Broad-range amplification and sequencing of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene directly from clinical specimens are offered as a diagnostic service in many laboratories. One major pitfall is primer cross-reactivity with human DNA which will result in mixed chromatograms. Mixed chromatograms will complicate subsequent sequence analysis and impede identification. In SYBR green real-time PCR assays, it c...

Bimetallic iron-aluminum (Fe/Al) particles were synthesized and tested for their reactivity toward carbon tetrachloride using batch reactors and a flow-through column at near neutral pH. Preparation of bimetallic Fe/Al particles was conducted under acidic conditions under which iron was readily deposited onto the aluminum surface. The SEM image showed clusters of iron on the aluminum surface at...

The dipolar cycloaddition reactivity of N-(1-naphthy1)-1,4- benzoquinoneimine N-oxide and N-phenyl-1,4- naphthoquinoneimine Noxide are investigated, The latter gives the expected adducts with common dipolarophiles such as acrylonitryle, methyl methacrylate, dimethylacetylene dicarboxylate and N-phenylmaleimide. The reactivity of the former nitrone is found to be minimal. It undergoes, how...

Summary Rationale. Recent data suggest that the nutritional status assessed by body mass index (BMI) is positively associated with skin reactivity to histamine in children. Objective. To study the relation between BMI and skin reactivity to histamine and Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus in allergic children and adolescents. Methods. The medical charts of patients attended in our outpatient clinic...

Carboxylesterases (CEs) are a family of ubiquitous enzymes with broad substrate specificity, and their inhibition may have important implications in pharmaceutical and agrochemical fields. One of the most potent inhibitors both for mammalian and insect CEs are trifluoromethyl ketones (TFMKs), but the mechanism of action of these chemicals is not completely understood. This study examines the ba...

Purpose Previous studies have shown that microvascular dysfunction (MD) is associated with a number of cardiovascular risk factors, including obesity. Few studies have assessed microvascular reactivity in children, and in most of these, results were confounded by the effects of puberty. Our aim was to establish whether MD is already present in obese prepubertal children. Methods This cross-se...

PURPOSE to demonstrate the expression of biomarkers, detected by immunohistochemical techniques in healthy tissues, as well as in preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions of the uterine cervix. METHODS in order to evaluate the immunohistochemical reactivity of tissues from the uterine cervix to p16 and to type 2 herpes simplex virus (HSV-2), 187 samples of low-grade intraepithelial lesions (LG-IE...

OBJECTIVE To determine the diagnostic distribution in a consecutive anti-SSA and/or anti-SSB positive population. METHODS A total of 15 937 serum samples from 10 550 consecutive patients were analysed for antinuclear antibodies (ANAs) on HEp-2 cells. Serum samples positive for ANAs were analysed by immunodiffusion and line immunoassay with recombinant SSA-Ro52, natural SSA-Ro60, and recombina...

Variability in susceptibility to diseases is a well known phenomenon that has been attributed to genetic and environmental factors. At the level of the immune system, the reactivity of two types of T helper cells (Th1 and Th2 cells) plays an important role in determining disease susceptibility. Inflammatory (autoimmune) diseases are stimulated by cytokines produced by Th1 cells. Th2 cytokines s...

Rfn (formaldehyde/nitrogen dioxide) is a common indicator based on satellite observations used to classify ozone formation sensitivity. However, it may underestimate anthropogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in heavily polluted cities when only formaldehyde (HCHO) measure VOCs, since mainly derived from natural sources worldwide. In this study, we multiaxis differential optical absorption...