bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Clinical Value of Alpha‐fetoprotein and Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin as Tumour Markers in Patients with Teratoma of the Testis
Authors: CALMAN F. M. B. , PECKHAM M. J. , McELWAIN T. J. 
Published: February 2009

The results of serial alpha‐fetoprotein (AFP) and HCG estimations in a group of 66 patients with Stage I and Stage II teratoma of the testis are analysed. AFP levels are elevated (above 25 μg/1) in 61% of patients with active tumour and HCG levels are elevated in 30%. When the two markers are estimated together, 75% of patients with clinically evident tumour are found to have one or the other, or both, markers elevated.Markers fall to normal levels with a half‐life of five days when tumour is eradicated, and rise again in five out of 12 relapsed patients. The marker elevation was detected two to four months before metastases could be identified by clinical means.Elevated markers in early‐stage disease do not appear to have any prognostic significance, nor can they be used to predict a group of patients who will later relapse soon after their primary treatment.
Multiple Fetal Antigens in Germ‐cell Tumors
Authors: WAHREN B. 
Published: February 2009

Indirect immunofluorescence (IF) on individual malignant teratoma cell populations demonstrated that 1–60% of them stained with anti‐AFP, 0–16% with anti‐ferritin and 0–40% with anti‐CEA antiserum. The proportion of cells containing each antigen varied in the different tumors. In seminoma or normal testicular tissue these antigens were not found.Raised serum levels of AFP or the ferritin‐like substance were both related to the presence of tumor and furthermore to dissemination of the disease. CEA occurred transiently in serum. HCG levels above normal were obtained in 40% of the patients. AFP, ferritin, CEA and HCG occurred independently. It is therefore concluded that certain germ cell tumors contain subpopulations of cells, differing in the production and release of the antigens studied. The presence of either AFP or ferritin in serum of patients with primary or advanced disease indicated a worse prognosis. In altogether 44 patients with malignant teratomas one or several abnormal serum substances could always be demonstrated.
Clinico‐pathological Aspects of Endodermal Sinus Tumor in Childhood with Reference to PAS‐positive Hyaline Globules observed in Tissue Culture
Authors: TSUCHIDA Y. , KANEKO M. , SAITO S. , ENDO Y. , URANO Y. , OHMI K. , ASAKA T. 
Published: February 2009

During the years 1952 through June, 1977, 64 children with tumor of germ cell origin were seen at the Department of Pediatric Surgery, the University of Tokyo Hospital. There were 39 mature, 7 immature and 18 frankly malignant teratomas. Sixteen cases had histological features of endodermal sinus tumor in pure or mixed form, and all of the last eight patients showed elevated serum AFP concentrations ranging from 92,000 ng/ml to 952 ng/ml. Serum AFP concentration declined almost to zero ng/ml with a half life of about 4 days when surgical removal was complete, whereas AFP decreased only to 100–200 ng/ml with radiation therapy and chemotherapy alone. Serum concentrations of prealbumin, albumin, alpha‐1‐antitrypsin and transferrin were almost within normal ranges.Two endodermal sinus tumors were studied by tissue culture, which demonstrated secretion of diastaseresistant PAS‐positive hyaline globules. PAS‐positive granule is one of the characteristic histologic features of endodermal sinus tumor with demonstrable AFP specific immunofluorescence.
Alpha‐1‐fetoprotein (AFP) and Germ Cell Tumors: Biological and Histological Correlation
Authors: RIMBAUT C. , CAILLAUD J.M. , CAILLOU B. , CARLU C. , RUDANT C. , BUFFE D. 
Published: February 2009

The level of α1FP has been evaluated in the sera of 155 children aged 1 month to 16 years with germ cell tumors. Abnormal α1FP levels were found in 63 cases.Reexamination of histological slides from more than 120 cases, in a double blind study has revealed a close connection between the presence of abnormal α1FP levels in the serum and the presence of vitelline components on the tissue sections: 54 yolk sac tumor out of 60 are α1FP positive (that is 90% and 100% in the acute phase), whatever the site: testis, ovary, vagina, sacrococcygeal, intra‐ or retro‐peritoneal region, mediastinum or intracranium.Immunohistological localization (immuno‐fluorescence and immuno‐peroxydase) was performed in this study.
N‐terminal Amino Acid Sequences and C‐terminal Residues of Rat Alpha‐fetoprotein Electrophoretic Variants, ‘Fast’ and ‘Slow’
Authors: PETERS E. H. , LAI P. C. W. , HAY D. M. , LORSCHEIDER F. L. 
Published: February 2009

Rat alpha‐fetoproteins ‘fast’ (FRAFP) and ‘slow’ (SRAFP) were prepared to homogeneity from amniotic fluid by preparative polyacrylamide disc gel electrophoresis. Automated Edman degradation revealed that both proteins had the same sequence for residues 1–18. Hydrazinolysis yielded glycine and valine as the C‐termini of FRAFP and SRAFP, respectively. SRAFP was refractile to C‐terminal sequence determination with carboxypeptidases A, B and Y under various enzyme/substrate ratios. S‐carboxyamido methylation and subsequent digestion either in the presence or absence of 6M urea yielded no improvements; these methods work on rat serum albumin.Amino terminal sequences of rat AFP show a high degree of similarity (only seven differences, eight base changes) with the N‐terminal sequence of human AFP. There were few sequence similarities between the N‐termini of rat AFP's and rat or bovine serum albumin or pro‐ or preproalbumin. The C‐terminus of SRAFP is identical to human AFP. The degree of homology between AFP and albumin is discussed.
Interactions of Alpha‐fetoprotein and Other Proteins with Concanavalin A
Authors: DAMBUYANT C. , SIZARET P. , MARTEL N. , BORDES M. , BOURGEAUX C. 
Published: February 2009

The chromatography of alpha‐fetoprotein (AFP) containing sera on concanavalin A‐Sepharose 4 B immunoadsorbant (Con A) yields two fractions, one which does and the other which does not bind the Con A. It is thus possible to calculate for various specimens the ratiosMean ratios of three categories of sera whose AFP titres varied between 14,000 and 430,000 IU/ml were the following: eight cord sera, m = 19.1 ± 4.2%; seven primary liver carcinoma sera (PLC), m = 15.9 ± 2.4%; three teratoblastoma sera, m = 37.5 ± 5.5%. The comparison of mean values by the Wilcoxon test indicated that there were statistically significant differences (p<0.05) between cord sera and teratoblastoma sera on the one hand, and between PLC and teratoblastoma sera on the other hand. It was also found that the ratios did not depend upon levels of AFP in sera. Variations of serum glycoproteins such as those reported in cancer patients are unlikely to account for these differences, especially since they are of much smaller magnitude than those achieved in in vitro experiments. Establishing the existence of patterns of heterogeneity of AFP linked to the origin of serum specimens will however require, in order to eliminate possible interferences by other glycoproteins, the use of purified AFPs. Should the existence of such patterns be confirmed, it will be interesting to see if they are related to differences such as those recently reported between fetal and tumour AFP when inhibition of lymphocyte stimulation was used.
The Effect of Alpha‐fetoprotein on the Immune Reponse: Inhibition of the Humoral Response in Adult Mice Antigenically Stimulated with Sheep Red Blood Cells Suspended in Mouse Amniotic Fluid or Alpha‐fetoprotein
Authors: OLINESCU A. , POPESCU D. E. , BABES S. , GANEA D. , DUMITRESCU A. 
Published: February 2009

Adult mice of the inbred A2G strain pretreated for four days in a row with mouse amniotic fluid or alpha‐fetoprotein and subsequently antigenically stimulated by an i.p. inoculation of sheep red blood cells suspended in phosphate buffered saline had an unmodified humoral immune response. The number of direct hemolytic plaque forming cells/106 spleen cells and the serum antibody titre were virtually identical to those of the controls.However, when the antigen was suspended in mouse amniotic fluid or alpha‐fetoprotein and inoculated simultaneously with these proteins, the immune response was depressed.The antigenicity of red blood cells incubated in alpha‐fetoprotein was not modified.
Immunohistological Studies of CEA, AFP and CPALP in Gastric Cancer
Authors: LEE P. K. , MORI T. , SHIMANO T. , MASUZAWA M. , KOSAKI G. 
Published: February 2009

In studying 150 cases of gastric cancer, 93 (62%) were found to be CEA‐positive. Among them, 5 cases had concurrent elevation of serum AFP over 200 ng/ml and appearance of serum CPALP. Further, there were another 2 cases simultaneously positive in serum CPALP. All these 7 cases were of pathologically well‐differentiated adenocarcinoma with liver metastases.Immunohistologically, CEA was observed on the surface of cancer cells as well as in glandular lumens of cancer tissues, forming a centroglandular pattern, while CPALP was detected in cytoplasm of cancer cells generally but absent in glandular lumens, and no formation of centroglandular pattern was observed. In contrast, most of the cancer cells were found AFP‐negative except for some cancer cells with abundant chromatin in nucleus and acidophilic cytoplasm, in which AFP was detected in cytoplasm. Furthermore, AFP was also scarcely observed in cytoplasm of some normal liver transient cells scattered close to metastatic cancer lesions, suggesting that in gastric cancer, occurrences of CEA, AFP and CPALP originate from cancer cells while mild amounts of AFP are also being synthesized in some normal liver transient cells scattered close to metastatic cancer lesions.
Clinical Evaluation of Basic Fetoprotein
Authors: OHKURA H. , MUKOJIMA T. , HATTORI N. , ISHII M. 
Published: February 2009

A new antigen, basic fetoprotein (BFP) found by M. Ishii in human fetus and in some cancer tissue of adult, was quantitated in patients' sera by radioimmunoassay. In 167 of 377 patients (44.3%) with malignant diseases, serum BFP exceeded 100 ng/ml and 87 cases (23.0%) were over 200 ng/ml. In contrast, 49 of 230 (21.3%) with benign diseases exceeded 100 ng/ml and 11 cases (4.8%) were over 200 ng/ml. No normal control exceeded 100 ng/ml.A higher incidence and higher serum‐concentration of BFP were observed in patients with carcinoma of the liver, bile duct, esophagus and kidney, but it was also found in various other malignancies including leukemias and sarcomas. Generally, after a successful operation, BFP fell to normal levels, and with tumor recurrence, BFP levels rose higher particularly with massive metastasis. In the benign group, BFP was higher in patients with acute and chronic active hepatitis.Although BFP has less organ specificity than other fetal substances, and it appears in some benign diseases too, BFP is a new member of the carcinofetal protein family, which may be a useful marker in cancer pathophysiology.
Percutaneous liver biopsy: retrospective study over 15 years comparing 287 inpatients with 428 outpatients
Authors: Weigand Kilian , Weigand Kurt 
Published: February 2009

AbstractBackground and Aim:  Liver histology still represents the gold standard for the assessment of liver inflammation, necrosis, and fibrosis. The least cumbersome way of obtaining liver tissue is percutaneous liver biopsy. The aim of this retrospective study was to compare the complications following liver biopsy in in‐ and outpatients and to evaluate for which patients the benefit from liver biopsy is highest.Methods:  All patients undergoing percutaneous liver biopsy at a teaching hospital between January 1990 and April 2005 were evaluated for indications, complications and impact of histology.Results:  Liver biopsy was performed in 287 inpatients and 428 outpatients with a success rate of 99.4%. The total complication rate was 6.3% in inpatients and 11% in outpatients. Only two major complications, but no deaths occurred. Pain was the main complication, especially in young patients with chronic viral hepatitis. Despite normal alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels advanced liver fibrosis was found in 9.3%, 2.6%, and 5.4% of all patients with HBV‐, HCV infection, and non viral liver diseases, respectively. In 3% of all patients evaluated a previously unrecognized second liver disease was found. In 21.4% of the patients alkaline phosphatase (AP) levels were elevated, and in more than 90% of these patients liver biopsy led to the final diagnosis.Conclusion:  Liver biopsy is safe in in‐ and outpatients. Biopsy is particularly helpful in patients suspected of having liver disease in spite of normal ALT levels or in patients exhibiting unexplained elevated AP levels.
Stephania tetrandra prevents and regresses liver fibrosis induced by carbon tetrachloride in rats
Authors: Chor Josette S Y , Yu Jun , Chan Ka Kui , Go Yin Yin , Sung Joseph J Y 
Published: February 2009

AbstractBackground and Aim:  There is currently no safe and effective treatment for liver fibrosis. We have previously shown that Stephania tetrandra (ST) and Salvia miltiorrhiza (SM) suppress cell proliferation and enhance apoptosis of hepatic stellate cell (HSC) in vitro. In this study, we aimed to investigate the anti‐fibrotic effect of these two herbs in vivo.Methods:  Liver fibrosis was induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) injection in rats for 5 weeks. SM, ST or SM + ST was gavaged on day 1 of CCl4 administration to study the preventive effects of herbs on hepatic fibrosis. In a separate study designed to assess possible fibrosis regression, rats were randomly allocated to be treated with SM, ST or SM + ST when fibrosis was established. Liver injury and collagen content were assessed. HSC activation and apoptosis were determined.Results:  As compared with the CCL4‐only rats, serum ALT was significantly lower in CCl4‐treated rats that received either SM (P < 0.01) or ST (P < 0.01). Administration of ST significantly prevented (P < 0.01) or reversed the hepatic fibrosis (P < 0.01) induced by CCL4. Moreover, rats treated with ST had reduced protein expression of α‐SMA both in prevention (P < 0.05) and in regression (P < 0.01) experiments. The double‐color staining of α‐SMA and TUNEL showed that ST increased HSC apoptosis. However, co‐treatment of SM + ST did not increase the antifibrotic effect of ST.Conclusions:  Stephania tetrandra safely and effectively prevents and reverses hepatic fibrosis through activating HSC apoptosis in rats.
Therapeutic effects of rectal administration of muscovite on experimental colitis in rats
Authors: Chen Yan , Chen Yi , Liu Wei‐li , Zhou Tian‐hua , Cai Jian‐ting , Du Qing , Wang Liang‐jing , Wu Jia‐Guo , Si Jian‐min 
Published: February 2009

AbstractBackground and Aims:  The aim of this study was to investigate whether rectal administration of muscovite can ameliorate colonic inflammation in a rat model of experimental colitis, and its possible mechanism.Methods:  Female Sprague‐Dawley (SD) rats with trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS)‐induced colitis were treated with rectal administration of muscovite or 5‐aminosalicylic acid (5‐ASA) daily for 14 days. The changes in body weight, macroscopic damage and histologic scores were subsequently evaluated. Gene expression of tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α), interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β), mucin2 (MUC2) and trefoil factor 3 (TFF3) in the colonic tissues was assessed by semiquantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) while protein levels of TNF‐α and IL‐1β were detected by ELISA. Mucin2 expression in colonic mucosa was detected by immunohistochemistry. The capacity of muscovite to adsorb cytokines in vitro was determined by the changes in the amount of TNF‐α, IL‐1β secreted by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐stimulated THP‐1 cells and IL‐8 secreted by LPS‐stimulated HT‐29 cells.Results:  Rectal administration of muscovite improved the loss of body weight, macroscopic and histologic scores of TNBS‐induced colitis in a dose‐dependent manner. Trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid‐induced expression of TNF‐α and IL‐1β was reduced by muscovite and 5‐ASA treatment. Reduction of MUC2 expression in colitis rats was reversed by muscovite and 5‐ASA treatment. However, the expression of TFF3 mRNA in colonic mucosa was not affected. In addition, we found muscovite inhibited the expression of TNF‐α, IL‐1β secreted by THP‐1 and IL‐8 secreted by HT‐29 cells in a dose‐dependent manner.Conclusions:  Our study demonstrated for the first time that rectal administration of muscovite can ameliorate colonic inflammation of TNBS‐induced colitis. Further confirmatory studies are needed to prove that muscovite might be a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of ulcerative colitis.
Stochastic and deterministic processes jointly structure tropical arthropod communities
Authors: Farnon Ellwood M. D. , Manica Andrea , Foster William A. 
Published: February 2009

AbstractThe question of whether ecological assemblages are structured by stochastic and deterministic (e.g. interspecific competition) processes is controversial, but it is difficult to design sampling regimes and experiments that can dissect the relative importance of stochastic and deterministic processes in natural assemblages. Using null models, we tested communities of arthropod decomposers in tropical epiphytes for patterns of species co‐occurrence, while controlling for habitat gradients, seasonal variations and ecological succession. When environmental conditions were controlled, our analysis showed that the communities were structured stochastically. However, analysing mixed sets of communities that were deliberately created either from two distinct heights or two successional stages revealed that communities were structured deterministically. These results confirm that habitat gradients and dispersal/competition trade‐offs are capable of generating non‐random patterns within decomposer arthropod communities, but reveal that when such effects are accounted for, species co‐occurrence is fundamentally random.
Effect of PCR amplicon size on assessments of clone library microbial diversity and community structure
Authors: Huber Julie A. , Morrison Hilary G. , Huse Susan M. , Neal Phillip R. , Sogin Mitchell L. , Mark Welch David B. 
Published: February 2009

SummaryPCR‐based surveys of microbial communities commonly use regions of the small‐subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) gene to determine taxonomic membership and estimate total diversity. Here we show that the length of the target amplicon has a significant effect on assessments of microbial richness and community membership. Using operational taxonomic unit (OTU)‐ and taxonomy‐based tools, we compared the V6 hypervariable region of the bacterial SSU rRNA gene of three amplicon libraries of c. 100, 400 and 1000 base pairs (bp) from each of two hydrothermal vent fluid samples. We found that the smallest amplicon libraries contained more unique sequences, higher diversity estimates and a different community structure than the other two libraries from each sample. We hypothesize that a combination of polymerase dissociation, cloning bias and mispriming due to secondary structure accounts for the differences. While this relationship is not linear, it is clear that the smallest amplicon libraries contained more different types of sequences, and accordingly, more diverse members of the community. Because divergent and lower abundant taxa can be more readily detected with smaller amplicons, they may provide better assessments of total community diversity and taxonomic membership than longer amplicons in molecular studies of microbial communities.
ARE RECENT DEFENCES OF THE BRAIN DEATH CONCEPT ADEQUATE?
Authors: JOFFE ARI 
Published: February 2009

ABSTRACTBrain death is accepted in most countries as death. The rationales to explain why brain death is death are surprisingly problematic. The standard rationale that in brain death there has been loss of integrative unity of the organism has been shown to be false, and a better rationale has not been clearly articulated. Recent expert defences of the brain death concept are examined in this paper, and are suggested to be inadequate. I argue that, ironically, these defences demonstrate the lack of a defensible rationale for why brain death should be accepted as death itself. If brain death is death, a conceptual rationale for brain death being equivalent to death should be clarified, and this should be done urgently.
Improvement in lipid profiles over 6 years of follow‐up in adults with AIDS and immune reconstitution
Authors: Williams PL , Wu JW , Cohn SE , Koletar SL , McCutchan JA , Murphy RL , Currier JS ,   for the AIDS Clinical Trials Group 362 Study Team
Published: February 2009

ObjectivesThe aim of the study was to evaluate long‐term changes in lipids and to assess other coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors in highly experienced AIDS patients with immune reconstitution, and to examine their association with antiretroviral therapy (ART).MethodsWe evaluated 433 AIDS patients with prior severe immunosuppression and ART‐based immune reconstitution, followed in a multicentre prospective observational study between 2000 and 2006. We estimated the prevalence at entry of hypercholesterolaemia and metabolic syndrome, and 10‐year CHD risks. Trends in total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG) and high‐density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol were evaluated over time, and use of specific ART drugs at each study visit was assessed using mixed effect models, adjusting for CHD risk factors and use of lipid‐lowering agents.ResultsAt entry to observational follow‐up, 28% of the 433 subjects had hypercholesterolaemia and 15% had a predicted 10‐year CHD risk above 20%. Average TC and fasting TG levels declined over the follow‐up period (median=5.8 years), and these declines were associated with increased use of physician‐prescribed lipid‐lowering agents and changes in ART regimens. After adjustment for CHD risk factors, TC and TG levels were significantly higher for those on ritonavir‐boosted protease inhibitors and those on nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs), particularly efavirenz, than for other patients.ConclusionsAbnormalities in serum lipids were common at baseline but became less so over time, and this improvement was associated with increased use of lipid‐lowering agents and selection of ART agents with less deleterious effects on lipids.
Risk factors for incident diabetes mellitus among HIV‐infected patients receiving combination antiretroviral therapy in Taiwan: a case–control study
Authors: Lo Y‐C , Chen M‐Y , Sheng W‐H , Hsieh S‐M , Sun H‐Y , Liu W‐C , Wu P‐Y , Wu C‐H , Hung C‐C , Chang S‐C 
Published: February 2009

ObjectivesRecent studies suggest that patients with HIV infection are at increased risk for incident diabetes mellitus (DM). We investigated the incidence and risk factors of DM among HIV‐infected patients receiving combination antiretroviral therapy (CART) in Taiwan.MethodsIncident cases of DM were identified among HIV‐infected patients at the National Taiwan University Hospital between 1993 and 2006. A retrospective case–control study was conducted after matching cases with controls for sex, age at HIV diagnosis, year of HIV diagnosis, mode of HIV transmission and baseline CD4 lymphocyte count. A multivariate analysis was performed to identify risk factors for incident DM among HIV‐infected patients.ResultsIn 824 HIV‐infected patients eligible for analysis, 50 cases of incident DM were diagnosed, resulting in an incidence of 13.1 cases per 1000 person‐years of follow‐up. In total, 100 matched controls were identified. Risk factors for incident DM were a family history of DM [odds ratio (OR) 2.656; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.209–5.834], exposure to zidovudine (OR 3.168; 95% CI 1.159–8.661) and current use of protease inhibitors (OR 2.528; 95% CI 1.186–5.389).ConclusionsIncident DM was associated with a family history of DM, exposure to zidovudine and current use of protease inhibitors in HIV‐infected patients receiving CART in Taiwan.