反复上呼吸道感染患儿发样微量元素锌,铜,铁检测结果分析

采用示波极谱法对１８３名反复上呼吸道感染患儿及１１８名健康体检儿同时进行发样锌，铁，铜测定，结果表明，反复上呼吸道感染儿发锌，铁均低于健康体检儿，有高度显著性差异，铜只在婴儿组反复感儿高于健康体检儿，其它各年龄组反复上感儿低于健康栓检儿或无显著性差异，说明以２儿童进行常规发样微量元素普查，发现低锌，低铁者及时给予补充，可减少感染性疾病的发生率。铜与免疫功能的关系尚待研究。     

微量元素锌与反复呼吸道感染的相关性

对28例反复呼吸道感染患儿(下称复感儿)及26例健康儿进行微量元素发锌测定。发现前者发锌平均值为(92.3±14.7)×10~(-6),后者为(132.5±21.5)×10~(-6),P<0.01,差异非常显著。对复感儿进行口服锌治疗,观察其疗效及治疗前后发锌变化。治疗前发锌平均值为(92.3±14.7)×10~(-6),治疗后为(137.5±20.2)×10~(-6),P<0.01差异非常显著。有效率达85.7％。故缺锌可能是复感儿患病的影响因素之一,锌治疗小儿反复呼吸道感染是十分必要的。     

Toward a new generation of therapeutics

Scientific evidence in the prevention and treatment of various disorders is accumulating regarding probiotics. The health benefits supported by adequate clinical data include increased resistance to infectious disease, decreased duration of diarrhea, management of inflammatory bowel disease, reduction of serum cholesterol, prevention of allergy, modulation of cytokine gene expression, and suppression of carcinogen production. Recent ventures in metabolic engineering and heterologous protein expression have enhanced the enzymatic and immunomodulatory effects of probiotics and, with time, may allow more active intervention among critical care patients. In addition, a number of approaches are currently being explored, including the physical and chemical protection of cells, to increase probiotic viability and its health benefits. Traditional immobilization of probiotics in gel matrices, most notably calcium alginate and κ-carrageenan, has frequently been employed, with noted improvements in viability during freezing and storage. Conflicting reports exist, however, on the protection offered by immobilization from harsh physiologic environments. An alternative approach, microencapsulation in “artificial cells,” builds on immobilization technologies by combining enhanced mechanical stability of the capsule membrane with improved mass transport, increased cell loading, and greater control of parameters. This review summarizes the current clinical status of probiotics, examines the promises and challenges of current immobilization technologies, and presents the concept of artificial cells for effective delivery of therapeutic bacterial cells.     

Rapid and sensitive detection of lower respiratory tract infections by stuffer‐free multiplex ligation‐dependent probe amplification

Lower respiratory tract infection is one of the most common infectious diseases. However, conventional methods for detecting infectious pathogens are time‐consuming, and generally have a limited impact on early therapeutic decisions. We previously reported a rapid and sensitive method for detecting such pathogens using stuffer‐free multiplex ligation‐dependent probe amplification coupled with high‐resolution CE‐SSCP. In this study, we report an application of this method to the detection of respiratory pathogens. As originally configured, this method was capable of simultaneously detecting seven bacterial species responsible for lower respiratory tract infections, but its detection limit and assay time were insufficient to provide useful information for early therapeutic decisions. To improve sensitivity and shorten assay time, we added a target‐specific preamplification step, improving the detection limit from 50 pg of genomic DNA to 500 fg. We further decreased time requirements by optimizing the hybridization step, enabling the entire assay to be completed within 7 h while maintaining the same detection limit. Taken together, these improvements enable the rapid detection of infectious doses of pathogens (i.e. a few dozen cells), establishing the strong potential of the refined method, particularly for aiding early treatment decisions.     

Vocal Tract Resonance Analysis of Aging Voice Using Long-Term Average Spectra

This study is the first to use long-term average spectra (LTAS) to investigate resonance characteristics of dynamic speech in young adulthood and old age. A total of 80 speakers participated, divided equally by age group and gender. All elderly speakers were healthy, active members of the community. Measurement of the first three spectral peaks in LTAS from the first paragraph of the Rainbow Passage revealed significant lowering of peak 1 from young adulthood to old age in both men and women. Peaks 2 and 3 also lowered significantly across the adult lifespan in women and showed a tendency to lower in men. These acoustic findings are consistent with anatomic data suggesting that aging results in lengthening of the supraglottic vocal tract. Findings that women demonstrate more substantial lowering of spectral peaks with aging than men suggest that women may undergo more pronounced age-related lengthening of the supraglottic vocal tract. Alternatively, it is possible that elderly men systematically alter tongue position during vowel articulation while elderly women are less inclined to do so. Taken in conjunction with previous research, these findings suggest a "mixed model" of vocal tract resonance changes with aging in which an interaction exists between gender, the resonance effects of laryngeal lowering, and vowel articulatory patterns.