Serosal Fluid Research Articles

Self-emulsifying micelles as a drug nanocarrier system for itraconazole oral bioavailability enhancement; in vitro and in vivo assessment

Itraconazole (ITZ) is a renowned antifungal medication, however its therapeutic efficacy is limited by low solubility and oral bioavailability. The current research work attempted to augment the oral bioavailability of ITZ by incorporating into self-emulsifying micelles (SEMCs). To fabricate the SEMCs, various preparation techniques including physical mixture, melt-emulsification, solvent evaporation and kneading, were opted by using different weight ratio of drug and solubilizers i.e. Gelucire-50/13 or Gelucire-44/14 and characterized both in vitro and in vivo. The prepared SEMCs were found to be in the size range from 63.4 ± 5.2 to 284.2 ± 19.5 nm with surface charges ranging from −16 ± 1.2 to −27 ± 2.0 mV. The drug solubility was improved to a reasonable extent with all investigated formulations, however, SEMCs in group 6 prepared by kneading method (KMG6) using Gelucire-44/14: drug (10:1 presented 87.6 folds’ increase (964.93 ± 2 μg/mL) compared to solubility of crystalline ITZ (11 ± 2 μg/mL) through kneading method. In addition, KMG6 SEMCs shows the fast drug release compared to other SEMCs. Further, KMG6 SEMCs also exhibited 5.12-fold higher relative intestinal serosal fluid absorption compared to crystalline ITZ. The pharmacokinetic parameters such Cmax, AUC and Tmax of KMG6 SEMCs significantly improved compared to crystalline ITZ. In conclusion, the manipulation of ITZ solubility, dissolution rate and absorption using SEMCs is a promising strategy for bioavailability enhancement.

The predictive role of combined adenosine deaminase activity in Serum and body fluids to diagnose extrapulmonary tuberculosis

EPTB comprises 10-15% of all TB cases in developing countries. Diagnosis of TB from body fluids like pleural, peritoneal and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is challenging as all these fluid samples possess very few bacilli.: To determine the role of adenosine deaminase (ADA) assay for reliable prediction of EPTB from different body fluids, particularly in low-resource areas with high disease prevalence. This prospective study was out in a rural medical college hospital. An enzymatic deamination method in a kinetic manner was used to monitor the ADA activity. The study processed 100 serum samples from 50 Suspected TB patients and 50 from the control group and 100 samples of body fluids from 50 Suspected TB patients and 50 control samples. Data were recorded in MS Excel sheets, and statistical analysis was performed using MS Office software. Out of 50 serum samples from the suspected TB patient and control groups, 48 (96%) and 17 (34%) were positive for ADA, respectively. Out of 50 samples of body fluids obtained from both suspected TB patients and the control group, 16 (32%) and 3 (06%) were positive for ADA, respectively.Serum ADA positivity was significantly high in suspected TB patients as compared to the control group In our study,observations suggest that serum and serosal fluid Adenosine deaminase (ADA) measurement has good prediction potential for EPTB. Hence, it can be used as a supportive surrogate marker for challenging to diagnose extrapulmonary TB. ADA activity in body fluids is also a sensitive biomarker, especially when combined with serum ADA levels and may become a routine investigation for early detection of extrapulmonary TB. Serum and serosal fluid Adenosine deaminase (ADA) measurements have good prediction potential for PTB & EPTB.

Importance of Serosal Fluid Cytology as an Aid to Primary Diagnosis: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

Cytological study of fluids is an inexpensive, simple procedure and has significant utility in diagnosingneoplastic and non neoplastic lesions. The cytological examination of fluids in combination with physicalexamination helps identify aetiologic agents, follow the natural process of the disease and monitor the responseto the treatment.Aim: To determine the diagnostic utility of serosal fluid cytology and analyse the incidence of neoplastic and nonneoplastic lesions using serous fluid cytology.Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study comprising 311 cases conducted in a tertiarycare hospital. Purposive sampling was used to recruit the participants. All the patients with pleural effusions,ascites or in whom Cerebral Spinal Fluid (CSF), pericardial and synovial fluids examination was indicated wereincluded. The provisional diagnosis was obtained from case sheets, including relevant clinical information. Smearswere prepared from freshly tapped specimens without adding anticoagulants and were processed by routine,conventional smear technique. The data were analysed using the SPSS version 22.0 for Windows. Numericalvariables were reported as frequency and percentage. The chi-square test was used wherever necessary, and thep-value less than 0.05 were considered significant.Results: The peritoneal fluid was the most common fluid collected in the present study, followed by pleural fluidand CSF. The malignancy rate in the present study was 19 (10.4%) of peritoneal fluid, 6 (5.9%) for pleural fluid,and 2 (4.1%) for CSF.Conclusion: Adenocarcinoma was the most common malignancy found in this study, which was in concordancewith the research conducted earlier, where gold standard investigations confirmed the findings. In the peritonealfluid, most of the patients had cirrhosis and tuberculosis. In pleural fluid and cerebrospinal fluid, most of them hadtuberculosis and chronic inflammatory conditions, respectively. Previous researchers confirmed similar findingsin their studies. It is seen that malignant and benign conditions like tuberculosis can be diagnosed well witheffusion cytology.

Molecular mechanisms underlying guanylin-induced transcellular Cl− secretion into the intestinal lumen of seawater-acclimated eels

Guanylin (GN) stimulates Cl− secretion into the intestinal lumen of seawater-acclimated eels, but the molecular mechanisms of transepithelial Cl− transport are still unknown. In Ussing chamber experiments, we confirmed that mucosal application of eel GN reversed intestinal serosa-negative potential difference, indicating Cl− secretion. Serosal application of DNDS or mucosal application of DPC inhibited the GN effect, but serosal application of bumetanide had no effect. Removal of HCO3– from the serosal fluid also inhibited the GN effect. In intestinal sac experiments, mucosal GN stimulated luminal secretion of both Cl− and Na+, which was blocked by serosal DNDS. These results suggest that Cl− is taken up at the serosal side by DNDS-sensitive anion exchanger (AE) coupled with Na+–HCO3– cotransporter (NBC) but not by Na+-K+-2Cl− cotransporter 1 (NKCC1), and Cl− is secreted by unknown DPC-sensitive Cl− channel (ClC) at the mucosal side. The transcriptomic analysis combined with qPCR showed low expression of NKCC1 gene and no upregulation of the gene after seawater transfer, while high expression of ClC2 gene and upregulation after seawater transfer. In addition, SO42− transporters (apical Slc26a3/6 and basolateral Slc26a1) are also candidates for transcellular Cl− secretion in exchange of luminal SO42. Na+ secretion could occur through a paracellular route, as Na+-leaky claudin15 was highly expressed and upregulated after seawater transfer. High local Na+ concentration in the lateral interspace produced by Na+/K+-ATPase (NKA) coupled with K+ channels (Kir5.1b) seems to facilitate the paracellular transport. In situ hybridization confirmed the expression of the candidate genes in the epithelial enterocytes. Together with our previous results, we suggest that GN stimulates basolateral NBCela/AE2 and apical ClC2 to increase transcellular Cl− secretion in seawater eel intestine, which differs from the involvement of apical CFTR and basolateral NKCC1 as suggested in mammals and other teleosts.

Importance of Serosal Fluid Cytology as an Aid to Primary Diagnosis: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Cytological study of fluids is an inexpensive, simple procedure and has significant utility in diagnosing neoplastic and non neoplastic lesions. The cytological examination of fluids in combination with physical examination helps identify aetiologic agents, follow the natural process of the disease and monitor the response to the treatment. Aim: To determine the diagnostic utility of serosal fluid cytology and analyse the incidence of neoplastic and non neoplastic lesions using serous fluid cytology. Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study comprising 375 cases conducted in a tertiary care hospital, Sangli, Maharashtra, India, from August to July 2021. Purposive sampling was used to recruit the participants. All the patients with pleural effusions, ascites or in whom Cerebral Spinal Fluid (CSF), pericardial and synovial fluids examination was indicated were included. The provisional diagnosis was obtained from case sheets, including relevant clinical information. Smears were prepared from freshly tapped specimens without adding anticoagulants and were processed by routine, conventional smear technique. The data were analysed using the SPSS version 22.0 for Windows. Numerical variables were reported as frequency and percentage. The chi-square test was used wherever necessary, and the p-value less than 0.05 were considered significant. Results: The peritoneal fluid was the most common fluid collected in the present study, followed by pleural fluid and CSF. The malignancy rate in the present study was 19 (10.4%) of peritoneal fluid, 6 (5.9%) for pleural fluid, and 2 (4.1%) for CSF. Adenocarcinoma was the most common malignancy found in present study. Conclusion: Adenocarcinoma was the most common malignancy found in this study, which was in concordance with the research conducted earlier, where gold standard investigations confirmed the findings. In the peritoneal fluid, most of the patients had cirrhosis and tuberculosis. In pleural fluid and cerebrospinal fluid, most of them had tuberculosis and chronic inflammatory conditions, respectively. Previous researchers confirmed similar findings in their studies. It is seen that malignant and benign conditions like tuberculosis can be diagnosed well with effusion cytology.

Clinical features and epidemiological analysis of respiratory human adenovirus infection in hospitalized children: a cross-sectional study in Zhejiang

BackgroundHAdV is one of the common pathogens in hospitalized children with acute respiratory infections (ARIs). We aim to describe the clinical and laboratory features, epidemiological characteristics, and HAdV species and/or types of inpatients with HAdV respiratory infections.MethodsRespiratory samples were gathered from inpatients diagnosed ARIs in Children’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, and were detected by using Direct Immunofluorescence Assay from 2018 to 2019. PCR amplification and sequencing of the hypervariable zone of hexon gene were used for genotyping. The clinical and laboratory features, and HAdV genotyping, and epidemiological characteristic analysis were retrospectively performed.ResultsOf 7072 samples collected, 488 were identified as HAdV-positive. The overall detection rate was 6.9%. The peaked detection rate was 14.1% in January 2019. HAdV-positive cases with ARIs mainly appeared in winter. The detection rate was highest among children between 6 months and 2 years (8.7%, 123/1408). Clinical diagnosis included pneumonia (70.3%, 343/488), bronchitis (7.0%, 34/488) and acute upper respiratory tract infection (22.7%, 111/488). The common clinical manifestations were fever (93.4%, 456/488), cough (94.7%, 462/488), wheezing (26.2%, 128/488), and shortness of breath (14.8%, 72/488). 213 (43.6%) cases had co-infection and 138 (28.3%) cases had extrapulmonary symptoms. 96(19.7%) cases had intrapulmonary and intrathoracic complications.78 (16.0%) had an underlying condition, most of which were congenital heart diseases (20.5%, 16/78). The proportions of hyperpyrexia, duration of fever > 10 days, severe pneumonia, and wheezing in the co-infection group were remarkably higher than those in HAdV single-infection group (all p < 0.05). The proportions of duration of hospitalization, duration of fever > 10 days, wheezing, shortness of breath, change in level of consciousness, serosal fluids, extrapulmonary symptoms, co-infections and underlying diseases were significantly higher in severe pneumonia group than those in the mild pneumonia group (all p < 0.05). Four HAdV species were successfully identified in 155 cases and presented by 8 genotypes. HAdV-B3 (56.1%, 87/155) and HAdV -B7 (31.0%, 48/155) were the most predominant detected types and occurred commonly in different severity groups (p = 0.000), while, HAdV-B55 was detected only in the severe group. HAdV-B7’s detection rate in the severe pneumonia group was significantly higher than the non-severe pneumonia group.ConclusionHAdV detection rate is related to age and season. Bronchopneumonia accounts for about 70% HAdV-positive inpatients. The common clinical manifestations include hyperpyrexia, cough, wheezing, and shortness of breath. HAdV-B3 and HAdV-B7 are the most common types in children diagnosed with respiration infections.

Diagnostic Utility of Combined CEA, CA15-3 and CA125 Biomarkers and Cytomorphology in Suspicious and Malignant Serosal Fluid.

Background & Objective:Early detection of malignancies in the serous fluids has been remained an issue. A classic diagnostic tool for the ascites and pleural effusions is cytologic study (morphology) with approximately 98% specificity for the detection of cancer cells. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic value of three complementary markers in the serosal fluids of patients with malignant cytology and suspected cases.Methods:Seventy two patients with serosal effusion treated in three teaching hospitals were studied. The cases underwent a diagnostic workup to determine the pleural effusion malignancy and etiologies. Complementary markers, including CEA, CA15-3, and CA125 were measured in serosal fluids of three categories of benign, suspicious, and malignant. The study was carried out by Chemiluminescence immunoalayzer. The morphologies were re-evaluated by a consulting Cytopathologist.Results:Of 72 serosal fluid specimens, 41 (56.9%) were related to pleural effusion and 31 (43.1%) were related to ascites. The sensitivity of CEA, CA125, and CA15-3 biomarkers were 64, 84, and 68%, respectively, and the specificity of each test was 100, 86, and 96%, respectively. This was statistically achieved for the combination of the area of markers below the curve (AUC), 0.93 and 90% sensitivity and 91% specificity. Conclusion:The results suggest that complementary CA125, CA15-3, and CEA markers assayed with well-developed immunoassay method might be useful in the differentiation between malignant and benign effusions while combined with conventional cytology. CA125 yielded a significant correlation between cytomorphology and biomarkers based on the correlation coefficient analysis.

The anxiolytic sertraline reduces the impact of psychological stress on bladder function in mice

AimsTo determine if treatment with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) sertraline reduces the bladder dysfunction caused by water avoidance stress in mice. Main methodsAdult female mice were randomly allocated to (1) Unstressed, (2) Stressed or (3) Stress + Sertraline experimental groups. Stressed mice were subjected to water avoidance for 1 h/day for 10 days and received sertraline or vehicle in drinking water, starting 10-days prior to the first stress exposure. Age matched control/unstressed mice were house under normal conditions without stress exposure. Voiding behaviour was assessed throughout the experimental protocol. After the final stress exposure, a blood sample was taken to measure plasma corticosterone levels and bladders were removed, catheterised and intravesical pressure responses recorded during distension and in response to pharmacological agents. Key findingsPlasma corticosterone levels in sertraline-treated animals were equivalent to unstressed controls and significantly decreased compared to the stressed group. Voiding frequency was significantly increased in the stressed group, and treatment with sertraline significantly decreased voiding frequency, however, this remained elevated compared to unstressed control animals. Bladders from stressed mice displayed enhanced maximal contractile response to the muscarinic agonist carbachol and greater release of ACh in the serosal fluid, which was reduced to control levels by sertraline treatment. Spontaneous phasic contractions were not altered by stress but were significantly reduced in bladders from sertraline treated animals, relative to controls. SignificanceThese results indicate that management of voiding dysfunction caused by psychological stress may be aided by the addition of an SSRI such as sertraline.

New sensible method to quantize the intestinal absorption of receptor ligands

In recent years, special attention has been paid to the A3 adenosine receptor (A3AR) as a possible pharmacological target to treat intestinal inflammation. In this work, it was set up a novel method to quantify the concentration of a promising anti-inflammatory agent inside and outside of intestinal barrier using the everted gut sac technique. The compound chosen for the present study is one of the most potent and selective A3AR agonist reported so far, named AR 170 (N6-methyl-2-phenylethynyl-5′-N-methylcarboxamidoadenosine). In order to evaluate the intestinal absorption of AR 170 the radioligand binding assay in comparison with HPLC-DAD was used. Results showed that the compound is absorbed via passive diffusion by paracellular pathway. The concentrations determined in the serosal (inside the sac) fluid by radioligand binding assay are in good agreement with those obtained through the widely used HPLC/MS protocol, demonstrating the reliability of the method. It is worthwhile to note that the radioligand binding assay allows detecting very low concentrations of analyte, thus offering an excellent tool to measure the intestinal absorption of receptor ligands. Moreover, the AR 170 quantity outside the gut sac and the interaction with A3AR could presuppose good topical anti-inflammatory effects of this compound.

Benign Pleural Mesothelial Cells Have Higher Osmotic Water Permeability than Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma Cells and Differentially Respond to Hyperosmolality.

Cell volume regulation is a critical mechanism for cell homeostasis and depends on the osmotic water permeability (Pf) of the cell plasma membrane. The Pf of human mesothelial cells is unknown although they contribute to serosal fluid turnover. In this study we measured the osmotic water permeability of benign human mesothelial cells (MeT-5A) and of epithelioid (M14K) and sarcomatoid (ZL34) malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) cells in response to acute hyperosmotic stress. We also assessed the changes in their Pf after preconditioning with 4% glucose for 24 hours. In both cases we also assessed the role of AQP1 inhibition (0.1 mM HgCl2) on the Pf. Finally, we assessed corresponding changes in the AQP1 plasma membrane availability by immunofluorescence. We report that MeT-5A cells have a significantly higher Pf as compared to M14K and ZL34 MPM cells [4.85E-03±2.37E-03 cm/sec (n=17) versus 2.74E-03±0.74E-03 cm/sec (n=11) and 2.86E-03±0.11E-03 cm/sec (n=11)]. AQP1 inhibition significantly decreased the Pf in all cells lines (p<0.001 in all cases). High glucose preconditioning for 24 hours significantly increased MeT-5A Pf (p<0.001), did not influence M14K Pf (p=0.19) and significantly reduced ZL34 Pf (p=0.02). Comparing cell lines after high glucose preconditioning, MeT-5A Pf was significantly higher than that of M14K and ZL34 MPM cells and the AQP1 inhibition effect was significant in MeT-5A and M14K cells. These results were corroborated by AQP1 immunofluorescence. We provide evidence for a differential regulation of Pf in benign and MPM cells that require further mechanistic investigation.

Immunocytochemistry Based on a Cell-Type-Specific Aptamer for Rapid Immunostaining of Adenocarcinoma Cells in Clinical Serosal Fluids

All too often, conventional immunocytochemistry (ICC) via an antibody on cytological samples is limited to a few smears due to scant cellularity. To circumvent these limitations, this study employed a cell-type-specific aptamer as the core tool in ICC protocols for a timely and highly specific ICC diagnosis. S6, an aptamer against A549 lung carcinoma cells, was adopted instead of antibodies in this study for differentiating cancer cells in serosal fluids. Here, we developed three different strategies for discriminating the adenocarcinoma cells in effusion cytology specimens using the S6 aptamer in ICC. These strategies included a biotin-labeled S6 aptamer, an FAM-labeled S6 aptamer, and an activatable S6 aptamer. A total of 112 serosal fluid specimens with known diagnoses were evaluated by all three modes of use of the S6 aptamer. ICC procedures based on biotin-labeled or FAM-labeled S6 aptamers required time-consuming washing to avoid interference from nonspecific adsorption. ICC procedures based on an activatable S6 aptamer probe showed a weak fluorescence signal in the absence of target cells, but the procedures showed a strong fluorescence signal due to alteration of the conformation without any complicated washing steps, in the presence of targets. The specificity and sensitivity are higher in all three different ICC protocols based on the S6 aptamer than those for antibody protocols for differentiating adenocarcinoma cells in clinical effusion cytology. ICC based on cell-type-specific aptamers, instead of on a panel of a set of antibodies, is promising as an auxiliary method for the diagnosis of cancer.

ISOLATION OF CUCURBITACIN-B FROM CUCUMIS CALLOSUS AND ITS HYPOGLYCEMIC EFFECT IN ISOLATED RAT ENTEROCYTES

Objective: The pericarp of fruits of Cucumis callous (Rottl.) Cogn. (Cucurbitaceae) is traditionally used for curing diabetes, epilepsy, and diarrhea. It has an active compound include Cucurbitacin-B (CuB), which acts as a potent inducer of CYP450 of rat enterocytes. This study was conducted with the aim of elaborating and reconciling our previous finding on the glucose-lowering effect of Cucumis callosus (Rottl.) Cogn. fruits.Methods: In vivo hypoglycemic potential for methanolic pericarp extracts from C callosus (MPCC, 350 mg/kg b.w. p. o), methanolic seed extract of C callosus (MSCC, 250 mg/kg b.w. p. o) and CuB (80 µg/kg b.w. p. o) were studied in streptozotocin (STZ, 55 mg/kg b.w. i. p) induced diabetic rats. Metformin (25 mg/kg b.w. p. o) served as reference drug. Ex vivo model of intestinal tissue preparation of Swiss albino rats named Single Pass Intestinal Perfusion (SPIP) technique was performed for ex vivo hypoglycemic study. The glucose levels in the serosal fluid were determined by commercially available glucose oxidase kit and compared with the standard drug metformin (0.1 mg/kg).Results: In vivo results showed that administration of MPCC (350 mg/kg b.w. p. o) and Cucurbitacin-B (80 µg/kg b.w. p. o) produced the hypoglycemic effect. The MPCC (1.4 mg/kg) and CuB (0.4 µg/kg) produced hypoglycemic effect in ex vivo technique. These effects are due to induction of 0.53 mµmoles of CYP450 proteins with maximum absorption at 454 mµ in rat enterocytes.Conclusion: The present investigation gave evidence that bitter pericarp of C callosus fruit has a hypoglycemic effect due to the presence of Cucurbitacin B as phytoconstituent but seeds did not have such effects.

Olbrzymia torbiel śledziony – opis przypadku

The case of a giant, nonparasitic splenic cyst, accidentally diagnosed in a young woman, is reported. The cyst was poorly-symptomatic, with only a discrete change of abdominal contour. The diagnosis was confirmed by USG and abdominal computed tomography scanning. The patient was operated on, and the cyst, containing 2.5 L of serosal fluid, was successfully excised, sparing almost the whole spleen. The postoperative course was uneventful, and histological examination showed the epidermoid character of the cyst.

Postprandial adjustments in renal phosphate excretion do not involve a gut-derived phosphaturic factor.

What is the central question of this study? Does a previously hypothesized signalling mechanism, believed to detect postprandial increases in intestinal phosphate and that can stimulate the kidneys to rapidly excrete phosphate, operate under physiological conditions? What is the main finding and its importance? Contrary to earlier reports, rapid signalling between the small intestine and kidney mediated by a gut-derived phosphaturic factor in response to a physiological intestinal phosphate load is not supported by the present findings; moreover, hyperphosphataemia and increased parathyroid hormone concentrations are likely to be the underlying factors responsible for the phosphaturia following a supraphysiological intestinal phosphate load. To date, the role of the small intestine in the regulation of postprandial phosphate homeostasis has remained unclear and controversial. Previous studies have proposed the presence of a gut-derived phosphaturic factor that acts independently of changes in plasma phosphate concentration or parathyroid hormone (PTH) concentration; however, these early studies used duodenal luminal phosphate concentrations in the molar range, and therefore, the physiological relevance of this is uncertain. In the present study, we used both in vivo and in vitro approaches to investigate the presence of this putative 'intestinal phosphatonin'. Instillation of 1.3m phosphate into the duodenum rapidly induced phosphaturia, but in contrast to previous reports, this was associated with significant hyperphosphataemia and elevated PTH concentration; however, there was not the expected decrease in abundance of the renal sodium-phosphate cotransporter NaPi-IIa. Instillation of a physiological (10mm) phosphate load had no effect on plasma phosphate concentration, PTH concentration or phosphate excretion. Moreover, phosphate uptake by opossum kidney cells was unaffected after incubation with serosal fluid collected from intestinal segments perfused with different concentrations of phosphate. Taken together, these findings do not support the concept of a gut-derived phosphaturic factor that can mediate rapid signalling between the gut and kidney, leading to increased urinary phosphate excretion, as part of normal phosphate homeostasis.

Iron transport across the skin and gut epithelia of Pacific hagfish: Kinetic characterisation and effect of hypoxia

In most animals, the acquisition of the essential trace metal iron (Fe) is achieved by the gut, but in hagfishes, the skin is a nutrient absorbing epithelium, and thus may also play a role in Fe uptake. In the current study, the absorption of Fe, as Fe(II), across the intestinal and cutaneous epithelia of Pacific hagfish (Eptatretus cirrhatus) was investigated. Both epithelia absorbed Fe, with saturation at lower tested concentrations, superseded by a diffusive component at higher Fe exposure concentrations. Affinity constants (Km) of 9.4 and 137μM, and maximal Fe transport rates (Jmax) of 0.81 and 0.57nmolcm−2h−1 were determined for the skin and the gut, respectively. This characterises the skin as a relatively high-affinity Fe transport epithelium. The majority of the absorbed Fe in the skin remained in the tissue, whereas in the gut, most absorbed Fe was found in the serosal fluid, suggesting distinct mechanisms of Fe handling between the two epithelia. To determine if reduced dissolved oxygen altered Fe transport, hagfish were subjected to hypoxia for 24h, before Fe transport was again assessed. Hypoxia had no effect on Fe transport across gut or skin, likely owing to the relative lack of change in haematological variables, and thus an unaltered Fe demand under such conditions. These data are the first to kinetically characterise the absorption of a nutritive trace metal across the epithelia of hagfish and add to the growing understanding of the role of the skin in nutritive transport in this group.

Fluid and glucose transport across intestinal epithelium following honey intake in rats

The effect of honey intake on fluid and glucose absorption in rats was studied using everted sacs intestine techniques. Twelve rats (180-200 gm) were randomly selected and grouped into the control (A) and honey-fed (test) group (B) with six rats in each group. The control group was fed with rat chow and water while the test group was fed with rat chow, water and honey. The experiment lasted for 4 weeks excluding two weeks of acclimatization. The animals were scarified at the end of study and the abdomen opened immediately, and the intestine dissected out. 10 cm long of the intestine (2 from jejunum, 2 from ileum) were cut out and used for the everted sacs experiment. The results showed that honey intake did not affect fluid transport but affected glucose transport across the small intestine. There were no significant differences observed in initial wet weight (IWW), initial serosal volume (ISV) and final serosal volume (FSV) in both the test and control groups (p&gt;0.05). No significant differences were also observed in mucosal fluid transfer (MET), serosal fluid transfer (SET) and gut fluid uptake (GFU) in both the test and control groups (p&gt;0.05). However, mucosal glucose transfer (MGT), serosal glucose transfer (SGT) and GGU, while MGT and SGT were significantly higher in the test group compared to the control (p&lt;0.05), the gut glucose uptake (GGU) was however significantly reduced in the test compared with the control (p&lt;0.05). It is therefore concluded that honey intake significantly reduced GGU while it significantly increased MGT and SGT in the intestinal epithelium of Wister rats.

Vascular leakage in dengue--clinical spectrum and influence of parenteral fluid therapy.

Clinical management of dengue relies on careful monitoring of fluid balance combined with judicious intravenous (IV) fluid therapy. However, in patients with significant vascular leakage, IV fluids may aggravate serosal fluid accumulation and result in respiratory distress. Trained physicians followed suspected dengue cases prospectively at seven hospitals across Asia and Latin America, using a comprehensive case report form that included daily clinical assessment and detailed documentation of parenteral fluid therapy. Applying Cox regression, we evaluated risk factors for the development of shock or respiratory distress with fluid accumulation. Most confirmed dengue patients (1524/1734, 88%) never experienced dengue shock syndrome (DSS). Among those with DSS, 176/210 (84%) had fluid accumulation, and in the majority (83%), this was detectable clinically. Among all cases with clinically detectable fluid accumulation, 179/447 (40%) were diagnosed with shock or respiratory distress. The risk for respiratory distress with fluid accumulation increased significantly as the infused volume over the preceding 24 h increased (hazard ratio 1.18 per 10 ml/kg increase; P < 0.001). Longer duration of IV therapy, use of a fluid bolus in the preceding 24 h, female gender and poor nutrition also constituted independent risk factors. Shock and respiratory distress are relatively rare manifestations of dengue, but some evidence of fluid accumulation is seen in around 50% of cases. IV fluids play a crucial role in management, but they must be administered with caution. Clinically and/or radiologically detectable fluid accumulations have potential as intermediate severity endpoints for therapeutic intervention trials and/or pathogenesis studies.

The use of malignant serosal fluid as a tumor vaccine in patients with advance malignancies

After getting approval from IRB 15 patients were treated with the vaccine prepared from their own malignant serosal fluid. This study was done 1990. These were patients who had all conventional chemotherapy and have failed and had progressive disease. The serosal fluid was heat treated under aseptic condition so as to maintain the antigenecity but to lose the virulence of the malignant cells. The fluid then was injected subcutaneously half cc QOD first week and twice week second week and then once week. The patients were informed to report any unusual symptoms such as fever, rash or swelling at the injection site or any systemic effects. The patients were examined every month by the physician and the appropriate radiological work up was done every three months or earlier if needed. All the laboratory work was done to begin with and every fourth week.

A study of CA-125 in patients with pleural effusion

A significant concern of physicians treating patients with pleural effusion is to rule out a malignant etiology, which, in the majority of series, is the first cause of pleural exudates. Determination of tumor markers in serum and pleural fluid has been proposed as a nonaggressive means of establishing a diagnosis of pleural malignancy. Cancer antigen 125 (CA-125) is not a specific tumor marker and it is synthesized by normal and malignant cells of different origins. Recently, it has been shown that various diseases are associated with increased CA-125 levels, especially in the presence of serosal fluid. The aim of this study was to determine the level of serum and pleural fluid CA-125 to evaluate its value as a marker for differentiation between different types of pleural effusion. The study was carried out on 30 patients with pleural effusion of different etiologies. They were further subdivided into two groups: exudates and transudates; the levels of both serum and pleural fluid CA-125 were evaluated. In terms of pleural CA-125, there was a statistically significant increase in the exudative subgroup compared with transudative subgroup. Furthermore, it was found that malignant effusion was observed more frequently compared with benign effusion and tuberculosis was observed more frequently in comparison with other infections. The highest level of pleural fluid CA-125 was found in malignancy, followed by tuberculosis, and so pleural fluid CA-125 can be used as a marker for the diagnosis of pleural effusion. Egypt J Broncho 2015 9:283–286

Short communication: Difructose anhydride III promotes calcium absorption from the duodenum in cattle

Difructose anhydride (DFA) III promotes the intestinal absorption of calcium via a paracellular pathway in rats. In dairy cows, DFA III reaches the duodenum without being degraded by ruminal bacteria and hence could be used to control hypocalcemia. The aims of the present study were to investigate the percentage of DFA III that appears in the duodenum of cows and to determine the effect of DFA III on calcium absorption from duodenal fluid. The first experiment was performed in 3 ruminally and duodenally cannulated dry Holstein cows in a 3×3 Latin square design. Each experimental period lasted 7 d. On the first day, the cows were ruminally fed one of the following treatments: 0 (DFA0), 50 (DFA50), or 100 (DFA100) g/d of DFA III, using cobalt-EDTA as a liquid phase marker. Difructose anhydride III was detected in duodenal fluid 1 h after feeding, and its concentration peaked 4 h after feeding, in a dose-dependent manner. The percentages of DFA III that appeared in the duodenum after the DFA50 and DFA100 treatments were 69.1±7.0% and 67.9±5.6%, respectively. The second experiment used the everted duodenal sacs of cattle (n=7 in each group). Sacs were incubated in artificial mucosal fluid containing 1 mM DFA III or no DFA III (control) for 60min with 100% O2 in a water bath at 37°C. After incubation, the calcium concentration of the artificial serosal fluid in the everted sacs was measured. Calcium absorption was higher in the DFA III-treated group than in the control group (803±161 and 456±74 nmol/cm of sac, respectively). The above results demonstrate that approximately 70% of administered DFA III reached the duodenum of cows intact. Moreover, similar to its effects on calcium absorption in rats, DFA III promoted calcium absorption via a paracellular pathway in the duodenum of cows.