Syphilis Screening among 27,150 Pregnant Women in South Chinese Rural Areas Using Point-of-Care Tests

Objectives

To determine the prevalence and correlates of syphilis among pregnant women in rural areas of South China.

Methods

Point-of-care syphilis testing was provided at 71 health facilities in less developed, rural areas of Guangdong Province. Positive samples were confirmed at a local referral center by toluidine red unheated serum tests (TRUST) and Treponema pallidum particle agglutination (TPPA) tests.

Results

Altogether 27,150 pregnant women in rural Guangdong were screened for syphilis. 106 (0.39%) syphilis cases were diagnosed, of which 78 (73.6%) received treatment for syphilis. Multivariate analysis revealed that older pregnant women (31–35 years old, aOR 2.7, 95% CI 0.99–7.32; older than 35 years old, aOR 5.9, 95% CI 2.13–16.34) and those with a history of adverse pregnant outcomes (aOR 3.64, 95% CI 2.30–5.76) were more likely to be infected with syphilis.

Conclusions

A high prevalence of syphilis exists among pregnant women living in rural areas of South China. Enhanced integration of syphilis screening with other routine women''s health services (OB GYN, family planning) may be useful for controlling China''s syphilis epidemic.     

The sulfhydryl oxidase Erv1 is a substrate of the Mia40-dependent protein translocation pathway

The thiol oxidase Erv1 and the redox-regulated receptor Mia40/Tim40 are components of a disulfide relay system which mediates import of proteins into the intermembrane space (IMS) of mitochondria. Here we report that Erv1 requires Mia40 for its import into mitochondria. After passage across the translocase of the mitochondrial outer membrane Erv1 interacts via disulfide bonds with Mia40. Erv1 does not contain twin “CX₃C” or twin “CX₉C” motifs which are crucial for import of typical substrates of this pathway and it does not need two “CX₂C” motifs for import into mitochondria. Thus, Erv1 represents an unusual type of substrate of the Mia40-dependent import pathway.     

Serum level of soluble interleukin-2 receptor alpha correlates with the clinical course and activity of Wilms' tumour and soft tissue sarcomas in children.

Wilms' tumour (WT) and soft tissue sarcomas (SA) in children lack reliable biochemical markers. This study was carried out to determine the clinical significance of serum soluble interleukin-2 receptor alpha (sIL-2Ralpha) in the diagnostics and treatment monitoring of children with WT and SA. The study included 48 children: ten with WT, eight with SA and 30 healthy controls. The sIL-2Ralpha levels (ELISA) and rates of elevated sIL-2Ralpha values were estimated prospectively at diagnosis and in complete remission during treatment and after therapy. As the dependence on age was determined, the levels of sIL-2Ralpha were expressed as multiplications of the upper value of the normal range for a particular age ( xN). Median pretreatment levels of sIL-2Ralpha in patients exceeded those of healthy controls (1.79 xN for WT and 1.53 for SA vs. 0.61 for controls; p < 0.001) as did the rates of elevated sIL-2Ralpha values (80% of WTand 87.5% of SA patients vs. 0% of controls). Good response to therapy was paralleled by a significant decline of pretreatment sIL-2Ralpha levels and its elevated rates. Thus, sIL-2Ralpha determination may be of some value in the diagnostics and treatment monitoring of childhood WT and SA.     

Intrinsic Protein Fluorescence Interferes with Detection of Tear Glycoproteins in SDS-Polyacrylamide Gels Using Extrinsic Fluorescent Dyes

Intrinsic protein fluorescence may interfere with the visualization of proteins after SDS-polyacrylamide electrophoresis. In an attempt to analyze tear glycoproteins in gels, we ran tear samples and stained the proteins with a glycoprotein-specific fluorescent dye. The fluorescence detected was not limited to glycoproteins. There was strong intrinsic fluorescence of proteins normally found in tears after soaking the gels in 40% methanol plus 1-10% acetic acid and, to a lesser extent, in methanol or acetic acid alone. Nanograms of proteins gave visible native fluorescence and interfere with extrinsic fluorescent dye detection. Poly-L-lysine, which does not contain intrinsically fluorescent amino acids, did not fluoresce.     

Calcium instabilities in mammalian cardiomyocyte networks

The degeneration of a regular heart rhythm into fibrillation (a chaotic or chaos-like sequence) can proceed via several classical routes described by nonlinear dynamics: period-doubling, quasiperiodicity, or intermittency. In this study, we experimentally examine one aspect of cardiac excitation dynamics, the long-term evolution of intracellular calcium signals in cultured cardiomyocyte networks subjected to increasingly faster pacing rates via field stimulation. In this spatially extended system, we observed alternans and higher-order periodicities, extra beats, and skipped beats or blocks. Calcium instabilities evolved nonmonotonically with the prevalence of phase-locking or Wenckebach rhythm, low-frequency magnitude modulations (signature of quasiperiodicity), and switches between patterns with occasional bursts (signature of intermittency), but period-doubling bifurcations were rare. Six ventricular-fibrillation-resembling episodes were pace-induced, for which significantly higher complexity was confirmed by approximate entropy calculations. The progressive destabilization of the heart rhythm by coexistent frequencies, seen in this study, can be related to theoretically predicted competition of control variables (voltage and calcium) at the single-cell level, or to competition of excitation and recovery at the cell network level. Optical maps of the response revealed multiple local spatiotemporal patterns, and the emergence of longer-period global rhythms as a result of wavebreak-induced reentries.     

Expression and localization of P-glycoprotein in human heart: effects of cardiomyopathy.

ABC-type transport proteins, such as P-glycoprotein (P-gp), modify intracellular concentrations of many substrate compounds. They serve as functional barriers against entry of xenobiotics (e.g., in the gut or the blood-brain barrier) or contribute to drug excretion. Expression of transport proteins in the heart could be an important factor modifying cardiac concentrations of drugs known to be transported by P-gp (e.g., beta-blockers, cardiac glycosides, doxorubicin). We therefore investigated the expression and localization of P-gp in human heart. Samples from 15 human hearts (left ventricle; five non-failing, five dilated cardiomyopathy, and five ischemic cardiomyopathy) were analyzed for expression of P-gp using real-time RT-PCR, immunohistochemistry, and in situ hybridization. Immunohistochemistry revealed expression of P-gp in endothelium of both arterioles and capillaries of all heart samples. Although P-gp mRNA was detected in all samples, its expression level was significantly reduced in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. We describe variable expression of P-gp in human heart and its localization in the endothelial wall. Thus, intracardiac concentrations of various compounds may be modified, depending on the individual P-gp level.     

An essential saccharide binding domain for the mAb 2C7 established for Neisseria gonorrhoeae LOS by ES-MS and MSn

A study of bacterial surface oligosaccharides were investigated among different strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae to correlate structural features essential for binding to the MAb 2C7. This epitope is widely expressed and conserved in gonococcal isolates, characteristics essential to an effective candidate vaccine antigen. Sample lipooligosaccharides (LOS), was prepared by a modification of the hot phenol-water method from which de-O-acetylated LOS and oligosaccharide (OS) components were analyzed by ES-MS-CID-MS and ES-MSnin a triple quadrupole and an ion trap mass spectrometer, respectively. Previously documented natural heterogeneity was apparent from both LOS and OS preparations which was admixed with fragments induced by hydrazine and mild acid treatment. Natural heterogeneity was limited to phosphorylation and antenni extensions to the alpha-chain. Mild acid hydrolysis to release OS also hydrolyzed the beta(1-->6) glycosidic linkage of lipid A. OS structures were determined by collisional and resonance excitation combined with MS and multistep MSn which provided sequence information from both neutral loss, and nonreducing terminal fragments. A comparison of OS structures, with earlier knowledge of MAb binding, enzyme treatment, and partial acid hydrolysis indicates a generic overlapping domain for 2C7 binding. Reoccurring structural features include a Hepalpha(1-->3)Hepbeta(1-->5)KDO trisaccharide core branched on the nonreducing terminus (Hep-2) with an alpha(1-->2) linked GlcNAc (gamma-chain), and an alpha-linked lactose (beta-chain) residue. From the central heptose (Hep-1), a beta(1-->4) linked lactose (alpha-chain), moiety is required although extensions to this residue appear unnecessary.