Efficacy and safety of rituximab in autoimmune pancreatitis type 1: our experiences and systematic review of the literature.

Introduction: Autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) is a special form of pancreatitis that responds well to glucocorticoid (GC) treatment. Relapses of AIP are common. The anti-CD20 antibody rituximab (RTX) has shown promising results in GC refractory cases, but long-term data are scarce.

Intranasal exposure to Stachybotrys chartarum enhances airway inflammation in allergic mice.

Rationale: Exposure to building dampness, often associated with growth of microbes such as Stachybotrys chartarum, has been linked to respiratory symptoms. We have shown previously in a murine model that exposure to S. chartarum can induce lung inflammation characterized by infiltration of neutrophils and lymphocytes; this process is regulated by proinflammatory cytokines and leucocyte-attracting chemokines.

Intranasal exposure to a damp building mould, Stachybotrys chartarum, induces lung inflammation in mice by satratoxin-independent mechanisms.

Background: Stachybotrys chartarum is a damp building mould and a potent toxin producer that has been related to serious cases of respiratory health problems. However, the direct link between exposure and health symptoms has not been established.

Objective: To examine the mechanism by which exposure to spores of satratoxin producing and non-producing S.

Detection of aflatoxins (G(1-2), B(1-2)), sterigmatocystin, citrinine and ochratoxin A in samples contaminated by microbes.

A method is described for the simultaneous determination of common aflatoxins (G1, G2, B1, B2) and their precursor sterigmatocystin, and also citrinine and ochratoxin A. The method was applied to a building material matrix artificially contaminated with mycotoxin-producing fungi. The method includes extraction, sample pre-treatment and reversed-phase HPLC separation with tandem mass spectrometric identification and quantification using electrospray ionisation on a quadrupole ion trap mass analyser (ESI-MS-MS).