TASK DEFINITION: In this task, you're given a paragraph from the research paper and your task is to generate a suitable title for the research paper based on the given paper. Under 100 words is a good title length.
PROBLEM: Background. Annually, Saudi Arabia is the host of the Hajj mass gathering. We aimed to determine the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) nasal carriage rate among pilgrims performing the 2013 Hajj and to describe the compliance with the Saudi Ministry of Health vaccine recommendations. Method. Nasopharyngeal samples were collected from 5235 adult pilgrims from 22 countries and screened for MERS-CoV using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. Information regarding the participants' age, gender, country of origin, medical conditions, and vaccination history were obtained. Results. The mean age of the screened population was 51.8 years (range, 18-93 years) with a male/female ratio of 1.17:1. MERS-CoV was not detected in any of the samples tested (3210 pre-Hajj and 2025 post-Hajj screening). According to the vaccination documents, all participants had received meningococcal vaccination and the majority of those from at-risk countries were vaccinated against yellow fever and polio. Only 22% of the pilgrims (17.5% of those 65 years and 36.3% of diabetics) had flu vaccination, and 4.4% had pneumococcal vaccination. Conclusion. There was no evidence of MERS-CoV nasal carriage among Hajj pilgrims. While rates of compulsory vaccinations uptake were high, uptake of pneumococcal and flu seasonal vaccinations were low, including among the high-risk population.

SOLUTION: Ministry of Health, Jeddah, 4 Saudi Aramco Medical Services Organization, Dhahran, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; 5 Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis; 6 Special Infectious Diseases Unit

PROBLEM: Many viruses have been implicated in utilizing or modulating the Ubiquitin Proteasome System (UPS) to enhance viral multiplication and/or to sustain a persistent infection. The mosquito-borne Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) belongs to the Togaviridae family and is an important biodefense pathogen and select agent. There are currently no approved vaccines or therapies for VEEV infections; therefore, it is imperative to identify novel targets for therapeutic development. We hypothesized that a functional UPS is required for efficient VEEV multiplication. We have shown that at non-toxic concentrations Bortezomib, a FDAapproved inhibitor of the proteasome, proved to be a potent inhibitor of VEEV multiplication in the human astrocytoma cell line U87MG. Bortezomib inhibited the virulent Trinidad donkey (TrD) strain and the attenuated TC-83 strain of VEEV. Additional studies with virulent strains of Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) and Western equine encephalitis virus (WEEV) demonstrated that Bortezomib is a broad spectrum inhibitor of the New World alphaviruses. Time-of-addition assays showed that Bortezomib was an effective inhibitor of viral multiplication even when the drug was introduced many hours post exposure to the virus. Mass spectrometry analyses indicated that the VEEV capsid protein is ubiquitinated in infected cells, which was validated by confocal microscopy and immunoprecipitation assays. Subsequent studies revealed that capsid is ubiquitinated on K48 during early stages of infection which was affected by Bortezomib treatment. This study will aid future investigations in identifying host proteins as potential broad spectrum therapeutic targets for treating alphavirus infections.

SOLUTION: The Ubiquitin Proteasome System Plays a Role in Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus Infection

PROBLEM: Background: Extraordinary infection control measures limited access to medical care in the Greater Toronto Area during the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak. The objective of this study was to determine if the period of these infection control measures was associated with changes in overall population mortality due to causes other than SARS. Methods: Observational study of death registry data, using Poisson regression and interrupted time-series analysis to examine all-cause mortality rates (excluding deaths due to SARS) before, during, and after the SARS outbreak. The population of Ontario was grouped into the Greater Toronto Area (N = 2.9 million) and the rest of Ontario (N = 9.3 million) based upon the level of restrictions on delivery of clinical services during the SARS outbreak. : There was no significant change in mortality in the Greater Toronto Area before, during, and after the period of the SARS outbreak in 2003 compared to the corresponding time periods in 2002 and 2001. The rate ratio for all-cause mortality during the SARS outbreak was 0.99 [95% Confidence Interval (CI) 0.93-1.06] compared to 2002 and 0.96 [95% CI 0.90-1.03] compared to 2001. An interrupted time series analysis found no significant change in mortality rates in the Greater Toronto Area associated with the period of the SARS outbreak. Conclusion: Limitations on access to medical services during the 2003 SARS outbreak in Toronto had no observable impact on short-term population mortality. Effects on morbidity and long-term mortality were not assessed. Efforts to contain future infectious disease outbreaks due to influenza or other agents must consider effects on access to essential health care services.

SOLUTION:
Address: 1 Centre for Research on Inner City Health, the Keenan Research Centre in the Li Ka Shing Knowledge