Histologic analysis of tissue response to bucrylate-pantopaque mixture

A toxicologic-pathologic study of isobutyl-2-cyanoacrylate (Bucrylate) was carried out first in dogs and then in humans whose arteriovenous malformations were infused with this embolic agent. The canine specimens obtained at 7, 18, 28, and 147 days after embolization showed the development of a mild histiocytic giant cell reaction, which evolved to end-state sclerotic arteritis. The response was confined to the vessels and did not involve contiguous parenchymal tissues. Ten human specimens, obtained from 1 hr to 7 years after treatment, showed a similar bland reaction with no evidence of suppuration or premalignant changes.     

Solid and papillary epithelial neoplasms of the pancreas: CT findings

Five female patients and one male patient with solid and papillary epithelial neoplasms of the pancreas were examined with computed tomography (CT). The mean age of the patients was 27 years (range, 13-46 years). All cases showed well-encapsulated, round or lobulated masses consisting of both cystic and solid areas. Cystic portions showed CT numbers that suggested hemorrhagic necrosis. There were no internal septations within the masses. In three tumors located in the head of the pancreas, dilatation of the biliary tree was absent or minimal, although the masses were large. Two tumors contained calcifications. One tumor demonstrated metastatic deposits in liver and lymph nodes. Metastatic masses appeared similar to the primary pancreatic mass. Solid and papillary neoplasm of the pancreas should be the primary diagnostic consideration when characteristic CT findings are detected in a young female patient.     

Clinical and genetic features of variegate porphyria in a Chinese patient

Acute porphyria is rare in orientals. We describe a Chinese woman with recurrent generalised tonic-clonic seizures and abdominal pain. Genomic DNA studies identified a heterozygous base substitution from guanine to adenine at nucleotide position 503, resulting in substitution of arginine by histidine at position 168 of the protein (R168H). This genetic abnormality is similar to the mutation reported in Caucasians with variegate porphyria. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report in the English literature a Chinese patient with variegate porphyria with an identifiable mutation. A brief review of porphyria is presented.     

Flow dynamics for radiologists. II. Practical considerations in the live human.

Although the rules about flows seem complex and even at times suggest chaos, some general principles can be extracted and used by the radiologist. Normal arteries damp disturbances, tolerate our catheters well, and generally cause the blood''s slipstreams to swirl. It seems that the swirls and the energy that accompanies the passage of those swirls are prime determiners of the development of degenerative changes, most importantly of atherosclerosis and berry aneurysms. Knowing this, we now must direct our research to look beyond today''s practical applications and this simplistic summary. Radiologists who trained during the angiography era are often incredulous when they see the richness of information found in physiologic flow models. For years, contrast agents have hidden the elegant complexity of blood flow. Now, however, we have two new powerful machines: the Doppler gray-scale ultrasound and the MR scanner. These machines routinely demonstrate flow data that we do not as yet use. As angiographers we have a natural and unconscious bias to make images produced by our new machines look like the classic angiogram. It is a powerful and pervasive bias. We still call angiography our "gold standard." We must overcome that bias. As valuable as angiography has been to radiology, it may no longer be our benchmark. A new standard is ready to be developed. The MR scanner even now not only allows calculation of global flow in vessels but also analyzes individual slipstreams. The images shown here are only the beginning. Keep our old mindset, and the limits and utility of the MR scanner will not be explored by radiologists. However, if we physicians, especially radiologists, reenter the field of fluid dynamics, all of science and our patients will benefit. We have broad shoulders to stand on and see into the future. Harvey, Hales, Galen, and Poiseuille: all were physicians; they added immeasurably to the foundations of rheology and our understanding of flowing blood. We must be willing to do likewise.     

The influence of reported paternal attitudes on the decision to breast-feed

Objective: To identify factors that influence a woman's decision to breast-feed.
Methodology: Five hundred and fifty-six women were recruited from the maternity wards of two Perth hospitals. Data were collected from a self-administered questionnaire completed by participants prior to discharge. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine factors influencing the initiation of breast-feeding.
Results: At discharge from hospital 83.8% of women were breast-feeding, including 6% who were giving complementary formula feeds. After controlling for potentially confounding demographic and biomedical factors, the father's reported preference for breast-feeding was found to be the most important factor influencing a woman's decision to breast-feed (OR 10.18).
Conclusion: Fathers participate in and influence the choice of infant feeding method and should be included in breast-feeding discussions.     

Isolation and characterization of propagable cell lines (HUNC) from the androgen-sensitive Dunning R3327H rat prostatic adenocarcinoma

The Dunning H rat prostate tumor (R3327H) is a widely used experimental model of human prostatic adenocarcinoma (CaP). The Dunning H tumor has been characterized as androgen-sensitive, androgen-receptor (AR) positive, prostate-specific antigen and prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP) positive. To date, the tumor has been maintained by serial passage in vivo because of the lack of an in vitro cell line that retains the characteristics of the in vivo tumor. The objective of the present study was to establish a propagable cell line from R3327H adenocarcinoma that maintained androgen sensitivity and expression of AR, PSA and PAP. Tissue harvested from an in vivo R3327H tumor was dissociated with collagenase and placed into Richter's improved media (with supplements). A cytokeratin-positive epithelial cell line (HUNC- E) and a vimentin-positive stromal cell line (HUNC-S) were generated from the primary culture, subcultured continuously for >300 days, and passaged >50 times. Survival of the HUNC-E cell line in vitro depended on several media supplements, including nicotinamide, insulin, transferrin, selenium and epidermal growth factor (EGF). HUNC-E cells expressed AR and produced PSA and PAP throughout the culture period, as confirmed by immunocytochemistry and Western blot analyses. Addition of 14 nM testosterone (T) or dihydrotestosterone (DHT) to HUNC-E cells, stimulated DNA synthesis as well as anchorage-independent growth and PSA production, which demonstrated the androgen-sensitive nature of the cells in vitro. When HUNC-E and HUNC-S cells were combined in a 3:1 ratio and introduced subcutaneously into syngeneic male hosts, tumors formed in 2/3 animals with an average latency of 7 months. RT-PCR and immunocytochemical characterization of the HUNC cell lines revealed that the cells expressed several growth factors and their cognate receptors, including HGF, TGF-alpha and the TGF-betas, indicating the establishment of potential autocrine loops in the neoplastic cells. The HUNC-E and HUNC-S CaP cell lines, which retain the characteristics of the epithelial and stromal components of the in vivo R3327H tumor, will allow a more thorough and informative molecular and biological analysis of prostatic adenocarcinoma.      

银杏叶提取物改善反复脑缺血再灌注小鼠血液流变学的作用

目的：研究银杏叶提取物（ＥＧＢ）改善反复脑缺血再灌注小鼠血液流这的作用。方法：采用反复脑缺血再注模型鼠,应用毛细管微量热沉法和毛细管微量法分别检测血纤维蛋白原含量和红细胞压积数值,并将结果输入全自动血液流变仪得出血浆粘度、血液粘度、血细胞聚集系数,血栓形成系数及微循环滞留时间（ＭＳＴ）。结果：ＥＢＧ２５￣１００ｍｇ／ｋｇ均可不同程度地降低Ｆｉｂ、ＨＣＴ、降低ηｂ、ηｐ、ηｈ,缩小ＶＡＬ及ＴＷＥＬ,     

Beta 2-integrin and L-selectin are obligatory receptors in neutrophil aggregation [see comments]

We have recently found that antibodies to L-selectin, the homing receptor on neutrophils, are as effective as those to beta 2-integrin at blocking formyl peptide-stimulated aggregation. Therefore, we investigated the requirements for expression of L-selectin and beta 2- integrin on adjacent cells during aggregation. Fluorescence flow cytometry allowed characterization of aggregates on the basis of size and color, as well as antibody binding to these two adhesive molecules. Formyl peptide-stimulated aggregate formation was measured for individual populations fluorescently labeled red (LDS-751) or green (CD44-FITC), and interpopulation red-green cell conjugates. Blocking either the beta 2-integrin or L-selectin adhesive epitope with monoclonal antibody on individual cell populations resulted in an approximately 50% reduction in two-color aggregation as compared with that in unblocked samples. Shedding the L-selectin on a cell population by preincubation with complexes of lipopolysaccharide and its plasma membrane binding protein also decreased aggregation to a control population by approximately 50%. We examined the aggregation of neutrophils from patients genetically deficient in beta 2-integrin and clinically leukocyte adhesion deficient (LAD). LAD adhesion to normal neutrophils was dependent on the expression of L-selectin on LAD cells and beta 2-integrin on normal cells. Thus, the minimum requirement for adhesion between two mixed populations of neutrophils was that one population expressed the beta 2-integrin and the other expressed the L- selectin adhesive epitope.