Hollow spheroids in ascites of ovarian clear cell carcinoma: how are they formed and how do they behave?

N. Kato, K. Narutomi, M. Fukase and T. Motoyama Hollow spheroids in ascites of ovarian clear cell carcinoma: how are they formed and how do they behave? Objective: Although the multicellular aggregates (spheroids) in malignant ascites are usually solid throughout, they sometimes have acellular hollow spaces, especially in ascites of ovarian clear cell carcinoma. The purpose of this study is to analyse the origin and behaviour of hollow spheroids. Methods: Archival cytological and histological specimens of 32 ovarian carcinomas, including 12 clear cell carcinomas, were reviewed. HAC‐2, a clear cell carcinoma cell line, was injected into the abdominal cavity of nude mice for direct comparison of ascitic cytology and tumour histology. Spheroids that were collected from nude mice ascites were cultured in vitro to observe their behaviour. Results: Five of six clear cell carcinomas with hollow spheroids showed spherule‐like hyaluronan‐rich stroma in their tumour tissue, whereas those without hollow spheroids did not. After heterotransplantation, both ascites and tumour imprints showed small or large hollow spheroids. Hyaluronan was detected in the former but not in the latter. The abdominal tumours showed compact spherule‐like hyaluronan‐rich stroma, enlarged oedematous stroma or intermediate stroma. In both size and hyaluronan status, small and large hollow spheroids were approximately comparable to spherule‐like hyaluronan‐rich stroma and oedematous stroma, respectively. During culture in vitro, hollow spheroids were maintained as hollow spheroids in suspension, and produced daughter hollow spheroids. Conclusions: The hollow space in the spheroids originates from spherule‐like hyaluronan‐rich stroma, where water trapping by hyaluronan causes enlargement of the space. The matrix within the hollow space serves as a scaffold that regulates cell polarity and matrix production.     

Bruises in culled cows: when,where and how are they inflicted?

In Chile, cow carcasses present the highest bruise prevalence compared with other cattle categories; however, the causes of the bruises are frequently unknown. In this study, 52 cull cows were transported to the slaughterhouse in three batches under identical transport conditions. A combination of direct observation and video analyses was used to determine moment, pre-slaughter stage and cause of potential bruising events during the period from loading on the farm until stunning at the slaughterhouse. After slaughter, number of bruises, location on the carcass and characteristics of the bruises were assessed. Seventy-eight bruises were observed on 37 carcasses. Fifty-two bruises were linked back to their causal event. Results showed that 46% of these bruises were a result of interactions between animal and facility, and most of them were inflicted in the stunning box, 27% of the bruises originated from animal–animal interactions and were mostly inflicted during lairage, another 27% was a result of human–animal interactions and were mostly inflicted during loading and unloading of animals. The percentages of potential bruising events resulting in a bruise were 43%, 9% and less than 1% for animal–facility, human–animal and animal–animal interactions, respectively. Most bruises on the back site were inflicted when the animal was in the stunning box (91.2%), whereas bruises on the pin site were mostly (75%) inflicted during loading at the farm. One may conclude that in relative short journeys (⩽4 h) directly from farm to the slaughterhouse and long lairage times (>12 h), most bruises are the result of circumstances at the slaughterhouse. A substantial amount of these bruises could be avoided by proper animal handling and adequate stunning facilities.     

Interpreting ‘favourable conservation status’ for large carnivores in Europe: how many are needed and how many are wanted?

The EU Habitats Directive is a key biodiversity conservation instrument. It contains legal obligations for the 28 EU member states in order to safeguard a ‘favourable conservation status’ (FCS) for selected species and habitat types. The crucial FCS concept itself, however, remains subject to considerable confusion regarding its proper interpretation and operationalization, impairing the Directive’s effective implementation. Diminishing this confusion is the purpose of this review. It focuses specifically on large carnivores—wolf (Canis lupus), brown bear (Ursus arctos), Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) and wolverine (Gulo gulo). These pose particular challenges, given their low densities, transboundary populations, and human-wildlife conflict potential. Large carnivores are also the only species for which specific guidance has been adopted by the European Commission—and subsequently contested. Our methodology combines legal analysis with an understanding of the species’ ecology and associated social, economic and cultural dimensions. We analyze the methods and processes through which EU law is interpreted, implemented, and enforced, by member states, European Commission, and EU Court of Justice—which is the ultimate authority regarding EU law interpretation. On that basis, we engage three particularly complex interpretation questions which are also of great practical significance: (1) the appropriate scale to achieve FCS (national or transboundary population level); (2) the respective roles of demographic, genetic and ecological factors in determining FCS; and (3) the use of extinction versus carrying capacity as benchmark. Regarding these questions, we identify approaches that are workable and effective, as well as likely to be endorsed by the EU Court.     

Physicians in health care management: 2. Managing performance: who,what, how and when?

Physicians are becoming more involved in performance management as hospitals restructure to increase effectiveness. Although physicians are not hospital employees, they are subject to performance appraisals because the hospitals are accountable to patients and the community for the quality of hospital services. The performance of a health care professional may be appraised by the appropriate departmental manager, by other professionals in a team or program or by peers, based on prior agreement on expectations. Appraisal approaches vary. They include behavioural approaches such as rating scales, peer rating, ranking or nomination and outcome approaches such as management by objectives and goal setting. Professionals should give and receive timely feedback on a flexible schedule. Feedback can be provided one-on-one, by a group assessing quality of care or through an anonymous survey.     

Fleshy fruit characteristics in a temperate deciduous forest of Japan: how unique are they?

This study investigated the fleshy fruit characteristics of 28 woody species in a Japanese temperate forest where large sedentary seed-dispersing mammals are present. We tested whether the findings in previous studies in temperate forests of Europe and North America are universal or not. Results have suggested that fruits of all species were eaten both by birds and mammals except for four species with larger fruits, which were eaten only by mammals. A gradient was found from a syndrome characterized by small, oily, and large-seeded fruits to a syndrome characterized by large, succulent, non-oily, and small-seeded fruits. The sizes and colors of the fruits were not conspicuously different from previous findings in Europe and North America. On the other hand, nitrogen and lipids in the fleshy part did not show seasonally increasing trends, or even seasonally decreasing trends in terms of dry weight. This result, suggesting the absence of community-level adaptation of fruit traits to migratory bird dispersers, contrasted with findings in Europe and North America. Large sedentary arboreal or tree-climbing mammals may have a greater effect on the evolution of fruit-disperser relations than opportunistic migratory birds.     

Developmental rules in the hematopoietic and immune systems of birds: how general are they?

Fundamental rules about the development of the hematopoietic and immune systems have been established in birds, some of which are reviewed here. The organ rudiments belonging to this system provide the stroma, that has to be seeded by extrinsic stem cells. This particular developmental pattern makes it possible to create chimeric organs with stromal cells and stem cells from different origins. Grafting the thymic epithelium alone in a young embryo is sufficient to induce tolerance to tissues of the same origin as that of epithelium, even in a xenogeneic combination. Stem cells that seed the rudiments during development are born in the embryo rather than in the yolk sac and are responsible for definitive hematopoiesis. Data in frog and mouse indicate that these conclusions may be valid in other classes of vertebrates.     

Genetic and karyotypic structure in the shrews of the Sorex araneus group: are they independent?

The species of the common shrew (Sorex araneus) group are morphologically very similar but exhibit high levels of karyotypic variation. Here we used genetic variation at 10 microsatellite markers in a data set of 212 individuals mostly sampled in the western Alps and composed of five karyotypic taxa (Sorex coronatus, Sorex antinorii and the S. araneus chromosome races Cordon, Bretolet and Vaud) to investigate the concordance between genetic and karyotypic structure. Bayesian analysis confirmed the taxonomic status of the three sampled species since individuals consistently grouped according to their taxonomical status. However, introgression can still be detected between S. antinorii and the race Cordon of S. araneus. This observation is consistent with the expected low karyotypic complexity of hybrids between these two taxa. Geographically based cryptic substructure was discovered within S. antinorii, a pattern consistent with the different postglaciation recolonization routes of this species. Additionally, we detected two genetic groups within S. araneus notwithstanding the presence of three chromosome races. This pattern can be explained by the probable hybrid status of the Bretolet race but also suggests a relatively low impact of chromosomal differences on genetic structure compared to historical factors. Finally, we propose that the current data set (available at http://www.unil.ch/dee/page7010_en.html#1) could be used as a reference by those wanting to identify Sorex individuals sampled in the western Alps.     

Rates of change in physical and chemical lake variables – are they comparable between large and small lakes?

Changes over time in 16 physical and chemical variables were analysed and compared between Sweden’s largest lakes, Vättern and Vänern, and 48 smaller Swedish reference lakes during spring over the period 1984–2003. The rates of changes varied substantially among lakes and among variables, and they were clearly influenced by changes in both climate and atmospheric deposition. Rates of change of variables associated with atmospheric deposition such as sulphate concentrations were dependent on lake morphometry. This also applied to the rates of change of variables associated with climate change effects in the catchment such as calcium and magnesium concentrations. However, climate change effects could also be comparable between large and small lakes. Rates of change in physical and chemical variables directly influenced by the climate via the lake water surface, e.g., surface water temperature, and variables associated with the spring phytoplankton development such as phosphate–phosphorus and nitrate–nitrogen concentrations, were similar and therefore independent of lake morphometry. This study shows that climate change effects that act via the lake surface can be of the same order of magnitude among large and small lakes, but climate change effects that act via the catchment differ substantially in large lakes. It is essential to differentiate between these two types of climate effects in order to assess the impacts of climate change and the adaptation and vulnerability of lake ecosystems.     

Scoliosis, blindness and arachnodactyly in a large Turkish family: is it a new syndrome?

In this report we have described an affected sib in a large Turkish family who appears to have a new distinct dominantly-inherited blindness, scoliosis and arachnodactyly syndrome. The combination of clinical abnormalities in these patients did not initially suggest Marfan syndrome or other connective tissue disorders associated with ectopia lentis. The proband was a 16-year-old boy who was referred to our clinics for scoliosis. He had arachnodactyly of both fingers and toes. He had been suffering from progressive visual loss and strabismus since he was eight-years-old. His 20-year-old brother had severe kyphoscoliosis, and arachnodactyly of fingers and toes. He was 130 cm tall and was bilaterally blind. His 23-year-old sister had only eye findings but no arachnodactyly or scoliosis. His 60-year-old father had mild scoliosis, blindness and arachnodactyly and mother was normal. We performed routine mutation analyses in the genes FBN1, TGFBR1 and TGFBR2, but no mutation has been detected. Our Turkish patients are most likely affected by a hitherto unrecorded condition which is caused by an autosomal dominant gene defect with variable expression but we can not exclude multigenic inheritance. Further studies are needed to assess the contribution of sex influence to the syndrome because the female relative is less affected.     

Q&A: what are brassinosteroids and how do they act in plants?

Brassinosteroids (BRs) are a class of polyhydroxylated steroidal phytohormones in plants with similar structures to animals’ steroid hormones. Brassinosteroids regulate a wide range of physiological processes including plant growth, development and immunity. Brassinosteroid signalling and its integration with other signalling pathways have been investigated thoroughly at the molecular level.     

The nutritional dual-burden in developing countries--how is it assessed and what are the health implications?

This paper focuses on the phenomenon of the nutritional dual-burden in the developing world. Nutritional dual-burden is defined as the coexistence of under-and-over nutrition in the same population/group, the same household/family, or the same person. In this paper we aim: a) to describe the different types of nutritional dual-burden, b) to identify the anthropometric indicators generally used to classify the nutritional dual-burden, c) to focus our attention on a dual-burden group (the Maya from Merida, Yucatan, Mexico), d) to illustrate problems in the categorization of the dual-burden, and e) to suggest possible health implications. Our results show that, for our sample, the prevalence of individual dual-burden among children is very low, but is very high among the mothers and for mother-child pairs (household dual-burden). Most importantly, the criteria used to assess the nutritional status of the individuals and of the families will play an important role in the estimated prevalence of nutritional dual-burden, and this will have practical impacts for health intervention programs.     

Branchiobdellid annelids and their crayfish hosts: are they engaged in a cleaning symbiosis?

Branchiobdellid annelids and their freshwater crayfish hosts are generally thought to have a commensal relationship. Branchiobdellids of the genus Cambarincola exploit their hosts through a variety of mechanisms; however, an effect of branchiobdellids on crayfish has not been conclusively demonstrated. We investigated whether branchiobdellids positively affect the host crayfish Cambarus chasmodactylus in the New River, North Carolina. In a laboratory experiment, we placed 0, 3, or 6 branchiobdellids on C. chasmodactylus and observed a significant effect of branchiobdellid presence on both growth and mortality of host crayfish; crayfish with branchiobdellids exhibited faster growth and lower mortality with increasing branchiobdellid density. A tracer experiment demonstrated that branchiobdellids feed on items found in the branchial chamber of C. chasmodactylus. We hypothesize that such feeding activity by branchiobdellids reduces fouling of crayfish gills by epibionts and particulate matter and could lead to the reduced mortality and increased growth rates observed in the laboratory experiment. Specifically, Cambarincola may improve the ventilatory and excretory fitness of C. chasmodactylus by cleaning gill filaments. Field data support this hypothesis by demonstrating that branchiobdellids are found disproportionately at sites proximal to the branchial chamber in the New River. This study provides evidence that the relationship between C. chasmodactylus and Cambarincola may be a cleaning symbiosis, at least in environments where gill fouling is a problem for C. chasmodactylus.     

RNA and DNA complexes with hemin [Fe(III) heme] are efficient peroxidases and peroxygenases: how do they do it and what does it mean?

Guanine-rich RNAs and DNAs from chromosomal telomeres and elsewhere that fold into guanine quadruplexes (G-quadruplexes), are found to complex tightly with porphyrins such as N-methylmesoporphyrin IX (NMM) and hemin [Fe(III) heme]. By themselves, these DNAs and RNAs are found to be efficient catalysts for porphyrin metallation. When complexed with hemin, under physiological conditions, these nucleic acids display robust peroxidase (one-electron oxidation), as well as peroxygenase (two-electron oxidation, or oxygen transfer) activity. These surprising catalytic properties, that frequently match the catalytic performance of natural peroxidase and P450 monooxygenase enzymes, have been the subject of significant mechanistic analysis, as well as having found utility in a wide range of biosensing and other applications. This review summarizes recent insights into a surprising yet fundamental property of many RNAs and DNAs, a property with undoubted ramifications for cellular oxidative disease, de novo hemoenzyme design, and our understanding of the evolution of early biocatalytic systems.     

RNA and DNA complexes with hemin [Fe(III) heme] are efficient peroxidases and peroxygenases: how do they do it and what does it mean?

Guanine-rich RNAs and DNAs from chromosomal telomeres and elsewhere that fold into guanine quadruplexes (G-quadruplexes), are found to complex tightly with porphyrins such as N-methylmesoporphyrin IX (NMM) and hemin [Fe(III) heme]. By themselves, these DNAs and RNAs are found to be efficient catalysts for porphyrin metallation. When complexed with hemin, under physiological conditions, these nucleic acids display robust peroxidase (one-electron oxidation), as well as peroxygenase (two-electron oxidation, or oxygen transfer) activity. These surprising catalytic properties, that frequently match the catalytic performance of natural peroxidase and P450 monooxygenase enzymes, have been the subject of significant mechanistic analysis, as well as having found utility in a wide range of biosensing and other applications. This review summarizes recent insights into a surprising yet fundamental property of many RNAs and DNAs, a property with undoubted ramifications for cellular oxidative disease, de novo hemoenzyme design, and our understanding of the evolution of early biocatalytic systems.     

Fair shares in health care? Ethnic and socioeconomic influences on recording of preventive care in selected inner London general practices. Healthy Eastenders Project.

OBJECTIVE--To describe the association of ethnic and socioeconomic status with recording of preventive care information by selected general practitioners. DESIGN--Random selection of people aged 20-64 registered with 43 general practitioners. Ethnic and social characteristics of stratified samples were determined at interview in the subject''s home. Recording of preventive information was ascertained from general practitioners'' medical records. SETTING--Inner London borough of Tower Hamlets. SUBJECTS--505 ut of 739 people confirmed as residents at their home address (190 white, 86 black, 112 Bangladeshi, 105 Chinese or Vietnamese, 12 other). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Socioeconomic characteristics, consultation with general practitioner, and recorded preventive activities for ethnic groups. RESULTS--Minority ethnic groups were considerably more disadvantaged than white people and five times more likely to be overcrowded (31% v 6%), three times less likely to own their own home(11% v 37%), twice as likely to be in social classes IV and V (54% v 28%) and less likely to be employed (34% v 63%). There were no significant differences between white, black, Bangladeshi, and Chinese or Vietnamese subjects in recording smoking, blood pressure, alcohol consumption, weight, and height in the general practitioners'' medical records. White women were more likely to have a record of mammography (46% v 20%; P=0.03) and of cervical smears than women in minority ethnic groups. CONCLUSION--Despite major socioeconomic inequity, equitable recording of preventive activity for the major causes of death for white, black and Bangladeshi populations is possible. Chinese and Vietnamese people had lower levels of recording and consultation. Mammography and, to a lesser extent, cervical cytology are inequitably recorded and require additional support at practice level.     

Who should decide? Qualitative analysis of panel data from public,patients, healthcare professionals,and insurers on priorities in health care.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the arguments underlying the choices of patients, the public, general practitioners, specialists, and health insurers regarding priorities in health care. DESIGN: A qualitative analysis of data gathered in a series of panels. Members were asked to economise on the publicly funded healthcare budget, exemplified by 10 services. RESULTS: From a medical point of view, both panels of healthcare professionals thought most services were necessary. The general practitioners tried to achieve the budget cuts by limiting access to services to those most in need of them or those who cannot afford to pay for them. The specialists emphasised the possibilities of reducing costs by increasing the efficiency within services and preventing inappropriate utilisation. The patients mainly economised by limiting universal access to preventive and acute services. The "public" panels excluded services that are relatively inexpensive for individual patients. Moreover, they emphasised the individual''s own responsibility for health behaviour and the costs of health care, resulting in the choice for copayments. The health insurers emphasised the importance of including services that relate to a risk only, as well as feasibility aspects. CONCLUSIONS: There were substantial differences in the way the different groups approached the issue of what should be included in the basic package. Healthcare professionals seem to be most aware of the importance of maintaining equal access for everyone in need of health care.