Chitosan⁻Zinc(II) Complexes as a Bio-Sorbent for the Adsorptive Abatement of Phosphate: Mechanism of Complexation and Assessment of Adsorption Performance.

This study examines zinc(II)⁻chitosan complexes as a bio-sorbent for phosphate removal from aqueous solutions. The bio-sorbent is prepared and is characterized via Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Point of Zero Charge (pH)⁻drift method. The adsorption capacity of zinc(II)⁻chitosan bio-sorbent is compared with those of chitosan and ZnO⁻chitosan and nano-ZnO⁻chitosan composites.

MED12, the mediator complex subunit 12 gene, is mutated at high frequency in uterine leiomyomas.

Uterine leiomyomas, or fibroids, are benign tumors that affect millions of women worldwide and that can cause considerable morbidity. To study the genetic basis of this tumor type, we examined 18 uterine leiomyomas derived from 17 different patients by exome sequencing and identified tumor-specific mutations in the mediator complex subunit 12 (MED12) gene in 10. Through analysis of 207 additional tumors, we determined that MED12 is altered in 70% (159 of 225) of tumors from a total of 80 patients.

Antioxidants, oxidative damage and oxygen deprivation stress: a review.

Oxidative stress is induced by a wide range of environmental factors including UV stress, pathogen invasion (hypersensitive reaction), herbicide action and oxygen shortage. Oxygen deprivation stress in plant cells is distinguished by three physiologically different states: transient hypoxia, anoxia and reoxygenation. Generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is characteristic for hypoxia and especially for reoxygenation.

Ca(2+)-induced high amplitude swelling and cytochrome c release from wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) mitochondria under anoxic stress.

Under stress conditions, mitochondria sense metabolic changes, e.g. in pH, cytoplasmic Ca(2+), energy status, and reactive oxygen species (ROS), and respond by induction of the permeability transition pore (PTP) and by releasing cytochrome c, thus initiating the programmed cell death (PCD) cascade in animal cells.

Ultrastructural features resembling those of harlequin ichthyosis in patients with severe congenital ichthyosiform erythroderma.

Congenital ichthyoses are a group of heterogeneous disorders of cornification. Autosomal recessive congenital ichthyosis (ARCI) can be clinically subdivided into congenital ichthyosiform erythroderma and lamellar ichthyosis. Ultrastructurally, ARCI is classified into four groups: ichthyosis congenita (IC) types I-IV.

Assignment of a novel locus for autosomal recessive congenital ichthyosis to chromosome 19p13.1-p13.2.

Autosomal recessive congenital ichthyosis (ARCI) is a rare, clinically and genetically heterogeneous genodermatosis. One gene (transglutaminase 1, on 14q11) and one additional locus (on 2q33-35, with an unidentified gene) have been shown to be associated with a lamellar, nonerythrodermic type of ARCI. We performed a genomewide scan, with 370 highly polymorphic microsatellite markers, on five affected individuals from one large Finnish family with nonerythrodermic, nonlamellar ARCI.

A modified protocol for early treatment of osteomyelitis and osteoradionecrosis of the mandible.

Background: The treatment of osteoradionecrosis (ORN) and early chronic osteomyelitis (COM) of the mandible and maxilla is controversial. Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) at two to three times the atmospheric pressure at sea level can result in tissue oxygen tension of almost 400 mmHg. Herewith HBO increases oxygen supply in hypoxic tissue, thus inducing fibroblastic proliferation and capillary formation.

The success rate of free flaps after preoperative irradiation in head and neck reconstruction.

Background And Aims: The reconstructive treatment of large head and neck tumours involves serious problems. Preoperative irradiation increases the risk of postoperative complications. Microvascular free flaps offer definite advantages over conventional reconstruction techniques and permit immediate preoperative high-dose radiation therapy.

Microvascular free tissue transfers after preoperative irradiation in head and neck reconstructions.

Surgical reconstruction of large head and neck tumors involves great problems. Preoperative irradiation increases the risk of postoperative complications. The use of microvascular free flaps has definitive advantages over conventional reconstruction techniques and permits immediate preoperative high-dose radiation therapy.

C1-tuning fork tests in school-aged children.

The Rinne and the Weber tests were carried out using a 256-Hz tuning fork on 687 6- to 15-year-old school children, the majority of whom were normally hearing subjects. The Rinne test was positive in 97% of ears with normal hearing or sensorineural hearing loss and negative in 72% of ears with conductive hearing loss. The Rinne test changed from positive to negative at 13 dB when performed using the normal loudness comparison method.

A modified protocol to treat early osteoradionecrosis of the mandible.

Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) increases oxygen availability to hypoxic tissues thereby inducing fibroblastic proliferation and capillary formation in bone and soft tissue. From 1981 to 1991 we used a monoplace hyperbaric chamber, and since 1992 a multiplace chamber, for HBO treatments. HBO was given at 2.

Tympanic membrane changes in school-aged children.

A comprehensive otolaryngologic examination, including otomicroscopy, was performed for 687 school children for morphologically to study the distribution of normal and abnormal tympanic membrane findings and the association of different factors with the abnormal TM finding in 6 to 15-year-old children. Two-thirds of the children had completely healthy tympanic membranes without any visible pathological change. The findings were more often normal the older the child.

Betahistine-induced vascular effects in the rat cochlea.

Betahistine (BH) has been used widely to treat cochlear disorders, such as tinnitus and Meniere's disease. The mechanism of action of BH in the cochlea is assumed to be based on its histamine-like effect on H1 receptors in the cochlear vasculature, leading to an increased cochlear blood flow (CBF). Recently it has been shown that BH can strongly affect H3 heteroreceptors (a novel histamine receptor subclass) in the periphery, via an autonomic ligand.

Healing of microvascular free skin flaps in irradiated recipient tissue beds.

This laboratory study compared the biomechanical and biochemical healing of microvascular free skin flaps in irradiated and nonirradiated recipient areas. In the adult rat, the skin of the right groin region was exposed to a single fraction dose of 20 Gy, using a linear megavoltage accelerator. The left groin was shielded.

Experimental basis for lidocaine therapy in cochlear disorders.

In order to further our basic understanding of the effects of lidocaine hydrochloride in the inner ear, cochlear potentials and blood flow (CBF) were assessed after intravenous (i.v.), anterior inferior cerebellar artery (AICA), and local round window (RW) lidocaine administrations in guinea pigs and rats.

Immediate reconstruction of mandibular defects with revascularized iliac bone grafts after radical surgery for osteosarcoma.

Excluding multiple myeloma, osteosarcoma is the most frequent primary malignant bone tumor. However, it is rare in the jaw bones, where it mainly occurs in young adult men. This report describes two mandibular osteosarcomas found in two males aged 32 and 30.

Clonogenic cell assay for anchorage-dependent squamous carcinoma cell lines using limiting dilution.

Clonogenic assays under either anchorage-dependent or -independent conditions are very useful for testing the sensitivity of tumor cells to cytotoxic drugs and radiation. These assays have not been widely used with squamous-cell carcinomas (SCC) because of poor tumor-cell viability and poor cloning efficiency, especially in semi-solid media. To find a clonogenic assay suitable for use with human squamous cancers we tested SCC lines, derived in our laboratory from patients with head and neck cancer, for the capacity to form colonies in soft agar and in 96-well plates.

Association of DNA aneuploidy with human papillomavirus-induced malignant transformation of sinonasal transitional papillomas.

The nuclear DNA content of 19 transitional papillomas of the sinonasal region and 9 maxillary squamous cell carcinomas was studied by flow cytometry; the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA types 11 and 16 was determined by the in situ hybridization technique from paraffin-embedded tissue. Thirteen (68%) of the papillomas and none of the carcinomas contained HPV genome. Six (32%) of the papillomas and 4 (44%) of the carcinomas had an aneuploid DNA content.

Transitional papilloma of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses. Clinical course, viral etiology and malignant transformation.

Transitional papilloma is a rare but not uncommon tumor with an overall incidence varying between 0.5 and 4% of all primary nasal tumors. The probability of recurrence is high, between 20 and 62%, even after adequate therapy.

Radiosensitivity of head and neck cancer cells in vitro. A 96-well plate clonogenic cell assay for squamous cell carcinoma.

Radiation sensitivity was determined for nine University of Michigan squamous cell carcinoma (UM-SCC) cell lines, MCF-7 and HeLa, using a 96-well plate clonogenic assay. Plating efficiencies (PE) of the UM-SCC cell lines were between 0.16 and 0.

Detection of human papillomavirus (HPV) structural antigens and DNA types in inverted papillomas and squamous cell carcinomas of the nasal cavities and paranasal sinuses.

To assess the suggested etiological role of human papillomavirus (HPV), biopsies from 14 patients operated on for an inverted papilloma (11 cases) and squamous cell carcinoma (3 cases) of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses were analysed for light microscopical evidence of HPV, by indirect immunoperoxidase (IP-PAP) to demonstrate HPV structural proteins, and using in situ DNA-hybridization to disclose the DNA of HPV types 6, 11 and 16. The majority of the inverted papillomas contained areas of metaplastic squamous cells, including koilocytes as well as dysplastic changes consistent with intra-epithelial neoplasia as described in uterine cervix. In 3 patients, frankly invasive squamous cell carcinomas were found, originating from dysplastic squamous epithelium.

In vitro effects of tamoxifen on UM-SCC head and neck cancer cell lines: correlation with the estrogen and progesterone receptor content.

Eleven squamous-cell carcinoma (SCC) cell lines derived from patients with head and neck cancer were tested together with the MCF-7 breast carcinoma cell line for in vitro growth inhibition by tamoxifen. MCF-7 is known to contain cytosolic receptors for estrogen (ER), progesterone (PgR), androgen (AR) and glucocorticoid. We have previously reported the ER, PgR and AR contents of these 11 head-and-neck SCC cancer lines.