Selenium status is decreased in patients with intrinsic asthma

Lowered selenium (Se) status has been observed in asthma patients. An increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) owing to inflammatory condition has also been found in these patients and thus antioxidant properties of Se via glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity are of great importance. Concentrations of Se in plasma and erythrocytes as well as eryth-rocyte GPx activity in 22 intrinsic asthma patients (five patients; all women were aspirin-sensitive) were compared with those of 33 control subjects. Se concentrations in both plasma and erythrocytes and GPx activity were decreased in intrinsic asthma patients. There were no significant differences in investigated parameters of Se status between aspirin-tolerant and aspirin-intolerant patients within intrinsic asthma group. Significantly high positive correlation between plasma and erythrocyte Se concentrations was found when regarding all subjects as a whole. Se supplementation might be beneficial to patients with intrinsic asthma, which may be at risk of Se deficiency.     

Circadian rhythm of ventilatory parameters of intrinsic asthma in clinical remission

In six subjects with intrinsic asthma in clinical remission, time-structure of ventilatory parameters has been evaluated in order to evaluate: 1) which indexes present statistically significant circadian fluctuations; 2) if phase-shifts occur in comparison with normal subjects. After a period of synchronization of 7 days (L/D: 07.30-23.00; meal timing at 08.00, 13.00 and 20.30) all subjects have been studied by spirometry, flow-volume loop and Raw determination 6 times in a 24-hr period at constant intervals of 4 hrs. The results have been evaluated by macroscopic and microscopic analysis statistical significant fluctuations have been shown in these functional indexes: MEF50, Raw, SRaw, SGaw, FRC and RV; no phase-shifts occurred in comparison with normal subjects. On the contrary a circadian rhythm has not been shown in FVC, FEV1, and PEF. Therefore only the effort-independent test should be used to study correctly the bronchial tone.     

Tracheal adenoid cystic carcinoma masquerading asthma: A case report

Background

Hemorrhagic pleural effusion, especially in the right hemithorax rarely occurs as the sole presentation of pancreatitis.

Case Presentation

This article reports massive right-sided hemorrhagic pleural effusion as the sole manifestation of pancreatitis in a 16-year-old Iranian boy. The patient referred to Nemazee Hospital, the main hospital of southern Iran, with right-sided shoulder and chest pain accompanied with dyspnea. His chest x-ray showed massive right-sided pleural effusion. The pleural fluid amylase was markedly elevated (8840 U/L), higher than that in the serum (3318 U/L). Abdominal CT scan showed a cystic structure measuring about 5·2 cm in the head of pancreas, highly suggestive of a pancreatic pseudocyst. Pleural effusion resolved after 3 weeks of chest tube insertion but not completely. After this period of conservative therapy another CT scan showed that pseudocyst was still in the head of pancreas. So, external drainage was done with mushroom insertion and the patient was discharged after 40 days of hospitalization. The cause of pancreatitis could not be identified.

Conclusion

Pancreatitis should be taken into consideration when hemorrhagic pleural effusion, especially in the right hemithorax occurs.     

A case of Strongyloides stercoralis hyper-invasion in the course of bronchial asthma

A case of Strongyloides stercoralis hyper-invasion is presented. Female patient with the bronchial asthma was periodically treated with steroids. Generalized toxemia caused by parasitic invasion proved fatal in this patient.     

Neurosurgical brain tumor detection based on intraoperative optical intrinsic signal imaging technique: A case report of glioblastoma

The delineation of brain tumor margins has been a challenging objective in neurosurgery for decades. Despite the development of various preoperative imaging techniques, the current methodology is still insufficient for clinical practice. We present an intraoperative optical intrinsic signal imaging system for brain tumor surgery and establish a data processing procedure model to localize tumors. From the experimental result of a glioblastoma patient, we observe a relative small oscillation of ΔHbD in tumor region and speculate that vessels in tumor region have poor ability to provide oxygen. We applied the same data processing procedure on the second time data and proclaimed a successful surgery. Figure: Merged ΔHbD image captured prior and posterior to tumor removal.      

A nexus of intrinsic dynamics underlies translocase priming

1. Download : Download high-res image (167KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image

     

A new subfamily of major intrinsic proteins in plants

The major intrinsic proteins (MIPs) form a large protein family of ancient origin and are found in bacteria, fungi, animals, and plants. MIPs act as channels in membranes to facilitate passive transport across the membrane. Some MIPs allow small polar molecules like glycerol or urea to pass through the membrane. However, the majority of MIPs are thought to be aquaporins (AQPs), i.e., they are specific for water transport. Plant MIPs can be subdivided into the plasma membrane intrinsic protein, tonoplast intrinsic protein, and NOD26-like intrinsic protein subfamilies. By database mining and phylogenetic analyses, we have identified a new subfamily in plants, the Small basic Intrinsic Proteins (SIPs). Comparisons of sequences from the new subfamily with conserved amino acid residues in other MIPs reveal characteristic features of SIPs. Possible functional consequences of these features are discussed in relation to the recently solved structures of AQP1 and GlpF. We suggest that substitutions at conserved and structurally important positions imply a different substrate specificity for the new subfamily.     

A new subfamily LIP of the major intrinsic proteins

Background

Proteins of the major intrinsic protein (MIP) family, or aquaporins, have been detected in almost all organisms. These proteins are important in cells and organisms because they allow for passive transmembrane transport of water and other small, uncharged polar molecules.

Results

We compared the predicted amino acid sequences of 20 MIPs from several algae species of the phylum Heterokontophyta (Kingdom Chromista) with the sequences of MIPs from other organisms. Multiple sequence alignments revealed motifs that were homologous to functionally important NPA motifs and the so-called ar/R-selective filter of glyceroporins and aquaporins. The MIP sequences of the studied chromists fell into several clusters that belonged to different groups of MIPs from a wide variety of organisms from different Kingdoms. Two of these proteins belong to Plasma membrane intrinsic proteins (PIPs), four of them belong to GlpF-like intrinsic proteins (GIPs), and one of them belongs to a specific MIPE subfamily from green algae. Three proteins belong to the unclassified MIPs, two of which are of bacterial origin. Eight of the studied MIPs contain an NPM-motif in place of the second conserved NPA-motif typical of the majority of MIPs. The MIPs of heterokonts within all detected clusters can differ from other MIPs in the same cluster regarding the structure of the ar/R-selective filter and other generally conserved motifs.

Conclusions

We proposed placing nine MIPs from heterokonts into a new group, which we have named the LIPs (large intrinsic proteins). The possible substrate specificities of the studied MIPs are discussed.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2164-15-173) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

A fresh perspective on asthma

Recent advances in asthma research have altered views of how the disease is triggered and sustained. What remains to be seen is whether this knowledge can be integrated into the clinic to alter the natural course of disease.