Pigeon allergens in indoor environments: a preliminary study

BACKGROUND: Few studies have measured pigeon allergens in non pigeon coop environments. This study was conducted to determine approximate pigeon dropping allergen concentrations in indoor environments. METHODS: Polyclonal antibody serum was prepared by injecting a rabbit three times with crude wild pigeon dropping extract in 50 mM Tris buffer with Freund's adjuvant. One hundred and fifteen dust samples were collected in a pigeon-infested school, pigeon coops, homes and hospitals and analyzed by a direct competitive pigeon enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: The highest level of pigeon allergen inhibitory activity were recorded in four samples from pigeon coop bedding samples with a median activity of 11.2% relative to pigeon droppings. The second highest level of pigeon allergens was in a pigeon-infested high school with a median or 7.4% activity relative to pigeon droppings. At an entrance underneath pigeon roosts, one sample had a relative inhibitory activity of 62.3%. Pigeon allergen inhibitory levels were generally low in the home and hospital samples, but nevertheless 46 out of 89 of these samples were still above detection limit. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that large concentrations of pigeon allergens can be found in buildings without domestic pigeons such as the pigeon-infested high school.     

Molecular cytogenetic characterization of a derivative chromosome 8 with an inverted duplication of 8p21.3-->p23.3 and a rearranged duplication of 8q24.13-->qter

A derivative chromosome 8 was observed in a newborn boy who presented with low birth weight, multiple congenital anomalies, and dysmorphic face. The der(8) was further characterized at age 18 months by a high resolution G-banding analysis, spectral karyotyping, and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with multiple DNA probes. The karyotype was described as 46,XY,der(8)(qter-->q24.13::p21.3-->p23.3::p23.3-->qter), representing an inverted duplication of region 8p21.3-->p23.3 and a duplication of region 8q24.13-->qter, which attaches to the duplicated short arm segment at 8p21.3. Different from previously reported patients with an inverted duplication (8p), no deletion was detected in the distal region of 8p in this case. This young child had manifested a broad nasal bridge, micrognathia, cleft lip, hydrocephalus, partial agenesis of the corpus callosum, Dandy-Walker malformation, congenital heart defects, dysplastic kidneys, hydronephrosis, marked hypotonia, and significant psychomotor retardation. These features are compared with those commonly seen in cases with an inverted duplication of 8p and cases with a partial trisomy of 8q.     

Epstein-Barr viral load as a marker of lymphoma in AIDS patients

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is implicated in the pathogenesis of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) lymphoma, and viral DNA is present within the malignant cells in about half of affected patients. We examined the extent to which EBV viral load is elevated in the plasma of AIDS lymphoma patients compared to AIDS patients with opportunistic infections. Sixty-one AIDS patients were studied including 35 with lymphoma (24 non-Hodgkin, six Hodgkin, and five brain lymphoma) and 26 with various opportunistic infections. In situ hybridization revealed EBV encoded RNA (EBER) expression in the malignant cells of 17/28 AIDS lymphomas (61%). In 232 serial plasma samples from 35 lymphoma patients and in 128 samples from AIDS controls, EBV viral load was assayed by quantitative-polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR) using a TaqMan probe targeting the BamH1W sequence. EBV was detected in plasma from all 17 EBER-positive AIDS lymphoma patients, with viral loads ranging from 34 to 1,500,000 copies per ml (median 3,210). Viral load usually fell rapidly upon initiation of lymphoma therapy and remained undetectable except in two patients with persistent tumor. In 11 AIDS patients, whose lymphoma lacked EBER expression, and in 26 control patients without lymphoma, levels of EBV in plasma were usually low or undetectable (range 0-1,995 and 0-2,409, median 0 and 0, respectively). There was no association between EBV viral load and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) load or CD4 count. In conclusion, EBV viral load shows promise as a tool to assist in diagnosis and management of EBV-related lymphoma patients.     

Real-time identification and archiving of micro-embolic Doppler signals using a knowledge-based DSP system

Identification of micro-emboli in the cerebral circulation using transcranial Doppler ultrasound provides valuable clinical information, but, currently, embolic signal detection and analysis are significantly limited because they mainly rely on costly off-line analysis by human experts. In this study, a reliable, high-resolution, real-time automated system for the detection and archiving of embolic signals was designed and implemented using expert system theory and modern DSP technology. Preliminary tests were conducted to evaluate the functions and the performance of the system using data from ten carotid endarterectomy patients and two normal volunteers. Using the widely accepted 7 dB threshold for human reliability and a human expert, majority-decision gold standard, the real-time system reached sensitivity and specificity of 93.6% and 99.3%, respectively, which were close to the results obtained by three human experts under ideal laboratory conditions (90.1% and 99.8%, 98.4% and 99.9%, 98.9 and 99.9%). The new system has the potential to be used either as a bedside monitoring and signal acquisition device, or as a laboratory investigation tool.     

Relationship between liver fibrosis criteria and syndrome-type of TCM in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver

To explore the relationship between the liver fibrosis criteria and TCM Syndrome type in patients suffering from non-alcoholic fatty liver. Methods: Seventy-nine patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver diagnosed by B ultrasonography were classified by TCM Syndrome Differentiation and their liver fibrosis criteria was determined and compared with those of the healthy subjects as control. Results: Levels of procollagen Ⅲ (PCⅢ), hyaluronic acid (HA), collagen Ⅳ(CⅣ) and laminin (LN) in the fatty liver group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P＜0.05, P＜0.01). In respect to the TCM Syndrome-types, PCⅢ, CⅣ and LN in patients of Phlegm-stasis combined type were significantly higher than those in patients of Spleen deficiency-Phlegm dampness Syndrome-type and Damp-Heat Syndrome-type (P＜0.05, P＜0.01), while HA in different groups was insignificantly different (P＞0.05). Conclusion: There was trend of liver fibrosis in fatty liver patients. It was indicated that the Phlegm-stasis combined Syndrome-type possibly was the main TCM pathologic factor of the increasing of fibrosis criteria for non-alcoholic fatty liver.     

Neuroprotective effects of Longxue Tongluo Capsule on ischemic stroke rats revealed by LC-MS/MS-based metabolomics approach

Objective: The present study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic effect and explore the underlying mechanisms of Longxue Tongluo Capsule (LTC) on ischemic stroke rats. Methods: Twenty-six rats were randomly divided into four groups, including sham group, sham + LTC group, MCAO group, and MCAO + LTC group. Ischemic stroke rats were simulated by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO), and LTC treatment group were orally administrated with 300 mg/kg of LTC once daily for seven consecutive days. LTC therapy was validated in terms of neurobehavioral abnormality evaluation, cerebral infarct area, and histological assessments. The plasma metabolome comparisons amongst different groups were conducted by UHPLC-Q Exactive MS in combination with subsequent multivariate statistical analysis, aiming to finding the molecules in respond to the surgery or LTC treatment. Results: Intragastric administration of LTC significantly decreased not only the neurobehavioral abnormality scores but also the cerebral infarct area of MCAO rats. The interstitial edema, atrophy, and pyknosis of glial and neuronal cells occurred in the infarcted area, core area, and marginal area of cerebral cortex were improved after LTC treatment. A total of 13 potential biomarkers were observed, and Youden index of 11 biomarkers such as LysoPC, SM, and PE were more than 0.7, which were involved in neuroprotective process. The correlation and pathway analysis showed that LTC was beneficial to ischemic stroke rats via regulating glycerophospholipid and sphingolipid metabolism, together with nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism. Heatmap and ternary analysis indicated the synergistic effect of carbohydrates and lipids may be induced by flavonoid intake from LTC. Conclusion: The present study could provide evidence that metabolomics, as systematic approach, revealed its capacity to evaluate the holistic efficacy of TCM, and investigate the molecular mechanism underlying the clinical treatment of LTC on ischemic stroke.     

Modulation of Doxorubicin sensitivity and level of p-glycoprotein expression in human colon-carcinoma cells by ectopic and orthotopic environments in nude-mice

The purpose of the study was to determine whether the organ environment can influence the response of colon cancer cells to chemotherapy. The highly metastatic human colon cancer cell line KM12L4, previously selected for production of liver metastases in nude mice, was injected into the cecal wall and into the spleen to produce liver metastases, and into the subcutis of nude mice. Doxorubicin (DOX) at 10 mg/kg or saline (control) was injected intravenously on days 7 and 16 after tumor cell injection. The in vivo response of tumors growing in the cecum, liver, and subcutaneous (s.c.) sites as well as the DOX sensitivity of cell lines established from liver and s.c. tumors were compared. Colon cancers growing s.c. were more sensitive to DOX than tumors growing in the cecal wall or liver of nude mice. The difference in response to DOX between s.c. tumors (sensitive) and liver tumors (resistant) was not due to selection of cell populations with different sensitivity to DOX, or differences in DOX distribution. PKC activity was lower in tumors of the liver and the cecum than in s.c. tumors. The expression of P-glycoprotein as determined by flow cytometric analysis of tumor cells harvested from lesions in different organs correlated inversely with their sensitivity to DOX. Increased levels of P-glycoprotein correlated with mdr-1, mdr-3 mRNA expression as determined by Northern analysis. Collectively, the data show that the organ environment influences the response of human colon carcinoma cells to DOX and recommend that animal models of this disease for experimental therapeutic studies employ orthotopic implantation of tumor cells.     

Vagal Nerve Monitoring during Parapharyngeal Space Tumor Removal

The vagus nerve innervates the intrinsic and extrinsic laryngeal musculature as well as the complex pharyngeal plexus. Acute paralysis of this nerve results in dysfunctional speech, deglutition, and airway protection. These untoward effects, which lead to additional infectious and aerodigestive complications, may arise following manipulation of the vagus nerve during the surgical removal of a variety of neoplasms found in the parapharyngeal space.The vagal nerve has been intraoperatively monitored in an effort to maintain its anatomic and functional integrity. Bipolar hook-wire electrodes are introduced transcutaneously through the cricothyroid membrane and are guided into the vocalis muscle by an assistant performing direct laryngoscopy. Continuous, real-time monitoring of the vagal nerve is provided by audio and visual feedback to the operating surgeon. Potentially injurious stretching, heating, and compression of the nerve are easily detected, and monopolar stimulation of the nerve is used to map the nerve's course through the tumor bed.This presentation outlines our technique for vagal nerve monitoring in patients with tumors of the parapharyngeal space and intact preoperative vocal cord mobility. Selected cases are presented and illustrated through intraoperative and postoperative videotapes.