Invasive pneumococcal disease burden and implications for vaccine policy in urban Bangladesh

We undertook active population-based surveillance in 5,000 urban households among children < 5 years old to determine invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) incidence, serotype distribution, clinical presentation, and antimicrobial resistance, which have not been previously described in population-based studies from the region. IPD was documented by blood culture isolation. From 01 April 2004 to 31 March 2006, 5,903 blood cultures were collected from 6,167 eligible children. Streptococcus pneumoniae was isolated from 34 pneumococcal patients; IPD was clinically associated with pneumonia (24%), upper respiratory infection (62%), and febrile syndromes (14%). Overall, IPD and 13-valent serotype-related IPD incidences were 447 and 276 episodes/100,000 child-years, respectively. Peak IPD incidence occurred during the cool dry seasons. Penicillin, cotrimoxazole, chloramphenicol, and ciprofloxacin resistances were 2.9%, 82.4%, 14.7%, and 24.1%, respectively. Current conjugate vaccines should substantially reduce IPD, childhood pneumonia, and antimicrobial resistance in Bangladesh.     

In vitro haemocompatibility evaluation of PET surfaces using the quartz crystal microbalance technique

Owing to the complex influences of several experimental conditions on the in vitro alteration of blood, there is still a lack of viable in vitro tests and methods for blood compatibility evaluation of biomaterials. The aim of this research was to study a new approach for the haemocompatibility assessment of differently modified PET surfaces using the quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation unit (QCM-D) technique and measure the mass increase caused by clot formation under physiological conditions. For this purpose some of the most frequently applied in vitro methods for haemocompatibility determination, i.e., clotting time measurement and observation of red blood cells' mobility, were applied and their accuracy and sensitivity compared to the new QCM-D approach. Haemocompatibility was evaluated for non-modified poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) surfaces and PET surfaces coated with dextran sulphate and heparin. The basic anti-coagulant properties of heparin and dextran sulphate were analysed by means of their activated partial thromboplastine time (APTT). PET, as well as different polysaccharides coatings were chosen for this study due to their promising biocompatible properties and numerous possibilities for biomedical applications. The results showed that the new QCM-D technique to study clot formation in contact with PET surfaces under physiological environment was the most informative and accurate for in vitro haemocompatibility assessment. Although the results achieved with the other two methods were in good correlation, they did not provide such a high level of sensitivity.     

Synovial sarcoma of hypopharynx

A case of synovial sarcoma of the hypopharynx is reported because of its rarity.     

Immunological detection and quantitation of alpha transforming growth factors in human breast carcinoma cells

Summary Alpha transforming growth factors (TGFs) were immunologically detected in the concentrated conditioned medium (CM) prepared from four human breast cancer cell lines and from primary cultures of human mammary epithelial cells, and in the tissue extracts prepared from normal, benign, and malignant breast biopsies. Immunoreactive TGFs were quantitated by a competitive radioimmunoassay (RIA) using affinity-purified polyclonal sheep anti-rat TGF antibodies which react with human TGF but not with human epidermal growth factor (EGF). The relative level of RIA-detectable TGFs in the CM from the breast cancer cell lines MCF-7, ZR-75-1, T47-D, and MDA-MB-231, and from the CM of primary cultures of human mammary epithelial cells, ranged from 0.02 to 0.85 ng/ml. MCF-7 or ZR-75-1 cells grown in the presence of 17-estradiol (10^–8 M) for 48 h were found to release two- to three-fold more TGFs into their CM than the same cells grown in the absence of estrogen. In detergent extracts prepared from normal breast tissue, a benign fibrocystic lesion, fibroadenomas and primary breast carcinomas, the relative TGF concentrations were found to range from 1.5 to 6 ng/mg cell protein. No significant correlations were found between the TGF levels and the pathological state of the tissues, the estrogen receptor status of the tumors, or the relative amounts of theras gene protein p21ras in the tissues as determined by Western immunoblot analysis. The question of biological relevancy of TGF for human mammary tumors will require further studies on (a) synthesis and turnover of TGF, (b) the relationship between immunoreactivity and biological activity of TGF, and (c) differences in biological responsiveness of mammary tumor cells.