Adenocarcinoma arising in a chondroid syringoma of vulva.

Chondroid syringoma of the vulva is an extremely rare tumor. Of the previously reported cases, only one was clinically malignant. The authors describe a case of chondroid syringoma of the right labium majus from which arose a papillary adenocarcinoma. A right inguinal lymph node was replaced with metastatic adenocarcinoma.     

Low Serum Retinol Is Associated with Increased Severity of Measles in New York City Children

Children with no known prior vitamin A deficiency exhibited a significant decline in their serum retinol levels during the acute phase of measles. This decline in circulating retinol was associated with increased duration of fever, higher hospitalization rates, and decreased antibody titers.     

Perceptions of Parenting and Depression-Proneness in the Offspring: Dysfunctional Attitudes as a Mediating Mechanism

This research attempted to clarifythe mechanismthrough which dysfunctional parenting leads todepression in the offspring. Consistent with theorizingbyBeck (1967), we tested a three-stage causal pathway wherein dysfunctional parenting should giverise to dysfunctional attitudes in the offspring which,in turn, should give rise to depression-proneness in theoffspring. Another objective of this study was to further delineate the types of parentingbehaviors that give rise to dysfunctional attitudes inthe offspring. To this end, a large sample of collegestudents (N = 246) completed measures assessing four parenting dimensions (i.e., low care,overprotection, perfectionistic expectations, andcriticalness) as well as measures assessingdysfunctional attitudes, general depression-proneness,and current depression. Support for the depressogenic effects of allfour parenting dimensions was obtained in that eachparenting dimension correlated significantly withdysfunctional attitudes and depression tendencies in the offspring. Moreover, path analyses supportedBeck's three-stage causal model with perfectionistic andcritical parenting playing a particularly prominentrole. Last, after controlling for current depression, the partial correlations among the variables inthe three-stage model remained significant, suggestingthat the present findings were not simply the result ofa mood congruency effect. These findings illuminate additional parenting behaviors that can havedepressogenic effects and indicate that these parentingbehaviors exert their effects, at least in part, by wayof instilling dysfunctional attitudes in the offspring.     

Preliminary evaluation of a fuzzy logic-based automatic quantitative analysis in myocardial SPECT.

This study validates a new quantitative myocardial perfusion SPECT software. METHODS: The processing starts with the extraction of the morphologic skeleton of the left ventricular myocardium from reconstructed transverse sections. Fuzzy logic is used to decide whether a pixel belongs to the myocardium and any perfusion defect is filled according to a truncated bullet model. The resulting image is partitioned in 18 isovolumetric sectors. Sex-matched normal limits, criteria of abnormality for rest (201)Tl and (99m)Tc-labeled perfusion tracers, reproducibility studies, and detection of coronary artery disease were developed and validated in an overall population of 343 patients. The sex- and tracer-matched means and SDs of a normal response were calculated in 93 male and 93 female patients with a <5% likelihood of coronary artery disease. Reproducibility measurements and assignment of different sectors of the myocardium to a specific coronary were performed from data collected in 49 and 60 patients, respectively. The accuracy of the detection of a coronary artery occlusion was assessed in 48 patients who also underwent coronary angiography. RESULTS: The intra- and interoperator reproducibility of the sectorial activity was high with a linear regression coefficient of 0.97 and a SD of the difference measurement at 4.4% and 3.8%, respectively. Overall sensitivity and specificity for the detection of occluded coronary artery were 90% and 80%, respectively. For the detection of left anterior descending, left circumflex, and right artery coronary occlusion, sensitivity was 92%, 75%, and 92.5%, respectively, and specificity was 75%, 78%, and 90%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The new quantitative myocardial perfusion SPECT software appears to be a very helpful program for the objective analysis of perfusion tracer distribution in myocardial SPECT and a very accurate tool in the detection and localization of coronary artery occlusion.     

Absorption rates and free radical scavenging values of vitamin C-lipid metabolites in human lymphoblastic cells.

BACKGROUND: In this study we investigated the cellular absorption rates, antioxidant and free radical scavenging activity of vitamin C-lipid metabolites. The absorption was measured in a human lymphoblastic cell line using a spectrophotometric technique. MATERIAL/METHODS: Cellular vitamin C levels in the human lymphoblastic H9 cell line were measured using the 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine spectrophotometric technique. Free radical scavenging activity of vitamin C-lipid metabolites was measured by the reduction of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) to 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazine. Vitamin C-lipid metabolite scavenging of peroxyl radical oxygen reactive species (ORAC) was determined by fluorescence spectrophotometry. RESULTS: Compared to ascorbic acid (AA), calcium ascorbate (CaA), and calcium ascorbate-calcium threonate-dehydroascorbate (Ester-C), vitamin C-lipid metabolites (PureWay-C) were more rapidly absorbed by the H9 human T-lymphocytes. The vitamin C-lipid metabolites (PureWay-C) also reduced pesticide-induced T-lymphocyte aggregation by 84%, while calcium ascorbate-calcium threonate-dehydroascorbate (Ester-C) reduced aggregation by only 34%. The vitamin C-lipid metabolites (PureWay-C) demonstrated free radical scavenging activity of nearly 100% reduction of DPPH at 20 microg/ml and oxygen radical scavenging of over 1200 micro Trolox equivalents per gram. CONCLUSIONS: These data demonstrate that the vitamin C-lipid metabolites (PureWay-C) are more rapidly taken-up and absorbed by cells than other forms of vitamin C, including Ester-C. This increased rate of absorption correlates with an increased protection of the T-lymphocytes from pesticide toxicities. Further, vitamin C-lipid metabolites (PureWay-C) are a potent antioxidant and have significant free radical scavenging capabilities.     

A review of strategies for enhancing the completeness of notifiable disease reporting.

Notifiable disease surveillance systems provide essential data for infectious disease prevention and control programs at the local, state, and national levels. Given that reporting completeness is known to vary considerably, this review identifies methods that can reliably enhance completeness of reporting. These surveillance-related activities include initiating active surveillance when appropriate; implementing automated, electronic laboratory-based reporting; strengthening ties with clinicians and other key partners in notifiable disease reporting; and increasing the use of laboratory diagnostic tests in identifying new cases. Despite ample data in support of these strategies, notifiable disease surveillance continues to receive insufficient attention and resources. Recent attention to public health preparedness provides an opportunity to strengthen notifiable disease surveillance and enhance completeness of reporting.     

Longitudinal predictors of continued tobacco use among patients diagnosed with cancer

Even though continued smoking by cancer patients adversely affects survival and quality of life, about one third of patients who smoked prior to their diagnosis continue to smoke after their diagnosis. The implementation of smoking cessation treatments for cancer patients has been slowed by the lack of data on correlates of tobacco use in this population. Thus, this longitudinal study assessed demographic, medical, addiction, and psychological predictors of tobacco use among 74 head, neck, and lung cancer patients. Multivariable binary logistic regression analyses, with outcome categorized as smoker or nonsmoker, indicated that the likelihoodthat patients would be a smoker was associated with lower levels of perceived risk and a higher level of quitting cons. Multivariable nominal logistic regression, with outcome classified as continuous smoker, continuous quitter, relapser, or follow-up quitter, indicated that: (a) patients categorized as continuous smokers reported significantly lower quitting self-efficacy than follow-up quitters and continuous quitters, (b) relapsers reported a significantly lower level of quitting self-efficacy than either follow-up quitters or continuous quitters, and (c) continuous smokers exhibited a significantly lower level of risk perceptions than continuous abstainers. These findings can be useful for the development and evaluation of treatments to promote smoking cessation among cancer patients. Support for this study was provided by National Institutes of Health Grants CA57708, CA06927, CA88610, CA95678, and CA76644.