Invasive lobular carcinoma of the breast with extracellular mucin: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Invasive lobular carcinoma is the second most common histological type of breast carcinoma, accounting for approximately 5%-15% of all invasive breast cancers. The extracellular mucin secretion is by default a feature of ductal carcinoma. Only four cases of infiltrative lobular carcinoma with extracellular mucin have been report. CASE SUMMARY: A 60 year old female asymptomatic patient with palpable breast mass and architectural distortion by mammography on external upper quadrant of the right breast was diagnosed as invasive lobular carcinoma with extracellular mucin in the resection, confirmed with immunohistochemistry markers. DISCUSSION: Previous report in the literature of four cases of Invasive lobular carcinoma of breast with extracellular mucin, all of them sharing the same histologic features: the presence of extracellular and intracellular mucin with appearance of infiltrates lobular carcinoma with signet ring cells and "Indian files". CONCLUSION: It is important to know that extracellular mucin production is not exclusive of ductal lesions and keep in mind the lobular carcinomas with extracellular mucin as a differential diagnosis.

Bacterial DNA in the diagnosis of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis.

BACKGROUND: Despite inoculation into blood culture bottles, ascitic fluid culture is negative in 50% of cases of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP). AIM: To determine whether 16S rDNA gene detection by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing increases the efficacy of culture in microbiological diagnosis of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis. METHODS: We prospectively included 55 consecutive spontaneous bacterial peritonitis episodes in cirrhotic patients, 20 cirrhotic patients with sterile ascites and 27 patients with neoplasic ascites. Ascitic fluid was inoculated into blood culture bottles at the bedside and tested for bacterial DNA by real-time PCR and sequencing of 16S rDNA gene. RESULTS: Bacterial DNA was detected in 23/25 (92%) culture-positive SBP, 16/30 (53%) culture-negative SBP (P = 0.002 with respect to culture-positive SBP), 12/20 (60%) sterile ascites (P = 0.01 with respect to culture-positive SBP) and 0/27 neoplasic ascites (P < 0.001 with respect to other groups). Sequencing identified to genus or species level 12 culture-positive SBP, six culture-negative SBP and six sterile ascites. In the remaining cases with positive PCR, sequencing did not yield a definitive bacterial identification. CONCLUSIONS: Bacterial DNA was not detected in almost half the culture-negative spontaneous bacterial peritonitis episodes. Methodology used in the present study did not always allow identification of amplified bacterial DNA.

The combined performance of UV light and chlorine during reclaimed water disinfection.

The combined effects of disinfectant agents on the microbiological quality of reclaimed water produced by two full-scale water reclamation plants in Catalonia, Spain, were examined in this work. All the disinfectant treatments tested led to the absence, or near absence, of E. coli in 100 mL samples of water, with log reductions of more than 3 log u. Hypochlorite reduced the bacterial concentrations. However, ultraviolet light was more effective than hypochlorite at reducing the concentrations of bacteriophages, viruses and pathogenic protozoa such as Cryptosporidium spp. We conclude that a combination of these two disinfectant agents is effective in protecting public health, as each agent acts to a different degree against the different groups of microorganisms studied. Further studies should investigate the combined action of disinfectant agents at water reclamation plants with ultraviolet light equipment in more favourable working conditions in order to assess their capacity to inactivate microorganisms.

Occurrence and levels of indicators and selected pathogens in different sludges and biosolids.

AIMS: Determine the occurrence and levels of pathogens and indicators in raw and treated sludges and compare their persistence after two different treatments. METHODS AND RESULTS: Helminth ova, Cryptosporidium spp., Salmonella spp., enteroviruses, and bacterial and viral indicators were determined in raw sludges and biosolids produced after mesophilic and thermophilic treatments. Except Salmonella, all of the parameters were quantified. Helminth ova were found at very low concentrations even in raw sludges. Viable Cryptosporidium oocysts were still present in most samples of treated sludges. Faecal coliforms, spores of sulphite-reducing clostridia (SSRC), and somatic coliphages were the only indicators with values above their detection limits in most of the samples. CONCLUSIONS: Pathogens were still detected in some treated sludge samples. SSRC were the most resistant micro-organisms to treatments and hence may be an indicator for the reduction of protozoan oocysts. Somatic coliphages constitute an alternative as viral indicators due to their detection in sludges before and after treatment. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Because of the persistence of some pathogens after sludge treatments, additional indicators are needed. SSRC and somatic coliphages are good candidates. Easy and inexpensive methods for the determination of these indicators are feasible both in industrialized and developing countries.

Occurrence of Cryptosporidium spp. oocysts in raw and treated sewage and river water in north-eastern Spain.

AIMS: To determine the occurrence and levels of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts in wastewater and surface waters in north-eastern Spain. METHODS AND RESULTS: Samples from five sewage treatment plants were taken monthly and quarterly during 2003. In addition, water was collected monthly from the River Llobregat (NE Spain) during the period from 2001 to 2003. All samples were analysed by filtration on cellulose acetate filters or through Envirocheck using EPA method 1623, followed by immunomagnetic separation and examination by laser scanning cytometry. All raw sewage, secondary effluent and river water samples tested were positive for Cryptosporidium oocysts. Of the tertiary sewage effluents tested, 71% were positive for Cryptosporidium oocysts. The proportion of viable oocysts varied according to the sample. CONCLUSIONS: Two clear maxima were observed during spring and autumn in raw sewage, showing a seasonal distribution and a correlation with the number of cryptosporidiosis cases and rainfall events. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This study provides the first data on the occurrence of Cryptosporidium oocysts in natural waters in north-eastern Spain.

Progesterone-dependent sexual behavior and protein patterns in the ventromedial hypothalamus of the adult female rat.

Controversy exists concerning mechanisms by which progesterone exerts central nervous system effects on behavior. Progesterone may affect behavior by genomic regulation of protein synthesis. Alternatively, it may work through nongenomic mechanisms, consistent with its short latency to act. In the present study, we have examined the hypothesis that progesterone facilitation of sexual behavior is correlated with modification of the synthesis of specific proteins in the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH). Ovariectomized rats were treated with either estradiol (4 mug/kg at 0 and 18 h) or estradiol (at 0 and 18 h) plus progesterone (2 mg/kg at 37 h). (35)S-labeled cysteine and methionine were bilaterally infused into the VMH at 37 h (the time of progesterone administration). Following 4 h of infusion, animals were tested for sexual behavior and sacrificed. Newly synthesized VMH proteins were separated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis followed by fluorography. Analysis of approximately 660 spots/fluorogram in two independent replications indicated that no qualitative or quantitative changes in protein synthesis occurred in response to progesterone. In each replication statistical analysis suggested that the abundance of several proteins may have changed, but no specific proteins were changed in abundance in both replications. Within the range of this technique (10-100 kDa and 4.8-6.7 apparent pI) we found no evidence that progesterone causes alterations in VMH protein synthesis.

Characterization of a protein that appears in the nervous system of the moth Manduca sexta coincident with neuronal death.

Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis was used to locate potential neuronal death-related proteins in the moth Manduca sexta. Protein patterns of ganglia of pharate adult moths (taken prior to adult ecdysis) compared with protein patterns of one-day-old adults revealed reproducible changes in protein patterns. An acidic protein of approximately 40,000 Da was present in all samples from adult moths undergoing neuronal death and essentially absent from pharate adult samples.

Modulation by norepinephrine of neural responses to estradiol.

Pharmacological studies have suggested that neurotransmitter activity impinging on steroid-concentrating cells can affect the steroid receptor system within those cells, modifying behavioral responses to the hormone. The present experiments revealed that the alpha 1-noradrenergic antagonist prazosin, administered to ovariectomized rats at the time of each of two pulses of estradiol, inhibited the appearance of sexual receptivity. Prazosin also substantially reduced the levels of estrogen receptors within hypothalamic cell nuclei following an injection of estradiol. Manipulation of noradrenergic inputs into the hypothalamus by lesioning brain stem norepinephrine cell groups with 6-hydroxydopamine (6OHDA) also reduced the level of nuclear estrogen receptors following an injection of estradiol. Although this effect of 6OHDA lesions was observed in two separate experiments, in other experiments 6OHDA had no effect on estrogen receptors. In some instances, there was a positive correlation between nuclear estrogen receptor levels in the hypothalamus and the levels of norepinephrine. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that brain stem inputs to the hypothalamus are able to modulate neural responses to steroids and specifically that noradrenergic inputs are able to modulate neural responses to estradiol. However, there are additional undiscovered variables that preclude statements of a simple relationship between norepinephrine levels and estrogen receptor levels.

Effect of environmental complexity on size of the superior colliculus.

The present study examined effects of environmental complexity on the size of the superior colliculus, a subcortical structure involved in visuomotor functions. Long-Evans hooded rats raised together in a complex environment for 48 weeks were compared with their littermates housed in individual cages. The depth and area of the superficial gray layer of the superior colliculus were about 5-6% greater in the group from the complex environment, while the deeper layers of the superior colliculus showed no significant differences. The magnitude of the differences approached those reported for the neocortex, which has been considered to be distinctive in its morphological responsiveness to differential environmental complexity. The findings also extend previous observations that visual deprivation leads to shrinkage of the superficial gray layer and indicate that the morphology of this subcortical visual area is responsive to varying degrees of environmental stimulation.

[B-image sonography of carotid bifurcation]. / Die B-Bild-Sonographie der Karotisbifurkation.

The main purpose of noninvasive high-resolution B-mode sonography of the extracranial carotid artery is to detect clinically relevant arteriosclerotic lesions. That is the reason why reproducible parameters are needed for the description of normal and pathological echo patterns of the vascular lumen and the vascular wall. From an experimental evaluation of 100 carotid specimens examined with a high resolution real time scanner a list of definitions for sonomorphologic parameters is derived. These parameters refer to the clinical importance of luminal and intramural changes. Because of its high sensitivity for even minimal arteriosclerotic lesions, B-mode sonography is a useful method for clinical and epidemiological studies of extracranial carotid disease.

[Meconium aspiration syndrome. Two cases treated with continuous positive airway pressure (author's transl)]. / Síndrome de la aspiración meconial. Dos casos tratados con presión positiva continua

Two cases of Meconium Aspiration Syndrome successfully treated with CPAP are presented. In both patients the introduction CPAP enhanced arterial oxygenation. The A-a DO2 showed a decrease of 57 and 228 mm Hg respectively. After the introduction of CPAP it was possible to decrease the enviromental oxygen concentration and both patients survived. The possible mechanism by which CPAP improves hypoxia in MAS is discussed.