Streptococcal infection in the pathogenesis of Beh?et's disease and clinical effects of minocycline on the disease symptoms

Although the precise pathoetiology of Beh?et's disease (BD) remains obscure, patients with BD have a high incidence of chronic infectious foci, indicating an enhanced susceptibility to chronic tonsillitis, and dental caries. Sometimes, clinical symptoms appear after treatment of these foci in BD patients. It is believed that BD might be related to an allergic reaction to a bacterial infection in view of the many clinical symptoms, especially the presence of aphthous and genital ulcerations. An attempt to obtain cutaneous responses to bacterial antigens has been carried out using various vaccines developed from bacteria isolated from the ulcerative lesions and oral cavities of BD patients. BD patients often show intense hypersensitivity to various strains of streptococci, not only by their cutaneous reactions but also by in vitro testing. In this report, we describe our previous studies on the correlation between streptococcal antigens and the pathogenesis of BD and also discuss the recent reports of other authors. The intense hypersensitivity to streptococcal antigens acquired after streptococcal infection is thought to play an important role in the appearance of symptoms in BD patients since the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) was enhanced when stimulated with streptococcal antigen in a culture system. Minocycline, an antibiotic to which certain strains of streptococci are sensitive, reduced the frequency of clinical symptoms in BD patients as well as the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines by BD-PBMC stimulated with streptococcal antigen.     

Temperament in Childhood Predicts Body Mass in Adulthood: The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study.

This study examined associations of temperament at ages 6 to 12 with body-mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) at ages 24 to 30 years. The participants were 619 men and women derived from the population-based Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study. Temperament was operationalized as (negative) emotionality, sociability, and activity. High emotionality predicted increased BMI, independently of WC, and independently of childhood and adulthood risk factors for adult obesity. None of the temperament dimensions had any associations with WC after controlling for BMI. The findings suggest that temperamental difficulty in childhood may be a useful risk indicator for general body mass in adulthood, and the mechanisms relating temperament with body mass should be further explored. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Modelling spatio-temporal environmental data

A conceptual model for environmental data is presented with special emphasis on the ability to store spatio-temporal references of the data. Other aspects of the model are the ability to handle hierarchical data and semantics of the measurements. The model was tested with an implementation on an object-relational database management system. As a part of the test implementation, a forestry data set covering 75 years and 4900 hectares was loaded onto the database.     

Fibrinolysis, antithrombin III, and protein C in neonates during cardiac operations

Fibrinolysis and coagulation were studied in 10 neonates undergoing cardiac operations for congenital heart defects. Coagulation was activated during cardiopulmonary bypass as evidenced by highly increased prothrombin fragment 1 + 2 levels compared with preoperative values. Prothrombin fragment 1 + 2 levels remained elevated until postoperative day 3. Unlike coagulation, fibrinolysis was not activated during cardiopulmonary bypass but did show late activation on postoperative day 3, as evidenced by elevated levels of the fibrin degradation product D-dimer. Lack of fibrinolytic activation during bypass and its appearance on postoperative day 3 were partly explained by changes observed in tissue plasminogen activator and its inhibitor. During bypass, levels of tissue plasminogen activator and its inhibitor increased by 3.4-fold and 3.2-fold, respectively. In the postoperative period, levels of plasminogen activator inhibitor normalized rapidly whereas tissue plasminogen activator remained elevated, resulting in late fibrinolytic activation on postoperative day 3. In accordance with elevated prothrombin fragment 1 + 2, platelet count, antithrombin III, protein C, prothrombin, and factor VII were decreased on postoperative day 2, indicating ongoing consumptive coagulopathy. Nine patients had antithrombin III and six had protein C levels below age-specific normal ranges, consistent with an acquired deficiency state. Three had central venous thrombosis by postoperative day 4 or 5. In all three, thrombosis was preceded by antithrombin III deficiency, protein C deficiency, and highly elevated plasminogen activator inhibitor (3.7 to 37 times the mean of the other patients) on postoperative days 1 to 3. In conclusion, cardiopulmonary bypass in neonates caused rapid and profound alterations in the coagulation and fibrinolytic systems and initiated consumptive coagulopathy lasting until at least postoperative day 3. Thrombophilic abnormalities in antithrombin III, protein C, and fibrinolysis were frequently found and were associated with serious thrombotic complications.     

Acceptability of genetically modified cheese presented as real product alternative

European consumers, in general, have negative attitudes towards the use of gene technology in food production. The objective of this study was to examine whether taste and health benefits influence the acceptability of genetically modified (gm) products when they are presented as real product alternatives. Consumers in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden (n=738) assessed two cheeses: one was labelled as genetically modified (preferred in an earlier product test) and the other as conventional (neutral in an earlier product test). A smaller control group received two cheeses with blind codes. Labelling decreased consumers' intentions to buy the originally preferred gm-labelled cheese, but still the intentions were at the same level with the conventionally labelled option. Participants chose two gm cheeses out of five possible when given the option to take cheese home after tasting. Intentions to buy gm cheese could best be explained by respondents' attitudes towards gene technology and perceived taste benefits. General health interest was also a reinforcer of intentions for gm cheese with reduced fat content.     

p53 alteration, proliferating cell nuclear antigen, and nucleolar organizer regions in thymic epithelial tumors

We examined p53 protein expression, p53 gene mutation, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), and argyrophilic nuclear organizer regions (AgNOR), in 30 patients with surgically-treated thymic tumors (26 thymoma and 4 thymic carcinoma cases). p53 expression ratio with DO-1 was divided as p53 negative (0% positivity), low expressor (<10% positivity), high expressor (>10% positivity). The incidence of p53 low and high expressor in thymoma were 19% (5/26) and 8% (2/26), respectively. p53 immunopositivity in thymoma was significantly correlated with PCNA labeling index (LI). p53 expression ratio in invasive thymoma (33%) tended to be higher than that in non-invasive thymoma (18%). p53 expression was detected in one of the thymic carcinoma. There were no p53 gene mutations in 15 invasive thymoma, although one of four (25%) thymic carcinomas showed two point mutations. p53 gene alterations seem to be associated with malignant activity of tumor cells, and therefore detection of p53 gene mutations is useful as a diagnostic factor.