Immunological role of nasal staphylococcus aureus carriage in patients with persistent allergic rhinitis

Nasal carriage of staphylococcus aureus (S.aureus) exerts immunomodulatory effect in patients with atopic dermatitis and it may contribute to airway inflammation and allergic response in patients with allergic rhinitis. We Aim to investigate the frequency of nasal S.aureus carriage in patients with persistent allergic rhinitis and its possible influence on their symptoms and immune markers. We chosed 20 non smoker patients with house dust mite (HDM) allergy causing allergic rhinitis and 20 non smoker healthy subjects matched for age and sex. For all subjects rhinoscopy was done, skin prick test, nasal culture for S.aureus, nasal interleukin 4,nasal total IgE, serum total IgE and serum specific IgE(SSIgE) for HDM. Nasal S.aureus was detected in 16/20 patients (80%) and 5/20 (25%) in healthy subjects with highly significant statistical difference p<0.01. Correlation of nasal staph.aureus count and different systemic and local immune markers revealed highly significant positive correlation between nasal S.aureus count and serum total IgE (r = 0.78, p<0.01) and significant positive correlation with SSIgE (HDM) (r = 0.53, p<0.05), nasal total IgE (r = 0.39, p<0.05) and nasal IL-4 (r = 0.55, p<0.05). Nasal staph.aureus actively modulated the immune reaction in persistent allergic rhinitis patients by promoting local IgE production, so we recommend early detection and treatment of S.aureus carriage in patients

DETECTION OF MICROORGANISMS (BACTERIA, FUNGI AND YEASTS) IN ROYAL JELLY

The aim of the present study to detect the population and frequency (%) of microorganism (bacteria, fungi and yeasts) in royal jelly samples. The data indicated that, there are no significant differences were remarked in the population of microorganisms between all the samples for bacteria, fungi and yeasts, where the mean number of population was 5.923, 1.38 and 7.85 colonies/sample for bacteria, fungi and yeasts respectively, in produced royal jelly from honeybee colonies, local royal jelly collected from Egyptian market and samples of imported royal jelly collected from Egyptian market, respectively. According to the isolation and identification procedures for detected royal jelly samples, four bacteria types (Clostridium botulinum, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus wakoensis and Micrococcus luteus), two fungi types (Aspergillusniger and Penicillium sp.) and one yeast type (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) were determined. The data also summarized that Clostridium botulinum was the most frequency compared with the other bacterial types, where the percentage of frequency was 1.8 – 2.5, 0.9 – 1.4, 0.4 – 0.6 and 1.5 – 2.0% for C. botulinum, B. cereus, B. wakoensis and Micrococcus luteus, respectively. Meanwhile, Penicillium sp. the most frequency compared with A. niger, where the percentage of frequency was 0.5 - 2.9 and 0.7 – 1.0 %, respectively, in produced royal jelly from honeybee colonies, local royal jelly samples collected from Egyptian market and imported royal jelly samples collected from Egyptian market respectively. Regarding the yeasts, the data also summarized that, S. cerevisiae was the most frequency in royal jelly that produced from  honeybee colonies (2.9%) followed by which local royal jelly samples collected from Egyptian market (2.1%) and imported royal jelly samples collected from Egyptian market (1.8%)

Anticandidal Activity of Green Synthesized Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Using Lemon Peel Extract

Nanobiotechnology has developed as an effective technology for developing antimicrobial nanoparticles in an environmentally safe manner. In this study, green synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPS) from zinc acetate solution by using lemon peels aqueous extract was characterized by UV–Visible Spectroscopy, High-resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HR-TEM) and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS). Anticandidal activity was investigated against three clinical multidrug resistant Candida species including two Candida albicans, one Candida glabrata and one Candida krusei using four antifungal agents by disc diffusion method and antifungal activity of ZnO NPS was assayed by disc diffusion method and determination of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC). Characterization studies revealed that the synthesized nanoparticles have rod shape with sizes of 13.58 - 30.70 nm. Notably, high rates of resistance were observed with the four tested antifungal agents against all Candida species and the antifungal activity of the synthesized ZnO NPS against Candida species were exhibited, with a maximum zone of inhibition of 24.5±0.5 mm against C. glabrata followed by C. albicans (19.5±0.5 mm) and C. krusei (16.0±0.0 mm). MIC and MFC for all Candida species were 0.25 and 0.5 mg/ml respectively. The cytotoxic data indicates that ZnO NPs have half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) value = 230.12 ± 9.34 μg/ml on normal human lung fibroblast cell line (MRC5). In conclusion, the study elucidates that lemon peels mediated green synthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles have antifungal activity against different Candida species. So that it can be developed as a novel medicine for the treatment of Candida associated infections in the near future

Ventricular tachyarrhythmia during pregnancy in women with heart disease: Data from the ROPAC, a registry from the European Society of Cardiology

Objectives: To describe the incidence, onset, predictors and outcome of ventricular tachyarrhythmia (VTA) in pregnant women with heart disease. Background: VTA during pregnancy will cause maternal morbidity and even mortality and will have impact on fetal outcome. Insufficient data exist on the incidence and outcome of VTA in pregnancy. Methods and results: From January 2007 up to October 2013, 99 hospitals in 39 countries enrolled 2966 pregnancies in women with structural heart disease. Forty-two women (1.4%) developed clinically relevant VTA during pregnancy, which occurred mainly in the third trimester (48%). NYHA class > 1 before pregnancy was an independent predictor for VTA. Heart failure during pregnancy was more common in women with VTA than in women without VTA (24% vs. 12%, p = 0.03) and maternal mortality was respectively 2.4% and 0.3% (p = 0.15). More women with VTA delivered by Cesarean section than women without VTA (68% vs. 47%, p = 0.01). Neonatal death, preterm birth (< 37 weeks), low birthweight (< 2500 g) and Apgar score < 7 occurred more often in women with VTA (4.8% vs. 0.3%, p = 0.01; 36% vs. 16%, p = 0.001; 33% vs. 15%, p = 0.001 and 25% vs. 7.3%, p = 0.001, respectively). Conclusions: VTA occurred in 1.4% of pregnant women with cardiovascular disease, mainly in the third trimester, and was associated with heart failure during pregnancy. NYHA class before pregnancy was predictive. VTA during pregnancy had clear impact on fetal outcome

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P &lt; 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Validity of tissue Doppler markers in the assessment of pulmonary hypertension

The accuracy of tissue Doppler parameters of right ventricular function including Isovolumic relaxation time (IVRT) and Isovolumic contraction time (IVCT) have not been validated sufficiently in pulmonary hypertensive patients (pts). Purpose: To assess the ability of tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) – as a noninvasive method – to predict pulmonary artery pressure and to determine the possibility of assessment of severity of pulmonary hypertension. Patients and methods: The study population comprised three parallel groups of consecutive patients. The study groups were: Group I (31 control subjects) in which conventional Doppler and TDI-derived echocardiograpic variables were measured from lateral tricuspid annulus and compared with Group II (30 pts with pulmonary hypertension and normal left side structure and function) and group III (30 pts with pulmonary hypertension and dilated cardiomyopathy). Results: In group I the median age of the pts was 40.4 years, 68% of them were males while in group II the median age of the pts was 35.5 years, 76.7% of them were females while in group III the median age of the pts was 33.5 years, 80% of them were males. The estimation of PASP was derived from tricuspid regurgitation velocity according to the Bernoulli equation. The measurement of IVRT was calculated using pulsed tissue Doppler. In group II and in group I (P, 0.0001), the average IVRT was 81.00 ± 6.3 ms [95% confidence interval (CI): 65–96] and 32.3 + 7.05 ms (95% CI: 20–50), respectively. We found a strong correlation between IVRT and systolic pulmonary pressure in group II (r = 0.57,P,0.0001) and a cut-off of 70ms showed a sensitivity and specificity of 96% and 97%, respectively, for the prediction of elevated PASP. In group II and in the group I (P,0.0001), the average IVCT was 34.2 ± 4.8 ms [95% confidence interval (CI): 25–45] and 61.5 + 9.7 ms (95% CI: 45–75), respectively. We found a strong inverse correlation between IVCT and systolic pulmonary pressure in the PH group (r = −0.38,P,0.0001) and a cut-off of 35.5 ms showed a sensitivity and specificity of 60% and 64%, respectively, for the prediction of elevated PASP. Conclusions: The measurement of IVRT and IVCT by TDI is a simple and reproducible method that correlates well with PASP. It is, therefore, parameters to consider in the echocardiographic assessment of pts with PH, and may be particularly important when the tricuspid Doppler signal is poor

Upregulation of Toll-like receptor 2 and nuclear factor-kappa B expression in experimental colonic schistosomiasis

Role of different mediators was described in the development of the granulomatous response and fibrosis observed in intestinal schistosomiasis. However, both Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) have not yet been investigated in intestinal schistosomiasis. This study aimed to characterize the role of TLR2 and NF-κB in the pathogenesis of intestinal schistosomiasis. Experimental animals were divided into two groups; group I: non-infected control group and group II: mice infected subcutaneously with S. mansoni cercariae. Colon samples were taken from infected mice, every two weeks, starting from the 6th week postinfection (PI) till 18th week PI. Samples were subjected to histopathological and immunohistochemical studies. Colon of S. mansoni infected mice showed histopathological changes in the form of mucosal degeneration, transmural mononuclear cellular infiltration and granulomas formation. Immunostained sections revealed significant increase in TLR2 and NF-κB positive cells in all layers of the colon, cells of the granuloma and those of the lymphoid follicles 10 weeks PI. All these changes decreased gradually starting from 12 weeks PI onward to be localized focally at 18 weeks PI. In conclusion, recruitment and activation of inflammatory cells to the colonic mucosa in intestinal schistosomiasis are multifactorial events involving TLR2 that can trigger the NF-κB pathways. Hence, down-regulation of both TLR2 and NF-κB could be exploited in the treatment of colonic schistosomiasis

On Certain Dual Q-Integral Equations

We consider three different systems of dual q-integral equations where the kernel is the third Jackson q-Bessel functions. We solve the first system by applying the multiplying factor method (ansatz solution) and the second by employing the fractional q-calculus, and we use the q-Mellin transform to reduce the third system to a Fredholm q-integral equation of the second kind. Examples are included

Letter to the editor: Immunological role of nasal staphylococcus aureus carriage in patients with persistent allergic rhinitis

Nasal carriage of staphylococcus aureus (S.aureus) exerts immunomodulatory effect in patients with  atopic dermatitis and it may contribute to airway inflammation and allergic response in patients with  allergic rhinitis. We Aim to investigate the frequency of nasal S.aureus carriage in patients with persistent allergic rhinitis and its possible influence on their symptoms and immune markers. We chosed 20 non smoker patients with house dust mite (HDM) allergy causing allergic rhinitis and 20 non smoker healthy subjects matched for age and sex. For all subjects rhinoscopy was done, skin prick test, nasal culture for S.aureus, nasal interleukin 4,nasal total IgE, serum total IgE and serum specific IgE(SSIgE) for HDM. Nasal S.aureus was detected in 16/20 patients (80%) and 5/20 (25%) in healthy subjects with highly significant statistical difference p&lt;0.01. Correlation of nasal staph.aureus count and different systemic and local immune markers revealed highly significant positive correlation between nasal S.aureus count and serum total IgE (r = 0.78, p&lt;0.01) and significant positive correlation with SSIgE (HDM) (r = 0.53, p&lt;0.05), nasal total IgE (r = 0.39, p&lt;0.05) and nasal IL-4 (r = 0.55, p&lt;0.05). Nasal staph.aureus actively modulated the immune reaction in persistent allergic rhinitis patients by promoting local IgE production, so we recommend early detection and treatment of S.aureus carriage in patients. Key words: nasal staphylococcus, allergic rhinitis, Egyp