Paradoxical vocal fold motion: Presentation and treatment options

Paradoxical vocal fold motion is a rare disorder in which adduction of the folds occurs on inspiration. The disorder presents with signs of airway obstruction and often airway distress, so proper diagnosis by the otorhinolaryngologist is critical to subsequent management. We present a retrospective review of 10 patients with the diagnosis of paradoxical vocal fold motion seen over a 6-year period. Eight patients were females, and 6 required an acute airway intervention at presentation; 3 patients eventually underwent tracheotomy for respiratory decompensation. Six patients had a prior diagnosis of asthma, and this was determined to contribute to their respiratory status. Five patients were treated with botulinum toxin and 2 with flexible nasolaryngoscopic biofeedback, which improved the outcome. A review of the literature confirms a female predominance of patients presenting with paradoxical adduction and airway distress, often with a history of asthma and psychopathology. Our experience with botulinum toxin and biofeedback suggests that these procedures are viable treatment options in the management of patients with this disorder.     

农产品与饲料中T-2毒素免疫亲和柱净化-液相色谱串联质谱检测技术研究

利用T-2毒素单克隆抗体2G7和CNBr活化的Sepharose 4B研制出T-2免疫亲和柱,考察了T-2免疫亲和柱的最佳应用条件。利用免疫亲和柱,建立了农产品与饲料中T-2毒素免疫亲和柱净化/液相色谱-串联质谱(IAC/LC-MS/MS)确证性检测技术,并考察该方法的准确度和精密度。结果表明,T-2毒素在0.5~500.0 ng/g范围内线性关系良好,相关系数为0.999 7,检出限为0.05 ng/g,定量下限为0.17 ng/g。大米、玉米、饲料样品在T-2毒素10,50,100 ng/g的加标水平下,回收率为92.9%~109.7%,相对标准偏差为2.1%~8.3%。对市售36份农产品与饲料样品进行测定,检测结果的相对标准偏差均小于10.0%。     

A capacitive immunosensor for detection of cholera toxin

Contamination of food with biological toxins as well as their potential use as weapons of mass destruction has created an urge for rapid and cost effective analytical techniques capable of detecting trace amounts of these toxins. This paper describes the development of a sensitive method for detection of cholera toxin (CT) using a flow-injection capacitive immunosensor based on self-assembled monolayers. The sensing surface consists of monoclonal antibodies against the B subunit of CT (anti-CT), immobilized on a gold transducer. Experimental results show that the immunosensor responded linearly to CT concentrations in the range from 1.0 × 10⁻¹³ to 1.0 × 10⁻¹⁰ M under optimized conditions. The limit of detection (LOD) was 1.0 × 10⁻¹⁴ M. Two more analytical methods were employed for detection of CT using the same antibody namely, sandwich ELISA and surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based immunosensor. The former had an LOD of 1.2 × 10⁻¹² M and a working range from 3.7 × 10⁻¹¹ to 2.9 × 10⁻¹⁰ M whereas, the later had an LOD of 1.0 × 10⁻¹¹ M and a linearity ranging from 1.0 × 10⁻⁹ to 1.0 × 10⁻⁶ M. These results demonstrate that the developed capacitive immunosensor system has a higher sensitivity than the other two techniques. The binding affinity of CT to the immobilized anti-CT was determined using the SPR-based immunosensor and an association constant (K_A) of 1.4 × 10⁹ M⁻¹ was estimated.     

高效液相色谱分析鱼毒性藻类海洋卡盾藻溶血毒素

采用高效液相色谱技术(HPLC)分离和分析了海洋卡盾藻(香港株)溶血毒素的甲醇粗提物,通过对比不同流动相、检测波长、等度和梯度洗脱方式,初步建立了分析其溶血毒素的HPLC方法.结果表明,采用梯度洗脱的方法,海洋卡盾藻溶血毒素的粗提物在50 min内取得了较好地分离.色谱条件为C8硅胶柱(4.6 mm× 150 mm,5 μm),流动相为乙腈和水,梯度洗脱(0～10 min,60％→80％乙腈;10～40 min,80％ →90％乙腈;40～50 min,90％乙腈);紫外检测器检测波长为205和448nm;流速为0.8 mL/min;柱温为25℃.用兔血红细胞法对各个主要色谱峰进行溶血活性检测显示,海洋卡盾藻(香港株)的溶血毒素至少含有5种成分.光谱分析显示一种成分的紫外吸收高峰在448 nm,一种未完全分离的混合组分的紫外吸收高峰为440和446nm,另外3种成分的紫外吸收高峰为205 nm.     

超高效液相色谱串联质谱法检测食品中蜡样芽孢杆菌呕吐毒素Cereulide

建立了快速检测食品中蜡样芽孢杆菌呕吐毒素Cereulide的超高效液相色谱三重四极杆质谱联用分析方法.样品提取液经硅胶和Carb固相萃取柱净化后,以0.1％甲酸-0.2 mmol/L乙酸铵溶液和0.1％甲酸-乙腈溶液作为流动相进行梯度洗脱,在Acquity BEH 300 C18柱上实现分离,正离子ESI-MS/MS MRM方式检测,以13C6-Cereulide作为内标的稳定同位素稀释法进行定量分析.一次进样分析时间为7 min.米饭、添加33％玉米胚油的米饭和婴儿配方奶粉中平均加标回收率分别为85.7％～87.5％,85.3％～110％和94.2％～113％;相对标准偏差为4.6％～13％,5.9％～9.1％和3.4％～6.5％(n=6);定量限为10 ng/kg (S/N=10).方法灵敏、准确,适合于食品样品中Cereulide的测定,并已成功应用于食物中毒样品的检测.     

藻类肝毒素的富集提取与分离

采用固相萃取（SPE）和高效液相色谱法（HPLC）对蓝绿藻肝毒素进行富集与分离。以悦目颤藻为研究对象,选择最佳方式破坏其细胞,使其释放出细胞内肝毒素,对肝毒素进行SPE富集提取。用反相HPLC技术,以C18柱作分离术,32%乙腈-水（含0.01mol/L乙酸铵）为流动相,达到了对藻类肝毒素的良好分离。     

白喉毒素活性中心的量子化学计算与149位突变体的酶学动力学

通过量子化学计算确定白喉毒素分子催化区活性中心的关键氨基酸残基, 评价其取代后的酶活性的改变, 为导向性抗癌药物研究提供高效杀伤细胞工具. 结合目前关于白喉毒素结构与功能的研究状况和量子化学计算结果, 将白喉毒素催化区的第149位酪氨酸突变为苯丙氨酸, 对其酶活性和与底物的结合能力进行评价. Y149位酪氨酸位于正电中心, 起受电子作用, 与野生白喉毒素相比, 苯丙氨酸突变体的酶催化活性增加约一倍, 而与底物结合能力没有变化. Y149是酶活性中心的关键氨基酸残基, 对其取代能够影响蛋白质的生物活性.     

A comparison of injection techniques using botulinum toxin injection for treatment of the spasmodic dysphonias

The benefit duration and side effects following effective treatment of spasmodic dysphonia or voice tremor using botulinum toxin injection were studied following 477 open trial unilateral or bilateral injections provided to 178 patients. A comparison of unilateral and bilateral injections in male and female patients with adductor spasmodic dysphonia demonstrated an increased benefit duration following unilateral injections in women, longer periods of breathiness in men than in women following bilateral or unilateral injections, and a trend for reduced benefit durations following repeated treatments using bilateral injections. Outcomes were similar in the adductor spasmodic dysphonia and vocal tremor groups following thyroarytenoid injection while benefit durations were reduced and side effects lasted longer in patients with abductor spasmodic dysphonia following cricothyroid injections. Long-term benefit > 1 year occurred in 12.3% of patients following injection.     

Affinity capillary electrophoresis for the assessment of binding affinity of carbohydrate‐based cholera toxin inhibitors

Developing tools for the study of protein carbohydrate interactions is an important goal in glycobiology. Cholera toxin inhibition is an interesting target in this context, as its inhibition may help to fight against cholera. For the study of novel ligands an affinity capillary electrophoresis (ACE) method was optimized and applied. The method uses unlabeled cholera toxin B‐subunit (CTB) and unlabeled carbohydrate ligands based on ganglioside GM1‐oligosaccharides (GM1os). In an optimized method at pH 4, adsorption of the protein to the capillary walls was prevented by a polybrene‐dextran sulfate‐polybrene coating. Different concentrations of the ligands were added to the BGE. CTB binding was observed by a mobility shift that could be used for dissociation constant (K_d) determination. The K_d values of two GM1 derivatives differed by close to an order of magnitude (600 ± 20 nM and 90 ± 50 nM) which was in good agreement with the differences in their reported nanomolar IC₅₀ values of an ELISA‐type assay. Moreover, the selectivity of GM1os towards CTB was demonstrated using Influenza hemagglutinin (H5) as a binding competitor. The developed method can be an important platform for preclinical development of drugs targeting pathogen‐induced secretory diarrhea.