Comparison of anti-inflammatory and clinical effects of beclomethasone dipropionate and salmeterol in moderate asthma

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Some factors influencing quality of spontaneous or induced sputum for inflammatory cell analysis

predict the quality of the sputum samples obtained in a large group of asthmatic subjects. Methods. We compared the presence of sputum productive cough in the days preceding the test, easiness in expectoration during the test, and sputum macroscopic aspect (presence of visible plugs) with the quality of slides obtained from sputum processing. We also monitored changes in the quality in patients who repeated sputum collection several times, comparing those whose first sample was adequate with those whose first sample was inadequate. We analysed 547 sputum samples obtained from 238 asthmatic patients. Sputum was processed using the whole sample method. Results. Patients with productive cough in the days preceding the test and easy expectoration during the test produced a higher percentage of adequate samples than those without productive cough (86% vs 76%, p=0.01) and with difficulty in expectoration (85% vs 63%, p=0.0001). "Good" macroscopic samples were associated with better quality of slides (91% vs 38%, p=0.0001). Patients with inadequate first sample (n=40) had a higher percentage of inadequate samples (55%) in the subsequent tests than patients (n=115) with adequate first sample (8%). Conclusions. Patients with increased airway secretions in the days preceding the test, easy expectoration and "good" macroscopic aspect of the sputum are more likely to produce sputum sample adequate for inflammatory cell analysis. If the first sputum sample is adequate, subsequent samples are very likely to be adequate as well. If the first sputum sample is inadequate, the quality of subsequent samples cannot be predicted, since there are similar probabilities of having adequate or inadequate samples

Progress and challenges in predicting protein-protein interaction sites

The identification of protein-protein interaction sites is an essential intermediate step for mutant design and the prediction of protein networks. In recent years a significant number of methods have been developed to predict these interface residues and here we review the current status of the field. Progress in this area requires a clear view of the methodology applied, the data sets used for training and testing the systems, and the evaluation procedures. We have analysed the impact of a representative set of features and algorithms and highlighted the problems inherent in generating reliable protein data sets and in the posterior analysis of the results. Although it is clear that there have been some improvements in methods for predicting interacting sites, several major bottlenecks remain. Proteins in complexes are still under-represented in the structural databases and in particular many proteins involved in transient complexes are still to be crystallized.We provide suggestions for effective feature selection, andmake it clear that community standards for testing, training and performancemeasures are necessary for progress in the field

Effect of mitochondrial ascorbic acid synthesis on photosynthesis

Ascorbic acid (AA) is synthesized in plant mitochondria through the oxidation of l-galactono-1,4-lactone (l-GalL) and then distributed to different cell compartments. AA-deficient Arabidopsis thaliana mutants (vtc2) and exogenous applications of l-GalL were used to generate plants with different AA content in their leaves. This experimental approach allows determining specific AA-dependent effects on carbon metabolism. No differences in O2 uptake, malic and citric acid and NADH content suggest that AA synthesis or accumulation did not affect mitochondrial activity; however, l-GalL treatment increased CO2 assimilation and photosynthetic electron transport rate in vtc2 (but not wt) leaves demonstrating a stimulation of photosynthesis after l-GalL treatment. Increased CO2 assimilation correlated with increased leaf stomatal conductance observed in l-GalL-treated vtc2 plants

Recovering the composition of melt and the fluid regime at the onset of crustal anatexis and S-type granite formation

Using a metatexite from the Spanish Betic Cordillera as an example, we show that in situ and otherwise impossible to retrieve compositional information on natural anatectic melts can be reliably gained from experimentally rehomogenized melt inclusions in peritectic garnets. Experiments were conducted on single garnet crystals in a piston cylinder apparatus until the complete homogenization of crystal-bearing melt inclusions at the conditions inferred for the anatexis. The compositions of quenched glasses, representative of the early anatectic melts, are leucogranitic and peraluminous, and differ from those of leucosomes in the host rock. The H2O contents in the glasses suggest that melts formed at low temperature (similar to 700 degrees C) may not be as hydrous and mobile as thought. Providing for the first time the precise melt composition (including the volatile components) in the specific anatectic rock under study, our approach improves our understanding of crustal melting and generation of S-type granites