Immunoproteomic analysis of secretory proteins ofAspergillus fumigatus with specific IGE immunoreactivity

Allergenic/antigenic proteins are known to induce Type I and Type III hypersensitivity reactions leading to allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) in immunocompetent host. The common structural features or intrinsic properties of the allergens/antigens leading to allergenicity in a host are not well understood. In the current report, comparative analysis of proteins on two dimensional gel electrophoresis (2D-3) and specific IgE immunoblots ofA. fumigatus secretory proteins (1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd week culture filtrate proteins) was carried out. We observed a total of 159 proteins in 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd week culture filtrates ofA. fumigatus. Specific IgE immunoreactivity was observed in 75 proteins with different intensity. Third week culture filtrate showed maximum number of proteins, 142, and specific IgE immunoreactive proteins, 65. MALDI-TOF analysis resulted in putative identification of two allergens as hypothetical protein YBL057c fromSaccharomyces cereviseae and unnamed protein product fromDebaryomyces hansenii (similar to IPF14568 ofCandida albicans). Identification of a repertoire of specific IgE immunoreactive proteins will facilitate the studies on structure-function relationship of these proteins relevant for diagnosis and pathogenesis.     

Status and Interrelationship of Zinc,Copper, Iron,Calcium and Selenium in Prostate Cancer

Deficiency or excess of certain trace elements has been considered as risk factor for prostate cancer. This study was aimed to detect differential changes and mutual correlations of selected trace elements in prostate cancer tissue versus benign prostatic hyperplasia tissue. Zinc, copper, iron, calcium and selenium were analysed in histologically proven 15 prostate cancer tissues and 15 benign prostatic hyperplasia tissues using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Unpaired two tailed t test/Mann–Whitney U test and Pearson correlation coefficient were used to compare the level of trace elements, elemental ratios and their interrelations. As compared to benign prostatic tissue, malignant prostatic tissue had significantly lower selenium (p = 0.038) and zinc (p = 0.043) concentrations, a lower zinc/iron ratio (p = 0.04) and positive correlation of selenium with zinc (r = 0.71, p = 0.02) and iron (r = 0.76, p = 0.009). Considerably divergent interrelationship of elements and elemental ratios in prostate cancer versus benign prostatic hyperplasia was noted. Understanding of differential elemental changes and their interdependence may be useful in defining the complex metabolic alterations in prostate carcinogenesis with potential for development of element based newer diagnostic, preventive and therapeutic strategies. Further studies may be needed to elucidate this complex relationship between trace elements and prostate carcinogenesis.     

Study of adenosine deaminase activity in various arthritic conditions

Aim of present study was to compare the adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity in various types of arthritis conditions with synovial effusion. No. significant difference was observed in ADA activity in serum of control and study groups but results have shown a definite pattern of ADA activity in synovial fluid in various arthritic conditions. The highest value of ADA activity was observed in synovial fluid of patients with tubercular arthritis followed by rheumatoid, septic, osteo and post traumatic arthritis. Thus measurement of ADA activity in synovial fluid can be used as a parameter of differential diagnosis of arthritis specially tubercular in initial stages.     

Effects of roller burnishing process parameters on surface roughness of A356/5%SIC composite using response surface methodology

In this study, a simple roller burnishing tool was made to operate burnishing processes on A356/5%SIC metal matrix composite fabricated by electromagnetic stir casting under different parameters. The effects of burnishing speed, burnishing force and number of burnishing passes on the surface roughness and tribological properties were measured. Scanning electron microscopy （SEM） graphs of the machined surface with PCD （insert-10） tool and roller burnished surface with tungsten carbide （WC） roller were taken into consider- ation to observe the surface finish of metal matrix composites. The mechanical properties （tensile strength, hardness, duc- tility） of A356/5%SIC metal matrix composites were studied for both unburnished samples and burnished samples. The results revealed that the roller burnished samples of A356/ 5%SIC led to the improvement in tensile strength, hardness and ductility. In order to find out the effects of roller bur- nishing process parameters on the surface roughness of A356/ 5%SIC metal matrix composite, response surface methodol- ogy （RSM） （Box-Behnken design） was used and a prediction model was developed relevant to average surface roughness using experimental data. In the range of process parameters, the result shows that roller burnishing speed increases, and surface roughness decreases, but on the other hand roller burnishing force and number of passes increase, and surface roughness increases. Optimum values of burnishing speed （1.5 m/s）, burnishing force （50 N） and number of passes （2） during roller burnishing of A356/5%SIC metal matrix com- posite to minimize the surface roughness （predicted 1.232 μm） have been found out. There was only 5.03% error in the experimental and modeled results of surface roughness.     

I CARE: Development and Evaluation of a Campus Gatekeeper Training Program for Mental Health Promotion and Suicide Prevention

Addressing the need for suicide prevention on campus, I CARE training, developed and facilitated by counseling center clinicians, trains students, staff, and faculty to provide support to students experiencing distress or mental health problems. We assessed its impact using a mixed-methods approach. Quantitative analyses demonstrated significant increases in knowledge of intervention skills and readiness to intervene from pretraining to posttraining. Knowledge and readiness remained significantly higher than preworkshop for the entire follow-up evaluation period, extending 15 months posttraining. Qualitative analyses revealed the value of experiential activities and emotional processing in increasing participants’ comfort and preparedness to intervene in challenging situations.     

Serum oestradiol in women with carcinomas of the breast and uterine cervix

Endogenous oestrogens are thought to be involved in breast cancer, but few studies could show the direct relationship between hormones and pathological process of the disease. In the present study, oestradiol was estimated in the serum of pre-and postmenopausal breast cancer patients along with normal healthy controls and patients with carcinoma of the uterine cervix which is not dependent on oestrogens. Premenopausal patients with breast cancer showed higher levels of oestradiol as compared to premenopausal control women as well as cervical cancer patients. Whereas, no statistically significant differences were observed in serum oestradiol levels amongst postmenopausal groups of breast cancer, cervical cancer and normal women. The result of the study reflects the association of oestradiol as well as its difference in the pathological events of pre and postmenopausal breast cancer.     

Are we using Thyroid Function Tests Appropriately?

Thyroid function tests are very important for the diagnosis and monitoring of patients with thyroid dysfunction. The guidelines recommend serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) as the single most reliable test to diagnose all common forms of hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism. The aim of this study was to analyze the ordering pattern for thyroid function tests by physicians and the analysis of results based on the clinical history. The mean age of the patients was 32.5 ± 6.5 years. Majority of samples (87.7% of total) were received from the departments of Medicine and Gynae. Thyroid profiles (47.5%) were ordered more frequently as compared to TSH only (46%). There was no significant difference in the percentage of normal reports for both types of tests. 77.8% of TFT and 76.6% of TSH samples had results within the reference range. The percentage of abnormal results was 13.7% in the patients who were screened for thyroid disorders. There is a need to redefine the case definition for thyroid dysfunction and order the appropriate test in a rational and cost effective manner.     

Blood zinc protoporphyrin, serum total protein, and total cholesterol levels in automobile workshop workers in relation to lead toxicity: Our experience

Blood zinc protoporphyrin (ZPP), serum total protein (TP), and total cholesterol (TC) levels in automobile workshop workers in relation to lead toxicity were analysed. In the present study, automobile workshop workers (healthy male workers at an age between 28 and 35 from four major automobile workshops in Kottayam, Kerala State, India) and the control (male healthy adults at an age between 28 and 35 residing at Aymanam, a distant village at Kottayam District, Kerala having reduced or no chance of lead exposure) displayed significant difference in blood lead (BPb) and blood ZZP (BZPP) level. The mean value of BPb in automobile workshop workers was 15.76±0.33 μg/dl, while in the control it was 8.20±0.15 μg/dl. In automobile workshop workers, the mean value of BZPP was 34.2±0.62 μg/dl. The control group exhibited a mean of 11.5±0.22 μg/dl. Automobile workshop workers exhibited significant increase in BZPP was corresponding to the increase in BPb level. The total protein levels estimated in automobile workshop workers showed significant decrease compared to control individuals, but was within the reference range of healthy individuals. The mean value of TP level in automobile workshop workers and control was 6.9±0.13 g/dl and 7.71±0.18 g/dl, respectively. There was no significant difference in blood haemoglobin (BHb) level among the automobile workshop workers and control. The serum TC level in automobile workshop workers showed significant decrease compared to the control individuals, but was with in the reference range of healthy individuals. The mean level of serum TC in automobile workshop workers was 162.00±3.44 mg/dl and the same in control was 172.86±4.32 mg/dl. The present study affirms occupational lead toxicity in automobile workshop workers and its effect on serum protein and cholesterol levels.     

Chemistry at the Nanoscale

Traditionally the kinetics of a chemical reaction has been studied as a set of coupled ordinary differential equations. The law of mass action, a tried and tested principle for reactions involving macroscopic quantities of reactants, gives rise to deterministic equations in which the variables are species concentrations. In recent years, though, as smaller and smaller systems – such as an individual biological cell, say – can be studied quantitatively, the importance of molecular discreteness in chemical reactions has increasingly been realized. This is particularly true when the system is far from the ‘thermodynamic limit’ when the numbers of all reacting molecular species involved are several orders of magnitude smaller than Avogadro’s number. In such situations, each reaction has to be treated as a probabilistic ‘event’ that occurs by chance when the appropriate reactants collide. Explicitly accounting for such processes has led to the development of sophisticated statistical methods for simulation of chemical reactions, particularly those occurring at the cellular and sub-cellular level. In this article, we describe this approach, the so-called stochastic simulation algorithm, and discuss applications to study the dynamics of model regulatory networks.     

Effect of computer interfaces on chemistry problem solving among various ethnic groups: A comparison of Pen-Point and Powerbook computers

This study investigated the effect of Pen-Point and Powerbook computers on solving a multiple step chemistry (molaritý) problem among White, Afro-American and Hispanic students (N=60) at the high school level. The screens on both computers were partitioned into a work field and a reasoning field. Both computers were programmed to record the time spent in each field, the number of entries made, and a copy of the entries made. Statistical analysis of data showed that more of the White and Afro-American Pen-Point computer users solved the problem correctly than did students using the Powerbook computer. All three ethnic groups made fewer entries, and took less time using the Pen-Point computer than the Powerbook. Attitude survey results of all ethnic groups showed that more Pen-Point computer users felt comfortable working with computers. Over all, the results suggest that the Pen-Point computer has a more positive effect on the problem solving performance and attitude of students towards computers than the Powerbook computer.