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OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to assess and compare cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-CXCL13 levels in People with HIV (PWH) with suspected neurosyphilis (NS), those with syphilis but without NS, and patients without treponema infection. Additionally, it aimed to evaluate changes in CSF-CXCL13 concentrations before and after antibiotic treatment. DESIGN: This was a prospective cohort study involving 93 PWH suspected of NS. All participants underwent lumbar puncture, with CSF-CXCL13 levels measured at baseline and during follow-up in patients diagnosed with NS. METHODS: CSF-CXCL13 levels were quantified using ELISA. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to analyze differences between groups, while the Wilcoxon test assessed within subject changes. ROC curve analysis determined the diagnostic efficacy of CSF-CXCL13 for NS. RESULTS: Significantly higher CSF-CXCL13 levels were observed in patients with NS compared to those with syphilis without NS and non-syphilis patients. Posttreatment, a decline in CSF-CXCL13 levels was noted in all NS cases. A CSF-CXCL13 threshold exceeding 60.0 pg/ml, in conjunction with reactive CSF-FTA-ABS, yielded a sensitivity of 88.9% and a specificity of 97.6% for NS diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: CSF-CXCL13 emerges as a valuable adjunctive biomarker for detecting NS in PWH, especially in cases with nonreactive CSF-VDRL. Monitoring CSF-CXCL13 levels also appears effective in evaluating therapeutic response in PWH undergoing NS treatment.

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Sulfolane is a solvent used in industrial refining with identified environmental exposure in drinking water. Due to potential large species differences, the National Toxicology Program (NTP) conducted 28-day toxicity studies in male and female Hsd:Sprague Dawley® SD® rats, B6C3F1/N mice, and Hartley guinea pigs. A wide dose range of 0, 1, 10, 30, 100, 300, and 800 mg/kg was administered via gavage. Histopathology, clinical pathology, and organ weights were evaluated after 28 days of exposure. In addition, plasma concentrations of sulfolane were evaluated 2 and 24 h after the last dose. Increased mortality was observed in the highest dose group of guinea pigs and mice while decreased body weight was observed in rats compared to controls. Histopathological lesions were observed in the kidney (male rat), stomach (male mice), esophagus (male and female guinea pigs), and nose (male guinea pigs). Plasma concentrations were generally higher in rats and guinea pigs compared to mice with evidence of saturated clearance at higher doses. Male rats appear to be the most sensitive with hyaline droplet accumulation occurring at all doses, although the human relevance of this finding is questionable.

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METHOD: Aim of this study was to automatically select a suitable pseudo-reference brain region for the accurate, non-invasive quantification of neuroinflammation in a rat brain using dynamic [18F]DPA-714 PET imaging. PROCEDURES: A supervised clustering analysis approach considering three kinetic classes (SVCA3) was used to select an appropriate pseudo-reference brain region. This pseudo-reference region was determined by selecting only brain regions with low specific tracer uptake (SVCA3low) or by taking into account all brain regions and weighting each brain region with the corresponding fraction of low specific binding (SVCA3wlow). Both SVCA3 approaches were evaluated in an animal model of neuro-inflammation induced by lipopolysaccharide injection in the right striatum of female Wistar rats. For this study setup, a population of 25 female Wistar rats received a dynamic PET scan after injection of ~ 60 MBq [18F]DPA-714. Animals were scanned at baseline (n = 3) and at different time points after inducing neuroinflammation: 1 day (n = 3), 3 days (n = 12), 7 days (n = 4), and 30 days (n = 3). Binding potential (BP) values using a simplified reference tissue model (SRTM) and the contralateral striatum as pseudo-reference region were considered as a reference method (BPL STR) and compared with SRTM BP values using a pseudo-reference region obtained by either the SVCA3low or SVCA3wlow approach for both a 90- and 120-min acquisition time interval. RESULTS: For the right striatum, SRTM BP values using a SVCA3low- or SVCA3wlow-based pseudo-reference region demonstrated a strong and highly significant correlation with SRTM BPL STR values (Spearman r ≥ 0.89, p < 0.001). For the SVCA3low approach, Friedman tests revealed no significant difference with SRTM BPL STR values for a 120-min acquisition time while small but signification differences were found for a 90-min acquisition time (p < 0.05). For the SVCA3wlow approach, highly signification differences (p < 0.001) were found with SRTM BPL STR values for both a 90- and 120-min acquisition time interval. CONCLUSIONS: A SVCA3 approach using three kinetic classes allowed the automatic selection of pseudo-reference brain regions with low specific tracer binding for accurate and non-invasive quantification of rat brain PET imaging using [18F]DPA-714. A shorter acquisition time interval of 90 min can be considered with only limited impact on the SVCA3-based selection of the pseudo-reference brain regions.

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BACKGROUND: Anecdotally, liver size is important in determining prognosis in patients with end-stage liver disease (ESLD). AIMS: To assess if a ratio of liver area and abdominal area on cross-sectional imaging could accurately predict mortality in ESLD. METHODS: A retrospective-prospective cohort study was performed on patients with ESLD in a training set. The censor point used was date of patient death or liver transplant (LT). The liver to abdominal area ratio (LAAR) was calculated using the formula {LAAR = [liver area (cm(2))/abdominal area (cm(2))] × 100}. A validation set was collected from a different institution. RESULTS: Three hundred and sixteen patients were identified. Complete imaging and survival data were available in 158 subjects, 100 male (63%). The LAAR score detected progression to death/LT in our cohort (P < 0.003). Its prognostic accuracy at 90, 360 and 720 days, using the optimal cut-off (32.1), from baseline CT date to death/LT using the log-rank test was P = 0.28, P = 0.06 (OR 1.347, 95% CI 0.94-1.94) and P < 0.0001 (OR 1.89, 95% CI 1.25-2.85) respectively. On multivariate analysis, LAAR (P = 0.008), MELD (P = 0.004) and MELD-Na (P = 0.03) were independently associated with the primary study outcome measurement at 720 days. The validation set of 52 patients confirmed the utility of the LAAR to determine risk of death or need for LT, AUROC 0.89 (0.78-0.97), and P < 0.0001. CONCLUSIONS: The liver to abdominal area ratio (LAAR) score offers a new paradigm in disease modelling in end-stage liver disease (ESLD) and offers prognostic accuracy at 2 years from computer tomography (CT) imaging.

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This paper presents a hypothesis on the involvement of species of the genus Raillietia Trouessart in the pathology of parasitic otitis in domestic ruminants. The chelicerae and claws of the tarsi are structures that contribute significantly towards producing primary lesions. The movable digits of the chelicerae accidentally injure the epithelium that lines the ear canal, while the claws of the tarsi perforate the epithelium, allowing the mites to affix themselves while feeding. The lesions in the epithelium caused by the chelicerae and the claws favor multiplication of the bacteria that inhabit the ear canal, resulting in typical cases of otitis.

Neste trabalho apresentamos uma hipótese para explicar o envolvimento dos ácaros do gênero Raillietia na patogênese da otite parasitária em ruminantes domésticos. As quelíceras e unhas dos tarsos são estruturas que contribuem significativamente para produzir as lesões primárias no epitélio. Os dígitos móveis das quelíceras acidentalmente causam injúria no epitélio que reveste o canal auditivo, enquanto as unhas dos tarsos perfuram o epitélio para permitir a fixação dos ácaros durante sua alimentação. As lesões no epitélio causadas pelas quelíceras e unhas dos tarsos favorecem a multiplicação das bactérias que habitam o canal auditivo, resultando em casos típicos de otite.

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A method for the determination of total mercury in rat adipose tissue by cold vapour atomic fluorescence spectrometry (CVAFS) has been developed. Adipose samples were initially subjected to a lyophilization procedure in order to facilitate the homogenization and accurate weighing of small tissue aliquots (approximately 50 mg). A closed vessel microwave digestion procedure using a mixture of sulphuric and nitric acids was used to liberate mercury from the adipose matrix. All mercury species were quantitatively oxidized to Hg(II) by a potassium bromate/bromide oxidation, then reduced to Hg(0) vapour by stannous chloride prior to fluorescence detection. The CVAFS exhibited a linear range of 10 pg Hg/ml to 120 pg Hg/ml. The method detection limit in solution was 2 pg Hg/ml, or 1 ng Hg/g adipose tissue, based on a nominal 50 mg sample and a final volume of 25 ml. A reference material from the National Research Council of Canada (DOLT-2, trace metals in dogfish liver) was prepared in quadruplicate in order to assess the accuracy and precision of the method. Mercury in this material was recovered at 2.22 +/- 0.08 microg/g, which is 104% of the certified level (2.14 +/- 0.10 microg/g).

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1. Blood lead levels were examined in 127 housepainters in North Carolina between April and September, 1993. Each participant filled out a questionnaire and gave a blood sample. The questionnaire covered the individual's work history, concentrating on paint-removal activities and personal protection, and also covered potential nonoccupational sources of lead exposure. Blood samples were analysed for lead content using atomic absorption spectroscopy. 2. The geometric mean blood lead level was 0.33 mumol L-1 (6.8 micrograms dL-1). No blood lead samples were found to exceed the occupational standard of 1.93 mumol L-1 (40 micrograms dL-1). The three highest samples had levels between 0.97 and 1.45 mumol L-1 (20 and 30 micrograms dL-1); this represented 2.4% of the study sample. 3. No statistical association was found between blood lead levels in these painters and their painting activities, including using dust masks for personal protection. 4. Current painting practices in this group of North Carolina painters do not appear to elevate blood lead levels above the occupational standard.

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Forty obstetric patients were randomly allocated to receive either a midline or paramedian approach to the epidural space using loss of resistance to air. Tissue trauma was assessed by blinded observers, clinically by the presence of pain and radiologically using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Technical difficulties with imaging reduced those who were scanned to 10 in the paramedian group and 8 in the midline group. Lateralizing signs of tissue oedema were not related to the method of epidural cannulation. There was no significant difference in localized back pain between the two groups, and this was not related to MRI findings. Pain did not persist for more than 4 days.