The relevance of RT-PCR markers for metastatic tumour cell detection.
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Biomarkers, Tumor↗
Biomedical subjects
R Nowak
Publications and source records attributed to R Nowak.
CAG repeat polymorphism in the DNA polymerase gamma gene in a Polish population: an association with testicular cancer risk.
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DNA Polymerase gamma↗
[EasyScope - an alternative to the conventional Macintosh laryngoscope?].
OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to compare two different techniques used for tracheal intubation (TI). We evaluated airway management conditions for a conventional Macintosh laryngoscope and the Brummert EasyScope, a new device. METHODS: A prospective trial was conducted with 20 medical students who had no prior airway management experience. Intubation was performed on an Ambu manikin. Following didactic instruction, each participant took turns performing TI using the Macintosh and EasyScope devices under direct supervision. Time required for TI, the number of attempts, and the number of times teeth were contacted were documented for each device. All participants also completed a questionnaire to determine self-assessed comfort and skill level for both the Macintosh and EasyScope devices. RESULTS: Time required for TI was comparable for both devices, although a trend toward slightly lower times for the EasyScope was observed. There was a lower rate of tooth contact during laryngoscopy and a lower rate of unsuccessful intubation attempts while using the EasyScope. Furthermore, the students felt the EasyScope was subjectively easier to use and required less effort during TI when compared with the Macintosh laryngoscope. CONCLUSION: Personnel not accustomed to a particular airway management technique achieved comparable outcomes when using either the Macintosh laryngoscope or the EasyScope device for TI. Possible reduction of effort required for tracheal intubation or better dental protection have to be evaluated for the EasyScope in further clinical studies.
Adult↗
[Death after bee-sting].
A ten-year-old girl collapsed on the street with the signs of acute anaphylaxis. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was unsuccessful. At the autopsy a thorn-like object was found sticking in the tongue and was later identified as the stinger of a honey bee. Witnesses reported that the girl had drunk some ice tea from a box and then had complained about pains in the mouth. Postmortem blood tests revealed increased total IgE level as well as increased levels of specific IgE against bee and wasp poisons. Cause of death was a bronchospasm caused by an allergic reaction due to a sting of a honey bee.
Age Factors↗
The impact of experience of a transplantation center on the outcomes of orthotopic liver transplantation.
The so-called learning factor has been disregarded for many years in analyzing the causes of surgical complications and post-operative mortality; it is also the case for OLT. In our center until April 2003, 209 OLT were performed in 196 patients. We evaluated the impact of experience of the transplantation team on the outcomes of liver transplantation. Thirty-four patients died (mortality rate, 16%) and 1-year survival rate, 64%. Mortality rates varied during different periods of observation due to increasing experience of the transplantation team. The causes of mortality were assessed for a series of 34 patients: it was 75% at the beginning of transplantation procedures while recent deaths have not recently exceeded 10% of cases.
Gallbladder Diseases↗
Establishment of a preference by the newborn lamb for its mother: the role of opioids.
Mother-young relationships in sheep are characterized by individual recognition and a rapidly developing exclusive bond. The authors examined the role of opioids in establishment of the lamb's preference for its mother. Newborn lambs received the opioid receptor antagonist naltrexone (0.0, 1.5, or 3.0 mg/kg i.p.), and lambs were tested at 24 hr and 48 hr of age. At 24 hr, controls spent significantly more time near the mother than near an alien ewe; no significant difference was obtained for the naltrexone-treated groups. The effect of naltrexone persisted at 48 hr. No other significant behavioral difference was observed. Results support the hypothesis that opioids mediate the establishment of mother preference and the view that positive affect associated with social attachment and maternal care may be modulated by opioids.
Animals↗
Twenty-four-hour-old lambs rely more on maternal behavior than on the learning of individual characteristics to discriminate between their own and an alien mother.
Lambs can discriminate their own mother from an alien dam on the first day of life, suggesting the recognition of individual physical characteristics of the mother. Alternatively, their choice may depend on behavioral differences existing between the ewes because of their maternal selectivity. To clarify this, the ability of 24-hr-old lambs to discriminate between their own and an alien mother, that were either intact and accept only their own lamb at nursing (i.e., selective, n = 19) or anosmic, which nurse indiscriminately alien lambs as well as their own (i.e., nonselective, n = 24), was assessed by a 5-min, two-choice test. With intact dams, lambs spent significantly more time next to their own mother whereas this was not so in the presence of anosmic dams. Furthermore, in the intact group, the vocal activity by their own mother differed from that by the alien dam while this was not so in anosmic ewes. We conclude that 24-hr-old lambs rely more on the behavior of the ewes to select their dam than on their individual physical characteristics.
Animals↗
Induction of maternal behavior in non-parturient adoptive mares.
An attempt was made to elicit maternal behavior in non-parturient Welsh pony mares through a combination of hormonal treatment and vaginal-cervical stimulation (VCS). Lactation was induced in 16 nonpregnant, non-parturient mares via a combination of estradiol, progesterone and a dopamine antagonist (sulpiride). During the adoption trials, each lactating mare was confined behind a padded bar and a newborn foal was held near her head. Eight of the mares received two 3-min periods of VCS when the foster foal was introduced. Following VCS, the foal was released and its interactions with the adoptive mare observed until the acceptance criterion was met (i.e. the mare accepted the foal at the udder with no signs of aggression). The remaining eight adoptive mares were treated in the same manner but did not receive VCS. All 16 non-parturient mares eventually accepted and nursed their adopted foal. However, acceptance latencies were significantly shorter for mares in the VCS condition than for those without VCS, and did not differ between the VCS condition and a group of control mares with their biological offspring. In subsequent choice tests, both groups of foster mares (with/without VCS), like the control mares, displayed a preference for their 'own' foal. Once the non-parturient mares accepted their foster foal, their maternal behavior resembled that of control mothers. The positive effect of VCS on maternal acceptance may reflect a release of oxytocin triggered by this treatment.
Administration, Topical↗
The BCL11 gene family: involvement of BCL11A in lymphoid malignancies.
Many malignancies of mature B cells are characterized by chromosomal translocations involving the immunoglobulin heavy chain (IGH) locus on chromosome 14q32.3 and result in deregulated expression of the translocated oncogene. t(2;14)(p13;q32.3) is a rare event in B-cell malignancies. In contrast, gains and amplifications of the same region of chromosome 2p13 have been reported in 20% of extranodal B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas (B-NHL), in follicular and mediastinal B-NHL, and in Hodgkin disease (HD). It has been suggested that REL, an NF-kappaB gene family member, mapping within the amplified region, is the pathologic target. However, by molecular cloning of t(2;14)(p13;q32.3) from 3 cases of aggressive B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)/immunocytoma, this study has shown clustered breakpoints on chromosome 2p13 immediately upstream of a CpG island located about 300 kb telomeric of REL. This CpG island was associated with a Krüppel zinc finger gene (BCL11A), which is normally expressed at high levels only in fetal brain and in germinal center B-cells. There were 3 major RNA isoforms of BCL11A, differing in the number of carboxy-terminal zinc fingers. All 3 RNA isoforms were deregulated as a consequence of t(2;14)(p13;q32.3). BCL11A was highly conserved, being 95% identical to mouse, chicken, and Xenopus homologues. BCL11A was also highly homologous to another gene (BCL11B) on chromosome 14q32.1. BCL11A coamplified with REL in B-NHL cases and HD lymphoma cell lines with gains and amplifications of 2p13, suggesting that BCL11A may be involved in lymphoid malignancies through either chromosomal translocation or amplification.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Wiedemann-Rautenstrauch (neonatal progeroid) syndrome: new case with normal telomere length in skin fibroblasts.
Wiedemann-Rautenstrauch (neonatal progeroid) syndrome is an autosomal recessive condition with characteristic appearance of premature aging present at birth (aged face, natal teeth, and wrinkled skin). Other features of the syndrome are generalized lipoatrophy with specific fat accumulation in the lateral suprabuttock region, hypotrichosis, macrocephaly (pseudohydrocephalus), and mental retardation. We report on a new case that demonstrates all typical features of the syndrome. The girl is now 16 years and 10 months old and has had follow-up from birth. We measured terminal restriction fragment (TRF) length to evaluate whether the patient's premature aging process is accompanied by shortening of telomere length in her cultured fibroblasts. Mean TRF of 13.5 kb found in our patient's fibroblasts is not shortened as compared to that of normal fibroblasts. Our results differ from those observed in Hutchinson-Gilford progeria.
Adolescent↗
Australia stops short of a ban on therapeutic cloning.
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Advisory Committees↗
Flow cytometric DNA-quantification of three-color immunophenotyped cells for subpopulation specific determination of aneuploidy and proliferation.
A method is described for three-color immunophenotyping and simultaneous DNA-quantification using a flow cytometer equipped with a 488-nm argon laser and a mercury lamp (UV). The approach includes reproducible immunophenotyping comparing antigen expression before and after cell manipulation for DNA-measurement. The coefficients of variation after DNA-staining (CV=3.13 for T-cells in peripheral blood and CV=3.38 for T-cells in bone marrow) were adequate for exact DNA-analysis. For aneuploidy detection, a true internal standard was established measuring, for example, the DNA-content of T-cells in B-cell disease simultaneously with the DNA-content of the malignant cells. Using this method, aneuploidies could be unequivocally detected in 17 out of 24 patients with multiple myeloma. Furthermore, intratumor heterogeneities in DNA-content and antigen expression could be recognized, allowing an exact separation of tumor cells and normal hematopoiesis. The study also demonstrated the importance of exact immunophenotypic characterization of lymphocyte subpopulations and the determination of their specific proliferation, for example after proliferation induction in cell cultures. Future studies should address the applicability of this rather simple multiparameter approach for simultaneous immunophenotyping and DNA-measurement especially in the detection of minimal amounts of aneuploid cells after chemotherapy.
Aneuploidy↗
The presence of the dam affects the efficiency of gentling and feeding on the early establishment of the stockperson-lamb relationship.
This experiment investigates how the maternal presence influences the effect of additional human contact in early age on the reaction of lambs to their stockperson. Forty twin-born lambs were involved in this experiment during their first 4 days of life. Ten pairs of twins were reared artificially from 12h of age. One of each litter (AF, n=10) received 6.5+/-0.7 sessions of 30min of separation from the twin (with a wire fence) with 5min of gentling and feeding (suckling from a bottle and from a bucket fitted with a rubber teat). The other twin was not treated. Ten pairs of twins were reared with their dam and received 6.6+/-0.7 sessions of treatment. One twin (MAF, n=10) received the same treatment as AF. The other twin (M, n=10) was separated for 30min from the dam and had no human contact. From the age of 70+/-7h, lambs were tested in a social isolation test (alone for 1min, with the familiar stockman for 2min, alone again for 1min), in a Preference test (2min) between an unfamiliar maternal ewe and the familiar stockman, and, for the AF lambs only, in a Preference test (2min) between their familiar and an unfamiliar stockman. Eight AF lambs learned to suck on their own from the bucket of milk by the end of the experiment compared to only one MAF (P<0.001). AF lambs approached the human more (P<0.01), vocalised less (P<0.01) and walked less (P<0.01) during the social isolation test than animals reared with their mother (M and MAF). AF did not show any preference between the stockman and the unfamiliar maternal ewe while M and MAF lambs chose the ewe (P<0.05). AF lambs discriminated the familiar from an unfamiliar stockman only if they had learned to suck from the bucket during the treatment. Nevertheless MAF lambs vocalised less than M (P<0.05) in the presence of the stockman during the social isolation test, indicating a possible reduction of isolation distress. These results show that artificially reared lambs are preferentially motivated to interact with a familiar human after only a few days of contact. Moreover, they highlight the difficulty in using a feeding reward to improve the human-lamb relationship when lambs are reared permanently with their dams. However, the results suggest that early gentling improves the human-animal relationship whatever the maternal environment.
Journal Article↗
Neuroendocrine consequences of very early weaning in swine.
An experiment was conducted to investigate the consequences of very early weaning of piglets on neuroendocrine variables and growth. Sixty piglets from eight litters were either weaned on Postnatal Day 6 (early weaning, or EW piglets) or left with their dam until normal weaning at Day 28 (control piglets, or C). At Days 5, 7, 11, 14, and 19, urine was collected between 7:00 and 8:00 a.m. for the measurement of catecholamines, glucocorticoids, and creatinine. Compared with C, EW piglets displayed a transient increase in urinary cortisol on the day following separation from their dam (Day 7) (P<.05). Urinary norepinephrine (NE) was three times lower in EW compared to C piglets from Day 7 until Day 14 (P<.01) but there was no difference between the two groups on Day 19. Urinary epinephrine (EPI) did not differ between C and EW piglets on the day after weaning. Thereafter, EW piglets displayed a three times drop in urinary EPI as compared to C piglets until the end of the period (P<.01). Weaning induced an immediate reduction in food intake and growth rate and at Day 28, the body weight of EW piglets was 1.60 kg lower than that of C piglets (P<.0001). In conclusion, weaning of 6-day-old piglets results in a marked and prolonged suppression of the release of catecholamines. This result likely reflects physiological responses to insufficient energy intake after weaning, as reflected also by changes in thermoregulatory behavior. The transient increase in cortisol excretion in weanlings may be caused by both emotional distress and acute food deprivation.
Aging↗
Rectal doses in intracavitary brachytherapy of gynecological malignancies: comparison of two dosimetric methods.
PURPOSE: To compare calculated rectal doses obtained by two dosimetric methods in intracavitary brachytherapy of gynecological malignancies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This analysis included 124 intracavitary applications performed in 102 patients with cervical or endometrial cancer. The pelvic dose distribution based on orthogonal intracavitary placement films was calculated with the computer planning system. In each application the rectal dose was defined in the specific rectal point determined by both the use of a wire marker inserted into the rectum (R1) and by packing the vagina with radio-opaque gauze - the method recommended by the ICRU Report 38 (R2). The comparison included R1 and R2 doses as well as the respective radiobiological equivalent doses determined by the linear-quadratic model (r1 and r2). RESULTS: In 83% of applications the absolute value of R1 was lower than R2. The mean difference between R1 and R2 was 3.7 Gy (95% CI 3.03-4.41 Gy) and between r1 and r2 7.2 Gy (95% CI 5.77-8.56 Gy). These differences were significant (P<0.001 for both comparisons). The difference between the doses was not influenced by the type of applicator and remained significant even when a systemic+/-10% error of method was assumed. CONCLUSION: The rectal point dose determined with the use of rectal wire marker may be underestimated, therefore this method should be discouraged in gynecological brachytherapy.
Brachytherapy↗
CCK and development of mother preference in sheep: a neonatal time course study.
We investigated the effects of a CCK-A receptor antagonist on the development of mother preference. Lambs received 2-NAP either at birth or 6, or 12 h later. Controls were given saline. When tested at 24 h of age, lambs receiving 2-NAP at birth or 6 h later did not display mother preference unlike controls and lambs which were given 2-NAP at 12 h. The effect of the antagonist persisted at 48 h of age in lambs treated at birth. This suggests that endogenous CCK participates in the development of mother preference only in the first few hours following birth.
Animals↗
A standardized flow cytometric method for screening paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria (PNH) measuring CD55 and CD59 expression on erythrocytes and granulocytes.
PNH is a disorder of the pluripotent stem cells resulting in a deficient expression of membrane-bound GPI-anchored proteins in different cell types. Several flow cytometric approaches are designed to detect this antigen deficiency. But they all require drawing and testing of normal samples as control. Therefore, in the present study two flow cytometric assays for the detection of CD55 and CD59 deficiency in erythrocytes (REDQUANT CD55/CD59) and granulocytes (CELLQUANT CD55/CD59) are proposed. Precalibrated beads are used to define the cut off between normal and deficient cell populations. The specificity of the tests has been evaluated in healthy blood donors (n=52) resulting in a clear and reproducible cut off (3%) for the normal percentage of GPI-deficient cells. This cut off has been confirmed in leukaemia and lymphoma patients not suspected for developing PNH. The sensitivity has been tested in patients suffering from known PNH (n=23). Both tests performed in combination allowed a reliable detection of PNH in all patients showing antigen deficiencies in both cell types in most patients (20/23). In contrast, the PNH clones in the investigated patients with MDS (4/19) or AA (4/22) were present in granulocytes or erythrocytes, only. This underlines the necessity of analysing erythrocytes as well as granulocytes. Preliminary data regarding a possible correlation between disease activity and percentage of antigen-deficient cells lead to the assumption that haemolytic crises can only be determined on granulocytes whereas deficient erythrocytes disappeared due to complement-mediated lysis of the PNH clone. In conclusion, the combination of the test kits enables the differential diagnosis of PNH clones in a standardized, simple and rapid approach which may have therapeutic consequences.
CD55 Antigens↗