Drought and water shortages in Asia as a threat and economic problem

The paper touches on the economic and political issues connected to water shortages in Asia, including droughts, and the economic consequences of the lack of quality water. Access to water is a global economic and political challenge and it’s predicted to continue to be important issue for many countries because in the coming years we will be seeing rising water demand, on par with demographic growth. Water will become an increasingly valuable resource, especially in Asia. The data presented in the article based on statistics of water sources, total water withdrawal, access to drinking water, water consumption per capita, access to piped water indicate that Asian countries are prone to potential political confl icts caused by the struggle for water. In summary, since in Asia are no systematic evaluations of the negative eff ects of water-related problems for economies there is a need to create more accurate calculations and contingency plans. For this purpose such measures should be introduced in Asian countries.Sergiusz Prokura

Subcutaneous fat necrosis of the newborn : a case report and review of literature

Subcutaneous fat necrosis of the newborn is a rare, benign, self-limited hypodermatitis that affects full-term or postmature newborn with history of perinatal stress such as hypoxia, hypothermia or local pressure trauma. The main lesions appear as subucateneous nodules in adipose tissue. We present a case of a three-week old newborn born in spontaneous delivery in the 40Hbd in poor general condition (inborn pneumonia and perinatal hypoxia) which was admitted to the hospital due to subcutaneous tissue induration and skin discoloration above the lesion. The skin ultrasound examination showed foci of homogeneously hyperechogenic subcutaneous tissue thickened up to 6 mm. Further examinations did not reveal any abnormalities besides the slightly increased calcium concentration (1,69 mmol/l with normal range of 1,2 mmo/l). In order to diagnose the condition a tissue sample was collected. The histological examination revealed panniculitis with infiltration with mononuclear cells, e.g. macrophages as well as multinucleated giant cells with radial arrangement of needles-shaped clefts in cytoplasm. After treatment with corticosteroids resolution of all the lesions was noted

Life-threatening intoxication with methylene bis(thiocyanate): clinical picture and pitfalls. A case report

BACKGROUND: Methylene bis(thiocyanate) (MBT) is a microbiocidal agent mainly used in industrial water cooling systems and paper mills as an inhibitor of algae, fungi, and bacteria. CASE PRESENTATION: We describe the first case of severe intoxication following inhalation of powder in an industrial worker. Profound cyanosis and respiratory failure caused by severe methemoglobinemia developed within several minutes. Despite immediate admission to the intensive care unit, where mechanical ventilation and hemodialysis for toxin elimination were initiated, multi-organ failure involving liver, kidneys, and lungs developed. While liver failure was leading, the patient was successfully treated with the MARS (molecular adsorbent recirculating system) procedure. CONCLUSION: Intoxication with MBT is a potentially life-threatening intoxication causing severe methemoglobinemia and multi-organ failure. Extracorporeal liver albumin dialysis (MARS) appears to be an effective treatment to allow recovery of hepatic function

Difficulties in the diagnostics of renal tumor in a child with tuberous sclerosis : case report

Background: Angiomyolipoma (AML) is the most common renal tumor in tuberous sclerosis (TS) patients. However, these patients also face an increased risk of malignant kidney neoplasms. Case report: A 7-year-old boy with a diagnosis of TS was sent for abdominal CT due to a single isoechoic tumor in the lower pole of left kidney, which was revealed in US. CT exam confirmed the presence of a hiperdense tumor which exceeded margins of the left kidney. The tumor was homogenously enhanced after contrast administration. The absence of regions of negative attenuation in CT and the isoechogenisity in US suggested rather malignant lesion than AML. Partial nephrectomy was performed. Subsequent pathologic examination classified the tumor as a low-fat AML. Conclusions: Radiological diagnosis of low-fat AML is difficult and requires a careful differentiation from other lesions

Primary carcinoma of the thyroid growing in thyreoglossal duct cyst: presentation of two cases

Pozostałości przewodu tarczowo-językowego (TGDR, thyroglossal duct remnants), najczęśćiej torbiele, są najbardziej powszechną postacią zaburzeń rozwojowych tarczycy. W około 1–2% torbieli przewodu tarczowo-językowego dochodzi do transformacji nowotworowej, przy czym w ponad 90% przypadków stwierdza się raka brodawkowatego tarczycy. W niniejszej pracy zaprezentowano dwa przypadki pierwotnego raka brodawkowatego tarczycy w obrębie TGDR u młodych dziewcząt. Autorzy przedstawili związane z tym rozpoznaniem problemy diagnostyczne i terapeutyczne oraz przytoczyli współczesne poglądy na postępowanie w podobnych przypadkach.Thyroglossal duct remnants (TGDR), most often cysts, are the most common type of developmental abnormalities of the thyroid gland. In about 1 to 2% of TGDR neoplastic transformation occurs. Papillary carcinoma of the thyroid may be encountered in over 90% of such cases. Two cases of primary papillary carcinoma of the thyroid in TGDR in young girls are presented. The diagnostic and therapeutic problems are shared, and up-to-date management guidelines in similar cases are discussed

Radykalizacja leczenia operacyjnego zróżnicowanego raka tarczycy u dzieci

Introduction: The optimal surgical treatment of children with differentiated thyroid cancer remains an important point of discussion. Especially the need for completion operation is questioned in young patients. Our objective was to examine the rate of residual neoplastic disease after non radical initial operation. Material and methods: From the 235 children diagnosed with differentiated thyroid cancer, 131 (56%) needed completion operation due to incomplete primary surgery. Completion operation involved thyroid bed, lymph nodes or both respectively in 91 (39%), 13 (6%) and 27 (11%) cases. Risk factors responsible for residual disease were evaluated by means of logistic regression analysis. Results: Residual disease was detected in 46 (35%) of reoperated children (25% in thyroid bed and 85% in lymph node of lateral neck compartment). Sex and age did not influence the risk of residual disease in thyroid bed or lymph nodes. Papillary type of cancer and multifocality increased risk of residual disease in thyroid bed respectively by the factor of 15 (95% CI: 2-125) and 2.3 (95% CI: 1.2-4.4). Infiltration of thyroid capsule did not correlate with the risk of residual disease. Lymph node metastases in primary operation increased risk of residual disease by the factor of 16 (95% CI: 1.2-245). Histopathology, multifocality of primary tumour or infiltration of lymph node capsule did not influence the risk of residual disease in lymph nodes of lateral neck compartment. Conclusions: In children with differentiated thyroid cancer residual disease is diagnosed in about 1/3 of non radically operated cases. This high incidence justifies completion operations. The risk of residual disease is significantly increased in papillary thyroid cancer, multifocal tumours and cases with lymph node metastases.Wstęp: Rozległość leczenia chirurgicznego zróżnicowanego raka tarczycy u dzieci i młodzie¿y wzbudza wiele kontrowersji. Szczególnie trudnym problemem są wskazania do wtórnych operacji. Celem pracy była ocena częstości występowania rezydualnej tkanki nowotworowej po pierwotnie nieradykalnych zabiegach tarczycy i węzłów chłonnych oraz określenie czynników ryzyka obecności resztkowej tkanki nowotworowej w loży po pierwotnie nieradykalnym zabiegu. Materiał i metody: Spośród 235 dzieci leczonych i kontrolowanych w latach 1972-2002 z powodu zróżnicowanego raka tarczycy, 131 (56%) było reoperowanych po pierwotnie nieradykalnej operacji. Wtórna operacja obejmowała lożę tarczycy, węzły chłonne lub obie lokalizacje odpowiednio w: 91 (39%), 13 (6%) i 27 (11%) przypadkach. Ryzyko wykrycia resztkowej choroby nowotworowej podczas reoperacji oceniono za pomocą analizy regresji logistycznej. Wyniki: Resztkową chorobę nowotworową łącznie stwierdzono u 46 (35%) reoperowanych dzieci, w tym 25% dotyczyło operacji loży tarczycy, a 85% operacji węzłów bocznych szyi. Płeć oraz wiek nie wpływały na prawdopodobieństwo przetrwałej choroby nowotworowej w loży tarczycy lub węzłach chłonnych. Typ brodawkowaty raka oraz wieloogniskowość zwiększały ryzyko resztkowej choroby nowotworowej w tarczycy odpowiednio: 15-krotnie (95% CI: 2-125) i 2,3-krotnie (95% CI: 1,2-4,4). Naciekanie torebki tarczycy nie wiązało się ze statystycznie znamiennym wzrostem ryzyka choroby resztkowej. Ryzyko przetrwałej choroby w węzłach chłonnych wzrastało 16-krotnie (95% CI: 1,2-245) w przypadku obecności przerzutów do węzłów chłonnych w pierwszej operacji. Nie obserwowano natomiast wpływu typu histopatologicznego raka, naciekania torebki węzła czy wieloogniskowości zmian w tarczycy. Wnioski: Podczas wtórnego leczenia operacyjnego resztkową chorobę nowotworową stwierdza się u około 1/3 dzieci, które pierwotnie operowano nieradykalnie, co uzasadnia rutynowe przeprowadzenie operacji radykalizujących u chorych operowanych pierwotnie nieradykalnie. Ryzyko to jest znacznie wyższe w raku brodawkowatym tarczycy, w guzach pierwotnie wieloogniskowych i guzach dających przerzuty do węzłów chłonnych

Impacts of sea level rise and climate change on coastal plant species in the central California coast

Local increases in sea level caused by global climate change pose a significant threat to the persistence of many coastal plant species through exacerbating inundation, flooding, and erosion. In addition to sea level rise (SLR), climate changes in the form of air temperature and precipitation regimes will also alter habitats of coastal plant species. Although numerous studies have analyzed the effect of climate change on future habitats through species distribution models (SDMs), none have incorporated the threat of exposure to SLR. We developed a model that quantified the effect of both SLR and climate change on habitat for 88 rare coastal plant species in San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura Counties, California, USA (an area of 23,948 km2). Our SLR model projects that by the year 2100, 60 of the 88 species will be threatened by SLR. We found that the probability of being threatened by SLR strongly correlates with a species’ area, elevation, and distance from the coast, and that 10 species could lose their entire current habitat in the study region. We modeled the habitat suitability of these 10 species under future climate using a species distribution model (SDM). Our SDM projects that 4 of the 10 species will lose all suitable current habitats in the region as a result of climate change. While SLR accounts for up to 9.2 km2 loss in habitat, climate change accounts for habitat suitability changes ranging from a loss of 1,439 km2 for one species to a gain of 9,795 km2 for another species. For three species, SLR is projected to reduce future suitable area by as much as 28% of total area. This suggests that while SLR poses a higher risk, climate changes in precipitation and air temperature represents a lesser known but potentially larger risk and a small cumulative effect from both

Characterisation of the Cell Line HC-AFW1 Derived from a Pediatric Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Current treatment of paediatric hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is often inefficient due to advanced disease at diagnosis and resistance to common drugs. The aim of this study was to generate a cell line derived from a paediatric HCC in order to expand research in this field. We established the HC-AFW1 cell line from a liver neoplasm of a 4-year-old boy through culturing of primary tumor specimens. The cell line has been stable for over one year of culturing and has a doubling time of 40 h. The tumour cells have an epithelial histology and express HCC-associated proteins such as Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), Glypican 3, E-cadherin, CD10, CD326, HepPar1 and Vimentin. Forty-nine amino acids in exon 3 of β-Catenin that involve the phosphorylation sites of GSK3 were absent and β-Catenin is detectable in the cell nuclei. Cytogenetic analysis revealed large anomalies in the chromosomal map. Several alterations of gene copy numbers were detected by genome-wide SNP array. Among the different drugs tested, cisplatin and irinotecan showed effective inhibition of tumour cell growth in a proliferation assay at concentrations below 5 µg/ml. Subcutaneous xenotransplantation of HC-AFW1 cells into NOD/SCID mice resulted in fast growing dedifferentiated tumours with high levels of serum AFP. Histological analyses of the primary tumour and xenografts included national and international expert pathological review. Consensus reading characterised the primary tumour and the HC-AFW1-derived tumours as HCC. HC-AFW1 is the first cell line derived from a paediatric HCC without a background of viral hepatitis or cirrhosis and represents a valuable tool for investigating the biology of and therapeutic strategies for childhood HCC

Higher predation risk for insect prey at low latitudes and elevations

Biotic interactions underlie ecosystem structure and function, but predicting interaction outcomes is difficult. We tested the hypothesis that biotic interaction strength increases toward the equator, using a global experiment with model caterpillars to measure predation risk. Across an 11,660-kilometer latitudinal gradient spanning six continents, we found increasing predation toward the equator, with a parallel pattern of increasing predation toward lower elevations. Patterns across both latitude and elevation were driven by arthropod predators, with no systematic trend in attack rates by birds or mammals. These matching gradients at global and regional scales suggest consistent drivers of biotic interaction strength, a finding that needs to be integrated into general theories of herbivory, community organization, and life-history evolution

Governing Ecological Connectivity in Cross-Scale Dependent Systems.

Ecosystem management and governance of cross-scale dependent systems require integrating knowledge about ecological connectivity in its multiple forms and scales. Although scientists, managers, and policymakers are increasingly recognizing the importance of connectivity, governmental organizations may not be currently equipped to manage ecosystems with strong cross-boundary dependencies. Managing the different aspects of connectivity requires building social connectivity to increase the flow of information, as well as the capacity to coordinate planning, funding, and actions among both formal and informal governance bodies. We use estuaries in particular the San Francisco Estuary, in California, in the United States, as examples of cross-scale dependent systems affected by many intertwined aspects of connectivity. We describe the different types of estuarine connectivity observed in both natural and human-affected states and discuss the human dimensions of restoring beneficial physical and ecological processes. Finally, we provide recommendations for policy, practice, and research on how to restore functional connectivity to estuaries