Characterization of a continuous feline mammary epithelial cell line susceptible to feline epitheliotropic viruses.

Mucosal epithelial cells are the primary targets for many common viral pathogens of cats. Viral infection of epithelia can damage or disrupt the epithelial barrier that protects underlying tissues. In vitro cell culture systems are an effective means to study how viruses infect and disrupt epithelial barriers, however no true continuous or immortalized feline epithelial cell culture lines are available. A continuous cell culture of feline mammary epithelial cells (FMEC UCD-04-2) that forms tight junctions with high transepithelial electrical resistance (>2000Omegacm(-1)) 3-4 days after reaching confluence was characterized. In addition, it was shown that FMECs are susceptible to infection with feline calicivirus (FCV), feline herpesvirus (FHV-1), feline coronavirus (FeCoV), and feline panleukopenia virus (FPV). These cells will be useful for studies of feline viral disease and for in vitro studies of feline epithelia

Occupational exposure to solvents and risk of head and neck cancer in women: a population-based case–control study in France

Objective Our objective was to investigate the association between head and neck cancer and occupational exposure to chlorinated, oxygenated and petroleum solvents in women. Methods Investigation of occupational and environmental CAuses of REspiratory cancers (ICARE), a French population-based case–control study, included 296 squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck (HNSCC) in women and 775 female controls. Lifelong occupational history was collected. Job-exposure matrices allowed to assess exposure to 5 chlorinated solvents (carbon tetrachloride; chloroform; methylene chloride; perchloroethylene; trichloroethylene), 5 petroleum solvents (benzene; special petroleum product; gasoline; white spirits and other light aromatic mixtures; diesel, fuels and kerosene) and 5 oxygenated solvents (alcohols; ketones and esters; ethylene glycol; diethyl ether; tetrahydrofuran). OR and 95% CIs, adjusted for smoking, alcohol drinking, age and geographical area, were estimated with logistic models. Results Elevated ORs were observed among women ever exposed to perchloroethylene (OR=2.97, 95% CI 1.05 to 8.45) and trichloroethylene (OR=2.15, 95% CI 1.21 to 3.81). These ORs increased with exposure duration (OR=3.75, 95% CI 0.64 to 21.9 and OR=4.44, 95% CI 1.56 to 12.6 for 10 years or more, respectively). No significantly increased risk of HNSCC was found for occupational exposure to the other chlorinated, petroleum or oxygenated solvents. Conclusions These findings suggest that exposure to perchloroethylene or trichloroethylene may increase the risk of HNSCC in women. In our study, there is no clear evidence that the other studied solvents are risk factors for HNSCC

Genetic dissection of maturity using RFLPs.

Several genetic regions having major effects on maturity have been identified using RFLP analysis. One such region on chromosomes 8 is important across several diverse genotypes and ccounts for up to 50% of the variation for maturity in a cross involving an inbred line (N28) and a 20-backcross generation derivative (N28E). In addition to the chromsome 8 QTL for maturity, we have evidence using the backcross-derived line approach for regions controlling maturity on chromosomes 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, and 9. Chromosome 5 appears to be especially important in both magnitude of effect and across several genetic hackground. Maturity as measured by days to pollen shed or silking may be controlled by additive or nearly dominant gene action depending on the chromosome region. The marker-trait linkages were consistent across environnments based on A662 X B73 F3 per se and testcross evaluations from three locations in one year. UMC12 (chromosome 8) and UMC54 (chromosome 5) also marked important regions for maturity in these materials

Clinical case-study describing the use of skin-perichondrium-cartilage graft from the auricular concha to cover large defects of the nose

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The composite graft from the conchal cartilage is a graft that is often used, especially in surgery on the nose, due to its capacity to resolve problems of cover and tissue deficit, arising from the removal of neoplasms or as the result of trauma, burns or following over-aggressive rhinoplasty. We have started to use skin-perichondrium-cartilage graft from the ear to cover large areas of the nose with very satisfying results as well as we describe in the reported clinical case.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The operation consisted of reconstruction of the cartilaginous nasal septum, which had previously been removed, using two vestibular labial mucosa flaps to reconstruct the mucosa, and cartilage from the ear conch for the cartilaginous septum. After this, the skin edges of the fistula were turned to recreate the inner lining of the nose and form a vascular base of wide area to accept the composite graft. The case concerns a female 74-year old patient who had undergone several oncological surgery for a relapsing basal cell carcinoma on the dorsum of the nose. The operation consisted of reconstruction of the cartilaginous nasal septum using two vestibular labial mucosa flaps to reconstruct the mucosa, and cartilage from the ear conch for the cartilaginous septum.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The perichondrial cutaneous graft has shown in this surgical case very favorable peculiarities that make it usable even in facial plastic surgery.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We believe that the positive experience that we achieved in the use of composite grafts for the reconstruction of large areas of the nose could be interesting for others surgeons.</p

The New Political History

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66569/2/10.1177_000276427702100204.pd

Associated Links Among Smoking, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, and Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Pooled Analysis in the International Lung Cancer Consortium.

Background The high relapse and mortality rate of small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) fuels the need for epidemiologic study to aid in its prevention. Methods We included 24 studies from the ILCCO collaboration. Random-effects panel logistic regression and cubic spline regression were used to estimate the effects of smoking behaviors on SCLC risk and explore their non-linearity. Further, we explored whether the risk of smoking on SCLC was mediated through COPD. Findings Significant dose–response relationships of SCLC risk were observed for all quantitative smoking variables. Smoking pack-years were associated with a sharper increase of SCLC risk for pack-years ranged 0 to approximately 50. The former smokers with longer cessation showed a 43%quit_for_5–9 years to 89%quit_for_≥ 20 years declined SCLC risk vs. subjects who had quit smoking < 5 years. Compared with non-COPD subjects, smoking behaviors showed a significantly higher effect on SCLC risk among COPD subjects, and further, COPD patients showed a 1.86-fold higher risk of SCLC. Furthermore, smoking behaviors on SCLC risk were significantly mediated through COPD which accounted for 0.70% to 7.55% of total effects. Interpretation This is the largest pooling study that provides improved understanding of smoking on SCLC, and further demonstrates a causal pathway through COPD that warrants further experimental study. Abbreviations COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; CPG, cigarettes per day; ILCCO, International Lung Cancer Consortium; MeSH, medical subject headings; NSCLC, non-small cell lung cancer; OR, odds ratio; SCLC, small cell lung cancer

Transcutaneous flow related variables measured in vivo: the effects of gender

BACKGOUND: The identification of potential sources of error is a crucial step for any new assessment technique. This is the case for transcutaneous variables, such as flow and arterial gases, which have been applied as functional indicators of various aspects of human health. Regarding gender, a particular subject-related determinant, it is often claimed that women present higher transcutaneous oxygen pressure (tcpO(2)) values than men. However, the statistical significance of this finding is still uncertain. METHODS: The haemodynamical-vascular response to a local reactive hyperaemia procedure (the tourniquet cuff manoeuvre) was studied in two previously selected group of volunteers (n = 16; 8 women and 8 men). The effect of gender was assessed under standardised experimental conditions, using the transcutaneous flow-related variables tcpO(2)-tcpCO(2) and Laser-doppler Flowmetry (LDF). RESULTS: Regarding tcpO(2), statistically significant differences between genders were not found, although higher values were consistently found for the gases in the female group. Regarding LDF, high statistically significant differences (p < 0.005) were found, with the men's group presenting the highest values and variability. Other derived parameters used to characterise the vascular response following the cuff-deflation (t-peak) were similar in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: The relative influence of gender was not clearly demonstrated using these experimental conditions. However the gender-related LDF differences suggest that further investigation should be done on this issue. Perhaps in the presence of certain pathological disparities involving peripheral vascular regulation, other relationships may be found between these variables

Joint effects of intensity and duration of cigarette smoking on the risk of head and neck cancer: A bivariate spline model approach

Objectives: This study aimed at re-evaluating the strength and shape of the dose-response relationship between the combined (or joint) effect of intensity and duration of cigarette smoking and the risk of head and neck cancer (HNC). We explored this issue considering bivariate spline models, where smoking intensity and duration were treated as interacting continuous exposures. Materials and Methods: We pooled individual-level data from 33 case-control studies (18,260 HNC cases and 29,844 controls) participating in the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology (INHANCE) consortium. In bivariate regression spline models, exposures to cigarette smoking intensity and duration (compared with never smokers) were modeled as a linear piecewise function within a logistic regression also including potential confounders. We jointly estimated the optimal knot locations and regression parameters within the Bayesian framework. Results: For oral-cavity/pharyngeal (OCP) cancers, an odds ratio (OR) &gt;5 was reached after 30 years in current smokers of ∼20 or more cigarettes/day. Patterns of OCP cancer risk in current smokers differed across strata of alcohol intensity. For laryngeal cancer, ORs &gt;20 were found for current smokers of ≥20 cigarettes/day for ≥30 years. In former smokers who quit ≥10 years ago, the ORs were approximately halved for OCP cancers, and ∼1/3 for laryngeal cancer, as compared to the same levels of intensity and duration in current smokers. Conclusion: Referring to bivariate spline models, this study better quantified the joint effect of intensity and duration of cigarette smoking on HNC risk, further stressing the need of smoking cessation policies