Risk Factors of Patients with Postpartum Acute Kidney Injury: An Observational Study

Postpartum acute kidney injury (AKI) is a condition characterized by a sudden and rapid decline in kidney function that occurs shortly after childbirth. Several risk factors may be associated with postpartum acute kidney injury (AKI). Understanding the possible risk factors is essential for timely intervention and improved maternal healthcare. The aim of the study was to assess the risk factors of postpartum acute kidney injury patients. This prospective observational study took place at Mymensingh Medical College Hospital, from March 2020 to April 2021. It was carried out in the Departments of Nephrology and Departments of Obstetrics & Gynecology, where 153 postpartum acute kidney injury (AKI) patients were enrolled through purposive sampling. The study collected data on patient demographics, etiology and presentation. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) version 26.0, with a significance threshold set at p<0.05 for all tests. Among participants, puerperal sepsis (77.8%) and toxemia of pregnancy (58.8%) were prevalent risk factors. Intrauterine death was rare (1.3%). Other risk factors such as postpartum hemorrhage 22.2%, HELLP syndrome 11.1%, and antepartum hemorrhage 15.0% were found. A statistically significant difference in postpartum hemorrhage prevalence (p=0.038) was noted between hemodialysis and non-hemodialysis patients. Puerperal sepsis is the most common risk factor for postpartum acute kidney injury, closely followed by toxemia of pregnancy. Intrauterine death is rare, while postpartum hemorrhage significantly affects subjects, with variations noted between hemodialysis and non-hemodialysis patients.

Assessment of Dialysis Adequacy Using Small Solute Clearance Indices among Twice versus Thrice Weekly Maintenance Hemodialysis Patients in a Tertiary Care Hospital of Bangladesh

This observational study was carried out in the Department of Nephrology, Mymensingh Medical College Hospital, Bangladesh from January 2020 to December 2020. A total of 179 patients were included in this study according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Informed written consent was taken from each patient. All patients were underwent detail history taking, thorough physical examination and relevant investigations. Data collection was conducted through a structured questionnaire. Collected data were analyzed using the statistical software SPSS 23.0. Mean age ±SD of the study patients was 47.06±14.1 with a majority in age group 41-50 years. Male predominance was observed with a male: female ratio of 2.19:1 and 68.7% male patients. Level of pre-dialysis, post-dialysis urea in the study population was 123.77±26.86mg/dl, 50.27±15.70mg/dl respectively and mean ±SD of Urea Reduction Ratio (URR) in hemodialysis (target >65.0%) was 67.2±1.9. Most of the 8 hours (two times) per week hemolysis patients could not achieve the target value of dialysis adequacy parameters. On the other hand, maximum people in 12 hours (three times) per week hemodialysis group achieved the target value of dialysis adequacy parameters. It is important to calculate Kt/V or URR and individualize the dialysis doses for each patient.

"They Were Saying That I Was a Typical Chinese Mum" : Chinese Parents' Experiences of Parent-Teacher Partnerships for Their Autistic Children

Effective parent-teacher partnerships improve outcomes for autistic students. Yet, we know little about what effective partnerships look like for parents of autistic children from different backgrounds. We conducted interviews with 17 Chinese parents of autistic children attending Australian kindergartens/schools to understand their experiences. Parents appreciated the acceptance, opportunities and supports they received in Australia. They had high expectations of children; expectations not often shared by educators. Parents were respectful of teachers' expertise and polite and undemanding in interactions. Nevertheless, parents were frustrated by inconsistent teaching quality and inadequate communication. Navigating systems was also challenging and parents faced discrimination from teachers and their community. Recommendations include fostering open home-school communication, proactively seeking parents' expertise about children and explicitly scaffolding parents' self-advocacy.

'Somali parents feel like they're on the outer': Somali mothers' experiences of parent-teacher relationships for their autistic children

LAY ABSTRACT

Good relationships between parents and schools can improve autistic children's school success. There are many reasons why families from different cultural backgrounds find it harder to develop good relationships with schools, such as language barriers, discrimination and unfamiliarity with education systems. We know little about what 'good relationships' look like for these families. Here, we worked with a team of autistic and non-autistic researchers as well as an Advisory Group of Somali parents to conduct interviews with 15 Somali mothers of kindergarten and school-age autistic children. We asked mothers about their experiences of their child's education, communication with teachers and what a good relationship with schools would look like. We also asked how they felt the Somali community understood autism. We looked for common things that mothers said. We found that mothers were very proud of their children. They had high expectations, particularly about what children could do by themselves. Mothers found it frustrating that teachers had low expectations, that schools were not good at communicating with them and that autism-specific skills and experience were uncommon in schools. They also reported racist attitudes towards their children. Mothers experienced stigma and lacked resources, but support was gained from their daughters and their religion. Mothers themselves were proactively increasing community awareness and knowledge about autism in the hope that they and their autistic children would be valued and better supported. Our work has implications for how teachers and schools can work together with Somali parents to forge better futures for autistic children.

'It's really important to be collaborating': Experiences of participatory research for Chinese and Vietnamese parents of autistic children

Background and aims

Participatory research involves academic partners working together with the community that is affected by research to make decisions about that research. Such approaches often result in research that is more respectful of, and responsive to, community preferences - and is vital in the context of autism research with culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities. Whilst participatory approaches are becoming more commonplace within CALD autism research, no studies have explored the experiences of being involved in autism research from the perspectives of CALD community partners over the course of a study. This paper intended to address this gap by reporting on the experiences of CALD parents of autistic children who were community partners in a 1-year Australian research project exploring home-school partnerships for CALD parents of autistic children. We aimed to: (1) report on how parents' involvement in the research process shaped the home-school partnerships study over time and (2) understand their experiences of being community partners on the home-school partnerships project.

Methods

Using key principles of participatory approaches, we established Chinese and Vietnamese parent advisory groups to contribute to a project exploring home-school partnerships for parents of autistic children from CALD backgrounds in Australia. Advisory groups included parents of autistic children from Chinese/Vietnamese backgrounds, as well as interpreters, professionals and researchers. We documented how parents' participation as community partners shaped the home-school partnerships study over the course of the project. We also elicited parents' own views and experiences of being community partners through informal, open-ended questions at the beginning and end of the study.

Results

We found that parents' input fundamentally shaped the broader home-school partnership study, from meaningful, accurate translation of interview schedules through to making decisions regarding community-specific recommendations and dissemination plans. Parents themselves reported being keen to collaborate and to hear and share opinions for the purpose of the home-school partnership study - although they noted how emotionally difficult sharing their stories could be. While they initially had some concerns about combining being involved as a community partner with their existing responsibilities, ultimately, parents were surprised by the scope of the home-school partnership study and their level of involvement as community partners. Through hearing others' stories and sharing their own in advisory group meetings, parents reported ancillary benefits of their involvement, including increased self-advocacy and well-being.

Conclusions

These findings show how research that is conducted in partnership with diverse members of the autism community has the capacity to improve the quality of the research and benefit community partners.

Implications

This study clearly documents the benefits and potential challenges of participatory approaches with CALD communities. These findings emphasise to researchers and funders the importance of including extra time and money within budgets in order to produce meaningful research that is respectful and responsive to communities.

Precision Determination of the Neutral Weak Form Factor of ^{48}Ca

We report a precise measurement of the parity-violating (PV) asymmetry A_{PV} in the elastic scattering of longitudinally polarized electrons from ^{48}Ca. We measure A_{PV}=2668±106(stat)±40(syst) parts per billion, leading to an extraction of the neutral weak form factor F_{W}(q=0.8733  fm^{-1})=0.1304±0.0052(stat)±0.0020(syst) and the charge minus the weak form factor F_{ch}-F_{W}=0.0277±0.0055. The resulting neutron skin thickness R_{n}-R_{p}=0.121±0.026(exp)±0.024(model)  fm is relatively thin yet consistent with many model calculations. The combined CREX and PREX results will have implications for future energy density functional calculations and on the density dependence of the symmetry energy of nuclear matter.

New Measurements of the Beam-Normal Single Spin Asymmetry in Elastic Electron Scattering over a Range of Spin-0 Nuclei

We report precision determinations of the beam-normal single spin asymmetries (A_{n}) in the elastic scattering of 0.95 and 2.18 GeV electrons off ^{12}C, ^{40}Ca, ^{48}Ca, and ^{208}Pb at very forward angles where the most detailed theoretical calculations have been performed. The first measurements of A_{n} for ^{40}Ca and ^{48}Ca are found to be similar to that of ^{12}C, consistent with expectations and thus demonstrating the validity of theoretical calculations for nuclei with Z≤20. We also report A_{n} for ^{208}Pb at two new momentum transfers (Q^{2}) extending the previous measurement. Our new data confirm the surprising result previously reported, with all three data points showing significant disagreement with the results from the Z≤20 nuclei. These data confirm our basic understanding of the underlying dynamics that govern A_{n} for nuclei containing ≲50 nucleons, but point to the need for further investigation to understand the unusual A_{n} behavior discovered for scattering off ^{208}Pb.

Pattern of Glomerular Disease in a Tertiary Care Hospital of Bangladesh

Glomerular disease is one of the most important causes of chronic kidney disease in developing countries like Bangladesh as well as the whole world. The pattern of glomerular disease varies in different countries and can have different clinical presentations. The aim of the study was to analyze the clinical profile and to determine the histological pattern of glomerular diseases in a large tertiary care hospital in Bangladesh. All kidney biopsies performed in Mymensingh Medical College Hospital, Bangladesh from October 2018 to March 2020 were prospectively analyzed in the study. A total of 101 patients with kidney biopsy were examined by clinical and laboratory findings and by light and immuno-fluorescence microscopy. The mean age was 30.0±14.6 years and 50(49.5%) were male and 51(50.5%) were female with a male to female ratio of 1:1. The clinical syndromes namely nephrotic syndrome, nephritic syndrome, nephrito-nephrotic presentation, RPGN like presentation, macroscopic haematuria and asymptomatic urine abnormality were present in 31.7%, 34.5%, 22.8%, 11.9%, 19.8% and 10.9% patients respectively. The most common histological varieties found in the study were mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis (MesPGN) (18.8%) and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) (18.8%). Other histopathological pattern among the studied subjects revealed minimal change disease (MCD) in 5.9%, membranous nephropathy (MN) in 7.9%, membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN) in 16.8%, IgA nephropathy in 5%, IgM nephropathy in 2%, IgG nephropathy in 2%, diffuse proliferative glomerulonephritis (DPGN) in 1%, focal proliferative glomerulo-nephritis (FPGN) in 3%, crescentic GN in 3%, lupus nephritis (LN) in 13.9%, amyloidosis in 1% and fibrillary glomerulopathy in 1% patient. The pattern of glomerular disease found in this study was similar to other studies performed in Bangladesh with a little variation. It may guide the future researchers to establish a national kidney biopsy registry in Bangladesh.

Accurate Determination of the Neutron Skin Thickness of ^{208}Pb through Parity-Violation in Electron Scattering

We report a precision measurement of the parity-violating asymmetry A_{PV} in the elastic scattering of longitudinally polarized electrons from ^{208}Pb. We measure A_{PV}=550±16(stat)±8(syst) parts per billion, leading to an extraction of the neutral weak form factor F_{W}(Q^{2}=0.00616  GeV^{2})=0.368±0.013. Combined with our previous measurement, the extracted neutron skin thickness is R_{n}-R_{p}=0.283±0.071  fm. The result also yields the first significant direct measurement of the interior weak density of ^{208}Pb: ρ_{W}^{0}=-0.0796±0.0036(exp)±0.0013(theo)  fm^{-3} leading to the interior baryon density ρ_{b}^{0}=0.1480±0.0036(exp)±0.0013(theo)  fm^{-3}. The measurement accurately constrains the density dependence of the symmetry energy of nuclear matter near saturation density, with implications for the size and composition of neutron stars.

Opto-Electronic Properties of Green Synthesized ZnS Nanostructures

ZnS nanostructures are synthesized by a wet chemical route using starch as green capping agent under nitrogen environment. The as-prepared nanostructures are characterized structurally, optically and electrically. X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra confirm that the zinc sulfide (ZnS) nanoparticles have cubic phase (zinc blende). UV–Vis spectrum of the sample clearly shows that the absorption peak exhibits blue shift compared to their bulk counterpart, which confirms the quantum confinement effect of the nanostructures. Its photoluminescence (PL) spectrum shows near band gap emission at 392[Formula: see text]nm and extrinsic emission at 467[Formula: see text]nm. The particle sizes calculated from XRD and UV studies are in fair agreement with high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) results. Starch is found to be a noble capping agent in bringing quantum confinement. The synthesis under nitrogen environment has been observed to produce quality products by reducing the oxide traces. Moreover, the I–V characteristics under dark and illumination show that ZnS can be more suitable as photodetector.

Supply network resilience: a systematic literature review and future research

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the knowledge existing in the literature on supply chain resilience for identifying the supply chain practices adopted for securing resilience in given uncertain event.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic literature review is conducted to identify 84 conceptual and empirical studies. The research findings are synthesized in categories of uncertain events, supply chain practices and outcomes.

Findings

A set of propositions linking the uncertain events, mechanisms and supply chain resilience improvement is developed. It was found that the sufficient conditions for resilience under unexpected disasters are substantially different from those required for resilience against disruptions caused by internal practices or complexity.

Originality/value

Practitioners can benefit from the knowledge of interventions and mechanisms to improve their supply chain resilience in the face of different unpredictable situations. The contribution of this paper is twofold: first, it develops an actionable theory of supply chain resilience by developing testable propositions in the context of supply chains exposed to uncertainties resulting from unexpected disruptions, complexity of supply chains and adoption of certain internal practice; second, the paper highlights the key shortcomings of existing literature and provides opportunities for further research and improvement.

Is test anxiety a peril for students with intellectual disabilities?

Test anxiety is one of the most confronting issues in modern times with the increase in the number of standardised and high-stakes testing. Research has established that there is a direct link between test anxiety and cognitive deficits. The aim of this study is to determine the test anxiety scores of the students with intellectual disabilities in South Australia. It also provided insights into the reasons for high-test anxiety in the participants under study. The Spielberger's Test Anxiety Questionnaire was administered on students with intellectual disabilities in stage 1. Interviews were conducted with participants with intellectual disabilities, parents and teachers in stage 2. Questionnaire findings revealed that the majority of the adolescent females and males and all adult females with intellectual disabilities had high test anxiety scores. However, the majority of adult males with intellectual disabilities obtained moderate test anxiety scores. In the worry and emotionality subscales, it was also found that the majority of adolescents and adults with intellectual disabilities were found to score high. The high test anxiety scores have been justified by the interview responses obtained from the three groups of respondents. A number of factors have been identified to be the major predictors of test anxiety in students with intellectual disabilities.

Test Anxiety: Benign or Malignant for Students with Vision Impairment?

<p>Test anxiety has been identified as a threat in evaluative situations and academic performance by sighted students. Students with vision impairment are no exception to it. This study investigated the test anxiety scores of the students with vision impairment in South Australia. It also provided insights into the reasons for high test anxiety in the participants studied. This study was divided into two Stages-1 and 2. The Spielberger&rsquo;s Test Anxiety questionnaire was administered on students with vision impairment in Stage 1. Interviews were conducted in Stage 2 with participants with vision impairment, their parents and teachers. The Stage 1 results revealed that the majority of the adult females with vision impairment and all adult males with vision impairment obtained high test anxiety scores. The majority of the adolescent females and males with vision impairment were noted to have test anxiety scores in the high to moderate range. A great number of participants with vision impairment scored higher in the emotionality in comparison to the worry subscale of test anxiety. The high test anxiety scores are congruent with the interview responses obtained from the three groups of respondents. A number of factors have been identified as the major determinants of test anxiety in students with vision impairment.</p><p>Keywords:&nbsp;test anxiety, participants with vision impairment, worry, emotionality, South Australia</p>

Loss of HtrA2/Omi activity in non-neuronal tissues of adult mice causes premature aging

mnd2 mice die prematurely as a result of neurodegeneration 30-40 days after birth due to loss of the enzymatic activity of the mitochondrial quality control protease HtrA2/Omi. Here, we show that transgenic expression of human HtrA2/Omi in the central nervous system of mnd2 mice rescues them from neurodegeneration and prevents their premature death. Interestingly, adult transgenic mnd2 mice develop accelerated aging phenotypes, such as premature weight loss, hair loss, reduced fertility, curvature of the spine, heart enlargement, increased autophagy, and death by 12-17 months of age. These mice also have elevated levels of clonally expanded mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) deletions in their tissues. Our results provide direct genetic evidence linking mitochondrial protein quality control to mtDNA deletions and aging in mammals.

Clinical manifestation of Hurler syndrome in a 7 year old child

Mucopolysaccharidosis type I (MPS I H, Hurler syndrome) is a rare autosomal recessive inborn deficiency in the metabolism of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) heparan sulfate and dermatan sulfate, resulting from deficiency of Alpha-L-iduronidase enzyme. This condition is characterized by accumulation of incompletely degraded glycosaminoglycans into various organs of body, which leads to impairment of organs and body functions. Such children appear nearly normal at birth; however, if left untreated, show a progressive mental and physical deterioration leading to death due to cardiorespiratory failure before the second decade of life. Pedodontists have a role for early diagnosis, rendering corrective and preventive treatment to the developing dentition, and referring the patient to the concerned specialities. An interesting case of a seven year old boy with a combination of skeletal, neurological, ophthalmologic, oro-dental and radiological findings of this diverse and devastating clinical entity with MPS I-(Hurler syndrome) has been presented here in this case report.

An exploration into self concept: A comparative analysis between the adolescents who are sighted and blind in India

The purpose of this study was to explore the self concept of adolescents who are sighted and blind with respect to gender in India. The sample was made up of 160 participants aged 15 to 18 years: of whom 100 were sighted and 60 were blind. The results of the t-tests illustrated that sighted male adolescents scored higher in the overall self-concept scores as compared to sighted female adolescents. However such significant differences in the self-concept scores were not found between the male and female adolescents who are blind. The sighted adolescents scored higher than the adolescents who are blind in three of the total six dimensions of self concept, thus also scoring higher on the overall self-concept score.

Syntaxin 3B is essential for the exocytosis of synaptic vesicles in ribbon synapses of the retina

Ribbon synapses of the vertebrate retina are specialized synapses that release neurotransmitter by synaptic vesicle exocytosis in a manner that is proportional to the level of depolarization of the cell. This release property is different from conventional neurons, in which the release of neurotransmitter occurs as a short-lived burst triggered by an action potential. Synaptic vesicle exocytosis is a calcium regulated process that is dependent on a set of interacting synaptic proteins that form the so-called SNARE (soluble N-ethylmaleimide sensitive factor attachment protein receptor) complex. Syntaxin 3B has been identified as a specialized SNARE molecule in ribbon synapses of the rodent retina. However, the best physiologically-characterized neuron that forms ribbon-style synapses is the rod-dominant or Mb1 bipolar cell of the goldfish retina. We report here the molecular characterization of syntaxin 3B from the goldfish retina. Using a combination of reverse transcription (RT) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and immunostaining with a specific antibody, we show that syntaxin 3B is highly enriched in the plasma membrane of bipolar cell synaptic terminals of the goldfish retina. Using membrane capacitance measurements we demonstrate that a peptide derived from goldfish syntaxin 3B inhibits synaptic vesicle exocytosis. These experiments demonstrate that syntaxin 3B is an important factor for synaptic vesicle exocytosis in ribbon synapses of the vertebrate retina.

A comparative study of cardiac dysautonomia in autosomal dominant spinocerebellar ataxias and idiopathic sporadic ataxias

OBJECTIVES

Comparative evaluation of cardiac dysautonomia in spinocerebellar ataxias (SCA) and idiopathic sporadic ataxias (IA) not fulfilling the criteria of multiple system atrophy.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Cardiac autonomic functions were evaluated in 14 SCA (SCA1 = 6, SCA2 = 5 and SCA3 = 3) and 10 IA patients, comparable for age, age at onset, duration and severity of illness. The results were categorized as early, definitive, or severe autonomic involvement (EI, DI and SI respectively) based on the degree of abnormalities on tests of parasympathetic and sympathetic pathways.

RESULTS

Cardiac autonomic dysfunction was present in all (EI = 25.0%, DI = 41.7% and SI = 33.3%), parasympathetic dysfunction being an early feature. SI was most often present in SCA3 (100%), followed by those with SCA1 (66.7%), and SCA2 (20%) and none in IA.

CONCLUSIONS

Cardiac dysautonomia was common in both SCA and IA, although the severity was greater in SCA. Among SCAs, the severity was greatest in SCA3, followed by SCA2 and least in SCA1.

Would compliance with cancer care standards improve survival for breast, colorectal and lung cancers?

OBJECTIVE

To investigate whether cancer service standards are associated with survival for breast, colorectal and lung cancers at population level.

METHODS

Standards of hospital cancer services in England, measured in 2001, were aggregated for 30 cancer networks covering populations of between 500 000 and 3 million people, and compared with 1-year and 5-year relative cancer survival for the incident period 1996-2001, using rank correlation.

RESULTS

Relative survival and the cancer standards each showed statistically significant differences across cancer networks. For tumour-specific services, the total score of 35 standards was associated with longer relative survival for both colorectal and lung cancers (p<0.05), but not breast cancer, while colorectal cancer survival was strongly (p<0.01) associated with the specific standard "written agreement describing referral guidelines", and lung cancer (p<0.05) with two other guideline standards. There were also associations of longer survival with two measures of nursing staff specialist qualifications. Compliance with general standards for cancer services was not associated with survival for breast cancer, and showed only borderline (p<0.1) associations for colo-rectal cancer, while some standards on medical and management lead staff were significantly associated (p<0.05) with poorer survival for lung cancer. Overall, compliance with standards for hospital pathology and radiology services also showed no associations with survival.

CONCLUSION

This study suggests that compliance with some clinical service standards, such as guidelines, could contribute to better survival at population level, while more general organisational aspects of cancer services may not directly improve survival.

Organizational determinants of patients' experiences of care for breast, lung and colorectal cancers

Organizational characteristics in English NHS hospitals and the experiences of patients with three common cancers - breast, colorectal and lung - were examined using secondary data analyses. Two specific measures of satisfaction, Respect and Dignity, reflecting inpatient care, and Communication reflecting hospital outpatient care, were drawn from a national survey of cancer patients after first hospital treatment. They were compared at hospital level with hospital cancer service standards, and measures of hospital provision, each drawn from national surveys. Respect and Dignity was greater in hospitals with fewer complaints, slower admission procedures and a greater proportion of medicine consultants, for breast and colorectal cancers only. For breast cancer alone, Respect and Dignity was greater in hospitals achieving more participation in meetings by lead team members at the cancer unit level. For lung cancer alone, there were tumour-specific team organizational measures (relating to outpatient assessment) associated with Communication. However, the majority of recorded standards did not show associations, and there were occasional negative associations (dissatisfaction). The impact of organizational factors on patients may be examined through observational studies when experimental designs are not possible. Understanding how organizational factors affect quality of care for cancer patients can contribute to planning and management of cancer services.

Gene expression analysis of interferon-beta treatment in multiple sclerosis

Treatment with interferon-beta (IFN-beta) induces the expression of hundreds of genes in blood mononuclear cells, and the expression of several genes has been proposed as a marker of the effect of treatment with IFN-beta. However, to date no molecules have been identified that are stably induced by treatment with IFN-beta. We use DNA microarrays to study gene expression in 10 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who began de novo treatment with IFN-beta. After the first injection of IFN-beta, the expression of 74 out of 3428 genes changed at least two-fold and statistically significantly (after Bonferroni correction). In contrast, we observed no persisting effects of IFN-beta on gene expression. Among the most strongly induced genes was MXA, which has been used in previous biomarker studies in MS. In addition, the study identified the induction of LGALS9 and TCIR1G, involved in negative regulation of T helper type I immunity and T-cell activation, as novel effects of IFN-beta therapy in MS.

A titer plate-based polymer microfluidic platform for high throughput nucleic acid purification

A 96-well solid-phase reversible immobilization (SPRI) reactor plate was designed to demonstrate functional titer plate-based microfluidic platforms. Nickel, large area mold inserts were fabricated using an SU-8 based, UV-LIGA technique on 150 mm diameter silicon substrates. Prior to UV exposure, the prebaked SU-8 resist was flycut to reduce the total thickness variation to less than 5 mum. Excellent UV lithography results, with highly vertical sidewalls, were obtained in the SU-8 by using an UV filter to remove high absorbance wavelengths below 350 nm. Overplating of nickel in the SU-8 patterns produced high quality, high precision, metal mold inserts, which were used to replicate titer plate-based SPRI reactors using hot embossing of polycarbonate (PC). Optimized molding conditions yielded good feature replication fidelity and feature location integrity over the entire surface area. Thermal fusion bonding of the molded PC chips at 150 degrees C resulted in leak-free sealing, which was verified in leakage tests using a fluorescent dye. The assembled SPRI reactor was used for simple, fast purification of genomic DNA from whole cell lysates of several bacterial species, which was verified by PCR amplification of the purified genomic DNA.

The pyroptosome: a supramolecular assembly of ASC dimers mediating inflammatory cell death via caspase-1 activation

Pyroptosis is a caspase-1-dependent inflammatory form of cell death. The adapter protein ASC binds directly to caspase-1 and is critical for caspase-1 activation in response to a broad range of stimuli. To elucidate the mechanism of activation of caspase-1 by ASC and its exact role in macrophage pyroptosis, we performed time-lapse confocal bioimaging analysis on human THP-1 macrophages stably expressing an ASC-GFP fusion protein. We show that stimulation of these cells with several proinflammatory stimuli trigger the formation of a large supramolecular assembly of ASC, termed here pyroptosome. Only one distinct pyroptosome in each stimulated cell is formed, which rapidly recruits and activates caspase-1 resulting in pyroptosis and the release of the intracellular proinflammatory cytokines. The pyroptosome is largely composed of oligomerized ASC dimers. Dimerization of ASC is driven by subphysiological concentrations of potassium as in vitro incubation of purified recombinant ASC in the presence of subphysiological concentrations of potassium induces the assembly of a functional pyroptosome. Furthermore, stimulation of potassium efflux in THP-1 cells with potassium-depleting agents induces formation of the pyroptosome, while increasing potassium concentrations in the culture medium or pharmacological inhibition of this efflux inhibits its assembly. Our results establish that macrophage pyroptosis is mediated by a unique pyroptosome, distinct from the inflammasome.

A follow-up study of Nordic multiple sclerosis candidate gene regions

In this study, the results from three Nordic linkage disequilibrium screens in multiple sclerosis (MS) were investigated, in a new sample set of 314 Nordic MS trios from Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Iceland. Among 30 non-HLA and two HLA microsatellite markers individually genotyped, eight markers displayed distorted transmission with uncorrected P-value <0.05, ranked in this order: D6S2443 (6p21.32, HLA class II) (P corrected =0.01), D2S2201 (2p24), D19S552 (19q13), D3S3584 (3q21), D17S975 (17q11), D1S2627 (1p22), D6S273 (6p21.33, HLA class III) and D12S1051 (12q23). These non-HLA regions need further investigation as possible MS candidate gene regions in our population. Multiple Sclerosis 2007; 13: 584-589. http://msj.sagepub.com

The RD1-encoded antigen Rv3872 of Mycobacterium tuberculosis as a potential candidate for serodiagnosis of tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) infections in India account for one-third of the global burden, making it important to develop speedy, cost-effective diagnostic tools. This study evaluated recombinant RD1-encoded antigens of Mycobacterium tuberculosis as tools for serodiagnosis by determining the immunological reactivity of these proteins against sera from healthy, bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG)-vaccinated and TB-infected individuals from Kolkata. Rv3872, Rv3875 (ESAT-6) and Rv3878 were able to discriminate healthy BCG-vaccinated controls from TB patients. Rv3872 showed the highest level of antibody response in comparison with other antigens, and also showed statistically significant differences between pulmonary (p <0.0001) or extra-pulmonary (p <0.001) TB patients and healthy BCG-vaccinated individuals. The levels of antibody were measured using 20-mer overlapping peptides spanning the entire Rv3872 sequence. The immunological reactivity against a mixture of two peptides (P8 and P9) encompassing amino-acids 57-84 correlated well with that obtained using full-length Rv3872. This result was explained by the fact that two of the predicted regions of high antigenicity lie within amino-acid residues 57-85 of Rv3872. The high sensitivity and specificity of Rv3872, as well as the mixture of two synthetic overlapping peptides derived from Rv3872, highlight their potential and argue in favour of their use in serodiagnosis of both pulmonary and extra-pulmonary TB.

Cryopyrin and pyrin activate caspase-1, but not NF-kappaB, via ASC oligomerization

Mutations in cryopyrin and pyrin proteins are responsible for several autoinflammatory disorders in humans, suggesting that these proteins play important roles in regulating inflammation. Using a HEK293 cell-based reconstitution system that stably expresses ASC and procaspase-1 we demonstrated that neither cryopyrin nor pyrin or their corresponding disease-associated mutants could significantly activate NF-kappaB in this system. However, both cryopyrin and two disease-associated cryopyrin mutants induced ASC oligomerization and ASC-dependent caspase-1 activation, with the disease-associated mutants being more potent than the wild-type (WT) cryopyrin, because of increased self-oligomerization. Contrary to the proposed anti-inflammatory activity of WT pyrin, our results demonstrated that pyrin, like cryopyrin, can also assemble an inflammasome complex with ASC and procaspase-1 leading to ASC oligomerization, caspase-1 activation and interleukin-1beta processing. Thus, we propose that pyrin could function as a proinflammatory molecule.