► (21) Lutetia has spectral and physical properties similar to enstatite chondrites. ► These meteorites are linked to the formation of Earth and other terrestrial planets. ► This meteoritic ...association implies that Lutetia formed in the terrestrial region.
Isotopic and chemical compositions of meteorites, coupled with dynamical simulations, suggest that the main belt of asteroids between Mars and Jupiter contains objects formed in situ as well as a population of interlopers. These interlopers are predicted to include the building blocks of the terrestrial planets as well as objects that formed beyond Neptune (Bottke et al. 2006, Levison et al. 2009, Walsh et al. 2011). Here we report that the main belt asteroid (21) Lutetia – encountered by the Rosetta spacecraft in July 2010 – has spectral (from 0.3 to 25μm) and physical (albedo, density) properties quantitatively similar to the class of meteorites known as enstatite chondrites. The chemical and isotopic compositions of these chondrites indicate that they were an important component of the formation of Earth and other terrestrial planets. This meteoritic association implies that Lutetia is a member of a small population of planetesimals that formed in the terrestrial planet region and that has been scattered in the main belt by emerging protoplanets (Bottke et al. 2006) and/or by the migration of Jupiter (Walsh et al. 2011) early in its history. Lutetia, along with a few other main-belt asteroids, may contains part of the long-sought precursor material (or closely related materials) from which the terrestrial planets accreted.
Hepatitis delta virus (HDV) was responsible for a high proportion of cases of acute and chronic liver disease in Southern Europe during the 1970s. Some data suggest that by the 1990s HDV circulation ...had substantially declined. We have assessed the prevalence of HDV infection and its clinical impact in 834 Italian hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) carriers in 1997. Anti-HDV antibodies were sought in all consecutive chronic HBsAg carriers observed in 14 referral liver units throughout Italy. Risk factors for anti-HDV positivity were evaluated. Anti-HDV antibodies were found in 69 of 834 (8.3%) HBsAg-positive patients. Cohabitation with an anti-HDV–positive subject, intravenous drug addiction, residence in the South of the country, and the presence of cirrhosis were independently associated with the presence of anti-HDV antibodies. The overall prevalence of anti-HDV antibodies was lower than those observed in 2 multicenter surveys performed in 1987 and 1992 (23% and 14%, respectively). By 1997, the percentage of anti-HDV–positive subjects had sharply decreased in the 30 to 50 years age group, whereas it was almost unchanged in subjects over 50 years of age. The highest prevalence of anti-HDV antibodies (11.7%) was found in patients with cirrhosis. This prevalence was as high as 40% in the 1987 study. The circulation of HDV sharply decreased in Italy, by 1.5% per year, from 1987 to 1997. This decrease resulted mainly from the reduction in chronic HDV infections in the young, for whom high morbidity and mortality rates were recorded in the past. The results anticipate the almost complete control of HDV infection in the near future.
(Hepatology 2000;32:824-827.)
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) coinfection is often associated with severe forms of liver disease. However, comprehensive studies are lacking, and scant information is available ...regarding the virological behavior over time in coinfected patients. This study enrolled 133 untreated HBV/HCV-positive patients (male/female = 102/31; median age 51 years range: 22-83 years) who were longitudinally followed up for 1 year with bimonthly evaluation of HBV/HCV viremia levels and liver biochemistry. Thirty of these patients had triple infection with hepatitis Delta virus (HDV), while 103 patients were HDV-negative. In the HDV-negative group, active infection with both HBV and HCV was revealed in 24 cases, inactive infection by both viruses was seen in 15 cases, active HBV/inactive HCV was seen in 15 cases, and inactive HBV/active HCV was seen in 49 cases. However, 32 subjects (31%) presented dynamic virological profiles characterized by fluctuation of HBV and/or HCV viremia levels that at different time points were over or under the cutoff limits. Consequently, a correct diagnosis could be performed in these subjects only by serially repeating the virological tests 1 year apart. Similarly, 15 of the 30 HDV-positive subjects showed active HBV and/or HCV infection, with fluctuating virological patterns in 8 cases. In conclusion, this study showed that the virological patterns in HBV/HCV coinfection are widely divergent and have dynamic profiles. A careful longitudinal evaluation of the viremia levels of both viruses is essential for making a correct diagnosis and tailoring the appropriate therapeutic schedule in coinfected patients.
There is debate about whether interferon-α treatment lowers the risk of progression to hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with chronic viral hepatitis and cirrhosis and whether any effect is ...limited to certain subgroups. We investigated these issues by retrospective analysis of data for 913 patients from Italy and Argentina.
21 centres reported patients from their records who had chronic viral hepatitis and Child's A cirrhosis, were positive for HBsAg or hepatitis-C-virus antibodies (anti-HCV), and had been screened yearly for at least 3 years by ultrasonography and α-1-fetoprotein testing. Prognostic risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma defined by multivariate Cox regression analysis and individual observation time were used for group matching and conditional logistic regression analysis of the independent interferon-α treatment effect.
After group matching, the number of patients was reduced to 637. Age, male sex, and portal hypertension were significant risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma (each p<0·001); hepatic inflammation (p=0·21) and iron storage (p=0·18) were also included in the model. 66 (19%) of 356 untreated patients and 29 (10%) of 281 treated patients developed hepatocellular carcinoma (relative risk 1·99 95% CI 1·09–3·64); the corresponding proportions for anti-HCV-positive patients were 48 (18·5%) of 259 versus 21 (9·1%) of 232 (3·14 1·46–6·80), and those for hepatitis-B-virus-infected (HBV) patients were 18 (10%) of 97 and eight (16%) of 49 (0·98 0·33–2·92). Among anti-HCV patients without HBV markers, 29 (20%) of 129 untreated and six (5%) of 116 treated patients developed hepatocellular carcinoma (6·28 1·65–23·8).
Interferon treatment lowered the rate of progression to hepatocellular carcinoma two fold. The risk reduction was apparently greater for patients with chronic hepatitis C and no evidence of HBV infection. Future studies should stratify HCV-infected patients by HBV status.
This report describes the determination of paraquat (PQ) in human blood plasma samples by a direct-injection reversed-phase ion-pair chromatographic method. Blood plasma filtrate was injected ...directly into the LiChrospher® RP-18 alkyl-diol silica (ADS) precolumn integrated in a column switching system using a mixture of 3% 2-propanol and 10 mM sodium octane sulfonate (SOS) in a 0.05 M phosphate buffer (pH 2.8). After washing with this phase, the ADS precolumn was back-flushed with the analytical mobile phase consisting of 40% of methanol and 10 mM SOS in a 0.05 M phosphate buffer (pH 2.8) at a flow rate of 1.0 ml min
−1, in order to carry the analyte to a conventional reversed-phase analytical column, where the separation of PQ was achieved and finally detected by UV at 258 nm. The recoveries of PQ from human blood plasma samples ranged between 95.0 and 99.5% at nine different concentrations (from 0.05 to 3.00 μg of PQ ml
−1) with coefficients of variation <2.5% (
n=3). The precision expressed as relative standard deviation was below 3.5% for between-day and below 4.3% for within-day measurements (
n=5). The detection limit (signal-to-noise ratio, S/N>3) was 0.005 μg ml
−1 with an injection volume of 200 μl. The proposed method is promising for the identification and quantification of PQ at low concentration levels and is suitable for its analysis in human blood plasma samples from intentional or accidental poisonings cases with a sample throughput of 5 samples per hour.
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) vaccines may be able to increase viral clearance in combination with antiviral therapy. We analysed viral dynamics and HCV-specific immune response during retreatment for ...experienced patients in a phase Ib study with E1E2MF59 vaccine. Seventy-eight genotype 1a/1b patients relapsers (30), partial responders (16) and nonresponders (32) to interferon-(IFN)/ribavirin-(RBV) were randomly assigned to vaccine (V:23), Peg-IFN alpha 2a-180-ug/qw and ribavirin 1000-1200-mg/qd for 48 weeks (P/R:25), or their combination (P/R + V:30). Vaccine (100 mu g/0.5 mL) was administered intramuscularly at week 0-4-8-12-24-28-32-36. Neutralizing of binding (NOB) antibodies and lymphocyte proliferation assay (LPA) for E1E2-specific-CD4 + T cells were performed at week 0-12-16-48. Viral kinetics were analysed up to week 16. The vaccine was safe, and a sustained virological response (SVR) was achieved in 4 P/R + V and 2 P/R patients. Higher SVR rates were observed in prior relapsers (P/R + V = 27.3%; P/R = 12.5%). Higher NOB titres and LPA indexes were found at week 12 and 16 in P/R + V as compared to P/R patients (P = 0.023 and 0.025, P = 0.019 and <0.001, respectively). Among the 22 patients with the strongest direct antiviral effects of IFN ( epsilon greater than or equal to 0.800), those treated with P/R + V (10) reached lower HCV-RNA levels (P = 0.026) at week 16. HCV E1E2MF59 vaccine in combination with Peg-IFN alpha 2a + RBV was safe and elicited E1E2 neutralizing antibodies and specific CD4 + T cell proliferation. Upon early response to IFN, vaccinations were associated with an enhanced second phase viral load decline. These results prompt phase II trials in combination with new antiviral therapies.
Summary
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) vaccines may be able to increase viral clearance in combination with antiviral therapy. We analysed viral dynamics and HCV‐specific immune response during retreatment ...for experienced patients in a phase Ib study with E1E2MF59 vaccine. Seventy‐eight genotype 1a/1b patients relapsers (30), partial responders (16) and nonresponders (32) to interferon‐(IFN)/ribavirin‐(RBV) were randomly assigned to vaccine (V:23), Peg‐IFNα2a‐180‐ug/qw and ribavirin 1000–1200‐mg/qd for 48 weeks (P/R:25), or their combination (P/R + V:30). Vaccine (100 μg/0.5 mL) was administered intramuscularly at week 0‐4‐8‐12‐24‐28‐32‐36. Neutralizing of binding (NOB) antibodies and lymphocyte proliferation assay (LPA) for E1E2‐specific‐CD4 + T cells were performed at week 0‐12‐16‐48. Viral kinetics were analysed up to week 16. The vaccine was safe, and a sustained virological response (SVR) was achieved in 4 P/R + V and 2 P/R patients. Higher SVR rates were observed in prior relapsers (P/R + V = 27.3%; P/R = 12.5%). Higher NOB titres and LPA indexes were found at week 12 and 16 in P/R + V as compared to P/R patients (P = 0.023 and 0.025, P = 0.019 and <0.001, respectively). Among the 22 patients with the strongest direct antiviral effects of IFN (ε ≥ 0.800), those treated with P/R + V (10) reached lower HCV‐RNA levels (P = 0.026) at week 16. HCV E1E2MF59 vaccine in combination with Peg‐IFNα2a + RBV was safe and elicited E1E2 neutralizing antibodies and specific CD4 + T cell proliferation. Upon early response to IFN, vaccinations were associated with an enhanced second phase viral load decline. These results prompt phase II trials in combination with new antiviral therapies.
A simple reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method was developed for the determination of theobromine, theophylline and caffeine in cocoa samples. In the sample cleanup step, the ...procedure involves an on-line solid-phase extraction of analytes from cocoa samples into a home-made dry-packed pre-column with ODS-C
18 using a column-switching system. The separation was performed on a C
18 Nova-Pak column (150
mm
×
3.9
mm, 4
μm) using a mobile phase consisting of a solution of 20% of methanol in water under isocratic conditions, at a flow-rate of 1.4
ml/min. The validation method revealed quantitative recoveries (>95.0%) with a coefficients of variation <3.2% and it also provided a good precision for data validation. The overlap of sample cleanup, analysis and recondition of the precolumn increases the sample throughput to 8 samples/h. Furthermore, the proposed method was successfully applied to analysis of cocoa samples “Trinitario”, “Forastero” and “Criollo” grown in different seasons of the year and fermented for 3 and 7 days, respectively. The results showed a slight reduction in the theobromine and caffeine content according to the fermentation times. In the same way, the theobromine/caffeine ratio was assessed, with the purpose of establishing a correlation with the genotype of the studied samples.
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