Hodgkin lymphoma misdiagnosed as Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease – how important it is to confirm an unusual diagnosis

Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease (KFD) is an extremely rare, self-limiting disorder of unknown etiology, with most cases occurring in Asia. The treatment of KFD is mainly supportive with NSAIDs or steroids in isolated cases. Its clinical presentation and histopathological findings may overlap with more common disorders, including malignancies such as Hodgkin Lymphoma (HL). It’s essential to thoroughly reevaluate such diagnoses before initiating the treatment

Students\u27 Perception of Value of Interactive Oral Communication as Part of Writing Course Papers

Every day students are able to discuss complex ideas relatively easily in spontaneous conversation, yet when they attempt to express complex ideas in a written paper, students often experience great difficulty. The features of face-to-face conversation and of written communication differ in a number of respects. This study examines student\u27s perceptions of peer evaluation through interactive conversation as compared to non-interactive written peer feedback. This study provides evidence that students perceive value in actively talking with others about their paper. In particular, students often prefer to talk to someone who has investment in their success and who can give them constructive, honest advice. This study provides some initial evidence that students prefer face-to-face conversing with a classmate as compared to non-interactive written peer feedback. We discuss reasons why conversing about a paper in face-to-face conversation has advantages that may benefit students in academic writing

Identification of the Kna/Knb polymorphism and a method for Knops genotyping

BACKGROUND: DNA mutations resulting in the McCoy and Swain-Langley polymorphisms have been identified on complement receptor 1 (CR1)—a ligand for rosetting of Plasmodium falciparum-infected RBCs. The molecular identification of the Kn(a)/Kn(b) polymorphism was sought to develop a genotyping method for use in the study of the Knops blood group and malaria. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: CR1 deletion constructs were used in inhibition studies of anti-Kn(a). PCR amplification of Exon 29 was followed by DNA sequencing. A PCR-RFLP was developed with NdeI, BsmI, and MfeI for the detection of Kn(a)/Kn(b), McC(a)/McC(b), and Sl1/Sl2, respectively. Knops phenotypes were determined with standard serologic techniques. RESULTS: A total of 310 Malian persons were phenotyped for Kn(a) with 200 (64%) Kn(a+) and 110 (36%) Kn(a−). Many of the Kn(a−) exhibited the Knops-null phenotype, that is, Helgeson. The Kn(a/b) DNA polymorphism was identified as a V1561M mutation with allele frequencies of Kn(a) (V1561) 0.9 and Kn(b) (M1561) 0.1. CONCLUSION: The high frequency (18%) of Kn(b) in West African persons suggests that it is not solely a Caucasian trait. Furthermore, because of the high incidence of heterozygosity as well as amorphs, accurate Knops typing of donors of African descent is best accomplished by a combination of molecular and serologic techniques

An eccentrically perturbed Tonks-Girardeau gas

We investigate the static and dynamic properties of a Tonks-Girardeau gas in a harmonic trap with an eccentric $\delta$-perturbation of variable strength. For this we first find the analytic eigensolution of the single particle problem and use this solution to calculate the spatial density and energy profiles of the many particle gas as a function of the strength and position of the perturbation. We find that the crystal nature of the Tonks state is reflected in both the lowest occupation number and momentum distribution of the gas. As a novel application of our model, we study the time evolution of the the spatial density after a sudden removal of the perturbation. The dynamics exhibits collapses and revivals of the original density distribution which occur in units of the trap frequency. This is reminiscent of the Talbot effect from classical optics.Comment: Comments and suggestions are welcom

Feasibility and morbidity of combined hyperthermia and radiochemotherapy in recurrent rectal cancer - Preliminary results

Background: The local recurrence rate of colorectal cancer has been significantly reduced due to the use of combined radiochemotherapy. Despite this improvement regarding locally advanced tumour recurrences, the treatment strategy for pre-treated patients remains difficult and unresolved. Patients and Methods: We analysed treatment and follow-up data of 14 patients with local recurrence of rectal cancer who were treated with radiation therapy (RT), chemotherapy (CT) and regional hyperthermia (RHT) from November 1997 to December 2001. Nine of these patients had received irradiation and CT (=pre-treated patients) in the past. For this group, 30.6-39.6 Gy RT, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) as a continuous infusion over 5 days per week (350 mg/m(2)/24 h) combined with RHT twice a week was given. The 5 remaining patients (=not pre-treated) received conformal irradiation of 45 Gy with a boost between 9 and 14.4 Gy, combined with continuous infusion of 5-FU on days 1-4, and 29-33 (500 mg/m(2)/24 h), and RHT twice a week. Response to therapy was evaluated by means of computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and by clinical follow-up. Results: Among 13 evaluated cases, the overall objective response rate was 54% (5 complete responses, 2 partial responses). At mean follow-up of 13.9 months (range 5-32 months) 7 patients were alive. Conclusion: The therapeutic regimen appears to be active in the treatment of local recurrences of rectal cancer. Larger-scaled studies are needed to evaluate the potency of hyperthermia in this therapeutic strategy

Herstellung von Insertions- und Deletionsmutanten des murinen Zytomegalievirus und deren Untersuchung in vitro und in vivo

Das humane Zytomegalievirus (HCMV) ist ein speziesspezifisches, humanpathogenes Herpesvirus. Ein etabliertes System zur Untersuchung der CMV-Infektion in vivo ist das murine Zytomegalievirus (MCMV). Das 230 kb große Genom von MCMV liegt seit kurzem als bakterielles artifizielles Chromosom (BAC) kloniert vor. Damit eröffnen sich neue Strategien für gentechnologische Untersuchungen, die Gegenstand dieser Dissertation sind: Mit homologer Rekombination in E. coli und mit Transposonmutagenese wurden Insertionsmutanten und Deletionsmutanten des MCMV hergestellt und in NIH 3T3 Fibroblasten in vitro sowie BALB/c Mäusen in vivo charakterisiert. Insertionsmutanten: Zwei verschiedene sezernierbare und quantitativ nachweisbare Markergene (HBsAg; SEAP) wurden jeweils so in das MCMV-Genom inseriert, dass sie im Rahmen einer Infektion in vitro wie auch in vivo zur Expression kommen. Im Versuchstier korrelierte die Menge der in das Serum sezernierten Marker hochgradig mit mit den Virustitern in Milz und Leber. Die Markersekrtetion wurde mit einer hierfür neu etablierten quantitativen PCR-Methode (TaqMan™) bezüglich der Sensitivität verglichen. Bei immunkompetenten Mäusen war SEAP – vor der PCR und der Virusbestimmung - das empfindlichste Nachweisverfahren. Die entwickelten Methoden erlauben erstmals die longitudinale Beobachtung einer MCMV-Infektion in ein- und- demselben Versuchstier. Deletionsmutanten: Das Wachstumsverhalten von 576 MCMV-Transposon-Mutanten in Fibroblasten wurde analysiert. Identifiziert wurden 19 Mutanten mit wachstumsdefizitären Phänotypen, denen Veränderungen von sechs offenen Leserahmen (ORF) zugrunde lagen. Eine Trunkierung eines dieser bisher nicht näher definierten, offensichtlich nicht essentielle Gene, bewirkt ein signifikantes, quantifizierbares Wachstumsdefizit. Mit Hilfe von elektronen-mikroskopischen Aufnahmen konnte gezeigt werden, dass bei MCMV die Destruktion des Leserahmens M76 ein Exportdefizit aus dem Zellkern zur Folge hat