In 2006, Tahyna virus was isolated from Culex spp. mosquitoes collected in Xinjiang, People's Republic of China. In 2007, to determine whether this virus was infecting humans, we tested serum from febrile patients. We found immunoglobulin (Ig) M and IgG against the virus, which suggests human infection in this region.

BackgroundAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) in epilepsy has been a topic of increasing interest, which in general occurs in 15–35% of the patients with epilepsy, more frequently in those with intellectual disability (ID). Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) and Dravet syndrome (DS) are two typical forms of intractable epileptic encephalopathy associated with ID. We previously reported that ASD was diagnosed in 24.3% of patients with DS, higher in those with profound ID. Given the severe epilepsy and high frequency of ID in LGS, it is necessary to know whether ASD is a common psychomotor co-morbidity of LGS. This study evaluated the autistic behaviors and intelligence in patients with LGS and further compared that between LGS and DS, aiming to understand the complex pathogenesis of epilepsy-ASD-ID triad.MethodsA total of 50 patients with LGS and 45 patients with DS were enrolled and followed up for at least 3 years. The clinical characteristics were analyzed, and evaluations of ASD and ID were performed.ResultsNo patients with LGS fully met the diagnostic criteria for ASD, but three of them exhibited more or less autistic behaviors. Majority (86%) of LGS patients presented ID, among which moderate to severe ID was the most common. Early onset age and symptomatic etiology were risk predictors for ID. The prevalence of ASD in LGS was significantly lower than that in DS (0/50 vs. 10/45, p < 0.001), while the prevalence and severity of ID showed no significant difference between the two forms of epileptic encephalopathy.ConclusionsThis study demonstrated a significant difference in the co-morbidity of ASD between LGS and DS, although they had a similar prevalence and severity of ID, refuting the proposal that the prevalence of ASD in epilepsy is accounted for by ID. These findings suggest that the co-morbidity of ASD, ID, and epilepsy may result from multifaceted pathogenic mechanisms.

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A series of novel thermosensitive macroporous poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG)-co-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNI-PAAm)-co-poly (e-caprolactone) (PCL) hydrogels were synthesized via in situ free radical polymerization. Poly(ethylene glycol diacrylate) (PEGDAc) and poly(e-caprolactone diacrylate) (PCLDAc) were prepared as macrocrosslinkers. All compounds were investigated by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) results showed the lower critical solution temperatures (LCSTs) of the gels were at around 31 C. The macroporous gels not only had considerable swelling ratios, but also exhibited rapid swelling kinetics and response sensitivity. Above mentioned hydrogels showed a remarkable oscillatory swelling-deswelling transition, making them have potential application in long-term drug delivery. POLYM. ENG. SCI.,