A comparison of techniques used to extract solid samples prior to acute toxicity analysis using the microtox test

To date, there has been no widely accepted or standardized procedure for preparing leachates of solid samples for acute toxicity bioassays such as Microtox. Leaching procedures reported in the literature were evaluated for use with nonspecific environmental sample submissions. Using toxic environmental samples, two experiments were conducted to compare the effect that varying selected parameters would have on the effectiveness of the leaching procedure in removing toxicants from a solid sample matrix. Parameters that were varied included the type of toxicant, aqueous solvent system used to leach the sample, ratio of solid:liquid, type of mixing action, length of extraction time, and method of removing suspended solids from the leachate. Results from these experiments demonstrated that unacceptable variations of measured toxicity of a solid sample occurs with simple modifications of the method. The most dramatic shifts in 15 min EC₅₀ values were observed between vacuum filtering (EC₅₀ mean = 55.8%) and centrifuging (EC₅₀ mean = 22.3%) samples to clarify leachates. This and other significant interactions, between sample contaminant and aqueous system, suggest that no standard procedure will give readily interpretable results for different types of contamination. Investigators should carefully consider the application of the assay (e.g., the detection of toxicants using a sensitive method, or modeling the leaching of toxicants under specific environmental conditions) before selecting a leaching procedure. © 1996 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

人类免疫缺陷病毒阳性肺结核患者临床分析

目的 提高人类免疫缺陷病毒（ＨＩＶ）阳市肺结核（ＰＴＢ）的认识。方法 对赤道几内亚巴塔医院１９９６年１月～１９９９年１１月确诊的１６８例ＨＩＶ阳性ＰＴＢ进行分析。结果 ＨＩＶ在ＰＴＢ患的感染率由１９９６年的１１．４％升至１９９９年的２２．７％。患多急骤起病（９４．６％）,以近期消瘦（８２．１％）、全身关节酸痛（７８．６％）、皮肤瘙痒（４２．９％）、慢性腹泻（２３．２％）、浅表淋巴结肿大（２０．     

类风湿性关节炎病人关节滑膜液与外周血中G1特异性T细胞的特点

目的为比较研究类风湿性关节炎病人 T细胞库中是否存在 G1特异性 T淋巴细胞极其生物学特性。方法应用重组人软骨抗原凝集原 G1为抗原 (r G1) ,采用国际标准半有限稀释建立细胞株法 ,从类风湿性关节炎病人外周血中分离建立 G1特异性 T细胞并分析其生物学特性。结果从 4名类风湿性关节炎病人外周血中分别分离建立了 13株 G1特异性 T细胞株。分析比较了这些细胞株 ,发现病人的 G1特异性 T淋巴细胞出现频率为 36 .2 %。所有 T细胞株与 r G1及 WT和 PPD共同培养以观察其特异性反应性 ,结果发现所建立的 13株 T细胞株对人软骨抗原凝集素 G1区具有良好的特异性。进一步用r G1肽段分析 ,发现其中 5株主要对 G1C末端呈特异性反应。细胞表型分析发现 ,所有这些 T细胞株均表现为 CD3 、CD4 与αβ TCR阳性 ;细胞因子分泌类型以 TH1为主。结论 RA病人外周血与关节滑膜液中均有 G1特异性 T细胞。     

Ontogeny of recurrent hydrocephalus: presentation in three fetuses in one consanguineous family.

A consanguineous couple had 3 pregnancies in which prenatally diagnosed hydrocephalus was observed (in 1 female and 2 male fetuses). This case appears to represent an autosomal recessive form of hydrocephalus, given the consanguinity, affected sibs of both genders, and no evidence for intrauterine infection, chromosome abnormality, or neural tube defect.     

Nicotinamide-cinnamic acid cocktail exerts pancreatic β-cells survival coupled with insulin secretion through ERK1/2 signaling pathway in an animal model of apoptosis

PurposePancreatic β-cells protection is integral to insulin secretion in diabetic conditions. In this context, we investigated cinnamic acid in combination with nicotinamide on the regulation of insulin secretion and apoptosis in pancreatic β-cells using streptozotocin (STZ)-induced apoptotic model in vivo.MethodsThe pancreata of nicotinamide (NA)-cinnamic acid (CA) treated rats were studied using histopathological, immunofluorescence, molecular docking, and RT-PCR analyses, supported by serum glucose and insulin levels.ResultsThe biochemical data revealed that the acute treatment of NA and CA in combination significantly increased serum insulin, thereby lowering blood glucose level in vivo. From histological findings, NA-CA pre-treatment displayed significant protection against STZ-apoptotic trends, improved insulin secretion, and recapitulated the STZ-induced morphology to normal control. The upregulated expressions of caspases, caused by STZ-treatments, were significantly downregulated with NA-CA in immunofluorescent detection and their translational levels, respectively. We found dense ERK½-insulin staining and p-ERK½ expression, which was further supported by strong ERK½ residues-ligands interactions based on in silico analysis.ConclusionFrom the pre-clinical data, we thus conclude that NA-CA cocktail exerts dual insulin releasing and survival effects in pancreatic β-cells by targeting ERK½ pathway.Graphical abstract Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40199-021-00412-w.