Renal cell carcinoma--angioinfarction

In our experience the mortality rate in 46 patients who underwent angioinfarction for renal cell carcinoma was 4 per cent. Fever, ileus and leukocytosis were noted in 86 to 90 per cent of our patients. The use of absolute ethanol as a medium for renal infarction was associated with a significant incidence of damage to other organs. A 30 per cent decrease in tumor volume following angioinfarction using absorbable gelatin sponge and Gianturco coils was noted in 75 per cent of the patients. There was no evidence of metastatic tumor reduction and we could not document any significant decrease in operative time or blood loss. It would appear that there is some increased survival rate in patients with metastasis who are given adjuvant immune ribonucleic acid therapy. However, the numbers in our series are not significant to draw any definite conclusion. It is apparent that patients treated with infarction, delayed nephrectomy and medroxyprogesterone acetate did not have any significant survival over those treated with palliative nephrectomy or chemotherapy. The macrophage maturation assay may be useful during clinical followup.     

The role of hyaluronic acid in inflammation and wound healing

We have previously hypothesized that hyaluronic acid (HA) and fibrin specifically interact and help orchestrate the early stages of the inflammatory response and wound healing (J. Theoretic. Biol. 119, 219, 1986). In the present work we have extended studies to confirm this prediction. Several approaches were used to show that human fibrinogen specifically binds to hyaluronic acid. In addition, this latter glycosaminoglycan greatly stimulated the in vitro formation of fibrin clots induced by thrombin. The presence of hyaluronic acid also altered the structure of the final fibrin gel. Removal of circulating hyaluronic acid in blood is therefore probably vital in order to maintain normal haemostasis. Evidence is presented to suggest that an endocytic receptor recycling process is responsible for the ability of liver endothelial cells to perform this function and remove HA from the blood. Although hyaluronic acid levels are initially low in a blood clot, the proposed wound-healing model explains why and how HA levels increase and the functional and structural significance of this polysaccharide during wound healing.     

The Impact of Stress and Temperament on Medical Utilization by School-Age Children

A child's temperament and the stressful life events he or sheexperiences influence a child's health. Efforts to understandstress and illness processes have suggested that a range ofsociodemographic andpsychosocial variables influence the degreeto which a child uses medical services. In this sample of 140families in a health maintenance organization, medical utilizationby school-age children was related to age, family size, stress,and temperament. Fewer relationships were evident in bivariatecorrelational analyses than in multiple regression analyseswhich allowed for simultaneous consideration of the variables.Two highly statistically significant multiple regression modelseach accounted for 20% of the variance in medical utilizationover a 4-yearperiod. Evidence for independent main effects aswell as mediating or interacting effects of stress and temperamentdimensions of mood and distractibility was generated. healthcare providers and health policy planners efforts can be informedby research which increasingly articulates the relationshipsamong variables influencing the use of medical services.     

Mechanical disruption of lysis-resistant bacterial cells by use of a miniature, low-power, disposable device

Molecular detection of microorganisms requires microbial cell disruption to release nucleic acids. Sensitive detection of thick-walled microorganisms such as Bacillus spores and Mycobacterium cells typically necessitates mechanical disruption through bead beating or sonication, using benchtop instruments that require line power. Miniaturized, low-power, battery-operated devices are needed to facilitate mechanical pathogen disruption for nucleic acid testing at the point of care and in field settings. We assessed the lysis efficiency of a very small disposable bead blender called OmniLyse relative to the industry standard benchtop Biospec Mini-BeadBeater. The OmniLyse weighs approximately 3 g, at a size of approximately 1.1 cm(3) without the battery pack. Both instruments were used to mechanically lyse Bacillus subtilis spores and Mycobacterium bovis BCG cells. The relative lysis efficiency was assessed through real-time PCR. Cycle threshold (C(T)) values obtained at all microbial cell concentrations were similar between the two devices, indicating that the lysis efficiencies of the OmniLyse and the BioSpec Mini-BeadBeater were comparable. As an internal control, genomic DNA from a different organism was spiked at a constant concentration into each sample upstream of lysis. The C(T) values for PCR amplification of lysed samples using primers specific to this internal control were comparable between the two devices, indicating negligible PCR inhibition or other secondary effects. Overall, the OmniLyse device was found to effectively lyse tough-walled organisms in a very small, disposable, battery-operated format, which is expected to facilitate sensitive point-of-care nucleic acid testing.     

Ergodic and nonergodic processes coexist in the plasma membrane as observed by single-molecule tracking

Diffusion in the plasma membrane of living cells is often found to display anomalous dynamics. However, the mechanism underlying this diffusion pattern remains highly controversial. Here, we study the physical mechanism underlying Kv2.1 potassium channel anomalous dynamics using single-molecule tracking. Our analysis includes both time series of individual trajectories and ensemble averages. We show that an ergodic and a nonergodic process coexist in the plasma membrane. The ergodic process resembles a fractal structure with its origin in macromolecular crowding in the cell membrane. The nonergodic process is found to be regulated by transient binding to the actin cytoskeleton and can be accurately modeled by a continuous-time random walk. When the cell is treated with drugs that inhibit actin polymerization, the diffusion pattern of Kv2.1 channels recovers ergodicity. However, the fractal structure that induces anomalous diffusion remains unaltered. These results have direct implications on the regulation of membrane receptor trafficking and signaling.