Ewing Sarcoma presenting as a gluteal mass in adult woman: Diagnostic approach and its challenges.

INTRODUCTION: Sarcomas of the Ewing family of tumours are aggressive neoplasms occurring in bone and soft tissue of mostly children and young adults. It usually affects male more than female with peak incidence 10 to 15 years of age, and rarely encountered in adults especially in more than 40 years old. It is an aggressive, rare tumour with a tendency toward recurrence after resection and early metastasis. CASE REPORT: We reported a rare case of Ewing Sarcoma in a 62-year-old woman who had an unusual clinical presentation. She had right painless buttock swelling only for a month. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed soft tissue sarcoma originated from right gluteal muscle. The diagnosis of Ewing sarcoma (ES) was made in a limited diagnostic material in an initial tru-cut biopsy, followed by an excision supported by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and Fluorescent In-Situ Hybridization (FISH). DISCUSSION: The purpose of this study is to document ES in an adult woman and its diagnostic challenges in histopathologic perspective.

Extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma mimicking Crohn's colitis.

INTRODUCTION: Extranodal NK/T cell lymphoma is a rare tumour, typically involving the upper aerodigestive tract. Even rarer is primary extranasal disease involving the skin, testis, soft tissue and gastrointestinal tract. CASE REPORT: We report a case of a 46-year-old Chinese male who presented with six months history of abdominal pain, weight loss and rectal bleeding. Diagnostic colonoscopy revealed multiple aphthous ulcers within the ileo-caecal region and distal transverse colon, separated by normal mucosa, mimicking skip lesions of Crohn's colitis. Computer topography (CT) scan of the abdomen showed multiple circumferential thickenings involving predominantly the right colon. A clinical diagnosis of colonic Crohn's disease with possible perforation was made. An extended right hemicolectomy was performed due to uncontrolled rectal bleeding. Histopathology examination of the colon showed infiltration by malignant lymphoid cells associated with necrosis, angiocentricity and angiodestruction. Immunohistochemical studies confirmed T-cell monoclonality, presence of cytotoxic granules and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection. A diagnosis of extranodal NK/T cell lymphoma of the colon was made. DISCUSSION: These findings highlight that colonic NK/T cell lymphoma may clinically mimic other benign inflammatory lesions and should be one of the differential diagnoses in patients presenting with gastrointestinal lesions. The final diagnosis is only possible with appropriate histological and immunohistochemical studies.

Hydrogen from ethanol reforming with aqueous fraction of pine pyrolysis oil with and without chemical looping.

Reforming ethanol ('EtOH') into hydrogen rich syngas using the aqueous fraction from pine bio-oil ('AQ') as a combined source of steam and supplementary organic feed was tested in packed bed with Ni-catalysts 'A' (18wt%/α-Al2O3) and 'B' (25wt%/γ-Al2O3). The catalysts were initially pre-reduced by H2, but this was followed by a few cycles of chemical looping steam reforming, where the catalysts were in turn oxidised in air and auto-reduced by the EtOH/AQ mixture. At 600°C, EtOH/AQ reformed similarly to ethanol for molar steam to carbon ratios (S/C) between 2 and 5 on the H2-reduced catalysts. At S/C of 3.3, 90% of the carbon feed converted on catalyst A to CO2 (58%), CO (30%) and CH4 (2.7%), with 17wt% H2 yield based on dry organic feedstock, equivalent to 78% of the equilibrium value. Catalyst A maintained these outputs for four cycles while B underperformed due to partial reduction.

Reduction of simian-human immunodeficiency virus 89.6P viremia in rhesus monkeys by recombinant modified vaccinia virus Ankara vaccination.

Since cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) are critical for controlling human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) replication in infected individuals, candidate HIV-1 vaccines should elicit virus-specific CTL responses. In this report, we study the immune responses elicited in rhesus monkeys by a recombinant poxvirus vaccine and the degree of protection afforded against a pathogenic simian-human immunodeficiency virus SHIV-89.6P challenge. Immunization with recombinant modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) vectors expressing SIVmac239 gag-pol and HIV-1 89.6 env elicited potent Gag-specific CTL responses but no detectable SHIV-specific neutralizing antibody (NAb) responses. Following intravenous SHIV-89.6P challenge, sham-vaccinated monkeys developed low-frequency CTL responses, low-titer NAb responses, rapid loss of CD4+ T lymphocytes, high-setpoint viral RNA levels, and significant clinical disease progression and death in half of the animals by day 168 postchallenge. In contrast, the recombinant MVA-vaccinated monkeys demonstrated high-frequency secondary CTL responses, high-titer secondary SHIV-89.6-specific NAb responses, rapid emergence of SHIV-89.6P-specific NAb responses, partial preservation of CD4+ T lymphocytes, reduced setpoint viral RNA levels, and no evidence of clinical disease or mortality by day 168 postchallenge. There was a statistically significant correlation between levels of vaccine-elicited CTL responses prior to challenge and the control of viremia following challenge. These results demonstrate that immune responses elicited by live recombinant vectors, although unable to provide sterilizing immunity, can control viremia and prevent disease progression following a highly pathogenic AIDS virus challenge.