Anaphylactic Reactions to Oligosaccharides in Red Meat: A Syndrome in Evolution

Objective: While most allergic responses to food are directed against protein epitopes and occur within 30 minutes of ingesting the allergen, recent studies suggest that delayed reactions may occur, sometimes mediated by IgE antibodies directed against carbohydrate moieties. The objective of this review is to summarize the clinical features and management of delayed hypersensitivity reactions to mammalian meat mediated by IgE antibodies to galactose-alpha 1,3-galactose (alpha-gal), an oligosaccharide.Methods: A PubMed search was conducted with MeSH terms: galactosyl-(1,3) galactose, oligosaccharides, cetuximab, allergy/hypersensitivity, and anaphylaxis. Reported cases with alpha-gal-mediated reactions were reviewed. This research study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of East Tennessee State University.Results: Thirty-two cases of adults presenting with red-meat induced allergy thought to be related to oligosaccharides have been reported in the literature so far, making this a rare and evolving syndrome. Most of these patients demonstrated delayed reactions to beef, as was seen in the case reported by us in this manuscript. IgE specific to alpha-gal was identified in most patients with variable response to skin testing with beef and pork. Inhibition studies in some cases showed that the IgE antibodies to beef were directed towards alpha-gal in the meat rather than the protein. The patients often reported history of tick bites, the significance of which is unclear at present. Reactions to cetuximab, a monoclonal antibody, are mediated by a similar mechanism, with IgE antibodies directed against an alpha-gal moiety incorporated in the drug structure.Conclusion: Alpha-gal is an oligosaccharide recently incriminated in delayed anaphylactic reactions to mammalian meats such as to beef, pork, and lamb. It appears that anaphylactic reactions to the anti-cancer biological agent, cetuximab, may be linked mechanistically to the same process. More studies are required to understand the underlying molecular basis for these delayed reactions in specific, and their broader implications for host defense in general

Anaphylactic Reactions to Oligosaccharides in Red Meat: a Syndrome in Evolution

OBJECTIVE: While most allergic responses to food are directed against protein epitopes and occur within 30 minutes of ingesting the allergen, recent studies suggest that delayed reactions may occur, sometimes mediated by IgE antibodies directed against carbohydrate moieties. The objective of this review is to summarize the clinical features and management of delayed hypersensitivity reactions to mammalian meat mediated by IgE antibodies to galactose-alpha 1,3-galactose (alpha-gal), an oligosaccharide. METHODS: A PubMed search was conducted with MeSH terms: galactosyl-(1,3) galactose, oligosaccharides, cetuximab, allergy/hypersensitivity, and anaphylaxis. Reported cases with alpha-gal-mediated reactions were reviewed. This research study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of East Tennessee State University. RESULTS: Thirty-two cases of adults presenting with red-meat induced allergy thought to be related to oligosaccharides have been reported in the literature so far, making this a rare and evolving syndrome. Most of these patients demonstrated delayed reactions to beef, as was seen in the case reported by us in this manuscript. IgE specific to alpha-gal was identified in most patients with variable response to skin testing with beef and pork. Inhibition studies in some cases showed that the IgE antibodies to beef were directed towards alpha-gal in the meat rather than the protein. The patients often reported history of tick bites, the significance of which is unclear at present. Reactions to cetuximab, a monoclonal antibody, are mediated by a similar mechanism, with IgE antibodies directed against an alpha-gal moiety incorporated in the drug structure. CONCLUSION: Alpha-gal is an oligosaccharide recently incriminated in delayed anaphylactic reactions to mammalian meats such as to beef, pork, and lamb. It appears that anaphylactic reactions to the anti-cancer biological agent, cetuximab, may be linked mechanistically to the same process. More studies are required to understand the underlying molecular basis for these delayed reactions in specific, and their broader implications for host defense in general

Carbon Free Boston: Social equity report 2019

OVERVIEW: In January 2019, the Boston Green Ribbon Commission released its Carbon Free Boston: Summary Report, identifying potential options for the City of Boston to meet its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050. The report found that reaching carbon neutrality by 2050 requires three mutually-reinforcing strategies in key sectors: 1) deepen energy efficiency while reducing energy demand, 2) electrify activity to the fullest practical extent, and 3) use fuels and electricity that are 100 percent free of greenhouse gases (GHGs). The Summary Report detailed the ways in which these technical strategies will transform Boston’s physical infrastructure, including its buildings, energy supply, transportation, and waste management systems. The Summary Report also highlighted that it is how these strategies are designed and implemented that matter most in ensuring an effective and equitable transition to carbon neutrality. Equity concerns exist for every option the City has to reduce GHG emissions. The services provided by each sector are not experienced equally across Boston’s communities. Low-income families and families of color are more likely to live in residences that are in poor physical condition, leading to high utility bills, unsafe and unhealthy indoor environments, and high GHG emissions.1 Those same families face greater exposure to harmful outdoor air pollution compared to others. The access and reliability of public transportation is disproportionately worse in neighborhoods with large populations of people of color, and large swaths of vulnerable neighborhoods, from East Boston to Mattapan, do not have ready access to the city’s bike network. Income inequality is a growing national issue and is particularly acute in Boston, which consistently ranks among the highest US cities in regards to income disparities. With the release of Imagine Boston 2030, Mayor Walsh committed to make Boston more equitable, affordable, connected, and resilient. The Summary Report outlined the broad strokes of how action to reach carbon neutrality intersects with equity. A just transition to carbon neutrality improves environmental quality for all Bostonians, prioritizes socially vulnerable populations, seeks to redress current and past injustice, and creates economic and social opportunities for all. This Carbon Free Boston: Social Equity Report provides a deeper equity context for Carbon Free Boston as a whole, and for each strategy area, by demonstrating how inequitable and unjust the playing field is for socially vulnerable Bostonians and why equity must be integrated into policy design and implementation. This report summarizes the current landscape of climate action work for each strategy area and evaluates how it currently impacts inequity. Finally, this report provides guidance to the City and partners on how to do better; it lays out the attributes of an equitable approach to carbon neutrality, framed around three guiding principles: 1) plan carefully to avoid unintended consequences, 2) be intentional in design through a clear equity lens, and 3) practice inclusivity from start to finish

Sequencing characterization of housekeeping genes among Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated from burn patients

Burn wound infections are one of the most important impairments that occur in the acute period following injury and colonization by the pathogenic agents, including gram-positive, gram-negative bacteria and yeasts. The study included 210 clinical swab samples have been collected from burn- wound patients and cultured on blood agar, MacConkey agar and Eosin methylene blue agar, the period from 1/3/2016 to 30/8/2016 at different hospitals in Baghdad city. By microscopic characterizations, morphological and biochemical reactions, the results showed that 42 (37.5 %) isolates belong to Klebsiella pneumoniae. The analysis of (10) clinical origin of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates by multilocus sequence typing show the relationship between the local and global isolates which belonged to 7 housekeeping genes (rpoB;beta-subunit of RNA polymerase, gapA; glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, mdh; malate dehydrogenase, pgi; phosphoglucose isomerase, phoE; phosphorine E, infB; translation initiation factor 2, tonB; periplasmic energy transducer). The present study the results showed the 10 isolates of K. pneumoniae were identified into different sequence type (ST): ST 14 and 15 for (IQK1, IQK2, IQK3, IQK4, IQK5, IQK6 and IQK7), ST 266, 54, 709, 728 and 1177 for (IQK8 and IQK9) and ST 665, 975 and 2149 for (IQK10). In addition, the result showed 100% identities with previously reported genes. There was no information on the sequence type (ST) (an allelic profile) of K. pneumoniae in Iraq. According to the results of the present study, the most occurrence clones found in Baghdad hospitals were endemic ST14 and 15, which accounted for 70% of the isolates (n=10). The presence of the ST14 and 15 clones in Iraq which came closer to global (14 and 15 STs) clones might be indicating intercontinental transmission because these clones were added to the list of the strains that isolated from different countries

Photoproduction at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider with STAR

The strong electromagnetic fields of short duration associated with relativistic heavy ions make a heavy-ion collider a unique tool to study two-photon and photonuclear collisions. In this talk, we introduce the principles of photoproduction at hadron colliders, review recent results from RHIC on meson and e$^+$e$^-$ production. At RHIC, STAR has studied exclusive $\rho^{0}$ vector meson production and $\rho^{0}$ production accompanied by electromagnetic dissociation of both nuclei in collisions of AuAu at 62, 130 and 200 GeV. Recent results suggest the validity of the Glauber calculations for the vector meson photoproduction and incosistency of the model based on the parton saturation phenomenon. The measurements are a lso sensitive to interference between production on the two nuclei: either ion can be the photon emitter or the target. The level of observed interference suggests that the final state wave function carries information about all possible decays long after the decay occurs. We also observe coherent photoproduction of a $\pi ^{+}\pi^{-}\pi^{+}\pi^{-}$ state which may be associated with $\rho^{0*}$ (1450).Comment: 4 pages 2 figures - To appear in the conference proceedings for Quark Matter 2009, March 30 - April 4, Knoxville, Tennesse

Morphological changes of descending testes during postnatal developmental stages in the Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

This study was conducted to elucidate the morphological changes of the testis of the domestic rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) during the postnatal life. The animals were divided in to seven age groups, eight animals for each group. The age of these groups were (1, 15, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 days). The mean weights, volume, length, width, and thickness of both left and right testes were recorded. The positions of testes in all ages were described. The results showed the testes were found at sub lumber region at one day postnatally, moved and start ingress the inguinal canal at 15 days of age, and mostly located moving in the inguinal canals and near to the developing scrotum between 30 and 60 days. This become completely within the scrotum at 90 days. The testes weight showed sharply increasing at 15 days. Then continued grew gradually, until 90 days of age when the greatest growth rate. After 90 days of life the testicular weight show slower rate of growing to reach adult weight at 150 days

Chylomicrons Produced by Caco-2 Cells Contained ApoB-48 With Diameter of 80-200 nm

The small intestine generally transports dietary fats to circulation in triglyceride (TG)-rich lipoproteins. The two main intestinal lipoproteins are chylomicron (CM) and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL). Unfortunately, studies on the CM biogenesis and intestinal transport of dietary fats have been hampered by the lack of an adequate in vitro model. In this study, we investigated the possible factors that might increase the efficiency of CM production by Caco-2 cells. We utilized sequential NaCl gradient ultracentrifugation to isolate the CMs that were secreted by the Caco-2 cells. To confirm the successful isolation of the CMs, we performed Fat Red 7B staining, TG reading, apolipoprotein B (ApoB) measurement, and transmission electron microcopy (TEM) analysis. We then tested the effects of cell differentiation, oleic acid, mono-olein, egg lecithin, incubation time, and collagen matrix on CM secretion. We found that cell differentiation, oleic acid, and lecithin were critical for CM secretion. Using the Transwell system, we further confirmed that the CMs produced by our Caco-2 cells contained significant amount of TGs and ApoB-48 such that they could be detected without the use of isotope labeling. In conclusion, when fully differentiated Caco-2 were challenged with oleic acid, lecithin, and sodium taurocholate, 21% of their total number of lipoproteins were CMs with the diameter of 80-200 nm

Chylomicrons Produced by Caco-2 Cells Contained ApoB-48 with Diameter of 80-200 nm

The small intestine generally transports dietary fats to circulation in triglyceride (TG)-rich lipoproteins. The two main intestinal lipoproteins are chylomicron (CM) and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL). Unfortunately, studies on the CM biogenesis and intestinal transport of dietary fats have been hampered by the lack of an adequate in vitro model. In this study, we investigated the possible factors that might increase the efficiency of CM production by Caco-2 cells. We utilized sequential NaCl gradient ultracentrifugation to isolate the CMs that were secreted by the Caco-2 cells. To confirm the successful isolation of the CMs, we performed Fat Red 7B staining, TG reading, apolipoprotein B (ApoB) measurement, and transmission electron microcopy (TEM) analysis. We then tested the effects of cell differentiation, oleic acid, mono-olein, egg lecithin, incubation time, and collagen matrix on CM secretion. We found that cell differentiation, oleic acid, and lecithin were critical for CM secretion. Using the Transwell system, we further confirmed that the CMs produced by our Caco-2 cells contained significant amount of TGs and ApoB-48 such that they could be detected without the use of isotope labeling. In conclusion, when fully differentiated Caco-2 were challenged with oleic acid, lecithin, and sodium taurocholate, 21% of their total number of lipoproteins were CMs with the diameter of 80-200 nm

Assessment of the distal runoff in patients with long standing diabetes mellitus and lower limb ischemia: MDCTA versus DSA

AbstractObjectiveThe purpose of our study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of multidetector computed tomography angiography (MDCTA) in comparison with digital subtraction angiography (DSA) in patients with long standing diabetes mellitus and chronic lower limb ischemia.Subjects and methodsOne hundred patients with long standing DM and chronic limb ischemia underwent both CT angiography and DSA. The distal runoff of each lower limb was divided into 13 arterial segments. The status of each segment was graded as: 1, (normal or less than 10% stenosis); 2, (10–49% stenosis); 3, (50–99% stenosis); 4, occlusion. The effect of calcification on the diagnostic accuracy of CT angiography was evaluated. CTA findings were compared with DSA findings for each arterial segment. The sensitivity and specificity of CT angiography were determined using DSA as the gold standard.ResultsA total of 100 patients were included (mean age, 58years; 70% men). The sensitivity and specificity of CT angiography were significantly affected by the degree of vessel wall calcification, and increase the need for additional imaging.ConclusionVessel wall calcifications decrease the diagnostic accuracy of CT angiography in patients with long standing DM and peripheral arterial disease

Succinic acid Production Strategy: Raw material, Organisms and Recent Applications in pharmaceutical and Food: Critical Review

Succinic acid is an essential base ingredient for manufacturing various industrial chemicals. Succinic acid has been acknowledged as one of the most significant bio based building block chemicals. Rapid demand for succinic acid has been noticed in the last 10 years. The production methods and mechanisms developed. Hence, these techniques and operations need to be revised. Recently, an omnibus rule for developing succinic acid is to find renewable carbohydrate Feedstocks. The sustainability of the resource is crucial to disintegrate the massive use of petroleum based-production. Accordingly, systematically reviewing the latest findings of bacterial production and related fermentation methods is critical. Therefore, this paper aims to study the latest research and assess the findings statistically comprehensively. The current review attempt is a step toward comprehending all the conditions surrounding succinic acid production from raw materials, microorganisms, and fermentation methods