Z-LLY-FMK can attenuate hepatocyte apoptosis after bile duct ligation in rat.

Background: Cholestasis leading to retention and accumulation of toxic hydrophobic bile salts within hepatocytes may cause hepatocyte toxicity by inducing apoptosis. Calpains have been found to be involved in apoptosis of many cell systems. This study is designed with the aim of evaluating the possible effect of Z-LLY-FMK (a calpain inhibitor) on hepatocyte apoptosis after bile duct ligation in rat.

Fatty liver and chronic inflammation in Chinese adults.

Objective: To investigate the significance of fatty liver as predictor of insulin resistance (IR) and chronic inflammation.

Research Design And Methods: This cross-sectional study included 450 adults of Han Chinese origin aged >or=35. Excluded were cases with hepatitis B or C, alcoholic liver disease, or currently using thiazolidinedione.

Flow cytometric analysis of DNA ploidy and S-phase fraction in primary localized myxofibrosarcoma: correlations with clinicopathological factors, Skp2 expression, and patient survival.

Background: Histological assessment for prognostication of myxofibrosarcomas remains challenging. We previously reported independent prognostic value of Skp2, an oncoprotein promoting S-phase progression (Clin Cancer Res 2006;12:487-98).

Methods: We evaluated S-phase fraction (SPF) and ploidy of myxofibrosarcomas and the association between SPF and Skp2.

Propofol pretreatment attenuates LPS-induced granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor production in cultured hepatocytes by suppressing MAPK/ERK activity and NF-kappaB translocation.

Propofol (PPF), a widely used intravenous anesthetic for induction and maintenance of anesthesia during surgeries, was found to possess suppressive effect on host immunity. This study aimed at investigating whether PPF plays a modulatory role in the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory cytokine expression in a cell line of rat hepatocytes. Morphological observation and viability assay showed that PPF exhibits no cytotoxicity at concentrations up to 300 microM after 48 h incubation.

Effect of Boc-D-Fmk on hepatocyte apoptosis after bile duct ligation in rat and survival rate after endotoxin challenge.

Background And Aim: Retention and accumulation of toxic hydrophobic bile salts within hepatocytes may cause hepatocyte toxicity by inducing apoptosis. Apoptosis is a pathway of cell death orchestrated by a family of proteases called caspases. Boc-D-FMK is a cell-permeable irreversible inhibitor of caspase and recent data suggest that it might block the processing of many caspases.

Intratumoral hemorrhage of mammary phyllodes tumor after menstrual induction: a puzzling presentation.

Background: Mammary phyllodes tumor is an uncommon stromal-epithelial neoplasm with a reported incidence of 0.3% to 0.5% of female breast tumors.

Living donor liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma: a single-center experience in Taiwan.

Background: Living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) demonstrates certain survival benefits over deceased donor liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) but there is no consensus on criteria for the use of LDLT for HCC for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) taking into account strategies to improve survival.

Methods: Thirty-five patients (89% men) underwent LDLT for HCC. The mean age was 51 years (range, 22-61).

Malignant diffuse-type tenosynovial giant cell tumors: a series of 7 cases comparing with 24 benign lesions with review of the literature.

Background: Malignant diffuse-type tenosynovial giant cell tumor (D-TSGCT), an unusual sarcoma with concurrent or previous benign D-TSGCTs, poses challenges to diagnosis and prognostication.

Methods: We described the radiologic, clinicopathologic, and immunophenotypical findings of 5 primary and 2 metachronous malignant D-TSGCTs and reviewed published cases to better delineate their morphologic spectrum and behavior. Twenty-four benign D-TSGCTs were also statically compared to analyze the diagnostic values of various variables.

Steatosis correlates with hepatic expression of death receptors and activation of nuclear factor-kappaB in chronic hepatitis C.

Background: Steatosis is recognized as a predictor of the severity as well as the progression of fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C. The mechanisms that cause increased hepatocellular injury associated with steatosis remain largely unknown.

Methods: We studied the correlation of hepatic expression of death receptors: Fas and tumour necrosis factor-alpha receptor 1 (TNF-R1), and downstream caspase (caspase-3) with hepatic steatosis by immunohistochemical study in chronic hepatitis C and determined the role of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB).

Between classification-error approximation and weighted least-squares learning.

This paper presents a deterministic solution to an approximated classification-error based objective function. In the formulation, we propose a quadratic approximation as the function for achieving smooth error counting. The solution is subsequently found to be related to the weighted least-squares whereby a robust tuning process can be incorporated.

Noise adaptive soft-switching median filter.

Existing state-of-the-art switching-based median filters are commonly found to be nonadaptive to noise density variations and prone to misclassifying pixel characteristics at high noise density interference. This reveals the critical need of having a sophisticated switching scheme and an adaptive weighted median filter. We propose a novel switching-based median filter with incorporation of fuzzy-set concept, called the noise adaptive soft-switching median (NASM) filter, to achieve much improved filtering performance in terms of effectiveness in removing impulse noise while preserving signal details and robustness in combating noise density variations.

Myxoid liposarcoma with cartilaginous differentiation: identification of the same type II TLS-CHOP fusion gene transcript in both lipogenic and chondroid components.

Heterologous differentiation in adipocytic tumors is a rare phenomenon. Only 4 cases of myxoid liposarcoma (MLS) with cartilaginous differentiation were thus far reported without confirmatory molecular assays. We describe a primary MLS with chondroid differentiation that affected the left thigh of a 47-year-old man.

Adenomyoepithelioma of the breast.

Adenomyoepithelioma of the breast is an uncommon tumor characterized by the presence of both epithelial and myoepithelial cells; its first full description was published in 1970 by Hamperl. A 45-year-old woman presented a left breast lump that had been palpable for 4 weeks. There was no family history of breast cancer.

A surgical model of fulminant hepatic failure in rabbits.

Aim: Animal models of fulminant hepatic failure (FHF) have been developed for characterization of disease progression and to evaluate the effectiveness of liver-assist devices, some by treatment with hepatotoxic drugs, viral hepatitis or surgical procedures. We have developed a model in the rabbit by combining resection of the three anterior lobes with ligation of the pedicle of the right lateral lobes, resulting in liver necrosis; the remnant quadrate lobes are left intact.

Materials And Methods: Adult male New Zealand white rabbits (n=16) were used.

Alfuzosin delays cardiac repolarization by a novel mechanism.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) uses alfuzosin as an example of a drug having QT risk in humans that was not detected in nonclinical studies. FDA approval required a thorough clinical QT study (TCQS) that was weakly positive at high doses. The FDA has used the clinical/nonclinical discordance as a basis for mandatory TCQS, and this requirement has serious consequences for drug development.

Lack of prognostic value of insulin-like growth factor-1 in patients with breast cancer: analysis with tissue microarray.

Background: Recent reports on the risk of prostate, breast, colorectal and lung cancer suggested that high circulating insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) concentrations are associated with an increased risk of cancer. The power of the tissue microarray (TMA) technique is the ability to perform a series of analyses of thousands of specimens in a parallel fashion with minimal damage to the original blocks.

Materials And Methods: Archival tissue specimens from 106 patients with primary invasive breast cancer were selected and IGF-1 expression was analyzed by immunohistochemical staining of tissue microarrays.

Hepatic pseudotumor in long-standing biliary atresia patients undergoing liver transplantation.

A pseudotumor, giant regenerative nodule, or macroregenerative nodule is an unusual benign hepatic lesion in biliary atresia (BA) patients. This tumor may mimic malignant transformation and may preclude liver transplantation (LT). The clinical and imaging surveillance of patients after the Kasai procedure is therefore an important aspect of management of BA patients.

Genetic polymorphisms of viral infection-associated Toll-like receptors in Chinese population.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play a pivotal role in an innate immunity system, which controls inflammation responses and further instructs development of adaptive immunity. We enrolled 250 Han Chinese in Taiwan screening for the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in TLRs associated with viral infection, including TLR2, TLR3, TLR4, TLR7, TLR8, and TLR9. The 6 SNPs not hitherto identified in Chinese populations, including TLR3 1377 C>T, TLR3 -7 C>A, TLR7 Gln11Leu, TLR7 IVS1+1817 G>T, TLR8 Met1Val, and TLR8 -129 G>C, had minor allele frequencies of 38%, 23%, 22.

Living donor liver transplantation in children with congenital heart disease.

Background: The occurrence of congenital heart disease (CHD) with congenital biliary disease is uncommon. Our aim is to present our experience in living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) as treatment for end-stage liver disease (ESLD) in children with CHD.

Methods: A review of transplant records from June 1994 to December 2004 was performed.

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 in breast cancer: analysis with tissue microarray.

Background: Constitutively activated signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) proteins are found in various types of tumors. However, there is still very limited information about the role of STATs in breast cancer. The power of the tissue microarray analysis (TMA) technique is the capability of performing a series of analyses of thousands of specimens in a parallel fashion with minimal damage to the original blocks.

Living donor liver transplantation for biliary atresia.

Biliary atresia is the most common cause of chronic cholestasis in infants and children. The incidence is estimated at 3.7:10,000 among Taiwanese infants.

Development of malignant lymphoma subsequent to breast cancer.

The development of malignant lymphoma following breast cancer has not been described before. Here we report the development of malignant lymphoma at the ipsilateral chest wall subsequent to the surgical treatment of breast cancer. A 48-year-old woman underwent modified radical mastectomy due to breast carcinoma.

Long-term results of living donor liver transplantation for glycogen storage disorders in children.

Liver transplantation (LT) may be indicated in glycogen storage disorders (GSD) when medical treatment fails to control the metabolic problems or when hepatic adenomas develop. We present our institutional experience with living donor LT (LDLT) for children with GSD. A total of 244 patients underwent primary LDLT at our institution from June 1994 to December 2005.