The polymorphic 43Thr bcl-2 protein confers relative resistance to autoimmunity: an analytical evaluation

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate a policy of two stage postpartum perineal repair leaving the skin unsutured. DESIGN: A stratified randomised controlled trial using a 2 x 2 factorial design. SETTING: The maternity unit at Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust, a district general hospital, between 1992 and 1994. SAMPLE: 1780 women requiring surgical repair of episiotomy or first or second degree tear following a spontaneous or simple instrumental delivery. METHODS: A policy of two-stage perineal repair leaving skin unsutured was compared with a policy of three stage repair including skin closure with interrupted or subcuticular sutures. Both groups were assessed by a research midwife, blind to the allocation, completing questionnaires at 24 to 48 hours and 10 days postpartum, and by self-completed questionnaires at three months after birth. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: 1. 24 to 48 hours postpartum: perineal pain; healing; 2. 10 days postpartum: perineal pain, healing and removal of sutures; 3. three months postpartum: perineal pain, removal of sutures, resuturing, dyspareunia, and failure to resume pain-free intercourse. RESULTS: Completed questionnaires were returned for 99% of women at both 24 to 48 hours and ten days and by 93% of women three months postpartum. No differences were detected in perineal pain at 24 to 48 hours (62% vs 64%; RR 0.96, 95% CI 0.90-1.03; 2P = 0.3) and 10 days (25% vs 28%; RR 0.90, 95% CI 0.77-1.06; 2P = 0.2). Significantly fewer women allocated to two-stage repair reported tight stitches at ten days (14% vs 18%; RR 0.77, 95% CI 0.62-0.96, 2P = 0.02); similar numbers of repairs were judged to be breaking down (five compared with seven women). At three months postpartum fewer women allocated to the two-stage repair reported perineal pain and more had resumed pain-free intercourse. Amongst women who had resumed intercourse there was a significant difference in dyspareunia (15% vs 19%; RR 0.80, 95% CI 0.65-0.99; 2P = 0.04). Significantly fewer women in the two-stage repair group (7% vs 12%; RR 0.61, 95% CI 0.45-0.83; 2P = < 0.01) reported removal of suture material. Four women in the two-stage repair group had required resuturing, compared with nine allocated to the three-stage repair. CONCLUSIONS: Two-stage repair of perineal trauma leaving the skin unsutured appears to reduce pain and dyspareunia three months postpartum. There are no apparent disadvantages, in particular no evidence of an increased risk of breakdown of the repair and resuturing.     

Aged garlic extract prolongs longevity and improves spatial memory deficit in senescence-accelerated mouse

The effects of aged garlic extract (AGE), chronically administered in the diet, on longevity and spatial learning performances were studied using the senescence-accelerated mouse (SAM). A solid diet containing 2% AGE was given to senescence-accelerated-prone mouse 8 (SAMP8) and senescence-accelerated-resistant mouse 1 (SAMR1) from 2 months of age. The survival ratio of SAMP8, a substrain of senescence-accelerated-prone mouse, was significantly lower than that of SAMR1, a substrain of senescence-resistant mouse. In the SAMP8, administration of AGE perfectly prevented the decrease in survival ratio. Moreover, AGE markedly improved the learning deficits of SAMP8 in the Morris water maze test. These results suggest the possibility that AGE prevents physiological aging and age-related memory disorders in human.     

Amino acids and peptides. XXXVI. Synthesis of enkephalin chloromethyl ketone and evaluation of its inhibitory activity against endopeptidase 22.19

Boc-Tyr-Gly-Gly-Phe-Leu-Ch2Cl was synthesized by the conventional solution method. During the course of acid hydrolysis (6N HCl, 110 degrees C, 18h) of Boc-Phe-Leu-CH2Cl, side reaction occurred, resulting in low recovery of Phe residue on amino acid analysis. The inhibitory activity of the synthesized Boc-Tyr-Gly-Gly-Phe-Leu-CH2Cl against endopeptidase 22.19, an enzyme related to the metabolism of opioid peptides, was examined.     

Technetium-99m-MIBI and thallium-201 scintigraphy of primary lung cancer

We evaluated the usefulness of 99mTc-MIBI scintigraphy in primary lung cancer in comparison with 201Tl-chloride scintigraphy. METHODS: There were 45 patients with primary lung cancer. All patients underwent dual-isotope imaging with 201Tl-chloride and 99mTc-MIBI. Regions of interest were placed over the tumors (T) and contralateral normal lung tissue (N) on one coronal view in the SPECT, and T/N ratio and retention index were calculated. RESULTS: The positive rate was 98% in both the early and delayed images for 201Tl-chloride and 96% in the early and 89% in the delayed image for 99mTc-MIBI. Both early and delayed T/N ratios for 201Tl-chloride were higher than those for 99mTc-MIBI. There was no significant correlation between T/N ratio and histological type of tumor in both images. However, in both images, there was a tendency for the early and delayed ratios to increase as the tumor diameter became larger. The retention index of 201Tl-chloride was higher than that of 99mTc-MIBI. There were no significant differences in the retention index with respect to the histological type and tumor size. CONCLUSION: The results of this preliminary clinical study suggest that 99mTl-MIBI can depict primary lung cancer similar to 201Tl-chloride. However, T/N ratio and retention index of 99mTc-MIBI in the tumor areas are significantly lower compared with those of 201Tl-chloride.     

A new treatment for penile conservation in penile carcinoma: a preliminary study of combined laser hyperthermia, radiation and chemotherapy

We have previously shown that the four promoters of the IGF2 gene are under a tight but dynamic control during human liver development, whereby P3 and P1 are reciprocally active before and after birth respectively while the P2 and P4 promoters are constitutively active at a relatively lower level. In this study, we investigated the methylation status of the promoters P1 and P3 of IGF2 and the promoter region of the H19 gene in developing human livers ranging from fetal to late adult. A region of about 300 bp immediately upstream of the IGF2 exon 5 was found to be subjected to a developmental-specific methylation and this may correlate to the P3 promoter activity. The P1 domain of IGF2 was also found to be methylated in a developmentally-specific pattern. The promoter region of the H19 gene displayed different methylation patterns in different development stages showing decreased general methylation with increase of age. Therefore, regional- and developmental-specific DNA methylation is displayed in the promoter regions of the IGF2 and H19 genes. This may be an important factor involved in gene regulation in the developing human liver.     

The mechanism of positive scintigraphy with 99mTc-pertechnetate in adenolymphomas of the parotid grand

Inhibin is a peptide hormone produced by ovarian granulosa cells and testicular Sertoli cells. Ovarian granulosa cell and other sex cord-stromal tumors usually exhibit positive immunohistochemical staining with antiinhibin antibodies, and this may be valuable in differentiating these neoplasms from histologic mimics. In the present study, we investigated the immunohistochemical staining of testicular sex cord-stromal tumors using antiinhibin. Immunostaining with CAM5.2, vimentin, S-100 protein, desmin, epithelial membrane antigen (EMA), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), and placental alkaline phosphatase (PLAP) also was performed because few studies have investigated in detail the immunophenotype of testicular sex cord-stromal tumors. Fifteen of 16 Leydig cell tumors exhibited strong positive staining with antiinhibin. A proportion of Leydig cell tumors also stained positively with CAM5.2 (7 of 16), vimentin (14 of 16), S-100 protein (10 of 16), desmin (2 of 16) and epithelial membrane antigen (4 of 16). Four of six testicular sex cord-stromal tumors with varying degrees of Sertoli or granulosa cell differentiation were positive with antiinhibin, as were two of three sex cord-stromal tumors that were unclassified. Some of these tumors were positive with CAM 5.2, vimentin, S-100 protein, desmin, and epithelial membrane antigen. All tumors were negative with carcinoembryonic antigen and placental alkaline phosphatase. The immunohistochemical findings show that, analogous to their ovarian counterparts, most testicular sex cord-stromal tumors are immunoreactive with antiinhibin. Immunohistochemistry using this antibody as part of a panel may be valuable in confirming a diagnosis of testicular sex cord-stromal tumor and in differentiating these neoplasms from others that may mimic them.     

A low-threshold polarization-controlled vertical-cavitysurface-emitting laser grown on GaAs (311)B substrate

We have demonstrated a GaAs (311)B vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) with a threshold current as low as 250 μA, which is the lowest value ever reported for that on non-(100) oriented substrates. Also, the fabricated VCSEL shows a stable polarization state for wide during current ranges and a large polarization-mode suppression ratio over 30 dB between the [2¯33] and [011¯] axis modes at 5 mA. The electrical specific resistance of 1.2×10^-4 Ω·cm^-2 at the threshold was reasonably low due to carbon autodoping to AlAs in a p-type distributed Bragg reflector (DBR)