Removal efficiency of Cr6+ by indigenous Pichia sp. isolated from textile factory effluent.

Resistance of the indigenous strains P. jadinii M9 and P. anomala M10, to high Cr(6+) concentrations and their ability to reduce chromium in culture medium was studied.

Optimization of culture medium composition for manganese peroxidase and tyrosinase production during Reactive Black 5 decolourization by the yeast Trichosporon akiyoshidainum.

Decolourization and degradation of the diazo dye Reactive Black 5 was carried out by the yeast Trichosporon akiyoshidainum. A nine-factor Plackett-Burman design was employed for the study and optimization of the decolourization process and production of manganese peroxidase (MnP) and tyrosinase activities. In the present study, 26 individual experiments were conducted and three responses were evaluated.

Bosentan inhibits cigarette smoke-induced endothelin receptor expression in pulmonary arteries.

The endothelin (ET) system contributes to lung vascular tension and remodelling in smokers and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. This study examined the effect of cigarette smoke (CS) on ET receptor A (ET(A)) and B (ET(B)) expression in human pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (HPASMCs) and human small intrapulmonary arteries, as well as their functional consequences. CS extract (CSE) increased ET(A) and ET(B) expression in HPASMCs and small intrapulmonary arteries, which was attenuated by bosentan, the ET(A) antagonist BQ123 and the ET(B) antagonist BQ788, and by blocking ET-1 with a monoclonal antibody against ET-1, suggesting a feed-forward mechanism mediated by ET-1 release.

DNA binding characteristics of mithramycin and chromomycin analogues obtained by combinatorial biosynthesis.

The antitumor antibiotics mithramycin A and chromomycin A(3) bind reversibly to the minor groove of G/C-rich regions in DNA in the presence of dications such as Mg(2+), and their antiproliferative activity has been associated with their ability to block the binding of certain transcription factors to gene promoters. Despite their biological activity, their use as anticancer agents is limited by severe side effects. Therefore, in our pursuit of new structurally related molecules showing both lower toxicity and higher biological activity, we have examined the binding to DNA of six analogues that we have obtained by combinatorial biosynthetic procedures in the producing organisms.

Testicular fusocellular rhabdomyosarcoma as a metastasis of elbow sclerosing rhabdomyosarcoma: A clinicopathologic, immunohistochemical and molecular study of one case.

Sclerosing rhabdomyosarcoma (SRMS) is an infrequent variant of rhabdomyosarcoma characterized by extensive intercellular hyaline fibrosis. We report the case of a 37 year-old male with a 9 x 6 cm SRMS on the right elbow. Histologically, the tumor showed an abundant extracellular hyaline matrix with extratumoral vascular emboli and microscopic foci of fusocellular embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma (FRMS) separated by a fibrotic band from the sclerosing areas.

Cigarette smoke exposure up-regulates endothelin receptor B in human pulmonary artery endothelial cells: molecular and functional consequences.

Background And Purpose: Pulmonary arteries from smokers and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients show abnormal endothelium-dependent vascular reactivity. We studied the effect of cigarette smoke extract (CSE) on endothelin receptor B (ET(B) ) expression in human pulmonary artery endothelial cells (HPAECs) and its role in endothelial dysfunction.

Experimental Approach: ET(B) receptor expression was measured by real time RT-PCR, Western blot and immunofluorescence.

Effects of small interfering RNAs targeting fascin on human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cell lines.

Background: Fascin induces membrane protrusions and cell motility. Fascin overexpression was associated with poor prognosis, and its downregulation reduces cell motility and invasiveness in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Using a stable knockdown cell line, we revealed the effect of fascin on cell growth, cell adhesion and tumor formation.

Distribution of human papillomavirus types in women from Valencia, Spain, with abnormal cytology.

Objective: To determine human papillomavirus (HPV) types among cervical smears using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and to contribute to the knowledge of human papillomavirus genotype distribution and prevalence of oncogenic types in cervical lesions in Spain.

Study Design: Consensus PCR and direct s quencing of PCR products (DNA HPV typing) were used in a retrospective study to determinate the type or types of HPVon 974 cytology smears of women with abnormal cytology results.

Results: Of 974 smears, 79.

Proliferative verrucous leukoplakia: a concise update.

Proliferative verrucous leukoplakia (PVL) is of uncertain etiology but may be associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Proliferative verrucous leukoplakia is seen mainly in older women, beginning as a simple slow-growing, persistent leukoplakia that tends to spread and become multifocal and affect the gingival frequently. In time, PVL develops exophytic, wart-like or erythroplakic areas that become squamous carcinomas.

Prevalence and distribution of human papillomavirus findings in swab specimens from gynaecology clinics of the east coast of Spain.

The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) among females in the east coast of Spain. A total of 1956 women visiting gynaecology clinics for routine check-ups were included in the study. Swabs were analyzed for HPV DNA by consensus polymerase chain reaction followed by direct sequencing.

Transformation of vulvar pseudolymphoma (lymphoma-like lesion) into a marginal zone B-cell lymphoma of labium majus.

Lymphomas arising in the female genital tract are extremely uncommon. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and follicular lymphoma are the most common types. We describe the case of an 80-year-old woman with a recurrent lesion in the vulva initially diagnosed as a lymphoma-like lesion and evolving 7 years later into a marginal zone B-cell lymphoma (lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma).

Solitary fibrous tumor of the thigh with epithelioid features: a case report.

Background: Extrapleural Solitary Fibrous tumors (SFTs) have been increasingly reported. The retroperitoneum, deep soft tissues of proximal extremities, abdominal cavity, trunk, head and neck are the most common extraserosal locations reported. Microscopically they show a wide range of morphological features, and so the differential diagnosis is extensive.

Hepatotoxicity of antiretroviral drugs in HIV HCV patients with congenital coagulopathies followed at an Haemophilia Unit during a decade.

The aim of the study was to assess the incidence and the cumulative probability of cytolytic and cholestatic hepatotoxicity during antiretroviral treatment in a group of HIV HCV haemophiliacs. We evaluated 47 patients that received 246 courses of antiretroviral treatment [98 courses of pre-highly active antiretroviral therapy (pre-HAART) and 148 HAART treatments]. Liver function tests were assessed at baseline of each treatment, after 1 month and at least every 4 months thereafter.

Analysis of c-kit expression in small cell lung cancer: prevalence and prognostic implications.

c-kit, a growth factor receptor with tyrosine kinase activity, plays an important role in the biology of cancer. Its expression has been documented in several malignancies. We performed a retrospective study in 85 patients diagnosed with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) to determine the prevalence and role of c-kit as a possible prognostic marker in this lung cancer malignancy.

Presence of human papillomavirus DNA in testicular biopsies from nonobstructive azoospermic men.

Context: Human papillomavirus (HPV) plays a major role in the etiology of many malignancies of diverse localization, such as uterine cervical carcinoma and its precursors. Human papillomavirus sequences have been detected throughout the male lower genitourinary tract, but the role of men as transmitters remains unclear.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between azoospermia and the presence of HPV DNA in testicular cells.

[Efavirenz and nevirapine plasma levels in HIV-infected patients with hemophilia].

The aim of this study was to evaluate efavirenz and nevirapine plasma levels in HIV-infected hemophilic patients seen in two hospitals in Barcelona. Plasma levels of these drugs were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) at four-month intervals, together with viral load and CD4 cell count. Nineteen patients treated with efavirenz and 8 with nevirapine were included, and 68 efavirenz and 31 nevirapine determinations were performed.

Angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia involving the cubital nerve.

A tumor involving cubital nerve was resected and studied; it was classified as an angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia (ALHE). Immunohistochemical and molecular study was done both to confirm the reactive nature of the process and rule out the presence of clonal T or B cell rearrangement. This lesion has been designated as epitheloid hemangioma [Coindre (1994) Ann Pathol 14:426].

Impact of analgesic drug-use guidelines for the management of postoperative pain: a drug utilization study.

Objective: Postoperative pain is inadequately treated in many surgical settings. The present study evaluates the impact of analgesic drug-use guidelines in the management of postoperative pain.

Patients And Methods: A prospective drug utilization study was carried out in 3 stages in a traumatology, orthopedic and rehabilitation tertiary hospital.

Lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma of the uterine cervix.

Context: It has been proposed that Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) plays a role in the etiology of lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (LELC) in diverse anatomic locations. In contrast to Asian women, Western women have a low prevalence of LELC of the uterine cervix, and EBV genomes have not been identified.

Objective: To assess the presence of EBV in LELC of the uterine cervix in 4 white Western women.

The prothrombin 20210A allele influences clinical manifestations of hemophilia A in patients with intron 22 inversion and without inhibitors.

Background And Objectives: The modulation of disease severity in hemophilia A (HA) patients may be related to the co-inheritance of mutations in genes with a known thrombotic effect such as factor V Leiden (FVL) and prothrombin. In the Spanish population, the prothrombin 20210A (PT20210A) allele is the most prevalent genetic risk factor for venous thromboembolism.

Design And Methods: We investigated the presence of both mutations in a cohort of 265 hemophiliac patients divided into two groups: I) 140 unrelated patients with moderate and mild HA and II) 125 unrelated patients with severe HA (83 carrying an inversion of intron 22).

Correlation between centromere and chromosome length in human male pronuclear chromosomes: ultrastructural analysis.

Ultrastructural and morphometric analyses of centromeric regions by scanning and transmission electron microscopy have been performed in chromosomes from male pronuclei obtained by heterologous fertilisation of hamster oocytes with human spermatozoa. In 1308 of 1323 chromosomes analysed, the primary constriction showed a defined biconcave constriction of variable length (0.56-1.