Pediatric asthma attack and home paint exposure

Although asthma mortality has been declining for the past several decades, asthma mor-bidity is on the rise, largely due to deteriorating indoor air quality and comorbidities, such as aller-gies. Consumer products and building materials including paints emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs), such as propylene glycol (PG), which is shown to dehydrate respiratory tracts and can con-tributor to airway remodeling. We hypothesize that paint exposure increases the risk of asthma attacks among children because high levels of VOCs persist indoors for many weeks after painting. Children 1–15 years old visiting two of the University of Miami general pediatric clinics were screened for their history of asthma and paint exposure by interviewing their parents and/or guard-ians accompanying them to the clinic. They were also asked questions about asthma diagnosis, severity of asthma and allergies and their sociodemographics. The risk of asthma attack among asthmatic children was modeled with respect to paint exposure adjusting for potential confounders using multivariate logistic regressions. Of 163 children, 36 (22%) reported physician-diagnosed asthma and of these, 13 (33%) had an asthma attack during the last one year. Paint exposure was marginally significant in the univariate analysis (OR = 4.04; 95% CI = 0.90–18.87; p \u3c 0.1). However, exposed asthmatic children were 10 times more likely to experience an asthma attack than unex-posed asthmatic children (OR = 10.49; CI = 1.16–94.85, p \u3c 0.05) when adjusted for other risk factors. Given paint is one of the sources of indoor VOCs, multiple strategies are warranted to manage the health effects of VOC exposure from paint, including the use of zero-VOC water-based paint, exposure avoidance and clinical interventions

Successful staged hip replacement in septic hip osteoarthritis in osteopetrosis: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Osteopetrosis is a rare, inherited, bone disorder, characterized by osteosclerosis, obliteration of the medullary cavity and calcified cartilage. The autosomal dominant form is compatible with a normal life span, although fractures often result from minimal trauma, due to the pathologic nature of bone. Osteomyelitis is common in patients with osteopetrosis because of a reduced resistance to infection, attributed to the lack of marrow vascularity and impairment of white cell function. Only one case of osteomyelitis of the proximal third of the femur has been previously reported, treated with several repeated debridements and finally with femoral head resection. Here we present for the first time a case of a staged implant of a cementless total hip prosthesis for the treatment of a septic hip in femoral neck nonunion in osteopetrosis.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 36-years-old woman, affected by autosomal dominant osteopetrosis was referred to our department because of a septic hip arthritis associated with femoral neck septic non-union, with draining fistulas. The infection occurred early after a plate osteosynthesis for a closed perthrocanteric fracture of the femur and persisted in spite of osteosynthesis removal, surgical debridement and external fixation. In our hospital the patient underwent accurate debridement, femoral head and greater trochanter resection, preparation of the diaphyseal intramedullary canal and implant of an antibiotic-loaded cement spacer. The spacer was exchanged after one month, due to infection recurrence and four months later, a cementless total hip arthroplasty was implanted, with no clinical and laboratory signs of infection recurrence at two years follow-up.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In case of hip septic arthritis and proximal femur septic non-union, femoral head resection may not be the only option available and staged total hip arthroplasty can be considered.</p

Generation of an integrated transcription map of the BRCA2 region on chromosome 13q12-q13

An integrated approach involving physical mapping, identifcation of transcribed sequences, and computational analysis of genomic sequence was used to generate a detailed transcription map of the 1.0-Mb region containing the breast cancer susceptibility locus BRCA2 on chromosome 13q12–q13. This region is included in the genetic interval bounded by D13S1444 and D13S310. Retrieved sequences from exon amplif-cation or hybrid selection procedures were grouped into physical intervals and subsequently grouped into transcription units by clone overlap. Overlap was established by direct hybridization, cDNA library screening, PCR cDNA linking (island hopping), and/ or sequence alignment. Extensive genomic sequencing was performed in an effort to understand transcription unit organization. In total, approximately 500 kb of genomic sequence was completed. The transcription units were further characterized by hybridization to RNA from a series of human tissues. Evidence for seven genes, two putative pseudogenes, and nine additional putative transcription units was obtained. One of the transcription units was recently identifed as BRCA2 but all others are novel genes of unknown function as only limited alignment to sequences in public databases was observed. One large gene with a transcript size of 10.7 kb showed signifcant similarity to a gene predicted by the Caenorhabditis elegans genome and the Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome sequencing efforts, while another contained a motif sequence similar to the human 2*, 3* cyclic nucleotide 3* phosphodies-terase gene. Several retrieved transcribed sequences were not aligned into transcription units because no corresponding cDNAs were obtained when screening libraries or because of a lack of defnitive evidence for splicing signals or putative coding sequence based on computational analysis. However, the presence of additional genes in the BRCA2 interval is suggested as groups of putative exons and hybrid selected clones that were transcribed in consistent orientations could be localized to common physical intervals. q 1996 Academic Press, Inc

Sedimentation Tanks for Treating Rainwater: CFD Simulations and PIV Experiments

The removal of solids is the most important step when treating rainwater. The article evaluates two designs of sedimentation tanks that can be used for the continuous separation of fine particles from water: OS—standard sedimentation tanks, and OW—swirl sedimentation tanks. The tanks were studied by conducting computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling and particle image velocimetry (PIV) experiments. The settling process in sedimentation tank was carried out at varying operating flow rates. A tank with a modified structure was used for the tests, where water was supplied by a nozzle placed at an angle. This solution made it possible to obtain a rotational flow that transported the suspended particles towards its wall, where downward axial velocity resulted in the settling of particles. Based on the research, it was observed that the flow patterns showed inward flow at the bottom of the tank and an upward flow and the lifting of the settled particles near the hatch at the bottom. The presented experimental measurements provided detailed insight into flow patterns, and valuable calibration and verification data for further CFD modeling. Traditional PIV techniques are useful in the case of standard design, whereas CFD is invaluable for supporting this work and for investigating the design of novel sedimentation tanks

Secretion of prostatic specific antigen, proliferative activity and androgen response in epithelial–stromal co-cultures from human prostate carcinoma

We investigate the proliferative activity, prostatic specific antigen (PSA) secretion, morphology and androgen response of human prostate tumour epithelial cells co-cultured with stromal cells in a bicameral system. Stromal and epithelial cells were isolated from prostate adenocarcinoma by enzyme digestion and cultured in defined media. Immunocytochemistry for prostate carcinoma tumour antigen (PCTA-1) was performed for culture purity evaluation. Also, the morphology of the epithelial cells in co-culture was evaluated by electron microscopy. PSA was determined by microparticle enzyme immunoassay (MEIA) automatized protocol and the proliferation was evaluated by a commercial spectrophotometric kit, based on formazan salt formation. Both cell cultures showed more than 90% of purity. The epithelial cell co-cultures showed marked membrane processes and cell interdigitations. The proliferative activity of the epithelial cells was increased in presence of stromal cells. Also, PSA secretion was significantly increased and maintained for at least 14 days, whereas the androgen response for PSA secretion was evidenced only in co-culture condition. Primary co-cultures of epithelial and stromal cells from human prostate carcinoma are able to maintain, for a prolonged time, proliferative and secretory properties as well hormone response, and represent a valuable tool for cellular and molecular studies on prostate cancer

Antarctic benthic fauna in the global climate change

An important question stated in the presented paper is: Could rotifers be the indicators of climate change in the Antarctic environments? Rotifers are one of the most important components of the invertebrate fauna of the Antarctic freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems. However, investigations of their distribution, diversity and an ecological role in the environment have been widely neglected, mainly due to the methodological and taxonomical difficulties. During the investigations 176 species of rotifers were found, including the endemic and cosmopolitan species. Their existence is directly proportional to microvariations of humidity factor. Scientists still have poor knowledge about the occurrence of rotifer species in recently studied habitats e.g. cryoconite holes, nunataks or soil. Probably rotifers could be the indicators of climate change in the Antarctic freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems but more investigations and monitoring studies are needed