Follicular thyroid cancer in a patient with Pendred syndrome.

We present the clinical and molecular studies of a family with Pendred syndrome, in which one affected individual developed follicular thyroid cancer. Two siblings with classic Pendred syndrome triad were operated on because of enormous multinodular goiter. Histopathology showed a follicular thyroid cancer in the male and a multinodular goiter in the female. PDS gene analysis revealed G-to-A transition in the splice donor site of intron 8 (IVS8+1G>A/c.1001+1G>A). Careful surveillance is needed in all cases of thyroid nodules in patients with Pendred syndrome, due to the high risk of malignancy.

Hydrogen-bonded 4H-1-benzopyrane-4-thione-water complexes properties in the S2 excited state: the mechanism and dynamics of deactivation.

Unexpected results of spectral emission and photophysical study of S2-excited 4H-1-benzopyrane-4-thione (BPT) in water solution were explained by intermolecular hydrogen bonding. There are at least two types of BPT-water complexes that participate in the S2-fluorescence similarly as in S0→ S2 absorption. They both deactivate with high efficiency in internal conversion S2→ S1 and in intersystem crossing S1→ T1 processes.

Interleukin 1 beta (IL1beta) gene polymorphisms (SNP-511 and SNP+3953) in Hashimoto's thyroiditis among the Polish population.

AIM: The association between the interleukin IL1 beta gene polymorphisms SNP-511 and SNP+3953 and susceptibility to the development of Hashimoto's thyroiditis among adult Caucasian-Polish population were analyzed. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The group studied comprised of 115 unrelated patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (112 women and 3 men, mean age 53.3 years). All patients were euthyroid on thyroid replacement therapy, had extremely high serum anti-TPO levels and in 53 patients anti-TG levels were also increased. The control group consisted of 103 healthy blood donors without raised anti-TPO antibodies, in whom a personal and familial history of thyroid, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases was excluded. No goiter or thyroid dysfunction was found.2 polymorphisms of the IL1 beta were studied by PCR-RFLP analysis. To confirm the accuracy of the method used, randomly selected patients were analyzed by direct sequencing. RESULTS: In both groups allele frequencies were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The significant statistical differences between the frequency of C and T allele for both SNPs (C-511T and C+3953T) in the group studied and in the controls were found (p=0.0081; OR=1.846; 95% CI: 1.183-2.878 and p=0.0099; OR=1.953; 95% CI: 1.183-3.224).The frequencies of the genotype C-511C compared to C-511T and T-511T as well as C+3953C compared to C+3953T and T+3953T also differed significantly (p=0.0057; OR=2.248; 95% CI: 1.292-3.912 and p=0.0043; OR=2.338; 95% CI: 1.305-4.191) between patients and controls. CONCLUSIONS: An association between the SNPs of the IL1 beta and susceptibility to Hashimoto's thyroiditis among the group of Caucasian-Polish population studied was found.

The influence of acute progressive hypoxia on bioelectrical activity of the brain.

Hypoxia, a noxious and hyperventilatory stimulus and a modifier of neuronal metabolism, could influence cortical function. In this study we attempted to assess any such influence, its determinants, and particularly the role in it of the accompanying hypoxic emotional distress. We addressed the issue by examining the associations among EEG, ventilation, and anxiety during progressive poikilocapnic hypoxia (end-point SaO(2) approximately 75%) in 12 awake healthy volunteers (mean age 27.5 +/-0.7 yr). All subjects hyperventilated in response to hypoxia and 3 of them had a high level of anticipatory anxiety that forced one person to discontinue the test. We failed to show any major effect of hypoxia on the EEG pattern analyzed by visual inspection or wavelet power spectra. Therefore, no relationship between the ventilatory and cortical activity responses to hypoxia could be established. Cortical activity changes appeared, however, in the subjects who experienced emotional distress during the test. These changes were apparent on an expanded analysis of the EEG signal by the use of the Lempel-Ziv complexity that takes into account the ordering of variations in the signal, rather than only the relative frequency of events analyzed by the Shannon entropy. The Lempel-Ziv complexity offers promise as a novel method for unraveling fine and otherwise unexpressed alterations in cortical bioelectrical activity.

Case report of schwannoma of the rectum--clinical and pathological contribution.

The case of benign schwannoma of the rectum primarily misdiagnosed as myogenic (neurogenic?) sarcoma is presented. A large tumor of 8 cm in diameter of the anterior rectal wall was removed with wide margins and an artificial anus was constructed. During 12 years of follow-up neither local recurrence nor distant metastases were observed. The patient is still alive and free of the disease. For that reason a surgery specimen of the tumor was pathologically reanalyzed and it showed features of type Antoni A and B tissues. These findings, together with strong reactivity for S-100 protein, Vimentin and negative for Actin supported the diagnosis of benign schwannoma. Because the localization of the tumor in the rectum is extremely rare, clinical and pathological features are presented and discussed.

Fast eigenspace decomposition of correlated images.

We present a computationally efficient algorithm for the eigenspace decomposition of correlated images. Our approach is motivated by the fact that for a planar rotation of a two-dimensional (2-D) image, analytical expressions can be given for the eigendecomposition, based on the theory of circulant matrices. These analytical expressions turn out to be good first approximations of the eigendecomposition, even for three-dimensional (3-D) objects rotated about a single axis. In addition, the theory of circulant matrices yields good approximations to the eigendecomposition for images that result when objects are translated and scaled. We use these observations to automatically determine the dimension of the subspace required to represent an image with a guaranteed user-specified accuracy, as well as to quickly compute a basis for the subspace. Examples show that the algorithm performs very well on a number of test cases ranging from images of 3-D objects rotated about a single axis to arbitrary video sequences.

[The effectiveness of radiotherapy and the prognostic value of Hb level for patients with early glottic cancer (T1N0, T2N0)]. / Ocena skutecznosci radioterapii i wartosci prognostycznej poziomu hemoglobiny u chorych na raka glosni we wczesnym stopniu zaawansowania (T1N0, T2N0).

Effectiveness of radiotherapy as a sole treatment modality was analysed in a group of 225 patients with glottic cancer in stage T1 (153 patients) or T2 (72 patients) without metastases in regional neck lymph nodes. All patients were irradiated with gamma 60Co or 10 MeV photons 5 times per week conventional treatment with the dose of 2.0-2.5 Gy per fraction. The total dose was in the range of 60-70 Gy given in overall treatment time of 30-61 days. 3-year local control rate was 88% for T1 patients and 54% for T2. In group T1 total dose of 65-70 Gy correlated with a high, 94-100%, local rate whereas in group T2 for the same range of total dose, extension of overall treatment time beyond 45 days caused significant decrease in local tumour control of about 3% for each one day of treatment protraction. Moreover, the Hb level was found to be a significant prognostic factor and its value below 12 g/dl correlated with remarkably lower local control of glottic cancer of about 30% comparing with patients with Hb level above 12 g/dl.

A multiscale stochastic image model for automated inspection.

We develop a novel multiscale stochastic image model to describe the appearance of a complex three-dimensional object in a two-dimensional monochrome image. This formal image model is used in conjunction with Bayesian estimation techniques to perform automated inspection. The model is based on a stochastic tree structure in which each node is an important subassembly of the three-dimensional object. The data associated with each node or subassembly is modeled in a wavelet domain. We use a fast multiscale search technique to compute the sequential MAP (SMAP) estimate of the unknown position, scale factor, and 2-D rotation for each subassembly. The search is carried out in a manner similar to a sequential likelihood ratio test, where the process advances in scale rather than time. The results of this search determine whether or not the object passes inspection. A similar search is used in conjunction with the EM algorithm to estimate the model parameters for a given object from a set of training images. The performance of the algorithm is demonstrated on two different real assemblies.

Reversible downregulation of thiazide diuretic receptors by acute renal ischemia.

Receptors for thiazide diuretic drugs in the rat renal cortex have recently been identified through the binding of [3H]metolazone, a potent diuretic with a thiazide-like mechanism of action. The present studies describe the rapid and reversible alterations that occur in thiazide receptors following acute renal ischemia in the rat. The apparent density of thiazide receptors in kidney membranes as measured by the binding of [3H]metolazone was reduced by 90% following 10 min of renal ischemia produced by clamping the renal pedicle. With release of the clamp and subsequent reperfusion for 10 min, thiazide receptor density returned to within 40% of control levels. Ischemia did not alter apparent affinity of receptors for [3H]-metolazone. Sections prepared from renal cortex and incubated in oxygenated media in vitro displayed similar rapid changes in thiazide receptors. Hypoxia of 10- to 30-min duration produced by incubating sections in vitro in nitrogen-saturated media caused a significant decrease in [3H]metolazone binding that was reversible with return to oxygenated media. Similar decreases were obtained in oxygenated sections that were incubated with mitochondrial inhibitors, dinitrophenol and rotenone, but not in sections incubated with ouabain. These results indicate that renal thiazide receptors undergo a rapid and reversible form of regulation and that controlling mechanisms are dependent on metabolic energy.

Changes in glomerular hemodynamic response to angiotensin II after subacute renal denervation in rats.

We examined the changes in glomerular hemodynamics produced by angiotensin II (AII) in both normal Munich-Wistar rats and rats which were unilaterally renal denervated (measured kidney) 4-6 d prior to the measurement periods. Measurements of glomerular dynamics were performed in a control period after plasma volume expansion and during infusion of 11 ng X 100 g body wt-1 X min-1 of AII. The glomerular hydrostatic pressure gradient increased from 38 +/- 1 to 49 +/- 1 mmHg in denervated rats compared with a lesser response in controls (from 39 +/- 1 to 45 +/- 1 mmHg, P less than 0.05). Single nephron plasma flow decreased from 213 +/- 17 to 87 +/- 4 nl X min-1 X g kidney wt (KW)-1 in denervated kidneys versus a more modest decrease in control kidneys (from 161 +/- 9 to 102 +/- 5 nl X min X gKW-1). These changes were due to a greater increase in both afferent and efferent arteriolar resistance after AII infusion in denervated compared with control kidneys. Glomerular AII receptor maximum binding was 1,196 +/- 267 fmol/mg protein in denervated kidneys compared with 612 +/- 89 fmol/mg protein (P less than 0.01) in controls with no change in receptor affinity. We conclude the subacute unilateral renal denervation results in renal vasodilation, denervation magnifies the vasoconstrictive effect of AII infusion on glomerular hemodynamics, and the observed increased response to AII after denervation is associated with increases in glomerular AII receptors.

Localization of central angiotensin II receptors with [125I]-sar1, ile8-angiotensin II: periventricular sites of the anterior third ventricle.

The radiolabeled angiotensin II (ANG II) antagonist, [N 125I]-sar1,ile8-ANG II, was used to study brain ANG II receptors by both homogenate binding and in vitro autoradiography. In homogenate preparations of the hypothalamus, thalamus, septum and midbrain (HTSM), [125I]-sar1,ile8-ANG II bound to a single class (Hill slope 0.84 +/- 0.05) of high affinity binding sites (KD 0.42 +/- 0.03 nM, Bmax 5.98 +/- fmol/mg protein). Competition for the [125I]-sar1,ile8-ANG II binding site in HTSM membranes demonstrated a rank order potency characteristic of binding to the ANG II receptor, with the unlabeled antagonist being slightly more potent than ANG II (Ki 0.22 +/- 0.03 vs 0.95 +/- 0.06 nM, respectively). Brain slices from the region of the rostral third ventricle were incubated with 0.5 nM[125I]-sar1,ile8-ANG II in the presence or absence of 1 microM ANG II and exposed to LKB Ultrofilm. Autoradiographic images of [125I]-sar1,ile8-ANG II binding revealed that structures situated within the anterior wall of the third ventricle, i.e. the lamina terminalis, were heavily labeled; including the subfornical organ, median preoptic nucleus and organum vasculosum laminae terminalis. These results show the utility of [125I]-sar1,ile8-ANG II as a probe to study brain ANG II receptors and provides pharmacological evidence for the rostral third ventricle as a possible site for central ANG II actions.

Autoradiographic localization of [125I]-angiotensin II binding sites in the rat adrenal gland.

To gain greater insight into sites of action of circulating angiotensin II (Ang II) within the adrenal, we have localized the [125I]-Ang II binding site using in vitro autoradiography. Autoradiograms were generated either by apposition of isotope-sensitive film or with emulsion-coated coverslips to slide-mounted adrenal sections labeled in vitro with 1.0 nM [125I]-Ang II. Analysis of the autoradiograms showed that Ang II binding sites were concentrated in a thin band in the outer cortex (over the cells of the zona glomerulosa) and in the adrenal medulla, which at higher power was seen as dense patches. Few sites were evident in the inner cortex. The existence of Ang II binding sites in the adrenal medulla was confirmed by conventional homogenate binding techniques which revealed a single class of high affinity Ang II binding site (Kd = 0.7nM, Bmax = 168.7 fmol/mg). These results suggest that the adrenal medulla may be a target for direct receptor-mediated actions of Ang II.

Effect of angiotensin II on some behavioral and neurochemical measures of the central serotonine system.

The effects of angiotensin II (AII) given intracerebroventricularly (icv.) on behaviors controlled by central serotonine (5-HT) and on some neurochemical measures of central 5-HT function have been investigated in rats. AII (0.1 and 0.5 micrograms) increased the 5-HT (20 micrograms, icv.) and L-tryptophan (200 mg/kg, ip.) induced hyposensitivity to painful electric stimuli delivered to the animals feet. Also AII (0.5 micrograms) intensified yawning, a 5-HT dependent behavior. This effect was decreased or abolished, respectively, by mianserin (3 mg/kg, i.p.) or cyproheptadine (1 mg/kg, i.p.), the 5-HT receptors blockers. AII, however, influenced neither the slight hyposensitivity of rats to electric current caused by 5-hydroxytryptophane (5-HTP, 12.5 and 25 mg/kg, ip.) nor the number of 'Wet-Dog' shakes evoked by 5-HTP (100 mg/kg, i.p.). Also, the peptide did change the rate of 5-HTP accumulation in brain measured after pretreatment of the animals with L-tryptophan (200 and 500 mg/kg, i.p.) preceded by the inhibition of central aromatic amino acid decarboxylase. In vitro AII (10(-5) - 10(-9) mol/l) did not affect release and only slightly increased uptake of 3H-5-HT by blood platelets. The data indicate that AII stimulates central 5-HT neurotransmission and that this action does not result from the peptide interference with the synthesis, release and uptake of 5-HT.

A dual function X-ray cassette holder.

A new X-ray cassette holder is described which not only facilitates the taking of X-ray films, particularly lateral views, but also stabilizes the part being X-rayed during exposure of the film.

Some pharmacological and biochemical effects of fibrinopeptides A and B in the circulatory system of rats.

Human fibrinopeptides A and B (FAB) increased the arterial blood pressure, accelerated the heart rate and elevated permeability of capillaries, produced a vasodilatory effect, evoked positive chronotropic and inotropic action on the isolated heart and did not affect the coronary flow. They lowered the content of glycogen in the heart muscle. They did not affect the concentration of glucose and elevated the content of lactic acid and free fatty acids (FFA) in the blood. As FAB are present in large quantities in the blood during disseminated intravascular coagulation, they may play an essential role in pathology of the circulatory system of mammals.