BACKGROUND: On December 26, 2004, the biggest earthquake for 40 years, measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale, triggered a tsunami that pounded the coastal areas of South Asia and East Africa. The effects of the tsunami on skin conditions have not been evaluated. OBJECTIVE: To determine the influence of the tsunami on skin conditions by evaluating the skin problems of patients presenting at hospitals after the tsunami. METHODS: Between 5 and 25 January 2005, two dermatologists evaluated patients who complained of skin problems at an outpatient clinic and emergency room of a general hospital in Banda Aceh, Aceh Province, Indonesia. RESULTS: The total number of patients that presented during the study period was 235 (131 males and 104 females), and they had a total of 265 skin problems. In terms of age distribution, most subjects were in their fourth decade (23.0%), followed by the third (22.6%) and fifth decade (16.6%). The most prevalent skin problems were infections-infestations (32.5%), followed by eczemas (29.8%) and traumatic skin disorders (29.4%). In males, traumatic skin disorders were most common. The great majority of infection-infestation cases involved superficial fungal infections. Contact dermatitis accounted for three-quarters of eczema cases, and mainly involved the arms (40.0%) and legs (27.1%). The majority of traumatic skin disorders were lacerations, punctures and penetrations, and the feet (44.7%) and hands (18.8%) were most frequently affected. CONCLUSIONS: Unhygienic conditions, exposure to a hazardous environment and contact with various objects during and after the tsunami probably increased the prevalence of infections-infestations, traumatic skin disorders and contact dermatitis. To prevent these problems and associated secondary bacterial infections, health-related education and early medical management are required. 相似文献
Background. The optimal management of patients with renal cell carcinoma with inferior vena cava tumor thrombus remains unresolved. Traditional approaches have included resection with or without the use of cardiopulmonary bypass. Chemotherapy has played a minor role except for biotherapeutic agents used for metastatic disease.
Methods. From January 1989 to January 1996, 37 patients with renal cell carcinoma and inferior vena cava tumor thrombus underwent surgical resection. The 27 men and 10 women had a median age of 57 years (range, 29 to 78 years). Thirty-six patients presented with symptoms; 21 had hematuria. Distant metastases were present in 12 patients. Tumor thrombi extended to the infrahepatic inferior vena cava (n = 16), the intrahepatic inferior vena cava (n = 16), the suprahepatic inferior vena cava (n = 3), and into the right atrium (n = 2). All tumors were resected by inferior vena cava isolation and, when necessary, extended hepatic mobilization and Pringle maneuver, with primary or patch closure of the vena cavotomy. Cardiopulmonary bypass was necessary in only 2 patients with intraatrial thrombus.
Results. Complications occurred in 11 patients, and 1 patient died 2 days postoperatively of a myocardial infarction (mortality, 2.7%). Twenty patients are alive; overall 2- and 5-year survival rates were 61.7% and 33.6%, respectively. For patients without lymph node or distant metastases (stage IIIa), 2- and 5-year survival rates were 74% and 45%, respectively. The presence of distant metastatic disease (stage IV) at the time of operation did not have a significant adverse effect on survival, as reflected by 2- and 5-year survival rates of 62.5% and 31.3%, respectively. Lymph node metastases (stage IIIc) adversely affected survival as there were no long-term survivors.
Conclusions. Resection of an intracaval tumor thrombus arising from renal cell carcinoma can be performed safely and can result in prolonged survival even in the presence of metastatic disease. In our experience, extracorporeal circulatory support was required only when the tumor thrombus extended into the heart. 相似文献
Human chromosome 11p15.5 and distal mouse chromosome 7 include a
megabase-scale chromosomal domain with multiple genes subject to parental
imprinting. Here we describe mouse and human versions of a novel imprinted
gene, IMPT1 , which lies between IPL and p57 KIP2 and which encodes a
predicted multi-membrane-spanning protein similar to bacterial and
eukaryotic polyspecific metabolite transporter and multi- drug resistance
pumps. Mouse Impt1 and human IMPT1 mRNAs are highly expressed in tissues
with metabolite transport functions, including liver, kidney, intestine,
extra-embryonic membranes and placenta, and there is strongly preferential
expression of the maternal allele in various mouse tissues at fetal stages.
In post-natal tissues there is persistent expression, but the allelic bias
attenuates. An allelic expression bias is also observed in human fetal and
post-natal tissues, but there is significant interindividual variation and
rare somatic allele switching. The fact that Impt1 is relatively repressed
on the paternal allele, together with data from other imprinted genes,
allows a statistical conclusion that the primary effect of human chromosome
11p15.5/mouse distal chromosome 7 imprinting is domain-wide relative
repression of genes on the paternal homolog. Dosage regulation of the
metabolite transporter gene(s) by imprinting might regulate placental and
fetal growth.
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Recently, in-vitro maturation (IVM) of immature human oocytes recovered
from non-stimulated follicles has been applied in the treatment of
infertility. However, in previous reports, very few embryos cultured in
conventional medium have reached the expanded blastocyst stage following
in-vitro maturation and fertilization (IVM/IVF). The objective of this
study was to investigate whether the developmental competence of human
embryos following IVM/IVF could be enhanced by the use of a human ampullary
cell co-culture system. Immature human oocytes were aspirated from small
follicles at Caesarean section and then cultured in medium containing human
menopausal gonadotrophin for 36 to 48 h, followed by insemination. Zygotes
were randomly cultured either in conventional culture medium alone or in
the co-culture system. Of 48 embryos cultured in conventional medium alone,
all arrested at the 2-16- cell stage on day 3 after insemination. Of 46
embryos cultured in the co-culture system, 26 embryos (56.5%) arrested at
the 2-16-cell stage. Six embryos (13%) developed to the morula stage.
Fourteen embryos (30.4%) developed to expanded blastocysts and two
blastocysts were hatching on day 7 after insemination. We conclude that
co-culture significantly enhances the development of blastocysts in embryos
resulting from IVM/IVF.
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Mutations in the gene encoding the Survival Motor Neuron (SMN) protein are
responsible for autosomal recessive proximal spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).
SMN orthologues have been identified in the nematode worm Caenorhabditis
elegans and the yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe but, to date, no human
paralogues have been described. Here we describe identification and
characterization of an SMN-related protein (SMNrp) gene that encodes a
novel protein of 239 amino acids, which has recently been identified as a
constituent of the spliceosome complex and designated SPF30. Significant
similarity to the SMN protein is apparent only within a central region of
SMNrp that represents a tudor domain. The SMNrp/SPF30 gene has been mapped
to chromosome 10q23. It is differentially expressed, with abundant levels
in skeletal muscle. An exclusively nuclear localization for SMNrp in
cultured cells and muscle sections was revealed using GFP fusion constructs
and thereafter confirmed with a polyclonal antibody raised against SMNrp.
Overexpression of SMNrp as a fusion protein in HeLa cells in culture
induced dose-dependent apoptosis with positive TUNEL staining. In addition
to a possible role for this protein as a pro-apoptotic factor, SMN and its
related protein share significant similarities in sequence and cellular
function.
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Background: Control of mRNA stability is an essential regulatory process in eukaryotic gene expression. HuR, a 3'UTR mRNA binding protein, can protect AU-rich mRNA from degradation in response to stresses. PlGF, an angiogenic growth factor, contains two consensus AU-rich sites suggesting that under normal conditions HuR may protect PlGF mRNA from degradation. Trophoblast expression of PlGF is significantly decreased in preeclampsia and by hypoxia in vitro . We hypothesize that decreased levels of cytoplasmic HuR may contribute to decreased PlGF expression in hypoxic and preeclamptic trophoblast. Methods: Western blots were used to determine relative effects of in vitro hypoxia on HuR protein expression and subcellular localization in trophoblast. Immunohistochemistry was used to compare HuR expression patterns in trophoblast of preeclamptic and normal placentae. Results: Cytoplasmic expression of HuR was decreased 1.4 fold in the cytoplasm and 1.2 fold in the nucleus of JEG3 cells. A shift in HuR was more apparent in primary trophoblast with a greater than 2-fold decrease in the cytoplasm and a 1.4 fold decrease in the nucleus following 24 hr of hypoxia. Immunohistochemical analyses detected HuR expression in near term trophoblast in situ . However, this technical approach did not detect a significant change in HuR expression between normal and preeclamptic trophoblast. Conclusions: HuR expression is decreased in hypoxic trophoblast, at least in vitro , which may provide a causal link to decreased PlGF mRNA expression. Down regulation of trophoblast PlGF expression is thought to contribute to the pathophysiology associated with preeclampsia including the relative lack of perfusion of the placenta and systemic renal effects. 相似文献
BACKGROUND: Randomised controlled trials have shown the efficacy of several treatment modalities for lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in selected populations. The effectiveness in daily practice has hardly been investigated, especially in primary care and is dependent on choices between all possible treatment options and best investigated in a comprehensive study, including all treatment modalities (watchful waiting, alpha-blockers, 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors, and surgery). AIM: Assessment of the effectiveness of a comprehensive treatment protocol for LUTS in primary care. DESIGN OF STUDY: Randomised controlled trial. SETTING: Fourteen general practices in the Netherlands. METHOD: Intervention: treatment protocol based on a formalised expert opinion. Control condition: usual care. Study population: 208 subjects with moderate to severe LUTS (IPSS > or =8, median = 13). OUTCOME MEASURES: symptom severity (IPSS [International Prostate Symptom Score]), bother score (Dan-PSS [Danish Prostate Symptom Score]), and maximum urinary flow (Q(max)); incidence of acute urinary retention and urinary tract infections. RESULTS: In the intervention group markedly more subjects used an alpha-blocker at end of follow-up than in the usual care group (24% versus 6%). No significant differences were found between intervention and control group in IPSS, Q(max) or Dan-PSS. CONCLUSION: alpha-blockers and watchful waiting are the most frequent treatment modalities for LUTS in primary care. Our study showed no evidence that a protocol using well-defined indications for all possible treatment modalities based on a formalised expert opinion procedure has added value. Based on our results, we cannot recommend a broadening of the indication for alpha-blockers, which, however, seems to be the current trend. 相似文献