Subjective Indoor Air Quality in Schools in Relation to Exposure

Abstract This paper presents data on indoor air quality in schools as perceived by those working in them and relates these data to exposure measurements. Data on subjective air quality, domestic exposures and health aspects were gathered by means of a questionnaire which was sent to all personnel in 38 schools; it was completed by 1410 persons (85’4 of the total). Data on exposure were gathered by exposure measurements in classrooms. The results indicate that 53% of the personnel perceived the indoor air quality as bad or very bad. It was perceived as worse by those who were younger, those who were dissatisfied with their psychosocial work climate and those who were not exposed to tobacco smoke at home. In older school buildings and buildings with displacement ventilation there was less dissatisfaction with the air quality. There were no significant relations between complaints and air exchange rate or concentration of carbon dioxide. The air quality was perceived as worse at higher levels of exposure to a number of airborne compounds including volatile organic compounds, moulds, bacteria and respirable dust. It was concluded that exposure to indoor pollutants affects perception even at the low concentrations normally found indoors in nonindustrial buildings.     

Camptothecin and thiocamptothecin: the role of sulfur in shifting the hydrolysis equilibrium towards the closed lactone form

Adverse effects have limited the clinical potential of 20‐(S)‐camptothecin (CPT) and led to a growing interest in the development of CPT analogues that exhibit less severe drawbacks, while maintaining their therapeutic activity. Recently, a thiopyridone isostere of CPT, 20‐(S)‐thiocamptothecin (TCPT), was developed that resulted more potent than the parent compound in H460, HT29 and IGROV‐1 cell lines. The improved activity of TCPT over CPT might be due to the greater stability of the lactone ring. Here, reversible hydrolysis to the ring‐open carboxylate forms of CPT and TCPT was studied by HPLC, both in the presence and absence of human serum albumin (HSA). The amount of TCPT that exists in the lactone form at equilibrium in buffer solution (24 h) was found to be significantly higher than CPT, and the same trend was observed in the presence of HSA. Specifically, HSA caused a shift in the hydrolysis equilibrium of TCPT towards the carboxylate form, but the proportion of lactone form remained higher than that observed for CPT under the same conditions, and also in the presence of a higher excess of the protein. The role of the sulfur atom in the stability of the open and closed lactone derivatives was investigated by theoretical calculations using stabilization energies and comparison between experimental and calculated absorption spectra. Our results suggest that, in aqueous solution, more ionic species (anionic and enolic forms) are present for TCPT. This study provides further insights into the effects of oxygen/sulfur replacement in the CPT pyridone ring.     

Generation of a Highly Reactive Chicken-Derived Single-Chain Variable Fragment against Fusarium verticillioides by Phage Display

Fusarium verticillioides is the primary causal agent of Fusarium ear and kernel rot in maize, producing fumonisin mycotoxins that are toxic to humans and domestic animals. Rapid detection and monitoring of fumonisin-producing fungi are pivotally important for the prevention of mycotoxins from entering into food/feed products. Chicken-derived single-chain variable fragments (scFvs) against cell wall-bound proteins from F. verticillioides were isolated from an immunocompetent phage display library. Comparative phage enzyme-linked immunosorbant assays (ELISAs) and sequencing analyses identified four different scFv antibodies with high sensitivity. Soluble antibody ELISAs identified two highly sensitive scFv antibodies, FvCA3 and FvCA4, with the latter being slightly more sensitive. Three-dimensional modeling revealed that the FvCA4 may hold a better overall structure with CDRH3, CDRL1 and CDRL3 centered in the core region of antibody surface compared with that of other scFvs. Immunofluorescence labeling revealed that the binding of FvCA4 antibody was localized to the cell walls of conidiospores and hyphae of F. verticillioides, confirming the specificity of this antibody for a surface target. This scFv antibody was able to detect the fungal mycelium as low as 10(-2) μg/mL and contaminating mycelium at a quantity of 10(-2) mg/g maize. This is the first report that scFv antibodies derived from phage display have a wide application for rapid and accurate detection and monitoring of fumonisin-producing pathogens in agricultural samples.     

The Efficacy of Anti-PD-L1 Treatment in Melanoma Is Associated with the Expression of the ECM Molecule EMILIN2

The use of immune checkpoint inhibitors has revolutionized the treatment of melanoma patients, leading to remarkable improvements in the cure. However, to ensure a safe and effective treatment, there is the need to develop markers to identify the patients that would most likely respond to the therapies. The microenvironment is gaining attention in this context, since it can regulate both the immunotherapy efficacyand angiogenesis, which is known to be affected by treatment. Here, we investigated the putative role of the ECM molecule EMILIN-2, a tumor suppressive and pro-angiogenic molecule. We verified that the EMILIN2 expression is variable among melanoma patients and is associated with the response to PD-L1 inhibitors. Consistently, in preclinical settings, the absence of EMILIN-2 is associated with higher PD-L1 expression and increased immunotherapy efficacy. We verified that EMILIN-2 modulates PD-L1 expression in melanoma cells through indirect immune-dependent mechanisms. Notably, upon PD-L1 blockage, Emilin2^−/− mice displayed improved intra-tumoral vessel normalization and decreased tumor hypoxia. Finally, we provide evidence indicating that the inclusion of EMILIN2 in a number of gene expression signatures improves their predictive potential, a further indication that the analysis of this molecule may be key for the development of new markers to predict immunotherapy efficacy.     

HTLV-1 Infection and Pathogenesis: New Insights from Cellular and Animal Models

Since the discovery of the human T-cell leukemia virus-1 (HTLV-1), cellular and animal models have provided invaluable contributions in the knowledge of viral infection, transmission and progression of HTLV-associated diseases. HTLV-1 is the causative agent of the aggressive adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma and inflammatory diseases such as the HTLV-1 associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). Cell models contribute to defining the role of HTLV proteins, as well as the mechanisms of cell-to-cell transmission of the virus. Otherwise, selected and engineered animal models are currently applied to recapitulate in vivo the HTLV-1 associated pathogenesis and to verify the effectiveness of viral therapy and host immune response. Here we review the current cell models for studying virus–host interaction, cellular restriction factors and cell pathway deregulation mediated by HTLV products. We recapitulate the most effective animal models applied to investigate the pathogenesis of HTLV-1-associated diseases such as transgenic and humanized mice, rabbit and monkey models. Finally, we summarize the studies on STLV and BLV, two closely related HTLV-1 viruses in animals. The most recent anticancer and HAM/TSP therapies are also discussed in view of the most reliable experimental models that may accelerate the translation from the experimental findings to effective therapies in infected patients.     

On the Ergodicity of First‐Order Threshold Autoregressive Moving‐Average Processes

We introduce a certain Markovian representation for the threshold autoregressive moving‐average (TARMA) process with which we solve the long‐standing problem regarding the irreducibility condition of a first‐order TARMA model. Under some mild regularity conditions, we obtain a complete classification of the parameter space of an invertible first‐order TARMA model into parametric regions over which the model is either transient or recurrent, and the recurrence region is further subdivided into regions of null recurrence or positive recurrence, or even geometric recurrence. We derive a set of necessary and sufficient conditions for the ergodicity of invertible first‐order TARMA processes.     

Modelling and Refining Neuronal Circuits with Guidance Cues: Involvement of Semaphorins

The establishment of neuronal circuits requires neurons to develop and maintain appropriate connections with cellular partners in and out the central nervous system. These phenomena include elaboration of dendritic arborization and formation of synaptic contacts, initially made in excess. Subsequently, refinement occurs, and pruning takes places both at axonal and synaptic level, defining a homeostatic balance maintained throughout the lifespan. All these events require genetic regulations which happens cell-autonomously and are strongly influenced by environmental factors. This review aims to discuss the involvement of guidance cues from the Semaphorin family.     

Integrating complexity into the study of life events: Comment on Suedfeld and Bluck (1993).

Increasingly, researchers are becoming sensitive to the conceptual and methodological problems that arise when data are stripped from their historical and interpersonal contexts. Careful attention to the importance of grounding theory in participants' experiences can enhance all research, regardless of its underlying paradigm. This comment examines P. Suedfeld and S. Bluck's (see record 1993-21556-001) study on integrative complexity as a case in point to highlight the importance of taking context and phenomenological experience into account. In particular, 2 methodological considerations central to personal document analysis are discussed: (a) the role that intentions, relationships, and sociohistorical context play in shaping the content of personal documents and (b) the problems of classifying diverse human experiences without regard to their meaning for the people who lived through them. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changing predictors of map use in wayfinding.

Differential predictors of route map use in wayfinding by 48 48–63-month-olds vs 46 64–79-month-olds were tested. Predictors of map use should shift from landmark to array encoding, from mental rotation of 1 element to array rotation, and from direct perception of an array to recall. Landmark and array encoding and array rotation were measured by duplication of placements on an array when 2 arrays were aligned or 1 was rotated 180°. Matching a rotated letterlike form to a standard gauged single-element rotation; recall of landmark locations after their removal from an array indexed memory. Each rotation task and landmark placements predicted the younger children's map scores; array encoding, single-element rotation, and recall predicted older children's map errors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)