The significant percentage of elevated tHcy levels observed in healthy preschool cases and the negative tHcy correlation with PON1 activity are reported for the first time. Since children with a family history of cardiovascular disease have higher levels of serum Hcy, tHcy screening in children, even of this age, in relation to other parameters, such the protective PON1, might prove a useful prevention procedure for the genetic risk of premature atherosclerosis.

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Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is an immune-mediated esophageal disorder, linked with sensitization to food and airborne allergens. Dietary manipulations are proposed for the management of EoE inflammation and are often successful, confirming the etiological role of food allergens. Three different dietary approaches are widely used: the elemental, the empirical, and the allergy-test-driven approach. We performed a systematic review to assess the evidence on the association of allergens, detected by allergy tests, with clinically confirmed triggers of EoE. We systematically searched PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and the Cochrane Library, through 1 June 2021. We sought studies examining the correlation of skin-prick tests (SPT), atopy patch tests (APT), specific IgE, and serum-specific IgG4, with confirmed triggers of EoE. Data on the use of prick–prick tests were also extracted. Evidence was independently screened by two authors against predefined eligibility criteria. Risk of bias was assessed with the ROBINS-I tool. Of 52 potentially eligible studies, 16 studies fulfilling quality criteria were included. These studies used one to three different allergy tests detecting food sensitization. The positive predictive value was generally low to moderate but higher when a combination of tests was used than single-test evaluations. None of the selected studies used serum-specific IgG4. Although an extreme methodological variability was noticed in the studies, allergy-based elimination diets were estimated to be efficient in 66.7% of the cases. The efficacy of targeted elimination diets, guided by SPT, sIgE, and/or APT allergy tests, does not appear superior to empirical ones. In the future, tests using esophageal prick testing or ex vivo food antigen stimulation may prove more efficient to guide elimination diets.

No abstract

A deeper understanding of the nanoscale and mesoscale structure of chromatographic adsorbents and the distribution of proteins within the media, is critical to a mechanistic understanding of separation processes using these materials. Characterisation of the media's architecture at this scale and protein adsorption within, is challenging using conventional techniques. In this study, we propose a novel resin characterisation technique that enables in-situ measurement of the structure of the adsorbed protein layer within the resin, under typical chromatographic conditions. A quartz flow-through cell was designed and fabricated for use with Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS), in order to measure the nanoscale to mesoscale structures of a silica based protein A chromatography resin during the monoclonal antibody sorption process. We were able to examine the pore-to-pore (˜133 nm) and pore size (˜63 nm) correlations of the resin and the in-plane adsorbed antibody molecules (˜ 4.2 nm) correlation at different protein loadings and washing buffers, in real time using a contrast matching approach. When 0.03 M sodium phosphate with 1 M urea and 10 % isopropanol buffer, pH 8, was introduced into the system as a wash buffer, it disrupted the system's order by causing partial unfolding of the adsorbed antibody, as evidenced by a loss of the in-plane protein correlation. This method offers new ways to investigate the nanoscale structure and ligand immobilisation within chromatography resins; and perhaps most importantly understand the in-situ behaviour of adsorbed proteins within the media under different mobile phase conditions within a sample environment replicating that of a chromatography column.