Sentinel node biopsy should be supplemented by axillary sampling in patients with small breast cancers

Axillary clearance provides important prognostic information but is associated with significant morbidity. Sentinel node biopsy can provide staging .141 patients with node negative early breast cancers-tumour size less than 1.5 cm measured clinically or by imaging had guided axillary sampling (sentinel lymph node biopsy in combination with axillary sampling). Four node axillary sampling improved the detection rate of axillary node metastases by 13.6% as compared to blue dye sentinel node biopsy alone. Positive sampled nodes strongly indicated the likelihood of further metastatic being revealed by axillary dissection (67%). Negative sampled nodes in combination with a positive sentinel node biopsy were associated with a much lower rate of further nodal involvement in the axillary clearance (8%).     

Vitrosin: a member of the collagen class

Vitrosin, a fibrous protein obtained from the vitreous humor of the eye in the form of an indefinitely long fibril about 100 to 150 A in diameter, has been identified as a member of the collagen class of proteins. It is characterized by the collagen wide-angle x-ray diffraction pattern, and axial periodicity of about 640 A determined by electron microscopy and small-angle x-ray diffraction, an amino acid pattern characteristic of collagen as determined by paper chromatography, and a hydroxyproline and glycine content also typical of collagen. The glycine-hydroxyproline ratio is somewhat lower than that for most vertebrate collagens.     

Regulation of syringomycin synthesis in Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae and defined conditions for its production

Production of the phytotoxin, syringomycin (SR), by Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae strain B301D was regulated by both iron and inorganic phosphate similar to that of many bacterial secondary metabolites. Iron concentrations of 2 µmol/1 or more in deferrated potato-dextrose broth (PDB) resulted in the production of 1024 SR units/ml, a yield comparable to that produced in non-deferrated PDB. Moreover, production of one SR unit required approximately 0†4 ng of available FeCl₃. No SR was produced by strain B301D in deferrated PDB despite growth nearly identical with that of B301D in deferrated PDB supplemented with 10 µmol/1 FeCl₃. Furthermore, a phosphate concentration of 1 mmol/1 or more was suppressive to SR production. Of the amino acids tested, L-histidine at a concentration of ca 20 mmol/1 was the most effective nitrogen source for SR synthesis under defined conditions. Based on these observations, a synthetic medium, SR minimal, was formulated for SR or syringotoxin production by representative strains of Ps. syringae pv. syringae. The regulation of phytotoxin production is discussed in relation to pathogen survival and virulence.