Solitary pleural plasmacytomas manifested as a massive pleural effusion without evidence of monoclonal gammopathy

Abstract:   The majority of extramedullary plasmacytomas involve the upper respiratory tract but only a few are associated with serum monoclonal gammopathy. Most extramedullary plasmacytomas respond to local radiotherapy and have a better prognosis than multiple myeloma. Solitary plasmacytomas, involving the pleura, are very rare. This case report describes a patient with a solitary extramedullary plasmacytoma involving the pleura, and no evidence of serum, urine or pleural fluid paraproteins. Diagnosis was made by strongly positive immunohistochemical stains with CD38, CD138 and MUM-1 of the pleural tumour. The response to both radiotherapy and chemotherapy was poor and the patient died shortly after diagnosis.     

Unit-length, single-stranded circular DNAs of both polarity of begomoviruses are generated in Escherichia coli harboring phage M13-cloned begomovirus genome with single copy of replication origin

Replication of genomic DNAs of plant-pathogenic begomoviruses has been demonstrated in prokaryotes, which supported the possibility of analyzing DNA replication process of begomoviruses in bacteria. However, previous studies indicated that the replication of begomovirus DNAs in prokaryotes requires tandem constructs of viral genomes with at least two copies of the origin of replication (ori). In this study, phage M13 vector harboring the unit-length genome with only a single copy of ori of a mono-partite begomovirus, Ageratum yellow vein virus PD isolate (AYVV-[PD]), was constructed and used to investigate the replication of AYVV-[PD] DNAs in Escherichia coli. The generation of single-stranded, circular DNAs (sscDNAs) corresponding to the unit-length AYVV-[PD] genome of both polarity was observed and verified. Replication-associated (Rep) protein of AYVV-[PD] was detected only in bacteria generating the corresponding sscDNAs, whereas disruption of the Rep gene abolished the phenomenon. The results suggested that a single copy of ori is sufficient for the prokaryotes to support the generation of unit-length, genomic sscDNAs of begomoviruses, which requires the presence of functional Rep protein.     

Stable Display of Artificially Long Foreign Antigens on Chimeric Bamboo mosaic virus Particles

Plant viruses can be genetically modified to generate chimeric virus particles (CVPs) carrying heterologous peptides fused on the surface of coat protein (CP) subunits as vaccine candidates. However, some factors may be especially significant in determining the properties of chimeras. In this study, peptides from various sources and of various lengths were inserted into the Bamboo mosaic virus-based (BaMV) vector CP N-terminus to examine the chimeras infecting and accumulating in plants. Interestingly, it was found that the two different strains Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) VP1 antigens with flexible linker peptides (77 or 82 amino acids) were directly expressed on the BaMV CP, and the chimeric particles self-assembled and continued to express FMDV antigens. The chimeric CP, when directly fused with a large foreign protein (117 amino acids), can self-fold into incomplete virus particles or disks. The physicochemical properties of heterologus peptides N-terminus, complex strand structures of heterologus peptides C-terminus and different flexible linker peptides, can affect the chimera accumulation. Based on these findings, using plant virus-based chimeras to express foreign proteins can increase their length limitations, and engineered plant-made CVP-based vaccines have increasing potential for further development as novel vaccines.     

First Report of Distinct Bamboo mosaic virus (BaMV) Isolates Infecting Bambusa funghomii in Vietnam and the Identification of a Highly Variable Region in the BaMV Genome

New isolates of the Bamboo mosaic virus (BaMV) were identified in Bambusa funghomii bamboo in Vietnam. Sequence analyses revealed that the Vietnam isolates are distinct from all known BaMV strains, sharing the highest sequence identities (about 77%) with the Yoshi isolates reported in California, USA. Unique satellite RNAs were also found to be associated with the BaMV Vietnam isolates. A possible recombination event was detected in the genome of BaMV-VN2. A highly variable region was identified in the ORF1 gene, in between the methyl transferase domain and helicase domain. These results revealed the presence of unique BaMV isolates in an additional bamboo species in one more country, Vietnam, and provided evidence in support of the possible involvement of environmental or host factors in the diversification and evolution of BaMV.     

Working memory after traumatic brain injury in children

To investigate the effects of traumatic brain injury on working memory in children, we administered semantic (letter identity) and phonological (letter rhyme) N-back tasks to children who were on average 5 years post-mild (n = 54) or -severe (n = 26) traumatic brain injury and 44 typically developing children who were comparable in age. The correct detection of targets and false alarms were measured for each task. Memory load (which varied from 0 to 3 letters back) and age significantly affected the detection of targets and false alarms in both tasks. The severity of traumatic brain injury affected the correct detection of letters on the identity task and false alarms on the rhyme task. Traumatic brain injury severity also interacted with memory load in its effect on false alarms on the rhyme task. Traumatic brain injury results in impaired working memory and diminished inhibition in children. The N-back working memory task is feasible for administration to brain-injured children and potentially could be useful for studying brain activation associated with working memory and effects of drug therapy in this group of patients.     

The autoantibody expression against different source of oxidized low density lipoprotein in patients with acute myocardial infarction

The aim of this study was to examine the expression of antibodies against two different sources of low density lipoprotein (LDL) that were oxidized by CuSO(4), in patients with early stage of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). When LDL purified from sera with high level of LDL was used as a modified antigen, the results indicated that the titers of antibodies against the oxidized LDL in 30 patients were increased by 135% compared to those in normal subjects; however, the titers of antibody against modified LDL purified from normal-range LDL in the same patients were only slightly increased by 52%. Comparing the levels of autoantibody expressed in the high LDL sera group, high triglyceride sera group, and AMI patients sera group (total of 41; in addition to 30 AMI patients, 11 more sera of AMI patients were collected), the amount of autoantibody against the oxLDL purified from high LDL sera in AMI patients sera group was significantly increased up to 195%. In contrast to AMI patients, the sera titers against the same antigen in two subject groups with either high LDL or high triglyceride are only 50% higher than normal subjects. Moreover, the ratio of thromboxane B(2) over 6-keto-prostaglandin F(1alpha) (6-keto-PG F(1alpha)) in the acute myocardial infarction patients was 1.79, which is much lower than the normal subjects, 4.19. Concluding from the above observations, we suggest that the expression level of anti-oxidized LDL antibody may play a role on the pathogenesis of acute myocardial infarction disease, but is independent with the levels of thromboxane A(2) and prostacyclin in the examined sera.     

A concealed penis mimicking penile agenesis in an infant with trisomy 13

Penile agenesis results from failure in the development of the genital tubercle and is rarely associated with chromosomal abnormalities. We report on an echographic prenatal diagnosis of penile agenesis associated with trisomy 13. At birth, the contour of the penile shaft and the glans could not be seen. However, a careful palpation allowed us to determine that the penile shaft was concealed and normal in size, rather than penile agenesis being present. To our knowledge, a concealed penis associated with trisomy 13 has not previously been described.     

Effects of high-intensity exercise training in a pulmonary rehabilitation programme for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The benefits of pulmonary rehabilitation for patients with COPD depend on the intensity of training. Traditional pulmonary rehabilitation programmes (PRPs) do not consistently achieve high-intensity training and have variable training effects. This study examined the effects of high-intensity exercise training on cardiac and pulmonary function in COPD patients. METHODS: Patients with COPD participated in a 6-week, cardiopulmonary exercise test-based PRP. Spirometry, 6-min walking distance and cardiopulmonary exercise test were used to evaluate cardiopulmonary function, respiratory muscle strength and endurance at rest, during exercise and before and after the programme. Patients were encouraged to complete high-intensity exercise with a targeted training intensity of at least 75% maximum oxygen uptake (VO(2)). RESULTS: Thirty-four COPD patients were enrolled into the study; 16 completed the high-intensity training, 18 did not. At the end of the 12-session PRP, submaximal exercise capacity (6-min walking distance, 461.8 +/- 77.2-502.7 +/- 66.9 m, P < 0.001) improved in both the patients who completed high-intensity training and those who did not. Only the patients who completed high-intensity training had significant improvements in FVC (2.47 +/- 0.70-2.70 +/- 0.62 L, P = 0.024) at rest, maximal exercise capacity (peak VO(2), 1001.6 +/- 286.4-1116.1 +/- 320.4 mL/min, P = 0.020) and work efficiency (7.3 +/- 1.4-8.4 +/- 1.8 mL/min/watt, P = 0.026). There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in the change in the physiological parameters before and after exercise. CONCLUSIONS: Exercise training in a PRP improved submaximal exercise capacity. Only patients who completed high-intensity exercise training showed improvements in maximal exercise capacity, FVC and work efficiency.