1,394 research outputs found

    Pancreatic adenocarcinoma in a patient with Situs Inversus: a case report of this rare coincidence

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    <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Situs inversus </it>(SI) is a relatively rare occurrence in patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Pancreatic resection in these patients has rarely been described. CT scan imaging is a principle modality for detecting pancreatic cancer and its use in SI patients is seldom reported.</p> <p>Case Presentation</p> <p>We report a 48 year old woman with SI who, despite normal CT scan 8 months earlier, presented with obstructive jaundice and a pancreatic head mass requiring a pancreaticoduodenectomy. The surgical pathology report demonstrated pancreatic adenocarcinoma.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>SI is a rare condition with concurrent pancreatic cancer being even rarer. Despite the rarity, pancreaticoduodenectomy in these patients for resectable lesions is safe as long as special consideration to the anatomy is taken. Additionally, radiographic imaging has significantly improved detection of early pancreatic cancer; however, there continues to be a need for improved detection of small neoplasms.</p

    Spatially Explicit Data: Stewardship and Ethical Challenges in Science

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    Scholarly communication is at an unprecedented turning point created in part by the increasing saliency of data stewardship and data sharing. Formal data management plans represent a new emphasis in research, enabling access to data at higher volumes and more quickly, and the potential for replication and augmentation of existing research. Data sharing has recently transformed the practice, scope, content, and applicability of research in several disciplines, in particular in relation to spatially specific data. This lends exciting potentiality, but the most effective ways in which to implement such changes, particularly for disciplines involving human subjects and other sensitive information, demand consideration. Data management plans, stewardship, and sharing, impart distinctive technical, sociological, and ethical challenges that remain to be adequately identified and remedied. Here, we consider these and propose potential solutions for their amelioration

    The latent stem cell population is retained in the hippocampus of transgenic Huntington's disease mice but not wild-type mice

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    The demonstration of the brain's ability to initiate repair in response to disease or injury has sparked considerable interest in therapeutic strategies to stimulate adult neurogenesis. In this study we examined the effect of a progressive neurodegenerative condition on neural precursor activity in the subventricular zone (SVZ) and hippocampus of the R6/1 transgenic mouse model of Huntington's disease (HD). Our results revealed an age-related decline in SVZ precursor numbers in both wild-type (WT) and HD mice. Interestingly, hippocampal precursor numbers declined with age in WT mice, although we observed maintenance in hippocampal precursor number in the HD animals in response to advancement of the disease. This maintenance was consistent with activation of a recently identified latent hippocampal precursor population. We found that the small latent stem cell population was also maintained in the HD hippocampus at 33 weeks, whereas it was not present in the WT. Our findings demonstrate that, despite a loss of neurogenesis in the HD hippocampus in vivo, there is a unique maintenance of the precursor and stem cells, which may potentially be activated to ameliorate disease symptoms

    Interacting effects of soil fertility and atmospheric CO 2 on leaf area growth and carbon gain physiology in Populus × euramericana (Dode) Guinier

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    Two important processes which may limit productivity gains in forest ecosystems with rising atmospheric CO 2 are reduction in photosynthetic capacity following prolonged exposure to high CO 2 and diminution of positive growth responses when soil nutrients, particularly N, are limiting. To examine the interacting effects of soil fertility and CO 2 enrichment on photosynthesis and growth in trees we grew hybrid poplar ( Populus × euramericana ) for 158 d in the field at ambient and twice ambient CO 2 and in soil with low or high N availability. We measured the timing and rate of canopy development, the seasonal dynamics of leaf level photosynthetic capacity, respiration, and N and carbohydrate concentration, and final above- and belowground dry weight. Single leaf net CO 2 assimilation (A) increased at elevated CO 2 over the majority of the growing season in both fertility treatments. At high fertility, the maximum size of individual leaves, total leaf number, and seasonal leaf area duration (LAD) also increased at elevated CO 2 , leading to a 49% increase in total dry weight. In contrast, at low fertility leaf area growth was unaffected by CO 2 treatment. Total dry weight nonetheless increased 25% due to CO 2 effects on A. Photosynthetic capacity (A at constant internal p(CO 2 ), (( C 1 )) was reduced in high CO 2 plants after 100 d growth at low fertility and 135 d growth at high fertility. Analysis of A responses to changing C 1 indicated that this negative adjustment of photosynthesis was due to a reduction in the maximum rate of CO 2 fixation by Rubisco. Maximum rate of electron transport and phosphate regeneration capacity were either unaffected or declined at elevated CO 2 . Carbon dioxide effects on leaf respiration were most pronounced at high fertility, with increased respiration mid-season and no change (area basis) or reduced (mass basis) respiration late-season in elevated compared to ambient CO 2 plants. This temporal variation correlated with changes in leaf N concentration and leaf mass per area. Our results demonstrate the importance of considering both structural and physiological pathways of net C gain in predicting tree responses to rising CO 2 under conditions of suboptimal soil fertility.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65655/1/j.1469-8137.1995.tb04295.x.pd

    Nonlinear vortex light beams supported and stabilized by dissipation

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    We describe nonlinear Bessel vortex beams as localized and stationary solutions with embedded vorticity to the nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation with a dissipative term that accounts for the multi-photon absorption processes taking place at high enough powers in common optical media. In these beams, power and orbital angular momentum are permanently transferred to matter in the inner, nonlinear rings, at the same time that they are refueled by spiral inward currents of energy and angular momentum coming from the outer linear rings, acting as an intrinsic reservoir. Unlike vortex solitons and dissipative vortex solitons, the existence of these vortex beams does not critically depend on the precise form of the dispersive nonlinearities, as Kerr self-focusing or self-defocusing, and do not require a balancing gain. They have been shown to play a prominent role in "tubular" filamentation experiments with powerful, vortex-carrying Bessel beams, where they act as attractors in the beam propagation dynamics. Nonlinear Bessel vortex beams provide indeed a new solution to the problem of the stable propagation of ring-shaped vortex light beams in homogeneous self-focusing Kerr media. A stability analysis demonstrates that there exist nonlinear Bessel vortex beams with single or multiple vorticity that are stable against azimuthal breakup and collapse, and that the mechanism that renders these vortexes stable is dissipation. The stability properties of nonlinear Bessel vortex beams explain the experimental observations in the tubular filamentation experiments.Comment: Chapter of boo

    Spina bifida-predisposing heterozygous mutations in Planar Cell Polarity genes and Zic2 reduce bone mass in young mice

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    Fractures are a common comorbidity in children with the neural tube defect (NTD) spina bifida. Mutations in the Wnt/planar cell polarity (PCP) pathway contribute to NTDs in humans and mice, but whether this pathway independently determines bone mass is poorly understood. Here, we first confirmed that core Wnt/PCP components are expressed in osteoblasts and osteoclasts in vitro. In vivo, we performed detailed µCT comparisons of bone structure in tibiae from young male mice heterozygous for NTD-associated mutations versus WT littermates. PCP signalling disruption caused by Vangl2 (Vangl2Lp/+) or Celsr1 (Celsr1Crsh/+) mutations significantly reduced trabecular bone mass and distal tibial cortical thickness. NTD-associated mutations in non-PCP transcription factors were also investigated. Pax3 mutation (Pax3Sp2H/+) had minimal effects on bone mass. Zic2 mutation (Zic2Ku/+) significantly altered the position of the tibia/fibula junction and diminished cortical bone in the proximal tibia. Beyond these genes, we bioinformatically documented the known extent of shared genetic networks between NTDs and bone properties. 46 genes involved in neural tube closure are annotated with bone-related ontologies. These findings document shared genetic networks between spina bifida risk and bone structure, including PCP components and Zic2. Genetic variants which predispose to spina bifida may therefore independently diminish bone mass

    Human Multipotent Stromal Cells (MSCs) Increase Neurogenesis and Decrease Atrophy of the Striatum in a Transgenic Mouse Model for Huntington's Disease

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    Background: Implantation of human multipotent stromal cells from bone marrow (hMSCs) into the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus of mice was previously shown to stimulate proliferation, migration and neural differentiation of endogenous neural stem cells. We hypothesized that hMSCs would be beneficial in a mouse model of Huntington disease (HD) due to these neurogenic effects. Results: We implanted hMSCs into the striatum of transgenic mice (N171-82Q) that are a model for HD. The implanted hMSCs rapidly disappeared over 3 to 15 days. However, they increased proliferation and neural differentiation of endogenous neural stem cells for up to 30 days. They also increased neurotrophic signaling and decreased atrophy of the striatum in 3-month old HD mice implanted with hMSCs one month earlier. Conclusions: The results therefore suggested that neural implantation of hMSCs may be of benefit in HD but a number of parameters of dose, treatment schedule, and route of administration need to be optimized
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