Sinonasal teratocarcinosarcoma: a clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical study of 6 cases.

Teratocarcinosarcoma (TCS) is a rare and unusual malignant neoplasm of the sinonasal tract with a heterogenous morphology and an aggressive behavior. Patients are predominantly adults with a male predominance. The aim of this study was to describe clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical features of 6 cases of TCS.

Serous carcinoma arising in endometrial polyps: clinicopathologic study of 4 cases.

Uterine serous carcinoma (USC) is a rare variant of endometrial cancer that is not related to increased estrogen level; rather, it arises in a background of atrophic endometrium. Our aim was to describe clinicopathologic features of 4 cases of USC arising in endometrial polyps (EPs). The mean age of the patients at presentation was 53 years (range, 50-61 years).

Establishment of human clones producing neutralizing human monoclonal antibodies to the envelope E1/E2 protein of hepatitis C virus by EBV immortalization of immune CD22⁺ B cells.

We aimed to establish Human cell lines producing human monoclonal antibodies to the envelope E1/E2 protein of hepatitis C virus (HCV). Two protocols for EBV immortalization of CD22⁺ cells separated from HCV positive patients were used; 1) Immortalization with 100% EBV only, 2) immortalization by 30% EBV and CPG2006. Immortalization was checked microscopically and verified by screening the culture supernatant for antibody production using dot blot and ELISA analysis.

Correcting pediatric flatfoot with subtalar arthroereisis and gastrocnemius recession: a retrospective study.

Background: Flatfoot deformities are common in children and are treated using many conservative and surgical approaches. Subtalar extra-articular arthroereisis, in particular, limits talar motion, spares the subtalar joint, and prevents excessive subtalar joint pronation. Addressing the underlying equinus deformity with gastrocnemius recession is an important factor in optimizing outcomes in patients with flatfoot deformity.

Secretory carcinoma of breast: clinicopathologic study of 8 cases.

Our aim was to describe clinicopathologic features of secretory carcinoma on a cohort of cases. We retrieved reported cases of secretory carcinoma of breast (SCB) in the Section of Histopathology, Department of Pathology & Microbiology, Aga Khan University Hospital Karachi, from May 2004 to December 2011. The slides were reviewed, and clinicopathologic features were noted.

Ureteric nephrogenic adenoma: a report of two cases.

Nephrogenic adenoma is a rare, benign, metaplastic lesion predominantly seen in urinary bladder, which occurs even more rarely in the ureters. We report two such cases, arising in the ureter. Both patients were young adult males.

Objective assessment of the core laparoscopic skills course.

Objective. The demand for laparoscopic surgery has led to the core laparoscopic skills course (CLSC) becoming mandatory for trainees in UK. Virtual reality simulation (VR) has a great potential as a training and assessment tool of laparoscopic skills.

An evaluation of the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of the National Exercise Referral Scheme in Wales, UK: a randomised controlled trial of a public health policy initiative.

Background: The Wales National Exercise Referral Scheme (NERS) is a 16-week programme including motivational interviewing, goal setting and relapse prevention.

Method: A pragmatic randomised controlled trial with nested economic evaluation of 2160 inactive participants with coronary heart disease risk (CHD, 1559, 72%), mild to moderate depression, anxiety or stress (79, 4%) or both (522, 24%) randomised to receive (1) NERS or (2) normal care and brief written information. Outcome measures at 12 months included the 7-day physical activity recall, the hospital anxiety and depression scale.

Strengthening surgical handover: Developing and evaluating the effectiveness of a handover tool to improve patient safety.

The European Working Time Directive and economic challenges have led to a paradigm of shift-work becoming common, and yet the continuation of high-quality patient care remains paramount. Effective and safe transfer of clinical information is critical as emphasised by the Royal College of Surgeons document 'Safe handover: Guidance from the Working Time Directive working party (March 2007)'. The aim of this project was to design and implement a handover proforma in order to deliver a more efficient and safer system for patient care over the weekend.

Assessing forest products usage and local residents' perception of environmental changes in peri-urban and rural mangroves of Cameroon, Central Africa.

Background: Deforestation is one of the most ubiquitous forms of land degradation worldwide. Although remote sensing and aerial photographs can supply valuable information on land/use cover changes, they may not regularly be available for some tropical coasts (e.g.

Changes in auditory memory performance following the use of frequency-modulated system in children with suspected auditory processing disorders.

Objective: To examine the changes in the short-term auditory memory following the use of frequency-modulated (FM) system in children with suspected auditory processing disorders (APDs), and also to compare the advantages of bilateral over unilateral FM fitting.

Methods: This longitudinal study involved 53 children from Sekolah Kebangsaan Jalan Kuantan 2, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia who fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The study was conducted from September 2007 to October 2008 in the Department of Audiology and Speech Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Neutralizing activities of caprine antibodies towards conserved regions of the HCV envelope glycoprotein E2.

Anti HCV vaccine is not currently available and the present antiviral therapies fail to cure approximately half of the treated HCV patients. This study was designed to assess the immunogenic properties of genetically conserved peptides derived from the C-terminal region of HVR-1 and test their neutralizing activities in a step towards developing therapeutic and/or prophylactic immunogens against HCV infection. Antibodies were generated by vaccination of goats with synthetic peptides derived from HCV E2.

Assessment of human cytomegalovirus co-infection in Egyptian chronic HCV patients.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is the most common cause of severe morbidity and mortality in immune- compromised individuals. This study was conducted to determine the incidence of HCMV infection in HCV patients who either spontaneously cleared the virus or progressed to chronic HCV infection. The study included a total of eighty four cases (48 females and 36 males) that were referred to blood banks for blood donation with an age range of 18-64 years (mean age 37.

Pulmonary thromboembolism as the initial manifestation in a child with antiphospholipid syndrome in the emergency department.

Antiphospholipid syndrome is characterized by recurrent arterial or venous thrombosis at any level of the vascular tree and the presence of circulating antiphospholipid antibodies. The syndrome may be idiopathic or secondary to an underlying autoimmune disorder. The disease is uncommon in children, and manifestations are diverse and underreported.

Segmentation of 3D vasculatures for interventional radiology simulation.

Training in interventional radiology is slowly shifting towards simulation which allows the repetition of many interventions without putting the patient at risk. Accurate segmentation of anatomical structures is a prerequisite of realistic surgical simulation. Therefore, our aim is to develop a generic approach to provide fast and precise segmentation of various virtual anatomies covering a wide range of pathology, directly from patient CT/MRA images.

WITHDRAWN: Caprine antibodies towards E2 conserved peptides interfere with hepatitis C virus infectivity in vitro.

This article has been withdrawn at the request of the author(s) and/or editor. The Publisher apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause. The full Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal can be found at http://www.

Two putative histidine kinases are required for cyst formation in Rhodospirillum Centenum.

The photosynthetic bacterium, Rhodospirillum centenum, has a flexible life cycle that permits it to survive starvation as dormant cyst cells. Previous studies have identified some of the key regulators for encystment and demonstrated that the control of development is intricate. This complexity may arise from the need to integrate several environmental signals to mediate a switch from one mode of energy metabolism to another and to ensure that a transition to dormancy is initiated only when necessary.

Central mucoepidermoid carcinoma, a case report with molecular analysis of the TORC1/MAML2 gene fusion.

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma is the most common salivary gland malignancy. The majorities of these tumors arise in the parotid and minor salivary glands, but may rarely develop intraosseously. The latter is not uncommonly associated with diagnostic and management difficulties.

The function of GluR1 and GluR2 in cerebellar and hippocampal LTP and LTD is regulated by interplay of phosphorylation and O-GlcNAc modification.

Long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD) are the current models of synaptic plasticity and widely believed to explain how different kinds of memory are stored in different brain regions. Induction of LTP and LTD in different regions of brain undoubtedly involve trafficking of AMPA receptor to and from synapses. Hippocampal LTP involves phosphorylation of GluR1 subunit of AMPA receptor and its delivery to synapse whereas; LTD is the result of dephosphorylation and endocytosis of GluR1 containing AMPA receptor.

Commercial activities and subsistence utilization of mangrove forests around the Wouri estuary and the Douala-Edea reserve (Cameroon).

Background: Worldwide there is growing research interest in the ethnobiology of mangrove forests. Notwithstanding that, little information has been published about ethnobiology of mangrove forests in Cameroon. The aims of this study were a) to analyze the harvesting methods and the local selling of mangrove wood products by loggers in the vicinity of Wouri estuary and b) to investigate the patterns of subsistence uses of mangrove wood products around the Douala-Edea reserve.

Ensemble averaged surface normal impedance of material using an in-situ technique: preliminary study using boundary element method.

An in-situ measurement technique of a material surface normal impedance is proposed. It includes a concept of "ensemble averaged" surface normal impedance that extends the usage of obtained values to various applications such as architectural acoustics and computational simulations, especially those based on the wave theory. The measurement technique itself is a refinement of a method using a two-microphone technique and environmental anonymous noise, or diffused ambient noise, as proposed by Takahashi et al.

Conserved peptides within the E2 region of Hepatitis C virus induce humoral and cellular responses in goats.

The reason(s) why human antibodies raised against hepatitis C virus (HCV) E2 epitopes do not offer protection against multiple viral infections may be related to either genetic variations among viral strains particularly within the hypervariable region-1 (HVR-1), low titers of anti E2 antibodies or interference of non neutralizing antibodies with the function of neutralizing antibodies. This study was designed to assess the immunogenic properties of genetically conserved peptides derived from the C-terminal region of HVR-1 as potential therapeutic and/or prophylactic vaccines against HCV infection. Goats immunized with E2-conserved synthetic peptides termed p36 (a.