bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Analysis of EGFR, HER2, and TOP2A gene status and chromosomal polysomy in gastric adenocarcinoma from Chinese patients
Authors: Liang Zhiyong , Zeng Xuan , Gao Jie , Wu Shafei , Wang Peng , Shi Xiaohua , Zhang Jing , Liu Tonghua 
Published: December 2008

Abstract

Background
The EGFR and HER2 genes are located on chromosomes 7 and 17, respectively. They are therapeutic targets in some tumors. The TOP2A gene, which is located near HER2 on chromosome 17, is the target of many chemotherapeutic agents, and co-amplification of HER2 and TOP2A has been described in several tumor types. Herein, we investigated the gene status of EGFR, HER2, and TOP2A in Chinese gastric carcinoma patients. We determined the rate of polysomy for chromosomes 7 and 17, and we attempted to clarify the relationship between EGFR, HER2, and TOP2A gene copy number and increased expression of their encoded proteins. Furthermore, we tried to address the relationship between alterations in EGFR, HER2, and TOP2A and chromosome polysomy.

Methods
One hundred cases of formalin fixed and paraffin embedded tumor tissues from Chinese gastric carcinoma patients were investigated by immunohistochemistry and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) methods.

Results
Forty-two percent of the cases showed EGFR overexpression; 16% showed EGFR FISH positive; 6% showed HER2 overexpression; and 11% showed HER2 gene amplification, including all six HER2 overexpression cases. TOP2A nuclear staining (nuclear index, NI) was determined in all 100 tumors: NI values ranged from 0.5 – 90%. Three percent of the tumors showed TOP2A gene amplification, which were all accompanied by HER2 gene amplification. Nineteen percent of the tumors showed chromosome 7 polysomy, and 16% showed chromosome 17 polysomy. Chromosome 7 polysomy correlated significantly with EGFR FISH-positivity, but was not associated with EGFR overexpression. HER2 overexpression associated significantly with HER2 gene amplification. TOP2A gene amplification was significantly associated with HER2 gene amplification. No relationship was found between alterations in the EGFR, HER2, and TOP2A genes and clinicopathologic variables of gastric carcinoma.

Conclusion
The data from our study suggest that chromosome 7 polysomy may be responsible for increased EGFR gene copy number in gastric carcinomas, and that HER2 gene amplification may be the major reason for HER2 protein overexpression. A combined investigation of the gene status of EGFR, HER2, and TOP2A should facilitate the identification of a target therapeutic regimen for gastric carcinoma patients.
Adherence to highly active antiretroviral therapy and its correlates among HIV infected pediatric patients in Ethiopia
Authors: Biadgilign Sibhatu , Deribew Amare , Amberbir Alemayehu , Deribe Kebede 
Published: December 2008

Abstract

Background
The introduction of combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) has resulted in striking reductions in HIV-related mortality. Despite increased availability of ART, children remain a neglected population. This may be due to concerns that failure to adhere appears to be related to continued viral replication, treatment failure and the emergence of drug-resistant strains of HIV. This study determines the rates and factors associated with adherence to Antiretroviral (ARV) Drug therapy in HIV-infected children who were receiving Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 2008.

Methods
A cross-sectional study was conducted in five hospitals in Addis Ababa from February 18 – April 28, 2008. The study population entailed parents/caretaker and index children who were following ART in the health facilities. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection.

Results
A total of 390 children respondents were included in the study with a response rate of 91%. The majority, equaling 205 (52.6%) of the children, were greater than 9 years of age. Fifty five percent of the children were girls. A total of 339 children (86.9%) as reported by caregivers were adherent to antiretroviral drugs for the past 7 days before the interview. Numerous variables were found to be significantly associated with adherence: children whose parents did not pay a fee for treatment [OR = 0.39 (95%CI: 0.16, 0.92)], children who had ever received any nutritional support from the clinic [OR = 0.34 (95%CI: 0.14, 0.79)] were less likely to adhere. Whereas children who took co-trimoxazole medication/syrup besides ARVs [OR = 3.65 (95%CI: 1.24, 10.74)], children who did not know their sero-status [OR = 2.53 (95%CI: 1.24, 5.19)] and children who were not aware of their caregiver's health problem [OR = 2.45 (95%CI: 1.25, 4.81)] were more likely to adhere than their counterparts.

Conclusion
Adherence to HAART in children in Addis Ababa was higher than other similar setups. However, there are still significant numbers of children who are non-adherent to HAART.
Mosquito larvicidal and antimicrobial activity of protein of Solanum villosum leaves
Authors: Chowdhury Nandita , Laskar Subrata , Chandra Goutam 
Published: December 2008

Abstract

Background
Mosquitoes are associated with the transmission of malaria, dengue, Japanese encephalitis, filariasis and other viral diseases throughout the globe, apart from being a nuisance pest. Biological control alone or as a part of integrated vector management stands to be a better alternative to the chemical controls aimed against pest mosquitoes. At the same time it is necessary to control bacteria by synthetic or natural means (plant products). Hence the present study was designed to screen the effect of mosquito larvicidal and antimicrobial activitiy of protein isolated from matured leaves of Solanum villosum against mosquito immatures and some pathogenic bacteria.

Methods
Aqueous solvent extract of fresh mature leaves of S. villosum was tested against 3rd instar larvae of Anopheles stephensi, Culex quinquefasciatus and Stegomyia aegypti mosquitoes and against four pathogenic bacteria. The protein fraction was isolated and tested for mosquitocidal and antibacterial activities. Amino acid analysis was performed on isolated protein using PICO.TAG amino acid system. SDS-PAGE was also done to detect the bands of amino acid on the basis of their molecular weights.

Results
Proteins isolated from mature leaves of S. villosum were found to have larvicidal and antimicrobial properties. Analysis of the isolated protein identified fifteen amino acids of which eight were essential amino acids. SDS-PAGE detected seven bands corresponding to different molecular weights in the range of 69–109 KDa.

Conclusion
Proteins of mature leaves of S. villosum exhibited moderate larvicidal and antimicrobial activities. The study provides considerable scope in exploiting local indigenous resources for isolation of antimicrobial and mosquito larvicidal proteins.
Pericardial effusion – an unusual manifestation of salmonellosis: a case report
Authors: Sahu Manisa , Sujatha Sistla , DR Chaya , Parija Subhash Chandra 
Published: December 2008

AbstractBackgroundNontyphoidal salmonellae are important food-borne pathogens that are usually associated with self-limiting gastroenteritis. Occurrence of extra-intestinal non-typhoidal salmonellosis in humans is increasing in many developing countries. The risk of extra-intestinal nontyphoidal salmonellosis is higher in patients with impaired cell mediated immunity, lympho-proliferative disorders and IL-12 deficiencies. Pericardial involvement is one of the rare manifestations accounting for <2% cases but the mortality is very high.Case presentationA 23 year old male was admitted in the medicine ward with complaints of fever, chest pain with non-productive cough, not associated with hemoptysis for past 3 weeks. He was a known case of Hodgkin's lymphoma and was treated with complete course of chemotherapy. Cardiovascular examination, chest X-ray and ECG findings suggested this to be a case of pericardial effusion. The causative agent of this purulent pericardial effusion was identified as Group B Salmonella following isolation from the pericardial fluid.
Enterobius Vermicularis infection of the appendix as a cause of acute appendicitis in a Greek adolescent: a case report
Authors: Efraimidou Eleni , Gatopoulou Anthia , Stamos Charilaos , Lirantzopoulos Nikolaos , Kouklakis George 
Published: December 2008

Abstract
Gastrointestinal infection due to Enterobius vermicularis occurs worldwide and is considered to be the most common helminth infection. The simple presence of E. vermicularis in the appendix usually produces symptoms of acute appendicitis. The association of this parasitic infestation with acute appendicitis varies from 0.2%–41.8% worldwide. We present a case of a 15 year old female with enterobiasis of appendix presented with clinical features of acute appendicitis. The appendix was surgically removed and the specimen was pathologically diagnosed to contain of E. vermicularis in non-inflamed and histologically normal appendix. Even if this condition is not uncommon in the Greek population, to the best of our knowledge this is the first report presented in the English literature.
Good Response to Gefitinib in Lung Adenocarcinoma of Complex Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) Mutations with the Classical Mutation Pattern
Authors: Wu Shang-Gin , Chang Yih-Leong , Hsu Ya-Chieh , Wu Jenn-Yu , Yang Chih-Hsin , Yu Chong-Jen , Tsai Meng-Feng , Shih Jin-Yuan , Yang Pan-Chyr 
Published: December 2008

AbstractBackground.Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations are usually detected in lung adenocarcinoma and are associated with a response to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). However, not all EGFR mutations have similarly high clinical response rates. This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics and response to gefitinib in lung adenocarcinoma patients with complex EGFR mutations.Materials and Methods.Three hundred thirty-nine specimens of lung adenocarcinoma from patients treated with gefitinib were collected for EGFR sequencing. Nineteen patients with complex EGFR mutations were enrolled for the study after excluding three patients with the EGFR T790M mutation, which confers resistance to gefitinib.Results.Among the 19 patients, 12 had complex mutations with the classical mutation pattern (L858R or deletion in exon 19). When compared with those without the classical mutation pattern, patients with this mutation pattern had a higher response rate (83% versus 29%), longer progression-free survival duration (median, 12.7 months versus 4.9 months), and longer overall survival time (median, 24.7 months versus 12.3 months) after gefitinib treatment.Comparing patients harboring complex EGFR mutations with a classical mutation pattern with those harboring single classical mutations, there were no statistical differences in the response rate (83% versus 73%), progression-free survival time (median, 12.7 months versus 8.1 months,) or overall survival time (median, 24.7 months versus 16.4 months).Conclusion.Patients with complex EGFR mutations with the classical mutation pattern had the same response rate, progression-free survival duration, and overall survival time as those with single classical mutations. EGFR TKIs may be the choice of treatment for this type of lung adenocarcinoma.
Persistence, Up to 18 Months of Follow-Up, of Epirubicin-Induced Myocardial Dysfunction Detected Early by Serial Tissue Doppler Echocardiography: Correlation with Inflammatory and Oxidative Stress Markers
Authors: Mantovani Giovanni , Madeddu Clelia , Cadeddu Christian , Dessì Mariele , Piras Alessandra , Massa Elena , Serpe Roberto , Antoni Giorgia , Mercuro Giuseppe 
Published: December 2008

Abstract
A phase II, open, nonrandomized trial was carried out in a group of epirubicin-treated cancer patients with the aim of detecting early preclinical changes that are predictive of the risk for heart failure. Thirty-one patients (male/female ratio, 8/23; mean age ± standard deviation, 59 ± 14 years) with tumors at different sites and scheduled to be treated with an epirubicin-based chemotherapy regimen, were enrolled. We prospectively evaluated the acute (1 week after) and late (3, 6, 12, and 18 months of follow-up) effects of epirubicin administration. A significant impairment in systolic left ventricular (LV) function was observed at a cumulative epirubicin dose of 200 mg/m2. This was shown by a reduction in the strain rate (SR) peak in comparison with baseline and persisted throughout the treatment and follow-up, up to 18 months; strain (Σ) remained unchanged. The Sm wave showed a progressive reduction that became significant only at the 18-month follow-up. On TDI the Em/Am ratio declined at the 200-mg/m2 cumulative epirubicin dose versus baseline and persisted throughout the treatment and up to the 18-month follow-up. On conventional echocardiography the E/A ratio declined significantly only at the 300-mg/m2 cumulative epirubicin dose. Interleukin (IL)-6, soluble IL-6 receptor, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) increased significantly at the 200-mg/m2 dose, and IL-6 was persistently high at the 300- and 400-mg/m2 doses, returning to within baseline values during follow-up. ROS, after the peak reached at the 200-mg/m2 dose, returned to within baseline values. A significant inverse correlation between ΔSR and the increase in both IL-6 and ROS was observed. A multiple regression analysis showed that both the IL-6 and ROS variables were independent and strongly predictive of ΔSR. The clinical meaningfulness of our findings warrants further investigations on a larger number of patients for a longer period of follow-up.
THE CONVERSION OF PREGNENOLONE TO A MORE ACTIVE PROGESTATIONAL SUBSTANCE BY INCUBATION WITH ENDOCRINE TISSUES IN VITRO
Authors: NISSIM J. A. , ROBSON J. M. 
Published: December 2008

Incubation of pregnenolone with minced beef corpora lutea resulted in conversion of the steroid to a more active progestational substance as shown by biological assay on the endometrium of the spayed rabbit. Control studies with non-incubated pregnenolone and corpus luteum incubated without steroid, injected separately and in combination, all yielded negative results.
To exclude bacterial action, experiments were repeated under sterile conditions, but without diminution in conversion activity.
Negative results were obtained when pregnenolone was incubated with spleen, liver or ovaries. The incubation of this steroid with beef adrenal and human placenta, however, resulted in active conversion.
It is noteworthy that the adrenal appears to be even more active in the conversion of pregnenolone than the corpus luteum. The association exhibited by the adrenal gland of a lower progesterone content and greater conversion activity, as compared with the corpus luteum, points to progesterone as a likely intermediate substance in the synthesis of the adrenal corticoids.
THE EFFECT OF FIGHTING ON THE ADRENALS, THYMUS AND SPLEEN OF THE VOLE (MICROTUS AGRESTIS)
Authors: CLARKE J. R. 
Published: December 2008

1. An attempt has been made to put Chitty's hypothesis, which explains population cycles in the vole (Microtus agrestis) [Chitty, 1952], to an experimental test by studying the effect of fighting on these animals.
2. When strange voles are added to a cage containing a pair of 'resident' voles, the strangers are viciously attacked by the residents. As a result of these attacks there is a pronounced increase in the weight of the adrenal glands and the spleen, and a decrease in the weight of the thymus, of the strange voles. The observed weight changes in these organs were statistically significant.
3. The weight changes in the adrenals and in the thymus of the strange voles can be explained by assuming a disturbance of the adreno-pituitary system of the animals concerned. Interpretation of the increased weight of the spleen is less straightforward, but the enlargement may indicate that the weakened condition of the strange voles enabled a pathogenic organism to become invasive.
THE CLEARANCE OF INJECTED VASOPRESSIN FROM THE CIRCULATION AND ITS FATE IN THE BODY
Authors: GINSBURG M. , HELLER H. 
Published: December 2008

1. The decrease of antidiuretic potency in the blood was studied in anaesthetized rats after the intravenous injection of vasopressin (100 mU/100 g) and was shown to follow an exponential course.
2. Removal of the kidneys retarded the rate of disappearance of injected vasopressin from the circulation, and so did tying of the coeliac and mesenteric arteries.
3. In rats in which the kidneys had been removed and the coeliac and mesenteric arteries had been tied, the disappearance of vasopressin was almost entirely prevented.
4. It was concluded that under the experimental conditions used, the extraction of vasopressin was almost complete after the passage of blood through the kidneys and the splanchnic vascular bed.
5. The kidneys accounted for about 50 % of the vasopressin cleared, and the splanchnic vascular area for at least 40 %.
6. The antidiuretic activity found in the urine after the intravenous injection of vasopressin into unanaesthetized rats was equivalent to 6·7 % of the dose administered.
THE ESTIMATION OF ACTH IN HUMAN PITUITARY TISSUE
Authors: TAYLOR N. R. W. , LORAINE J. A. , ROBERTSON H. A. 
Published: December 2008

1. The ACTH concentration has been estimated in lyophilized pituitary tissue from five adults, seven infants and eight foetuses. Results are expressed in terms of the international standard. Adult pituitaries contain more ACTH than infantile glands, and infantile glands more than foetal ones.
2. ACTH activity was detected in foetal pituitaries at a period of gestation as early as 16 weeks.
3. The accuracy of the Sayers test was considerably improved when the time interval between hypophysectomy and assay was increased from 24 to 48 hr.
THE URINARY EXCRETION OF OESTROGENS AND PREGNANEDIOL AT THE END OF PREGNANCY, DURING LABOUR AND DURING THE EARLY PUERPERIUM
Authors: BRADSHAW T. E. T. , JESSOP W. J. E. 
Published: December 2008

1. The excretion levels of oestrogen and pregnanediol have been followed in fourteen women during the last 3 weeks of pregnancy, during labour and during the first few days of the puerperium. Particular attention was paid to the period immediately before and after the onset of labour.
2. The amounts excreted during the last 3 weeks of pregnancy were high in all cases, but considerable variations were observed from day to day. During labour the values were usually lower, but there were frequent variations here also. The excretion fell to a low level within a few days following delivery.
3. There was a general tendency for the output of oestriol and total oestrogen to fall during the last 2 days before the onset of labour, and this fall was shown statistically to be highly significant on the day before onset and less significant on the previous day. However, in almost every case similar changes had been observed at earlier stages of pregnancy. In one woman the output was actually rising slightly when labour began.
4. The excretion of pregnanediol during the last 2 days of pregnancy was extremely variable, and no relationship between it and the onset of labour could be demonstrated.
5. The results obtained by other workers are discussed.
THE TOTAL AND DIFFERENTIAL CONCENTRATION OF RADIO-IODINE IN THYROID TISSUE AND ITS VARIATION WITH TIME, AS STUDIED BY AUTO-RADIOGRAPHY
Authors: NANDI S. , PODDAR R. K. , PYNE C. K. 
Published: December 2008

SUMMARY
1. Autoradiographs were made from thin thyroid sections of rats injected intraperitoneally with 20μc. 131I and killed at periods varying from 15 min to 16 days.
2. The concentrations of 131I in the thyroid sections were first deduced from G.M. counter measurements and then correlated with the average grain densities of their autoradiographs. From the observed grain densities in the colloid and cellular spaces of the thyroid follicles, the differential concentration of 131I in these sites was determined.
3. Each mm3 of thyroid tissue was found to fix about 0·1μc. in 15 min, 0·25μc. in 3 hr and 0·8μc. in 24 hr, out of the injected dose of 20μc. of 131I. The biological half-life of 131I in the thyroid was found to be 5·4 days.
4. From the knowledge of the total and differential concentrations of 131I, the partial volume of the colloid was calculated to be 66% of the whole thyroid volume, the rest being occupied by the cellular spaces. The latter was found to retain about half of the total 131I of the thyroid up to 15 min after the injection. But after 3 hr most of the 131I appeared in the colloid.
THE DEVELOPMENT WITH AGE OF HYPOTHALAMIC RESTRAINT UPON THE APPETITE OF THE RAT
Authors: KENNEDY G. C. 
Published: December 2008

SUMMARY
During a brief period after birth, while they are kept warm by the mother, young rats employ the major part of the food available to them for growth. Variations in milk supply lead to great differences in weaning weight. The amount of food the rats eat subsequently, and the rate at which they grow, depend upon the weight at weaning, that is, it is roughly exponential. In spite of their large calorie intake, heavy weanlings do not become obese, but their sexual development is markedly accelerated.
Lesions in the ventromedial nuclei of the hypothalamus of the adult rat are immediately followed by a twofold increase in the intake of food and the rapid development of obesity. Weanling rats, which already eat twice as much as adults in relation to their body weight, are unaffected by hypothalamic lesions until the age at which the intake of food normally falls. They resemble in this respect lactating adults, in whom the intake of food, already high, is not raised by hypothalamic lesions. At any age, the maximum calorie intake which has been recorded bears the same relation to body weight, about 45 kcal/100 g/day. The existence of this extra-hypothalamic restraint upon calorie intake probably explains the failure to saturate the capacity for growth, and so to produce obesity, in normal young rats. In a minority of weanling rats, hypothalamic lesions retard somatic growth, and in such rats obesity develops rapidly.
HISTOLOGICAL CHANGES IN THE ANTERIOR PITUITARY GLAND OF RATS INTOXICATED WITH BENZENE
Authors: IANNACCONE A. , CICCHELLA G. 
Published: December 2008

SUMMARY
Changes occurring in the rat anterior pituitary after daily subcutaneous injections of 0·5 ml. benzene/kg body weight for 22 days have been studied using histochemical methods.
The acidophil cells and the 'β' cells exhibit a closer relationship to the blood vessels and a reduction in their cytoplasmic granulation, associated with an increase in the chromidial substance and with enlarged and weakly stained nuclei. The most prominent change discernible in the 'δ' cells is the vesiculation of the cytoplasm, sometimes giving the typical appearance of 'signet-ring' castration cells.
These alterations have been interpreted as indicating an increased secretion of simple protein hormones (especially adrenocorticotrophic hormone) and thyrotrophic hormone by the rat pituitary, and a decreased discharge of follicle stimulating and luteinizing hormone.