A 14 day old baby presented with signs of an acute encephalitis. Clinically, herpes simplex encephalitis (HSE) was suspected. Early MRI and EEG were normal and there was rapid clinical improvement. A ...negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) result on the initial CSF sample seemed to make HSE most unlikely. This diagnosis was subsequently proved after demonstration of specific antibody production using immunoelectrophoresis of the CSF. The child had extensive damage to brain tissue. The need for sequential analysis of CSF in making or refuting this diagnosis is illustrated.
A sensitive method has been developed for the trace analysis of alkyl alkylphosphonic acids, metabolites of nerve agents, in urine using a benchtop ion trap mass spectrometer. The acids were isolated ...from urine by simple solid phase extraction and converted to their pentafluorobenzyl esters. An ion trap mass spectrometer in selected reaction monitoring mode provided limits of detection of 0.1
ng/ml for isopropyl, isobutyl, pinacolyl and cyclohexyl methylphosphonic acids and for ethyl ethylphosphonic acid. The detection limit for ethyl methylphosphonic acid was higher (0.5
ng/ml) due to a lower recovery.
The principal phyto-oestrogens (PO) in food are isoflavones, lignans, coumestans and prenylated flavonoids, with isoflavones and lignans being the most commonly found in UK diets. Until recently ...obtaining accurate data on the PO content of foods was hampered by lack of suitable analytical methods and validation techniques. Furthermore, although PO data exist for some foods, these foods may not be available in the UK. The aim of the present study was to construct a new, comprehensive isoflavone (total genistein + daidzein) database. Using data, mainly from recent GC-MS analysis, for approximately 300 foods available in the UK, and extensive recipe calculations, a new database was constructed containing approximately 6000 foods allocated an isoflavone value. By analysing 7 d weighed food diaries, the database was subsequently used to estimate isoflavone intake in two groups of healthy volunteers, omnivores (n 9) and vegetarians (n 10). Mean isoflavone intake in the vegetarian and omnivorous group was 7.4 (SEM 3.05) and 1.2 (SEM 0.43) mg/d, respectively. Mean intake for the total group was 4.5 (SEM 1.89) mg/d. Main food sources of isoflavones for the vegetarian group were soya milk (plain), meat-substitute foods containing textured vegetable protein and soya protein isolate, soya mince, wholemeal bread and rolls, white bread and rolls, croissants and pitta breads, beans, raisins and soya sauce. Main food sources of isoflavones for the omnivorous group were soya yogurts, wholemeal bread and rolls, white bread and rolls, garlic bread, nan bread and brown bread, sultanas and scones.
Detailed chemical analysis of solutions used to decontaminate chemical warfare agents can be used to support verification and forensic attribution. Decontamination solutions are amongst the most ...difficult matrices for chemical analysis because of their corrosive and potentially emulsion-based nature. Consequently, there are relatively few publications that report their detailed chemical analysis. This paper describes the application of modern analytical techniques to the analysis of decontamination solutions following decontamination of the chemical warfare agent O-ethyl S-2-diisopropylaminoethyl methylphosphonothiolate (VX). We confirm the formation of N,N-diisopropylformamide and N,N-diisopropylamine following decontamination of VX with hypochlorite-based solution, whereas they were not detected in extracts of hydroxide-based decontamination solutions by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy or gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. We report the electron ionisation and chemical ionisation mass spectroscopic details, retention indices, and NMR spectra of N,N-diisopropylformamide and N,N-diisopropylamine, as well as analytical methods suitable for their analysis and identification in solvent extracts and decontamination residues.
It is thought that monocytes rapidly differentiate to macrophages or dendritic cells (DCs) upon leaving blood. Here we have shown that Ly-6C+ monocytes constitutively trafficked into skin, lung, and ...lymph nodes (LNs). Entry was unaffected in gnotobiotic mice. Monocytes in resting lung and LN had similar gene expression profiles to blood monocytes but elevated transcripts of a limited number of genes including cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2) and major histocompatibility complex class II (MHCII), induced by monocyte interaction with endothelium. Parabiosis, bromodoxyuridine (BrdU) pulse-chase analysis, and intranasal instillation of tracers indicated that instead of contributing to resident macrophages in the lung, recruited endogenous monocytes acquired antigen for carriage to draining LNs, a function redundant with DCs though differentiation to DCs did not occur. Thus, monocytes can enter steady-state nonlymphoid organs and recirculate to LNs without differentiation to macrophages or DCs, revising a long-held view that monocytes become tissue-resident macrophages by default.
•Ly-6C+ not Ly-6C− monocytes enter tissues in the steady state•Tissue monocytes can retain monocyte profile without becoming macrophages or DCs•Tissue monocytes may mediate antigen surveillance: they are MHCII+ and migrate to LNs•MHCII induction on tissue monocytes can be driven by interactions with endothelium
We measured levels of albumin and immunoglobulins in serum and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid in 28 men with asbestosis
and 11 control subjects. The half-time clearance of inhaled diethylene ...triamine pentacetate labelled with technetium-99m (99mTc-DTPA)
from the lungs (t1/2LB) was measured in 26 patients with asbestosis and in 31 normal nonsmoking controls. In those individuals
in whom immunoglobulins were detected in BAL fluid, the mean IgG:albumin ratio in BAL fluid was 0.30 (range, 0.11 to 0.97),
significantly less than the ratio of 0.43 (0.28 to 0.66) in control subjects (p less than 0.05). There was no significant
difference in IgA:albumin ratios between patients and control subjects. The mean BAL:serum albumin ratio in patients with
asbestosis was 2.3 X 10(-3) (range, 0.2 to 9.5 X 10(-3), significantly greater than the ratio of 1.2 X 10(-3) (0.5 to 2.0
X 10(-3 in control subjects (p less than 0.02). The t1/2LB was significantly shorter in both smokers and nonsmokers with
asbestosis, compared with 31 normal nonsmoking controls, but there were no relationships between t1/2LB and BAL:serum albumin
ratio or any other BAL protein levels in either smokers or nonsmokers with asbestosis.
Performance of the LHCb RICH detector at the LHC Adinolfi, M.; Aglieri Rinella, G.; Albrecht, E. ...
The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields,
05/2013, Letnik:
73, Številka:
5
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The LHCb experiment has been taking data at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN since the end of 2009. One of its key detector components is the Ring-Imaging Cherenkov (RICH) system. This ...provides charged particle identification over a wide momentum range, from 2–100 GeV/
c
. The operation and control, software, and online monitoring of the RICH system are described. The particle identification performance is presented, as measured using data from the LHC. Excellent separation of hadronic particle types (
π
, K, p) is achieved.
Prior studies suggest increased cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection after haploidentical donor transplantation with posttransplant cyclophosphamide (HaploCy). The role of allograft source and ...posttransplant cyclophosphamide (PTCy) in CMV infection is unclear. We analyzed the effect of graft source and PTCy on incidence of CMV infection, and effects of serostatus and CMV infection on transplant outcomes. We examined patients reported to the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplantation Research between 2012 and 2017 who had received HaploCy (n = 757), matched related (Sib) with PTCy (SibCy, n = 403), or Sib with calcineurin inhibitor-based prophylaxis (SibCNI, n = 1605). Cumulative incidences of CMV infection by day 180 were 42%, 37%, and 23%, respectively (P < .001). CMV disease was statistically comparable. CMV infection risk was highest for CMV-seropositive recipients (R+), but significantly higher in PTCy recipients regardless of donor (HaploCy n = 545: hazard ratio HR, 50.3; SibCy n = 279: HR, 47.7; SibCNI n = 1065: HR, 24.4; P < .001). D+/R- patients also had increased risk for CMV infection. Among R+ or those developing CMV infection, HaploCy had worse overall survival and nonrelapse mortality. Relapse was unaffected by CMV infection or serostatus. PTCy was associated with lower chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) overall, but CMV infection in PTCy recipients was associated with higher chronic GVHD (P = .006). PTCy, regardless of donor, is associated with higher incidence of CMV infection, augmenting the risk of seropositivity. Additionally, CMV infection may negate the chronic GVHD protection of PTCy. This study supports aggressive prevention strategies in all receiving PTCy.
PDF
