How to prepare a person with complete spinal cord injury to use surface electrodes for FES trike cycling.

Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) cycling could benefit people with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). The FES cycling involves large muscle groups during the training, and thus improves the cardiovascular function, increases the muscle bulk and reduces the secondary complications. This study developed an outdoor FES exercise cycling system for complete SCI persons to exercise their lower limbs without putting extra load on upper extremities. The mechanical structure of the cycling system was specially redesigned to secure the SCI persons in the cycling system. A six-phase-angle-driven control algorithm was designed to stimulate the quadriceps and hamstrings muscles. Two training modes, i.e., continuous mode and on-off mode, were designed and tested to increase the duration of the electrical stimulation to reduce muscle fatigue. A complete SCI volunteer participated in this training for six months. Beneficial effects could be observed such as paralyzed lower limb muscles had regained the muscle mass and reduced edema from the improved blood circulation. Moreover, the SCI volunteer attended the Cybathlon FES-bike competition in Zurich in October 2016 with Team Phoenix from the CUHK.

The Effectiveness of Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) in On-Off Mode for Enhancing the Cycling Performance of Team Phoenix at 2016 Cybathlon.

In this study we designed a Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) trike for a female subject with spinal cord injury to exercise her lower limbs and improve her lower limb muscle condition for attending the 2016 Cybathlon FES bike competition. Our FES pilot was the only female participant, in the FES cycling competition and she rode for Team Phoenix from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Due to the weakness of muscles in the lower limb of the subject, and due to scoliosis over her thoracolumbar aéra, the mechanical structure of the trike had to be tailor-made to ensure she sat on the bike in a safe and secure position. A six-phase angle-driven stimulation pattern was developed to stimulate quadriceps and hamstrings without gluteus muscles for contraction through four surface electrodes, thereby creating a cycling movement. To improve the cycling endurance and reduce the muscle fatigue, an on-off mode was developed for controlling the stimulation time that allowed the subject to cycle for 20s, then pause while the trike advanced without stimulation for 5s, followed by a subsequent 20 sec stimulation, to continue cycling. The pilot participated in the training procedure including training exercise at home, trike fitting in the trike by modifying the mechanical structure, and conducting the cycling exercise for six months. We observed significant improvements in the pilot's lower limb condition. The on-off mode enabled our pilot to extend her cycling endurance effectively, from 1 min to 2.5 mins and the distance from 62m to 100m. Over the eight minutes time limit, our team successfully finished 100 m in the Cybathlon FES.

Genomic profiling in Down syndrome acute lymphoblastic leukemia identifies histone gene deletions associated with altered methylation profiles.

Patients with Down syndrome (DS) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have distinct clinical and biological features. Whereas most DS-ALL cases lack the sentinel cytogenetic lesions that guide risk assignment in childhood ALL, JAK2 mutations and CRLF2 overexpression are highly enriched. To further characterize the unique biology of DS-ALL, we performed genome-wide profiling of 58 DS-ALL and 68 non-DS (NDS) ALL cases by DNA copy number, loss of heterozygosity, gene expression and methylation analyses. We report a novel deletion within the 6p22 histone gene cluster as significantly more frequent in DS-ALL, occurring in 11 DS (22%) and only 2 NDS cases (3.1%) (Fisher's exact P=0.002). Homozygous deletions yielded significantly lower histone expression levels, and were associated with higher methylation levels, distinct spatial localization of methylated promoters and enrichment of highly methylated genes for specific pathways and transcription factor-binding motifs. Gene expression profiling demonstrated heterogeneity of DS-ALL cases overall, with supervised analysis defining a 45-transcript signature associated with CRLF2 overexpression. Further characterization of pathways associated with histone deletions may identify opportunities for novel targeted interventions.

Relationship between glutathione S-transferase gene polymorphisms and enzyme activity in Hong Kong Chinese asthmatics.

BACKGROUND: Asthma is a disease associated with oxidative stress. The glutathione S-transferases (GST) are a group of enzymes that protect cells from oxidative stress. Functional genetic polymorphisms of GST genes (GSTT1, GSTM1 and GSTP1) have previously been reported. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association of GST gene polymorphisms and its enzyme activity with the risk of asthma in Hong Kong Chinese adults. METHODS: An age- and smoking status-matched case-control study was carried out on 315 patients with asthma and 315 healthy controls. Genotyping was carried out on genomic DNA using the PCR and/or restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Plasma GST activity was measured by fluorometric assay. RESULTS: The distribution of various genotypes or alleles of the GSTT1, GSTM1 and GSTP1 was not significantly different between patients with asthma and healthy controls. The GSTM1 null genotype was found to be protective from the development of asthma in atopic subjects (odds ratios 0.55, 95% confidence interval 0.34-0.90; P=0.017). However, there was no association between GSTT1 and GSTM1 null genotypes and enzyme activity. GSTP1 codon 105 Val variants led to reduced plasma GST activity in healthy controls. Asthma patients had elevated plasma GST activity compared with healthy controls irrespective of their genotypes (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that among atopic subjects, the GSTM1 null genotype is associated with a decreased risk for asthma despite increased level of plasma GST activity in asthma, but it could not distinguish whether this increase is a potentially protective compensatory effect or a pathogenic factor.

Polymorphisms in manganese superoxide dismutase and catalase genes: functional study in Hong Kong Chinese asthma patients.

BACKGROUND: Reactive oxygen species may contribute to the pathogenesis of asthma. Functional genetic polymorphisms of antioxidant enzymes, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase are good candidates for asthma susceptibility. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association of the manganese-containing form of SOD (MnSOD) gene at amino acid position 16 (Val16Ala) and catalase gene in the promoter at A-21T and C-262T polymorphisms and asthma in a Hong Kong Chinese population. METHODS: The association study was conducted in a case-control design in asthma patients (n=251) and healthy controls (n=316) by genotyping. The functional significance was assessed by determining erythrocyte SOD and catalase activity. RESULTS: The Val allele of MnSOD at Val16Ala and the A allele of catalase gene at A-21T were not different between patients and controls, while the C allele of catalase gene at C-262T was found to be significantly different between patients and controls (P=0.033). The less frequent variant of catalase gene (-262T) was found to be protective from the development of asthma in a Hong Kong Chinese non-smoking population (adjusted odds ratio=0.35, 0.15-0.85; P=0.017). Asthma patients had elevated erythrocyte SOD and catalase activities in comparison with healthy controls (P<0.01). However, their activities were not associated with different genotypes within healthy controls or asthma patients. CONCLUSION: This is the first report showing that SOD and catalase functional activities are not associated with their respective genetic polymorphisms but related to the presence of asthma in a Hong Kong Chinese population.

Differential anterior prefrontal activation during the recognition stage of a spatial working memory task.

Neuroimaging studies commonly show widespread activations in the prefrontal cortex during various forms of working memory and long-term memory tasks. However, the anterior prefrontal cortex (aPFC, Brodmann area 10) has been mainly associated with retrieval in episodic memory, and its role in working memory is less clear. We conducted an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging study to examine brain activations in relation to recognition in a spatial delayed-recognition task. Similar to the results from previous findings, several frontal areas were strongly activated during the recognition phase of the task, including the aPFC, the lateral PFC and the anterior cingulate cortex. Although the aPFC was more active during the recognition phase, it was also active during the delay phase of the spatial working memory task. In addition, the aPFC showed greater activity in response to negative probes (non-targets) than to positive probes (targets). While our analyses focused on examining signal changes in the aPFC, other prefrontal regions showed similar effects and none of the areas were more active in response to the positive probes than to the negative probes. Our findings support the conclusion that the aPFC is involved in working memory and particularly in processes that distinguish target and non-target stimuli during recognition.

Complex predictive eye pursuit in monkey: a model system for cerebellar studies of skilled movement.

Smooth pursuit eye movements provide a good model system for cerebellar studies of complex motor control in monkeys. First, the pursuit system exhibits predictive control along complex trajectories and this control improves with training. Second, the flocculus/paraflocculus region of the cerebellum appears to generate this control. Lesions impair pursuit and neural activity patterns are closely related to eye motion during complex pursuit. Importantly, neural responses lead eye motion during predictive pursuit and lag eye motion during non-predictable target motions that require visual control. The idea that flocculus/paraflocculus predictive control is non-visual is also supported by a lack of correlation between neural activity and retinal image motion during pursuit. Third, biologically accurate neural network models of the flocculus/paraflocculus allow the exploration and testing of pursuit mechanisms. Our current model can generate predictive control without visual input in a manner that is compatible with the extensive experimental data available for this cerebellar system. Similar types of non-visual cerebellar control are likely to facilitate the wide range of other skilled movements that are observed.

Sustained mnemonic response in the human middle frontal gyrus during on-line storage of spatial memoranda.

The mapping of cognitive functions to neural systems is a central goal of cognitive neuroscience. On the basis of homology with lesion and physiological studies in nonhuman primates, Brodmann's area (BA) 46/9 in the middle frontal gyrus (MFG) has been proposed as the cortical focus for both the storage as well as processing components of working memory in the human brain, but the evidence on the segregation of these components and their exact areal localization has been inconsistent. In order to study this issue and increase the temporal resolution of functional mapping, we disambiguated the storage component of working memory from sensory and motor responses by employing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in spatial delayed-response (DR) tasks with long delay intervals and different conditions of demand. We here show that BA 46 can support a sustained mnemonic response for as long as 24 sec in a high-demand task and the signal change in this area exceeded that in the other prefrontal areas examined. Our findings support a conservation of functional architecture between human and nonhuman primate in showing that the MFG is prominently engaged in the storage of spatial information.

Brief acute psychosis following hysterectomy in ethnopsychiatric context.

The psychiatric morbidity following hysterectomy has received increasing attention. One of the sequelae of hysterectomy has been a brief, acute psychosis with excellent outcome, the etiology and pathomechanism of which is still unclear. Two Chinese patients born of Southeast Asian origin who manifested brief, acute psychosis following hysterectomy are presented. Therapy comprised drug treatment with low dose antipsychotics and benzodiazepines coupled with hypnosis and marital therapy to explore and treat the underlying pathology. Both psychotic states resolved. Follow-up at 12 months revealed stable mental condition in one subject; however, the second patient was lost to follow up. The impact of the womb's removal is explored in the context of the ethnicity of the patients and their sociocultural background.

Cerebellar flocculus and ventral paraflocculus Purkinje cell activity during predictive and visually driven pursuit in monkey.

Purkinje cells in the flocculus and ventral paraflocculus were studied in tasks designed to distinguish predictive versus visually guided mechanisms of smooth pursuit. A sum-of-sines task allowed studies of complex predictive pursuit. A perturbation task examined visually driven pursuit during unpredictable right-angle changes in target direction. A gap task examined pursuit that was maintained when the target was turned off. Neural activity patterns were quantified using multi-linear models with sensitivities to the position, velocity, and acceleration of both motor output (eye motion) and visual input (retinal slip). During the sum-of-sines task, neural responses led eye motion by an average of 12 ms, a value larger than the 9-ms transmission delay between flocculus stimulation and eye motion. This suggests that flocculus/paraflocculus neurons drove pursuit along predictable sum-of-sines trajectories. In contrast, neural responses led eye motion by an average of only 2 ms during the perturbation task and by 6 ms during the gap task. These values suggest a follow-up role during tasks more heavily dependent on visual processing. Activity in all three tasks was explained primarily by sensitivities to eye position and velocity. Eye acceleration played a minor role during ongoing pursuit, although its influence on firing rate increased during the high accelerations following unexpected changes in target motion. Retinal slip had a relatively small influence on responses during pursuit. This was particularly true for the sum-of-sines and gap tasks where predictive control eliminated any consistent retinal-slip signals that might have been used to drive the eye. Surprisingly, the influence of retinal slip did not increase appreciably during unpredictable perturbations in target direction that generated large amounts of retinal slip. Thus although visual control signals are needed in varying amounts during the three pursuit tasks, they have been converted to motor control signals by the time they leave the flocculus/paraflocculus system. Individual neurons showed a remarkable constancy in eye-sensitivity direction across tasks that indicated direct links to oculomotor neurons. However, some neurons showed changes in sensitivity magnitude that suggested changes in control strategy for different tasks. Magnitude differences were largest for the perturbation task. We conclude that the flocculus/paraflocculus system plays a major role in driving predictive pursuit. It also processes visually driven control signals that originate in other brain regions after a slight delay.

Enhancement of humoral and protective immune response induced by live-attenuated Salmonella typhi by ampicillin.

Efficacy of live-attenuated Salmonella vaccines delivered by the mucosal route is limited by the dose and interference from mucosal flora of the alimentary tract. In a mouse model, the total antibody response towards lipopolysaccharide of S. typhi was significantly enhanced at day 21 post-immunization with live-attenuated S. typhi (Ty21a) when ampicillin was concomitantly administered (p<0.005), and the lethal dose 50 of mice in the ampicillin and control groups immunized with Ty21a after wild-type S. typhi challenge on day 24 was 4x10(7) and 1x10(7), respectively. The faecal bacterial counts of the ampicillin group at days 1 and 3 were significantly lower than those of the control group (p<0.01 and <0.05). On day 1, the number of mice with > or =10 Ty21a colonies isolated from the spleen was significantly higher in the ampicillin group than the control group (p<0.05). Furthermore, on the same day, Ty21a was isolated from the faeces of three mice from the ampicillin group, but only one from the control group. We conclude that ampicillin may have enhanced the humoral and protective immune responses by giving the Ty21a a selective advantage over the normal bacterial flora. This concept of antibiotic enhancement of immunization could have important implications for other live-attenuated vaccines, as well as the delivery of microbial antigens and DNA vaccines by live-attenuated Salmonella carriers.

Enhancement by ampicillin of antibody responses induced by a protein antigen and a DNA vaccine carried by live-attenuated Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi.

Live-attenuated Salmonella species are effective carriers of microbial antigens and DNA vaccines. In a mouse model, the immunoglobulin M (IgM) and total antibody levels directed toward the lipopolysaccharide of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi were significantly enhanced at day 21 after oral immunization with live-attenuated serovar Typhi (strain Ty21a) when ampicillin was concomitantly administered (P < 0.05 and P < 0.005, respectively). The heat-killed Ty21a-stimulated lymphocyte proliferation indices for the ampicillin group at day 21 were significantly higher than those for the normal saline (NS) group (P < 0.005, P < 0.001, and P < 0.01) for all three doses of antigen (10(4), 10(5), and 10(6) heat-killed Ty21a per well, respectively). The 50% lethal doses for mice from the ampicillin and NS groups immunized with Ty21a with pBR322 after wild-type serovar Typhi challenge on day 24 were 3.4 x 10(7) and 5.0 x 10(6) CFU, respectively. The fecal bacterial counts for the ampicillin group at days 1, 3, and 5 were significantly lower than those for the NS group (P < 0.01, P < 0.01, and P < 0.05, respectively), and there was a trend toward recovery of Ty21a in a larger number of mice from the ampicillin group than from the NS group. Furthermore, the IgG2a levels directed toward tetanus toxoid were significantly enhanced at days 7 and 21 after oral immunization with Ty21a that carried the fragment c of tetanus toxoid when ampicillin was concomitantly administered (P < 0.05 and P < 0.005, respectively), and the IgM and total hepatitis B surface antibody levels were significantly enhanced at days 7 (P < 0.005 and P < 0.05, respectively) and 21 (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively) after oral immunization with Ty21a that carried the DNA vaccine that encodes hepatitis B surface antigen when ampicillin was concomitantly administered. The present observation may improve the efficacy of the protein antigens and DNA vaccines carried in live-attenuated bacteria, and further experiments should be carried out to determine the best antibiotics and dosage regimen to be used, as well as the best carrier system for individual protein antigens and DNA vaccines.

An event-related functional MRI study of the stroop color word interference task.

In this study we have attempted to define the neural circuits differentially activated by cognitive interference. We used event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to identify areas of the brain that are activated by the Stroop word-color task in two experiments. In the first experiment, we used infrequent, incongruent colored word stimuli to elicit strong Stroop interference (the 'conventional Stroop' paradigm). In the second experiment, we used infrequent, congruent colored words (the 'inverse Stroop' paradigm) to confirm that the regions identified in the first experiment were in fact specifically related to the Stroop effect and not to nonspecific oddball effects associated with the use of infrequent stimuli. Performance of the conventional Stroop specifically activated the anterior cingulate, insula, premotor and inferior frontal regions. These activated regions in the current experiment are consistent with those activated in fMRI experiments that use a more traditional block design. Finally, analysis of the time course of fMRI signal changes demonstrated differential onset and offset of signal changes in these activated regions. The time course results suggest that the action of various brain areas can be temporally dissociated.

Clarithromycin attenuates cyclophosphamide-induced mucositis in mice.

No universally recognized agent is available for prophylaxis or therapy of mucositis induced by chemotherapy or chemo-radiotherapy. The effect of clarithromycin on the severity of mucositis induced by cyclophosphamide was investigated using a mouse model. Four cross-sections of small intestine (levels A, B, C, and D) were taken at equivalent intervals at day 5 after cyclophosphamide (400 mg kg(-1)) administration. The sections were stained with haematoxylin and eosin, and were graded for the degree of mucositis histologically. At section level B, the number of mice with no mucositis (grade 0) in the clarithromycin group was significantly greater than that in the ceftriaxone group (P<0.05). At levels B and C, the number of mice with no mucositis (grade 0) in the clarithromycin group was significantly greater than that in the normal saline (NS) group (P<0.05). At level C, the number of mice with grade 2 mucositis in the ceftriaxone group was significantly greater than that in the NS group (P<0.05). When the number of sections at all levels were analyzed together, the number of mice with no mucositis (grade 0) in the clarithromycin group was significantly greater than that in the ceftriaxone and NS groups (P<0.05). The present observation suggests that clarithromycin and ceftriaxone attenuates and aggravates cyclophosphamide-induced mucositis. It prompts clinical trials in bone marrow transplant (BMT) recipients receiving cyclophosphamide for conditioning, and reconsideration in the use of ceftriaxone in the treatment of neutropenic fever in BMT recipients.

A stimulus-driven approach to object identity and location processing in the human brain.

The primate visual system is considered to be segregated into ventral and dorsal streams specialized for processing object identity and location, respectively. We reexamined the dorsal/ventral model using a stimulus-driven approach to object identity and location processing. While looking at repeated presentations of a standard object at a standard location, subjects monitored for any infrequent "oddball" changes in object identity, location, or identity and location (conjunction). While the identity and location oddballs preferentially activated ventral and dorsal brain regions respectively, each oddball type activated both pathways. Furthermore, all oddball types recruited the lateral temporal cortex and the temporo-parietal junction. These findings suggest that a strict dorsal/ventral dual-stream model does not fully account for the perception of novel objects in space.

Cerebellar flocculus and paraflocculus Purkinje cell activity during circular pursuit in monkey.

Responses from 69 Purkinje cells in the flocculus and paraflocculus of two rhesus monkeys were studied during smooth pursuit of targets moving along circular trajectories and compared with responses during sinusoidal pursuit and fixation. A variety of interesting responses was observed during circular pursuit. Although some neurons fired most strongly in a single preferred direction during clockwise (CW) and counterclockwise (CCW) pursuit, others had directional preferences that changed with rotation direction. Some of these neurons showed similar modulation amplitudes during CW and CCW pursuit, whereas other neurons showed a preference for a particular rotation direction. Response specificity also was observed during sinusoidal pursuit. Some neurons showed responses that were much stronger during centrifugal pursuit, others showed a preference for centripetal pursuit, and still others showed responses during both centripetal and centrifugal motion. Differences in preferred response direction were sometimes observed for centripetal versus centrifugal pursuit. CW/CCW and centrifugal/centripetal preferences were not explained by a breakdown in component additivity. That is, modulations in firing rate during pursuit along a circular trajectory equaled the sum of modulations during horizontal and vertical sinusoidal components as well as for diagonal components. Instead all responses were well fit by a model that expressed the instantaneous firing rate of each neuron as a multilinear function of the two-dimensional position and velocity of the eye. This model generalized well to performance at different sinusoidal frequencies. It did somewhat less well for responses during fixation, suggesting some separation in the neural mechanisms of dynamic and static positioning. The model indicates that position sensitivity accounted for approximately 36% of the modulation during circular pursuit, and velocity sensitivity accounted for approximately 64%. When position and velocity sensitivity vectors were aligned, responses were simpler and modulations were similar during CW versus CCW pursuit. In contrast, when these vectors pointed in different directions, response complexity increased. Nonaligned position and velocity influences tended to reinforce during circular pursuit in one direction and to cancel each other during pursuit in the opposite direction. They also tended to produce response differences during centripetal versus centrifugal sinusoidal pursuit. The distinct roles played by position and velocity in shaping Purkinje cell responses are compatible with the control signals required to generate smooth pursuit along circular and other two-dimensional trajectories.

Reactive psychosis: a classical category nearing extinction?

By presenting two illustrative case histories, the authors stress the importance of the classical category of reactive psychosis which has disappeared from recent international classifications as a distinct nosological entity. Reactive psychosis is essential in the differential diagnosis of acute psychoses as the diagnosis of reactive psychosis has far-reaching therapeutic implications. Clinical and conceptual issues concerning reactive psychosis are briefly reviewed with respect to major classical and modern papers.

Identification of the miaB gene, involved in methylthiolation of isopentenylated A37 derivatives in the tRNA of Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli.

The tRNA of the miaB2508::Tn10dCm mutant of Salmonella typhimurium is deficient in the methylthio group of the modified nucleoside N(6)-(4-hydroxyisopentenyl)-2-methylthioadenosine (ms(2)io(6)A37). By sequencing, we found that the Tn10dCm of this strain had been inserted into the f474 (yleA) open reading frame, which is located close to the nag locus in both S. typhimurium and Escherichia coli. By complementation of the miaB2508::Tn10dCm mutation with a minimal subcloned f474 fragment, we showed that f474 could be identified as the miaB gene, which is transcribed in the counterclockwise direction on the bacterial chromosome. Transcriptional studies revealed two promoters upstream of miaB in E. coli and S. typhimurium. A Rho-independent terminator was identified downstream of the miaB gene, at which the majority (96%) of the miaB transcripts terminate in E. coli, showing that the miaB gene is part of a monocistronic operon. A highly conserved motif with three cysteine residues was present in MiaB. This motif resembles iron-binding sites in other proteins. Only a weak similarity to an AdoMet-binding site was found, favoring the idea that the MiaB protein is involved in the thiolation step and not in the methylating reaction of ms(2)i(o)(6)A37 formation.

Antibiotics modulate vaccine-induced humoral immune response.

The effects of antibiotics on the antigen-specific humoral immune response are not known. Macrolides, tetracyclines, and beta-lactams are commonly prescribed antibiotics. The first two are known to have immunomodulatory activities. The effects of clarithromycin, doxycycline, and ampicillin on the primary and secondary antibody responses to tetanus toxoid, a pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine, a hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) vaccine, and live attenuated Salmonella typhi (Ty21a) were investigated using a mouse model. For the mice receiving the tetanus toxoid, the immunoglobulin M (IgM) level of the clarithromycin group at day 7 was significantly lower than the corresponding antibody level of the normal saline (NS) group. For the mice receiving the pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine, the total antibody and IgM levels of the clarithromycin group and the IgM level of the doxycycline group at day 7 were significantly lower than the corresponding antibody levels of the ampicillin and NS groups. For the mice receiving the HBsAg vaccine, the IgM level of the doxycycline group at day 7 was significantly lower than the corresponding antibody levels of the clarithromycin and NS groups, while the IgM level of the clarithromycin group at day 28 was significantly lower than the corresponding antibody levels of the doxycycline, ampicillin, and NS groups. For the mice receiving all three vaccines, there were no statistically significant differences between any of the antibody levels of the ampicillin group and the corresponding antibody levels of the NS group. For the mice receiving Ty21a, the total antibody levels of the ampicillin group at days 7 and 21 were significantly higher than the corresponding antibody levels of the NS group. Moreover, the IgM levels of the clarithromycin, doxycycline, and ampicillin groups at days 7 and 21 were significantly higher than the corresponding antibody levels of the NS group. Furthermore, the total antibody level of the ampicillin group at day 21 was significantly higher than the corresponding antibody level of the doxycycline group. For all four vaccines, there were no statistically significant differences among the serum levels of interleukin-10 and gamma interferon for the mice treated with the various antibiotics. We conclude that clarithromycin and doxycycline, but not ampicillin, suppress the antibody responses of mice to T-cell-dependent and T-cell-independent antigens, whereas all three antibiotics enhance the antibody response to live attenuated mucosal bacterial vaccines.

Detecting postnatal depression in Chinese women. Validation of the Chinese version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale.

BACKGROUND: We evaluated the utility of the Chinese version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and measured the prevalence of major depression six weeks after confinement among Chinese women in Hong Kong. METHOD: A prospective cohort of 145 women completed the EPDS, the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) six weeks after giving birth. They were then assessed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R, non-patient version (SCID-NP) to establish psychiatric diagnosis. The criterion validity of EPDS was tested against this clinical diagnosis, and the concurrent validity against the GHQ and BDI scores was also evaluated. The internal consistency of the scales was measured by Cronbach's alpha coefficient. RESULTS: The Chinese EPDS had satisfactory psychometric properties and a cut-off score of 9/10 is recommended for screening depressive illness in a general postnatal population. At six weeks postpartum, 5.5% of the study population suffered from major depression. CONCLUSIONS: The Chinese EPDS will be useful for screening for postnatal depression.