Causes of B chromosome variant substitution in the grasshopper Eyprepocnemis plorans

We have analysed B chromosome frequency for three consecutive years, B transmission rate at population and individual levels, clutch size, egg fertility and embryo–adult viability in a natural population of the grasshopper Eyprepocnemis plorans containing two different B chromosome variants, i.e. B₂ and B₂₄, the second being derived from the first and having replaced it in nearby populations. From 2002 to 2003 the relative frequency of both variants changed, although the differences did not reach significance. A mother–offspring analysis showed no significant effect of any of the two B variants on clutch size, egg fertility or embryo–adult viability, but B₂₄ was more efficiently transmitted than B₂ through males from the 2002 season, which explains the observed frequency change. Controlled crosses, at individual level, showed significant drive through some females for B₂₄ but not for B₂, suggesting that this difference in transmission rate might also be important for the substitution process. The analysis of relative fitness for B₂ and B₂₄ carriers for all fitness components, as a whole, showed a significantly better performance of B₂₄-carrying individuals, suggesting that the cumulative effect of these slight differences might contribute to the replacement of B₂ by B₂₄. Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available for this article at .     

Occurrence of immunoblastic B-cell lymphoma in hairy cell leukemia

A 47-year-old man, was referred for evaluation of asymptomatic splenomegaly in September 1981, and a diagnosis of hairy cell leukemia (HCL) at the initial clinical stage was made. The patient remained asymptomatic until May 1985, when splenectomy was performed because of anemia and splenomegaly. Bone marrow and liver biopsy specimens showed diffuse infiltration by abnormal tartase resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) positive lymphocytes with typical aspect of hairy cells. Four months later, he developed fever of unknown origin and, at laparotomy, diffuse retroperitoneal lymph node enlargement and metastatic liver nodules were seen. Lymph node and liver biopsy specimens showed diffuse infiltration by abnormal large lymphocytes, which bore monoclonal surface immunoglobulin M and light chain kappa. Only six cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma associated with HCL have been published to date. This report describes an additional case of immunoblastic B-cell lymphoma, preceded 4 years earlier by the diagnosis of HCL.     

硫酸多糖对体外人脐静脉内皮细胞损伤的保护作用

研究表明,硫酸多糖体外对多聚阳离子和氧自由基损伤的人脐静脉内皮细胞有保护作用。肝素、硫酸软骨素A抗多聚阳离子损伤作用比同浓度低分子肝素和甘糖酯强。肝素、硫酸软骨素A、甘糖酯抗氧自由基损伤作用优于同浓度低分子肝素。结果显示硫酸多糖有保护血管内皮的作用,其作用可能与所带阴离子基团有关。     

The Peutz-Jeghers syndrome. Case reports.

Two additional cases of Peutz-Jeghers syndrome are described. One of them, a 19 year-old female, is a sporadic case, whereas in the other case, also a 19 year-old female, there are two members of the family with the Peutz-Jeghers syndrome. A review of some salient features of this entity is made. These include clinical presentation, histopathological features, malignant potential and treatment.     

105Changes in Nitric Oxide Levels After Deep Dermal injury in the Female,Red Duroc Pig (FRDP)

Introduction : Hypertrophic scar is a devastating sequel to burns and other tangential skin injuries. It follows deep dermal injuries and does not occur after superficial injuries. Nitric oxide (NO) plays many important roles in wound healing from inflammation to scar remodeling. Studies have shown that expression of nitric oxide synthase and nitric oxide production are decreased in human hypertrophic scar. However little is known about NO involvement in the early stages of hypertrophic scarring, because of the lack of an animal model. It was recently reported that the female red Duroc pig (FRDP) makes thick scar, which is similar to human hypertrophic scar. We hypothesized that NO production in wounds on the female, red Duroc pig is similar to that of human hypertrophic scar and that NO involvement in deep wounds is different from that in superficial wounds. Methods : Superficial (0.015” to 0.030”) and deep (0.045” to 0.060”) wounds were created on the backs of four FRDPs. Biopsies were collected at weeks 1.5, 4, 8 and 21 post wounding including samples of uninjured skin. Nitric oxide levels were measured with the Griess reaction assay and normalized with tissue protein level. Results : Superficial wounds healed with an invisible scar whereas the deep wounds healed with scar resembling mild hypertrophic scar. The thickness of the scars from the deep wounds was significantly greater than uninjured skin and healed superficial wounds (p < 0.01). NO levels were increased at 1.5 weeks in deep wounds compared to superficial wounds and uninjured skin (p < 0.05). At 8 weeks, NO levels in deep wounds had returned to the level of uninjured tissue and superficial wounds. By 21 weeks, NO levels had decreased significantly when compared to superficial wounds (p < 0.01). There were no differences in NO levels between uninjured skin and superficial wounds at any time point (p > 0.05). Conclusions : NO production is similar in late, deep wounds on the female, red Duroc pig to that reported in the literature for human hypertrophic scar further validating this animal model. NO production is quite different after deep wounds as compared to superficial wounds in the FRDP. Early elevation in nitric oxide production might account for excessive inflammation in deep wounds that become thick scars in the FRDP. Nitric oxide regulators and effects at early stages of scar formation should be elucidated further and the FRDP appears to be a useful model.     

Rapp-Hodgkin Syndrome with Pili Canaliculi

Abstract: A 20-year-old woman and her 12-year-old brother had hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia, cleft lip and palate, midfacial hypoplasia with narrow nose from the nasal bridge to the tip, narrow dysplastic nails, and conical teeth and hypodontia, and hypospadias and hypoplastic uvula in the boy. The woman had major underdevelopment of intellectual capacity. The most important hair anomalies in both siblings were sparse eyebrows, pili torti, and pili canaliculi. Some of the pili canaliculi had two canals (pili bicanaliculi), and the cross section for scanning electron microscopy had a quadrangular aspect. This is the seventh family reported with Rapp-Hodgkin ectodermal dysplasia.     

Genetic load caused by variation in the amount of rDNA in a wasp

Extensive variation in the size of the short (heterochromatic) arm of chromosome 14 was found in the wasp Trypoxylon (Trypargilum) albitarse. Ten different variants were differentiated by size and C-banding pattern. Fluorescent in-situ hybridization (FISH) revealed that ribosomal DNA in this species is clustered in the darkly C-banded parts of the heterochromatic short arm of chromosome 14. On this basis, we got an indirect estimate of the amount of rDNA from the area of these dark C-bands. The significant absence in males of the three chromosome variants with lower amounts of rDNA indicates that these three variants are lethal in this sex, and suggests the existence of a threshold marking the minimum amount of rDNA which is tolerable in haploidy. This implies about 4% genetic load in the population caused by variation in rDNA amount. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Insensible water loss during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation: an in vitro study

To measure insensible fluid loss from silicone membrane oxygenators during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), an in vitro system was used. A standard neonatal ECMO circuit (Avecor) was connected to a noncompliant reservoir, which was then primed with normal saline. The experiment was conducted by using two silicone oxygenators (Avecor 0.4 and 0.8 m2), three gas flow rates (0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 L/min) (sweep), and two fluid flow rates (200 and 400 ml/min). Two methods were used to measure the water loss. One method was to replace the water to the noncompliant circuit by using a calibrated burette, and the other method was to collect condensed water after cooling the postmembrane sweep gas to 0 degrees C. The influence of the amount of sweep, fluid flow rate, size of membrane, and inlet and outlet sweep gas temperatures on measured water loss was statistically determined. The amount of water loss correlated with sweep (r2 = 0.81; p<0.00001) but was not related to the fluid flow rate, membrane size, or inlet and outlet sweep gas temperature. The average daily fluid loss measured with replacement and collection methods for each liter of sweep per minute were 72.0+/-12.6 and 62.3+/-10.0 ml, respectively. This information may be applied to clinical practice to accurately manage fluid balance in the sick neonate on ECMO.