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An abstract of the research paper "Plasma cytokine levels and HIV-specific immune responses during acute/early HIV infection," by G. Turk and colleagues is presented.

An abstract of the research paper "Detection of HIV T-cell responses with polifunctionality and high plasma levels of the B-chemokine MDC in exposed HIV-seronegative individuals (ESN)," by G. Turk and colleagues is presented.

An abstract of the conference paper "Low selection rate of HLA-anchor escape mutations in HIV after transmission of subtype B and recombinants BF strains patients from Argentina," by G. Damilano and colleagues is presented.

Background: Mucuna pruriens, Tribulus terrestris and Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) are widely known as antioxidant effective herbals and have been reported to possess aphrodisiac activities in traditional usages. In this study, we determined the effects of these herbals on sexual functions, serum biochemical parameters, oxidative stress and levels of NF-κB, Nrf2, and HO-1 in reproductive tissues., Methods: Thirty-five male rats were divided into five groups: the control group, sildenafil-treated group (5 mg/kg/d), Mucuna, Tribulus and Ashwagandha groups. The extract groups were treated orally either with Mucuna, Tribulus or Ashwagandha (300 mg/kg b.w.) for 8 weeks., Results: All of the extracts were found to be significantly effective in sexual functioning and antioxidant capacity and Tribulus showed the highest effectiveness. Serum testosterone levels significantly increased in Tribulus and Ashwagandha groups in comparison to control group. Tribulus was able to reduce the levels of NF-κB and increase the levels of Nrf2 and HO-1 to a much greater extent than Mucuna and Ashwagandha., Conclusions: These results demonstrate for the first time that Mucuna, Tribulus and Ashwagandha supplementation improves sexual function in male rats via activating Nrf2/ HO-1 pathway while inhibiting the NF-κB levels. Moreover, Tribulus terrestris extract was found to be more bioavailable from Ashwagandha extract followed by Mucuna extract. Schematic representation of the mode of action of some aphrodisiac herbal extracts to improve sexual functions.

Background: Multiple HIV-1 intersubtype recombinants have been identified in human populations. Previous studies from our lab group have shown that the epidemic in Argentina is characterized by the high prevalence of a circulating recombinant form, CRF12_BF, and many related BF recombinant forms. In these genomic structures a recombination breakpoint frequently involved the vpu coding region. Due to the scarce knowledge of Vpu participation in the virion release process and its impact on pathogenesis and of the functional capacities of intersubtype recombinant Vpu proteins, the aim of this work was to perform a comparative analysis on virion release capacity and relative replication capacity among viral variants harboring either a BF recombinant Vpu or a subtype B Vpu., Results: Our results showed that BF recombinant Vpu was associated to an increased viral particles production when compared to WT B variant in tetherin-expressing cell lines. This observation was tested in the context of a competition assay between the above mentioned variants. The results showed that the replication of the BF Vpu-harboring variant was more efficient in cell cultures than subtype B, reaching a higher frequency in the viral population in a short period of time., Conclusion: This study showed that as a result of intersubtype recombination, a structurally re-organized HIV-1 Vpu has an improved in vitro capacity of enhancing viral replication, and provides evidence of the changes occurring in this protein function that could play an important role in the successful spread of intersubtype recombinant variants.

HIV-1 intersubtype recombination is a very common phenomenon that has been shown to frequently affect different viral genomic regions. Vpr and Tat are viral proteins known to interact with viral promoter (LTR) during the replication cycle. This interaction is mainly involved in the regulation of viral gene expression, so, any structural changes in the LTR and/or these regulatory proteins may have an important impact on viral replication and spread. It has been reported that these genetic structures underwent recombination in BF variants widely spread in South America. To gain more insight of the consequences of the BF intersubtype recombination phenomenon on these different but functionally related genomic regions we designed and performed and in vitro study that allowed the detection and recovery of intersubtype recombinants sequences and its subsequent analysis. Our results indicate that recombination affects differentially these regions, showing evidence of a time-space relationship between the changes observed in the viral promoter and the ones observed in the Vpr/Tat coding region. This supports the idea of intersubtype recombination as a mechanism that promotes biological adaptation and compensates fitness variations.

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related deaths among women worldwide. The aim of the present study was to determine and compare knowledge, behavior and attitudes among female nurses and teachers concerning breast self-examination (BSE)., Methods: Two-hundred and eighty nine women working in Aydin, Turkey (125 nurses and 164 teachers) were included in the study. The data were collected using a questionnaire designed to measure the knowledge, attitudes and behavior of the groups. Analysis involved percentiles, chi2 tests, t tests and factor analysis., Results: The knowledge of nurses about BSE was higher than that of teachers (81.5% versus 45.1%; p < 0.001). BSE practice parameters (i.e. age groups, indications, frequency) were similar (p > 0.05), whereas skills in performing self-examination were higher in nurses (p < 0.001). Fear of having breast cancer is the most frequent reason for performing BSE. Among nurses, the reasons for failure to perform BSE were the absence of prominent breast problems (82%) and forgetting (56.4%). The teachers who did not perform BSE said that the reasons were lack of knowledge on how to perform self-examination (68.9%) and absence of problems (54%). Both groups had unacceptable technical errors in the performance of BSE., Conclusion: We conclude that nurses and teachers should be supported with information enabling them to accomplish their roles in the community. To improve BSE practice, it is crucial to coordinate continuous and planned education.

Background: HIV-1 is characterized by its rapid genetic evolution and high diversity as a consequence of its error-prone reverse transcriptase and genetic recombination. This latter mechanism is responsible for the creation of circulating recombinant forms (CRFs) found in nature. Previous studies from our lab group have shown that the epidemic in Argentina is characterized by one highly prevalent circulating recombinant form, CRF12&#95;BF, and many related BF recombinant forms. Since transcriptional transactivation of the HIV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR) promoter element requires the essential viral Tat protein, since these genetic structures underwent recombination in variants widely spread in South America, the aim of this work was to study transcriptional activity associated with the recombinant LTR and Tat elements., Results: Differential transcriptional activity was measured for the BF recombinant LTR/Tat complex that is present in widely spread viral variants was demonstrated. This analysis demonstrated a higher activity for the BF complex when compared to its B subtype counterpart., Conclusion: This study indicates structural and functional consequences of recombination events within the LTR promoter and Tat transactivator protein of a naturally occurring HIV-1 recombinant form.