Case report: renal morbidity and compensatory renal responses associated with flank radiotherapy in two children

Unilateral kidney irradiation, above renal tolerance, is occasionally necessary in the treatment of flank tumours in childhood. Renal atrophy follows. There is often a gradual increase in the function of the contralateral kidney to compensate for the radiation injury. The development of this compensatory response appears to be influenced by both age and any dose of radiation received. We report the cases of two children who received high dose unilateral kidney radiotherapy as part of the multimodality treatment of a flank tumour and consider the influences on compensatory hypertrophy of the contralateral kidney.     

Electronic structure evidence for all‐trans poly(methylvinylidene cyanide)

On the basis of a comparison of theoretical quantum calculations, by both semiempirical and ab initio methods, with photoemission and inverse photoemission results, we suggest that polymethylvinylidenecyanide (PMVC) adopts an all‐trans conformation with few, if any, alternating trans‐gauche carbon–carbon bond arrangements. The comparison of theory with the available photoemission and inverse photoemission excludes the presence of a significant fraction of gauche bonds in the polymer chains, indicative of the all‐trans conformation, with dipoles all aligned. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2008. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Experimental Study on the Burning Behavior of Pool Fires in Rooms with Different Wall Linings

An experimental test series, comprising 10 experiments with varying pool sizes, lining materials and amounts of liquid burning, was conducted under free burn and room burn conditions. The thermal feedback from the enclosure (ISO 9705 Room Corner Test facility) enhanced the burning rate of the pools and resulted in a thermal runaway in some of the runs. The onset of the thermal runaway, which can be associated with flashover, varied with all the input parameters. The lining with the lowest thermal inertia lead to the fastest increase in the heat release rate (HRR) in the enclosure and caused flashover in the shortest time. Given the profound difference between the enclosure tests and the free burn tests and also between enclosure tests with different linings, it is recommended to show great caution if free burn tests are to be used in design fire scenarios.     

Structure–Activity Relationship Study of Spider Polyamine Toxins as Inhibitors of Ionotropic Glutamate Receptors

The spider polyamine toxins Joro spider toxin‐3 (JSTX‐3) and Nephila polyamine toxins‐1 and ‐8 (NPTX‐1 and NPTX‐8) are isolated from the venom of the orb‐weaver spider Nephila clavata (Joro spider). They share a high degree of structural resemblance, their aromatic head groups being the only difference, and were recently found to be very potent open‐channel blockers of ionotropic glutamate (iGlu) receptors. In this study we designed and synthesized a collection of 24 analogues of these toxins using a recently developed solid‐phase synthetic methodology. Systematic variation in two regions of the toxins and subsequent evaluation of biological activity at AMPA and NMDA subtypes of iGlu receptors provided succinct information on structure–activity relationships. In particular, one set of analogues were found to display exquisite selectivity and potency for AMPA receptors relative to the natural products. Thus, this systematic SAR study has provided new pharmacological tools for studies of iGlu receptors.     

Building-related symptoms and inflammatory potency of dust from office buildings

The aim was to investigate the association between building-related symptoms (BRS) in office buildings and the inflammatory potency of dust (PD). Furthermore, the association between dust potency and various building characteristics was investigated. Occupants of 22 office buildings received a retrospective questionnaire about BRS (2301 respondents). Dust was collected from groups of offices and building characteristics were recorded. The potency of a dust sample to induce interleukin-8 (IL-8) secretion from the lung epithelial cell line A549 was measured as the slope of the initial linear part of the concentration-response curve. Symptoms of the central nervous system (CNS) were associated with the potency of surface dust (OR = 1.4). This association may be due to an association between an index of CNS symptoms and dust potency in offices of 1-6 occupants (OR = 1.5). No single symptoms correlated with the potency of surface dust. The PD was not related to single building factors. The inflammatory PD may be used as an integrated proxy measure of biologically active compounds in dust, reflecting health relevant properties of the dust. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The potency of surface dust may be used as a crude measurement of the chemical and biological exposures present in the building, and being associated with the development of central nervous system symptoms. However, additional research is needed to establish the predictive value of the potency of surface dust.     

Selecting a battery of bioassays for ecotoxicological characterization of wastes

This study was conducted in France within the context of waste classification (Hazardous Waste Council Directive 91/689/EEC), and focused on "ecotoxic" property (H14). In 1998, an experimental test strategy was developed to assess ecotoxicological properties of wastes using a battery of six standardized bioassays. This combined direct and indirect approaches integrating two solid-phase tests: emergence and growth inhibition of Lactuca sativa (14 days), mortality of Eisenia fetida (14 days) and four standardized tests performed on water extracts from wastes: growth inhibition of Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata (3 days), inhibition of mobility of Daphnia magna (48 h), inhibition of reproduction of Ceriodaphnia dubia (7 days), inhibition of light emission of Vibrio fischeri (30 min). This study aimed to set up preliminary conclusions on relevancy of this experimental test strategy, based on data obtained since 1998. Results were analyzed from the combined use of Hierarchical Cluster Analysis, Principal Component Analysis and Nonlinear Mapping. These multivariate analyses clearly showed that it was possible to reduce this number of tests without changing the typology of the wastes. A battery of bioassays including one solid phase test and two tests performed on water extracts (L. sativa, V. fischeri and C. dubia) was found as an optimal solution for characterizing the toxicity of the studied wastes. This optimal battery represents a good basis for determining the H14 property.     

Quality of life development during initial hemodialysis therapy and association with loss of residual renal function

Introduction: Health related quality of life (HRQOL) is markedly reduced in hemodialysis patients compared to the general population. We investigated the course of self‐reported HRQOL over time and the association with selected factors, focusing on changes in glomerular filtration rate (GFR). Methods: Eighty‐two newly started hemodialysis patients from the SAFIR cohort filled out the Kidney Disease Quality of Life Short Form Version 1.3 (KDQOL‐SF^TM) questionnaire at baseline, 6 and 12 months. The SAFIR study was a randomized, placebo‐controlled, double‐blind intervention study, examining the effects of the angiotensin II receptor blocker irbesartan. HRQOL was a secondary outcome measure. Main inclusion criteria: Dialysis vintage <1 year, left ventricular ejection fraction >30% and urinary output >300 mL/day. GFR was measured with mean creatinine and urea clearance from 24‐hour urine collections at baseline, 6 and 12 months. Findings: Irbesartan treatment did not affect HRQOL. Patients were pooled into one group for further analyses. Decline in GFR correlated significantly with decreasing HRQOL over time. HRQOL was stable over time, with a slight nonsignificant tendency toward improved HRQOL. The largest HRQOL‐differences (positive values equal improved HRQOL) observed during the 12 month study period were (mean[95% confidence interval]): Burden of kidney disease:6.4[?2.2;15.0], Role limitations‐physical:12.7[?2.1;27.5], and Role limitations‐emotional:9.7[?5.2;24.6]. Comorbidity, especially diabetes, hospital admissions, female gender, and age were strongly associated with lower HRQOL in cross sectional analysis. Discussion: Preservation of residual renal function seems to be important for HRQOL. In newly started HD patients, HRQOL showed little change after 12 months. HRQOL was negatively affected by comorbidity, especially diabetes, hospital admissions, female gender, and age.     

PH-dependent self-assembly of the short Surfactant-like peptide KA6

Self-assembly of amphiphilic peptides designed during the last ten years by different research groups lead to a large variety of 3D-structures that already found applications in e.g., for stabilization of large protein complexes, cell culturing systems etc. We present synthesis and characterization of a novel amphiphilic peptide KA6 that exhibits clear charge separation controllable by the pH of the environment. The self-assembly in this system is largely governed by electrostatic interaction, thus a change in pH will not only lead to a change in critical micellar concentration (CMC) of the peptide but also to the changes in micellar structure as revealed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and circular dichroism (CD) study. At basic pH the micellar structure inverts exposing the opposite end of the peptide chain to the solution. This interesting phenomenon could provide basis for novel pH sensitive materials including drug delivery and controlled release systems.     

Measuring strain distributions in amorphous materials.

A number of properties of amorphous materials including fatigue, fracture and component performance are governed by the magnitude of strain fields around inhomogeneities such as inclusions, voids and cracks. At present, localized strain information is only available from surface probes such as optical or electron microscopy. This is unfortunate because surface and bulk characteristics in general differ. Hence, to a large extent, the assessment of strain distributions relies on untested models. Here we present a universal diffraction method for characterizing bulk stress and strain fields in amorphous materials and demonstrate its efficacy by work on a material of current interest in materials engineering: a bulk metallic glass. The macroscopic response is shown to be less stiff than the atomic next-neighbour bonds because of structural rearrangements at the scale of 4-10 A. The method is also applicable to composites comprising an amorphous matrix and crystalline inclusions.