Embolization in an adrenocortical carcinoma as palliative therapy

Background: With an annual incidence of 0.2% of new cases per 100,000 inhabitants, adrenocortical carcinoma is rare. In advanced tumor only palliative treatment modalities are practicable. Because of scarcity of the tumor, standard treatment has not been defined. The decision on therapy frequently depends on the individual situation. Tumor embolization and chemotherapy are amongst the possible options. Patient and Methods: We report on a case of a 32-year-old female patient with a large-volume hormonally active adrenocortical carcinoma and hematogenous liver metastases. This carcinoma was confirmed histologically by means of liver biopsy. Owing to the large tumor extent and metastatic spreading and also in view of the poor general condition of the patient, curative surgical therapy was not possible. For this reason, a local approach was chosen primarily with transarterial tumor embolization at the capillary level. Systemic chemotherapy was given afterwards. Results: Improvement of the patient's general condition, especially the pronounced pain symptoms, could be achieved for a short time by the embolization: both, the patient's clinical condition and the laboratory test parameters improved. However, a rapid tumor progression occured under chemotherapy, which was started after embolization. Conclusion: In advanced adrenocortical carcinoma, tumor embolization can lead to a stabilization of the disease and improvement of the symptoms as appraised by palliative criteria in some patients

Relationship of porcine IGF2 imprinting status to DNA methylation at the H19 DMD and the IGF2 DMRs 1 and 2

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Porcine <it>IGF2 </it>and the <it>H19 </it>genes are imprinted. The <it>IGF2 </it>is paternally expressed, while the <it>H19 </it>gene is maternally expressed. Extensive studies in mice established a boundary model indicating that the H19 differentially methylated domain (DMD) controls, upon binding with the CTCF protein, reciprocal imprinting of the <it>IGF2 </it>and the <it>H19 </it>genes. <it>IGF2 </it>transcription is tissue and development specific involving the use of 4 promoters. In the liver of adult Large White boars <it>IGF2 </it>is expressed from both parental alleles, whereas in skeletal muscle and kidney tissues we observed variable relaxation of <it>IGF2 </it>imprinting. We hypothesized that <it>IGF2 </it>expression from both paternal alleles and relaxation of <it>IGF2 </it>imprinting is reflected in differences in DNA methylation patterns at the <it>H19 </it>DMD and <it>IGF2 </it>differentially methylated regions 1 and 2 (DMR1 and DMR2).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Bisulfite sequencing analysis did not show any differences in DNA methylation at the three porcine CTCF binding sites in the <it>H19 </it>DMD between liver, muscle and kidney tissues of adult pigs. A DNA methylation analysis using methyl-sensitive restriction endonuclease <it>Sac</it>II and 'hot-stop' PCR gave consistent results with those from the bisulfite sequencing analysis. We found that porcine <it>H19 </it>DMD is distinctly differentially methylated, at least for the region formally confirmed by two SNPs, in liver, skeletal muscle and kidney of foetal, newborn and adult pigs, independent of the combined imprinting status of all <it>IGF2 </it>expressed transcripts. DNA methylation at CpG sites in DMR1 of foetal liver was significantly lower than in the adult liver due to the presence of hypomethylated molecules. An allele specific analysis was performed for <it>IGF2 </it>DMR2 using a SNP in the <it>IGF2 </it>3'-UTR. The maternal <it>IGF2 </it>DMR2 of foetal and newborn liver revealed a higher DNA methylation content compared to the respective paternal allele.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results indicate that the <it>IGF2 </it>imprinting status is transcript-specific. Biallelic <it>IGF2 </it>expression in adult porcine liver and relaxation of <it>IGF2 </it>imprinting in porcine muscle were a common feature. These results were consistent with the <it>IGF2 </it>promoter P1 usage in adult liver and <it>IGF2 </it>promoter P2, P3 and P4 usages in muscle. The results showed further that bialellic <it>IGF2 </it>expression in liver and relaxation of imprinting in muscle and kidney were not associated with DNA methylation variation at and around at least one CTCF binding site in <it>H19 </it>DMD. The imprinting status in adult liver, muscle and kidney tissues were also not reflected in the methylation patterns of <it>IGF2 </it>DMRs 1 and 2.</p

An SU(3) model for octet baryon and meson fragmentation

The production of the octet of baryons and mesons in e^+ e^- collisions is analysed, based on considerations of SU(3) symmetry and a simple model for SU(3) symmetry breaking in fragmentation functions. All fragmentation functions, D_q^h(x, Q^2), describing the fragmentation of quarks into a member of the baryon octet (and similarly for fragmentation into members of the meson octet) are expressed in terms of three SU(3) symmetric functions, \alpha(x, Q^2), \beta(x, Q^2), and \gamma(x, Q^2). With the introduction of an SU(3) breaking parameter, \lambda, the model is successful in describing hadroproduction data at the Z pole. The fragmentation functions are then evolved using leading order evolution equations and good fits to currently available data at 34 GeV and at 161 GeV are obtained.Comment: 24 pages LaTeX file including 11 postscript figure file

Strategies for the analysis of osteitic bone defects at the diaphysis of long bones

Septic diseases of the bone and the immediate surrounding soft tissue, i.e., osteitis, belong to the most alarming findings in recent traumatology and orthopedic surgery. The paramount goal of this therapy is to preserve the stable weight-bearing bones while maintaining a correct axis and proper working muscles and joints, in order to avoid permanent disability in the patient. “State-of-the-art” therapy of osteitis/osteomyelitis therapy has two priorities: eradication of the infection and reconstruction of bone and soft tissue. Surgical treatment of the affected bone segments and soft tissue, followed by reconstructive methods, continues to be the main basic therapy. It is often extremely difficult to decide whether the affected bone segment has to be resected, or whether bone continuity can be preserved. The following paper provides strategies and guidance to help guide decisions in this complex and challenging area

Enter exitrons

Staiger D, Simpson GG. Enter exitrons. Genome Biology. 2015;16(1): 136.Exitrons are exon-like introns located within protein-coding exons. Removal or retention of exitrons through alternative splicing increases proteome complexity and thus adds to phenotypic diversity

Large-Area Scintillator Hodoscope with 50 ps Timing Resolution Onboard BESS

We describe the design and performance of a large-area scintillator hodoscope onboard the BESS rigidity spectrometer; an instrument with an acceptance of 0.3 m^{2}sr. The hodoscope is configured such that 10 and 12 counters are respectively situated in upper and lower layers. Each counter is viewed from its ends by 2.5 inch fine-mesh photomultiplier tubes placed in a stray magnetic field of 0.2 Tesla. Various beam-test data are presented. Use of cosmic-ray muons at ground-level confirmed 50 ps timing resolution for each layer, giving an overall time-of-flight resolution of 70 ps rms using a pure Gaussian resolution function. Comparison with previous measurements on a similar scintillator hodoscope indicates good agreement with the scaling law that timing resolution is proportional to 1/$\sqrt{N_{\rm pe}}$, where $N_{\rm pe}$ is the effective number of photoelectrons.Comment: 16 pages, 14 figure

Superconformal constraints for QCD conformal anomalies

Anomalous superconformal Ward identities and commutator algebra in N = 1 super-Yang-Mills theory give rise to constraints between the QCD special conformal anomalies of conformal composite operators. We evaluate the superconformal anomalies that appear in the product of renormalized conformal operators and the trace anomaly in the supersymmetric spinor current and check the constraints at one-loop order. In this way we prove the universality of QCD conformal anomalies, which define the non-diagonal part of the anomalous dimension matrix responsible for scaling violations of exclusive QCD amplitudes at the next-to-leading order.Comment: 30 pages, 2 figures, LaTe

GluK2-mediated excitability within the superficial layers of the entorhinal cortex

11 pages, 6 pages.-- PMID: 19440371 [PubMed].-- PMCID: PMC2679203.-- Supporting information available: Figure S1, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0005576.s001 (0.63 MB TIF).Recent analysis of genetically modified mice deficient in different kainate receptor (KAR) subunits have strongly pointed to a role of the GluK2 subunit, mediating the vulnerability of the brain towards seizures. Research concerning this issue has focused mainly on the hippocampus. However, several studies point to a potential role of other parts of the hippocampal formation, in particular the entorhinal cortex, in the development of epileptic seizures. There is extensive cell death after such seizures in layer III of the medial entorhinal cortex (LIII mEC), making this region of special interest for investigation into related pathological conditions. We therefore characterized KAR mediated currents in LIII mEC pyramidal neurons by several different approaches. Using patch-clamp technique, in combination with glutamate uncaging in horizontal brain slices, we show that LIII mEC neurons exhibit KAR currents. Use of genetically modified mice reveal that these currents are mediated by GluK2 containing KARs. The IV curve indicates the predominant presence of a Ca2+ impermeable and edited form of the KAR. Finally, we show that GluK2 containing kainate receptors are essential for kainate-induced gamma oscillations within the entorhinal cortex.This study has been funded by the SFB 665 grant and P.B. is a member of and funded by the GRK 1123.Peer reviewe

Bovine Cardiac Troponin I Gene (\u3cem\u3eTNNI3\u3c/em\u3e) as a Candidate Gene for Bovine Dilated Cardiomyopathy

The cardiac troponin complex, which is an important component of the contractile apparatus, is composed of the three subunits troponin I (TnI), troponin C (TnC) and troponin T (TnT). Troponin I is the inhibitory subunit and consists of three isoforms encoded by TNNI1, TNNI2 and TNNI3 genes, respectively. Due to the different types of cardiomyopathies caused by mutations in the TNNI3 gene and its fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) mapping on bovine chromosome 18q26, which was shown to be linked to the recessively inherited bovine dilated cardiomyopathy (BDCMP), bovine TNNI3 was considered as candidate gene for BDCMP. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) TNNI3 expression analysis resulted in a significant difference between BDCMP affected and unaffected animals when normalized to ACTB gene expression, but there was no significant difference in expression when normalized to GAPDH. Northen blotting experiment was in agreement with the expression analysis and did not reveal a significant difference between the group of BDCMP affected and unaffected animals. Sequencing of the bovine TNNI3 gene revealed a single nucleotide polymorphism in intron 6 (c.378+315G\u3eA), but this single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)was present regardless of the BDCMP status. In summary our data provide evidence to exclude the bovine TNNI3 gene as a candidate for BDCMP