No description available.

Homoeoprophylaxis (HP) is the use of homoeopathically prepared substances to prevent targeted infectious diseases in recipients. Its first use in an epidemic of Scarlet Fever was documented in 1801. It has been used throughout the world since then for both short-term and long-term preventative purposes. The effectiveness and safety of Golden�s long-term HP program using homoeopathically prepared substances to prevent targeted infectious diseases in recipients was tested through two research projects. The effectiveness of the program could not be established with statistical certainty given the limited sample size and the low probability of acquiring an infectious disease. However, a possible level of effectiveness of 90.3% was identified subject to specified limitations. Further research to confirm the effectiveness of the program is justified. Statistically significant results were obtained that confirmed the safety of the program both in absolute terms as well as compared to all other methods of disease prevention studied. It also appeared possible that a national immunisation system where both vaccination and HP were available to parents would increase the national coverage against targeted infectious diseases, and reduce the incidence of some chronic health conditions, especially asthma.

The gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori infects more than half of the population worldwide. H. pylori manage to establish persistent infection, which would be life-long if not treated. In order to establish such an infection, this pathogen has to deal with the host immune system. H. pylori has certain characteristics which make the bacteria less announced to the host immune system. Additionally, for remaining in the harsh and acidic environment of the stomach with peristaltic movements and a high frequency of turnover of epithelial cells, H. pylori has developed different binding modes to structures present both in the mucus and on the surface of gastric cells and also to extracellular matrix proteins. Evidently, adhesion has a determinant role for a successful colonization by H. pylori. It has been shown that a small fraction of the H. pylori infection is in intimate contact and attached to the host epithelium. Despite its small proportion, this group maintains the persistency of infection. As there is no suitable in vitro system to mimic the human stomach for studies of H. pylori infection, we have developed the In Vitro Explant Culture technique (IVEC). By using this model we could show that H. pylori use the Lewis b blood group antigen to bind to the host gastric mucosa, during experimental conditions most similar to the in vivo situation. Furthermore, we could show that the host tissue responses to the bacterial attachment by expression of Interleukin 8 (IL- ), which will guide the inflammatory processes. Interestingly, by inhibition of bacterial adhesion through receptor competition i.e., by use of soluble Lewis b antigen, IL-8 production was hampered in the IVEC system, which further validates the presence of a tight relation between bacterial adhesion and induction of host immune responses. One of the inflammation signaling cursors in vivo is the upregulated sialylated Lewis x (sLex) antigen, an inflammation associated carbohydrate structure well established as a binding site for the selectin family of adhesion molecules. We could show that during chronic gastric inflammation, which is actually caused by the persistent H. pylori infection, the bacterial cells adapt their binding mode, and preferentially bind to sLex, which will provide an even more intimate contact with the host cells. This interaction is mediated by SabA, the H. pylori adhesin for sialylated oligosaccharides/glycoconjugates. By employing red blood cells as a model we could further demonstrate that SabA is identical to the “established” H. pylori hemagglutinin. We could also show that SabA binds to sialylated glycolipids (gangliosides) rather than glycoproteins on cell surfaces. Our result also revealed that SabA also binds to and activates human neutrophils. Such effect was unrelated to BabA and the H. pylori Neutrophil Activating Protein (HP- AP), which were not directly involved in the activation of neutrophils. Furthermore, phagocytosis of bacteria by neutrophils was demonstrated to be mainly dependent on presence of SabA. Interestingly, HP-NAP showed a possible role in guiding the bacterial adhesion during conditions of limited sialylation, i.e. equivalent to mild gastritis, when the tissue would be less inflamed and sialylated. In conclusion, H. pylori adhesion causes host tissue inflammation, then the bacteria will adapt to the new condition and bind to epithelial cells in a tighter mode by synergistic activities of BabA and SabA. Additionally, SabA bind to and activate human neutrophils, which will exacerbate inflammation responses and cause damage to host tissue. Thus, BabA and SabA are potential candidates to be targeted for therapeutic strategies against H. pylori and gastric disease.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--UCLA, 2009. / Vita. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 232-267).

Thesis (Ph.D)--Biology, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009. / Committee Chair: Chernoff, Yury; Committee Member: Bommarius, Andreas; Committee Member: Doyle, Donald; Committee Member: Lobachev, Kirill; Committee Member: Yi, Soojin. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Chinese Historical Studies / Master / Master of Arts

Infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is cleared spontaneously in only 20% of cases with the majority of individuals developing a chronic infection. This discrepancy in disease outcome is incompletely understood but current understanding of the immune response to HCV suggests that rapid induction of a broadly neutralising antibody (nAb) response leads to resolution of acute infection. The majority of nAb identified target the envelope glycoproteins, particularly E2, and most appear to inhibit binding of E2 to the cellular receptor CD81. Antibodies targeting other interactions, such as those with the receptor CLDN or the fusion determinant, are underrepresented in the repertoire of anti-HCV antibodies. However, the antibody discovery process may have been biased by the nature of the assays used. Therefore new assays are needed to enable the discovery and characterisation of antibodies in an unbiased manner. To facilitate this, a novel insect cell display library was developed for mapping antibody-binding epitopes. Cells expressing specific E2 mutants provided the necessary proof-of-principle that loss of antibody binding could be detected in this system before a library expressing randomly mutated E2 was developed. Sorting experiments demonstrated that single cells could be isolated and enriched based on loss of antibody binding. Secondly, a method for characterising the immunoglobulin (Ig) genes of HCV infected patients was developed; Ig genes were isolated from small numbers of B cells and the sequences analysed. Finally, a patient cohort was studied with a view to investigating the evolution of the antibody response during early infection. The unreliable nature of the samples prevented such analysis; however a DNA fingerprinting method of testing the origin and relatedness of serum samples was developed. This will improve the reliability of future studies. Together these methods provide a work model for the assessment of samples and the isolation and characterisation of antibodies.

This thesis is a study-of the contribution of public health administration to the control of Infectious diseases in Fife during the period c. 1855-1950. It is a local study in the social history of medicine which attempts to test the conflicting theories of Thomas McKeown and Simon Szreter about the role of social intervention in mortality decline during the period. It covers the period from the earliest date when civil registration data on mortality from specified causes are available for Fife. During this period mortality from the main infectious diseases in the county declined almost continuously and by 88% from a rate of 608 deaths per 100 000 inhabitants during the years 1855-60. Public health administration is here defined as measures for disease prevention and control administered by local government. Such measures include the provision of adequate water supplies and drainage, improvement of housing, port sanitation, immunisation and the provision of infectious diseases hospitals and child welfare services. The first three chapters of this study include an introduction, a description of the geographical, demographic and economic conditions in Fife during the period and a description of the development of a system of public health administration in the county. This is followed by studies of the main infectious diseases, including smallpox, typhus and typhoid, diarrhoeal disease, diphtheria, scarlet fever, measles and whooping cough, influenza and all forms of tuberculosis. The pattern of mortality from each disease in Fife is described. Then from the records of local authorities in the county, the role of public health administration in the attempted control of each disease is described and evaluated. The conclusion assesses the overall contribution of public health administration to the decline in mortality from the main infectious diseases in Fife and suggests the relative importance of different measures in the process of disease control.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of New South Wales, 1999. / Also available online.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- McMaster University, 2006. / Supervisor: David J. D. Earn. Includes bibliographical references.