Search

Natural killer (NK) cells are multicompetent lymphocytes of the innate immune system that play a central role in host defense and immune regulation. Although increasing evidence suggests that innate immunity plays a key role in the pathogenesis of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), the role of NK cells in CRS has been poorly studied. This study aimed to characterize the peripheral blood NK cells from patients with CRS, and to compare the functions of these cells with those from non-CRS controls. The correlation between NK cell functional activity and prognosis was also assessed. Eighteen CRS patients and 19 healthy non-CRS controls were included. The patients with CRS were classified into two subgroups, namely a treatment-responsive group and recalcitrant group. NK cell degranulation was determined by measuring the cell surface expression of CD107a against 721.221 and K562 cells. Intracytoplasmic cytokine production was determined by flow cytometry. Compared to the controls, the NK cells of CRS group had an impaired ability to degranulate and to produce cytokines such as IFN-γ and TNF-α. The recalcitrant subgroup showed the most severe defects in NK cell effector functions. Moreover, the decreased NK cell functions in patients with CRS were associated with poor prognostic factors such as concomitant asthma and peripheral blood eosinophilia. NK cells, which were originally named for their ability to mediate spontaneous cytotoxicity towards diseased cells including infected cells, may play an important role in regulating the inflammatory process in CRS pathogenesis.

Design and implementation of a highly optimized MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output) detector requires cooptimization of the algorithm with the underlying hardware architecture. Special attention must be paid to application requirements such as throughput, latency, and resource constraints. In this work, we focus on a highly optimized matrix inversion free 4×4 MMSE (minimum mean square error) MIMO detector implementation. The work has resulted in a real-time field-programmable gate array-based implementation (FPGA-) on a Xilinx Virtex-2 6000 using only 9003 logic slices, 66 multipliers, and 24 Block RAMs (less than 33% of the overall resources of this part). The design delivers over 420 Mbps sustained throughput with a small 2.77-microsecond latency. The designed 4×4 linear MMSE MIMO detector is capable of complying with the proposed IEEE 802.11n standard.

For the treatment of chronic total occlusion (CTO), the efficacy and safety of the everolimus-eluting stent (EES) remain less well defined. Also, there are limited data for the predictors of outcome after CTO intervention. The purpose of this study was to compare clinical outcomes of the EES with the first-generation drug-eluting stent (DES) in CTO intervention and to investigate the predictors of clinical outcome. The Korean National Registry of CTO Intervention is a retrospective cohort of 26 centers from the past 5 years. The primary end point was major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) defined as a composite of cardiac death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, and target lesion revascularization. Of the 1,754 all-comer patients, 1,509 patients (EES 311, sirolimus-eluting stent [SES] 642, paclitaxel-eluting stent 556) were finally analyzed after excluding 245 patients (mixed DESs in 46 and follow-up loss in 199). In the inverse probability weighting–adjusted population, the 1-year MACE rate of the EES was comparable with that of the SES (5.8% vs 3.4%, p = 0.796) and the paclitaxel-eluting stent (5.8% vs 6.9%, p = 0.740). Each component of MACE was also comparable among the 3 stents. Importantly, the independent predictors of MACE were diabetes mellitus, previous congestive heart failure, and left circumflex CTO. In conclusion, for the first time in the largest CTO cohort, the EES showed good 1-year clinical outcomes that were comparable with the SES. Independent predictors of MACE after CTO intervention were clinical factors (diabetes and congestive heart failure) and lesion location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurately estimating population sizes for free-ranging animals through noninvasive methods, such as camera trap images, remains particularly limited by small datasets. To overcome this, we developed a flexible model for estimating upper limit populations and exemplified it by studying a group-living synanthrope, the long-tailed macaque ( Macaca fascicularis ). Habitat preference maps, based on environmental and GPS data, were generated with a maximum entropy model and combined with data obtained from camera traps, line transect distance sampling, and direct sightings to produce an expected number of individuals. The mapping between habitat preference and number of individuals was optimized through a tunable parameter ρ (inquisitiveness) that accounts for repeated observations of individuals. Benchmarking against published data highlights the high accuracy of the model. Overall, this approach combines citizen science with scientific observations and reveals the long-tailed macaque populations to be (up to 80%) smaller than expected. The model's flexibility makes it suitable for many species, providing a scalable, noninvasive tool for wildlife conservation.

Arthrobacter sp. KFRI-F3372 is a Gram-positive bacterium with a high G + C content of 65.7%, which was isolated from Doenjang , a traditional Korean fermented soybean paste. In this report, we introduce the complete genome sequence of Arthrobacter sp. KFRI-F3372., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Importance: Several studies have suggested that endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is important in the pathogenesis of infectious diseases; however, the precise function of ER stress regulation and the role of Herp as a regulator in Mtb H37Ra-induced ER stress remain elusive. Therefore, our study investigated ER stress and autophagy associated with Herp expression in Mycobacterium tuberculosis -infected macrophages to determine the role of Herp in the pathogenesis of tuberculosis., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Background: Transglutaminase 2 (TG2), a member of the transglutaminase family, also known as tissue transglutaminase, plays a fundamental role in cancer growth and progression. In this study, we aimed to comprehensively review the evidence of TG2 as a prognostic biomarker in solid tumors. Methods: PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases were searched for human studies with clearly described cancer types if they presented the relationship between TG2 expression and prognostic indicators from inception to February 2022. Two authors independently screened the eligible studies and extracted the relevant data. The association between TG2 and overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and relapse-free survival (RFS) were described as hazard ratios (HR) and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Statistical heterogeneity was assessed using Cochrane Q-test and Higgins I-squared statistic. A sensitivity analysis was conducted by sequentially omitting the impact of each study. Publication bias was assessed by Egger's funnel plot. Results: A total of 2864 patients with various cancers from 11 individual studies were enrolled. Results showed that elevated TG2 protein expression and mRNA expression predicted a shorter OS, with a combined HR of 1.93 (95% CI: 1.41-2.63) or HR of 1.95 (95% CI: 1.27-2.99), respectively. Moreover, data suggested that elevated TG2 protein expression was correlated with a shorter DFS (HR = 1.76, 95% CI: 1.36-2.29); whereas elevated TG2 mRNA expression was associated with a shorter DFS (HR = 1.71, 95% CI: 1.30-2.24). Conclusions: Our meta-analysis indicated that TG2 might serve as a promising biomarker of cancer prognosis.

Background: Candida auris , a multidrug-resistant yeast, can spread rapidly in ventilator-capable skilled-nursing facilities (vSNFs) and long-term acute care hospitals (LTACHs). In 2018, a laboratory serving LTACHs in southern California began identifying species of Candida that were detected in urine specimens to enhance surveillance of C auris , and C auris was identified in February 2019 in a patient in an Orange County (OC), California, LTACH. Further investigation identified C auris at 3 associated facilities., Objective: To assess the prevalence of C auris and infection prevention and control (IPC) practices in LTACHs and vSNFs in OC., Design: Point prevalence surveys (PPSs), postdischarge testing for C auris detection, and assessments of IPC were done from March to October 2019., Setting: All LTACHs ( n = 3) and vSNFs ( n = 14) serving adult patients in OC., Participants: Current or recent patients in LTACHs and vSNFs in OC., Intervention: In facilities where C auris was detected, PPSs were repeated every 2 weeks. Ongoing IPC support was provided., Measurements: Antifungal susceptibility testing and whole-genome sequencing to assess isolate relatedness., Results: Initial PPSs at 17 facilities identified 44 additional patients with C auris in 3 (100%) LTACHs and 6 (43%) vSNFs, with the first bloodstream infection reported in May 2019. By October 2019, a total of 182 patients with C auris were identified by serial PPSs and discharge testing. Of 81 isolates that were sequenced, all were clade III and highly related. Assessments of IPC identified gaps in hand hygiene, transmission-based precautions, and environmental cleaning. The outbreak was contained to 2 facilities by October 2019., Limitation: Acute care hospitals were not assessed, and IPC improvements over time could not be rigorously evaluated., Conclusion: Enhanced laboratory surveillance and prompt investigation with IPC support enabled swift identification and containment of C auris ., Primary Funding Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Background: Historically, United States' carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) surveillance and mechanism testing focused on three genera: Escherichia , Klebsiella , and Enterobacter (EsKE); however, other genera can harbour mobile carbapenemases associated with CRE spread., Objectives: From January through May 2018, we conducted a 10 state evaluation to assess the contribution of less common genera (LCG) to carbapenemase-producing (CP) CRE., Methods: State public health laboratories (SPHLs) requested participating clinical laboratories submit all Enterobacterales from all specimen sources during the surveillance period that were resistant to any carbapenem (Morganellaceae required resistance to doripenem, ertapenem, or meropenem) or were CP based on phenotypic or genotypic testing at the clinical laboratory. SPHLs performed species identification, phenotypic carbapenemase production testing, and molecular testing for carbapenemases to identify CP-CRE. Isolates were categorized as CP if they demonstrated phenotypic carbapenemase production and ≥1 carbapenemase gene ( bla KPC , bla NDM , bla VIM , bla IMP , or bla OXA-48-like ) was detected., Results: SPHLs tested 868 CRE isolates, 127 (14.6%) were from eight LCG. Overall, 195 (26.3%) EsKE isolates were CP-CRE, compared with 24 (18.9%) LCG isolates. LCG accounted for 24 (11.0%) of 219 CP-CRE identified. Citrobacter spp. was the most common CP-LCG; the proportion of Citrobacter that were CP (11/42, 26.2%) was similar to the proportion of EsKE that were CP (195/741, 26.3%). Five of 24 (20.8%) CP-LCG had a carbapenemase gene other than bla KPC ., Conclusions: Participating sites would have missed approximately 1 in 10 CP-CRE if isolate submission had been limited to EsKE genera. Expanding mechanism testing to additional genera could improve detection and prevention efforts., (Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy 2021. This work is written by a US Government employee and is in the public domain in the US.)

Aim: A nomogram was constructed to forecast the overall survival (OS) of patients with mycosis fungoides/Sezary syndrome. Patients & methods: The clinicopathological information of patients was obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database. A model was established based on the independent prognostic factors. Predictive ability of the model was evaluated with the concordance index and calibration curves. Risk stratification was conducted for patients with similar tumor node metastasis (TNM) stages. Results: The model included 1997 eligible patients and seven prognostic factors for OS. The concordance index of the nomogram was 0.84 in the training and external validation cohorts, which indicated good predictive ability of the model and reliability of the results. The high agreement between the model predictions and actual observations was identified by calibration curves, which demonstrated the prediction accuracy of the model. Risk stratification displayed significant differences for patients with similar TNM stages, which suggested that the OS of patients with similar TNM stages could be further distinguished. Conclusion: We established a reliable nomogram to predict the OS of patients with mycosis fungoides/Sezary syndrome, which highlighted the advantages of nomograms over the conventional TNM staging system and promoted the application of individualized therapeutic strategies.

Background: Computer vision combined with human annotation could offer a novel method for exploring facial expression (FE) dynamics in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)., Methods: We recruited 157 children with typical development (TD) and 36 children with ASD in Paris and Nice to perform two experimental tasks to produce FEs with emotional valence. FEs were explored by judging ratings and by random forest (RF) classifiers. To do so, we located a set of 49 facial landmarks in the task videos, we generated a set of geometric and appearance features and we used RF classifiers to explore how children with ASD differed from TD children when producing FEs., Results: Using multivariate models including other factors known to predict FEs (age, gender, intellectual quotient, emotion subtype, cultural background), ratings from expert raters showed that children with ASD had more difficulty producing FEs than TD children. In addition, when we explored how RF classifiers performed, we found that classification tasks, except for those for sadness, were highly accurate and that RF classifiers needed more facial landmarks to achieve the best classification for children with ASD. Confusion matrices showed that when RF classifiers were tested in children with ASD, anger was often confounded with happiness., Limitations: The sample size of the group of children with ASD was lower than that of the group of TD children. By using several control calculations, we tried to compensate for this limitation., Conclusion: Children with ASD have more difficulty producing socially meaningful FEs. The computer vision methods we used to explore FE dynamics also highlight that the production of FEs in children with ASD carries more ambiguity., Competing Interests: Competing interestsThe authors declare that they have no competing interest., (© The Author(s). 2020.)

Objective: To analyze the blood type of a family with B(A) blood type., Methods: The serological blood type of the family was determined by routine tube method. Exons 6 and 7 of the ABO gene were amplified by PCR and subjected to Sanger sequencing., Results: Serological testing of the proband and her elder son showed a discrepancy which was initially identified as B(A) subtype. Her husband and second son were identified as blood type O. Sequencing of the proband and her elder son has identified an O 02 allele and a 640A>G mutation compared with the B 101 gene. Her husband and second son possessed the same genotype of O 01 /O 02 ., Conclusion: The 640A>G mutation of ABO gene probably underlies the B(A) 04 subtype.

The production of facial expressions (FEs) is an important skill that allows children to share and adapt emotions with their relatives and peers during social interactions. These skills are impaired in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. However, the way in which typical children develop and master their production of FEs has still not been clearly assessed. This study aimed to explore factors that could influence the production of FEs in childhood such as age, gender, emotion subtype (sadness, anger, joy, and neutral), elicitation task (on request, imitation), area of recruitment (French Riviera and Parisian) and emotion multimodality. A total of one hundred fifty-seven children aged 6-11 years were enrolled in Nice and Paris, France. We asked them to produce FEs in two different tasks: imitation with an avatar model and production on request without a model. Results from a multivariate analysis revealed that: (1) children performed better with age. (2) Positive emotions were easier to produce than negative emotions. (3) Children produced better FE on request (as opposed to imitation); and (4) Riviera children performed better than Parisian children suggesting regional influences on emotion production. We conclude that facial emotion production is a complex developmental process influenced by several factors that needs to be acknowledged in future research.

Learning to read is very challenging for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), but also very important, as it can give them access to new knowledge. This is even more challenging in minimally verbal children, who do not have the verbal abilities to learn through usual methods. To address the learning of literacy skills in French minimally verbal school-aged children with ASD, we designed the serious game SEMA-TIC, which relies on non-verbal cognitive skills and uses specific learning strategies adapted to the features of autistic individuals. This study investigated the usability of SEMA-TIC (in terms of adaptability, efficiency, and effectiveness) for the acquisition of literacy skills in French minimally verbal school-aged children with ASD. Twenty-five children with ASD and no functional language participated in the study. Children in the training group received the SEMA-TIC training over 23 weeks (on average), while no intervention was provided to children in the non-training group. Results indicated that SEMA-TIC presents a suitable usability, as all participants were able to play (adaptability), to complete the training (efficiency) and to acquire significant literacy skills (effectiveness). Indeed, the literacy skills in the training group significantly improved after the training, as measured by specific experimental tasks (alphabet knowledge, word reading, word-non-word discrimination, sentence reading and word segmentation; all p ≤ 0.001) compared to the non-training group. More importantly, 3 out of 12 children of the training group could be considered as word decoders at the end of the intervention, whereas no children of the non-training group became able to decode words efficiently. The present study thus brings preliminary evidence that French minimally verbal school-aged children with ASD are able to learn literacy skills through SEMA-TIC, a specific computerized intervention consisting in a serious game based on non-verbal cognitive skills.

The use of Serious Games (SG) in the health domain is expanding. In the field of neurodegenerative disorders (ND) such as Alzheimer's disease, SG are currently employed both to support and improve the assessment of different functional and cognitive abilities, and to provide alternative solutions for patients' treatment, stimulation, and rehabilitation. As the field is quite young, recommendations on the use of SG in people with ND are still rare. In 2014 we proposed some initial recommendations (Robert et al., 2014). The aim of the present work was to update them, thanks to opinions gathered by experts in the field during an expert Delphi panel. Results confirmed that SG are adapted to elderly people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia, and can be employed for several purposes, including assessment, stimulation, and improving wellbeing, with some differences depending on the population (e.g., physical stimulation may be better suited for people with MCI). SG are more adapted for use with trained caregivers (both at home and in clinical settings), with a frequency ranging from 2 to 4 times a week. Importantly, the target of SG, their frequency of use and the context in which they are played depend on the SG typology (e.g., Exergame, cognitive game), and should be personalized with the help of a clinician.

Introduction: The category of pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) without intellectual disability (including Asperger syndrome and high-functioning autism) has increased steadily among individuals since the 1980s. Although some symptoms may decrease with age, functional disability persists and is largely related to abnormalities in social interaction. Within the framework of PDD without intellectual disability, improving social skills appears to be a primary target for intervention programs. Despite a recent increase in the number of studies on this topic, few validated programs are yet available for clinical settings., Background: We have developed an intervention targeting the improvement of social skills from the analysis of video sequences. The goal of this intervention is to promote communication within the group through sharing their interests and emotions, and to enhance the understanding of social situations. In order to assess the efficiency of this intervention, we have conducted a prospective, open, and uncontrolled study. First, it aimed at assessing the immediate effect of our intervention on a single social skill (communication) in an experimental situation (in the group) and in an ecological situations (family and school). Second, this study aimed at assessing the effects of this intervention on the subjects' social adjustment., Method: This study included 16 individuals with high-functioning autism/Asperger syndrome. Participants were evaluated before and after a 6-month video-based training using measures of socio-communicative and adaptive skills., Results: Results revealed a statistically significant increase in the communication skills not only in the group (15.5%), but also at home (13.7%) and at school (8.7%). The evaluation of socio-adaptive behavior indicates a statistically significant increase in communication (12%), family (7%) and social autonomy (8%), and leisure activities (8%)., Discussion: The communication and social adjustment scores obtained upon inclusion were low, despite low autistic intensity scores. However, the improvement at six months was significant for most studied variables. These results are consistent with our clinical findings and seem partly explained by the use of video supports as the mediator of exchanges within the group. However, because of some methodological limitations, the conclusions on the effects of the intervention should be nuanced., Conclusions: This type of intervention seems to be an interesting therapeutic indication for individuals with high-functioning autism/Asperger syndrome. The first results are encouraging, and all participants enjoyed attending the meetings. These conclusion elements encourage us to continue this intervention and to pursue further research by studying the impact on the individuals' quality of life., (Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.)

Background: It is widely accepted that emotion processing difficulties are involved in Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC). An increasing number of studies have focused on the development of training programs and have shown promising results. However, most of these programs are appropriate for individuals with high-functioning ASC (HFA) but exclude individuals with low-functioning ASC (LFA). We have developed a computer-based game called JeStiMulE based on logical skills to teach emotions to individuals with ASC, independently of their age, intellectual, verbal and academic level. The aim of the present study was to verify the usability of JeStiMulE (which is its adaptability, effectiveness and efficiency) on a heterogeneous ASC group. We hypothesized that after JeStiMulE training, a performance improvement would be found in emotion recognition tasks., Methods: A heterogeneous group of thirty-three children and adolescents with ASC received two one-hour JeStiMulE sessions per week over four weeks. In order to verify the usability of JeStiMulE, game data were collected for each participant. Furthermore, all participants were presented before and after training with five emotion recognition tasks, two including pictures of game avatars (faces and gestures) and three including pictures of real-life characters (faces, gestures and social scenes)., Results: Descriptive data showed suitable adaptability, effectiveness and efficiency of JeStiMulE. Results revealed a significant main effect of Session on avatars (ANOVA: F (1,32) = 98.48, P < .001) and on pictures of real-life characters (ANOVA: F (1,32) = 49.09, P < .001). A significant Session × Task × Emotion interaction was also found for avatars (ANOVA: F (6,192) = 2.84, P = .01). This triple interaction was close to significance for pictures of real-life characters (ANOVA: F (12,384) = 1.73, P = .057). Post-hoc analyses revealed that 30 out of 35 conditions found a significant increase after training., Conclusions: JeStiMulE appears to be a promising tool to teach emotion recognition not only to individuals with HFA but also those with LFA. JeStiMulE is thus based on ASC-specific skills, offering a model of logical processing of social information to compensate for difficulties with intuitive social processing., Trial Registration: Comité de Protection des Personnes Sud Méditerranée V (CPP): reference number 11.046 (https://cpp-sud-mediterranee-v.fr/).

A new species of the genus Lycodon Fitzinger, 1826 is described from the Cardamom Mountains of southwest Cambodia. Lycodon zoosvictoriae distinctly differs from all other species of Lycodon in Southeast Asia by a combination of its morphometric characters and unique coloration. The new species has 17 dorsal scales at midbody; 2+2 temporals; 8 supralabials; 10 infralabials; loreal separated from internasal and orbit; 213 ventrals; 85 subcaudals; pale tan brown ground color; irregular dark brown blotches on anterior part, 31 transverse blotches on posterior part of body and 26 blotches on tail. Given its submontane type locality, the new species could prove to be endemic to the Cardamom Mountains of southwest Cambodia and probably Southeast Thailand.

This is the first article in a Series on collaborative projects between European countries, relevant for general practice/family medicine and primary healthcare. Telemedicine, in particular the use of the Internet, videoconferencing and handheld devices such as smartphones, holds the potential for further strides in the application of technology for the delivery of healthcare, particularly to communities in rural and remote areas within and without the European Union where this study is taking place. The Northern Periphery Programme has funded the 'Implementing Transnational Telemedicine Solutions' (ITTS) project from September 2011 to December 2013, led by the Centre for Rural Health in Inverness, Scotland. Ten sustainable projects based on videoconsultation (speech therapy, renal services, emergency psychiatry, diabetes), mobile patient self-management (physical activity, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease) and home-based health services (medical and social care emergencies, rehabilitation, multi-morbidity) are being implemented by the six partner countries: Scotland, Finland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Norway and Sweden. In addition, an International Telemedicine Advisory Service, created for the project, provides business expertise and advice. Community panels contribute feedback on the design and implementation of services and ensure 'user friendliness'. The project goals are to improve accessibility of healthcare in rural and remote communities, reducing unnecessary hospital visits and travel in a sustainable way. Opportunities will be provided for comparative research studies. This article provides an introduction to the ITTS project and how it aims to fulfil these needs. The ITTS team encourage all healthcare providers to at least explore possible technological solutions within their own context.

The degree of solubility of influenza virus protein M1 preparations isolated from virions by acid chloroform-methanol extraction was studied under the effect of a wide spectrum of detergents of different origin. The same detergents were used for solution of a lipid comprising a part of artificially formed liposomes. Only some of the detergents used (sodium dodecyl sulfate, SDS, triton X-100, and disintegron-B) were shown to be optimal for solution of both influenza virus protein M1 and lipid. The degree of effect on the immunochemical properties of protein ML isolated from influenza virus virion of the above-mentioned detergents optimal for solution was also studied. For this purpose, a panel of 18 monoclonal antibodies with different determinant specificity to protein M1 was used. Two of the three detergents (SDS and disintegron-B) were shown not to change the antigenic profile of protein M1. The immunochemical properties of protein M1 of influenza virus isolated from virions by two methods: chloroform-methanol extraction and preparative polyacryl amide gel electrophoresis, were studied. These two methods of protein M1 isolation were shown not to alter its immunochemical properties.

1. This gene completely lacks the intervening sequences. 2. This gene is truncated at the 5' end peptide encoding region by 433 base pairs (bp). 3. The 502 bp of this gene containing poly(A) signal are completely identical to the 3' half of mRNA encoding region of functional gene. 4. This gene has a poly(A) tail and is flanked by direct repeat of 6 bp. 5. Here we report for the first time the complete sequence of a human pseudogene for phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase and this is the first report of cloning of pseudogene for catecholamine biosynthetic enzymes.

In vitro organ culture of the hamster's trachea was improved and applied to a carcinogenesis research. The rotary culture enabled explants of tracheal epithelium to survive more than 8 weeks. The study was composed of 2 kinds of culture; untreated and treated with carcinogens. In the untreated culture, Eagle MEM medium had the same culture effect as RPMI 1640 medium. With prolongation of culture time (particularly longer than 5 weeks), irreversible degenerative changes appeared in epithelial cells. Culture for 4 weeks was usually thought to be appropriate for experimental research. In the treated culture, the effect of benzo-(a) pyrene (B(a)P) and B(a)P + cigarette smoking condensate-neutral fraction (CSC-NF) on tracheal epithelium was investigated with light and electron microscopies (TEM and SEM) and autoradiography. Atypical hyperplasia with or without lesions suggesting carcinoma in situ was induced by B(a)P + CSC-NF more evidently and frequently than by B(a)P alone. The present findings corroborated the cocarcinogenetic effect of CSC-NF.