Obstructive sleep apnea in patients with central serous chorioretinopathy

Background: Patients with central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) show an increased sympathetic activity compared to controls. Additionally, there are several reports of increased corticosteroid and catecholamine levels in these patients. Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) has been shown to enhance sympathetic activity depending on severity. Respiratory disturbance increases urinary catecholamine secretion and is associated with the occurance of hypertension in a dose dependent manner. Therefore we hypothesize that OSAS may act as a risk factor for the development of CSC. Methods: Patients with active CSC or with pigment epithelial disturbances after CSC were contacted to answer a questionnaire about general health, drugs and sleeping habits and to complete the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) score, a widely used subjective measure of daytime sleepiness. Patients with an ESS score of >10 were referred to our department of pulmonary medicine for evaluating of respiratory disturbance in sleep. Results: We identified 56 consecutive patients with angiographic criteria for acute CSC or pigment epithelial defects after CSC, seven (12.5%) of whom were excluded because of a history of systemic or topic corticosteroid use. Thirty-six (73.5%) of the remaining 49 patients returned the questionnaire. Fourteen (38.8%) had an ESS score of >10. They were referred to the Department of Pulmonary Medicine. In eight (22.2%) of these patients, a diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome was confirmed. Conclusions: We found that 22% of the patients with acute or chronic CSC in this case series also suffered from OSAS, whereas in the general population OSAS is considerably less frequently reported (2-4%). OSAS therefore may act as a risk factor for the development of CSC. However, prospective controlled data is needed to definitely evaluate the possible association between CSC and OSAS. Also the clinical course of CSC during treatment of OSAS would be of particular interes

Early appearance of 2, 3-butanediol in acute myocardial infarction. A new marker for ischaemia?

In 28 patients with acute myocardial infarction, the release pattern of 2, 3-butanediol (BD), a product of intermediary metabolism, and creatine kinase activity (CK) in blood were compared. Whereas CKat entry was low in all patients, the BD level was elevated in 18 (64%). However, BD returned to normal levels during the next 24 h whereas CK increased. The BD level at entry did not allow differentiation between patients with transmural or non-transmural infarction; it was independent of clinical findings and biochemical parameters. We suggest that, in patients with acute myocardial infarction, elevated levels of BD originates from myo-cardial metabolism. Whether it reflects ongoing ischaemia or reperfusion of the infarcted area remains unresolve

Analysis of genetic heterogeneity in the HCAR adenovirus-binding Ig1 domain in a Caucasian Flemish population

BACKGROUND: Polymorphisms in the gene that encodes the human cellular receptor for group B coxsackieviruses and adenoviruses (HCAR) could be responsible for differences in susceptibility to infections with these pathogens. Moreover, adenovirus subgroup C-mediated gene therapy could be influenced by mutations in the coding exons for the aminoterminal immunoglobulin-like 1 (Ig1) domain, which is the essential component for adenovirus fiber knob binding. RESULTS: Using two primersets in the adjacent intron sequences, HCAR exons 2 and 3, which comprise the full-length Ig1 domain, were amplified by polymerase chain reactions in 108 unselected and unrelated healthy Belgian volunteers. After nucleotide sequencing, no polymorphisms could be demonstrated in the adenovirus-binding Ig1 exons 2 and 3 of the HCAR gene. CONCLUSIONS: The adenovirus-binding Ig1 domain seems to be a highly conserved region in the Caucasian population which is a reassuring finding regarding adenovector-based gene therapy

Codifying systemic design: A toolkit

In this paper we want to reflect on the use of toolkits as a codification strategy to fuel an expanding practice of ‘systemic design’. This critical reflection is rooted in the real‐life experience of bringing together two different sets of skills in the development of a Systemic Design Toolkit. Designers and concept‐driven system thinkers belong to different epistemic communities. While these fields of practice are arguably in the process of converging, in actual practice it proves to be a challenge to transcend their governing epistemological differences. What pragmatically unites these practitioners is their ambition to successfully codify a vast and layered knowledge base. A Systemic Design Toolkit is argued to offer promise as a ‘boundary object’ between the epistemic communities involved in creating the toolkit (the designers on the one hand and the conceptual system thinkers on the other) and between the toolkit developers and toolkit users. The paper closes with a tentative list of design criteria for systemic design toolkits

Direct fluorescent labelling of clones by DOP PCR

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Array Comparative Genomic Hybridisation (array CGH) is a powerful technique for the analysis of constitutional chromosomal anomalies. Chromosomal duplications or deletions detected by array CGH need subsequently to be validated by other methods. One method of validation is Fluorescence <it>in situ </it>Hybridisation (FISH). Traditionally, fluorophores or hapten labelling is performed by nick translation or random prime labelling of purified Bacterial Artificial Chromosome (BAC) products. However, since the array targets have been generated from Degenerate Oligonucleotide Primed (DOP) amplified BAC clones, we aimed to use these DOP amplified BAC clones as the basis of an automated FISH labelling protocol. Unfortunately, labelling of DOP amplified BAC clones by traditional labelling methods resulted in high levels of background.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We designed an improved labelling method, by means of degenerate oligonucleotides that resulted in optimal FISH probes with low background.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We generated an improved labelling method for FISH which enables the rapid generation of FISH probes without the need for isolating BAC DNA. We labelled about 900 clones with this method with a success rate of 97%.</p

2,3-butanediol in experimental myocardial ischaemia in pigs

To investigate the role of 2,3-butanediol in myocardial ischaemia we analysed this compound in pig's myocardium and blood. Ischaemia was induced by ligation of a coronary artery. In the first study we found significantly higher levels of 2,3-butanediol in the homogenate of ischaemic myocardium than in non-ischaemic myocardium. The lactate concentration was also significantly elevated. In the second study, where ischaemia was similarly induced, and where reperfusion was achieved by re-opening the ligated coronary artery after 20 min, 2,3-butanediol in peripheral blood was found to increase significantly. In the pigs in which the coronary artery was not re-opened, the 2,3-butanediol level in peripheral blood was unchanged. We conclude that in pigs' anaerobic myocardia accumulation of 2,3-butanediol occurs; if the myocardium is reperfused this metabolite also appears in the bloo

Algorithms for Automatic Data Validation and Performance Assessment of MOX Gas Sensor Data Using Time Series Analysis

The following work presents algorithms for semi-automatic validation, feature extraction and ranking of time series measurements acquired from MOX gas sensors. Semi-automatic measurement validation is accomplished by extending established curve similarity algorithms with a slope-based signature calculation. Furthermore, a feature-based ranking metric is introduced. It allows for individual prioritization of each feature and can be used to find the best performing sensors regarding multiple research questions. Finally, the functionality of the algorithms, as well as the developed software suite, are demonstrated with an exemplary scenario, illustrating how to find the most power-efficient MOX gas sensor in a data set collected during an extensive screening consisting of 16,320 measurements, all taken with different sensors at various temperatures and analytes

Cell detection by surface imprinted polymers SIPs:A study to unravel the recognition mechanisms

Previous studies have shown that selective synthetic cell receptors can be produced by cell imprinting on polymer layers. However, knowledge on the fundamental detection mechanisms remains limited. In this article, while using yeast cells (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) as model cells, the factors influencing cellular recognition by surface-imprinted polymers (SIPs) are studied by means of spectroscopic and microscopy techniques and a transducer platform based on interfacial thermal transport, the so-called heat-transfer method (HTM). These analyses indicate that cell imprinting creates selective binding sites on the surface of the SIP layer in the form of binding cavities that match the cells in shape and size. Also, we show that phospholipid moieties are incorporated into the SIP cavities during imprinting, while membrane proteins do not seem to be transferred. More importantly, we demonstrate that the incorporated phospholipids significantly enhance cell adhesion to the SIP, and thus play a significant role in the cell-SIP binding mechanism. Furthermore, the hydrophobicity of the SIP layer was found to be considerably higher when compared with a non-imprinted polymer layer (NIP), an effect that could not be attributed to the presence of cavities on the surface of the SIP layer. Therefore, we suggest that the role of phospholipids in the SIP recognition mechanism is mediated by long range hydrophobic forces. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.</p

An outbreak of aseptic meningitis due to echovirus 30 associated with attending school and swimming in pools

Summary Objectives To identify the risk factors of an outbreak of meningitis associated with echovirus 30-infection that occurred in Rome, Italy, in late 1997 among children from two different schools. Methods A case-control study was carried out. A case was defined as a child from either of the two schools, A or B, who presented meningitis-like (fever, headache and vomiting), diarrhea, or respiratory tract symptoms. All asymptomatic students were included in the analysis as controls. Results Among 446 pupils (80%) who answered the questionnaire, 68 met the case definition. Twenty pupils developed a meningitis-like illness. Echovirus 30 was isolated from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in four and from stools in six. Forty-eight pupils reported other symptoms. The attack rate was 10.8% in school A and 0.8% in school B for meningitis-like illness; it was 12% and 10%, respectively, for other enterovirus-like illnesses. The risk of meningitis-like illness was higher among children attending school A (crude OR=14.9; 95% CI=4.3–52.1), among children using any public pool (OR=3.8; 95% CI=1.5–9.9) and those using an outside swimming pool X (OR=13.4; 95% CI=2.7–65.8 versus no swimming pool and OR=8.3; 95% CI=1.1–62.6 versus other pools). The epidemic curve appears to suggest a person-to-person transmission. Conclusions The epidemic occurred by person-to-person transmission in a number of classrooms and at swimming pool X