Endorectal repair of rectocele.

A modification of Sullivan\u27s procedure for endorectal repair of low rectocele was completed in 59 patients with local anesthesia. Associated anorectal pathology was corrected in all patients. The technique is described. At follow-up, the results were as follows: 37 excellent (62.7 per cent), 10 good (16.9 per cent), eight fair (13.6 per cent), and four poor (6.7 per cent)

Ileorectal anastomosis for ulcerative and Crohn\u27s colitis.

Except in the presence of severe perineal suppuration or sphincter damage by previous surgery for fistulas, the rectum was preserved in all patients considered candidates for surgery for inflammatory disease of the bowel. A primary anastomosis with a single-layer 5-0 monofilament stainless steel wire was carried out when a relatively healthy rectum with erythema and granularity presented. For patients with more severe disease of the rectum, a two-stage operation with intensive interval treatment of the rectum stump with topical corticosteroids was carried out. Of a total of eighty-six patients with involvement of the colon and rectum with either Crohn\u27s disease or chronic ulcerative colitis, fifty-six patients were treated by local abdominal colectomy and ileorectal anastomosis. Twenty-four had primary anastomosis and thiry-two had a two-stage operation. One anastomotic dehiscence developed. A mean follow-up of 8.4 years (6 months to 20 years) has been satisfactory. Only three anastomoses have been taken down for unsatisfactory results. With the proper selection of patients and with appropriate treatment of the diseased rectal segment, a large majority of patients with inflammatory disease of the bowel can have long-term salutory results after colectomy and ileorectal anastomosis

WDHA syndrome caused by pheochromocytoma: report of a case.

A case in which a pheochromocytoma secreted vasoactive intestinal peptide, causing WDHA syndrome, is reported. The patient, a 43-year-old woman, was seen because of intractable watery diarrhea, hypokalemia and weight loss. She was found to have a mass in the right adrenal area. Preoperatively, vasoactive intestinal peptide levels were elevated, and the diagnosis of WDHA syndrome was entertained. Exploratory laparotomy revealed a tumor of the right adrenal gland, measuring 15 x 15 cm, which was resected. Histologic examination revealed it to be a pheochromocytoma. Postoperatively, vasoactive intestinal peptide returned to normal. The patient had complete remission of symptoms, and has remained well since

Analyses of zebrafish and Xenopus oocyte maturation reveal conserved and diverged features of translational regulation of maternal cyclin B1 mRNA

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Vertebrate development relies on the regulated translation of stored maternal mRNAs, but how these regulatory mechanisms may have evolved to control translational efficiency of individual mRNAs is poorly understood. We compared the translational regulation and polyadenylation of the cyclin B1 mRNA during zebrafish and <it>Xenopus </it>oocyte maturation. Polyadenylation and translational activation of cyclin B1 mRNA is well characterized during <it>Xenopus </it>oocyte maturation. Specifically, <it>Xenopus </it>cyclin B1 mRNA is polyadenylated and translationally activated during oocyte maturation by proteins that recognize the conserved AAUAAA hexanucleotide and U-rich Cytoplasmic Polyadenylation Elements (CPEs) within cyclin B1 mRNA's 3'<b>U</b>n<b>T</b>ranslated <b>R</b>egion (3'<b>UTR</b>).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The zebrafish cyclin B1 mRNA was polyadenylated during zebrafish oocyte maturation. Furthermore, the zebrafish cyclin B1 mRNA's 3'UTR was sufficient to stimulate translation of a reporter mRNA during zebrafish oocyte maturation. This stimulation required both AAUAAA and U-rich CPE-like sequences. However, in contrast to AAUAAA, the positions and sequences of the functionally defined CPEs were poorly conserved between <it>Xenopus </it>and zebrafish cyclin B1 mRNA 3'UTRs. To determine whether these differences were relevant to translation efficiency, we analyzed the translational activity of reporter mRNAs containing either the zebrafish or <it>Xenopus </it>cyclin B1 mRNA 3'UTRs during both zebrafish and <it>Xenopus </it>oocyte maturation. The zebrafish cyclin B1 3'UTR was quantitatively less effective at stimulating polyadenylation and translation compared to the <it>Xenopus </it>cyclin B1 3'UTR during both zebrafish and <it>Xenopus </it>oocyte maturation.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Although the factors that regulate translation of maternal mRNAs are highly conserved, the target sequences and overall sequence architecture within the 3'UTR of the cyclin B1 mRNA have diverged to affect translational efficiency, perhaps to optimize levels of cyclin B1 protein required by these different species during their earliest embryonic cell divisions.</p

Human antibodies targeting cell surface antigens overexpressed by the hormone refractory metastatic prostate cancer cells: ICAM-1 is a tumor antigen that mediates prostate cancer cell invasion

Transition from hormone-sensitive to hormone-refractory metastatic tumor types poses a major challenge for prostate cancer treatment. Tumor antigens that are differentially expressed during this transition are likely to play important roles in imparting prostate cancer cells with the ability to grow in a hormone-deprived environment and to metastasize to distal sites such as the bone and thus, are likely targets for therapeutic intervention. To identify those molecules and particularly cell surface antigens that accompany this transition, we studied the changes in cell surface antigenic profiles between a hormone-sensitive prostate cancer line LNCaP and its hormone-refractory derivative C4-2B, using an antibody library-based affinity proteomic approach. We selected a naïve phage antibody display library to identify human single-chain antibodies that bind specifically to C4-2B but not LNCaP. Using mass spectrometry, we identified one of the antibody-targeted antigens as the ICAM-1/CD54/human rhinovirus receptor. Recombinant IgG1 derived from this single-chain antibody binds to a neutralizing epitope of ICAM-1 and blocks C4-2B cell invasion through extracellular matrix in vitro. ICAM-1 is thus differentially expressed during the transition of the hormone-sensitive prostate cancer cell line LNCaP to its hormone-refractory derivative C4-2B, plays an important role in imparting the C4-2B line with the ability to invade, and may therefore be a target for therapeutic intervention

The Embodiment of Success and Failure as Forward versus Backward Movements

People often speak of success (e.g., “advance”) and failure (e.g., “setback”) as if they were forward versus backward movements through space. Two experiments sought to examine whether grounded associations of this type influence motor behavior. In Experiment 1, participants categorized success versus failure words by moving a joystick forward or backward. Failure categorizations were faster when moving backward, whereas success categorizations were faster when moving forward. Experiment 2 removed the requirement to categorize stimuli and used a word rehearsal task instead. Even without Experiment 1’s response procedures, a similar cross-over interaction was obtained (e.g., failure memorizations sped backward movements relative to forward ones). The findings are novel yet consistent with theories of embodied cognition and self-regulation