Photoclickable Surfaces for Profluorescent Covalent Polymer Coatings

The nitrile imine‐mediated tetrazole‐ene cycloaddition reaction (NITEC) is introduced as a powerful and versatile conjugation tool to covalently ligate macromolecules onto variable (bio)surfaces. The NITEC approach is initiated by UV irradiation and proceeds rapidly at ambient temperature yielding a highly fluorescent linkage. Initially, the formation of block copolymers by the NITEC methodology is studied to evidence its efficacy as a macromolecular conjugation tool. The grafting of polymers onto inorganic (silicon) and bioorganic (cellulose) surfaces is subsequently carried out employing the optimized reaction conditions obtained from the macromolecular ligation experiments and evidenced by surface characterization techniques, including X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and FT‐IR microscopy. In addition, the patterned immobilization of variable polymer chains onto profluorescent cellulose is achieved through a simple masking process during the irradiation.     

The significance of asbestos exposure in the diagnosis of mesothelioma: a 28-year experience from a major urban hospital

A continued increase in the incidence of diffuse mesothelioma has been attributed to greater industrial use of asbestos but is also due in part to wider acceptance of this tumor by pathologists. In this retrospective study, the epidemiology, clinical presentation, and pathology of asbestos and non-asbestos-related mesothelioma from a major urban hospital were reviewed. Of the 36 cases of mesothelioma on file, 19 were not associated with exposure to asbestos. Although a retrospective study raises the possibility of inadequate occupational histories, the lack of history of asbestos exposure correlated with postmortem histology by light microscopy. When postmortem material was reviewed, evidence of asbestos exposure was present in all cases of mesothelioma with history of exposure to asbestos, and in no cases in which the patient denied history of asbestos exposure. Using strict histologic and histochemical criteria, the diagnosis of mesothelioma was confirmed in 8 of 9 patients with asbestos-related mesothelioma but in only 4 of 13 cases of non-asbestos-related mesothelioma. The diagnosis of diffuse methelioma is often difficult to make even wtih complete autopsy examinations. It should be entertained only with adherence to strict clinical and pathologic criteria, especially in women with no history to exposure to asbestos dust.     

Chromosome 15-linked limb-girdle muscular dystrophy: clinical phenotypes in Reunion Island and French metropolitan communities

Erb's type limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD) was identified and clinically studied in detail in a small community living in the Reunion Island (RI). It was linked to chromosome 15q and related to mutations in the muscle specific calpain 3 gene. A series of cases were afterwards clinically and genetically identified in the French metropolitan community. The phenotype was identical to the RI type in the great majority of cases, although clinical differences were noticed in a few cases. Six different mutations were identified in the RI families, whereas a series of 39 mutations were detected in the French metropolitan families, all different from those present in the RI patients. Phenotype-genotype correlations were attempted in both communities.     

Comments on Ferguson's "Forty years of useless research?" (Vol. 24, no. 2, April 1983).

The authors comment on Kinglsey Ferguson's "Forty Years of Useless Research?" (see record 2007-03833-001). Ferguson has raised an important issue for all readers to consider. He has taken a courageous stand and is attempting to stimulate us, as he does his undergraduate students, to explore nondefensively where we stand as a science and what we need to do to improve the quality of our work. It it is only through the respectful marriage of the art and science of psychology that our field will prosper. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparative performance of disposable soft contact lenses.

A short-term clinical study was undertaken to compare and evaluate the fit and clinical behaviour of eight disposable hydrogel contact lenses. Thirty subjects were enrolled in a 1-day, randomised, double-masked study. The lenses compared were Vistakon Acuvue (8.80), Vistakon Surevue (8.80), Aspect Frequency-55, Bausch & Lomb Medalist (SeeQuence 2), Ciba Focus (8.90), Lunelle Rythmic, Pilkington Barnes Hind Precision-Wand Wesley Jessen Freshlook. Three of the eight designs, Acuvue (86.7%), Precision-UV (86.7%) and Frequency-55 (90%), achieved relatively high levels of fitting success. The Rythmic lenses achieved the lowest success rate (70%) showing significantly greater downward decentration than the other designs. Although all the lenses were designed to fit a wide variety of eyes, they exhibited widely varying fitting characteristics. Some were more successful than others. The study shows that it is necessary for practitioners to utilise a range of lens designs in order to fit satisfactorily the typical contact lens population.     

Gene structure of the human MET proto-oncogene

By direct sequencing of cosmids using primers designed from the known cDNA sequence, we identified 19 exons in the human MET proto-oncogene, and sequenced the corresponding 5' and 3' exon-intron junctions. By homology search in the database of the Washington University Genome Sequence Center (GSC), we identified one additional exon. These 20 exons, together with a previously reported exon, bring the total exon number of MET to 21. Oligonucleotide primers were designed to amplify each exon and adjacent intronic sequences to permit examination of each exon for mutations. By restriction mapping, we assembled a 110 kb genomic contig that covered almost the entire MET proto-oncogene. This information is relevant for the screening of recently reported mutations of the MET gene which cause hereditary papillary renal carcinomas and for the search for additional mutations of the same gene which may play a role in the pathogenesis of common human carcinomas including carcinomas of the breast, ovary and pancreas.