A case of abdominal sarcoidosis in a patient with acute myeloid leukemia.

The allogeneic bone marrow transplantation usually preceded by induction chemotherapy, in fit patients, represents the gold standard in the acute myeloid leukaemia. In the last years, many trials have been set up with the view of improving the number of remissions during the induction by adding new drugs. Several early or late side effects have been described in the literature. We herein present a patient with acute myeloid leukaemia patient who, after chemotherapy, developed ascites that turned out to be abdominal sarcoidosis

Intrathecal methotrexate and craniospinal radiotherapy can be an effective treatment of carcinomatous meningitis in patients with breast cancer: case reports

Introduction Carcinomatous meningitis in breast cancer occurs as a complication in up to 5% of all cases. It is a very devastating diagnosis, with a median patient survival of about 3 months. Treatment is very controversial, and different modalities of treatment have been used but none of them show significant benefit for overall survival. Case Reports We report 2 cases of carcinomatous meningitis in breast cancer patients. They received a similar treatment of a combination of intrathecal (IT) methotrexate followed by craniospinal radiotherapy. Both patients survived for many years after treatment and are in complete clinical and radiological remission. Conclusion Meningeal metastasis from breast cancer can be very effectively treated with IT and/or systemic chemotherapy followed by craniospinal radiotherapy. Further studies are needed to determine the effectiveness of this sequential combination of chemotherapy with radiotherapy

Metastatic tumors to the stomach: clinical and endoscopic features.

AIM: To evaluate the clinical and endoscopic patterns in a large series of patients with metastatic tumors in the stomach. METHODS: A total of 64 patients with gastric metastases from solid malignant tumors were retrospectively examined between 1990 and 2005. The clinicopathological findings were reviewed along with tumor characteristics such as endoscopic pattern, location, size and origin of the primary sites. RESULTS: Common indications for endoscopy were anemia, bleeding and epigastric pain. Metastases presented as solitary (62.5%) or multiple (37.5%) tumors were mainly located in the middle or upper third of stomach. The main primary metastatic tumors were from breast and lung cancer and malignant melanoma. CONCLUSION: As the prognosis of cancer patients has been improving gradually, gastrointestinal (GI) metastases will be encountered more often. Endoscopic examinations should be conducted carefully in patients with malignancies, and endoscopic biopsies and information on the patient's clinical history are useful for correct diagnosis of gastric metastases

Applied linguistics as a manifestation of exo-, meso- and endo-symbiosis

An assumption is made that applied linguistics may be viewed as an outcome of an interplay of a dichotomy of endogenous and exogenous symbionts, mediated by important mesogenous symbionts acting jointly within the domain of language and communication. All of them form a system of bifurcations which may generally be called ‘a flow tool-language design’ or The Bifurcational Model of Symbiosis (BiMoS). In this model, bifurcations form a ‘grammar of bifurcations’ whose power is symbiotic in the overall functioning of language. Furthermore, the occurrence of the above mentioned types of symbionts on the language side allows for a division of ‘linguolabourese’ (or the whole ‘life of language’ as opposed to ‘instrumentolabourese’, or the whole ‘life of tools’) into three more or less distinct and interconnected areas of symbiosis: the exogenous area, the mesogenous area, and the endogenous area, respectively. The afore mentioned areas further justify a division of linguistics into three respective types: exogenous (exo-) linguistics, mesogenous (meso-) linguistics, and endogenous (endo-) linguistics. Their subdomains of interest vary but are highly interconnected, blended and synergistic. Applied linguistics is viewed here as belonging predominantly to (or taking theoretical and practical interest in) the mesogenous and endogenous areas of linguolabourese, though it is strongly supported by the underlying exogenous area.An assumption is made that applied linguistics may be viewed as an outcome of an interplay of a dichotomy of endogenous and exogenous symbionts, mediated by important mesogenous symbionts acting jointly within the domain of language and communication. All of them form a system of bifurcations which may generally be called ‘a flow tool-language design’ or The Bifurcational Model of Symbiosis (BiMoS). In this model, bifurcations form a ‘grammar of bifurcations’ whose power is symbiotic in the overall functioning of language. Furthermore, the occurrence of the above mentioned types of symbionts on the language side allows for a division of ‘linguolabourese’ (or the whole ‘life of language’ as opposed to ‘instrumentolabourese’, or the whole ‘life of tools’) into three more or less distinct and interconnected areas of symbiosis: the exogenous area, the mesogenous area, and the endogenous area, respectively. The afore mentioned areas further justify a division of linguistics into three respective types: exogenous (exo-) linguistics, mesogenous (meso-) linguistics, and endogenous (endo-) linguistics. Their subdomains of interest vary but are highly interconnected, blended and synergistic. Applied linguistics is viewed here as belonging predominantly to (or taking theoretical and practical interest in) the mesogenous and endogenous areas of linguolabourese, though it is strongly supported by the underlying exogenous area

Excretion of dietary cow’s milk derived peptides into breast milk

Nanoflow-HPLC-tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) was used to analyze the peptide fraction of breast milk samples collected from a single non-atopic donor on different days (ten samples) after receiving an oral load of cow’s milk (by drinking 200 mL of bovine milk). In addition, breast milk was sampled from the same lactating mother over a 6-h period at 5 time points after drinking cow’s milk. We aimed to trace the intra-individual variability and to define a time profile of the excretion of dietary peptides into breast milk. Overall, 21 peptides exclusively originating from both bovine caseins and whey proteins with no match within the human milk proteome were identified in the breast milk samples. These peptides were missing in the breast milk obtained from the mother after a prolonged milk- and dairy-free diet (three samples). The time course of cow’s milk-derived β-Lg f(125-135) and β-casein f(81-92) in breast milk

Evaluation of the patellar height in athletes with diagnosed with chronic tendinopathy of the knee extensor mechanism

OBJECTIVES: To carry out a radiographic evaluation of patellar height in athletes diagnosed with chronic tendinopathy of the knee extensor mechanism; METHODS: Radiographic assessments were carried out on 65 patients (110 knees) aged between 15 and 40 years, who practiced different kinds of sports, some with of chronic tendinopathy of the knee extensor mechanism (jumper's knee) and others without. The athletes were divided into two groups: those with diagnosed jumper's knee (group 1:38 athletes - 56 knees) and a control group (group 2:27 athletes - 54 knees). In group 1, 18 of the athletes presented the condition in both knees on examination. The height of the patella was measured using the Insall-Salvati and Blackburne-Peel x-ray methods. CONCLUSION: The presence of a high patella in the group of athletes with chronic tendinopathy of the knee extensor mechanism was significantly higher than in the control group.OBJETIVO: Avaliar radiograficamente a altura patelar de atletas com diagnóstico de tendinopatia crônica do aparelho extensor do joelho (TCAE). MÉTODOS: Na amostra foram avaliados radiograficamente 65 pacientes (110 joelhos) com idade entre 15 e 40 anos e de diferentes modalidades esportivas com e sem diagnóstico de tendinopatia crônica do aparelho extensor do joelho (jumper's knee). Os atletas foram divididos em dois grupos: aqueles com diagnóstico de TCAE (grupo 1: 38 atletas - 56 joelhos) e um grupo que denominamos de controle (grupo 2: 27 atletas - 54 joelhos). RESULTADOS: No grupo 1 tivemos 18 atletas que apresentavam a doença bilateralmente na ocasião dos exames. Para a medida da altura patelar utilizamos os índices radiográficos de Insall e Salvati e Blackburne e Peel. CONCLUSÃO: A presença de patela alta no grupo de atletas com tendinopatia crônica do aparelho extensor do joelho foi significante maior do que a observada no grupo controle.Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP)UNIFESPSciEL

Antibody-independent identification of bovine milk-derived peptides in breast-milk

Exclusively breast-fed infants can exhibit clear signs of IgE or non IgE-mediated cow's milk allergy. However, the definite characterization of dietary cow's milk proteins (CMP) that survive the maternal digestive tract to be absorbed into the bloodstream and secreted into breast milk remains missing. Herein, we aimed at assessing possible CMP-derived peptides in breast milk. Using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-high resolution mass spectrometry (MS), we compared the peptide fraction of breast milk from 12 donors, among which 6 drank a cup of milk daily and 6 were on strict diary-free diet. We identified two bovine β-lactoglobulin (β-Lg, 2 out 6 samples) and one α(s1)-casein (1 out 6 samples) fragments in breast milk from mothers receiving a cup of bovine milk daily. These CMP-derived fragments, namely β-Lg (f42-54), (f42-57) and α(s1)-casein (f180-197), were absent in milk from mothers on dairy-free diet. In contrast, neither intact nor hydrolyzed β-Lg was detected by Western blot and competitive ELISA in any breast milk sample. Eight additional bovine milk-derived peptides identified by software-assisted MS were most likely false positive. The results of this study demonstrate that CMP-derived peptides rather than intact CMP may sensitize or elicit allergic responses in the neonate through mother's milk. Immunologically active peptides from the maternal diet could be involved in priming the newborn's immune system, driving tolerogenic response

Proteomic study of muscle sarcoplasmic proteins using AUT-PAGE/SDS-PAGE as two-dimensional gel electrophoresis

The conversion of muscle to meat in pig involves mainly proteolysis of myofibrillar proteins, which undergo notable changes since early stage of rigor mortis, even after 48 h post mortem. The tenderness of meat has been thoroughly investigated to understand the biochemical mechanisms, which influence texture and flavour development as well as the technological parameters and hence meat quality. Cytoplasmic proteolytic calcium dependent enzymes, named -and m-calpains, which act in the early stages of rigor mortis, significantly contribute to tenderization weakening myofibrils. These enzymes, however, act for fewdays because they are specifically inhibited by calpastatin and by pH lowering. However, when pH falls to about 5.0, proteolytic activity on muscle proteins is continued by longer acting lysosomal proteinase, cathepsins [3,7–9]. Post mortem proteolysis also causes relevant changes in sarcoplamic protein fraction, which represent the water soluble fraction (quantitatively about 30–35%) of meat total protein, and the involved proteins has already been identified by proteomic-based studies. Recent investigations have demonstrated that the most commonly found Lactobacillus species in dry fermented meats are able to hydrolyse myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic muscle proteins in vitro.The most abundant sarcoplasmic proteins, as mixture of basic polypeptides with a narrow spread range of molecular masses, represented an excellent model to test our analytical technique and to delineate its capabilities. In the present study, we compared 2D AUT-PAGE/SDSPAGE maps of water-soluble proteins extracted from fresh meat and from dry-cured ham, a non fermented product, from “Naples-type” salami, a microbiologically fermented product, and from “Coppa”, a typical semi-fermented product. Electrophoretically separated proteins have been identified by MALDI-ToF mass fingerprinting