Immunoexpression of HPV 16/18 E6 and E7 oncoproteins in high-grade cervical squamous intraepithelial lesions in HIV-positive women.

The aim of this study was to assess the immunoexpression of human papillomavirus genotypes 16 and 18 (E6 and E7) oncoproteins in cervical high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive women. These results were also compared to the persistence and/or recurrence of lesions after loop electrosurgical excision procedure. Cervical samples from 158 patients were divided into three groups according to the presence or absence of HSIL in women who were or were not HIV-positive. By using the tissue microarray technique, immunohistochemistry was performed to analyze the expression of HPV 16/18 E6 and E7 oncoproteins. Cervical samples from 95 HIV-positive women and 63 HIV-negative women were studied. A statistically significant difference was found in the immunoexpression of E6 and E7 oncoproteins in samples from HIV-positive women with HSIL and that of women with non-neoplastic tissue (P < 0.001). There was also a statistically significant correlation between the immunoexpression of E6 (P = 0.012) and E7 (P < 0.001) oncoproteins in lesion persistence among HIV-positive women. Within the limitations of this study, the immunoexpression of HPV 16/18 E6 and E7 oncoproteins may have prognostic value regarding lesion persistence in HIV-positive women.

Small cell carcinoma of the ovary-hypercalcemic type (SCCOHT): A review of 47 cases.

OBJECTIVE: Small cell carcinoma of the ovary-hypercalcemic type (SCCOHT) is a rare disease with a poor prognosis. SCCOHT has recently been shown to be associated with SMARCA4 gene mutations as well as molecular and genetic similarities to malignant rhabdoid tumors (MRT). The objective of our study is to describe the clinical characteristics, treatment modalities and outcomes of 47 patients with SCCOHT. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of 47 patients with SCCOHT evaluated at MD Anderson Cancer Center between 1990 and 2014. Medical records were reviewed for demographic information, pathologic findings, treatment regimens and outcomes. RESULTS: Median age at diagnosis was 30 years (range 5-46). All patients underwent surgery with unilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (USO) performed in 26 patients (55%), and hysterectomy with bilateral salpingooophorectomy (BSO) in 21 patients (45%). Sixteen patients (34.0%) had stage I disease, six (12.8%) stage II, 23 (48.9%) stage III, and two patients (4.3%) had stage IV disease. Information on adjuvant treatment was available for 43 patients: 83.3% received chemotherapy alone, 9.5% chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy, 2.4% chemoradiation, and 4.8% did not receive any adjuvant therapy. Median follow-up was 13.2 months (range, 0.1 to 210.7) with a median overall survival of 14.9 months. Multi-agent chemotherapy and radiotherapy were associated with a better prognosis. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that aggressive therapy including multi-agent chemotherapy and possibly radiotherapy may extend survival. Further study is needed to improve outcomes in these patients including the adoption of systemic therapies used in MRT as well as the development of novel agents targeting specific mutations.

Early inflammatory response of young rabbits attending natural resistance to calicivirus (RHDV) infection.

Young rabbits (i.e. up to 4 weeks of age) are naturally resistant to infection by rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV), the same calicivirus that kills more than 90% of adult rabbits in 3 days or less. To characterize this fascinating model of age-related natural resistance to viral infection, we have studied the kinetics (from 6h up to 7 days) of cytokines and of leukocyte subpopulations in the liver (the target organ for calicivirus replication) and spleen (host systemic response) of RHDV infected young rabbits. Infection was associated with early (6h) elevation of proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1, IFN-α, IFN-γ, IL-6, IL-8). We found that all three major leukocyte subpopulations (macrophages, B and T lymphocytes) were increased in the liver 48h after the RHDV inoculation. At 7 days of infection, B and T lymphocytes were still elevated in the liver of the rabbits. In the spleen, both macrophages and B lymphocytes (but not T cells) were also enhanced. At 7 days, anti-RHDV specific antibodies were present in sera of all young rabbits infected by the virus. We conclude that natural resistance of young rabbits to RHDV infection is associated with a rapid and effective inflammatory response by the liver, with few hepatocytes being infected, and also with a sustained elevation in local and systemic B and T cells.

Focal malignant liver lesions: diagnosis by dynamic incremental CT, early phase.

The purpose of our study was to evaluate the accuracy of dynamic incremental bolus-enhanced conventional CT (DICT) with intravenous contrast administration, early phase, in the diagnosis of malignancy of focal liver lesions. A total of 122 lesions were selected in 74 patients considering the following criteria: lesion diameter 10 mm or more, number of lesions less than six per study, except in multiple angiomatosis and the existence of a valid criteria of definitive diagnosis. Lesions were categorized into seven levels of diagnostic confidence of malignancy compared with the definitive diagnosis for acquisition of a receiver-operator-characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and to determine the sensitivity and specificity of the technique. Forty-six and 70 lesions were correctly diagnosed as malignant and benign, respectively; there were 2 false-positive and 4 false-negative diagnoses of malignancy and the sensitivity and specificity obtained were 92 and 97%. The DICT early phase was confirmed as a highly accurate method in the characterization and diagnosis of malignancy of focal liver lesions, requiring an optimal technical performance and judicious analysis of existing semiological data.

[Least squares fitting of a beta distribution to age-specific fertility rates]. / Ajuste, por minimos quadrados, de uma distribuicao beta as taxas de fecundidade por idade

"The paper shows at first that using the method of moments to estimate the parameters of a Beta function to fit age specific fertility rates is inadequate. A solution by means of the least squares method is proposed, under the constraint that the implied Total Fertility Rate should equal the observed value." This "iterative solution by means of the Newton-Raphson method turns out to be extremely efficient, converging in only a few steps. In addition, some characteristics of the Beta distribution related to the problem are obtained. The results, applied to 1980 data from the State of Sao Paulo [Brazil], clearly show a better global fit, especially in the area around the peak of the fertility curve." (summary in ENG)

The modified - Spillman model for asymptotic regression.

In order to describe teen-agers height growth a new asymptotic model called Spillman modified model is presented. The model introduces a non-linear enlargement of independent variable in the Spillman model and fits excellently to the observed data in comparison with the Spillman, logistic, Gompertz, and log-inverse models.