FDG PET in Thyroid Cancer

Thyroid malignancies are relatively rare cancer types but have a substantially high incidence in the group of all endocrine malignancies. Most thyroid cancer patients have differentiated thyroid cancer and prognosis is generally favourable. Tumour growth tends to be slow and radioiodine therapy is successful in differentiated cell tumour type with the ability to accumulate iodine. So, where can 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG PET) imaging be applied? The role of FDG PET in differentiated thyroid cancer starts with the development of metastatic diseases, which are not responsive to radioiodine therapy anymore. FDG accumulates in tumour lesions that are missed by iodine scintigraphy. FDG PET is more sensitive in patients with an aggressive histological subtype, including Hürthle cell. Thyroid cancer is definitely not the role model indication for FDG PET imaging, but for the management of differentiated thyroid cancer with metastases and more aggressive types of malignancies of the thyroid, FDG PET proves to be clinically useful. Incidental detection of malignancy in FDG-avid thyroid nodules has to be taken into consideration when FDG PET examinations have been conducted for reasons unrelated to the thyroid

Kosovo in the 1980s – Yugoslav Perspectives and Interpretations

The introductory article in this issue argues for greater consideration of the impact of the Kosovo crisis on political developments in other Yugoslav republics and on the entire federal state structure of Yugoslavia after Tito’s death. It also calls for a closer examination of alternative paths that were considered by various actors to resolve the conflict but were not or could not be pursued. Such a discussion of developments in Kosovo in the 1980s in a broader Yugoslav perspective would, it is argued, also have the potential to contribute to a more complex understanding of the Kosovo crisis itself.Peer Reviewe

Historische Anthropologie im südöstlichen Europa

The beginnings of historical anthropology as a transdisciplinary project have to be located in the 1970s. However, in this part of the world it is still considered as a young project. This seems to be the main reason for not having yet developed a common understanding about its aims, methods and core contents. There is also no unanimity about the perception, advocated in this volume, that historical anthropology does not represent a new scientific discipline but an altered understanding of history as a discipline as a whole for the purpose of transdisciplinarity. The intention of the endeavor ‘historical anthropology’ is far from questioning established disciplines such as the historical scholarship but to put man in its historical contingency and cultural complexity into the focus of research and academic teaching. Since the temporal dimension does play a central role anthropologically oriented historical scholarship occupies a specific position in this project. Historical anthropology is comprehended here as integration of disciplines in the sense of a comprehensive science of the human being. Historical anthropology conducted in a rather peripheral region such as Southeastern Europe or the Balkans due to its specific historic development and cultural features is confronted with partly other challenges and has partly different aims compared with Western or Central Europe, for instance, which is reflected in the composition of the present volume. It consists of five parts. The first one addresses migration and adaption strategies, the second one gender relations and stages of life. The third one deals with the complex relationship of geographic features such as mountains and sea, and the human being. The fourth part is devoted to law and disciplining, and the concluding one to identities. The authors are either directly affiliated with Centre for Southeast European History and Anthropology at University of Graz or colleagues from abroad with whom the Centre has intensive collaboration.Die bislang vor allem ethnozentrierte Perspektive auf Geschichte und Kultur Südosteuropas hat viel zu den unübersehbaren Spannungen in der Region beigetragen. Eine historisch-anthropologische Perspektive kann dem Entscheidendes entgegensetzen und ethnozentrierte Blicke auflösen. Dieser erste Überblick über Themenfelder einer Historischen Anthropologie im südostlichen Europa hat Einführungscharakter und weist gleichzeitig auf Forschungsperspektiven hin. Dargestellt werden u. a. folgende Themenfelder: Wanderungen und Anpassungsstrategien; Geschlechterbeziehungen und Lebensphasen; das Gebirge, die Stadt und das Meer; Recht und Disziplinierung; Identitäten. Die Beiträger und Beiträgerinnen stammen sowohl aus Ländern des westlichen als auch des südöstlichen Europa

Molecular Orbital Models of Benzene, Biphenyl and the Oligophenylenes

A two state (2-MO) model for the low-lying long axis-polarised excitations of poly(p-phenylene) oligomers and polymers is developed. First we derive such a model from the underlying Pariser-Parr-Pople (P-P-P) model of pi-conjugated systems. The two states retained per unit cell are the Wannier functions associated with the valence and conduction bands. By a comparison of the predictions of this model to a four state model (which includes the non-bonding states) and a full P-P-P model calculation on benzene and biphenyl, it is shown quantitatively how the 2-MO model fails to predict the correct excitation energies. The 2-MO model is then solved for oligophenylenes of up to 15 repeat units using the density matrix renormalisation group (DMRG) method. It is shown that the predicted lowest lying, dipole allowed excitation is ca. 1 eV higher than the experimental result. The failure of the 2-MO model is a consequence of the fact that the original HOMO and LUMO single particle basis does not provide an adequate representation for the many body processes of the electronic system.Comment: LaTeX, 12 pages, 3 eps figures included using epsf. To appear in Chemical Physics, 199

De novo glomerular osteopontin expression in rat crescentic glomerulonephritis

De novo glomerular osteopontin expression in rat crescentic glomerulonephritis. Osteopontin (OPN) is a secreted acidic glycoprotein that has potent monocyte chemoattractant and adhesive properties. Up-regulation of tubular OPN expression is thought to promote interstitial macrophage infiltration in experimental nephritis; however, the role of OPN in glomerular lesions, particularly crescent formation, is unknown. The present study used Northern blotting, in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry to examine OPN expression in a rat model of accelerated anti-GBM glomerulonephritis. Osteopontin mRNA and protein is expressed by some parietal epithelial cells, thick ascending limbs of Henle and medullary tubules and collecting ducts in normal rat kidney. De novo OPN mRNA and protein expression was evident in glomerular visceral and parietal epithelial cells in anti-GBM glomerulonephritis. Glomerular OPN expression preceded and correlated with macrophage infiltration in the development of hypercellularity, focal and segmental lesions and, notably, crescent formation. There was marked up-regulation of OPN expression by tubular epithelial cells that also preceded and correlated with interstitial macrophage (r = 0.93, P < 0.001) and T-cell infiltration (r = 0.85, P < 0.001). Both glomerular and tubular OPN expression correlated significantly with proteinuria (P < 0.001) and a reduction in creatinine clearance (P < 0.01). In addition, double immunohistochemistry showed co-expression of osteopontin and one of its ligands, CD44, in intrinsic renal cells. CD44 and OPN expression by parietal epithelial cells was evident in crescent formation, while virtually all OPN-positive tubules expressed CD44. Infiltrating macrophages and T-cells were CD44-positive, but only a small proportion of T-cells and few macrophages showed OPN expression. Interestingly, strong OPN mRNA and protein expression was seen in macrophage multinucleated giant cells. In summary, this study suggests that OPN promotes macrophage and T-cell infiltration in the development of renal lesions in rat anti-GBM glomerulonephritis, including glomerular crescent and multinucleated giant cell formation

Pembrolizumab-Induced Thyroiditis Shows PD-L1Expressing Histiocytes and Infiltrating T Cells in Thyroid Tissue - A Case Report

ContextImmune-related adverse events frequently take place after initiation of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) therapy. The thyroid gland is the endocrine organ most commonly affected by ICI therapy, the pathological mechanism is still poorly understood.Case DescriptionA 60-year old Upper Austrian male melanoma patient under pembrolizumab therapy received thyroidectomy because of a suspicious FDG avid thyroid nodule. Histopathology showed a pattern comparable with thyroiditis de Quervain. The inflammatory process consisted predominantly of T lymphocytes with a dominance of CD4+ T helper cells. In addition CD68+ histiocytes co-expressing PD-L1 were observed.ConclusionClusters of perifollicular histiocytes expressing PD-L1 were observed in this case of pembrolizumab induced thyroiditis - probably induced by the former ICI therapy. This finding might indicate the initial target for the breakdown of self tolerance. In context with other data the immunological process seems to be driven by CD3+ lymphocytes infiltrating the thyroid

Inhibitory NKG2A⁺ and absent activating NKG2C⁺ NK cell responses are associated with the development of EBV⁺ lymphomas

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a ubiquitous herpesvirus, which infects over 90% of the adult human population worldwide. After primary infections, EBV is recurrently reactivating in most adult individuals. It is, however, unclear, why these EBV reactivations progress to EBV+ Hodgkin (EBV+HL) or non-Hodgkin lymphomas (EBV+nHL) only in a minority of EBV-infected individuals. The EBV LMP-1 protein encodes for a highly polymorphic peptide, which upregulates the immunomodulatory HLA-E in EBV-infected cells, thereby stimulating the inhibitory NKG2A-, but also the activating NKG2C-receptor on natural killer (NK) cells. Using a genetic-association approach and functional NK cell analyses, we now investigated, whether these HLA-E-restricted immune responses impact the development of EBV+HL and EBV+nHL. Therefore, we recruited a study cohort of 63 EBV+HL and EBV+nHL patients and 192 controls with confirmed EBV reactivations, but without lymphomas. Here, we demonstrate that in EBV+ lymphoma patients exclusively the high-affine LMP-1 GGDPHLPTL peptide variant-encoding EBV-strains reactivate. In EBV+HL and EBV+nHL patients, the high-expressing HLA-E*0103/0103 genetic variant was significantly overrepresented. Combined, the LMP-1 GGDPHLPTL and HLA-E*0103/0103 variants efficiently inhibited NKG2A+ NK cells, thereby facilitating the in vitro spread of EBV-infected tumor cells. In addition, EBV+HL and EBV+nHL patients, showed impaired pro-inflammatory NKG2C+ NK cell responses, which accelerated the in vitro EBV-infected tumor cells spread. In contrast, the blocking of NKG2A by monoclonal antibodies (Monalizumab) resulted in efficient control of EBV-infected tumor cell growth, especially by NKG2A+NKG2C+ NK cells. Thus, the HLA-E/LMP-1/NKG2A pathway and individual NKG2C+ NK cell responses are associated with the progression toward EBV+ lymphomas.</p