Influence of dietary iron deficiency on acute metal intoxication

The frequent difficulties encountered in the diagnosis of pediatric sarcomas, caused by the lack of observable differentiation at the light microscopic level, has led to the routine use of immunohistochemistry in pediatric surgical pathology. To a large degree the advent of this staining technique has led to the correct assessment of many perplexing lesions that previously would have been given inconclusive diagnoses. However, with increased usage and testing, it has become apparent that there are few, if any, "magic bullets" in immunohistochemistry for pediatric pathologists. Thus, it behooves diagnosticians to be careful in the usage of this technique, to be aware of possible discrepancies in its results, and to remember the ancillary nature of its application. The following article will review selected markers commonly used in pediatric surgical pathology, from both previous reports and the author's perspective, and will briefly consider several new phenotypic markers which have potential utility with childhood sarcomas.     

Plasma somatomedin activity in normal and scoliotic children

In a study of plasma somatomedin activity in childhood scoliosis a group of five patients with congenital scoliosis was found to have significantly lower plasma somatomedin levels compared with a group of 20 normal children. A group of 52 patients with "idiopathic" scoliosis had normal plasma somatomedin levels. There is no apparent difference in the plasma somatomedin activity between the sexes, and no change in plasma somatomedin activity with chronologic age in these children, suggesting that normal adult somatomedin levels have been reached.     

Creatine kinase isoenzymes in serum from cord blood and the blood of healthy full-term infants during the first three postnatal days

Isoenzymes of creatine kinase (ATP:creatine phosphotransferase; EC 2.7.3.2; CK) were measured by electrophoresis in serum from cord blood and skin-puncture blood taken from 45 healthy full-term infants during the first three postnatal days. Mean total CK activities (in U/L at 30 degrees C) were 185 in cord samples, 536 in samples taken between 5--8 h postnatally, 494 between 24--33 h, and 288 in the 72-100 h samples. Values for all three isoenzymes increased to a peak over this period, with the highest values generally being found in the samples taken 5--33 h after birth; the subsequent decline was most rapid for CK-BB. Serum CK isoenzymes in cord samples and those taken at 72--100 h in the 11 babies delivered by cesarian section did not differ significantly from those of babies delivered vaginally. However the postnatal increases in total CK, CK-MM, and CK-MB (but not in CK-BB) were significantly greater in those patients born by vaginal delivery. The reasons for the increases in CK isoenzymes after birth are not clear, but our results and reported studies on the ontogeny of CK suggest that CK-MB cannot be regarded as a "cardiac-specific" isoenzyme in the neonatal period.     

Olfactory and auditory event-related potentials in Huntington's disease.

The influence of Huntington's disease (HD) on the olfactory event-related potential (OERP), an electrophysiological measure of olfactory information processing, has not been reported to date. In the present study, olfactory and auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded monopolarly from Fz, Cz, and Pz electrode sites in 8 patients with HD and 8 age- and gender-matched control participants. Results demonstrated that individuals with HD were delayed compared with controls on the P3 component of the OERP (p     

On the cultural guises of cognitive dissonance: The case of Easterners and Westerners.

Cognitive dissonance and effects of self-affirmation on dissonance arousal were examined cross-culturally. In Studies 1 and 2, European Canadians justified their choices more when they made them for themselves, whereas Asian Canadians (Study 1) or Japanese (Study 2) justified their choices more when they made them for a friend. In Study 3, an interdependent self-affirmation reduced dissonance for Asian Canadians but not for European Canadians. In Study 4, when Asian Canadians made choices for a friend, an independent self-affirmation reduced dissonance for bicultural Asian Canadians but not for monocultural Asian Canadians. These studies demonstrate that both Easterners and Westerners can experience dissonance, but culture shapes the situations in which dissonance is aroused and reduced. Implications of these cultural differences for theories of cognitive dissonance and self-affirmation are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cover Picture: Closing the Gap Between Self‐Assembly and Microsystems Using Self‐Assembly,Transfer, and Integration of Particles (Adv. Mater. 20/2005)

The cover shows 100 μm diameter glass spheres covered by a grid of hexagonally packed polystyrene beads. Wolf and co‐workers placed the 500 nm diameter polystyrene beads onto the larger spheres using the self‐assembly, transfer, and integration (SATI) process that they report on p. 2438. The cover illustrates the capability of SATI to process uneven surfaces in addition to the planar substrates discussed in the article. The carrier that holds the smaller beads deforms during their transfer onto the larger spheres, so that on the larger spheres patterned “caps” are formed. Using this process, which is compatible with standard microfabrication techniques, a variety of particle assemblies can be achieved.     

Generalized Linear Quadratic Gaussian Techniques for the Wind Benchmark Problem

This paper presents a comprehensive study of the stage-3 benchmark problem for response control of wind-excited tall buildings based on the linear quadratic gaussian (LQG) approach, and on its generalization, the k-cost-cumulant control method. For control design, the original nodal building model is first transformed into balanced modal space. The Hankel singular values (HSVs) and the power spectral density of the wind disturbances are calculated; and, based on them, a reduced-order model is derived by keeping the first six low-frequency modes. A balanced LQG (BLQG) controller is then determined by adopting the HSVs as a basis to choose the design weights. The main results of the paper are that the BLQG control design is able to come within 5–10% of the performance of the sample LQG controller supplied with the benchmark, but with control actions on the order of one-third less than the sample LQG, and with stability improvement features of a substantial nature over the range of stiffness perturbations specified in the benchmark. Finally, if the low authority BLQG controller is regarded as a one-cost-cumulant design, then with the appropriate use of the second-cost cumulant, the latter methodology is able to demonstrate how higher-authority controllers can give certain improvements in performance, but at the expense of significant investment in control action.     

Behavioral impairments related to cognitive dysfunction in the autoimmune New Zealand black mouse.

Compared the sensorimotor competence and performance of 7–20 mo old male New Zealand Black (NZB) mice and CFW mice on tasks requiring learning and memory, including passive shock avoidance, taste avoidance, tailflick, rotorod, locomotor activity, reflex evaluation, auditory startle response, shock-induced startle response, and active shock avoidance. Results demonstrate that NZBs showed pronounced deficits in performance of passive and active shock avoidance responses. These deficits could not be accounted for by the slight sensorimotor disadvantage of NZBs relative to CFWs. No difference between the 2 mouse strains was seen in passive avoidance behavior at 1.5 mo of age. It is concluded that NZBs display a behavioral deficit related to cognitive dysfunction and that autoimmune mechanisms may be involved in the etiology of this deficit. It is suggested that such behavioral disturbances produced by an autoimmune mechanism may have relevance for the neurological declines observed in aging since the incidence of autoimmune disorders increases markedly in old age. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

p53 codon 72 polymorphism in Taiwanese lung cancer patients: association with lung cancer susceptibility and prognosis

Previous studies have indicated that milrinone, a specific type III phosphodiesterase inhibitor, may be able to induce chloride secretion in cystic fibrosis (CF) tissues. We have now assessed the effect of this agent in vivo on the nasal epithelium of CF mutant mice and also in the nose and lungs of human subjects with CF. Wild-type mice showed a small hyperpolarization of the nasal potential difference (PD) in response to milrinone (100 microM, 1.6 +/- 0.6 mV, n = 8, P < 0.05). In contrast, CF mice carrying either the most common human mutation of the gene for the CF transmembrane regulator (CFTR), DeltaF508 (protein mislocalized), or the G551D mutation (protein normally localized) failed to demonstrate this response. Milrinone perfused alone had no significant effect on the baseline nasal PD of human subjects without CF (14.7 +/- 4.0 mV preperfusion; 15.3 +/- 4.6 mV postperfusion), but significantly (P < 0.05) augmented the hyperpolarization induced by a subsequently perfused low-chloride solution (with milrinone, 36.8 +/- 3.0 mV, n = 6; without milrinone, 18.1 +/- 2.2 mV, n = 19). In contrast, in human subjects with CF (n = 6), milrinone alone significantly (P < 0. 05) altered the nasal baseline PD (52.2 +/- 3.3 mV preperfusion; 57. 4 +/- 4.2 mV, postperfusion) but not the subsequent responses to the low-chloride solution (with milrinone, 1.1 +/- 2.2 mV, n = 4; without milrinone, 0.6 +/- 0.5 mV, n = 28) or to isoproterenol (100 microM). In a separate study in subjects (n = 6) with the DeltaF508 mutation, nasal coadministration of milrinone with isoproterenol produced no effect in the presence of amiloride and a low-chloride solution (-0.8 +/- 0.5 mV). This was also the case in the nasal epithelium of CF subjects (n = 4) carrying at least one G551D allele (-0.3 +/- 0.8 mV). Similarly, milrinone did not hyperpolarize the PD of either the tracheal (n = 6) or segmental (n = 6) airways of CF subjects (DeltaF508) when applied topically in vivo in the presence of amiloride, isoproterenol, or adenosine triphosphate (all 100 microM) in a low-chloride solution. These data do not support the use of milrinone to induce chloride secretion in CF airways in vivo.     

Strategies for Therapeutic Amelioration of Aberrant Plasma Zn2+ Handling in Thrombotic Disease: Targeting Fatty Acid/Serum Albumin-Mediated Effects

The initiation, maintenance and regulation of blood coagulation is inexorably linked to the actions of Zn²⁺ in blood plasma. Zn²⁺ interacts with a variety of haemostatic proteins in the bloodstream including fibrinogen, histidine-rich glycoprotein (HRG) and high molecular weight kininogen (HMWK) to regulate haemostasis. The availability of Zn²⁺ to bind such proteins is controlled by human serum albumin (HSA), which binds 70–85% of plasma Zn²⁺ under basal conditions. HSA also binds and transports non-esterified fatty acids (NEFAs). Upon NEFA binding, there is a change in the structure of HSA which leads to a reduction in its affinity for Zn²⁺. This enables other plasma proteins to better compete for binding of Zn²⁺. In diseases where elevated plasma NEFA concentrations are a feature, such as obesity and diabetes, there is a concurrent increase in hypercoagulability. Evidence indicates that NEFA-induced perturbation of Zn²⁺-binding by HSA may contribute to the thrombotic complications frequently observed in these pathophysiological conditions. This review highlights potential interventions, both pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical that may be employed to combat this dysregulation. Lifestyle and dietary changes have been shown to reduce plasma NEFA concentrations. Furthermore, drugs that influence NEFA levels such as statins and fibrates may be useful in this context. In severely obese patients, more invasive therapies such as bariatric surgery may be useful. Finally, other potential treatments such as chelation therapies, use of cholesteryl transfer protein (CETP) inhibitors, lipase inhibitors, fatty acid inhibitors and other treatments are highlighted, which with additional research and appropriate clinical trials, could prove useful in the treatment and management of thrombotic disease through amelioration of plasma Zn²⁺ dysregulation in high-risk individuals.