Human-to-human touch in institutional settings : Introduction to the special issue

Non peer reviewe

Spór terytorialny w stosunkach rosyjsko-japońskich o przynależność południowych Wysp Kurylskich

Unsolved Territorial Dispute between Russia and Japan about Sovereignty over the Southern Kuril IslandsThe dispute on four southern islands of Kuril archipelago is one of the oldest, still unresolved territorial disputes of the modern world. This conflict is gaining on it’s significance due to the location in North-East Asia which is currently one of the crucial areas for global security. Japan and Russia are big powers with national interests and influence overreaching North-East Asia region. Both countries have not signed a formal peace treaty ending World War II hostilities, despite it is almost 70 years after Japan unconditional surrender to allied powers. The main obstacle that hinders normalization of relations between two nations is unsolved territorial issue of 4 islands that are named in Japan “Northern Territories” (jap. Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan, Habomai) and in Russia are just called Southern Kuril Islands.There are complex reasons behind persistence of this issue between Japan and Russia over such a long period of time. Japan was punished by allied powers after surrender, has lost permanently almost all of it’s possessions beyond the main Japanese Islands. Kurile Islands were considered one of these territories. Abridged Japanese sovereignty, communist revolution in China, outbreak of Korean War, stalinist foreign policy of Soviet Union and new American doctrine of containment caused freezing of this conflict. Important factors should be also attributed to national strategies and policies of Japan and Soviet Union (Russian Federation after 1991).The solution to this border dispute and establishing new framework of bilateral relations between Russia and Japan would significantly change strategic picture of North-East Asia. This could be very beneficial for both Japan and Russia. This conflict has a lot of nationalist symbolism in both nations and would require very bold leadership will to finally resolve it. It is enormous political risk to propose territorial solution that would compromise some well established national imponderables. China and USA – in real policy terms – are not supporting normalization of relations between Japan and Russia, due to their strategic interests in the region. Due to these reasons, it is very unlikely that this issue will be resolved within the foreseeable future

Wpływ procesu sukcesji w Koreańskiej Republice Ludowo-Demokratycznej na stabilność regionalnego systemu bezpieczeństwa w Azji Północno-Wschodniej

Influence of succession process in DPRK for stability regional security system In North East AsiaDPRK has a unique in the world political system. This hybrid of east-asian despotism inspired neoconfucianism is connected with the Stalinist version of communism. North Korean political system created by Kim Il Sung is still living. Celebrations of 100th birth of Kim Il Sung made function for stability of regime. Domestically it to the society of North Korea shows North Korea Society that Great leader is strong and able confront the US and South Korea. Also show the succession is successful and successor is able to continue of work Grandfather and Father. Current hostility in North-south relations has brought both countries at the verge of war. One hand North Korea will peaceful environment for Celebrations time, second hand her policy not change China plays a vital role on the on the Korean Peninsula and its policy is driven strictly own national interests. On one side China is strongly interested in the economic development of DPRK. One side China is strongly interested in the economic development of DPRK in order to make this country more economically self-reliant and less dependent on Chinese aid. On the other side china will never accept unified, pro-American and anticommunist Korea. The main goal of the DPRK is survive within the fast changing world. For achievement this goal use lot measures like: diplomacy, terror, artillery strike, torpedoing

Long-term survival after liver transplantation in children with metabolic disorders

Background: Liver transplantation for inherited metabolic disorders aims to save the patient's life when the disorder is expected to progress to organ failure, and to cure the underlying metabolic defect. Methods : We retrospectively analyzed 146 pediatric liver transplants (28 metabolic; 118 non-metabolic) performed between 1986 and 2000. Results : Twenty-eight transplants were performed in 24 children with metabolic disease (8 females; 16 males; age range 3 months to 17 yr). Indications included α−1-antitrypsin deficiency (n = 8), two cases each of hyperoxaluria type 1, Wilson's disease, hereditary tyrosinemia type I, citrullinemia, methylmalonic acidemia, and one case each of propionic acidemia, Crigler–Najjar syndrome type I , neonatal hemachromatosis, hemophilia B, Niemann–Pick disease type B, and cystic fibrosis. Eighteen transplants were whole organ grafts and 10 were lobar or segmental. Auxiliary liver transplants were performed in two patients and three received combined liver-kidney transplants. There were three deaths from sepsis, two from chronic rejection, and one from fulminant hepatitis. Seven of 10 patients currently of school age are within 1 yr of expected grade and three who had pretransplant developmental delay have remained in special education. Actuarial survival rates at 5 and 10 yr are 78% and 68%, respectively, with mean follow-up in excess of 5 yr. These results compare favorably to 100 pediatric patients transplanted for non-metabolic etiologies (65% and 61%, respectively) (p= NS). Conclusions : Pediatric liver transplantation for metabolic disorders results in excellent clinical and biochemical outcome with long survival and excellent quality of life for most recipients.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72583/1/j.1399-3046.2002.02009.x.pd

Pediatric liver transplantation: A single center experience spanning 20 years

Background. Survival after liver transplantation has improved significantly over the last decade with pediatric recipients faring better than adults. The 20-year experience of pediatric liver transplantation at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh is reported in terms of patient survival; graft survival in relation to age, gender, and immunosuppressive protocols; causes of death; and indications for retransplantation. Method. From March 1981 to April 1998, 808 children received liver transplants at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. All patients were followed until March 2001, with a mean follow-up of 12.2±3.9 years (median= 12.6; range=2.9-20). There were 405 female (50.2%) and 403 male (49.8%) pediatric recipients. Mean age at transplant was 5.3±4.9 years (mean=3.3; range 0.04-17.95), with 285 children (25.3%) being less than 2 years of age at transplant. Cyclosporine (CsA)-based immunosuppression was used before November 1989 in 482 children (50.7%), and the subsequent 326 recipients (40.3%) were treated with tacrolimus-based immunosuppression. Actuarial survival was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier statistical method. Differences in survival were calculated by log-rank analysis. Results. Overall patient survival at 1, 5, 10, 15 and 20 years was 77.1%, 72.6%, 69.4%, 65.8% and 64.4%, respectively. There was no difference in survival for male or female patients at any time point. At up to 10 years posttransplant, the survival for children greater than 2 years of age (79.5%, 75.7%, and 71.6% at 1, 5, and 10 years, respectively) was slightly higher than those at less than 2 years of age (72.6%, 66.9%, and 65.3% at 1, 5, and 10 years, respectively). However, at 15 and 20 years posttransplant, survival rates were similar (>2 years=67.3% and 65.8%; <2 years=64.1% and 64.1%). A significant difference in survival was seen in CsA-based immunosuppression (71.2%, 68.1%, 65.4%, and 61%) versus tacrolimus-based immunosuppression (85.8%, 84.7%, 83.3%, and 82.9%) at 1, 3, 5, and 10 years, respectively (P=0.0001). The maximum difference in survival was noted in the first 3 months between CsA and tacrolimus; thus, indicating there may have been other factors (nonimmunological factors) involved in terms of donor and recipient selection and technical issues. The mean annual death rate beyond 2 years posttransplant was 0.47%, with the mean annual death rate for patients who received tacrolimus-based immunosuppression being significantly lower than those who received CsA-based immunosuppression (0.14% vs. 0.8%; P=0.001). The most common etiologies of graft loss were hepatic artery thrombosis (33.4%), acute or chronic rejection (26.6%), and primary nonfunction (16.7%). Of note, retransplantation for graft loss because of acute or chronic rejection occurred only in those patients who received CsA-based immunosuppression. Conclusion. The overall 20-year actuarial survival for pediatric liver transplantation is 64%. Survival has increased by 20% in the last 12 years with tacrolimus-based immunosuppression. although this improvement may be the result of several factors, retransplantation as a result of acute or chronic rejection has been completely eliminated in patient treated with tacrolimus

Perivascular epitheloid cell tumour (PEComa) of the retroperitoneum – a rare tumor with uncertain malignant behaviour: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Perivascular epitheloid cell tumours are rare mesenchymal neoplasms characterized by a proliferation of perivascular cells with an epitheloid phenotype and expression of myomelanocytic markers.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>Here we present the case of a cystic perivascular epitheloid cell tumour of the retroperitoneum associated with multifocal lung lesions. A 27-year-old woman underwent laparotomy to remove a 10 × 6 × 4 cm sized retroperitoneal mass. The resected specimen was subjected to frozen and permanent histological sections with conventional and immunohistochemical stains, including antibodies against HMB45. The tumour displayed the typical morphological and immunohistochemical features of a perivascular epitheloid cell tumour. Focal necrosis and a proliferative index of 10% suggested a malignant potential. Moreover, postoperative computed tomography scans demonstrated multiple lung lesions, which were radiologically interpreted as being most likely compatible with lymphangioleiomyomatosis.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Since lymphangioleiomyomatosis, an otherwise benign condition, belongs to the family of perivascular epitheloid cell tumours, it cannot be excluded that the lung lesions in this case in fact represent metastases from the retroperitoneal perivascular epitheloid cell tumour rather than independent neoplasms. More experience with this new and unusual tumour entity is clearly needed in order to define reliable criteria for benign or malignant behaviour.</p

ADAM15 mediates upregulation of Claudin-1 expression in breast cancer cells

A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinase-15 (ADAM15) is a transmembrane protein involved in protein ectodomain shedding, cell adhesion and signalling. We previously cloned and characterised alternatively spliced variants of ADAM15 that differ in their intracellular domains and demonstrated correlation of the expression of specific variants with breast cancer prognosis. In this study we have created isogenic cell panels (MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7) expressing five ADAM15 variants including wildtype and catalytically inactive forms. The expression of ADAM15 isoforms in MDA-MB-231 cells led to cell clustering to varying degree, without changes in EMT markers vimentin, slug and E-cadherin. Analysis of tight junction molecules revealed ADAM15 isoform specific, catalytic function dependent upregulation of Claudin-1. The expression of ADAM15A, and to a lesser degree of C and E isoforms led to an increase in Claudin-1 expression in MDA-MB-231 cells, while ADAM15B had no effect. In MCF-7 cells, ADAM15E was the principal variant inducing Claudin-1 expression. Sh-RNA mediated down-regulation of ADAM15 in ADAM15 over-expressing cells reduced Claudin-1 levels. Additionally, downregulation of endogenous ADAM15 expression in T47D cells by shRNA reduced endogenous Claudin-1 expression confirming a role for ADAM15 in regulating Claudin-1 expression. The PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway was involved in regulating Claudin-1 expression downstream of ADAM15. Immunofluorescence analysis of MDA-MB-231 ADAM15A expressing cells showed Claudin-1 at cell-cell junctions, in the cytoplasm and nuclei. ADAM15 co-localised with Claudin-1 and ZO1 at cell-cell junctions. Immunoprecipitation analysis demonstrated complex formation between ADAM15 and ZO1/ZO2. These findings highlight the importance of ADAM15 Intra Cellular Domain-mediated interactions in regulating substrate selection and breast cancer cell phenotype