Detection of antibodies specific to an antigenic cell wall galactomannoprotein for serodiagnosis of Aspergillus fumigatus aspergillosis

Aspergilloma and invasive aspergillosis are important opportunistic infections caused by Aspergillus species, among which Aspergillus fumigatus is the most common species associated with human disease. We developed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)-based antibody assay with Afmp1p, a purified recombinant antigenic cell wall galactomannoprotein of A. fumigatus. Evaluation of the test with guinea pig sera against A. fumigatus and other pathogenic fungi indicated that this assay was specific for A. fumigatus. Clinical evaluation revealed that the assay was 100% sensitive for patients with aspergilloma and 33.3% sensitive for patients with invasive aspergillosis. No false-positive results were found for serum samples from 80 healthy blood donors, 6 patients with typhoid fever, 4 patients with melioidosis, 20 patients with penicilliosis marneffei, 5 patients with candidiasis, and 4 patients with cryptococcosis, indicating a high specificity of the test. Thus, this ELISA-based test for the detection of anti-Afmp1p antibody can be of significant value as a diagnostic for aspergillosis.     

A chronic mouse model of Parkinson's disease has a reduced gait pattern certainty

The purpose of this investigation was to determine if a chronic Parkinson's disease mouse model will display less certainty in its gait pattern due to basal ganglia dysfunction. A chronic Parkinson's disease mouse model was induced by injecting male C57/BL mice with 10 doses of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (25 mg/kg) (MPTP) and probenecid (250 mg/kg) (P) over 5 weeks. This chronic model produces a severe and persistent loss of nigrostriatal neurons resulting in dopamine depletion and locomotor impairment. The control mice were treated with probenecid alone. Fifteen weeks after the last MPTP/P treatment, the mice were videotaped in the sagittal plane with a digital camera (60 Hz) as they ran on a motorized treadmill at a speed of 10 m/min. The indices of gait and gait variability were calculated. Stride length was significantly (p = 0.016) more variable in the chronic MPTP/P mice. Additionally, the chronic MPTP/P mice had a statistically less certain gait pattern when compared to the control mice (p = 0.02). These results suggest that variability in the gait pattern can be used to evaluate changes in neural function. Additionally, our results imply that disorder of the basal ganglia results in less certainty in modulating the descending motor command that controls the gait pattern.     

Biological Activity of a Partially Purified Inhibitor of Vaccinia Virus Hemagglutinin

An inhibitor acting against vaccinia virus hemagglutinin, and producing a hemagglutinin-negative virus, was separated from tumorous ascitic plasma. The finding that the partially purified inhibitor was biologically active strengthens the evidence for a specific role of the inhibitor in altering the virus.     

Model analysis of the contribution of atrial contraction to ventricular filling

We studied the contribution of atrial contraction to ventricular filling by modelling the right heart and the associated vasculature. Right atrial and ventricular contractions were represented by periodically varying volume elastances which are independent of loading conditions. The values of these elastances were experimentally determined. The systemic veins, the tricuspid valve and the pulmonary arteries were all represented by impedance networks. For these impedances we used as much experimentally obtained information as possible. The dynamic pressure and flow waveforms observed in the model under control conditions generally agreed with those reported in the literature. We therefore proceeded to analyze the effects of changing the time interval between atrial systole and ventricular systole, atrial contractility, heart rate, and blood inertance. There was an optimal atrial systole-ventricular systole interval of about 0.1 sec for ventricular filling. Stroke volume of the ventricle was enhanced by an increase in atrial contractility, a decrease in heart rate, and an increase in blood inertance. The effect of changing atrial compliance was found to be dependent on heart rate. Contribution of atrial contraction to ventricular filling was also found to be more significant during exercise than at rest.     

Evaluation of a Selective Transport Medium for Gastric Biopsy Specimens To Be Cultured for Helicobacter pylori

Since the means of culturing Helicobacter pylori may not be available in some laboratories, prolonging the survival of this organism during transportation is a major concern in terms of improving detection rates. A selective transport medium was evaluated for the preservation of H. pylori from 254 gastric biopsy specimens collected from a rural area in China where culturing is not feasible. Gastric biopsy specimens were inoculated in sterile broth consisting of brain heart infusion (BHI) broth, horse serum, and yeast extract supplemented with vancomycin, amphotericin B, and nalidixic acid (VAN). Of the 254 biopsy specimens, 238 were identified by histology to have H. pylori infection. Total rates of recovery of H. pylori from the H. pylori-positive gastric biopsy specimens stored in the BHI-VAN broth ranged from 76 to 46% after storage of specimens for 5 to 9 days. In conclusion, the selective medium is useful for prolonging the survival of H. pylori in gastric biopsy specimens for which immediate culture is not feasible.     

Sexual transmission of hepatitis B infection despite the presence of hepatitis B virus immunity in recipients of allogeneic bone marrow transplantation.

BACKGROUND: After hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), hepatitis due to hepatitis B virus (HBV) rarely occurred beyond the initial 12 months after transplantation. OBJECTIVES: We investigated the cause of "late" hepatitis due to HBV infection in two recipients after allogeneic HCT. STUDY DESIGN: Two male patients with acute myeloid leukemia and light chain myeloma, respectively, developed HBV-related hepatitis more than 2 years after HCT. All serum samples collected from the recipients, donors and their respective spouses were tested for HBV DNA by nested PCR, and if positive further quantified by Digene Hybrid Capture assay II. The HBV genotype was determined by PCR and sequencing. RESULTS: Genotypic analysis suggested that the cause of "late" hepatitis was due to acute HBV infection transmitted from their respective spouse. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggested that sexual precautions should be taken in these patients after HCT. Alternatively, or even additionally, active vaccination should be delivered to these patients once they have lost their HBV immunity.     

Surveillance of Staphylococcus aureus in veterinary teaching hospitals

Staphylococcus aureus isolates (n = 70) from 65 patients (36 canine, 18 equine, 7 bovine, 2 avian, and 2 feline) at seven veterinary teaching hospitals in the United States were studied. The majority of patients (83%) with an S. aureus infection were canine and equine, but this may have reflected a sample bias based on clinic case loads and diagnostic lab submissions at the participating institutions. Fourteen percent of patients with an S. aureus infection were infected with a methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) isolate. Six of seven institutions had at least one MRSA infection during the study. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis on 63 of the 70 isolates yielded 58 unique strains of S. aureus. None of the strain types of the MRSA isolates matched each other or the type of any other S. aureus isolate. The proportions of patients infected with an MRSA isolate were not significantly different between institutions or animal species (P > or = 0.222). Methicillin-resistant S. aureus isolates in this study seemed to be community acquired rather than hospital acquired.     

Wound dressing with sustained anti-microbial capability

Amphiphilic poly(ether ester amide) (PEEA) multiblock copolymers were synthesized by polycondensation in the melt from hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), 1,4-dihydroxybutane and short bisester-bisamide blocks. These amide blocks were prepared by reaction of 1,4-diaminobutane with dimethyl adipate in the melt. A range of multiblock copolymers were prepared, with PEG contents varying from 23-66 wt %. The intrinsic viscosity of the PEEA polymers varied from 0.58-0.78. Differential scanning calorimetry showed melting transitions for the PEG blocks and for the amide-ester blocks, suggesting a phase separated structure. Both the melting temperature and the crystallinity of the hard amide-ester segments decreased with increasing PEG content of the polymers. The equilibrium swelling ratio in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) increased with increasing amount of PEG in the polymers and varied from 1.7 to 3.7, whereas the polymer that contained 66 wt % PEG was soluble in PBS. During incubation of PEEA films in PBS, weight loss and a continuous decrease in the resulting inherent polymer viscosity was observed. The rate of degradation increased with increasing PEG content. The composition of the remaining matrices did not change during degradation. A preliminary investigation of the protein release characteristics of these PEEA copolymers showed that release of the model protein lysozyme was proportional to the square root of time. The release rate was found to increase with increasing degree of swelling of the polymers.     

Diagnosis of Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections in women by using the ligase chain reaction on patient-obtained vaginal swabs.

The increased sensitivities of nucleic acid amplification tests such as ligase chain reaction (LCR) have the potential to simplify specimen collection for gonorrhea diagnosis. In this study patients took their own vaginal swab specimens for gonorrhea culture and LCR testing. Immediately following specimen collection by patients, a trained clinician obtained endocervical swab specimens for the same tests. By using LCR to diagnose gonorrhea, 54 (17.5%) of 309 patients had positive tests. Forty-five patients with positive cervical LCR tests also had positive vaginal LCR tests; for one patient, only a cervical LCR specimen was positive, and for eight patients, only vaginal specimens were positive. For specimens from patients whose gonorrhea cultures were positive, all vaginal swab specimens were positive by LCR and 42 (91%) of 46 cervical swab specimens were positive by LCR. LCR-positive specimens from eight patients with negative cultures (four with positive vaginal specimens only, one with a positive cervical specimen only, and three with positive vaginal and cervical specimens) were further evaluated with unrelated probe sets for gonococcal pilin B. Following resolution of the discrepancies between culture-negative and LCR-positive specimens, a diagnosis of gonorrhea could be confirmed for 52 of 54 patients with positive LCR tests. LCR testing with vaginal swabs was 100% sensitive and 99.6% specific and had a positive predictive value of 98.1% and a negative predictive value of 100%. In this study LCR testing of vaginal swab specimens obtained by patients themselves was significantly more sensitive for gonorrhea diagnosis of women than cervical LCR or culture (100% versus 84.6% for cervical LCR or culture; Mantel-Haenszel chi-square test result, 8.58; P = 0.003).