Sputum Inflammatory Profile Before and After Specific Inhalation Challenge in Individuals with Suspected Occupational Asthma

Background

The aim of this study was to establish the sputum inflammatory profile and changes in levels of leukotriene B₄ (LTB₄) and a panel of Th1/Th2 cytokines in subjects with suspected occupational asthma (OA) following specific inhalation challenge (SIC) to high-molecular-weight (HMW) and low-molecular-weight (LMW) agents.

Material and Methods

Fifty-one consecutive subjects undergoing SIC for suspected OA were enrolled. Sputum induction was performed the day before and 24 h after exposure to the offending agent. Total and differential cell counts were assessed. LTB₄ and a 10 Th1/Th2 cytokines were measured in sputum supernatant.

Results

Thirty-four patients tested positive to SIC and were diagnosed with OA (in 10 due to HMW agents and in 24 to LMW agents). SIC was negative in 17 subjects. As compared to baseline an increase was found in the percentage of sputum eosinophils and neutrophils, and in IL-10 concentration after SIC (p = 0.0078, p = 0.0195, and p = 0.046, respectively), and a decrease was seen in LTB₄ level (p = 0.0078) in patients with OA due to HMW agents. An increase in the percentage of sputum neutrophils after SIC (p = 0.0040) was observed in subjects without OA exposed to LMW agents. IL-8 levels after SIC were higher in patients without OA compared with patients with OA (p = 0.0146).

Conclusion

When conducting airway inflammation studies in OA, patients should be divided according to the causal agent (HMW or LMW). In OA patients exposed to HMW agents, an increase in the number of neutrophils can be found in parallel to the increase of eosinophils, although this does not contradict an IgE-mediated mechanism. Exposure to LMW agents can result in increased neutrophilic inflammation in patients with airway diseases unrelated to OA. There is variability in the responses observed in patients with OA exposed to LMW agents.     

基于RNA-seq技术研究埃可病毒30型感染RD细胞前后的差异表达基因

埃可病毒30型(Echovirus 30,E30)是一种全球传播的B组肠道病毒,常与无菌性脑膜炎等疾病暴发有关,分析E30在感染人横纹肌肉瘤(Human rhabdomyosarcoma,RD)细胞前后的差异表达基因有助于了解该病毒的复制周期以及宿主感染机制。本研究通过转录组测序技术探究E30感染RD细胞前后的基因表达谱变化,共检测到的1281个差异表达基因,其中包括730个下调基因和551个上调基因。基因本体论(Gene Ontology,GO)和京都基因与基因组百科全书(Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes,KEGG)富集分析表明,显著差异表达基因主要参与细胞受体信号通路的调节、炎症反应、免疫细胞活化、调控细胞生命周期等。利用荧光定量PCR(Realtime quantitative PCR,qPCR)对其中9个与炎症和免疫反应相关的差异表达基因进行验证,发现DEAD-box解旋酶3(DEAD-box RNA helicase 3,DDX3)表达上调,这与转录组学分析一致。利用RK-33(DDX3的小分子抑制剂)靶向抑制DDX3的表达,发现RK-33能够抑制E30的复制,并且qPCR结果显示在抑制DDX3的表达后,GTP酶激活蛋白结合蛋白1(GTPase-activating protein-binding protein1,G3BP1)和干扰素调节因子3(Interferon Regulatory Factor 3,IRF3)的表达也出现不同程度地降低。本研究的结果提示DDX3表达可能影响E30复制,这一发现为进一步探索E30在感染宿主过程中的分子机制奠定基础。     

Chronic Ulcerative Colitis Before and After Colectomy

There is a proper time to advise removal of the colon and creation of a permanent ileostomy in the course of progressive toxic ulcerative colitis. When a thorough trial of medical therapy, including corticosteroids, has failed to halt progression of the disease, a properly timed colectomy may give the patient a new lease on life and enable him to maintain himself socially and economically.The development of ileostomy (Q-T) clubs has been an important factor in preparing them for and sustaining these young patients through the psychological trauma of an ileostomy. Two patients are described who illustrate the value of properly timed surgery and the contribution that ileostomy clubs can make.     

Fibrinogen in Obesity Before and After Weight Reduction

Several studies have shown that obesity is associated with atherosclerosis. The reason may be that there is often a gathering together of risk factors for cardiovascular disease in obesity. Recently plasma fibrinogen level has been identified as an important cardiovascular risk factor. The aim of the study was to investigate fibrinogen levels in obesity before and after weight reduction. Obese but otherwise healthy patients with overweight problems were studied. 448 female patients (39.1 ± 13.2 years, body mass index 38.7 kg/m²) and 136 male patients (39.4 ± 12.8 years, body mass index 40.7 kg/m²) were examined after overnight fasting. Sixty patients (44 female, 16 male) were studied after 9.5 ± 6.2 month of dieting (1200 kcal/day: 20% protein, 30% fat and 50% carbohydrates). The weight loss was 16.7 ± 11.0 kg in the female and 16.2 ± 6.7 kg in the male patients, and blood pressure, triglycerides, blood glucose and uric acid had declined. The fibrinogen level correlated with the body mass index, the waist circumference, the hip circumference and the waist to hip ratio. The fibrinogen level also correlated with insulin. A partial correlation of fibrinogen and insulin continued to exist after removing the linear effects of the other variables measured. After weight reduction, the level of fibrinogen was lower. In patients with extreme overweight and high fibrinogen levels, who reduced their BMI by 7.4 ± 1.24 kg/m², the weight loss correlated with the decrease in fibrinogen. The results suggest that fibrinogen is associated with the degree of obesity and with the fasting insulin level. Fibrinogen concentration is lowered by weight reduction. However decrease of fibrinogen was observed only in patients with considerable weight loss.     

Invasive Snake Activity Before and After Automated Aerial Baiting

Aerially delivered toxic baits have proven effective for landscape-level control of numerous invasive vertebrate populations with major benefits for conservation and ecosystem function, but this technique has not been broadly adapted for control of invasive reptiles. Nonnative brown treesnakes (Boiga irregularis) on the Pacific island of Guam have caused severe ecological and economic damage and pose an invasion risk on other islands, making them a high-profile candidate for application of aerial baiting methods. Although terrestrial applications of traps, toxicants, and hand-removal are standard brown treesnake management practices, these methods are not cost-effective for control in the island's large tracts of remote, rugged forest. In 2016, the first major in situ evaluation of a helicopter-borne automated aerial bait delivery system applied snake-targeted toxic baits at an effective rate of approximately 120 baits/ha over a 110-ha forested test plot on Guam. We evaluated the extent and duration of the suppressive effect of this toxic bait application on brown treesnakes by measuring nontoxic bait take rates as a proxy index of relative snake abundance before and after toxic bait application in a treatment plot and surrounding reference area. We placed 4,420 nontoxic baits in random transects at georeferenced locations, from 1 month before until nearly 12 months after toxic bait application, allowing temporal analysis of the suppressive effect and spatial analysis of treatment plot reinvasion. Over the first 30 days after toxic bait application, average nontoxic bait take rate in the treatment plot was 41.2% lower than the pre-application rate, and there was no immediate decrease in bait take in the reference area. Reduced snake activity was still evident nearly 12 months after bait application. Roads forming a portion of the treatment boundary appeared to slow snake movement between treated area and surrounding untreated area. Trail cameras monitoring a subset of bait tubes showed that 97.5% of baits removed were taken by snakes rather than nontarget species. We indexed rodent abundance in the treatment plot and reference area, and found no indication of a rodent population increase following toxic bait application. Our results show that automated aerial bait applications can suppress brown treesnake abundance over a large area and that reinvasion from surrounding untreated habitat occurs over several months. We anticipate that repeated bait applications could achieve and maintain greatly reduced brown treesnake abundance on a landscape scale, potentially improving biosecurity and enabling experimental reintroduction of native birds extirpated by brown treesnake predation. Published 2019. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. The Journal of Wildlife Management published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Wildlife Society.     

安南龟冬眠前后乳酸脱氢酶的比较研究

应用垂直平板聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳技术,对安南龟冬眠前后心、肝、脾、肺、肾、胃、骨骼肌共7种组织器官进行了乳酸脱氢酶同工酶的检测。结果表明,安南龟冬眠前后不同组织器官的乳酸脱氢酶同工酶酶谱均有差异,反映了安南龟冬眠前后代谢过程和代谢水平的不同。     

安南龟冬眠前后酯酶同工酶的比较研究

应用垂直平板聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳技术,对安南龟冬眠前后心、肝、脾、肺、肾、胃、骨骼肌7种器官组织进行了酯酶同工酶的检测.结果表明,安南龟不同器官组织的酯酶同工酶酶谱有明显差异,反映了酯酶同工酶的器官组织特异性;同一器官组织在冬眠前后其酶谱也出现明显的变化,反映了安南龟冬眠前后代谢过程和代谢水平的不同.     

植入前期与分娩前期子宫差别表达基因筛选及表达

采用抑制消减杂交技术 (suppression subtractive hybridization , SSH) ,以 SD 大鼠为实验材料,选取妊娠过程中植入前期 ( 第 5 天, D5) 和分娩前期 ( 第 19 天, D19) 子宫分别作为驱动方 (driver) 和实验方 (tester) ,进行抑制消减杂交,获得的消减文库经差异筛选得到 70 个阳性克隆 . 序列测定和同源对比分析表明,这些克隆所代表的基因在大鼠基因库中分别与 8 个已知基因有 90 ％～ 100 ％不等的同源性 . 这些基因均差别表达于分娩前期子宫组织中,其中首次发现尿鸟苷蛋白和干扰素诱导蛋白 16 在 SD 大鼠妊娠子宫中有表达 . RT-PCR 及半定量分析显示,尿鸟苷蛋白基因在妊娠第 19 天子宫中的表达显著高于妊娠第 5 天 (P < 0.001) ,而干扰素诱导蛋白 16 差异表达不明显 . 在妊娠 D6 、 D9 和 D12 的子宫中尿鸟苷蛋白基因自胚泡植入后其表达逐渐上升,妊娠 D15 下降,在妊娠 D19 表达量最高 . 结果提示特异表达的尿鸟苷蛋白基因可能与分娩有关 .     

准分子激光原位角膜磨镶术前术后客观验光和主观验光的比较

目的比较准分子激光原位角膜磨镶术前后客观验光和主观验光的准确性和相关性。方法对在我中心接受LASIK手术69例123眼,在术前和术后一个月进行客观验光(NIDEKARK-700)和主观验光(RODENSTOCK综合验光头),对获得的数据进行相关分析。结果LASIK术后,客观验光的准确性较术前下降,客观验光和主观验光测量结果的差值明显增加;术前近视度越高,术后客观验光和主观验光测量结果的差别越大。在测量散光中,术后1月,客观验光和主观验光测量散光的差值明显增加,客观验光不能准确测量散光的量和轴向。结论LASIK术前用自动验光仪进行的客观验光可靠性较高,与主观验光法测量屈光不正的结果接近;术后,客观验光的准确性较术前下降,不能有效评判屈光不正的性质和量。     

Calcium Dependence of Synaptic Vesicle Recycling Before and After Synaptogenesis

Abstract: Using an immunocytochemical assay to monitor synaptic vesicle exocytosis/endocytosis independently of neurotransmitter release, we have investigated some aspects of vesicle recycling in hippocampal neurons at different developmental stages. A calcium- and depolarization-dependent exocytotic/endocytotic recycling of synaptic vesicles was found to take place in neurons already before the formation of synaptic contacts. The analysis of synaptic vesicle recycling at different calcium concentrations revealed the presence of two release components: the first one activated by low calcium concentrations and sustaining vesicle recycling before synaptogenesis, and a second one activated by high calcium concentrations, which is specifically turned on after the establishment of synaptic contacts. These data suggest that formation of synapses correlates with the activation of a putative low-affinity calcium sensor, which allows synaptic vesicle exocytosis to be triggered and turned off over extremely short time scales, in response to large increases in the level of intracellular calcium.     

Chlorophyll Chemistry Before and After Crystals of Photosynthetic Reaction Centers

The experimental, theoretical and structural research leading to the identification and characterization of the (bacterio) chlorophyll species that mediate the primary events of solar energy transduction and dynamics is reviewed and examined from the author's perspective.     

Studies on Whole-body Potassium in Non-ketoacidotic Diabetics Before and After Treatment

Serial measurements of whole-body potassium were carried out in 28 diabetic patients, in 23 of whom diabetes had only recently been diagnosed. Eleven patients were treated with insulin, 12 with oral hypoglycaemic agents, and the rest were already on oral hypoglycaemic agents and had developed poor diabetic control; four of these required insulin. Whole-body potassium was measured before treatment was begun (or altered) and again one and six weeks later. Whole-body potassium (ratio of observed to expected) was initially reduced in most of the patients requiring insulin. After control of diabetes whole-body potassium increased significantly in the three groups. The increase in whole-body potassium in the individual patients varied over a wide range, and in patients who were treated with insulin it was often of a similar magnitude to that observed in patients in diabetic ketoacidosis.