Construction of a river buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) whole-genome radiation hybrid panel and preliminary RH mapping of chromosomes 3 and 10.

The buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) is a source of milk and meat, and also serves as a draft animal. In this study, a 5000-rad whole-genome radiation hybrid (RH) panel for river buffalo was constructed and used to build preliminary RH maps for BBU3 and BBU10 chromosomes. The preliminary maps contain 66 markers, including coding genes, cattle expressed sequence tags (ESTs) and microsatellite loci. The RH maps presented here are the starting point for mapping additional loci that will allow detailed comparative maps between buffalo, cattle and other species whose genomes may be mapped in the future. A large quantity of DNA has been prepared from the cell lines forming the river buffalo RH panel and will be made publicly available to the international community both for the study of chromosome evolution and for the improvement of traits important to the role of buffalo in animal agriculture.

Vacuum-assisted stereotactic breast biopsy: histologic underestimation of malignant lesions.

HYPOTHESIS: The histopathologic correlation between stereotactic core needle biopsy and subsequent surgical excision of mammographically detected nonpalpable breast abnormalities is improved with a larger-core (11-gauge) device. DESIGN: Retrospective medical record and histopathologic review. SETTING: University-based academic practice setting. PATIENTS: Two hundred one patients who underwent surgical excision of mammographic abnormalities that had undergone biopsy with an 11-gauge vacuum-assisted stereotactic core biopsy device. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Correlation between stereotactic biopsy histologic results and the histologic results of subsequent surgical specimens. RESULTS: Results of stereotactic biopsy performed on 851 patients revealed atypical hyperplasia in 46 lesions, ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) in 89 lesions, and invasive cancer in 73 mammographic abnormalities. Subsequent surgical excision of the 46 atypical lesions revealed 2 cases of DCIS (4.3%) and 4 cases of invasive carcinoma (8.7%). Lesions diagnosed as DCIS on stereotactic biopsy proved to be invasive carcinoma in 10 (11.2%) of 89 patients on subsequent excision. Stereotactic biopsy completely removed 21 (23.6%) of 89 DCIS lesions and 20 (27.4%) of 73 invasive carcinomas. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, 11-gauge vacuum-assisted core breast biopsy accurately predicts the degree of disease in the majority of malignant lesions; however, understaging still occurs in 11% to 13% of lesions showing atypical hyperplasia or DCIS.

Development and initial characterization of a Bos taurus x B. gaurus interspecific hybrid backcross panel.

A panel of 40 Bos taurus x B. gaurus (gaur) interspecific hybrid backcross off spring was constructed for use as a tool in refining and improving the resolution of the bovine gene map. The gaur (2n = 58) is characterized karyotypically by a 2; 28 Robertsonian translocation with respect to the cattle karyotype (2n = 60). This translocation was used as a centromeric marker to directionally orient linkage maps of B. taurus (BTA) chromosomes 2 and 28. The initial linkage analysis of this panel consisted primarily of genes or DNA segments containing microsatellites previously placed on bovine maps. Two new markers, NRAMP1 and ACTA1, were added to the linkage maps on BTA2 and BTA28, respectively. Additionally, fibroblast cultures from fetal tissue of each offspring were analyzed cytogenetically at early passages. In all cases, the translocation chromosome was inherited in a balanced condition, and only one cell line possessed a chromosome abnormality. This aberrant line was determined to be trisomic, 61,XXX.

Treatment of patients with acute myocardial infarction at a Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital and a non-VA hospital.

Comparisons of care in Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals with care in non-VA hospitals are needed to define the future role of the VA health care system. Therefore, the authors conducted a retrospective cohort study of 385 patients who had acute myocardial infarctions and were admitted to a private nonprofit teaching hospital and to a university-affiliated VA hospital, which were staffed by attending and resident physicians from a single medicine department. Data were obtained from hospital databases and from patient records. The authors found that the 206 VA patients, compared with the 179 non-VA patients, were younger and more likely to be men. The VA patients also had higher comorbidity but lower admission severity of illness, according to previously validated measures. Although the VA patients were less likely than the non-VA patients to receive thrombolytic therapy (6% vs 20%, respectively; p < 0.05), they were more likely to undergo coronary angiography (67% vs 57%; p < 0.05) and echocardiography or gated blood pool scanning (54% vs 44%; p < 0.05) during hospitalization. Finally, the VA and the non-VA patients had similar rates of in-hospital mortality in univariate analysis (9% vs 11%, respectively; p = 0.4) and in multivariate analysis, adjusting for covariates. These results suggest that the VA and the non-VA patients who had acute myocardial infarction had similar outcomes and generally received care of similar qualities. Future studies are needed to explore the generalizability of these findings and to provide the data needed to adequately define the VA's future role in American health care.