A U.S. Partnership with India and Poland to Track Acute Chemical Releases to Serve Public Health

We describe a collaborative effort between the U.S., India, and Poland to track acute chemical releases during 2005–2007. In all three countries, fixed facility events were more common than transportation-related events; manufacturing and transportation/warehousing were the most frequently involved industries; and equipment failure and human error were the primary contributing factors. The most commonly released nonpetroleum substances were ammonia (India), carbon monoxide (U.S.) and mercury (Poland). More events in India (54%) resulted in victims compared with Poland (15%) and the U.S. (9%). The pilot program showed it is possible to successfully conduct international surveillance of acute hazardous substances releases with careful interpretation of the findings

Trovanje monokrotofosom iz onečišćenoga brašna od prosa

Several episodes of mass poisoning by organophosphates (OPs) have been reported from the developing countries. The diagnosis of OP-poisoning is mainly based on the characteristic clinical features and history of exposure to a known OP compound. Estimation of serum and red blood cell (RBC) cholinesterase activities are helpful in confirming the diagnosis. However, there is controversy regarding a definite relationship between serum cholinesterase activity and the severity of clinical manifestations and prognosis. This report describes an episode of mass monocrotophos poisoning that occurred due to accidental ingestion of monocrotophos-contaminated millet (so called bavta) flour involving eight severely poisoned persons. Clinical presentation included severe abdominal pain, diarrhoea, vomiting, pupil narrowing, and difficulty breathing. On hospital admission, plasma cholinesterase (PChE) and especially RBC acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activities correlated well with clinical symptoms presented by the patients. This case study highlights the need for clinicians to be aware of OP-pesticide poisoning from food sources and the need to look for depressed PChE and AChE activities that may point to OP exposure, so that OP-poisoning can be identified immediately and patients can receive specific treatment, rather than general treatment for food poisoning.Zemlje u razvoju nerijetko se susreću sa slučajevima masovnih trovanja organofosfatima (OP). Dijagnoza trovanja organofosfatima uglavnom se zasniva na karakterističnim kliničkim simptomima koji se pojavljuju nakon izloženosti nekome od poznatih organofosfornih spojeva. U potvrđivanju dijagnoze važnu ulogu ima mjerenje aktivnosti enzima kolinesteraza u serumu i crvenim krvnim stanicama. Međutim, povezanost između aktivnosti kolinesteraze u serumu i ozbiljnosti kliničkih manifestacija i prognoze još uvijek je predmet mnogih dvojba. Ovo istraživanje donosi prikaz slučaja masovnog trovanja monokrotofosom koje je nastupilo uslijed akcidentalne konzumacije prosenog brašna (tzv. bavta) onečišćenog monokrotofosom. U osmero otrovanih osoba uočeni su sljedeći klinički simptomi: snažni bolovi u trbuhu, proljev, povraćanje, sužavanje zjenica i poteškoće u disanju. Razine kolinesteraza: kolinesteraze u plazmi (PChE) te posebice razine acetilkolinesteraze u crvenim krvnim stanicama (AChE), izmjerene na dan prijema u bolnicu, visoko su korelirale s kliničkim simptomima zamijećenim u bolesnika. Ovaj prikaz slučaja naglašava potrebu za boljim informiranjem liječnika o brzom prepoznavanju simptoma trovanja hranom onečišćenom OPpesticidima i potrebom provjere jesu li u otrovanih osoba prisutne snižene razine PChE i AChE koje mogu upućivati na izloženost organofosfatima. Sve to moglo bi značajno pridonijeti ranom postavljanju dijagnoze trovanja organofosfatima, čime bi bolesnici na vrijeme mogli primiti specifičnu, a ne općenitu terapiju kao u slučajevima „običnog“ trovanja hranom

T lymphocytes coexpressing CCR4 and a chimeric antigen receptor targeting CD30 have improved homing and antitumor activity in a Hodgkin tumor model

For the adoptive transfer of tumor-directed T lymphocytes to prove effective, there will probably need to be a match between the chemokines the tumor produces and the chemokine receptors the effector T cells express. The Reed-Stemberg cells of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) predominantly produce thymus- and activation-regulated chemokine/CC chemokine ligand 17 (TARC/CCL17) and macrophage-derived chemokine (MDC/CCL22), which preferentially attract type 2 T helper (Th2) cells and regulatory T cells (Tregs) that express the TARC/MDC-specific chemokine receptor CCR4, thus generating an immunosuppressed tumor environment. By contrast, effector CD8+ T cells lack CCR4, are nonresponsive to these chemokines and are rarely detected at the tumor site. We now show that forced expression of CCR4 by effector T cells enhances their migration to HL cells. Furthermore, T lymphocytes expressing both CCR4 and a chimeric antigen receptor directed to the HL associated antigen CD30 sustain their cytotoxic function and cytokine secretion in vitro, and produce enhanced tumor control when infused intravenously in mice engrafted with human HL. This approach may be of value in patients affected by HL