Lung and heart volumes by three-dimensional ultrasound in normal fetuses at 12-32 weeks' gestation.

OBJECTIVE: To establish reference intervals for the fetal right, left and total lung volumes and heart volume between 12 and 32 weeks of gestation. METHODS: Fetal lung and heart volumes were measured using three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound in 650 normal singleton pregnancies at 12-32 weeks. The VOCAL (Virtual Organ Computer-aided AnaLysis) technique was used to obtain a sequence of six sections of each lung and the heart around a fixed axis, each after a 30 degrees rotation from the previous one. The rotation axis for the lungs extended from the apex to the upper limit of the diaphragm dome, and the rotation axis for the heart extended from its apex to its connection to the great vessels. The contour of each of these organs was drawn manually in the six different rotation planes to obtain the 3D volume measurement. In 60 cases the fetal lungs and heart volumes were measured by the same sonographer twice and also by a second sonographer once in order to compare the measurements and calculate intra- and interobserver agreement. RESULTS: The total lung volume and heart volume increased with gestation, from respective mean values of 1.6 and 0.6 mL at 12 weeks to 10.9 and 4.3 mL at 20 weeks and 49.3 and 26.6 mL at 32 weeks. The right to left lung volume ratio did not change significantly with gestation (median, 0.7), whereas the heart to total lung volume ratio increased with gestation from about 0.3 at 12 weeks to 0.5 at 32 weeks. In the Bland-Altman plot, the difference between paired measurements by two sonographers was, in 95% of the cases, less than 0.05, 0.5 and 1.9 mL for each lung at 12-13, 19-22 and 29-32 weeks, respectively, and the corresponding values for the heart volumes were 0.04, 0.4 and 2.3 mL. CONCLUSIONS: In normal fetuses the lung and heart volumes increase between 12 and 32 weeks of gestation. The extent to which in pathological pregnancies possible deviations in these measurements from normal prove to be useful in the prediction of outcome remains to be determined.     

HLA typing used with cultured amniotic and chorionic villus cells for early prenatal diagnosis or parentage testing without one parent's availability

Like fetal fibroblasts and amniotic fluid cells, cultured chorionic villus cells can also be HLA typed with selected typing sera after preincubation with gamma interferon to promote better antigen expression. A modified procedure now in use would also allow any of these cell types to be tested for the presence or absence of all known HLA A,B,C, and DR antigens with standard preplated typing trays. This procedure was used to confirm that an on-going pregnancy had resulted from the successful in vitro fertilization and implantation of an anonymous donor's ovum and could also be of major use in rape or artificial insemination cases when the identity of the possible father(s) is not known.     

Dual function of Langerhans cells in skin TSLP-promoted TFH differentiation in mouse atopic dermatitis

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Regulation of hepatocyte activator inhibitor-1 expression by androgen and oncogenic transformation in the prostate

Hepatocyte activator inhibitor-1 (HAI-1) is a transmembrane serine protease inhibitor that regulates the conversion of latent to active hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). Studies supporting a role for the HGF pathway in prostate carcinogenesis prompted an analysis of HAI-1 expression in the prostate. Here we analyze the regulation of HAI-1 expression by androgen, oncogenic transformation, and cancer progression. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that HAI-1 expression was restricted to prostate epithelium, where staining occurred primarily in basal and atrophic luminal epithelial cells. Compared to normal glands, HAI-1 expression was significantly increased in localized prostate cancer and was present in most prostate cancer metastases. HAI-1 protein expression levels were sensitive to androgen in normal epithelium but not in cancer. Although androgen did not increase HAI-1 protein expression levels in LNCaP cells, it decreased HAI-1 surface expression, consistent with previous data from our group (Martin DB, Gifford DR, Wright ME, Keller A, Yi E, Goodlett DR, Aebersold R, Nelson PS: Quantitative proteomic analysis of proteins released by neoplastic prostate epithelium. Cancer Res 2004, 64:347-355). HAI-1 overexpression in cancer was predictive of prostate-specific antigen recurrence (relative risk, 1.24). These results suggest that HAI-1 regulates the HGF Met axis on prostate epithelial cells and influences HGF mediated tumor invasion and metastasis.     

HDAC and MAPK/ERK Inhibitors Cooperate To Reduce Viability and Stemness in Medulloblastoma

Journal of Molecular Neuroscience - Medulloblastoma (MB), which originates from embryonic neural stem cells (NSCs) or neural precursors in the developing cerebellum, is the most common malignant...     

The transplantation donation process in the Centro de Investigaciones Medico Quirurgicas of Cuba: 1999-2002

OBJECTIVE: In 1998 in the Centro de Investigaciones Medico Quirurgicas the Transplant Coordination Office (TCO) was created, with the aim to organize a system to support a hepatic transplantation program. This organization, which changed the transplantation-donation process not only in our center but in the whole country, is described in this article. METHOD: The files of donors generated in our hospital were studied together with the transplant coordination records, from 1999 till the first half of 2002. RESULTS: In the period studied, 21 potential donors were diagnosed with brain death, yielding a donation rate of 71.4%. Brain death was most frequently caused by vascular brain disease; however, in the realized donor group, the cranioencephalic trauma predominated. The typical donor was a man of average age 39.2 years (range, 18-86 years). Among the potential donors, 24% were excluded based on medical criteria, and 5% due to family objections. Forty liver transplantation were performed in 36 patients including 1 liver-kidney simultaneous procedure. The principal etiologies for transplant included hepatitis C virus cirrhosis, 22%; alcoholic, 19%; and acute hepatic failure, 13%. Kidney transplantations were performed in 70 patients, including 41 from cadaveric donors (53.6%) and 29 from living related donors (41.4%). In 2001, a pancreas-kidney transplantation program was started. CONCLUSION: The creation of the TCO has been of paramount importance to optimize transplantation program functions.     

Developing an index of restorative dental treatment need

The process undertaken to establish an initial pilot index for restorative dental treatment is described. Following consultation with a wide range of clinicians and others, an outline framework for the index was developed and comprised three main components: 1. Patient identified need for treatment: the data from the patient perceived need questionnaire were inconclusive; 2. Complexity of treatment (assessed by clinicians): this was found to be a practical tool capable of being used by a range of dentists. A booklet has been produced which describes the process of using the scoring system; 3. Priority for treatment (assessed by clinicians): three levels of priority were identified; the highest priority was assigned to patients with inherited or developmental defects that justify complex care (eg clefts of the lip and palate). The initial development of the index has had some success in a difficult area. The treatment complexity component is the most developed and may allow both referrers and commissioners of specialist restorative dentistry to determine appropriate use of skilled clinicians' expertise.     

Newly incriminated anopheline vectors of human malaria parasites in Junin Department, Peru

Sporozoite data from salivary gland dissections are presented that clearly incriminate Anopheles trinkae, An. pseudopunctipennis, An. sp. near fluminensis, An. oswaldoi, An. nuneztovari and An. rangeli as vectors of malaria parasites in the Rio Ene Valley, a hyperendemic malarious area in Junin Department, eastern Peru. Anopheles trinkae is considered the most important vector based on dissections, abundance and man-vector contact. Other notes are presented on the relative abundance, bionomics and previous records of these species in Peru and in the study sites.