Primitive neuroectodermal adrenal gland tumour

Ewing's sarcoma, also called primitive neuroectodermal tumour of the adrenal gland, is extremely rare. Only a few cases have been reported in the literature. We report on a woman with adult-onset primitive neuroectodermal tumour of the adrenal gland presenting with progressive flank pain. Computed tomography confirmed an adrenal tumour with invasion of the left diaphragm and kidney. Radical surgery was performed and the pain completely resolved; histology confirmed the presence of primitive neuroectodermal tumour, for which she was given chemotherapy. The clinical presentation of this condition is non-specific, and a definitive diagnosis is based on a combination of histology, as well as immunohistochemical and cytogenic analysis. According to the literature, these tumours demonstrate rapid growth and aggressive behaviour but there are no well-established guidelines or treatment strategies. Nevertheless, surgery remains the mainstay of local disease control; curative surgery can be performed in most patients. Adjuvant chemoirradiation has been advocated yet no consensus is available. The prognosis of patients with primitive neuroectodermal tumours remains poor.published_or_final_versio

Quantifying sources of methane using light alkanes in the Los Angeles basin, California

Methane (CH4), carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), and C2-C5 alkanes were measured throughout the Los Angeles (L.A.) basin in May and June 2010. We use these data to show that the emission ratios of CH4/CO and CH4/CO2 in the L.A. basin are larger than expected from population-apportioned bottom-up state inventories, consistent with previously published work. We use experimentally determined CH4/CO and CH4/CO2 emission ratios in combination with annual State of California CO and CO2 inventories to derive a yearly emission rate of CH4 to the L.A. basin. We further use the airborne measurements to directly derive CH4 emission rates from dairy operations in Chino, and from the two largest landfills in the L.A. basin, and show these sources are accurately represented in the California Air Resources Board greenhouse gas inventory for CH4. We then use measurements of C2-C5 alkanes to quantify the relative contribution of other CH4 sources in the L.A. basin, with results differing from those of previous studies. The atmospheric data are consistent with the majority of CH4 emissions in the region coming from fugitive losses from natural gas in pipelines and urban distribution systems and/or geologic seeps, as well as landfills and dairies. The local oil and gas industry also provides a significant source of CH4 in the area. The addition of CH4 emissions from natural gas pipelines and urban distribution systems and/or geologic seeps and from the local oil and gas industry is sufficient to account for the differences between the top-down and bottom-up CH4 inventories identified in previously published work. Key PointsTop-down estimates of CH4 emissions in L.A. are greater than inventory estimatesEstimates of CH4 emissions from landfills in L.A. agree with CARB inventoryPipeline natural gas and/or seeps, and landfills are main sources of CH4 in L.A. ©2013. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved

Long Term Survival Analysis of Hepatectomy for Neuroendocrine Tumour Liver Metastases

Background. Liver is the commonest site for metastasis in patients with neuroendocrine tumour (NET). A vast majority of treatment strategies including liver directed nonsurgical therapy, liver directed surgical therapy, and nonliver directed therapy have been proposed. In this study we aim to investigate the outcome of liver resection in neuroendocrine tumour liver metastases (NELM). Method. 293 patients had hepatectomy for liver metastasis in our hospital between June 1996 and December 2010. Twelve patients were diagnosed to have NET in their final pathology and their data were reviewed. Results. The median ages of the patients were 48.5 years (range 20-71 years). Eight of the patients received major hepatectomy. Four patients received minor hepatectomy. The median operation time was 418 minutes (range 195-660 minutes). The median tumor size was 8.75 cm (range 0.9-21 cm). There was no hospital mortality. The overall one-year and three-year survivals were 91.7% and 55.6%. The one-year and three-year disease-free survivals were 33.3% and 16.7%. Conclusion. Hepatectomy is an effective and safe treatment for NELM. Reasonable outcome on long term overall survival and disease-free survival can be achieved in this group of patients with a low morbidity rate. © 2014 Tan To Cheung et al.published_or_final_versio

The role of TcdB and TccC subunits in secretion of the photorhabdus Tcd toxin complex

The Toxin Complex (TC) is a large multi-subunit toxin encoded by a range of bacterial pathogens. The best-characterized examples are from the insect pathogens Photorhabdus, Xenorhabdus and Yersinia. They consist of three large protein subunits, designated A, B and C that assemble in a 5:1:1 stoichiometry. Oral toxicity to a range of insects means that some have the potential to be developed as pest control technology. The three subunit proteins do not encode any recognisable export sequences and as such little progress has been made in understanding their secretion. We have developed heterologous TC production and secretion models in E. coli and used them to ascribe functions to different domains of the crucial B+C sub-complex. We have determined that the B and C subunits use a secretion mechanism that is either encoded by the proteins themselves or employ an as yet undefined system common to laboratory strains of E. coli. We demonstrate that both the N-terminal domains of the B and C subunits are required for secretion of the whole complex. We propose a model whereby the N-terminus of the C-subunit toxin exports the B+C sub-complex across the inner membrane while that of the B-subunit allows passage across the outer membrane. We also demonstrate that even in the absence of the B-subunit, that the C-subunit can also facilitate secretion of the larger A-subunit. The recognition of this novel export system is likely to be of importance to future protein secretion studies. Finally, the identification of homologues of B and C subunits in diverse bacterial pathogens, including Burkholderia and Pseudomonas, suggests that these toxins are likely to be important in a range of different hosts, including man

Science Models as Value-Added Services for Scholarly Information Systems

The paper introduces scholarly Information Retrieval (IR) as a further dimension that should be considered in the science modeling debate. The IR use case is seen as a validation model of the adequacy of science models in representing and predicting structure and dynamics in science. Particular conceptualizations of scholarly activity and structures in science are used as value-added search services to improve retrieval quality: a co-word model depicting the cognitive structure of a field (used for query expansion), the Bradford law of information concentration, and a model of co-authorship networks (both used for re-ranking search results). An evaluation of the retrieval quality when science model driven services are used turned out that the models proposed actually provide beneficial effects to retrieval quality. From an IR perspective, the models studied are therefore verified as expressive conceptualizations of central phenomena in science. Thus, it could be shown that the IR perspective can significantly contribute to a better understanding of scholarly structures and activities.Comment: 26 pages, to appear in Scientometric

Stellar Coronal and Wind Models: Impact on Exoplanets

Surface magnetism is believed to be the main driver of coronal heating and stellar wind acceleration. Coronae are believed to be formed by plasma confined in closed magnetic coronal loops of the stars, with winds mainly originating in open magnetic field line regions. In this Chapter, we review some basic properties of stellar coronae and winds and present some existing models. In the last part of this Chapter, we discuss the effects of coronal winds on exoplanets.Comment: Chapter published in the "Handbook of Exoplanets", Editors in Chief: Juan Antonio Belmonte and Hans Deeg, Section Editor: Nuccio Lanza. Springer Reference Work

Outcomes of synchronous and metachronous bilateral small renal masses (< 4 cm):a population‑based cohort study

Objectives: To report longitudinal outcomes of a population based cohort of patients diagnosed with bilateral small renal masses from a period of over 11 years.Patients and Methods: Consecutive patients diagnosed with bilateral small renal masses (synchronous or metachronous) of a defined geographical area were recorded in a large database (TUCAN database) between January 2005 and December 2016. Patients had a unique identifier number and followed during this period using an agreed upon protocol. Clinicopathological characteristics and outcomes of bilateral small renal masses on active surveillance were analysed and compared to propensity score matched sporadic unilateral small renal masses. Data were analysed for renal mass growth rate, rate of intervention and development of metastatic disease and patient survival.Results: A total of 1060 patients were diagnosed with renal cancer, of which bilateral small renal masses accounted for 70 (6.6%) cases. Synchronous SRMs were observed in 63 patients, whereas metachronous lesions were found in seven patients during the study period. Metachronous lesion mean time to appearance was 62 ± 41 months (range, 9 to 149 months). While most cases were sporadic, four were found to be hereditary. Growth rate of bilateral small renal masses did not differ from that of unilateral sporadic small renal masses. Similarly, there were no differences between the groups for rate of interventions and survival.Conclusion: Progression, rate of metastases and survival for patients diagnosed with bilateral small renal masses is similar to those diagnosed with unilateral disease

Observation of associated near-side and away-side long-range correlations in √sNN=5.02 TeV proton-lead collisions with the ATLAS detector

Two-particle correlations in relative azimuthal angle (Δϕ) and pseudorapidity (Δη) are measured in √sNN=5.02  TeV p+Pb collisions using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements are performed using approximately 1  μb-1 of data as a function of transverse momentum (pT) and the transverse energy (ΣETPb) summed over 3.1<η<4.9 in the direction of the Pb beam. The correlation function, constructed from charged particles, exhibits a long-range (2<|Δη|<5) “near-side” (Δϕ∼0) correlation that grows rapidly with increasing ΣETPb. A long-range “away-side” (Δϕ∼π) correlation, obtained by subtracting the expected contributions from recoiling dijets and other sources estimated using events with small ΣETPb, is found to match the near-side correlation in magnitude, shape (in Δη and Δϕ) and ΣETPb dependence. The resultant Δϕ correlation is approximately symmetric about π/2, and is consistent with a dominant cos⁡2Δϕ modulation for all ΣETPb ranges and particle pT