Bovine Serum Albumin Antibodies as a Disease Marker for Hepatitis E Virus Infection

This report evaluates the significance of antibody/bovine serum albumin (BSA) interactions as a risk factor for the diagnosis of acute hepatitis E. Serum samples from 40 patients with acute hepatitis E and from 40 age/sex matched healthy adult subjects were tested for IgA, IgG, and IgM by ELISA and by turbidimetric assay. BSA was used as a target to characterize changes in levels of interacting immunoglobulins. Initial results obtained before removal of antibodies that interacted with BSA suggested that HEV patients had increased levels of IgM in their sera. It was found that normal individuals had mean IgA, IgG, and IgM levels of 2.55 mg/mL, 9.80 mg/mL, and 1.73 mg/mL, respectively while HEV patients had mean levels of 2.66 mg/mL, 10.04 mg/mL, and 2.01 mg/mL (P < .26, P < .32, and P < .0004). However, the mean level of IgM in HEV-infected sera after purification from antibodies that interacted with BSA was determined to be 1.72 mg/mL indicating that there was no significant difference in IgM level in HEV patients compared to normal individuals (P < .6). The presence of antibodies that interact with BSA might serve as a diagnostic tool for detection of high-risk patients

Dynamic analyses of liquid storage tanks

Theoretical and experimental investigations of the dynamic behavior of cylindrical liquid storage tanks are conducted to seek possible improvements in the design of such tanks to resist earthquakes. The study is carried out in three phases: 1) a detailed theoretical treatment of the liquid-shell system, 2) an experimental investigation of the dynamic characteristics of full-scale tanks, and 3) a development of an improved design-procedure based on an approximate analysis. Natural frequencies of vibration and the associated mode shapes are found through the use of a discretization scheme in which the elastic shell is modeled by finite elements and the fluid region is treated as a continuum by boundary solution techniques. In this approach, the number of unknowns is substantially less than in those analyses where both tank wall and fluid are subdivided into finite elements. A method is presented to compute the earthquake response of both perfect circular and irregular tanks; it is based on superposition of the free lateral vibrational modes. Detailed numerical examples are presented to illustrate the applicability and effectiveness of the analysis and to investigate the dynamic characteristics of tanks with widely different properties. Ambient and forced vibration tests are conducted on three full-scale water storage tanks to determine their dynamic characteristics. Comparison with previously computed mode shapes and frequencies shows good agreement with the experimental results, thus confirming the reliability of the theoretical analysis. Approximate solutions are also developed to provide practicing engineers with simple, fast, and sufficiently accurate tools for estimating the seismic response of storage tanks

Effect of anti-immunoglobulin antibodies provides new insights into immune response to HCV

To determine the effect of anti-immunoglobulin antibodies on the measurement of the humoral immune response in hepatitis C virus (HCV)infected patients. Anti-immunoglobulin antibodies were defined using sheep immunoglobulins as a target to characterize distinct changes in patterns of immunoglobulin levels. Serum immunoglobulin A, G and M concentrations were measured by ELISA in 45 patients with recent-onset HCV infection and 45 matched normal individuals. It was found that normal individuals had mean IgA, IgG and IgM levels of 2.67 mg/ml, 9.39 mg/ml and 1.77mg/ml, respectively while HCV infected patients had mean levels of 3.19 mg/ml, 10.76 mg/ml and 1.94mg/ml. These represented significant increases in immunoglobulin levels in the sera of HCV patients compared to normal individuals (plt0.0001, plt0.00004 and plt0.0004). Anti-immunoglobulin antibodies lead to an overestimation of serum immunoglobulin levels in HCV patients. Interestingly, the mean levels of immunoglobulins A, G and M in HCV infected sera, determined after purification from anti-sheep immunoglobulins, was 2.73 mg/ml, 9.55 mg/ml and 1.79 mg/ml. Therefore, there was no significant difference in HCV patients compared to normal individuals (plt0.42, plt0.36 and plt0.44). The presence of circulating immune complex in serum during the early phase of infection may contribute to immunopathological effects in the infected host and provide some new insights into antibody response to HCV

Measurement of IgG Levels Can Serve as a Biomarker in Newly Diagnosed Diabetic Children

This study was undertaken to determine humoral immune response to the presence of anti-immunoglobulin antibodies in children with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes mellitus, using as a target cow immunoglobulins, in an attempt to elucidate further complex immuno-pathogenetic interactions of the disease. Serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentrations were measured by ELISA in 30 children with type 1 diabetes mellitus and 30 healthy matched normal children. It was found that normal children had a mean IgG level of 7.41 mg/ml while diabetic individuals had a mean IgG level of 8.52 mg/ml (p<0.00004). On the contrary, the mean level of IgG in diabetic sera after purification from anti-cow immunoglobulins was determined to be 7.52 mg/ml. Therefore, there was no significant difference in IgG level in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus after removal of anti-cow immunoglobulin antibodies compared to normal children (p<0.58). Visualization of IgG and immuno-precipitation confirm that anti-cow immunoglobulins antibodies, which were unrelated to antigen, were co-precipitated with the antigen-antibody complex. A circulating immunoglobulin reacting with other immunoglobulins is thus present in children with type 1 diabetes and may well play a part in the complex immuno-pathogenetic interactions

Dynamic Interaction of an Uplifted Beam with the Supporting Soil

During seismic events, the overturning moment exerted by the hydrodynamic pressure of a liquid contained in an unanchored, thin-walled liquid storage tank tends to lift the tank base plate off its foundation. The nonlinear uplift and contact mechanism between the base plate and the underlying foundation is investigated in the present study. Nonlinearities due to base plate contact with foundation, large deflection and plastic hinge formation are examined

Large Amplitude Settlements of Oil Storage Tanks

The measured profile of large-amplitude settlements of an oil storage tank was analyzed by the finite element method. Both geometric and material nonlinearities were included in the finite element analysis. Stresses and deformations, based on available qualification criteria, were examined. The results showed that most criteria in use today for the tank shell and the bottom plate are overly conservative. The calculated response of the existing operational tank under the measured large-amplitude settlements confirmed such an observation

Utility of Bovine Serum Albumin Antibodies as a Biomarker for Arthritis in Children

We studied the significance of antibodies to bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a biomarker for juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Sera from 30 children newly diagnosed with polyarticular JIA and sera from 30 healthy children matched for sex and age were tested for IgA, IgG and IgM by ELISA. BSA was used as a target to characterize changes in levels of interacting immunoglobulins. Initial results obtained before removal of antibodies that interacted with BSA suggested that JIA patients had increased levels of IgA in their sera. The serum IgA level was significantly (p<0.0001) higher in JIA children (mean±standard deviation (SD)=2.07±0.089 mg/mL) than in healthy children (1.69±0.109 mg/mL), while there was no significant difference in the levels of serum IgG and IgM between JIA children and healthy children; mean±SD of IgG serum level was 7.31±0.43 mg/mL and 7.39±0.52 mg/mL in JIA and healthy children (p=0.234), respectively, and IgM serum level was 1.22±0.24 mg/mL and 1.27±0.28 mg/mL in JIA and healthy children (p=0.238), respectively. However, the mean±SD of IgA level in JIA sera after purification from antibodies that interacted with BSA was 1.71±0.096 mg/mL, indicating the responsibility of anti-BSA IgA antibodies for increased IgA level in JIA patients. In conclusion, a humoral immune response against this antigen might serve as a diagnostic tool for detection of high-risk patients. Thus, positive BSA titers assist in discriminating children with JIA from healthy children