Traditional Practices of Women From India: Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Newborn Care

This article describes maternal and child care practices among women from India. As in all cultures, certain beliefs exist surrounding what facilitates a good pregnancy and its outcome, as well as negative sanctions. These practices continue to influence many immigrant women to whom western practices are either unknown or unacceptable. An understanding of the traditional belief system of such women can ease their adaptation into the Canadian and U.S. health care systems.     

A Rose by Any Other Name? The Potential Consequences of Microglial Heterogeneity During CNS Health and Disease

Microglial activation and macrophage infiltration into the CNS are common features of CNS autoimmune disease and of chronic neurodegenerative diseases. Because these cells largely express an overlapping set of common macrophage markers, it has been difficult to separate their respective contributions to disease onset and progression. This problem is further confounded by the many types of macrophages that have been termed microglia. Several approaches, ranging from molecular profiling of isolated cells to the generation of irradiation chimeric rodent models, are now beginning to generate rudimentary definitions distinguishing the various types of microglia and macrophages found within the CNS and the potential roles that these cells may play in health and disease.     

Detection of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Mycobacterium tuberculosis</Emphasis> Antigens in Urinary Proteins of Tuberculosis Patients

A sensitive sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) that can detect up to 0.5 ng of culture filtrate proteins (CFPs) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain H37Ra is described. This detection system features several special characteristics: (i) the use of CFPs from the H37Ra strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to generate capture and detection antibodies in rabbits and mice, respectively; (ii) affinity purification of CFP-reactive antibodies and selection of the antibody preparations for best performance in the sandwich ELISA system; and (iii) the use of urine-derived protein preparations for antigen detection. The sandwich ELISA could detect up to 0.5 ng of CFPs of the H37Ra strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The assay did not detect antigens of Escherichia coli, Candida albicans or Saccharomyces cerivisiae but efficiently detected CFP preparations from nine different clinical isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Significant variations, however, were noted in the relative efficacy of the assay to detect CFPs from different clinical isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The procedure was utilized for detecting tubercular antigens in urine samples from 29 patients with confirmed (sputum-positive) tuberculosis and from 25 healthy controls. Significant levels of antigen could be detected in 22 of the 29 samples tested. Electronic Publication     

A role for CD1d-restricted NKT cells in injury-associated T cell suppression

Natural killer T (NKT) cells are known to modulate T cell responses during autoimmunity, tolerance, and antitumor immunity; however, their potential role in regulating the immune response to injury has not been reported. Using a murine model of burn injury, we investigated whether CD1d-restricted NKT cells played a role in the T cell suppression that occurs early after injury. A functional role for CD1d stimulation of NKT cells in the injury-related immune suppression was demonstrated by experiments in which the suppression of antigen (Ag)-specific delayed-type hypersensitivity and in vitro T cell-proliferative responses were prevented if mice were given anti-CD1d monoclonal antibody (mAb) systemically just before injury. The CD1d-NKT cell-dependent suppression of the T cell response after injury occurred in the absence of quantitative changes in NKT cells themselves or CD1d(+) Ag-presenting cells. We observed that elevated production of the immunosuppressive cytokine interleukin (IL)-4 correlated with burn-induced immune dysfunction, and we found that NKT cells but not conventional T cells were the source of IL-4 early after injury. Lastly, we observed that the injury-induced production of NKT cell-derived IL-4 could be blocked by systemic treatment of burn-injured mice with anti-CD1d mAb. Together, our results reveal a novel mechanism involving CD1d stimulation of NKT cells in the onset of T cell suppression that occurs subsequent to injury.     

Effects of Bovine Colostrum with or without Egg on In Vitro Bacterial-Induced Intestinal Damage with Relevance for SIBO and Infectious Diarrhea

Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) occurs commonly, is difficult to treat, and frequently recurs. Bovine colostrum (BC) and chicken eggs contain immunoglobulins and other components that possess antimicrobial, immunoregulatory, and growth factor activities; however, it is not known if they have the ability to reduce injury caused by the presence of bacteria associated with SIBO (Streptococcus, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus, Bacteroides, Klebsiella, Enterococcus, and Proteus) and infectious diarrhea (enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, Salmonella). We examined the effects of BC, egg, or the combination, on bacterial growth and bacteria-induced changes in transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) and bacterial translocation across confluent Caco-2 monolayers. BC, egg, or the combination did not affect bacterial growth. Adding bacteria to monolayers reduced TEER and (with minor variations among species) increased bacterial translocation, increased monolayer apoptosis (increased caspase-3 and Baxα, reduced Bcl2), increased intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1), and reduced cell adhesion molecules zonulin1 (ZO1) and claudin-1. BC, egg, or the combination reduced these effects (all p < 0.01) and caused additional increases in vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and Heat Shock Protein 70 (Hsp70) expression. We conclude that BC ± egg strengthens mucosal integrity against a battery of bacteria relevant for SIBO and for infectious diarrhea. Oral BC ± egg may have clinical value for these conditions, especially SIBO where eradication of precipitating organisms may be difficult to achieve.     

Adverse Childhood Experiences are Associated with Miscarriage in Adulthood: The GROWH Study

Maternal and Child Health Journal - To investigate whether adverse childhood experiences are associated with miscarriage. The Gulf Resilience on Women’s Health Consortium recruited from...     

The effect of various media and probe angles on the power output of the Cyclo G6 Glaucoma Laser System

Lasers in Medical Science - To evaluate the effect of various media and Iridex MicroPulse P3 (MP3) probe angles on the power output from the Cyclo G6 Glaucoma Laser (G6) System. A laser power meter...