Preliminary study on circulating serum levels of tumor necrosis factor—Alpha in patients of tuberculosis

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of several non-infectious and infectious diseases including tuberculosis. In a prospective longitudinal study, TNF-α level in blood was estimated by sandwich ELISA using anti human TNF-α antibody, in 22 patients with active pleuro-pulmonary and lymphnode tuberculosis before and after chemotherapy and 8 healthy controls. Six patients and six controls had detectable levels (> 5 pg/ml) of TNF-α in blood. The mean TNF-α levels in controls and cases before and after treatment were 182.4pg/ml, 896.7 pg/ml and 678.7pg/ml pg/ml respectively. Though not statistically significant, there was a trend towards younger age, shorter duration of symptoms, presence of fever and anorexia, and high ESR, in patient with high serum TNF-α levels.     

Age-Related Changes of Serum Soluble Interleukin 9 Receptor (sIL-9Rα) in Healthy Subjects

Most cytokine receptors including interleukin (IL)-9 have soluble counterparts in body fluids. We planned to investigate the pathophysiological significance of the serum soluble IL-9 receptor (sIL-9R) level. We determined the serum sIL-9Rα chain (sIL-9Rα) levels in 96 healthy Japanese individuals to establish a control value by means of specific human sIL-9Rα ELISA, followed by a preliminary application in a patient with diarrhea positive hemolytic uremic syndrome. Age was negatively correlated with the sIL-9Rα level (Spearman r = −0.241, n = 96, p = 0.0180). The serum sIL-9Rα level showed a progressive decline to the normal adult level by the age of 30. The serum sIL-9Rα level of the patient with HUS was markedly higher than those of the age-matched control from the onset of the disease. Because of the remarkable age-dependent variability of sIL-9Rα in healthy subjects, disease-related changes, as well as therapy-dependent alterations, should be considered with caution. Thus, it is recommended that when the serum sIL-9Rα levels of patients are evaluated, the values should be compared with those of age-matched controls. The established control value will be used to discriminate between normal and the pathological conditions in our future studies.     

CAS and MPS Celebrate the 30~(th) Anniversary of Cooperation in Germany

Berlin witnesses agrand reunionbetween Chi-nese and German scien-tists to commemorate the30th anniversary of the re-warding cooperation be-tween the Chinese Acad-emy of Sciences (CAS)and Max Planck Society(MPS) in Germany. A se-ries of celebrations wereheld on Nov. 8 and 9, 2004to mark this historicmoment, not only renewing oldfriendships but also seeking newapproaches to higher quality ofcollaboration.The jubilee program began onNov. 8 with a Sino-German forumtitled Networking for Sci…     

Enhancement of myeloperoxidase activity in WBCS in oral cancer patients treated with Granulocyte Macrophage Colony Stimulating Factor (GM-CSF)—A pilot study

In a pilot study with five oral cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy (RT) three were given Granulocyte Macrophage Colony Stimulating Factor (GM-CSF) as a protective agent to reduce the mucosal inflammation during radiotherapy. The myeloperoxidase (MPO) enzyme activity in WBC was quantitated. The three patients showed a significant increase in the MPO activity when compared with two untreated controls indicating the efficacy of GM-CSF as a protective agent. It is suggested that further detailed studies with larger number of patients would be useful.     

Huang Kun (1919-2005) A Pioneer of Solid-state and Semiconductor Physics in China

Prof. Huang Kun made many pioneering contributions in solid-state physics. In the late 1940s, for example, he theoreti- cally predicted diffuse X-ray reflec- tion due to point defects in crystal lattices, which was experimentally confirmed in the 1960s. Known as “Huang Scattering,” the theory has already developed into a method for studying micro-defects in solids. Another example is his multi- phonon transition theory, known as “Huang-Rhys factor,” which has become widely documented in…     

The jurisdiction of the subjective expected utility (SEU) approach to risk-taking in science – A response to Franzoni and Stephan (2023), ‘uncertainty and risk-taking in science’

This paper discusses the SEU approach with regard to its “jurisdiction”; i.e. where it should and where it should not be applied. It is argued that the SEU approach must address the fundamental tension between exploration and exploitation; that it should be applied only to disciplines or fields that have low degrees of both technical and strategic uncertainties; and that funders need to prevent the SEU approach from spilling over to evaluations of exploratory projects, for which it is clearly not suited. In addition, the paper argues that the SEU approach needs to respond to the “fund people, not projects” argument. Finally, it calls for many more empirical and preferably experimental studies with the aim of shedding light on how the SEU approach works in practice. In this regard, novel techniques should be used more frequently than today, such as specification curve analysis that encompasses all reasonable explanatory specifications that are both theoretically consistent and statistically valid and non-redundant.     

The elixir (or burden) of youth? Exploring differences in innovation between start-ups and established firms

Despite the widely acknowledged role of start-ups in economic development, little is known about their innovative activities compared with those of established firms. Drawing on a sample of 12,209 UK firms, we differentiate between services and manufacturing firms and, using a matching estimator approach, demonstrate that start-ups differ significantly from established firms in their innovation activities. We find that in services, being a start-up increases the likelihood of product innovations. However, in manufacturing, we find no significant differences in the likelihood of product innovation between start-ups and established firms. When examining the returns to innovation, we find that start-ups have a significant advantage both in services and in manufacturing. We explore the implications of these results for theory and policy.     

Gay-Lussac (1778–1850): A view of chemistry,industry and society in post-revolutionary France

This year marks the bicentenary of the births of two distinguished chemists, Joseph Gay-Lussac and Humphry Davy. This study of the life of Gay-Lussac shows how his work was related to that of Davy as well as to that of his French contemporaries. His keen interest in the application of chemistry earned him some criticism in his lifetime, but in retrospect can be seen to have contributed to his professional stature.     

The Roles of Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGF)-23, α-Klotho and Furin Protease in Calcium and Phosphate Homeostasis : A Mini-Review

The roles of calcitonin, parathormone and calcitriol in the regulation of plasma calcium and phosphate are well-established. However, in autosomal-dominant hypophosphatemic rickety patients, studies have revealed normal plasma levels of calcium, associated with normal thyroid and parathyroid functions, but decreased levels of phosphate and calcitriol despite adequate reserves of vitamin D. Also, in tumoral calcinosis, persistent hyperphosphatemia with increased levels of 1,25(OH)₂D₃ have been observed. These studies indicate the involvement of factors other than the ones already known. The first decade of this century/millennium has led to the discovery of the involvement of fibroblast growth factor-23, furin protease and α-klotho in the homeostasis of calcium and phosphate, which is the subject of this mini-review.     

Correlation of Microalbuminuria with Estimated GFR (eGFR) by Cockcroft–Gault and MDRD Formula in Type 2 Diabetics and Hypertensives

Increase in urine albumin excretion rate (AER) precede a fall in glomerular filtration rate in patients developing diabetic chronic kidney disease (CKD). Our results have shown that 7 (50 %) of diabetic and hypertensive individuals with decreased GFR do not have increased AER. In this cross-sectional study, we measured AER of 75 patients with type 2 diabetes and hypertension by immunoturbidimetric method. We correlated the results with eGFR values obtained by Cockcroft–Gault and MDRD method. The method used was not a compensated method. We measured serum creatinine by modified Jaffe’s kinetic method in autoanalyzer XL-600. Analysis of data showed positive correlation between eGFR and microalbuminuria by both the methods with eGFR <60 mL/min/1.73 m². Pearson’s correlation co-efficient (r) was 0.9 (p = 0.0001) by Cockcroft–Gault formula and 0.69 (p = 0.0063) by MDRD formula. Our results concluded that there was positive correlation between AER and eGFR <60 mL/min/1.73 m². We have recognized that these two parameters provide a complimentary benefit in management of cases with CKD.     

Learn from Each Other in Friendship and Trust——An Interview with Prof.Herbert J(a)ckle, Vice President of MPG

BCAS:As Vice-President of MPG you got involved in the establishment of the CAS-MPG Partner Institute for Computational Biology (PICB) very early and have witnessed its growth from a small seed of an idea to a thriving centre for science excellence.As we know,PICB,a "joint venture" of the MPG and CAS,is administered via some procedures and mechanisms typical for an institute of the Max Planck Society.How would you describe or evaluate the implications of setting up and running an MPG-style institute in the Chinese context?     

Detection of acute kidney injury in premature asphyxiated neonates by serum neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (sNGAL) – sensitivity and specificity of a potential new biomarker

Introduction

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is common in neonatal intensive care units (NICU). In recent years, every effort is made for early detection of AKI. Our hypothesis was that serum neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (sNGAL) may be a reliable screening test for early diagnosis of AKI in premature neonates after perinatal asphyxia. Therefore, our aim was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of sNGAL for AKI in premature asphyxiated neonates.

Materials and methods

AKI was defined in the third day of life (DOL 3) as a serum creatinine (sCr) increase ≥ 26.5 μmol/L from baseline (the lowest previous sCr). According to the increase of sCr, AKI patients were divided in AKIN1 (sCr increase up to 1.9 baseline) and AKIN2 (sCr increase from 2.0 to 2.9 baseline). sNGAL levels were measured on DOL 1, 3 and 7.

Results

AKI was diagnosed in 73 (0.676) of 108 enrolled premature asphyxiated neonates. Sixty one patients (0.836) were classified in AKIN1 and 12 patients (0.164) in AKIN2. sNGAL reached the maximal concentrations on DOL 1 within 4 hours after admission to NICU, being higher in AKI compared with no-AKI group (160.8 ± 113.1 vs. 87.1 ± 81.6; P < 0.001) as well as in AKIN2 compared with AKIN1 group (222.8 ± 112.9 vs. 147.8 ± 109.9; P < 0.001). The best areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC) for prediction of AKI were 0.72 [95% (0.62-0.80) P < 0.001] on DOL1 at 2h and 0.72 [95% (0.63-0.80) P < 0.001] at 4th hour after admission respectively. The corresponding sNGAL cutoff concentrations were 84.87 ng/mL (sensitivity 69.0% and specificity 71.9%) and 89.43 ng/mL (sensitivity 65.7% and specificity 74.3%).

Conclusions

In premature asphyxiated neonates sNGAL measured within the first 4 hours of DOL 1 is predictive of the occurrence and severity of AKI. Therefore, plasma levels of NGAL may be used for early diagnosis of AKI in these patients.Key words: serum neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin, acute kidney injury, premature neonates, biomarker