ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Cured paediatric-oncology patients frequently present with health problems even years after treatment. Hence long-term follow-up (LTFU) is essential. This analysis tries to identify factors that influence regular LTFU attendance. STUDY POPULATION: Between 1991 and 2010, 2 153 children and adolescents were treated at Muenster University Department of Paediatric Hematology and Oncology (UKM). 1 708 patients with permanent residence in Germany and completed therapy have been included into this analysis. METHODS: Patients were reviewed for the duration and regularity of LTFU at UKM. Prospective analyses with postponed starting-points have been conducted as well as descriptive analyses to validate correlations. Prospective data were evaluated by Kaplan-Meier-Analyses, the analysis of multivariate correlations by Cox Proportional Hazard Model. RESULTS: 2 years after the end of therapy 83% of the patients were still in LTFU. After 5 and 10 years this percentage decreased to 67 and 42%. Patients diagnosed after the year 2000 and younger patients attended LTFU for a longer period (p<0,005). There were no significant gender differences. Statutory insured patients stayed longer in LTFU than private health insured (p<0,005). The multivariate examination showed only small differences between systemic diseases and solid tumours. The residential distance had no significant influence. CONCLUSIONS: Younger, more recently treated and statutory insured patients showed a significantly longer LTFU.
Subject(s)
Long-Term Care , Neoplasms/complications , Neoplasms/therapy , Patient Compliance , Adolescent , Adult , Age Factors , Cause of Death , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Germany , Health Services Accessibility , Hospitals, University , Humans , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Kaplan-Meier Estimate , Male , Multivariate Analysis , National Health Programs , Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/complications , Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/mortality , Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/therapy , Neoplasms/mortality , Patient Dropouts/statistics & numerical data , Prospective Studies , Retrospective Studies , Young AdultABSTRACT
Triacylglycerol granules synthesized and accumulated by Rhodococcus opacus and Rhodococcus ruber were isolated by glycerol density gradient centrifugation. Whereas only one type of granule could be isolated from R. opacus, two types of granules with different specific densities were isolated from R. ruber. Both types of R. ruber granules showed a similar content of triacylglycerols and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate- co-3-hydroxyvalerate), but the protein profiles of both types were significantly different. The granules with the lower specific density were colorless; the granules with the higher specific density had a deep orange pigmentation. Solubilization studies revealed three different groups of granule-associated proteins: (1) unspecifically bound proteins, (2) relatively weakly associated proteins, and (3) proteins that resisted solubilization by treatment with 2 M NaCl, 2% (w/v) Triton X-114, 6 M guanidinium hydrochloride, up to 8% (w/v) SDS, and proteolytic digestion. The strong association of proteins of the last group suggested that these may play a specific role in the synthesis or mobilization of storage lipids or in the structure of the granules. The N-terminal amino acid sequences of the most tightly bound proteins were obtained. Proteins of low molecular weight with striking sequence similarity to the ribosomal protein L7 from various actinomycetes were always copurified with the granules.
Subject(s)
Bacterial Proteins/metabolism , Cytoplasmic Granules/metabolism , Inclusion Bodies/metabolism , Polyesters/metabolism , Rhodococcus/metabolism , Triglycerides/metabolism , Amino Acid Sequence , Bacterial Proteins/chemistry , Centrifugation, Density Gradient , Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel , Molecular Sequence Data , Rhodococcus/growth & development , Rhodococcus/ultrastructure , SolubilityABSTRACT
The in vivo effects of sterculic acid methyl ester on triacylglycerol fatty acid composition in the oleaginous, hydrocarbon-degrading bacterium R. opacus strain PD630 was investigated. Sterculic acid, a cyclopropene fatty acid and an inhibitor of the stearoyl-CoA desaturase system, strongly inhibited the synthesis of monoenic fatty acids, of saturated fatty acids with more than 16 carbon atoms and of odd-numbered fatty acids when added to the culture medium. In addition, chemical mutagenesis and the application of the penicillin enrichment technique provided mutants, which were more or less completely impaired in the desaturation of long-chain fatty acids and exhibited in some cases a similar fatty acid composition like the wild-type in the presence of sterculic acid methyl ester. The implications of these findings for fatty acid metabolism in R. opacus strain PD630 are discussed.
