The present and future disease burden of hepatitis C virus infections with today's treatment paradigm: Volume 4.

Factors influencing the morbidity and mortality associated with viremic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection change over time and place, making it difficult to compare reported estimates. Models were developed for 17 countries (Bahrain, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Colombia, Croatia, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Ghana, Hong Kong, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Morocco, Nigeria, Qatar and Taiwan) to quantify and characterize the viremic population as well as forecast the changes in the infected population and the corresponding disease burden from 2015 to 2030. Model inputs were agreed upon through expert consensus, and a standardized methodology was followed to allow for comparison across countries. The viremic prevalence is expected to remain constant or decline in all but four countries (Ethiopia, Ghana, Jordan and Oman); however, HCV-related morbidity and mortality will increase in all countries except Qatar and Taiwan. In Qatar, the high-treatment rate will contribute to a reduction in total cases and HCV-related morbidity by 2030. In the remaining countries, however, the current treatment paradigm will be insufficient to achieve large reductions in HCV-related morbidity and mortality.

Cellular diversity in mouse neocortex revealed by multispectral analysis of amino acid immunoreactivity.

Cortical cells were classified using an unsupervised cluster analysis based upon their quantitative and combinatorial immunoreactivity for glutamate, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), aspartate, glutamine and taurine. Overall, cell class-specific amino acid signatures were found for 12 cellular types; seven GABA-immunoreactive (GABA-IR) populations (GABA1--7), three classes containing high glutamate levels (GLUT1--3) and two putative glial (GLIA1, 2) cell types. From their large somata, associated vertical processes and high glutamate content, the GLUT classes most probably correspond to pyramidal neurons. Two of the GLUT classes demonstrated complementary distributions in different cortical layers, suggesting spatial separation of cells differing in amino acid immunoreactivity. Of the seven GABA classes, two comprised cells with large somata and displayed medium to low glutamate levels. On the basis of size, these two populations may correspond to large basket cell interneurons. Glial populations could be divided into two classes: GLIA1 cells were more frequently associated with blood vessels and GLIA2 cells were more commonly seen in the lower cortical layers. This work demonstrates that signature recognition based upon amino acid content can be used to separate cortical cells into different categories and reveal further subclasses within these categories. This approach is complementary to other methods using physiological and molecular tools and ultimately will enhance our understanding of neuronal heterogeneity.

Chemical, physical and sensory properties of chicken frankfurters substituted with palm fats.

Physico-chemical and sensory characteristics of frankfurters prepared with three types of palm fats (PF60: 40, PF70: 30 and PF80: 20) and palm olein (POo) at 20 and 25% of fat levels were studied. Incorporation of different fats at 20 and 25% did not affect the cooking yields of the frankfurters. Frankfurters incorporated with 25% POo showed the highest value of water-holding capacity (WHC) among eight formulations. The frankfurters containing POo showed the least cooking loss compared to those with palm fats. The incorporation of different type and level of fats resulted in significant changes in the colour (lightness, redness, yellowness) of frankfurters. Texture profiles of both raw and cooked frankfurters were found to be altered by the blending of different type and level of fats. In raw frankfurters, hardness for frankfurters mixed with palm fats were significantly higher than the one with POo but greater values for cohesiveness was observed in raw frankfurters blended with POo. Lowest chewiness was demonstrated by frankfurters mixed with 20% POo. Grilling increased the hardness values of all frankfurters. Contrary to the raw counterparts, cooked frankfurter with POo was the hardest among all formulations. Cohesiveness and chewiness was also found to be significantly higher for cooked frankfurters mixed with POo. Raw frankfurters with fat content of 25% showed greater value in hardness than those of 20%. However, there were no significant differences (P > 0.05) observed for all the texture profile attributes in cooked frankfurters due to fat levels. In sensory evaluation, frankfurters prepared with POo were found to be most acceptable by consumer panels as they scored the highest for hardness rating, chicken flavour, oiliness and overall acceptance attributes.

Renal expression of the gene encoding the gastric H(+)-K(+)-ATPase beta-subunit.

The gastric mucosal parietal cells and cells of the renal collecting duct both possess H(+)-K(+)-adenosinetriphosphatase (H(+)-K(+)-ATPase) activities. In the stomach, the H(+)-K(+)-ATPase (EC 3.6.1.3) is responsible for acidification of luminal contents. The kidney H(+)-K(+)-ATPase protein(s) contribute to potassium reabsorption and secretion of hydrogen ions to maintain potassium and acid-base homeostasis. The stomach H(+)-K(+)-ATPase is well defined and consists of an alpha-catalytic subunit of apparent molecular mass of 95 kDa and a highly glycosylated beta-subunit of 60-90 kDa. The molecular identity of the protein that mediates the H(+)-K(+)-ATPase activity in the kidney has been addressed in this paper. A combination of RNA hybridizations, polymerase chain reaction analysis of kidney RNA, and sequence analysis of cDNAs indicated that gastric H(+)-K(+)-ATPase beta-subunit mRNA is present in kidney. Immunoblotting with antibodies specific for the gastric H(+)-K(+)-ATPase beta-subunit detected proteins, which, after deglycosylation, had the same molecular mass as the gastric beta-subunit in membrane protein preparations from rabbit, pig, rat, and mouse kidneys. Furthermore, we have used transgenic mice to demonstrate that the gastric H(+)-K(+)-ATPase beta-subunit gene contains cis-acting regulatory sequences that are active in both gastric parietal cells and the renal collecting ducts. Overall, these data indicate that the gastric H(+)-K(+)-ATPase beta-subunit is found in the kidney and probably associates with the gastric H(+)-K(+)-ATPase alpha-subunit and/or other P-type ATPase alpha-subunits, thus contributing to acid-base and potassium homeostasis.