Could giardiasis be a risk factor for low zinc status in schoolchildren from northwestern Mexico? A cross-sectional study with longitudinal follow-up

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Both giardiasis and zinc deficiency are serious health problems worldwide. In Mexico, the prevalence of <it>G. intestinalis </it>was estimated at 32% in 1994. It remains a health problem in northwestern Mexico. Recent surveys (1987, 1995, and 1999) reported zinc deficiency in the Mexican population. The association of giardiasis and malabsorption of micronutrients has been well documented, although the association with zinc remains controversial. This study investigated the association between giardiasis and zinc deficiency in schoolchildren from northwestern Mexico.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We combined a cross-sectional design with a longitudinal follow-up six months after parasite treatment. The baseline sample consisted of 114 schoolchildren (mean age 8.8 yr) from seven suburban public schools, grouped as <it>Giardia</it>-free (<it>n </it>= 65, 57%) and <it>Giardia</it>-infected (<it>n </it>= 49, 43%). Three stool analyses per child were done using Faust's method. Children with giardiasis received secnidazole. Serum zinc was determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Height and weight were measured. Socioeconomic information was obtained in an oral questionnaire, and daily zinc intake was assessed using 24 hour-recalls. Pearson's correlation and ANCOVA and paired t-test analyses were used to determine the association between giardiasis and zinc status.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Longitudinal analysis demonstrated a significant increase of the mean serum zinc levels in the <it>Giardia</it>-infected group six months after treatment (13.78 vs. 19.24 μmol/L μmol/L; p = 0.001), although no difference was found between the <it>Giardia</it>-free and the <it>Giardia</it>-infected groups (p = 0.86) in the baseline analysis. Z scores for W/A and H/A were lower in the <it>Giardia</it>-infected than in the <it>Giardia</it>-free group (p < 0.05). No difference was observed in the socioeconomic characteristics and mean daily intakes of zinc between the groups (p > 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Giardiasis may be a risk factor for zinc deficiency in schoolchildren from northwestern Mexico.</p

Low levels of vitamin C in dialysis patients is associated with decreased prealbumin and increased C-reactive protein

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Subclinical inflammation is a common phenomenon in patients on either continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) or maintenance hemodialysis (MHD). We hypothesized that vitamin C had anti-inflammation effect because of its electron offering ability. The current study was designed to test the relationship of plasma vitamin C level and some inflammatory markers.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this cross-sectional study, 284 dialysis patients were recruited, including 117 MHD and 167 CAPD patients. The demographics were recorded. Plasma vitamin C was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography. And we also measured body mass index (BMI, calculated as weight/height²), Kt/V, serum albumin, serum prealbumin, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), ferritin, hemoglobin. The relationships between vitamin C and albumin, pre-albumin and hsCRP levels were tested by Spearman correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis.</p> <p>Patients were classified into three subgroups by vitamin C level according to previous recommendation <abbrgrp><abbr bid="B1">1</abbr><abbr bid="B2">2</abbr></abbrgrp> in MHD and CAPD patients respectively: group A: < 2 ug/ml (< 11.4 umol/l, deficiency), group B: 2-4 ug/ml (11.4-22.8 umol/l, insufficiency) and group C: > 4 ug/ml (> 22.8 umol/l, normal and above).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Patients showed a widely distribution of plasma vitamin C levels in the total 284 dialysis patients. Vitamin C deficiency (< 2 ug/ml) was present in 95(33.45%) and insufficiency (2-4 ug/ml) in 88(30.99%). 73(25.70%) patients had plasma vitamin C levels within normal range (4-14 ug/ml) and 28(9.86%) at higher than normal levels (> 14 ug/ml). The similar proportion of different vitamin C levels was found in both MHD and CAPD groups.</p> <p>Plasma vitamin C level was inversely associated with hsCRP concentration (Spearman r = -0.201, P = 0.001) and positively associated with prealbumin (Spearman r = 0.268, P < 0.001), albumin levels (Spearman r = 0.161, P = 0.007). In multiple linear regression analysis, plasma vitamin C level was inversely associated with log₁₀hsCRP (P = 0.048) and positively with prealbumin levels (P = 0.002) adjusted for gender, age, diabetes, modality of dialysis and some other confounding effects.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The investigation indicates that vitamin C deficiency is common in both MHD patients and CAPD patients. Plasma vitamin C level is positively associated with serum prealbumin level and negatively associated with hsCRP level in both groups. Vitamin C deficiency may play an important role in the increased inflammatory status in dialysis patients. Further studies are needed to determine whether inflammatory status in dialysis patients can be improved by using vitamin C supplements.</p

Pattern Classification of Large-Scale Functional Brain Networks: Identification of Informative Neuroimaging Markers for Epilepsy

The accurate prediction of general neuropsychiatric disorders, on an individual basis, using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a challenging task of great clinical significance. Despite the progress to chart the differences between the healthy controls and patients at the group level, the pattern classification of functional brain networks across individuals is still less developed. In this paper we identify two novel neuroimaging measures that prove to be strongly predictive neuroimaging markers in pattern classification between healthy controls and general epileptic patients. These measures characterize two important aspects of the functional brain network in a quantitative manner: (i) coordinated operation among spatially distributed brain regions, and (ii) the asymmetry of bilaterally homologous brain regions, in terms of their global patterns of functional connectivity. This second measure offers a unique understanding of brain asymmetry at the network level, and, to the best of our knowledge, has not been previously used in pattern classification of functional brain networks. Using modern pattern-recognition approaches like sparse regression and support vector machine, we have achieved a cross-validated classification accuracy of 83.9% (specificity: 82.5%; sensitivity: 85%) across individuals from a large dataset consisting of 180 healthy controls and epileptic patients. We identified significantly changed functional pathways and subnetworks in epileptic patients that underlie the pathophysiological mechanism of the impaired cognitive functions. Specifically, we find that the asymmetry of brain operation for epileptic patients is markedly enhanced in temporal lobe and limbic system, in comparison with healthy individuals. The present study indicates that with specifically designed informative neuroimaging markers, resting-state fMRI can serve as a most promising tool for clinical diagnosis, and also shed light onto the physiology behind complex neuropsychiatric disorders. The systematic approaches we present here are expected to have wider applications in general neuropsychiatric disorders

Biofabrication: an overview of the approaches used for printing of living cells

The development of cell printing is vital for establishing biofabrication approaches as clinically relevant tools. Achieving this requires bio-inks which must not only be easily printable, but also allow controllable and reproducible printing of cells. This review outlines the general principles and current progress and compares the advantages and challenges for the most widely used biofabrication techniques for printing cells: extrusion, laser, microvalve, inkjet and tissue fragment printing. It is expected that significant advances in cell printing will result from synergistic combinations of these techniques and lead to optimised resolution, throughput and the overall complexity of printed constructs

Membranoproliferative Glomerulonephritis Preceding Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Recurrence: A Case Report

Introduction: Membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis has been reported to occur in association with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma but there is few information about glomerulonephritis response to the treatment of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Case Presentation: A 67 years-old caucasian female admitted to outpatient clinic with peripheral edema complaint. She had mild proteinuria and microhematuria on admission and tuberculosis, non-Hodgkin lymphoma (cured), diabetes mellitus and hypertension history. Her renal biopsy resulted as membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis and after investigations she got recurrent non-Hodgkinlymphoma diagnosis. After successful treatment of her lymphoma her nephrotic syndrome clinicregressed. Conclusion: Membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis has been known to be associated with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. There is limited information available concerning the effects of treatment of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma on the progression of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma associated membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis. We report a rare case of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma associated membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis, that continued to be in remission after chemotherapy treatment of lymphoma

Poly(ethylene oxide) and its blends with sodium alginate

A series of blends based on poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and sodium alginate (NaAlg) were prepared by solution casting method. The blends thus obtained were characterized by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), tensile strength test, contact angle measurements and atomic force microscopy (AFM). FT-IR studies indicate that there are the hydrogen bonding interactions due to the ether oxygen of PEO and the hydroxyl groups of NaAlg. The thermal stability of the blends was slightly affected with increasing NaAlg content. DSC results showed that both melting point and crystallinity depend on the composition of the blends. Mechanical properties of the blend films were improved compared to those of homopolymers. Surface free energy components of the blend films were calculated from contact angle data of various liquids by using Van Oss-Good methodology. It was found that the surfaces both of the blends are enriched in low surface free energy component, i.e. NaAlg. This conclusion was further confirmed by the AFM images observation of the surface morphology of these blends. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Surface properties of binary blend films of poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) and poly(vinyl alcohol) with sodium alginate

Blends of poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) (PVP) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) with sodium alginate (NaAlg) were prepared via casting from aqueous solutions. All the obtained blend films were optically clear to the naked eye. The surface properties of the films were analyzed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and contact-angle measurements. The surface free energy components of the blend films were calculated from contact-angle data of various liquids with the Van Oss-Good methodology. It was determined that both the Lifshitz-van der Waals component and the electron-donor component of the surface free energy of the blend films decreased with an increase in the NaAlg content to a considerable extent. However, the electron-acceptor component of these blends increased with increasing NaAlg content. The surfaces of both the PVP/NaAlg and PVA/NaAlg blends were enriched in the low surface free energy component, that is, NaAlg. This conclusion was further confirmed by AFM image observation of the surface morphology of these blends. (c) 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Impedance ratio: a novel marker and a powerful predictor of mortality in hemodialysis patients

PMID = 2709396