Health-care workers are at risk of exposure to occupational infections with subsequent risk of contracting diseases, disability, and even death. A systematic collection of occupational disease data ...is useful for monitoring current trends in work situations and disease exposures; however, these data are usually limited due to under-reporting. The objective of this study was to review literature related to knowledge, risk perceptions, and practices regarding occupational exposures to infectious diseases in Malaysian health-care settings, in particular regarding blood-borne infections, universal precautions, use of personal protective equipment, and clinical waste management. The data are useful for determining improvements in knowledge and risk perceptions among health-care workers with developments of health policies and essential interventions for prevention and control of occupational diseases.
Objective:To characterize the major allergens of Macrobrachium rosenbergii.(giant freshwater prawn).Methods:Raw and cooked extracts of the giant freshwater prawn were prepared.The IgE reactivity ...pattern was identified by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyaerylamide gel electrophoresis(SDS-PAGE)and immunoblotting technique with the sera of 20 skin prick test(SPT)positive patients.The major allergen identified was then characterized using the proteomics approach involving a combination of two-dimensional(2-DE)electrophoresis,mass spectrometry and bioinformatics tools.Results:SDS-PAGE of the raw extract showed 23 protein bands(15-250 kDa)but those ranging from 40 to 100 kDa were not found in the cooked extract.From immunoblotting experiments,raw and cooked extracts demonstrated 11 and 5 IgE-binding proteins,respectively,with a molecular mass ranging from 15 to 155 kDa.A heat-resistant 36 kDa protein was identified as the major allergen of both extracts.In addition,a 42 kDa heat-sensitive protein was shown to be a major allergen of the raw extract.The 2-DE gel fractionated the prawn proteins to more than 50 different protein spots.Of these,10 spots showed specific:IgE reactivity with patients’sera.Matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization-lime of flight(MALDI-TOF)analysis led to identification of 2 important allergens,tropomyosin and arginine kinase.Conclusions:It can be concluded that the availability of such allergens would help in component-based diagnosis and therapy of prawn allergies.
Health-care workers are at risk of exposure to occupational infections with subsequent risk of contracting diseases, disability, and even death. A systematic collection of occupational disease data ...is useful for monitoring current trends in work situations and disease exposures; however, these data are usually limited due to under-reporting. The objective of this study was to review literature related to knowledge, risk perceptions, and practices regarding occupational exposures to infectious diseases in Malaysian health-care settings, in particular regarding blood-borne infections, universal precautions, use of personal protective equipment, and clinical waste management. The data are useful for determining improvements in knowledge and risk perceptions among health-care workers with developments of health policies and essential interventions for prevention and control of occupational diseases.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) diagnosis is dependent on the detection of serum autoantibodies. To date, there is no autoantibody highly sensitive and specific enough to be considered as a gold ...standard. This study aimed to determine the diagnostic usefulness of anti-cmDNA antibodies which found to be associated with SLE.
Serum samples from 83 SLE, 86 other connective tissue diseases (OCTD) and 61 healthy subjects were randomly selected for the study. The OCTD cases included 56 rheumatoid arthritis, 12 scleroderma, 10 Sjogren's syndrome and 8 mixed connected tissue diseases. All samples were assayed for anti-cmDNA by indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) using Raji cells as substrate. SLE samples were also tested for antidsDNA and anti-Sm antibodies using enzyme-immunoassays.
Anti-cmDNA positivity was highest in SLE (55.4%) compared to OCTD (9.3%) and healthy subjects (0%). It was 100% specific at differentiating SLE from healthy subjects and 90.7% specific at differentiating SLE from OCTD. There were no significant differences in the sensitivity (55.4%) of anti-cmDNA at differentiating SLE from OCTD and healthy groups. Anti-cmDNA was present in 52.9% of SLE samples negative for standard SLE-specific autoantibodies. It was detected in 7 (36.8%) of anti-dsDNA, 25 (52.1%) of anti-Sm and 5 (31.3%) of both anti-Sm and anti-dsDNA negative samples. Anti-cmDNA positive SLE was significantly associated with arthritis (p=0.019).
The high specificity of anticmDNA detection by IFA makes it an excellent diagnostic test for SLE. Anti-cmDNA is also useful for identifying SLE with negative anti-dsDNA or/and anti-Sm antibodies.
Crab allergy is reported as a serious form of food allergy in many countries. This study was aimed to identify the major allergens of the local mud crab, Scylla tranquebarica (S. tranquebarica),and ...subsequently, determine the effect of vinegar treatments on the crab allergens. Crab muscles were treated with synthetic and natural vinegar. Crab proteins were then extracted from the untreated and vinegar-treated crabs. All extracts were then fractionated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), and analyzed by immunoblotting; using sera from crab-allergic patients. The crab proteins were then further fractionated by two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE)and analyzed by mass spectrometry (MS). The untreated crab had 38 protein bands, while that was only a few bands between 18 to 73 kDa for the vinegar-treated crabs. Immunoblotting of untreated crab revealed 20 IgE-binding bands, whereas the vinegar-treated crabs could only retain a few IgE-binding bands. Five major allergens were identified with molecular weightsof38, 42, 49, 63, and 73 kDa in the untreated crab. In contrast, the vinegar-treated crabs had only a few major allergens with molecular weights of 38, 42, and 73 kDa. MS identified the 43 and 49 kDa as arginine kinase, while the 38, 63, and 73 kDa were identified as tropomyosin, actin, and hemocyanin, respectively. Inconclusion, we found three common major allergens for S. tranquebaricaincluding tropomyosin, arginine kinase, and actin, and one novel allergen known as hemocyanin. All the major allergens could retain minimal allergenic capability in vinegar-treated crabs, suggesting that vinegar treatments might be useful to reduce crab allergenicity. These data would assist the clinicians in the management of crab-allergic patients worldwide.
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