Multidisciplinary evaluation of rat renal cell carcinoma

The rat renal cell carcinoma system as described by deVere White and Olsson in 1980 is used widely as a model for its human counterpart. The tumor arose spontaneously in a male Wistar Lewis rat and its behaviour has been shown to be stable during multiple passages. We have compared this tumor with the human renal cell carcinoma using a multidisciplinary approach. Light microscopy and electron microscopy showed a great resemblance of this rat tumor to a human renal cell carcinoma of the clear cell type with the ultrastructural presence of desmosomes. With the use of tissue specific antibodies against intermediate filament proteins, it could be shown that their expression is comparable to human renal cell carcinoma, i.e. coexpression of vimentin and different cytokeratins in the tumor cells. The cells could also be shown to contain cytokeratin 18. An aneuploid cell population in the tumor, expressing both vimentin and keratin, could be characterized by DNA flow cytometry in double labeling experiments. Comparison of normal and malignant rat kidney tissue by Northern blot analysis revealed increased levels of vimentin mRNA. In conclusion, this tumor model seems to have several histological and biological properties in common with the human renal tumor.     

Micropatterns of Non‐Circular Droplets of Nanostructured PS‐b‐PEO Copolymer by Solvent‐Assisted Wetting on a Chemically Periodic Surface

A method to fabricate micropatterns of non‐circular droplets of a self‐assembled block copolymer by solvent‐assisted wetting on chemically periodic surface is presented. The block copolymer is dewetted on a topographic pre‐pattern to form an array of microdroplets with a sphere‐capped shape and circular contact line. The droplets are then transferred onto a chemically periodic Au line pattern microcontact‐printed with two types of self‐assembled monolayers (SAMs). Solvent vapor application provides sufficient mobility to the block copolymer molecules to induce spreading of the transferred droplets, resulting in two types of non‐circular microdroplet growth. The growth behavior depends on the size of initial droplets relative to periodic line width and on the initial registries of as‐transferred droplets.     

Urinary bladder cancer risk factors in an area of former coal,iron, and steel industries in Germany

ABSTRACT

This study was performed to investigate the frequency of bladder cancer in patients with an occupational history such as underground hard coal mining and/or painting after the structural change in the local industry. A total of 206 patients with bladder cancer and 207 controls were enlisted regarding occupational and nonoccupational bladder cancer risk factors by questionnaire. The phase II enzymes N-acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2), glutathione S-transferases M1 (GSTM1), and T1 (GSTT1) and the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs11892031[A/C] reported to be associated with bladder cancer in genome-wide association studies were genotyped. The bladder cancer risk in varnishers and underground hard coal miners was increased as previously shown in a study in this area performed in the 1980s. The occupation of a car mechanic was associated with a significantly elevated bladder cancer risk and higher in the case of underground hard coal miners even though the mine was closed in 1987. The frequency of GSTM1 negative genotype was comparable in cases and controls (53% versus 54%). In the case of NAT2, the slow NAT2 genotype was more frequent (62% versus 58%) and ultra-slow NAT2 genotype (NAT2*6A and/or *7B alleles only) was 23% versus 15%. An occupational history of a varnisher or an underground hard coal miner remains a risk factor for bladder cancer occurrence. Data indicate that in the case of bladder cancer, GSTM1 is a susceptibility factor related to environmental and/or occupational exposure.     

Managing children with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML)

Chronic myeloid leukaemia in children and young people is a relatively rare form of leukaemia that shows increased incidence with age and some evidence suggests that the molecular basis differs from that in adults. Significant advances in targeted therapy with the development and use in children of tyrosine kinase inhibitors and the ability to monitor and understand the prognostic significance of minimal residual disease by standardized molecular techniques has shifted the management of this condition from bone marrow transplantation as the main therapeutic modality to individualized treatment for each patient based on achieving specific milestones. The physiological changes occurring during childhood, particularly those affecting growth and development and the long‐term use of treatment, pose specific challenges in this age group, which we are only beginning to understand.     

First-line panitumumab plus irinotecan/5-fluorouracil/leucovorin treatment in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer

Purpose  

Panitumumab monotherapy is approved for KRAS wild-type (WT) metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) progressing after standard chemotherapy. This study evaluated first-line panitumumab plus FOLFIRI in patients with mCRC.     

Human exposure to airborne aniline and formation of methemoglobin: a contribution to occupational exposure limits

Aniline is an important starting material in the manufacture of polyurethane-based plastic materials. Aniline-derived methemoglobinemia (Met-Hb) is well described in exposed workers although information on the dose–response association is limited. We used an experimental design to study the association between aniline in air with the formation of Met-Hb in blood and the elimination of aniline in urine. A 6-h exposure of 2 ppm aniline in 19 non-smoking volunteers resulted in a time-dependent increase in Met-Hb in blood and aniline in urine. The maximum Met-Hb level in blood (mean 1.21 ± 0.29 %, range 0.80–2.07 %) and aniline excretion in urine (mean 168.0 ± 51.8 µg/L, range 79.5–418.3 µg/L) were observed at the end of exposure, with both parameters rapidly decreasing after the end of exposure. After 24 h, the mean level of Met-Hb (0.65 ± 0.18 %) returned to the basal level observed prior to the exposure (0.72 ± 0.19 %); whereas, slightly elevated levels of aniline were still present in urine (means 17.0 ± 17.1 vs. 5.7 ± 3.8 µg/L). No differences between males and females as well as between slow and fast acetylators were found. The results obtained after 6-h exposure were also comparable to those observed in four non-smoking volunteers after 8-h exposure. Maximum levels of Met-Hb and aniline in urine were 1.57 % and 305.6 µg/L, respectively. Overall, our results contribute to the risk assessment of aniline and as a result, the protection of workers from aniline-derived adverse health effects at the workplace.     

Sport mit Typ-1-Diabetes

Die Diabetologie - Die vielfältigen positiven gesundheitlichen Wirkungen sportlicher Aktivität sind unbestritten. Sport bedeutet für viele Menschen aber deutlich mehr: ein Stück...