Survey of patients of the Tver region of Russia regarding maggots and maggot therapy

The 21st century is seeing a resurgence in the use of maggot therapy—using the physical and biochemical benefits of fly larvae to debride and heal chronic, problematic wounds. Maggots are repulsive to many people, and this could interfere with the acceptance of this modality. Before instituting a maggot therapy programme at our institution, we sought to better understand the psychological barriers that may exist among patients in the Tver region of Russia. Between 2014 and 2016, all patients with arterial insufficiency and trophic ulcers at City Clinical Hospital No. 7 in Tver were administered a survey consisting of six images. Subjects were asked to rank the images in the order of least to most repulsive or disgusting. A total of 576 subjects were recruited for this study: 414 (72%) women and 162 (28%) men. Nearly 60% of subjects considered the images of maggots to be more repulsive than images of gangrenous wounds. This finding is significant because it indicates that much education and support will need to be conducted to address patient fears and anxiety if patients are to be comfortable with a maggot therapy programme.     

The Role of Von Willebrand Factor in the Pathogenesis of Pulmonary Vascular Thrombosis in COVID-19

The increased plasma levels of von Willebrand factor (VWF) in patients with COVID-19 was reported in many studies, and its correlation with disease severity and mortality suggest its important role in the pathogenesis of thrombosis in COVID-19. We performed histological and immunohistochemical studies of the lungs of 29 patients who died from COVID-19. We found a significant increase in the intensity of immunohistochemical reaction for VWF in the pulmonary vascular endothelium when the disease duration was more than 10 days. In the patients who had thrombotic complications, the VWF immunostaining in the pulmonary vascular endothelium was significantly more intense than in nonsurvivors without thrombotic complications. Duration of disease and thrombotic complications were found to be independent predictors of increased VWF immunostaining in the endothelium of pulmonary vessels. We also revealed that bacterial pneumonia was associated with increased VWF staining intensity in pulmonary arterial, arteriolar, and venular endothelium, while lung ventilation was an independent predictor of increased VWF immunostaining in arterial endothelium. The results of the study demonstrated an important role of endothelial VWF in the pathogenesis of thrombus formation in COVID-19.     

Isolation,production, and characterization of a new single chain anti-idiotypic antibody against benzo[a]pyrene

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are chemical carcinogens which could induce the development of human cancers. Anti-idiotypic antibodies against benzo[a]pyrene (BP) are perspective for human cancer immunoprophylaxis and tumor immunodiagnostic techniques. The purpose of this study was to isolate anti-idiotypic antibodies against BP from human lymphocytes naïve phage library. The anti-idiotypic antibody, named B5, was selected. Analysis of the nucleotide and amino acid sequences B5 showed no similarity to known protein databases antibodies. B5 bound idiotypic antibodies against BP in direct and competitive ELISA. It was suggested that the B5 carried an immunological image of BP and bound the idiotypic antibodies against BP.

Abbreviations: scFv: single-chain variable fragment; Ab1: idiotypic antibodies; Ab2: anti-idiotypic antibodies; CBD: cellulose binding domain; BSA: bovine serum albumin; PBS: phosphate buffer; BP-BSA: benzo[a]pyrene-BSA conjugate; Cr-BSA: chrysene-BSA conjugate; Py-BSA: pyrene-BSA conjugate; Ac-BSA: anthracene-BSA conjugate; Ba-BSA: benz[a]anthracene-BSA conjugate; PAH: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; pSh: mouse idiotypic single-chain variable fragment against benzo[a]pyrene; T72: human idiotypic single-chain variable fragment against benzo[a]pyrene.     

Kinetic Study of Ethylene Polymerization Over Supported Bis(imino)pyridine Iron (II) Catalysts

Summary: The number of active centers (C_P) and propagation rate constants (k_P) for polymerization of ethylene with supported catalysts LFeCl₂/SiO₂, LFeCl₂/Al₂O₃ and LFeCl₂/MgCl₂ (L = 2,6‐(2,6‐(Me)₂C₆H₃NCMe)₂C₅H₃N), activated by an Al(i‐Bu)₃ co‐catalyst, were determined by a method of polymerization inhibition with radioactive ¹⁴CO. In contrast to homogeneous systems based on LFeCl₂, the supported catalysts are highly active and stable in ethylene polymerization at 70–80 °C. In the presence of hydrogen, the activity of the supported catalysts substantially increases (2–4 fold). The data obtained on the effect of hydrogen on the calculated C_P and k_P values suggests that for ethylene polymerization without hydrogen, the “dormant” active centers are formed in the catalytic systems. A scheme for the formation of these “dormant” centers and their reactivation in presence of hydrogen is suggested. For the investigated supported catalysts the C_P values were found to be only 2 to 4% of the total iron complex content in the catalysts. The k_P value for the catalysts prepared using different supports (SiO₂, Al₂O₃ and MgCl₂) were close (3.2 × 10⁴ to 4.5 × 10⁴ L · (mol · s)⁻¹ at 70 °C). The support composition affects neither the molecular mass (MM) nor the molecular mass distribution (MMD) of the polymers produced. The obtained C_P and k_P values and data on the polymer MM and MMD lead to conclusion that the nature of the support has almost no effect on the structure of the active centers and the distribution of their reactivity.

Effect of support on the MMD of PE produced over supported LFeCl₂ catalysts.     

Reconstruction of an active SOCS3-based E3 ubiquitin ligase complex in vitro: identification of the active components and JAK2 and gp130 as substrates

Abstract

SOCS3 (suppressor of cytokine signaling 3) inhibits the intracellular signaling cascade initiated by exposure of cells to cytokines. SOCS3 regulates signaling via two distinct mechanisms: directly inhibiting the catalytic activity of Janus kinases (JAKs) that initiate the intracellular signaling cascade and catalysing the ubiquitination of signaling components by recruiting components of an E3 ubiquitin ligase complex. Here we investigate the latter mode-of-action biochemically by reconstructing a SOCS3-based E3 ubiquitin ligase complex in vitro using fully purified, recombinant components and examining its ability to promote the ubiquitination of molecules involved in the cytokine signaling cascade. We show that SOCS3 is an active substrate recruitment module for a Cullin5-based E3 ligase and have defined the core protein components required for ubiquitination. SOCS3-induced polyubiquitination was rapid and could proceed through a number of different ubiquitin lysines. SOCS3 catalyzed the ubiquitination of both the IL-6 receptor common chain (gp130) and JAK2.     

Bacterial Heterogeneity Is a Requirement for Host Superinfection by the Lyme Disease Spirochete

In nature, mixed Borrelia burgdorferi infections are common and possibly can be acquired by either superinfection or coinfection. Superinfection by heterologous B. burgdorferi strains has been established experimentally, although the ability of homologous B. burgdorferi clones to superinfect a host has not been studied in detail. Information regarding any potential immune barriers to secondary infection also currently is unavailable. In the present study, the ability to superinfect various mouse models by homologous wild-type clones was examined and compared to superinfection by heterologous strains. To assess the ability of homologous B. burgdorferi clones to successfully superinfect a mouse host, primary- and secondary-infecting spirochetes were recovered via in vitro cultivation of collected blood or tissue samples. This was accomplished by generating two different antibiotic-resistant versions of the wild-type B31-A3 clone in order to distinguish superinfecting B. burgdorferi from primary-infecting spirochetes. The data demonstrate an inability of homologous B. burgdorferi to superinfect immunocompetent mice as opposed to heterologous strains. Attempts to superinfect different types of immunodeficient mice with homologous B. burgdorferi indicate that the murine innate immune system represents a major barrier to intrastrain superinfection. Consequently, the possibility of innate immunity as a driving force for B. burgdorferi heterogeneity during the enzootic cycle is discussed.     

Basismaßnahmen zur Wiederbelebung Erwachsener (Basic Life Support)

Notfall + Rettungsmedizin - Der Europäische Rat für Wiederbelebung hat diese Leitlinie – Basismaßnahmen zur Wiederbelebung – auf Grundlage des...     

Touch-induced visual illusion

Although vision is considered the dominant modality, recent studies demonstrate the influence of other modalities on visual perception. For example, in the sound-induced flash illusion, two auditory stimuli cause one visual flash to be perceived as two. We report an extension of the sound-induced flash illusion to the tactile-visual domain, yielding the touch-induced flash illusion. Observers reported seeing two flashes on the majority of trials when a single flash was presented concurrently with two task-irrelevant brief tactile stimuli. Somatosensory stimulation changed the sensitivity (d') of detecting visual stimuli, which suggests that the observed effect is at least partly due to perceptual interactions. Together with other recent findings, these results challenge the notion that the processing of visual information is independent of activity in other modalities.     

Rhinovirus infections and adenoidal hypertrophy: do they interact with atopy in children?

Modern diagnostic methods allow the evaluation of the connection between rhinoviruses and atopy. Recent studies suggest that rhinoviruses are present in the adenoids at higher titers than in other specific sites, after inoculation of nasal mucosa or conjunctiva in volunteers. Therefore, it is possible that they might be responsible for specific local changes, while such changes may be influenced by atopy. This review focuses on the interactions between rhinoviral infection, the host's immune status and adenoidal disease.