Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in the diagnosis of active pulmonary tuberculosis.

This study evaluates the sensitivity and specificity of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of antibodies against Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigen. Twenty seven of the 35 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis had positive serology with an antibody titre of 10 nineteen of them had positive serology with an antibody titre of 100. All the 27 patients with positive serology were either smear or culture positive or both. Twenty six of the 35 control group had negative serology and 9 had positive serology with an antibody titre of 10. The test has a sensitivity of 77.14% and a specificity of 74.29%.     

Telepathology for routine light microscopic and frozen section diagnosis

Telepathology (TP) uses telecommunication linkages to electronically capture, store, retrieve, and transmit images to distant sites. We assessed the feasibility of a dynamic real-time TP system for light microscopic (LM) diagnosis of anatomic pathology specimens, including frozen sections. Six pathologists, in 2 separate periods, read a set of 160 retrospectively retrieved slides (80 of which were frozen sections) by TP and LM. Reading times were recorded. Diagnoses were compared with the reference diagnosis (established by a group of 5 independent pathologists) and graded on a scale of 0 to 2 (2, correct; 1, incorrect but no clinical impact; 0, incorrect with clinical impact). Overall, LM was more accurate than TP compared with the reference diagnosis (score, 1.68 vs 1.54). There was no difference in accuracy between frozen section and paraffin-embedded tissue. Intraobserver agreement ranged from 82.5% to 88.2%. The average reading time was 6.0 minutes for TP and 1.4 minutes for LM. During the study, reading time decreased for TP but not for LM. These results show that despite marginally lower accuracy and longer reading times, TP isfeasible for routine light microscopic diagnosis, including frozen sections.     

Chromosomal aberrations and micronucleus frequency in nurses occupationally exposed to cytotoxic drugs

In this study, we evaluated the effect of low level occupationalexposure of nurses in a medical oncology unit in Cairo, Egypt,to anticancer drugs. Twenty nurses who constantly handled thesedrugs and 20 controls, matched according to age and sex, wereexamined. Metaphase chromosomes were studied. Percentages ofmetaphases with chromosomal aberrations were significantly higher(P < 0.001) in the exposed group (6.1 ± 2.7) versusthe controls (2.6 ± 1.6). The detected chromosomal aberrationswere in the form of chromatid gaps, chromatid breaks and acentricfragments. Micronucleated peripheral blood lymphocytes werealso analyzed in cytochalasin B treated binucleated lymphocytes.There was significant increase in cells with micronuclei (P< 0.001) in nurses (10.05 ± 4.71) in comparison tothe matched control (5.42 ± 2.22) (P < 0.001). Nursesexposed to the cytotoxic drugs for     

Evaluation of {beta}-endorphin and interleukin-6 in seminal plasma of patients with certain andrological diseases

Human semen contains large amounts of opioid peptides and cytokines.We have measured the concentrations of interleukin (IL)-6 in140 semen samples and of -endorphinin 77 semen samples. Themedian concentration of endorphinin seminal plasma from normozoospermicmen(n = 23) was 154.7 pg/ml (10th—90th percentiles, 42.0—774.6),and there was no significant difference in the -endorphin concentrationamong normozoospermic, oligozoospermic (n= 28), asthenozoospermic(n= 15), azoospermic(n= 4) and post-vasectomy (n= 7) samples.There was no correlation between -endorphin concentration andsperm characteristics, nor with blood hormones. Endorphinconcentration was lower in cases with immunelogical infertility,as revealed by a positive direct mixedantiglobulin reactiontest (n = 12) ( > 0.01), than inmatched controls. The medianconcentration of IL-6 insamples with normal sperm concentration,motility andmorphology with or without white blood cells (n=39) was 26.1 pg/ml (10th–90th percentiles, 7.3–172.3),and there was no significant difference in the IL-6 concentrationamong normozoospermic, oligozoospermic (n= 46),asthenozoospermic(n= 32), azoospermic (n= 13) and post-vasectomy (n= 10) samples.The IL-6 concentration was significantly higher in cases ofvaricocele (n= 22)without white blood cells in semen (P <0.001) than in matched controls without varicocele (n= 23).In addition, the IL-6 concentration was elevated (P < 0.0001)in cases with accessory sex gland inflammation (n= 40). IL-6concentration was positively correlated with white blood cellsin semen (n= 60, r = 0.59, P < 0.0001), but there was nocorrelation with -endorphin concentration. The IL-6 concentrationchosen to differentiate between cases with and without accessorygland inflammation was 45.3 pg/ml, with a specificity of 80.6%and a sensitivity of 92.5%. It is concluded that -endorphinin seminal plasma playsan immune suppressive role, and thatincreased IL-6 concentration may be related to testicular dysfunctionincases with varicocele. Furthermore, IL-6 is an accurate markerof accessory sex gland inflammation.     

Primary orbital Ewing sarcoma in a middle-aged woman

A 43-year-old woman had unilateral exophthalmos caused by primary orbital Ewing sarcoma. Specialized immunohistochemical stains, primarily MIC-2 (CD99), aided in the diagnosis of Ewing sarcoma. Twenty-two months after radiotherapy and multiagent chemotherapy, the patient remained tumor free. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of orbital Ewing sarcoma to present in an adult beyond the fourth decade of life.     

Endotoxemia during supraceliac aortic crossclamping is associated with suppression of the monocyte CD14 mechanism: possible role of transforming growth factor-beta1

PURPOSE: Monocyte CD14 and its soluble form (sCD14) mediate the proinflammatory response to endotoxemia. The aim of this study was to measure the changes to these factors after major aortic surgery and the possible inhibitory role of transforming growth factor-beta(1) (TGF-beta(1)) during these procedures. METHODS: Twenty-four patients with supraceliac aortic crossclamping during thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm (TAAA) repair and 12 patients with infrarenal aortic crossclamping as part of infrarenal aneurysm repair (AAA) were studied. Blood was collected at incision, aortic clamping, and reperfusion and at 1, 8, and 24 hours after reperfusion. Samples were assayed for endotoxin, peripheral blood monocyte CD14 expression, sCD14, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and TGF-beta(1). RESULTS: Although there was significant endotoxemia on reperfusion in both groups of patients, peak plasma endotoxin levels were significantly higher in patients with TAAA (P =.001). Monocyte CD14 and plasma sCD14 were significantly decreased in patients with TAAA at reperfusion and 1 hour after reperfusion (P <.01, both points). In patients with AAA, a significant upregulation of CD14 was observed at 24 hours after reperfusion (P <.01), but no significant changes in sCD14 were observed. TNF-alpha showed no significant changes during the study period in both groups. In patients with TAAA, TGF-beta(1) showed significant elevation at all time points (P <.01); whereas in patients with AAA, TGF-beta(1) showed no significant changes. CONCLUSION: Splanchnic ischemia reperfusion in patients who undergo supraceliac aortic clamping is associated with peripheral blood monocyte CD14 suppression and significant elevation of TGF-beta(1). TGF-beta(1) may play an important role in modulating the immune response to endotoxemia during major aortic aneurysm surgery.     

Synthesis of a New Nitrate-Fertilizer Form with a Controlled Release Behavior via an Incorporation Technique into a Clay Material

The current study shows an advanced synesthetic technique of a nitrate-fertilizer with a controlled release behavior into different soils (normal and acidic agriculture soils solutions) at different climate temperatures. The environmentally friendly and the biocompatible layered double hydroxide (LDH) clay material was used as a host to accommodate the nitrate anion into its interlayer gallery by applying a reconstruction-incorporation technique (the memory effect property of LDH that allows calcined LDH to memorize its original structure). The prepared materials were characterized by different spectroscopic techniques including; X-ray powder spectroscopy, IR, SEM, TEM, and TGA analyses. A remarkable loading ratio of the nitrate anion fertilizer was recorded into the LDH structure. Around 90 wt% of the intercalated nitrate anion was released in a sustained controlled behavior over around 24 days, while the same amount of nitrate was released over 10 days in the acidic soil. Accordingly, the present study offers a new passway for the formulation of controlled release fertilizers by using the hosting anionic clay LDH materials.