Enteric viruses like norovirus, rotavirus and astrovirus mainly transmit through fecal-oral route by ingestion of contaminated food and water and productively replicate in the intestines. Recently, researchers at National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) identified a second route of enteric viral transmission by demonstrating that these viruses also productively and persistently infect salivary glands, reaching titers comparable to that in intestines.

The invention pertains to a system for reconstructing images acquired from MR and CT scanners in a robust Gadgetron based cloud computing system. A hardware interface connects clinical imaging instruments (e.g., MR or CT scanners) with a cloud computing environment that includes image data reconstruction and processing software not limited by the computational constraints typical of static hardware with finite processor power.

Patient conditioning is a critical initial step in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell (HSPC) transplantation procedures to enable marrow engraftment of infused cells. Conditioning regimens have traditionally been achieved by delivering cytotoxic doses of chemotherapeutic agents and radiation. However, these regimens are associated with significant morbidity and mortality, and cannot be used safely in elderly or subjects with comorbidities.

The invention provides identification methods for agents which inhibit the Jak-STAT signaling transduction pathway. Drugs identified by these methods are candidates for the treatment of proliferative disorders dependent on the Jak-STAT pathway, including those caused by HTLV-1. In addition, such agents may be potent immunosuppressive drugs with potential applications not only for organ transplantation but also for treatment of autoimmune diseases.

ADP-ribosylation of arginine residues in proteins may be involved in cell adhesion and is crucial for the action of cholera toxin and E. coli heat-labile enterotoxin, agents involved in the pathogenesis of cholera and traveller's diarrhoea, respectively. ADP-ribosylation is reversed by ADP-ribosylarginine hydrolases, which cleave the ADP-ribose-arginine bond. ADP-ribosylarginine hydrolases from a variety of mammalian species and tissues were isolated, and the coding regions for the hydrolases were cloned and expressed.

The invention is an accelerated magnetic resonance imaging method developed to reduce the total imaging time for gated, segmented cine imaging or to increase the frame rate when imaging dynamic activity, such as heart motion or brain activity. The invention combines temporal filtering (e.g., the UNFOLD method) with a known spatial sensitivity encoding technique (SENSE or SMASH) to achieve a new technique that is the subject of the invention (TSENSE) having a higher degree of alias artifact rejection than could be obtained using either temporal or spatial filtering individually.

The invention makes possible "live" volume renderings from a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanner. Previously, volume renderings from MRI data could only be generated off-line, some time after the image data was collected. In one embodiment of the invention, the time between data collection and volume rendering update (the latency) is approximately one third of a second at a frame rate of approximately 10 updates per second. User interaction with the rendering, such as rotation and cut planes, is allowed during imaging.

The invention is a phased array combining method for reducing artifacts in Magnetic Resonance (MR) imaging. The method uses a constrained optimization that optimizes signal-to-noise subject to the constraint of nulling ghost artifacts at known locations. The method is effective in reducing or canceling artifacts that arise in a wide variety of MR applications, including ghost artifacts from echo planar imaging and Gradient Recalled Echo with Echo Train (FGRE-ET) imaging used in cardiac or other rapid imaging applications.

Current MRI methods for tracking the motion of an object over a relatively long period of time requires the use of precisely defined grid points that may be inexact because of limited image resolution or the size of the element being tracked. Phase contrast velocity mapping generally provides high spatial resolution and simple data processing. However, it is generally unsuitable for motion tracking and prone to error.

Adeno-associated virus (AAV) is being developed for gene therapy applications. This virus type presents several advantages over alternate vectors for therapeutic gene delivery. AAV is not considered pathogenic and transduces stably dividing and non-dividing cells. AAV also shows good serotype specificity to various cell types for targeted gene delivery.