Familial jejunal atresia with renal dysplasia

Although jejunal atresia occasionally may occur with a familial pattern, an association with renal disease has not been described. The authors report on three family members treated over two generations, all of whom had both proximal jejunal atresia and renal dysplasia. This association was most likely inherited as an autosomal dominant trait.     

Low density lipoprotein catabolism is enhanced by the cleaved form of alpha-1-antitrypsin

The frequent occurrence of hypocholesterolaemia following inflammatory processes is well known but unexplained. Elevated plasma levels of serine proteinase inhibitors (serpins) and their complexes with target enzymes have been demonstrated in inflammatory, malignant and infectious diseases which are also often accompanied by low plasma cholesterol levels. Under inflammatory conditions, uncomplexed, but cleaved inactive serpins arising from slow deacylation of the serpin-proteinase complex may be present in the circulation. To determine the influence of native and cleaved forms of serpins, such as alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT), on lipoprotein metabolism, we investigated the effect of these forms on low density lipoprotein (LDL) catabolism in human HepG2 cell line. We have found that the cleaved form of AAT in concentrations from 125 to 2000 nmol l-1 stimulates LDL binding to the HepG2 cells, by up to 49% with a subsequent increase in LDL uptake and degradation of up to 79 and 65% respectively. Native AAT was also found to increase LDL binding and internalization by 20-25%, independently of the amount of AAT added, an effect most probably due to the cleaved form of AAT produced by local proteolysis of native AAT incubated in the cell culture. Moreover we have shown that the cleaved form of AAT interacts with LDL in vitro, and that such an interaction abolishes AAT ability to stimulate LDL binding and internalization. This study for the first time describes the ability of the cleaved form of AAT to stimulate LDL binding and internalization in HepG2 cell culture, and provides evidence that hypocholesterolaemia occurring during inflammatory processes may be mediated by cleaved forms of serpins.     

A Mass Transport Model for Drying Wood under Isothermal Conditions

Mass transport in wood during drying can have different mechanisms at different periods of drying. Depending on the current moisture content (MC) and the structure of the wood, the driving forces for the mass transport are essentially different. Above the fiber saturation point (FSP), the lumens are partially saturated and the transport of liquid (free) water occurs as a consequence of capillary action. On the other hand, below the FSP, bound water within the cell walls is conveyed by diffusion, and water vapor in the lumens moves under influence of pressures gradient. Based on these considerations, a unified model is presented that takes into account the transport of the different moisture phases. Simulation of the drying of a Norway spruce sample at 50°C from about 135 to 7% MC is carried out using the finite element method (FEM). Comparison between the simulated average MC and the experimental observations obtained from X-ray computed tomography (CT) shows reasonable agreement. Possible simplifications in the model are briefly discussed as well as some aspects of the numerical implementation. Finally, the influence of absolute permeability on the average MC is studied.     

Estrogenic personal care products in a greywater reuse system.

The occurrence and fate of parabens in a greywater system was assessed. The potential for removal of residual paraben concentrations in effluent greywater with chlorine dioxide was also investigated. The influent to the greywater plant was characterised by considerable variation, with concentrations from below the detection limit to 40 microg/L and the five commonly used parabens in consumer products were frequently detected. After the biological treatment only two paraben were detected with concentration from 65-120 ng/L. Chlorine dioxide treatment of the biologically treated effluent with dosages down to 0.75 mg/L resulted in more than 97% reduction of all parabens. Formation of the by-product chloroform was insignificant from the chlorine dioxide treatment.     

The content of asbestos bodies in the bronchoalveolar fluid as a parameter of an increased pulmonary asbestos load

Pulmonary asbestos burdens are usually determined by quantitative pulmonary dust analysis. The aim of this study was to investigate the value of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) for this purpose. First, the upper limit of normal for asbestos bodies (AB) in BAL fluid was established using a reference group of 371 patients with no evidence of increased exposure to asbestos. 99% of these patients had less than 0.5 AB/ml. In order to see whether BAL fluid AB concentration reflected pulmonary tissue content, BAL fluid and lung tissue from a further 64 patients with diverse histories of asbestos exposure were investigated. There was a positive association between AB concentration in BAL fluid and lung tissue only for the overall group of 64 patients (r = 0.86; P < 0.001). Twelve of 13 patients with more than 1 AB/ml and ten patients with more than 5 AB/ml had more than 1000 AB/cm3 lung tissue, a value that is usually exceeded in asbestosis. When the upper concentration limit was set at 0.5 AB/ml for BAL fluid and 50 AB/cm3 for lung tissue, only two out of 64 patients had a false positive value (specificity 95%), but eleven patients had false negative results (sensitivity 58%). These investigations establish that concentrations of > or = 0.5 AB/ml are a reliable indicator of increased asbestos exposure and concentrations > 1 AB/ml are associated with a higher probability of having more than 1000 AB/cm3 lung tissue. However, exclusion of increased asbestos exposure is not possible on the basis of negative BAL findings, since the sensitivity of the method is too low.     

Implant exudate leucocyte response to anti-inflammatory drug treatment

Implantation of artificial materials elicits a local inflammatory response. In this study a chamber model technique, allowing sampling of the inflammatory exudate for further analysis in vitro, was used. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were injected daily with two different anti-inflammatory drugs, betamethasone and indomethacin, and the local cellular response was compared with a control group. The retrieved exudate was evaluated with respect to the number of leucocytes, cell viability, differential counts and serum-opsonized zymosan stimulated chemiluminescence (CL). In all groups the majority of cells were polymorphonuclear granulocytes (PMNGs). Betamethasone and high-dose indomethacin (1.92 mg kg^-1 body weight day^-1) treatment caused a marked reduction in the number of accumulated leucocytes 6 days after implantation. A substantial inhibition of the CL response was observed 6 days after treatment with betamethasone (4.23 mg kg^-1 body weight day^-1). An increased CL responsiveness was observed after 24 h with low-dose indomethacin (0.03 mg kg^-1 body weight day^-1) and after 6 days with high-dose indomethacin (1.92 mg kg^-1 body weight day^-1) treatment. In summary, depending on the anti-inflammatory drug treatment, dose and time after implant surgery, either an inhibition or stimulation of leucocyte accumulation and activation was observed. This study shows the possibilities of sampling the inflammatory exudate adjacent to a biomaterial implanted in vivo. This chamber model may be useful for the analysis of the inflammatory reaction around an implanted biomaterial during pharmacological treatment.