We report a 34-year-old homosexual man who developed a maculopapular, non-itchy exanthema mainly on the trunk in addition to fever up to 39.8 degrees C, general malaise, arthralgias, generalized enlargement of the lymph nodes, watery diarrhoea and weight loss. The patient was in an acute phase of the HIV infection according to standards of WHO and CDC (i.e. acute infection with duration from 3 days to 3 weeks with occasional mononucleosis-like symptoms and positive antibody tests). We documented the seroconversion from HIV-negativity to HIV-positivity 15 days after the onset of the acute illness, concomitant with the resolution of the clinical symptoms. Haematological changes were monitored during the conversion. The infection with HIV-1 was shown by the reduction of T4 helper cells (262/microliters) and the inversion of the CD4:CD8 ratio (< 0.5 during seroconversion). The patient also developed generalized candidiasis owing to the acute immunodeficiency.

This study investigates the relationships between the composition, cell wall microstructure, and mechanical properties of the abaca fiber. Raw abaca fibers have undergone a series of sequential chemical treatments (acetone/methanol, boiling water, EDTA, HCl, NaClO2, and NaOH) to selectively remove certain non-cellulosic components (NCCs) in the fiber, such as waxes, water-soluble fragments, pectin, and lignin in a step-by-step manner. Changes in composition, morphology, and mechanical properties were observed using FTIR spectroscopy and ion chromatography, digital microscope and SEM, and tensile tests, respectively. The raw fiber was composed of 23% NCCs, 18% hemicellulose, and 58% cellulose, and exhibited a 17.4 GPa Young’s modulus and a 444 MPa tensile strength. Furthermore, the raw abaca fibers demonstrated a linear tensile graph without yielding, and a planar fracture surface without fiber pull-outs, thus suggesting a highly elastic but brittle nature. At the end of the alkali treatment, the fibrillated fiber was 83% cellulose, yet the stiffness and strength dropped to 7.3 GPa and 55 MPa, respectively, as more components were removed, and microfibril relaxation and realignment have occurred. Load-bearing cellulose and hemicellulose accounted for 42% and 36% of the stiffness, respectively, due to –OH groups capable of hydrogen bonding. 63% of the strength was due to thenative NCC matrices, which contribute a significant role within the cell wall’s load-transfer activities.