Lobster-claw syndrome.

Lobster-Claw syndrome is a rare autosomal dominant, hand-foot malformation with Oro-dental features. This is a rare condition and from the available reports so far, cases being reported are less than 1%. Most reports have focused on the hand-foot deformity of this syndrome. This paper highlights the typical Oro-dental features associated with this syndrome such as retained deciduous teeth, hypodontia and variation in crown size, arch length and arch width.     

Robust fixed‐order H2 controller for micro air vehicle—design and validation

Design and real‐time validation of a robust fixed‐order H₂ optimal controller for micro aerial vehicle, named Sarika‐2, is presented. Strengthened discrete optimal projection equations, which approximate the first‐order necessary optimality condition, are used for the controller design. Effect of low‐frequency gust disturbance and high‐frequency sensor noise is alleviated through the output sensitivity and control sensitivity minimization. The novelty of this paper is that a single robust H₂ controller, which is designed at the central operating point, ensures simultaneous stabilization of the radio‐controlled aircraft over the entire cruise speed range of 16–26 m/s. The controller is implemented on a digital‐signal‐processor‐based flight computer, and subsequently, it is validated through the real‐time hardware‐in‐loop‐simulation. The responses obtained from the hardware‐in‐loop‐simulation compares well with those obtained from the off‐line simulation. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Inspiratory spirogram in emphysema.

Bronchodilator therapy on inspiratory indices has not been documented so far. Reduction in inspiratory airflow resistance following inhalation of bronchodilator giving the most consistent and significant changes in emphysematous patients has been demonstrated in the present study.     

Effect of endothelium mimicking self-assembled nanomatrices on cell adhesion and spreading of human endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells

The goal of this study is to develop unique native endothelium mimicking nanomatrices and evaluate their effects on adhesion and spreading of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and aortic smooth muscle cells (AoSMCs). These nanomatrices were developed by self-assembly of peptide amphiphiles (PAs) through a solvent evaporation technique. Three PAs, one containing the Tyr-Ile-Gly-Ser-Arg (YIGSR) ligand, the second containing the Val-Ala-Pro-Gly (VAPG) ligand, and a third without cell adhesive ligands, were developed. Cell adhesion and spreading were evaluated by a PicoGreen-DNA assay and live/dead assay, respectively. Our results show that PA-YIGSR significantly enhances HUVEC adhesion (26,704 ± 2708), spreading (84 ± 8%), and proliferation (50 ± 2%) compared with that of other PAs. PA-VAPG and PA-YIGSR showed significantly greater AoSMC adhesion compared with that of PA-S. PA-VAPG also showed significantly greater spreading of AoSMCs (63 ± 11%) compared with that of other PAs. Also, all the PAs showed significantly reduced platelet adhesion compared with that of collagen I (control). These findings would facilitate the development of novel vascular grafts, heart valves, and cell-based therapies for cardiovascular diseases.From the Clinical EditorThe goal of this study was to develop unique native endothelium mimicking nanomatrices and evaluate their effects on adhesion and spreading of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and aortic smooth muscle cells (AoSMCs). These nanomatrices were developed by self-assembly of peptide amphiphiles through a solvent evaporation technique. The findings are expected to facilitate the development of novel vascular grafts, heart valves, and cell based therapies for cardiovascular diseases.     

Protection against 7,12-dimethylbenzanthracene-induced tumour initiation by protein A in mouse skin.

Protein A is an immunostimulating glycoprotein obtained from Staphylococcus aureus Cowan I. Its antitumour activity is proven in various tumour models. Its ability to provide protection against tumour initiation by the chemical carcinogen 7,12-dimethylbenzanthracene (DMBA) has been investigated in the present study using a mouse skin model of two-stage carcinogenesis. Protein A was administered intraperitoneally (1 microgram/animal 20 g body wt.) twice a week for 2 weeks, prior to initiation by DMBA. The promotion was performed by twice weekly applications of 12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol-13-acetate (TPA) (3 or 5 micrograms/animal in 100 microliters acetone). Protein A provided significant protection to animals from DMBA-induced tumour initiation as was observed by the decrease in cumulative number of tumours, percent of animals developing tumours, number of tumours per animal and rate of tumour growth. Our data indicate that protein A has anticarcinogenic properties.     

Galectin-3 does not reliably distinguish benign from malignant thyroid neoplasms

AIMS: To determine whether galectin-3 is a sensitive indicator of thyroid malignancy. It has been suggested as a potential marker for differentiating thyroid carcinoma from benign or non-neoplastic lesions in preoperative fine-needle aspirates (FNAs). METHODS: Galectin-3 protein expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry in formalin-fixed thyroid tissues from 124 patients with histological diagnoses of papillary carcinoma (n = 38), follicular carcinoma (n = 19), follicular adenoma (n = 32) and dominant nodules of multinodular goitre (n = 35). Expression of galectin-3 was also assessed by Western blotting in 24 fresh thyroid tissues. RESULTS: Galectin-3 expression was observed in the majority of carcinomas (papillary 92%; follicular 74%). However, a large proportion of follicular adenomas (72%) and multinodular goitres (57%) also expressed galectin-3. In addition, galectin-3 expression was observed in epithelial cells of normal thyroid tissue and Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Galectin-3 immunopositivity was significantly greater in papillary carcinomas than in dominant nodules or follicular adenomas (P < 0.0001, P = 0.0005, respectively). However, galectin-3 expression was no greater in follicular carcinomas than in follicular adenomas (P = 0.8735). Western blotting analysis confirmed both the specificity of the antiserum and expression of galectin-3 in multinodular goitres, follicular adenomas/carcinomas and papillary carcinomas. CONCLUSION: The data demonstrate that galectin-3 is not a reliable immunohistochemical marker to distinguish benign from malignant thyroid follicular lesions.     

Immunomodulation by biphalin,dimeric synthetic opioid peptide,and its analog

The opioid pentapeptides called enkephalins were originally described as the endogenous ligands for the opioid receptors. Although their precise physiological significance still remains elusive, the enkephalins have been reported to exhibit analgesic, antidepressant, antianxiety and anticonvulsant activities. In addition, enkephalins have also been shown to act as immunomodulator. The first generation of dimeric peptides was derived from enkephalins. Biphalin [(Tyr-D-Ala-Gly-Phe-NH)2] is a bivalent opioid analog containing two tyrosine residues. We have evaluated the immunomodulatory properties of biphalin and its analogs in various in vitro tests. We report that biphalin and one of its analogs [Tyr-D-Ala-Gly-Phe-NH.NH-Phe(p-Cl)-H] stimulate human T cell proliferation, natural killer (NK) cell cytotoxicity in vitro and interleukin-2 (IL-2) production. Biphalin and its analog also released chemokine like factor in the culture supernatant that was responsible for increased chemotaxis of monocytes. Furthermore, these peptides inhibited tumor necrosis factor (TNF-alpha) production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and nitric oxide (NO) production in mouse macrophage cells, RAW 264.7. Our observations suggest immunomodulatory property of biphalin and its analog.     

Antilymphoproliferative activity of ethanolic extract of Boerhaavia diffusa roots

Extracts of plants have been widely evaluated for possible antiproliferative and anticarcinogenic properties. The antiproliferative activity of ethanolic extract of Boerhaavia diffusa, a plant used in traditional medicine, was evaluated in several cells. It inhibited T cell mitogen phytohemagglutinin and concanavalin A-stimulated proliferation of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). It also inhibited purified protein derivative antigen-stimulated PBMC proliferation and human mixed lymphocyte culture. In addition, B. diffusa extract inhibited the growth of several cell lines of mouse and human origin, such as mouse macrophage cells (RAW 264.7), human macrophage cells (U937), human monocytic cells (THP-1), mouse fibroblast cells (L929), human embryonic kidney cells (HEK293), mouse liver cells (BNLCL.2), African green monkey kidney cells (COS-1), mouse lymphoma cells (EL-4), human erythroleukemic cells (K562), and human T cells (Jurkat). The present study has demonstrated the antiproliferative potential of ethanolic extract of B. diffusa in vitro.