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Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is widespread all over the world. The greatest number of infected people are in developing countries, whereas in developed countries the rate of infection is the smallest. Among risk factors of infection, the socioeconomic environment is regarded as one of the most important. In developed countries, the incidence of H. pylori infection in children is smaller than 12% and shows a tendency to decrease, while in developing countries it may exceed 40% (1). Multicenter studies conducted in Poland in the years [2002][2003] have demonstrated a high rate of H. pylori seroprevalence in both children and adults. In children aged 6 month to 18 years H. pylori seroprevalence rate was 32% and in adults aged 19 to 89 years 84% and varied depending on the region of the country (2). An influence of poor sanitary and hygiene conditions, economical status and parents education on the infection rate was demonstrated. In the last years a tendency to the decrease of infection rate has been shown, which could be linked to the improvement of social condition (3). H. pylori infection is a principal cause of chronic gastritis and peptic ulcer disease in children. In adulthood it leads to many diseases of the gastrointestinal tract including in particular JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY AND PHARMACOLOGY 2014, 65, 6, 801-807 www. Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of the upper gastrointestinal tract diseases in both children and adults. The aim of this paper was to assess the differences between the clinical course of the disease in children and adults. This paper also presents an analysis of clinical symptoms, endoscopic and histopathological findings, H. pylori cagA and vacA genotypes rates and analysis of the sensitivity of these strains to antibiotics in the Polish population, with possible practical and therapeutic implications. The multicenter study on the frequency of H. pylori infections assessed by the presence of antibodies in IgG class against H. pylori in serum was conducted in the years 2002 and 2003. The study group included 6565 children and adults, in 3827 of whom antibodies levels were above 24 U/mL. The authors analyzed clinical and endoscopic symptoms and in some patients with H. pylori seropositivity also histopathological changes, and cagA and vacA genes. Sensitivity of H. pylori strains to antibiotics were also analyzed. Differences between the frequency of infection between children and adults were determined. Endoscopic examination in adults revealed more frequent cases of gastropathy (P=0.003) and erosive gastritis (P=0.001), and in children-thick mucosal folds (P<0.0001). Histopathological examinations carried out in adults have revealed atrophic gastritis and intestinal metaplasia. In children, cagA(+)s1m1 was observed more frequently than in adults (34.0% versus 23.1%; P=0.02) contrary to cagA(-)s2m2 which occurred more frequently in adults (27.1% versus 14.0%; P=0.003). No effect of the infection on nausea, regurgitation, vomiting, heartburn, and abdominal pain in children was detected. However, adults infected with H. pylori suffered from more frequent episodes of heartburn and abdominal pain. The H. pylori strain exhibited a high resistance to metronidazole (higher in adults: 41.7% versus 27.4%; P=0.002), and to clarithromycin (higher in children: 20.2% versus 15.4%; P>0.05), and dual resistance to metronidazole and clarithromycin (higher in children: 9.9% versus 8.4%; P>0.05). Resistance of the H. pylori to amoxicillin and tetracycline was not detected. The conducted study indicated clinical differences in the H. pylori infection in children and adults. Among the differences in children, especially the more frequent infections by the cagA(+)s1m1/m2 strain could have an influence on further consequences of the infection. The obtained results could be useful in therapeutic decisions

Consequences of temperature fluctuations in observables measured in high energy collisions

We review the consequences of intrinsic, nonstatistical temperature fluctuations as seen in observables measured in high energy collisions. We do this from the point of view of nonextensive statistics and Tsallis distributions. Particular attention is paid to multiplicity fluctuations as a first consequence of temperature fluctuations, to the equivalence of temperature and volume fluctuations, to the generalized thermodynamic fluctuations relations allowing us to compare fluctuations observed in different parts of phase space, and to the problem of the relation between Tsallis entropy and Tsallis distributions. We also discuss the possible influence of conservation laws on these distributions and provide some examples of how one can get them without considering temperature fluctuations.Comment: Revised version of the invited contribution to The European Physical Journal A (Hadrons and Nuclei) topical issue about 'Relativistic Hydro- and Thermodynamics in Nuclear Physics' guest eds. Tamas S. Biro, Gergely G. Barnafoldi and Peter Va

Genotyping and antibiotic resistance of thermophilic Campylobacter isolated from chicken and pig meat in Vietnam

Background Campylobacter species are recognized as the most common cause of foodborne bacterial gastroenteritis in humans. In this study nine Campylobacter strains isolated from chicken meat and pork in Hanoi, Vietnam, were characterized using molecular methods and tested for antibiotic resistance. Results The nine isolates (eight C. jejuni and one C. coli) were identified by multiplex PCR, and tested for the presence or absence of 29 gene loci associated with virulence, lipooligosaccharide (LOS) biosynthesis and further functions. flaA typing, multilocus sequence typing and microarray assay investigation showed a high degree of genetic diversity among these isolates. In all isolates motility genes (flaA, flaB, flhA, fliM), colonization associated genes (cadF, docB), toxin production genes (cdtA, cdtB, secD, secF), and the LOS biosynthesis gene pglB were detected. Eight gene loci (fliY, virB11, Cje1278, Cj1434c, Cj1138, Cj1438c, Cj1440c, Cj1136) could not be detected by PCR. A differing presence of the gene loci ciaB (22.2 %), Cje1280 (77.8 %), docC (66.7 %), and cgtB (55.6 %) was found. iamA, cdtC, and the type 6 secretion system were present in all C. jejuni isolates but not in C. coli. flaA typing resulted in five different genotypes within C. jejuni, MLST classified the isolates into seven sequence types (ST-5155, ST-6736, ST-2837, ST-4395, ST-5799, ST-4099 and ST-860). The microarray assay analysis showed a high genetic diversity within Vietnamese Campylobacter isolates which resulted in eight different types for C. jejuni. Antibiotic susceptibility profiles showed that all isolates were sensitive to gentamicin and most isolates (88.8 %) were sensitive to chloramphenicol, erythromycin and streptomycin. Resistance rates to nalidixic acid, tetracycline and ciprofloxacin were 88.9, 77.8 and 66.7 %, respectively. Conclusions To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first report that shows high genetic diversity and remarkable antibiotic resistance of Campylobacter strains isolated from meat in Vietnam which can be considered of high public health significance. These preliminary data show that large scale screenings are justified to assess the relevance of Campylobacter infections on human health in Vietnam

Hyper-IgG4 disease: report and characterisation of a new disease

BACKGROUND: We highlight a chronic inflammatory disease we call 'hyper-IgG4 disease', which has many synonyms depending on the organ involved, the country of origin and the year of the report. It is characterized histologically by a lymphoplasmacytic inflammation with IgG4-positive cells and exuberant fibrosis, which leaves dense fibrosis on resolution. A typical example is idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis, but the initial report in 2001 was of sclerosing pancreatitis. METHODS: We report an index case with fever and severe systemic disease. We have also reviewed the histology of 11 further patients with idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis for evidence of IgG4-expressing plasma cells, and examined a wide range of other inflammatory conditions and fibrotic diseases as organ-specific controls. We have reviewed the published literature for disease associations with idiopathic, systemic fibrosing conditions and the synonyms: pseudotumour, myofibroblastic tumour, plasma cell granuloma, systemic fibrosis, xanthofibrogranulomatosis, and multifocal fibrosclerosis. RESULTS: Histology from all 12 patients showed, to varying degrees, fibrosis, intense inflammatory cell infiltration with lymphocytes, plasma cells, scattered neutrophils, and sometimes eosinophilic aggregates, with venulitis and obliterative arteritis. The majority of lymphocytes were T cells that expressed CD8 and CD4, with scattered B-cell-rich small lymphoid follicles. In all cases, there was a significant increase in IgG4-positive plasma cells compared with controls. In two cases, biopsies before and after steroid treatment were available, and only scattered plasma cells were seen after treatment, none of them expressing IgG4. Review of the literature shows that although pathology commonly appears confined to one organ, patients can have systemic symptoms and fever. In the active period, there is an acute phase response with a high serum concentration of IgG, and during this phase, there is a rapid clinical response to glucocorticoid steroid treatment. CONCLUSION: We believe that hyper-IgG4 disease is an important condition to recognise, as the diagnosis can be readily verified and the outcome with treatment is very good

Dipolar structuring of organically modified fluorohectorite clay particles

This report focuses on both the characterization of organically modified fluorohectorite (Fh) clay particles and their electric-field-induced alignment when suspended in a non-polar liquid (silicone oil). Thermal decomposition temperatures of the surfactant molecules adsorbed on the clay surfaces and those being intercalated between clay crystalline layers were measured by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). Zeta potential measurements confirmed the successful modification of the clay surfaces. Optical microscopy observations showed that the sedimentation of modified particles was much slower compared to that of the non-modified system. It was shown that organic modification has a significant effect on colloidal stability of the system, preventing particles from forming large aggregates when suspended in a non-polar liquid. There are also signs of a slight increase in overall alignment of the clay particles when exposed to in an electric field, with the nematic order parameter (S2) being higher for the organically modified particles, compared to that of the non-modified counterparts. This behaviour is mainly a result of the formation of smaller and more uniform aggregates, in contrast to the large aggregate structures formed by non-modified clay particles