Decontamination performance and cleaning characteristics of three common used paved permeable bricks.

To investigate the effectiveness of different permeable bricks on the pollutants from urban rainfall runoff, three common used bricks (ceramic brick, cement brick, and steel slag brick) were selected and applied to study their decontamination performance. The influencing factors such as rainfall intensity and contaminant concentrations were investigated. Then the ultrapure water was used to wash the permeable brick to research the pollution status and cleaning characteristics by monitoring the water quality of the rinsing water. Suspended solids (SS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Pb, and Cd) in the influent and effluent were measured. The results showed the following: (I) The upper layer of the brick may play a more critical role in purification process; the uniform and dense pore distribution of ceramic permeable brick was instrumental in the retention of particulates. (II) Contaminant concentration and rainfall intensity had a great influence on pollutants with lower removal rate and had little effect on pollutants with higher removal rate. (III) Non-sintered bricks containing a certain amount of cement increased the pH after filtration. (IV) The removal performance of permeable brick for dissolved pollutants such as COD, NH4-N, and TN was inferior to that for SS, TP, and heavy metals since the discrepancy in removal mechanism of pollutants. The study could offer a new perspective for the decontamination research of pervious bricks.

Nonhemolytic passenger lymphocyte syndrome.

BACKGROUND: An 8-month-old recipient of a liver segment transplant had anti-D detected for the first time in her Day 5 posttransplant plasma and anti-C detected for the first time in her Day 55 posttransplant plasma. The donor's plasma contained anti-C and anti-D. Clinical and laboratory findings established a diagnosis of passenger lymphocyte syndrome (PLS). Hemolysis did not occur, because the recipient's blood group phenotype was, by chance, D- C-. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: To evaluate contemporary practice for diagnosing PLS, we conducted a retrospective 10-year literature review. RESULTS: There were 31 studies (63 cases) of PLS of which eight cases (four studies) were hematopoietic stem cell and 55 (27 studies) were organ transplants. All eight (100%) hematopoietic stem cell and 52 (95%) organ transplants were associated with hemolysis. Of the four studies of hematopoietic stem cell PLS, three actively screened for posttransplant blood group antibodies. Of 27 studies of organ PLS, one actively screened for antibodies. Antibody screens detected five cases of hematopoietic stem cell PLS before hemolysis was apparent and two cases of organ PLS with antibodies without hemolysis. CONCLUSION: Focusing on hemolysis, without a comparable effort to detect donor-derived antibodies diverts from the primary pathophysiology of PLS and limits capturing the full scope of the syndrome. Recognition of hemolytic and nonhemolytic subcategories of PLS is recommended. When feasible, an antibody screen performed on the donor's plasma when collecting the hematopoietic stem cells or before an organ harvest could result in an alert that the donor has formed an alloantibody(s) and the recipient is a risk for PLS. Alternatively, a routine antibody screen performed on the recipient's plasma 1 week posttransplant and, if negative, repeated 3 to 5 weeks posttransplant would detect any donor-derived antibodies and improve alignment of clinical practice with the pathophysiology of PLS.

Application of 3D-HyCoSy in the diagnosis of oviduct obstruction.

The aim of the study was to analyze the application value of three-dimensional hysterosalpingo-contrast sonography (3D-HyCoSy) in the diagnosis of oviduct obstruction. Fifty-two patients with infertility and oviduct obstruction were continuously selected and treated with 3D-HyCoSy and CLP (CLP). It was found that according to CLP diagnosis, 40 oviducts were obstructed, 30 were partially obstructed, 12 were tortuous and 22 were completely obstructed. The 40 cases were unilaterally pathological, 24 were bilaterally pathological, 10 were diagnosed as congenital dysplasia, 35 were diagnosed as inflammation and 19 were diagnosed as tumor and cyst. Based on the diagnostic criteria of CLP, the diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive values and negative predictive values of 3D-HyCoSy was 82.4, 88.3, 77.9 and 90.2%, respectively. The contrast agent flow time of oviduct obstruction (tortuosity and complete obstruction) as diagnosed by 3D-HyCoSy was significantly prolonged when compared with that of partial oviduct obstruction (P<0.05), and flow time of inflammation as diagnosed thereby was longer than that of congenital dysplasia, tumor and cyst. Following the diagnosis of inflammation, the shape of the contrast agent was tenuous, swollen, angled, rigid and distorted and the occurrence rate of inflammation was significantly higher (P<0.05). In conclusion, the diagnostic effect of 3D-HyCoSy on oviduct obstruction was more accurate and can show different features when diagnosing different types of inflammation, thus having a certain value for identifying the inflammation.

Antimicrobial activity of human beta-defensins and induction by Francisella.

The ability of human beta-defensins hBD-1, hBD-2, and hBD-3 to exert direct in vitro antimicrobial effects was evaluated using Francisella tularensis Live Vaccine Strain (LVS) and Francisella novicida. While hBD-2 showed some antimicrobial activity in these assays, only hBD-3 demonstrated significant potency against Francisella. Francisella tularensis LVS infection induced elevated levels of hBD-2 mRNA in human airway epithelial (A549) cells, while having no significant impact on the levels of hBD-3 and only a moderate effect on the level of hBD-1 mRNA. Francisella infection avoided stimulating the production of the most potent anti-Francisella host peptide, hBD-3, in A549 cells, although hBD-3 is stimulated by other treatments. The differential induction of beta-defensins in Francisella infected lung epithelial cells suggests a complex dynamic in the expression of antimicrobial peptides and the innate immune response.

Modulation of inflammation by slit protein in vivo in experimental crescentic glomerulonephritis.

A basic conservation of cell migration guidance mechanisms in the nervous and immune systems was proposed when Slit, known for its role in axon guidance, was found to inhibit chemokine-induced leukocyte chemotaxis in vitro. These studies examined the role of Slit2 in modulating inflammation in vivo. In a rat model of glomerulonephritis, endogenous glomerular Slit2 expression fell after disease induction, and its inhibition during the early disease period accelerated inflammation. Ex vivo glomerular leukocytes showed decreased chemokine and chemoattractant-induced chemotaxis in response to Slit2, suggesting an anti-inflammatory role for glomerular Slit2. In contrast to the effect of inhibition, glomerulonephritis was ameliorated by systemic Slit2 administration. Slit2 treatment improved disease histologically and also improved renal function when given early in the disease course. Leukocytes harvested from rats receiving Slit2 showed decreased monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP)-1-mediated migration, consistent with a peripheral Slit2 effect. In keeping with this functional alteration, Slit2-mediated inhibition of RAW264.7 cell chemotaxis was associated with decreased levels of active cdc42 and Rac1, implicating GTPases in leukocyte Slit2 signaling. These findings suggest a role for endogenous Slit2 in the inhibition of chemoattractant-mediated signals, demonstrate a potentially important anti-inflammatory effect for Slit2 in vivo, and provide further evidence for conserved mechanisms guiding the process of migration in distinct cell types.

Protection by antioxidants against toxicity and apoptosis induced by the sulphur mustard analog 2-chloroethylethyl sulphide (CEES) in Jurkat T cells and normal human lymphocytes.

1. The mechanism of toxicity of sulphur mustard was investigated by examining the biochemical effects of the analog 2-chloroethylethyl sulphide (CEES) in both human Jurkat cells as well as normal human lymphocytes. 2. Exposure of both types of cells to CEES resulted in a marked decrease in the intracellular concentration of the reduced form of glutathione (GSH), and CEES-induced cell death was potentiated by l-buthionine sulphoximine, an inhibitor of GSH synthesis. 3. CEES increased the endogenous production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in Jurkat cells, and CEES-induced cell death was potentiated by hydrogen peroxide. 4. CEES induced various hallmarks of apoptosis, including collapse of the mitochondrial membrane potential, proteolytic processing and activation of procaspase-3, and cleavage of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase. 5. The effects of CEES on the accumulation of ROS, the intracellular concentration of GSH, the mitochondrial membrane potential, and caspase-3 activity were all inhibited by pretreatment of cells with the GSH precursor N-acetyl cysteine or with GSH-ethyl ester. Furthermore, CEES-induced cell death was also prevented by these antioxidants. 6. CEES toxicity appears to be mediated, at least in part, by the generation of ROS and consequent depletion of GSH. Given that sulphur mustard is still a potential biohazard, the protective effects of antioxidants against CEES toxicity demonstrated in Jurkat cells and normal human lymphocytes may provide the basis for the development of a therapeutic strategy to counteract exposure to this chemical weapon.

DNMT1 is a component of a multiprotein DNA replication complex.

DNA methylation is a major determinant of epigenetic inheritance and plays an important role in genome stability. The accurate propagation of DNA methylation patterns with cell division requires that methylation be closely coupled to DNA replication, however the precise molecular determinants of this interaction have not been defined. In the present study, we show that the predominant DNA methyltransferase species in somatic cells, DNMT1, is a component of a multiprotein DNA replication complex termed the DNA synthesome that fully supports semi-conservative DNA replication in a cell-free system. DNMT1 protein and activity were found to co-purify with the human DNA synthesome through a series of subcellular fractionation and chromatography steps, resulting in an enrichment of methyltransferase specific activity from two human cell lines. DNA methyltransferase activity co-eluted with in vitro replication activity and DNA polymerase alpha activity on sucrose density gradients suggesting that DNMT1 is a tightly bound, core component of the replication complex. The synthesome-associated pool of DNA methyltransferase exhibited both maintenance and de novo methyltransferase activity and the ratio of the two was similar to that observed in whole cell lysates and for recombinant DNMT1. These data indicate that interactions within the synthesome complex do not influence the intrinsic preference of DNMT1 for hemimethylated DNA, but suggest that newly replicated DNA may be subject to low level de novo methylation. The data indicate that DNA methylation is tightly coupled to replication through physical interaction of DNMT1 and core components of the replication machinery. The definition of the molecular interactions between DNMT1 and other proteins in the replication complex in normal and neoplastic cells will provide further insight into the regulation of DNA methylation and the mechanisms underlying the alteration of DNA methylation patterns during carcinogenesis.