Primary renal lymphoma: a comprehensive review of the pathophysiology, clinical presentation, imaging features, management and prognosis.

Primary renal lymphoma (PRL) is defined as a non-Hodgkin's lymphoma restricted to kidneys with the absence of extensive nodal disease. It is an exceedingly rare clinicopathological entity, accounting for 0.7% of extranodal lymphomas.

Van der Knaap Disease.

Van der Knaap disease or megalencephalic leukoencephalopathy with subcortical cysts (MLC) is a rare, inherited, autosomal recessive disorder. It is characterised by macrocephaly and slowly progressive ataxia, spasticity, and cognitive decline. The usual age of onset is described from birth to infancy.

Managing Postural Hypotension in Diabetic Autonomic Dysfunction When Adrenergic Drugs are Contraindicated: Case Report and Review of Literature.

Postural hypotension, as a manifestation of autonomic neuropathy is a very sinister long-term debilitating complication of diabetes, is usually irreversible and tough to manage with medications. The treatment of this condition following the standard treatment protocols can be contraindicated in the patients with underlying heart conditions. We report the case of a patient at our hospital who presented with full-blown symptomatic dysautonomia secondary to long-standing diabetes, with bedside testing positive for autonomic dysfunction.

Rat primary hepatocytes show enhanced performance and sensitivity to acetaminophen during three-dimensional culture on a polystyrene scaffold designed for routine use.

The in vitro evaluation of hepatotoxicity is an essential stage in the research and development of new pharmaceuticals as the liver is one of the most commonly impacted organs during preclinical toxicity studies. Fresh primary hepatocytes in monolayer culture are the most commonly used in vitro model of the liver but often exhibit limited viability and/or reduction or loss of important liver-specific functions. These limitations could potentially be overcome using three-dimensional (3D) culture systems, but their experimental nature and limited use in liver toxicity screening and drug metabolism has impaired their uptake into commercial screening programs.

Validation of reference gene stability for APAP hepatotoxicity studies in different in vitro systems and identification of novel potential toxicity biomarkers.

Liver cell lines and primary hepatocytes are becoming increasingly valuable for in vitro toxicogenomic studies, with RT-qPCR enabling the analysis of gene expression profiles following exposure to potential hepatotoxicants. Supporting the accurate normalisation of RT-qPCR data requires the identification of reference genes which have stable expression during in vitro toxicology studies. Therefore, we performed a comprehensive analysis of reference gene stability in two routinely used cell types, (HepG2 cells and primary rat hepatocytes), and two in vitro culture systems, (2D monolayer and 3D scaffolds).

Culture of HepG2 liver cells on three dimensional polystyrene scaffolds enhances cell structure and function during toxicological challenge.

Cultured cells are dramatically affected by the micro-environment in which they are grown. In this study, we have investigated whether HepG2 liver cells grown in three dimensional (3-D) cultures cope more effectively with the known cytotoxic agent, methotrexate, than their counterparts grown on traditional two dimensional (2-D) flat plastic surfaces. To enable 3-D growth of HepG2 cells in vitro, we cultured cells on 3-D porous polystyrene scaffolds previously developed in our laboratories.

Novel cell culture device enabling three-dimensional cell growth and improved cell function.

A better understanding of cell biology and cell-cell interactions requires three-dimensional (3-D) culture systems that more closely represent the natural structure and function of tissues in vivo. Here, we present a novel device that provides an environment for routine 3-D cell growth in vitro. We have developed a thin membrane of polystyrene scaffold with a well defined and uniform porous architecture and have adapted this material for cell culture applications.

Tailoring the morphology of emulsion-templated porous polymers.

Methods with which to tailor the morphology of polystyrene-based emulsion-templated (PolyHIPE) materials are presented. Increasing the temperature of the aqueous phase used to prepare the parent emulsion leads to an increase in average void and interconnect size in the resulting porous material. Additionally, the presence in the aqueous phase of small quantities of organic additives that are capable of partitioning between the two emulsion phases also affects the morphology of the porous material obtained.

The enhancement of osteoblast growth and differentiation in vitro on a peptide hydrogel-polyHIPE polymer hybrid material.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of combining two biomaterials on osteoblast proliferation, differentiation and mineralised matrix formation in vitro. The first biomaterial has a well-defined architecture and is known as PolyHIPE polymer (PHP). The second biomaterial is a biologically inspired self-assembling peptide hydrogel (RAD16-I, also called PuraMatrix) that produces a nanoscale environment similar to native extracellular matrix (ECM).

Persistent Epstein-Barr virus infection: unrestricted latent and lytic viral gene expression in healthy immunosuppressed transplant recipients.

Background: Posttransplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) is a common Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated complication of transplantation which, despite treatment, is often fatal. This study was undertaken to monitor persistent EBV infection in transplant recipients, to compare EBV load and gene expression in healthy individuals and EBV-associated diseases, and to highlight differences in PTLD that could be used to define those at risk of the disease.

Methods: A cohort of 96 cardiothoracic transplant recipients was monitored posttransplant for up to 1110 days (median 268 days).