Mixed medullary-follicular carcinoma and papillary carcinoma of the same thyroid

We report a rare case of mixed medullary-follicular carcinoma and papillary carcinoma of the same thyroid. A 27-year-old Chinese female complained of a single thyroid nodule for 2-3 months. Needle aspiration revealed suspicious papillary carcinoma and thyroidectomy performed later showed mixed medullary-follicular carcinoma and papillary carcinoma of the same thyroid which was extremely rare. Whether neoplastic transformation is due to tumorigenic stimulus or just due to the collision phenomenon is still controversial for its etiology.     

Development of esophageal metaplasia and adenocarcinoma in a rat surgical model without the use of a carcinogen

In order to establish an animal model for studying the cause and prevention of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) and its frequent precursor, Barrett's esophagus (BE), factors affecting the pathogenic processes were investigated in an esophagoduodenal anastomosis model with rats. Experiments by us and others have shown that surgical treatment produced reflux esophagitis with cell hyperproliferation, but not EAC. Additional treatment with a carcinogen has been shown to be necessary for the development of EAC, squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) or EAC/SCC mixtures. We found that the surgically treated animals developed anemia due possibly to reduced iron absorption. When the operated animals were supplemented with iron, EAC occurred at a high rate (73%) after 30 weeks, and treatment with N'-nitrosonornicotine did not enhance the rate of tumorigenesis. Treatment with carcinogen, however, induced SCC in the group of rats killed after 22 weeks. The results suggest that iron overload, which is known to cause oxidative damage, is an enhancing factor for adenocarcinogenesis. The pathogenesis of EAC in the iron-supplemented, non-carcinogen treated group resembles human esophageal adenocarcinogenesis in many features. All the BE was the specialized type with goblet cells (containing sialomucin or sulfomucin) and columnar cells (containing acid or neutral mucin) as well as an incompletely developed brush border. Almost all of the BE was located at the bottom of the esophagus and was continuous with the duodenal mucosa; dysplasia became more frequent at later time points. All of the cancers were well-differentiated mucinous EAC, and most of the EAC had an adjacent area of BE with dysplasia. The results are consistent with the proposed human sequence for pathogenic events of BE progression to 'BE with dysplasia' and then to EAC. Esophagoduodenal anastomosis and iron treatment in rats produces a high rate of BE and EAC which are morphologically similar to human BE and EAC; this may be a useful animal model to study the development and prevention of EAC in humans.     

Practical synthesis of 4-hydroxy-3-oxobutylphosphonic acid and its evaluation as a bio-isosteric substrate of DHAP aldolase

An efficient four step synthesis of the title compound 4-hydroxy-3-oxobutylphosphonate (2) has been developed based on inexpensive 4-ethoxy-1-hydroxybutane-2-one using an Arbusow reaction (59% overall yield). Several dihydroxyacetone-dependent aldolases having different stereospecificities were tested for their acceptance of this phosphonomethyl substrate mimic as the aldol donor. Individual enzymes belonging to both type I (Schiff base formation) and type II (Zn2+ catalysis) mechanistic classes were found to catalyze the stereoselective addition of 2 to simple aldehydes to provide bio-isosteric analogs of sugar 1-phosphates in high yields. The lack of acceptance by specific enzymes is discussed with regard to recent protein X-ray data.     

Dentofacial disharmony: psychological status of patients seeking treatment consultation

High hydrostatic pressure treatments are regarded as possible alternative methods for food preservation. One of the primary considerations for industrial applications is the ability of these methods to eradicate pathogenic microorganisms. This study subjected S. typhimurium suspensions, first in a phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) and then in a citrate phosphate buffer (pH 5.6), to high hydrostatic pressure treatments relative to the following variables: pressure (200-400 MPa), duration (3, 10 and 20 min), temperature (4, 20 and 40 degrees C) and the pH of the suspension medium (5.6 and 7.0). An optimal design of 40 runs was obtained using the Fedorov algorithm, and responses were studied by analysis of variance in terms of cell survival on plate count agar. Efficiency was determined by Log10 comparisons of the numbers of live cells before and after treatment. A statistically significant relationship was found between the four variables considered (pressure, pH, duration and temperature), their interactions (duration x pressure, pH x temperature, pH x pressure) and the inactivation of S. typhimurium. R-squared statistical analysis indicated that the linear model used accounted for more than 98% of the variability in the inactivation of S. typhimurium.     

Energy utilization of retrograded starch by sows]

The inferior colliculus neurons which characteristic frequencies are in the range of 17-25 kHz, corresponding in mice to the width of psychophysical critical band with central frequency of 20 kHz, revealed all types of rate/level functions traditional to the auditory system neurons: monotonic, plateau and non-monotonic. Simultaneous presentation of two tones provide the following effects in the neuron response area: threshold sensitivity shift to high intensities; the reduction of intensity range within the neuron frequency response area; the increase of neurons selectivity to the stimulus frequency parameters, cause not only restriction of response exhibitory area, but threshold decrease on the CF stimulus. The finding suggest a coexistence of two inhibitory systems, one of which provides the stability of auditory system's frequency selectivity in the wide intensity range and the other regulating perception of signal intensity within neuron frequency area.     

Laying down the law: reducing illegal tobacco sales to minors in central Harlem

OBJECTIVES: This study compared the impact of educational and enforcement interventions on retailers' sale of tobacco to minors in Central Harlem, New York. METHODS: In a randomized trial with repeated measures, 152 stores were randomly divided into control, education, and enforcement groups. RESULTS: Overall tobacco sales to 12- and 13-year-old minors at baseline (98%) were among the highest in the nation. At 6-month and 1-year follow-ups, decreases in rates of tobacco sales to minors were modest among education stores and substantial among enforcement stores. CONCLUSIONS: Effective reduction of tobacco sales to minors may require ongoing enforcement measures, including fines for retailers who violate state and local laws.     

Towards an improved understanding of sweetener synergy

Sweetener synergy is of vital practical importance to the food manufacturer but its mechanistic explanation is impossible given the current limited understanding of sweet taste chemoreception. All current psychophysical models of response to sweet stimuli are probably incomplete, but some fit the experimental data better than others and can thus be used to predict the taste of sweetener mixtures. Some sweetener mixtures have been unequivocally reported as synergistic but such observations do not in themselves constitute evidence for the existence of multiple sweet taste receptors, and the interpretation of synergy demands analysis at the molecular level.     

Changes in the leukocyte phenotype profile of goats infected with the caprine arthritis encephalitis virus

The proportions of different sub-populations of leukocytes in five healthy goats and five goats infected with the caprine arthritis encephalitis virus (CAEV) were examined using immunofluorescence and flow cytometry. A panel of monoclonal antibodies that identified a monocytegranulocyte marker (GMI); the CD4, CD8, IgM, MHC Class I, MHC Class II and T19 antigens, and the gamma delta (gamma delta) T cell receptor was used. We observed a significant (P = 0.016) reduction in the proportion of monocytes in the peripheral blood of infected (5.98%) compared with healthy control goats (9.92%). There was also a decrease in the proportion of CD4+ T lymphocytes that approached significance (P = 0.076) accompanied by a slight increase in the proportion of CD8+ T lymphocytes, in infected compared with uninfected animals. Consequently, three of the five infected animals had lower CD4:CD8 ratios than any of the healthy animals and two of these three ratios were inverted. Approximately 14% of T cells in the peripheral blood of healthy goats was identified as gamma delta T cells and all expressed the T19 antigen. A significantly elevated level of gamma delta T cells (P = 0.030) and an elevated level of T19 cells were observed in infected, compared with healthy animals. The proportion of leukocytes expressing surface IgM (B cells) was also elevated, although not significantly, in CAEV-infected compared to healthy controls. The changes in peripheral blood leukocyte subsets in infected goats suggest that immune responses to the infection are probably altered in these animals with eventual progression to severe disease and death.