Circular dichroism detection in high-performance liquid chromatography: Evaluation of the anisotropy factor

The application of a circular dichroism (c.d.) detection system in HPLC using a chiral stationary phase is presented. The simultaneous measurement of the absorbance and c.d. signal allows the evaluation of the anisotropy factor (g = Δ/) and thus the determination of the enantiomeric excess (e.e.) of the eluates. When this detection system is used in preparative chiral chromatography the collection of the enantiomeric fractions can be readily optimized.     

Neuronal Vacuolation,Myelopathy and Laryngeal Neuropathy in a Mixed‐Breed Dog

A bilateral and symmetrical neuronal vacuolation associated with spinal cord white matter degeneration and laryngeal neuropathy was observed in a 12‐week‐old male mixed‐breed dog with a history of progressive pelvic limbs ataxia. On clinical examination, signs included inspiratory stridor, spinal ataxia, tetraparesis, and proprioceptive deficits more severe in the pelvic limbs. Examination of the larynx showed bilateral laryngeal paralysis and electromyography revealed fibrillation potentials restricted to the intrinsic laryngeal muscles. Clinical and pathological findings resembled the syndrome of neuronal vacuolation and spinocerebellar degeneration described in Rottweiler dogs. This is the first report of a similar disorder in a dog different from Rottweiler.     

18F-FDG assessment of glucose disposal and production rates during fasting and insulin stimulation: a validation study.

The glucose analog (18)F-FDG is commonly used to quantify regional glucose uptake in vivo. The aim of this study was to test whether the analysis of plasma (18)F-FDG kinetics could be used to estimate endogenous glucose production (EGP) and the total rate of appearance (Ra), total rate of disappearance (Rd), and the metabolic clearance rate (MCR) of glucose. METHODS: Fourteen pigs were coinjected with (18)F-FDG and 6,6-(2)H-glucose ((2)H-G) during fasting (n = 6) and during physiologic (1.0 mU.kg(-1).min(-1), n = 4) and supraphysiologic (5.0 mU.kg(-1).min(-1), n = 4) euglycemic hyperinsulinemia. Arterial plasma was sampled for 180 min to quantify the parameters for the 2 tracers. RESULTS: Fasting Rd((2))(H-G) and Rd(FDG) were 12.3 +/- 2.1 and 13.3 +/- 1.3 micromol.kg(-1).min(-1) (difference not statistically significant [NS]). M values were more than doubled between the 2 clamp studies (P < 0.0001). Rd((2))(H-G) and Rd(FDG) were dose-dependently higher during the hyperinsulinemic state (19.8 +/- 3.7 vs. 18.9 +/- 1.1 and 31.4 +/- 4.1 vs. 31.9 +/- 2.3 in 1.0 and 5.0 mU.kg(-1).min(-1) studies, respectively; difference between tracers NS) than during the fasting state, with a parallel suppression of EGP((2))(H-G) and EGP(FDG). Parameters estimated by (18)F-FDG and (2)H-G were equivalent in all groups; their agreement was confirmed by Bland-Altman examination. Total Rd(FDG) correlated with Rd((2))(H-G) (r = 0.74; P = 0.003), M (r = 0.92; P = 0.001), MCR((2))(H-G) (r = 0.52; P = 0.037), and EGP((2))(H-G) (r = -0.71; P = 0.004). EGP(FDG) correlated with EGP((2))(H-G) (r = 0.62; P = 0.018), Rd((2))(H-G) (r = -0.78; P = 0.001), and MCR((2))(H-G) (r = -0.67; P = 0.008). The (18)F-FDG mean transit time correlated inversely with the M and Rd values and positively with EGP. CONCLUSION: The glucose analog (18)F-FDG can be used in the simultaneous estimation of whole-body glucose turnover and production and regional (18)F-FDG PET measurements under both fasting and insulin-stimulated conditions.     

Six cases of travel-associated legionnaires' disease in Ischia involving four countries

Summary The detection of travel-associated legionellosis can be extremely difficult; hence, an extensive case investigation is recommended in pneumonia-striken travellers and tourists, who are particularly at risk of acquiring the disease. On the Island of Ischia (Isola d'Ischia, Naples, Italy) a total of six cases of Legionnaires' disease occurred from 1986 to 1990. All patients (one man and two women from Germany, one Austrian woman, one Swiss man, and one Italian woman) had taken thermal baths and stayed in local hotels; they all experienced severe pneumonia, and three of them died. These cases were associated with hotels, and the hot-water supply was presumed to have transmitted the infection. Remedial procedures were applied to the hot-water plumbing of the hotels according to the WHO recommendations and were proved to be effective. The occurrences described in this paper stress the importance of rapid and accurate reporting of diagnosed cases to the country where the infection was probably acquired, in order to ensure early detection of endemic foci and emerging clusters of legionellosis.

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Sechs Fälle von reiseassoziierter Legionärskrankheit in Ischia unter Beteiligung von vier Ländern

Zusammenfassung Der Nachweis reiseassoziierter Legionärskrankheit gestaltet sich häufig schwierig. Eine Überwachung von Touristen und Reisenden, die ein erhöhtes Legionellose-Risiko haben, ist daher zu empfehlen. Zwischen 1986 und 1990 traten auf der Insel Ischia (Neapel, Italien) insgesamt sechs Fälle von Legionärskrankheit auf. Alle Patienten (ein Mann und zwei Frauen aus Deutschland, eine Österreicherin, ein Schweizer und eine Italienerin), die in Hotels auf der Insel wohnten, hatten Thermalbäder besucht. Sie erkrankten an schweren Pneumonien, wobei drei Todesfälle auftraten. Die Ansteckungsquelle konnte mit Hotels in Verbindung gebracht werden, wobei die Übertragung der Infektion über die Warmwasserleitungsnetze als gesichert anzunehmen war. Desinfektionsmaßnahmen in den betreffenden Hotels, die nach den Empfehlungen der WHO ausgeführt wurden, erwiesen sich als wirksam. Das genannte Infektionsgeschehen weist auf die Notwendigkeit hin, Fälle von Legionärskrankheit so rasch wie möglich dem Ursprungsland unter Angabe der vermuteten Infektionsquelle zu melden, um sicherzustellen, daß eine Früherkennung endemischer Herde bzw. assoziierter Legionellosen bekannt gemacht wird.

     

Identification of a Promiscuous T-Cell Epitope in Mycobacterium tuberculosis Mce Proteins

The characterization of Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens inducing CD4(+) T-cell responses could critically contribute to the development of subunit vaccines for M. tuberculosis. Here we performed computational analysis by using T-cell epitope prediction software (known as TEPITOPE) to predict promiscuous HLA-DR ligands in the products of the mce genes of M. tuberculosis. The analysis of the proliferative responses of CD4(+) T cells from patients with pulmonary tuberculosis to selected peptides displaying promiscuous binding to HLA-DR in vitro led us to the identification of a peptide that induced proliferation of CD4(+) cells from 50% of the tested subjects. This study demonstrates that a systematic computational approach can be used to identify T-cell epitopes in proteins expressed by an intracellular pathogen.