Cancer of the gastroesophageal junction: combined modality therapy.

Esophageal cancer, an uncommon, but highly virulent malignancy in the United States, will be responsible for nearly 14,000 deaths in the year 2005. The prognosis for patients who have adenocarcinoma of the distal esophagus and gastroesophageal junction and who are treated with the standard approaches of surgery or combined chemoradiation therapy is poor. Recent clinical trials have evaluated the use of preoperative chemotherapy followed by surgery, combined concurrent preoperative chemoradiotherapy followed by surgery, or definitive chemoradiotherapy alone without surgery.

Subcellular distributions of adenosine A1 and A2A receptors in the rat dorsomedial nucleus of the solitary tract at the level of the area postrema.

Adenosine A1 and A2A receptors mediate distinct cardiovascular components of defense reactions that are ascribed, in part, to opposing actions within the nucleus tractus solitarius. To assess the cellular sites of relevance to these actions, we examined the light and electron microscopic immunolabeling of adenosine A1 and A2A receptors in the rat dorsomedial nucleus of the solitary tract at the level of the area postrema (dmNTS-AP), a region crucial for cardiovascular regulation involving vagal baroreceptor afferents. Immunoreactivity for each receptor was independently localized to distinct segments of plasma membranes and endomembranes in somatodendritic, axonal, and glial profiles.

Cancer of the gastroesophageal junction: Current therapy options.

Active chemotherapy agents in metastatic adenocarcinoma of the esophagus include taxanes (docetaxel or paclitaxel), 5-fluorouracil, irinotecan, platinum drugs (including cisplatin, oxaliplatin, and carboplatin), and anthracyclines. Conventional chemotherapy combines infusional 5-fluorouracil with cisplatin. The addition of a third drug to this backbone results in greater toxicity and only marginal improvements in outcome.

PAR1b promotes cell-cell adhesion and inhibits dishevelled-mediated transformation of Madin-Darby canine kidney cells.

Mammalian Par1 is a family of serine/threonine kinases comprised of four homologous isoforms that have been associated with tumor suppression and differentiation of epithelial and neuronal cells, yet little is known about their cellular functions. In polarizing kidney epithelial (Madin-Darby canine kidney [MDCK]) cells, the Par1 isoform Par1b/MARK2/EMK1 promotes the E-cadherin-dependent compaction, columnarization, and cytoskeletal organization characteristic of differentiated columnar epithelia. Here, we identify two functions of Par1b that likely contribute to its role as a tumor suppressor in epithelial cells.

Trajectories of perceived adult and peer discrimination among Black, Latino, and Asian American adolescents: patterns and psychological correlates.

This article presents results from a 3-year longitudinal study of the growth patterns and correlates of perceived discrimination by adults and by peers among Black, Latino, and Asian American high school students. Results revealed a linear increase over time in levels of perceived discrimination by adults, whereas perceptions of discrimination by peers remained stable over time. Asian American and non-Puerto Rican Latino adolescents (primarily Dominican) reported higher levels of peer and/or adult discrimination than did Puerto Rican youth, whereas Black adolescents reported a steeper increase over time in levels of perceived discrimination by peers and by adults than did Puerto Rican adolescents.

Treatment of the wrist and hand in cerebral palsy.

A comprehensive review of cerebral palsy is presented as it pertains to the examination and treatment for patients with wrist, hand, and finger deformities. Care is taken to provide several treatment options as they relate to specific deformities.

Enhancer-specified GFP-based FACS purification of human spinal motor neurons from embryonic stem cells.

Human embryonic stem (hES) cells may generate all major somatic cell types, yet no neuronal subtype has yet been specifically generated in useful purity from hES culture. We report here the selective induction and isolation of functional spinal motor neurons (MNs) from human ES cells. hES cells of the H1 line were transfected with plasmids encoding GFP placed under the control of an MN-specifying enhancer within the 5'-regulatory region of the gene encoding the transcription factor Hb9 and treated with sonic hedgehog (Shh) and retinoic acid (RA).

Preventing alcohol and tobacco use through life skills training.

Rates of drinking and smoking increase among high school students as they age. Therefore, prevention programs that target youth either before or during junior high school may help prevent alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) use during high school. Life skills training (LST) is a school-based approach designed to prevent ATOD use among youth by influencing their knowledge and attitudes about ATODs, by teaching skills for resisting social pressures to use ATODs, and by helping students develop personal self-management and social skills.

Molecular signaling in intervertebral disk development.

The purpose of this investigation is to identify and study the expression pattern of pertinent molecular factors involved in the differentiation of the intervertebral disk (IVD). It is likely that hedgehog genes and the BMP inhibitors are key factors involved in spinal joint formation. Radioactive in situ hybridization with mRNA probes for pax-1, SHH, IHH and Noggin gene was performed on mouse embryo and adult tissue.

Somatic transgenesis in the avian model system.

The chick embryo is a versatile model system, in which classical embryology can be combined with modern molecular approaches. In the last two decades, several efficient methods have been developed to introduce exogenous genes into the chick embryo. These techniques allow alteration of gene expression levels in a spatially and temporally restricted manner, thereby circumventing embryonic lethality and/or eliminating secondary effects in other tissues.

Vertical mammaplasty.

Current criticisms regarding vertical mammaplasty include problems with poor immediate postoperative appearance, nipple-areola complex malposition, and excessive lower pole length. These problems can be avoided by proper patient selection, by utilizing correct concepts of skin design, and by observing correct glandular resection and closure concepts. Vertical mammaplasty also can result in other problems, such as hypertrophic circumareolar scars and lower pole deformities, including notching, boxy shape, infra-areolar depression, and flatness.

Urethral injuries in the Civil War.

Purpose: We compiled all cases of urethral injury received in battle during the Civil War to detail their management and determine the outcome of treatment.

Materials And Methods: Surgeon medical reports of individual cases of urethral injury listed in the Medical and Surgical History of the Civil War, and pension records available in the National Archives and Records Administration were reviewed.

Results: A total of 105 cases of urethral injury from gunshot wounds, comprising 7% of all urogenital casualties, were reported during the Civil War between 1861 and 1865.

Normal patterning of the coronary capillary plexus is dependent on the correct transmural gradient of FGF expression in the myocardium.

The formation of the coronary vessel system is vital for heart development, an essential step of which is the establishment of a capillary plexus that displays a density gradient across the myocardial wall, being higher on the epicardial than the endocardial side. This gradient in capillary plexus formation develops concurrently with transmural gradients of myocardium-derived growth factors, including FGFs. To test the role of the FGF expression gradient in patterning the nascent capillary plexus, an ectopic FGF-over-expressing site was created in the ventricular myocardial wall in the quail embryo via retroviral infection from E2-2.

A neurotrophin axis in myeloma: TrkB and BDNF promote tumor-cell survival.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a B-cell neoplasm that is characterized by the clonal expansion of malignant plasma cells and is frequently associated with chromosomal translocations placing an oncogene under the control of the immunoglobulin heavy chain enhancer. Despite these pathogenic translocations, MM cells remain dependent on external cues for survival. We present evidence that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a member of the neurotrophin family of growth factors, and its high-affinity receptor, tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB), contribute to these survival cues.

Aminotransferase, L-amino acid oxidase and beta-lyase reactions involving L-cysteine S-conjugates found in allium extracts. Relevance to biological activity?

Several cysteine S-conjugates that occur in extracts of garlic and other plants of the allium family possess anti-oxidant properties, and many, including S-allyl-L-cysteine (SAC) and S-allylmercapto-L-cysteine (SAMC), are promising anti-cancer agents. To understand possible biochemical mechanisms contributing to the protective effects, the ability of selected allium-derived L-cysteine S-conjugates to undergo various enzyme-catalyzed transformations was investigated. SAC, SAMC, S-propylmercapto-L-cysteine and S-penta-1,3-dienylmercapto-L-cysteine were shown to be substrates of: (a) highly purified rat kidney glutamine transaminase K (GTK); (b) purified snake venom L-amino acid oxidase; and (c) a cysteine S-conjugate beta-lyase present in rat liver cytosol.

Urological injuries in the Civil War.

Purpose: This study compiles all cases of urological injuries reported in the Civil War (1861 to 1865).

Materials And Methods: Using original sources largely assembled in army surgeon reports urological injuries documented and treated during the Civil War were recorded as to frequency, type, site and outcome.

Results: A total of 1,497 cases of injury involving the genitourinary organs were documented, representing 0.

Gastric pacing is not enough: additional measures for an effective obesity treatment program.

Obesity has long been considered a behavioral disorder. Recent breakthroughs in our understanding of body weight regulation, however, have shown that once adipose tissue accumulates, a system of overlapping neuroendocrine systems actively resists weight loss. This counter-regulatory mechanism, which has evolved as protection against starvation, causes changes in appetite and metabolism that limit the amount of weight lost with every obesity intervention, including surgery.

Utilization of bone marrow-derived endothelial cell precursors in spontaneous prostate tumors varies with tumor grade.

Id1 and Id3 genes are required for vascularization, growth, and metastasis of xenograft tumors. In Id-deficient mice, tumor transplantation and proangiogenic factors fail to mobilize and recruit circulating endothelial precursor cells (CEPs) and hematopoietic cells, leading to defective tumor angiogenesis in various models. To investigate the requirement of Id genes and bone marrow incorporation in spontaneous prostate tumors, we crossbred Id mutant mice with the transgenic adenocarcinoma of the mouse prostate (TRAMP) mice.

Compartment-specific localization of cannabinoid 1 (CB1) and mu-opioid receptors in rat nucleus accumbens.

Interactions between cannabinoid and opioid systems have been implicated in reward and drug seeking behaviors involving neuronal circuitry in the nucleus accumbens (Acb) shell and core. To determine the relevant sites, we examined the electron microscopic localization of cannabinoid type-1 (CB1) receptors and mu-opioid receptors in each Acb compartment in rat brain. CB1 receptor immunogold labeling was seen on the plasma membrane and within the cytoplasm of neuronal and glial profiles throughout the Acb.