Prevalence and risk of colorectal neoplasia in consumers of alcohol in a screening population

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Although studies suggest a positive association between alcohol consumption and risk for colorectal neoplasia, the impact on screening has not been fully examined. It is also unclear whether all types of alcohol are associated with an increased risk. We performed a cross-sectional study to examine the impact of regular alcohol consumption on the detection of significant colorectal neoplasia in a screening population. METHODS: Data collected for 2,291 patients presenting for screening colonoscopy: known risk factors for colorectal neoplasia and alcohol drinking pattern. Our outcome was the endoscopic detection of significant colorectal neoplasia, which included adenocarcinoma, high-grade dysplasia, villous tissue, adenomas 1 cm or greater and multiple (>2) adenomas of any size. RESULTS: When compared to abstainers, we found an increased risk for significant neoplasia in those patients who consumed more than eight drinks of spirits alcohol (26.3%; OR = 2.53; 95% CI = 1.10-4.28; p < 0.01) and those who drank more than eight servings of beer per week (21.7%; OR = 2.43; 95% CI = 1.11-5.32; p= 0.02). Consuming one to eight glasses of wine per week was associated with a decreased risk for significant neoplasia (OR = 0.55; 95% CI = 0.34-0.87; p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: While there was a more than twofold increased risk of significant colorectal neoplasia in people who drink spirits and beer, people who drank wine had a lower risk. In our sample, people who drank more than eight servings of beer or spirits per week had at least a one in five chance of having significant colorectal neoplasia detected by screening colonoscopy.     

Interleukin-10 promoter polymorphisms in rheumatoid arthritis and Felty's syndrome

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether promoter polymorphisms associated with variation in interleukin-10 (IL-10) production are relevant to the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or Felty's syndrome (FS). METHODS: DNA was obtained from 44 FS patients, 117 RA patients and 295 controls. The promoter region between -533 and - 1120 was amplified by polymerase chain reaction, and polymorphisms detected by restriction enzyme digest or sequence-specific oligonucleotide probing. RESULTS: We found no significant difference in allele or haplotype frequencies between the groups. CONCLUSION: There is no association between FS or RA and these recently identified IL-10 promoter polymorphisms. Other genetic or environmental factors could explain the alterations in IL-10 levels seen in these conditions.      

Purging of acute myeloid leukemic cells by ether lipids and hyperthermia

Ether lipids (EL) and hyperthermia have been shown to possess a relatively selective cytotoxicity to leukemic cells. In this study, the combined effects of EL (ET-18-OCH3, ET-16-NHCOCH3, or BM 41.440) and hyperthermia on the growth of hematopoietic progenitors, myeloid leukemic cell lines, and leukemic cells obtained from patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) were examined to determine if this combination resulted in a greater selective killing of leukemic cells than that achieved by either EL or heat alone. When the cells were treated simultaneously with EL (50 micrograms/mL) and hyperthermia (42 degrees C) for one hour, the killing of leukemic cell line cells was enhanced considerably. Among the three EL, however, the combination of ET-18-OCH3 and heat seemed to be the most cytotoxic to leukemic cell line cells with no effect on the growth of hematopoietic progenitors. An increase in the duration of treatment with ET-18-OCH3 to four hours with heat added during the last hour resulted in a further reduction of leukemic cell line cells while sparing 50% of hematopoietic progenitors after cryopreservation. The combined treatment with ET-18-OCH3 and heat also inhibited the growth of leukemic progenitors obtained from AML patients by 97% to 100%. These data indicate that the combined treatment with EL and hyperthermia might offer an efficient means to eliminate myeloid leukemic cells in vitro.     

完全腹腔镜Roux—en—Y吻合术式应用于远端胃癌根治术20例

目的探讨完全腹腔镜Roux．en—Y吻合术式应用于远端胃癌根治术的安全性和可行性。方法回顾性分析福建省肿瘤医院腹部外科2012年8月至2013年3月对腹腔镜胃大部切除术后实施完全腹腔镜Roux．en—Y吻合术的20例胃癌患者的术中和术后临床资料。结果20例患者均成功实施完全腹腔镜远端胃癌根治术,无一例中转开腹或中转腹腔镜辅助手术。手术时间（190．8±53．6）min,术中出血量（122．4±57．7）ml,淋巴结清扫数（31．2±5．7）枚,术后病理切缘均为阴性。术后排气时间为（2．6±1．6）d,住院时间为（8．1±2．0）d。有1例术后出现肺部感染,但无吻合术相关并发症发生。结论完全腹腔镜Roux—en—Y吻合术式应用于远端胃癌根治术安全且可行。     

Proliferation of myeloid progenitor cells in human long-term bone marrow cultures is stimulated by interleukin-1 beta

To study the effect of interleukin-1 (IL-1) beta on the proliferation of hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPC) in long-term bone marrow cultures (LTBMC), stromal cell layers were established from normal human bone marrow. Autologous cryopreserved mononuclear phagocyte- and T-lymphocyte-depleted bone marrow cells were reinoculated on the stromal layers in fresh culture medium, with or without the addition of human IL-1 beta (30 U/mL). Once a week, half of the culture supernatant was replaced with fresh culture medium with or without IL-1, and all nonadherent cells were returned to the flasks. At weekly intervals during a period of 5 weeks, one culture was sacrificed to determine the total number of cells and hematopoietic progenitor cells, present in the adherent and the nonadherent cell fractions. In IL-1-stimulated cultures, the number of cells recovered during a period of 5 weeks exceeded the number of cells in unstimulated control cultures by 1.5 times. This difference was attributed to a twofold increase in the number of adherent cells. The number of HPC recovered from IL-1- stimulated cultures was not different from that recovered from controls. The levels of colony-stimulating activity (CSA) in supernatants from IL-1-stimulated cultures were significantly higher than those in supernatants from control cultures. These results indicate that IL-1 enhances the recovery of cells in LTBMC by stimulating the proliferation of HPC with the concurrent release of CSA from stromal cells, without diminishing the number of HPC.     

The cellulose synthase gene of Dictyostelium

Cellulose is a major component of the extracellular matrices formed during development of the social amoeba, Dictyostelium discoideum. We isolated insertional mutants that failed to accumulate cellulose and had no cellulose synthase activity at any stage of development. Development proceeded normally in the null mutants up to the beginning of stalk formation, at which point the culminating structures collapsed onto themselves, then proceeded to attempt culmination again. No spores or stalk cells were ever made in the mutants, with all cells eventually lysing. The predicted product of the disrupted gene (dcsA) showed significant similarity to the catalytic subunit of cellulose synthases found in bacteria. Enzyme activity and normal development were recovered in strains transformed with a construct expressing the intact dcsA gene. Growing amoebae carrying the construct accumulated the protein product of dcsA, but did not make cellulose until they had developed for at least 10 hr. These studies show directly that the product of dcsA is necessary, but not sufficient, for synthesis of cellulose.     

Interferon-alpha stimulates production of interleukin-10 in activated CD4+ T cells and monocytes

In the present study, we investigated the effect of interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) on the expression of interleukin-10 (IL-10) mRNA and protein synthesis in human monocytes and CD4+ T cells. In mononuclear cells, IFN-alpha induced expression of IL-10 mRNA and further enhanced lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated IL-10 expression. In purified monocytes, a strong expression of IL-10 mRNA induced by LPS was not further enhanced by IFN-alpha. In highly purified CD4+ T cells, IFN- alpha upregulated IL-10 mRNA upon activation with phytohemagglutinin and phorbol myristate acetate. In purified monocytes, an effect of IFN- alpha on IL-10 protein synthesis was dependent on costimulation with LPS. Maximal stimulation of IL-10 protein by IFN-alpha was seen after prolonged incubation periods of 48 to 96 hours, whereas IFN-gamma reduced IL-10 production in the early incubation period. Similar effects of IFN-alpha were observed in CD4+ T cells activated with CD3 and CD28 monoclonal antibodies. Addition of IFN-alpha caused an increase of IL-10 in culture supernatants of activated T-helper cells of more than 100% after 96 hours of incubation. In contrast, other cytokines, including IFN-gamma and IL-4, had no influence on IL-10 secretion stimulated by CD3 and CD28 in CD4+ T cells. In serum samples of IFN-alpha-treated individuals, we failed to detect an influence of cytokine treatment on IL-10 serum levels, confirming the requirement of additional activating signals for IFN-alpha-mediated effects on IL-10 synthesis. In conclusion, IFN-alpha enhances the late induction of IL- 10, which physiologically occurs upon stimulation of monocytes and T cells. Biologically, this effect might enhance the negative-feedback mechanism ascribed to IL-10, which limits inflammatory reactions.     

Ongoing rabies outbreak in dogs of unprecedented scale and human cases in Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality,South Africa,up to 13 February 2022

More than 430 cases of rabies have been confirmed in dogs in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality of South Africa since July 2021. We describe the ongoing outbreak, its geographical spread and six related human deaths that have occurred. Further investigation of the outbreak and vaccination of the dog population is required. Raising awareness among healthcare providers, the public, and among international travellers planning to visit the region, is key for action to protect human and animal health.     

Femoral nerve block with ropivacaine or bupivacaine in day case anterior crucial ligament reconstruction

Background/Objective: Our aim was to evaluate analgesia, motor block and pharmacokinetics of ropivacaine 0.2% and 0.75% in a femoral nerve block (FNB) in day case patients for anterior crucial ligament (ACL)‐reconstruction compared with bupivacaine 0.25% and placebo. Methods: Following ethics committee approval and informed consent, 280 patients were randomly allocated to four groups for single‐shot FNB [30 ml ropivacaine 0.2% (group RO2.0), 0.75% (RO7.5), bupivacaine 0.25% (BU2.5) and NaCl 0.9% (NaCl)]. Analgesia (pain scores, primary outcome) and motor block were assessed at 4 h (dismissal) and up to 24 h. Plasma concentration was determined up to 240 min thereafter. Results: Pain scores at 4 h were significantly higher for NaCl 4 (0–8) (median, range) (vs.) BU2.5 2 (0–8), RO2.0 3 (0–9) and RO7.5 2 (0–8) (NS within the LA groups). Patients of the NaCl group needed analgesics significantly more often (93%) within 4 h after surgery vs. 16% of group RO2.0, 19% of group RO7.5 and 19% of group BU2.5. Motor block was significantly increased with all local anesthetics without a significant difference within the LA groups 3 (0–5) in RO2.0, 3 (0–5) in RO7.5 and 3 (0–4) in BU2.5 vs. 0 (0–3) in group NaCl (median (range); scale from 0=full strength to 5=complete paralysis). Peak plasma concentrations differed significantly: RO7.5: 1.4 ± 0.4 (0.73–2.6) [μg/ml, mean ± SD (range)] after 33 ± 14 (10–40) min, RO2.0: 0.6 ± 0.3 (0.13–1.0) after 22+17 (10–60) and BU2.5: 0.3 ± 0.16 (0.05–0.62) at 31 ± 17 (10–60), respectively. Conclusion: FNB for ACL reconstruction with ropivacaine or bupivacaine provided better post‐operative analgesia than placebo without reaching toxic plasma concentrations. Significant motor block was observed after 4 h in all groups including the lowest concentration of ropivacaine but occurred even with placebo.