The use of mixed diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus antigens

The author reviews the use of mixed diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus antigens in the light of the information which has become available in recent years. When diphtheria toxoid and tetanus toxoid, adsorbed or unadsorbed, are added to either plain or adsorbed pertussis vaccine, a satisfactory level of diphtheria antitoxin can be obtained in children over 6 months of age and of tetanus antitoxin in children of any age. As to the duration of immunity, it appears that provided three doses of mixed antigens are given for the primary immunization of children 6 months old a substantial proportion will have effective antitoxin titres three years later, but that with two doses only the antitoxin levels fall more rapidly.     

放线瑞香宁碱的解热镇痛作用

从青藤科植物黑吹风(Illigera sp)总生物碱中分离出一个单体,经化学鉴定命名为放线瑞香宁碱(actinodapbnine简称Ac)。分子式C_(18)H_(17)NO_4,为10-甲氧基-1,2-(次甲二氧基)-6-去甲阿朴菲-9-醇(图1)。动物实验表明,Ac具有解痉、镇痛、局麻及降低小鼠体温等作用,并证明其镇痛作用系非中枢性。本文进一步研究其镇痛作用和对不同动物正常     

Prolonged treatment of genetically obese mice with conjugated linoleic acid improves glucose tolerance and lowers plasma insulin concentration: possible involvement of PPAR activation

Background

Studies in rodents and some studies in humans have shown that conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), especially its trans -10, cis -12 isomer, reduces body fat content. However, some but not all studies in mice and humans (though none in rats) have found that CLA promotes insulin resistance. The molecular mechanisms responsible for these effects are unclear, and there are conflicting reports on the effects of CLA on peroxisomal proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) activation and expression. We have conducted three experiments with CLA in obese mice over three weeks, and one over eleven weeks. We have also investigated the effects of CLA isomers in PPARγ and PPARα reporter gene assays.

Results

Inclusion of CLA or CLA enriched with its trans -10, cis -12 isomer in the diet of female genetically obese (lep ^ob /lep ^ob ) mice for up to eleven weeks reduced body weight gain and white fat pad weight. After two weeks, in contrast to beneficial effects obtained with the PPARγ agonist rosiglitazone, CLA or CLA enriched with its trans -10, cis -12 isomer raised fasting blood glucose and plasma insulin concentrations, and exacerbated glucose tolerance. After 10 weeks, however, CLA had beneficial effects on glucose and insulin concentrations. At this time, CLA had no effect on the plasma TNFα concentration, but it markedly reduced the plasma adiponectin concentration. CLA and CLA enriched with either isomer raised the plasma triglyceride concentration during the first three weeks, but not subsequently. CLA enriched with its trans -10, cis -12 isomer, but not with its cis -9, trans -11 isomer, stimulated PPARγ-mediated reporter gene activity; both isomers stimulated PPARα-mediated reporter gene activity.

Conclusions

CLA initially decreased but subsequently increased insulin sensitivity in lep ^ob /lep ^ob mice. Activation of both PPARγ and PPARα may contribute to the improvement in insulin sensitivity. In the short term, however, another mechanism, activated primarily by trans -10, cis -12-CLA, which probably leads to reduced adipocyte number and consequently reduced plasma adiponectin concentration, may decrease insulin sensitivity.     

Sodium/myo‐inositol cotransporter 1 and myo‐inositol are essential for osteogenesis and bone formation

myo‐Inositol (MI) plays an essential role in several important processes of cell physiology, is involved in the neural system, and provides an effective treatment for some psychiatric disorders. Its role in osteogenesis and bone formation nonetheless is unclear. Sodium/MI cotransporter 1 (SMIT1, the major cotransporter of MI) knockout (SMIT1^?/?) mice with markedly reduced tissue MI levels were used to characterize the essential roles of MI and SMIT1 in osteogenesis. SMIT1^?/? embryos had a dramatic delay in prenatal mineralization and died soon after birth owing to respiratory failure, but this could be rescued by maternal MI supplementation. The rescued SMIT1^?/? mice had shorter limbs, decreased bone density, and abnormal bone architecture in adulthood. Deletion of SMIT1 resulted in retarded postnatal osteoblastic differentiation and bone formation in vivo and in vitro. Continuous MI supplementation partially restored the abnormal bone phenotypes in adult SMIT1^?/? mice and strengthened bone structure in SMIT1^+/+ mice. Although MI content was much lower in SMIT1^?/? mesenchymal cells (MSCs), the I(1,4,5)P₃ signaling pathway was excluded as the means by which SMIT1 and MI affected osteogenesis. PCR expression array revealed Fgf4, leptin, Sele, Selp, and Nos2 as novel target genes of SMIT1 and MI. SMIT1 was constitutively expressed in multipotential C3H10T1/2 and preosteoblastic MC3T3‐E1 cells and could be upregulated during bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP‐2)–induced osteogenesis. Collectively, this study demonstrated that deficiency in SMIT1 and MI has a detrimental impact on prenatal skeletal development and postnatal bone remodeling and confirmed their essential roles in osteogenesis, bone formation, and bone mineral density (BMD) determination. © 2011 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.     

The contribution of employer characteristics to continued employment of employees with residual work capacity: evidence from register data in The Netherlands

Objectives:This study aimed to examine the contribution of employer characteristics to continued employment of employees with residual work capacity. Moreover, we examined whether the contribution of employer characteristics differs across types of employers and employees’ types of diseases.Methods:Register data on disability assessments and employment status of N=84 394 long-term sick-listed employees with residual work capacity were obtained from the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency between 2010 and 2017. The dependent variable was continued employment four months after the assessment. We linked employees to their (former) employer to measure sector, firm size, and workforce composition. The average employment outcome of all employees assessed in the same firm and year served as a proxy measure for the extent of implemented disability-related policies and practices. Using multilevel multiple regression analysis, we compared the relative contribution of employer characteristics with employees’ characteristics.Results:Employer characteristics accounted for 10% of the variability in employment outcomes. In comparison, employees’ socio-demographic and disease characteristics accounted for 13% of the variability. The prevalence of continued employment was lowest in smaller firms and construction and low-wage service-orientated sectors. Furthermore, there were sizeable differences in employment outcomes between similar employers in terms of size, sector and workforce-composition, particularly between larger firms and among employees with mental or musculoskeletal disorders compared to other diseases.Conclusions:This study shows substantial differences between employers in facilitating continued employment of employees with residual work capacity. Encouraging firms to invest more in disability-related policies and practices may result in better employment opportunities for these employees.