Combined transbronchial needle aspiration and positron emission tomography for mediastinal staging of NSCLC.

There are no data available combining transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) of mediastinal lymph nodes and positron emission tomography (PET) in the staging of nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The aim of the current study was to determine if these two methods can enhance the negative predictive value of the individual modality alone, for a specific lymph node station, and if this integrated approach can reduce the number of mediastinoscopies. A total of 113 patients with enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes (> or = 1 cm), who underwent both TBNA and PET scanning, were included. In 51 patients, histopathology, confirmed by surgical lymph node dissection, was compared with PET results and TBNA. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy to detect malignant lymphadenopathy was 68 (13/19), 89 (119/134), 46 (13/28), 95 (119/125) and 86% (132/152) for PET, respectively; 54% (6/11), 100 (53/53), 100 (6/6), 91 (53/58) and 92% (59/64), respectively for TBNA; and 100 (11/11), 94 (50/53), 79 (11/14), 100 (50/50) and 95 (61/64) for combined TBNA and PET, respectively. Combination of transbronchial needle aspiration and positron emission tomography has the potential to allow adequate mediastinal staging of nonsmall cell lung cancer with enlarged lymph nodes in most patients without the need for mediastinoscopy.     

Distribution of serum gastrin in different forms of gastritis among Estonian population

Gastrin level was measured in frozen serum samples of 215 adult Estonians, who took part in a representative population study in 1979, and were followed-up in 1985. Gastric morphology was verified by multiple biopsy specimens from the fundal and antral parts of the stomach, obtained at direct-vision gastroscopy. Certain combinations of antral-body mucosa were revealed which have, and which do not have a significant influence on the fasting gastrin levels. Low values might be observed in subjects having severe atrophic gastritis simultaneously in fundal as well as in antral area. However, in others low concentration of gastrin was seen without any (or without severe) changes of the mucosa. Therefore different factors as duodenal gastrin-producing cells, several molecular forms of gastrin, age of the person seems to contribute to the total serum gastrin level besides the gastric mucosa. High values of gastrin are characteristic to normal antral mucosa accompanied by moderate or severe fundal gastritis.     

Morphological study of the anterior segment of cynomolgus monkey eyes following treatment with prostaglandin F2 alpha

Topically applied prostaglandin F2 alpha has been shown to lower intraocular pressure in cynomolgus monkeys. In this study the morphological changes, following topical treatment with 4-50 micrograms of prostaglandin F2 alpha for 4-8 days, were investigated. Semiquantitation of (1) accumulation of white blood cells as one sign of inflammation, (2) edema and (3) enlarged spaces between ciliary muscle cells were performed. Eighty sections per eye encompassing the whole circumference were investigated. No accumulation of white blood cells was seen in any of the eyes. Slight edema in the most anterior part of the ciliary processes occurred in most eyes, but only in part of the circumference. These changes could be either directly induced by the prostaglandin treatment or secondary to the decrease in intraocular pressure. The most pronounced change was the dilatation of the intramuscular spaces. These enlarged spaces could explain the physiologically shown increase in uveoscleral outflow.     

Regulation of human interferon production. II. Inhibition of interferon messenger RNA synthesis by 5, 6-dichloro-1-beta-D-ribofuranosylbenzimidazole.

Polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (poly(I:C))-induced synthesis of interferon messenger RNA in a strain of diploid human fibroblasts (FS-4) can be inhibited by 5,6-dichloro-1-β-d-ribofuranosylbenzimidazole (DRB).     

Generating Attention,Inhibition, and Memory: A Pilot Randomized Trial for Preschoolers With Executive Functioning Deficits

This goal of this study was to assess the initial feasibility and efficacy of a play-based intervention targeting executive functions (EF) and parent–child relationships in preschoolers compared with an active control group. Preschoolers with EF deficits (M age = 3.7 ± 0.47, predominantly White boys) and their parents were randomized to intervention (n = 36) or active control (n = 32) conditions. Child performance on EF tasks, parent and masked teacher ratings of EF and behavior, and masked clinician ratings of severity were collected at baseline and at 3 and 6 months postbaseline. Partial eta-squared effect sizes at .02 or higher comparing performance across the two groups was considered evidence of meaningful, albeit small, intervention effects. Intervention effects were observed for parent ratings of inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity, and number/severity of problems experienced in various home situations, teacher ratings of severity of problems in various school situations, parent and teacher ratings of overall impairment, and clinician ratings of impairment. Intervention effects for functional improvements were maintained at the 6-month follow-up. No effect of the intervention was observed on the objective EF measures, although parent ratings of emotional control were improved for children in the intervention group. An intervention utilizing play-based activities targeting EF, when administered in a structured way by parents, is a promising approach for improving behavior in preschoolers with self-regulation deficits. More work is needed to investigate potential impact on EF and to disentangle mechanisms of action. It may be that the intervention’s focus on the structure and quality of parent–child interactions is a mediator of outcomes, rather than improved EFs.