Anticarcinogenic effect of palustran on rat tumors induced by 3-(1-α-L-arabinopyranosyl)-1-methyl-1-nitrosourea (AMNU)

The study explores the effect of palustran on AMNU-induced carcinogenesis in rats. Palustran significantly reduced the total incidence of neoplasms and the incidence of kidney tumors. These data suggest that palustran can be beneficial in preventing new primary tumors in tumor patients treated with nitrosalkylurea analogs. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 125, No. 5, pp. 566–568, May, 1998     

Mechanical Wear of Pacemaker Lead Insulation. A Cause of Loss of Pacing

A pacemaker-treated patient is described in whom lead insulation defect caused sudden loss of capture. The defect was caused by mechanical wear of the posterior leaflet of the tricuspid valve and resulted in shunting of the pulse generator with a current drain exceeding the capacity of the pacemaker. In three further cases a similar explanation to sudden loss of pacing was highly suspected.     

Evaluation of sympathetic and parasympathetic mechanisms of regulation in autonomic paroxysms

Patients with autonomic paroxysms (AP) and hysterical attacks (HA) have been examined with the use of ECG wave structure analysis. Domination of slow and reduction of respiratory waves reflect the background stress of the sympathetic and insufficiency of vagal mechanisms with rigidity of heart rhythm pulsation structure in AP patients or excessive reactivity to emotional stress in HA patients. The efficacy of beta-adrenoblocker anaprilin and diazepam and the inefficacy of alpha-adrenoblocker phentolamine for AP treatment are validated.     

The immunogistochemical aspects of the angiogenesis by Ewing's sarcoma

Results of observation were analyzed in 68 patients with Ewing's sarcoma. Reagents made by DAKO (France) such as CD-31, endothelial cell, clone JC 70A, isotype: Lg GI, kappa 02/1 ml were used in the study. It was estimated, that CD31 expression activity in endothelial elements was inversely proportional and reliably correlated with malignant process by the Ewing's sarcoma. Indices of lymphoid infiltration in pathological focus were inversely proportional to the expression of CD-31 positive cells. Statistically reliable inversely proportional relationship was revealed between CD-31 expression of endothelial cells and spontaneous tissue necrotization in the Ewing's sarcoma. Reliable direct correlation was ascertained between tumor angiogenesis and amount of CD-31.     

Tetranectin positive expression in tumour tissue leads to longer survival in Danish women with ovarian cancer. Results from the ‘Malova’ ovarian cancer study

The primary objective of this study was to analyse Tetranectin (TN) expression in tumour tissues and TN serum concentration in 758 women with epithelial ovarian tumours. The second was to evaluate, whether TN tissue expression levels correlate with clinico‐pathological parameters and prognosis of the disease. Using tissue arrays we analysed the expression levels in tissues from 166 women with borderline ovarian tumours (BOTs) and 592 women with ovarian cancer (OC). A panel of three antibodies was used for immunohistochemistry: a polyclonal and two monoclonal antibodies. Serum TN was measured using the polyclonal antibody A‐371. Univariate survival analyses stratified for chemotherapy showed that positive tissue TN as demonstrated by the polyclonal antibody indicated a significantly longer overall survival (OS) (p = 0.0001) as well as cancer specific survival (CSS) (p < 0.0001). High serum TN was likewise found to imply longer OS (p < 0.0001) and CSS (p < 0.0001), whereas tissue staining with the two monoclonal antibodies failed to demonstrate any significant correlation with either survival type. Univariate Kaplan–Meier survival analysis performed on all OC cases showed a significantly longer OS (p = 0.0009) and CSS (p = 0.0006) for women with TN positive tumour tissue and in women with high serum TN levels (p < 0.0001 for both). However, in the multivariate Cox regression analysis, only serum TN was found to be an independent prognostic factor for OS (p = 0.01) and not for CSS (p = 0.08). In conclusion, our results predict that a positive TN expression of both tumour tissue and serum points to a more favourable outcome for OC patients.     

Personal networks,social media,and community cohesion in the strategies of peace‐building agents in Colombia to counteract the segregation of displaced populations

As part of the “Colombian Peace Process,” victim assistance programs, actions for the reincorporation into civilian life of ex‐combatants, and demobilized persons of the armed conflict have been developed as well as innovative instances of intervention in cases of posttraumatic stress. In this study, we surveyed 143 community leaders from the Department of Atlántico (Colombia), participants in a program for capacity building in rehabilitation and mediation strategies. With a mixed design in which we combine the analysis of personal networks, psychometric scales, and qualitative interviews, we describe the use that community mediators make of their personal skills, their personal network, and social media in their actions to confront social trauma and promote coexistence in the local community. The results show a significant relationship between the density of personal networks and the psychological sense of community. Paradoxically, the high social cohesion of the communities of people displaced by political violence seems to pose objective difficulties in reducing trauma. In the discussion, we indicate that the sociogeographic segregation derived from housing policies becomes an obstacle to the effective functioning of the coexistence and reintegration programs of victims and demobilized persons of the armed conflict. In this context, social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp are little used by community mediators in the development of their activities, which they perceive as reinforcing largely the dynamics of segregation of the displaced population.