Immunofluorescent staining of Treponema pallidum was studied to clarify the effect of three factors on the results of the fluorescent treponemal antibody-absorption test: (i) heat inactivation of sera at 56 degrees C for 30 min before testing, (ii) use of multicircle slides, and (iii) tungsten illumination to visualize and assess unstained treponemes on reactive as well as nonreactive smears. I...

The co-evolutionary relationship between pathogen and host has led to a regulatory cycle between virulence factors needed for survival and antivirulence factors required for host transmission. This is exemplified in Salmonella spp. by the zirTS antivirulence genes: a secretion pathway comprised of the outer membrane transporter ZirT, and its secreted partner, ZirS. ZirTS act within the gastroin...

OBJECTIVE Hapatitis B visus (CHB)-induced fibrosis is a precancerous condition of liver. To explore the influence of Chongcao Preparation (Chongcao Yigan Capsule) on the function of intestinal flora and chemoprevention for patients with CHB-induced liver fibrosis. METHODS A total of 136 patients with CHB-induced liver fibrosis were randomly divided into control group treated with lamivudine (...

OBJECTIVE Prior research had shown that an additional training session immediately after acute stress increased release of salivary secretory immunoglobin A (sIgA) in a group trained with 5-day Integrative Body-Mind Training (IBMT) in comparison to a control group given the same amount of relaxation training. However, 5 days of training did not influence the basal secretion of sIgA. The current...

BACKGROUND Immunoglobin A nephropathy (IgAN), the most prevalent form of primary glomerulonephritis, represents the leading cause of kidney failure among East Asian populations. Immunosuppressive treatment regimen, except for a 6-month trial of corticosteroids, has not been approved by the KDIGO guideline yet. Specific and effective treatment is still lacking. We decided to evaluate the efficac...

Hydatid cyst is a disease caused by a parasitic tapeworm, Echinococcus granulosus, and most commonly involves liver and lung. Ruptured pulmonary hydatid cyst can present a diagnostic challenge, and radiograph can be inconclusive. Anaphylactic reaction is a rare complication of ruptured pulmonary hydatid cyst. A 22-year-old male came to our emergency department in shock with symptoms of shortnes...

The large scale patterning of therapeutic proteins is a key to the efficient design, characterization, and production of biologics for cost effective, high throughput, and point-of-care detection and analysis system. We demonstrate an efficient method for protein deposition and adsorption on nanoporous silica substrates in specific patterns using a method called ‘‘micro-contact printing’’. Mult...

To elucidate possible immune mechanisms in the pathogenesis of myocarditis, we examined, by immunofluorescence techniques, the serial changes in lymphocyte subsets in the heart, spleen, and peripheral blood of C3H/He mice inoculated coxsackievirus B3 (experiment I). B cells were identified by staining with fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled rabbit antimouse immunoglobulin. T cell subsets were d...

BACKGROUND Amyloidosis is a multisystem disease, and can present with multitude of nonspecific symptoms. Gastrointestinal amyloidosis is common, and gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding in these patients has a wide differential diagnosis. The present case features the distinctive endoscopic finding of submucosal hematoma as a clue to immunoglobin light chain (AL) amyloid involvement of the gastrointe...