A New Method to Detect Directly in Culture Cell Surface Membrane Immunoglobulins

Abstract

An ELISA assay is described for the measurement of the smIgG. The method is based on the detection of cell-smIgG directly on the same microplate used for the culture. The cells, preincubated at 37°C for one hour, were cultured in the presence of S-ConA and serum-free medium for two days. Using this strategy, the background noise due to non specific adsorbtion of IgG to plastic wells and cytophilic antibodies was eliminated. The cells in the presence of S-ConA and serum-free medium adhered to the plastic wells, and the cell-smIgG were detected using an anti-human IgG covalently linked to alkaline phosphatase or its F(ab')₂ fragment. The possibility of measuring the modulation of the expression of the cell-smIgG without any additional manipulation is stressed.     

Central Venous Catheter Protective Connector Caps Reduce Intraluminal Catheter-Related Infection

BackgroundCentral line-associated blood stream infection (CLABSI) rates in adult care intensive care units have been decreasing across the board. However, we continued to see just a few infections in patients whose catheters are in for >4 days. Therefore, we looked at infections associated with intraluminal contamination to help reduce our infection rate.MethodsA protective cap trial was developed and implemented in 2 intensive care units. All of the central venous catheter and intravenous tubing access valves were covered with a protective cap saturated with alcohol. This intervention eliminated the need to wipe off intravenous access points with an alcohol swab. The study was done as a nonrandomized prospective trial occurring March 1, 2011 through February 29, 2012.ResultsDuring 2010, there were 4 CLABSI-related infections. By the end of the trial, we had incurred 1 catheter-associated blood stream infection. CLABSI rate reduced from 1.9 in 2010 to 0.5 during the 1-year trial period.ConclusionsThe implementation of the port protector cap system resulted in lower infection rates compared with an alcohol swab technique. Our results indicate that consistent use of the caps in tandem with strict compliance does influence CLABSI rates.     

Poor early growth and high salt intake in Indian infants

The influence of feeding patterns on the growth of infants and how salt is included in the diet are unknown in the area of West Bengal, India. A cross-sectional study was carried on 517 infants (median age 6.5 months). Negative Z-scores were observed for all anthropometric parameters. About 72.7% of infants aged 0–6 months received exclusive breastfeeding. In the 6–12-month-old group (n?=?235), 91.5% had salt added to foods. In a regression model adjusted for age, a low salt diet resulted a significant factor in increasing weight-for-length and BMI for age z-scores, with increments equal to 0.637 SD (p?=?0.037) and 0.650 SD (p?=?0.036), respectively.

In West Bengal infants showing poor growth, breastfeeding was associated with better anthropometric indexes, but early in life salt is added to their diet. Early life low weight coupled with high salt intake may be a risk factor for arterial hypertension in Indian children.     

Desmoplastic melanoma may mimic a cutaneous peripheral nerve sheath tumor: Report of 3 challenging cases

Desmoplastic melanoma (DM) and cutaneous malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNST) reveal histological and immunohistochemical similarities, including S100 positivity and negative staining for conventional melanocytic markers. We present 3 cases of cutaneous S100‐positive spindle cell tumors in elderly patients, in which first findings led to initial misdiagnoses as cutaneous MPNST and benign peripheral sheath nerve tumor (neurofibroma). The identification of adjacent atypical melanocytic hyperplasia in the overlying skin along with tumor cell proliferation, also in the superficial dermis, the neurotropic component and the absence of any relationship between the tumor and a major nerve, pre‐existing neural benign tumor or the existence of stigmata suggestive of neurofibromatosis raised consideration of a DM. Careful attention should be paid to the presence of a firm dermal nodule and atypical scar lesions especially in sun‐exposed areas (mainly head and neck region) in elderly patients associated with S100‐positive spindle cell proliferation, solar elastosis and adjacent atypical melanocytic proliferation. In such cases, the possibility of a DM should be excluded with caution, especially if the tumor reveals a paucicellular morphology resembling various non‐melanocytic neoplasms including malignant or benign peripheral sheath nerve tumors.     

Preventable fatal injury during rally race: a multidisciplinary approach

International Journal of Legal Medicine - The motor vehicle crash (MVC) constitutes an important challenge for forensic pathology in order to identify the manner and cause of death. Our study...     

Three differentiation states risk-stratify bladder cancer into distinct subtypes

Current clinical judgment in bladder cancer (BC) relies primarily on pathological stage and grade. We investigated whether a molecular classification of tumor cell differentiation, based on a developmental biology approach, can provide additional prognostic information. Exploiting large preexisting gene-expression databases, we developed a biologically supervised computational model to predict markers that correspond with BC differentiation. To provide mechanistic insight, we assessed relative tumorigenicity and differentiation potential via xenotransplantation. We then correlated the prognostic utility of the identified markers to outcomes within gene expression and formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue datasets. Our data indicate that BC can be subclassified into three subtypes, on the basis of their differentiation states: basal, intermediate, and differentiated, where only the most primitive tumor cell subpopulation within each subtype is capable of generating xenograft tumors and recapitulating downstream populations. We found that keratin 14 (KRT14) marks the most primitive differentiation state that precedes KRT5 and KRT20 expression. Furthermore, KRT14 expression is consistently associated with worse prognosis in both univariate and multivariate analyses. We identify here three distinct BC subtypes on the basis of their differentiation states, each harboring a unique tumor-initiating population.