Moderately Hypofractionated Helical IMRT,FDG–PET/CT-guided,for Progressive Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma in Patients With Intact Lungs

Introduction

The objective of this study was to present the outcomes of moderately hypofractionated helical intensity-modulated radiation therapy (HT) with/without simultaneous integrated boost (SIB) on fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) positive areas (gross tumor volume [GTV]-PET) for patients with progressive malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) after previous treatments.

Impact of a conjugate vaccine on community-wide carriage of nonsusceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae in Alaska

BACKGROUND: Streptococcus pneumoniae is a leading cause of invasive bacterial disease and pneumonia among children. Antimicrobial resistance among pneumococci has increased in recent years and complicates treatment. The introduction of heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) could reduce acquisition of antimicrobial-resistant pneumococci. METHODS: We obtained 1350 nasopharyngeal swabs for culture from 1275 children aged 3-59 months presenting at 3 clinics in Anchorage, Alaska, during the winters of 2000, 2001, and 2002, as PCV7 was being introduced into the routine immunization schedule. We recorded the frequency of use of antibiotics as well as the dates of doses of PCV7 for enrolled children. We used multivariate logistic regression modeling to identify independent risk factors for overall carriage of pneumococci and carriage of PCV7-type pneumococci, cotrimoxazole-nonsusceptible (COT-NS) pneumococci, or penicillin-nonsusceptible (PCN-NS) pneumococci. RESULTS: The proportion of children who were up-to-date for age, with respect to PCV7 vaccination, increased from 0% in 2000 to 55% in 2002. Carriage of PCV7-type pneumococci decreased by 43% (P<.0001). Risk of carriage of PCV7-type pneumococci was lower in 2002 than in 2000, independent of vaccination status, suggesting an indirect effect of vaccination. Carriage of COT-NS, but not PCN-NS, pneumococci also decreased (38%; P=.02), not only among vaccinated children but also among unvaccinated children without recent use of antibiotics. CONCLUSIONS: Introduction of PCV7 into the routine infant immunization schedule in a community with a high prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant pneumococci appears to reduce transmission of PCV7 vaccine serotypes and COT-NS pneumococci but has no impact on overall carriage of pneumococci or carriage of PCN-NS pneumococci.     

Novel de novo heterozygous loss-of-function variants in MED13L and further delineation of the MED13L haploinsufficiency syndrome

MED13L haploinsufficiency has recently been described as responsible for syndromic intellectual disability. We planned a search for causative gene variants in seven subjects with intellectual disability and overlapping dysmorphic facial features such as bulbous nasal tip, short mouth and straight eyebrows. We found two de novo frameshift variants in MED13L, consisting in single-nucleotide deletion (c.3765delC) and duplication (c.607dupT). A de novo nonsense variant (c.4420A>T) in MED13L was detected in a further subject in the course of routine whole-exome sequencing. By analyzing the clinical data of our patients along with those recently described in the literature, we confirm that there is a common, recognizable phenotype associated with MED13L haploinsufficiency, which includes intellectual disability and a distinctive facial appearance. Congenital heart diseases are found in some subjects with various degree of severity. Our observation of cleft palate, ataxia, epilepsy and childhood leukemia observed in single cases broadens the known clinical spectrum. Haploinsufficiency for MED13L should be considered in the differential diagnosis of the 1p36 microdeletion syndrome, due to overlapping dysmorphic facial features in some patients. The introduction of massive parallel-sequencing techniques into clinical practice is expected to allow for detection of other causative point variants in MED13L. Analysis of genomic data in connection with deep clinical evaluation of patients could elucidate genetic heterogeneity of the MED13L haploinsufficiency phenotype.     

Mast cell recruitment after subcutaneous injection of RANTES in the sole of the rat paw

Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF)-induced alteration of phosphoprotein during differentiation of HL-60 cells was studied. From the two-dimensional gel electrophoresis analysis of phosphoproteins, a 45 kD phosphoprotein in the cytosolic fraction of DMSO-pretreated HL-60 cells was rapidly dephosphorylated by the addition of G-CSF. This 45 kD phosphoprotein migrated into four or five spots between 4.5 and 5.5 pI. The dephosphorylation of 45 kD protein was observed within at least 10 min and reached a maximum at 60 min. Phosphoamino acid analysis showed that only serine residue of 45 kD phosphoprotein was phosphorylated, suggesting that G-CSF induced an activation of serine phosphatase. Furthermore, Staurosporine and calphostin C inhibited the phosphorylation of 45 kD protein, suggesting that protein kinase C or its downstream kinase(s) is involved in the phosphorylation of 45 kD protein. These results indicate that G-CSF causes dephosphorylation of a 45 kD cytosolic phosphoprotein which may play a role in signal transduction of G-CSF.     

Animals recover but plant life knowledge is still impaired 10 years after herpetic encephalitis: the long-term follow-up of a patient

In this study we report the long-term follow-up of EA, a patient originally affected by a disproportionate semantic impairment of biological categories due to herpetic encephalitis. After 10 years, EA still presented a biological categories semantic impairment, but his deficit had become minimal for animals while it remained considerably severe for fruit and vegetables, without any evolution from the original level of impairment. The eventual discrepancy between the two subsets of biological categories was statistically significant at word–picture matching and verbal semantic probes (and could not be explained by nuisance variables), but not significant at picture naming due to an associated lexical impairment that, besides plant life items, also affected animals and artefact stimuli.

Our recovery data corroborate the notion that biological categories should be further fractionated, and we comment on the suitability of different accounts of category specificity to accommodate such findings. We discuss our case against the background of other cases reported in the literature and the current models of organisation of the semantic system, bringing to light some interesting consistencies concerning patients whose semantic impairment disproportionately affects the categories of fruit and vegetables.     

Low levels of frailty in HIV-positive older adults on antiretroviral therapy in northern Tanzania

Journal of NeuroVirology - There are over 3 million people in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) aged 50 and over living with HIV. HIV and combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) exposure may accelerate the...