Transposition of the great arteries and isolated origin of the sinus node artery

We report the cases of 2 newborns who underwent at 7 days of age an arterial switch operation for transposition of the great arteries with a rare coronary anomaly: the left and right coronary arteries originated with a single ostium from sinus 1 and the sinus node artery had an isolated origin from sinus 2. The sinus node artery was reimplanted into the new aorta in both patients. Both babies were discharged in sinus rhythm. Preserving the vascularization of the sinus node may avoid the occurrence of postoperative atrial rhythm disturbances.     

Ti gamma A + delta TCS1+ T cells in human thymus. Analysis of the T cell receptor.

TcR1+ T cells in peripheral blood have been shown to express in an exclusive fashion either the Ti gamma A or the delta TCS1 epitope. Here, we characterize a subset of TcR1+ T cells in fresh thymus co-expressing the Ti gamma A and delta TCS1 epitopes. TcR1dim and TcR1bright clones can be distinguished. Biochemical and molecular studies on both types of clones generated from these thymocytes reveal a unique T cell receptor structure characterized by the use of a V gamma 9/C gamma 2-encoded 55-kDa gamma chain nondisulfide linked to a V delta 1-encoded delta chain.     

Das epitheloide Osteosarkom Differentialdiagnostische Problematik

Zusammenfassung Es wird uber ein epitheloid-differenziertes Osteosarkom des distalen Oberschenkels mit nur minimaler Osteoidbildung and positiver Immunreaktion mit Antikörpern gegen das mesenchymale Zytoskelettprotein Vimentin bei einer 23jährigen Patientin berichtet. Metastasenverddchtige Areale fanden sich in der 5. Rippe sowie oberhalb des rechten Nierenpols. Bei fehlendem Ansprechen auf eine adjuvante Chemotherapie mußte aufgrund eines Lokalrezidivs 1 Jahr nach Tumorprothesenimplantation eine Oberschenkelamputation vorgenommen werden. Die Patientin verstarb 2,5 Jahre nach der Erstdiagnosestellung. Die Literaturberichte uber das seltener epitheloide Osteosarkom zeigen die Schwierigkeiten der differentialdiagnostischen Abgrenzung von der Metastase eines epithelialen Tumors.

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Epitheloid osteosarcoma — problems with diagnosis

The case of a 23-year-old female patient suffering from a rare variety of osteosarcoma of the distal femur with epithelial differentiation and only traces of osteoid is reported. The tumour cells reacted strongly to antibodies against vimentin. Metastases were found in the fifth rib and the right kidney. There was no response to chemotherapy. One year after implantation of a tumour prothesis of the knee a thigh amputation was necessary because of a local failure. The patient died 2.5 years after the tumour had initially been diagnosed. Other reports of this rare type of epitheloid osteosarcoma illustrate the difficulties involved in reaching a correct diagnosis. This tumour can be mistaken for a skeletal metastasis of an epithelial tumour.

     

Alterations of dopaminergic neurotransmission after chronic morphine treatment: Pre- and postjunctional studies in striatal tissue

Summary Repeated morphine administration reversed the acute effects of morphine in rats, e.g. catalepsy and akinesia, and induced symptoms suggesting an activation of dopaminergic mechanisms. In morphinewithdrawn rats, the potency or intrinsic activity of dopamine in stimulating the synthesis of cyclic AMP in striatal homogenates was not significantly altered. However, the K⁺-induced release of¹⁴C-dopamine from striatal slices of morphine-withdrawn rats was significantly increased, compared with that from striatal slices of saline-treated controls. The results suggest that chronic morphine administration to rats increases the dopaminergic neurotransmission in brain by a pre-synaptic (prejunctional) mechanism, probably reflecting some kind of adaptation to the acute morphine action, which decreases the dopaminergic neurotransmission. The nigro-striatal dopaminergic system, therefore, seems to be a good model to study acute morphine actions and mechanisms of morphine dependence at the cellular level.Some of these results were presented at the Symposium on Acute Effects of Narcotic Analgesics in Nokkala, Espoo, Finland, July 18–20, 1975, and at the Vth Congress of the Polish Pharmacological Society, Szczecin, Sept. 24–27, 1975     

Reconsidering sufficient and optimal test design in acute toxicity testing

In dose–response analysis, regression analysis and hypothesis testing are the main tools of choice. These methods, however, have specific requirements for the design of acute toxicity experiments. To produce meaningful results, both approaches require a constant exposure concentration over the duration of the test, and regression analysis makes an additional demand for at least two doses with partial mortality at the end of the test. These requirements, however, result from the limitations of the statistical techniques, which only use the observations at the end of the test. In practice, most standard protocols for acute testing prescribe that observations are made at several points in time (often daily). In this contribution, I demonstrate how dynamic modelling can make use of this information to produce robust estimates of LC50 as function of time, with confidence intervals, from data sets that violate the requirements for standard dose–response analysis. This form of modelling invites an entirely different, more flexible, view on experimental design, which could lead to a more efficient use of test animals and, at the same time, a stronger support for environmental risk assessment as well as the science of ecotoxicology.     

Nutritional status and serum cytokine profiles in children, adolescents, and young adults with Schistosoma japonicum-associated hepatic fibrosis, in Leyte, Philippines

In a cross-sectional study of 641 Schistosoma japonicum-infected individuals in Leyte, Philippines, who were 7-30 years old, we determined the grade of hepatic fibrosis (HF) by ultrasound and used anthropometric measurements and hemoglobin levels to assess nutritional status. Serum levels of interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6, and IL-10; tumor-necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha; soluble TNF- alpha receptor I; and C-reactive protein (CRP) were measured to examine the association between these markers of inflammation and HF grade. HF was present in 8.9% of the cohort; the majority of cases were mild (grade I), and severe (grade II or grade III) cases occurred only in male individuals. Compared with individuals without HF, those with severe HF--and, to a lesser degree, those with mild HF--had a significantly lower body-mass index (BMI) and BMI z-score, a higher prevalence of anemia, and a higher level of CRP and were more likely to produce IL-6; furthermore, those with severe HF had a significantly higher level of IL-1, compared with those either without HF or with mild HF. These findings suggest that even mild HF is associated with nutritional morbidity and underscore the importance of early recognition and treatment. In addition, our data are consistent with the hypothesis that, by systemically increasing the levels of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-1 and IL-6, HF causes undernutrition and anemia.