Micro-sequencing strategies for the human A33 antigen, a novel surface glycoprotein of human gastrointestinal epithelium

At the end of the XIXth Century the attitude towards malaria changed dramatically from fatalism and resignation to an active policy that made the eradication of the disease a possible objective. This dramatic change in the scientific political and cultural attitudes towards malaria was the result of two main phenomena: i) the impact of the scientific medicine and Pasteurian revolution on medicine and health policies, and ii) the discovery of the theoretical simplicity of the cycle of malaria transmission and of the possibility to interrupt it, by avoiding the contacts between people and the Anopheles mosquitoes. However, scientifically based strategies against malaria were in place before the discovery of the real causative agents and of the transmission cycle at the end of the XIXth century, as the origin of the scientific medicine had already produced a 'rationale' for local and national campaigns against malaria. According to Tommasi-Crudeli, for example, the cause of malaria was not a 'chemical compound', a 'miasma', but a 'living ferment', specific and autonomous. As a consequence, the aim of antimalarial measures was to eliminate the conditions indispensable to the multiplication of the specific ferment contained in the soil. The theory of malaria aetiology changed after the discovery of the transmission cycle by Ross and Grassi, but the general strategy remained the same: to eliminate one of the factors indispensable to the multiplication and diffusion of the agent. The detailed knowledge of the malaria transmission cycle made it possible to define the exact conditions which were alone responsible for the propagation of the disease and its persistence in the endemic areas. The theoretical linearity and the specificity of the 'Grassi's law' was decisive and produced a fundamental paradigmatic shift in the antimalarial policies. The essential point for the epidemiology and prophylaxis of malaria became to clarify the conditions which contribute to facilitate or to prevent the infection of the Anopheles.     

A survey of the humoral immune response of cancer patients to a panel of human tumor antigens

Evidence is growing for both humoral and cellular immune recognition of human tumor antigens. Antibodies with specificity for antigens initially recognized by cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs), e.g., MAGE and tyrosinase, have been detected in melanoma patient sera, and CTLs with specificity for NY-ESO-1, a cancer-testis (CT) antigen initially identified by autologous antibody, have recently been identified. To establish a screening system for the humoral response to autoimmunogenic tumor antigens, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed using recombinant NY-ESO-1, MAGE-1, MAGE-3, SSX2, Melan-A, and tyrosinase proteins. A survey of sera from 234 cancer patients showed antibodies to NY-ESO-1 in 19 patients, to MAGE-1 in 3, to MAGE-3 in 2, and to SSX2 in 1 patient. No reactivity to these antigens was found in sera from 70 normal individuals. The frequency of NY-ESO-1 antibody was 9.4% in melanoma patients and 12.5% in ovarian cancer patients. Comparison of tumor NY-ESO-1 phenotype and NY-ESO-1 antibody response in 62 stage IV melanoma patients showed that all patients with NY-ESO-1(+) antibody had NY-ESO-1(+) tumors, and no patients with NY-ESO-1(-) tumors had NY-ESO-1 antibody. As the proportion of melanomas expressing NY-ESO-1 is 20-40% and only patients with NY-ESO-1(+) tumors have antibody, this would suggest that a high percentage of patients with NY-ESO-1(+) tumors develop an antibody response to NY-ESO-1.     

Sleep scoring using polysomnography data features

The paper is devoted to the analysis of multichannel biomedical signals acquired in the sleep laboratory. The data analyzed represent polysomnographic records of (i) 33 healthy individuals, (ii) 25 individuals with sleep apnea, and (iii) 18 individuals with sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome. The initial statistical analysis of the sleep segments points to an increase in the number of Wake stages and the decrease in REM stages with increase in age. The goal of the study is visualization of features associated with sleep stages as specified by an experienced neurologist and in their adaptive classification. The results of the support vector machine classifier are compared with those obtained by the k-nearest neighbors method, decision tree and neural network classification using sigmoidal and Bayesian transfer functions. The achieved accuracy for the classification into two classes (to separate the Wake stage from one of NonREM and REM stages) is between 85.6 and 97.5% for the given set of patients with sleep apnea. The proposed models allow adaptive modification of the model coefficients during the learning process to increase the diagnostic efficiency of sleep disorder analysis, in both the clinical and home environments.     

关于京津两城市采用20 kV配电电压的可行性探讨

回顾京津两大城市配电网升压为１０ｋＶ和高压城网深入市区的历程,总结其可资借鉴的宝贵经验,分析京津两大城市配电网用电负荷现状,规划水平和配电网网架现状,根据预测和今后发展需要,指出了提高城网电压等级并深入市区的必须趋势和采用２０ｋＶ配电电压的必然性,提出了实施过渡原则和技术措施。     

Arterial blood pressure measurement with oscillometric instruments in newborns and infants

Non-invasive blood pressure measurements by the auscultatory method do not provide reliable, reproducible blood pressure values in many neonates because the Korottkoff sounds are often very difficult to detect. This resulted in the development of many alternative indirect methods. Devices utilizing the Doppler ultrasound technique have not found wide acceptance. Since the introduction of automated oscillometric blood pressure monitors, arterial blood pressure has been increasingly brought into discussion as an indicator of the circulatory state. This is the first study to investigate the similarity and reproducibility of the data obtained with five oscillometric devices for measurement of blood pressure in neonates. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Since investigations on the technical performance are not practical in the clinical setting of a neonatal or pediatric ward, we used two simulators, the CuffLink (Dynatech, Nevada, USA) and a device developed by the PTB (Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt). While the latter uses oscillations originally obtained from neonates, the CuffLink uses artificial and therefore ideal signals for the blood pressure monitors. The signals used for the PTB simulator were obtained from three neonates with an average age of 2 months and a weight of 3.5 kg, 4.4 kg, and 7.8 kg. The following blood pressure monitors were studied: Hoyer/Colin, BP-1001; Datex, Cardiocap II; SpaceLabs, model no. 90426; Hewlett-Packard, NBP M1008A; Critikon, Dinamap 1846. Before the measurements were started, the cuff pressure display of each monitor was checked according to a verification procedure. Although the 4 mmHg margin of error was not exceeded, the results were corrected. RESULTS. The results of the measurements show significant differences between the blood pressure monitors from the various manufacturers, with the differences for the ideal signals of the CuffLink-Simulator being less pronounced than those for the PTB simulator. Direct comparison of results is therefore often impossible. The standard deviation, taken from 20 measurements per monitor and simulation, is below 4 mmHg for both simulators. We can therefore conclude that the reproducibility of data is satisfactory and the emerging trend is reliable. DISCUSSION. The difference between the results of the PTB simulator and the CuffLink are probably due to the method of evaluation and the identification of artifacts of each blood pressure monitor. This is also confirmed by the studies of Mieke et al. The manufacturers should provide devices that display comparative results and improve the algorithms for detection of artefacts, increasing the accuracy of their blood pressure monitors. This could be done with the help of simulators. Considering the pathophysiological characteristics of neonates and infants, the systematic differences between the five monitors have to be regarded as serious.     

基于VSM的旧住宅更新改造产业化组织设计

针对我国旧住宅更新改造产业化的组织活性和持续协调发展需求,基于活性系统模型(VSM)理论,讨论了状态量平衡、递归分解和适应机制等重要思想对旧住宅更新改造产业化组织设计的有效性,提出了旧住宅更新改造产业化的组织辨识目标,构建了由产业化操作和管理两大系统组成的旧住宅更新改造产业化组织结构再设计系统模型,建立了由操作、协调、控制、情报信息和政策制定等系统组成的产业化组织活性功能系统.