Long Segment (long + segment)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Validation of Phage T7 Biological Dosimeter by Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction Using Short and Long Segments of Phage T7 DNA ,

PHOTOCHEMISTRY & PHOTOBIOLOGY, Issue 3 2003
M. Hegedüs
ABSTRACT Phage T7 can be used as a biological dosimeter; its reading, the biologically effective dose (BED), is proportional to the inactivation rate |ln (n/n0)|. For the measurement of DNA damage in phage T7 dosimeter, a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (QPCR) methodology has been developed using 555 and 3826 bp fragments of phage T7 DNA. Both optimized reactions are so robust that an equally good amplification was obtained when intact phage T7 was used in the reaction mixture. In the biologically relevant dose range a good correlation was obtained between the BED of the phage T7 dosimeter and the amount of ultraviolet (UV) photoproducts determined by QPCR with both fragments under the effect of five various UV sources. A significant decrease in the yield of photoproducts was detected by QPCR in isolated T7 DNA and in heated phage compared with intraphage DNA with all irradiation sources. Because the yield of photoproducts was the same in B, C and A conformational states of T7 DNA, a possible explanation for modulation of photoproduct frequency in intraphage T7 DNA is that the presence of bound phage proteins induces an alteration in DNA structure that can result in increased induction of photoproducts. [source]


Recurrence of intramucosal esophageal adenocarcinoma arising in a former esophagostomy site: a unique case report

DISEASES OF THE ESOPHAGUS, Issue 6 2009
J. M. Leers
SUMMARY., A 75-year-old male with a long history of gastroesophageal reflux symptoms developed adenocarcinoma proximally within a long segment of Barrett's esophagus. He was taken for esophagectomy and gastric pull-up, but intraoperatively, he was found to have a marginal blood supply in the gastric tube. A temporary left-sided esophagostomy was created with the gastric tube sutured to the left sternocleidomastoid muscle in the neck. Pathology showed an intramucosal adenocarcinoma, limited to the muscularis mucosa with surrounding high-grade dysplasia and intestinal metaplasia. The proximal esophageal margin showed no tumor cells, but there was low-grade dysplasia within Barrett's esophagus. He was reconstructed after several months, and 2 years after reconstruction, the patient noticed a nodule at the former esophagostomy site. Biopsy revealed an implant metastasis of esophageal adenocarcinoma. Here, we review the literature and discuss the possible etiology. [source]


Acute intestinal obstruction due to intramural haemorrhage in small intestine in a patient with severe haemophilia A and inhibitor

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF HAEMATOLOGY, Issue 2 2005
Khaled M. A. Ramadan
Abstract:, Patients with severe haemophilia A usually present with joint, gastrointestinal and urinary tract haemorrhage. Bleeding elsewhere is often precipitated by pre-existing pathology or trauma. We report a patient with severe haemophilia A, who presented with symptoms of acute intestinal obstruction. He has a factor VIII inhibitor and receives recombinant factor VIIa on demand at home. The CT scan of abdomen showed dilated small intestine with fluid filled loops and a long segment in the jejunum with marked transmural thickening. There was no other pathology in the small intestine. These appearances were consistent with intramural haemorrhage in the small intestine as the cause of acute obstruction. He was managed conservatively with recombinant factor VIIa and this resulted in resolution of his symptoms. This case highlights an unusual presentation of bleeding in a haemophilia patient. Intestinal obstruction due to haemorrhage in the small intestinal wall is extremely rare and only previously reported in a few haemophilia patients. It also highlights the effectiveness of conservative management with recombinant factor VIIa as opposed to immediate exploratory surgery. [source]


Brain-derived neurotrophic factor applied to the motor cortex promotes sprouting of corticospinal fibers but not regeneration into a peripheral nerve transplant

JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH, Issue 2 2002
G.W. Hiebert
Abstract Previous experiments from our laboratory have shown that application of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) to the red nucleus or the motor cortex stimulates an increase in the expression of regeneration-associated genes in rubrospinal and corticospinal neurons. Furthermore, we have previously shown that BDNF application stimulates regeneration of rubrospinal axons into a peripheral graft after a thoracic injury. The current study investigates whether application of BDNF to the motor cortex will facilitate regeneration of corticospinal neurons into a peripheral nerve graft placed into the thoracic spinal cord. In adult Sprague Dawley rats, the dorsal columns and the corticospinal tract between T9 and T10 were ablated by suction, and a 5-mm-long segment of predegenerated tibial nerve was autograft implanted into the lesion. With an osmotic pump, BDNF was infused directly into the parenchyma of the motor cortex for 14 days. Growth of the corticospinal tract into the nerve graft was then evaluated by transport of an anterograde tracer. Anterogradely labeled corticospinal fibers were not observed in the peripheral nerve graft in animals treated with saline or BDNF. Serotinergic and noradrenergic fibers, as well as peripheral sensory afferents, were observed to penetrate the graft, indicating the viability of the peripheral nerve graft as a permissive growth substrate for these specific fiber types. Although treatment of the corticospinal fibers with BDNF failed to produce regeneration into the graft, there was a distinct increase in the number of axonal sprouts rostral to the injury site. This indicates that treatment of corticospinal neurons with neurotrophins, e.g., BDNF, can be used to enhance sprouting of corticospinal axons within the spinal cord. Whether such sprouting leads to functional recovery after spinal cord injury is currently under investigation. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


The utility of magnetic resonance imaging in evaluating peripheral nerve disorders

MUSCLE AND NERVE, Issue 3 2002
Gerald A. Grant MD
Abstract The evaluation of peripheral nerve injuries has traditionally relied primarily on information gained from the clinical history, physical examination, and electrodiagnostic testing. Taken together, all of this clinical and diagnostic information often allows one to determine the location and severity of the underlying peripheral nerve problem. However, it may not be sufficient in diagnosing a focal entrapment neuropathy superimposed upon a more generalized peripheral neuropathy; localizing a focal lesion along a long segment of nerve which may be difficult to assess accurately with electrodiagnostic sutdies; distinguishing early between an axonotmetic grade of injury, which can recover through axonal regeneration, and a neurotmetic grade which cannot and therefore may benefit from a surgical exploration and repair procedure; and noninvasively diagnosing and determining the surgical resectability of peripheral nerve mass lesions such as tumors. The goal of this review is to illustrate how standard and evolving magnetic resonance imaging techniques can provide additional information in dealing with some of these problems. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Muscle Nerve 25: 000,000, 2002 DOI 10.1002/mus.10013 [source]


Estrogen attenuated markers of inflammation and decreased lesion volume in acute spinal cord injury in rats

JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH, Issue 2 2005
Eric Anthony Sribnick
Abstract Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating neurologic injury with functional deficits for which the only currently recommended pharmacotherapy is high-dose methylprednisolone, which has limited efficacy. Estrogen is a multiactive steroid that has shown antiinflammatory and antioxidant effects, and estrogen may modulate intracellular Ca2+ and attenuate apoptosis. For this study, male rats were divided into three groups. Sham group animals received a laminectomy at T12. Injured rats received both laminectomy and 40 g · cm force SCI. Estrogen-group rats received 4 mg/kg 17,-estradiol (estrogen) at 15 min and 24 hr post-injury, and vehicle-group rats received equal volumes of dimethyl sulfoxide (vehicle). Animals were sacrificed at 48 hr post-injury, and 1-cm-long segments of the lesion, rostral penumbra, and caudal penumbra were excised. Inflammation was assessed by examining tissue edema, infiltration of macrophages/microglia, and levels of cytosolic and nuclear NF,B and inhibitor of kappa B (I,B,). Myelin integrity was examined using Luxol fast blue staining. When compared to sham, vehicle-treated animals revealed increased tissue edema, increased infiltration of inflammatory cells, decreased cytosolic levels of NF,B and I,B,, increased levels of nuclear NF,B, and increased myelin loss. Treatment of SCI rats with estrogen reduced edema and decreased inflammation and myelin loss in the lesion and penumbral areas, suggesting its potential as a therapeutic agent. Further work needs to be done, however, to elucidate the neuroprotective mechanism of estrogen. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


A New Method for the Treatment of Sperm Samples for Ultrastructural Study Based on the Use of Animal Tissues as Biological Containers

MICROSCOPY RESEARCH AND TECHNIQUE, Issue 9 2007
Concepción Junquera
Abstract The study of the ultrastructure of spematozoa by means of transmission electron microscopy often presents with problems of interpretation according to the method employed, depending on whether samples are either centrifuged previously to the fixation or immersed in viscous gels. The major problems of interpretation are: changes in the location of vesicles originated during the maturation process and modifications in the adsorption of seminal plasma proteins to the sperm membrane surface. The aim of our study is to communicate an original new method for the treatment of spermatozoa for ultrastructural study. Our method is based on the use of animal tissues as biological containers, inside which the spermatic suspensions are included. We developed this method using fresh sperm samples taken from mature Rasa aragonesa rams. As biological container, we used 2.5-cm long segments of the intestine of 1-week-old chickens (Gallus gallus) (diameter around 4 mm). To avoid any influence of digestive enzymes of the mucosa on the sperm surface, we put each intestine fragment inside out by means of microdissection forceps under bifocal optical microscope and cold light. One of the edges was tied with thin suture silk. The sperm suspension was injected in the optimal experimental condition and amount. Finally, the still open edge of the intestine segment was tied with silk in the same way as the other segment edge. By using this technique, we can perform a suitable morphological study at an ultrastructural level. In addition, the functional relationship of the ultrastructural components of the target cells is correctly preserved. Microsc. Res. Tech., 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]