MEK inhibitor trametinib does not prevent the growth of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-addicted neuroblastomas.

Activation of the RAS-RAF-MEK-ERK signaling pathway is implicated in driving the initiation and progression of multiple cancers. Several inhibitors targeting the RAS-MAPK pathway are clinically approved as single- or polyagent therapies for patients with specific types of cancer. One example is the MEK inhibitor trametinib, which is included as a rational polytherapy strategy for treating EML4-ALK-positive, EGFR-activated, or KRAS-mutant lung cancers and neuroblastomas that also contain activating mutations in the RAS-MAPK pathway.

Red blood cell distribution width and its relation to cardiac function and biomarkers in a prospective hospital cohort referred for echocardiography.

Background: Red blood cell distribution width (RDW), a measure of anisocytosis, is a prognostic biomarker for heart failure (HF). However it is still unclear how RDW is associated with heart function and established cardiac biomarkers.

Methods And Results: In a prospective hospital cohort of 296 patients referred for echocardiography because of suspected HF, blood sampling and clinical examination were performed within 24h after echocardiography.

Hearing impairment and self-masking: listening during vocalization.

Objectives: To describe the masking effect of a vocalized [a:] on noise bands and speech in persons with mild-to-moderate hearing impairment (HI).

Design: The masked threshold of noise bands (250-8000 Hz), continuous discourse, and the amount of masking produced were determined. The maximal vocalization level was determined, that still allowed the subject to just follow the continuous discourse.

Tissue zinc levels in a child with hypercalprotectinaemia and hyperzincaemia: A case report and a review of the literature.

Background: A girl suffering from a rare syndrome of unknown aetiology, termed hypercalprotectinaemia, was evaluated for tissue zinc status, because calprotectin is a protein which chelates Zn at multiple binding-sites, which might have affected the distribution of Zn in her body.

Methods: Measurement of serum, urine, hair and nail zinc (Zn) concentration, complemented with measurement of total Zn in ultrafiltrates of plasma.

Results: Her serum Zn concentration was 105-133 μmol/L.

Adenovirus 11p downregulates CD46 early in infection.

Adenovirus 11 prototype (Ad11p), belonging to species B, uses CD46 as an attachment receptor. CD46, a complement regulatory molecule, is expressed on all human nucleated cells. We show here that Ad11p virions downregulate CD46 on the surface of K562 cells as early as 5min p.

On the problem of listening while talking.

The Gauffin and Sundberg technique of assessing masking during vocalization was modified and tested on 22 normal-hearing and 20 hearing-impaired subjects. The masking effect of the vocalized [a:] on narrow-band noise pulses (250-8,000 Hz) and on test reading was studied. The results showed that the female voice was about 4 dB more efficient in masking external speech compared to the male voice and that the female voice had a high-frequency bias of masking the narrow-band noise, whereas the male voice had a low-frequency bias.

Self-masking: Listening during vocalization. Normal hearing.

What underlying mechanisms are involved in the ability to talk and listen simultaneously and what role does self-masking play under conditions of hearing impairment? The purpose of the present series of studies is to describe a technique for assessment of masked thresholds during vocalization, to describe normative data for males and females, and to focus on hearing impairment. The masking effect of vocalized [a:] on narrow-band noise pulses (250-8000 Hz) was studied using the maximum vocalization method. An amplitude-modulated series of sound pulses, which sounded like a steam engine, was masked until the criterion of halving the perceived pulse rate was reached.

The Arg279Gln [corrected] substitution in the adenovirus type 11p (Ad11p) fiber knob abolishes EDTA-resistant binding to A549 and CHO-CD46 cells, converting the phenotype to that of Ad7p.

The major determinant of adenovirus (Ad) attachment to host cells is the C-terminal knob domain of the trimeric fiber protein. Ad type 11p (Ad11p; species B2) in contrast to Ad7p (species B1) utilizes at least two different cellular attachment receptors, designated sBAR (species B adenovirus receptor) and sB2AR (species B2 adenovirus receptor). CD46 has recently been identified as one of the Ad11p attachment receptors.

CD46 is a cellular receptor for all species B adenoviruses except types 3 and 7.

The 51 human adenovirus serotypes are divided into six species (A to F). Adenovirus serotypes from all species except species B utilize the coxsackie-adenovirus receptor for attachment to host cells in vitro. Species B adenoviruses primarily cause ocular and respiratory tract infections, but certain serotypes are also associated with renal disease.

Spirometry and lung function in children with congenital deafness.

Aim: Deaf children do not develop a verbal language and will therefore not experience normal changes in airway pressure produced by speech. The impact on lung development of factors such as talking and screaming has not previously been investigated.

Method: We performed spirometry in 51 children with congenital deafness without other medical problems and compared the results with 82 healthy hearing controls.

Effect of indoor environmental factors on development of atopic symptoms in children followed up to 4 years of age.

The increased prevalence of atopic diseases reported in many Western countries is thought to be caused by changes in living conditions. For a long time attention was focused on indoor environmental factors and early feeding patterns, but during recent years other factors have received more attention. An unselected, Swedish, population-based cohort of 904 children were followed from the age of 3 months to 4 years.

Sensitization to food and airborne allergens in children with atopic dermatitis followed up to 7 years of age.

Previously we investigated the eczema prognosis and the risk of developing allergic asthma and rhinitis in a cohort of 94 children with atopic dermatitis. In this second study on the same cohort we address the development of sensitization to foods and airborne allergens, risk factors and, the question whether children with atopic dermatitis who will not become sensitized can be recognized early. Children with atopic dermatitis were followed up regularly from infancy or early childhood to 7 years of age with clinical examination and blood sampling.

Effect of asthma in childhood on psycho-social problems in the family.

Objective: The responsibility for treating children with asthma has gradually shifted from the medical health service to the family and parents, which may cause new psycho-social problems in the family. This study aimed at describing the psycho-social effects on families having a child with asthma, and at determining whether a relation exists between the medical severity of disease and psycho-social problems.

Methods: The findings are based on a questionnaire with the following domains: economy, work, free time, health, environment, and family, as well as a health-related medical questionnaire.