Development of a highly sensitive enzyme linked immunosorbent assay for human serum progesterone using penicillinase

A simple, highly sensitive, heterologous, competitive, penicillinase based tube ELISA for human serum progesterone has been developed. Specific antisera against progesterone was raised in rabbits using 11 alpha - hydroxyprogesterone hemisuccinate-BSA. Progesterone-3-CMO was coupled to penicillinase by the carbodiimide method. The standard curve covered a wide range from 5 pg/tube to 800 pg/tube. The sensitivity of the assay was 3.8 pg/tube. The intrassay coefficient of variation ranged from 8.6% to 11.2% at low concentration while at medium and high concentrations it ranged from 5.3% to 8.9%. The interassay coefficient of variation for the low, medium and high concentrations of progesterone were 9.6%, 10.7% and 6.5% respectively. Parallelism between the standard curve and the sample dilution curve indicated accuracy of the assay. Samples measured by RIA and ELISA showed an excellent correlation (r = 0.98).

Th1-specific bystander costimulation imparts resistance against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection

The protection against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection is mediated by T helper type-1 (Th1) cells. Infection of BALB/c mice with M. tuberculosis downregulates expression of a Th1-specific costimulatory molecule, M150, on the surface of infected macrophages. The proliferation of Th cells and Th1-cytokine production by these cells are higher in case of M. tuberculosis antigen presentation by uninfected macrophages than by infected macrophages. The difference in inducing interleukin(IL)-2 and interferon (IFN)-gamma secretion is abolished by providing bystander costimulation through M150 on liposomes.

Best evidence topic report. Ultrasound placement of needle in three-in-one nerve block

A short cut review was carried out to establish whether ultrasound placement of three-in-one block is better than placement using a nerve stimulator. 137 papers were found, of which two presented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The author, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes, results and study weaknesses of these best papers are tabulated. The clinical bottom line is that ultrasound guidance is better than electrical nerve stimulation at obtaining a good quality three in one femoral block.

Adsorptive separation of phosphate oxyanion from aqueous solution using an inorganic adsorbent

Phosphate removal from aqueous solution was explored using granular ferric hydroxide (GFH) as an inorganic adsorbent. Adsorption, desorption and kinetic studies were conducted on laboratory scale to evaluate the performance of GFH as an adsorbent for low concentrations of phosphate solution. The effect of pH on adsorption was investigated, and phosphate uptake was shown to decrease with an increase in solution pH, with maximum removal seen to occur at pH 3. The experimental data best fit the Temkin isotherm at both pH 3 and 4. Uptake of phosphate by GFH follows second-order kinetics, with the small particle range (76-200 microm) removing phosphate from the solution more rapidly than the larger particle range (710-850 microm). The kinetic results suggest that intra-particle diffusion is an important factor in phosphate adsorption onto GFH. Thermodynamic parameters (DeltaG degrees, DeltaH degrees, DeltaS degrees) were evaluated, and the results indicated that the adsorption process was endothermic and spontaneous. This study demonstrates that GFH has potential to be used as a cost-effective adsorbent for phosphate removal from aqueous solution.

Relativistic effects in hydrogenlike atoms embedded in Debye plasmas

Spectra of hydrogenlike atoms embedded in a Debye plasma are investigated. The state energies and the transition rates are studied using a fully relativistic formalism based on the Dirac equation. The effect of the plasma is described by introducing an exponential screening to the nuclear Coulomb potential (the Debye screening). Systematic trends with respect to both the nuclear charge and the screening parameter are observed for all calculated quantities. The pattern of splittings of ns(1/2), np(1/2) and np(3/2) is modified in a specific way due to the combined relativity and plasma effect. The transition rates decrease with an increase of the Debye parameter as well as with an increase of Z.

Developing Global Leaders for Research, Regulation, and Stewardship of Crop Protection Chemistry in the 21st Century

To provide sufficient food and fiber to the increasing global population, the technologies associated with crop protection are growing ever more sophisticated but, at the same time, societal expectations for the safe use of crop protection chemistry tools are also increasing. The goal of this perspective is to highlight the key issues that face future leaders in crop protection, based on presentations made during a symposium titled "Developing Global Leaders for Research, Regulation and Stewardship of Crop Protection Chemistry in the 21st Century", held in conjunction with the IUPAC 13th International Congress of Pesticide Chemistry in San Francisco, CA, USA, during August 2014. The presentations highlighted the fact that leaders in crop protection must have a good basic scientific training and understand new and evolving technologies, are aware of the needs of both developed and developing countries, and have good communication skills. Concern is expressed over the apparent lack of resources to meet these needs, and ideas are put forward to remedy these deficiencies.

Be I isoelectronic ions embedded in hot plasma

The influence of plasma screening on the 2s(2 1)S0-->2s2p(3)p(0)1 intercombination and the 2s(2 1)S0-->2s2p(1)p(0)1 allowed transitions is investigated theoretically for several ions along the isoelectronic sequence (C III, N IV, O V, Si XI, Fe XXIII, and Mo XXXIX). For the case of a weakly coupled hot plasma, multiconfiguration Dirac-Fock computations have been carried out for these ions by considering a (time averaged) Debye-Hückel potential for both the "electron-nucleus" and "electron-electron" interaction. The plasma screening is found to enlarge the 2s(2 1)S0-->2s2p(3)p(0)1 excitation energy uniformly along the Be I isoelectronic sequence, leading to an increasing blueshift of this intercombination line as the nuclear charge is increased. For the 2s(2 1)S0-->2s2p(1)p(0)1 resonance line, in contrast, the transition energy is either blueshifted or redshifted in dependence of the screening parameter and owing to a cancellation of the plasma screening on the electron-nucleus and electron-electron interaction. This interplay of the (external) plasma screening with the internal interactions in the berylliumlike ions leads, for instance, to a shift of the resonance transition from red to blue in going from O V to Si XI ions. Apart from the screening effects on the transition energies, we also investigate their influence on the oscillator strengths and emission rates along the Be I isoelectronic sequence.

Antinociceptive effects of tetrahydrocannabinol side chain analogs: dependence upon route of administration

The role of flexibility of the alkyl side chain in the tetrahydrocannabinols to cannabinoid activity has been delineated in previous studies with side chain analogs of Delta(8)-tetrahydrocannabinol with double or triple bonds. This study investigated the site of antinociceptive action for these analogs through analysis of structure-activity relationships following different routes of administration. In analogs without terminal substitutions, potency was greater following intrathecal (i. t.) injection than with intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.). Further, optimal structural features differed for each route of administration. Absolute position of the double or triple bond best predicted i.t. potency. In contrast, i.c.v. potency was best predicted by the size of the alkyl substituent beyond the point of unsaturation. Terminal substitutions tended to increase i.c.v. potency while decreasing or not affecting i.t. These results suggest that receptor mechanisms for cannabinoid antinociceptive effects differ in brain and spinal cord, although potential pharmacokinetic differences in rate of local distribution cannot be eliminated.

High-resolution cost-effective compact portable inverted light microscope

Commercial high-resolution optical microscopes are essential for microscopy imaging; however, they are expensive and bulky, which limits their use in point-of-care devices, resource-limited areas, and real-time imaging of a sample in a large apparatus. In this study, we report a novel compact (10 cm × 5 cm × 5 cm, without the light source) lightweight (∼0.5 kg) submicron-resolution inverted optical microscope at low cost (∼$ 300). Our technique utilises the proximity of the image sensor to a commercial microscope objective lens for compactness of the microscope. The use of an image sensor with a small pixel size helps to reduce the information loss, which provides high-resolution images. Moreover, our technique offers a freedom to tailor the design of microscope according to the required resolution, cost, and portability for specific applications, which makes it a suitable candidate for affordable point-of-care devices. Images of several micron-to-submicron scale patterns and spherical beads are acquired to observe the resolution and quality of the images obtained using our microscope. In addition, we demonstrate the applications of our microscope in various fields such as recording of high-speed water microdroplet formation inside a microfluidic device, high-resolution live cell imaging inside an incubator, and real-time imaging of crack propagation in a sample under stretching by a material testing system (MTS). Therefore, this portable and inexpensive microscope provides the essential functionalities of a bulky expensive high-performance microscope at a lower cost. LAY DESCRIPTION: Microscope is an essential tool in research allowing for observation of microsized objects and life forms. Contemporary commercial high-resolution microscopes have long optical paths involving series of lenses and filters. Although this configuration precisely corrects for optical distortions and produces clear images, it makes modern microscopes very costly and bulky, restricting their usage to low-funded research laboratories and at remote places. We have developed a simple digital microscope with high-resolution but with much smaller size and lighter in weight at low cost by removing the long optical terrain. Our microscope consists of a commercial microscope objective lens for magnification and semiconductor image sensor with small pixels placed right after the lens, both of which are affordable and easily available. The small pixel size helps to translate the magnified analogue sample image to high-resolution digital image. In our paper, we show that our microscope can view micro and submicron-sized patterns and beads. Moreover, our fist-sized microscope can be placed inside an incubator for real-time imaging of cells or rotated sideways for recording submicron-sized crack generation due stretching of novel materials, both of which could not be accomplished with the 2 feet tall laboratory microscopes.

High titres of IgM-bound circulating immune complexes and erythrocytic oxidative damage are indicators of dengue severity

Global incidence of dengue has drastically increased in the last few years. Despite the global morbidity and mortality associated with dengue infection, mechanisms of immune control and viral pathogenesis are poorly explored. Pancytopenias, along with increased oxidative stress, are salient clinical findings in severe dengue patients. Previously, we demonstrated significant differences of circulating immune complexes (CICs) among severe and non-severe dengue patients. Accordingly, here we sought to determine the contributory role of affinity-purified antibody-bound CICs in dengue severity. To characterize intracellular oxidative stress induced by antibody-bound CICs, 5-(and-6)-chloromethyl-2'-7'-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (DCFDA) was measured by flow cytometry. At the same time, CICs sensitized healthy red blood cells (RBC) and patients' RBC morphology was determined by scanning electron microscopy and flow cytometry analysis. Erythrophagocytosis and ferritin levels were further determined in severe and non-severe dengue patients. Our results showed that the severe patients had high titres of immunoglobulin (Ig)M-bound CICs (P < 0·0001) in their sera, increased intracellular oxidative stress (P < 0·0001), high ferritin levels (P < 0·0001), altered morphology of RBC and finally enhanced erythrophagocytosis. This study shows for the first time that RBC morphology is altered in severe dengue patients. Taken together, this study suggests that the enhanced IgM-bound CICs could contribute to the increased oxidative stress and act directly on RBC destruction of severe dengue patients, and is an important pathophysiological determinant. Hence, IgM-bound CICs can serve as an important laboratory parameter to monitor dengue infection progression.

Peptidoglycan-treated tumor antigen-pulsed dendritic cells impart complete resistance against tumor rechallenge

Solid tumors elicit suppressive T cell responses which impair antigen-presenting cell (APC) functions. Such immune suppression results in uncontrolled tumor growth and mortality. Addressing APC dysfunction, dendritic cell (DC)-mediated anti-tumor vaccination was extensively investigated in both mice and humans. These studies never achieved full resistance to tumor relapse. Herein, we describe a repetitive RM-1 murine tumor rechallenge model for recurrence in humans. Using this newly developed model, we show that priming with tumor antigen-pulsed, Toll-like receptor (TLR)2 ligand-activated DCs elicits a host-protective anti-tumor immune response in C57BL/6 mice. Upon stimulation with the TLR2 ligand peptidoglycan (PGN), the tumor antigen-pulsed DCs induce complete resistance to repetitive tumor challenges. Intra-tumoral injection of PGN reduces tumor growth. The tumor resistance is accompanied by increased expression of interleukin (IL)-27, T-box transcription factor TBX21 (T-bet), IL-12, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interferon (IFN)-γ, along with heightened cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) functions. Mice primed four times with PGN-stimulated tumor antigen-pulsed DCs remain entirely resistant to repeat challenges with RM-1 tumor cells, suggesting complete prevention of relapse and recurrence of tumor. Adoptive transfer of T cells from these mice, which were fully protected from RM-1 rechallenge, confers anti-tumor immunity to syngeneic naive recipient mice upon RM-1 challenge. These observations indicate that PGN-activated DCs induce robust host-protective anti-tumor T cells that completely resist tumor growth and recurrence.

Oxidation of [Ru(NH3)5isn](BF4)2 by hyochlorous acid and chlorine in aqueous acidic media

UV-vis stopped-flow studies of the reaction of [Ru(NH3)5isn](2+) (isn = isonicotinamide) with excess HOCl at 25 degrees C demonstrate that it proceeds in two time-resolved steps. In the first step [Ru(NH3)5isn](3+) is produced with the rate law -d[Ru(II)]/dt = 2(aK(h)[H(+)] + b[H(+)][Cl(-)] + c[Cl(-)])[HOCl](tot)[Ru(II)]/(K(h) + [H(+)][Cl(-)]). Here, K(h) is 1.3 x 10(-3) M(2) and corresponds to the equilibrium hydrolysis of Cl2, a is (8.34 +/- 0.19) x 10(3) M(-2) s(-1) and represents the acid-assisted reduction of HOCl, b is (4.04 +/- 0.13) x 10(4) M(-1) s(-1) and represents the reduction of Cl2, and c is (6.25 +/- 0.59) x 10(2) s(-1) and represents the Cl(-)-assisted reduction of HOCl. In the second step [Ru(NH3)5isn](3+) undergoes further oxidation to a mixture of products with the rate law -d[Ru(III)]/dt = e[Ru(III)][HOCl]/[H(+)] where e is (1.18 +/- 0.01) x 10(-2) s(-1). This step is assigned a mechanism with Cl(+) transfer from HOCl to [Ru(III)(NH3)4(NH2)isn](2+) occurring in the rate-limiting step. These results underline the resistance of HOCl to act as a simple outer-sphere one-electron oxidant.