Nephroblastoma with associated aortic rupture in a rat

A nephroblastoma was diagnosed in a 6-month-old, male rat which died unexpectedly. The right kidney was replaced by a large, white, irregularly shaped mass. Microscopically, the mass consisted of an embryonic blastema showing epithelial differentiation into immature tubules and glomeruloid structures. An aortic aneurysm and aortic rupture were present within the thoracic cavity. It was suspected that the aortic rupture was secondary to hypertension mediated through the renin-angiotensin system.     

An Inexpensive Microphotometer System for Measuring Silver Grain Densities in Autoradiographs

An inexpensive microphotometric system is described which will facilitate reading grain-dense areas in autoradiographic material. It is reliable, easy to operate and adaptable to most light microscopes with a dark field condenser. in addition to the microscope, the components include a photodiode, an operational amplifier and a digital mV meter. Data are presented to demonstrate the sensitivity of the system and to illustrate the differential variability between the microphotometer ad the counting of grains by eye.     

Phylogenetic profiles: a graphical method for detecting genetic recombinations in homologous sequences

Phylogenetic profiles constitute a novel way of graphically displaying the coherence of the sequence relationships over the entire length of a set of aligned homologous sequences. Using a sliding-window technique, this method determines the pairwise distances of all sequences in the windows and evaluates, for each sequence, the degree to which the patterns of distances in these regions agree. This method is suited for exploring data consistency as well as detecting recombinant sequences. A computer program implementing the algorithm has been developed, and examples with simulated and natural sequences are given to demonstrate the sensitivity and accuracy of the method for identifying recombinant sequences and their recombination junctions as well as detecting hot spots of recombinational activity.      

The Role of Surgeon-Performed Office and Preincision Ultrasounds in Localization of Parathyroid Adenomas in Primary Hyperparathyroidism

ObjectiveWe studied the use of surgeon-performed office ultrasound (OU) and preincision ultrasound (PIU) in preoperatively localizing parathyroid adenomas in primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT).MethodsA retrospective chart review was performed for patients with PHPT who underwent parathyroidectomy between 2013 and 2015. The results of OU and PIU were recorded and compared with the final surgical pathology.ResultsOf 348 patients with PHPT, 285 (81.9%) had single-lesion disease, 49 (14.1%) had double-lesion disease, and 14 (4.0%) had multigland disease with 3 or more lesions. For single-lesion disease, the overall sensitivity and specificity of OU to correctly lateralize the lesion were 64.2% and 91.2%, while those of PIU were 89.4% and 93.6%, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of PIU were comparable to those of 4-dimensional computed tomography (87.1% and 90.7%, respectively) and ^99mTc-sestamibi scintigraphy (70.4% and 95.9%, respectively). While the majority of PIU cases were preceded by other imaging studies, the accuracy in localizing lesions was not largely affected by the presence of prior computed tomography and/or ^99mTc-sestamibi scintigraphy, as opposed to ultrasounds only. For detecting the presence of multigland disease, the sensitivity and specificity of OU were 26% and 92.2%, while those of PIU were 64.3% and 94.7%, respectively.ConclusionSurgeon-performed OU and PIU are valuable tools in preoperatively localizing the parathyroid adenoma in single-lesion disease, while their utility may be limited for double-lesion or multigland disease. PIU in particular yields high accuracy in detecting parathyroid lesions in combination with other imaging modalities.     

Resistance of cats to the diabetogenic effect of alloxan

Experimental diabetes mellitus can be induced chemically in many species of animals with streptozotocin or alloxan. However, the cat is known to be resistant to the diabetogenic effect of streptozotocin. The purpose of this study was to find the optimal dose and rate of injection of alloxan to consistently produce hyperglycemia (blood sugar levels greater than 300 mg/dl) in cats. Alloxan was administered to 22 cats at various concentrations (50, 100 and 150 mg/kg) and different rates of injection (0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 ml/min). No hyperglycemic effect was observed at any of the concentrations or different rates of injection. Cats receiving high concentrations and/or high rates of injection of alloxan died due to kidney damage. The results of this study suggest that the cat is resistant to the diabetogenic effect of alloxan, but is susceptible to its toxic side effects.