Production and characterization of a monoclonal antibody to chloramphenicol

A monoclonal antibody to chloramphenicol (CAP) was produced. After immunization of BALB/c mice with CAP base coupled to human serum albumin and incubation of the stimulated splenocytes in vitro in the presence of antigen for three days, these splenocytes were hybridized with X63‐Ag8·653 myeloma cells. The antibody, designated 6A10, proved to be IgG2b, and it had a detection limit for CAP of 10 ng/ml (0·5 ng/assay) in the direct enzyme immunoassay using horseradish peroxidase‐labelled CAP. The cross‐reactivities with CAP base, p‐nitrobenzyl alcohol, and p‐nitrophenol were 5·0, 0·94, and 0·007%, respectively. No cross‐reactivities were observed with penicillin, tetracycline and thiamphenicol, respectively.     

充血性心力衰竭患者预后因素的研究：动脉血压及心脏收缩功能的 …

目的：探讨充血性心力衰竭（ＣＨＦ）患者的预后因素。方法：前瞻性研究１６３例ＣＨＦ患者临床、血流动力学及心脏收缩功能的预后价值,用多因素Ｃｏｘ回归模型分析各因素对预后的影响。结果：平均随访２９个月,心脏性死亡５９例,其中猝死３４例,泵衰竭死亡１９例,心肌梗死死亡６例,生存率分析示主动脉平均压≤９０ｍｍＨｇ、肺动脉平均压≥２５ｍｍＨｇ、ＱＴｃ≥４４０ｍｓ、射血分数≤２５％及有束支阻滞者,生存率显著降低     

Brain Distortions in Patients with Primarily Generalized Tonic-Clonic Seizures

Summary: Purpose: A precondition for the diagnosis of primarily generalized epilepsy with tonic-clonic seizures (GTCS) is absence of brain pathology. This definition, based on normal findings on computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is challenged however, by observation of microscopic migrational disturbances in patients with GTCS. In the present study, we examined whether hitherto undiscovered gross manifestations of the reported migrational disturbances may be detected by analysis of CT and MRI scans with a computerized anatomic brain atlas.
Methods : The atlas program permitted group comparisons of size, intrinsic proportion, and shape of the brain. Healthy men (n = 20), patients with partial seizures (n = 8), secondarily generalized partial seizures (n = 8), and patients with GTCS (n = 10) were studied. The contours of the brain of the computerized atlas were first transformed and adjusted to the contours, central structures, and ventricles of each subject's MRI scans. During this process, the specific parameters for the shape, size, and proportion of the brain were determined, resulting in a set of values for each subject. These values were then applied for comparisons between the four investigated groups.
Results : In relation to the controls, patients with GTCS had brains significantly flattened in the craniocaudal direction (p = 0.002), with a disproportionally small caudal part. The anterior portion of their brain was also, relatively elongated as compared with the posterior portion (p = 0.04). Similar systematic abnormalities were not observed in patients with partial epilepsy.
Conclusions : The observed deformations are compatible with previously reported findings of Purkinje cell degeneration and frontal lobe microdysgenesis in GTCS. The study suggests a new approach to identify effects of morphologic abnormalities in the brain when results of conventional structural neuroimaging are normal.     

Genetic influences on childhood competencies: a twin study

OBJECTIVE: To estimate genetic, environmental, and rater contrast influences on parental reports of Activities, Social, School, and Total Competence scales of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). METHOD: Parents of 492 twin pairs aged 8-12 years completed CBCLs. Genetic, shared and unique environmental, and rater bias effects were estimated for the Activities, Social, School, and Total Competence scales. Data on boys and girls were analyzed separately. RESULTS: Moderate genetic influences were found only for the School scale (60%-76%), while shared environment accounted for most of the variance in Activities, Social, and Total Competence scales. Gender differences are reported. Similar to a prior twin study of CBCL problem syndromes, there was no evidence of rater bias. CONCLUSIONS: Estimates of genetic influence on these child competence domains were high for School Competence, while social competence and activity competence evidenced higher levels of shared environmental influences. Organization and wording of CBCL items may avoid rater biases in reporting. These findings have implications for interventions to improve school, social, and activities competence.     

Consequences of delayed measles vaccination in Germany

BACKGROUND: In recent surveillance data there are still many cases of measles and even local epidemics in Germany. We studied whether delayed measles vaccination contributes to this situation. METHODS: Vaccine coverage data in children <3 years of age were assessed by a telephone survey. Three data sources for measles surveillance were analyzed: official measles notifications; sentinel data; and official hospital discharge diagnoses. RESULTS: After the time recommended for completion of measles vaccination at Month 15, only 22% of German children had received their first vaccine dose. This percentage increased to 77% at the age of 24 months and to 87% at 36 months of age. According to all three surveillance instruments, the number of measles cases was highest in children age 1 to 4 years with a peak in the second year of life.CONCLUSIONS: More than 50% of measles cases in 1-year-old children would be prevented if presently observed vaccine coverage rates in the third year of life could be achieved 12 months earlier. Delayed measles vaccination is responsible for a large number of measles cases still occurring in the German population, where measles has not yet been eliminated. If vaccination were delivered according to the recommended time schedule, the incidence of measles would be considerably reduced.     

Postnatal growth and circulating ACTH and cortisol concentrations during the first month of life in cloned lambs

Recent studies have indicated that there is a decrease in perinatal survival of apparently normal animals produced by somatic-cell nuclear transfer. Here we report that the cortisol and adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) profiles of cloned lambs in the first 4 weeks of life are significantly different to that of control lambs. The growth of cloned lambs however was not different to controls. These findings demonstrate that endocrine development may be altered in apparently "normal" clones.     

Glutamate receptors in tendinopathic patients

Tendinopathy, pain, and degeneration, may be related to the up‐regulation of substance P (SP) and its activation of glutamate receptors. We hypothesized that the pathogenesis of tendinopathy involves N‐methyl‐D ‐aspartate receptor type 1 (NMDAR1) activation (phosphorylated NMDAR1; phospho‐NMDAR1) co‐existing with SP. Moreover, we examined the presence of metabotropic receptors that increase (mGluR1 and mGluR5) or decrease (mGluR6 and mGluR7) NMDAR1 excitability. Biopsies from patients with patellar tendinopathy (n = 10) and from controls (n = 8) were immunohistochemically analyzed according to the occurrence and tissue distribution of NMDAR1, phosho‐NMDAR1, mGluR (1, 5–7), and SP. The biopsies were immunohistochemically single‐ and double‐stained and semi‐quantitatively assessed. Tendinopathic biopsies exhibited increased occurrence of NMDAR1, phospho‐NMDAR1, SP, and mGluR5, while mGluR6–7 were not increased and mGluR1 was not found. The occurrence of NMDAR1 and SP correlated in tendinopathy (r² = 0.54, p = 0.03), but not in the controls (r² = 0.11, p = 0.4). Co‐localization of SP and phospho‐NMDAR1 within the tendon proper was only found in tendinopathy, localized on hypertrophic tenocytes, blood vessels, and penetrating free‐nerve fibres. Up‐regulation and activation of the glutamate receptor, phospho‐NMDAR1, suggests a role in the pathophysiology of tendinopathy. Increased NMDAR1 excitability may be related to increased SP and mGluR5. The unique co‐existence of SP and phospho‐NMDAR1 in tendinopathy presumably reflects a tissue proliferative and nociceptive role. © 2012 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 30:1447–1452, 2012