The involvement of thaumatin-like proteins in plant food cross-reactivity: a multicenter study using a specific protein microarray

Cross-reactivity of plant foods is an important phenomenon in allergy, with geographical variations with respect to the number and prevalence of the allergens involved in this process, whose complexity requires detailed studies. We have addressed the role of thaumatin-like proteins (TLPs) in cross-reactivity between fruit and pollen allergies. A representative panel of 16 purified TLPs was printed onto an allergen microarray. The proteins selected belonged to the sources most frequently associated with peach allergy in representative regions of Spain. Sera from two groups of well characterized patients, one with allergy to Rosaceae fruit (FAG) and another against pollens but tolerant to food-plant allergens (PAG), were obtained from seven geographical areas with different environmental pollen profiles. Cross-reactivity between members of this family was demonstrated by inhibition assays. Only 6 out of 16 purified TLPs showed noticeable allergenic activity in the studied populations. Pru p 2.0201, the peach TLP (41%), chestnut TLP (24%) and plane pollen TLP (22%) proved to be allergens of probable relevance to fruit allergy, being mainly associated with pollen sensitization, and strongly linked to specific geographical areas such as Barcelona, Bilbao, the Canary Islands and Madrid. The patients exhibited >50% positive response to Pru p 2.0201 and to chestnut TLP in these specific areas. Therefore, their recognition patterns were associated with the geographical area, suggesting a role for pollen in the sensitization of these allergens. Finally, the co-sensitizations of patients considering pairs of TLP allergens were analyzed by using the co-sensitization graph associated with an allergen microarray immunoassay. Our data indicate that TLPs are significant allergens in plant food allergy and should be considered when diagnosing and treating pollen-food allergy.

A cross-cultural shortened form of the ZKPQ (ZKPQ-50-CC) adapted to English, French, German, and Spanish languages.

The aim of the present study was to develop a short form of the Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire (ZKPQ) with acceptable psychometric properties in four languages: English (United States), French (Switzerland), German (Germany), and Spanish (Spain). The total sample (N = 4,621) was randomly divided into calibration and validation samples. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted in the calibration sample. Eighty items, with loadings equal or higher than 0.30 on their own factor and lower on the remaining factors, were retained. A confirmatory factor analysis was performed over the survival items in the validation sample in order to select the best 10 items for each scale. This short version (named ZKPQ-50-CC) presents psychometric properties strongly similar to the original version in the four countries. Moreover, the factor structure are near equivalent across the four countries since the congruence indices were all higher than 0.90. It is concluded that the ZKPQ-50-CC presented a high cross-language replicability, and it could be an useful questionnaire that may be used for personality research.

Graph based study of allergen cross-reactivity of plant lipid transfer proteins (LTPs) using microarray in a multicenter study.

The study of cross-reactivity in allergy is key to both understanding. the allergic response of many patients and providing them with a rational treatment In the present study, protein microarrays and a co-sensitization graph approach were used in conjunction with an allergen microarray immunoassay. This enabled us to include a wide number of proteins and a large number of patients, and to study sensitization profiles among members of the LTP family. Fourteen LTPs from the most frequent plant food-induced allergies in the geographical area studied were printed into a microarray specifically designed for this research. 212 patients with fruit allergy and 117 food-tolerant pollen allergic subjects were recruited from seven regions of Spain with different pollen profiles, and their sera were tested with allergen microarray. This approach has proven itself to be a good tool to study cross-reactivity between members of LTP family, and could become a useful strategy to analyze other families of allergens.

Factors associated with use of community mental health services by schizophrenia patients using multilevel analysis

BACKGROUND Persons with schizophrenia and related disorders may be particularly sensitive to a number of determinants of service use, including those related with illness, socio-demographic characteristics and organizational factors. The objective of this study is to identify factors associated with outpatient contacts at community mental health services of patients with schizophrenia or related disorders. METHODS This cross-sectional study analyzed 1097 patients. The main outcome measure was the total number of outpatient consultations during one year. Independent variables were related to socio-demographic, clinical and use of service factors. Data were collected from clinical records. RESULTS The multilevel linear regression model explained 46.35% of the variance. Patients with significantly more contacts with ambulatory services were not working and were receiving welfare benefits (p = 0.02), had no formal education (p = 0.02), had a global level of severity of two or three (four being the most severe) (p < 0.001), with one or more inpatient admissions (p < 0.001), and in contact with both types of professional (nurses and psychiatrists) (p < 0.001). The patients with the fewest ambulatory contacts were those with diagnoses of persistent delusional disorders (p = 0.04) and those who were attended by four of the 13 psychiatrists (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS As expected, the variables that explained the use of community service could be viewed as proxies for severity of illness. The most surprising finding, however, was that a group of four psychiatrists was also independently associated with use of ambulatory services by patients with schizophrenia or related disorders. More research is needed to carefully examine how professional support networks interact to affect use of mental health.

Prevalence of anaemia in inflammatory bowel disease in Switzerland: a cross-sectional study in patients from private practices and university hospitals.

BACKGROUND: Anaemia represents a common complication of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Most studies on anaemia in IBD patients have been performed in tertiary referral centres (RC) and data from gastroenterologic practices (GP) are lacking. We investigated the frequency and severity of anaemia in IBD patients from tertiary referral centres and gastroenterologic practices compared to the general population. METHODS: Data were acquired from patients included in the Swiss IBD Cohort Study. IBD activity was evaluated by CDAI and modified Truelove and Witts severity index (MTWSI). Anaemia was defined as haemoglobin ≤120g/L in women and ≤130g/L in men. RESULTS: 125 patients from RC (66 with Crohn's disease (CD) and 59 with ulcerative colitis (UC)) and 116 patients from GP (71 CD and 45 UC) were included and compared to 6074 blood donors. Anaemia was found in 21.2% (51/241) of the IBD patients and more frequently in patients from RC as compared to GP and healthy controls (28.8% vs. 12.9% vs. 3.4%; P<0.01). IBD patients from RC suffered more frequently from active disease compared to IBD patients in GP (36% vs. 23%, P=0.032). Supplementation therapy (iron, vitamin B12, folic acid) was performed in 40% of anaemic IBD patients in GP as compared to 43% in RC. CONCLUSIONS: Anaemia is a common complication in patients with IBD and significantly more prevalent in patients from referral centres as compared to patients from gastroenterologic practices. Physicians treating IBD patients should pay attention to the presence of anaemia and ensure sufficient supplementation therapy.

Cross-reactive anti-PfCLAG9 antibodies in the sera of asymptomatic parasite carriers of Plasmodium vivax

The PfCLAG9 has been extensively studied because their immunogenicity. Thereby, the gene product is important for therapeutics interventions and a potential vaccine candidate. Antibodies against synthetic peptides corresponding to selected sequences of the Plasmodium falciparum antigen PfCLAG9 were found in sera of falciparum malaria patients from Rondônia, in the Brazilian Amazon. Much higher antibody titres were found in semi-immune and immune asymptomatic parasite carriers than in subjects suffering clinical infections, corroborating original findings in Papua Guinea. However, sera of Plasmodium vivax patients from the same Amazon area, in particular from asymptomatic vivax parasite carriers, reacted strongly with the same peptides. Bioinformatic analyses revealed regions of similarity between P. falciparum Pfclag9 and the P. vivax ortholog Pvclag7. Indirect fluorescent microscopy analysis showed that antibodies against PfCLAG9 peptides elicited in BALB/c mice react with human red blood cells (RBCs) infected with both P. falciparum and P. vivax parasites. The patterns of reactivity on the surface of the parasitised RBCs are very similar. The present observations support previous findings that PfCLAG9 may be a target of protective immune responses and raises the possibility that the cross reactive antibodies to PvCLAG7 in mixed infections play a role in regulate the fate of Plasmodium mixed infections.

A new survey of the serology of human Trypanosoma cruziinfection in the Rio Negro microregion, Brazilian Amazon: a critical analysis

The serology of human Trypanosoma cruziinfection in the Rio Negro microregion is very complex because of the large numbers of false-positive cases that result from low antibody titres and cross-reactions with other infections. In the present study, we collected 4,880 blood samples on filter paper; of these, indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) was strongly reactive in 221 (4.5%), which were considered to be positive (IIF strongly reactive; high intensity of fluorescence) and weakly reactive in 302 (6.2%), which were considered to be doubtful (IIF weakly reactive; low intensity of fluorescence). The confirmatory test on the serum using at least two of three techniques (IIF, conventional ELISA and recombinant ELISA) on 137 samples that were positive in the screening test only confirmed 33 cases (24.1%). Of the 178 samples that were considered doubtful in the screening test, only 10 (5.6%) were considered to be positive in the confirmatory test. Finally, we recommend that the serological diagnosis of T. cruziinfection in the Amazon region be made using at least two different techniques, for example immunofluorescence and ELISA and confirmed by Western blot analysis when possible.

Bladder cancer index: cross-cultural adaptation into Spanish and psychometric evaluation.

BACKGROUND The Bladder Cancer Index (BCI) is so far the only instrument applicable across all bladder cancer patients, independent of tumor infiltration or treatment applied. We developed a Spanish version of the BCI, and assessed its acceptability and metric properties. METHODS For the adaptation into Spanish we used the forward and back-translation method, expert panels, and cognitive debriefing patient interviews. For the assessment of metric properties we used data from 197 bladder cancer patients from a multi-center prospective study. The Spanish BCI and the SF-36 Health Survey were self-administered before and 12 months after treatment. Reliability was estimated by Cronbach's alpha. Construct validity was assessed through the multi-trait multi-method matrix. The magnitude of change was quantified by effect sizes to assess responsiveness. RESULTS Reliability coefficients ranged 0.75-0.97. The validity analysis confirmed moderate associations between the BCI function and bother subscales for urinary (r = 0.61) and bowel (r = 0.53) domains; conceptual independence among all BCI domains (r ≤ 0.3); and low correlation coefficients with the SF-36 scores, ranging 0.14-0.48. Among patients reporting global improvement at follow-up, pre-post treatment changes were statistically significant for the urinary domain and urinary bother subscale, with effect sizes of 0.38 and 0.53. CONCLUSIONS The Spanish BCI is well accepted, reliable, valid, responsive, and similar in performance compared to the original instrument. These findings support its use, both in Spanish and international studies, as a valuable and comprehensive tool for assessing quality of life across a wide range of bladder cancer patients.

Structural and functional brain changes in middle-aged type 2 diabetic patients: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is an emerging risk factor for cognitive impairment. Whether this impairment is a direct effect of this metabolic disorder on brain function, a consequence of vascular disease, or both, remains unknown. Structural and functional neuroimaging studies in patients with T2DM could help to elucidate this question. OBJECTIVE We designed a cross-sectional study comparing 25 T2DM patients with 25 age- and gender-matched healthy control participants. Clinical information, APOE genotype, lipid and glucose analysis, structural cerebral magnetic resonance imaging including voxel-based morphometry, and F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography were obtained in all subjects. METHODS Gray matter densities and metabolic differences between groups were analyzed using statistical parametric mapping. In addition to comparing the neuroimaging profiles of both groups, we correlated neuroimaging findings with HbA1c levels, duration of T2DM, and insulin resistance measurement (HOMA-IR) in the diabetic patients group. Results: Patients with T2DM presented reduced gray matter densities and reduced cerebral glucose metabolism in several fronto-temporal brain regions after controlling for various vascular risk factors. Furthermore, within the T2DM group, longer disease duration, and higher HbA1c levels and HOMA-IR were associated with lower gray matter density and reduced cerebral glucose metabolism in fronto-temporal regions. CONCLUSION In agreement with previous reports, our findings indicate that T2DM leads to structural and metabolic abnormalities in fronto-temporal areas. Furthermore, they suggest that these abnormalities are not entirely explained by the role of T2DM as a cardiovascular risk factor.

Role of Age and Sex in the Diagnosis of Early-stage Malignant Melanoma: A Cross-Sectional study.

Age and sex have been identified as predictors of outcome in malignant melanoma (MM). This aim of this multicentre, cross-sectional study was to analyse the role of age and sex as explanatory variables for the diagnosis of thin MM. A total of 2430 patients with MM were recruited. Cases of in situ-T1 MM were more frequent than T2-T4 MM (56.26% vs. 43.74%). Breslow thickness increased throughout decades of life (analysis of variance (ANOVA) p < 0.001), with a weak correlation between Breslow thickness and patient's age (r   = 0.202, p < 0.001). Breslow thickness was significantly less in women (1.79 vs. 2.38 mm, p = 0.0001). Binary logistic regression showed a significant (p < 0.001) odds ratio for age 0-29 years (1.18), and 30-59 years (1.16), and for women (1.09). Age and sex explained 3.64% of the variation observed in Tis-T1 frequency (R2 = 0.0364). Age and sex appear to explain a low percentage of the variation in the early detection of MM.

A novel method for automated classification of epileptiform activity in the human electroencephalogram-based on independent component analysis.

Diagnosis of several neurological disorders is based on the detection of typical pathological patterns in the electroencephalogram (EEG). This is a time-consuming task requiring significant training and experience. Automatic detection of these EEG patterns would greatly assist in quantitative analysis and interpretation. We present a method, which allows automatic detection of epileptiform events and discrimination of them from eye blinks, and is based on features derived using a novel application of independent component analysis. The algorithm was trained and cross validated using seven EEGs with epileptiform activity. For epileptiform events with compensation for eyeblinks, the sensitivity was 65 +/- 22% at a specificity of 86 +/- 7% (mean +/- SD). With feature extraction by PCA or classification of raw data, specificity reduced to 76 and 74%, respectively, for the same sensitivity. On exactly the same data, the commercially available software Reveal had a maximum sensitivity of 30% and concurrent specificity of 77%. Our algorithm performed well at detecting epileptiform events in this preliminary test and offers a flexible tool that is intended to be generalized to the simultaneous classification of many waveforms in the EEG.

An exquisite cross-control mechanism among endothelial cell fate regulators directs the plasticity and heterogeneity of lymphatic endothelial cells.

Arteriovenous-lymphatic endothelial cell fates are specified by the master regulators, namely, Notch, COUP-TFII, and Prox1. Whereas Notch is expressed in the arteries and COUP-TFII in the veins, the lymphatics express all 3 cell fate regulators. Previous studies show that lymphatic endothelial cell (LEC) fate is highly plastic and reversible, raising a new concept that all 3 endothelial cell fates may co-reside in LECs and a subtle alteration can result in a reprogramming of LEC fate. We provide a molecular basis verifying this concept by identifying a cross-control mechanism among these cell fate regulators. We found that Notch signal down-regulates Prox1 and COUP-TFII through Hey1 and Hey2 and that activated Notch receptor suppresses the lymphatic phenotypes and induces the arterial cell fate. On the contrary, Prox1 and COUP-TFII attenuate vascular endothelial growth factor signaling, known to induce Notch, by repressing vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 and neuropilin-1. We show that previously reported podoplanin-based LEC heterogeneity is associated with differential expression of Notch1 in human cutaneous lymphatics. We propose that the expression of the 3 cell fate regulators is controlled by an exquisite feedback mechanism working in LECs and that LEC fate is a consequence of the Prox1-directed lymphatic equilibrium among the cell fate regulators.

Cross-species and cross-platform gene expression studies with the Bioconductor-compliant R package 'annotationTools'.

Background: The variety of DNA microarray formats and datasets presently available offers an unprecedented opportunity to perform insightful comparisons of heterogeneous data. Cross-species studies, in particular, have the power of identifying conserved, functionally important molecular processes. Validation of discoveries can now often be performed in readily available public data which frequently requires cross-platform studies.Cross-platform and cross-species analyses require matching probes on different microarray formats. This can be achieved using the information in microarray annotations and additional molecular biology databases, such as orthology databases. Although annotations and other biological information are stored using modern database models ( e. g. relational), they are very often distributed and shared as tables in text files, i.e. flat file databases. This common flat database format thus provides a simple and robust solution to flexibly integrate various sources of information and a basis for the combined analysis of heterogeneous gene expression profiles.Results: We provide annotationTools, a Bioconductor-compliant R package to annotate microarray experiments and integrate heterogeneous gene expression profiles using annotation and other molecular biology information available as flat file databases. First, annotationTools contains a specialized set of functions for mining this widely used database format in a systematic manner. It thus offers a straightforward solution for annotating microarray experiments. Second, building on these basic functions and relying on the combination of information from several databases, it provides tools to easily perform cross-species analyses of gene expression data.Here, we present two example applications of annotationTools that are of direct relevance for the analysis of heterogeneous gene expression profiles, namely a cross-platform mapping of probes and a cross-species mapping of orthologous probes using different orthology databases. We also show how to perform an explorative comparison of disease-related transcriptional changes in human patients and in a genetic mouse model.Conclusion: The R package annotationTools provides a simple solution to handle microarray annotation and orthology tables, as well as other flat molecular biology databases. Thereby, it allows easy integration and analysis of heterogeneous microarray experiments across different technological platforms or species.

Knowledge and attitude regarding standard precautions in a Brazilian public emergency service: a cross-sectional study

The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge and attitude of health care professionals regarding their use of universal precaution measures at a public emergency service. The study also aimed to assess the rates of occupational accidents involving biological substances among those workers. This study was performed with 238 workers, from June to November 2006, using univariate and multivariate analysis. The chance of not adopting precaution measures was 20.7 (95% CI: 5.68 - 75.14) times greater among drivers compared to physicians. No significant association was found between adopting universal precaution measures. The occupational accident rate was 20.6% (40.8% involving sharp-edged objects). The risk of physicians having an occupational accident was 2.7(95% CI: 1.05 - 7.09) times higher than that of drivers. The fact that a staff member had adequate knowledge about universal precaution measures was insufficient to foster compatible attitudes towards reducing the risk of transmitting infectious agents and causing occupational accidents.