Background/AimsTreatment with antiviral neuraminidase inhibitors suppresses influenza viral replication and antigen production, resulting in marked attenuation of mucosal immunity and mild suppression of systemic immunity in mice. This study investigated the effects of immunomodulator clarithromycin (CAM) supplementation on mucosal and systemic immunity in pediatric patients with influenza treated with neuraminidase inhibitors.MethodsA retrospective, non-randomized case series study was conducted among five treatment groups of 195 children aged 5.9±3.3 years infected with influenza A in 2008/2009 season. The five treatment groups were oseltamivir (OSV), zanamivir (ZNV), OSV+CAM, ZNV+CAM and untreated groups. Anti-viral secretory IgA (S-IgA) levels in nasal washes and IgG levels in sera were measured. The re-infection rate was analyzed among the same five treatment groups in the 2009/2010 season.ResultsTreatment of influenza with OSV and ZNV for 5 days attenuated the induction of anti-viral S-IgA in nasal washes and anti-viral IgG in serum, compared with the untreated group. The combination of CAM plus OSV or ZNV boosted and restored the production of mucosal S-IgA and systemic IgG. The re-infection rates in the subsequent season were significantly higher in the OSV and ZNV groups than the untreated, while CAM+OSV and CAM+ZNV tended to reduce such rate.ConclusionsCAM restored the attenuated anti-viral mucosal and systemic immunity and reduced the re-infection rate in the subsequent year in pediatric patients with influenza treated with OSV and ZNV.

Abstract:In arid and semi-arid regions there is usually a shortage of irrigation water; thus, wastewater water, as well as other lowquality water resources, may become an important source of water and nutrients. However, (pre)treated wastewater may contain elements and compounds that can damage the environment. It also has the potential to affect water quality adversely in an aquifer that may be the source of drinking water in the area. In order to assess the impacts of wastewater on the environment, groundwater samples were taken and analysed in typical croplands in the North China Plain, where urban wastewater or groundwater have been used for irrigation for several decades. Concentrations of nitrate NO 3 in groundwater in the study area varied from 50 to 130 mg l 1 in the croplands irrigated by wastewater, but in the croplands irrigated by pumping wells, away from the Dongming Canal, NO 3 concentrations are less than 35 mg l 1 . It was found that values of υ 15 N ranged from C5 to C13‰, and dominantly from C7 to C11‰, and the NO 3 concentration in most wells with depths of less than 40 m was higher than the drinking water standard set by the WHO. Cluster analysis was used to classify the spatial distribution of nitrates resulting from the wastewater. Identification of chemical patterns is found to be effective for the comprehensive assessment of the spatial distribution of groundwater quality. It is also emphasized that the wastewater in this area controls the NO 3 distribution in the groundwater, and should be used carefully to protect both soil and groundwater from NO 3 pollution.

Abstract:In arid environments groundwater may represent the most important source of water for sustaining life. The timing and nature of precipitation may induce infiltration and recharge on a small scale. The Al Ain region, UAE was chosen and from 1996 to 1997 studies were conducted to illustrate spatial distribution of recharge for groundwater by using chemical and isotopic methods. According to the field survey, UAE can be hydrogeologically classified into five parts: mountain area, wadis, sand dunes, inland sabkhas and coastal sabkhas, respectively. In this report, we studied a typical wadi, Wadi Mieshiq area. Upstream of the wadi, it was found that the groundwaters were characterized by low salinity. Stable isotopes of groundwaters in the wadi were lighter than those of the stream waters in the mountain area, since stream water was affected by evaporation before it infiltrated into the ground. The isotopes of recharged water into the wadi must have isotopically light values. From the results above, groundwater along the wadi was mainly derived from not only water from the mountain area but also infiltrated water during the flood period. Wadis are an important recharge region for groundwater.

No abstract

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text