Thoracoscopic resection of a paraaortic bronchogenic cyst

Bronchogenic mediastinal cysts (BMC) represent 18% of primitive mediastinal tumors and the most frequent cystic lesions in this area. Nowadays, BMC are usually treated by VATS. However, the presence of major adhesions to vital structures is often considered as an unfavourable condition for thoracoscopic treatment. The authors report the thoracoscopic treatment of a BMC having dense adhesions to the aortic arch. Diagnosis and surgical treatment is described. Review of the literature and surgical options on this topic are discussed

Lernende Unternehmen und neue Technologien

Im Bestreben, den heutigen Herausforderungen turbulenter globaler Märkte zu begegnen, wird der Faktor Wissen für Unternehmen zum kritischen Erfolgsfaktor und damit auch die Geschwindigkeit und Effektivität der Aufnahme und Umsetzung von Wissen, des Lernens. Dies gilt besonders dann, wenn Unternehmen auf unvorhergesehene Ereignisse reagieren müssen und darauf angewiesen sind, daß die Mitarbeiter Zugriff auf das nötige Wissen besitzen, um selbständig und schnell die richtigen Entscheidungen zu treffen. Das Lernende Unternehmen wird hierbei häufig als Lösungsansatz genannt. Der vorliegende Beitrag untersucht die Möglichkeiten der Umsetzung, die sich aus der Nutzung neuer Technologien ergeben

Splicing choice from ten variant exons establishes CD44 variability.

The enormous heterogeneity of the surface protein designated CD44 is in part due to posttranslational modification, and in part due to differential splicing. Alternative splicing occurs within one particular region encoding the extracellular portion of the protein. Comparison of various cDNA clones with different 'inserts' in this variable region with sequences of genomic clones from the mouse has revealed the existence of at least ten exons from which sequences are chosen by alternative splicing. Various combinations of these exons account for the tremendous heterogeneity of CD44 molecules expressed in different tissues, and in progressing tumor cells. The existence of different isoforms of CD44 suggests a broad spectrum of yet unknown physiologic functions

CD44 splice variants confer metastatic behavior in rats : homologous sequences are expressed in human tumor cell lines.

One of several splice variants of CD44 expressed in metastasizing cell lines of rat tumors has been shown to confer metastatic potential to the non-metastatic variant of a rat pancreatic carcinoma line (U. Günthert et al., Cell, 65: 13-24, 1991). The variant-specific rat CD44 sequences were used to detect RNA expression in human cell lines: in carcinoma lines from lung, breast and colon; and in keratinocyte lines. By polymerase chain reaction amplification, complementary DNAs encoding human homologues were isolated and sequenced. The largest splice variant has been found in a large cell lung carcinoma line and in keratinocyte cell lines. It carries at least 5 additional domains (exons) encoding a total of 338 amino acids in the membrane-proximal extracellular region of the standard CD44. Various alternative splice products have been detected in other human tumor cell lines. The distribution of CD44 splice variants is consistent with the speculation that they fulfill functions in only a few restricted differentiation pathways and that in tumor cells these pathways have been reactivated