Phosphorylation by the DHIPK2 protein kinase modulates the corepressor activity of Groucho.

Groucho function is essential for Drosophila development, acting as a corepressor for specific transcription factors that are downstream targets of various signaling pathways. Here we provide evidence that Groucho is phosphorylated by the DHIPK2 protein kinase. Phosphorylation modulates Groucho corepressor activity by attenuating its protein-protein interaction with a DNA-bound transcription factor.

Imaging findings of hepatic paragonimiasis : a case report.

Hepatic paragonimiasis is a rare form of ectopic infestation caused by Paragonimus. We experienced a case of hepatic paragonimiasis that showed characteristic imaging findings. CT and MR images showed a cluster of small cysts with rim enhancement in the subcapsular area of the liver.

Solitary pulmonary nodules: dynamic enhanced multi-detector row CT study and comparison with vascular endothelial growth factor and microvessel density.

Purpose: To evaluate enhancement dynamics of solitary pulmonary nodules at multi-detector row computed tomography (CT) and to correlate results with extent of tumor angiogenesis in pathologic specimens.

Materials And Methods: One hundred thirty-one patients with solitary pulmonary nodules underwent unenhanced thin-section CT, followed by dynamic helical CT (throughout the nodule for 30 mm along the z-axis [13 images] and at 20-second intervals for 3 minutes [130 images total]) after intravenous injection of 120 mL of contrast medium. Diagnosis of malignancy or benignancy was assigned in 109 patients, and follow-up imaging suggested benignancy in the remaining 22.

Measurement protocol of women's nude breasts using a 3D scanning technique.

It has been difficult to obtain accurate surface data for women's breasts, since the borderline of the breast is ambiguous at the skin surface. In this paper, we scanned 37 women's nude breasts using 3D phase shifting moiré and explored a measurement protocol to get a reliable boundary of the breast and thereby provided new shape parameters for breasts. The folding line method was useful for finding a continuous and natural boundary for the breasts, so that the breasts base and volume could be measured more accurately.

Iron chelator triggers inflammatory signals in human intestinal epithelial cells: involvement of p38 and extracellular signal-regulated kinase signaling pathways.

Competition for cellular iron (Fe) is a vital component of the interaction between host and pathogen. Most bacteria have an obligate requirement for Fe to sustain infection, growth, and survival in host. To obtain iron required for growth, many bacteria secrete iron chelators (siderophores).

Proteomic analysis of Acinetobacter lwoffii K24 by 2-D gel electrophoresis and electrospray ionization quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry.

The MS/MS analysis by Electrospray ionization quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry (ESI-Q-TOF MS) was applied to identify proteins in proteome analysis of bacteria whose genomes are not known. The protein identification by ESI-Q-TOF MS was performed sequentially by database search and then de novo sequencing using MS/MS spectra. Soil bacteria having unanalyzed genome, Acinetobacter lwoffii K24 is an aniline degrading bacterium.

Focal hepatic lesions: contrast-enhancement patterns at pulse-inversion harmonic US using a microbubble contrast agent.

Objective: To analyze the contrast-enhancement patterns obtained at pulse-inversion harmonic imaging (PIHI) of focal hepatic lesions, and to thus determine tumor vascularity and the acoustic emission effect.

Materials And Methods: We reviewed pulse-inversion images in 90 consecutive patients with focal hepatic lesions, namely hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (n=43), metastases (n=30), and hemangioma (n=17). Vascular and delayed phase images were obtained immediately and five minutes following the injection of a microbubble contrast agent.

A Phase II study of weekly irinotecan and capecitabine in patients with previously treated non-small cell lung cancer.

Purpose: Irinotecan and capecitabine have synergistic antitumor activity with distinct mechanisms of action but without overlapping major toxicity. We conducted a Phase II study to evaluate the efficacy of weekly irinotecan plus capecitabine in patients with previously treated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Experimental Design: Eligible patients had received at least one prior chemotherapy regimen.

Proteome analysis of hairy root from Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer using peptide fingerprinting, internal sequencing and expressed sequence tag data.

As an initial step to the comprehensive proteomic analysis of Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer, protein mixtures extracted from the cultured hairy root of Panax ginseng were separated by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-DE).

Involvement of p38 MAP kinase during iron chelator-mediated apoptotic cell death.

Iron is an essential element for the neoplastic cell growth, and iron chelators have been tested for their potential anti-proliferative and cytotoxic effects. To determine the mechanism of cell death induced by iron chelators, we explored the pathways of the three structurally related mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase subfamilies during apoptosis induced by iron chelators. We report that the chelator deferoxamine (DFO) strongly activates both p38 MAP kinase and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) at an early stage of incubation, but slightly activates c-Jun N-terminal kinase/stress-activated protein kinase (JNK/SAPK) at a late stage of incubation.

Thoracic manifestation of Wegener's granulomatosis: CT findings in 30 patients.

Our objective was to describe the CT findings of thoracic Wegener's granulomatosis. At presentation, both conventional and thin-section CT scans were available in 30 patients with Wegener's granulomatosis. Serial CT scans (range of intervals: 1-25 months, mean 4.

Interstitial lung diseases associated with collagen vascular diseases: radiologic and histopathologic findings.

Collagen vascular diseases that demonstrate features of interstitial lung disease include systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, progressive systemic sclerosis, dermatomyositis and polymyositis, ankylosing spondylitis, Sjögren syndrome, and mixed connective tissue disease. At histopathologic analysis, interstitial lung diseases associated with collagen vascular diseases are diverse and include nonspecific interstitial pneumonia, usual interstitial pneumonia, bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia (BOOP), apical fibrosis, diffuse alveolar damage, and lymphocytic interstitial pneumonia. Although proportions of interstitial pneumonias vary, nonspecific interstitial pneumonia accounts for a large proportion, especially in progressive systemic sclerosis, dermatomyositis and polymyositis, and mixed connective tissue disease.

Viral pneumonias in adults: radiologic and pathologic findings.

Numerous viruses, including influenza virus, measles virus, Hantavirus, adenovirus, herpesviruses, varicella-zoster virus, cytomegalovirus, and Epstein-Barr virus, can cause lower respiratory tract infection in adults. Viral pneumonia in adults can be classified into two clinical groups: so-called atypical pneumonia in otherwise healthy hosts and viral pneumonia in immunocompromised hosts. Influenza virus types A and B cause most cases of viral pneumonia in immunocompetent adults.

The spectrum of benign esophageal lesions: imaging findings.

Benign esophageal lesions occur in various diseases. Barium studies are useful for the evaluation of mucosal surface lesions but provide little information about the extramucosal extent of disease. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, on the other hand, permit the assessment of wall thickness, mediastinal involvement, adjacent lymphadenopathy, and distant spread.

Small pulmonary nodules on CT accompanying surgically resectable lung cancer: likelihood of malignancy.

The aim of this study was to determine the likelihood of malignancy in small nodules in the nonprimary lobe in patients with resectable bronchogenic carcinoma. In 141 patients who underwent curative resection of bronchogenic carcinoma and had adequate follow-up CT examinations, the presence of small nodules in the nonprimary lobe preoperatively and change of preexisting nodules, if any, was assessed. The criteria used to determine benignity of a nodule was stability or decrease in size for 24 months on CT.

Radiographic and CT findings in complications following pulmonary resection.

A variety of pulmonary resection techniques are currently available, including pneumonectomy (intrapleural, extrapleural, intrapericardial, and sleeve pneumonectomy), lobectomy, and limited resection (sleeve lobectomy, segmentectomy, nonanatomic parenchyma-sparing resection). However, pulmonary resection is often followed by postoperative complications that differ according to the type of surgery and the time elapsed since surgery was performed. The most common complications are bleeding, pulmonary edema, atelectasis, pneumonia, persistent air leak, bronchopleural fistula, and empyema.

Prognostic value of CT before thrombolytic therapy in iliofemoral deep venous thrombosis.

Purpose: To prospectively assess the computed tomographic (CT) findings of iliofemoral deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and evaluate their relevance to the treatment of DVT with catheter-directed thrombolysis.

Materials And Methods: Twenty-four consecutive patients with symptomatic iliofemoral DVT were studied with both nonenhanced and contrast-enhanced CT before thrombolytic therapy. Mean duration of clinical symptom was 15.