CT Appearance of Absorbable Suture Clips Following Nephron Sparing Surgery.

Absorbable suture clips used during partial nephrectomy may be recognized as small hyperdensities near the excision site at 5 months after implantation. They may be completely resorbed and no longer visible at 11 months after implantation.

[Treatment of deep cartilage defects in the knee with autologous chondrocyte transplantation: a review of 28 cases].

Purpose Of The Study: The knee has little capacity for spontaneous regeneration of deep cartilage defects. In 1999, the French Society of Arthroscopy initiated a multicentric clinical trial on autologous chondrocyte transplantation using the technique described by Brittberg and Peterson. The protocol of this prospective study was validated by the ethics committee and all patients provided the informed consent for participation.

Production of cloned horse foals using roscovitine-treated donor cells and activation with sperm extract and/or ionomycin.

We evaluated the effect of different activation treatments on the production of blastocysts and foals by nuclear transfer. Donor cells were prepared using roscovitine treatment, which has previously been associated with increased production of viable offspring. All activation treatments were followed by culture in 6-dimethylaminopurine (6-DMAP) for 4 h.

In vitro-produced equine embryos: production of foals after transfer, assessment by differential staining and effect of medium calcium concentrations during culture.

Viability of equine embryos produced by oocyte maturation, intracytoplasmic sperm injection and embryo culture to the blastocyst stage in vitro was evaluated after transfer of embryos to recipient mares. No pregnancies were produced after transfer of five blastocysts that had been cultured in G media. Transfer of 10 blastocysts cultured in modified DMEM/F-12 medium produced five pregnancies and three live foals; the two lost pregnancies developed only trophoblast (based on transrectal ultrasonography).

Activation of PI3K-Akt signaling pathway promotes prostate cancer cell invasion.

Activated phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and its downstream target Akt/PKB are important signaling molecules and key survival factors involved in the control of cell proliferation, apoptosis and oncogenesis. We investigated the role of the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway in the invasion of prostate cancer cell lines and activation of this pathway in primary human prostate tumors. Treatment of human prostate cancer cells viz.

Late cardiopulmonary and musculoskeletal exercise performance after repair for total anomalous pulmonary venous connection during infancy.

Objectives: We evaluated cardiopulmonary function at rest and during exercise in children after surgical repair for total anomalous pulmonary venous connection.

Background: Long-term assessment of cardiopulmonary function during exercise in children after repair for total anomalous pulmonary venous connection during infancy is limited.

Methods: Resting lung function and cardiopulmonary function during maximal ramp cycle ergometry were evaluated in 27 patients (age = 11 +/- 4 years, 20 were male).

Clinical outcomes and graft characteristics in pediatric matched sibling donor transplants using granulocyte colony-stimulating factor-primed bone marrow and steady-state bone marrow.

Matched sibling donor (MSD) transplant is a life-saving procedure for children with various hematological malignancies and non-malignancies. Traditionally, steady-state bone marrow (S-BM) has been used as the source of stem cells. More recently, peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) after granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) mobilization has gained popularity.

Effects of CRP infusion on endothelial function and coagulation in normocholesterolemic and hypercholesterolemic subjects.

C-reactive protein (CRP) has been suggested to exert direct adverse effects on the vasculature in experimental setups, including endothelial dysfunction and proinflammatory changes. Here, we assessed the consequences of 1.25 mg/kg highly purified recombinant human CRP, administered as an intravenous bolus, in six patients with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) and six normocholesterolemic subjects.

Long-term noninvasive arrhythmia assessment after total anomalous pulmonary venous connection repair.

Background: Pediatric patients with a history of atrial surgery are at risk for the development of sinus node dysfunction and atrial arrhythmias. However, there has been no comprehensive, long-term, electrophysiologic study of patients who have undergone repair of total anomalous pulmonary venous connection.

Methods: We evaluated school-aged and adolescent survivors of isolated total anomalous pulmonary venous connection repair from January 1983 to December 1996 to assess for sinus node dysfunction, atrioventricular block, and atrial and ventricular arrhythmias.

Tailored Educational Approaches for Consumer Health (TEACH): a model system for addressing health communication.

The Consumer Health Education Institute (CHEDI) has developed a model system to improve the quality and effectiveness of patient education and health communication. Through assessment of characteristics and preferences, segmentation into groups and matching with the appropriate materials, we have demonstrated that patients and health consumers have different health information needs and preferences which show promise as a basis for selecting or designing the most appropriate materials or programs.

Aggressive Metastatic Translocation Renal Carcinoma in a 23-year-old Man.

Translocation renal carcinomas are a rare subtype of renal cell carcinoma that typically occurs in young patients, especially those who have received prior chemotherapy. We present the case of a 23-year-old man with abdominal pain, nausea vomiting and neck swelling. Contrast enhanced computed tomography (CECT) of the neck, chest, abdomen and pelvis showed extensive left supraclavicular adenopathy, as well as extensive retroperitoneal adenopathy, displacing the pancreas superiorly, as well as encasing the aorta.

Isolation and characterization of class II myosin genes from Haemonchus contortus.

In this study, cDNAs encoding myosin from the parasitic nematode Haemonchus contortus were isolated and characterized. Several exhibited a considerable degree of sequence variation at the nucleotide and limited divergence at the amino acid levels within the various functional domains. The results suggest that the cDNAs isolated represented a single myosin heavy chain, which, by comparison with a number of other myosins, is inferred to represent a homologue of a muscle myosin (CeMHCA) of the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.

Haemonchus contortus: prokaryotic expression and enzyme activity of recombinant HcSTK, a serine/threonine protein kinase.

Members of the PAR-1/MARK serine/threonine protein kinase (STK) subfamily are important regulators of the cytoskeleton, and their characterization can provide insights into a number of critical processes relating to the development and survival of an organism. We previously investigated the mRNA expression for and organization of a gene (hcstk) representing HcSTK, an STK from the parasitic nematode Haemonchus contortus. In the present study, a recombinant form of HcSTK was expressed and characterized.

Class II myosins in nematodes-- genetic relationships, fundamental and applied implications.

Myosins are represented by a wide range of different classes of molecule, of which the most extensively studied are the class II myosins which drive muscle contraction and cell organization; the functional unit of class II myosins comprises two myosin heavy chains (MHCs). This minireview gives an update on class II MHCs of nematodes and describes a comparative analysis of MHC genes from nematodes and other organismal groups. Genetic analyses of sequence data for the four functional domains of MHCs (i.

Model-based development of gemcabene, a new lipid-altering agent.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the value of model-based, quantitative decision making during the development of gemcabene, a novel lipid-altering agent. The decisions were driven by a model of the likely clinical profile of gemcabene in comparison with its competitors, such as 3-hydroxymethylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins), the cholesterol absorption inhibitor ezetimibe, and their combination. Dose-response models were developed for the lipid effects (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol [LDL-C] and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol); adverse effects, such as persistent alanine aminotransferase elevation and myalgia; tolerability issues, such as headache; and risk reduction for coronary artery disease-related events for 5 statins, ezetimibe, gemcabene, and their combinations.

Increasing duration of deep hypothermic circulatory arrest is associated with an increased incidence of postoperative electroencephalographic seizures.

Objective: Electroencephalographic seizures have been shown to occur in 5% to 20% of neonates and infants after biventricular repair of a variety of cardiac defects. Occurrence of a seizure is a predictor of adverse long-term neurodevelopmental sequelae. The contemporary incidence of postoperative seizures after repair of cardiac defects such as hypoplastic left heart syndrome and other forms of single ventricle is not known.

Haemonchus contortus: molecular cloning, sequencing, and expression analysis of the gene coding for the small subunit of ribonucleotide reductase.

Gastro-intestinal (GI) parasites are of great agricultural importance, annually costing the livestock industry vast amounts in resources to control parasitism. One such GI parasite, Haemonchus contortus, is principally pathogenic to sheep; with the parasite's blood-feeding behaviour causing effects ranging from mild anaemia to mortality in young animals. Current means of control, which are dependent on repeated treatment with anthelmintic chemicals, have led to increasing drug resistance.

The endocrine response to critical illness: update and implications for emergency medicine.

This review will provide an updated overview of the neuroendocrine response to critical illness. Specifically, the current evidence for "stress steroid" administration will be examined, as well as interventional glucose control during critical illness. The emergency physician will also find relevance in the alterations of thyroid hormones that occur in the face of severe illness or trauma.

Late neurodevelopmental outcome after repair of total anomalous pulmonary venous connection.

Objective We sought to define the neurodevelopmental status of school-aged survivors of total anomalous pulmonary venous connection repaired during infancy. Methods All school-aged survivors of total anomalous pulmonary venous connection repair performed at a single institution were eligible. Thirty children returned for neurologic examination and neurodevelopmental testing.

Activation of inflammation and coagulation after infusion of C-reactive protein in humans.

C-reactive protein (CRP) has been postulated to play a causal part in atherosclerosis and its acute complications. We assessed the effects of CRP-infusion on coagulation and inflammatory pathways to determine its role in atherothrombotic disease. Seven male volunteers received an infusion on two occasions, containing 1.