Thelaziasis as an uncommon cause of giant papillary conjunctivitis.

Introduction: We report a local human case of eye infection in a 49-year-old lady with history of fly contact in Hong Kong.

Case Description: A 49-year-old lady presented with right eye foreign body sensation for one month. She recalled a fly being stuck onto her right upper eyelashes with mascara when she went hiking in a forest trail in Hong Kong.

A stepwise approach to control an outbreak and ongoing transmission of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a neonatal intensive care unit.

Background: Preventing methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) transmission in health care facilities where MRSA is endemic is challenging yet critical.

Objective: We sought to determine the effectiveness of 2 bundles of interventions for preventing MRSA transmission in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Methods: This retrospective cohort study included infants admitted to our NICU between September 1, 2004, and March 31, 2009.

Neonatal cord blood subsets and cytokine response to bacterial antigens.

We compared lymphocyte subsets and cytokine responses to bacteria among term, preterm infants, and adults. Lymphocyte subset percentages in cord blood (22 preterm, 27 term neonates) and peripheral blood from 21 adults and cytokine/chemokine interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12, interferon gamma (IFN gamma) responses to Escherichia coli, group B Streptococcus (GBS), Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Lactobacillus plantarum (Lp299v) were assessed by flow cytometry. Preterm compared with term infants had increased CD8 (+) T cells (p = 0.

Maitake beta-glucan enhances umbilical cord blood stem cell transplantation in the NOD/SCID mouse.

Beta glucans are cell wall constituents of yeast, fungi and bacteria, as well as mushrooms and barley. Glucans are not expressed on mammalian cells and are recognized as pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPS) by pattern recognition receptors (PRR). Beta glucans have potential activity as biological response modifiers for hematopoiesis and enhancement of bone marrow recovery after injury.

Cytokine expression in response to bacterial antigens in preterm and term infant cord blood monocytes.

Background: Neonatal susceptibility to bacterial infection is associated with an immature immune system, but the role of different bacterial antigens in specific responses is largely unknown.

Objective: To evaluate differences in intracellular cytokine response to physiologically relevant bacterial antigens in term and preterm infants as compared with adults.

Methods: Cord blood samples from preterm and term neonates and adult peripheral blood samples were cultured ex vivo with and without whole heat-killed bacteria.

Enhancement of umbilical cord blood cell hematopoiesis by maitake beta-glucan is mediated by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor production.

Maitake beta-glucan (MBG) is an extract from the fruit body of the Grifola frondosa mushroom that is being widely used to treat cancer in Asia. We have previously reported that MBG enhances mouse bone marrow cell (BMC) hematopoiesis in vitro and protects BMC from doxorubicin (DOX) toxicity. In the current study, we investigated the ability of MBG to enhance hematopoiesis and to reduce the toxic effects of DOX on fresh human umbilical cord blood (CB) cells.

Isolation of nuclei from label-retaining cells and measurement of their turnover rates in rat colon.

We describe here a new technique for isolating nuclei from long-term label-retaining cells (LRCs), a subpopulation enriched with stem cells from colon, and for measuring their proliferation rates in vivo. A double-label approach was developed, combining the use of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) and (2)H(2)O. Male Fisher 344 rats were administered BrdU in drinking water continuously for 2-8 wk.