Ability of rosetting or non-rosetting individual control and inflammatory macrophages to kill Escherichia coli X43 intracellularly

An autoradiographic method combined with a rosette technique was used to assess the bactericidal activity of individual control and inflammatory peritoneal macrophages (PM phi) in the presence or absence of expression of Fc receptor for IgG (FcR). There was a lack of FcR reactivity in a certain percentage of both categories of PM phi exposed to E. coli X43, a bacterium which is readily phagocytosed in the presence of specific antibody. Both rosetting and non-rosetting PM phi were capable of phagocytosing E. coli X43, but inflammatory PM phi showed a marked reduction in their capacity to ingest these bacteria compared with control PM phi. Once ingested the E. coli X43 were killed equally well by non-rosetting and rosetting control and inflammatory PM phi.     

Autoimmunity in chronic bullous skin diseases. Immunofluorescent demonstration of three types of antibodies to skin in sera of patients with pemphigus, bullous pemphigoid and in other human sera

Antibodies to an intercellular substance of epidermis and other stratified squamous epithelia demonstrable by immunofluorescent staining have been reported to occur in the sera of patients with pemphigus vulgaris. Using sera of patients with bullous pemphigoid, antibodies to a component of the basement zone of skin had been found by the same technique. In the present study these observations have been confirmed and extended. In addition to the above mentioned immunofluorescent staining reactions, another type of antibody directed to a cytoplasmic or perinuclear component of epidermal cells was found in a variety of pathologic sera. This observation points to the need for differentiating other skin-reactive antibodies from those found only in pemphigus. Guinea-pig lip sections appeared to be satisfactory for these studies. Mixed immunofluorescence was found to yield staining reactions identical to those observed by the indirect staining method, and gave titres the same as or lower than those obtained by the indirect staining procedure. Using the indirect method with guinea-pig lip sections it was found that eight of ten sera of patients with pemphigus contained intercellular antibodies while 102 control sera failed to yield reactions of this type. The titres of antibodies appeared to be proportional to the severity of the disease process. Sera of two out of three patients suffering from bullous pemphigoid yielded immunofluorescence staining of the basement zone while 109 controls were negative for this antibody.     

A second locus (GLC3B) for primary congenital glaucoma (Buphthalmos) maps to the 1p36 region

Primary congenital glaucoma (gene symbol: GLC3) is an ocular disorder that occurs for 0.01-0.04% of blind people. In the majority of familial cases reported so far, this condition is inherited as an autosomal recessive trait. We have recently used a group of 17 GLC3 families with a minimum of two affected offspring and consanguinity in most of the parental generation and mapped the first GLC3 locus (GLC3A) to the 2p21 region. Six families did not show any linkage to the GLC3A locus and thus provided evidence for genetic heterogeneity of this disorder. A total of eight families unlinked to the 2p21 region were used to search for the chromosomal location of the second GLC3 locus. Herein, we describe mapping of a new locus (designated GLC3B) for primary congenital glaucoma to the short arm of chromosome 1 (1p36.2-36.1) that is situated centromeric to the neuroblastoma and Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 2A (CMT2A) loci. A total of 17 DNA markers were genotyped from this region of chromosome 1. Four families showed no recombination with the two markers D1S2834 and D1S402 with a maximum lod score of 4.510 and 4.157 respectively. Pairwise and multipoint linkage analysis and inspection of the haplotypes revealed that the remaining four families are not linked to this part of chromosome 1, thus providing further evidence that at least one more locus for the autosomal recessive form of GLC3 must exist in the genome. Based on the recombination events, the overall linkage map of this region is: tel-D1S1192-D1S1635-D1S1193 - (D1S1597/-D1S489/D1S228)- [GLC3B/D1S2834/D1S402] - (D1S1176/D1S507/D1S407) - D1S2728-(MFAP2/D1S170) - D1S1368 - D1S436- D1S1592-cen.      

Striated intramural gallbladder lucencies on US studies: predictors of acute cholecystitis

Ultrasound scans of 51 consecutive patients with gallbladder wall thickening were reviewed, and specific sonographic features were correlated with surgical and clinical follow-up. Two patterns of thickening were identified as specific indicators of the presence or absence of acute cholecystitis. "Striated" wall thickening, consisting of several alternating, irregular, discontinuous, lucent and echogenic bands, was seen in eight of 13 patients (62%) with acute cholecystitis. This pattern was not encountered in any of the patients who did not have acute cholecystitis. Conversely, "three-layer" thickening, consisting of a single circumferential lucent zone between two relatively uniform echogenic layers, was seen in only one of 13 patients (8%) with acute cholecystitis but in 11 of 38 patients (29%) with other diagnoses. Other abnormalities, including the presence of intramural echogenic foci and wall irregularities, were more frequently seen in patients with acute cholecystitis but were not as helpful. Use of these features may suggest or help exclude a diagnosis of acute cholecystitis in those patients in whom the cause of gallbladder wall thickening is otherwise not apparent.     

The Effect of Electrical Stimulation and lsokinetic Exercise on Muscular Power of the Quadriceps Femoris

The purpose of this study was to compare the power and strength changes, of the quadriceps femoris muscle group, following 6 weeks of training. Twenty-seven moderately trained, female subjects were placed into three equated groups: electrical stimulation plus isokinetic exercise (ES + IE), isokinetic exercise (IE), and electrical stimulation (ES). A CybexQ I1 isokinetic dynamometer was used for testing the quadriceps ' power and strength output at the velocities of 0, 30, 100, and 180 O/ sec. The ES + IE and ES groups received faradic stimulation (progressive from 10- 20 mA) from a Multitone Multifaradic Unit (model F283, Multitone Electric Co., London, England). In addition, the ES + IE group performed isokinetic contractions concurrently with the faradic stimulation. Thigh circumference (TC) and time to peak tension (TPT) were also calculated during the pre-, mid-, and post-tests. Results indicated that a significant power increment was evident between the pre- and posttests and the pre- and mid-tests for the combined groups (p < 0.05). However, there were no significant power increases between the three separate groups at the four velocities. Significant power differences (P c 0.05) for the combined groups between the pre- and post-tests and the pre- and mid-tests at the isokinetic velocities of 30 and OO/sec were also identified. TPT and TC did not change significantly for any group over the 6-week training period. This study indicated that the combined effects of ES + IE, IE, and ES are potentially effective means of improving power and strength; however, data did not reveal one method of training as being significantly superior to another. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 1986;8(5):260-268.     

Lactation Patterns in Women with Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy: An Analysis of Illinois 2012–2015 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) Data

Maternal and Child Health Journal - Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy have lifelong implications on maternal cardiovascular health. Breastfeeding has a variety of maternal benefits, including...     

Metastatic embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma of the breast: A case report and literature review

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is a common malignancy in children, but embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma (ERMS) deposits rarely occur in the breast in adults. Therefore, little is known about magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features of breast metastases from RMS, especially the embryonal type. We reported a case of a 22-year-old woman who was diagnosed with ERMS at left foot 2 years ago and accepted operation and chemotherapy. She was confirmed to have breast metastases from the left foot. Successive imaging examinations were performed 3 months apart. Breast ultrasound indicated a benign lesion, and further examination did not reveal any bone metastases. However, predominant restricted diffusion and rim contrast enhancement on MRI combined with the patient's medical history suggested a malignancy of BI-RADS 5. After 3 months, breast ultrasound revealed masses detected last time became larger and lobulated. In addition, internal heterogeneous intensity and rim contrast enhancement with restricted diffusion were revealed on MRI. We speculated that typical MRI findings of breast metastases from RMS may include iso- to hypointensity on T1WI, heterogeneous hyperintensity on T2WI, and circular enhancement with restricted diffusion. Moreover, mild peritumoral edema, rapid expansion of necrosis, and ascending time-intensity curve detected on MRI may be features of the ERMS type.     

Distal rectus femoris surgery in children with cerebral palsy: results of a Delphi consensus project

PurposeThe purpose of this study was for an international panel of experts to establish consensus indications for distal rectus femoris surgery in children with cerebral palsy (CP) using a modified Delphi method.MethodsThe panel used a five-level Likert scale to record agreement or disagreement with 33 statements regarding distal rectus femoris surgery. The panel responded to statements regarding general characteristics, clinical indications, computerized gait data, intraoperative techniques and outcome measures. Consensus was defined as at least 80% of responses being in the highest or lowest two of the five Likert ratings, and general agreement as 60% to 79% falling into the highest or lowest two ratings. There was no agreement if neither threshold was reached.ResultsConsensus or general agreement was reached for 17 of 33 statements (52%). There was general consensus that distal rectus femoris surgery is better for stiff knee gait than is proximal rectus femoris release. There was no consensus about whether the results of distal rectus femoris release were comparable to those following distal rectus femoris transfer. Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) level was an important factor for the panel, with the best outcomes expected in children functioning at GMFCS levels I and II. The panel also reached consensus that they do distal rectus femoris surgery less frequently than earlier in their careers, in large part reflecting the narrowing of indications for this surgery over the last decade.ConclusionThis study can help paediatric orthopaedic surgeons optimize decision-making for, and outcomes of, distal rectus femoris surgery in children with CP.Level of evidenceV