Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite that can infect all warm-blooded animals, including an estimated ~30% of humans. It can cause severe disease in immune-suppressed individuals and in fetuses as well as blinding chorioretinitis in adults and children. Toxoplasma-innate immune system interactions determine early parasite control and activation of the adaptive immune system by the host and are therefore critical in determining host survival during the acute phase of infection. However, induction of an exaggerated inflammatory response can also lead to pathology. Only the chronic tissue cyst form of Toxoplasma is orally infectious. It is therefore critical for the parasite’s survival during the chronic phase to escape immune responses at this stage as well. Toxoplasma exists as genetically divergent strains mostly depending on geography, with the most strain diversity being found in South America. The key to Toxoplasma’s successful co-option of the host are proteins secreted from its rhoptry and dense granule secretory organelles. Rhoptry proteins (ROPs) are secreted into the host cell cytoplasm upon invasion while dense granule proteins (GRAs) are secreted once the parasite establishes itself in its parasitophorous vacuole (PV). GRAs can localize to the PV, the PV membrane, or are secreted beyond the PVM into the host cytoplasm. Many ROPs and GRAs are involved in modulating host cell signaling pathways and evasion of host immune responses and play important roles in Toxoplasma virulence. Polymorphisms in Toxoplasma’s ROPs and GRAs, likely determine how well these effectors bind to the divergent substrates in different host species, which can explain Toxoplasma strain differences in virulence in a particular host species. By studying Toxoplasma we have not only started to unravel how the parasite modulates immune responses to enhance its survival, replication, and transmission but we have also learned a lot about the immune system. Many unique mechanisms of immunity have indeed been defined using Toxoplasma and this parasite has aided our understanding of tissue-specific immune responses in the brain and intestine. This Research Topic will give a comprehensive overview of Toxoplasma-host immune response interactions. Most Toxoplasma virulence determinants to date have been established in murine systems and it is unclear how the parasite interacts with other intermediate hosts and humans. In addition, the interactions of Toxoplasma with some of the most relevant cell types during infection, including dendritic cells, neurons, intestinal epithelial cells or vascular endothelial cells, remain poorly understood.

From the two defining personalities of post-cyberpunk SF, a brilliant collaboration to rival 1987's The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and a documentary from Ken Burns on PBS, this New York Times bestseller is “an extraordinary achievement” (The New Yorker)—a magnificent, profoundly humane “biography” of cancer—from its first documented appearances thousands of years ago through the epic battles in the twentieth century to cure, control, and conquer it to a radical new understanding of its essence. Physician, researcher, and award-winning science writer, Siddhartha Mukherjee examines cancer with a cellular biologist’s precision, a historian’s perspective, and a biographer’s passion. The result is an astonishingly lucid and eloquent chronicle of a disease humans have lived with—and perished from—for more than five thousand years. The story of cancer is a story of human ingenuity, resilience, and perseverance, but also of hubris, paternalism, and misperception. Mukherjee recounts centuries of discoveries, setbacks, victories, and deaths, told through the eyes of his predecessors and peers, training their wits against an infinitely resourceful adversary that, just three decades ago, was thought to be easily vanquished in an all-out “war against cancer.” The book reads like a literary thriller with cancer as the protagonist. Riveting, urgent, and surprising, The Emperor of All Maladies provides a fascinating glimpse into the future of cancer treatments. It is an illuminating book that provides hope and clarity to those seeking to demystify cancer.

DIVIlluminates the experience of a small-scale culture with large-scale change /div

Parasitology: A Conceptual Approach focuses on the conceptual basis of parasitology, with the goal of providing students with an enriched view of parasites and their biology. Concentrating on concepts will enable readers to gain a broader perspective that will increase their ability to think critically about all kinds of parasitic associations. The interfaces between the study of parasitism and prominent biological disciplines such as biodiversity, immunology, ecology, evolution, conservation biology, and disease control are highlighted. Studying individual parasites is an essential part of parasitology so Parasitology: A Conceptual Approach contains an appendix which provides a concise overview of the biology of important human and veterinary parasites. End-of-chapter questions are provided, as is an instructor manual.

This volume contains the proceedings of the Ninth Meeting of the "International Study Group for Tryptophan Research" (lSTRY), held at the University of Hamburg, Germany, from October 10 to 14, 1998. At this meeting the recent developments in the field of tryptophan research were presented by leading researchers from all over the world in 81 oral and 48 poster contri butions. Research on tryptophan and its derivatives provides an inexhaustible subject. At the conference we tried to compose a multifacetted picture of the recent investiga tions through contributions from the major disciplines involved. Thus, we tried to strike a balance between basic research topics and clinical, nutritional or industrial applica tions. We offered workshops on tryptophan (in sleep and mood), melatonjn, IDO-acti vation and the eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome (EMS) as a platform for intensive discussion for the participants. In these proceedings many contributions are multidisciplinary and have practical or theoretical implications for different research fields. Hence, we have organized this volume in nine main chapters according to basic disciplines and subjects. We are aware that this classification is artificial, but we hope that it is the best compromise for contributors and readers.

A textbook which provides care workers with practical information when dealing with HIV/AIDS. Issues addressed include the fundamental facts about the virus and its spread. principles for behavioural change, education of children, pre and post test counselling, nursing care principles and the legal and ethical aspects of HIV/AIDS.