IgG-sandwich and IgM-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the detection of antibody to Rift Valley fever virus in domestic ruminants

The recent occurrence of the first confirmed outbreaks of Rift Valley fever in humans and livestock outside the African region, namely in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Yemen, is of global medical and veterinary concern. Disadvantages of classical techniques for serological diagnosis of Rift Valley fever include health risk to laboratory personnel, restrictions for their use outside endemic areas and inability to distinguish between different classes of immunoglobulins. We report on the development and validation of sandwich and capture ELISAs (both based on inactivated antigen) for detection of IgG and IgM antibody to Rift Valley fever virus in bovine, caprine and ovine sera. Compared to virus neutralisation and haemagglutination-inhibition tests, the IgG sandwich ELISA was more sensitive in detection of the earliest immunological responses to infection or vaccination with Rift Valley fever virus. Its sensitivity and specificity derived from field data sets ranged in different ruminant species from 99.05 to 100% and from 99.1 to 99.9%, respectively. The specificity of IgM-capture ELISA varied between different species from 97.4 to 99.4%; its sensitivity was 100% in sheep tested 5-42 days post-infection. Our results in field-collected, experimental and post-vaccination sera demonstrate that these assays will be useful for epidemiological surveillance and control programmes, import/export veterinary certification, early diagnosis of infection, and for monitoring of immune response in vaccinated animals. As highly accurate and safe tests, they have the potential to replace traditional diagnostic methods, which pose biohazard risks limiting their use outside of endemic areas to high containment facilities.     

Anticancer activity of bacteriophage T4 and its mutant HAP1 in mouse experimental tumour models

BACKGROUND: Previously, we have shown the ability of the bacteriophage T4 and its substrain HAP1 (selected for a higher affinity to melanoma cells) to reveal antimetastatic activity in a mouse melanoma model. Here, we investigated the potential phage anticancer activity in primary tumour models. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Mice were inoculated subcutaneously with B16 or LLC cells (collected from in vitro culture). Bacteriophages T4 and HAP1 were injected intraperitoneally daily (8 x 10(8)pfu/mouse, except the experiment concerning the dose-dependence). RESULTS: Treatment with purified preparations of bacteriophage T4 resulted in significant reduction of tumour size, the effect being dose-dependent. HAP1 was more effective than T4 and its activity was also dose-dependent. Parallel experiments with non-purified bacteriophage lysates resulted in significant stimulation of tumour growth. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that purified bacteriophages may inhibit tumour growth, a phenomenon with potentially important clinical implications in oncology.     

Influence of hypothermia and extracorporeal circulation on transiently evoked otoacoustic emission (TEOAE) in children operated on for various heart defects (I)

The aim of this study was to determine influence of extracorporeal circulation and body temperature on transiently evoked otoacoustic emission (TEOAE) in children operated on for various heart defects. The investigated group consisted of 44 children (average age 9.3 +/- 5.9 years). TEOAEs were measured one day before and 7-8 days following surgery. Statistical analysis revealed the influence of duration of extracorporeal circulation and depth of hypothermia on TEOAEs assessed following surgery. TEOAEs showed tendency to decrease in patients who were operated in long lasting extracorporeal circulation in normothermia. Such a tendency was not observed in patients operated in temperatures between 30-35 degrees C and extracorporeal circulation time between 1-2 hours. This observation confirms that hypothermia has a protective role for the cochlea and could prevent its damage during long lasting operations performed in extracorporeal circulation.     

Comparison of two groups of patients with serous and mucinous types of borderline ovarian tumors

OBJECTIVE: The retrospective comparison of two groups of patients with the most common types of borderline ovarian tumors (BTO): serous and mucinous. METHODS: All patients were treated between 1978 and 2000 at the 2nd Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Medical University of Gdańsk. The first group consisted of 58 patients with serous BTO. The second group consisted of 48 patients with mucinous BTO. These groups were compared according to such parameters: age at diagnosis, parity, clinical symptoms, localization of tumor, tumor size, type of operation, stage of disease, utilization of adjuvant therapy, presence of recurrence and 5-year survival. Statistical comparisons were made by the chi 2 test. The clinical life table analysis was performed to determine 5-year survival and comparisons were made by means of the Long Rank tests. RESULTS: The mean age of serous BTO was 53.1 +/- 12.8 and of mucinous BTO 43.3 +/- 17.9 (p = 0.0000). In the first group 15.5% and in the second 43.8% women were nullipara (p = 0.0602). The main symptom of serous BTO was pain--53.5% patients and that of mucinous BTO increasing girth--47.9% patients (p = 0.0456). The mean size of serous BTO was 13.7 +/- 6.9 cm and that of mucinous BTO was 20.3 +/- 9.5 cm (p = 0.004). 43 patients (89.6%) with mucinous and 28 patients (48.3%) with serous BTO were at I A stage and 9 patients (15.5%) with serous and only one (2.1%) with mucinous were at III stage (p = 0.0008). The mucinous BTO--affected were more frequently treated conservatively than serous BTO--ones which were rather treated radically with using adjuvant therapy (p = 0.003). Residual disease was observed mainly in patients with serous BTO. 5-years survival was better in patients with mucinous BTO, 87.7% and 85.2% respectively (p = 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: 1. The mucinous BTO occurred more frequently than serous BTO in women of the childbearing age. 2. The extraovarian disease was observed more often with serous BTO than the mucinous BTO. 3. The mucinous BTO was usually bigger than serous BTO and mainly affected only one ovary. 4. The mucinous BTO was more frequently treated conservatively than serous BTO which were rather treated radically with use of adjuvant therapy. 5. The recurrence rate was higher and the 5-year survival was worse in patients with serous BTO.     

Clinical course of clarocellular ovarian cancer in 27-year old woman. Laparoscopy in management of malignant ovarian tumors

A case of clarocellular ovarian cancer in 27-year old woman is reported. Authors present the diagnostic and management problems, their experience and the review of current literature. The place of laparoscopy in management of malignant ovarian tumors is discussed.     

Correlation of brain stem evoked response audiometry (BERA) with Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) and Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS)

The diagnostic value of electric responses from the brain stem (BERA) in neurosurgical patients is still a matter for debate in the literature. Therefore in the study an attempt was made to determine the relationship between GCS scores and BERA recordings. Participants in the study were 64 patients with various types of brain damage. Evoked potentials from the brain stem were registered using the Hortmann BERAmodul apparatus. To facilitate the interpretation of results a special scale was developed for quantitative measurement of changes in BERA recordings. Abnormalities in BERA recordings were reflected in changes in GCS scores, and correlation between the two dimensions was found to be statistically significant. The relationship between BERA recordings and GOS scores was also significant: pathological changes in BERA recordings assessed as severe were associated with an unfavorable therapeutic outcome in the GOS. The presented findings indicate auditory evoked brain stem response (BERA) usefulness for objective evaluation of brain-damaged patients' clinical state.     

Traumatic stress severity

Since 1980, a new outlook on stress was applied in connection with the changes in psychiatric concepts and the notion that a traumatic experience may cause specific psychological symptoms varying from the content and source of other psychiatric disorders. The understanding of the trauma, defined by the objective traits of the stressor, separated it from stress as defined by the subjective individual's decision. This was against the current theory of Selye in which the stress reaction is a homogenous entity as a whole, defined by a subjective evaluation of the event, independently of the objective traits. The paper examines new directions in the studies on the meaning of trauma for the person who survived it. According to these studies, the trauma and its consequences cannot be viewed solely in a narrow pathogenic and symptomatic frame. Modern directions of studies on stress led to a model integration of physiological, behavioural and psychological reactions and the trauma itself was to be seen in a cultural and historical context. Today's biopsychocultural model of understanding trauma consists in a complex of common actions from various systems and backgrounds. They comprise the following factors: physical (biological), intrapsychic, interpersonal (familial, social, religious, cultural), educational-professional, economical, political. These systems coexist in a time frame, in common relations and connections. They all affect the capability to evaluate danger, which gives different strategies of coping with oneself. Studies on PTSD give arguments for understanding of the full influence that a trauma can have on a person, and allow for an unlimited outlook on the traumatic situation--its biological, social and existential aspects.     

The frequency of diagnosis of catatonic schizophrenia in hospitals in Lubliniec (1894-1932, 1934-1936, 1970-1999) and Boleslawiec (1958-1999)

AIM: The analysis of the data from the psychiatric hospitals in Lubliniec (1894-1932, 1934-1936, 1970-1999) and Boles?awiec (1958-1999) proved a decrease in frequency of diagnosis of catatonic schizophrenia, what could testify to a decrease in morbidity with this form of schizophrenia. METHOD AND RESULTS: Basing on the facts from scientific literature there was ascertained that the decrease in frequency of diagnosis of catatonic schizophrenia is connected with following causes: firstly, with the changes in nozology, secondly, with the introduction of a new form of therapy and finally, with the fact that here psychological and sociological factors exist which eliminate catatonia as the most expressive form of schizophrenia.     

Rat behavior in two models of anxiety and brain [3H]muscimol binding: pharmacological, correlation, and multifactor analysis

The contribution of GABAergic mechanisms to rat emotional behavior in two animal models of anxiety (open field test of neophobia and aversively conditioned freezing reaction), was confirmed by pharmacological analysis, using anxiolytic (midazolam) and anxiogenic (picrotoxin) compounds. Both substances are known to modulate GABA(A) receptors' activity in a positive or negative manner, respectively. It seemed, therefore, worthwhile to check whether the behavioral parameters measured in these animal models of anxiety correlate with [3H]muscimol binding (a highly selective GABA(A) receptor ligand) in different brain structures of nai;ve rats, with a view to establish the role of genetically determined expression of local GABA(A) receptors in the organization of rat emotional and motor behavior. Correlation analysis revealed no links between individually determined expression of GABA(A) receptors (quantitative receptor autoradiography) in the brain structures, and the emotional behavior of nai;ve, drug-free animals, in both tests. Factor analysis confirmed that animal behavior in both tests was under control of different central processes. Moreover, none of the behavioral and ligand binding parameters loaded on the same factor, confirming the negative results of the correlation study. The present results indicate that the origin of emotions is a complex phenomenon, probably involving the interaction between GABA-ergic innervation of many brain structures.