Differential mortality: some comparisons between England and Wales, Finland and France, based on inequality measures

Inequalities in mortality between social classes or socioeconomic groups were compared in three European countries, using similar sources of data from large national cohort studies. People registered at a census in 1971 (1975 for France) or a sample of them, were followed until 1980 or 1981. The Gini coefficient, a measure widely used in economics, allowed the comparison of various situations involving different numbers and group sizes. It was applied to age groups 35-44, and 45-54 for men only. According to this measure, inequalities were of the same order in England and Wales and Finland, and greater in France. Differences between the three countries concerning the principal causes of death leading to inequalities were cardiovascular diseases in England and Wales, accidents and cardiovascular diseases in Finland, and cancer and cirrhosis in France.     

Immunoreactivity of aqueous extracts of rat and mouse tissue with anti-thymosin alpha 1, anti-bovine thymopoietin and anti-thymulin antibodies. Studies using immunoblotting

Anti-thymosin alpha 1 monoclonal antibodies recognized, on immunoblots, 1 to 2 bands corresponding to molecules of 34 and 35 Kd when using aqueous extracts of thymus, spleen, kidney, liver, brain, pituitary and adrenal glands from rats or mice. Anti-bovine thymopoietin polyclonal antibodies, in the same conditions, labelled analogous 34, 35 and 35.5 Kd molecules in brain and thymus extracts but also a 40 Kd molecules in thymus and a 90 Kd in brain extracts. Anti-synthetic thymulin monoclonal antibodies recognized irregularly and poorly a 52 Kd molecule from thymus and brain extracts. These results suggest that thymopoietin, thymulin and specially Thymosin alpha 1 are first synthesized in large precursors. Finally, other organs seem capable of synthesizing thymosin alpha 1 and probably thymopoietin, but for thymulin, the results are too irregular to conclude.     

High-intensity intermittent running training improves pulmonary function and alters exercise breathing pattern in children

We investigated the effects of short duration running training on resting and exercise lung function in healthy prepubescent children. One trained group (TrG) (n = 9; three girls and six boys; age = 9.7 ± 0.9 year) participated in 8 weeks of high-intensity intermittent running training and was compared to a control group (ContG) (n = 9; four girls and five boys; age = 10.3 ± 0.7 year). Before and after the 8-week period, the children performed pulmonary function tests and an incremental exercise test on a cycle ergometer. After the 8-week period, no change was found in pulmonary function in ContG. Conversely, an increase in forced vital capacity (FVC) (+7 ± 4% ; P = 0.026), forced expiratory volume in one second (+11 ± 6% ; P = 0.025), peak expiratory flows (+17 ± 4% ; P = 0.005), maximal expiratory flows at 50% (+16 ± 10% ; P = 0.019) and 75% (+15 ± 8% ; P = 0.006) of FVC were reported in TrG. At peak exercise, TrG displayed higher values of peak oxygen consumption (+15 ± 4% ; P<0.001), minute ventilation (+16 ± 5% ; P = 0.033) and tidal volume (+15 ± 5% ; P = 0.019) after training. At sub-maximal exercise, ventilatory response to exercise was lower (P = 0.017) in TrG after training, associated with reduced end-tidal partial oxygen pressure (P<0.05) and higher end-tidal partial carbon dioxide pressure (P = 0.026). Lower deadspace volume relative to tidal volume was found at each stage of exercise in TrG after training (P<0.05). Eight weeks of high-intensity intermittent running training enhanced resting pulmonary function and led to deeper exercise ventilation reflecting a better effectiveness in prepubescent children.     

Feasibility of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) assessment for cancer patients using electronic patient-reported outcome (ePRO) in daily clinical practice

Quality of Life Research - Routine Electronic Monitoring of Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) (REMOQOL) in clinical care with real-time feedback to physicians could help to enhance...     

The ret protooncogene is expressed in normal human parafollicular thyroid-cells

The RET proto-oncogene has been demonstrated to be expressed in medullary thyroid carcinomas and pheochromocytomas, and was mutated in patients with the multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2A (MEN 2A). The results presented herein show its expression in normal human thyroid parafollicular C cells. Since RET is predicted to encode a receptor for a still unknown ligand, these data confirm its involvement in the regulation and growth of these cells.     

Production of tgf-Beta and hgf receptor by a differentiated papillary thyroid-carcinoma cell-line (B-cpap) - implication in malignancy

The B-CPAP cell line was obtained from a human differentiated papillary thyroid carcinoma. Previous studies showed that the cells present thyroid characteristics such as thyroglobulin production, phenotypic alterations such as synthesis of human chorionic gonadotropin hormone (HCG), expression of neuron specific enolase (NSE) and protein S100, and also somatic mutations of p53 and K-rns oncogenes. The present data further characterize this cell line and show an overexpression of transforming growth factor (TGF beta 1) and c-met gene product i.e. the receptor for human growth factor (HGF). The relation between the phenotypic and somatic alterations in the process of malignancy are discussed.     

Amphiregulin Antisense RNA Delivered by Adnovirus Suppresses Growth of Breast Cancer Cells In Vitro and In Vivo

OBJECTIVE To investigate the therapeutic potential of amphiregulin antisense RNA delivered by adenoviral vector in a human breast cancer model.METHODS Human amphiregulin cDNA was subcloned in the opposite orientation to the cytomegaloviral promoter and inserted into an E1/E3-deleted type 5 adenoviral vector to obtain an AdA4 construct which expresses amphiregulin antisense mRNA. Both in vitro and in vivo antiproliferative effects of the antisense RNA were studied by infecting transformed human breast epithelial NS2T2A1 cells and tumors.RESULTS Amphiregulin protein expression was inhibited dramatically in the NS2T2A1 cells after infection with AdA4. The in vitro cell growth was inhibited significantly at day 4 post-AdA4 infection compared with control empty virus AdC1 at a MOl of 200 and 400 pfu/cell to 69.3% and 49.8%, respectively (P<0.02, P<0.005). After 3 intra-tumoral injections of 109 pfu AdA4, tumor volumes were reduced to 40.6% of that of the control group at day 35 (P<0.005).CONCLUSION The transfer of amphiregulin RNA antisense by adenoviral vector is effective for amphiregulin targeting strategy, leading to an inhibition of in vitro cell proliferation and in vivo tumor growth in this breast cancer model.     

Post-voiding residual volume in 154 primiparae 3 days after vaginal delivery under epidural anesthesia

OBJECTIVES: To use 3-dimensional ultrasonography (3D-US) to determine the frequency of post-voiding residual volume (PVRV) > or =100 mL in primiparae 3 days after receiving epidural anesthesia for vaginal delivery. Potential relationships between day-3 PVRV > or =100 mL and obstetrical-pediatric parameters, especially those possibly implicated in post-obstetrical bladder dysfunction, were examined. STUDY DESIGN: We recruited 154 primiparae who vaginally delivered term singletons following uncomplicated pregnancies in the maternity unit of a French teaching hospital. All women had been systematically catheterized 2-h postpartum to measure precisely the volume of urine retained. On the morning of discharge (day 3), when the patient felt the urge to urinate, her 3D-US pre-voiding bladder volume was determined with BladderScan (BVI-3000), then her spontaneously voided urine was collected to accurately quantify its volume and 3D-US was repeated immediately to evaluate the PVRV. PVRV > or =100 mL on day 3 was considered pathological. RESULT: Among these 154 women, 88 (57%) felt the need to urinate and 97 (63%) had a retained volume > or =500 mL at 2-h postpartum. On day-3 postpartum, the median [range] volumes for the entire cohort were: 426.7 [158-999.7] mL 3D-US-measured pre-voiding, 350 [15-1000] mL collected by spontaneous urination, 82.2 [5.3-433.3] mL 3D-US-determined post-voiding; PVRV exceeded 100 mL for 55 (36%). According to our univariate analysis, no factor considered was able to predict PVRV > or =100 mL on day 3. CONCLUSION: Our observations confirmed the existence of PVRV > or =100 mL on day 3 in more than one-third of these primiparae who delivered vaginally under epidural anesthesia. No obstetrical-pediatric factor could be implicated in this bladder dysfunction. Therefore, we recommend frequent and systematic non-invasive 3D-US monitoring of all postpartum patients at least until day 3 to avoid excessive urine retention.     

Short-term retention effect of rehabilitation using head position-based electrotactile feedback to the tongue: Influence of vestibular loss and old-age

Our objective was to evaluate whether the severity of vestibular loss and old-age (>65) affect a patient's ability to benefit from training using head-position based, tongue-placed electrotactile feedback. Seventy-one chronic dizzy patients, who had reached a plateau with their conventional rehabilitation, followed six 1-h training sessions during 4 consecutive days (once on days 1 and 4, twice on days 2 and 3). They presented bilateral vestibular areflexia (BVA), bilateral vestibular losses (BVL), unilateral vestibular areflexia or unilateral vestibular losses and were divided into two age-subgroups (≤65 and >65). Posturographic assessments were performed without the device, 4 h before and after the training. Patients were tested with eyes opened and eyes closed (EC) on static and dynamic (passively tilting) platforms. The studied posturographic scores improved significantly, especially under test conditions restricting either visual or somatosensory input. This 4-h retention effect was greater in older compared to younger patients and was proportional to the degree of vestibular loss, patients with increased vestibular losses showing greater improvements. In bilateral patients, who constantly fell under dynamic-EC condition at the baseline, the therapy effect was expressed by disappearance of falls in BVL and significant prolongation in time-to-fall in BVA subgroups.Globally, our data showed that short training with head-position based, tongue-placed electrotactile biofeedback improves balance in chronic vestibulopathic patients some 16.74% beyond that achieved with standard balance physiotherapy. Further studies with longer use of this biofeedback are needed to investigate whether this approach could have long-lasting retention effect on balance and quality of life.     

Determination of breast cancer prognosis after neoadjuvant chemotherapy: comparison of Residual Cancer Burden (RCB) and Neo-Bioscore

Background To compare RCB (Residual Cancer Burden) and Neo-Bioscore in terms of prognostic performance and see if adding pathological variables improve these scores.Methods We analysed 750 female patients with invasive breast cancer (BC) treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) at Institut Curie between 2002 and 2012. Scores were compared in global population and by BC subtype using Akaike information criterion (AIC), C-Index (concordance index), calibration curves and after adding lymphovascular invasion (LVI) and pre-/post-NAC TILs levels.Results RCB and Neo-Bioscore were significantly associated to disease-free and overall survival in global population and for triple-negative BC. RCB had the lowest AICs in every BC subtype, corresponding to a better prognostic performance. In global population, C-Index values were poor for RCB (0.66; CI [0.61–0.71]) and fair for Neo-Bioscore (0.70; CI [0.65–0.75]). Scores were well calibrated in global population, but RCB yielded better prognostic performances in each BC subtype. Concordance between the two scores was poor. Adding LVI and TILs improved the performance of both scores.Conclusions Although RCB and Neo-Bioscore had similar prognostic performances, RCB showed better performance in BC subtypes, especially in luminal and TNBC. By generating fewer prognostic categories, RCB enables an easier use in everyday clinical practice.Subject terms: Breast cancer, Breast cancer, Chemotherapy