reflected by regression of the pedal

oedema, normalised BP, serum creatinine and lipid profile. Patient was followed up at the

nephrology clinic 2 years after HIV diagnosis. This case highlights the importance of

routine HIV screening for nephrotic syndrome patients; particularly in countries with

high HIV prevalence such as Nigeria and the relevance of kidney biopsy in the early

diagnosis and therapy of HIV related kidney disease.

47. “Viral Inducible Receptor”, An Alternative Concept for Viral Vaccination.

Tirasak Pasharawipas, Microbiology Unit, Department of Medical Science, Faculty of

Science, Rangsit University, Paholyothin Rd., Pathumthani, Thailand.

Summary: This presentation concerns the application of the viral inducible concept

which explains that individual cell has its own mechanism to prevent the virus to enter

the cell. The viral receptor binding molecules on the cell membrane down regulate after

the primary viral infection. Accordingly, it is assumed to be a native-cellular mechanism

to prevent the secondary viral infection. So far, most of the researchers try to develop

vaccines based on immunological principles of acquired immune responses. Although

viral vaccines, theoretically, can induce acquired immune response to prevent viral

infection, in reality most of the vaccines fail to perform protection in clinical practice,

especially the subunit vaccines. In addition, there are reports that low-immune-evolved

animals, which do not possess the acquired immune response, can also be vaccinated to

prevent specific viral infection. The viral inducible receptor concept can be relevant for

viral vaccination strategy in both low and high evolved immune animals. Keys words;

Virus, Vaccine, Inducible Viral receptor.

48. Treatment Outcome of HIV Positive Patients to Non-surgical Periodontal

Therapy in Lagos, Nigeria.

Umeizudike Kehinde Adesola, Department of Preventive Dentistry, Faculty of Dental

Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Nigeria.

Summary: Since the discovery of HIV infection, numerous studies have reported an

association between HIV infection and periodontal disease. An accelerated form of

chronic periodontitis has been described in HIV positive patients when compared with

healthy controls in both developed and developing countries. There are however few

documented reports particularly from developing countries on the effect of periodontal

therapy on periodontitis in HIV positive patients. The objective of our study was to

evaluate the treatment outcome of HIV positive patients to non-surgical periodontal

therapy. Twelve HIV positive patients (7 on HAART, 5 HAART naïve) were enrolled

into our study from the HIV outpatient clinic of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital.

The following periodontal indices [Oral hygiene Index Score (OHI-S), % sites with

Bleeding on probing (BOP), and % sites with probing pocket depth (PPD) ≥ 4mm] were

recorded at baseline and 3 months after the non-surgical periodontal therapy. The CD4

counts and viral load measurements of the patients were also recorded at baseline and 3

months after therapy. Our findings revealed a significant reduction in the mean % BOP

sites from 21.1 (baseline) to 9.3 (after 3 months) (p=0.000), the mean % PPD ≥ 4mm

from 6.59 (baseline) to 3.27 (after 3 months) (p=0.025). No significant reduction was

observed in the mean OHI-S of the patients after 3 months of periodontal therapy. The

slight changes observed in the CD4 counts and viral load were not of statistical

significance. Conclusion: The non-surgical periodontal therapy improved the periodontal

health status of the HIV positive patients as shown by the reduction in the % diseased

sites (BOP and PPD ≥ 4mm) 3 months after periodontal therapy. The influence of CD4

counts and viral load measurements were minimal. Keywords: HIV infection,

periodontitis, periodontal therapy

49. HIV in global Indigenous population: data gaps and challenges. Victor Minichiello1, Dr. Saifur Rahman1, Prof. Rafat Hussain2. 1. Faculty of the

Profession, The University of New England, New South Wales, Australia; 2. Rural

Medicine, The University of New England, New South Wales, Australia.

Summary: This paper reviews the epidemiology of HIV in Indigenous communities in

various parts of the world utilizing a range of data sources. Most of the epidemiological

information on HIV in Indigenous communities is limited to developed countries.

However, even in these settings, many of the published HIV reports do not provide

disaggregated data by Indigenous status, which has resulted in serious gaps in

understanding the burden of HIV. Lack of information is a particularly worrying

concerns for countries in Asia which is home to more than half of the global Indigenous

populations. Nevertheless, available data from both developed and developing countries

shows that the prevalence of HIV is on the increase among the Indigenous communities

and, in several instances, the rate of these infections is higher in most Indigenous groups

compared to non-Indigenous populations. Much closer collaboration amongst Indigenous

communities, researchers, health service providers, other stakeholders and policy makers

at each country-level will assist in addressing the challenges to reduce burden of HIV and

promote sexual health in global Indigenous people. This review discusses the urgent need

to collect more comprehensive and reliable data at the global level across various

Indigenous communities.

50. RNA silencing mediated resistance to a quarantine virus in fruit tree.

E. Di Nicola-Negri1, S. Monticelli2, A. Gentile2, C.Damiano2, M. Tavazza3 & V. Ilardi1,

1,2 Consiglio per la Ricerca e la Sperimentazione in Agricoltura (CRA); 1 CRA-Centro

di Ricerca per la Patologia Vegetale. Rome, Italy; 2 CRA-Centro di ricerca per la

Frutticoltura. Rome, Italy; 3 ENEA-CRE Casaccia, UTAGRI. Rome, Italy.

Summary: Of the various quarantine pathogens affecting fruit trees, Plum pox virus

(PPV), the etiological agent of sharka disease, is the most detrimental virus of stone

fruits. PPV is considered a quarantine pest, for example, by European and mediterranean

Plant Pathology Organization (EPPO), InterAfrican PhytoSanitary Council (IAPSC) and

North American Plant Protection Organization (NAPPO). The best agricultural

sustainable approach to prevent viral diseases consists in developing virus-resistant

plants. In this context we report the production of transgenic plums together with a

contained and rapid evaluation in vitro for PPV resistance. Plum was transformed by

Agrobacterium tumefaciens using a PPV derived hairpin construct (h-UTR/P1) that had

previously been shown to confer high, robust and broad-spectrum PPV resistance in

model plant, also under biotic and abiotic stress conditions (Di Nicola-Negri et al., 2005,

Transgenic Res. 14:489-94; Di Nicola-Negri et al., 2010 Plant Cell Rep 29:1435-1444;

Di Nicola et al. in preparation). Two transgenic clones, St24 and St28, were obtained. In

order to assess their ability to resist PPV infection in completely contained conditions

both for transgenic plants and the quarantine virus, transgenic plum apexes were

micrografted in vitro on PPV-infected peach rootstocks. A total of 97% (47/48) of St24

and 73% (17/23) of St28 tested plants were resistant to PPV. The higher percentage of

resistant plants of St24 compared to St28 clone could be explained by a direct correlation

between the level of specific siRNAs produced and the observed resistance. The results

are of interest not only developing plum clones that are highly resistant to sharka, but also

for setting up quick and contained inoculation test procedure.

51. From Waste to Employment Opportunities and Wealth Creation; A Case Study

of Utilization of Livestock By-Products in Hargeisa, Somaliland.

Wamalwa Kinyanjui and Juddy Elizabeth Opiyo Tindi, Food and Agriculture

Organization of United Nations, Somalia, P.O Box 30470-00100, Nairobi.

Summary: The objective of the study was to investigate the involvement of vulnerable

women and youths in innovative livestock by-products value addition to create

alternative employment opportunities and diversify wealth creation livelihood activities

through DFID UKaid SEED funded programme in the security fragile state of Somaliland

that has few opportunities of formal employment. The study focused on the processes and

achievements of the SEED programme towards deriving maximum benefits from

livestock by-products instead of concentrating on meat production and consumption only.

During the programme intervention, an initial forty (40) beneficiaries of various trade

skills and academic levels were selected through SOMDA for capacity development with

competency based training (CBT) skills. One of the primary advantages of CBT was that

it focused on the success of each participant. The training focused on each trainee

attaining a small number of specific and job-related competencies in bone-craft trinkets

and laundry soap production. By the end of SEED phase I, the intervention created a total

of 120 direct jobs who were involved in soap and bone-crafts production giving the

impetus of making full use of the meat value chain and creating a viable source of

employment and income for vulnerable women and youths in Somaliland contributing to

increased Somali economy from the main lifeline of Somalia population that is anchored

on livestock production and trade. Keywords: SEED, employment creation, bonecrafts,

soap production, economic development.

52. Role of cortical actin and chemotactic actin activity in HIV infection of human

memory and naïve CD4 T cells.

Yuntao Wu, National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Diseases, Department of

Molecular and Microbiology, George Mason University, Manassas, VA 20110, USA.

Summary: Human memory and naïve CD4 T cells can mainly be identified by the

reciprocal expression of the CD45RO or CD45RA isoforms. In HIV-1 infection, blood

CD45RO memory CD4 T cells are preferentially infected and serve as a major viral

reservoir. The molecular mechanism dictating this differential susceptibility to HIV-1

remains largely obscure. Our recent studies suggest that the different susceptibility of

memory and naïve T cells to HIV may not be determined by restriction factors such as

Apobec3G or BST2. However, we observed a phenotypic distinction between human

CD45RO and CD45RA resting CD4 T cells in their cortical actin density and actin

dynamics. CD45RO CD4 T cells possess a higher cortical actin density and can be

distinguished as CD45RO+/Actin/high. In contrast, CD45RA T cells are phenotypically

CD45RA+/Actin/low. In addition, the cortical actin in CD45RO memory CD4 T cells is

more dynamic and can respond to low dosages of chemotactic induction by SDF-1,

whereas that of naïve cells cannot, despite a similar level of the chemokine receptor

CXCR4 present on both cells. We further demonstrate that this difference in the cortical

actin contributes to their differential susceptibility to HIV-1; resting memory but not

naïve T cells are highly responsive to HIV-mediated actin dynamics which promote

higher levels of viral entry and early DNA synthesis in resting memory CD4 T cells.

Furthermore, transient induction of actin dynamics in resting naïve T cells rescues HIV

latent infection following CD3/CD28 stimulation. These results suggest a key role of

chemotactic actin activity in facilitating HIV-1 latent infection of these T cell subsets.

Documents

Conference Handbook - targetmeeting.comtargetmeeting.com/files/pdf/handbook49.pdf · Conference Handbook TM’s 2nd World Virology & Microbiology Online Conference April 16-18, 2013