Preleukemia: hematological disorders prior to onset of leukemia

Published data on Japanese leukemia patients with a preleukemic hematological disorder were assessed. The reexamined cases were from the &#34;Japona Centra Revuo Medicina&#34; reported during the period from 1952 to 1971. Among preleukemic hematological disorders, hypoplastic anemia was the most frequently reported (41 of 62 cases). These &#34;hypoplastic preleukemia&#34; patients were rather elderly and terminated mostly in atypical myelocytic leukemia. The chief hematological feature of the hypoplastic preleukemia cases was the coexistence of a relative erythroid hyperplasia and a slight increase of myeloblasts in the bone marrow that was unusual in hypoplastic anemia. The presence of pancytopenia and hypocellular marrow with a relative erythroid hyperplasia combined with a slight increase of myeloblasts probably indicates hypoplastic preleukemia that terminates later in acute leukemia.</p

Preserved cellular immunity in smoldering acute leukemia

&#34;Smoldering acute leukemia&#34;, a variant of acute myelogenous leukemia, has been recognized with frequent incidence in recent years. This is chracterized by benign clinical course, poor physical findings, leukopenia and mild anemia in the peripheral blood, and apparent infiltration of abnormal myeloblasts in the bone marrow. Immunological studies of the host defence mechanism were made, because the pathogenesis of its &#34;smoldering&#34; course has never been well understood. Nine cases, seen during last 2 years, were investigated for immunological profile, especially the cellular immunity. Purified protein derivative (PPD) skin test, i.e., tuberculin test, was found to be positive in 8 of 9 cases (88.9%). Dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB) sensitization test showed to be positive in 4 of 6 cases examined (66.9%). Peripheral lymphocyte balstogenesis by stimulating with phytohemagglutinin (PHA) was evaluated using the smear counting method. The blastoid lymphocyte ratio was 55% at the median value (range: 31-68%), compared with 63% in normal young control (age: 25-32) and 41% in normal aged control (age: 60-75). In this report, the cellular immunity in smoldering acute leukemia was proved to be preserved at the normal level and to be more competent than that in aged group. The preserved cellular immunity is considered to explain the phenomenon of &#34;smoldering&#34;, in other words, the exacerbating proliferation of leukemic cells is suppressed by immuno-surveillance system.</p

Divergent drivers of leaf trait variation within species, among species, and among functional groups.

Understanding variation in leaf functional traits-including rates of photosynthesis and respiration and concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus-is a fundamental challenge in plant ecophysiology. When expressed per unit leaf area, these traits typically increase with leaf mass per area (LMA) within species but are roughly independent of LMA across the global flora. LMA is determined by mass components with different biological functions, including photosynthetic mass that largely determines metabolic rates and contains most nitrogen and phosphorus, and structural mass that affects toughness and leaf lifespan (LL). A possible explanation for the contrasting trait relationships is that most LMA variation within species is associated with variation in photosynthetic mass, whereas most LMA variation across the global flora is associated with variation in structural mass. This hypothesis leads to the predictions that (i) gas exchange rates and nutrient concentrations per unit leaf area should increase strongly with LMA across species assemblages with low LL variance but should increase weakly with LMA across species assemblages with high LL variance and that (ii) controlling for LL variation should increase the strength of the above LMA relationships. We present analyses of intra- and interspecific trait variation from three tropical forest sites and interspecific analyses within functional groups in a global dataset that are consistent with the above predictions. Our analysis suggests that the qualitatively different trait relationships exhibited by different leaf assemblages can be understood by considering the degree to which photosynthetic and structural mass components contribute to LMA variation in a given assemblage

The effect of canopy position on growth and mortality in mixed sapling communities during self-thinning

This research investigates how species in the sapling phase differ in growth and survival depending on light availability (as estimated by canopy position) by means of tree-ring analysis and modelling mortality. We harvested 120 live and 158 dead saplings in self-thinning communities consisting of Silver birch (Betula pendula Roth.), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), Japanese larch (Larix kaempferi Carr.) and Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii Mirb. Franco) in the Netherlands. Results are evaluated within the framework of a trade-off between high-light growth and low-growth survival. Radial growth, measured at ground level, generally declined over time. In addition, a decreasing light availability further reduced growth in all species except Douglas fir. Trees died when radial growth was reduced to about 0.5 mm year¿1. Mortality in all species except Scots pine was significantly related to recent growth, but mortality curves were not different. The light-demanding Silver birch and Japanese larch differed from the shade-tolerant Douglas fir in both high-light growth and low-growth mortality, in line with a growth-survival trade-off. The light-demanding Scots pine did not fit this pattern as it was unable to transfer high radial growth into height gain, leaving it in suppressed canopy positions. This indicates the importance of height growth in the growth-survival trade-off. Differences in mortality probabilities affect the potential for coexistence, however, in all species also fast-growing individuals died suggesting additional factors causing mortality during self-thinning, other than direct competition for ligh

Preparation and mechanical properties of machinable alumina/mica composites

ArticleJOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN CERAMIC SOCIETY. 26(9): 1687 -1693 (2006)journal articl

Hubungan Kadar Apolipoprotein B Dengan Aterosklerosis Arteri Karotis Interna Pada Pasien Pasca Stroke Iskemik

Background: Ischemic stroke is caused by brain artery obstruction or narrowing called atherosclerosis. Its marker is the thickness of tunica intima-media (intima-media thickness / IMT) of the artery. Apolipoprotein B is the indicator of atherosclerosis diseases. Most previous studies find association between apolipoprotein B level with cardiovascular disease, while the association between apolipoprotein B with atherosclerosis in post ischemic stroke patients has not been studied yet. Objective: To investigate association between apolipoprotein B level and internal carotid artery atherosclerosis based on thickness of intima-media in patients post ischemic stroke. Method : This cross-sectional study was done in post ischemic stroke subjects in outpatient clinic of Neurology Department Kariadi Hospital Semarang, during December until February 2011. Apolipoprotein B level was measured with Integra method. The thickness of tunica intima-media of the internal carotid artery was measured by Ultrasonografi Duplex. Result: Fourty four patients post ischemic stroke that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria, comprise of 22 male (50%) and 22 female (50%). Atherosclerosis was defined as tunica intimamedia thickness >0.9 mm, was found in 24 subjects (54.6%). Apolipoprotein B level, which designated as high (apoB >105 mg/dl), was found in 25 subjects (56.8%). Multyvariat logistics regression test proved there was significant correlation between apolipoprotein B level with internal carotid artery atherosclerosis (p = 0.0001). Conclusion: Apolipoprotein B level significantly has correlation with atherosclerosis of internal carotid artery based on thickness of intima-media in patients post ischemic stroke. Key words: apolipoprotein B level, internal carotid artery atherosclerosis, ischemic stroke

Low-temperature sintering of Z-type hexagonal ferrite by addition of fluorine containing glass powder

The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com.ArticleJOURNAL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE. 40(1): 165-170 (2005)journal articl

Normal chemotactic activity of granulocytes obtained by filtration leucapheresis

The chemotactic activity of granulocytes obtained by the Terumo Filtration Leucapheresis System (F.L.) was examined by the method of Boyden's chamber. The number of cells migrating through the Millipore filter was expressed as the chemotactic activity. The mean values were 117 for the F.L. and 122 in a control, in which cells were collected from the same donor blood using dextran sedimentation. The results suggested that the in vitro chemotactic function of granulocytes obtained by F.L. was within normal limits.</p