Donor insemination: Dutch parents' opinions about confidentiality and donor anonymity and the emotional adjustment of their children

Results from a comparative study investigating 38 donor insemination (DI) Dutch families with 4-8 year old children are presented. The aims of this study were to investigate parents' opinions on the issues of confidentiality and donor anonymity, to assess the emotional development of the children, and to examine in DI families the association between secrecy with regard to the use of a donor and the emotional adjustment of the children. The DI families were compared to families with a child conceived by in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and to families with a naturally conceived child. Secrecy appeared to be associated with DI and not with IVF: 74% of the DI parents intended not to inform the child about the way in which she/he was conceived, whereas none of the IVF parents intended to keep the secret. Only one set of DI parents and two sets of IVF parents had actually told the child. As to donor anonymity, a spread of opinions appeared among DI parents; 57% preferred an anonymous donor, 31% would have liked non- identifying information about the donor, 9% preferred the donor's identity to be registered and 3% remained unsure. Parents' major concern was to know more about the medical/genetic background of the donor. Mothers and fathers in the DI families differed in their opinions concerning the issues of confidentiality and donor anonymity: fathers, more often than mothers, were secretive with regard to the use of a donor and husbands, more often than their wives, were in favour of donor anonymity. With regard to the emotional development of the children, more emotional/behavioural problems were revealed among DI children than among children who were naturally conceived. No association was found between secrecy and the emotional/behavioural adjustment of the children.      

Respiratory syncytial virus infection and virus-induced inflammation are modified by contaminants of indoor air

The airway epithelium is the first cellular component of the lung to be encountered by the particles and pathogens present in inhaled air. In addition to its role as a physical barrier, the immunological activity of the airway epithelium is an essential part of the pulmonary immune system. This means that the symptoms of lung diseases that involve immunological mechanisms are frequently exacerbated by infection of the airway epithelium with respiratory viruses. The virus-induced enhancement of immunological activity in infected epithelial cells is well characterized. However, the effects that contaminants of inhaled air have upon the infectivity and replication of respiratory viruses and the inflammation they cause, are comparatively unknown. In this study, we have shown that pre-exposure of airway epithelial cells to bacterial lipopolysaccharides or a proteolytically active house dust mite allergen, is able to, respectively, inhibit or enhance the level of cellular infection with respiratory syncytial virus and similarly alter virus-induced expression of the inflammatory chemokine interleukin-8. These results suggest that respiratory syncytial virus infection and the inflammation caused by respiratory syncytial virus may be modified by the biologically active contaminants of indoor air.     

Basophils express a type 2 cytokine profile on exposure to proteases from helminths and house dust mites

The proteolytic activities frequently associated with sources of allergens and parasite secretions have been suggested as important immunomodulators. We have investigated whether the protease activity of the house dust mite allergen Der p1 and the secreted proteases of the hookworm Necator americanus are able to directly induce type 2 cytokine production by basophils. Der p1 and the secretions of N. americanus induced interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5, and IL-13 but not interferon-gamma mRNA in KU812 basophils. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay confirmed that IL-4 and IL-13 were secreted. A nonproteolytic antigen failed to induce cytokine expression, and preincubation of Der p1 or N. americanus secretions with protease inhibitors inhibited cytokine expression. Data were confirmed using basophils purified from human peripheral blood. We speculate that this innate mechanism may contribute to the development of a cytokine milieu that could promote immunoglobulin E synthesis, eosinophil recruitment, and the development of type 2 T cells.     

Human oesophagostomiasis: a histomorphometric study of 13 new cases in northern Ghana

Oesophagostomiasis is an infrequently described and recognised parasitic infection in humans, caused by Oesophagostomum bifurcum. Although the disease is most often found in the northern part of Togo and the neighbouring part of Ghana, sporadic cases have been described in other parts of Africa and in Asia and South America: Uganda, Ivory Coast, Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brazil. Infection probably occurs by way of the ingestion of L3 larvae. These larvae penetrate the intestinal wall, especially that of the colon. Some of these larvae develop into young adult worms and return to the bowel lumen. Other larvae, however, develop into immature worms, which fail to settle in the lumen, forming abscesses in the bowel wall and causing pathology. In the literature 105 human cases have been described, many originating in the northern regions of Ghana and Togo. The present study was performed to evaluate 13 new cases originating in the northern part of Ghana (7 female and 6 male patients, aged between 2 and 60 years). Histopathologically, the patients could be divided into two groups: the first group showed multinodular disease, while patients in the second group presented with a single, nodular mass. In the first group, abscesses were seen throughout the colonic wall. The mean size of the cavities was 4.3+/-0.7 mm. There was no relation between the size and the localisation in the colonic wall. Abscesses were significantly larger in male patients than in female patients. There was no correlation with age. In the second group, histopathological examination showed a cyst of variable wall thickness with very limited inflammation. These cysts represented older lesions, often encapsulated in the mesentery. In conclusion, in this study we present 13 new cases of human oesophagostomiasis. The abscess formation was found to be organ specific, independent of age, and gender-related, producing a more intense tissue reaction in male patients.     

Counter-immunoelectro-osmophoresis for the detection of infantile gastroenteritis virus (orbi-group) antigen and antibody.

A moderatley sensitive, rapid, and economical test scheme for the detection of infantile gastroenteritis virus (IGV) in stool or antibody in serum has been developed and evaluated. The test scheme with minor modifications was an adaptation of a counter-immunoelectro-osmophoresis system we once used for the detection of hepatitis B antigen. Large numbers of stool samples may be screened during half a working day for the presence of IGV using reference antiserum to IGV prepared in guinea-pigs. Serological studies of a diagnostic but not epidemiological nature may also be performed with equal facility by this same test scheme using highly purified IGV antigen derived from stool.     

Estimation of body fat from skinfold thicknesses in middle-aged and older men and women: A multiple component approach

The relationship of skinfold thicknesses and body density to body fatness was assessed, and skinfold prediction equations were developed for the estimation of body fatness determined from measures of body density, total body water, and bone mineral in a sample of 91 males and 116 females aged 34–84 years. For a given skinfold thickness, adjustment for individual deviations in the water and bone mineral fractions of the fat-free body assumed constant by traditional body composition models resulted in absolute reductions in overstimates of body fatness from 4.5 to 1.9% in females and from 2.8 to 1.7% in males for every 15 year increase in age. Percentage fat from density, water, and bone was estimated from skinfold thicknesses with SEEs of 2.9% in males and 3.8% in females. When compared to percentage fat from our multicomponent-derived criterion, percentage fat from body density and a two-component model resulted in individual errors ranging from underestimates of 5.6% fat to overestimates of 14.0% fat. The multicomponent prediction equations presented herein should produce more valid estimates of body composition in middle-aged and older men and women than equations based on two-component models. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

The genetic architecture of hyponeophagia and the action of diazepam in rats

Rats of 18 genotypes derived from the Roman selected strains were tested for inhibition of feeding due to novelty (hyponeophagia) in the absence or presence of 1 mg/kg diazepam. The resulting data from three behavioral indices were subjected to the Hayman [(1954). Biometrics10:235–244], variance/covariance, Mendelian cross, and single-test cross analyses. Additive genetic variation, directional dominance for high neophobia, and some nonallelic interaction were detected. The genetic architecture of the separate behavioral indices, and its modification in the drugged subjects, was discussed in relation to evolutionary adaptation and the anxiolytic and appetite-enhancing actions of the drug.This work was jointly funded by the Science and Engineering Research Council and Imperial Chemical Industries Pharmaceuticals Ltd. through an award to R.A.S.     

Who Will Benefit? Using Radiomics to Predict Response to Oxaliplatin-Based Chemotherapy in Patients with Colorectal Liver Metastases

Annals of Surgical Oncology -