An advanced lithium-air battery exploiting an ionic liquid-based electrolyte.

A novel lithium-oxygen battery exploiting PYR14TFSI-LiTFSI as ionic liquid-based electrolyte medium is reported. The Li/PYR14TFSI-LiTFSI/O2 battery was fully characterized by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, capacity-limited cycling, field emission scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results of this extensive study demonstrate that this new Li/O2 cell is characterized by a stable electrode-electrolyte interface and a highly reversible charge-discharge cycling behavior. Most remarkably, the charge process (oxygen oxidation reaction) is characterized by a very low overvoltage, enhancing the energy efficiency to 82%, thus, addressing one of the most critical issues preventing the practical application of lithium-oxygen batteries.

[Intramuscular hemangioma of the forearm: seven cases]. / Les hémangiomes intramusculaires de l'avant-bras: sept cas.

The authors reexamined the files of seven patients dealt with for intramuscular hemangioma of forearm. It concerns five women and two men, between 16 and 39 years old. The average time of consultation was 13 months. The clinical signs were dominated by the development of a generally painless soft mass over the anterior compartment of the forearm and/or the elbow. Two patients presented nervous lesions signs of the ulnar or median nerves. The feeder pedicle was the ulnar artery in five cases and radial artery in two cases. The excision was incomplete in two cases because of the invasion of the ulnar nerve by the hemangioma. With four years average follow-up, the five patients having undergone a complete excision do not present a recurrence and the hand function is excellent. The authors insist on the interest of a preoperative diagnosis with the IRM, which permits to envisage surgical difficulties due to the proximity of vascular and nervous pedicles.

[Hibernoma of the thigh]. / Hibernome de la cuisse.

Hibernoma is a rare benign tumour of brown fat. It presents as a voluminous slow-growing mass in the regions where remnants of brown fat can remain in adults. We report a case of a hibernoma on the thigh and present the diagnostic and therapeutic elements of this type of tumour, whose differential diagnosis of liposarcoma.

Patella tuberculosis: a case report.

A rare case of patella tuberculosis is reported. Clinical signs comprised chronic inflammatory pain, knee swelling and joint stiffness, with two years' evolution. Standard X-ray showed focal osteolysis with intact joint line. Diagnosis was based on surgical biopsy during arthrotomy. Treatment comprised nine months' antibiotherapy and bone curettage to prevent intra-articular extension. At 42 months' follow-up, functional results were good, without recurrence of infection.

[Myositis ossificans circumscripta of the forearm]. / Myosite ossifiante circonscrite de l'avant-bras.

Myositis ossificans circumscripta is a benign lesion characterized by focal heterotopic soft tissue ossification and occurring in young people generally after localized trauma. The location of this case in the forearm is rare. The clinical signs, radiological appearance and the histological features can be confused with osseous or soft tissue sarcoma, as was the case in our patient.

[Aneurysmal bone cyst of the ulna]. / Kyste osseux anévrismal de l'ulna.

Aneurysmal bone cyst (ABC) accounts for 1 to 4 percent of primary bone tumours. There is a distinct predominance in the 10- to 20-year age group, and it is rare after age 50. Despite its benign character, it is sometimes locally aggressive, and can attain significant size. This was so in the case we report of a patient with an ABC of the ulna.

[Bilateral dorsal elastofibroma]. / Elastofibrome dorsal bilatéral : à propos d'un cas et une revue de la littérature.

Elastofibroma dorsi is a slowly-growing benign tumor which usually occurs at the inferior angle of the scapula. It may be more of a degenerative process than a neoplasia. We seek, through our observations and a review of the literature, to clarify the characteristics of this tumor and its modes of management. We think that all doctors should be aware of this condition, in order to treat it correctly.

[Standards, Options and Recommendations 2004: good practice guidelines for second opinion in anatomic and surgical pathology in oncology (integral report)]. / Standards, Options et Recommandations 2004 pour une bonne pratique de la consultation personnelle et de la relecture en anatomie et cytologie pathologiques en cancérologie (rapport intégral).

CONTEXT: The " Standards, Options and Recommendations" (SOR) project, which started in 1993, is a collaboration between the French Federation of Cancer Centres (FNCLCC), the 20 French Regional Cancer Centres, and specialists from French public universities, general hospitals and private clinics. The main objective is the development of clinical practice guidelines to improve the quality of health care and the outcome of cancer patients. OBJECTIVE: To develop good practice guidelines for second opinion in anatomic and surgical pathology in oncology, in collaboration with the French Society for Anatomic and Surgical Pathology. METHOD: The methodology is based on a literature review and critical appraisal by a multidisciplinary group of experts who define the CPGs using the definitions of the Standards, Options and Recommendations project. Once the guideline has been defined, the document is submitted to independent reviewers for review. RESULTS: The working group defined four types of second opinions in anatomic and surgical pathology: personal consultation, inter-institutional consultation, peer review consultation for a scientific survey, intra-departmental consultation in the context of quality control. The main recommendation is that second opinion should respect the patients' rights and the medical ethics code. For each of the four situations defined recommendations have been developed, taking this principle into consideration.

Expression of a model gene in prostate cancer cells lentivirally transduced in vitro and in vivo.

In a preclinical model for prostate cancer gene therapy, we have tested lentiviral vectors as a practical possibility for the transfer and long-term expression of the EGFP gene both in vitro and in vivo. The human prostate cancer cell lines DU145 and PC3 were transduced using experimental conditions which permitted analysis of the expression from a single proviral vector per cell. The transduced cells stably expressed the EGFP transgene for 4 months. After injection of the transduced cell populations into Nod-SCID mice a decrease in EGFP was only observed in a minority of cases, while the majority of tumors maintained transgene expression at in vitro levels. In vivo injection of viral vector preparations directly into pre-established subcutaneous or orthotopic tumor masses, obtained by implantation of untransduced PC3 and DU145 cells led to a high transduction efficiency. While the efficiency of direct intratumoral transduction was proportional to the dose of virus injected, the results indicated some technical limitations inherent in these approaches to prostate cancer gene therapy.

Characterization of Hodgkin's lymphoma-like undifferentiated carcinoma of the nasopharyngeal type as a particular UCNT subtype mimicking Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Undifferentiated carcinoma of the nasopharyngeal type (UCNT) that histologically mimics Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) ("Hodgkin's lymphoma-like UCNT"--HL-like UCNT) is known as a diagnostic pitfall. Using immunohistochemistry, Western blot and cDNA array technology, we wanted to document its phenotypical and molecular characteristics. We report herein 5 cases of UCNT that morphologically mimic HL and 3 classical UCNT cases. We compared the expression profiles of a thousand selected genes in HL-like UCNT and in classical UCNT cases. No difference in the profile of EBV infection was noted between the HL-like UCNT and control cases. Significant differences were detected in the expression of genes involved in the matrix modelling, angiogenesis, apoptosis and regulation of the Th-2 interleukins. The eosinophil chemoattractant eotaxin was expressed in the stroma of HL-like UCNT, but not in the control cases. The eotaxin receptor CCR3 was expressed in both stromal and carcinoma cell populations of HL-like UCNT, this pattern being similar to the one observed in HL. These results show that UCNT morphologically resembling HL share also some specific phenotypical and molecular features with HL, and might deserve to be isolated as a particular UCNT subtype.

Intracerebral medulloepithelioma with a long survival.

This report concerns a 3-month-old boy where neuroimaging examination showed a large, well-circumscribed, mildly heterogeneous tumor arising in the left ventricle. Pathological findings were compatible with a medulloepithelioma. A survey of published cases of medulloepitheliomas showed this tumor to be highly malignant, possibly displaying the entire range of differentiation from embryonal primitive neuroepithelium to mature cells and usually involving the cerebral hemispheres with a very poor prognosis in this location. On the other hand, medulloepitheliomas occurring in the eye or the orbit generally benefit from a gross-total resection and may present a good prognosis. Curiously, the patient reported here is doing well 7 years after the resection without any postoperative treatment. The exclusive intraventricular location of the tumor and its gross-total resection clearly seems to have contributed to this unusual recovery.

[Juvenile aponeurotic fibroma. A case report with a review of the literature]. / Fibrome aponévrotique juvénile. A propos d'un cas, avec revue de la littérature.

Juvenile aponeurotic fibroma is a rare benign tumour which occurs mainly in young patients under 20 years of age and especially during childhood. Clinical presentation is a unique, hard and painless tumour of the palm or sole. The treatment commonly accepted for this locally recurrent tumour is complete excision with function preservation. In this paper, we report on a case of juvenile aponeurotic fibroma of the thenar area with a thickening of the first metacarpal bone shaft. Bone involvement in juvenile aponeurotic fibroma is a very rare condition. We only found one report of a comparable case in literature.

A Nod Scid mouse model to study human prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer is the second cause of cancer mortality in men in Western countries. To study new therapeutic approaches such as gene therapy, animal models of human prostate cancer with metastatic behavior are mandatory. We used the Nod Scid mouse strain to develop an orthotopic animal model. Two androgen-independent cell lines (PC-3 and DU 145) were used. Local tumor growth and metastases were analyzed. The tumor take rates were close to those reported in the literature. However, a high frequency of various metastatic sites has been observed (liver, lung, spleen, adrenal, kidney, lymph node, and diaphragm). It can be concluded that the Nod Scid mouse is a relevant preclinical animal model to study human prostate cancer. Metastatic sites seem more numerous in comparison to other orthotopic mice models described.

[DNA-array analysis of the expression profile of apoptosis gene regulators in malignant lymphoma]. / Analyse par "biopuces" du profil d'expression des gènes régulateurs de l'apoptose des lymphomes malins.

Microarray technology has recently led to the identification of molecular prognostic subgroups in non Hodgkin's lymphomas. In order to determine the usefulness of ready-made macroarrays as routine diagnosis tools in haemato-pathology, we have analysed lymph node biopsies using a cDNA macroarray containing genes involved in apoptosis, including caspases. Nine biopsy specimens were analysed on total frozen tissues: 4 samples of B-cell follicular lymphoma (FL), two of B-cell diffuse large cell lymphoma (DLCL), and three of non-neoplastic lymph nodes from benign lymphadenitis. Eight cell populations were sorted from fresh tissues: malignant B-cells from 2 FL cases and 2 DLCL cases, reactive B-cells from 1 benign lymph nodes, reactive T-cells from 1 benign lymph node, virgin (mantle zone) B-cells and germinal center (GC) B-cells from benign tonsils. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) on paraffin sections was performed for localization of caspases 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, and 9. In the clustered array data, sorted cells from samples sharing common histological lesions grouped together, whereas the array/histology correlation was less satisfactory for tissues. The expression profiles of both array and IHC methods were correlated for most caspases and samples. Variations in array profiles of sorted cell populations can be statistically associated with specific histological features, suggesting a possible diagnostic application of ready-made "Apoptosis macroarrays" in haematopathology.

Vertebral metastases from pineoblastoma.

Two male patients aged 26 and 18 years presented with vertebral metastases originating from pineoblastomas on which surgery had been performed 8 years and 5 months earlier, respectively. In the first case in which the metastasis developed in the T8 corpus, the disease is presently under control after high-dose chemotherapy and autologous blood stem cell transplantation. The second patient (sacral metastasis), despite aggressive adjuvant therapy, died 2 years after the last operation because of spinal seeding. These uncommon cases are discussed with reference to the literature on extraneural metastases that originate from neuroepithelial tumors of the central nervous system.

Caspases: conductors of the cell death machinery in lymphoma cells.

The present review focuses on recent insights into the regulation of caspases by other components of the apoptotic pathway, including the mechanisms by which caspase activation influence the death of lymphoma cells. In the light of our recent findings and similar observations of other investigators, it is likely that lymphoma cells possess the complete caspase machinery required for the apoptotic process. Inhibition of caspases activation appears as a potential mechanism to explain apoptotic defects of malignant B-cells, and thus may constitute the basis for new cancer therapies.

Pelvic ependymoma arising from the small bowel.

A 37-year-old woman underwent resection of an abdominal tumour which was adherent to the wall of the ileum. The diagnosis of an ependymoma was supported by evidence of typical perivascular pseudorosettes which stained positive for glial fibrillary acidic protein and contained abundant intermediate filaments within the elongated processes by electron microscopy. Flow cytometric study showed a diploid population of tumour cells. This is the first case of an ependymoma arising from the small bowel without any connection to the genital tract, the omentum or with the sacroccygeal area. As is the case with other unusual and ectopic localisations of ependymomas, prognosis of this tumour is difficult to evaluate.

[Medical demography: the portrait of pathologic anatomy and cytology]. / Démographie médicale: le portrait de l'anatomie et cytologie pathologiques.

Assessment of care supply in terms of medical labor force is difficult because of the disparity of available data. Using the medical specialty of pathology as an example, we present for the first time a demographic analysis based on the confrontation of main data sources. This study underlines some of the structural and dynamic problems which threaten the demographic stability of the specialty. The public service suffers from a lack of practitioners, especially in regional hospitals. Whereas one third of French pathologists work in the larger hospitals around Paris, in some other regions private services constitute the main component of the supply. Projections based on the aging phenomenon and a reduction in entry indicate a future problem in the renewal of generations of pathologists. The consequences of this programmed decrease in the number of French pathologists will be further exacerbated by the movement of the sex ratio in favor of women.

[Mammary carcinoma arising in microglandular adenosis: a case report]. / Carcinome mammaire développé sur une adénose microglandulaire: à propos d'un cas.

Microglandular adenosis is an uncommon benign breast entity considered as a variant form of adenosis. The diagnosis is frequently made by the pathologist as it is often clinically asymptomatic. Carcinoma arising in microglandular adenosis is very uncommon. We report a case of carcinoma arising in microglandular adenosis in a 54-year-old woman. The immunohistochemical profile, especially S100 protein expression and absence of epithelial membrane antigen, was useful to recognize the microglandular adenosis and the carcinoma of alveolar architecture, while invasion was suggested by the basement membrane disruption highlighted with anti-collagen IV immunostaining. The good prognosis of carcinoma associated with microglandular adenosis points out the importance of distinguishing this lesion from other breast carcinomas.

So-called malignant and extra-ventricular neurocytomas: reality or wrong diagnosis? A critical review about two overdiagnosed cases.

Central neurocytoma (CN) is described as a rare intra-ventricular benign neuronal tumor of the brain. Two primary tumors first diagnosed as malignant and extra-ventricular neurocytomas are reported here. Histologically, the tumor of the first patient, a forty-one-year-old man, consisted of monotonous cells with round nuclei, but no fibrillar background. The second tumor, in a nineteen-year-old girl, showed areas of moderately pleomorphic round cells, with numerous rosettes and ganglion cell differentiation, in an abundant fibrillary network. Both presented calcifications. Mitoses were more frequent in recurrences and spinal locations than in the primaries. All tumors stained strongly for synaptophysin, and GFAP was partly positive in the first case only. Patients received post-surgical radiotherapy and were still alive eight and six years, respectively, after initial surgery. The interpretation of atypical cases, such as ours is not easy: the diagnoses finally retained were oligodendroglioma in the first case and ganglioneuroblastoma in the second case. Furthermore, neurocytomas atypical either by their unusual topographical or histological presentation or by their poor prognosis, have been frequently entitled in this way on synaptophysin positivity. So, we were prompted to reassess the entity of CN, seventeen years after the first description, to re-appreciate the reality of anatomo-clinical variants and to discuss the value of synaptophysin positivity in these tumors. In conclusion, it seems preferable to individualize true classical CN, which has a favorable outcome, from so-called extra-ventricular, atypical and anaplastic, clinically malignant neurocytomas for which complementary treatment is required.