Plasmodium vivax and P. chabaudi: inter-species cross-reacting antigens

A monoclonal antibody raised by immunization of BALB/c mice with erythrocytic stages of Plasmodium vivax was shown to react with asexual erythrocytic stages of P. chabaudi. The cross-reactivity molecules are antigens of 200 and 148 kDa in P. vivax and of 190 and 70 kDa in P. chabaudi. Immunofluorescence studies of the erythrocytic stages of P. vivax and P. chabaudi indicated that expression of these antigens increased as the parasites' developed from the ring stage to the schizont stage. In the mature trophozoites of P. chabaudi, immunoelectron microscopy revealed clusters of antigen distributed in the cytoplasm of the parasitized erythrocyte. In the schizont, packets of antigen were found associated with the parasitophorous vacuole and the cytoplasm of the infected host cell. Received: 19 March 1996 / Accepted: 28 August 1996     

Tire explosion injuries to the upper extremity.

Several articles have been published that bring attention to the destructive potential of tire explosions. Although the severity of tire explosion injuries to the head and neck region is well established, only one previous article has reported injuries to the upper extremity. Fourteen patients with upper extremity tire explosion injuries have been treated by us from 1980 to 1988. Each injury was caused by single-piece wheel assemblies, as opposed to multipiece wheel assemblies, which have traditionally been associated with the injury. Three representative patient reports are discussed. Prevention of this injury can be achieved by increased public awareness, formal industrial safety training, tire servicing with dedicated equipment including restraining devices or barriers, complete evaluation of wheel/tire serviceability before tire mounting, separation of servicing of single and multipiece wheels, and complete tire deflation before servicing.     

Health and safety needs of older farmers: part I. Work habits and health status.

Farming is an occupation that blends the work and home environments and traditionally involves active participation of all family members, including older farmers. The work patterns of older farmers, including typical work hours, range of activities, and health status, are not well documented. This study, surveying a random sample of older Illinois farmers (N=87), focused on these gaps in the literature. Older farmers were found to work long hours in many farm tasks, more than would be expected in other occupational groups. Further, older farmers were found to have several chronic diseases at higher rates than the general population of the same age and gender; mental health implications were also identified. Rural occupational health nurses are in an optimal position to positively impact older farmers' mental and physical health status.     

Evidence of persistent viral infection in Menière's disease

Aspects of humoral and cell-mediated immunity that might characterize the continuation of symptoms in 25 patients with chronic Meniere's disease were examined. We found significant elevations of both humoral and cellular immune responses to viral antigens of herpes simplex I, varicella-zoster, rubella, and cytomegalovirus. Serum immunoglobulins were quantitatively abnormal in 24 of 25 patients, without a consistent pattern. These immune responses may be linked to persistent viral infection in chronic Meniere's disease.     

Neuropathological study 16 years after autologous adrenal medullary transplantation in a Parkinson's disease patient.

To date, there is no clinicopathological correlation of adrenal medullary transplant cases in patients with survival beyond a few years. Postmortem examination of a brain from a patient with Parkinson's disease (PD), 16 years after autologous adrenal medullary transplant, was performed using tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and chromogranin A. The patient experienced a four-year initial improvement in motor function followed by resumption of the progressive nature of her disease that continued until her death. She expired 16 years following grafting. At autopsy, TH stain of the brain revealed severe loss of TH-immunoreactivity in the substantia nigra and Lewy bodies, confirming the diagnosis of PD. The transplant site was identified by the presence of scarring and there was complete absence of any TH staining cells at the site of the transplant. There were few surviving cells staining with chromogranin A. The absence of TH-staining cells in the transplant 16 years after surgery provides further evidence that adrenal medullary transplants do not survive in the long term.     

Consistency of nephron filtration measurements by collection of total tubular fluid from different proximal sites

The stability of single nephron glomerular filtration rate (SNGFR) is assured by specific mechanisms such as the tubulo-glomerular feedback system and autoregulation. Studies on renal physiology rely heavily on the measurements of SNGFR, which are feasible only in animals. The measurement of SNGFR by collection of total tubular fluid may be influenced by the fall in intratubular hydrostatic pressure that may reflect the negative pressure applied to the sampling pipette. This effect may become more important with shortening of the distance between the sampling site and the Bowman space. We analysed this putative effect by performing collections of total tubular fluid from the late proximal (LP), and then from the early proximal (EP) segment of the same nephrons. In 128 paired collections LP-SNGFR averaged 35 (SEM 2) nl?·?min^?1, and was no different from the paired mean EP-SNGFR of 37 (SEM 2) nl?·?min^?1, P>0.179. Then EP- and LP- SNGFR were significantly correlated (r=0.77, P<0.001). As expected, the respective paired means of absolute and percentage reabsorptions, and those of collection rates were significantly different. The average SNGFR computed from each LP and EP paired measurement was significantly correlated with the simultaneously measured kidney glomerular filtration rate, GFR (r=0.60, P<0.0001). The ratio of GFR to SNGFR indicated the expected number of glomeruli. These data would indicate that the sampling site does not influence the measurement of SNGFR in the proximal tubule when the total fluid collection technique is correctly performed. They also exclude a time-dependent activation of the macula densa capable of upregulating SNGFR within the interval elapsing between the beginning of LP and the completion of EP collections, which in our study averaged 4.4 (SEM 0.1) min.