Causes of ant sting anaphylaxis in Australia: the Australian Ant Venom Allergy Study

Objective: To determine the Australian native ant species associated with ant sting anaphylaxis, geographical distribution of allergic reactions, and feasibility of diagnostic venom-specific IgE (sIgE) testing. Design, setting and participants: Descriptive clinical, entomological and immunological study of Australians with a history of ant sting anaphylaxis, recruited in 2006-2007 through media exposure and referrals from allergy practices and emergency physicians nationwide. We interviewed participants, collected entomological specimens, prepared reference venom extracts, and conducted serum sIgE testing against ant venom panels relevant to the species found in each geographical region. Main outcome measures: Reaction causation attributed using a combination of ant identification and sIgE testing. Results: 376 participants reported 735 systemic reactions. Of 299 participants for whom a cause was determined, 265 (89%; 95% CI, 84%-92%) had reacted clinically to Myrmecia species and 34 (11%; 95% CI, 8%-16%) to green-head ant (Rhytidoponera metallica). Of those with reactions to Myrmecia species, 176 reacted to jack jumper ant (Myrmecia pilosula species complex), 18 to other jumper ants (15 to Myrmecia nigrocincta, three to Myrmecia ludlowi) and 56 to a variety of bulldog ants, with some participants reacting to more than one type of bulldog ant. Variable serological cross-reactivity between bulldog ant species was observed, and sera from patients with bulldog ant allergy were all positive to one or more venoms extracted from Myrmecia forficata, Myrmecia pyriformis and Myrmecia nigriceps. Conclusion: Four main groups of Australian ants cause anaphylaxis. Serum sIgE testing enhances the accuracy of diagnosis and is a prerequisite for administering species- specific venom immunotherapy

Synthesis of water-soluble chiral DOTA lanthanide complexes with predominately twisted square antiprism isomers and circularly polarized luminescence emission

One-step cyclization of a tetraazamacrocycle 5 with 70% yield in a 25-g scale was performed. Its chiral DOTA derivatives, L4, has ∼93% of TSAP coordination isomer in its Eu(III) and Yb(III) complexes in aqueous solution. [GdL4]5– exhibits a high relaxivity, making it a promising and efficient MRI contrast agent. High luminescence dissymmetry factor (glum) values of 0.285 (ΔJ = 1) for [TbL3]– and 0.241 (ΔJ = 1) for [TbL4]5– in buffer solutions were recorded

Marburg hemorrhagic fever in Durba and Watsa, Democratic Republic of the Congo: clinical documentation, features of illness, and treatment

The objective of the present study was to describe day of onset and duration of symptoms of Marburg hemorrhagic fever (MHF), to summarize the treatments applied, and to assess the quality of clinical documentation. Surveillance and clinical records of 77 patients with MHF cases were reviewed. Initial symptoms included fever, headache, general pain, nausea, vomiting, and anorexia (median day of onset, day 1-2), followed by hemorrhagic manifestations (day 5-8+), and terminal symptoms included confusion, agitation, coma, anuria, and shock. Treatment in isolation wards was acceptable, but the quality of clinical documentation was unsatisfactory. Improved clinical documentation is necessary for a basic evaluation of supportive treatment

Star Formation in the Milky Way and Nearby Galaxies

We review progress over the past decade in observations of large-scale star formation, with a focus on the interface between extragalactic and Galactic studies. Methods of measuring gas contents and star formation rates are discussed, and updated prescriptions for calculating star formation rates are provided. We review relations between star formation and gas on scales ranging from entire galaxies to individual molecular clouds.Comment: 55 pages, 15 figures, in press for Annual Reviews of Astronomy and Astrophysics; Updated with corrected equation 5, improved references, and other minor change

Skin Cancers Among Albinos at a University Teaching Hospital in Northwestern Tanzania: A Retrospective Review of 64 Cases.

Skin cancers are a major risk associated with albinism and are thought to be a major cause of death in African albinos. The challenges associated with the care of these patients are numerous and need to be addressed. The aim of this study was to outline the pattern and treatment outcome of skin cancers among albinos treated at our centre and to highlight challenges associated with the care of these patients and proffer solutions for improved outcome. This was a retrospective study of all albinos with a histopathological diagnosis of skin cancer seen at Bugando Medical Centre from March 2001 to February 2010. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics. A total of 64 patients were studied. The male to female ratio was 1.5:1. The median age of patients was 30 years. The median duration of illness at presentation was 24 months. The commonest reason for late presentation was financial problem. Head and the neck was the most frequent site afflicted in 46(71.8%) patients. Squamous cell carcinoma was the most common histopathological type in 75% of cases. Surgical operation was the commonest modality of treatment in 60 (93.8%) patients. Radiotherapy was given in 24(37.5%) patients. Twenty-seven (42.2%) of the patients did not complete their treatment due to lack of funds. Local recurrence following surgical treatment was recorded in 6 (30.0%) patients. Only thirty-seven (61.7%) patients were available for follow-up at 6-12 months and the remaining patients were lost to follow-up. Skin cancers are the most common cancers among albinos in our environment. Albinism and exposure to ultraviolet light appears to be the most important risk factor in the development of these cancers. Late presentation and failure to complete treatment due to financial difficulties and lack of radiotherapy services at our centre are major challenges in the care of these patients. Early institution of preventive measures, early presentation and treatment, and follow-up should be encouraged in this population for better outcome

The characteristic blue spectra of accretion disks in quasars as uncovered in the infrared

Quasars are thought to be powered by supermassive black holes accreting surrounding gas. Central to this picture is a putative accretion disk which is believed to be the source of the majority of the radiative output. It is well known, however, that the most extensively studied disk model -- an optically thick disk which is heated locally by the dissipation of gravitational binding energy -- is apparently contradicted by observations in a few major respects. In particular, the model predicts a specific blue spectral shape asymptotically from the visible to the near-infrared, but this is not generally seen in the visible wavelength region where the disk spectrum is observable. A crucial difficulty was that, toward the infrared, the disk spectrum starts to be hidden under strong hot dust emission from much larger but hitherto unresolved scales, and thus has essentially been impossible to observe. Here we report observations of polarized light interior to the dust-emiting region that enable us to uncover this near-infrared disk spectrum in several quasars. The revealed spectra show that the near-infrared disk spectrum is indeed as blue as predicted. This indicates that, at least for the outer near-infrared-emitting radii, the standard picture of the locally heated disk is approximately correct. The model problems at shorter wavelengths should then be directed toward a better understanding of the inner parts of the revealed disk. The newly uncovered disk emission at large radii, with more future measurements, will also shed totally new light on the unanswered critical question of how and where the disk ends.Comment: published in Nature, 24 July 2008 issue. Supplementary Information can be found at http://www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/div/ir-interferometry/suppl_info.pdf Published version can be accessed from http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v454/n7203/pdf/nature07114.pd

Increased Matrix Metalloproteinase (MMPs) Levels Do Not Predict Disease Severity or Progression in Emphysema

Rationale: Though matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are critical in the pathogenesis of COPD, their utility as a disease biomarker remains uncertain. This study aimed to determine whether bronchoalveolar lavage (BALF) or plasma MMP measurements correlated with disease severity or functional decline in emphysema. Methods: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and luminex assays measured MMP-1, -9, -12 and tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase-1 in the BALF and plasma of non-smokers, smokers with normal lung function and moderate-to-severe emphysema subjects. In the cohort of 101 emphysema subjects correlative analyses were done to determine if MMP or TIMP-1 levels were associated with key disease parameters or change in lung function over an 18-month time period. Main Results: Compared to non-smoking controls, MMP and TIMP-1 BALF levels were significantly elevated in the emphysema cohort. Though MMP-1 was elevated in both the normal smoker and emphysema groups, collagenase activity was only increased in the emphysema subjects. In contrast to BALF, plasma MMP-9 and TIMP-1 levels were actually decreased in the emphysema cohort compared to the control groups. Both in the BALF and plasma, MMP and TIMP-1 measurements in the emphysema subjects did not correlate with important disease parameters and were not predictive of subsequent functional decline. Conclusions: MMPs are altered in the BALF and plasma of emphysema; however, the changes in MMPs correlate poorly with parameters of disease intensity or progression. Though MMPs are pivotal in the pathogenesis of COPD, these findings suggest that measuring MMPs will have limited utility as a prognostic marker in this disease. © 2013 D'Armiento et al

T-cell subpopulations αβ and γδ in cord blood of very preterm infants : The influence of intrauterine infection

Open Access: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits any use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and the source are creditedPreterm infants are very susceptible to infections. Immune response mechanisms in this group of patients and factors that influence cord blood mononuclear cell populations remain poorly understood and are considered insufficient. However, competent immune functions of the cord blood mononuclear cells are also described. The aim of this work was to evaluate the T-cell population (CD3+) with its subpopulations bearing T-cell receptor (TCR) αβ or TCR γδ in the cord blood of preterm infants born before 32 weeks of gestation by mothers with or without an intrauterine infection. Being a pilot study, it also aimed at feasibility check and assessment of an expected effect size. The cord blood samples of 46 infants age were subjected to direct immunofluorescent staining with monoclonal antibodies and then analyzed by flow cytometry. The percentage of CD3+ cells in neonates born by mothers with diagnosis of intrauterine infection was significantly lower than in neonates born by mothers without infection (p = 0.005; Mann-Whitney U test). The number of cells did not differ between groups. Infection present in the mother did not have an influence on the TCR αβ or TCR γδ subpopulations. Our study contributes to a better understanding of preterm infants' immune mechanisms, and sets the stage for further investigations.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

On passion and moral behavior in achievement settings: The mediating role of pride

The Dualistic Model of Passion (Vallerand et al., 2003) distinguishes two types of passion: harmonious passion (HP) and obsessive passion (OP) that predict adaptive and less adaptive outcomes, respectively. In the present research, we were interested in understanding the role of passion in the adoption of moral behavior in achievement settings. It was predicted that the two facets of pride (authentic and hubristic; Tracy & Robins, 2007) would mediate the passion-moral behavior relationship. Specifically, because people who are passionate about a given activity are highly involved in it, it was postulated that they should typically do well and thus experience high levels of pride when engaged in the activity. However, it was also hypothesized that while both types of passion should be conducive to authentic pride, only OP should lead to hubristic pride. Finally, in line with past research on pride (Carver, Sinclair, & Johnson, 2010; Tracy et al., 2009), only hubristic pride was expected to negatively predict moral behavior, while authentic pride was expected to positively predict moral behavior. Results of two studies conducted with paintball players (N=163, Study 1) and athletes (N=296, Study 2) supported the proposed model. Future research directions are discussed in light of the Dualistic Model of Passion

On what a distinctively political normativity is

Realists in normative political theory aim to defend the importance of “distinctively political thought” as opposed to the applied ethics they believe characterizes much contemporary political theory and causes it to misunderstand and make mistakes about its subject matter. More conventional political theorists have attempted to respond to realism, including Jonathan Leader Maynard and Alex Worsnip, who have recently criticized five supposedly realist arguments for a distinctive political normativity. However, while Leader Maynard and Worsnip's arguments are themselves less decisive than they suppose, the problem with their response may lay elsewhere. Their response supposes that more conventional political theory could, in principle, be defended at an abstract general level. This may not be possible though, given the difficulty of arriving at agreed interpretations of the concepts involved and the desiderata for a successful normative political theory. It also risks missing the point of realism, which is to use different forms of normative inquiry to explore questions which have not always been central to conventional normative political theory. Judith Shklar's excellent work on vices and the liberalism of fear nicely illustrates this problem