Pangenome reconstruction in rats enhances genotype-phenotype mapping and novel variant discovery.

The HXB/BXH family of recombinant inbred rat strains is a unique genetic resource that has been extensively phenotyped over 25 years, resulting in a vast dataset of quantitative molecular and physiological phenotypes. We built a pangenome graph from 10x Genomics Linked-Read data for 31 recombinant inbred rats to study genetic variation and association mapping. The pangenome includes 0.

Six years of demography data for 11 reef coral species.

Scleractinian corals are colonial animals with a range of life-history strategies, making up diverse species assemblages that define coral reefs. We tagged and tracked ~30 colonies from each of 11 species during seven trips spanning 6 years (2009-2015) to measure their vital rates and competitive interactions on the reef crest at Trimodal Reef, Lizard Island, Australia. Pairs of species were chosen from five growth forms in which one species of the pair was locally rare (R) and the other common (C).

In situ observations of coral bleaching in the central Saudi Arabian Red Sea during the 2015/2016 global coral bleaching event.

Coral bleaching continues to be one of the most devastating and immediate impacts of climate change on coral reef ecosystems worldwide. In 2015, a major bleaching event was declared as the "3rd global coral bleaching event" by the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, impacting a large number of reefs in every major ocean. The Red Sea was no exception, and we present herein in situ observations of the status of coral reefs in the central Saudi Arabian Red Sea from September 2015, following extended periods of high temperatures reaching upwards of 32.

Smaller volumes of caudate nuclei in prepubertal children with ADHD: impact of age.

Objective: Age-related abnormalities in caudate volumes have been reported to differ across the periods of childhood and puberty in children with ADHD. This study assessed caudate volumetric abnormalities across two narrow age clusters within the childhood period.

Method: Three-dimensional manual tracings of the head and body of the caudate nucleus and of the cerebrum were acquired from 26 medication-naïve boys with a diagnosis of ADHD (ages 5.

The effects of abutment wall height, platform size, and screw access channel filling method on resistance to dislodgement of cement-retained, implant-supported restorations.

Purpose: Factors affecting the retention of fixed prostheses to natural abutments are well understood. In contrast, little is known concerning factors influencing the retention of fixed prostheses cemented to implant abutments. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect that varying implant abutment wall height, platform size, and screw access channel filling method has on the retention of castings cemented to implant abutments using TempBond.

The 'worn-out athlete': a clinical approach to chronic fatigue in athletes.

Chronic fatigue in the athletic population is a common but difficult diagnostic challenge for the sports physician. While a degree of fatigue may be normal for any athlete during periods of high-volume training, the clinician must be able to differentiate between this physiological fatigue and more prolonged, severe fatigue which may be due to a pathological condition. As chronic fatigue can be the presenting symptom of many curable and harmful diseases, medical conditions which cause chronic fatigue have to be excluded.

Characterisation of a lipoprotein in Mycobacterium bovis (BCG) with sequence similarity to the secreted protein MPB70.

The monoclonal antibody, mAb3C4, raised against sonicated Mycobacterium bovis (Mb) BCG (Tokyo strain 172) cells recognises a 23-kDa protein in the cell wall. The gene encoding this protein was cloned and sequenced and found to be 100% homologous to mpb83 and mpt83 and the putative protein to have a 76% sequence similarity to the secreted, Mb-specific protein, MPB70. MPB83 contains the amino acid (aa) sequence LAGC, which corresponds to the consensus sequence for bacterial lipoprotein modification and processing.

Paediatric rhabdomyosarcoma: MyoD1 demonstration in routinely processed tissue sections using wet heat pretreatment (pressure cooking) for antigen retrieval.

Aims: To investigate wet heat pretreatment (pressure cooking) as a means of antigen retrieval for demonstration of MyoD1 in paraffin wax embedded tissue.

Methods: Routinely processed tissue sections of transmission electron microscope confirmed cases of rhabdomyosarcoma were stained immunohistochemically with the MyoD1 antibody. Antigen retrieval was achieved by wet heat pretreatment of the tissue sections.

Pluripotential melanoblastoma, a unifying concept on malignancies arising in congenital melanocytic nevi: report of two cases.

Congenital melanocytic nevi are benign lesions present at birth and considered to be caused by a maldevelopment of the neural crest. The malignant potential of the congenital melanocytic nevi have been extensively addressed by several authors, and malignant melanoma is the most frequent neoplasm arising in these lesions. The present report describes two patients with congenital melanocytic nevi in which malignant melanoma with undifferentiated areas showing rhabdomyoblastic differentiation developed.

Pearson's syndrome presenting with Fanconi syndrome.

A case of Pearson's marrow-pancreas syndrome is presented. The dominant clinical feature was a generalized disorder of proximal tubule function with severe renal magnesium wasting. Renal and muscle biopsies were performed and showed bizarre giant mitochondria.

Malignant ectomesenchymoma in childhood.

Five childhood malignant ectomesenchymomas are reported from three centers in three countries. The children were all younger than 3 years (four less than 12 months), four were boys, and four tumors were sited in the pelvis or external genitalia. All tumors had distinctive light microscopic features of rhabdomyosarcoma and three also demonstrated small numbers of included neuronal cells.

Effect of lidocaine on in vivo hepatic function.

Lidocaine is administered to assess donor or recipient liver function during hepatic transplantation. This study was performed to determine whether lidocaine administered at a constant concentration affected hepatic function or had demonstrable effects on hepatocellular ultrastructure. Fourteen pigs were randomly allocated to receive either a two-stage infusion of lidocaine hydrochloride or of saline.

Morphologic features of the myopathy associated with chronic renal failure.

Our previous studies indicate that impaired function of skeletal muscle limits the exercise tolerance of patients with end-stage renal failure who are either maintained on dialysis or undergo renal transplantation. To study the morphology of the condition, muscle biopsies were performed on eight patients with renal failure-associated myopathy. Control samples were taken from seven healthy athletes undergoing knee surgery and from five otherwise healthy but untrained subjects.

Childhood pulmonary blastoma: a pleuropulmonary variant of the adult-type pulmonary blastoma.

Two fatal childhood cases of the rare pulmonary blastoma are reported. One was associated with a congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation. Both neoplasms extended to involve visceral pleura and were entirely composed of blastemal and mesenchymal elements without recognizable neoplastic epithelial components.

A simple technique for preparation of bone marrow or peripheral blood buffy coat cells for electron microscopy.

A simple and rapid method of processing ethylene-diamine-tetra-acetic acid anticoagulated peripheral blood or aspirated bone marrow for electron microscopy is described. The resultant buffy coat pellet is easily processed into epoxy resin. Semithin sections (1 mu) stained with 1% toluidine blue reveal the various stratified cell layers allowing convenient selection for ultramicrotomy and ultrastructural evaluation.

Phakomatous choristoma of the lower eyelid. A light and ultrastructural study.

This article documents the eighth reported case (to our knowledge) of a phakomatous choristoma, a rare congenital tumor of the lower eyelid of infants. Among the eight cases, there was no instance of tumor recurrence recorded nor was there any detectable postoperative eye defect, despite incomplete resection of the tumor in two patients. While usually clinically diagnosed as a dermoid cyst, the highly characteristic histologic features of this entity should allow more frequent recognition.

Intracisternal paracrystalline serpigenous inclusions: a marker of disordered fibroblastic proliferation.

Three young children with characteristic fibroblastic tumors are presented. These comprised one case each of congenital fibrosarcoma, dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans, and fibrous hamartoma of infancy. Ultrastructural examination in each tumor revealed the presence of a peculiar intracisternal paracrystalline material that exhibited transverse periodicity between 18 and 22 nm.

Frequent occurrence of microtubuloreticular complexes encountered during routine ultrastructural examination at a children's hospital.

Prompted by our impression that microtubuloreticular complexes (MTRC) are frequently observed during electron microscopy at the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, Cape Town, we reviewed all specimens submitted for routine ultrastructural examination during a 1-year period. Our impression was confirmed. MTRC were present in a high proportion of cases, especially in vascular endothelium of renal biopsies.

Bilateral renal malakoplakia in infancy.

Two male infants aged 6 months presented with Escherichia coli septicaemia and urinary tract infection. Despite seemingly appropriate antibiotic therapy, a swinging fever, painful enlargement of both kidneys, sterile leukocyturia and renal failure persisted. Excretory urography, ultrasound scan, computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging showed diffuse infiltrative disease.

Transient protein losing enteropathy associated with acute gastritis and campylobacter pylori.

Three children presented with acute protein losing enteropathy and were found to have acute gastritis associated with Campylobacter pylori infection. Recovery from protein losing enteropathy was accompanied by resolution of the gastritis and the disappearance of C pylori from the gastric mucosa. Their clinical course suggested that the C pylori had caused the gastritis and the protein losing enteropathy.

Lymphoid tissue of the normal fallopian tube--a form of mucosal-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT)?

Mucosal-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) is a specialized form of peripheral lymphoid tissue which is found in mucosal surfaces directly or indirectly exposed to the environment. Using immunohistological labeling techniques and electron microscopy, we have explored the possibility that MALT exists in the normal fallopian tube. Immunohistological analysis has demonstrated a striking degree of uniformity in the phenotype of intraepithelial lymphocytes with a predominance of T-lymphocytes of T-cytotoxic/suppressor subtype.

Endometrial lymphoid tissue: an immunohistological study.

Lymphoid tissue of the endometrium was analysed by histological, immunohistological, and electron microscopical methods in 10 healthy uteri. A panel of monoclonal antibodies recognising macrophages (OKMI), HLA-DR antigen, B lymphocytes, T lymphocytes and their subsets, and dendritic reticulum cells was used in a two stage indirect immunoperoxidase labelling technique. Endometrial lymphoid tissue showed a remarkably consistent pattern of labelling in all cases.

Papillary and cystic neoplasm of the pancreas--an acinar cell tumour?

Two cases of papillary and cystic neoplasm of the pancreas (PCN) occurring in 17 and 21 year old women are reported with ultrastructural and immunohistochemical findings. A review of the English literature shows that although potentially malignant, PCN, which occurs mainly in young women, is amenable to surgical cure. The significance of large PAS positive and alpha-1-antitrypsin positive tumour granules; the lack of specificity of alpha-1-antitrypsin for pancreatic acinar cells; the possibility of acinar differentiation of PCN; and its separation from pancreaticoblastoma are discussed.