In a previous study, evidence was provided that indoor secondhand tobacco smoke (SHS) air pollution remains high in Lisbon restaurants where smoking is allowed, regardless of the protective measures used. The aim of this study was to determine in these locations the levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) associated with the particulate phase of SHS (PPAH), a fraction that contains recognized carginogens, such as benzo[a]pyrene (BaP). Data showed that restaurant smoking areas might contain PPAH levels as high as 110 ng/m(3), a value significantly higher than that estimated for nonsmoking areas (30 ng/m(3)) or smoke-free restaurants (22 ng/m(3)). The effective exposure to SHS components in restaurant smoking rooms was confirmed as cotinine levels found in workers' urine. Considering that all workers exhibited normal lung function, eventual molecular changes in blood that might be associated with occupational exposure to SHS and SHS-associated PPAH were investigated by measurement of two oxidative markers, total antioxidant status (TAS) and 8-hydroxyguanosine (8-OHdG) in plasma and serum, respectively. SHS-exposed workers exhibited higher mean levels of serum 8-OHdG than nonexposed workers, regardless of smoking status. By using a proteomics approach based on 2D-DIGE-MS, it was possible to identify nine differentially expressed proteins in the plasma of SHS-exposed nonsmoker workers. Two acute-phase inflammation proteins, ceruloplasmin and inter-alpha-trypsin inhibitor heavy chain 4 (ITIH4), were predominant. These two proteins presented a high number of isoforms modulated by SHS exposure with the high-molecular-weight (high-MW) isoforms decreased in abundance while low-MW isoforms were increased in abundance. Whether these expression profiles are due to (1) a specific proteolytic cleavage, (2) a change on protein stability, or (3) alterations on post-translational modification pattern of these proteins remains to be investigated. Considering that these events seem to precede the first symptoms of tobacco-related diseases, our findings might contribute to elucidation of early SHS-induced pathogenic mechanisms and constitute a useful tool for monitoring the effects of SHS on occupationally exposed individuals such as those working in the hospitality industry.

A preliminary study of the effect of branching in the binary diffusion of hexane isomer + n-heptane systems is presented.Measurements have been performed with an instrument modeled for the Taylor dispersion technique, at several compositions, at 297 K, for the n-hexane + n-heptane and 2,2-dimethylbutane + n-heptane binary mixtures.The accuracy is estimated to be 1%.The influence of branching is discussed. It was found that the rough hard sphere model for binary diffusion can reproduce the experimental data within 6%. This model was used to predict the binary diffusion coefficients in the 2-methylpentane + n-heptane and 3-methylpentane + n-heptane mixtures, with an estimated accuracy of 5%.I.

Introduction: Impaired red blood cell (RBC) rheology, increased RBC adhesiveness to the vascular wall, enhanced inflammation and blunted vascular reactivity are involved in the pathophysiology of sickle cell anemia (SCA). Painful vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC) is the most frequent complication encountered by SCA patients. While several studies compared several biomarkers of severity between patients at steady state and others during VOC, very few works compared the same patients in the two conditions. It is therefore difficult to know what happens during VOC. The present study was devoted to compare several hematological, biochemical, and rheological parameters, as well as RBC adhesiveness at steady state and during VOC. Altogether, 36 SCA patients were studied. Methods: This prospective monocentric study was performed at the University Hospital of Pointe-a-Pitre (Guadeloupe, French West Indies), in accordance with the guidelines set by the declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Regional Ethics Committee (CPP Sud/Ouest Outre Mer III, Bordeaux, France, registration number: 2012-A00701-42). After admission to the emergency department for a VOC episode, patients were informed about the purpose and procedures of the study and gave their written consent. Blood was sampled at the arrival of the patients at the emergency department before they received any medications. A visit to the Sickle Cell Center was then scheduled at least 3 months after the emergency department admission to collect routine blood samples at steady state. Steady state condition was defined as a period free of blood transfusion in the previous three months and without any acute SCA complications in the previous two months. RBC deformability was determined at 3 and 30 Pa by ektacytometry (LORRCA, Mechatronics), RBC aggregation properties (RBC aggregation and RBC disaggregation threshold) by syllectometry (LORRCA), blood viscosity by cone-plate viscosimetry (Brookfield, DVII+ model with CPE 40 spindle) at 225 s-1. Irreversible sickle cells (ISCs) were measured on an Imagestream ISX MkII flow cytometer (Amnis Corp, EMD Millipore). Lu/BCAM, ICAM-4/Lw and the alpha4-beta1 integrin were measured by flow cytometry at the RBC surface (FACSCanto II, BD Biosciences). RBC adhesion to monolayers of transformed human bone marrow endothelial cells (TrHBMECs) was studied in continuous flow conditions in Vena8 Endothelial+ Biochips (Cellix Ltd). Other hematological and biochemical parameters were measured by standard techniques. Results: Compared to steady state values, white blood cell (9.2 [6.7-10.6] versus 12.3 [10.1-16.2] 109/L, p < 0.001) and C-Reactive Protein (3.7 [3.3-6.0] versus 7.1 [3.3-17.5] mg/L, p < 0.05) levels increased during VOC (table 1). Lactate dehydrogenase level slightly increased during VOC (418 [351-564] versus 437 [370-727] IU/L, p < 0.03) but no change was observed for hemoglobin. RBC deformability slightly decreased during VOC (0.34 [0.26-0.44]) compared to steady state (0.38 [0.31-0.46], p < 0.02). RBC aggregation increased during VOC (55 [46-60 %] compared to steady state (51 [46-54] %, p < 0.05). No difference was detected for blood viscosity, RBC surface proteins, RBC adhesion, and RBC disaggregation threshold between the two conditions. During VOC, the percentage of ISCs was inversely correlated with deformability (p < 0.002 and p < 0.006 at 3 and 30 Pa, respectively), but positively correlated with RBC disaggregation threshold (p < 0.002) and with RBC adhesion to TrHBMECs (p < 0.008) (figure 1). At steady state, it was significantly correlated only with the disaggregation threshold (positive correlation, p < 0.03). Discussion: The most striking observation of this study is the positive correlation between ISCs (rigid cells) and RBC adhesion properties during overt VOC. This is in contrast with the general observation that the most deformable RBCs are those exhibiting the strongest adhesiveness and possibly involved in VOC initiation. Strengthened RBC aggregates may also disturb the blood flow into the microcirculation, hence participating to VOC progression and sustention. Drugs targeting RBC deformability (ISCs) and RBC aggregates might be helpful during established VOC in SCA. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.