Aspiration biopsy smear pattern as a predictor of biologic behavior in adenocarcinoma of the breast.

Fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is increasingly used for the initial diagnosis of breast carcinoma, yet few studies have investigated the prognostic importance of cytologic features seen in breast FNAC. We studied the relationship between prognosis and smear morphology in 26 patients with breast carcinoma for whom information from long-term follow-up was available. Specifically, we attempted to correlate nuclear grade and smear pattern with hormonal receptor status, lymph node status, breast recurrence and distant metastasis. In an additional five patients (on whom insufficient follow-up information was available), smear pattern and nuclear grade were correlated with hormonal status. Smears were classified into three patterns: typical (sheets and clusters), individual cell predominant and cluster predominant. The individual cell predominant pattern was associated with an increased incidence of distant metastasis when compared with the other two smear patterns (P less than .05). No statistically significant association was observed between smear pattern and the other factors studied. Nuclear grade 2 (of 3) was also associated with an increased incidence of distant metastasis. However, most grade 2 tumors (10/12) were of the individual cell predominant pattern. Smear pattern classification, along with DNA ploidy analysis and hormone receptor analysis of FNAC-derived material, may yield valuable prognostic information.     

Vers une approche physiopathologique des troubles de l’éjaculation

Seminal emission and sperm expulsion are under the control of both the sympathetic and parasympathetic outflows and also of the somatic innervation conveyed by the pudendal nerve. The 2 phases of ejaculation are reflexive with the reflexes handled at the thoraco-lumbar and sacral levels of the spinal cord. Such a spinal organization remains widely unknown. The role of various peripheral neurotransmitters has been evidenced including norepinephrine and acetylcholine and also peptidergic, purinergic i.e. ATP and nitric oxide. Stimulation of the seminal tract afferents play a crucial in the onset of ejaculatory mechanisms. Except for the dorsal nerve of the penis, there is a lack of information concerning these afferents. Several supraspinal centers i.e. hypothalamus, medial amygdala, pons and nucleus paragigantocellularis exert descending and ascending inhibitory and excitatory influences on spinal nuclei controlling emission and expulsion of sperm. Central neurotransmission responsible for this supraspinal control could involve serotonin, oxytocin and norepinephrine. In the light of the available anatomical and neurophysiological data, pathophysiological aspects of ejaculatory disorders are futher discussed. Premature ejaculation could be related to a periheral and central hypersentivity. Most of the other ejaculation abnormalities are likely mainly related to an impairment of the central mechanisms.     

Preparation of water-soluble high-molecular weight substrates for beta-D-galactosidase

Two types of high-molecular water-soluble substrates of beta-D-galactosidase were prepared. Substrate I contains beta-D-[3H]-galactopyranosyl moieties linked, through a hydrocarbon bridge, to a polymeric dialdehyde (oxidized starch) backbone (molecular weight 6,000); in substrate II the backbone is poly-L-lysine (molecular weight 80,000). In the presence of Triton X-100, but not in its absence, D-[3H]-galactose is split from the substrates by homogenates of normal mouse liver or pancreas. It is suggested that substrates I and II could be used to test the integrity of lysosomal and other cellular membranes, and to assess the extent of cellular injury.     

Follicular placenta and embryonic growth of the viviparous four-eyed fish (Anableps)

In the four-eyed fish, Anableps (Atheriniformes, Anablepidae), eggs are fertilized and embryos develop to term within the ovarian follicles. Development is highly matrotrophic. During gestation, the largest term embryo of A. anableps examined had grown to a total length of 51 mm and attained a dry weight of 149 mg. The postfertilization weight increase is 298,000%. The largest term embryo of A. dowi examined had grown to a total length of 77 mm and attained a dry weight of 910 mg. The postfertilization weight increase is 843,000%. Embryonic weight increases result from nutrient transfer across the follicular placenta. This structure is formed by apposition of the maternal follicular epithelium to absorptive surface cells of the embryo's pericardial trophoderm. The latter, a ventral ramification of the pericardial somatopleure, replaces the yolk sac during early gestation. The external surface of the pericardial trophoderm develops hemispherical projections, termed vascular bulbs. Within each bulb, the vascular plexus of the trophoderm expands to form a blood sinus. Cells of the external surface of the bulbs possess microplicae. Microvilli are absent. During middle to late gestation, the juxtaembryonic follicular epithelium differentiates into two regions. One region consists of shallow, pitlike depressions within which vascular bulbs interdigitate in a “ball and socket” arrangement. Follicular pits are formed by the curvilinear distortion of the apical surfaces of follicle cells. The second region in contact with the dorsal and lateral surfaces of the embryo, is comprised of villous extensions of the hypertrophied follicular epithelium. In both regions, follicle cells appear to constitute a transporting rather than a secretory epithlium. In terms of percentage of weight increase, the follicular placenta of Anableps appears to be the most efficient adaptation for maternal-embryonic nutrient transfer in teleost fishes and closely approaches the efficiency (1.2 × 10⁶%) of oophagy and embryonic cannibalism in lamnoid sharks.     

Identification of Culturable Oligotrophic Bacteria within Naturally Occurring Bacterioplankton Communities of the Ligurian Sea by 16S rRNA Sequencing and Probing

Abstract Typical marine bacteria (i.e., obligately oligotrophic) that were numerically dominant members of naturally occurring marine communities were identified by cloning and sequencing the amplified 16S rRNA genes obtained from dilution cultures of the original samples. The data reported here refer to two different habitats of a marine pelagic environment (28 miles offshore, in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea). The samples were taken from the water column at two representative layers, i.e., the 30-m depth, corresponding to the chlorophyll maximum layer, and the 1800-m depth, representative of a deep, oligotrophic environment. Three major lineages were found in the 16S rDNA clone libraries prepared from the two samples, two of which could be assigned to the Vibrio and the Rhodobacter groups. The third lineage was a distant relative of the genus Flavobacterium, but it was not closely related to any marine isolate. Six oligonucleotide probes, either complementary to the conserved sequence domains or selectively hybridizing to the clone sequences, were designed for use as hybridization group-specific and strain-specific probes. A single-mismatch discrimination between certain probes and nontarget sequences was demonstrated by detecting the probes' specificity at different hybridization and washing conditions. The screening of the clone libraries with the obtained probes revealed that neither the 30-m sample higher dilution nor the 1800-m one were pure cultures. While some representatives of the Vibrio group were found in both the surface and the deep sample, the members of the Flavobacterium and Rhodobacter lineages were detected only in the deep and the euphotic layers, respectively. We suggest an approach for analyzing autochthonous marine bacteria able to grow in unamended seawater. Received: 19 May 1998; Accepted: 29 October 1998