Markers of past infection with simian virus 40 (SV40) and risk of incident non-Hodgkin lymphoma in a Maryland cohort.

Simian virus 40 (SV40) genome sequences have been detected in human non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) tissues, and past infection with SV40 may be a risk factor for NHL. We conducted a population-based nested case-control study to investigate the association between serum antibodies to SV40 and incident NHL. Two research serum banks were established in Washington County, MD, with >45,000 volunteers contributing blood samples collected in 1974 and 1989. Incident cases of NHL diagnosed through 2002 (n = 170) were identified among participants by linkage to population-based cancer registries. Two controls were matched to each case (n = 340) on age, sex, and date of blood draw. Circulating immunoglobulin G antibodies to SV40 were measured using virus-like particle (VLP) ELISA. Positive samples were tested for cross-reactivity with JC virus (JCV) and BK virus (BKV) through competitive inhibition assays. Associations between SV40 antibody seropositivity and NHL were estimated using conditional logistic regression. Whereas SV40 antibodies were detected by VLP ELISA in 15% of cases and 10% of controls [matched odds ratio (OR), 1.97; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 1.03-3.76], the SV40 reactivity of 85% of the SV40 antibody-positive sera was decreased by adsorption with BKV and/or JCV VLPs. Antibodies specific for SV40 (not cross-reactive) were identified in only 1.8% of cases and 1.6% of controls (OR, 1.51; 95% CI, 0.41-5.52). Our findings suggest that past infection with SV40 is not associated with an increased risk of developing NHL.     

Positive correlation of insulin-like growth factor-II with proliferating cell index in patients with colorectal neoplasia.

BACKGROUND: Insulin-like growth factor-II (IGF-II) stimulates cell proliferation and is considered a potential risk factor for colorectal cancer. Tumor levels of IGF-II seem to positively correlate with colorectal cancer cell proliferation. This investigation examined the association of circulating IGF-II to the proliferating cell index (PCI) of tumor and matched normal mucosa in patients with colorectal neoplasia. METHODS: Circulating IGF-II level (ng/mL) was determined in the peripheral blood plasma by ELISA. The proliferating cells in tumor or matched normal mucosa were immunohistochemically stained using the primary antibody against Ki-67. Computer image analysis was used and PCI was expressed as the percentage of Ki-67-positive cells/total counted cells. RESULTS: Sixty-four patients were evaluated; 45 had colorectal neoplasia (27 males/18 females; mean age, 66.8 +/- 11.8 years) and 19 had hyperplastic polyps (6 males and 13 females; mean age, 58.4 +/- 14.4 years). Among patients with colorectal neoplasia, blood IGF-II levels were positively correlated with PCI in the matched normal mucosa (r = 0.46, P < 0.05) but not in the tumor. In patients with hyperplastic polyps, blood IGF-II levels were not correlated with the PCI in the polyps. Blood IGF-II levels were higher in colorectal cancer patients with Dukes' C/D stage (P < 0.01) or with positive lymph nodes (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Circulating IGF-II positively correlated with PCI in normal colonic mucosa of patients with colorectal neoplasia, suggesting that IGF-II may have a role in initiating the carcinogenic pathway by stimulating cell proliferation. Blood IGF-II was increased in advanced colorectal cancer, indicating that it might enhance colorectal cancer progression and be a useful marker of poor prognosis.     

Multi-Timescale Rhythmicity of Blood Glucose and Insulin Delivery Reveals Key Advantages of Hybrid Closed Loop Therapy

Background:Blood glucose and insulin exhibit coordinated daily and hourly rhythms in people without diabetes (nonT1D). Although the presence and stability of these rhythms are associated with euglycemia, it is unknown if they (1) are preserved in individuals with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and (2) vary by therapy type. In particular, Hybrid Closed Loop (HCL) systems improve glycemia in T1D compared to Sensor Augmented Pump (SAP) therapies, but the extent to which either recapitulates coupled glucose and insulin rhythmicity is not well described. In HCL systems, more rapid modulation of glucose via automated insulin delivery may result in greater rhythmic coordination and euglycemia. Such precision may not be possible in SAP systems. We hypothesized that HCL users would exhibit fewer hyperglycemic event, superior rhythmicity, and coordination relative to SAP users.Methods:Wavelet and coherence analyses were used to compare glucose and insulin delivery rate (IDR) within-day and daily rhythms, and their coordination, in 3 datasets: HCL (n = 150), SAP (n = 89), and nonT1D glucose (n = 16).Results:Glycemia, correlation between normalized glucose and IDR, daily coherence of glucose and IDR, and amplitude of glucose oscillations differed significantly between SAP and HCL users. Daily glucose rhythms differed significantly between SAP, but not HCL, users and nonT1D individuals.Conclusions:SAP use is associated with greater hyperglycemia, higher amplitude glucose fluctuations, and a less stably coordinated rhythmic phenotype compared to HCL use. Improvements in glucose and IDR rhythmicity may contribute to the overall effectiveness of HCL systems.     

ABO antibody titres: a multisite comparative study of equivalency and reproducibility for automated solid-phase and haemagglutination titration,and manual dilution with gel column agglutination technology

BackgroundABO antibody titres are important in many clinical decisions; however, much variability is observed in titre results. For reliable and reproducible titre results, automated ABO titration methods have been developed. In this 10-site study, we evaluated the equivalency of the automated ABO titration assays on the Galileo NEO, a fully automated blood bank analyzer (Immucor, Inc.) to manual titration with gel Column Agglutination Technology (CAT), as well as the reproducibility of both methods.Materials and methodsTen different locations participated in this study. The equivalency study included 70 random samples at each site. The reproducibility study tested the same blinded 30-sample panel at each study site. Anti-A and anti-B IgM and IgG antibody titres were tested with both the automated and manual methods; additionally, dithiothreitol (DTT) treatment was used to inactivate IgM antibodies in the manual CAT method.ResultsThe equivalency between CAT manual method and Galileo NEO automated titres at each site ranged from 38 to 88%; equivalency for each isotype was 66.2% for IgM, 60.6% for IgG, and 88.5% for DTT-treated IgG. The reproducibility study evaluated the titre variation of each sample obtained from the 10 sites. The average titre ranges (in doubling dilutions) for the automated and manual methods, respectively, were 2.15±1.0 and 4.03±1.8 for IgM, and 1.53±0.7 and 4.10±1.9 for IgG; for the manual DTT-treated IgG, the average titre range was 3.45±1.8 doubling dilutions.DiscussionThe results demonstrated that the Galileo NEO automated and manual CAT ABO titres are not equivalent. However, the study also demonstrated that titre reproducibility is enhanced with the Galileo NEO automated ABO titration assays relative to the manual CAT ABO titration method. Therefore, to improve management of patients receiving care across multiple institutions, our study supports the use of automated ABO titration.     

Metallic and Metal Oxides Nanoparticles for Sensing Food Pathogens—An Overview of Recent Findings and Future Prospects

Nowadays, special importance is given to quality control and food safety. Food quality currently creates significant problems for the industry and implicitly for consumers and society. The effects materialize in economic losses, alterations of the quality and organoleptic properties of the commercial products, and, last but not least, they constitute risk factors for the consumer’s health. In this context, the development of analytical systems for the rapid determination of the sanitary quality of food products by detecting possible pathogenic microorganisms (such as Escherichia coli or Salmonella due to the important digestive disorders that they can cause in many consumers) is of major importance. Using efficient and environmentally friendly detection systems for identification of various pathogens that modify food matrices and turn them into food waste faster will also improve agri-food quality throughout the food chain. This paper reviews the use of metal nanoparticles used to obtain bio nanosensors for the purpose mentioned above. Metallic nanoparticles (Au, Ag, etc.) and their oxides can be synthesized by several methods, such as chemical, physical, physico-chemical, and biological, each bringing advantages and disadvantages in their use for developing nanosensors. In the “green chemistry” approach, a particular importance is given to the metal nanoparticles obtained by phytosynthesis. This method can lead to the development of good quality nanoparticles, at the same time being able to use secondary metabolites from vegetal wastes, as such providing a circular economy character. Considering these aspects, the use of phytosynthesized nanoparticles in other biosensing applications is also presented as a glimpse of their potential, which should be further explored.     

Seroprevalence and risk factors associated with herpes simplex virus infection among pregnant women

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the type-specific seroprevalence and identify the risk factors associated with herpes simplex virus (HSV)-2 infection in pregnant women in Bucharest, Romania. METHODS: A prospective survey was conducted in 452 subjects, aged 15-39 years, at the Elias Hospital, during the years 2004-2005. We evaluated serum IgG anti-bodies to HSV-1 and HSV-2 using the HerpeSelect ELISA test. All subjects completed an epidemiological questionnaire. RESULTS: Seroprevalence was 87.3% and 15.1% for HSV-1 and HSV-2, respectively. The risk factors for HSV-2 infection were lower level of education and a greater number of sexual partners. Elementary school and high-school graduates were 6.28 and 2.26 times more exposed than University graduates. Having 2-3 partners and more than three partners was associated with 2.43 and 4.26 times the risk of acquiring HSV-2, compared with having one partner. CONCLUSIONS: In pregnant women, HSV-1 seroprevalence was higher than in Western Europe but similar to that in Eastern Europe. HSV-2 seroprevalence was within European ranges. Both were lower than in the USA. Risk factors for HSV-2 infection may lead to prevention programs.     

Utility of Diabetes Type–Specific Genetic Risk Scores for the Classification of Diabetes Type Among Multiethnic Youth

OBJECTIVEGenetic risk scores (GRS) aid classification of diabetes type in White European adult populations. We aimed to assess the utility of GRS in the classification of diabetes type among racially/ethnically diverse youth in the U.S.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSWe generated type 1 diabetes (T1D)- and type 2 diabetes (T2D)-specific GRS in 2,045 individuals from the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth study. We assessed the distribution of genetic risk stratified by diabetes autoantibody positive or negative (DAA^+/−) and insulin sensitivity (IS) or insulin resistance (IR) and self-reported race/ethnicity (White, Black, Hispanic, and other).RESULTST1D and T2D GRS were strong independent predictors of etiologic type. The T1D GRS was highest in the DAA⁺/IS group and lowest in the DAA⁻/IR group, with the inverse relationship observed with the T2D GRS. Discrimination was similar across all racial/ethnic groups but showed differences in score distribution. Clustering by combined genetic risk showed DAA⁺/IR and DAA⁻/IS individuals had a greater probability of T1D than T2D. In DAA⁻ individuals, genetic probability of T1D identified individuals most likely to progress to absolute insulin deficiency.CONCLUSIONSDiabetes type–specific GRS are consistent predictors of diabetes type across racial/ethnic groups in a U.S. youth cohort, but future work needs to account for differences in GRS distribution by ancestry. T1D and T2D GRS may have particular utility for classification of DAA⁻ children.