BackgroundParathyroid adenomas constitute the most common entity in primary hyperparathyroidism, and although recent advances have been made regarding the underlying genetic cause...Full Text Available
LIMD1 is a tumoursuppressor gene (TSG) down regulated in ∼80% of lung cancers with loss also demonstrated in breast and head and neck squamous cell carcinomas. LIMD1 is also a candidate TSG...Full Text Available
Cancers are highly heterogeneous and contain many passenger and driver mutations. To functionally identify tumor suppressor genes relevant to human cancer, we compiled pools of short harpin...Full Text Available
The lesion bypass pathway, which is regulated by monoubiquitination of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), is essential for resolving replication stalling due to DNA lesions. This process is...Full Text Available
Five studies show that disabling p53, an essential tumour-suppressor protein, improves the efficiency of stem-cell production. Are these results a ‘heads up’ that cancer cells...Full Text Available
The p53 tumoursuppressor plays a pivotal role in the prevention of oncogenic transformation. Cancers frequently evade the potent antitumour surveillance mechanisms of p53 through mutation of the TP53...Full Text Available
Mammals possess multiple insulin-like growth factor (IGF) binding proteins (IGFBPs), and related proteins, that modulate the activity of insulin/IGF signalling (IIS), a conserved neuroendocrine signalling...Full Text Available
We have identified the nonreceptor tyrosine kinase syk as a marker of differentiation/tumor suppressor in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Syk expression is lost in poorly differentiated PDAC...Full Text Available
The value of CT in respect of preoperative determination of tumour status and of tumour classification was studied using 127 histologically identified ovarial tumours as basis in a blind study via mutual image classification by the two participating institutes. The medium accuracy of diagnosis was 82%, but the results were found to be greatly dependent on tumour histology. Quotas of more than 90% were obtained in case of functional cysts, cystomas, cystadeno-carcinomas and dermoids, whereas classification was less successful with the other types of tumours such as germ cell tumours, tumours of the sexually differentiated stroma, metastases and tubo-ovarial abscesses.
The deregulated kinase activity of p210-BCR/ABL oncoproteins, hallmark of chronic myelogenous leukaemia (CML), induces and sustains the leukaemic phenotype, and contributes to disease progression....Full Text Available
While genomic alterations identified in human tumors using techniques such as comparative genomic hybridisation (CGH) may be recurrent, they frequently encompass large regions, in some cases...Full Text Available
Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging was performed in 26 patients with Ewing's sarcoma of bone preceding and following neoadjuvant chemotherapy, to assess tumour response non-invasively prior to surgery. T1- and T2-weighted spin echo images were obtained. Changes including intra- and extramedullary signal intensities, tumour demarcation, tumour volume and the appearance of residual extramedullary tumour were compared with histophathology of the resected specimens. Reduction of tumour volume was significantly higher in good responders. Other single parameters did not correlated with histologic tumour response. However, when several MR parameters summarized in a classification system were combined, a positive correlation with histopathologic response was found. A limited decrease of tumour volume (<25 %) and/or residual soft tissue mass ...
There is a need for earlier and more accurate cancer diagnostics as well as new targets for cancer immunotherapy. To this end, it is important to identify sets of tumour antigens specific for different cancer forms. Several methods that identify potential tumour antigens in an arrayed and high-throughput format have been developed during the last years of SEREX (serological identification of antigens by recombinant expression cloning) related research. Such techniques may hold the potential to describe the complete immunogenic part of the cancer proteome, also called the cancer immunoproteome.We have developed a powerful platform for automated serological high-throughput filter screening of tumour cDNA libraries. The screening format of this method is 18,000 single cDNAs clones, which is s...
Tumour hypoxia represents a significant challenge to the curability of human tumours leading to treatment resistance and enhanced tumour progression. Tumour hypoxia can be detected by non-invasive and...Full Text Available
Tumour hypoxia represents a significant challenge to the curability of human tumours leading to treatment resistance and enhanced tumour progression. Tumour hypoxia can be detected by non-invasive and...Full Text Available
Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) measures concentrations of metabolites in vivo and provides a powerful method for identifyingtumours. MRS has not entered routine clinical use partly due to the difficulty of analysing the spectra. To create a straightforward method for interpreting short-echo-time MRS of childhood cerebellar tumours. Single-voxel MRS (1.5-T Siemens Symphony NUM4, TR/TE 1,500/30 ms) was performed at presentation in 30 children with cerebellar tumours. The MRS results were analysed for comparison with histological diagnosis. Peak heights for N-acetyl aspartate (NAA), creatine (Cr), choline (Cho) and myo-inositol (mIns) were determined and receiver operator characteristic curves used to select ratios that best discriminated between the tumour types. The method was implemented by a group of clinicians and scientists, blinded to the results. A total of 27 ...
Many existing agents for diabetes therapy are unable to restore or maintain normal glucose homeostasis or prevent the eventual emergence of hyperglycemia-related complication. Therefore, agents based on novel mechanisms are sought to complement and extend the current therapeutic approaches. Based on the initial paper research, we focused on active STAT3 as an attractive pharmacological target for type 2 diabetes. The subsequent text mining with a unique query to identifysuppressors but not activators of STAT3 revealed the ERK2/STAT3 pathway as a novel diabetes target. The description of ERK2 inhibitors as diabetes target had not been found in our text mining research at present. The mechanism-based peptide inhibitor for ERK2 was identified using the knowledge of the KIM sequence, which ha...
PURPOSE: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly virulent malignancy with no effective treatment thus requiring innovative and effective targeted therapies. The oncogene Astrocyte elevated gene-1 (AEG-1) plays a seminal role in hepatocarcinogenesis and profoundly downregulates insulin-like growth factor binding protein-7 (IGFBP7). The present study focuses on analyzing potential tumor suppressor functions of IGFBP7 in HCC and the relevance of IGFBP7 downregulation in mediating AEG-1 function.EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: IGFBP7 expression was detected by immunohistochemistry in HCC tissue microarray and real-time PCR and ELISA in human HCC cell lines. Dual Fluorescence in situ hybridization was performed to detect loss of heterozygosity at IGFBP7 locus. Stable IGFBP7-overexpressing clones were established in the background of AEG-1-overexpressing human HCC cells and were analyzed for in vitro proliferation and senescence and in vivo tumorigenesis and ...
DFNA5 was first identified as a gene causing autosomal dominant hearing loss (HL). Different mutations have been found, all exerting a highly specific gain-of-function effect, in which skipping of exon 8 causes the HL. Later reports revealed the involvement of the gene in different types of cancer. Epigenetic silencing of DFNA5 in a large percentage of gastric, colorectal and breast tumors and p53-dependent transcriptional activity have been reported, concluding that DFNA5 acts as a tumor suppressor gene in different frequent types of cancer. Despite these data, the molecular function of DFNA5 has not been investigated properly. Previous transfection studies with mutant DFNA5 in yeast and in mammalian cells showed a toxic effect of the mutant protein, which was not seen after transfection ...
Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors have been actively exploited as potential anticancer agents. To identify gene targets of HDAC inhibitors, we found that HDAC inhibitors such as sodium butyrate, scriptaid, apicidin and oxamflatin induced the expression of 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase (15-PGDH), a potential cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) antagonist and tumor suppressor, in a time and concentration dependent manner in A549 and H1435 lung adenocarcinoma cells. Detailed analyses indicated that HDAC inhibitors activated the 15-PGDH promoter-luciferase reporter construct in transfected A549 cells. A representative HDAC inhibitor, scriptaid, and its negative structural analog control, nullscript, were further evaluated at the chromatin level. Scriptaid but not nullscript induced a signific...
Erythroid differentiation regulator (Erdr1) was first discovered in mouse leukemia cell lines and functions as a stress-related survival factor. This study investigated whether Erdr1 regulates murine melanoma progression, as well as the mechanism involved in Erdr1-regulated metastasis. The expression of Erdr1 is negatively correlated with IL-18 expression, which has a pro-cancer effect in melanoma. To study the role of Erdr1 as an anti-cancer factor, cell migration, invasion, and proliferation were measured. Erdr1 overexpression markedly inhibited the level of cell migration, invasion, and proliferation in B16F10 cells in vitro. In addition, Erdr1 overexpression significantly suppressed melanoma lung colonization, metastasis, and tumor growth in vivo. To identify the factors involved in Er...
Abstract Hereditary primary hyperparathyroidism (HPT) may develop as a solitary endocrinopathy (FIHP) or as part of multiple endocrine neoplasia Type 1, multiple endocrine neoplasia Type 2A, or hereditary HPT-jaw tumor syndrome. Inactivating germline mutations of the tumor suppressor gene CDC73 account for 14 and 50% of all FIHP and HPT-JT patients, respectively, and have also been found in almost 20% of apparently sporadic parathyroid carcinoma patients. Although more than 60 independent germline mutations have been described, to date no rearrangement affecting the CDC73 locus has been identified. By means of multiplex-PCR we found a large germline deletion affecting the whole gene in a two-generation HPT-JT family. Subsequently array-CGH and specific PCR analysis determined that the muta...
SummaryThe Hippo tumor-suppressor pathway controls tissue growth in Drosophila and mammals by regulating cell proliferation and apoptosis. The Hippo pathway includes...Full Text Available
Studies have been performed with an anti-osteogenic sarcoma monoclonal antibody 791T/36 and human tumour xenografts to examine some of the quantitative and kinetic aspects of tumour localization. The influence of variations in tumour size and site and antibody dose on the extent and rate of specific antibody localization have been examined, together with the site of intratumoural deposition of the antibody. (UK).
The glycolipid content of human non-seminomatous germ cell tumour cell lines correlates with their differentiation lineage. To analyse whether this reflects the situation in primary tumours, we studied...Full Text Available
The purpose of the present study was to compare the effectiveness of MRI, CT and radioimmunoscintigraphy in the staging and detection of bladder cancers in 28 patients. We distinguish two groups: Group I included the tumour stages CIS-T_3_A and the second group the deep infiltrative tumours T_3_B-T_4. MRI was slightly superior to CT in respect of tumour staging (75% correct results as compared to 63%). No understaging occurred with MRI, whereas in 22% of the cases the stage of the tumour was underestimated using CT diagnostics. Overstaging occurred in 25% of the MRI and 15% of the CT-diagnostics, respectively. RIS cannot distinguish the tumour groups, and hence this method is useful only for the detection of the primary tumour and metastases. In 77% of cases the tumour was detected and in 15% the tumour could be safely ...
Many assays for oncogenic transformation have been developed ranging from those in established rodent cell lines where morphological alteration is scored, to those in human cells growing in nude mice where tumor invasiveness is scored. In general, systems that are most quantitaive are also the least relevant in terms of human carcinogenesis and human risk estimation. The development of cell culture systems has made it possible to assess at the cellular level the oncogenic potential of a variety of chemical, physical and viral agents. Cell culture systems afford the opportunity to identify factors and conditions that may prevent or enhance cellular transformation by radiation and chemicals. Permissive and protective factors in radiation-induced transformation include thyroid hormone and the tumor promoter TPA that increase the transformation incidence for a given dose of radiation, and retinoids, selenium, vitamin E, and 5-aminobenzamide that inhibit the expression ...
Many assays for oncogenic transformation have been developed ranging from those in established rodent cell lines where morphological alteration is scored, to those in human cells growing in nude mice where tumor invasiveness is scored. In general, systems that are most quantitaive are also the least relevant in terms of human carcinogenesis and human risk estimation. The development of cell culture systems has made it possible to assess at the cellular level the oncogenic potential of a variety of chemical, physical and viral agents. Cell culture systems afford the opportunity to identify factors and conditions that may prevent or enhance cellular transformation by radiation and chemicals. Permissive and protective factors in radiation-induced transformation include thyroid hormone and the tumor promoter TPA that increase the transformation incidence for a given dose of radiation, and retinoids, selenium, vitamin E, and 5-aminobenzamide that inhibit the expression ...
Abstract Common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in SMAD7 (18q21) have been linked to colorectal cancer (CRC) risk in genome-wide association studies, but little is known about their effects on survival. SMAD7 regulates gastrointestinal inflammation by inhibiting transforming growth factor- (TGFB), which can act as both a tumor suppressor and a promoter of metastasis. Regular use of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2) inhibitors, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), reduces the risk of developing CRC. Because COX2 overexpression reduces the growth suppressing effects of TGFB, we hypothesized that survival may depend on both SMAD7 genotype and prediagnostic NSAID use. Postmenopausal women, ages 50-74, diagnosed with incident invasive CRC from 1997 to 2002 were identified using t...
From 1981 up to February 1985, a total of 93 protocol patients entered the study CESS 81. The protocol recommended an initial 18-week period of polychemotherapy (VACA) followed by local therapy and two additional cycles of chemotherapy. Local therapy consisted either of radical surgery or of incomplete resection plus postoperative irradiation with 36 Gy or of radiotherapy alone (46 and 60 Gy). Centrally located lesions were always irradiated with 60 Gy. This article summarizes the data after 5 years. Data of 93 patients were analysed in October 1986 after a median follow-up of 37 months. The projected 5-year survival is 50%. The relapse rate was 42%, distant relapses occurred in 19%, local (plus distant) relapses in 23%. Most of the relapses occurred during the first 3 years of observation. Failure rate was high in patients undergoing irradiation alone (44%). Initial tumour mass (> 100 ml) and histopathologic response to initial chemotherapy were ...
Aim To better define the indications for adrenalectomy for adrenal metastasis we have analysed factors predicting survival in our institutional series. Methods A consecutive series of 30 patients undergoing adrenalectomy for metastasis (1996-2007), excluding patients with simultaneous ipsilateral renal cell carcinoma (RCC), was studied. Metastases were regarded as synchronous (6 mo), depending on the interval after primary surgery. Survival was calculated from time of adrenalectomy and factors influencing survival were identified. Results The tumour diagnoses were RCC n = 9, malignant melanoma n = 5, non-small-cell lung cancer n = 5, colorectal carcinoma n = 4, foregut carcinoid n = 2, adrenocortical carcinoma, breast cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, urothelial c...
The Molecular Genetics and Carcinogenesis Section conducts studies using human epithelial cells to assess: activation of proto-oncogenes by chemical and physical carcinogens; inactivation and dysregulation of tumor suppressor genes by chemical and physical
[sup 203]Pb-chloride is a promising imaging agent for tumour scanning because of the large retention value for tumour tissue and the small value for normal organs, but the large value for the kidneys and bone is a shortcoming. The retention value of [sup 203]Pb in tumour tissue is larger than that of [sup 201]Tl and smaller than that of [sup 67]Ga. The tumour/inflammatory lesion retention ratio for [sup 203]Pb is very large in comparison with those for [sup 67]Ga and [sup 201]Tl. [sup 203]Pb accumulates to a large extent in viable tumour tissue, and less in necrotic tumour tissue and in inflammatory lesion. (author).
The method, use and results of computer-aided diagnosis of bone tumours and tumour-like skeletal abnormalities in childhood are described. One hundred and twentyone histologically verified cases were analysed and subjected to computer-aided diagnosis. Statistical methods were used, resulting in an accuracy of 96.7% and 91.7% respectively. In order to obtain additional confirmation of the diagnosis, a so-called growth rate was calculated by the computer. This proved to be a reliable criterion for evaluating the biological behaviour of tumours, irrespective of the histological diagnosis. The reasons for misdiagnosis were discussed. Attention is drawn to the importance of an accurate analysis of the radiographs and its input into the computer.
Elite suppressors or controllers (ES) are HIV-1 infected patients who maintain undetectable viral loads without treatment. While HLA-B*57-positive ES are usually infected with virus that is unmutated...Full Text Available
Surgical resection is the only curative treatment strategy for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (CC). Therefore, accurate staging is essential for appropriate management of patients with CC. We assessed the usefulness of 2-["1"8F]fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) in the staging of CC. We undertook a retrospective review of FDG PET images in 21 patients (10 female, 11 male; mean age 57 years) diagnosed with CC. Ten patients had hilar CC and 11, peripheral CC. Patients underwent abdominal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (n=20) and computed tomography (CT) (n=12) for the evaluation of primary tumours, and chest radiography and whole-body bone scintigraphy for work-up of distant metastases. For semi-quantitative analysis, the maximum voxel standardised uptake value (SUV_m_a_x) was obtained from the primary tumour. All peripheral CCs showed intensely increased FDG uptake, and some demonstrated ring-shaped uptake ...
Neurofibromatosis type I (NF1) is one of the most common inheritable disorders and is associated with an increased risk of gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs). However, the predominant location...Full Text Available
In addition to the well documented role of cytokines in mediating tissue-level interactions, it is now clear that matrix macromolecules fulfil a complementary regulatory function. Data highlighted in...Full Text Available
A consecutive series of 101 pituitary tumours treated in the 10 year period 1968-78 has been examined, giant lesions being excluded. There were 48 female cases and 53 male, women predominating in the...Full Text Available
Variant alleles of the mannose binding lectin (MBL) gene are associated with increased susceptibility to infection and polymorphisms of tumour necrosis factor and lymphotoxin alpha genes (TNF, LTA)...Full Text Available
AIM: To investigate the role of metallothionein in colorectal tumours and the possible relation with other factors associated with tumour progression: expression of cathepsin D (CD), CD44, p53, Rb,...Full Text Available
MRT criteria have been developed to distinguish between tumour and implant material following examination of 50 patients who had transsphenoidal hypophysectomies for tumours. Judgements were based on the postoperative hormonal status and the operation notes. Following contrast injection of Gd-DTPA and using T[sub 1] weighted spin-echo sequences, implant material appeared as sandwich-like, linear or circular structures. Residual recurrent tumour produced homogenous or non-homogenous aspects without marginal enhancement in 84% of cases. Postoperative displacement of the infundibulum to the opposite side was observed in 73% of patients with tumour remnants. Sensitivity of MRT was 70%, specificity 95%. There was a positive predictive value of 94% and a negative predictive value of 72% with an accuracy of 81%. This provides assistance in differentiating between tumour remnants and ...
MRT criteria have been developed to distinguish between tumour and implant material following examination of 50 patients who had transsphenoidal hypophysectomies for tumours. Judgements were based on the postoperative hormonal status and the operation notes. Following contrast injection of Gd-DTPA and using T_1 weighted spin-echo sequences, implant material appeared as sandwich-like, linear or circular structures. Residual recurrent tumour produced homogenous or non-homogenous aspects without marginal enhancement in 84% of cases. Postoperative displacement of the infundibulum to the opposite side was observed in 73% of patients with tumour remnants. Sensitivity of MRT was 70%, specificity 95%. There was a positive predictive value of 94% and a negative predictive value of 72% with an accuracy of 81%. This provides assistance in differentiating between tumour remnants and implant ...
Giant lipomas are benign soft tissue tumours. They are found relatively rarely on the posterior part of the neck. Bleeding pressure ulcer in this giant tumour is a rare presentation. Surgical interventions...Full Text Available
Metastatic testicular germ cell tumours are cured in approximately 85% of patients using cisplatin-based combination chemotherapy. Patients who fail to respond have a poor prognosis, and there is a...Full Text Available
BackgroundFor the clinical management of adrenocortical neoplasms it is crucial to correctly distinguish between benign and malignant tumours. Even histomorphologically based scoring...Full Text Available
Because the results with cobalt-57-bleomycin (57Co-bleo) as a tumour-seeking agent in patients with pulmonary tumours were promising, a prospective study was carried out to test the sensitivity and...Full Text Available
A rhabdomyosarcoma in a WAG/Rij rat with capacity for colony growth after tumour excision and enzymatic dissociation has been used to study response to high and low LET radiation. End points are tumor...Full Text Available
One of the main obstacles encountered when trying to culture human seminoma (SE) cells in vitro is massive degeneration of the tumour cells. We investigated whether dissociation of tumour tissue, to...Full Text Available
The grafted human glioblastoma cell CB109 was used as a model for intralesional therapy with 131I-labelled hyaluronectin glycoprotein (131I-HN). 131I-HN bound specifically to in situ hyaluronic acid (HA), a main component of the extracellular matrix which is involved in tumour invasion. Labelling experimental conditions were determined and, finally, 25 {mu}Ci/{mu}gHN, 1 {mu}g chloramine-T/{mu}gHN and a 60-s stirring period provided a 131I-HN preparation with an optimal affinity for HA (64% compared to unlabelled HN). Following intratumoral injection, 131I-HN was retained with a limited diffusion outside the tumour. On day 4 the radioactivity concentrated in the tumour was still 25 times greater than that in the liver, spleen and kidneys combined. For therapeutic assays, 65 {mu}Ci 131I-HN was injected into the tumour, resulting in a delivery of 6.8 Gy over a 7-day period. Controls received unlabelled HN, ...
The "1"3"1I-labelled monoclonal antibodies 791T/36 and 79IT/36 Fab fragments have been evaluated in the imaging of patients with colorectal cancer, with benign colorectal tumours, and with malignant tumours of other parts of the gastrointestinal tract. The results of clinical imaging have been carefully correlated with clinical findings and direct measurement of the preferential uptake of antibody by the tumours. (UK).
The cytokinetic response of the solid Yoshida sarcoma to hyperthermia was examined at two tumour volumes, 1.0-1.5 ml and 3.0-3.5 ml. The tumour, growing on the feet of rats, was heated at 42 degrees...Full Text Available
In a joint study conducted by the University Clinic of Radiology, Graz, and the Medical University Clinic, Innsbruck, the results of computer tomography examinations of the abdomen and pelvis in 23 cases of tumours in children are discussed. In children computer tomography resents special difficulties on account of the very poorly developed fatty layers between the organs and the increased incidence of movement artifacts. The importance of computer tomography for the diagnosis of abdominal and pelvic tumours is discussed.
Computer tomography used in the diagnosis of tumours is described in the light of particularly great diagnostic difficulties in children. Computer tomography was applied in 12 cases. A high diagnostic value of this method was demonstrated, which makes possible a more accurate diagnosis of the position of the tumour, its size, and expanding tendency. The possibility of estimating healthy tissues and organs, and those with pathological changes on the basis of differences in their density with a detection threshold at 0.5% density difference facilitates not infrequently preoperative diagnosis raising the value of the method.
The primary aim was to evaluate delayed contrast-enhanced MRI in depicting perineural spread of hilar cholangiocarcinoma (CCC) and consequently to determine the capability of MRI/MRCP for staging CCC. Fifteen patients that underwent MRI/MRCP and surgical treatment were retrospectively included. Two radiologists evaluated MR images to assess delayed periductal enhancement, extent of bile duct stenosis, liver parenchymal and vascular involvement and presence of liver atrophy. An agreement between delayed enhancement of the bile duct walls and perineural neoplastic spread showed a very good correlation factor (0.93). The overall accuracy in detecting biliary neoplastic invasion was higher for delayed T1-weighted images (93.3%) than for the MRCP images (80%), and T1-delayed image increased the MR accuracy in assessing the neoplastic resectability (p < 0.05). MRI correctly predicted vascular involvement in 73% and liver involvement in 80% of the cases. The number of overall correctly ...
Although the p53 tumor suppressor is relatively well characterized, much less is known about the functions of other members of the p53 family, p73 and p63. Here, we present evidence that in specific pathological conditions caused by exposure of normal cells to bile acids in acidic conditions, p73 protein plays the predominant role in the DNA damage response. These pathological conditions frequently occur during gastric reflux in the human esophagus and are associated with progression to esophageal adenocarcinoma. We found that despite strong DNA damage induced by bile acid exposure, only p73 (but not p53 and p63) is selectively activated in a c-Abl kinase-dependent manner. The activated p73 protein induces DNA damage repair. Using a human DNA repair PCR array, we identified multiple DNA repair genes affected by p73. Two glycosylases involved in base excision repair, SMUG1 and MUTYH, were characterized and found to be transcriptionally regulated ...
Study Type - Therapy (case series)Level of Evidence 4 OBJECTIVE To present our experience of retroperitoneoscopic partial adrenalectomy (RPA) for small adrenal tumours, as with modern imaging methods small adrenal lesions are being diagnosed more commonly, and retroperitoneoscopic adrenal surgery for small adrenal tumours (PATIENTS AND METHODS We retrospectively reviewed the records of 389 consecutive retroperitoneoscopic adrenalectomies from September 2005 to December 2008, 88 of which were small adrenal tumours and treated by RPA. Ultrasonography and computed tomography (CT) were used in all patients before RPA, and magnetic resonance imaging or positron emission tomography/CT in some patients. We used RPA for adrenal tumours and total adrenalectomy for adrenal cancer. During the surgery...
p53 is one of the most mutated tumor suppressors in human cancers and as such has been intensively studied for a long time. p53 is a major orchestrator of the cellular response to a broad array...Full Text Available
BackgroundAKXD recombinant inbred strains of mice have proven to be very useful in the identification of potential oncogenes and tumor suppressors involved in the development of...Full Text Available
The Neurofibromatosis-2 (NF2) tumor suppressor merlin negatively regulates cell proliferation in numerous cell types. We have previously shown that the NF2...Full Text Available
Menin, which is encoded by the multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) gene, is a tumor suppressor and transcriptional regulator. Menin controls proliferation and apoptosis of cells, especially pancreatic...Full Text Available
The use of infectious pathogens has allowed the detection of the development of synergism between pathogens and ubiquitous environmental chemical contaminants. This synergism has been demonstrated to...Full Text Available
A method has been developed to predict the effects of mutations in the p53 cancer suppressor gene. The new method uses novel parameters combined with previously established parameters. The most important...Full Text Available
Telomerase, a ribonucleoprotein enzyme that maintains telomere length, is crucial for cellular immortalization and cancer progression. Telomerase activity is attributed primarily to the expression of...Full Text Available
Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) results from mutations in the NF1 tumor suppressor gene, which encodes the protein neurofibromin. NF1 patients display diverse clinical manifestations,...Full Text Available
Inactivation of the RB tumor suppressor and activation of the MYC family of oncogenes are frequent events in a large spectrum of human cancers. Loss of RB function and MYC activation are thought to...Full Text Available
BackgroundNeurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a common monogenic tumor-predisposition disorder that arises secondary to mutations in the tumor suppressor gene NF1....Full Text Available
Mutational inactivation of the RB1 tumor suppressor gene initiates retinoblastoma and other human cancers. RB1 protein (pRb) restrains cell proliferation by binding...Full Text Available
Most colorectal cancers have mutations in the tumor suppressor APC. The best-understood function of APC is its participation in a protein complex that regulates the availability of β-catenin....Full Text Available
The tumor suppressor adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) is mutated in the majority of colorectal cancers and is best known for its role as a scaffold in a Wnt-regulated protein complex that determines...Full Text Available
Little is known about the conservation of determinants for the identities of tRNAs between organisms. We showed previously that Escherichia coli tyrosine tRNA synthetase can charge the Saccharomyces...Full Text Available
Purpose: Liposarcoma is the most common soft tissue sarcoma in adults. The purpose of the study was to correlate MR imaging features with the four ICD subclasses. Methods: 28 patients with liposarcoma were examined preoperatively on a 1.0 T MRI system, using spin echo sequences, gradient echo imaging and STIR sequences. In all patients, classification of the liposarcomas was made by histologic diagnosis (ICD-10-M-classification). Results: Well differentiated liposarcomas (9 patients) showed a number of MRI features consistent with lipoma (well defined mass high signal intensity (SI) on T{sub 1} images, low signal on T{sub 2} images, no or only little signal increase of tumour tissue after contrast material application, no necrosis). Not well differentiated liposarcomas (myxoid 14 patients, pleomorphic three patients, round cell two patients) revealed the largest part of the mass to be of low SI on T{sub 1}-weighted images. Only scattered fatty islands and septa (9 ...
The waterjet technique enables precise tissue dissection without thermal damage and with preservation of vessels in general surgery. In neurosurgery, these qualities could help to avoid damage of intact brain parenchyma in tumour resections. The present study reports our first results with this technique in brain metastases. Ten patients with intracranial metastases underwent surgery with the aid of the waterjet. Resection was performed in combination with conventional neurosurgical methods. The follow-up consisted of neurological examination and MRI studies. Intraoperatively, the device was easy to handle. No complications due to the device were observed. Vessels were preserved at pressures below 20 bars. Six of the tumours consisted of soft tissue which was poorly demarcated from the surrounding brain. In these tumours, the waterjet was very helpful. It enabled tumour debulking by aspiration and - ...
The potential of radiolabelled phenylpiperazines as agents for the detection and therapy of tumours of neural crest origin was evaluated by in vitro pharmacological studies with human neuroblastoma...Full Text Available
Characterisation of the classification of brain tumours authorised by the WHO. Method of appraisal: This classification was revised and published in its second version. In the revision, some tumours were regrouped histogenetically and some tumour variants were added. Radiologically relevant changes of the classification include the differentiation of four new tumour entities that are easily distinguished by MR imaging. These four tumours belong to the group of childhood tumours or tumours occurring in early adulthood and are characterized by a good prognosis after extirpation. Results of appraisal: Central neurocytomas are small-cyst ventricular tumours associated with the foramen of Monroi and show moderate contrast enhancement. Infantile desmoplastic gangliogliomas/astrocytomas commonly consist of a solid ...
Cardiac tumours may display diverse symptoms through potential involvement of any structure of the heart. We describe a case of a highly malignant thymoma with involvement of different cardiac structures with important haemodynamic compromise. With the high sensitivity of transthoracic echocardiography for detection of intracardiac masses, computed tomography and magnetic resonance add essential structural preoperative information on the tumour and surrounding tissue as vessels, pleura, lung and mediastinum.
The right upper lung lobe of a 74 year old man was resected for a central tumour. Two primary cancers were found; a central small cell carcinoma and a peripheral squamous cell carcinoma. In addition,...Full Text Available
Cytologic smears obtained by needle aspiration biopsy of lytic bone lesions in 15 patients with histiocytosis X, Ewing's sarcoma and neuroblastoma were reviewed. After conventional staining, histiocytosis X could be diagnosed and differentiated from small cell tumours such as Ewing's sarcoma and neuroblastoma. The need for sampling material for cytochemical and ultrastructural analysis of these small cell tumours by needle aspiration is emphasized. (Auth.).
Testicular germ cell tumours (TGCTs) of adolescents and adults morphologically mimic different stages of embryogenesis. Established cell lines of these cancers are used as informative models to study...Full Text Available
Oestrogen has been reported to modulate tumour necrosis factor (TNF), interleukin (IL)-1 and IL-6 cytokine levels in human mononuclear cell cultures. In the present study, the effects of exogenous oestrogen...Full Text Available
The present study demonstrates that tumour necrosis factor (TNF) and FMLP, but not IL-1 or IL-8, enhanced the adherence of polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN) to fibronectin, an extracellular matrix...Full Text Available
A thorough understanding of the immune system, including the role of different cytokines, during inflammatory diseases in ruminants could lead to the development of new diagnostic methods and treatments....Full Text Available
Several computer assisted processing and display methods are evaluated using a series of 100 normal brain scintigrams, 50 of which have had single 'mathematical tumours' superimposed. Using a standard rating system, or in some cases quantitative estimation, LROC curves are generated for each method and compared. (author).
Assembly of icosahedral capsids of proper size and symmetry is not understood. Residue F170 in bacteriophage P22 coat protein is critical for conformational switching during assembly. Substitutions at this site cause assembly of tubes of hexamerically arranged coat protein. Intragenic suppressors of the ts phenotype of F170A and F170K coat protein mutants were isolated. Suppressors were repeatedly found in the coat protein telokin-like domain at position 285, which caused coat protein to assemble into petite procapsids and capsids. Petite capsid assembly strongly correlated to the side chain volume of the substituted amino acid. We hypothesize that larger side chains at position 285 torque the telokin-like domain, changing flexibility of the subunit and intercapsomer contacts. Thus, a sing...
In a prospective study, 58 patients with carcinomas of the bladder were examined by CT and MRI; in 48, gadolinium-DTPA was administered intravenously. MRI provided exact staging in 89%, compared with 80% with CT. There was 13% over-staging with CT and 11% with MRI. MRI, unlike CT did not result in any under-staging. In 36 patients a quotient could be calculated from the signal intensity of the tumour and surrounding soft tissues both before and after the intravenous contrast medium and the increased quotient after contrast administration could be estimated. There was a significant increase in the tumour/muscle quotient with a mean of 72#+-#22% (minimum 43%, maximum 153%), corresponding to a marked increase of the signal form the tumour when compared with the precontrast images. This had the following advantages compared with CT: Accurate differentiation between superficial and intramural spread. MRI was better than CT at ...
The Thomsen-Friedenreich (T) antigen, #betta#-D-Gal-(1->3)-#alpha#-D-GalNAc, is exposed in reactive form on many human adenocarcinomata, but not on corresponding benign tissues. Peanut lectin (PNA) has a strong binding affinity for the T antigen and reportedly binds preferentially to certain malignant tissues. We investigated the potential of radio-labelled PNA as a tumour localising agent in an animal model system using a mouse lymphoma (RI) shown to bind fluorescein-labelled PNA in vitro. The radio-iodinated lectin showed good tumour localisation and rapid blood clearance. Clear images of tumours were obtained, in serial scintigraphic imaging, by 24 and 48 h. No blood background subtraction was necessary. Biodistribution studies revealed tumour to blood ratios in mice were 6:1 (at 24 h) and 17:1 (at 48 h), and tumour to muscle ratios were 34:1 (at 24 h) and 40:1 (at 48 h). ...
We present changes in the p53 gene in a group of 70 thyroid tumours and 40 blood samples obtained from children from Belarus. Three thyroid tumours show a polymorphism in exon 6 (codon 213) and 5 tumours show a polymorphism in intron 6, 37 bp upstream to the 5'-end of exon 7. Only one patient has a mutation in exon 7 (codon 258) resulting in an amino acid substitution in the protein p53. The distribution of polymorphisms in the 40 blood samples was as follows: three patients had a polymorphism in exon 6 and two persons had a polymorphism in intron 6. One polymorphism in intron 6 was also found in the group of 30 healthy children from Belarus. The fact that the differences in the sequence in p53 found in the tumours was also seen in the blood of these patients demonstrates that they are polymorphisms not induced by radiation exposure. It is difficult to conclude, if the polymorphisms found by us could be ...
Encapsulation of technetium-99m sestamibi ({sup 99m}Tc-MIBI) in polyethyleneglycol-liposomes ({sup 99m}Tc-MIBI-PEG-liposomes) could extend the duration of its circulation in blood and alter its biodistribution, enabling its concentration in tumours to be increased. An original method to encapsulate {sup 99m}Tc-MIBI in PEG-liposomes is described. The {sup 99m}Tc-MIBI-PEG-liposomes were compared with free {sup 99m}Tc-MIBI with respect to (a) tumour availability (b) ability to distinguish between chemotherapy-sensitive and -resistant cells and (c) uptake ratio in tumour imaging. PEG-liposomal systems composed of distearoylphosphatidylcholine/cholesterol/PEG{sub 2000}-distearoyl phosphatidylethanolamine and lissamine-rhodamine B-labelled liposomes were used. The encapsulation of {sup 99m}Tc-MIBI in liposomes was achieved using the K{sup +} diffusion potential method. We compared the uptake of free versus encapsulated {sup ...
A hallmark of several human cancers is loss of heterozygosity (LOH) of chromosome 17p13. The same chromosomal region is also frequently hypermethylated in cancer. Although loss of 17p13 has been often...Full Text Available
In the early 1970s a spate of papers by research groups around the world provided evidence for a negative regulatory role of thymus-derived lymphocytes (T cells). In 1971, Gershon and Kondo published...Full Text Available
The tumor suppressor p53 is often inactivated in breast cancer cells because the overexpression of its repressors (e.g., MDM2 and MDMX). Restoration of p53 activity by small molecules through counteracting...Full Text Available
Purpose/Objective. Daily Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) in room imaging is used to determine tumour shrinkage during a full radiotherapy (RT) course. In addition, relative interfractional tumour and lymph node motion is determined for each RT fraction. Material and methods. From November 2009 to March 2010, 20 consecutive lung cancer patients (14 NSCLC, 6 SCLC) were followed with daily CBCT during RT. The gross tumour volume for lung tumour (GTV-t) was visible in all daily CBCT scans and was delineated at the beginning, at the tenth and the 20th fraction, and at the end of treatment. Whenever visible, the gross tumour volume for lymph nodes (GTV-n) was also delineated. The GTV-t and GTV-n volumes were determined. All patients were setup according to an online bony anatomy match. Retrospectively, matching based on the internal target volume (ITV), the GTV-t or the GTV-n was ...
Neurotensin (NT) and its high affinity receptor (NTR1) are involved in several neoplastic processes. Thus, NT-based radiopharmaceuticals are potential tracers for targeted diagnosis and therapy of NTR-positive tumours. A new analogue based on NT(8-13), NT-XIX, with the three enzymatic cleavage sites stabilised, was synthesised and tested. The synthesis was performed by Boc strategy. Labelling with "9"9"mTc/"1"8"8Re was performed using the tricarbonyl technique. Metabolic stability was tested in vitro and in vivo. NT-XIX was further characterised in vitro in HT-29 cells and in vivo in nude mice with HT-29 xenografts. NT-XIX showed much longer half-lives than non-stabilised analogues. Binding to NTR1 was highly specific, although the affinity was lower than that of natural NT. Bound activity rapidly internalised into HT-29 cells and 50% remained trapped after 24 h. In the time-course biodistribution, the highest uptake was found in the tumour at ...
OBJECTIVE To present our initial experience of thulium laser resection via a flexible cystoscope for recurrent non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (ThuRBT), as transurethral resection for bladder tumour (TURBT) is regarded as the reference standard for treating this disease, but alternative laser resection or ablation is suitable especially for recurrent tumours. PATIENTS AND METHODS From January 2005 to October 2005, 32 patients with early recurrent bladder tumour (recurrent within a year after TURBT) were treated with ThuRBT via a flexible cystoscope. The follow-up included urine analysis, ultrasonography and cystoscopy every 3 months. RESULTS All patients were treated successfully with ThuRBT in one session, with no bladder haemorrhage, obturator nerve reflex or vesicle perforation. Rand...
Abstract Aim- According to the revised Bethesda Guidelines, colorectal cancer (CRC) occurring under age 50-years should be screened to exclude Lynch syndrome. However, in current practice in East Anglia, tumour screening is initiated only after genetics referral, reserved for those with a strong pedigree. This study aimed to determine how many patients with young-onset CRC undergo tumour screening in hospitals in East Anglia. Method- A retrospective case notes review over 5-years in four hospitals was undertaken to determine what proportion of those with young-onset CRC underwent referral for tumour screening and to assess local practices in terms of patient counselling and management. Results- One hundred and twenty-two patients were included. There was an average yearly caseload of 6-9 p...
Recent advances in DNA sequencing technology are providing unprecedented opportunities for comprehensive analysis of cancer genomes, exomes, transcriptomes, as well as epigenomic components. The integration...Full Text Available
AbstractThe optimal definition of the size, shape and location of gross tumour volume is one of the most important steps in the planning of radiation therapy, and necessitates a proper...Full Text Available
The study of blocking factors requires in vitro assay of cell mediated immunity that parallels the in vivo response. By microcytotoxicity testing, progressor and immune peripheral blood lymphocytes...Full Text Available
Placental and placental-like alkaline phosphatase (PLAP) levels in the culture media of 87 cell lines of neoplastic and 'normal' origin were measured by a conventional immunosorbent enzymatic assay...Full Text Available
Objectives:Cachexia is common in pancreatic cancer and may have an influence on longterm survival but few studies have investigated this in patients with operable tumours. Therefore,...Full Text Available
BackgroundGastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST) frequently occur in patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF-1). It has been reported that GIST may co-exist with pancreatic endocrine...Full Text Available
The Zollinger-Ellison syndrome (ZES) is taken as an example of the diagnostic and therapeutic strategy in gastro-entero-pancreatic endocrine tumours, given the standard characteristics of this procedure, whatever the nature of the primitive tumour. Management of ZES includes: anatomical localization of gastrinoma and of possible metastases, in 60 % of cases this step conditioning therapeutic indications and chances of cure; search of a type 1-multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN A), in 25 % of cases; therapeutic indications: ablative surgery with curative intent in case of gastrinoma and of resectable liver metastases, palliative treatment otherwise: anti-secretory drugs, somatostatin analogues, chemotherapy and interferon {alpha}; long-term follow-up of patients with resected tumour. At each step, somatostatin receptor scintigraphy with indium 111-pentetreotide does play a pivotal role. (author). 110 refs.
Recurrent tumour after radical pancreaticoduodenectomy may cause obstruction of the small bowel loop draining the liver. Roux-loop obstruction presents a particular therapeutic challenge, since the...Full Text Available
BackgroundStem cell characteristics are an important feature of human cancer cells and play a major role in the therapy resistance of tumours. Strategies to target cancer stem cells...Full Text Available
AimsThe aims of the study were to study the effect of pre-operative treatment on the expression of tumour-related proteins and to correlate the expression of these...Full Text Available
Iron is a central element in the metabolism of normal and malignant cells. Abnormalities in iron and ferritin expression have been observed in many types of cancer. Interest in characterizing iron compounds...Full Text Available
E-cadherin is the primary cell adhesion molecule within the epithelium, and loss of this protein is associated with a more aggressive tumour phenotype and poorer patient prognosis in many cancers. Loss...Full Text Available
BackgroundASCL1 role in pancreatic endocrine tumourigenesis has not been established. Recently it was suggested that ASCL1 negatively controls expression of the...Full Text Available
Vestibular schwannomas, also called acoustic neuromas, are benign tumors of the vestibulocochlear nerve. Patients with these tumours almost always present with signs of hearing loss, and many also experience...Full Text Available
Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF-1) and tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) are two familial syndromes known as phakomatoses that may be associated with endocrine tumors. These hereditary cutaneous...Full Text Available
Hepatocellular carcinoma (hcc) is an uncommon tumour, but its incidence is increasing in Canada and elsewhere. Currently, there are no Canadian recommendations for diagnosis and treatment of...Full Text Available
Recent preclinical and clinical data suggest that TP53 status and TP53 mutations may be important in determining tumour aggressiveness and therapy response. In this study we investigate the feasibility...Full Text Available
OBJECTIVE: To study cause specific mortality and cancer morbidity in workers exposed to the dust of grinding materials, grinding agents, and stainless steel, especially with regard to a possibly increased...Full Text Available
Based on the assumption that an accelerated proliferation process prevails in tumour cell residues after surgery, the possibility that treatment acceleration would offer a therapeutic advantage in postoperative...Full Text Available
Although the majority of men presenting with non-seminomatous germ cell tumours (NSGCT) are cured, late relapse (occurring more than 2 years after obtaining a complete response to treatment) is increasingly recognized. The typical patterns of disease spread have been well-documented, but the findings at late relapse are more variable and less well-described. We discuss the phenomenon of late relapse, the characteristics of teratoma differentiated (TD), and the issue of long-term imaging surveillance of patients with NSGCT. The potential sites of late relapse of NSGCT and the associated spectrum of imaging appearances are illustrated.
Although the majority of men presenting with non-seminomatous germ cell tumours (NSGCT) are cured, late relapse (occurring more than 2 years after obtaining a complete response to treatment) is increasingly recognized. The typical patterns of disease spread have been well-documented, but the findings at late relapse are more variable and less well-described. We discuss the phenomenon of late relapse, the characteristics of teratoma differentiated (TD), and the issue of long-term imaging surveillance of patients with NSGCT. The potential sites of late relapse of NSGCT and the associated spectrum of imaging appearances are illustrated.
Non-uniform radionuclide distribution in tumours will lead to a non-uniform absorbed dose. The aim of this study was to investigate how tumour control probability (TCP) depends on the radionuclide distribution in the tumour, both macroscopically and at the subcellular level. The absorbed dose in the cell nuclei of tumours was calculated for {sup 90}Y, {sup 177}Lu, {sup 103m}Rh and {sup 211}At. The radionuclides were uniformly distributed within the subcellular compartment and they were uniformly, normally or log-normally distributed among the cells in the tumour. When all cells contain the same amount of activity, the cumulated activities required for TCP = 0.99 (A-tilde{sub TCP=0.99}) were 1.5-2 and 2-3 times higher when the activity was distributed on the cell membrane compared to in the cell nucleus for {sup 103m}Rh and {sup 211}At, respectively. TCP for {sup 90}Y was not ...
A device is presented with handle containing hinges and work support arm, a flexible pin with supports and extra weights. The flexible pin is equipped with cantilevered sergments and weights. The bracket hinges on the handle are perpendicular to the axis of the flexible pin. To reduce handle vibration during drilling hard rock, the handle and brackets are joined to allow relative movement on the surface perpendicular to the hinges of the work support arm. The handle is joined to the work support arm parallel to the sides and the work support arm has holes to accomodate this. Elastic bushings are located between the lateral sides of the work support arm where it is joined to the handle.
The late effects of "2"3"9Pu have been studied after its administration to perinatal, juvenile and adult rats. Adults and weanlings were injected intravenously, newborns intracardially and 19-day foetuses by intravenous injection of the dam. Dose levels were selected to deliver radiation doses of approximately 7, 23, or 70 rads to the femur of all ages during the first 10 days post injection; in general these values were achieved as shown by tissue analysis. Dose rates subsequently diverged, resulting in widely varying cumulative radiation doses for the four age groups. Survival times of rats exposed post-natally were progressively decreased by increasing dose. No decrement in survival was found for those exposed prenatally. Bone tumour incidence was increased by exposure to Pu in all age groups. The younger rats were less sensitive on an administered dose basis, but perhaps more sensitive on the basis of cumulative radiation dose. Prenatally exposed animals, which ...
Over a 5-year period (1976-1980) 499 patients with non-seminomatous testicular germ cell tumours were included in the Danish Testicular Carcinoma Study (DATECA). The 3-year crude survival for patients in clinical stages I, II and III was 91, 77 and 45 per cent, respectively. In stage I the relapse-free survival for patients given radiation combined with bleomycin and vincristine was significantly higher than that for patients given radiation alone. No difference in the crude survival for patients given radiation combined with bleomycin and vincristine was significantly higher than that for patients given radiation alone. No difference in the crude survival was observed. For stage II patients maintenance chemotherapy following radiation combined with bleomycin and vincristine did not improve relapse-free or crude survival. The survival of patients with non-seminomatous tumours improved significantly during the 5-year period. This improvement was ...
Over a 5-year period (1976-1980) 499 patients with non-seminomatous testicular germ cell tumours were included in the Danish Testicular Carcinoma Study (DATECA). The 3-year crude survival for patients in clinical stages I, II and III was 91, 77 and 45 per cent, respectively. In stage I the relapse-free survival for patients given radiation combined with bleomycin and vincristine was significantly higher than that for patients given radiation alone. No difference in the crude survival for patients given radiation combined with bleomycin and vincristine was significantly higher than that for patients given radiation alone. No difference in the crude survival was observed. For stage II patients maintenance chemotherapy following radiation combined with bleomycin and vincristine did not improve relapse-free or crude survival. The survival of patients with non-seminomatous tumours improved significantly during the 5-year period. This improvement was ...
Five cases diagnosed as extraosseous Ewing's sarcoma (EES) during a 15 year period, and the relevant literature, were reviewed. The diagnosis in these cases was difficult to confirm, mainly because the distinction between the osseous form of Ewing's sarcoma (OES) and either periosteal reactions or direct tumour invasion into adjacent bone by EES was often unclear. The literature suggests that other authors have also encountered difficulties. The authors believe that many cases reported as EES are likely to have been OES. This distinction has some importance, as the two conditions are usually treated in differing ways. The following criteria are proposed for the diagnosis of primary EES: (i) no evidence of bony involvement on magnetic resonance imaging; (ii) no evidence of increased uptake in bone or periosteum adjacent to the tumour on static isotope bone scan images; (iii) a small round cell tumour with no differentiating ...
Abstract. Objective: Lapatinib (Tykerb, GW572016), a potent inhibitor of the catalytic activities of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) (ErbB2), inhibits population growth of selected EGFR and HER2 overexpressing cell lines. Previous studies with a small number of cell lines suggest a correlation between overexpression of EGFR and/or HER2 and sensitivity to growth inhibition by lapatinib; however, the precise determinants of lapatinib selectivity for tumour and/or other cells remain unclear. Materials and methods: To clarify the determinants of its selectivity in cultured cells, lapatinib-induced cell population growth inhibition and relative EGFR and HER2 protein expression were quantified in 61 different human tumour cell lines fro...
The initial management of nonfunctioning pituitary macroadenomas (NFAs) is usually surgery; however, a significant proportion of NFAs may require further treatment. Radiotherapy is currently used in patients with residual tumour and achieves excellent long-term control, but there are concerns about potential late toxicity. Stereotactic radiotherapy, both in the form of radiosurgery or fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy, has been developed as a more accurate technique of irradiation with more precise tumour localization and consequently a reduction in the volume of normal tissue, particularly the brain, irradiated to high radiation doses. A review of the literature suggests that new radiation techniques offer safe and effective treatment for recurrent or residual pituitary adenomas; how...
A 38 year old male dentist developed an oligodendroglioma of the left medial temporal lobe and parasellar region 12 years after radiotherapy with 6600 rads for acromegaly. The 30 cases of radiation-induced gliomas reported in the English literature are reviewed and analysed. The criteria for defining radiation-induced tumours of the central nervous system are proposed as follows: the tumour has a long quiescent ''latency period'', a location in the previously irradiated field, a verified histological difference from a primary condition, and does not arise from a primary condition associated with a genetic syndrome such as neurofibromatosis or tuberous sclerosis. The reported case fulfilled these criteria but appears to be the only reported radiation-induced oligodendroglioma.
In the paper we investigate a mathematical model describing the growth of tumor in the presence of immune response of a host organism. The dynamics of tumour and immune cells is based on the generic Michaelis-Menten kinetics describing interaction and competition between the tumour and the immune system. The appropriate phenomenological equation modeling cell-mediated immune surveillance against cancer is of the predator-prey form and within a given choice of parameters exhibits bistability. Under the influence of spontaneous weak fluctuations, the model may be analyzed in terms of a stochastic differential equation bearing the form of an overdamped Langevin-like dynamics in the external quasi-potential represented by a double well. We analyze properties of the system within the range of parameters for which the potential wells are of the same depth and when the additional perturbation describing a periodic treatment is insufficient to overcome ...
Twenty-three patients with intracranial meningiomas were examined by means of magnetic resonance tomography (MRT). In 13 patients the paramagnetic contrast medium gadolinium DTPA was used. Meningiomas show only slight changes in signal intensity compared with brain in the spin-echo mode, the greatest contrast being found on photon density images (TR 1600 ms, TE 35 ms). In T1 images more than 50% of the patients showed a low signal margin between tumour and brain. Hyperostosis of the calvarium is easily recognised, but MRT is unreliable for showing tumour calcification. After intravenous injection of gadolinium DTPA, there was marked homogeneous uptake in the meningiomas. These signs are useful for the diagnosis of a meningioma by MRT. (orig.).
Invading melanoma spreads to local and unpredictable distant location at the early stages of its development. It is justifiable, therefore, to classify the disease as a systemic disorder. This requires a systemic treatment that reaches all melanoma cells irrespective of whether they are singly dispersed and in circulation or already forming solid tumours of various sizes. Targeted radiotherapy affects directly and selectively cancer cells provided an appropriate radionuclide and its carrier are chosen. Melanoma is a pigmented tumour. Methylene blue (MTB)) accumulates selectively in melanoma cells due to its exceptionally high affinity to melanin. MTB serves, therefore, as a carrier for radionuclides. "2"1"1At-MTB has proved to be particularly effective in treating disseminated melanoma when administered systemically and, at the same time, non-toxic to normal non-pigmented and pigmented organs. (authors)
LECTURE SERIES 14, 15, 17 January 2008 11:00 to 12:00 - Council Chamber, bldg. 503-1-001 Applications of accelerators to tumour therapy U. AMALDI, TERA Foundation & University of Milano Bicocca The first lecture is devoted to an historical review of the developments of the teletherapy techniques which make use of hadron beams and are collectively called "hadrontherapy". The main emphasis is on the use of protons and light ions, but also neutrons, pions and antiprotons are considered. The second lecture reviews the rationale behind the use of carbon ions in the treatment of radioresistant tumours and the results obtained both with proton and carbon ion beams on the 60 000 patients treated worldwide. The numbers of patients who would profit from hadrontherapy are presented together with the current landscape of running and planned hospital based centres. The main technical challenges set by this therapeutic modality are discussed in the ...
The xenotropic murine leukaemia virus-related virus (XMRV), a gammaretrovirus, was discovered in prostate cancer tumours by Virochip technology in 2006. It was subsequently detected in chronic fatigue patients in 2009. The association between XMRV and chronic fatigue has proved to be controversial. No study has confirmed these findings and many have refuted them. Here, we present the evidence for our contention that XMRV is not a human pathogen. PMID:21978843
In a prospective study 102 patients with malignant tumors of the tongue, oropharynx, hypopharynx, and larynx were staged by means of MRI. Special attention was directed at those tumour extensions that could influence the treatment strategy. The MR findings were correlated with the results of palpation, endoscopy, ultrasound, computerised tomography and histopathological findings. MRI showed a good delineation of pT{sub 2} to pT{sub 4} tumours. However, visualisation of small tumours in the soft palate, the tonsils, the pyriform sinuses and vocal cords was difficult. In conclusion our results suggest that in addition to endoscopy MRI is a valuable tool for the examination of tumours of tongue, oropharynx, hypopharynx and larynx. (orig.) [Deutsch] In einer prospektiven Studie wurden 102 Patienten mit malignen Tumoren der Mundhoehle, des Oro- und Hypopharynx sowie des Larynx mit der ...
This report deals with the preliminary results of trials in the DATECA project with stage I, II and III patients with non-seminomatous germ cell tumours. Stage 1 patients were randomized between infradiaphragmatic irradiation and observation. No significant difference in recurrence rates has been observed as yet. Eighteen of 95 patients had recurrence with a median time to relapse of 3 months. Fifteen patients achieved complete remission after treatment by combination chemotherapy while 3 patients are still undergoing treatment. Stage II patients received 6 series of cis-platinum, bleomycin, and vinblastine. The patients were initially randomized to receive chemotherapy alone versus chemotherapy plus irradiation. Irradiation led to increased toxicity and decreased doses of the antineoplastic drugs. Fifty-one patients were studied. The overall complete remission rate was 89 per cent including 7 patients who achieved complete remission after secondary surgery. Three ...
This report deals with the preliminary results of trials in the DATECA project with stage I, II and III patients with non-seminomatous germ cell tumours. Stage 1 patients were randomized between infradiaphragmatic irradiation and observation. No significant difference in recurrence rates has been observed as yet. Eighteen of 95 patients had recurrence with a median time to relapse of 3 months. Fifteen patients achieved complete remission after treatment by combiantion chemotherapy while 3 patients are still undergoing treatment. Stage II patients received 6 series of cis-platinum, bleomycin, and vinblastine. The patients were initially randomized to receive chemotherapy alone versus chemotherapy plus irradiation. Irradiation led to increased toxicity and decreased doses of the antineoplastic drugs. Fifty-one patients were studied. The overall complete remission rate was 89 per cent including 7 patients who achieved complete remission after secondary surgery. Three ...
Primary Ewing's sarcoma of the skull is a very rare entity. We report MRI findings in a case of Ewing's sarcoma of the greater wing of sphenoid in a 4-year-old patient. Magnetic resonance imaging showed markedly heterogenous signal intensity with areas of haemorrhage and necrosis. It also demonstrated the exact extent of tumour due to its multiplanar capabilities and was, therefore, helpful in planning surgery. Copyright (2002) Blackwell Science Pty Ltd
One hundred and thirty-seven lung cancer patients (123 non-small-cell lung cancers (NSCLC), 10 small-cell lung cancers (SCLC) and four carcinoid tumours) who underwent surgery in an attempt at complete...Full Text Available
The authors describe their experience of endocavitary radiotherapy of adenomas and carcinomas of the lower rectum. The method is an alternative for patients who cannot undergo standard surgical procedure or do no want a permanent colostomy. This method is cheap, fast and causes little discomfort to the patients, gives reasonable long-term results and has low morbidity. 11 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs.
In addition to their use in high-speed ovens, microwaves are also finding applications in industrial manufacture, quality control and storage - anywhere where the high-frequency transmission or reflection properties of a material can be exploited. Microwaves are also being used in medical applications for the characterization of certain type of tumours. They are also being used in research into ultrasonic cavitation. (authors) 5 refs.
Abstract Adult rhabdomyoma is a rare primary benign tumour of striated muscle origin that almost exclusively presents in the head and neck region with predilection for male. We herein report a case of an adult rhabdomyoma in a 67-year-old male with cytologic features. The lesions was located in the tongue extended to the left parapharyngeal region. We discuss the cytological findings with a brief review of the literature on this entity. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2010. 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
The experiences are described of the examination of orbita in children using computer tomography (CT). Over a period of four years 42 examinations were performed of children in the age ranging between 7 months and 15 years, i.e., 2.7 percent of all CT examinations performed. The highest diagnostic yield was in orbita tumours. The possibilities of CT are demonstrated on examples.
A prospective pilot trial was performed in 20 patients randomised to receive either {sup 131}I-Lipiodol therapy alone (n=10) or {sup 131}I-Lipiodol combined with a short low-dose cisplatin infusion (n=10), the aim being to evaluate the possible positive influence of a radiosensitiser on toxicity and tumour response. An activity of 1,354-2,128 MBq (mean 1,824 MBq) [36.6-57.5 mCi (mean 49.3 mCi)] {sup 131}I-labelled Lipiodol was administered by selective instillation in the hepatic artery. Cisplatin was given in a dose of 30 mg/m{sup 2} at day -1 and day +6 (day 0: {sup 131}I-Lipiodol). The primary endpoint of this trial was toxicity of therapy; points of secondary interest were tumour response and survival at 6 months. With the use of cisplatin we found a higher percentage of stable or diminished tumour size (90%, vs 40% without). A benefit in group survival at 6 months was not evident. Low-grade stomatitis in one patient ...
Each of the three cysteine residues in the Escherichia coli RecA protein was replaced with a number of other amino acids. To do this, each cysteine codon was first converted to a chain-terminating amber codon by oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis. These amber mutants were then either assayed for function in different suppressor strains or reverted by a second round of mutagenesis with oligonucleotides that had random sequences at the amber codon. Thirty-three different amino acid substitutions were obtained. Mutants were tested for three functions of RecA: survival following UV irradiation, homologous recombination, and induction of the SOS response. It was found that although none of the cysteines is essential for activity, mutations at each of these positions can affect one or more of the activities of RecA, depending on the particular amino acid substitution. In addition, the cysteine at position 116 appears to be involved in the RecA-promoted cleavage of the ...
Mutations in sclerostin function or expression cause sclerosing bone dysplasias, involving decreased antagonism of Wnt/Lrp5 signaling. Conversely, deletion of the VHL tumor suppressor in osteoblasts, which stabilize HIF-a isoforms and thereby enables HIF-a/b-driven gene transcription, increases bone mineral content and cross-sectional area compared to wild-type controls. We examined the influence of cellular hypoxia (1% oxygen) upon sclerostin expression and canonical Wnt signaling. Osteoblasts and osteocytes cultured under hypoxia revealed decreased sclerostin transcript and protein, and increased expression and nuclear localization of activated b-catenin. Similarly, both hypoxia and the hypoxia mimetic DFO increased b-catenin gene reporter activity. Hypoxia and its mimetics increased exp...
Increasing evidence has been accumulated indicating the important role of epigenetic regulation in tumor genesis. Previously, we observed that the transfection of hepatitis C virus core (HCVc) protein led to malignant transformation in normal biliary cells, and that tumor suppressor gene RASSF1A was downregulated in many hilar cholangiocarcinoma patients by hypermethylation in the promoter region. In the present study, we found SET and MYND domain-containing protein 3 (SMYD3), a novel histone methyltransferase, was overexpressed in cholangiocarcinoma patients especially in those with HCV infection. Transfection of HCVc into hilar cholangiocarcinoma cell lines QBC939 and FRH0201 could upregulate the expression of SMYD3 and promote cell growth, which was consistent with the results of our cl...
Objective: : Evaluate expression of inducible negative regulators of JAK/STAT pathway and their target proteins during the course of ligature-induced experimental periodontal disease in rats. Design: : Rats were sacrificed 07, 15 and 30days after disease induction for histological evaluation of periodontal inflammation and macroscopic analysis of alveolar bone loss. SOCS expression and the activation status of STAT1 and STAT3 were evaluated in gingival biopsies by real time PCR and Western blot. Results: : Ligature-induced model presented significant progressive bone loss from 7 to 30days. Inflammation was evident and similar for 07 and 15days; however, a decrease on severity at the end of the experimental period was observed. There was a significant (p<0.05) increase on SOCS1 and SOCS3 ge...
BACKGROUND Hypermethylation of CpG islands is a common epigenetic alteration associated with cancer. Tumor suppressor genes retinoic acid receptor beta (RARb) and PDLIM4 are hypermethylated and silenced in prostate cancer (PCa) tissues and PCa cell lines compared to normal prostate cells. METHODS In this study, a benign prostate epithelial cell line RWPE1 was used as a model to study the epigenetic regulation of Myc on the RARb and PDLIM4 promoters. Forced Myc overexpression inhibited the RARb and PDLIM4 expression. RESULTS Pyrosequencing study showed that Myc overexpression increased methylation in several CpG sites of both promoters. A DNA methylation inhibitor 5-aza-2prime-deoxycytidine reversed the epigenetic alteration effect of Myc on both RARb and PDLIM4. CONCLUSION The epigenetic r...
A 33-year-old male of proven fertility suffered six attacks of malaria while resident in an African country. For this he received anti-malarial drugs. Semen analysis performed after the fourth attack, and repeated during the following 2 years after his return to Israel, revealed severe oligozoospermia, necrozoospermia and occasionally even azoospermia. Immunological examination of the patient revealed an inverse ratio of T-cell subsets and mast cell degranulation in response to palludrin. Twenty-five months after the last attack of malaria a significant improvement was found in semen quality and there was an increase in the ratio of T-helper to T-suppressor cytotoxic cells. These observations indicate that although malaria and its treatment may affect spermatogenesis, recovery may be expected eventually. PMID:3500921
Full text: In 1995, we demonstrated the use of pretargetting three steps method and biotinylated tetracycline using radiolabelled {sup 99m}Tc-DTPA-biocytinamide for the detection of tumour cells in (C57B1/6 x BALB/C) F1 mice with E-3 thymoma. The three steps were (1) IP injection of biotinylated-tetracycline conjugate (1:1) ratio, (2) 96 hours later Avidin/Streptavidin was injected, and (3) 24 hours after (2), {sup 99m}Tc-biocytinamide -cDTPA was injected. Mice were sacrificed 16/24 h after (3) by cervical dislocation. Biodistribution of radioactivity tumour to blood, liver, bone were T:B1= 15.0, T:Li= 5.08, T:Bo=15.0. The percentage of injected dose per g was T= 3.15% and B1= 0.21%. To prolong circulation of Avidin and therefore its uptake into tumour, Avidin was covalently bound to polyethylene-glycol (PEG20 KD) at the molar ratio of PEG:Avidin 100:1 and 400:1. The pegulated Avidin was then cleared from the circulation ...
Forty cases of Ewing's sarcoma of various sites had attended the Department of Radiotherapy at the Wanless Hospital and the Miraj Medical Centre, attached to the Government Medical College, Miraj, Maharashtra, from January, 1970 through December, 1979. There were 28 male patients and 12 female patients in the series with a male to female ratio of 2.3:1. The youngest patient in the series was a female of 6 years of age with the tumour in the scapula and the oldest patient was a 32-year-old male with a lesion in the metacarpal bone. Sixty per cent of the cases were seen in the second decade. The average age of the patients was 13.5 years. The bones of the lower extremities were most commonly involved with the highest number (35 per cent) of the cases occurring in the femur. Involvement of the bones of the right side of the body was almost equal to that of the left side. Swelling over the site of the lesion and pain over the swelling were the most common complaints ...
Bone matrix gelatin, prepared by sequential chemical treatment including decalcification with 0.6 N hydrochloric acid [9], was used as an alloimplant for the treatment of benign bone tumours, tumorous conditions of bone, acetabular dysplasia, delayed union, traumatic bone defects and other disorders. The bone matrix gelatin implanted into bone defects was incorporated successfully in 98% of implantations, excluding cases of infection, tumour recurrence and recurrence of tumorous conditions. The material was also implanted into ten bone sites as an onlay but in five it was resorbed without new bone formation. The incorporation of the bone matrix gelatin into the recipient bed was completed from 6 to 33 months (average 14.9 months) after implantation. Wound infection complicated 5 of 165 implantations (3%) in previously uninfected sites. Low grade fever persisting after the tenth post-operative day (a probable sign of immunological reaction) ...
Computed tomography allows today to reconstruct three-dimensional (eD) images fram axial scans. The authors report their experience in cranio-facial pathology achived in two Departments of Radiology (University of Trieste, Italy and University of Standford, California). 3D images have been realized using two different softwares, one of which allows to reconstruct both soft tissue and bone structures. The application in maxillo-facial traumas, cranio-facial malformations and head tumours are disscussed. 3D images turned out to be very useful for the optimal visualization and for the spatial demostration of the lesion and have potential applications in cranio-facial surgery and radiotherapy.
Three N-methylcarbamates of iodonitrobenzyl alcohols (4-iodo-2-nitrobenzyl alcohol 2, 5-iodo-2-nitrobenzyl alcohol 3 and 4-iodo-2,6-dinitrobenzyl alcohol 4) bearing [[sup 125]I] have been prepared and characterized for their lipophilicity, their reduction potentials and the in vivo lability of the radioiodine in healthy mice. Based upon these results, 2 and 4 were tested in tumor-bearing mice showing limited uptake of radioactivity in tumours and a tumor-to-blood ratio of less than 1. Consequently these particular carbamates are not satisfactory as hypoxia imaging agents. (author).
Periosteal Ewing's sarcoma is an uncommon, but well documented origin of this malignant condition with radiography signs, different from intramedullary growing tumours. Imaging modalities like CT or MRI supply proof of macroscopically intact endosteal cortical surface and free medullary cavity in long bones affected by this periosteal type of malignancy. Definite confirmation is valid after a careful microscopic investigation of the resected specimen. The prognosis of this type of Ewing's sarcoma may be favourable than that of the central type. Early diagnosis and therapy are thus essential. A clinical survey of six observations is given. (orig.).
Forty-three patients with basal and squamous cell carcinomata arising on the pinna were treated radically using a 10 MeV electron beam. The technique and dosage are described and discussed. Primary cancer control with retention of the pinna was achieved in 34 patients. Salvage pinnectomy was performed in four patients for recurrence and one patient for radiation necrosis. Two patients with large primary tumours failed to resolve and died of their disease. The advantages for the patient of the policy of primary radical electron beam therapy are discussed.
Clinical studies have proved the effectiveness of local ablading methods in pations with non-resectable liver metastases of a colorectal carcinoma. RF ablation and LITT are a potentially curative therapy option and an alternative to systemic chemotherapy; the latter is carried out primarily for reducing tumour size with the goal of secondary resectability. The number of R0-sesectable metastases can be enhanced by a combined therapy of surgery and local ablading methods, e.g. by preoperative, intraoperative or postoperative ablasion of further non-resectable tumours during surgery. Systemic chemotherapy combined with surgery as an adjuvant method is not recommended unless in cases of non-abladable tumour recidivation. Currently, systemic chemotherapy is used as a neo-adjuvant therapy for tumour size reduction with the goal of secondary resectability or, in case of inoperability, local ablation. (orig.) ...
Aim: To evaluate magnetic resonance cholangiography (MRC) with high-resolution dynamic gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in determining the imaging features of hilar cholangiocarcinoma that relate to tumour extent and influence resectability. Materials and methods: Twenty-six patients that underwent resection were reviewed. Tumour location and extent, lobar atrophy, the degree of portal vein and hepatic artery involvement were recorded. The findings were correlated with surgical and histopathological findings. Results: Biliary assessment was concordant in 14 and discordant in eight of 14 stented and four of 12 non-stented patients. In 63/82 veins and 43/74 arteries results were fully concordant. The mean sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values (PPV, NPV) in predicting involvement of the main portal vein (MPV) at surgery were 83.3, 100, 100, and 92.5%; of the left main branch of the portal vein (LPV) ...
Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most frequent cutaneous neoplasm, with a generally favorable clinical behavior. Sometimes, indeed, it recurs after therapy and/or metastasizes. As point mutations in the coding sequence of the p53 tumor suppressor gene have been implicated in the progression of many human tumors, we studied the expression of p53 protein on this neoplasia. We tested immunohistochemically the positivity for p53 protein (NCL-p53-CM1, YLEM) on 19 cases of morphologically "non aggressive" BCC (BCC1) and on 19 "aggressive" BCC (BCC2), all with one or more relapses and 3 with distant metastases also. Results were related to clinico-pathological and follow-up data. All but one BCC2 were found positive for p53 protein. Conversely, only 2 cases of BCC1 exhibited low immunoreactivity for p53 protein, with high statistical differences between the two groups. No correlation was found between the immunoreactivity, age of patients, and site of the lesions. The ...
This report concerns investigations in the title conducted by 8 groups of National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS) during the period of 1998-2000. The groups are for investigation of: Effects of p53 tumor suppressor gene in radiation-induced leukemia, Role of atm-gene in dose rate effect of ionizing radiation, Function of DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PK{sub cs}), Functional complementation of radiation-sensitive mutant M10 cell line by human XRCC4 cDNA expression, Role of radiation-induced apoptosis in digital defects in embryonic mice, Functional analysis of S-phase specific novel nuclear protein NP95 by gene targeting, Role of chemokine in T cell development and lymphomagenesis, and establishment of production techniques of gene-modified mice using embryonic stem cells for genetic analysis of radiation-sensitive genes. The groups describe summaries of their studies and published original articles are also given. (N.I.)
Evolutionary theory holds that aging is a consequence of the declining force of natural selection with age. We discuss here the evidence that among the causes of aging in complex multicellular organisms, such as mammals, is the antagonistically pleiotropic effects of the cellular responses that protect the organism from cancer. Cancer is relatively rare in young mammals, owing in large measure to the activity of tumor suppressor mechanisms. These mechanisms either protect the genome from damage and/or mutations, or they elicit cellular responses--apoptosis or senescence--that eliminate or prevent the proliferation of somatic cells at risk for neoplastic transformation.We focus here on the senescence response, reviewing its causes, regulation and effects. In addition, we describe recent data that support the idea that both senescence and apoptosis may indeed be the double-edged swords predicted by the evolutionary hypothesis of antagonistic pleiotropy--protecting ...
Tumours lesions of the temporal bone and of the cerebello-pontine angle are rare.This tumours can be separated into benign and malignant lesions. In this paper the CT and MRI characteristica of tumours of the temporal bone and the cerebello-pontane angle will be demonstrated. High resolution CT (HRCT) as usually performed in the axial plane are using a high resolution bone window level setting, coronal planes are the reconstructed from the axial data set or will be obtained directly. With the MRI FLAIR sequence in the axial plane the whole brain will be scanned either to depict or exclude a tumour invasion into the brain. After this,T2-weighted fast spin echo sequences or fatsuppressed inversion recovery sequences in high resolution technique in the axial plane will be obtained from the temporal bone and axial T1-weighted spinecho sequences before and after the intravenous application of contrast ...
We present a technique for identifying the amino acids responsible for a loss of immunoreactivity in response to treating an antigen with a chemical modifier. This is of particular interest...Full Text Available
We investigated the efficacy of combined FDG-PET/CT imaging for the diagnosis of small-size uveal melanomas and the feasibility of combining separate, high-resolution (HR) FDG-PET with MRI for its improved localization and detection. Patients, methods: 3 patients with small-size uveal melanomas (0.2-1.5 ml) were imaged on a combined whole-body PET/CT, a HR brain-PET, and a 1.5 T MRI. Static, contrast-enhanced FDG-PET/CT imaging was performed of head and torso with CT contrast enhancement. HR PET imaging was performed in dynamic mode 0-180 min post-injection of FDG. MRI imaging was performed using a high-resolution small-loop-coil placed over the eye in question with T2-3D-TSE and T1-3D-SE with 18 ml Gd-contrast. Patients had their eyes shaded during the scans. Lesion visibility on high-resolution FDGPET images was graded for confidence: 1: none, 2: suggestive, 3: clear. Mean tumour activity was calculated for summed image frames that resulted in confidence grades 2 ...
Two ent-rosane- (cuzcol, 1 and 6-dehydroxycuzcol, 2) and a abietatriene- (salvadoriol, 3) type diterpenoids have been isolated from Maytenus cuzcoina and Crossopetalum uragoga, respectively, along with five known diterpene compounds (4-8). Their stereostructures have been elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analysis, including 1D and 2D NMR techniques, and computational data. The absolute configuration of cuzcol was determined by application of Riguera ester procedure. This is the first instance of isolation of ent-rosane diterpenoids from species of the Celastraceae. The isolated diterpenes were found to be potent anti-tumour-promoter agents, and carnosol (7) also showed a remarkable chemopreventive effect in an in vivo two-stage carcinogenesis model.
Radiation protection in medicine has unique aspects and is an essential element of medical practice. Medical uses of radiation occur throughout the world, from large cities to rural clinics. It has been estimated that the number of medical procedures using radiation grew from about 1.7 billion in 1980 to almost 4 billion in 2007. In spite of these large numbers, there are many parts of the world without adequate equipment, where the ability to perform additional medical procedures would likely result in a net benefit. Medicine accounts for more than 99.9% of the per caput effective dose from man-made sources. The goal in medical exposure is not to give the lowest dose, but to provide the correct dose to enable the practitioner to make the diagnosis or cure a tumour. Too little or too much ...
Tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-?) antagonist drugs have been associated with increased risk of tuberculosis (TB). Tuberculin skin test (TST) is the most frequently used tool for identification of latent TB infection. We herein aimed to analyse the effect of TNF-? antagonists on the TST responses in a prospective study. The study group consisted of 182 patients (99 female, 83 male) who received TNF-? antagonists for various rheumatic disorders. All patients were evaluated with TST along with other parameters on the day of referral and on the 12th month visit. For those patients with a response of <5?mm induration at the initial evaluation, the TST was repeated to observe the booster effect. Out of 182 patients, 87 patients (48%) had a negative (0?4?mm) and 95 (52%) had a positive (?5?mm)...
Background and purpose: The aims of this study were to investigate the anti-cancer activity of SZ-685C, an anthracycline analogue isolated from marine-derived mangrove endophytic fungi, and to explore the molecular mechanisms underlying such activity. Experimental approach: The effect of SZ-685C on the viability of cancer cell lines was investigated using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. SZ-685C-induced apoptosis was assessed by Annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate/propidium iodide staining, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labelling assay and analysis of caspase activation. The effect of SZ-685C on the Akt/FOXO pathway was studied using Western blotting analysis, and the in vivo anti-tumour efficacy was examined in ...
AbstractBackground: The aim of this study was to review an experience with retroperitoneal endoscopic adrenalectomy (REA). This is the procedure of choice for adrenal tumours at this institution. Methods: Between 1997 and 2008, 112 REAs were performed in a single university centre. Data were retrieved retrospectively from a prospectively collected database, including information on patient demographics, surgical procedure, complications and hospital stay. Results: One hundred and twelve REAs were carried out successfully in 105 patients, including seven bilateral adrenalectomies. Thirty nine patients with unilateral adrenal disease had a phaeochromocytoma, of whom 16 had multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, 21 patients had Cushing's disease and 20 had Conn's disease. Median body m...
Abstract Aim- Conventional outcomes such as survival, tumour recurrence and complication rates after surgery for rectal cancer have been rigorously assessed, but the importance of maintaining quality of life (QOL) after surgery for rectal cancer has received less attention. The aim of the current study was to analyse QOL and the occurrence of pelvic dysfunction after the surgical treatment of rectal cancer. Method- Between May 2005 and May 2008, 150 patients with rectal cancer underwent abdominoperineal resection (APR) or anterior resection (AR). Seventy-four answered two preoperative questionnaires. At a follow up of 1-year, 65 were alive without sign of recurrence and answered the same questionnaires: (a) validated RAND 36-item health survey QOL questionnaire; and (b) self-administered d...
A better understanding of the immune processes in the pathogenesis and progression of prostate cancer (CaP) may point the way towards improved treatment modalities. The challenge is to amplify immune responses to combat tumour escape mechanisms. Infection and inflammation may have a role in prostate carcinogenesis, including the newly discovered xenotropic murine leukaemia virus (XMRV). These inflammatory states damage defence mechanisms and induce a high proliferative state favouring further mutation and impaired immune surveillance. With this knowledge we are able to explore the use of immunotherapy to rejuvenate the immune system in combating CaP. Recently Sipuleucel-T, an immunotherapeutic agent for metastatic androgen independent CaP, has resulted in improved survival and might be the...
A photoacoustic (PA) imaging system based on an ultrasonic Fresnel zone plate (FZP) transducer is developed for the purpose of imaging biological tissue. This FZP transducer has a two-zone negative zone plate piezoelectric material pattern, and an optical fibre is integrated with the transducer on the symmetric axis of the zone plates to deliver laser pulses to the sample. The focal characteristic of the FZP transducer is analysed by theoretical prediction and experimental measurement, and the measured results are in good agreement with the predicted results. The limited-field back-projection deconvolution algorithm combined with the coherence-factor weighting technique is used to reconstruct the optical absorption distribution. The experiments were performed with phantoms and the blood vessels of chicken embryo chorioallantoic membrane. The results demonstrate that PA imaging using the FZP transducer has the ability to image biological tissue and has potential application in ...
In a retrospective single-centre study 170 consecutive patients were included who received a Kotz modular prosthesis after resection of bone tumours of the proximal femur to evaluate the management of prosthetic infection. Infection occurred in 12 of 166 patients available for follow-up (six males; six females; mean age, 47?years; range, ten to 75?years) after a mean of 39?months (range, one to 166?months; infection rate, 7.2%). Mean follow-up was 54?months (range, four to 200?months). One patient died of septic shock. Two patients were treated by wound revision only. Treatment of infection in the remaining patients was one-stage revision in eight and hip disarticulation in one. Infection control by one-stage revision was achieved in five of eight patients; re-infection occurred in three p...
Local control of Ewing's sarcoma was analysed in a series of 67 patients treated by surgery and/or radiotherapy as well as combination chemotherapy. Radiotherapy was employed with or without surgery in 60 patients and produced an overall local control rate of 55%; complete excision of the primary lesion seemed to be beneficial. There was a marked variation in control rates depending on the site of the primary lesion: limb 85%, rib 53%, pelvis 31% and other sites 33%.Primary tumours greater than 10 cm in diameter were significantly less likely to be controlled. Using daily fractions of approximately 180 cGy, total doses in excess of 6000 cGy seem more likely to produce serious late morbidity amd may not increase the local control rate. No cases of second malignancy arising in irradiated tissue have been observed to date, but one patient developed acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. (author).
The clinical use of "1"8F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography in monitoring anticancer treatment is expanding. At the same time a number of radiotracers aiming to image different aspects of tumour biology such as proliferation and apoptosis are being developed. However, the factors determining changes of radiotracer uptake parameters in response to treatment are not well understood. In many cases, cellularity may be the primary determinant of changes of FDG uptake and may confound the interpretation of metabolic changes. Early imaging assessments have in some cases showed transient increases of uptake parameters, commonly termed 'flares', which are likely to be unaffected by cellularity and directly reflect pharmacodynamics at a cellular level. In this review a number of settings where molecular imaging 'flares' have been described are discussed. Such changes may often be clinically informative and warrant careful study as potential predictive ...
Glycyrrhizin is a triterpene glycoside, a major active constituent of licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) root and numerous pharmacological effects like anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, anti-tumour and hepatoprotective activities has been attributed to it. In this study we evaluated the anti-inflammatory activities of glycyrrhizin in mice model of acute inflammation, carrageenan-induced pleurisy. We report here that glycyrrhizin (given at 10mg/kg i.p. 5min prior to carrageenan) exerts potent anti-inflammatory effects in this model. Injection of carrageenan into the pleural cavity of mice elicited an acute inflammatory response characterized by fluid accumulation in the pleural cavity which contained a large number of neutrophils (PMNs) as well as an infiltration of PMNs in lung tissues and subsequ...
339 CT und 95 MRT examinations in 210 partients were evaluated retrospectively to determine the value of CT and MRT for follow-up of head and neck tumors and for diagnosing recurrences. Semi-quantitative evaluation of tumor extent during and after radiotherapy showed advantages for MRT since changes induced by treatment, particularly oedema, produced less contrast loss in the images. CT had a sensitivity of 81% for the recognition of recurrences; this was 92% for MRT. Specificity for CT was 76% and for MRT 86%. Concerning the reliability of individual diagnostic criteria, space occupying lesions were the most valuable in CT diagnosis. For MRT, space occupying lesions and infiltration into neighbouring structures were of equal value. Because of differences in the nature of the signals, MRT proved better than CT in characterising recurrent masses and this improved the differentiation between scarring and local tumour recurrence. (orig.).
Particle accelerators are constructed and operated for a wide variety of applications. In particle physics - the branch of physics that studies the elementary constituents of matter and forces between them - high energy accelerators are used to look deep into the structure of matter. Medical particle accelerators are used for example in medicine to treat tumours [31], in imaging techniques such as Positron Emission Tomography (PET) [24], or for the radio-isotopes production. They also serve in many other industrial branches, e.g. geology, radiocarbon dating [39], molecular complex spectroscopy, lithography, food preservation etc. The eld of accelerator technology draws knowledge and expertise from a wide range of scientic disciplines and uses the latest technical knowledge. The incomplete list of covered disciplines includes mathematics, physics, electronics, computing, electromagnetic eld technology, microwave technology, cryogenics, vacuum technology, special ...
Clin. Otolaryngol. 2009, 34, 438-446. Objective: To determine whether economic costs associated with a conservative management strategy for unilateral acoustic neuroma offer an economic advantage over active management options. Design: Cost and sensitivity analysis on a prospective cohort. Setting: Single centre study within a tertiary referral centre in Toronto, Canada. Participants: 72 patients (32 males, 40 females) aged 36 to 78 years with unilateral acoustic neuroma were assigned initially to a conservative management strategy. Entry criteria were small tumour size (less than 15mm in the cerebellopontine angle), patient preference and/or significant co-morbidity. Interventions: MRI scanning was performed every 6 months for the first year, annually subsequently and then every 2-3 years...
Background: A possible association between the polymorphic CAG repeat in the DNA polymerase gamma (POLG) gene and the risk of testicular germ-cell tumours (TGCT) was investigated in this study. The hypothesis was prompted by an earlier preliminary study proposing an association of the absence of the common 10-CAG-long POLG allele with testicular cancer as well as previously reported in some European populations' association with male subfertility, which is a condition carrying an increased risk of TGCT. Patients and methods: The number of CAG repeats in both POLG alleles was established in 243 patients with TGCT and in 869 controls by the analysis of the genomic DNA fragment. Results: A significantly higher proportion of men homozygous allele of other than the common 10 CAG repeats was fou...
Luminescent materials are widely used for imaging and sensing owing to their high sensitivity, rapid response and facile detection by many optical technologies. Typically materials must be chemically tailored to achieve intense, photostable fluorescence, oxygen-sensitive phosphorescence or dual emission for ratiometric sensing, often by blending two dyes in a matrix. Dual-emissive materials combining all of these features in one easily tunable molecular platform are desirable, but when fluorescence and phosphorescence originate from the same dye, it can be challenging to vary relative fluorescence/phosphorescence intensities for practical sensing applications. Heavy-atom substitution alone increases phosphorescence by a given, not variable amount. Here, we report a strategy for modulating ...
Currently, x-ray mammography is the method of choice in breast cancer screening programmes. As the mammography technology moves from 2D imaging modalities to 3D, conventional computational phantoms do not have sufficient detail to support the studies of these advanced imaging systems. Studies of these 3D imaging systems call for a realistic and sophisticated computational model of the breast. DeBRa (Detailed Breast model for Radiological studies) is the most advanced, detailed, 3D computational model of the breast developed recently for breast imaging studies. A DeBRa phantom can be constructed to model a compressed breast, as in film/screen, digital mammography and digital breast tomosynthesis studies, or a non-compressed breast as in positron emission mammography and breast CT studies. Both the cranial-caudal and mediolateral oblique views can be modelled. The anatomical details inside the phantom include the lactiferous duct system, the Cooper ligaments and the pectoral muscle. The ...
In the present study Balb/c mice were exposed to 3,4-benzopyrene, painted on the skin every 2nd day for a total of 6 months, and simultaneously irradiated with athermal (5 mW/cm/sup 2/) or subthermal (15 mW/cm/sup 2/) doses of 2,450 MHz microwaves. The other group of animals was preirradiated with microwaves at 10 mW/cm/sup 2/ power level for 1, 2, or 3 months and then treated with benzopyrene, as above. Control mice were exposed for 6 months to benzopyrene, resulting in the development of baso- or spinocellular skin carcinoma within approximately 9 months, and sham-irradiated with microwaves. The growth of the tumour was assessed according to a self-designed 7-range macroscopic scale, supported by microscopical examinations of skin sections. All protocols of microwave irradiations resulted in a significant acceleration of the development of benzopyrene-induced skin cancer and in shortening of life span of the tumour-bearing hosts. This effect ...
Background and purpose: To assess the effectiveness of radiotherapy in preventing tumour seeding after chest drain or pleural biopsy in patients with malignant mesothelioma and to determine, if tract metastases appear, whether they are tender or troublesome to patients. Patients and methods: Patients with a histological diagnosis of pleural mesothelioma and an invasive procedure within the preceding 21 days were stratified by age, performance status and treatment centre. Randomisation was performed between immediate drain site radiotherapy 21 Gy in three fractions (XRT arm) or best supportive care (BSC) with follow-up to 12 months. Patients were asked to complete questionnaires on treatment toxicity and on symptoms from any tract metastases detected. Results: Sixty-one patients were recruited from two centres between 1998 and 2004; 56 men, 5 women, median age 70. 31 were allocated to drain site radiotherapy. Seven patients developed tract metastases associated with ...
The p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75"N"T"R) is a death receptor which belongs to the tumor necrosis factor receptor super-family of membrane proteins. This study shows that p75"N"T"R retarded cell cycle progression by induced accumulation of cells in G0/G1 and a reduction in the S phase of the cell cycle. The rescue of tumor cells from cell cycle progression by a death domain deleted (#DELTA#DD) dominant-negative antagonist of p75"N"T"R showed that the death domain transduced anti-proliferative activity in a ligand-independent manner. Conversely, addition of NGF ligand rescued retardation of cell cycle progression with commensurate changes in components of the cyclin/cdk holoenzyme complex. In the absence of ligand, p75"N"T"R-dependent cell cycle arrest facilitated an increase in apoptotic nuclear fragmentation of the prostate cancer cells. Apoptosis of p75"N"T"R expressing cells occurred via the intrinsic mitochondrial pathway leading to a sequential caspase-9 and -7 cascade. Since the ...
Adjuvant-induced arthritis in rats is a chronic inflammatory disease, widely as an animal model for rheumatoid arthritis. In our study the effect of various fractions of dialyzable leukocyte extract (DLE): DLE I-molecular weight below 10 kDa (commercial preparation), DLE II-molecular weight below 5 kDa (suppressor fraction), DLE III-molecular weight 5-10 kDa on rat adjuvant-induced arthritis was studied. The adjuvant arthritic (AA) rats were treated with DLE fractions i.p. in solutions containing an active substance isolated from 12.5 x 10{sup 6} and 6.25 x 10{sup 6} leukocytes from day 1 (adjuvant injected) through day 18, every second day (total 9 times). Various markers in inflammation, immune function and joint destruction were evaluated: hind paw volume, serum hyaluronic acid, serum albumin and biopterin in urine. All these markers showed a significant improvement after using fraction DLE II in comparison with AA controls. Fractions DLE I and DLE III ...
HEMATOLOGICAL MALIGNANCIES IN HUMANS TYPICALLY INVOLVE TWO TYPES OF GENETIC CHANGES: those that promote hematopoietic cell proliferation and survival (often the result of activation of tyrosine kinases) and those that impair hematopoietic cell differentiation (often the result of changes in transcription factors). The multi-stage erythroleukemia induced in mice by Friend spleen focus-forming virus (SFFV) is an excellent animal model for studying the molecular basis for both of these changes. Significant progress has been made in understanding the molecular basis for the multi-stage erythroleukemia induced by Friend SFFV. In the first stage of leukemia, the envelope protein encoded by SFFV interacts with and activates the erythropoietin (Epo) receptor and the receptor tyrosine kinase sf-Stk in erythroid cells, causing their Epo-independent proliferation, differentiation and survival. In the second stage, SFFV integration into the Sfpi1 locus activates the myeloid transcription factor ...
The present study was designed to assess the radioprotective effects of amifostine on ovarian follicles. Three week-old female mice with or without pretreatment of amifostine were irradiated with 6.42 Gy of #gamma# -ray. Ovaries were collected 0 and 6h after irradiation. DNA fragmentation pattern and expression of genes and activity of proteins related with apoptosis were investigated by means of RT-PCR and Western blot. Proliferation of granulosa cells was reduced and incidence rate of follicular atresia was increased in ovarian follicles in #gamma# -ray irradiated mice compared to those in control or amifostine-treated group. DNA fragmentation was increased in time-dependent manner in granulosa cells of all irradiated groups. However, no difference between amifostine pre-treated group and irradiated groups was found and the expression of p53 as tumor suppressor gene and Bax as one of pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 family was increased in irradiated mice ovaries. PARP as DNA ...
The significant design features of a high-voltage dc (HVDC) circuit breaker based on the commutation concept were developed. Tests of components indicate the breaker is capable of interrupting a fault current of 10 kA on a 400 kV system and absorbing up to 10 MJ of system energy without generating more than 1.6 per unit (P.U.) voltage of the system. Interactions of the breaker with a three-terminal network were studied, using a system simulator. An ultrafast hydraulic actuator system was developed for this program which enables the breaker to initiate the current limiting process within 5 ms after receipt of a trip signal. A new hydraulic valve, operated by a repulsion coil, minimizes the delay before motion begins. Interruption will occur in series-connected vacuum interrupters. A 400 kV circuit breaker is estimated to require eight breaks in series. Only a single break was tested as part of this program because of the scale and cost required for multibreak tests. System energy will ...
The transcriptional silencing of some cell cycle inhibitors and tumor suppressors, such as p16 and retinoic acid receptor beta(2), by DNA hypermethylation at CpG islands is commonly found in human oral squamous carcinoma cells. We examined the effects of the DNA methyltransferase inhibitor 5-Aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-Aza; 0.25 mg/kg body weight), all-trans retinoic acid (RA; given at 100 microg/kg body weight and 1 mg/kg body weight), and the combination of 5-Aza and the low-dose RA on murine oral cavity carcinogenesis induced by the carcinogen 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4-NQO) in a mouse model. All the drug treatments were done for 15 weeks after a 10-week 4-NQO treatment. Mice in all drug treatment groups showed decreases in the average numbers of neoplastic tongue lesions. The combination of 5-Aza and RA effectively attenuated tongue lesion severity. Although all drug treatments limited the increase in the percentage of proliferating cell nuclear antigen-positive ...
Previous studies have been conducted in gene expression profiling to identify groups of genes that characterize the colorectal carcinoma disease. Despite the success of previous attempts to identify...Full Text Available
Motivation: The identification of gene regulatory modules is an important yet challenging problem in computational biology. While many computational methods have been proposed to identify...Full Text Available
This plan details the methods and procedures necessary to ensure a safe transition in the operation of the Light Duty Utility Arm (LDUA) System. The steps identified here outline the work scope and identify responsibilities to complete startup, and turnover of the LDUA to Characterization Project Operations (CPO).
The development of a computational intelligent tools based on neural network to identify commercial losses or fraud (theft energy), considering information from a database electric utility, is presented.
A method to identify hadronic molecules in the particle spectrum is reviewed and the conditions for its applicability discussed. Special emphasis is put on the discussion of molecule candidates in the baryon spectrum. (orig.)
Descriptive assessment methods have been used in applied settings to identify consequences for problem behavior, thereby aiding in the design of effective treatment programs. Consensus has not been...Full Text Available
Large-scale cancer genome projects will soon be able to sequence many cancer genomes to comprehensively identify genetic changes in human cancer. Genome-wide association studies have also identified...Full Text Available
...dates of the implementation of the standard unique health identifier for health care providers. 162.404 Section 162.404 Public Welfare DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES ADMINISTRATIVE DATA...
digital libraries, which was identified as a national challenge in the Information ... The linkages between the many digital libraries and information services are ...
This paper very briefly outlines hazardous waste management issues, including regulations, in Mongolia. Air, water, and soil pollutants are identified and placed in context with climatic, social, and economic circumstances. The primary need identified is technology for the collection and disposal of solid wastes. Municipal waste problems include rapid urbanization and lack of sanitary landfills. Industrial wastes of concern are identified from the mining and leather industries. 4 refs., 2 tabs.
The "1"3"1-radioiodine use in Guanabara area, during 1972-1973, is analysed. References are made to the radiation levels delivered to thyroid, bone marrow and gonads in a population of 27000 people examined by tracer techniques, 190 submitted to hyperthyroidism treatment and 50 treated for thyroid cancer. The pertinent literature gives some data concerning radiation induced cancer (leukaemia and thyroid cancer). By this, it was possible to estimate the probability of tumour occurrence in that population, assuming a linear relationship between dose and effect. The conclusions are the followings: 1 - there are many duties in this field at the present; 2 - the leukaemia incidence related to the 131-radioiodine use is negligible, either in diagnostic or therapeutic modalities; 3 - the possibility of thyroid tumors induced by radiation is real, specially in hyperthyroidism treatment; 4 - the use of tracer techniques that cause lower irradiation to the pacient is ...
Purpose: To report outcomes of a single institution study of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for unresectable cholangiocarcinoma. The dose-volume dependency of the observed gastrointestinal toxicity is explored. Methods and materials: Twenty-seven patients with unresectable cholangiocarcinoma (n = 26 Klatskin tumours and one intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (IHCC)) were treated by linac-based SBRT. The dose schedule was 45 Gy in three fractions prescribed to the isocenter. Results: The median progression-free survival and overall survival were 6.7 and 10.6 months, respectively. With a median follow-up of 5.4 years, 6 patients had severe duodenal/pyloric ulceration and 3 patients developed duodenal stenosis. Duodenal radiation exposure was higher in patients developing moderate to high-grade gastrointestinal toxicity with the difference in mean maximum dose to 1 cm"3 of duodenum reaching statistical significance. A statistically significant association between ...
Full text: Tumour ablation with radiofrequency (RF) energy is a relatively new procedure for the treatment of focal malignant disease. At our institution this is currently being used in the treatment of certain liver and lung lesions with the patients involved being enrolled in clinical trials. The poster describes the technique used at our institution for the placement of the radiofrequency ablation electrode using CT fluoroscopy. Criteria for patient selection are included. Complications from the procedure are described, as well as follow up appearances and results. Our results from the treatment of primary and secondary lesions in the liver correlate well with published literature. Treatment is still not as successful as surgical resection but there is significantly less morbidity. Where this method may be appropriate is when the patient is not a candidate for surgical resection. The treatment of colorectal metastases in the lung shows early promise as a ...
We examined whether proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) could provide accurate information on histological grade and cell proliferation in astrocytomas. We studied 23 patients with astrocytomas: five grade II, 10 grade III and eight with grade IV (glioblastoma multiforme). We performed proton MRS and determined the Ki-67 labeling index (LI), a tumour proliferation marker, in the same areas of the astrocytomas, and examined the statistical relationship between proton MRS and Ki-67 LI. The N-acetylaspartate (NAA)/creatine-phosphocreatine (Cr) and NAA/choline (Cho)-containing compound ratios were always significantly lower and the Cho/Cr ratios significantly higher than those for normal brain. The Cho/Cr ratio correlated positively and the NAA/Cho ratio inversely with Ki-67 LI. These findings suggest that the Cho signal in proton MRS reflects cellular proliferation. In Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, there was no significant difference between high (> 2.0, ...
Studies were undertaken to examine the effects of animal age on the anticarcinogenic properties of antioxidants. Female hairless mice, 2.5, 4.5 and 9.5 months of age, were subjected to daily irradiation from Westinghouse BZS-WLG lamps for 19 weeks. Experimental groups of animals were maintained on a commercial rodent meal supplemented with a 2% (w/w) antioxidant mixture. Control groups received only the meal. Tumour latency, expressed as median time to tumor development, was significantly greater for all age groups receiving antioxidants than for their similarly aged controls. However, the response to antioxidants appeared to decrease with age and the antioxidant effect was significantly less in the 9.5 month-old group than in the 2.5 month-old group. Likewise, the two youngest groups receiving antioxidants demonstrated a significantly fewer number of tumors per animal. It is concluded that animal age influences the degree of photoprotection provided by ...
Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) 19-9 and 73-3 specific for human colon adenocarcinoma were labelled with a high number of gadolinium atoms. Twenty five DTPA were chelated per MAb, with only slight loss of immunoreactivity. The NMR contrast agent Gd-25 DTPA-MAb 19-9 or 73-3 ((Gd) 17 mumole/kg, (MAb) 60 microM) was injected into nude mice bearing human colon adenocarcinoma (SW948). Tumors were removed 24 hr after injection and T1 was measured in vitro. T1 relaxation time varied according to MAb specificity against tumour targets; T1 decreased 20% for MAb 19-9 and MAb 73-3 with SW948 tumor. Imaging was performed with this model. Very good contrast was obtained 24 hr after Gd-25 DTPA-MAb injection.
Introduction: There are many problems in the radiological diagnosis of aseptic loosening in total hip arthroplasty. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance tomography (MRT) are not usable for metallic implants (stainless steel, cobalt alloy, titanium alloy). Material and Methods: From April 1993 to December 1993 15 CFRP non-cemented hip prostheses have been implanted. In a prospective clinical study plane radiographs, CT and MRT have been analysed. Results: Three stems were revised (1 femoral fracture, 1 severe thigh pain, 1 aseptic loosening). CFRP are not visible in plane radiographs. There was a complete (two-third of the cases) or nearly complete (one-third of the cases) small sclerotic interface between the prosthesis and the bone, these were apparent in CT and MRT in stable implant cases and did not have any clinical correlations. Discussion: The small sclerotic interface is quite different in comparison to so called 'Reactive lines'. In one case of aseptic loosening ...
Radiotherapy with high-energy carbon ion beams can be more advantageous compared to photons because of better physical dose distribution and higher biological efficiency in tumour cell sterilization. Despite enhanced normal tissue sparing, damage incurred by normal cells at the beam entrance is unavoidable and may affect the progeny of surviving cells in the form of inheritable cytogenetic alterations. Furthermore, the quality of the beam along the Bragg curve is modified by nuclear fragmentation of projectile and target nuclei in the body. We present an experimental approach based on the use of a polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) phantom that allows the simultaneous exposure to a particle beam of several biological samples positioned at various depths along the beam path. The device was used to measure the biological effectiveness of a 60 MeV/amu carbon-ion beam at inducing chromosomal aberrations in G{sub 0}-human peripheral blood lymphocytes. Chromosome spreads were ...
Summary Background Treatment of localised renal cell carcinoma consists of partial or radical nephrectomy. A substantial proportion of patients are at risk for recurrence because no effective adjuvant therapy exists. We investigated the use of an autologous, tumour-derived heat-shock protein (glycoprotein 96)-peptide complex (HSPPC-96; vitespen) as adjuvant treatment in patients at high risk of recurrence after resection of locally advanced renal cell carcinoma. Methods In this open-label trial, patients were randomly assigned to receive either vitespen (n=409) or observation alone (n=409) after nephrectomy. Randomisation was done in a one to one ratio by a computer-generated pseudo-random number generator, with a block size of four, and was stratified by performance score, lymph node stat...
These Appendices describe various technologies that may be applicable to the Mixed Waste Treatment Plant (MWTP) Chemical/Physical Treatment System (CPTS). These technologies were identified by the CPTS Technical Support Group (TSG) as potentially applicable to a variety of separation, volume reduction, and decontamination requirements. The purpose was to identify all available and developing technologies, and their characteristics, for subsequent evaluation for specific requirements identified for the CPTS. However, the technologies described herein are not necessarily all inclusive, nor are they necessarily all applicable.
This report describes an improved method of remotely identifying irradiated nuclear fuel assemblies. The method uses existing in-cell TV cameras to input an image of the notch-coded top of the fuel assemblies into a computer vision system, which then produces the identifying number for that assembly. This system replaces systems that use either a mechanical mechanism to feel the notches or use human operators to locate notches visually. The system was developed for identifying fuel assemblies from the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) and the Clinch River Breeder Reactor, but could be used for other reactor assembly identification, as appropriate.
A primary goal of noninvasive studies of human vision is to identify and characterize multiple visual areas in the human brain analogous to those identified in studies of nonhuman primates. By combining functional MEG measurements with images of individual anatomy derived from MRI, the authors hope to determine the location and arrangement of multiple visual areas in human cortex and to probe their functional significance. The authors have identified several different visual areas thus far which appear to be topographically organized. This paper focuses on the retinotopic characterization of the primary visual area (V1) in humans.
Timber Compartment Boundary This data set identifies the 90 timber compartment boundaries in a 200 square-mile study ... Kawishiwi Ranger Districts, Superior National ...
Recessive mutations of the early phase change (epc) gene in maize affect several aspects of plant development. These mutations were identified initially because of...Full Text Available
Though notes in electronic medical record systems (EMRs) have advantages, they are often criticized for their unattractive and unprofessional appearance. We sought to identify notes regarded by physicians...Full Text Available
... that operated in Pakistan, Dubai, and throughout the Middle East ... identifies 'funds' as one of eight major terrorist ... techniques, and procedures (TTP). ...
AbstractObjectiveTo estimate the prevalence and identify the determinants of non-prescription use of antibiotics for children in Mongolia.MethodsA...Full Text Available
BackgroundTo identify the differential tuberculosis (TB) characteristics within the immigrant population with respect to natives in Spain.Methodology/Principal...Full Text Available
This paper first discusses the challenge offered by natural and anthropogenic systems in all of their complexity and then indicates some areas of research in which specific scientific and technological needs are identifiable.
AIM: To analyze the contribution of Orvosi Hetilap (Hungarian Medical Journal) to the field of gastroenterology.METHODS: All issues of the journal between 1857 and 2008 and identified...Full Text Available
... The variogram analysis of the high resolution imagery has shown that although more spatial scales have been identified than from the SPOT image ...
A strain of Pseudomonas syringae was recently identified as the cause of a new foliar blight of impatiens. The bacterium was resistant to copper compounds, which are used on a variety...Full Text Available
To express growth-related changes in physiologic or other functions in forms usable for kinetic modeling, we are interested in identifying regular relationships that take the form of simple mathematical...Full Text Available
PurposeTo identify the extent of persistence (period of time of continuous therapy with the drug prescribed) of glaucoma patients treated with prostaglandins (latanoprost, bimatoprost,...Full Text Available
An almost linear optimization problem of importance in vibration isolation has been identified and algorithms were developed to minimize the forced vibrational response of structural systems. The constraints can be either displacements of accelerations. T...
BackgroundAs long-term nursing home care is likely to increase with the aging of the population, identifying chronic medical conditions is of particular interest. Although need factors...Full Text Available
The general methods used to complete measurements of human exposures are identified and illustrations are provided for the cases of indirect and direct methods used for exposure analysis. The application...Full Text Available
Objectives. The purposes of this study were to test the hypothesis that vaginal douching is linked to bacterial vaginosis in both symptomatic and asymptomatic women and to identify...Full Text Available
The Buried Waste Integrated Demonstration (BWID) is a program of the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Technology Development whose mission is to evaluate different new and existing technologies and determine how well they address DOE community waste remediation problems. Twenty-three Technical Task Plans (TTPs) have been identified to support this mission during FY-92; 10 of these have identified some support requirements when demonstrations take place. Section 1 of this report describes the tasks supported by BWID, determines if a technical demonstration is proposed, and if so, identifies the support requirements requested by the TTP Principal Investigators. Section 2 of this report is an evaluation identifying facility characteristics of existing Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) facilities that may be considered for use in BWID technology demonstration activities.
This exploratory research paper investigated the coping strategies of families of hospitalized psychiatric patients and identified their positive and negative coping strategies. In this paper, the coping...Full Text Available
BackgroundA mycovirus previously identified in brown discolored fruiting bodies of the cultivated mushroom Flammulina velutipes was characterized. We tentatively...Full Text Available
This report provides procedures for evaluating metal, consumable, and combustible cartridge cases. It identifies supporting tests, facilities, and equipment required. Subtests include weapon and ammunition preparation, initial inspection, ammunition chara...
Pathways of salicylic acid (SA) biosynthesis and metabolism in tobacco have been recently identified. SA, an endogenous regulator of disease resistance, is a product of phenylpropanoid metabolism formed...Full Text Available
We identify new organelles associated with the vacuolar system in plant cells. These organelles are defined biochemically by their internal content of three integral membrane proteins: a chimeric reporter...Full Text Available
Alpha-toxin, the major cytotoxic agent elaborated by Staphylococcus aureus, was the first bacterial exotoxin to be identified as a pore former. The protein is secreted as a single-chain, water-soluble...Full Text Available
...identified as oil when the shipment document accurately describes the material as: aviation fuel, diesel fuel, fuel oil, gasoline, jet fuel, kerosene, motor fuel, or...
We introduce the notion of watching systems in graphs, which is a generalization of that of identifying codes. We give some basic properties of watching systems, an upper bound on the minimum size of a watching system, and results on the graphs which achieve this bound; we also study the cases of the paths and cycles, and give complexity results.
Due to the large number of chemicals in commerce without adequate toxicity characterization data, coupled with an ineffective federal policy for chemical management in the United States, many states are grappling with the challenge to identify toxic chemicals that may pose a risk to human health and the environment. Specific populations (e.g., children, elderly) are particularly sensitive to these toxic chemicals. In 2008, the Children's Safe Product Act (CSPA) was passed in Washington State. The CSPA included specific requirements to identify High Priority Chemicals (HPCs) and Chemicals of High Concern to Children (CHCCs). To implement this legislation, a methodology was developed to identify HPCs from authoritative scientific and regulatory sources on the basis of toxicity criteria. Another set of chemicals of concern was then identified from authoritative sources, based on their potential exposure to ...
Defects in mismatch repair genes cause the genetic instability characteristic of hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer and a subset of sporadic colon tumors. The newest member of the mismatch repair gene family, GTBP, has recently been identified as a partial cDNA. Here, we describe the isolation of its 5{prime} terminus, allowing definition of the entire coding region. Several polymorphisms within the 5{prime} end were identified and are presented. 13 refs., 1 fig.
A new study identifies and ranks the 10 security gaps responsible for most outsider attacks on college computer networks. The list is intended to help campus system administrators establish priorities as they work to increase security. One network security expert urges that institutions utilize multiple security layers. (DB)
Twenty-six unclassified Campylobacter-like strains previously isolated from 15 chicken carcasses and caecal contents, together with two more strains isolated from chicken faeces on a different occasion, were identified as Helicobacter pullorum using various phenotypic identification methods. API Campy identification kits and a 16-test identification scheme developed for campylobacters failed to identify these bacteria, or identified them as Campylobacter spp. Eighteen strains (including the two isolated on a different occasion) were chosen for examination using a more comprehensive probabilistic identification scheme. Using this method, 14 of the 18 strains were identified as H. pullorum with ID scores > 95%; two strains were also identified as H. pullorum with lower ID scores. Of the remaining two strains, one was not identified with this scheme and the ...
Laboratory-based surveillance of Lyme disease in Connecticut during 1984 and 1985 identified 3,098 persons with suspected Lyme disease; 1,149 were defined as cases. Lyme disease incidence in Connecticut...Full Text Available
The motivation for this design study has been to identify magnet designs for useful magnetic fusion experiments which minimize capital cost. Some possibly useful novel design features have been identified. 5 refs., 6 figs., 3 tabs.
The objective of this work was to identify methods of improving the performance of gas-fired radiant burners through the use of Continuous Fiber Ceramic Composites (CFCCs). Methods have been identified to improve the price and performance characteristics of the porous surface burner. Results are described.
A new generation of quasimonochromatic high-flux X-ray sources, based on the X-ray radiation produced through Compton scattering between an electron beam and a laser beam, is under development. One of the possible applications of this source is inline phase contrast mammography, based on the observation of the edge-enhancement effect that can be observed at the border of structures inside the breast in images produced using a partially or totally coherent X-ray beam. In this work we present the results of a set of simulations of inline phase contrast mammography using typical inverse Compton scattering sources parameters. The simulated sample was a tumour-like mass having spherical shape, diameter between 200 {mu}m and 5 mm, placed inside a breast-like matrix, 4 cm thick, and a standard composition of 50% glandular tissue and 50% adipose tissue. We discuss the minimum requirements for mammography using inverse Compton scattering sources and we discuss how the ...
In radiation therapy with hadron beams, conformal irradiation to a tumour can be achieved by using the properties of incident ions such as the high dose concentration around the Bragg peak. For the effective utilization of such properties, it is necessary to evaluate the volume irradiated with hadron beams and the deposited dose distribution in a patient's body. Several methods have been proposed for this purpose, one of which uses the positron emitters generated through fragmentation reactions between incident ions and target nuclei. In the previous paper, we showed that the maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) method could be applicable to the estimation of beam end-point from the measured positron emitting activity distribution for mono-energetic beam irradiations. In a practical treatment, a spread-out Bragg peak (SOBP) beam is used to achieve a uniform biological dose distribution in the whole target volume. Therefore, in the present paper, we proposed ...
A fast and accurate segmentation of organs at risk, such as the healthy colon, would be of benefit for planning of radiotherapy, in particular in an adaptive scenario. For the treatment of pelvic tumours, a great challenge is the segmentation of the most adjacent and sensitive parts of the gastrointestinal tract, the sigmoid and descending colon. We propose a semi-automated method to segment these bowel parts using the fast marching (FM) method. Standard 3D computed tomography (CT) image data obtained from routine radiotherapy planning were used. Our pre-processing steps distinguish the intestine, muscles and air from connective tissue. The core part of our method separates the sigmoid and descending colon from the muscles and other segments of the intestine. This is done by utilizing the ability of the FM method to compute a specified minimal energy functional integrated along a path, and thereby extracting the colon centre line between user-defined control points ...
Full text: The general population is daily exposed to chronic, low doses of ionizing radiation (IR) from both natural and artificial sources. The biological consequences of acute, high dose IR exposure can be readily determined; however, the nature and significance of low dose, low dose-rate IR effects are still the subject of debate. Confounding the issue, are the phenomena collectively referred to as the Radiation-induced Bystander Effect (RIBE). The RIBE describes a collection of in vitro observations that suggest the presence of a soluble, transmissible factor(s) released from irradiated cells that can induce a biological response in un-irradiated cells. The induction, nature and magnitude of the RIBE varies between cell culture systems, radiation sources and end-points measured. Efforts to confirm the presence of the RIBE in vivo have been confined to in vivo-like culture systems and limited work with tumour and bone-marrow transplantation models. Validation ...
Ewing's sarcoma is the most common malignant bone tumour occurring in children and adolescents and exists in two different clinico pathological entities: osseous Ewing's sarcoma (OES) and extraosseous Ewing's sarcoma (EES). Five cases of primary epidural EES are described, which presented with non-specific symptoms leading to a long diagnostic delay. The median age at diagnosis was 22 years (range 13-36 years). The median diagnostic delay was 3 months. All patients had one or more neurological deficits. All underwent surgical exploration with a laminectomy and partial resection followed by adjuvant radiotherapy to a dose of 46-50 Gy and chemotherapy with VAC (vincristine, adriamycin and cyclophosphamide) alternating with ICE (ifosphamide, cisplatin and etoposide) for at least six cycles. The mean follow-up period is 21.2 months (range 11-32 months). Four of the five patients achieved a complete remission and are disease free at the time of writing this report. Two ...
Radioimmunotherapy (RIT) is a new treatment option for patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Response to RIT currently remains difficult to predict using conventional prognostic factors and could be refined using functional imaging. The goal of this work is to evaluate the value of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) in predicting response to Yttrium 90-labeled monoclonal antibodies for patients with NHL. Thirty-five patients with NHL who had undergone 18F-FDG PET prior to RIT with either 90Y-ibritumomab tiuxetan (group A; n=17) or 90Y-epratuzumab tetraxetan (group B; n=18) were included in this retrospective study. Four functional criteria were determined for each tumour lesion in a given patient: maximum and mean standard uptake values (SUVmax and SUVmean), functional lesion volume (LVol) and total lesion glycolysis (TLG, product of the volume and the SUVmean). For each patient, we determined highest SUVmax and SUVmean, cumulative ...
Radiopharmaceuticals for brain imaging are used for the detection of ischemia, tumours and dementia associatied with disorders of the blood flow in the brain. The current radiopharmaceuticals for brain imaging have various limitations: 2-(F-18)fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (F-18-FDG) has a very short half-life. The physical properties of di-#beta#-(piperidinoethyl)-(Se-75)selenide (Se-75-PIPSE) and di-#beta#-(morpholinoethyl)-(Se-75)-selenide (Se-75-MOSE) are not ideal. Thallium-201 diethyldithricarbamate (T1-201-DDC) has unfavourable nuclidic characteristics, limited availability, a long half-life and high cost. I-123 in N-isopropyl-p-iodoamphetamine (I-123-IMP) and N,N,N'-trimethyl-N'-(2-hydroxy-3-methyl-5-iodobenzyl)-1,3-propanediamine (I-123-HIPDM) are not freely available and are expensive. N-13-labelled ammonia has a very short half-life. Technetium-99m hexamethylpropyleneamineoxime (Tc-99m-HM-PAO) is unstable both in vitro and in vivo and has a low brain-to-blood ...
The aim of this work was to develop several strategies and software-packages for the evaluation of in-vivo-data of the human brain, which were acquired with high-resolution 1H-MRSI at 1.5 and 3 T. Several studies involving phantoms, volunteers and patients were performed. Quality assurance studies were conducted in order to evaluate the reproducibility of the applied MR-techniques at both field strengths. A qualitative comparison-study between MRSI-data from a 1.5 T clinical MR-scanner and a 3 T research MR-scanner showed the advantages of the more advanced MRSI sequences and higher field strength (3 T). A study involving patients with primary brain tumours (gliomas) was performed in cooperation with the Department of Neurosurgery (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg). The methods developed in the course of this study, such as the integration of MRS-data into a stereotactic-system, the segmentation of metabolic maps and the correlation with histopathological findings ...
Exposures from most natural and artificial sources, with the exception of those from medical radiology, are received at average dose rates of only a few microsieverts a day. Such risks as may be caused by these exposures are most unlikely to be determined with precision directly by epidemiological studies of populations exposed at these low rates. They may, however, be reliably inferred from the observed risks of exposure to rather larger doses delivered at higher dose rates in the light of the increasing knowledge of the phenomena involved in the initial cellular damage, the extent to which such damage is incorrectly repaired, and the processes which intervene between the genetic or other harm to cells and the likelihood of its final expression in inherited abnormality, in cancer development, or in defective foetal or embryonic growth. Current studies are of great importance, therefore, in examining the circumstances in which coding sections of the chromosomal DNA may be incorrectly ...
A report on the long-term follow up of the first cooperative Scandinavian Sarcoma Group study in Ewing's sarcoma of bone is presented. Fifty-two previously untreated patients entered the study between 1984 and 1990. Half of the tumors were located in the extremities and one quarter in the pelvis. The combined modality treatment consisted of 5 cycles of chemotherapy - including vincristine, methotrexate, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, bleomycin and dactinomycin. The first two cycles were followed by local resection or amputation in 35 patients and by radiotherapy alone in 17 patients. When surgery was not performed, was incomplete or yielded poor margins radiotherapy was given at a dose of 40-60 Gy. Local tumor relapses developed in 10 patients and in all but one patient were accompanied by metastatic disease. Five patients had metastasis at diagnosis and distant metastases developed after primary treatment in 27 patients after a median of 14 months. The median follow-up time for the 20 ...
Computed tomography would be a better method to detect and characterize a Thorotrast-induced liver tumour. The selective opacification of the RES by Thorotrast creates an intrinsic opacification of the liver similar in effect to contrast agents being evaluated for liver CT, such as ethoioidized oil emulsion. The computed tomographic appearance of Thorotrast-associated cholangiocarcinoma is usually a large, inhomogenous mass composed of disordered area of tissue of high density due to Thorotrast deposits, and of very low density. Thorotrast-induced cholangiocarcinoma originates in the peripheral biliary tree suprounding the highest mean concentration of Thorotrast deposition, so that visible soft tissue masses in the higher density spots in the liver are not produced in the early stage. The tendency for the opacity of the liver to decrease slowly with time and result in an uneven trabeculation and high density spots suggests that small tumors may be difficult to ...
Brachytherapy is used for treating certain types of cancer by inserting radioactive sources into tumours. CDTN/CNEN is developing brachytherapy seeds to be used mainly in prostate cancer treatment. Dose calculations play a very significant role in the characterization of the developed seeds. The current state-of-the-art of computation dosimetry relies on Monte Carlo methods using, for instance, MCNP codes. However, deterministic calculations have some advantages, as, for example, short computer time to find solutions. This paper presents a software developed to calculate doses in a two-dimensional space surrounding the seed, using a deterministic algorithm. The analysed seeds consist of capsules similar to IMC6711 (OncoSeed), that are commercially available. The exposure rates and absorbed doses are computed using the Sievert integral and the Meisberger third order polynomial, respectively. The software also allows the isodose visualization at the surface plan. The ...
The high incidence and mortality rates of prostate cancer have stimulated research for prevention, early diagnosis and appropriate treatment. DNA ploidy status of tumour cells is an important parameter with diagnostic and prognostic significance. In the current study, DNA ploidy analysis was performed using image cytometry technique and digital image processing and analysis. Tissue samples from prostate patients were stained using the Feulgen method. Images were acquired using a digital imaging microscopy system consisting of an Olympus BX-50 microscope equipped with a color CCD camera. Segmentation of such images is not a trivial problem because of the uneven background, intensity variations within the nuclei and cell clustering. In this study specific algorithms were developed in Matlab based on the most prominent image segmentation approaches that emanate from the field of Mathematical Morphology, focusing on region-based watershed segmentation. First biomedical ...
Sixty-three subjects, aged 6 months to 16 years, who were enrolled in a prospective, fully blinded, randomized parallel-group phase III clinical trial, received 0.1 mmol/kg doses of either Gd-BOPTA (n=29) or Gd-DTPA (n=34). The MR images were acquired before and within 10 min of contrast agent injection. The primary objective was to compare the difference from pre-dose to post-dose lesion visualization between Gd-BOPTA and Gd-DTPA. Lesion visualization was determined as the sum of individual scores for three criteria of lesion morphological characteristics (lesion border delineation, internal morphology, and contrast enhancement), each assessed qualitatively using 4-point scales. Quantitative evaluation compared changes in lesion-to-background (LBR) and contrast-to-noise (CNR) ratios and per cent enhancement. Monitoring for adverse events and evaluation of vital signs and laboratory values was performed. Pre-dose to post-dose changes in lesion visualization were significantly better ...
BACKGROUND: Denys-Drash Syndrome (DDS) is an uncommon disorder that appears sporadically and in rare cases may be inherited as an autosomal dominant trait It manifests either at birth or within the first year of life and typically consists of the triad of congenital nephropathy, Wilms tumour and intersex disorder. CASE REPORT: A 10 year-old Caucasian girl was referred to the Dental Department, at Glasgow Royal Hospital for Sick Children by her Paediatric Nephrologist Consultant. The patient was being teased by her peers over her markedly discoloured teeth. The dental history revealed that the patient was a regular dental attendee from an early age. She was dentally anxious having only experienced dental treatment under general anaesthesia (GA) when she was 4 years old. Apparently her primary dentition also showed a generalised discolouration. TREATMENT: This consisted of multiple visits for diet analysis and tooth brushing instruction with the use of disclosing ...
A survey of wetlands on the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) was conducted in 1990. Wetlands occurring on ORR were identified using National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) maps and field surveys. More than 120 sites were visited and 90 wetlands were identified. Wetland types on ORR included emergent communities in shallow embayments on reservoirs, emergent and aquatic communities in ponds, forested wetland on low ground along major creeks, and wet meadows and marshes associated with streams and seeps. Vascular plant species occurring on sites visited were inventoried, and 57 species were added to the checklist of vascular plants on ORR. Three species listed as rare in Tennessee were discovered on ORR during the wetlands survey. The survey provided an intensive ground truth of the wetlands identified by NWI and offered an indication of wetlands that the NWI remote sensing techniques did not detect.
A survey of wetlands on the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) was conducted in 1990. Wetlands occurring on ORR were identified using National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) maps and field surveys. More than 120 sites were visited and 90 wetlands were identified. Wetland types on ORR included emergent communities in shallow embayments on reservoirs, emergent and aquatic communities in ponds, forested wetland on low ground along major creeks, and wet meadows and marshes associated with streams and seeps. Vascular plant species occurring on sites visited were inventoried, and 57 species were added to the checklist of vascular plants on ORR. Three species listed as rare in Tennessee were discovered on ORR during the wetlands survey. The survey provided an intensive ground truth of the wetlands identified by NWI and offered an indication of wetlands that the NWI remote sensing techniques did not detect.
The Western Research Institute plan for addressing oil shale plant siting methodology calls for identifying the available resources such as oil shale, water, topography and transportation, and human resources. Restrictions on development are addressed: land ownership, land use, water rights, environment, socioeconomics, culture, health and safety, and other institutional restrictions. Descriptions of the technologies for development of oil shale resources are included. The impacts of oil shale development on the environment, socioeconomic structure, water availability, and other conditions are discussed. Finally, the Western Research Institute plan proposes to integrate these topics to develop a flow chart for oil shale plant siting. Western Research Institute has (1) identified relative topics for shale oil plant siting, (2) surveyed both published and unpublished information, and (3) identified data gaps and research ...
Many existing methods of identifying the optimum sites for installing power system stabilizers (PSSs) in multi-machine systems are restricted to the sequential PSS application, which considers the enhancement of damping of just one critical electromechanical mode at a time; the eigenstructure analysis of the open-loop system, which does not take the control matrix (i.e., the B matrix in the linearized model x = Ax + Bu for power systems) into consideration. This paper presents a method of identifying the optimum sites for installing power system stabilizers. The advantages of this method are: it can identify the optimum sites for installing PSSs so that several electrochemical modes are damped out simultaneously; it takes both the eigenstructure of the open-loop system and the control matrix into consideration.
'The overall objective of the basic research grant is to characterize the potential of common hydrocarbon contaminants in ecosystems to act as endocrine disruptors. The three major lines of research include (1) a biotechnology based screening system to identify potential hormone mimics and antagonists; (2) an animal screening system to identify biomarkers of endocrine effects. and (3) a literature review to identify compounds at a variety of DOE sites that need to be examined for endocrine disrupting effects. By relating results obtained from this research project to contamination problems at various DOE sites. CBR will provide data and information on endocrine disrupting contaminants to DOE for consideration in risk analyses for determining clean-up levels and priorities needed at the sites.'
Poaching of wildlife animals for subsistence and commercial purposes has lead to population declines in Africa. In forensic cases, a need exists to identify the species of origin of carcasses, meat or blood. In the study presented here, the mitochondrial COI gene was sequenced to determine the species of unknown samples in three suspect South African forensic wildlife cases. In two cases the unknown samples were identified as originating from domestic cattle (Bos taurus) and in the third case the sample was identified as common reedbuck (Redunca arundinum). This is the first report of the COI sequence of common reedbuck. The study highlights the need for accurate wildlife reference material from each country in order to convict wildlife cases.
Both the KRW fluidized-bed gasifier and the transport gasifier case studies were used for this assessment. The transport technology is a high-velocity circulating fluidized-bed reactor currently under development by The M.W. Kellogg Company. In the earlier assessment, seven design concepts or cases were identified; a process design was developed; major equipment items were identified; estimates of capital cost, operation and maintenance cost, and cost of electricity were developed; reliability was predicted; and development issues were identified for six studies. Three of the most probable cases were further evaluated for a Greenfield assessment in this report to adequately determine all costs independent of facilities at Plant Wansley.
Both the KRW fluidized-bed gasifier and the transport gasifier case studies were used for this assessment. The transport technology is a high-velocity circulating fluidized-bed reactor currently under development by The M.W. Kellogg Company. In the earlier assessment, seven design concepts or cases were identified; a process design was developed; major equipment items were identified; estimates of capital cost, operation and maintenance cost, and cost of electricity were developed; reliability was predicted; and development issues were identified for six studies. Three of the most probable cases were further evaluated for a Greenfield assessment in this report to adequately determine all costs independent of facilities at Plant Wansley.
Raniganj and Jharia regions together have been for long the single largest coal supplier in India, now contributing about a quarter of the total output in the country. Numerous reasons such as improper mining techniques and policy, as well as unauthorized mining caused surface and subsurface coalfires in these areas. These coalfires burn millions of tonnes of valuable coal resources, creating severe environmental problems and posing enormous operational difficulties of mining. After first use of remote sensing as a tool to identify coalfires in 1960s, with the time, the efficiency of remote sensing to identify and monitoring coalfires has been well established by several researchers. With the knowledge of local geological setting and density sliced surface temperature image the spatial dis...
The study reports the identification of different organic acids that are formed during the pyrohydrolysis of mixed carbide of uranium and plutonium using ion chromatography (IC). The identification of organic acids present in the pyrohydrolysis distillate is required to carry out interference free analysis of Cl and F. The study describes three stage isocratic separations with NaOH eluents having concentrations 2 mM, 10 mM and 50 mM respectively in order to separate and identify both aliphatic and aromatic acids. The present investigation identified formic, acetic, propionic, butyric, tartaric and oxalic acids in the distillate, however, aromatic acids could not be identified. (author)
Objectives1. To establish the present capacity and capability across all the sectors within the UK for - a) Undertaking research in the areas of toxicology and ecotoxicology and environmental hazard and risk assessment work on chemical subtances including emerging containments (e.g. enginerred nanomaterials); and b) Applying these skills in the policy and regulatory context. 2) The range of chemicals involved should include pharmaceutical and medical products, crop protection agents, biocides, vet [continued...]DescriptionThe aim of this project is to identify the current status of the scientific community, areas of expertise, and identify the gaps in skills, knowledge or recruitment. The project will use a questionnaire approach to obtain this information for all sectors of the business community. The analysis will identify the gaps in provision, and areas where investment is needed in future training and/or recruitment.
Somite boundary formation is crucial for segmentation of vertebrate somites and vertebrae and skeletal muscle morphogenesis. Previously, we developed a Tol2 transposon-mediated...Full Text Available
Atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) is a heterogeneous disease that is caused by defective complement regulation in over 50% of cases. Mutations have been identified in genes encoding both complement...Full Text Available
This paper summarizes the deliberations of a work group charged with addressing specific questions relevant to risk estimation in developmental neurotoxicology. We focused on eight questions. a) Does...Full Text Available
The protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi is the etiologic agent of Chagas disease, a neglected tropical infection that affects millions of people in the Americas. Current chemotherapy...Full Text Available
A common property of aging in all animals is that chronologically and genetically identical individuals age at different rates. To unveil mechanisms that influence aging variability, we identified markers...Full Text Available
BackgroundStrategies to accurately identify the occurrence of specific health care events in administrative data is central to many quality improvement and research efforts. Many...Full Text Available
BackgroundMicroarray studies can supplement QTL studies by suggesting potential candidate genes in the QTL regions, which by themselves are too large to provide a limited selection...Full Text Available
Extending genome wide association analysis by the inclusion of gene expression data may assist in the dissection of complex traits. We examined piebald, a pigmentation phenotype in both human and Merino...Full Text Available
An indoor radioactive survey is being conducted in an Italian district. Preliminary results identified a zone with significant radioactive levels, in which a new specific survey has been planned. In this paper attention is dedicated mainly to radon measurement technique and results.
Subcellular-fractionation techniques were used to characterize the endocytic pathway followed by ricin in rat liver in vivo and tentatively identify the site(s) at which the ricin interchain disulphide...Full Text Available
Receptor protein tyrosine phosphatase T (PTPRT/PTPρ) is frequently mutated in human cancers including colon, lung, gastric and skin cancers. More than half of the identified tumor-derived...Full Text Available
ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to identify patterns of brain activation elicited by erotic visual stimuli in patients treated with either Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors...Full Text Available
OBJECTIVE: The objective was to define and characterize the costs associated with trauma care at a level I trauma center. Once the costs were identified, attending physician-led teams were designed...Full Text Available
BackgroundA key feature of a good general practice consultation is that it is patient-centred. A number of verbal and non-verbal behaviours have been identified as important to establish...Full Text Available
Summary: To date, most Leishmania and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) coinfection cases reported to WHO come from Southern Europe. Up to the year 2001, nearly 2,000 cases of coinfection were identified,...Full Text Available
We recently identified a cDNA encoding a putative isovaleryl-coenzyme A (CoA) dehydrogenase in Arabidopsis (AtIVD). In animals, this homotetrameric enzyme is located in mitochondria and catalyzes the...Full Text Available
Clarifies the concept of universal basic education. Highlights the need for performance criteria and ways to measure literacy attainment. Identifies issues related to improving primary education, seeing adult literacy as its necessary complement. Underscores the substantial resources required to achieve universal basic education. (CH)
The Arabidopsis ref2 mutant was identified in a screen for plants having altered fluorescence under UV light. Characterization of the ref2 mutants showed that they...Full Text Available
BackgroundTwenty-eight genes putatively encoding cytosolic glutathione transferases have been identified in the Anopheles gambiae genome. We manually annotated these...Full Text Available
Terminal-differential algorithm for identification of local nonhomogeneities in items under control is developed on the basis of measurements of X-ray or gamma-radiation weakening. The algorithm may be applied by developing radiation schemes of nondestructive control, identifying inadmissible inclusions in the object under study
The problem on the ratio between the instability of physical systems and tachyons is discussed. It is shown that the tachyons participation in the real physical process of the system rearranging does not contradict any principles. It is noted that the tachyons constitute the most significant element of the systems, identifying the instability relative to the phase transition into the stable state.
Apr 20, 2009 ... "YY" is the 2-digit filter identifier .... In our example you can see a point- like optical/UV source in each of the filters at the ... The "sigma" paramter gives the detection threshold in terms of Gaussian sigma. ...
BackgroundXenotropic Murine Leukemia Virus-related (XMRV) virus is a recently identified mouse gammaretrovirus that has the ability to infect certain human cells. In this study,...Full Text Available
BackgroundAdolescents have been identified as a high-risk group for poor adherence to and defaulting from combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) care. However, data on outcomes...Full Text Available
Surfactant protein A (SP-A), first identified as a component of the lung surfactant system, is now recognized to be an important contributor to host defence mechanisms. SP-A can facilitate phagocytosis...Full Text Available
This book chapter discusses sugarcane culture and history, describes arthropod biologies and injury, and identifies sugarcane pest management factors to consider for people interested in commercial sugarcane production. Arthropod groups include 10 orders and 40 families. Sugarcane pest management ...
In order to maintain a safe operation and availability of generating facilities, qualitative and quantitative assessment of piping vibration was performed vibration sources and damages of piping support was identified on the second piping system of Wolsun...
The blood beryllium lymphocyte proliferation test (BeLPT) is a modification of the standard lymphocyte proliferation test that is used to identify persons who may have chronic beryllium disease. A major...Full Text Available
Performance and operating characteristics are presented for a solar powered aircraft intended to remain aloft for long periods. The critical technologies which limit the performance are identified. By using the techniques presented, the effects of variation in the system parameters are studied. Practical design consideration are discussed.
AbstractStudies performed to identify early events of ovarian cancer and to establish molecular markers to support early detection and development of chemopreventive regimens have been...Full Text Available
OJECTIVEThis study seeks to identify practices of self-medication in the treatment of ocular emergencies. We examine patients’ use of both homemade preparations and manufactured...Full Text Available
BackgroundUnderstanding the interactions between ion channels and blockers remains an important goal that has implications for delineating the basic mechanisms of ion channel function...Full Text Available
ObjectivesMild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) case-finding criteria have low specificity in general population studies. The present study retrospectively identifies cases...Full Text Available
ObjectivesTo examine the strength of the volume–outcome relationship among paramedics, a group of providers that has not been previously studied in this context. By identifying...Full Text Available
Malignant gliomas are aggressive and angiogenic tumors with high VEGF content. Consequently, approaches such as metronomic chemotherapy, which have an antiangiogenic effect, are being investigated....Full Text Available
The energy strategy of the UK Overseas Development Administration is outlined with specific emphasis on energy efficiency and renewable energies. Based on 29 case studies concerning projects and programmes in both developed and developing countries, critical success factors for renewable energy projects are identified. UK)
Sensory neurons in aging mammals undergo changes in anatomy, physiology and gene expression that correlate with reduced sensory perception. In this study we compared young and aged mice to identify...Full Text Available
A barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) mutant (Az34) has been identified with low basal levels of abscisic acid (ABA) and with reduced capacity for producing ABA in response to water stress....Full Text Available
The aspirin esterase activity of human plasma is due to butyrylcholinesterase and albumin. Our goal was to identify the amino acid residues involved in the aspirin esterase activity of albumin....Full Text Available
BackgroundAn abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) that is identified when the abdomen is imaged for some other reason is known as an incidental AAA. No population-based studies have...Full Text Available
This assessment of Queensland's resources of black coal has been prepared by the Coal and Oil Shale Resources Assessment and Development Subprogram, Queensland Department of Mines, in accordance with the 'Code for Reporting of Identified Coal Resources and Reserves'.
BackgroundRandomized controlled trials (RCTs) which are of poor quality tend to exaggerate the effect estimate and lead to wrong or misleading conclusions. The aim of this study...Full Text Available
Psychology as both a science and a profession has been closely identified with other disciplines in the broad field of health since the turn of the present century. Recent advances in health care have...Full Text Available
BackgroundSeveral proteins are known to be markedly expressed in the brain during cerebral ischemia; however, the changes in protein profiles within the ischemic brain after an ischemic...Full Text Available
AIM: To isolate and identify the biological characteristics of human colon cancer stem cells (SW1116 cells) and further study their proteome.METHODS: SW1116 cells were isolated and cultured with...Full Text Available
This study identified clinical (e.g., etiology) and demographic factors related to prosthesis use in persons with upper- and lower-limb amputation (ULA and LLA, respectively) and the effect...Full Text Available
The osmoprotectant Pro betaine is the main betaine identified in alfalfa (Medicago sativa). We have investigated the long-term responses of nodulated alfalfa plants to salt stress,...Full Text Available
Preterm birth is the leading cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity and long-term disability of non-anomalous infants. Previous studies have identified a prior early spontaneous preterm birth as...Full Text Available
Information from the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) is used to identify which variables measured in 1981 successfully predict the severity of disease in 1989 and the eight year change in severity...Full Text Available
BackgroundNinety-one rodent plague epidemics have occurred in Lianghe county, Yunnan Province, China, between 1990 and 2006. This study aimed to identify predictors for the presence...Full Text Available
ObjectivesPericardial tamponade after cardiac surgery is difficult to diagnose, thereby rendering timing of rethoracotomy hard. We aimed at identifying factors predicting the outcome...Full Text Available
Background:Falls have been identified as a potential adverse event associated with the administration of psychotropic medications to older patients.Objective:The...Full Text Available
BackgroundSurrogate immunologic markers for natural and vaccine-mediated protection against tuberculosis (TB) have not been identified.MethodsHIV-infected...Full Text Available
The Salmonella PmrA-PmrB system controls the expression of genes necessary for polymyxin B resistance. Four loci were previously identified as part of the regulon, and interaction of...Full Text Available
ObjectiveTo identify patient-care practices related to an increased prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among chronic hemodialysis patients.Full Text Available
Mutation assay with Salmonella typhimurium enabled us to detect various types of mutagens in cooked foods. A series of mutagenic heterocyclic amines has been isolated and identified in broiled fish...Full Text Available
In an earlier report, we used differential cloning to identify genes that might be critical in controlling arterial neointima formation (Giachelli, C., N. Bae, D. Lombardi, M. Majesky, and S. Schwartz....Full Text Available
The concentration of some organic acids in the atmosphere was determined using a wet effluent diffusion denuder-aerosol collector coupled with Ion Chromatography. Three organic acids and four inorganic anions were identified and quantified in the air sample, taken from the backyard of PSI. (author)
BackgroundOil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) is one of the most important oil bearing crops in the world. However, genetic improvement of oil palm through conventional...Full Text Available
Noncoding RNAs play important roles in various aspects of gene regulation. We have identified 7SK RNA to be enriched in nuclear speckles or interchromatin granule clusters (IGCs), a subnuclear domain...Full Text Available
Constitutive activation of the oncogenic transcription factor STAT3 frequently occurs in various human malignancies. STAT3 activation involves dimerization via intermolecular pTyr-SH2 interaction. Thus, antagonizing this interaction is a feasible approach to inhibit STAT3 activation for cancer therapy. In order to identify selective STAT3 inhibitors, we developed a biochemical HTS system based on AlphaScreen technology, which measures the abilities of test compounds to antagonize pTyr-SH2 interactions. We screened our chemical libraries using this system and identified 5,15-diphenylporphyrin (5,15-DPP) as a selective STAT3-SH2 antagonist. Selective inhibition of STAT3 nuclear translocation and DNA biding activity was observed in cells treated with 5,15-DPP. IL-6-dependent dimerization of STAT3, c-myc promoter binding and c-myc protein expression were all suppressed by 5,15-DPP, whereas no decrement in either expression or phosphorylation level ...
Recent work identified acetaldehyde oxime as the predominant product purged by inert gases from anaerobic in vivo nitrate reductase (NR) assays of soybean (Glycine max...Full Text Available
PurposeRetinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a genetically heterogeneous disorder characterized by progressive loss of vision. The aim of this study was to identify the causative mutations...Full Text Available
Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a heterogeneous group of inherited retinal dystrophies characterised ultimately by the loss of photoreceptor cells. We have recently identified a new gene (EYS) encoding...Full Text Available
Study objectives:To verify the existence of a symptomatic form of restless legs syndrome (RLS) secondary to multiple sclerosis (MS) and to identify possible associated risk factors.Design:Prospective,...Full Text Available
If we are to stand any chance of understanding the circuitry of the superficial dorsal horn, it is imperative that we can identify which classes of interneuron are excitatory and which are inhibitory....Full Text Available
The effect of spatial auditory information on a listener's ability to detect, identify, and monitor multiple simultaneous speech signals was evaluated using virtual audio technology. Factorial combinations of three variables - the number of localized spee...
Cancer immunotherapies can be guided by cellular imaging techniques, which can identify the presence or absence of immune-cell accumulation in the tumor tissue in-vivo and in real time. This...Full Text Available
Two bacteriolytic enzymes secreted by Achromobacter lyticus M497-1 were purified and identified as being very similar (considering their amino acid composition and N-terminal sequence) to alpha- and...Full Text Available
The fungus Cryptococcus neoformans is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with impaired CD4+ T cell function, particularly those with AIDS. To identify...Full Text Available
Specific criteria have been developed based on computerized dynamic posturography (CDP) to assist clinicians in identifying patients with psychogenic balance problems (Cyr and Cevette, Full Text Available
The purpose of this prospective cohort study was to identify factors that place a dairy cow with uncomplicated milk fever (MF) at significant risk of becoming an alert downer cow (ADC) and to verify...Full Text Available
UNEP will provide in the first CPR quarterly report of 2011 the financial statements for 2010. ...for assessing and rating programme performance UNEP to work with the CPR to identify better ways of streamlining reporting requirements ...in 2011 to achieve the ratios requested by the CPR dependent on receipt of contributions originally planned for the
Background/Objective:To determine the utility of certain instruments to assess sexuality and fertility after SCI, an expert panel identified key areas to study and evaluated...Full Text Available
We have developed a method for dissecting single neurons from the nematode Ascaris suum, in order to determine their peptide content by mass spectrometry (MS). In this paper,...Full Text Available
Sources of manganese are identified. Uptake and distribution of manganese in plants and man are discussed, and the role of manganese in metabolism is described. The epidemiology of manganese toxicity is outlined, permissible air concentrations are listed, and the symptoms of manganese toxicity and deficiency are described. 555 references, 32 tables.
We had previously identified a macrophage surface protein whose expression is highly induced, transient, and specific, as it is restricted to actively fusing macrophages in vitro and in vivo. This protein...Full Text Available
Despite the demonstrated clinical efficacy of CD20 monoclonal antibody (mAb) for lymphoma therapy, the in vivo mechanisms of tumor depletion remain controversial and variable. To identify the molecular...Full Text Available
A histidine kinase protein (Cph1) with sequence homology and spectral characteristics very similar to those of the plant phytochrome has been recently identified in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis...Full Text Available
The aim of the present study was to identify specific behavioral patterns that contribute to diminished estrus expression in lame cows. Behavioral scan and focal sampling were used to examine...Full Text Available
Laboratory studies were performed to support field-testing of base injection into the F-Area Seepage Basins groundwater. The general purpose of these experiments is to provide information to guide the test of base injection and to identify potential adverse effects.
A lentivirus was isolated from 2 goats in Mexico that were seropositive to caprine arthritis encephalitis virus (CAEV) by the agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) test. The lentivirus was identified as CAEV...Full Text Available
A light-sensitive vitamin B12 derivative has been extracted from the adult cestode, Spirometra mansonoides. This corrinoid was identified as the cobamide coenzyme, adenosylcobalamin, by its chromatographic, chemical, and spectral properties. PMID:1003284
Mouse models have dramatically improved our understanding of cancer development and tumor biology. However, these models have shown limited efficacy as tractable systems for unbiased genetic...Full Text Available
BackgroundEstablishing an evidence-based method of improving knowledge and attitudes concerning depression has been identified as a priority in Chinese medical education. The purpose...Full Text Available
A fluid-phase immunoradiometric assay has been developed which identifies an antigen on the Factor VIII (antihemophilic factor) procoagulant protein. This sensitive and quantitative assay is not influenced...Full Text Available
BackgroundA large fraction of the human genome is attributable to L1 retrotransposon sequences. Not only do L1s themselves make up a significant portion of the genome, but L1-encoded...Full Text Available
ObjectiveThis study was conducted to provide a nationwide analysis on barriers to cervical cancer screening in Korea.MethodsData used for this study...Full Text Available
The identification and validation of biomarkers for diagnosing Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other forms of dementia are increasingly important. To date, ELISA measurement of β-amyloid(1–42),...Full Text Available
BackgroundGene regulation is a key mechanism in higher eukaryotic cellular processes. One of the major challenges in gene regulation studies is to identify regulators affecting the...Full Text Available
Stem cells of the human prostate gland have not yet been identified utilizing a structural biomarker. We have discovered a new prostatic epithelial cell phenotype-expressing cytokeratin 6a (Ck6a+...Full Text Available
Using a genetic screen we have identified two chromosomal genes, cusRS (ylcA ybcZ), from Escherichia coli K-12 that encode a two-component, signal...Full Text Available
CTX-M-14 β-lactamase was identified in a stool isolate of Shigella sonnei and in blood isolates of Escherichia coli (one isolate) and Klebsiella pneumoniae...Full Text Available
A nodulation plasmid, pRtr-514a, of molecular size 180 megadaltons (Mdal) was identified in Rhizobium trifolii strain NZP514. This plasmid was absent in both spontaneous and heat-cured Nod- derivatives...Full Text Available
Cryptococcus neoformans is a pathogenic yeast that often causes devastating meningoencephalitis in immunocompromised individuals. We have previously identified the C. neoformans...Full Text Available
Childhood cancer survivors often experience complications related to cancer and its treatment that may adversely affect quality of life and increase the risk of premature death. The purpose of this...Full Text Available
In-vitro experiments using 203Pb were performed to identify lead-binding components in human haemoglobin. Sephadex A-50 ion-exchange chromatography of haemolysate showed that different types of haemoglobin...Full Text Available
The authors investigate the possibility of the direct heterogeneous catalytic synthesis of ethylbenzoate from benzonitrile. The catalysts tested were oxides of aluminium, titanium, and vanadium. The main conversion product detected chromatographically was ethylbenzoate; benzaldehyde, benzamide, and benzanilide were also identified. Aluminium oxide was found to be the most effective catalyst.
BackgroundThe long-term goal of the GKDZI (Genetics of Kidney Disease in Zuni Indians) Study is to identify genes, environmental factors, and genetic-environmental...Full Text Available
Fibrogenesis is a common feature of many diseases where there is severe insult to the liver. The hepatic stellate cell trans-differentiation into a myofibroblast has been identified as an important...Full Text Available
AimsTo identify the completeness of documentation of Complementary And Alternative Medicine (CAM) use in hospital medical records of patients before and after an education programme.Full Text Available
A linear structural equation model relates random variables of interest and corresponding Gaussian noise terms via a linear equation system. Each such model can be represented by a mixed graph in which directed edges encode the linear equations, and bidirected edges indicate possible correlations among noise terms. We study parameter identifiability in these models, that is, we ask for conditions that ensure that the edge coefficients and correlations appearing in a linear structural equation model can be uniquely recovered from the covariance matrix of the associated normal distribution. We treat the case of generic identifiability, where unique recovery is possible for almost every choice of parameters. We give a new graphical criterion that is sufficient for generic identifiability. It improves criteria from prior work and does not require the directed part of the graph to be acyclic. We also develop a related necessary ...
BackgroundIn South Africa, HIV prevalence among youth aged 15-24 is among the world's highest. Given the urgent need to identify effective HIV prevention approaches, this review...Full Text Available
... Top of page Testing Radiation coming from granite countertops results from natural radioactive material in the granite. Identifying the presence and concentration of radioactive elements in granite requires expensive and sophisticated portable instruments or laboratory equipment. These instruments and equipment require proper calibration, and interpretation of ...
The ETS proteins are a family of transcription factors (TFs) that regulate a variety of biological processes. We made genome-wide analyses to explore the classification of the ETS gene family. We identified...Full Text Available
Exercise is essential for health, yet the amount, duration, and intensity that individuals engage in are strikingly variable, even under prescription. Our focus was to identify the locations and effects...Full Text Available
Despite the recent success of genome-wide association studies (GWASs) in identifying loci consistently associated with coronary artery disease (CAD), a large proportion of the genetic components of...Full Text Available
We present an algorithm to identify individual neural spikes observed on high-density multi-electrode arrays (MEAs). Our method can distinguish large numbers of distinct neural units, even when spikes...Full Text Available
1. One hundred and thirty-two antidromically identified paraventricular (PV) and supraoptic (SO) neurones were studied during milk ejection evoked by the suckling of the young, in thirty-four lactating...Full Text Available
AIM: To identify a method for efficient large-scale purification of functional hepatitis B virus polymerase (HBV-Pol) without addition of cellular factors.METHODS: Full-length HBV-Pol (843 amino...Full Text Available
Self-incompatibility (SI) is widespread in the angiosperms, but identifying the biochemical components of SI mechanisms has proven to be difficult in most lineages. Coffea (coffee;...Full Text Available
The incidence of melanoma is increasing more than any other cancer, and knowledge of its genetic alterations is limited. To systematically analyze such alterations, we performed whole-exome...Full Text Available
The development of rapid and specific diagnostic tests to identify individuals infected with malaria is of paramount importance in efforts to control the severe public health impact of this disease....Full Text Available
We have identified five acyl coenzyme A (CoA) oxidase isozymes (Aox1 through Aox5) in the n-alkane-assimilating yeast Yarrowia lipolytica, encoded by the POX1...Full Text Available
Clostridium perfringens type A food poisoning is the second most commonly identified bacterial food-borne illness. Sporulation contributes to this disease in two ways: (i) most food-poisoning...Full Text Available
Rodent models have been extensively utilized to identify putative human immunotoxicants; however, even when immunotoxicity is established, uncertainty remains whether the effects are predictive of human...Full Text Available
situ by isolating portions of the building envelope and performing tests .MAXIMUM ALLOWED LOAD ...and shall identify commissioning team members who will perform testing and prepare documentation.The commissioning agent may be
Evaluation of the impact and effectiveness of courses is necessary so that strengths and weaknesses can be identified and improvements made. This article uses Kirkpatrick's evaluation framework to present...Full Text Available
In-vitro experiments using 203Pb were performed to identify the lead binding components in human peripheral blood. The distribution of lead in plasma, in the red cell membrane, and within the red cell...Full Text Available
Humans are remarkably adept at identifying individuals by the sound of their voice, a behavior supported by the nervous system’s ability to integrate information from voice and speech...Full Text Available
This article presents a study identifying benefits and challenges of a novel hospital-to-hospital information technology (IT) outsourcing partnership (HHP). The partnership is an innovative response...Full Text Available
Denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) has been used extensively to detect genetic variation. We used this method to detect and identify Yersinia pestis KIM5 ciprofloxacin-resistant...Full Text Available
In order to identify novel high value antibacterial targets it is desirable to delineate whether the inactivation of the target enzyme will lead to bacterial death or stasis. This knowledge is particularly...Full Text Available
The Gram-negative bacterium Francisella tularensis is the causative agent of tularemia. Interest in this zoonotic pathogen has increased due to its classification as a category A agent...Full Text Available
The soil-isolated strain XP was identified as Rhodococcus erythropolis. R. erythropolis XP could efficiently desulfurize benzonaphthothiophene, a complicated model sulfur compound that...Full Text Available
CDC7 is an essential gene required for DNA replication in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Cdc7p homologs have recently been identified in vertebrates, but their role in DNA...Full Text Available
The protein databank (PDB) contains high quality structural data for computational structural biology investigations. We have earlier described a fast tool (the decomp_pdb tool) for identifying and...Full Text Available
The authors have recently identified a new cytokeratin (CK) polypeptide, CK 20, whose expression is almost entirely confined to the gastric and intestinal epithelium, urothelium, and Merkel cells. Seven...Full Text Available
Coryneform isolates from clinical specimens frequently cannot be identified by either reference laboratories or research laboratories. Many of these organisms are skin flora that belong to a large number...Full Text Available
A strain from human diarrhea originally identified as Campylobacter mucosalis (NCTC 12408) was examined by using 64 phenotypic characters. The similarity of this strain to 297 isolates of Campylobacter,...Full Text Available
There are many methods to screen for abnormal amounts of proteinuria to identify patients at risk for progression of renal disease, but which method best predicts renal risk is unknown. Here, we analyzed...Full Text Available
BackgroundIt is often desirable to separate effects of different regulators on gene expression, or to identify effects of the same regulator across several systems. Here, we focus...Full Text Available
... After completing a review into direct coal liquefaction research carried out in Australia and internationally, CSIRO has identified potential new science and technology developments that may improve the cost and viability of CTL in a greenhouse gas-constrained environment. We are conducting research to: determine the optimum ...
BackgroundProspective measures of high knee abduction moment during landing identify female athletes at high risk for non-contact anterior cruciate ligament injury....Full Text Available
BackgroundThe southern African tick shell, Nassarius kraussianus (Dunker, 1846), has been identified as being the earliest known ornamental object used by human...Full Text Available
The authors' laboratory, using histochemicalmethods, previously identified two types of cholesterol-containing lipid particles in the extracellular spaces of human atherosclerotic lesions, one particle...Full Text Available
Various measurement tools that are used in chaos theory were applied to analyze two-phase pressure signals with the objective of identifying and interpreting flow pattern transitions for two-phase flows in a small, horizontal rectangular channel. These me...
We study the integration of multisensory and central input at the level of an identified fly motoneuron, the ventral cervical nerve motoneuron (VCNM) cell, which controls head movements of the animal....Full Text Available
This study was designed to identify the causes of the development of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) associated with end stage kidney disease (ESKD). A total of 112 patients with ESKD, 64 on hemodialysis...Full Text Available
OBJECTIVE--To determine whether the seeming excess of childhood leukaemia and lymphoma identified in Seascale, Cumbria, UK, remains unusual when put into a wider context. DESIGN--Analysis of cancer...Full Text Available
Cancer stem cells (CSCs) have been identified in a number of solid tumors, but not yet in rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), the most frequently occurring soft tissue tumor in childhood. Hence, the aim of this...Full Text Available
Heavy ion tests of a switching converter using power MOSFETs have allowed us to identify the main parameters which affect the burnout sensitivity of these components. The differences between static and dynamic conditions are clarified in this paper. (author). 7 refs., 16 figs., 3 tabs.
Comparative sociogenomics has the potential to provide important insights into how social behaviour evolved. We examined brain gene expression profiles of the primitively eusocial wasp Polistes...Full Text Available
Many plants are known to reduce the toxic effects of high soil boron (B) by reducing uptake of B, but no mechanism for limiting uptake has previously been identified. The B-tolerant cultivar of barley...Full Text Available
Fish living in contaminated environments accumulate toxic chemicals in their tissues. Biomarkers are needed to identify the resulting health effects, particularly focusing on early changes at a subcellular...Full Text Available
DYF-13, originally identified in C. elegans within a collection of dye-filling chemosensory mutants, is one of several proteins that have been classified as putatively involved...Full Text Available
The aim of the overview is to give a perspective of global biobank development is given in a view of positioning biobanking as a key resource for healthcare to identify new potential markers that can...Full Text Available
BackgroundOceans are iron-deficient and nutrient-poor environments. These conditions impart limitations on our understanding of and our ability to identify microorganisms from the...Full Text Available
The CD1 family of proteins binds self and foreign glycolipids for presentation to CD1-restricted T cells. To identify previously uncharacterized active CD1 ligands, especially those of microbial origin,...Full Text Available
We examined the bacterial aerobic nasal flora of 216 healthy volunteers to identify potential competitive interactions among different species, with special emphasis on the influence of staphylococcal...Full Text Available
Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved degradative pathway that has been implicated in a number of physiological events important for human health. This process was originally identified as a response...Full Text Available
Data from an epidemiological study in Ontario, involving 304 dairy herds, were used to identify associations between selected production indices and lipoarabinomannan antigen serological test results...Full Text Available
IntroductionThe goal of this study was to identify serum markers that are modulated by treatment with golimumab with or without methotrexate (MTX) and are associated with clinical...Full Text Available
The Plan identifies the Army's organization, goals, objectives, and policies with respect to energy. It projects energy consumption and costs to the year 2000 and summarizes the programs required to support the long range goals. A summary of current and needed energy related legislation is included. (Author)
Background and purpose:Glycyrrhizae radix has been widely used as a cytoprotective, plant-derived medicine. We have identified a flavanoid, liquiritigenin, as an...Full Text Available
Human IgG specific for beta-endorphin was identified by enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay and isolated by affinity chromatography. From a sample of 27 subjects, three individuals with major depression...Full Text Available
BackgroundHistone post-translational modifications are critical for gene expression and cell viability. A broad spectrum of histone lysine residues have been identified in yeast...Full Text Available
A goal of our research is to identify biochemical factors that underlie the susceptibility of bone marrow cell populations to benzene metabolites so as to develop a mechanistically based chemoprotective...Full Text Available
ObjectiveThe purpose of this study is to identify the factors affecting the failure of trials (<50% pain reduction in pain for trial period) to improve success rate of spinal...Full Text Available
BackgroundGenomics has substantially changed our approach to cancer research. Gene expression profiling, for example, has been utilized to delineate subtypes of cancer, and facilitated...Full Text Available
Dopaminergic neurons of the ventral midbrain fire high frequency bursts when animals are presented with unexpected rewards, or stimuli that predict reward. To identify the afferents that can...Full Text Available
...Own Rules for Success (Hardcover) The authors have rightly identified that there is a growing demand for, trend towards, and interest in guidance for creating flexible working arrangements. However, for $27.99, you can secure more concrete advice on reaching your \\
Forty children with the fetal alcohol syndrome were identified in the west of Scotland. All were growth retarded and had abnormal facial features, and all those who were tested were found to have neurological...Full Text Available
ObjectiveCompare occlusal contacts calculated from 3D virtual models created from clinical records to contacts identified clinically using shimstock and transillumination.Full Text Available
SUMMARYATG12, an ubiquitin-like modifier required for macroautophagy, has a single known conjugation target, another autophagy regulator called ATG5. Here, we identify ATG3 as...Full Text Available
From Toki-shakuyaku-san, an herbal formulation for “cleansing stagnated blood,” a key gene regulatory compound was purified and identified through a screening based on DNA microarray...Full Text Available
PurposeTo detail the highly variable ocular phenotypes of a French family affected with an autosomal dominantly inherited vitreoretinopathy and to identify the disease gene.MethodsSixteen...Full Text Available
Recent health care policies and regulations have impacted the manner in which patient data – especially protected health information (PHI) – are handled in both the clinical...Full Text Available
BackgroundStorage of RBCs is necessary for an adequate blood supply. However, reports have identified potential negative sequelae of transfusing stored RBCs. An animal...Full Text Available
Traditional approaches to the study of hormones and cognition have been primarily observational or correlational in nature. Because this work does not permit causal relationships to be identified,...Full Text Available
Humanin (HN), a 24-residue peptide, was identified as a novel neuroprotective factor and shows anti-cell death activity against a wide spectrum of Alzheimer's disease (AD)-related cytotoxicities, including...Full Text Available
Fifty-two isolates of Fusarium species were obtained from soybean seeds from various parts of Korea and identified as Fusarium oxysporum, F. moniliforme,...Full Text Available
The disordered eating response team developed a protocol for assessment and intervention for athletes who are identified as at risk for disordered eating. Team members included the team physician,...Full Text Available
Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are leading causes of morbidity across all populations, with heritability estimates of ∼80% indicating a substantial genetic component. Population genetics...Full Text Available
... in this paper is aimed at developing a computer vision system that will be used to automatically grade rough hardwood lumber. The purpose of the computer vision system is to locate and identify grading def...
BackgroundThis in vitro study was conducted to compare the accuracy of two digital image receptors in identifying the location of tip of a fine endodontic file and radiographic apex...Full Text Available
...shall, until three years following the completion of the self-evaluation, maintain on file and make available for public inspections: (1) A description of areas examined and any problems identified, and (2) A description of any...
BackgroundPathophysiological mechanisms involved in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are complex and none has identified reliable markers useful in routine patient evaluation....Full Text Available
This Maintenance Implementation Plan has been developed for maintenance functions associated with the Waste Sampling and Characterization Facility (WSCF). This plan is developed from the guidelines presented by Department of Energy (DOE) Order 4330.4A, Maintenance Management Program (DOE 1990), Chapter II. The objective of this plan is to provide baseline information for establishing and identifying WHC conformance programs and policies applicable to implementation of DOE order 4330.4A guidelines. In addition, this maintenance plan identifies the actions necessary to develop a cost-effective and efficient maintenance program at WSCF.
A new approach for the selection of best PSS locations in multimachine power systems is proposed in this paper. Study shows that the right-eigenvector measures the activity of state variables and the left-eigenvector measures the control effect of control signals. Based on the right and left eigenvector the concept of sensitivity of PSS effect (SPE) is presented and used to identify the best PSS locations. The proposed method is used to identify the best PSS location in a 13-machine system to increase the damping of an interarea mode. The time-domain simulation results confirm that the prediction of best PSS location by SPE method is correct and accurate.
Disaster impact modeling and analysis uses huge volumes of image data that are produced immediately following a natural or an anthropogenic disaster event. Rapid damage assessment is the key to time critical decision support in disaster management to better utilize available response resources and accelerate recovery and relief efforts. But exploiting huge volumes of high resolution image data for identifying damaged areas with robust consistency in near real time is a challenging task. In this paper, we present an automated image analysis technique to identify areas of structural damage from high resolution optical satellite data using features based on image content.
Over the years, nurses, doctors and scientists have sought ways of assessing the impact of pain on patients. While many of the instruments devised have been extremely useful in identifying the nature and intensity of pain, defining the effect it has on people's lives and perceptions has proved much more problematic. Based on the work she carried out with patients suffering from chronic benign pain, Karen Rose explores one aspect of these effects--the feeling of isolation. By using a four-step anthropological approach to identify the impact of pain, she argues, nurses can arrive at a realistic and accurate assessment of how patients are coping. PMID:7947167
This paper presents the results of a study commissioned by the British Columbia Science Council to identify opportunities for liquefaction of B.C. coals and to recommend effective approaches to the development of a research program on coal conversion. Contains reviews of British Columbia coal resources to identify prospective candidates for conversion to liquid fuels; of the state of the art in the various processes for the conversion of coal to liquid fuels with particular emphasis on those processes most relevant to British Columbia applications; and of research opportunities in British Columbia for the development of coal liquefaction technology. (16 refs.)
AbstractObjective To review studies investigating the brain correlates of unawareness of cognitive and behavioural symptoms in people with dementia. Design A detailed search of the literature was conducted to include all the peer-reviewed studies published in English aimed at identifying the structural or functional brain correspondents of unawareness in dementia patients. Their results were interpreted in relation to the methodological differences in terms of type of dementia studied, the protocol adopted to measure lack of awareness, the imaging techniques employed, the experimental designs and statistical analyses performed. Results Eighteen studies undertaken to explore the functional and structural correlates of unawareness of cognitive symptoms in dementia were identified. Although t...
A reliable source of specific criteria for recognizing a wetland, as defined for regulatory purposes would be valuable. In 1987 the Army Corps of Engineers developed a technical manual for identifying wetlands (1987 Wetlands Manual). An interagency manual (1989 Wetlands Manual) was later developed. This manual has been used to identify wetlands according to three evidentiary factors: vegetation, hydrology, and soil. This paper addresses the development of criteria to delineate wetlands, and describes some of the logic used by federal courts to uphold the limited constitutional use of the 1989 Wetlands Manual.
This report documents results of a preliminary hazard analysis (PHA) covering the existing Crane Chempump and the new salt well pumping design. Three hazardous conditions were identified for the Chempump and ten hazardous conditions were identified for the new salt well pump design. This report also presents the results of the control decision/allocation process. A backflow preventer and associated limiting condition for operation were assigned to one hazardous condition with the new design.
A novel way to extract relevant parameters associated with the outgoing ions from nuclear reactions, obtained by digitizing the signals provided by a Bragg curve spectrometer (BCS) is presented. This allowed the implementation of a more thorough pulse-shape analysis. Due to the complexity of this task, it was required to take advantage of new and more powerful computational paradigms. This was fulfilled using a back-propagation artificial neural network (ANN) as a pattern identifier. Over training of ANNs is a common problem during the training stage. In the performance of the ANN there is a compromise between its size and the size of the training set. Here, this effect will be illustrated in relation to the problem of Bragg Curve (BC) identification. (Author)
Westinghouse Electric Corporation is aggressively applying cost-time management to bolster timely, cost-effective cleanup and waste management activities at sites it manages for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Cost-time management is a diagnostic technique which is applicable to virtually any process. It identifies opportunities to reduce cycle-times and costs. When applied to cleanup and waste management at DOE facilities, cost-time profile analysis helps identify actions to improve productivity and quality. Moreover, by reducing cycle-times and costs, it achieves significant savings to taxpayers. (author)
A scant body of literature addresses competencies needed for successful job development. This study aimed to identify competencies needed for this role. In this analysis, we observed employment specialists identified as successful in helping consumers obtain employment perform job development duties. We supplemented observations with interviews. Employment specialists possessed competencies in six domains: time management, advocacy, building partnerships with consumers, working as part of a team, face-to-face communication, and networking. The conceptual framework derived from this study can inform supported employment supervisors and researchers about the competencies that can strengthen supported employment teams.
Objective: To investigate the predictive value of ADC value in grading of neuroepithelial tumors. Methods: The clinical data and images of 70 patients with neuroepithelial tumors pathologically proven were collected and analyzed retrospectively. All the patients were classified into low (WHO I or II) and high (WHO III or IV) grade groups which included 40 and 30 cases respectively according to the 2007 WHO classification of tumours of the central nervous system. All the patients underwent plain and contrast-enhanced MR scan and DWI before surgery. The minimum ADC (MinADC) value was measured postoperatively on ADC maps. The Ki-67 labeling index (Ki-67 LI) of tumor tissue was determined by immunohistochemistry. MinADC values for two groups were analyzed using student t test, while the age and Ki-67 LI for the two groups was analyzed using Mann-Whitney test (P<0.05 considered to be significant). Also the MinADC value and Ki-67 LI were analyzed with Pearson ...
African bovine trypanosomiasis caused by Trypanosoma sp., is a major constraint on cattle productivity in sub-Saharan Africa. Some African Bos taurus breeds are highly tolerant of infection, but the potentially more productive Bos indicus zebu breeds are much more susceptible. Zebu cattle are well adapted for plowing and haulage, and increasing their tolerance of trypanosomiasis could have a major impact on crop cultivation as well as dairy and beef production. We used three strategies to obtain short lists of candidate genes within QTL that were previously shown to regulate response to infection. We analyzed the transcriptomes of trypanotolerant N'Dama and susceptible Boran cattle after infection with Trypanosoma congolense. We sequenced EST libraries from these two breeds to identify polymorphisms that might underlie previously identified quantitative trait loci (QTL), and we assessed QTL regions and candidate loci for evidence of selective ...
The DNA sequence motif ATTTGCAT (octamer) or its inverse complement has been identified as an evolutionarily conserved element in the promoter region of immunoglobulin genes. Two major DNA-binding proteins that bind in a sequence-specific manner to the octamer DNA sequence have been identified in mammalian species--a ubiquitously expressed protein (Oct-1) and a lymphoid-specific protein (Oct-2). During characterization of the promoter region of the chicken immunoglobulin light chain gene, the authors identified two homologous octamer-binding proteins in chicken B cells. when the cloning of the human gene for Oct-2 revealed it to be a member of a distinct family of homeobox genes, they sought to determine if the human Oct-2 cDNA could be used to identify homologous chicken homeobox genes. Using a human Oct-2 homeobox-specific DNA probe, they were able to identify 6-10 ...
Aim of this study was to evaluate the sensitivity of virtual colonoscopy (CT colonography) in the identification of colorectal cancer and to define the limitations and the advantages of this imaging modality, as well as indications to the examination. It was examined prospectively 62 symptomatic patients aged 36 to 82 years (28 women and 34 men). All patients underwent both conventional and virtual colonoscopy on the same day; the conventional examination allowed exploration of the entire colon. Conventional colonoscopy identified 89 lesions 3-50 mm in diameter, namely 84 benign and 5 malignant lesions. No lesions were identified in 12 patients. CT colonography identified 52 of the 89 lesions, with 57.1% diagnostic accuracy. They were 11 false positives (82.5% positive predictive value and 52.2% specificity) and 37 false negatives (24.5% negative predictive value and 58.4% sensitivity). Sensitivity was significantly higher ...
Fourteen irradiated Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) fuel pins were subjected to representative overpower transients in six flowing sodium loop experiments conducted in the TREAT reactor. The transient tests were extended to substantial overpower levels well beyond protected levels, with some tests intentionally run to failure to identify failure thresholds and characteristics. Test variables included transient ramp rate (5, 50, and 100 cents/s) and burnup (2 to 58 MWd/kg). Performance limits and failure characteristics were identified, and cladding strain and fuel melting data were obtained for development and verification of transient analysis codes. The test results demonstrated that FFTF Reference fuel pins are capable of surviving overpower levels well beyond the FFTF secondary Plant Protection System (PPS) trip limit of 1.25 times normal rated power. Based on analytical evaluations to interpolate and extrapolate test results to the full ...
A series of studies conducted to identify the factors that block and unblock problem solving is described. Through the construction of an isomorph of the classic "water jar" problems developed by A. S. Luchins (1942) as a dynamic graphic micro-world, several factors involved in producing blocked states were identified. Subjects included 10 individuals and 10 pairs of subjects. By comparing the behavior of individuals tackling the "missionaries and cannibals" problem to that of pairs of subjects solving this problem, a study identified means by which problem solvers operating in a social context are able to overcome blocks that discourage individuals. These studies point to the importance of "reflection" (evaluation of problem-solving results) for flexible problem solving. This research suggests that teaching students to analyze what they have done will help them develop flexibility in using a new approach when blocked. The ...
More than 30 environmental concerns were analyzed for the transportation of coal by rail, roads (trucks), high voltage transmission lines (that is, from mine-mouth generating plants to distribution networks), coal slurry pipelines, and barges. The following criteria were used to identify these problems: (1) real physical environmetal impacts for which control technologies must be developed, or regulation made effective where control technologies presently exist; (2) the level of impact is uncertain, although the potential impact may be moderate to high; (3) the concerns identified by the first two criteria are specific to or exacerbated by coal transportation. Generic transportation problems are not included. The significant environmental problems identified as a result of this study are: (1) rail transport - community traffic disruption and human health, safety, and habitat destruction; (2) coal haul roads - road ...
Projected scenarios for the proposed Yucca Mountain repository include significant periods of time when high relative humidity atmospheres will be present, thus the reaction processes of interest will include those known to occur under these conditions. The ideal natural analog for the proposed Yucca Mountain repository would consist of natural borosilicate glasses exposed to expected repository conditions for thousands of years; however, the prospects for identifying such an analog are remote, but an important caveat for using natural analog studies is to relate the reaction processes in the analog to those in the system of interest, rather than a strict comparison of the glass compositions. In lieu of this, identifying natural glasses that have reacted via reaction processes expected in the repository is the most attractive option. The goal of this study is to quantify molecular water diffusion in the natural analogs obsidian and tektites. ...
The multidimensional countercurrent two-phase flow regimes that occur in a pressurized-water reactor (PWR) vessel downcomer during the refill phase of a large-break loss-of-coolant accident are studied using a transparent 1/10 scale model of a PWR vessel. The various flow regimes and their distribution in the downcomer have been identified and mapped for a range of air-water flooding experiments. The two-phase flow patterns that are identified in the downcomer included various types of film flows, droplet flows, countercurrent churn flows and cocurrent flows depending on the flooding condition. Through observation of the two-phase flow dynamics it was deduced that the physical mechanisms associated with the flooding processes could be separated into a liquid entrainment process and a film flow reversal process. In addition to the above exercise, the effect of non-uniform injection of water into the downcomer via different combinations of cold ...
The multidimensional countercurrent two-phase flow regimes that occur in a pressurized-water reactor (PWR) vessel downcomer during the refill phase of a large-break loss-of-coolant accident are studied using a transparent 1/10 scale model of a PWR vessel. The various flow regimes and their distribution in the downcomer have been identified and mapped for a range of air-water flooding experiments. The two-phase flow patterns that are identified in the downcomer included various types of film flows, droplet flows, countercurrent churn flows and cocurrent flows depending on the flooding condition. Through observation of the two-phase flow dynamics it was deduced that the physical mechanisms associated with the flooding processes could be separated into a liquid entrainment process and a film flow reversal process. In addition to the above exercise, the effect of non-uniform injection of water into the downcomer via different combinations of cold ...
A crack fault is one of the damage modes most frequently occurring in gears. Identifying different crack levels, especially for early cracks is a challenge in gear fault diagnosis. This paper aims to propose a method to classify the different levels of gear cracks automatically and reliably. In this method, feature parameters in time domain, specially designed for gear damage detection and in frequency domain are extracted to characterize the gear conditions. A two-stage feature selection and weighting technique (TFSWT) via Euclidean distance evaluation technique (EDET) is presented and adopted to select sensitive features and remove fault-unrelated features. A weighted K nearest neighbor (WKNN) classification algorithm is utilized to identify the gear crack levels. The gear crack experiments were conducted and the vibration signals were captured from the gears under different loads and motor speeds. The proposed method is applied to ...
This paper introduces an indirect adaptive fuzzy controller as a power system stabilizer used to damp inter-area modes of oscillation following disturbances in power systems. Compared to the IEEE standard multi-band power system stabilizer (MB-PSS), indirect adaptive fuzzy-based stabilizers are more efficient because they can cope with oscillations at different operating points. A nominal model of the power system is identified on-line using a variable structure identifier. A feedback linearization-based control law is implemented using the identified model. The gains of the controller are tuned via a particle swarm optimization routine to ensure system stability and minimum sum of the squares of the speed deviations. A bench-mark problem of a 4-machine 2-area power system is used to demonstrate the performance of the proposed controller and to show its superiority over other conventional stabilizers used in the literature. ...
OBJECTIVE To identify patients with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) who will need antenatal insulin treatment (AIT) by using a risk-prediction tool based on maternal clinical and biochemical characteristics at diagnosis. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Data from 3,009 women attending the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital GDM Clinic, Australia, between 1995 and 2010 were studied. A risk engine was developed from significant factors identified for AIT using a logistic regression model. RESULTS A total of 51% of GDM patients required AIT. Ethnicity, gestation at diagnosis, HbA(1c), fasting and 60-min glucose oral glucose tolerance test, BMI, and diabetes family history were significant independent determinants of AIT. Notably, only 9% of the attributable risk for AIT can be explained by the clinical factors studied. A modeled risk-scoring system was therefore a poor predictor of AIT. CONCLUSIONS Baseline maternal characteristics including HbA(1c) alone ...
Environmental research related to uranium tailings is being carried out within the Mining Research Laboratories and Mineral Sciences Laboratories of CANMET, EMR. Field-related research on uranium tailings has been conducted at Elliot Lake for over five years. Much of the work has been focused on a program to rehabilitate pyritic tailings. This has resulted in developing a practicable technology for growing vegetation on such wastes. Limitations have been small size of the test-plots and the relatively short period during which experiments have been carried out. A research program aimed at identifying and reducing acidic and radioactive effluents is also underway at Elliot Lake. These liquid effluents have been identified as the most serious threat to the environment. Research at the Mineral Sciences Laboratories and its predecessor divisions relating to the processing of uranium and thorium ores is outlined. A process has been developed for ...
Dynamic Flowgraph Methodology (DFM) is a methodological approach to modeling and analyzing the behavior of software-driven embedded systems for the purpose of reliability/safety assessment and verification. The methodology has two fundamental goals: (a) to identify how certain postulated events may occur in a system and (b) to identify an appropriate testing strategy based on an analysis of system functional behavior. To achieve these goals, the methodology employs a modeling framework in which system models are developed in terms of causal relationships between physical variables and temporal characteristics of the execution of software modules. These models are then analyzed to determine how a certain state (desirable or undesirable) can be reached. This is done by developing timed fault trees, which take the form of logical combinations of static trees relating system parameters at different points in time. The prime implicants (multistate ...
The health politics and policy communities are still struggling with the question of "what went wrong" in the 1993-94 health care reform effort. Here I identify which Americans were politically active and inactive during the health care reform debate to explore the role political participation may have had in determining the outcome of the debate. Using data from a national and California random-sample telephone surveys, and controlling for other demographic attributes, I found that those who engaged in political activity specifically related to health care reform were disproportionately more likely to be self-identified conservatives, less likely to favor an employer mandate plan, more likely to be fifty to sixty-four years old, more likely to be men, and more likely to have greater interest in and knowledge of the health care issue. Even in California, where a single-payer proposal was on the November ballot, ...
Implementation of an adaptive power system stabilizer (APSS) and experimental studies are presented in this paper. The APSS consists of an adaptive linear element (ADALINE) based identifier that identifies the power system as a third-order discrete auto-regressive moving average (ARMA) model and a pole-shift controller. The ADALINE is modeled so that its weights have a one-to-one relationship with the ARMA model parameters. The weights are updated at each sampling interval to track the dynamic characteristics of the actual system. The on-line updated ARMA parameters are used in the PS control algorithm to calculate the new closed-loop poles of the system that are always inside the unit circle in the z-plane. The calculated control is such that it achieves regulation of the system to a constant setpoint in the shortest interval of time. Experimental studies on a physical model of power system verify that the proposed adaptive PSS effectively ...
Ageing of nuclear power plants means evolution of material or equipment properties on one side, and evolution of personnel skill and procedure adequacy on the other side, both of which, after a certain time, may not be compatible with the required safety provisions, or with an economic operation of the plant. Repair or replacement of components, as well as change in service conditions for a better compatibility with component reduced capabilities can be used to mitigate ageing effects. The paper summarises the results of a study conducted in this field with the support of the European Commission. It presents: the synthesis of the work done under international auspices, and in the European context; the comparison of ageing management approaches used in several European countries with international recommendations; the summary of the various potential phenomena and their governing parameters, the methods of in-service ageing identification and possible mitigation methods; illustrative ...
ObjectivesProject VOLCANOSCOPE will evaluate strategies (1) for applying existing and new forecasting models to volcanic eruptions, and (2) for identifying methods to improve how forecasts are communicated effectively to vulnerable communities. To link forecasting and communication, the interdisciplinary study will assess how to engage all stakeholders - from monitoring scientists, through emergency agencies, to vulnerable communities - to optimize the understanding of forecasts among different end users. [continued...]DescriptionProject VOLCANOSCOPE will evaluate strategies (1) for applying existing and new forecasting models to volcanic eruptions, and (2) for identifying methods to improve how forecasts are communicated effectively to vulnerable communities. To link forecasting and communication, the interdisciplinary study will assess how to engage all stakeholders - from monitoring scientists, through emergency agencies, to vulnerable ...
Pectin rich cold stored spoiled fruits, vegetables and cold soils were screened and different pectinolytic isolates were obtained by enrichment culturing and ruthenium red plate assay. Among the primary isolates 10-15% were yeast isolates. Six isolates with higher zones of pectin hydrolysis were selected and tested for polygalacturonase (PGU) production at room temperature (25 degrees C) and at 5 degrees C. One isolate identified as Saccharomyces sp. with highest polygalacturonase activity at 5 degrees C was used for enzyme production using raw fruit pectins as substrates. The isolate was identified by preliminary cultural, morphological and sugar fermentation tests. PGU production was high in raw pectin substrates like orange peel (21 U/ml), apple peel (20 U/ml ), mango peel (19 U/ml), ...
A procedure for code Verification by the Method of Manufactured Solutions (MMS) is presented. Although the procedure requires a certain amount of creativity and skill, we show that MMS can be applied to a variety of engineering codes which numerically solve partial differential equations. This is illustrated by detailed examples from computational fluid dynamics. The strength of the MMS procedure is that it can identify any coding mistake that affects the order-of-accuracy of the numerical method. A set of examples which use a blind-test protocol demonstrates the kinds of coding mistakes that can (and cannot) be exposed via the MMS code Verification procedure. The principle advantage of the MMS procedure over traditional methods of code Verification is that code capabilities are tested in full generality. The procedure thus results in a high degree of confidence that all coding mistakes which prevent the equations from being solved correctly have been ...
Motivated by constraint-based CAD software, we develop the foundation for the rigidity theory of a very general model: the body-and-cad structure, composed of rigid bodies in 3D constrained by pairwise coincidence, angular and distance constraints. We identify 21 relevant geometric constraints and develop the corresponding infinitesimal rigidity theory for these structures. The classical body-and-bar rigidity model can be viewed as a body-and-cad structure that uses only one constraint from this new class. As a consequence, we identify a new, necessary, but not sufficient, counting condition for minimal rigidity of body-and-cad structures: nested sparsity. This is a slight generalization of the well-known sparsity condition of Maxwell.