Assessment of neutrophil chemotaxis and random migration in children and adults. Comparison between filter and agarose techniques

Polymorphonuclear leucocyte migration was studied in 16 children and 11 normal adults, both by a filter technique and under agarose. Assays were carried out in parallel. There were no significant differences (p greater than 0.5) between adult controls and children's mean neutrophil migration coefficients within methods, but highly significant differences were found between methods (p less than 0.001) both in adult and children's samples. The observed intermethod differences are shown to be the result of increased random migration under agarose in both age groups.     

Impact of HPV 16/18 infection on clinical outcomes in locally advanced cervical cancers treated with radical radio (chemo) therapy - A prospective observational study

Objective

With an aim to investigate the impact of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) 16/18 infection on clinical outcomes in locally advanced cervical cancers treated with radical radio (chemo) therapy, we undertook this prospective study.

Correction of Deviation of a Partially Resected Mandible Using a Palatal Ramp with the Aid of a Semi‐Adjustable Articulator

Patients having undergone hemi‐mandibulectomy without further reconstruction (to restore the lost mandibular continuity) suffer functional limitations due to the resultant deviation of the segmental mandible. A palatally based guidance prosthesis (or palatal ramp prosthesis) is often indicated and is usually fabricated chairside in self‐cured acrylic resin. Establishing the correct angulation of the slope of the palatal ramp may take several attempts before a satisfactory correction is achieved. This clinical report describes a laboratory technique in which a semi‐adjustable articulator was used for fabricating the palatal ramp prosthesis. The patient's deviated mandibular position was transferred to the articulator by means of a facebow and interocclusal record. The angulation of the palatal ramp was then established on the semi‐adjustable articulator and the prosthesis fabricated in heat‐cured acrylic resin. Reduced chairside time, improved patient comfort levels, and ease in fabrication of the prosthesis on the semi‐adjustable articulator are proposed advantages of the described technique.     

An aerobiological perspective in allergy and asthma

Allergic diseases are amongst the most common chronic disorders worldwide. Today, more than 300 million of the population is known to suffer from one or other allergic ailments affecting the socio-economic quality of life. Major causative agents implicated are pollen grains, fungal spores, dust mites, insect debris, animal epithelia, etc. Several aerobiological studies have been conducted in different parts of the world to ascertain aerial concentration and seasonality of pollen grains and fungi. Especially from clinical point of view, it is important to know the details about the pollen season and pollen load in the atmosphere. The flowering time of higher plants are events that come periodically in each season, but the time of blooming may differ from year to year, in different geographic locations. Based on differences recorded in several years of observations in airborne pollen, pollen calendars are drawn as an aid to allergy diagnosis and management. This review article emphasises on various aerobiological parameters of environmental pollen from different parts of the world with special emphasis from India. The role of aerobiology in the diagnosis and management of allergic diseases is reviewed briefly in this article.     

The Secreted Protein Rv1860 of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Stimulates Human Polyfunctional CD8+ T Cells

We previously reported that Rv1860 protein from Mycobacterium tuberculosis stimulated CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells secreting gamma interferon (IFN-γ) in healthy purified protein derivative (PPD)-positive individuals and protected guinea pigs immunized with a DNA vaccine and a recombinant poxvirus expressing Rv1860 from a challenge with virulent M. tuberculosis. We now show Rv1860-specific polyfunctional T (PFT) cell responses in the blood of healthy latently M. tuberculosis-infected individuals dominated by CD8⁺ T cells, using a panel of 32 overlapping peptides spanning the length of Rv1860. Multiple subsets of CD8⁺ PFT cells were significantly more numerous in healthy latently infected volunteers (HV) than in tuberculosis (TB) patients (PAT). The responses of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from PAT to the peptides of Rv1860 were dominated by tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) secretions, the former coming predominantly from non-T cell sources. Notably, the pattern of the T cell response to Rv1860 was distinctly different from those of the widely studied M. tuberculosis antigens ESAT-6, CFP-10, Ag85A, and Ag85B, which elicited CD4⁺ T cell-dominated responses as previously reported in other cohorts. We further identified a peptide spanning amino acids 21 to 39 of the Rv1860 protein with the potential to distinguish latent TB infection from disease due to its ability to stimulate differential cytokine signatures in HV and PAT. We suggest that a TB vaccine carrying these and other CD8⁺ T-cell-stimulating antigens has the potential to prevent progression of latent M. tuberculosis infection to TB disease.