Childhood adversities and psychosis: evidence,challenges, implications

There is a substantial body of research reporting evidence of associations between various forms of childhood adversity and psychosis, across the spectrum from experiences to disorder. This has been extended, more recently, to include studies of cumulative effects, of interactions with other factors, of specific effects, and of putative biological and psychological mechanisms. In this paper we evaluate this research and highlight the remaining methodological issues and gaps that temper, but do not dismiss, conclusions about the causal role of childhood adversity. We also consider the emerging work on cumulative, synergistic, and specific effects and on mechanisms; and discuss the broader implications of this line of research for our understanding of psychosis. We conclude that the current balance of evidence is that childhood adversities – particularly exposure to multiple adversities involving hostility and threat – do, in some people, contribute to the onset of psychotic experiences and psychotic disorders.     

Immunogenicity and Infectivity of Sporozoites of Mammalian Malaria Isolated by Density-Gradient Centrifugation*

Sporozoites of rodent and simian malaria (Plasmodium berghei and P. cynomolgi) were purified by centrifugation on a linear Renografin/BSA gradient. This procedure made it possible to process rapidly a large number of infected mosquitoes leading to the recovery of a considerable proportion of sporozoites. Gradient-recovered sporozoites (GRS) freed of most bacteria and mosquito tissue contaminants, retained their infectivity and immunogenicity. Mice repeatedly injected i.v. with irradiated GRS of P. berghei acquired total protection against an otherwise lethal sporozoite challenge. GRS of P. berghei and P. cynomolgi induced antisporozoite (CSP) antibody production in rats.     

Basic considerations in assessing and preventing occupational infections in personnel working with nonhuman primates

Transmission of zoonotic infections of nonhuman primates to human contacts is a documented occupational hazard. Although the list of naturally occurring and experimentally induced infections of nonhuman primates is extensive the risks of transmission may substantially be reduced by the use of good animal care practices, appropriate protective measures and devices, and suitable animal facilities. The essential elements of good animal care practices include high levels of personal hygiene; minimizing the creation of potentially infectious aerosols and droplets; use of personal protective clothing, devices, and vaccines; a system for reporting, evaluating, and treatment of occupational exposures and infections; and animal facilities appropriate for the species being used and the activities conducted. These essential elements are described and discussed in the context of published voluntary codes of practice--notably "Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories."     

Murine T cell clones specific for Hymenolepis nana: generation and functional analysis in vivo and in vitro.

To examine the role of the T cell in protective immunity to Hymenolepis nana, H. nana-specific clonal lymphocytes were generated from mesenteric lymph nodes of BALB/c mice infected with H. nana, and some of their functions were analyzed in vitro and in vivo. Following limiting dilution techniques, five clones were generated from mesenteric lymph node cell populations. All of these clones expressed the L3T4⁺, Lyt-2.2⁻ phenotype and proliferated in vitro in response to soluble egg antigen of H. nana. Of five clones, three secreted interleukin 2 (IL-2) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) after stimulation with egg antigen. Furthermore, these three clones conferred local delayed-type hypersensitivity to egg antigen. The remaining two clones produced interleukin 4 (IL-4) in response to egg antigen, and could not mediate local delayed-type hypersensitivity. Adoptive transfer experiments using clonal lymphocytes were also undertaken in an attempt to define cell types involved in protective immunity. Clonal lymphocytes secreting both IL-2 and IFN-γ transferred protective immunity, equivalent to that obtained by non-cultured-sensitized mesenteric lymph node cells. They were effective in very small numbers. However, clonal lymphocytes that secreted IL-4 did not transfer protective immunity. These results suggest that helper T lymphocytes, especially the Th1 subtype, are involved in protective immunity against H. nana.     

Development of a new method for the detection of lactic acid bacteria capable of protecting ham against Enterobacteriaceae

Aims:  Challenge trials seem to be the best assessment approach to evaluate the potency of food protective cultures. However, this method is time consuming and often difficult to implement. Here, we describe the development of the 'sequential culturing method', a new method for the screening of strains as protective cultures.
Methods and Results:  The sequential culturing method is based on the simulation, in a meat simulation medium (named BHI5L200), of the inhibition of Enterobacteriaceae by Lactobacillus , observed previously in situ . Results obtained with this sequential culturing method were in good agreement with those of the challenge test on sliced cooked ham and confirmed the antagonistic potency of Lactobacillus . The results obtained from the screening of 187 lactic acid bacteria (LAB) indicated that Lactobacillus sakei , Lactococcus lactis diacetylactis and Carnobacterium spp. were strong inhibitors of Enterobacteriaceae whereas Pediococcus spp., Leuconostoc spp., Weisselia spp. and other species of Lactobacillus and Lactococcus , did not possess the same inhibitory capacity.
Conclusions:  Sequential culturing method appeared to be a useful tool to rapidly select LAB cultures which are good candidates for bioprotection of meat.
Significance and Impact of the Study:  Sequential culturing method and simulating media could efficiently mimic challenge test experiments in the selection of potential protective culture for all types of food, on the condition to have the appropriate simulating media, corresponding to the food for which protective cultures were searched.     

Special work-wear and protective clothing for Indian furnace workers

1. 1. In the present study two new, ergonomically designed, low-cost prototypes of protective work-wear for furnace workers of five hot metal and three glass factories in West Bengal were developed and evaluated on the basis of objective and subjective assessments.

2. 2. The objective assessments included the thermal data of the workplaces during summer and winter months, data on accidents and workers' physiological responses such as pulse rates, core and skin temperatures and sweat loss during work with the existing as well as work-wear. The subjective assessments were from questionnaires on the merits and demerits of the existing and new work-wear and the comfort votes.

3. 3. The study recommended the use of ergonomically designed, low-cost, washable, ventilated, vapour permeable, flame-retardant, radiant-heat-reflecting type special work clothing (Prototype No.II) by the workers to reduce the heat stress, accident risks and the physiological costs and to increase efficiency and productivity.

Stabilization of the monoolein Pn3m cubic structure on trehalose glasses

Trehalose is known to protect some organisms from various stresses due to drought and high temperature. To explore the molecular mechanism of the protective function, the mesomorphic properties of the monoolein-water system, dried in the presence of trehalose, were studied by X-ray diffraction. While, in pure water, two bicontinuous inverse cubic structures (the Pn3m and Ia3d phases) and a lamellar Lα phase exist as a function of concentration, only the Pn3m cubic phase has been detected in concentrated trehalose solutions or in trehalose glasses, even under extremely dry conditions. Depending on the sugar concentration, or after glass dehydration, the Pn3m cubic unit cell decreases to very low values, much below the smaller one observed in pure water. However, as no phase transitions occur, a simple osmotic mechanism can be excluded. An additional stabilization of the lipid phase, arising from interfacial free energy changes due to trehalose-water-lipid direct interactions, and large enough to affect the energetic balance between the Pn3m and the Ia3d cubic phases, evidently occurs. Moreover, no differences in the Pn3m cubic structure were observed when the sugar platelets convert to the glassy state; no apparent structural modifications that can be related to mechanical pressure exerted on the lipid phase have been detected. Received: 5 October 1998 / Accepted: 13 November 1998     

Proteomic analysis of Bacillus subtilis strains engineered for improved production of heterologous proteins

The use of bacterial systems for recombinant protein production has advantages of simplicity, time and cost over competing systems. However, widely used bacterial expression systems (e.g. Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas fluorescens) are not able to secrete soluble proteins directly into the culture medium. This limits yields and increases downstream processing time and costs. In contrast, Bacillus spp. secrete native enzymes directly into the culture medium at grams‐per‐litre quantities, although the yields of some recombinant proteins are severely limited. We have engineered the Bacillus subtilis genome to generate novel strains with precise deletions in the genes encoding ten extracytoplasmic proteases that affect recombinant protein secretion, which lack chromosomal antibiotic resistance genes. The deletion sites and presence of single nucleotide polymorphisms were confirmed by sequencing. The strains are stable and were used in industrial‐scale fermenters for the production of the Bacillus anthracis vaccine protein, protective antigen, the productivity of which is extremely low in the unmodified strain. We also show that the deletion of so‐called quality control proteases appears to influence cell‐wall synthesis, resulting in the induction of the cell‐wall stress regulon that encodes another quality control protease.     

不同剂量右美托咪定联合舒芬太尼对老年全髋关节置换术患者血流动力学、脑保护效应和 T淋巴细胞亚群的影响

摘要 目的：观察不同剂量右美托咪定联合舒芬太尼对老年全髋关节置换术（THA）患者血流动力学、脑保护效应和 T淋巴细胞亚群的影响。方法：选择2017年3月到2021年8月期间来我院接受治疗的老年THA患者90例。将患者根据随机数字表法分为低剂量组、中剂量组和高剂量组,例数分别为30例。麻醉诱导前,低剂量组（0.25 μg/kg）、中剂量组（0.50 μg/kg）和高剂量组（1.00 μg/kg）静脉输注右美托咪定,输注 10 min。观察三组血流动力学、脑保护效应指标、T淋巴细胞亚群指标、不良反应发生情况及镇痛情况。结果：中剂量组气管插管即刻（T1）~手术结束时（T3）时间点心率（HR）、平均动脉压（MAP）高于低剂量组和高剂量组（P<0.05）。高剂量组及中剂量组的术后2 h、术后 6 h、术后12 h、术后24 h疼痛视觉模拟评分法 (VAS )评分均低于低剂量组(P<0.05),且高剂量组低于中剂量组( P<0.05 )。高剂量组、中剂量组术后3 d血清S100β蛋白、神经元特异性烯醇化酶（NSE）低于低剂量组,且高剂量组低于中剂量组（P<0.05）。高剂量组、中剂量组术后3 d的脑氧摄取率（CERO₂）高于低剂量组,且高剂量组高于中剂量组（P<0.05）。高剂量组、中剂量组术后3 d CD3⁺、CD4⁺、CD4⁺/ CD8⁺高于低剂量组（P<0.05）。高剂量组、中剂量组术后3 d CD3⁺、CD4⁺、CD4⁺/ CD8⁺对比差异无统计学意义（P>0.05）。高剂量组的不良反应发生率比低剂量组和中剂量组的更高（P<0.05）。结论：右美托咪定联合舒芬太尼应用于老年THA患者,可获得较好的镇痛效果,且右美托咪定具有剂量差异,0.50 μg/kg及 1.00 μg/kg可获得相当的免疫功能恢复程度,0.50 μg/kg的患者血流动力学更稳定,而1.00 μg/kg的患者脑保护效应更好,但不良反应高,综合考虑,认为0.50 μg/kg右美托咪定相对更为安全。     

国家Ⅱ级重点保护野生植物驼峰藤的研究进展

通过对专著、文献和多个网络资源数据库(植物志、标本、图像等)分析考证,及赴部分产地的野外实地考察,对珍稀濒危植物驼峰藤(Merrillanthus hainanensis Chun et Tsiang)的分类地位、形态特征、标本记录与保存、产地与生境、濒危的野外生存现状等情况进行了综述,以期为该保护物种的生存和发展和保护提供参考。自1933年采集到标本和1941年命名驼峰藤以来,至今已有80多年的历史,研究表明它的分布区范围从原广东、海南省扩展到中国大陆西南部和中南半岛部分地区(缅甸和柬埔寨),部分原有记载分布点已无法找到野生植株,导致其濒危的主要原因是生境的破坏和质量下降,广东中山五桂山脉或许是目前发现的最大野生种群保存地,文中就其保护措施提出了相关建议。