Blood culture fluorescence rates predict severity and mortality of invasive pneumococcal pneumonia.

Invasive pneumococcal pneumonia is associated with high rates of mortality. Clinical assessment tools have poor sensitivity for predicting clinical outcomes. Molecular measurements of bacterial load correlate closely with clinical outcome but require specialist facilities and expertise. This study describes how routine blood culture testing can estimate bacterial load and predict clinical outcome for invasive pneumococcal pneumonia. Between December 2009 to March 2014, clinical and laboratory data were collected for 50 patients with Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteraemia secondary to community-acquired pneumonia. Fluorescence rates (FR) were calculated from growth curves generated by BACTEC blood culture analysers by dividing change in fluorescence units (FU), measured at the first point of detectable fluorescence and at the point of automated BACTEC positivity, by time in hours. The mean age of the patients was 70.6 years (49.6-86.3). Forty patients survived invasive pneumococcal disease and ten patients died. These two groups did not significantly differ by demographic or clinical characteristics. The mean FR for the non-survival group (3.62 × 10(-3) FU/h) was significantly higher (p < 0.001) than that of the survival group (1.73 × 10(-3) FU/h). FR did not vary by serotype. We determined that an FR of 2.59 × 10(-3) FU/h might represent a useful threshold for predicting high mortality risk with a sensitivity of 91 % and a specificity of 97 %. Our FR calculation uses cheap and accessible routine blood culture techniques to predict mortality in a small retrospective cohort study. In patients admitted to hospital with pneumococcal bacteraemia and, potentially, other organisms, this single tool could guide early escalation of clinical care.

Innate immune responses against Cryptosporidium parvum infection.

Cryptosporidium parvum infects intestinal epithelial cells and is commonly the parasite species involved in mammalian cryptosporidiosis, a major health problem for humans and neonatal livestock. In mice, immunologically mediated elimination of C. parvum requires CD4+ T cells and IFN-γ. However, innate immune responses also have a significant protective role in both adult and neonatal mice. NK cells and IFN-γ have been shown to be important components in immunity in T and B cell-deficient mice, but IFN-γ-dependent resistance has also been demonstrated in alymphocytic mice. Epithelial cells may play a vital role in immunity as once infected these cells have increased expression of inflammatory chemokines and cytokines and demonstrate antimicrobial killing mechanisms, including production of NO and antimicrobial peptides. Toll-like receptors facilitate the establishment of immunity in mice and are involved in the development of inflammatory responses of infected epithelial cells and also dendritic cells.

Diffusion and partitioning of different PFAS compounds through thermoplastic polyurethane and three different PVC-EIA liners.

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS), 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonic acid (6:2 FTS), and GenX are tested for diffusion and sorption through thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and three ethylene interpolymer alloy (PVC-EIA) liners (EIA1, EIA2, and EIA3) with decreasing ketone ethylene ester (KEE) contents. The tests were conducted at room temperature (23 °C), 35 °C, and 50 °C. The tests show significant diffusion through the TPU as manifested by a decrease in the source concentration and an increase in the receptor concentrations of PFOA and PFOS over time, especially at higher temperatures. On the other hand, the PVC-EIA liners show excellent diffusive resistance to the PFAS compounds especially at 23 °C. At higher temperatures, the diffusion resistance of the PVC-EIA liner with the lowest KEE content, EIA3, was best at 50 °C followed by EIA1 (highest KEE content) and finally EIA2. Sorption tests showed no measurable partitioning of any of the compounds to the liners examined. Based on 535 days of diffusion testing, permeation coefficients are provided for all the compounds considered for the four liners at three temperatures. In addition, the Pg values for PFOA and PFOS are provided for a linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) and a coextruded LLDPE - ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) geomembrane based on 1246 to 1331 days of testing and are compared to those estimated for EIA1, EIA2, and EIA3.

Maxillary sinus cavernous hemangioma: a rare entity.

Vascular lesions of the sinonasal tract are rare. These lesions do not have typical signs or symptoms. They may present insidiously with minimal symptoms. A high index of suspicion and a good preoperative evaluation are needed for diagnosis. No standard surgical approach is indicated. We report a case of cavernous hemangioma of the maxillary sinus in an adult male. We present the diagnostic work-up and discuss the differential diagnosis and potential therapeutic approaches.

The isolation and amino acid/sugar composition of human fibroblastoid interferon.

Human fibroblastoid interferon produced from an established human cell line was purified by controlled-pore glass and concanavalin A-Sepharose column chromatography followed by preparative two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. The purification procedure provided a 10% recovery of pure interferon with good reproducibility. The purified protein was homogeneous with respect to its molecular weight of 20,000 and net electrical charge at pH 2.5. Interferon of high specific activity of 5 x 10(8) units/mg of protein was directly demonstrated in the polyacrylamide gel before staining with Coomassie brilliant blue. Parallel purification of a sham-induced interferon preparation did not yield an equivalent product indicating the purified interferon is not derived from uninduced cells or from the fetal calf serum of the tissue culture growth medium. Pure interferon was radioiodinated by Bolton-Hunter reagent. Amino acid analysis of the pure preparation shows interferon to be a leucine-rich glycoprotein containing a high percentage of glutamic/glutamine residues and that disulfide bridges(s) are important for its biological activity.