Limited Reports (limited + report)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Desmoplastic round cell tumor of childhood: Can cytology with immunocytochemistry serve as an alternative for tissue diagnosis?

DIAGNOSTIC CYTOPATHOLOGY, Issue 6 2005
Dr Brijal Dave M.D.
Abstract There are limited reports on the cytology of desmoplastic small round cell tumors (DSRCT). Fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) findings in seven aspirates from four cases of histologically and immunohistochemically confirmed cases were analyzed with the main intention of ascertaining if cytological diagnosis of DSRCT is possible. Also assessed were the immunocytochemistry(ICC) findings in these cases. The basic cytological impression was that of a cohesive small round cell tumor. Nuclei showed granular chromatin with grooves, nuclear molding and inconspicuous nucleoli. Stromal fragments were noted in all four cases. In two cases, awareness of cytological features in the appropriate clinical context led to a suggestion of the diagnosis of DSRCT on cytology itself. ICC on destained smears showed positivity for cytokeratin, epithelial membrane antigen (EMA), desmin and WT-1 in two cases. In conclusion, given the right clinical setting, a cytological diagnosis of DSRCT is plausible and in conjunction with ICC may help in documenting the polyphenotypic nature and thereby confirming the diagnosis. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2005;32:330,335. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Hypolithic Plants from Carruthers Peak, Snowy Mountains, New South Wales, Australia

GEOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH, Issue 4 2009
GREGG MÜLLER
Abstract Hypolithic plants, plants growing under rocks, have been found from a number of climatically extreme, mostly arid sites from the poles to the equator, but there are limited reports from temperate zones. A brief survey in the Kosciuszko Alpine Area of New South Wales, Australia, revealed four species of moss and one liverwort growing beneath diaphanous quartz pebbles in feldmark vegetation communities. The probable restricted nature of this phenomenon and the likely impact of global warming, tourists and recreation management activities raise concerns for its conservation. [source]


Potential of low cost close-range photogrammetry system in soil microtopography quantification

HYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 10 2009
Mohamed A. M. Abd Elbasit
Abstract Soil microtopography is a dynamic soil property which affects most soil-surface and water interaction processes. The importance of soil microtopography has been recognized for a long time, but only limited reports are available in the literature. In this study, the potential of using consumer-grade cameras and close-range photogrammetry procedures to quantify soil microtopography at plot-scale level (,1 m2) were assessed. Five fabricated gypsum surfaces with different degrees of roughness were used to simulate the soil surface conditions with different soil aggregates. The surfaces' digital elevation model (DEM) was generated using the photogrammetry system (PHM) involving a consumer-grade camera, and pin-microrelief meter (PM). The DEM generated using the PHM was assessed for accuracy, roughness indices (RI), depression area percentage (DA%), depression storage capacity (DSC), and micro-rills delineation in comparison with the PM. The accuracy was evaluated using the root mean square error (RMSE) in the x-, y-, and z-directions. Visual comparison between the 3D-visions of the DEM showed strong agreement between the DEM generated by the PHM and the PM, and between the PHM and the 2D images for the different gypsum surfaces. The average RMSE in the x-. y-, and z-direction were 2·08, 1·52, and 0·82 mm for the rough surface, and 4·42, 1·65, and 3·22 mm for the smooth surface. The RIs calculated from the two methods were highly correlated. The small discrepancy between the two methods was discussed. The micro-rills delineation was also similar for the two methods regarding the network density. The grid size did not effect the RI calculation, and has a strong influence on the DA%, DSC, and the delineated micro-rills orders. Results suggest that a consumer-grade camera and close-range photogrammetry have the potential to quantify the soil microtopography. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Preliminary study of ciprofloxacin in active Crohn's disease

INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASES, Issue 1 2002
Dr. George L. Arnold
Abstract Based on limited reports of the successful use of antibiotics in the treatment of Crohn's disease (CD) and on the possibility that intestinal bacteria may be one of the etiologic factors playing a role in the pathogenesis of this condition, we undertook a study to evaluate the use of a broad-spectrum antibiotic in CD. Our team studied the efficacy of adding the antibiotic ciprofloxacin to the treatment of moderately active, but resistant cases of CD. Forty-seven adults with moderately active CD were randomly assigned treatment with ciprofloxacin 500 mg twice daily versus placebo twice daily for 6 months. The primary endpoint was the change in scores on the Crohn's Disease Activity Index (CDAI) from baseline to month 6. Although 47 patients were randomized, at 1 month of follow-up 28 patients received ciprofloxacin and 19 received placebo. The mean entry CDAI scores were not significantly different: 187 for the ciprofloxacin group versus 230 for the placebo group (p = 0.638). Mean CDAI scores at the completion of study were 112 for the ciprofloxacin group (n = 25) and 205 for the placebo group (n = 12), (p < 0.001). Disease remission is defined as a decrease in the CDAI score to less than 150 points. Our preliminary study suggests that ciprofloxacin may be an effective agent when added to the treatment of moderately active, resistant CD. [source]


Trichophyton Mentagrophytes Perforates Hair of Adult Corpses in the Gaseous Period,

JOURNAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCES, Issue 5 2010
Renato Evando M. Filho M.S
Abstract:, Despite the substantial literature on mycology, there are still limited reports of the interaction between fungi and human hosts in the postmortem period. Thus, the main goal of this study was to investigate the in vitro perforation test using Trichophyton mentagrophytes on hair from adult corpses in the postmortem period (gaseous period). The protocol was carried out with positive (prepubescent children's hair) and negative controls (healthy adult hair) as well. One strain of Trichophyton rubrum was also used as a negative perforation control. Perforations were found in all the hair samples from corpses and prepubescent children after 12,14 days exposure to T. mentagrophytes and were absent in the hair samples of healthy adults. Furthermore, hair perforation was not observed with T. rubrum. Our preliminary findings suggest the use of T. mentagrophytes as a potential marker of the death interval in forensic science. [source]


Anosmia after general anaesthesia: a case report

ANAESTHESIA, Issue 12 2009
I. Konstantinidis
Summary Although anaesthetic drugs are included among the aetiological factors of anosmia, limited reports exist of anosmia induced by general anaesthesia. We present the case of a 60-year-old female patient with a 3-month history of altered smell and taste immediately after recovery from general anaesthesia for a urological operation. The anaesthetic drugs used were fentanyl, propofol and sevoflurane. Clinical examination and a computed tomography brain scan did not reveal any pathology. Psychophysical testing showed anosmia and normal taste function. Imaging studies using single photon emission computed tomography of the brain were performed twice: as a baseline examination; and after odour stimulation with phenyl ethyl alcohol. Normal brain activity without reaction to odorous stimuli suggested peripheral dysfunction or stimuli transmission problems. The patient, after four months of olfactory retraining, demonstrated significant improvement. The onset of the dysfunction in relation with the imaging findings may imply that anaesthetics could induce the olfactory dysfunction. [source]


Probing the active site of MIO-dependent aminomutases, key catalysts in the biosynthesis of ,-amino acids incorporated in secondary metabolites

BIOPOLYMERS, Issue 9 2010
Heather A. Cooke
Abstract The tyrosine aminomutase SgTAM produces (S)-ß-tyrosine from L -tyrosine in the biosynthesis of the enediyne antitumor antibiotic C-1027. This conversion is promoted by the methylideneimidazole-5-one (MIO) prosthetic group. MIO was first identified in the homologous family of ammonia lyases, which deaminate aromatic amino acids to form ,,ß-unsaturated carboxylates. Studies of substrate specificity have been described for lyases but there have been limited reports in altering the substrate specificity of aminomutases. Furthermore, it remains unclear as to what structural properties are responsible for catalyzing the presumed readdition of the amino group into the ,,ß-unsaturated intermediates to form ß-amino acids. Attempts to elucidate specificity and mechanistic determinants of SgTAM have also proved to be difficult as it is recalcitrant to perturbations to the active site via mutagenesis. An X-ray cocrystal structure of the SgTAM mutant of the catalytic base with L -tyrosine verified important substrate binding residues as well as the enzymatic base. Further mutagenesis revealed that removal of these crucial interactions renders the enzyme inactive. Proposed structural determinants for mutase activity probed via mutagenesis, time-point assays and X-ray crystallography revealed a complicated role for these residues in maintaining key quaternary structure properties that aid in catalysis. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers 93: 802,810, 2010. [source]