ABSTRACT
Malnutrition continues to be a major health burden in developing countries. Flow cytometric estimation of the apoptotic marker CD95 in peripheral neutrophils, lymphocytes and monocytes was done for 18 infants with non-oedematous protein energy malnutrition (PEM) and 12 oedematous ones, on hospital admission and after supervised nutritional rehabilitation, and compared with 12 matched controls. CD95 counts in the 3 types of white blood cells were significantly higher in PEM infants and showed improvement after nutritional rehabilitation yet not reaching the control values. Enhanced apoptosis in the leukocytes of peripheral blood of PEM patients may be a marker of increased infection and immune disturbances. This derangement reverses upon proper nutritional rehabilitation.
Subject(s)
Biomarkers/analysis , Infant Nutrition Disorders/blood , Leukocytes/chemistry , Protein-Energy Malnutrition/blood , fas Receptor/analysis , Apoptosis/immunology , Case-Control Studies , Egypt , Female , Flow Cytometry , Humans , Infant , Infant Nutrition Disorders/diagnosis , Infant Nutrition Disorders/immunology , Infant Nutrition Disorders/rehabilitation , Leukocyte Count , Leukocytes/immunology , Lymphocytes/chemistry , Male , Monocytes/chemistry , Nutrition Assessment , Nutritional Status , Predictive Value of Tests , Prognosis , Protein-Energy Malnutrition/diagnosis , Protein-Energy Malnutrition/immunology , Protein-Energy Malnutrition/rehabilitation , Statistics, Nonparametric , fas Receptor/immunologyABSTRACT
Malnutrition continues to be a major health burden in developing countries. Flow cytometric estimation of the apoptotic marker CD95 in peripheral neutrophils, lymphocytes and monocytes was done for 18 infants with non-oedematous protein energy malnutrition [PEM] and 12 oedematous ones, on hospital admission and after supervised nutritional rehabilitation, and compared with 12 matched controls. CD95 counts in the 3 types of white blood cells were significantly higher in PEM infants and showed improvement after nutritional rehabilitation yet not reaching the control values. Enhanced apoptosis in the leukocytes of peripheral blood of PEM patients may be a marker of increased infection and immune disturbances. This derangement reverses upon proper nutritional rehabilitation
Subject(s)
Malnutrition , Apoptosis , Leukocytes , Protein-Energy Malnutrition , Anthropometry , Growth , fas ReceptorABSTRACT
A possible sink for divalent lead in the environment is clays such as montmorillonite that have cation exchange capacities. To assess the reaction, a calcium-montmorillonite was mixed with lead perchlorate solutions of varying concentrations and at various pH's. The recovered solids were studied by a variety of techniques (X-ray photoelectron and infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy) to determine what, if any, alterations occurred. The ion exchange of lead for calcium reduced the hydrated water in the clay, and evidence for proton-lead ion exchange at the edges of the sheets was observed. Evidence for a second, unexpected, reaction was also observed. Small spots (0.2 to 1 microm) of lead enrichment were observed on the surface of clay particles. They were also observed on clays recovered from the sediment of a Hungarian lake. The results show that lead ions are adsorbed onto montmorillonite by two processes: cation exchange and nano- and microparticle production. Cation exchange leads to the even distribution of the ions, while the production of spots causes the enrichment of lead ions. The production of these particles is not expected from the thermodynamic properties of the solution and cannot be observed in the absence of clay.