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Introduction: Sore throat is a common emergency department (ED) symptom; most cases are self-limiting viral infections. Despite this, physicians prescribe antibiotics and corticosteroids (CS) to reduce patient (pt) symptoms. This systematic review examined the effectiveness of systemic CS for relief of acute sore throat symptoms. Methods: Cochrane, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus and BIOSIS Previews electronic searches (ES); conference proceedings and clinical trials databases (CT), and Web of Science (WS) searches were performed. Only randomised controlled trials in which CS (alone or in combination with regular abortive therapy) were compared to placebo for treatment of acute sore throat in adults or children were included; mononucleosis studies were excluded. Relevance, inclusion, and study quality were assessed independently by 2 reviewers. Weighted mean differences (WMD) are reported with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: Searches identified 73 ES, 235 CT and 21 WS potentially relevant citations; 8 studies involving 849 pts met the inclusion criteria. Studies were published between 1993 and 2005, had high quality scores, and 3 exclusively recruited children. Half of the included trials reported on Group A Beta-Hemolytic Streptococci (GABHS) subgroups; all studies provided antibiotics. Most treatments compared single-dose CS to placebo; various oral and IM CS doses were administered. CS improved pain at 24 (WMD = -1.35; 95% CI -2.1to -0.6) and 48 (-0.98; 95% CI -1.52 to -0.4) h; results for 24 h were heterogeneous (I2 > 85%). CS reduced time to clinically significant pain relief (-2.86 h; 95% CI -3.6 to -2.12); results were heterogeneous (I2 > 91%). Heterogeneity was not explained by the GABHS status. Side effect profiles were similar between CS and placebo groups. Conclusion: The use of CS in the treatment of sore throat demonstrates heterogeneity. Despite this, there appears to be a small benefit associated with this treatment. Research is required to determine which subgroups benefit most. Keywords: corticosteroids, pharyngitis, systematic review

The intracellular distribution of filamentous actin (F-actin), all actin isoforms and beta-actin mRNA were analyzed in whole-mount preparations of freshly isolated corneal epithelia. Filamentous actin distribution was analyzed with fluorescently tagged phalloidin. An antibody that recognizes an epitope on both globular (G-actin) and F-actin was used in an immunohistochemical analysis of actin protein distribution. Whole-mount epithelial tissues were examined with a confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM). Biotinylated oligonucleotide probes specific for the beta-actin mRNA were used, and visualized with avidin-FITC. The intracellular localization of the beta-actin mRNA was similar to the F-actin protein distribution. In the most apical optical sections of embryonic cornea, actin staining delineated the cell borders and microvilli of the periderm cells. The actin is also detected as an organized network at the interface between the basal and periderm cells. At the level of the basal cell nucleus, F-actin is sparse, associating only with the lateral cell membranes. However, at the optical plane below the nuclei, the actin forms an elaborate actin cortical mat. Actin mRNA staining was visualized as discrete punctate areas. The beta-actin mRNA was positive at the optical plane just below the periderm cell apical membrane surface, similar to actin in microvilli. These cells also contained punctate staining near the cell membranes and in the periderm-basal cell junction area. At the level of the basal cell nucleus the actin mRNA was present in a punctate pattern along the cell membranes. Below the basal cell nuclei the actin mRNA staining increased at the level of the actin cortical mat. These experiments are the first demonstration that actin mRNA is polarized in embryonic corneal epithelia and co-localized with actin protein in an intact tissue.

The morphology of the pachytene chromosomes of haploids (2n= 24) of Solanum tuberosumGroup Andigena (2n= 48) is described. Chromosome identification is based primarily on the characteristics of chromatic regions, presence of distinct chromomere(s) in the achromatic regions, and the occurrence of prominent telochromomeres. Chromosomes V, XI and XII have approximately median centromeres. Chromosome II is associated with the nucleolus, and the variation in satellite size of this chromosome can be used as cytological marker for future studies. Comparisons of pachytene chromosomes from different haploids and their hybrids support the concept that the two genomes in Andigena are quite similar. The striking similarity between the potato and tomato chromosomes suggests interesting studies on the evolutionary relationships of these plants.