Oxidant signalling in carcinogenesis: a commentary

It is becoming increasingly evident that reactive oxygen species (ROS) act at different stages of carcinogenesis, and thus play multiple roles in oncogenesis. In addition to being mutagenic and initiating tumors, ROS or carcinogens that result in ROS generation may affect tumor promotion and progression through varied effects on growth promoting, growth inhibitory, or apoptotic signaling pathways.     

Spontaneous resolution of diffuse alveolar septal amyloidosis

Amyloidosis is a generic term for a heterogeneous group of disorders associated with deposition of protein in an abnormal fibrillar form. Amyloidosis can be hereditary or acquired, localised or systemic and potentially lethal or merely an incidental finding. We report a case of a male who was totally asymptomatic and was incidentally detected to have lung amyloidosis. He was not given any treatment but kept under observation., His chest radiograph (CXR) and high resolution computed tomograph (HRCT) of the chest cleared spontaneously after one year and the patient continues to remain asymptomatic even after two years.     

Neonatal osteomyelitis and septic arthritis

The records of seventeen neonates (13 males and 4 females) with osteomyelitis and septic arthritis, who were admitted over a 3 year period, were reviewed. Neither prematurity nor low birth weight seemed to be a predisposing factor. The majority of the neonates (88.2%) had some antecedent illness or were subjected to certain procedures in the neonatal period. Paucity of movement of limb, fever and local swelling of the joint were the most frequent presenting symptoms. Deep soft tissue swelling was the frequently noted radiographic change (58.8%). Bone scintigraphy was abnormal in 7 out of 11 cases. Of the 21 sites involved, femur and humerus accounted for 76.1% of cases. Four of seventeen neonates had multiple bone involvement. Arthritis was present in fifteen neonates. Of the organisms isolated, Staphylococcus aureus was the commonest.     

Prediction of timed vital capacity from height and weight in children in the age group of 5 to 12 years

In the present study 350 school boys and 350 school girls in the age group of 5 to 12 yr were studied. It was observed that there is parallel progressive increase in physical growth and pulmonary function in this age group. There was positive significant correlation of FEV₁ with height and weight.     

Neurological status of the newborn in relation to prenatal and perinatal factors

Assessment of 180 high risk newborns revealed significant impairment of the neurological status compared to the control group; the degree of impairment was related to the number and severity of the adverse factors. In addition to the perinatal factors, prenatal factors were also related to the low neurological score. In the high risk group, the chief neurologic pathology evidenced as poor muscle tone in the term infants and poor vigilance in the preterm infants. The neurological score showed better correlation to the arterial pH and base status as compared to the oxygen content. The adverse effect of hypoxia was more persistent in the term infants than in the preterm infants. The bilirubin level of 8 to 15 mg/dl did not significantly influence the neurological status of the newborns. Some high risk infants with normal Apgar score had significantly low neurological score even on the fourth day after birth, compared to the control group.     

Rat Renal Mesenchymal Tumor as an Experimental Model for Human Congenital Mesoblastic Nephroma: II. Comparative Pathology

The morphological features of kidney neoplasms induced by ethylnitrosourea (ENU) with or without prior irradiation were examined with a view to comparing them with human renal tumors of childhood. The rat renal tumors consisted of poorly differentiated, highly mitotic mesenchymal cells frequently attempting to differentiate along fibroblastic and myofibroblastic lineages. Though the host renal tubules were frequently entrapped in these tumors, immature tubules and islands of epithelial cells occasionally were seen to form an integral part of the neoplasms. Rarely, adenomatous areas surrounded by mesenchymal proliferation were observed. None of the tumors had the blastemal component that is the hallmark of nephroblastoma. The rat mesenchymal tumors resembled the human congenital mesoblastic nephroma.     

Fetal Hydantoin Syndrome with rheumatic valvular heart disease

Research has shown that anticonvulsants are teratogens and pose a risk for fetal malformations. Though Fetal Hydantoin Syndrome (FHS) was first reported by Langhman and others, wide phenotypic variability of this syndrome has lead many clinicians to question its very existence. We report a twelve year old girl with FHS with rheumatic valvular heart disease.     

Antagonism of botulinum toxin A-mediated muscle paralysis by 3, 4-diaminopyridine delivered via osmotic minipumps.

The ability of 3,4-diaminopyridine (3,4-DAP) to antagonize muscle paralysis following local injection of botulinum neurotoxin A (BoNT/A) complex was evaluated in the in situ rat extensor digitorum longus (EDL) preparation. The minipumps were implanted 6 h prior to BoNT/A administration and delivered their contents over a 7-day period producing a steady plasma 3,4-DAP concentration of 27-29 microM. In the absence of 3,4-DAP, a local injection of five mouse LD(50) units of BoNT/A led to total paralysis of EDL muscles within 24 h of application. Recovery from paralysis was slow, remaining at <30% of control 14 days after toxin injection. 3,4-DAP delivery by osmotic minipumps antagonized the actions of BoNT/A on neuromuscular transmission. Seven days after the onset of 3,4-DAP infusion, indirectly elicited twitch and tetanic tensions in BoNT/A-injected EDL muscles were 72.4 and 46.9% of control, respectively. In the absence of 3,4-DAP, twitch and tetanic tensions were only 5.4 and 15. 1% of control.The benefits conferred by 3,4-DAP treatment were not maintained after minipumps were removed. Seven days after cessation of 3,4-DAP infusion, twitch and tetanic tensions were not significantly different from those observed in muscles receiving BoNT/A alone. It is concluded that 3,4-DAP may be useful for treatment of BoNT/A-induced muscle paralysis, but sustained delivery of the drug would be required for the entire period of BoNT intoxication to maintain muscle function.     

Pay allocations by hospital administrators: an empirical analysis

This study uses a policy-capturing approach to examine 816 pay-increase decisions made by 17 hospital administrators. Subjects were asked to respond to packages consisting of hypothetical employees who varied in performance levels, specialized skills or expertise, difficulty in replacing, potential turnover, and current salary. Results indicated that all five factors were significant and in the direction expected for most of the raters. None of the hypothesized interaction effects were significant for any of the raters. Results also showed that subjects' explicit rankings of the importance of the factors did not correspond highly with the rankings of their regression weights. The implications of this study for both research and practice are discussed.