Diagnostic approach to a functional adrenal tumour in a Shih-Tzu Poodle mix

Hyperadrenocorticism is the excessive production of cortisol by the adrenal cortex. 15-20% of hyperadrenocorticism in dogs may be due to functional adrenal tumour. Here we present a case of functional adrenal tumour in a 10 years old Shih-Tzu Poodle mixed-breed dog that was presented to University Veterinary Hospital, Universiti Putra Malaysia. Physical examination findings include multiple cutaneous myiasis, a pendulous abdomen with comedones on the ventral thoracic region and thinning of the skin. Clinical signs shown were polyuria, polydipsia and polyphagia. Serum biochemistry result showed elevated alkaline phosphatase enzyme of 5 folds. Urinary specific gravity was minimally concentrated (1.015). Radiography showed generalised hepatomegaly. Meanwhile, ultrasonography showed unilateral enlargement of the right adrenal gland with mineralisation. Invasion of the right adrenal gland into the caudal vena cava was observed. A differentiation test (high-dose dexamethasone suppression test) was performed and a lack of suppression of the cortisol level was observed. Based on the appropriate clinical signs and physical examination findings, elevated alkaline phosphatase enzyme, minimally concentrated urinary specific gravity, generalised hepatomegaly, unilateral adrenal gland enlargement, and high-dose dexamethasone suppression test, a diagnosis of functional adrenal tumour was made

2,3-Dibromo-3-phenyl­propionic acid

In the crystal of the title compound, C9H8Br2O2, inversion dimers linked by two O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds occur. All of the carbon and oxygen atoms are disordered over two sets of sites in a 2:1 ratio

Tricyclo­hexyl(2,3-dibromo-3-phenyl­propionato-κO)tin(IV)

Tricyclo­hexyl­tin cinnamate reacts with 4,4-dimethyl­amino­pyridine hydro­bromide perbromide to form the title compound, [Sn(C6H11)3(C9H7Br2O2)], which exists as a monomeric mol­ecule with the Sn atom in a distorted tetra­hedral C3O coordination geometry

catena-Poly[[tribenzyl­tin(IV)]-μ-4-nitro­cinnamato-κ2 O:O′]

The 4-nitro­cinnamate anion in the title compound, [Sn(C7H7)3(C9H6NO4)]n, bridges adjacent tribenzyl­tin cations into a helical chain running along the b axis. The Sn atoms in the two independent mol­ecules adopt distorted trans-C3SnO2 trigonal–bipyramidal geometries. The repeat distance of the polymeric chain is b/2

Photodynamic therapy and tumor imaging of hypericin-treated squamous cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Conventional cancer therapy including surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy often are physically debilitating and largely ineffective in previously treated patients with recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). A natural photochemical, hypericin, could be a less invasive method for laser photodynamic therapy (PDT) of these recurrent head and neck malignancies. Hypericin has powerful photo-oxidizing ability, tumor localization properties, and fluorescent imaging capabilities as well as minimal dark toxicity. The current study defined hypericin PDT in vitro with human SCC cells before the cells were grown as tumor transplants in nude mice and tested as a model for hypericin induced tumor fluorescence and PDT via laser fiberoptics. METHODS: SNU squamous carcinoma cells were grown in tissue culture, detached from monolayers with trypsin, and incubated with 0.1 μg to 10 μg/ml of hypericin before exposure to laser light at 514, 550, or 593 nm to define optimal dose, time, and wavelength for PDT of tumor cells. The SCC cells also were injected subcutaneously in nude mice and grown for 6–8 weeks to form tumors before hypericin injection and insertion of fiberoptics from a KTP532 surgical laser to assess the feasibility of this operating room instrument in stimulating fluorescence and PDT of tumors. RESULTS: In vitro testing revealed a hypericin dose of 0.2–0.5 μg/ml was needed for PDT of the SCC cells with an optimal tumoricidal response seen at the 593 nm light absorption maximum. In vivo tumor retention of injected hypericin was seen for 7 to10 days using KTP532 laser induced fluorescence and biweekly PDT via laser fiberoptics led to regression of SCC tumor transplants under 0.4 cm(2 )diameter, but resulted in progression of larger size tumors in the nude mice. CONCLUSION: In this preclinical study, hypericin was tested for 514–593 nm dye laser PDT of human SCC cells in vitro and for KTP532 surgical laser targeting of SCC tumors in mice. The results suggest hypericin is a potent tumor imaging agent using this surgical laser that may prove useful in defining tumor margins and possibly in sterilizing post-resection margins. Deeply penetrating pulsed infrared laser emissions will be needed for PDT of larger and more inaccessible tumors

Development of live attenuated Enterovirus 71 vaccine strains that confer protection against lethal challenge in mice

Besides causing mild hand, foot and mouth infections, Enterovirus A71 (EV-A71) is associated with neurological complications and fatality. With concerns about rising EV-A71 virulence, there is an urgency for more efective vaccines. The live attenuated vaccine (LAV) is a more valuable vaccine as it can elicit both humoral and cellular immune responses. A miRNA-based vaccine strain (pIY) carrying let-7a and miR-124a target genes in the EV-A71 genome which has a partial deletion in the 5′NTR (∆11bp) and G64R mutation (3Dp°l ) was designed. The viral RNA copy number and viral titers of the pIY strain were signifcantly lower in SHSY-5Y cells that expressed both let-7a and miR-124a. Inhibition of the cognate miRNAs expressed in RD and SHSY-5Y cells demonstrated de-repression of viral mRNA translation. A previously constructed multiply mutated strain, MMS and the pIY vaccine strain were assessed in their ability to protect 4-week old mice from hind limb paralysis. The MMS showed higher amounts of IFN-γ ex vivo than the pIY vaccine strain. There was absence of EV-A71 antigen in the skeletal muscles and spinal cord micrographs of mice vaccinated with the MMS and pIY strains. The MMS and pIY strains are promising LAV candidates developed against severe EV-A71 infections

Case Report : Anisakiasis Causing Acute Dysentery in Malaysia

Human anisakiasis is a zoonosis acquired by eating raw or undercooked infected seafood. Herein, we report a case of acute dysentery caused by anisakiasis in a 64-year-old man in Malaysia. A colonoscopy was performed and a nematode larva was found penetrating the mucosa of the ascending colon. Bleeding was observed at the site of penetration. Y-shaped lateral epidermal cords were seen from the cross section of the worm, which is a prominent feature of Anisakis larva. Molecular analysis using polymerase chain reaction of cytochrome oxidase 2 (cox2) gene confirmed the specimen to be larva of Anisakis simplex

Prevalence of PALB2 Mutations in Breast Cancer Patients in Multi-Ethnic Asian Population in Malaysia and Singapore

10.1371/journal.pone.0073638PLoS ONE88-POLN

Effects of Hydrogen Peroxide on Wound Healing in Mice in Relation to Oxidative Damage

10.1371/journal.pone.0049215PLoS ONE711

Gebiss: an ImageJ plugin for the specification of ground truth and the performance evaluation of 3D segmentation algorithms.

Background: Image segmentation is a crucial step in quantitative microscopy that helps to define regions of tissues, cells or subcellular compartments. Depending on the degree of user interactions, segmentation methods can be divided into manual, automated or semi-automated approaches. 3D image stacks usually require automated methods due to their large number of optical sections. However, certain applications benefit from manual or semi-automated approaches. Scenarios include the quantification of 3D images with poor signal-to-noise ratios or the generation of so-called ground truth segmentations that are used to evaluate the accuracy of automated segmentation methods. Results: We have developed Gebiss; an ImageJ plugin for the interactive segmentation, visualisation and quantification of 3D microscopic image stacks. We integrated a variety of existing plugins for threshold-based segmentation and volume visualisation. Conclusions: We demonstrate the application of Gebiss to the segmentation of nuclei in live Drosophila embryos and the quantification of neurodegeneration in Drosophila larval brains. Gebiss was developed as a cross-platform ImageJ plugin and is freely available on the web at http://imaging.bii.a-star.edu.sg/projects/gebiss