VisGenome: visualization of single and comparative genome representations

Summary: VisGenome visualizes single and comparative representations for the rat, the mouse and the human chromosomes at different levels of detail. The tool offers smooth zooming and panning which is more flexible than seen in other browsers. It presents information available in Ensembl for single chromosomes, as well as homologies (orthologue predictions including ortholog one2one, apparent ortholog one2one, ortholog many2many) for any two chromosomes from different species. The application can query supporting data from Ensembl by invoking a link in a browser. Availability: http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/~asia/VisGenome Contact: [email protected]

Health locus of control as a psychological factor in improving treatment results in adolescents with primary hypertension and diabetes

Background The belief that an individual can influence and control the course of events is a factor which enables a person to overcome difficulties. Some studies, however, have questioned the universality of this statement. This study aims to investigate and explore the relationship between the self-health locus of control and the effectiveness of cooperation in the treatment process in adolescents with chronic diseases. Participants and procedure One hundred and sixty-four adolescent patients suffering from chronic diseases (61 girls and 103 boys) ranging from 11 to 17 years old participated in the study. Eighty-seven had primary hypertension and 77 had type 1 diabetes. To investigate their sense of health control we used the Health Locus of Control Scale (HLC). Cooperation in the treatment process was assessed using a 4-item scale completed by a doctor. Results Better results in the treatment were positively correlated with a better internal health locus of control. A negative correlation between the chance health locus of control and results in the treatment was found. Differences in the health locus of control proved to be dependent on gender, age and different clinical groups. Conclusions Health locus of control in patients with chronic diseases seems to be a crucial factor in determining the results of the treatment process in such patients.Background The belief that an individual can influence and control the course of events is a factor which enables a person to overcome difficulties. Some studies, however, have questioned the universality of this statement. This study aims to investigate and explore the relationship between the self-health locus of control and the effectiveness of cooperation in the treatment process in adolescents with chronic diseases. Participants and procedure One hundred and sixty-four adolescent patients suffering from chronic diseases (61 girls and 103 boys) ranging from 11 to 17 years old participated in the study. Eighty-seven had primary hypertension and 77 had type 1 diabetes. To investigate their sense of health control we used the Health Locus of Control Scale (HLC). Cooperation in the treatment process was assessed using a 4-item scale completed by a doctor. Results Better results in the treatment were positively correlated with a better internal health locus of control. A negative correlation between the chance health locus of control and results in the treatment was found. Differences in the health locus of control proved to be dependent on gender, age and different clinical groups. Conclusions Health locus of control in patients with chronic diseases seems to be a crucial factor in determining the results of the treatment process in such patients

Arsenic (As) and breast cancer risk

The study was conducted to determine the correlations between serum concentration of arsenic (As) with increased or decreased predisposition to breast and ovarian cancer

Pulmonary metastases of the A549-derived lung adenocarcinoma tumors growing in nude mice : a multiple case study

Lung adenocarcinoma is a leading human malignancy with fatal prognosis. Ninety percent of the deaths, however, are caused by metastases. The model of subcutaneous tumor xenograft in nude mice was adopted to study the growth of control and photodynamically treated tumors derived from the human A549 lung adenocarcinoma cell line. As a side-result of the primary studies, observations on the metastasis of these tumors to the murine lungs were collected, and reported in the present paper. The metastasizing primary tumors were drained by a prominent number of lymphatic vessels. The metastatic tissue revealed the morphology of well-differentiated or trans-differentiated adenocarcinoma. Further histological and histochemical analyses demonstrated the presence of golden-brown granules in the metastatic tissue, similar to these found in the tumor tissue. In contrast to the primary tumors, the electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy revealed no nitric oxide - hemoglobin complexes (a source of intense paramagnetic signals), in the metastases. No metastases were found in other murine organs; however, white infarctions were identified in a single liver. Taken together, the A549-derived tumors growing subcutaneously in nude mice can metastasize and grow on site in the pulmonary tissue. Thus, they can represent an alternative for the model of induced metastatic nodule formation, following intravenous administration of the cancerous cells

Large deletion causing von Hippel-Lindau disease and hereditary breast cancer syndrome

Patients with intragenic mutations of the VHL gene have a typical disease presentation. However in cases of large VHL gene deletions which involve other genes in the proximity of the VHL gene a presentation of the disease can be different. To investigate whether large VHL deletions that remove the FANCD2 gene have an effect on the disease phenotype, we studied a family with a 50 kb large deletion encompassing these two genes. Four patients in this family were affected by VHL-related lesions. However one carrier of the deletion also had bilateral ductal breast cancer at age 46 and 49. Both tumors were of ~2 cm in diameter. On one side lymph nodes were affected. One tumor was ER- and PR-negative (HER2 s unknown) and the second was ER- and PR-positive, and HER2-negative. Our study suggests that a deletion of FANCD2 gene, an important gene in the DNA repair pathway, may be associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, but further studies are needed in this regard