Introduction: EoE (eosinophilic esophagitis) is an inflammatory condition characterized by a dense eosinophilic infiltrate in the esophageal epithelium. In Brazil, it remains a poorly diagnosed disease due to the l...Introduction: EoE (eosinophilic esophagitis) is an inflammatory condition characterized by a dense eosinophilic infiltrate in the esophageal epithelium. In Brazil, it remains a poorly diagnosed disease due to the lack of interaction between the clinician, the endoscopist, and the pathologist. The diagnosis is performed by histological study of esophageal biopsies, with at least fifteen eosinophils per high-power field (EOS/HPF). Some doubts remain with respect to patients with a clinical picture and symptoms compatible with the disease (EoE), but who have a lower number of eosinophils than established. The main objective of this study was to create an endoscopic classification for EsEo (esophageal eosinophilia), which pointed the way to the endoscopist towards the diagnosis. Methods: This study was a prospective, two-year study, at a gastrointestinal endoscopy center where all patients with endoscopic symptoms and/or endoscopic findings suggestive of EsEo were biopsied for histological examination of EOS/HPF. After the study and compilation of the results, a retrospective study was performed, based on a review of electronic medical records, where the same diagnosis was searched, although at a period when this classification was not adopted. Results: A total of 4,251 endoscopies were performed between September 2011 and September 2013. Two biopsies were performed, aimed at lesions, in 133 patients with clinical picture or imaging suggestive of EsEo. Eosinophils were found in 55 patients, corresponding to an incidence of 1.29% of the total population studied and 41.35% of the suspected cases of the disease. EoE was diagnosed in 24 patients during the period of this study. In the two-year retrospective study, only two cases of EoE were found. Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrate that the endoscopic standardization of esophageal lesions, suggestive of eosinophilia, in this case by classification, alerts the endoscopist for the diagnosis of EoE, prompting him to perform targeted biopsies. Further, it was observed that two samples of esophageal tissue were sufficient for the diagnosis. The relationship between the clinical picture, endoscopy, and histology was not evident in this study.展开更多
Malaria is one of the leading causes of consultation in African pediatric hospitals. In Gabon, malaria transmission is perennial. Plasmodium falciparum, responsible for the most severe form of the disease, represents ...Malaria is one of the leading causes of consultation in African pediatric hospitals. In Gabon, malaria transmission is perennial. Plasmodium falciparum, responsible for the most severe form of the disease, represents more than 95% of all species. In P. falciparum infection, the hyperparasitemia accounts among the main criteria of disease severity. However, in many endemic countries, a significant decrease of malaria burden accompanying with the diminution of parasite load in infected individuals has been demonstrated. The objective of the study was to analyze the occurrence of febrile syndrome in childhood and investigate whether the acute febrile illness could be associated with P. falciparum submicroscopic infection. A cross-sectional study was carried out during January to March 2013 in Franceville. A total of 203 acute febrile children were enrolled. A clinical examination and biomedical analysis including parasitological diagnosis by microscope were carried out in all the patients and PCR on microscope negative ones. Of 203 children recruited for febrile syndrome, 111 have been diagnosed positive for P. falciparum infection, 73 (35.9%) by microscope (ME) and 38 (18.71%) by PCR (submicroscopic infection = SM1) with an overall prevalence of 54.68%. Of the 11 1 P. falciparum infected individuals and according to the WHO criteria, 35 (31.53%) children showed a clinical picture of severe malaria against 76 (68.47%) others classified as uncomplicated malaria. The overall prevalence rates were therefore estimated as 17.24 (35/203) for severe cases and 37.43% (76/203) for uncomplicated ones. Clinically, these severe malaria cases (27 ME+ and 8 PCR+) were mainly composed of 85.71% of anaemic patients (30/35), 71.14% of prostrated individuals (25/35) and 57.14% of children with clinical icterus (20/35). However, only two cases of severe anaemia were observed, the remaining others cases were moderate (10) and mild anaemia (18). More interestingly, eight submicroscopic infected patients (22.85%) were found with neurological manifestations (prostration) and all were experiencing thrombocytopenia. Lastly, 1 hyperparasitemia, 6 hypoglycemia and 2 respiratory distresses were also observed among these severe malaria cases. P. falciparum submicroscopic infection may lead to severe malaria in perennial transmission area.展开更多
Environmental problems caused by the development of nanotechnology have threatened human health. Investigating the biomedical effects of nanomaterials can help to solve these environmental safety issues. In studies on...Environmental problems caused by the development of nanotechnology have threatened human health. Investigating the biomedical effects of nanomaterials can help to solve these environmental safety issues. In studies on the biomedical effects of nanomaterials, several types of novel nanoscale probes that allow reliable, sensitive, accurate and rapid biomedical detection have emerged. We summarize recent developments in three categories of these nanoprobes, including noble metal nanocluster probes, carbon-based nanostructured probes, and unnatural amino acid-based probes. Besides reviewing the utility of different nanoprobes in cell imaging and protein detection, we also discuss the molecular mechanism of nanoprobe detection. Perspectives of novel nanoprobe design based on molecular details of biomedical detection are presented.展开更多
In biomedical research,in order to evaluate the effect of a drug,investigators often need to compare the differences between one treatment group and another one by using multiple outcomes.The rank-sum tests can handle...In biomedical research,in order to evaluate the effect of a drug,investigators often need to compare the differences between one treatment group and another one by using multiple outcomes.The rank-sum tests can handle the case where the outcome differences between two groups are in the same direction.If they are not,MAX can handle it and is very useful when one/some of the differences is/are relatively larger than the others.When the individual outcome difference between two groups is moderate,a new method,summation of the absolute value of rank-based test for each outcome,is proposed in this work.Power comparison with the existing methods based on simulation studies and a real example show that the proposed test is a robust test,and works well when the difference for each outcome is moderate.The authors also derive some theoretical results for comparing the power between MAX and the the proposed method.展开更多
Nanoparticles have recendy attracted extensive attention in view of their great potential in biomedicine and bioanalytical applications. Single particle detection via light scattering offers a simple and efficient app...Nanoparticles have recendy attracted extensive attention in view of their great potential in biomedicine and bioanalytical applications. Single particle detection via light scattering offers a simple and efficient approach for the size, size distribution, and concentration analysis of nanoparticles. In particular, intrinsic heterogeneity or rare events masked by ensemble averaging can be revealed. However, the sixth power dependence of Rayleigh scattering on particle size makes it very challenging to detect individual nanoparficles of small sizes. This article is intended to provide an overview of recent progress in the development of techniques based on light scattering for the detection of single nanoparticles.展开更多
文摘Introduction: EoE (eosinophilic esophagitis) is an inflammatory condition characterized by a dense eosinophilic infiltrate in the esophageal epithelium. In Brazil, it remains a poorly diagnosed disease due to the lack of interaction between the clinician, the endoscopist, and the pathologist. The diagnosis is performed by histological study of esophageal biopsies, with at least fifteen eosinophils per high-power field (EOS/HPF). Some doubts remain with respect to patients with a clinical picture and symptoms compatible with the disease (EoE), but who have a lower number of eosinophils than established. The main objective of this study was to create an endoscopic classification for EsEo (esophageal eosinophilia), which pointed the way to the endoscopist towards the diagnosis. Methods: This study was a prospective, two-year study, at a gastrointestinal endoscopy center where all patients with endoscopic symptoms and/or endoscopic findings suggestive of EsEo were biopsied for histological examination of EOS/HPF. After the study and compilation of the results, a retrospective study was performed, based on a review of electronic medical records, where the same diagnosis was searched, although at a period when this classification was not adopted. Results: A total of 4,251 endoscopies were performed between September 2011 and September 2013. Two biopsies were performed, aimed at lesions, in 133 patients with clinical picture or imaging suggestive of EsEo. Eosinophils were found in 55 patients, corresponding to an incidence of 1.29% of the total population studied and 41.35% of the suspected cases of the disease. EoE was diagnosed in 24 patients during the period of this study. In the two-year retrospective study, only two cases of EoE were found. Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrate that the endoscopic standardization of esophageal lesions, suggestive of eosinophilia, in this case by classification, alerts the endoscopist for the diagnosis of EoE, prompting him to perform targeted biopsies. Further, it was observed that two samples of esophageal tissue were sufficient for the diagnosis. The relationship between the clinical picture, endoscopy, and histology was not evident in this study.
文摘Malaria is one of the leading causes of consultation in African pediatric hospitals. In Gabon, malaria transmission is perennial. Plasmodium falciparum, responsible for the most severe form of the disease, represents more than 95% of all species. In P. falciparum infection, the hyperparasitemia accounts among the main criteria of disease severity. However, in many endemic countries, a significant decrease of malaria burden accompanying with the diminution of parasite load in infected individuals has been demonstrated. The objective of the study was to analyze the occurrence of febrile syndrome in childhood and investigate whether the acute febrile illness could be associated with P. falciparum submicroscopic infection. A cross-sectional study was carried out during January to March 2013 in Franceville. A total of 203 acute febrile children were enrolled. A clinical examination and biomedical analysis including parasitological diagnosis by microscope were carried out in all the patients and PCR on microscope negative ones. Of 203 children recruited for febrile syndrome, 111 have been diagnosed positive for P. falciparum infection, 73 (35.9%) by microscope (ME) and 38 (18.71%) by PCR (submicroscopic infection = SM1) with an overall prevalence of 54.68%. Of the 11 1 P. falciparum infected individuals and according to the WHO criteria, 35 (31.53%) children showed a clinical picture of severe malaria against 76 (68.47%) others classified as uncomplicated malaria. The overall prevalence rates were therefore estimated as 17.24 (35/203) for severe cases and 37.43% (76/203) for uncomplicated ones. Clinically, these severe malaria cases (27 ME+ and 8 PCR+) were mainly composed of 85.71% of anaemic patients (30/35), 71.14% of prostrated individuals (25/35) and 57.14% of children with clinical icterus (20/35). However, only two cases of severe anaemia were observed, the remaining others cases were moderate (10) and mild anaemia (18). More interestingly, eight submicroscopic infected patients (22.85%) were found with neurological manifestations (prostration) and all were experiencing thrombocytopenia. Lastly, 1 hyperparasitemia, 6 hypoglycemia and 2 respiratory distresses were also observed among these severe malaria cases. P. falciparum submicroscopic infection may lead to severe malaria in perennial transmission area.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China (11404333, 31571026)the National Key Basic Research Program of China (2013CB933704)
文摘Environmental problems caused by the development of nanotechnology have threatened human health. Investigating the biomedical effects of nanomaterials can help to solve these environmental safety issues. In studies on the biomedical effects of nanomaterials, several types of novel nanoscale probes that allow reliable, sensitive, accurate and rapid biomedical detection have emerged. We summarize recent developments in three categories of these nanoprobes, including noble metal nanocluster probes, carbon-based nanostructured probes, and unnatural amino acid-based probes. Besides reviewing the utility of different nanoprobes in cell imaging and protein detection, we also discuss the molecular mechanism of nanoprobe detection. Perspectives of novel nanoprobe design based on molecular details of biomedical detection are presented.
基金partially supported by by the National Young Science Foundation of China under No.10901155the National Social Science Foundation of China under No.10CTJ004
文摘In biomedical research,in order to evaluate the effect of a drug,investigators often need to compare the differences between one treatment group and another one by using multiple outcomes.The rank-sum tests can handle the case where the outcome differences between two groups are in the same direction.If they are not,MAX can handle it and is very useful when one/some of the differences is/are relatively larger than the others.When the individual outcome difference between two groups is moderate,a new method,summation of the absolute value of rank-based test for each outcome,is proposed in this work.Power comparison with the existing methods based on simulation studies and a real example show that the proposed test is a robust test,and works well when the difference for each outcome is moderate.The authors also derive some theoretical results for comparing the power between MAX and the the proposed method.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (20675070, 20975087, 90913015 & 21027010)Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (NCET-07-0729)+1 种基金Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China (20090121120008 & 20090121110009)the National Fund for Fostering Talents of Basic Science (J1030415)
文摘Nanoparticles have recendy attracted extensive attention in view of their great potential in biomedicine and bioanalytical applications. Single particle detection via light scattering offers a simple and efficient approach for the size, size distribution, and concentration analysis of nanoparticles. In particular, intrinsic heterogeneity or rare events masked by ensemble averaging can be revealed. However, the sixth power dependence of Rayleigh scattering on particle size makes it very challenging to detect individual nanoparficles of small sizes. This article is intended to provide an overview of recent progress in the development of techniques based on light scattering for the detection of single nanoparticles.