Type III IFNs are produced by and stimulate human plasmacytoid dendritic cells.

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) are rare cells found in peripheral blood and lymphoid tissues. pDC are considered to be "professional" type I IFN-producing cells and produce 10- to 100-fold more IFN-α than other cell types in response to enveloped viruses or synthetic TLR7 and TLR9 agonists. In this study, purified pDC were found to express high levels of IFN-λ receptor mRNA, as well as cell-surface IFN-λ receptor.

Role of bone marrow and mesenchymal stem cells in healing after traumatic injury.

Background: The role of bone marrow-derived cells (BMDCs) and mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) in healing of traumatic-induced injury remains poorly understood. Mesenteric lymph duct ligation (LDL) results in decreased BMDC mobilization and impaired healing. We hypothesized that LDL-mediated impaired healing would be abrogated by reinjection of BMDC or MSC.

Hermann Schloffer and the origin of transsphenoidal pituitary surgery.

A little over a century ago, in 1907, at the University of Innsbruck, Hermann Schloffer performed the first transsphenoidal surgery on a living patient harboring a pituitary adenoma. Schloffer used a superior nasal route via a transfacial lateral rhinotomy incision. This was perhaps his greatest academic contribution to neurosurgery.

Readability assessment of internet-based patient education materials related to facial fractures.

Objective/hypothesis: Various professional societies, clinical practices, hospitals, and health care-related Web sites provide Internet-based patient education material (IPEMs) to the general public. However, this information may be written above the 6th-grade reading level recommended by the US Department of Health and Human Services. The purpose of this study is to assess the readability of facial fracture (FF)-related IPEMs and compare readability levels of IPEMs provided by four sources: professional societies, clinical practices, hospitals, and miscellaneous sources.

Comparisons of Gastric Cancer Treatments: East vs. West.

There has been a large amount of speculation concerning the differences in the outcomes in patients who have gastric cancer in the Eastern and Western worlds. The differences in biology, surgical and adjuvant treatment have been used to explain such differences. There are clear differences observed in the histology (diffuse vs.

Epithelioid sarcoma: an unusual presentation in the distal phalanx of the toe.

Epithelioid sarcoma is rare soft tissue sarcoma first described by Enzinger in 1970. The classic variant often occurs in the deep or superficial soft tissue of the distal upper extremities of individuals between the ages of 10 and 35. Due to the tumor's benign clinical presentation, infrequent occurrence, and histological similarities with other disease processes, diagnosing epithelioid sarcoma in its early stages has become extremely difficult.

Readability assessment of Internet-based patient education materials related to endoscopic sinus surgery.

Objectives/hypothesis: Numerous professional societies, clinical practices, and hospitals provide Internet-based patient education materials (PEMs) to the general public, but not all of this information is written at a reading level appropriate for the average patient. The National Institutes of Health and the US Department of Health and Human Services recommend that PEMs be written at or below the sixth-grade level. Our purpose was to assess the readability of endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS)-related PEMs available on the Internet and compare readability levels of PEMs provided by three sources: professional societies, clinical practices, and hospitals.

Non-IgE mediated food allergy - update of recent progress in mucosal immunity.

As opposed to IgE mediated food allergy (IFA) which can cause fatal outcomes, non-IgE mediated FA (NFA) was initially thought to be a benign condition mediated by cellular immune responses, primarily affecting the GI mucosa. NFA children were thought to recover well upon avoidance of offending food. Although pathogenesis of NFA is still not well understood, recent studies indicate widely variable clinical manifestations of NFA.

SOS induction and mutagenesis by dnaQ missense alleles in wild type cells.

Mistranslation leads to elevated mutagenesis and replication arrest, both of which are hypothesized to result from the presence of mixed populations of wild type and mistranslated versions of DNA polymerase III subunit proteins. Consistent with this possibility, expression of missense alleles of dnaQ (which codes for the proofreading subunit ɛ) in wild type (dnaQ+) cells is shown to lead to SOS induction as well as mutagenesis. Exposure to sublethal concentrations of streptomycin, an aminoglycoside antibiotic known to promote mistranslation, also leads to SOS induction.

Update on food allergy in adults.

Though much has been studied and written about food allergy, the majority of the available literature focuses on food allergies in the pediatric population. Unfortunately, it is likely that in regard to food allergies, adults are not just big children, and extrapolating findings from pediatric to adult patient populations might lead to erroneous assumptions. Thus, it is important to validate the correlation between pediatric and adult data, gather data regarding adult food allergy and understand the specific nuances of subsets of adults to better treat their food allergy.

Surgical nuances for the endoscopic endonasal transpterygoid approach to lateral sphenoid sinus encephaloceles.

Lateral sphenoid encephaloceles of the Sternberg canal are rare entities and usually present with spontaneous CSF rhinorrhea. Traditionally, these were treated via transcranial approaches, which can be challenging given the deep location of these lesions. However, with advancements in endoscopic skull base surgery, including improved surgical exposures, angled endoscopes and instruments, and novel repair techniques, these encephaloceles can be resected and successfully repaired with purely endoscopic endonasal approaches.

A reporter assay to detect transfer and targeting of miRNAs in stem cell-breast cancer co-cultures.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small molecules, which regulate cellular function by mediating transient translational repression. Recent studies have demonstrated a role for miRNAs as important modulators of stem cell function that can be transferred from cell to cell through gap junctional intercellular communication. Similar transfer of miRNAs has been implicated in the etiology of breast cancer dormancy.

Brain natriuretic peptide in term pregnancy.

Objective: To determine the normal range of serum brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) in uncomplicated, singleton term pregnant patients.

Study Design: Serum for analysis of BNP was drawn at admission to labor and delivery (= 104), prior to administration of intravenous fluid.

Results: Median BNP was 20 pg/mL, with an interquartile range of 20 pg/mL (range 5-70 pg/mL; or a mean ± standard deviation [SD] of 23 ± 16 pg/mL).

Head, neck, and brain tumor embolization guidelines.

Background: Management of vascular tumors of the head, neck, and brain is often complex and requires a multidisciplinary approach. Peri-operative embolization of vascular tumors may help to reduce intra-operative bleeding and operative times and have thus become an integral part of the management of these tumors. Advances in catheter and non-catheter based techniques in conjunction with the growing field of neurointerventional surgery is likely to expand the number of peri-operative embolizations performed.

Naltrindole inhibits human multiple myeloma cell proliferation in vitro and in a murine xenograft model in vivo.

It has been demonstrated previously that immune cell activation and proliferation were sensitive to the effects of naltrindole, a nonpeptidic δ-opioid receptor-selective antagonist; therefore, we hypothesized that human multiple myeloma (MM) would be a valuable model for studying potential antineoplastic properties of naltrindole. [(3)H]naltrindole exhibited saturable, low-affinity binding to intact human MM cells; however, the pharmacological profile of the binding site differed considerably from the properties of δ-, κ-, and μ-opioid receptors, and opioid receptor mRNA was not detected in MM cells by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. Naltrindole inhibited the proliferation of cultured human U266 MM cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner with an EC(50) of 16 μM.

High-resolution computed tomography analysis of the medial infratemporal fossa: a pilot study.

Background: The medial aspect of the infratemporal fossa (ITF) can be accessed endoscopically. Two important landmarks to help guide dissection in this area have previously been identified: the anterior border of the foramen ovale (AFO) and the "bony bridge" (BB), a consistent bridge of bone between the foramen ovale and spinosum. We conducted a pilot study using high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) to measure the distances to these structures.

Efficacy of the pedicled nasoseptal flap without cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) diversion for repair of skull base defects: incidence of postoperative CSF leaks.

Background: The advances in endoscopic skull base surgery have led to the resection of increasingly larger cranial base lesions and the creation of larger skull base defects with the potential for increased postoperative high-flow cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks. These concerns led to the development of the vascularized pedicled nasoseptal flap (PNSF), which is now used as the mainstay for repair of large skull base defects in many academic centers. In this report, we review the incidence of postoperative CSF leaks in our institution in patients undergoing endoscopic skull base repair of high-flow CSF leaks with a vascularized PNSF without concurrent CSF diversion.

Nasoseptal flap repair after endoscopic transsellar versus expanded endonasal approaches: is there an increased risk of postoperative cerebrospinal fluid leak?

Objectives/hypothesis: The development of expanded endoscopic endonasal approaches (EEAs) has allowed resection of cranial-base lesions beyond the sella. One major criticism is an increased risk of postoperative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage because of the larger skull base defect. We evaluated our experience with vascularized pedicled nasoseptal flap (PNSF) reconstruction and compared the postoperative CSF leak rates between patients undergoing endoscopic transsphenoidal (transsellar) approaches versus expanded EEA (transplanum-transtuberculum, transcribriform, transclival).

Sonographic evaluation of supraspinatus cross-sectional area in collegiate baseball players.

Objective: To establish the normal thickness of the supraspinatus tendon in collegiate baseball players with the use of ultrasound and to determine whether there are any significant differences between the dominant and nondominant supraspinatus thickness.

Design: A cross-sectional observational study.

Setting: An outpatient clinical setting.

Distal urethral reconstruction with AlloDerm: a case report and review of the literature.

Reconstruction of large urethral defects is a complex problem for which no standardized surgical guidelines exist due to the lack of clinical trials demonstrating definitively the superiority of one technique over another. AlloDerm has been used in other surgical specialties with success, however, its utility in urologic surgery and, more specifically, for urethral reconstruction has been limited. In this case report, we demonstrate its application in a single-staged closure of a significant anterior urethral defect following distal penile necrosis secondary to an extruded penile prosthesis in a diabetic patient.

Ablation of sarcolipin results in atrial remodeling.

Sarcolipin (SLN) is a key regulator of sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum (SR) Ca(2+)-ATPase (SERCA), and its expression is altered in diseased atrial myocardium. To determine the precise role of SLN in atrial Ca(2+) homeostasis, we developed a SLN knockout (sln-/-) mouse model and demonstrated that ablation of SLN enhances atrial SERCA pump activity. The present study is designed to determine the long-term effects of enhanced SERCA activity on atrial remodeling in the sln-/- mice.