Clinicopathological study of vesicoureteral reflux (VUR)-associated pyelonephritis in renal transplantation

Abstract:  We retrospectively studied the occurrence of vesicoureteral reflux (VUR)-associated pyelonephritis using renal biopsies obtained from the transplanted kidneys, and correlated the histological changes with clinical parameters. Out of a total of 131 renal biopsies performed between 1990 and 2001 on renal transplant patients at the department of Urology of Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 12 patients showed pyuria more than twice in a single year. Seven of these 12 patients were available for determining VUR by voiding cystourethrography (VCUG). Cystoureterography demonstrated VUR in three of seven studied patients with pyuria. A histopathological examination revealed dilatation of both proximal and distal tubules in renal biopsies of transplant patients with VUR, compared to renal biopsies of transplant patients without VUR, or non-transplanted patients with thin membrane disease. One of the patients with VUR showed advanced features of chronic pyelonephritis in four consecutive biopsies at different time points, suggesting a late stage of reflux nephropathy in the transplanted kidney. We conclude from our study that the occurrence of VUR-related pyelonephritis may be one of the important long-term complications in the survival of renal allografts.     

Skeletal muscle involvement in infantile systemic hyalinosis

Infantile Systemic Hyalinosis is a rare autosomal recessive entity, characterised by deposition of hyaline material in skin and bone, often complicated by visceral involvement. The characteristic features are marked delay in motor milestones attributed to severe progressive flexion contractures of proximal and distal joints, and skin and mucosal hypertrophy and thickening, followed by failure to thrive. Pain secondary to osteolytic lesions is also a predominant feature. We report a patient with Infantile Systemic Hyalinosis, confirmed by the clinical findings, who also displayed clear evidence of proximal muscle weakness. Muscle biopsy revealed myopathic changes, which have not been reported previously. We suggest that skeletal muscle is involved in Infantile Systemic Hyalinosis and contributes to the characteristic poor outcome of these patients.     

Prevalence of HOXB13 mutation in a population of Ashkenazi Jewish men treated for prostate cancer

We performed a retrospective analysis of germline DNA samples from Ashkenazi Jewish men and a comparison group of non-Ashkenazi men treated for prostate cancer at our institution to determine the prevalence of HOXB13 G84E mutation in prostate cancer patients of Ashkenazi Jewish heritage, an ethnic group common to the New York City area. Patients were genotyped for G84E using a TaqMan assay (Applied Biosystems). Positive cases were confirmed using Sanger sequencing. Median age at prostate cancer diagnosis was 68 years for 889 Ashkenazi Jewish patients, 64 years for 920 non-Ashkenazi Jewish patients. The median follow up was 9 years for Ashkenazi Jewish patients and 8.8 years for non-Ashkenazi Jewish patients. Only 4 patients were found to be heterozygous carriers of G84E. They were all of non-Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry and were diagnosed at 70, 66, 78, and 49 years of age. Two of them presented with high-risk prostate cancer. The prevalence of G84E in the non-Ashkenazi sample was 0.4 %. HOXB13 G84E mutation was not observed in prostate cancer patients of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry treated at our institution. Screening for G84E, therefore, may be unnecessary in Ashkenazi Jewish men if these results are validated by other studies.     

Men’s perspectives on women’s empowerment and intimate partner violence in rural Bangladesh

Intimate partner violence (IPV) may increase as women in patriarchal societies become empowered, implicitly or explicitly challenging prevailing gender norms. Prior evidence suggests an inverse U-shaped relationship between women’s empowerment and IPV, in which violence against women first increases and then decreases as more egalitarian gender norms gradually gain acceptance. By means of focus-group discussions and in-depth interviews with men in 10 Bangladeshi villages, this study explored men’s evolving views of women, gender norms and the legitimacy of men’s perpetration of IPV in the context of a gender transition. It examines men’s often-contradictory narratives about women’s empowerment and concomitant changes in norms of masculinity, and identifies aspects of women’s empowerment that are most likely to provoke a male backlash. Findings suggest that men’s growing acceptance of egalitarian gender norms and their self-reported decreased engagement in IPV are driven largely by pragmatic self-interest: their desire to improve their economic status and fear of negative consequences of IPV.     

Graphene oxide based crosslinker for simultaneous enhancement of mechanical toughness and self-healing capability of conventional hydrogels

Extraordinary self-healing efficiency is rarely observed in mechanically strong hydrogels, which often limits the applications of hydrogels in biomedical engineering. We have presented an approach to utilize a special type of graphene oxide-based crosslinker (GOBC) for the simultaneous improvement of toughness and self-healing properties of conventional hydrogels. The GOBC has been prepared from graphene oxide (GO) by surface oxidation and further introduction of vinyl groups. It has been designed in such a way that the crosslinker is able to form both covalent bonds and noncovalent interactions with the polymer chains of hydrogels. To demonstrate the efficacy of GOBC, it was incorporated in a conventional polyacrylamide (PAM) and polyacrylic acid (PAA) hydrogel matrix, and the mechanical and self-healing properties of the prepared hydrogels were investigated. In PAM-GOBC hydrogels, it has been observed that the mechanical properties such as tensile strength, Young''s modulus, and toughness are significantly improved by the incorporation of GOBC without compromising the self-healing efficiency. The PAM-GOBC hydrogel with a modulus of about 0.446 MPa exhibited about 70% stress healing efficiency after 40 h. Whereas, under the same conditions a PAM hydrogel with commonly used crosslinker N,N′-methylene-bis(acrylamide) of approximately the same modulus demonstrated no self-healing at all. Similar improvement of self-healing properties and toughness in PAA-GOBC hydrogel has also been observed which demonstrated the universality of the crosslinker. This crosslinker-based approach to improve the self-healing properties is expected to offer the possibility of the application of commonly used hydrogels in many different sectors, particularly in developing artificial tissues.

Introduction of a two-dimensional graphene oxide-based crosslinker simultaneously improve the mechanical and self-healing properties of hydrogels by offering an interesting combination of covalent and reversible hydrogen bonds to polymer backbones.     

Zinc in CSF of patients with febrile convulsion

OBJECTIVE: This prospective study was carried out from July-December 1999 to see the status of zinc in CSF of children with febrile convulsion and to compare this to that of control. METHODS: Forty-two cases of febrile convulsion and 30 controls (fever without convulsion) were enrolled into the study. CSF zinc was estimated by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) in Atomic Energy Center, Dhaka and compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The mean zinc level in CSF in the study sample was 40.19mgm/L and that in control was 74.98mgm/L. This difference was statistically significant (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: The study concludes that a significantly lower of zinc exists in CSF of children with febrile. However no relationship was found between CSF zinc status with age, sex, degree & duration of fever and time of lumbar puncture after convulsion.     

Anti fi larial potential of the fruits and leaves extracts of Pongamia pinnata on cattle filarial parasite Setaria cervi

The effect of aqueous and alcohol extracts of the fruits and leaves of Pongamia pinnata (Linn.) Merr. (Syn. Pongamia glabra Vent, leguminosae) on the spontaneous movements of both the whole worm and the nerve-muscle preparation of Setaria cervi and on the survival of micro fi lariae in vitro was studied. The aqueous and alcohol extracts of fruits and the alcohol extract of leaves caused an inhibition of spontaneous movements of the whole worm and the nerve-muscle preparation of S. cervi. The initial stimulatory effect was not observed with the aqueous extract of fruits on the nerve-muscle preparation. The concentration required to inhibit the movements of the whole worm preparation was 250 micro g/mL for aqueous, 120 micro g/mL for alcohol extract of fruits and 270 microgram/mL for alcohol extracts of the leaves. The concentrations of P. pinnata extracts required to produce an equivalent effect on the nerve-muscle preparation were 25 micro g/mL, 5 micro g/mL and 20 micro g/mL, respectively, suggesting a cuticular permeability barrier.