An unusual presentation of a malignant jejunal tumor and a different management strategy

BACKGROUND: Malignant small bowel tumors are very rare and leiomyosarcoma accounts for less than 15% of the cases. Management of these tumors is challenging in view of nonspecific symptoms, unusual presentation and high incidence of metastasis. In this case report, an unusual presentation of jejunal sarcoma and management of liver metastasis with radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is discussed. CASE PRESENTATION: A 45-year-old male presented with anemia and features of small bowel obstruction. Operative findings revealed a mass lesion in jejunum with intussusception of proximal loop. Resection of bowel mass was performed. Histopathological findings were suggestive of leiomyosarcoma. After 3-years of follow-up, the patient developed recurrence in infracolic omentum and a liver metastasis. The omental mass was resected and liver lesion was managed with radiofrequency ablation. CONCLUSION: Jejunal leiomyosarcoma is a rare variety of malignant small bowel tumor and a clinical presentation with intussusception is unusual. We suggest that an aggressive management approach using a combination of surgery and a newer technique like RFA can be attempted in patients with limited metastatic spread to liver to prolong the long-term survival in a subset of patients.     

Species loss of stoneflies (Plecoptera) in the Czech Republic during the 20th century

1. Rapid expansion and intensification of anthropogenic activities in the 20th century has caused profound changes in freshwater assemblages. Unfortunately, knowledge of the extent and causes of species loss (SL) is limited due to the lack of reliable historical data. An unusual data set allows us to compare changes in the most sensitive of aquatic insect orders, the Plecoptera, at some 170 locations in the Czech Republic between two time periods, 1955–1960 and 2006–2010. Historical data (1890–1911) on assemblages of six lowland rivers allow us to infer even earlier changes. 2. Regional stonefly diversity decreased in the first half of the 20th century. Streams at lower altitudes lost a substantial number of species, which were never recovered. In the second half of the century, large‐scale anthropogenic pressure caused SL in all habitats, leading to a dissimilarity of contemporary and previous assemblages. The greatest changes were found at sites affected by organic pollution and a mixture of organic pollution and channelisation or impoundment. Colonisation of new habitats was observed in only three of the 80 species evaluated. 3. Species of moderate habitat specialisation and tolerance to organic pollution were most likely to be lost. Those with narrow specialisations in protected habitats were present in both historical and contemporary collections. 4. Contemporary assemblages are the consequence of more than a 100 years of anthropogenic impacts. In particular, streams at lower altitude and draining intensively exploited landscapes host a mere fragment of the original species complement. Most stonefly species are less frequently present than before, although their assemblages remain almost intact in near‐natural mountain streams. Our analyses demonstrate dramatic restriction of species ranges and, in some cases, apparent changes in altitudinal preference throughout the area.     

Transient stress and stress enzyme responses have practical impacts on parameters of embryo development, from IVF to directed differentiation of stem cells

In this review, we discuss the expression, regulation, downstream mechanisms, and function of stress-induced stress enzymes in mammalian oocytes, peri-implantation embryos, and the stem cells derived from those embryos. Recent reports suggest that stress enzymes mediate developmental functions during early mammalian development, in addition to the homeostatic functions shared with somatic cells. Stress-induced enzymes appear to insure that necessary developmental events occur: many of these events may occur at a slower rate, although some may occur more rapidly. Developmental events induced by stress may be mediated by a single dominant enzyme, but there are examples of responses that require the integration of more than one stress enzyme. The discussion focuses on the consequences of stress as a function of duration and magnitude, and this includes an emerging understanding of the threshold levels of duration and magnitude that lead to pathology. Other topics discussed are the reversibility of the developmental as well as homeostatic consequences of stress, the further problems with readaptation after stress subsides, and the mechanisms and functions of stress enzymes during early mammalian development. The analyses are done with specific concern for their practical impact in assisted reproductive technology (ART) and stem cell technologies.     

The potential role of nitric oxide in substrate switching in eosinophil peroxidase

Eosinophil recruitment and enhanced nitric oxide (NO) production are characteristic features of asthma and other airway diseases. Eosinophil peroxidase (EPO), a highly cationic hemoprotein secreted by activation of eosinophils, is believed to play a central role in host defense against invading pathogens. The enzyme uses hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and bromide (Br-), a preferred cosubstrate of EPO, to generate the cytotoxic oxidant hypobromous acid. The aim of this work was to determine whether NO can compete with plasma levels of Br- and steer the enzyme reaction from a 2e- oxidation to a 1e- oxidation pathway. Rapid kinetic measurements were utilized to measure the rate of EPO compounds I and II formation, duration, and decay at 412 and 432 nm, respectively, at 10 degrees C. An EPO-Fe(III) solution supplemented with increasing Br- concentrations was rapidly mixed with fixed amounts of H2O2 in the absence and in the presence of increasing NO concentrations. In the absence of NO, EPO-Fe(III) primarily converted to compound I and, upon H2O2 exhaustion, it decayed rapidly to the ferric form. NO caused a significant increase in the accumulation of EPO compound II, along with a proportional increase in its rate of formation and duration as determined by the time elapsed during catalysis. The time courses for these events have been incorporated into a comprehensive kinetic model. Computer simulations carried out supported the involvement of a conformational intermediate in the EPO compound II complex decay. Collectively, our results demonstrated that NO displays the potential capacity to promote substrate switching by modulating substrate selectivity of EPO.     

Moderate alcohol consumption is associated with better endothelial function: a cross sectional study

Background

Natural heterologous valved conduits with a diameter greater than 22 mm that can be used for right ventricular outflow tract reconstruction in adults are not commercially available. The purpose of this study was to measure by ultrasonography the maximum diameter of the distended jugular veins of horses and cattle, respectively, to identify a population of animals that would be suitable for post-mortem collection of jugular veins at sizes greater than 22 mm.

Methods

The study population included 60 Warmblood horses, 25 Freiberger horses, 20 Brown Swiss cows, and 20 Holstein cows (including 10 Holstein and 10 Red Holstein). The maximum cross-sectional diameter of the distended jugular veins was measured at a location half-way between the mandibular angle and the thoracic inlet. The thoracic circumference (heart girth length) was used as a surrogate of body size. The jugular vein diameters of the different populations were compared by analysis of variance and the association between heart girth length and jugular vein diameter was determined in each of the four study populations by linear regression analysis.

Results

There was considerable individual variation of jugular vein diameters within each of the four study populations. There was no statistically significant relationship between thoracic circumference and jugular vein diameter in any of the populations. The jugular vein diameters of Brown Swiss cows were significantly larger than those of any of the other populations. Warmblood horses had significantly larger jugular vein diameters compared to Freiberger horses.

Conclusion

The results of this study suggest that the production of bovine or equine xenografts with diameters of greater than 22 mm would be feasible. Differences between species and breeds need to be considered. However, prediction of the jugular vein diameter based on breed and heart girth length in an individual animal is inaccurate.     

Intragenic duplication and divergence in the spectrin superfamily of proteins

Many structural, signaling, and adhesion molecules contain tandemly repeated amino acid motifs. The alpha-actinin/spectrin/dystrophin superfamily of F-actin-crosslinking proteins contains an array of triple alpha-helical motifs (spectrin repeats). We present here the complete sequence of the novel beta-spectrin isoform beta(Heavy)- spectrin (beta H). The sequence of beta H supports the origin of alpha- and beta-spectrins from a common ancestor, and we present a novel model for the origin of the spectrins from a homodimeric actin-crosslinking precursor. The pattern of similarity between the spectrin repeat units indicates that they have evolved by a series of nested, nonuniform duplications. Furthermore, the spectrins and dystrophins clearly have common ancestry, yet the repeat unit is of a different length in each family. Together, these observations suggest a dynamic period of increase in repeat number accompanied by homogenization within each array by concerted evolution. However, today, there is greater similarity of homologous repeats between species than there is across repeats within species, suggesting that concerted evolution ceased some time before the arthropod/vertebrate split. We propose a two-phase model for the evolution of the spectrin repeat arrays in which an initial phase of concerted evolution is subsequently retarded as each new protein becomes constrained to a specific length and the repeats diverge at the DNA level. This evolutionary model has general applicability to the origins of the many other proteins that have tandemly repeated motifs.      

Comparisons of the molecular evolutionary process at rbcL and ndhF in the grass family (Poaceae)

We examine rate heterogeneity among evolutionary lineages of the grass family at two plasmid loci, ndhF and rbcL, and we introduce a method to determine whether patterns of rate heterogeneity are correlated between loci. We show both that rates of synonymous evolution are heterogeneous among grass lineages and that are heterogeneity is correlated between loci at synonymous sites. At nonsynonymous sites, the pattern of rate heterogeneity is not correlated between loci, primarily due to an aberrant pattern of rate heterogeneity at nonsynonymous sites of rbcL. We compare patterns of synonymous rate heterogeneity to predictors based on the generation time effect and the speciation rate hypotheses. Although there is some evidence for generation time effects, neither generation time effects nor speciation rates appear to be sufficient to explain patterns of rate heterogeneity in the grass plastid sequences.      

Construction and Characterization of a Magnaporthe grisea Bacterial Artificial Chromosome Library

Diaz-Perez, S. V., Crouch, V. W., and Orbach, M. J. 1996. Construction and characterization of a Magnaporthe grisea bacterial artificial chromosome library. Fungal Genet. Biol. 20, 280-288. A bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) library of Magnaporthe grisea containing 4128 clones with an average insert size of 66-kb has been constructed. This library represents seven genome equivalents of M. grisea and has been demonstrated to be representative of the genome by screening for the presence of several single-copy genes and DNA markers. The utility of the library for use in map-based cloning projects was shown by the spanning of a nine-cosmid, 207-kb DNA contig with only 3 BAC clones. In addition, using a lys1-3 auxotroph, we have shown that BAC clones at least 113 kb can be transformed into M. grisea to screen for complementation of mutations. Thus, BACs isolated in chromosome walks can be rapidly screened for the presence of the sought after gene. The ease of construction of BAC libraries and of isolation and manipulation of BAC clones makes the BAC system an ideal one for physical analyses of fungal genomes.     

Lipids and carotid plaque in the Northern Manhattan Study (NOMAS)

Background

Heterogeneity in B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels, especially among individuals with acute heart failure with normal left ventricular ejection fraction (HFNEF), can cause confusion in interpreting results. We investigated the characteristics of cases of acute HFNEF with only modestly elevated BNP.

Methods

One hundred forty-two patients with acute or acute exacerbation of chronic HFNEF were divided into two groups by BNP level: BNP < 100 pg/ml (NB group, n = 45) and BNP ≥ 100 pg/ml (B group, n = 97). We compared clinical findings, echocardiography results, and neurohormonal factors between these two groups.

Results

In the NB group, a history of open-heart surgery (OHS) was more frequent (71% vs. 22%, p < 0.0001) and hypertension was less frequent (p = 0.0005). Left atrial diameter (LAd) was higher (p = 0.0026), while interventricular septal thickness, posterior wall thickness, relative wall thickness, left ventricular mass index were lower (p = 0.0005, p = 0.0225, p = 0.0114, p = 0.0051, respectively) in the NB group. In patients with HFNEF, a history of OHS remained an independent predictor of BNP level (< 100 pg/ml) after adjustment for hypertension, age, LAd, and interventricular septal thickness (odds ratio 3.6, p = 0.0252).

Conclusion

We found associations between acute HFNEF with less elevated BNP and a history of OHS. In a patient suspected of HFNEF, a history of OHS is considered diagnostic evidence of presence of diastolic heart failure when plasma levels of BNP are less elevated.     

A new species of Heth Cobb, 1898 (Nematoda: Rhigonematida: Hethidae) from an Australian millipede (Myriapoda: Diplopoda: Spirostreptida)

Abstract

A new species of nematode, Heth baudini sp. n. from a diplopod (Spirostreptida: Iulomorphidae Verhoeff, 1924) collected in Queensland, Australia, is described and illustrated. The cephalic and cervical cuticular ornamentation of females of H. baudini sp. n. is similar to those of South-East Asian and Australasian Heth species. Heth baudini sp. n. females are particularly close to Heth taynguyeni from Vietnam but can be distinguished by the shape of the lateral lappets, which in H. taynguyeni limit the trapezium-shaped region of smooth cuticle unlike the elliptical region in H. baudini sp. n., and by the presence of lateral spines only half the size. The cuticle of the H. baudini sp. n. is finely annulated along the entire body, whereas H. taynguyeni has broader rings behind the first pair of lateral spines, each consisting of five or six narrower rings separated from each other by deeper furrows. Males of H. baudini sp. n. are characterised by the presence of a bursa-like fold on the tail and can be distinguished from other species of the genus by the presence of somatic papillae embedded into the bursal fold.