Laparoscopic pyeloplasty as an alternative to nephrectomy in adults with poorly functioning kidneys due to ureteropelvic junction obstruction

International Urology and Nephrology - To evaluate outcomes of laparoscopic pyeloplasty (LP) in adults with poorly functioning kidney due to ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO). A...     

Effects of tributyltin exposure in hermit crabs: Clibanarius vittatus as a model

Tributyltin (TBT) contamination affects the reproductive system of many species of invertebrates worldwide. The present study was designed to evaluate the effects of exposure to TBT pollution on the reproduction of the hermit crab Clibanarius vittatus. An orthogonal experiment was designed with two treatments: contamination (with or without TBT in the food) and crab sex (males and females). The animals were reared in the laboratory for nine months, and macroscopic and histological analyses of reproductive organs were carried out after the end of the experiment. Tributyltin was recorded in exposed crabs, but no morphological alterations were detected in the gonads of males, regardless of whether they were exposed to TBT. In contrast, females exposed to TBT displayed disorganization and atrophy of their ovaries, thus directly affecting reproduction in this hermit crab species. This effect observed in female hermit crabs may harm populations located in harbor regions, where TBT concentration is high, even after the worldwide TBT ban.     

KSHV genotypes A and C are more frequent in Kaposi sarcoma lesions from Brazilian patients with and without HIV infection, respectively

Macrophages play an important role in tumor inflammatory microenvironment, lipoxin (LX), the 'stop signal' for inflammation, has been extensively studied preclinically for its anti-inflammatory or inflammatory pro-resolving effect. Here, we showed that LXA(4) could promote the apoptosis and inhibit the proliferation, migration and angiogenesis of HepG2 hepatocarcinoma cells stimulated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or activated macrophage-conditioned media (ACM). Moreover, BML-111, the analog of LXA(4), effectively inhibited the proliferation, invasion and angiogenesis of tumor in H22 hepatocarcinoma cell bearing mice. These results showed that LXA(4) could be a possible candidate for liver cancer therapy, and blocking the activation of macrophages would be an effective drug target.     

Genetic diversity of the sunflower caterpillar (Chlosyne lacinia saundersii Doubleday and Hewitson) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) populations determined by molecular RAPD markers

Chlosyne lacinia saundersii is one of the most important pests of sunflower and it is the main target of insecticides applications. Larvae were collected in Londrina (PR), Santa Maria (RS), Dourados (MS), Ribeir?o Preto (SP), Brasília (DF), Barreiras (BA), Uberaba (MG) and Vilhena (RO). Genomic DNA was extracted and amplified with ten-mer primers, which produced 101 loci. The size of the RAPD amplicons ranged from 180 to 2564 bp. Polymorphism among populations ranged from 31% to 67%, with the highest polymorphisms of 57% and 67% being detected in Uberaba and Vilhena populations, respectively. Populations with the highest similarity determined with Dice coefficient were from Ribeir?o Preto and Barreiras, while insects from Londrina showed the highest similarity among them. Gene flow of C. lacinia saundersii 1.1 was lower than those previously observed for the noctuid Anticarsia gemmatalis Hübner, suggesting that C. lacinia saundersii populations are more isolated than the ones of this noctuid. Through the Analysis of Molecular Variance (AMOVA), RAPD variance was 33.64% among geographical populations and 66.36% within populations. These results suggest that populations of C. lacinia saundersii are genetically structured.     

Physical maps and virulence of Anticarsia gemmatalis nucleopolyhedrovirus genomic variants

Summary.  Seventeen plaque purified isolates of two viral preparations of Anticarsia gemmatalis multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AgMNPV), were analyzed in terms of the genomic changes after digestion of their DNAs with HindIII and PstI restriction enzymes. The 1979 AgMNPV wild type preparation (AgMNPV-’79) resulted in six different variants and the 1985 viral commercial preparation (AgMNPV-’85), in eleven. The genomic variation of all the isolates was mapped showing that those from 1985 presented more heterogeneity with changes mapped in additional sites in comparison to the AgMNPV-’79 variants. Their virulence was compared by infecting two Lepidopteran cell lines, Spodoptera frugiperda (IPLB-SF-21AE) and Anticarsia gemmatalis (UFL-AG-286). The results indicated that there was some difference in virulence within the AgMNPV-’85 variants. This commercial preparation had been applied in soybean fields in Brazil over several years to control the velvetbean caterpillar defoliation. Accepted April 13, 1999 Received January 24, 1999     

Thymic lymphomas in Wistar rats exposed to N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU)

The Brazilian Agency for the Environment (IBAMA) recently adopted an alternative medium-term multiple-organ assay system with the Wistar rat strain for detection of the carcinogenic potential of pesticides. Originally, this initiation-promotion protocol was established in Japan with the isogenic Fischer 344 male rat. Among the initiating agents used in that assay, N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) rapidly induces malignant lymphoma and leukemia and early mortality of rats from different strains. This study was developed to evaluate whether the outbred Wistar rats are also similarly susceptible to MNU. Particularly, it aimed to evaluate the dose-response relationship and to register the MNU-induced pre-neoplasia and neoplasia that may develop in the lympho-hematopoietic system (LHS) of the Wistar rat within a medium-term period. Four groups of male Wistar rats were treated during 2 weeks with vehicle or with MNU (80, 160 or 240 mg/kg body weight, i.p.). After sacrifice at the 12th and 20th weeks, the thymus, spleen, bone marrow, cervical and mesenteric lymph nodes and liver were collected for analysis. At the 20th week, LHS malignant tumors and benign vascular tumors occurred only in the high- and intermediate-dose MNU-treated animals. Four animals treated with 240 mg/kg developed diffuse thymic lymphomas; two others, treated respectively with 240 mg/kg and 160 mg/kg, developed spleen hemangiomas. The present observations indicate that the Wistar strain is as susceptible as other strains to the early development of MNU-induced LHS (pre)neoplasia. Therefore, this strain seems suitable to be used as test system in bioassay protocols that adopt MNU as an initiating agent for carcinogenesis. (Cancer Sci 2003; 94: 240–243)     

Pituitary adenoma with adipose tissue: A new metaplastic variant

Pituitary adenomas are benign tumors representing approximately 15–20% of intracranial neoplasms. There have been few reports of metaplastic osseous transformation and about 60 cases of neuronal metaplasia in pituitary adenoma but adipose metaplasia has not been previously described in the English literature. Here we report a case of pituitary adenoma with metaplastic adipose tissue in a 58‐year‐old male patient. Histologically this case fulfilled the criteria of a non‐functioning pituitary adenoma, and moreover a central area of adipose tissue, made by mature adipocytes, and many tumor cells, containing fat droplet were evident. Lipomatous transformation of tumor cells in the CNS has been previously observed but, to the best of our knowledge, our case is the first pituitary adenoma with such change. The histogenesis of the adipose element in pituitary adenoma is not well understood, and could be a result of a metaplastic change or divergent differentiation from a common progenitor cell.