Aboul Ella Hassanien (Abo)

n/a

INTRODUCTION:
Despite recent success after the introduction of combination therapy with interferon (IFN)-α and ribavirin, approximately 60% of patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 4 fail to respond. Resistance to antiviral therapy remains a serious problem in the management of chronic hepatitis C. In most patients, HCV RNA could be detected in peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC).
OBJECTIVE:
The authors aimed to investigate the predictive value of HCV RNA in PBMC of patients with chronic hepatitis C after IFN treatment, which may act as the source of HCV reinfection of hepatic cells.
METHODS:
Seventy patients with chronic hepatitis C were treated with IFN plus ribavirin for 48 weeks; they all achieved clearance of HCV RNA from serum. At the end of treatment, PBMC and serum were examined by real-time polymerase chain reaction for detection of HCV RNA. Six months later, HCV RNA in serum was monitored to detect sustained virologic response.
RESULTS:
: Analysis revealed the presence of detectable HCV RNA in the PBMC of 27% of patients despite clearance of serum HCV RNA. During follow-up, 80% of the patients who became serum HCV positive 6 months after the end of treatment had detectable level of HCV RNA in PBMC at the end of treatment.
CONCLUSIONS:
The absence of HCV in the serum of patients by the end of treatment does not exclude future viremia. The patient might still be a source of infection to others. It is strongly encouraged to test for HCV in PBMC to detect lack of response to treatment and persisting infection.

The prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.), the etiologic agent
of Lyme borrelosis (LB), was determined for the first time in Egypt by using
polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Questing 5243 hard and soft ticks were collected from animal farms throughout Giza Governorate. DNA from 500 individual tick species was extracted and PCR was performed. Primers verified
from the sequence of German strain Pko of Borrelia afzelii were used. Fragments of 642 bp were generated and sequenced. The prevalence of B. burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) was 28 % of examined soft and hard ticks. High infection
rate (66%) of B. burgdorferi s.l. was observed in both nymph and adult soft
ticks Ornithodoros savignyi.
Beside, the role of hard ticks as potential vectors of Lyme disease in Egypt,
where the infection rate was between 0.0-50.0%. Sequence analysis of PCR
product of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato shares high degree of similarity in
sequence compared to similar species in GenBank.

In recent years, the development of distributed systems, in particular the Internet, has been influenced heavily by three paradigms: peer-to-peer, autonomous agents, and service orientation. Developing Advanced Web Services through P2P Computing and Autonomous Agents: Trends and Innovations establishes an understanding of autonomous peer-to-peer Web Service models and developments as well as extends growing literature on emerging technologies. This scholarly publication is an important reference for researchers and academics working in the fields of peer-to-peer computing, Web and grid services, and agent technologies.