No abstract

Lung transplantation is a potentially curative therapy for the end-stage pulmonary sequelae of sarcoidosis. We reviewed the course of five lung allograft recipients with underlying sarcoidosis (S) at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and compared them with a control group (C) of 44 contemporaneous transplant recipients with other respiratory diseases. Sarcoid granulomata have developed in the allografts of 4 S, although these lesions have not yet been demonstrated to result in clinically significant abnormalities. In comparison with C, sarcoidosis patients had significantly greater mean grades of acute rejection during the first 3 months after transplantation (2.1 +/- 0.3 versus 1.6 +/- 0.1, S and C, respectively, p < 0.042) and larger proportions of lung biopsies showing more than mild acute rejection (40 versus 18%, p < 0.012) and lymphocytic bronchitis (30 versus 13%, p = 0.02), as well as a greater percentage of polymorphonuclear leukocytes in BAL returns (34.9 +/- 5.4 versus 19.0 +/- 1.6, p < 0.01). The two groups did not differ, however, in frequency of obliterative bronchiolitis, survival, or pulmonary function. We conclude that lung transplant recipients with underlying sarcoidosis are very likely to develop recurrent disease in the allograft and have more severe acute rejection responses, especially in the first weeks after transplantation. Pulmonary transplantation appears to be an efficacious therapy for end-stage sarcoidosis, but the long-term sequelae of the increased acute rejection and recurrent sarcoidosis in the allograft remain to be determined.

Since the discovery that honey bee viruses play a role in colony decline, researchers have made major breakthroughs in understanding viral pathology and infection processes in honey bees. Work on virus transmission patterns and virus vectors, such as the mite Varroa destructor, has prompted intense efforts to manage honey bee health. However, little is known about the occurrence of honey bee viruses in bee predators, such as vespids. In this study, we characterized the occurrence of 11 honey bee viruses in five vespid species and one wasp from four provinces in China and two vespid species from four locations in France. The results showed that all the species from China carried certain honey bee viruses, notably Apis mellifera filamentous virus (AmFV), Deformed wing virus (DWV), and Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV); furthermore, in some vespid colonies, more than three different viruses were identified. In France, DWV was the most common virus; Sacbrood virus (SBV) and Black queen cell virus (BQCV) were observed in one and two samples, respectively. Phylogenetic analyses of IAPV and BQCV sequences indicated that most of the IAPV sequences belonged to a single group, while the BQCV sequences belonged to several groups. Additionally, our study is the first to detect Lake Sinai virus (LSV) in a hornet from China. Our findings can guide further research into the origin and transmission of honey bee viruses in Vespidae, a taxon of ecological, and potentially epidemiological, relevance.

Objective• To describe the complications of transperineal end-to-end anastomotic urethroplasty in patients with posterior urethral strictures resulting from pelvic fracture. Materials and Methods• A total of 573 patients, who underwent bulboprostatic anastomosis for posterior urethral strictures, were enrolled in this study. Distraction defects were measured using retrograde urethrography combined with voiding cysto-urethrography. • All patients underwent perineal excision and primary anastomotic urethroplasty. The urethroplasty was considered successful if the patient was free of stricture-related obstruction and did not require any further intervention.• The degree of stress incontinence was assessed daily by pad testing.• The prevalence of pre-and postoperative sexual disorders was investigated using the International Index of Erectile Function-5 questionnaire. Results• Of 573 bulboprostatic anastomosis procedures performed, 504 (88%) were successful and 69 (12%) were not successful.• The mean (SD) maximum urinary flow rate, assessed by uroflowmetry 4 weeks after surgery, was 20.52 (5.1) mL/s. • Intraoperative rectal injury was repaired primarily in 28 cases. Recurrence of urethral strictures was observed in 10 (1.7%) patients during the first 6 months after surgery, and in 45 patients from 6 months to 1 year. All of these patients underwent re-operation.• Twenty-four (4.2%) patients had mild urge incontinence and 28 (4.9%) had mild stress incontinence.• Erectile dysfunction (ED) was present in two (<0.1%) patients before trauma and in 487 (85%) patients after trauma. There was no statistical difference between the incidences of preoperative and postoperative ED (85 vs 86%, P > 0.05). • Nine (1%) patients were found to have false passage between the posterior urethra and bladder neck. Conclusion• The majority of complications associated with transperineal bulboprostatic anastomosis can be avoided as long as meticulous preoperative evaluation to define the anatomy and careful intra-operative manipulation are ensured.

It was found that the diffraction images acquired along the side scattering directions with objects in a cell sample contain pattern variations at both the global and local scales. We show here that the global pattern variation is associated with the categorical size and morphological heterogeneity of the imaged objects. An automated image processing method has been developed to separate the acquired diffraction images into three types of global patterns. Combined with previously developed method for quantifying local texture pattern variations, the new method allows fully automated analysis of diffraction images for rapid and label-free classification of cells according to their 3D morphology.

The use of local steroids with IU seems to prolong time to stricture recurrence but does not seem to affect the high stricture recurrence rate following IU. When local steroids are applied with complementary intention, the disease control outcomes are encouraging. Further robust comparative effectiveness studies are now required.

The fabrication and evaluation of a natural pectin-based drug delivery system are reported in this study. The drug delivery system displays specific active targeting ability to hepatocellular carcinoma due to the presence of excess galactose residues in the polymer structure as the natural targeting ligands. The system was prepared under very mild conditions in an aqueous medium containing Ca(2+) and CO3(2-) ions, generating uniform pectin-based nanoparticles with an average diameter of 300 nm, and the drug-loading content of anticancer drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is around 24.8%. Cytotoxicity study of the 5-FU-loaded nanoparticles (5-FU-NPs) in HepG2 and A549 cell lines demonstrated their greater potency in killing cancer cells with overexpressed asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR) on the cell surface, compared to that of the free drug. Pharmacokinetics study using Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats further confirmed that the drug-loaded nanoparticles showed a much longer half-life in the circulation fluids than the free drug. Tissue distribution was investigated on Kunming mice, and the results also demonstrated that the 5-FU-NPs has a long circulation effect. Taken together, the pectin-based drug delivery systems exhibit size-induced prolonged circulation as well as ASGP receptor-mediated targeting ability to cancer cell lines; therefore, it is a promising platform for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Microplastics (MPs) are an emerging threat to ecological conservation and biodiversity; however, little is known of the types and possible impacts of MPs in pollinators. To examine whether MPs were present in honeybees, we analyzed the honeybee samples collected in fields from six provinces in China. Four types MPs were identified in honeybee including polystyrene (PS) by Raman spectroscopic analysis, and these plastic polymers were detected in 66.7% bee samples. Then, we assessed the physical and biological impacts of PS of three sizes (0.5, 5, and 50 μm) on bees for 21 days. Next, we measured how the presence of PS affected the Israeli acute paralysis virus proliferation, a small RNA virus associated with bee colony decline. Experimental evidence showed that a large mass of PS was ingested and accumulated within the midgut and enhanced the susceptibility of bees to viral infection. Not only histological analysis showed that PS, especially 0.5 μm PS, damaged the midgut tissue and was subsequently transferred to the hemolymph, trachea, and Malpighian tubules, but also qPCR and transcriptomic results indicated that genes correlated with membrane lipid metabolism, immune response, detoxification, and the respiratory system were significantly regulated after PS ingestion. Our results highlight neglected MP contamination to the bees, a pollination ecosystem stressed by the anthropogenic pollution, and have implications for human health via ingestion of bee products.