Hybrid verrucous squamous cell carcinoma of sinonasal tract: a case report

Verrucous carcinoma is a variant of squamous cell carcinoma and should be distinguished from benign papilloma and well-differentiated nonverrucous squamous cell carcinoma. It is rare tumor of the sinonasal tract. Occasionally, conventional squamous cell carcinomatous components may be seen in verrucous carcinoma. This entity is called a hybrid verrucous squamous cell carcinoma. We report a case of hybrid verrucous squamous cell carcinoma occurring in the nasal cavity and paranasal sinus of a 67-year-old male. The removed mass shows the typical feature of verrucous carcinoma, but focally conventional squamous cell carcinomatous area is also noted. The treatment of this case follows verrucous carcinoma, but close follow up is mandatory because it may potentially spread to regional lymph nodes in contrast to pure form of verrucous carcinoma.     

Analyses of coronary graft patency after aprotinin use: results from the International Multicenter Aprotinin Graft Patency Experience (IMAGE) trial

OBJECTIVE: We examined the effects of aprotinin on graft patency, prevalence of myocardial infarction, and blood loss in patients undergoing primary coronary surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. METHODS: Patients from 13 international sites were randomized to receive intraoperative aprotinin (n = 436) or placebo (n = 434). Graft angiography was obtained a mean of 10.8 days after the operation. Electrocardiograms, cardiac enzymes, and blood loss and replacement were evaluated. RESULTS: In 796 assessable patients, aprotinin reduced thoracic drainage volume by 43% (P < .0001) and requirement for red blood cell administration by 49% (P < .0001). Among 703 patients with assessable saphenous vein grafts, occlusions occurred in 15.4% of aprotinin-treated patients and 10.9% of patients receiving placebo (P = .03). After we had adjusted for risk factors associated with vein graft occlusion, the aprotinin versus placebo risk ratio decreased from 1.7 to 1.05 (90% confidence interval, 0.6 to 1.8). These factors included female gender, lack of prior aspirin therapy, small and poor distal vessel quality, and possibly use of aprotinin-treated blood as excised vein perfusate. At United States sites, patients had characteristics more favorable for graft patency, and occlusions occurred in 9.4% of the aprotinin group and 9.5% of the placebo group (P = .72). At Danish and Israeli sites, where patients had more adverse characteristics, occlusions occurred in 23.0% of aprotinin- and 12.4% of placebo-treated patients (P = .01). Aprotinin did not affect the occurrence of myocardial infarction (aprotinin: 2.9%; placebo: 3.8%) or mortality (aprotinin: 1.4%; placebo: 1.6%). CONCLUSIONS: In this study, the probability of early vein graft occlusion was increased by aprotinin, but this outcome was promoted by multiple risk factors for graft occlusion.     

Prevention of heterocyclic amine formation by tea and tea polyphenols

Heterocyclic amines (HCAs), formed during the cooking of meats and fish, are thought to be the genotoxic carcinogens associated with important types of human cancer in meat-eating populations, such as cancer of the breast, colon or pancreas. We studied the effect of black or green tea, and of the tea polyphenols theaflavine gallate (TFG, black tea) and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG, green tea) on the formation of typical HCAs, 2-amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline (MeIQx), and 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP), using the model in vitro systems of J?gerstad. Green tea and black tea and solutions of TFG and EGCG lower the formation of PhIP by 62-85% during 1 h heating at 160 degrees C of 1 mmol creatinine, 1 mmol phenylalanine and 0.5 mmol glucose in 3.3 ml diethylene glycol-water (10:1), where the inhibitors replaced 0.3 ml of the water. The production of MeIQx and related HCAs, in the same system but with 1 mmol glycine instead of phenylalanine was likewise reduced, determined by amounts of mutagens formed. In the latter systems, the teas were not, or less effective, but the polyphenols were inhibitory. Thus, the tea products represent another approach to lower the formation of HCAs.     

(R,R)-2,2'-[1,2-ethanediylbis[imino(1-methyl-2,1-ethanediyl)]]- bis[5-nitro-1H-benz[de]isoquinoline-1,3-(2H)-dione] dimethanesulfonate (DMP 840), a novel bis-naphthalimide with potent nonselective tumoricidal activity in vitro

(R,R)-2,2'-[1,2-ethanediylbis[imino(1-methyl-2,1-ethanediyl)]]- bis[5-nitro-1H-benz[de]isoquinoline-1,3-(2H)-dione] dimethanesulfonate (DMP 840), is a bis-naphthalimide anticancer tumoricidal agent currently in phase I clinical trials. DMP 840 exhibits curative activity in human tumor xenografts, where it shows selectivity for human solid tumors over murine leukemias. In contrast to the selectivity found for DMP 840 in vivo, DMP 840 exhibits potent antiproliferative activity in vitro against a variety of human and murine leukemia and solid tumor cell lines in culture, with inhibitory doses that reduce the number of treated cells to one half (IC50) values ranging from 2.3 to 53 nM. DMP 840 was growth inhibitory to three doxorubicin-resistant cell lines with IC50 values also in the nanomolar range. Clonogenic survival experiments showed that DMP 840 was equally cytotoxic to both exponentially growing and quiescent human clone A colon carcinoma cells. A 1-h incubation of DMP 840 (1.22-12 microM) caused 5-log cell kill in KB-3-1 human epidermoid carcinoma, clone A human colon carcinoma, and L1210 murine leukemia cell lines. The rapid cell killing by DMP 840 in clonogenic survival experiments and initial mechanism of action studies was consistent with a DNA-interactive mechanism for DMP 840 cytotoxicity. Mechanism of action studies in L1210 leukemia cells demonstrated that DMP 840 inhibited the incorporation of thymidine and uridine into DNA and RNA with IC50 values of 0.55 and 0.08 microM, respectively. DMP 840 produced DNA single-strand breaks in a dose-dependent manner. Double-strand breaks were not observed with DMP 840 treatment, even at higher concentrations of compound. Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) and P388 cells resistant to camptothecin and containing a mutant form of topoisomerase I were also used to evaluate whether DMP 840 was cross-resistant with agents active against topoisomerase I. While the CHOR line was 163-fold resistant to camptothecin, the CHOR line was only 1.7-fold resistant to DMP 840. In summary, DMP 840 is a DNA-interactive agent that demonstrates excellent antiproliferative activity in vitro against cultured tumor cells from both human and murine sources. Its mechanism of tumoricidal activity may be novel.     

Discovery of a novel tetrahydroacridine acetylcholinesterase inhibitor through an indexed combinatorial library

BACKGROUND: Methods for the rapid and efficient preparation of drug candidates through combinatorial chemistry are of increasing interest. We have previously reported an indexed combinatorial library method that allows both the preparation and testing of compounds in solution. We set out to apply this method to develop more effective analogs of the known, marketed drug tacrine, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor. RESULTS: A one-step condensation of cyclohexanones with cyanoanilines to generate tetrahydroacridine pools was developed. The resulting library of (formally) 72 tetrahydroacridines was screened against acetylcholinesterase, and a compound 10-fold more potent than tacrine, 7-nitrotacrine, was discovered. Its increased potency could be readily explained by examining the known structure of the complex of acetylcholinesterase with tetrahydroacridine. CONCLUSIONS: In this work, we have provided a relatively rare example of carbon-carbon bond formation in a pool synthesis and have discovered a potentially useful acetylcholinesterase inhibitor.     

Two-dimensional ultrasonic tomography in nondestructive evaluation by using area functions

It is shown that the (normalized) area function based on the Born approximation offers a simple connection between the ultrasonic scattering response and the monochromatic ray sum in X-ray CT (computerized tomography). Because of this simple association, it is possible to apply the ultrasonic signals in the computationally direct and efficient parallel-beam X-ray CT algorithm to reproduce the vertical thickness function of an ultrasonic scatterer. The development of this imaging methodology is demonstrated for flaws of simple geometry; theoretical as well as experimental results for two model scatterers using this imaging technique are reported. Specifically, the area functions for a two-to-one spheroid and a circular cylinder are calculated and applied to a filtered backprojection algorithm of X-ray CT to obtain the vertical thickness function images. These images are then compared with the true vertical thickness functions of the targets based on their geometry. With theoretical data, this method was found to work very well. Even when experimental data containing creeping waves were used, the method produced satisfactory results for objects with continuously smooth surface.     

PGT: news recommendation coalescing personal and global temporal preferences

Knowledge and Information Systems - Given sequential news watch logs of users, how can we accurately recommend news articles? Compared to other items (e.g., movies and e-commerce products) for a...     

A study of the corrosion properties of plasma nitrocarburized and oxidized AISI 1020 steels

Plasma nitrocarburized AISI 1020 steels were oxidized for 15, 30 and 60 min to evaluate their corrosion and microstructural properties. After plasma nitrocarburizing for 3 h at 570°C in a gas mixture comprising 85 vol.% N₂, 12vol.% H₂ and 3 vol.% CH₄, the compound layer composed of ɛ-Fe_2–3(N,C) and γ’-Fe₄(N,C) phases and the diffusion layer above the matrix were observed. The top oxide layer, consisting mainly of magnetite (Fe₂O₄) and hematite (Fe₂O₃) phases, forms after post-oxidation treatment at 500°C. However, the oxide layer was severely degraded by spallation as a result of increases in post-oxidizing time. The difference in corrosion resistance should be attributed to the thickness of the top oxide layer, which was governed by post-oxidizing time.     

SEQUENTIAL LOOP CLOSING IDENTIFICATION OF MULTIVARIABLE PROCESSES USING THE BIASED RELAY FEEDBACK METHOD

Each controller in multiloop control systems for multivariable processes can be tuned sequentially with the ultimate information for the paired input and output while former loops have been closed, and hence, single-input single-output autotuning methods can be applied. In this sequential autotuning for multiloop control systems, several iterations are usually required for better control performances. Especially when pairings are undesirable, the autotuning sequences should be repeated with correct pairings, which result in long field experiments. Here, to avoid this drawback, a simple method to identify process models while loops are being sequentially tuned is proposed. The identified models can be used to correct pairings of multiloop control systems and to improve tuning performances without several field iterations. In addition, they can be used to obtain model-based control systems such as decoupling control systems.     

Kinetics of volume expansion during infusion of Ringer’s solution based on two volume model

In this work mathematical models were developed to represent the kinetics of volume changes of fluid spaces associated with infusion of Ringer’s solution. During infusion of Ringer’s solution, the human body is assumed to be characterized by the two-fluid space model which has second volume space in addition to the first volume so that fluid exchanges between these two spaces are possible. Various infusion types were tested to accommodate different medical situations. Volunteers were given Ringer’s solution and the changes in blood hemoglobin were detected. From the comparison with experimental data, the two-fluid space model was found to represent adequately the kinetics of human volume expansion during infusion of Ringer’s solution.