A case of pemphigus vulgaris possibly triggered by quinolones

Pemphigus vulgaris is an autoimmune blistering disorder in which both genetic and environmental factors, mainly drugs, are thought to play a part in its aetiopathogenesis. Although some drugs that contain thiol groups, such as D-penicillamine and captopril, and non-thiol drugs, such as cephalosporin, have been reported to trigger or induce pemphigus, there are no previous reports regarding the influence of quinolones in triggering this disease. Here we present a case of pemphigus possibly triggered by quinolones.     

HPLC和1HNMR分析确定cis-A-和cis-B-羟甲芬太尼的组成和构型

羟甲芬太尼(1)是一个强效的镇痛剂和高亲和、高选择性的阿片μ受体激动剂。通过HPLC和¹HNMR分析,cis-A-l被确定为由等量的cis-(+)-(3R,4S,2'S)-l和:cis-(—)-(3S,4R,2'R)-1组成的外消旋体,cis-B-l被确定为由等量的cis-(—)-(3R,4S,2'R)-1和cis-(+)-(3S/,4R,2'S)-1组成的外消旋体。     

A genomic analysis of chicken cytokines and chemokines.

As most mechanisms of adaptive immunity evolved during the divergence of vertebrates, the immune systems of extant vertebrates represent different successful variations on the themes initiated in their earliest common ancestors. The genes involved in elaborating these mechanisms have been subject to exceptional selective pressures in an arms race with highly adaptable pathogens, resulting in highly divergent sequences of orthologous genes and the gain and loss of members of gene families as different species find different solutions to the challenge of infection. Consequently, it has been difficult to transfer to the chicken detailed knowledge of the molecular mechanisms of the mammalian immune system and, thus, to enhance the already significant contribution of chickens toward understanding the evolution of immunity. The availability of the chicken genome sequence provides the opportunity to resolve outstanding questions concerning which molecular components of the immune system are shared between mammals and birds and which represent their unique evolutionary solutions. We have integrated genome data with existing knowledge to make a new comparative census of members of cytokine and chemokine gene families, distinguishing the core set of molecules likely to be common to all higher vertebrates from those particular to these 300 million-year-old lineages. Some differences can be explained by the different architectures of the mammalian and avian immune systems. Chickens lack lymph nodes and also the genes for the lymphotoxins and lymphotoxin receptors. The lack of functional eosinophils correlates with the absence of the eotaxin genes and our previously reported observation that interleukin- 5 (IL-5) is a pseudogene. To summarize, in the chicken genome, we can identify the genes for 23 ILs, 8 type I interferons (IFNs), IFN-gamma, 1 colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), 2 of the 3 known transforming growth factors (TGFs), 24 chemokines (1 XCL, 14 CCL, 8 CXCL, and 1 CX3CL), and 10 tumor necrosis factor superfamily (TNFSF) members. Receptor genes present in the genome suggest the likely presence of 2 other ILs, 1 other CSF, and 2 other TNFSF members.     

Students conducting consultations in general practice and the acceptability to patients

OBJECTIVES: The General Medical Council has recommended that medical students should gain more experience in general practice. The study set out to determine patients' reactions to consultations conducted by a medical student alone prior to seeing their GP. DESIGN: A random sample of patients attending general practice surgeries in the Oxford area completed a questionnaire following consultation with a medical student. SETTING: Six general practice teaching surgeries. SUBJECTS: Fifth-year medical students. RESULTS: Of 130 responders 98% experienced no disadvantage in seeing the student; 35% considered that there were advantages in seeing the student; 98% said that they would be prepared to consult with a student again; 85% expressed no concerns about the gender of the student. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study are very reassuring concerning the acceptability to patients of consulting with medical students and are more favourable than those reported for studies of students being present in consultations by GPs.     

HLA‐A SNPs and amino acid variants are associated with nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Malaysian Chinese

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) arises from the mucosal epithelium of the nasopharynx and is constantly associated with Epstein–Barr virus type 1 (EBV‐1) infection. We carried out a genome‐wide association study (GWAS) of 575,247 autosomal SNPs in 184 NPC patients and 236 healthy controls of Malaysian Chinese ethnicity. Potential association signals were replicated in a separate cohort of 260 NPC patients and 245 healthy controls. We confirmed the association of HLA‐A to NPC with the strongest signal detected in rs3869062 (p = 1.73 × 10^?9). HLA‐A fine mapping revealed associations in the amino acid variants as well as its corresponding SNPs in the antigen peptide binding groove (p_{HLA‐A‐aa‐site‐99} = 3.79 × 10^?8, p_rs1136697 = 3.79 × 10^?8) and T‐cell receptor binding site (p_{HLA‐A‐aa‐site‐145} = 1.41 × 10^?4, p_rs1059520 = 1.41 × 10^?4) of the HLA‐A. We also detected strong association signals in the 5′‐UTR region with predicted active promoter states (p_rs41545520 = 7.91 × 10^?8). SNP rs41545520 is a potential binding site for repressor ATF3, with increased binding affinity for rs41545520‐G correlated with reduced HLA‐A expression. Multivariate logistic regression diminished the effects of HLA‐A amino acid variants and SNPs, indicating a correlation with the effects of HLA‐A*11:01, and to a lesser extent HLA‐A*02:07. We report the strong genetic influence of HLA‐A on NPC susceptibility in the Malaysian Chinese.     

佳贝和欧可芬滴眼液在白内障手术中应用的研究

目的：评价佳贝和欧可芬滴眼液在白内障术中维持瞳孔散大及术后抗炎作用疗效。胡机分组（佳贝组、欧可芬组和对照组）研究８６名白内障患者术前应用两种药物后,白内障术中瞳孔大小的改变以及对卡米可林（氨甲酰胆碱,Ｃａｒｂａｃｏｌ）缩瞳作用的影响;以地塞米松滴眼液为对照,研究应用两种滴眼液对术后角膜后ＫＰ和房水混浊度的影响,以及对术眼眼压的影响。结果：与对照组相比,佳贝和欧可芬都能有效抑制术中的瞳孔缩小（Ｐ〈０     

用二维核磁共振技术研究赤芝孢子内酯A和B的结构

通过~1H-~1H,~1H-~(13)C相关谱(COSY),~1H-~(13)C远程偶合相关谱(OOLOC)及NOE二维谱(NOESY)等新的二维核磁共振技术确定了两个新化合物赤芝孢子内酯A和B的结构。     

Association between genes on chromosome 4p16 and non-syndromic oral clefts in four populations

Isolated cleft lip with or without cleft palate and cleft palate are among the most common human birth defects. Several candidate gene studies on MSX1 have shown significant association between markers in MSX1 and risk of oral clefts, and re-sequencing studies have identified multiple mutations in MSX1 in a small minority of cases, which may account for 1–2% of all isolated oral clefts cases. We explored the 2-Mb region around MSX1, using a marker map of 393 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 297 cleft lip, with or without cleft palate, case–parent trios and 84 cleft palate trios from Maryland, Taiwan, Singapore, and Korea. Both individual markers and haplotypes of two to five SNPs showed several regions yielding statistical evidence for linkage and disequilibrium. Two genes (STK32B and EVC) yielded consistent evidence from cleft lip, with or without cleft palate, trios in all four populations. These two genes plus EVC2 also yielded suggestive evidence for linkage and disequilibrium among cleft palate trios. This analysis suggests that several genes, not just MSX1, in this region may influence risk of oral clefts.