A direct experiment on the problem of the light sensitivity of the iris

Summary Small areas of the human iris were illuminated in situ by means of a photic stimulator attached to a contact lens. A local contraction of the iris tissue as found in Amphibians was not observed.

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Zusammenfassung Kleine Bezirke der menschlichen Iris wurden in situ mit Hilfe eines Lichtreizgerätes beleuchtet, das auf einem Kontaktglas befestigt war. Lokale Reaktionen von der Art, wie man sie bei Amphibien kennt, wurden nicht beobachtet.

     

The problem of direct lymph drainage of the bronchopulmonary segments into the mediastinal and hilar lymph nodes

The phenomenon of skip metastases depends on the occurrence of direct metastases of non‐small cell lung cancer into mediastinal lymph nodes without the involvement of hilar lymph nodes. The medical literature suggests that this prevalence ranges between 13 and 37.8% of cases. The goal of our study was to evaluate the prevalence of subpleural superficial lymphatic vessels carrying the lymph from the bronchopulmonary segments directly to the mediastinal nodes thus skipping the hilar nodes and determine whether there is a tendency towards differentiation in lymph drainage between males and females. During autopsy, 27 left and 27 right lungs were removed from 19 male and eight female cadavers. The lymphatic vessels were visualized at the mediastinal and interlobar surface of the lung by visual inspection. These vessels were then cannulated and injected with drawing ink. The first lymph node to become ink‐colored via injection was dissected and histologically examined. The lymph flowed into hilar lymph nodes in 79.5% of the cases and into the mediastinal nodes in 20.5% of all the 83 vessels injected; of these 13.2% were from the right lung and in 7.2% from the left lung. The upper right lobe (5/14 vessels) and its anterior segment (3/14 vessels) were the most common source of the direct lymph drainage to the mediastinum. Vessels of 15.4% in female cadavers (4/26) and 22.8% vessels in male cadavers (13/57) traveled directly to mediastinal nodes skipping the hilar nodes. This difference was not statistically significant. Clin. Anat. 22:509–516, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Assessing the quality of cancer screening leaflets using the International Patient Decision Aids Standards instrument: A cross-sectional content analysis

ObjectiveTo assess the quality of national cancer screening program leaflets in Japan from the informed-decision perspective.MethodsCross-sectional content analysis of invitation leaflets issued by centralized organizations and used nationwide in Japan was conducted. Three members independently evaluated the materials using International Patient Decision Aids Standards six-item minimum criteria for qualifying patient decision aids.Patient public involvementCo-author KH is a cancer patient himself. We also sought feedbacks from three other cancer survivors and two bereaved family members.ResultsInter-rater agreement was substantial (Fleiss’ kappa=0.62). The median score was 2 out of 6 (range: 2–3). All leaflets described the cancer (Q1: 7/7) and screening modality (Q2: 7/7). None stated not undergoing screening as an option. One stated another screening modality (Q3: 1/7). None stated both the positive and negative features of multiple options (Q4: 0/7. Q5: 0/7). One described the psychological and social experience of screening but only its positive side (Q6: 1/7).ConclusionsThere is room for improvement in the content of the public cancer screening invitation leaflets in Japan from informed-decision perspective.Practice implicationsCancer screening leaflets should provide evidence-based, well-balanced, easy-to-understand information to educate people on cancer screening while maintaining people’s autonomy.     

Dynamic Aspects of the Immunoglobulin Structure

ABSTRACT

Immunoglobulin (Ig) molecules are composed of Fab and Fc portions tethered by a hinge region that enables them to rotate and flex, relative to each other. Variable (V) and constant (C) domains of the Fab are connected by a flexible elbow region that is responsible for the movements of the V and C heterodimers. Significant movements of Fc domains have also been documented. The Ig portion’s rotational freedom greatly enhances its ability to react with antigens and cell receptors, often simultaneously. The antigen-combining site also displays a dynamic structure. The ability of its various parts to change position greatly facilitates their complexation with various antigenic compounds.     

Towards a Universal Clinical Genomics Database: The 2012 International Standards for Cytogenomic Arrays Consortium Meeting

The 2012 International Standards for Cytogenomic Arrays (ISCA) Consortium Meeting, “Towards a Universal Clinical Genomic Database,” was held in Bethesda, Maryland, May 21–22, 2012, and was attended by over 200 individuals from around the world representing clinical genetic testing laboratories, clinicians, academia, industry, research, and regulatory agencies. The scientific program centered on expanding the current focus of the ISCA Consortium to include the collection and curation of both structural and sequence‐level variation into a unified clinical genomics database, available to the public through resources such as the National Center for Biotechnology Information's ClinVar database. Here, we provide an overview of the conference, with summaries of the topics presented for discussion by over 25 different speakers. Presentations are available online at www.iscaconsortium.org .