Atypical distribution of SNs out of the PA may suggest SN positivity, reflecting failure of the lymphatic drainage systems. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Aims: To assess colonoscopic screening and surveillance for detecting neoplasia in patients with long-standing colonic Crohn’s disease (CD).

Patients and Methods: Colonoscopy and biopsy records from patients with colonic CD were evaluated at the Cedars-Sinai Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center during a 17-year period (1992-2009).

Results: Overall, 904 screening and surveillance examinations were performed on 411 patients with Crohn’s colitis (mean 2.2 examinations per patient). The screening and surveillance examinations detected

neoplasia in 5.6% of the patient population; GSK1120212 2.7% had low-grade dysplasia (LGD) (n = 11), 0.7% had high-grade dysplasia (HGD) (n = 3), and 2.2% had carcinoma (anal carcinoma n = 3; rectal carcinoma n = 6). Mean age of CD diagnosis was 25.6 +/- 0.8 years in those with normal examinations, compared to 17.7 +/- 2.7 years (p < 0.001) in those with

HGD, 36.85 +/- 1.43 in those with LGD (p = 0.021) and 28.32 +/- 3.24 years in those with any dysplasia/cancer (p = 0.034). Disease duration in patients with normal examinations was 19.1 +/- 0.5 years, compared to 36.8 +/- 4.4 years (p < 0.001) in HGD, 16.88 +/- 2.59 in those with LGD (p = 0.253) and 30.68 +/- 4.03 years in those with any dysplasia/cancer (p = 0.152). The mean interval between examinations was higher in HGD (31.5 +/- 9.4 months) compared to those with normal colonoscopies (12.92 +/- 1.250 months; p = 0.002).

Conclusions: We detected cancer or dysplasia in 5.6% of patients P-gp inhibitor with long-standing Crohn’s click here colitis enrolled in a screening and surveillance program. Younger age at diagnosis of CD, longer disease course, and greater interval between exams

were risk factors for the development of dysplasia. (c) 2012 European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.”
“Background: Hemipelvic resections for primary malignant bone tumor require reconstruction to restore weight bearing along anatomic axes. However, reconstruction of the pelvic arch remains a major surgical challenge because of the high rate of associated complications. We designed a combined hemipelvic prosthetic system to reconstruct the pelvis and purpose of this investigation was to assess the oncology and functional outcome and complication rate following this procedures.

Methods: we retrospectively reviewed 18 patients who had primary malignant pelvic tumor resections and reconstructions with the combined hemipelvic prosthesis using pedicle screw-rod constructs augmented with antibiotic cement in combination with a special designed acetabular reinforcement shell and hip prosthesis between 2001 and 2007. Patients were examined clinically and radiographically and were assessed functionally with Musculoskeletal Tumor Society score.

Results: Five (27.

We investigated the association between race, stage, and survival ALK targets among women who were treated with guideline-recommended

care and those who received incomplete treatment.

RESULTS: Black women with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer were more likely to die than white women (unadjusted hazard ratio [HR] 1.27; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.10-1.46). Black women were less likely than white women to receive guideline-recommended care (54% compared with 68%; P<.001), and women who did not receive recommended treatment had lower survival rates than women who received recommended care. Cox proportional hazards models demonstrated no differences in black women compared with white women regarding mortality among women selleck who were treated with guideline-recommended care (adjusted HR 1.04; 95% CI 0.85-1.26), or among women who received incomplete treatment (adjusted HR 1.09; 95% CI 0.89-1.34). The survival analysis of patients matched by propensity score confirmed these analyses.

CONCLUSIONS: Differences

in rates of treatment with guideline-recommended care are associated with black-white mortality disparities among women with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer.”
“Purpose of review

The deadly macrophage activation syndrome (MAS) constitutes one of the few rheumatologic emergencies. MAS is part of a larger group of diseases referred to as hemophagocytic syndromes that are seen in infections, malignancies, or genetic immunodeficiencies. Because of the clinical similarity of these diseases, many clinicians are tempted to approach them all similarly,

both in diagnostic criteria and treatment paradigms. New work in the field suggests that not all hemophagocytic syndromes are equal. We will review the latest literature VX-770 from both human and murine models related to the diagnosis, etiology, and treatment of hemophagocytic syndromes including MAS.

Recent findings

More specific diagnostic criteria for the different hemophagocytic syndromes are being developed. Animal models suggest at least two different mechanisms by which hemophagocytic syndromes arise: enhanced antigen presentation and excessive Toll-like receptor signaling. Work in humans suggests different cytokine profiles, and different treatment strategies for the variety of hemophagocytic syndromes.

Summary

The recent studies reviewed in this article suggest that despite clinical similarities the different hemophagocytic syndromes are indeed likely heterogeneous. Diagnostic criteria and treatment strategies tailored to the underlying disease or genetic context are needed and will hopefully be addressed by future work in this field.”
“OBJECTIVE: To characterize gynecologic oncology patients’ perceptions of the process of disclosure of a cancer diagnosis.

The experimental

results confirmed the validity of the proposed model. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 116: 1237-1246, 2010″
“The intersites exchange coupling parameters J(ij) of the Heisenberg model have been studied from a first-principles density functional plus Hubbard U approach calculation and a linear-response method for GdT2 Laves phase with T=Co, Fe, and Ni. see more The calculated magnetic moments of Gd are well localized and range from 7.3 mu(B) to 7.8 mu(B), while the moments of Fe, Co, and Ni are -1.96 mu(B), -1.19 mu(B), and -0.11 mu(B), respectively. The calculated effective exchange interaction parameters J(0) of Gd sublattices are 2.62, 1.95, and 1.00 mRy, while those of T sublattices are 6.92, 4.37, and 0.00 mRy for T=Fe, Co, and Ni, respectively. The calculation results indicate that the magnetic ordering is dominated by the Gd sublattice in GdNi2, while the magnetic ordering is mainly GS-1101 supplier determined by the Fe-sublattice in GdFe2. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3365594]“
“The aim of this study is to assess the clinical burden of silent coronary artery disease (CAD) in cirrhotic candidates for liver transplantation (LT), and to evaluate the usefulness of a CAD screening

approach. Between July 1999 and January 2006, we evaluated 627 LT candidates. All of them underwent a detailed clinical history. Sixteen had a previous diagnosis of CAD or symptoms suggestive (2.5%). The remaining 611 underwent further tests according BLZ945 mouse to a predefined protocol, including EKG, echocardiogram and, on the basis of CAD risk factors, heart stress tests. Selective coronary angiography (SCA) was performed in the 30 patients with positive heart stress test:

in only 2 did SCA show any CAD, and in both it was subcritical disease requiring neither intervention nor contraindicating LT. The 611 screened patients continued their follow-up until study closure or death. No coronary events occurred in the study population in a mean follow-up of 32.50 months (+/- 23.67 DS). No perioperative mortality related to CAD occurred in the 233 transplanted patients. In conclusion, no prognostic advantage was achieved by following a strict CAD screening protocol, leading us to believe that the cost-effectiveness of a similar screening can be unacceptably high in our setting.”
“Whole grain flours (e. g., barley, brown rice, buckwheat, whole wheat) were characterized and their effects on the retardation of starch digestion in pastes and cakes were examined. Buckwheat flour had the highest dietary fiber, the lowest starch, and lowered paste viscosities than all other flours.

Compared with other liquid-liquid extractions, this alcohol/salt system is much simpler,

lower in cost with easier recovery of phase-forming components, which has the potential scale-up in down-processing of active ingredients in plant.”
“This review discusses how crude extracts of selected plants are subjected to column chromatography and the resulting fractions tested for their antibacterial activity towards organisms (e.g., methicillin-resistant-Staphylococcus see more aureus). We discuss the bioactive column-chromatography fractions being further separated by preparative thin-layer chromatography and the resulting bands being investigated by high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-ion trap mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS) and ESI-MSn.

We then show how the resulting retention times, molecular masses, their fragmentation patterns, the Chemnet database and an in-house quinoline database are used in the dereplication process by structural elucidation of some of the compounds when compared with known structures of natural origin. Some molecular masses and the corresponding fragmentations do not correlate with any known compounds, thus revealing potentially novel natural products that could be investigated on a larger scale and could ultimately find application

as new drugs against MRSA and other multi-drug-resistant microorganisms. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Purpose

The genetic alteration of the janus kinases (JAKs), selleck non-receptor tyrosine kinase, is related to the development of human cancers. However, little is known about

how the sequence variation of JAK3 contributes to the development of lung cancer. This study investigated whether polymorphisms at the promoter region of the JAK3 gene are associated with the risk of lung cancer in the Korean population.

Materials and Methods

A total of 819 subjects, including 409 lung cancer patients and 410 healthy controls were recruited. The SNaPshot assay and polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis were used, and logistic regression analyses were performed to characterize the association between polymorphisms of JAK3 and lung cancer risk.

Results

Three polymorphisms (-672 G>A, +64 A>G and +227 G>A) of JAK3 were analyzed for large-scale genotyping (n=819). Statistical analyses revealed SRT1720 clinical trial that polymorphisms and haplotypes in the JAK3 gene were not significantly associated with lung cancer.

Conclusion

JAK3 gene was not significantly associated with the risk of lung cancer in the Korean population.”
“Coffee cherry husk (CH) is one of the major by-products obtained from coffee processing industry and accounts to 43 +/- A 5.9 % of cellulose. Screening of fungal organism for cellulase production was carried out and the potential organism was identified as Rhizopus stolonifer by internal transcribed spacer’s (ITS)-5.8S rDNA analysis.

We will focus on symbioses in coral reef cnidarians symbiosis, pea aphids and cactuses, find more wherein the symbiotic system provides thermotolerance for the composite organism.”
“Introduction:

Delayed graft function (DGF) is more common in recipients of kidney transplants from donation after cardiac death (DCD) donors

compared to donation after brain death (DBD) donors.

Methods:

Single-center retrospective study to evaluate the impact of DGF on controlled (Maastricht category III) DCD donor kidney transplant outcomes.

Results:

From 10/01 to 6/08, 578 adult deceased donor kidney transplants were performed including 70 (12%) from DCD and 508 (88%) from DBD donors. Mean follow-up was 36 months. DCD donor kidney transplants had significantly greater rates of DGF (57% DCD vs. 21% DBD, p < 0.0001)) and acute rejection (29% DCD vs. 16% DBD, p = 0.018) compared to DBD donor kidney transplants, but patient and graft survival rates were similar. DBD donor kidney transplants with DGF (n = 109) had significantly greater rates

of death-censored graft loss (12.5% DCD vs. 31% DBD), primary non-function (0 Angiogenesis inhibitor DCD vs. 10% DBD) and higher 2 year mean serum creatinine levels (1.4 DCD vs. 2.7 mg/dL DBD) compared to DCD donor kidney transplants with DGF (n = 40, all p < 0.04). On univariate analysis, the presence of acute rejection and older donor age were the only significant risk factors for death-censored graft loss in DCD donor kidney transplants, whereas DGF was not a risk factor.

Conclusion:

Despite

higher rates of DGF and acute rejection in DCD donor kidney transplants, subsequent outcomes in DCD donor kidney transplants with DGF are better than in DBD donor kidney transplants experiencing DGF, and similar to outcomes in DCD donor kidney transplants without DGF.”
“Cu-doped ZnO (ZnO:Cu) thin films were grown on Si (111) substrate by low-pressure metal-organic chemical vapor deposition equipment. Selleckchem Screening Library The crystal structures and optical properties of as-grown sample were examined. X-ray diffraction patterns indicated a lattice relaxation after the Cu doping. The incorporation of Cu atoms into ZnO film and its existence in a bivalent state were demonstrated by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements. Low-temperature photoluminescence was carried out at temperature of 11.4 K for both unintentionally doped and Cu-doped ZnO films. A characteristic green-luminescence with fine structure consisted of doublets emission peak was observed, which was believed to be associated with Cu doping. A theoretical model based on hydrogen analog has been proposed to explain this phenomenon. It provides new information about the detailed role of Cu in ZnO thin films. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3516459]“
“Idealization is a reasoning strategy that biologists use to describe, model and explain that purposefully departs from features known to be present in nature.

On the other hand,

VEGF is completely released within the first 24 h.</.”
“Prenatal alcohol exposure is a cause of congenital brain malformations such as hydrocephalus; however, a selleck complete mechanism accounting for this phenomenon has yet to be discovered. We report a case of a newborn who was exposed to alcohol throughout pregnancy and presented with low serum vitamin A and hydrocephalus. To our knowledge, the connection between prenatal ethanol exposure, vitamin A deficiency, and a developmental brain anomaly has never been described in humans before. A possible mechanism may be mediated by disruption of the homeostasis of vitamin A, an important morphogen in the developing nervous system. This, in turn, compromises the activity of the floor plate, a structure in charge of polarization and midline formation in the neural tube. We conclude that vitamin A screening and supplementation might be recommended for newborns of mothers who ingested ethanol during pregnancy.”
“Purpose: To develop a relevant pathophysiologic model of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated dementia by studying regional variations in metabolite levels measured with magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopic imaging and their relationship to immunologic measures MLN2238 concentration and cognitive dysfunction.

Materials and Methods: This was a HIPAA-compliant, institutional review board-approved study involving written informed consent.

Distributions of N-acetylaspartate (NAA), choline (Cho), and creatine (Cr) concentrations in 94 subjects

(20 seronegative controls and 74 HIV-positive Epigenetics inhibitor subjects; 34 of the HIV-positive subjects having HIV-associated dementia; 63 men, 31 women; mean age, 40 years) were determined with proton (hydrogen 1 [(1)H]) MR spectroscopic imaging. HIV-positive subjects underwent neuropsychological testing and blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis. Factor analysis was utilized to determine associations between metabolites across regions. Analysis of variance and t tests were used to isolate differences between cohorts.

Results: A “”Cho factor”" differentiated seronegative controls from HIV-infected cohorts, indicating elevated Cho levels across deep gray and white matter regions of HIV-positive individuals. An “”NAA factor”" differentiated those with dementia from those without and correlated best with psychomotor and executive function tests. A “”Cr factor”" indicated Cr elevations correlated with CSF monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 levels. NAA and Cr factor scores were strongly weighted to metabolite changes in white matter regions.

Conclusion: These results highlight the importance of white matter involvement in HIV-associated dementia and support the current pathogenesis model of glial cell proliferation in HIV infection, denoted by regional Cho elevations, and neuronal dysfunction and/or death, denoted by NAA decreases, associated with dementia.

The Ca2+ signal that triggers LTD occurs locally

within dendritic spines and is due to supralinear summation of signals coming from these two Ca2+ sources. The properties of this postsynaptic Ca2+ signal can explain several features of LTD, such as its associativity, synapse specificity, and dependence on the timing of synaptic activity, and can account for the slow kinetics of LTD expression. Thus, from a Ca2+ signaling perspective, LTD is one of the best understood forms of synaptic buy Nutlin-3a plasticity.”
“Background: Severely impaired patients with persisting intracranial occlusion despite standard treatment with intravenous (IV) administration of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) or presenting beyond the therapeutic window for IV rtPA may be candidates for interventional neurothrombectomy (NT). The safety and efficacy of NT by the Penumbra System (PS) were compared with standard IVrtPA treatment in patients with severe acute ischemic PCI-34051 price stroke (AIS) caused by large intracranial vessel occlusion in the anterior circulation. Methods: Consecutive AIS patients underwent a predefined treatment

algorithm based on arrival time, stroke severity as measured by the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score, and site of arterial occlusion on computed tomographic angiography (CTA). NT was performed either after a standard dose of IVrtPA (bridging therapy [BT]) or as single treatment (stand-alone NT [SAT]). Rates of recanalization, symptomatic intracranial bleeding (SIB), mortality, and functional outcome in NT patients were compared with a historical cohort of IV rtPA treated patients (i.e., controls). Three-month favourable

outcome was defined as a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score <= 2. Results: Forty-six AIS patients were treated with NT and 51 with IV rtPA. The 2 groups did not differ with regard to demographics, onset NIHSS score (18.5 +/- 4 v 17 +/- 5; P = .06), or site of intracranial occlusion. Onset-to-treatment time in the NT and IV rtPA groups was 230 minutes (+/- 78) and 176.5 (+/- 44) minutes, respectively (P = .001). NT patients had significantly higher percentages of major improvement (>= 8 points NIHSS score change at 24 hours; 26% v 10%; P = .03) and partial/complete recanalization (93.5% v 45%; P < .0001) compared to controls. Veliparib Treatment by either SAT or BT similarly improved the chance of early recanalization and early clinical improvement. No significant differences were observed in the rate of SIB (11% v 6%), 3-month mortality (24% v 25%), or favorable outcome (40% v 35%) between NT and IV rtPA patients. Conclusions: Despite significantly delayed time of intervention, NT patients had higher rates of recanalization and early major improvement, with no differences in symptomatic intracranial hemorrhages. Early NIHSS score improvement did not translate into better 3-month mortality or outcome.

Clinical severity on admission was significantly different between the 2 groups. Three of 5 patients with percutaneous transluminal angioplasty achieved recanalization. Two of 3 cases with recanalization resulted in poor outcomes. Conclusions: Clinical severity on admission was the determinant factor of functional prognosis in patients with basilar artery occlusion.”
“Stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1/CXCL12) induces intracellular signaling pathways crucial for mobilization, migration, proliferation

learn more and survival of many cell types via CXCR4, a chemokine CXC-motif receptor, member of the G protein-coupled receptor family. Despite playing a key role in such major processes as embryogenesis, cell differentiation and organ regeneration, molecular mechanisms underlying CXCR4 signaling remain elusive, even more so, as CXCR4 seems to activate both G-protein-dependent and G-protein-independent pathways. CXCR4 is expressed on multiple cell types including lymphocytes, hematopoietic stem cells, endothelial and epithelial

cells, and cancer cells. In fact, overexpression of this receptor has been detected in many different types of cancer. The SDF-1/CXCR4 axis is also involved in tumor progression, angiogenesis, metastasis, and survival. This pathway is therefore a target for therapeutics that can block the SDF-1/CXCR4 interaction or inhibit downstream intracellular signaling. Clinical mobilization of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC), selleck kinase inhibitor a nowadays popular method of collecting material for hematopoietic progenitor stem cell transplantation, is also dependent on the

SDF-1/CXCR4 axis. Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), administered to a transplant donor during clinical treatment, violates interactions between CXCR4 and its ligand, which results in degradation of HSC anchorage in bone marrow and the release of these cells into peripheral blood.

In this paper we describe Selleckchem DMH1 the clinical significance of CXCR4 and its ligand, as well as the role of CXCR4 and its gene polymorphisms in disease susceptibility.”
“Chemical-vapor generation (CVG) is widely used as a sample-introduction technique for atomic spectrometry, with the advantages of efficient matrix separation, high analyte-transport efficiency, and high selectivity and sensitivity. Recently, photoinduced CVG (photo-CVG) was demonstrated to be a powerful alternative to conventional CVG. In photo-CVG, volatile species (including hydrides, elemental, carbonylated and alkylated analytes) are generated from non-volatile precursors by ultraviolet irradiation in the presence of low-molecular-weight organic compounds. Photo-CVG is simple, fast and environmentally friendly with little interference from transition metals. Its analytical applications have been demonstrated in analysis of Hg, conventional hydride-forming elements (As, Bi, Sb, Se, Te), transition metals (Ni, Co, Fe) and non-metals (I).

“
“The aim of this study was to compare the effects of 5 to 30 parts by weight of unmodified and modified collagen on the properties

of XNBR rubber vulcanized with a cross-linking system. This study is a part of experimental series concerning polymeric materials that are biodegradable due to their filling with a waste protein such as collagen. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 114: 1984-1991, 2009″
“P>Abscisic acid (ABA) mediates resistance to abiotic stress and controls developmental processes in plants. The group-A PP2Cs, of which ABI1 is the prototypical GANT61 supplier member, are protein phosphatases that play critical roles as negative regulators very early in ABA signal transduction. Because redundancy is thought to limit the genetic dissection of early ABA signalling, to identify redundant and early ABA signalling proteins, we pursued a proteomics approach. We generated YFP-tagged ABI1 Arabidopsis expression lines and identified in vivo

ABI1-interacting proteins by mass-spectrometric analyses of ABI1 complexes. Known ABA signalling components were isolated including SnRK2 protein kinases. We confirm previous studies in yeast and now show that ABI1 interacts with the ABA-signalling kinases OST1, SnRK2.2 and SnRK2.3 in plants. Interestingly, the most robust in planta ABI1-interacting proteins in all LC-MS/MS experiments were nine of the 14 PYR/PYL/RCAR proteins, which were recently selleck chemicals llc reported as ABA-binding signal transduction proteins, providing evidence for in vivo PYR/PYL/RCAR interactions with ABI1

in Arabidopsis. ABI1-PYR1 interaction was stimulated within 5 min of ABA treatment in Arabidopsis. Interestingly, in contrast, PYR1 and SnRK2.3 co-immunoprecipitated equally well in the presence and absence of ABA. To investigate the biological relevance of the PYR/PYLs, we analysed pyr1/pyl1/pyl2/pyl4 quadruple mutant plants and found strong insensitivities in ABA-induced stomatal closure and ABA-inhibition of stomatal opening. These findings demonstrate that ABI1 can interact with several PYR/PYL/RCAR family members in Arabidopsis, that PYR1-ABI1 interaction is rapidly stimulated by ABA in Arabidopsis and indicate GM6001 new SnRK2 kinase-PYR/PYL/RCAR interactions in an emerging model for PYR/PYL/RCAR-mediated ABA signalling.”
“Studies suggest a higher prevalence of unfavourable cardiovascular risk factors amongst migraineurs, but results have been conflicting. The aim of this study was to investigate traditional and newly recognized risk factors as well as other surrogate markers of cardiovascular risk in obese and normal weight women with migraine.

Fifty-nine adult female probands participated in this case-control study.

The viscoelastic behavior of the nanotube filler elastomer was Selleck BTSA1 studied by dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA). Morphological analysis indicated a very good dispersion of the CNTs for a low nanotube loading of 3.5 phr. A significant improvement in the mechanical properties was observed with the addition of nanotubes. DMTA studies revealed an increase in the

storage modulus and a reduction in the glass-transition temperature after the incorporation of the nanotubes. Further, the HNBR/CNT nanocomposites were subjected to permeability studies. The studies showed a significant reduction in the permeability of nitrogen gas. (c) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011″
“Tumors of the lateral wall of the mouth have different origins and behaviors. These lesions often arise from salivary tissues, such as the accessory parotid gland, but tumors can also originate from the muscles, buccal fat pad, or other structures. Surgical approaches are limited in this region by the presence of the facial nerve and the Stensen’s duct. In this article, we present 9 cases of midcheek masses SYN-117 Metabolism inhibitor that were operated on via extra-or intraoral approaches. We discuss the problems related to the diagnosis of such tumors, as well as the indications

and rationales for different treatment approaches. (Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod 2011;111:e5-e11)”
“Most hantaviruses are rodent-borne emerging viruses. They cause two significant human diseases, haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in Asia and Europe, and hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome in the Americas. Very recently, several novel hantaviruses with unknown pathogenic potential have been identified in Africa and in a variety of insectivores (shrews and a mole). Because there is very limited information available on the possible impact of climate change on all of these highly dangerous pathogens,

it is timely to review this aspect of their epidemiology. WZB117 ic50 It can reasonably be concluded that climate change should influence hantaviruses through impacts on the hantavirus reservoir host populations. We can anticipate changes in the size and frequency of hantavirus outbreaks, the spectrum of hantavirus species and geographical distribution (mediated by changes in population densities), and species composition and geographical distribution of their reservoir hosts. The early effects of global warming have already been observed in different geographical areas of Europe. Elevated average temperatures in West-Central Europe have been associated with more frequent Puumala hantavirus outbreaks, through high seed production (mast year) and high bank vole densities. On the other hand, warm winters in Scandinavia have led to a decline in vole populations as a result of the missing protective snow cover.