MR imaging of adenomas of the nonpigmented ciliary epithelium of the eye

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

ANPCEs are rare benign tumors of the eye arising from the NPCE in adults, which may be clinically mistaken for melanoma. This study was undertaken to delineate clinical and MR imaging features of these tumors.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Clinical presentation and MR imaging findings of 8 patients (6 women and 2 men; median age, 51 years) with pathologically confirmed ANPCEs were retrospectively reviewed. Location, size, shape, margin, signal intensity, and gadolinium-enhancement characteristics of all tumors were evaluated. Signal intensity and degree of enhancement were graded in comparison with the ipsilateral lacrimal gland.

RESULTS

MR imaging revealed a circumscribed enhancing mass within the ciliary body of the eye in all 8 patients. The mass was ovoid in 6 patients and spheric in 2. Gadolinium enhancement was marked in 4 lesions and moderate in the other 4. Both T1 and T2 relaxation times were qualitatively identical to those in the lacrimal gland in 2 tumors. In the remaining 6 tumors, the T1 was identical to and the T2 longer than that in the lacrimal gland.

CONCLUSIONS

ANPCE should be included in the differential diagnosis of a spheric or ovoid enhancing ciliary body mass with T1 similar to that in the lacrimal gland and T2 equal to or longer than that in the lacrimal gland.

Role of outer-membrane cytochromes MtrC and OmcA in the biomineralization of ferrihydrite by Shewanella oneidensis MR-1

In an effort to improve the understanding of electron transfer mechanisms at the microbe-mineral interface, Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 mutants with in-frame deletions of outer-membrane cytochromes (OMCs), MtrC and OmcA, were characterized for the ability to reduce ferrihydrite (FH) using a suite of microscopic, spectroscopic, and biochemical techniques. Analysis of purified recombinant proteins demonstrated that both cytochromes undergo rapid electron exchange with FH in vitro with MtrC displaying faster transfer rates than OmcA. Immunomicroscopy with cytochrome-specific antibodies revealed that MtrC co-localizes with iron solids on the cell surface while OmcA exhibits a more diffuse distribution over the cell surface. After 3-day incubation of MR-1 with FH, pronounced reductive transformation mineral products were visible by electron microscopy. Upon further incubation, the predominant phases identified were ferrous phosphates including vivianite [Fe(3)(PO(4))(2)x8H(2)O] and a switzerite-like phase [Mn(3),Fe(3)(PO(4))(2)x7H(2)O] that were heavily colonized by MR-1 cells with surface-exposed outer-membrane cytochromes. In the absence of both MtrC and OmcA, the cells ability to reduce FH was significantly hindered and no mineral transformation products were detected. Collectively, these results highlight the importance of the outer-membrane cytochromes in the reductive transformation of FH and support a role for direct electron transfer from the OMCs at the cell surface to the mineral.

Ultrasound urodynamic study of urinary tract dysfunction after radical hysterectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy in women with cervical carcinoma

PURPOSE

To investigate the functional changes of the lower urinary tract after radical hysterectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy node dissection using ultrasound urodynamics.

METHODS

Fifty-one women with cervical carcinoma underwent pre- and postoperative B-mode ultrasound imaging urodynamics.

RESULTS

Twenty-six women needed abdominal straining to void after radical surgery, and the urinary stream was intermittent. The maximum flow rate, average flow rate, and voiding volume significantly decreased, but the post-void residual volume significantly increased. Bladder sensory function deteriorated and maximum detrusor pressure decreased. The functional length decreased, but the maximum urethral pressure and urethral closure pressure did not change. Ultrasound measurement showed no significant changes regarding the depth of the bladder wall or the position of the bladder neck.

CONCLUSIONS

Lower urinary tract dysfunction after radical hysterectomy is characteristic. Measurement of ultrasound urodynamics may be used as a preliminary screening method to detect voiding dysfunction following surgery.

Effect of reflux ratio on COD and nitrogen removals from coke plant wastewaters

A laboratory-scale anaerobic-anoxic-aerobic-moving bed biofilm reactor (A1-A2-O-MBBR) system was undertaken to treat coke plant wastewaters from two different factories (wastewater A and B). Wastewater B had higher BOD5/COD ratio and COD/TN ratio than wastewater A. The effects of reflux ratios on COD, TN and NH3-N removals were studied. Results indicated that, with the reflux ratio increased from 2 to 5, COD removals of wastewater A and wastewater B increased from 57.4% to 72.6% and 78.2% to 88.6%, respectively. Meanwhile, TN removals were also increased accompanying reflux ratio rise, from 53.1% to 74.4% for wastewater A and 64.2% to 83.5% for wastewater B. At the same reflux ratio, compared with wastewater A, higher COD and TN removal efficiencies were observed in wastewater B, which had higher BOD5/COD and COD/TN ratio. Reflux ratio had no significant influence on NH3-N removal; 99.0% of the overall NH3-N removal efficiency was achieved by the system for both coke plant wastewaters at any tested reflux ratio. MBBR was effective in NH3-N removal, and about 95% of the NH3-N was removed in the MBBR.

Inpatient treatment of diabetic patients in Asia: evidence from India, China, Thailand and Malaysia

AIMS

The prevalence of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) has grown rapidly, but little is known about the drivers of inpatient spending in low- and middle-income countries. This study aims to compare the clinical presentation and expenditure on hospital admission for inpatients with a primary diagnosis of Type 2 DM in India, China, Thailand and Malaysia.

METHODS

We analysed data on adult, Type 2 DM patients admitted between 2005 and 2008 to five tertiary hospitals in the four countries, reporting expenditures relative to income per capita in 2007.

RESULTS

Hospital admission spending for diabetic inpatients with no complications ranged from 11 to 75% of per-capita income. Spending for patients with complications ranged from 6% to over 300% more than spending for patients without complications treated at the same hospital. Glycated haemoglobin was significantly higher for the uninsured patients, compared with insured patients, in India (8.6 vs. 8.1%), Hangzhou, China (9.0 vs. 8.1%), and Shandong, China (10.9 vs. 9.9%). When the hospital admission expenditures of the insured and uninsured patients were statistically different in India and China, the uninsured always spent less than the insured patients.

CONCLUSIONS

With the rising prevalence of DM, households and health systems in these countries will face greater economic burdens. The returns to investment in preventing diabetic complications appear substantial. Countries with large out-of-pocket financing burdens such as India and China are associated with the widest gaps in resource use between insured and uninsured patients. This probably reflects both overuse by the insured and underuse by the uninsured.

Partial cancerous changes eventually developing into superficial spreading cancer over 18 months

In this report, we describe a patient presenting with the superficial spreading type of early gastric cancer (egc) accompanied by cancerous ulcers. Disease progression and treatment outcome are discussed. After symptoms persisted for more than 1 year, the patient underwent total gastrectomy with D2 lymph node dissection. The patient was diagnosed with superficial spreading cancer (ssc), accompanied by an extensive iic lesions. The progression of this patient suggests that the co-occurrence of cancerous ulcers may contribute to egc development to some extent. As is known, egc often develops into advanced gastric cancer with time. However, in our case, we observed a process during which partial cancerous changes developed into ssc over 18 months. Superficial spreading cancer should be considered an egc variant, which may have the ability to spread superficially along the stomach wall without invading the muscularis propria. But we speculate that, if gene expression changes for some reason, the malignant ssc cells may acquire the ability to grow deeply into the stomach wall. Eventually, Borrmann type iv gastric cancer may develop.

Identification of brassinosteroid responsive genes in Arabidopsis by cDNA array

We have systematically monitored brassinosteroid (BR) responsive genes in a BR-deficient mutant det2 suspension culture of Arabidopsis by using a cDNA array approach. Among 13000 cDNA clones arrayed on filters, 53 BR responsive clones were identified and designated BRR1-BRR53. Sequence analysis of 43 clones showed that 19 clones are novel genes, 3 clones are genes involved in the control of cell division, 4 clones are genes related to plant stress responses, 4 clones are transcriptional factor or signal transduction component genes, and 3 clones are genes involved in RNA splicing or structure forming. In addition, we also found that BR regulated the transcription of genes related to many physiological processes, such as photoreaction, ion transportation and some metabolic processes. These findings present molecular evidence that BR plays an essential role in plant growth and development.

EEG source extraction by autoregressive source separation reveals abnormal synchronization in Parkinson's disease

Recent research efforts in studying brain connectivity has provided new perspectives to understanding of neurophysiology of brain function. Connectivity measures are typically computed from electroencephalogram (EEG) signals, yet the presence of volume conduction makes interpretation of results difficult. One possible alternative is to model the connectivity in the source space. In this study, we proposed a novel source separation technique in which EEG signals are represented as a state-space framework. The framework jointly models the underlying brain sources and the connectivity between them in the form of a generalized autoregressive (AR) process. The proposed technique was applied to real EEG data collected from normal and Parkinson's patients during a motor task. The extracted sources revealed the abnormal beta activity in Parkinson's subjects and showed similar biological networks as previous studies.

Polyvinylpyrrolidone- (PVP-) coated silver aggregates for high performance surface-enhanced Raman scattering in living cells

A biocompatible and stable surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) probe has been successfully synthesized through a simple route with silver aggregates. Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), a biocompatible polymer, was utilized to control the aggregation process and improve the chemical stability of the aggregates. Extinction spectroscopy and TEM results show the aggregation degree and core-shell structure of the probe. It is found that when we employ 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (4MBA), crystal violet (CV), Rhodamine 6G (R6G) or 4,4'-bipyridine molecules as Raman reporters, the SERS signal from the proposed probe can remain at a high level under aggressive chemical environments, even after being incorporated into living cells. In comparison with the traditional probes without the PVP shell, the new ones exhibit strong surface-enhanced effects and low toxicity towards living cells. We demonstrate that the PVP-coated silver aggregates are highly SERS effective, for which the fabrication protocol is advantageous in its simplicity and reproducibility.

BmHrp28 is a RNA-binding protein that binds to the female-specific exon 4 of Bombyx mori dsx pre-mRNA

The Bombyx mori sex determination gene Bmdsx is alternatively spliced in the male and female to produce the male- and female-specific proteins. In an effort to better understand the mechanism of the alternative splicing regulation of Bmdsx, we conducted a gel-shift assay followed by LC-MS/MS analysis to identify the putative proteins bound to the cis-element CE1+6 in the exon 4 of Bmdsx. A protein named as BmHrp28 which is homologous to the Drosophila Hrp48, a member of the hnRNPA/B family, was identified and expressed in Escherichia coli for testing RNA-protein binding in vitro. All of the results showed that BmHrp28 specifically bound to the CE1+6 RNA probe. BmHrp28 has two RNA recognition motifs at the N-terminal and a glycine-rich motif at the C-terminal. It might be one of the factors involved in the male-specific splicing of Bmdsx.