Neck nerve trunks schwannomas: clinical features and postoperative neurologic outcome.

Objectives/hypothesis: To analyze clinical and epidemiological features of neck nerve schwannomas, with emphasis on the neurologic outcome after surgical excision sparing as much of nerve fibers as possible with enucleation technique.

Study Design: Retrospective study.

Methods: Review of medical records from 1987 to 2006 of patients with neck nerve schwannomas, treated in a single institution.

Copper is taken up efficiently from albumin and alpha2-macroglobulin by cultured human cells by more than one mechanism.

Ionic copper entering blood plasma binds tightly to albumin and the macroglobulin transcuprein. It then goes primarily to the liver and kidney except in lactation, where a large portion goes directly to the mammary gland. Little is known about how this copper is taken up from these plasma proteins.

Synthesis and in vitro antimycobacterial activity of 3-substituted 5-hydroxy-5-trifluoro[chloro]methyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-1-(isonicotinoyl) pyrazoles.

A series of 3-substituted 5-hydroxy-5-trifluoro[chloro]methyl-1H-1-isonicotinoyl-4,5-dihydropyrazoles (2a-i) were synthesised by the cyclocondensation reaction of 4-methoxy-1,1,1-trifluoro[chloro]-4-(substituted)-alk-3-en-2-ones (1a-i) and isoniazid (INH). Their in vitro antimicrobial activity was tested against INH-susceptible Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv, INH-resistant clinical M. tuberculosis isolates and non-tuberculous mycobacteria.

Ectonucleotidase activities are altered in serum and platelets of L-NAME-treated rats.

It is well known that hypertension is closely associated to the development of vascular diseases and that the inhibition of nitric oxide biosynthesis by administration of Nomega-Nitro-L-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride(L-NAME) leads to arterial hypertension. In the vascular system, extracellular purines mediate several effects;thus, ADP is the most important platelet agonist and recruiting ag ent, while adenosine, an end product of nucleotide metabolism, is a vasodilator and inhibitor of platelet activation and recruitment. Members of several families of enzymes, known as ectonucleotidases, including E-NTPDases (ecto-nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase), E-NPP (ecto-nucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase) and 5'-nucleotidase are able to hydrolyze extracellular nucleotides until their respective nucleosides.

Low levels of WWOX protein immunoexpression correlate with tumour grade and a less favourable outcome in patients with urinary bladder tumours.

Aims: To correlate the immunohistochemical detection of WWOX with histological measures and disease progression within the whole spectrum of urothelial bladder neoplasms.

Methods And Results: One hundred and one patients with primary bladder tumours were retrospectively analysed. Immunohistochemically, a polyclonal antibody was utilized and the level of WWOX protein expression was analysed by using a combined score system based on intensity of the reaction and percentage of immunoreactive tumour cells.

Musical mode and estimation of time.

This study assesses whether different musical modes can influence the subjective estimation of time. The three musical stimuli, each of 64.3 sec.

Myeloperoxidase-catalyzed chlorination: the quest for the active species.

Myeloperoxidase (MPO) is a dominating enzyme of circulating polymorphonuclear neutrophils that catalyzes the two-electron oxidation of chloride, thereby producing the strong halogenating agent hypochlorous acid (ClO(-)/HOCl). In absence of MPO the tripeptide Pro-Gly-Gly reacts with HOCl faster than the amino acid taurine (2-aminoethanesulfonic acid, Tau), while the MPO-mediated chlorination shows reverse order. A comparative study of the enzymatic oxidation of both substrates at pH 4.

Outcomes of locoregional recurrence after surgical chest wall resection and reconstruction for breast cancer.

Background: Locoregional chest wall recurrences involving ribs and/or sternum after primary surgical treatment predict a poor outcome in patients with breast cancer. The precise natural history and surgical outcome of these chest wall recurrences are not fully understood. The objective of this study is to clarify the clinicopathological features of chest wall recurrence of breast cancer and evaluate prognostic factors predicting survival after chest wall resection and reconstruction (CWRR).

The laboratory as a tool to qualify tuberculosis diagnosis.

Objectives: To evaluate the performance of laboratory diagnosis of tuberculosis, clinical samples underwent culture, species identification and drug susceptibility testing (DST).

Methods: A total of 554 samples from 269 patients were tested for smear microscopy using Kinyoun stain. Culture was performed in Ogawa-Kudoh medium and species identification was performed using the IS6110 amplified region.

Significance of sentinel lymph node micrometastases in human breast cancer.

Background: The significance of micrometastatic disease in the sentinel lymph nodes (SLN) of patients with invasive breast cancer has been questioned. The objective of our study was to review the impact of micrometastatic carcinoma detected by SLN biopsy.

Study Design: Between January 1997 and May 2004, 2,408 patients with invasive breast cancer and an SLN with micrometastatic (N0[i+], N1mi) or no metastatic (N0[i-]) disease were identified through our breast database.

Detection of bacteria based on the thermomechanical noise of a nanomechanical resonator: origin of the response and detection limits.

We have measured the effect of bacteria adsorption on the resonant frequency of microcantilevers as a function of the adsorption position and vibration mode. The resonant frequencies were measured from the Brownian fluctuations of the cantilever tip. We found that the sign and amount of the resonant frequency change is determined by the position and extent of the adsorption on the cantilever with regard to the shape of the vibration mode.

[Perception of asthma control in asthma patients].

Objective: To determine the proportion of asthma patients with poor perception of asthma control and to evaluate the characteristics of this subgroup.

Methods: A cross-sectional study in which consecutive outpatients (over the age of 12) with mild, moderate, or severe asthma were selected. The patients underwent clinical examination and pulmonary function tests, as well as being assessed for depression and perception of asthma control.

Comparative evaluation of the Nitrate Reductase Assay and the Resazurin Microtitre Assay for drug susceptibility testing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis against first line anti-tuberculosis drugs.

Tuberculosis remains as a serious infection disease of worldwide distribution, with high morbidity and mortality, mainly in low socio-economic condition countries. The state of emergency of tuberculosis caused by the resistant and multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains, became the main threat to the tuberculosis treatment and control programs. A fast detection method for the resistant strains will allow the implementation of an adequate treatment and contribute for controlling the dissemination of these resistant strains.

Myeloperoxidase-catalyzed taurine chlorination: initial versus equilibrium rate.

Myeloperoxidase (MPO) catalyzes the two-electron oxidation of chloride, thereby producing hypochlorous acid (HOCl). Taurine (2-aminoethane-sulfonic acid, Tau) is thought to act as a trap of HOCl forming the long-lived oxidant monochlorotaurine [(N-Cl)-Tau], which participates in pathogen defense. Here, we amend and extend previous studies by following initial and equilibrium rate of formation of (N-Cl)-Tau mediated by MPO at pH 4.

Comparative cytotoxic and anti-tuberculosis activity of Aplysina caissara marine sponge crude extracts.

Three crude extracts of Aplysina caissara, a marine sponge endemic to Brazil, were tested against a hepatoma cell line and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The results demonstrate that all extracts are toxic and capable of inhibiting cellular growth. Additionally, the extracts produced morphological aberrations and inhibited cell attachment to culture substrates.

Measurement of the Mass and Rigidity of Adsorbates on a Microcantilever Sensor.

When microcantilevers are used in the dynamic mode, the resonance shift uponmaterial adsorption depends on the position of the adsorbate along the microcantilever. Wehave previously described that the adsorbate stiffness needs to be considered in addition toits mass in order to correctly interpret the resonance shift. Here we describe a method thatallows obtaining the Young's modulus of the adsorbed bacteria derived from themeasurement of the frequency shift when adsorbates are placed close to the clampingregion.

Study of the origin of bending induced by bimetallic effect on microcantilever.

An analytical model for predicting the deflection and force of a bimaterialcantilever is presented. We introduce the clamping effect characterised by an axial loadupon temperature changes. This new approach predicts a non linear thermal dependence ofcantilever strain.

Transgenic approaches to study wing color pattern development in Lepidoptera.

The extremely diverse lepidopteran wing patterns make useful models to study the evolution of development and the molecular changes that enable it. Until now, the implication of candidate genes in the differentiation of color patterns has relied primarily on correlational evidence, i.e.

Poorly differentiated adenocarcinomas of prostate versus high-grade urothelial carcinoma of the bladder: a diagnostic dilemma with immunohistochemical evaluation of 2 cases.

The differential diagnosis between carcinoma of the urinary bladder and adenocarcinoma of the prostate can be difficult, especially in the poorly differentiated forms infiltrating the neighboring organs. In this article, the authors report 2 cases that pose a diagnostic dilemma to the pathologist. The first is an infiltration of the bladder by a poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma of the prostate, which was clinically suspected as a papillary urothelial neoplasm.

Will pay-for-performance and quality reporting affect health care disparities?

Pay-for-performance (P4P) and public quality-reporting programs can increase the quality of health care for the services being measured. However, unless carefully designed, these programs may have the unintended consequence of increasing racial and ethnic disparities. This paper describes ways in which P4P and public reporting programs may increase disparities and suggests ways in which programs might be designed that will make them likely to reduce, or at least not increase, disparities.

WWOX, a chromosomal fragile site gene and its role in cancer.

Allelic imbalances affecting the long arm of chromosome 16 have been extensively reported in the literature as common abnormalities observed in various carcinoma types, As a result of loss of heterozygosity (LOH) studies in breast cancer, we delimited a genomic area within chromosome 16 that demonstrated the highest frequency of abnormalities. This led us to the identification and cloning of WWOX, a candidate tumor suppressor gene (TSG) that spans a fragile region of DNA located at 16q23.3-24.

Determination of captopril in human plasma, using solid phase extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography, coupled to mass spectrometry: application to bioequivalence study.

A specific high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometric (LC-MS/MS) assay was developed for the determination of captopryl in plasma. The retention time was 1.45 and 1.

Temporal and spatial control of transgene expression using laser induction of the hsp70 promoter.

Background: Precise temporal and spatial regulation of transgene expression is a critical tool to investigate gene function in developing organisms. The most commonly used technique to achieve tight control of transgene expression, however, requires the use of specific DNA enhancers that are difficult to characterize in non-model organisms. Here, we sought to eliminate the need for this type of sequence-based gene regulation and to open the field of functional genetics to a broader range of organisms.