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The growth of indoor molds and their resulting products (e.g., spores and mycotoxins) can present health hazards for human beings. The efficacy of chlorine dioxide gas as a fumigation treatment for inactivating sick building syndrome-related fungi and their mycotoxins was evaluated. Filter papers (15 per organism) featuring growth of Stachybotrys chartarum , Chaetomium globosum , Penicillium chrysogenum , and Cladosporium cladosporioides were placed in gas chambers containing chlorine dioxide gas at either 500 or 1,000 ppm for 24 h. C. globosum was exposed to the gas both as colonies and as ascospores without asci and perithecia. After treatment, all organisms were tested for colony growth using an agar plating technique. Colonies of S. chartarum were also tested for toxicity using a yeast toxicity assay with a high specificity for trichothecene mycotoxins. Results showed that chlorine dioxide gas at both concentrations completely inactivated all organisms except for C. globosum colonies which were inactivated an average of 89%. More than 99% of ascospores of C. globosum were nonculturable. For all ascospore counts, mean test readings were lower than the controls ( P < 0.001), indicating that some ascospores may also have been destroyed. Colonies of S. chartarum were still toxic after treatment. These data show that chlorine dioxide gas can be effective to a degree as a fumigant for the inactivation of certain fungal colonies, that the perithecia of C. globosum can play a slightly protective role for the ascospores and that S. chartarum , while affected by the fumigation treatment, still remains toxic.

Background: Recent evidence has shown that viable conidia from the fungus Penicillium chrysogenum induce allergic effects in mice. The present study was conducted to determine the specific allergic dose response of C57BL/6 mice to the protease extract, Pen ch, isolated from viable P. chrysogenum conidia. Methods: Mice were treated with primary intraperitoneal (IP) injections of 10 or 100 μg of Pen ch adsorbed to alum, followed by weekly IP injections of 0.1, 1.0, or 10.0 μg Pen ch with alum for 4 weeks, and with 10.0 μg of Pen ch by intranasal (IN) inoculations the final 2 weeks before killing. Results: Intraperitoneal injections of 10 and 100 μg of Pen ch for 5 weeks followed by 2 weeks of IN instillation of 10 μg induced significant increases of total serum immunoglobulin (Ig)E and IgG1. Bronchoalveolar lavage cell counts revealed increased numbers of eosinophils and neutrophils. Histopathological examination of lungs detected perivascular inflammation by eosinophils and neutrophils and increased mucous production. Conclusions: The data presented in this study indicate that sensitization to protease allergens released by viable P. chrysogenum conidia in vivo induce a strong allergic inflammatory response in a murine model, which could have implications for people exposed to high levels of conidia of this organism.

Taxanes are commonly used anticancer agents with a potential of producing an allergic or hypersensitivity reaction (HSR). We performed a randomized study to evaluate the value of a test dose given prior to the full dose of either paclitaxel or docetaxel.Patients were randomly assigned to either the administration of the full dose or to the prior administration of a 1 mg intravenous test dose of either paclitaxel or docetaxel. The primary endpoints were severity of the HSR and the cost of drug wastage due to a HSR.Two hundred and eighteen patients were randomized from three different treatment sites. The overall incidence of HSR was 6.5% and there was no significant difference in the incidence of HSR in either group. The mean HSR severity grade was 2.8 for patients without a test dose and 2.3 for those receiving a test dose. There was, however, a reduction in the wastage of taxane in the test dose arm. Wastage avoided in the test dose arm was $1573 per patient who had a HSR and $104 per patient treated with a taxane.Although a test dose may not reduce the severity of a HSR with the administration of a taxane, it does reduce the cost associated with drug wastage.

Background Q fever is a widespread zoonotic infection caused by the pathogen Coxiella burnetii that has both acute and chronic manifestations. Q fever may present as a fever of unknown origin (FUO). We examined three cases of Q fever in west Texas and eastern New Mexico: two chronic and one acute that presented as FUO. Q fever usually occurs following exposure to infected animals. Q fever continues to be a diagnostic possibility in patients with FUO and animal exposure in the southwestern United States. Methods Cases review from medical records at our institution 2000-2006. Results: Discussion Q fever may present as an acute or chronic febrile illness, either of which can have nonspecific symptoms and signs. Serologic studies are necessary for the diagnosis. Phase I and phase II serology will differentiate between acute and chronic disease. Although somewhat slow and costly, these studies are key to appropriate diagnosis and therapy. Conclusion Q fever continues to be a diagnostic problem in west Texas and eastern New Mexico.

Ozone is a ubiquitous pollutant that can cause acute pulmonary inflammation, cellular injury and may contribute to the development or exacerbation of chronic lung diseases. Despite much research, the effects of ozone on humans and potential cellular mechanisms of injury are still uncertain. However, ozone has been reported to increase the formation of aldehydes that could react with cellular proteins. Therefore, the purpose of these studies was to determine whether 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE), a previously unidentified aldehyde product of ozone exposure, is formed in human subjects exposed to ozone, and whether the response of human alveolar macrophages (AM) following a 1-h exposure to 0.25 ppm ozone with moderate exercise could be mimicked by in vitro incubation of AM with HNE. Western analysis demonstrated increased HNE protein adducts in airway fluid and alveolar macrophages after ozone exposure. AM were examined for endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide [LPS])-stimulated interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) release and expression of heat shock protein 72 (HSP72). Immediately after ozone exposure there was no change in HSP72, but a 5-fold increase occurred 4 h after exposure. By 18 h after exposure, HSP72 levels decreased to below comparable air-exposed levels. Immediately after ozone exposure there was no effect on IL-1 beta release stimulated by LPS. However, IL-1 beta release stimulated by LPS was significantly inhibited 4 h after ozone exposure. By 18 h after ozone exposure, IL-1 beta release stimulated by LPS returned to normal. Incubation of human AM in vitro with HNE induced HSP72 and blocked LPS-stimulated IL-1 beta release possibly by inhibiting interleukin converting enzyme. Consequently, the in vitro results and demonstration of HNE protein adducts following ozone exposure are consistent with HNE being involved in this process in vivo and suggest that the cellular toxic effects of ozone could be a result of thiol reactive aldehydes produced by ozone.

A case of complete urethral duplication in a child is presented. The malformation consisted of a normal urethra and another epispadial dorsal urethra ending at the dome of the bladder. This is a rare variant of this type of malformation. Incontinence was the surgical indication. The classification, embryology, diagnosis, indications for surgery and treatment of this anomaly are presented.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease of unknown origin with marked impairment of quality of life and an expected survival after diagnosis of 3.2 to 5 years. It is characterized by multiple foci of fibrotic activity with minimal inflammation. A new approach to treating this disease is needed since no therapeutic regimen including steroids has been demonstrated to be effective. Although the results of a trial using large-dose, injected interferon gamma (IFNg) have been disappointing, there is a good theoretical basis for hypothesizing that interferons might be efficacious. Lung biopsy samples have shown that interferon levels are low while levels of transforming growth factor b 1 (TGF b1 ) are high. Interferon alpha (IFNa) can increase production of IFNg and aquaporins and inhibit (TGF b1 ), fibroblast activity and collagen synthesis. We have been running a trial of low-dose, orally administered IFNa (150 IU three times daily), which has minimal to no side effects. Subjects are evaluated with pulmonary function tests every 3 months and HRCTs at yearly intervals. Of the 9 subjects who have completed at least 1 year, the forced vital capacity has remained stable in 8 and the oxygen saturation after a 6-minute walk has been stable in 7 and improved in 1. One subject showing lack of progression has been followed for over 3.5 years and another for 2 years. The 8 subjects whose pulmonary function tests were stable showed no evidence of disease progression on HRCT scans. Most subjects who entered the study with a cough noted marked improvement within the first few weeks of treatment with corresponding increases in quality of life scores. These results strongly suggest that this regimen can prevent progression according to the criteria defined in the International Consensus Statement published by the American Thoracic Society.

6121 Background: Combination chemotherapy is the mainstay of treatment for a variety of malignancies. The sequence of chemotherapy administration can be important due to the effect of interactions on efficacy, toxicity, pharmacokinetics, or any combination of these. Although many reports have been published on this subject, there is, to our knowledge, no single source that describes the best sequence of administration for various chemotherapy regimens. Therefore, we conducted a review of the literature to identify sequence-dependent interactions to develop administration recommendations. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted through November 2004 in Medline, PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Databases, CINAHL, & International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (IPA) as well as ASCO abstracts from 1995 through 2004. The bibliographies of identified articles were also reviewed for relevant citations. Only in vivo human studies that specifically compared various sequences of a chemotherapy regimen were inclu...

Spectra recorded for water aprotic solvent solutions in which the mole fraction of water is less than 1 per cent have enabled the resolution of the v 1 + v 2 + v 3 combination band of water into three Gaussian components. One band is due to the situation in which the two water protons are bonded to an acceptor with approximately equal hydrogen-bond energies. The other two bands are due to the situation in which the protons are bonded with unequal bond strengths. The positions of all three bands are dependent on the “basicity” of the hydrogen-bond acceptor. These data have led to a reinterpretation of spectral data for aqueous solutions. Pure water appears to exist as a liquid in which there are many distorted hydrogen-bonds of varying strengths but few broken bonds. The addition of an electrolyte appears to increase the number of symmetrically bonded water molecules possibly due to ion-dipole interactions.

The ir spectra from 4000 to 33 cm−1 have been recorded of CH3AsCl2, CH3AsBr2, CH3Asl2, and CD3Asl2. The Raman spectra of each of these compounds have been recorded and depolarization values measured for CH3AsCl2 and CH3AsBr2. The observed spectra have been successfully interpreted on the basis of a pyramidal skeletal structure of Cs symmetry. The observed values for the Teller–Redlich product rule for the assignments of the normal modes of the CH3Asl2 and CD3Asl2 molecules are in reasonable agreement with the theoretical values for both symmetry species. The As–CH3 torsional mode was tentatively assigned in the ir spectrum of solid CH3AsBr2 at 134 cm−1 and the torsional barrier calculated to be 461×30 cm−1 (1.32×0.08 kcal/mole). The low frequency bending modes of solid CH3AsI2 and CD3AsI2 have been found to show correlation field splitting and have been successfully explained in terms of the four molecules per unit cell with a space group of C2 h6.

The Raman spectra of liquid and solid methyltriiodogermane [CH 3 GeI 3 ] and perdeuteromethyltriiodogermane [CD 3 GeI 3 ] have been recorded. The infrared spectra of the liquids were recorded from 33–4000 cm −1 . The spectra have been interpreted in detail and all twelve normal vibrations have been assigned for these molecules of C 3 v symmetry. The interesting torsional mode was observed at 123 cm −1 for the “light” molecule. The threefold barrier restricting rotation was calculated to be 1.1 kcal/mole. The assignments are tabulated and discussed in detail. The valence force field model has been utilized in calculating the frequencies and potential energy distribution for the molecules, and the results support the assignment presented. The force constants obtained in this study are consistent with those previously reported for other halo- and organogermanium compounds.

Summaries of the results of ion-exchange equilibria and of maximum water uptakes at 25 deg of Dowex 50 resins of 4, 8, and 16% DVB content are given for the following systems: NH/sub 3/OH/sup +/ -H/sup +/, Ca/sup +2/ - Ni/sup +2/, Mn/ sup +2/Ni/sup +2/, Ba/aup +2/ - Be/sup +2/, Ce/sup +3/Ag/sup +/, La/sup +3/ - Ce/ sup +3/, Ce/sup +3/ - Cr/sup +3/. (J.S.R.)