Food-borne tonsillopharyngitis outbreak in a hospital cafeteria.

OBJECTIVE: A food-borne tonsillopharyngitis outbreak was reported between 9th and 13th of February, 2008, in Söke State Hospital, Aydin, Turkey. METHODS: This descriptive cohort study was carried out immediately after the outbreak. In order to determine the probable origin, a questionnaire involving demographical features, clinical features, and possible risk factors was distributed to 403 persons. The participants of the questionnaire (n = 403) were divided into two groups: the study group (n = 252); those with any two of the following three complaints; sore throat, fever, and dizziness, and the control group (n = 151); those without these complaints. RESULTS: This investigation revealed that 252 people were affected by this outbreak. Group A ß-hemolytic streptococci were isolated from the throat cultures of 63 affected individuals (25%) and an employee working in the patisserie that made desserts served for lunch. Since the number of people who ate the milky dessert was statistically higher compared to the non-eaters, the milky dessert was thought to be the origin of the outbreak. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that throat infections among employees working in food production may cause outbreaks of upper respiratory tract infections.

Effect of pharynx epithelial cells surface desialylation on receptor-mediated adherence of Staphylococcus aureus.

AIMS: To characterize the interaction between cell surface carbohydrates and Staphylococcus aureus. METHODS AND RESULTS: In the present study, in vitro adherence of S. aureus to Detroit 562 cells, amount of cell surface desialylation and effect of subterminal monosaccharides on desialylated glycoproteins on adherence was studied with colony counting, HPLC, fluorescence microscopy and fluorometric techniques. According to our findings, S. aureus adherence to pharynx cells was enhanced (40%) after neuraminidase treatment, and neuraminidase also cleave great amount of Detroit 562 cells surface sialic acid (39-60%). Adherence assay with various monosaccharides-pretreated bacteria, and lectin competitive inhibition, showed that the residual subterminal galactose, fucose and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine remaining on desialylated Detroit 562 cell surface glycoproteins responsible for this binding. CONCLUSION: The results are the first to show that galactose, fucose and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine remaining on desialylated pharynx cell surface glycoproteins serve as the adhesine receptors for S. aureus. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This study may explain the predisposition of severe S. aureus pneumonia complication in respiratory viral infections.

Exposure to febrile temperature modifies endothelial cell response to tumor necrosis factor-alpha.

Fever is an important regulator of inflammation that modifies expression and bioactivity of cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha. Pulmonary vascular endothelium is an important target of TNF-alpha during the systemic inflammatory response. In this study, we analyzed the effect of a febrile range temperature (39.5 degrees C) on TNF-alpha-stimulated changes in endothelial barrier function, capacity for neutrophil binding and transendothelial migration (TEM), and cytokine secretion in human pulmonary artery endothelial cells (EC). Permeability for [(14)C]BSA tracer was increased by treatment with TNF-alpha, and this effect was augmented by incubating EC at 39.5 degrees C. Treating EC with 2. 5 U/ml TNF-alpha stimulated an increase in subsequent neutrophil adherence and TEM. Incubating EC at 39.5 degrees C caused a 30% increase in TEM but did not modify the enhancement of neutrophil adherence or TEM by TNF-alpha treatment. Analysis of cytokine expression in EC cultures exposed to TNF-alpha at either 37 degrees or 39.5 degrees C revealed three patterns of temperature and TNF-alpha responsiveness. Granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and interleukin (IL)-8 were not detectable in untreated EC but were increased after TNF-alpha exposure, and this increase was enhanced at 39.5 degrees C. IL-6 expression was also increased with TNF-alpha exposure, but IL-6 expression was lower in 39.5 degrees C EC cultures. Transforming growth factor-beta(1) was constitutively expressed, and its expression was not influenced either by TNF-alpha or exposure to 39.5 degrees C. These data demonstrate that clinically relevant shifts in body temperature might cause important changes in the effects of proinflammatory cytokines on the endothelium.

Effects of Desialylation on Chemoattractant Induced Chemotaxis.

The amount of sialic acid on the surface of the neutrophil influences its ability to interact with other cells. Neutrophil activation with various stimuli mobilizes intracellular sialidase to the plasma membrane where it cleaves sialic acid from cell surfaces. Since enhanced neutrophil adherence, spreading, deformability and motility each are associated with surface desialylation and critical to neutrophil diapedesis, we studied the role of sialic acid on neutrophil chemotaxis with interleukin-8 (IL-8), leukotriene B4 (LTB4), fMet-Leu-Phe (fMLP) and complement 5a in vitro. Migration of NANase-treated neutrophil across 3 µ pore size polycarbonate membranes was decreased in response to IL-8 and LTB4 but not to fMLP and complement 5a. These findings suggest that sialic acid content of receptors have a key role on chemoattractant-receptor binding and may be a novel strategy for limiting the inflammatory response.

Synthesis, radiolabeling and In Vivo tissue distribution of an anti-oestrogen glucuronide compound, (99m)Tc-TOR-G.

Toremifene (TOR) has been used as an anti-oestrogen drug for the treatment and prevention of human breast cancer. The aim of this study was the addition of the hydrophilic groups diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA) and glucuronic acid to the starting substance TOR and to label it with technetium-99m ((99m)Tc) radionuclide and to investigate radiopharmaceutical potential of the new compound. The synthesis reactions are completed in four steps, including enzymatic reaction, with the following substeps; preparation of microsomal fraction from Hutu 80 cell line and subsequent purification of UDP-glucuronyl transferase (UDPGT), estimation of protein quantity in microsomal samples and glucuronidation reaction. The results indicate that (99m)Tc-TOR-G may be proposed as a new anti-oestrogen glucuronide imaging agent for ovarian tumours.

Does short-wave diathermy increase the effectiveness of isokinetic exercise on pain, function, knee muscle strength, quality of life, and depression in the patients with knee osteoarthritis? A randomized controlled clinical study.

BACKGROUND: Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a painful condition causing disability and muscle weakness. Shortwave diathermy (SWD) is one of several physical therapy modalities and used predominantly as a pain reduction modality in the clinical practice. However, the efficacy of SWD in knee OA is still inconclusive. AIM: The aim of this study was to determine if SWD increase the effectiveness of isokinetic exercise on pain, function, muscle strength, quality of life and depression in patients with OA. DESIGN: This was a randomised, controlled clinical trial. SETTING: Inpatient Physiotherapy Department. POPULATION: Forty women aged between 42 and 74 years, with a diagnosis of bilateral primary knee OA. METHODS: Patients were sequentially randomized into two groups. Group 1 (N.=20) received SWD and isokinetic muscular strengthening exercises. Group 2 (N.=20) served as control group and they received isokinetic exercises only. Both of the programs were performed three days a week, for a duration of four weeks, and a total of 12 sessions. Patients were assessed before treatment (BT), after treatment (AT), and at a three-month follow-up (F). Outcome measures included visual analogue scale, Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index, six minute walking distance, isokinetic muscle testing, Short Form 36 and Beck depression index. RESULTS: The patients with OA in each group had significant improvements in pain, disability, depression, walking distance, muscle strength, and quality of life AT and F when compared with their initial status (P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between the groups according to all the parameters regarding the change scores between AT-BT test and F-BT test (P>0.05) except some isokinetic peak torque measurements (F-BT scores of extension right 60°, 120° and flexion right 60°). CONCLUSION: Use of SWD in addition to isokinetic exercise program seems to have no further significant effect in terms of pain, disability, walking distance, muscle strength, quality of life and depression in patients with knee OA. CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT: Considering the time and cost of combination therapy is now, the isokinetic exercise program, as it is efficient, may be preferable for the treatment of knee OA, alone.

Magnetic density of states at low energy in geometrically frustrated systems.

Using muon-spin-relaxation measurements we show that the pyrochlore compound Gd(2)Ti(2)O(7), in its magnetically ordered phase below approximately 1 K, displays persistent spin dynamics down to temperatures as low as 20 mK. The characteristics of the induced muon relaxation can be accounted for by a scattering process involving two magnetic excitations, with a density of states characterized by an upturn at low energy and a small gap depending linearly on the temperature. We propose that such a density of states is a generic feature of geometrically frustrated magnetic materials.