Triplet pregnancy after pulsatile gonadotrophin-releasing hormone treatment in an acromegalic woman

A triplet pregnancy is reported in an acromegalic woman with hypothalamic amenorrhoea treated with pulsatile gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH). The patient was on bromocriptine medication and had slightly elevated growth hormone (GH) and somatomedin-C (Sm-C) levels. This probably accounted for the conception of triplets in the first stimulation cycle.     

Modes of moral judgment among early adolescents

Early adolescence is an important definitional stage during which a value system and behavior code are largely shaped (Levy, 1988). Since one's value system and behavior code govern moral reasoning and resultant behavior, how early adolescents reason about moral/value issues has implications for schools, parents, and society as a whole. This study found that early adolescents use a variety of modes to make moral decisions. These include care--where they wish others not to suffer; justice--where decisions are made according to principles (golden rule), and narrowly concerned or selfish. All three modes were used by males and females; however, males were much more likely to choose the narrowly concerned mode than were females.     

Arabinogalactan from the Western larch tree: A new, purified and highly water-soluble polysaccharide-based protecting agent for maintaining precious metal nanoparticles in colloidal suspension

TEM and non-contact atomic force microscopy studies conducted on unprotected and protected platinum, palladium and silver nanoparticle suspensions provide evidence for the protective ability of a newly available polysaccharide known as arabinogalactan. The arabinogalactan offers advantages over conventionally used gum arabic in being highly water soluble, capable of being prepared in higher purity and not settling out insoluble material over time. Nanoparticle suspensions prepared in the presence of this protecting agent show a change in overall particle morphology and reduction in the necklace like aggregation typical of unprotected particles on the TEM grids. It is believed that the protective action exerted by the arabinogalactan on the metal nanoparticles arises out of its unique spheroidal structure adopted in aqueous solution which is thought to sequester individual metal particles by virtue of surface interactions between oxide functionalities on the colloid and hydroxyl groups on the arabinogalactan.     

Long-term results after liver transplantation for primary hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma

BACKGROUND: Hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (PHEHE) is a multifocal, low-grade malignant neoplasia characterized by its epithelial-like appearance and vascular endothelial histogenesis. The outcome of 16 patients treated with orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) is the subject of this report. METHODS: A retrospective study of 16 patients with HEHE (7 men, 9 women) with ages ranging from 24 to 58 years (mean 37 +/- 10.6 years). Follow-up intervals ranged from 1 to 15 years (median of 4.5 years). RESULTS: Actual patient survival at 1, 3, and 5 years was 100, 87.5, and 71.3%, respectively. Disease-free survival at 1, 3, and 5 years was 81.3, 68.8, and 60.2%, respectively. The 90-day operative mortality was 0. Involvement of the hilar lymph nodes or vascular invasion did not affect survival. The 5-year survival of HEHE compares favorably with that of hepatocellular carcinoma at the same stage (stage 4A): 71.3 versus 9.8% (p = 0.001) CONCLUSIONS: The long-term survival obtained in this series justifies OLT for these tumors even in the presence of limited extrahepatic disease.     

Prognostic value of cellular proliferation and histologic grade in follicular lymphoma

The clinical usefulness of histologic grading in follicular lymphoma (FL) is controversial and is further compromised by the subjective nature and poor reproducibility of most systems in current use. Therefore, we decided to objectively evaluate the importance of cellular proliferation in FL, along with the current grading systems. We studied 106 patients with FL who were uniformly staged and aggressively treated. A proliferative index (PI) was determined quantitatively using an automated image analyzer and a new Ki-67 antibody that stains archival paraffin tissues. The cases were also subclassified according to the Berard, Rappaport, Luke-Collins, and Jaffe methods, and survival analysis was performed. Patients with a low PI (< 40%) had a significantly longer overall survival (OS) than those with a high PI (> or = 40%), but the PI did not predict failure-free survival (FFS). The mean PI correlated well with the subgroups in each of the various classifications. All four of the classification methods were predictive of OS, but only the Berard method appeared to predict FFS and suggest that a proportion of patients with FL may be curable. In multivariate analysis, histologic classification was the only independent predictor of OS (Berard method: relative risk, 3.1) and the International Prognostic Index was the only independent predictor of FFS (relative risk, 2.3). We conclude that the Berard method for grading of FL is clinically useful and, along with the International Prognostic Index, should be included in future clinical studies of FL. The measurement of cellular proliferation does not appear to add additional useful information in FL.