Review of Small Cell Carcinomas of the Prostate

Small cell carcinoma of the prostate is a rare neoplasm, with only a few series hitherto reported. A little less than half of the cases are associated with conventional acinar adenocarcinoma, which are usually high grade. Although consensus has not been reached, the majority of patients with small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the prostate have advanced disease at diagnosis and disproportionally low PSA levels compared to patients with conventional acinar adenocarcinoma. Treatment consists mainly of chemotherapy associated with surgery. Radiation therapy is reserved for selected cases. This study reviews the most up-to-date information on small cell carcinomas of the prostate

Prostatic carcinomas with neuroendocrine differentiation diagnosed in needle biopsies, a morphologic study of 7 cases among 465 sequential biopsies in a tertiary cancer center

Purpose: Neuroendocrine carcinomas (NEC) of the prostate are rare, with only a few series hitherto reported. the objective of this study was to assess in a single institution the clinical and morphologic characteristics of neuroendocrine carcinomas diagnosed in needle core biopsies.Materials and Methods: the current study analyses seven cases diagnosed in needle biopsies at a large tertiary regional cancer center from Northeastern Brazil. Two pathologists reviewed specimens retrospectively, and demographic and morphologic characteristics were compared to 458 acinar tumors diagnosed in the same period.Results: There were five small cell carcinomas and two low-grade neuroendocrine carcinomas (carcinoid). NEC were associated with an acinar component in 5/7 cases and the Gleason score of the acinar component was always > 6. the number of cores involved in prostates with NEC was greater (65% compared to 24% of acinar tumors, p < 0.05). the mean PSA at diagnosis was 417.7 (range 5.7-1593, SD 218.3), compared to 100.5 (p = 0.1) of acinar tumors (range 0.3-8545, SD 22.7). Prostates harboring NEC were bigger (p < 0.001, mean volume 240 mL vs. 53 mL of acinar tumors). Treatment of NEC included palliative surgery, chemotherapy, and hormonal therapy.Conclusions: NEC of the prostate is rare and often associated with a high-grade acinar component. Prostates with NEC tend to be larger and involve a greater number of cores than acinar tumors. PSA at diagnosis does not seem to predict the presence of NE tumors in needle biopsy.Hosp Canc, Inst Canc Ceara, BR-60430230 Fortaleza, Ceara, BrazilEscola Paulista Med, BR-04023 São Paulo, BrazilEscola Paulista Med, BR-04023 São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

A Central Limit Theorem for intransitive dice

Intransive dice $D^{(1)}, \ldots, D^{(\ell)}$ are dice such that $D^{(1)}$ has advantage with respect to $D^{(2)}$, dice $D^{(2)}$ has advantage with respect to $D^{(3)}$ and so on, up to $D^{(\ell)}$, which has advantage over $D^{(1)}$. In this twofold work, we present: first, (deterministic) results on existence of general intransitive dice. Second and mainly, a central limit theorem for the vector of normalized victories of a die against the next one in the list when the faces of a die are i.i.d.\ random variables and all dice are independent, but different dice may have distinct distributions associated to, as well as they may have distinct number of faces. From this central limit theorem we derive a criteria to assure that the asymptotic probability of observing intransitive dice is null, which applies for many cases, including all continuous distributions and many discrete ones.Comment: 37 pages, 3 figure

ANÁLISE DESCRITIVA DOS SINAIS E SINTOMAS QUE RELACIONAM SÍNDROME DE EAGLE E DTM: um estudo retrospectivo

A correlação entre a disfunção temporomandibular (DTM) e a síndrome de Eagle ainda não está bem estabelecida. A presente pesquisa teve por objetivo correlacionar a síndrome de Eagle e disfunções temporomandibulares além de identifcar a prevalência de alterações morfológicas do processo estilóide em pacientes com DTM. Através de radiografas panorâmicas convencionais de 234 pacientes de ambos os gêneros, que receberam tratamento em um consultório particular em São Luís – MA, foram identifcados pacientes portadores da síndrome do processo estiloide.   Posteriormente, foram avaliados sinais e sintomas mais frequentes, músculos afetados, idade, gênero, fatores agravantes, fatores atenuantes, hábitos parafuncionais, traumas sofridos, índice de disfunção temporomandibular, diagnóstico e terapia utilizada.   A prevalência foi de 196 pacientes (83,7%) que não apresentaram calcifcação do ligamento estilohióideo e 16,3% (38) que apresentaram. Dos 38 pacientes apenas 9 (26%) tinham se submetido ao tratamento de DTM por serem sintomáticos, 8 (89%) eram do gênero feminino e 1 (11%) do masculino. As principais queixas nos achados clínicos dos pacientes com Síndrome de Eagle foram similares aos sinais e sintomas encontrados em pacientes com DTMs e os músculos cervicais e da mastigação estavam comprometidos. Conclui-se que quando a calcifcação do processo estiloide estava associada a sintomatologia, esta apresentava similaridade aos sintomas relatados na DTM.Descritores: Diagnóstico; Radiografa Panorâmica; Articulação Temporomandibular.Abstract: The association between temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and Eagle syndrome is not well established. The aim of this study was to correlate Eagle syndrome and Temporomandibular Disorder by signs, symptoms, and differential diagnosis and investigate panoramic radiographs as subsides for diagnosis of that syndrome and its relationship to TMD, as well as the prevalence of morphological alterations of the styloid process in patients with TMD. Conventional panoramic radiographs of 234 patients of both sexes who received treatment in a private practice in São Luís-MA were examined. There were evaluated most frequent signs and symptoms, affected muscles, age, gender, aggravating factors, attenuating factors, parafunctional habits, traumas, temporomandibular disorder index, diagnosis and therapy. The prevalence was 83.7% (196) patients who did not showed calcifcation of the stylohyoid ligament against 16.3% (38) who have showed. From 38 only 9 (26%) patients symptomatic were treated for TMD, 8 (89%) were female and 1 (11%) male.  The main complaints of clinical fndings of patients with Eagle syndrome were similar to signs and symptoms found in patients with TMD and cervical and mastication muscles were impaired. It can concluded that when the ossifcation of stylohyoid process was associated to the sintomatology it has showed similarity to the symptoms of TMD. Descriptors: Descriptors: Diagnosis; Panoramic Radiography; Temporomandibular Joint

Spatial resolution and efficiency of prototype sensors for the LHCb VELO Upgrade

A comprehensive study of the spatial resolution and detection efficiency of sensor prototypes developed for the LHCb VELO upgrade is presented. Data samples were collected at the CERN SPS H8 beam line using a hadron mixture of protons and pions with momenta of approximately 180 GeV/c. The sensor performance was characterised using both irradiated and non-irradiated sensors. Irradiated samples were subjected to a maximum fluence of $\mathrm{8\times10^{15}~1~MeV~n_{eq}~cm^{-2}}$, of both protons and neutrons. The spatial resolution is measured comparing the detected hits to the position as predicted by tracks reconstructed by the Timepix3 telescope. The resolution is presented for different applied bias voltages and track angles, sensor thickness and implant size.Comment: 18 pages, 15 Figure

Enhancement of Methacholine-Evoked Tracheal Contraction Induced by Bacterial Lipopolysaccharides Depends on Epithelium and Tumor Necrosis Factor

Inhaled bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) induce an acute tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α-) dependent inflammatory response in the murine airways mediated by Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) via the myeloid differentiation MyD88 adaptor protein pathway. However, the contractile response of the bronchial smooth muscle and the role of endogenous TNFα in this process have been elusive. We determined the in vivo respiratory pattern of C57BL/6 mice after intranasal LPS administration with or without the presence of increasing doses of methacholine (MCh). We found that LPS administration altered the basal and MCh-evoked respiratory pattern that peaked at 90 min and decreased thereafter in the next 48 h, reaching basal levels 7 days later. We investigated in controlled ex vivo condition the isometric contraction of isolated tracheal rings in response to MCh cholinergic stimulation. We observed that preincubation of the tracheal rings with LPS for 90 min enhanced the subsequent MCh-induced contractile response (hyperreactivity), which was prevented by prior neutralization of TNFα with a specific antibody. Furthermore, hyperreactivity induced by LPS depended on an intact epithelium, whereas hyperreactivity induced by TNFα was well maintained in the absence of epithelium. Finally, the enhanced contractile response to MCh induced by LPS when compared with control mice was not observed in tracheal rings from TLR4- or TNF- or TNF-receptor-deficient mice. We conclude that bacterial endotoxin-mediated hyperreactivity of isolated tracheal rings to MCh depends upon TLR4 integrity that signals the activation of epithelium, which release endogenous TNFα

Charge collection properties of prototype sensors for the LHCb VELO upgrade

An extensive sensor testing campaign is presented, dedicated to measuring the charge collection properties of prototype candidates for the Vertex Locator (VELO) detector for the upgraded LHCb experiment. The charge collection is measured with sensors exposed to fluences of up to $8 \times 10^{15}~1~\mathrm{\,Me\kern -0.1em V}~ \mathrm{ \,n_{eq}}~{\mathrm{ \,cm}}^{-2}$, as well as with nonirradiated prototypes. The results are discussed, including the influence of different levels of irradiation and bias voltage on the charge collection properties. Charge multiplication is observed on some sensors that were nonuniformly irradiated with 24 GeV protons, to the highest fluence levels. An analysis of the charge collection near the guard ring region is also presented, revealing significant differences between the sensor prototypes. All tested sensor variants succeed in collecting the minimum required charge of 6000 electrons after the exposure to the maximum fluence

Thimet oligopeptidase (EC 3.4.24.15) key functions suggested by knockout mice phenotype characterization

Thimet oligopeptidase (THOP1) is thought to be involved in neuropeptide metabolism, antigen presentation, neurodegeneration, and cancer. Herein, the generation of THOP1 C57BL/6 knockout mice (THOP1(-/-)) is described showing that they are viable, have estrus cycle, fertility, and a number of puppies per litter similar to C57BL/6 wild type mice (WT). In specific brain regions, THOP1(-/-) exhibit altered mRNA expression of proteasome beta5, serotonin 5HT2a receptor and dopamine D2 receptor, but not of neurolysin (NLN). Peptidomic analysis identifies differences in intracellular peptide ratios between THOP1(-/-) and WT mice, which may affect normal cellular functioning. In an experimental model of multiple sclerosis THOP1(-/-) mice present worse clinical behavior scores compared to WT mice, corroborating its possible involvement in neurodegenerative diseases. THOP1(-/-) mice also exhibit better survival and improved behavior in a sepsis model, but also a greater peripheral pain sensitivity measured in the hot plate test after bradykinin administration in the paw. THOP1(-/-) mice show depressive-like behavior, as well as attention and memory retention deficits. Altogether, these results reveal a role of THOP1 on specific behaviors, immune-stimulated neurodegeneration, and infection-induced inflammation