Phloem-specific expression of the wound-inducible ribonuclease LE from tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum cv. Lukullus).

Ribonuclease LE (RNaseLE) from tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. cv. Lukullus) belongs to the widespread RNase T2 family of ribonucleases.

Impact of retropharyngeal lymph node metastasis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: The impact of metastasis to the retropharyngeal lymph node (RPLN) group is poorly understood because of the difficult access of the retropharyngeal space. Previous studies concluding to the negative impact of RPLN metastasis rely heavily on radiographic assessment, which introduces the possibility of diagnostic error.

Objective: To better define the prognostic significance of metastatic retropharyngeal adenopathy in patients with non-nasopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

The diagnostic utility of computed tomography for preoperative localization in surgery for hyperparathyroidism.

Objectives/hypothesis: Successful unilateral or minimal-access parathyroid exploration and reoperative surgery of the parathyroid glands requires accurate preoperative localization of parathyroid disease. Although ultrasound and nuclear imaging techniques have an established role in this regard, the use of computed tomography (CT) for parathyroid exploration is not well understood. The purpose of the present study was to better define the diagnostic utility of CT in preoperative localization of the abnormal gland in surgery for hyperparathyroidism.

Outpatient endoscopic Zenker diverticulotomy.

Objectives/hypothesis: Staple-assisted, endoscopic Zenker diverticulotomy has been shown to decrease both cost of treatment and length of convalescence when compared with the standard open approach. Although the endoscopic technique is generally considered to be safe, the feasibility of outpatient endoscopic Zenker diverticulotomy has never been reported.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Ultraviolet radiation-induced regulatory T cells not only inhibit the induction but can suppress the effector phase of contact hypersensitivity.

Epicutaneous application of haptens to UV-exposed skin induces hapten-specific tolerance. This is mediated via regulatory T cells (Tr), as i.v.

High level of stabilized angiostatin mediated by adenovirus delivery does not impair the growth of human neuroblastoma xenografts.

Human neuroblastoma (NB) is a highly heterogeneous childhood cancer secreting a high level of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Its vascularization has been clearly correlated with metastatic progression and poor outcome. Thus, molecules that target the vascular endothelium are regarded as new therapeutics of clinical interest.

Optical coherence tomography of branch retinal vein occlusion.

Purpose: To evaluate the incidence of serous retinal detachment (SRD) secondary to a branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) by using optical coherence tomography (OCT).

Methods: Fourteen eyes of 14 patients with a BRVO underwent a detailed history, ophthalmoscopic examination, and fluorescein angiographic evaluation. They were also studied with OCT.

Indocyanine green angiography-guided photodynamic therapy for treatment of chronic central serous chorioretinopathy: a pilot study.

Background: Most patients with central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) have spontaneous resolution of exudative macular detachments and a good visual prognosis. Patients with CSC have a primary choroidal hyperpermeability problem evident as multifocal areas of hyperpermeability during indocyanine green (ICG) angiography. A small percentage of patients develop chronic or progressive disease with widespread decompensation of the retinal pigment epithelium and severe vision loss.

Quality assessment of genetic markers used for therapy stratification.

Purpose: Therapy stratification based on genetic markers is becoming increasingly important, which makes commitment to the highest possible reliability of the involved markers mandatory. In neuroblastic tumors, amplification of the MYCN gene is an unequivocal marker that indicates aggressive tumor behavior and is consequently used for therapy stratification. To guarantee reliable and standardized quality of genetic features, a quality-assessment study was initiated by the European Neuroblastoma Quality Assessment (ENQUA; connected to International Society of Pediatric Oncology) Group.

Augmentation therapy with alpha1-antitrypsin: patterns of use and adverse events.

Study Objectives: To describe patterns of prescribing augmentation therapy, and types and rates of adverse events in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Registry for Individuals with Severe Deficiency of Alpha(1)-Antitrypsin.

Design: Observational cohort study with follow-up visits every 6 to 12 months for up to 7 years.

Measurements: The rate and dosing frequency with which Registry participants were prescribed to receive augmentation therapy by their managing physicians, and the type and frequency of adverse events, classified in two ways: severity of self-reported symptoms, and actions taken as a consequence of the symptom.

Hypermethylation-mediated regulation of CD44 gene expression in human neuroblastoma.

The CD44 adhesion receptor is silenced in highly malignant neuroblastomas (NBs) with MYCN amplification. Because its functional expression is associated with decreased tumorigenic properties, CD44 behaves as a tumor suppressor gene in NB and other cancers. Given that the precise mechanisms responsible for CD44 silencing are not elucidated, we investigated whether CD44 expression could be regulated by DNA hypermethylation.

'Defatting' tracheotomy in morbidly obese patients.

Objectives/hypothesis: Standard-sized tracheostomy tubes often fit morbidly obese patients poorly because of increased submental and anterior cervical girth. The surgeon has two options to overcome this problem: Modify the tracheostomy tube to fit the patient or recontour the neck to accommodate a standard tube. The purpose of the study was to assess the safety and morbidity of the latter technique, the "defatting" tracheotomy.

Outpatient intravenous antibiotics for chronic rhinosinusitis.

Objective/hypothesis: Peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) lines have greatly facilitated the use of intravenous antibiotics in outpatient medical practice. Otolaryngologic applications for home intravenous therapy through PICC lines have not been well characterized to date. The purpose of the study is to describe indications and complications related to outpatient intravenous antibiotic therapy in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis.

Doxorubicin-induced death in neuroblastoma does not involve death receptors in S-type cells and is caspase-independent in N-type cells.

Death induced by doxorubicin (dox) in neuroblastoma (NB) cells was originally thought to occur via the Fas pathway, however since studies suggest that caspase-8 expression is silenced in most high stage NB tumors, it is more probable that dox-induced death occurs via a different mechanism. Caspase-8 silenced N-type invasive NB cell lines LAN-1 and IMR-32 were investigated for their sensitivity to dox, and compared to S-type noninvasive SH-EP NB cells expressing caspase-8. All cell lines had similar sensitivities to dox, independently of caspase-8 expression.

Experimental and calculated parameters on particle phagocytosis by alveolar macrophages.

Phagocytosis of three types of fluorescein-labeled test particles by rat alveolar macrophages (AM) were studied: spherical silica (3.2 microm), heat-killed Candida albicans (3.8 microm), and heat-killed Cryptococcus neoformans (6.

Spironolactone blocks glucocorticoid-mediated hearing preservation in autoimmune mice.

Hypothesis: Although autoimmune sensorineural hearing loss can be effectively treated with corticosteroids, little is known about how these drugs affect cochlear function. MRL/MpJ-Faslpr autoimmune mice treated with a mineralocorticoid (aldosterone) have previously been shown to have hearing improvement equal to those treated with a glucocorticoid (prednisolone). This suggested that the restoration of hearing with steroids was the result of an effect on sodium transport rather than an antiinflammatory or immunosuppressive role.

MRI detection of cervical metastasis from differentiated thyroid carcinoma.

Background: With the advent of the use of serum thyroglobulin as a marker for the recurrence of well-differentiated thyroid cancer (WDTC) after total thyroidectomy, clinicians are increasingly faced with the diagnostic dilemma of detecting the site of recurrence in thyroglobulin-positive patients with normal clinical examinations. The high protein content of this thyroglobulin may make it specifically detectable by magnetic resonance (MR) imaging.

Objective: To determine the ability of MR imaging to detect the presence of metastatic WDTC in cervical lymph nodes.

Role of CD44H carbohydrate structure in neuroblastoma adhesive properties.

Background: CD44 represents a heterogeneous group of surface glycoproteins involved in cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions. CD44H is the major receptor for hyaluronate, and most if not all CD44H known functions are attributed to its ability to recognize hyaluronate. We have previously demonstrated a lack of CD44 expression in high stages and NMYC-amplified tumors and further have shown that NMYC-amplified cell lines either did not express CD44 at all or expressed a nonfunctional receptor.

Expression of Fas (APO-1/CD95) and Fas ligand (FasL) in human neuroblastoma.

Background And Procedure: To determine the possible role of Fas/FasL system in the particularly heterogeneous behaviour of neuroblastoma (NB), we have measured the functional expression of Fas and its ligand, FasL, in primary neuroblastoma samples and cell lines by immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry.

Results: Our results reveal that while Fas expression is associated with low stage and more mature tumors, heterogeneous FasL expression was mostly detected in high stage tumors, with our apparent correlation to MYCN amplification. Flow cytometric analysis of cell lines demonstrated a high expression of Fas in epithelial-type, HLA class I positive cell lines, which was lost upon activation with phorbol esters.