Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis in an Adult With Involvement of the Calvarium Cerebral Cortex and Brainstem: Discussion of Pathophysiology and Rationale for the use of Intravenous Immune Globulin

We report a case of Langerhans cell histiocytosis in a 64-year-old male who presented with symptoms and signs of brain involvement, including seizures and hypopituitarism. The diagnosis was confirmed with a biopsy of a lytic skull lesion. The disease affecting the bone showed no sign of progression following a short course of cladribine. Signs of temporal lobe involvement led to an additional biopsy, which showed signs of nonspecific neurodegeneration and which triggered status epilepticus. Lesions noted in the brainstem were typical for the paraneoplastic inflammation reported in this condition. These lesions improved after treatment with cladribine. They remained stable while on treatment with intravenous immune globulin

Root and tuber crops: Untapped potential for food and nutrition security and rural livelihood development in Myanmar. Results of a scoping study.

RTCs are not a priority crop in Myanmar, but there is still significant growth in production and demand, particularly potato and cassava. Information from farmers and other stakeholders in the RTC sector revealed various concerns and issues affecting RTC development in the study sites in terms of input supply, production, processing, and marketing. Initiatives for RTC development should focus on the accesibility of quality planting material, improved cultivation practice, small-scale mechanization, postharvest and processing facilities, and value chain development

Polar body formation in Spisula oocytes : function of the peripheral aster

Author Posting. © Marine Biological Laboratory, 2005. This article is posted here by permission of Marine Biological Laboratory for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Biological Bulletin 209 (2005): 21-30.Activated Spisula oocytes proceed through meiotic stages rapidly and in near synchrony, providing an excellent system for analyzing polar body formation. Our previous studies suggested that cortical spreading of the metaphase peripheral aster determines spatial features of the cortical F-actin ring that is generated prior to extrusion of the polar body. We tested this hypothesis by experimentally altering the number and cortical contact patterns of peripheral asters. Such alteration was achieved by (a) lovastatin-induced arrest at metaphase I, with and without hexylene glycol modification, followed by washout; and (b) cytochalasin-D inhibition of extrusion of the first polar body, with washout before extrusion of the second polar body. Both methods induced simultaneous formation of two or more cortically spreading asters, correlated with subsequent formation of double, or even triple, overlapping F-actin rings during anaphase. Regardless of pattern, ring F-actin was deposited near regions of greatest astral microtubule density, indicating that microtubules provided a positive stimulus to which the cortex responded indiscriminately. These results strongly support the proposed causal relationship between peripheral aster spreading and biogenesis of the F-actin ring involved in polar body formation.We are indebted to the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Undergraduate Science Education Program in Biology (HHMI 5200267), the Hunter College Avon-Tukman Fund, NSF 9808368, and PSC-CUNY 65218, for support

Recent Advances in Breast Cancer Diagnosis Entering an Era of Precision Medicine

This article will cover some of the most recent advances in the diagnosis of the world’s most common cancer in women, namely, breast cancer as we enter the era of precision medicine. The authors will discuss the differences between East and West pertaining to the incidence and mortality rates, the types of breast cancer and the revised staging criteria of breast cancer according to the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) Staging Manual, 8th edition. In addition, the advances of newer imaging modalities are presented and compared with traditional ultrasonography and mammography

Autophagosome-based strategy to monitor apparent tumor-specific CD8 T cells in patients with prostate cancer

The immune system plays an essential role in eradicating cancer in concert with various treatment modalities. In the absence of autologous tumor material, no standardized method exists to assess T cell responses against the many antigens that may serve as cancer rejection antigens. Thus, development of methods to screen for therapy-induced anti-tumor responses is a high priority that could help tailor therapy. Here we tested whether a tumor-derived antigen source called DRibbles®, which contain a pool of defective ribosomal products (DRiPs), long-lived and short-lived proteins (SLiPs) and danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), can be used to identify tumor-associated antigen (TAA)-specific responses in patients before or after immunotherapy treatment. Protein content, gene expression and non-synonymous – single nucleotide variants (ns-SNVs) present in UbiLT3 DRibbles were compared with prostate adenocarcinomas and the prostate GVAX vaccine cell lines (PC3/LNCaP). UbiLT3 DRibbles were found to share proteins, as well as match tumor sequences for ns-SNVs with prostate adenocarcinomas and with the cell lines PC3 and LNCaP. UbiLT3 DRibbles were used to monitor anti-tumor responses in patients vaccinated with allogeneic prostate GVAX. UbiLT3-DRibble-reactive CD8+ T-cell responses were detected in post-vaccine PBMC of 6/12 patients (range 0.85–22% of CD8+ cells) after 1 week in vitro stimulation (p = 0.007 vs. pre-vaccine). In conclusion, a cancer-derived autophagosome-enriched preparation, packaging over 100 proteins over-expressed in prostate cancer into microvesicles containing DAMPs, could be used to identify CD8+ T cells in peripheral blood from patients after prostate GVAX vaccination and may represent a general method to monitor anti-cancer T cell responses following immunotherapy

Concert recording 2016-04-17

[Track 01]. Ballade no. 2 in F major op. 38 / Frédéric Chopin -- [Track 02]. Sonata. Allegro moderato / Bruce Broughton -- [Track 03]. La catedral / Augustin Barrios-Mangoré -- [Track 04]. Largo al factotum from Il barbiere di Siviglia / Gioachino Rossini -- [Track 05]. First sonata for flute and piano. Allegro moderato / Bohuslav Martinu -- [Track 06]. The odyssey, according to Penelope. Afternoon in the park ; Toddling waltz / Kevin Bobo -- [Track 07]. Flirtations : 3 songs for solo alto saxophone / Michael Markowski -- [Track 08]. Depuis le jour from Louise / Gustave Charpentier -- [Track 09]. New Orleans / Eugene Bozza

Turban Pin Inhalation Syndrome with Unusually Mobile Pin from Series of Radiographs

Foreign Bodies (FB) dislodges are common in the ear, nose and throat especially among infants and children. Occasionally, they can accidentally be ended up in the bronchus as well. We describe a 13-year-old girl with accidental ingestion of a scarf needle pin after she was slapped on the back while biting the pin. Chest radiograph had confirmed the diagnosis of pin ingestion which is consistent with turban pin inhalation syndrome. In view of logistic and specialty issues, she was transferred to another tertiary hospital for further intervention. A series of chest radiograph showed a migratory metallic FB in different locations in the airway, which was considered as an extreme rarity. We discuss this rare entity with literature review of FB aspiration in general