Investigation of the cell composition and gene expression in the delayed-type hypersensitivity tuberculin skin test

Dear Editor,The tuberculin skin test(TST)reagents have continuously improved,with the ESAT6-CFP10(EC)test having recently been introduced,but are seldom based on the direction of the delayed-type hypersensitivity(DTH)mechanism.Previous studies only partially showed the infiltration and activation of immune cells and the production of cytokines of the skin induration[1,2],and lack the detailed measurements of cell proportions and gene expression in the DTH response.Therefore,in this study,we revealed the comprehensive characteristics of DTH by single-cell RNA sequencing(scRNA-seq)in the guinea pig tuberculosis(TB)model[Experimental Animal Welfare Ethics Committee,Beijing Tuberculosis and Thoracic Tumor Research Institute(2021-064)].

Performance and correlation of QuantiFERON-TB Gold, T-SPOT.TB and tuberculin skin test in young children with or exposed to tuberculosis

Objective:To evaluate the performance of interferon gamma release assays and tuberculin skin test in Bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccinated young children.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted in healthy children younger than 5 years who were recently diagnosed with tuberculosis or had recent exposure to active tuberculosis.QuantiFERON-TB Gold,T-SPOT.TB and tuberculin skin test were performed in each patient.Results:Of the 60 children,median age 3.3 years,17 had tuberculosis and 43 had recent tuberculosis exposure.Overall,15(25.0%)children had tuberculin skin test reaction≥10 mm;8(13.3%)were positive by QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube test,and 12(20.0%)by T-SPOT.TB.Nineteen(31.7%)children had at least one positive test.There was a moderate agreement between interferon gamma release assays and tuberculin skin test.Conclusions:The positive rates of interferon gamma release assays and tuberculin skin test were low in young children who were infected with tuberculosis,supporting the management strategy of not testing children younger than 5 years.

Performance and correlation of interferon gamma release assays and tuberculin skin test in HIV-infected children and adolescents with immune reconstitution

Objective:To evaluate the performance of interferon gamma release assays and tuberculin skin test in HIV-infected children and adolescents with immune reconstitution.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted in HIV-infected patients aged 5-18 years receiving antiretroviral treatment with CD4 T-lymphocytes>25%or>500 cells/mm3 for at least 6 months.QuantiF ERON-TB Gold,T-SPOT.TB,and tuberculin skin test were performed in each patient.Results:A total of 50 patients were enrolled with median age of 13.7 years,CD4 counts of 753(IQR:587-989)cells/mm3.Among 27 patients with tuberculosis(16)or tuberculosis exposure(11),8(29.6%)were positive to at least one test,2(7.4%)were positive QuantiFERON-TB Gold,3(11.1%)positive T-SPOT.TB,and 7(25.9%)had tuberculin skin test≥5 mm.Among 23 patients without history of tuberculosis or exposure,all had negative interferon gamma release assays,while 2(8.7%)had positive tuberculin skin test.Conclusions:All tests had low sensitivity despite immune reconstitution.

Anaphylaxis to Skin Prick Testing in a 29-Year-Old Woman

Introduction: Skin prick testing (SPT) is a common test to diagnose IgE sensitization and the rate of adverse reactions is very low. Case Presentation: 29-year-old woman with anaphylactic reaction to routine SPT with 11 allergens (aero and food). Discussion: Allergy profile included multiple food and inhalant allergies, polysensitization, prior episode of anaphylaxis to mushrooms, active eczema and active hay fever but not active asthma. Conclusion: Anaphylaxis to SPT, although a rare event, is unpredictable necessitating availability of appropriate personnel and adequate resuscitation facilities for all testing.

Indications, Interpretation and Clinical Consequences of Tuberculin Skin Tests in Resource Limited Settings

Objective: to evaluate the policy of TST testing in Suriname. As there is no gold standard to diagnose latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI), the tuberculin skin test (TST) is used to diagnose LTBI. However, internationally, the cut-off values of the TST are not uniform and depend on local tuberculosis (TB) epidemiology and guidelines for test initiation. In Suriname, where currently several indications exist for TSTs, cut-off values are set at 5 mm or 10 mm, depending on the age and/or medical history of the patient. LTBI classification is performed by pulmonologists primarily based on the American Thoracic Society targeted TB testing guidelines. Method: retrospective analysis of outpatient TST data between 2011 and 2019 from Suriname’s sole pulmonary medicine clinic. Result: 1373 patients were evaluated. 590 patients were from the screening group of whom 253 had a positive TST result, 46 of whom were classified as LTBI. In the contact tracing group of 649 patients, 616 had a positive TST, 352 of whom were classified as LTBI. In the medical condition group of 134 patients, 96 had a positive TST, 38 of whom were classified as LTBI. Eventually, positive TST results were found for 965 tested patients: 436 patients were classified as LTBI and 529 non-LTBI patients were not prescribed chemoprophylaxis. None of the non-LTBI TST-positive patients were diagnosed with active TB, including 174 patients with a TST result of 15 mm or greater and in need of IPT, but not prescribed by judgement of the pulmonologist or because of loss to follow-up. Conclusion: the overrepresentation of positive TST results in Suriname is attributable to stringent cut-off values, especially among patients who do not disclose TB risk factors. In our opinion the TST cut-off value for such patients in Suriname and other similar settings could be set at 15 mm. We also promote that for all patients with a TST result of 15 mm or greater, offering IPT should be considered (after excluding active TB).

Comparison between Quanti-FERON-TB Gold In-Tube test and tuberculin skin test for diagnosis of latent tuberculosis in children: A cross-section study

Objective: To compare Quanti-FERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT-GIT) test and tuberculin skin test (TST) for the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection in children. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 64 participants who were between 3 months and 14 years old and had close contact with smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis were included. Both QFT-GIT test and TST were done and the results were analyzed by SPSS software and Kappa test. Results: The distribution of gender and age according to QFT-GIT and TST results were matched (P>0.05). Overall agreement between QFT-GIT and TST for diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection in children was 75%. In addition, the contingency coefficient was 0.257, and the Kappa measure of agreement was 0.246 (P=0.034). Conclusions: Compared to TST, QFT-GIT shows no apparent advantage for diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection in children.

Multi-Test Ⅱ点刺器在儿童过敏原皮肤点刺试验中的应用评价

目的初步评价Multi-TestⅡ点刺器在儿童过敏原皮肤点刺试验(SPT)中的适用性。方法选取2017年3～9月就诊的87例过敏性疾病患儿为研究对象,均进行6种吸入性过敏原的SPT和血清特异性IgE(sIgE)测定。分别应用单点刺针及Multi-TestⅡ点刺器于患儿左、右前臂进行SPT的测定,应用荧光酶联免疫法进行血清s IgE浓度的测定。用视觉模拟评分(VAS)标尺评估患儿接受SPT的疼痛程度。比较3种方法 6种过敏原的阳性检出率分布差异及Multi-TestⅡ点刺器的灵敏度和特异度。结果 Multi-TestⅡ法、单点刺针法、荧光酶联免疫法3种方法检出6种过敏原的阳性率比较差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。与单点刺针法比较,Multi-TestⅡ法灵敏度为72.7%,特异度为78.2%;与荧光酶联免疫法比较,Multi-TestⅡ法灵敏度为73.4%、特异度为77.5%。Multi-TestⅡ法较单点刺针法疼痛程度低,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。结论 Multi-TestⅡ法灵敏度及特异度较高且易被患儿接受,但测定结果需同时与患儿的临床病史相结合,必要时结合血清特异性IgE测定结果。

LDRA TestBed在CTCS2-200C扩展单元软件测试中的应用

介绍了LDRA Test Bed软件测试工具和CTCS2-200C扩展单元,以CTCS2-200C为例,通过对软件进行静态和动态测试,参照EN 50128:2011标准,提高了整个软件开发生命周期中的各项验证和确认活动效率,降低了软件的风险。

血清胃蛋白酶原、胃泌素-17在鸡皮样胃炎中的应用研究

目的:探究血清胃蛋白酶原、胃泌素-17(G-17)在鸡皮样胃炎中的应用价值。方法:选取2023年1—10月赣州市人民医院收治的80例内镜下发现鸡皮样胃炎及^(14)C呼气试验阳性患者作为观察组,另选择本院同期80例体检健康者作为对照组。比较两组胃蛋白酶原Ⅰ(PGⅠ)、胃蛋白酶原Ⅱ(PGⅡ)、G-17的水平。观察组进行抗鸡皮样胃炎幽门螺杆菌(Hp)感染治疗,评估观察组治疗后预后情况,根据^(14)C呼气试验结果分为预后良好组和预后不良组,分析两组的血清胃蛋白酶原及G-17。分析血清胃蛋白酶原、G-17联合检测对鸡皮样胃炎的诊断价值。结果:观察组PGⅠ、PGR、G-17表达值均低于对照组(P<0.05),两组PGⅡ表达水平比较,差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。治疗后,预后良好组PGⅠ、PGR、G-17水平明显高于预后不良组(P<0.05)。PGⅠ、PGR、G-17联合检测的敏感度和特异度均高于PGⅠ、PGR、G-17单项检测。结论:血清胃蛋白酶原、G-17、^(14)C呼气试验检测在鸡皮样胃炎的临床诊断中都具有一定的价值,通过检测胃蛋白酶原、G-17可评估患者的临床治疗效果,且G-17和胃蛋白酶原联合检测对鸡皮样胃炎具有较高的诊断价值。

Design of a Biomimetic Skin for an Octopus-Inspired Robot - Part Ⅱ： Development of the Skin Artefact

In order to develop skin artefact for an octopus-inspired robot arm, which is designed to be able to elongate 60% of its original length, silicone nlbber and knitted nylon sheet were selected to manufacture an artificial skin, due to their higher elastic strain and high flexibility. Tensile and scissors cutting tests were conducted to characterise the matrix and reinforcing materials and the skin artefact. Material properties of the individual and the composite materials were compared with the measured properties of real octopus skin presented ill Part I. The Young＇s modulus of the skin should be below 20 MPa and the elastic strain range should be over 60%. The fracture toughness should be at least 0.9 kJ.m 2. Tubes made of the skin artefact filled with liquid were tested to study volume change under deformation. Finite element analysis model was developed to simulate the material and arm structure under tensile loading. Results show that the skin artefact developed has similar mechanical properties as the real octopus skin and satisfies all the design specifications of the OCTOPUS robot.

Food intolerance and skin prick test in treated and untreated irritable bowel syndrome

AIM： To correlate the clinical features of treated and untreated patients with irritable bowel syndrome （IBS） to the results of skin prick test （SPT） for food and inhalant allergens. METHODS： We recruited 105 subjects to form three different target groups： treated group （n=44） undergoing treatment for IBS, untreated group （n =31） meeting the Rome Ⅱ criteria without treatment for IBS, control group （n = 30） with no IBS symptoms. RESULTS： SPT results were different among the three groups in which SPT was positive in 17 （38.6%） treated patients, in 5 （16.1%） untreated patients and in 1 （3.3%） control （P〈0.01）. The number of positive SPTs was greater in the IBS group than in the control group （P〈 0.001）. The number of positive food SPTs was higher in the treated IBS group than in the untreated IBS group （P= 0.03）. CONCLUSION： Positive food SPT is higher in IBS patients than in controls.

Pulsed Eddy Current Non-destructive Testing and Evaluation:A Review

Pulsed eddy current （PEC） non-destructive test- ing and evaluation （NDT＆E） has been around for some time and it is still attracting extensive attention from researchers around the globe, which can be witnessed through the reports reviewed in this paper. Thanks to its richness of spectral components, various applications of this technique have been proposed and reported in the lit- erature covering both structural integrity inspection and material characterization in various industrial sectors. To support its development and for better understanding of the phenomena around the transient induced eddy currents, attempts for its modelling both analytically and numeri- cally have been made by researchers around the world. This review is an attempt to capture the state-of-the-art development and applications of PEC, especially in the last 15 years and it is not intended to be exhaustive. Future challenges and opportunities for PEC NDT＆E are also presented.

Skin Sensitive Difference of Human Body Sections under Clothing— Smirnov Test of Skin Surface Temperatures' Dynamic Changing

Skin sensitive difference of human body sections under clothing is the theoretic foundation of thermal insulation clothing design. By a new method of researching on clothing comfort perception, the skin temperature live changing procedure of human body sections affected by the same cold stimulation is inspected. Furthermore with the Smirnov test the skin temperatures dynamic changing patterns of main human body sections are obtained.

Relationship between Serum Specific IgE and Allergen Skin Test in Allergic Patients of Wuhan Area

Summary: In order to study the relationship between serum specific IgE (sIgE) and allergen skin test, allergen skin tests and detections of sIgE in 220 allergic patients of Wuhan area were analyzed. The coherent rate of the two methods was beyond 70 % (P<0.01). It was concluded that the in vitro and in vivo detection methods of allergens have a high coherence and can be used as the effective ways to diagnose the allergic diseases in clinical practice.

The 0-1 test algorithm for chaos and its applications

To determine whether a given deterministic nonlinear dynamic system is chaotic or periodic, a novel test approach named zero-one （0-1） test has been proposed recently. In this approach, the regular and chaotic motions can be decided by calculating the parameter K approaching asymptotically to zero or one. In this study, we focus on the 0-1 test algorithm and illustrate the selection of parameters of this algorithm by numerical experiments. To validate the reliability and the universality of this algorithm, it is applied to typical nonlinear dynamic systems, including fractional-order dynamic system.

Optimization of corn-stalk skin flake-wood shaving composite technology

We focused on the optimization of corn-stalk skin flake-wood shaving composite technology. We studied the effects of material-mixture ratio, glue content, hot- pressing temperature, and hot-pressing time on the appear- ance, physical, and mechanical properties of the composite by the orthogonal experiment method. Our findings yielded highly significant results in all three cases： the effects of the material-mixture ratio on 2 h of thickness swelling （2hTS） and the modulus of rupture （MOR）; the effects of glue con- tent on 2hTS, internal bond strength, and modulus of elas- ticity （MOE）; and the effects of hot-pressing temperature on MOR and MOE. Product optimization is achieved when the ratio of corn stalk skin flake to wood shaving is 3：7, the glue content is 12 %, the hot-pressing temperature is 150 ℃, and the hot-pressing time is 4.5 min.

Design and test of pneumatic artificial muscle driven variable trailing-edge camber wing

A variable camber wing driven by pneumatic artificial muscles is developed in this paper. Firstly, the experimental setup to measure the static output force of pneumatic artificial muscle is designed and the relationship between the static output force and the air pressure is investigated. Experimental results show that the static output force of pneumatic artificial muscle decreases nonlinearly with the increase of contraction ratio. Secondly, the model of variable camber wing driven by pneumatic artificial muscles is manufactured to validate the variable camber concept. Finally, wind tunnel tests are conducted in the low speed wind tunnel. It is found that the wing camber increases with the increase of air pressure. When the air pressure of PAMs is 0.4 MPa and 0.5 MPa, the tip displacement of the trailing-edge is 3 mm and 5 mm, respectively. The lift of aerofoil with flexible trailing-edge increases by 87% at AOA of 5°.

Discrepancies between the responses to skin prick test to food and respiratory antigens in two subtypes of patients with irritable bowel syndrome

AIM:To compare the response to skin prick tests (SPTs) to food antigens (FAs) and inhalant allergens (IAs) in patients with two subtypes of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and healthy controls. METHODS:We compared the results of SPTs for IAs and FAs in 87 volunteers divided into three groups:diarrhea predominant IBS (D-IBS) GroupⅠ(n = 19), constipation predominant IBS (C-IBS) Group Ⅱ (n = 17), and normal controls Group Ⅲ (n = 51). RESULTS:Of the 285 tests (171 for FAs and 114 for IAs) performed in GroupⅠwe obtained 45 (26.3%) positive responses for FA and 23 (20.1%) for IA. Of the 153 tests for FA in Group Ⅱ, we obtained 66 (20.1%) positive responses, and of the 102 tests for IA, we obtained 20 (19.6%) positive responses. Of the 459 tests for FA performed in Group Ⅲ, we obtained 39 (84%) positive responses, and of the 306 for IA, we obtained 52 (16.9%) positive responses. The numbers of positive responses were not significantly different between the three groups, but in the D-IBS group, the number of SPTFA responses differed significantly from those for the other two groups (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION:Despite the small number of cases studied, the higher reactivity to FAs in GroupⅠcompared to Groups Ⅱ and Ⅲ adds new information, and suggests the presence of a possible alteration in intestinal epithelial function.

Comparison and Evaluation of Several Dermatophagoides Pteronyssinus Allergen Extracts for Skin Prick Test

Objective To evaluate the significance of several Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus allergen extracts for skin prick test(SPT) in patients allergic to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus.Methods Two hundred and nineteen patients enrolled in Peking Union Medical College Hospital underwent SPT and serum specific IgE assay to detect the Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus allergen.Three kinds of house dust mite allergen extracts were used for SPT,including the Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus extract prepared by our laboratory(group A),standardized Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus extract(group B),and mixed extracts of Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and Dermatophagoides farinae(group C).Human serum specific IgE result was regarded as the reference standard for diagnosis of Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus allergy.The receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic performance of SPT with the extracts of three groups.Results SPT results showed that the median wheal diameter of group A,group B,and group C was 0.43,0.35,and 0.28 cm,respectively,with significant difference among three groups(P<0.05).The difference was significant between group A and B(P<0.01) as well as group A and C(P<0.01),but not between group B and C(P>0.05).There was no local urticaria or systemic allergic reactions following the procedure of SPT.Local reaction was observed in 5 patients and delayed reaction was in 2 patients of group A.As for group B and C,local reaction occurred in 3 cases and delayed reaction in 2 cases in each group.The area under ROC curve of SPT with extract in group A,group B,and group C was 0.765,0.801,and 0.782,respectively.Based on the detection results of serum specific IgE,the sensitivity of SPT in diagnosis of Dermato-phagoides pteronyssinus allergy with extract of group A,group B,and group C was 92.4%,87.0%,and 81.5%,and the specificity was 60.6%,73.2%,and 74.8%,respectively.Conclusion The Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus extract for SPT prepared by our laboratory offers good sensitivity and specificity comparable to commercially available allergen extracts,and it may be an appropriate candidate for clinical screening and diagnosis of Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus allergy.

基于Test Method 1311法重结晶α-半水石膏重金属元素的浸出特性研究

以脱硫石膏及其常压盐溶液法重结晶得到的α-半水石膏为研究对象,采用改进的Tessier流程和Test Method 1311法研究两种石膏晶体重金属元素的赋存形态和浸出特性,并对其进行环境效应评价。结果表明:重结晶过程能够释放脱硫石膏中的重金属元素并使其赋存形态改变;重结晶后石膏晶体中的重金属组分短期内可达到释放平衡,其中Cr、Pb、Ni元素的最大浸出量明显低于对应的脱硫石膏,As元素的浸出量几乎不变;α-半水石膏的环境友好性优于脱硫石膏,但仍具有污染环境的潜在风险。