A 22-year-old athlete, who had had intravenous injections of narcotics in the past, developed a viral hepatitis with markedly altered liver enzyme values. Studies revealed evidence of a virtual cure ...of hepatitis B virus and a current infection with delta agent. Liver biopsy showed a mixed-cell portal inflammation and doubly refractile crystalline particles. These particles were shown by energy-dispersive x-ray microanalysis to contain calcite, silica, talc, and a variety of elements including Al, P, S, Cl, K, Ti, Cr, Fe, Ni, Br, Yb, Os, Ir, and a trace U. The predominance of Ca-containing compounds suggested that the foreign material was present as a result of the chemical preparation of the narcotic or as a narcotic diluent. The potential for pathologic alteration by the various substances is discussed. These observations support the idea of particulate-induced hepatic disease advanced previously by others.
Two groups (group A = 25 cases and group B = 34 cases) of vulvar cancer patients, treated with a modified "butterfly" operation (MBO = group A) and a triple incision (TI = group B) technique, were ...evaluated retrospectively. The aim was to compare the two operative methods, regarding perioperative morbidity and clinical outcome. The histopathologic and clinical characteristics of the patients were comparable, in the two groups. The hospitalization period was significantly shorter in group B (TI), both when primary (22 vs 34 days, p < 0.01) or secondary (41 vs 55 days, p < 0.05) healing occurred. Local recurrences were quite similar in number (A = 5/25, B = 6/34) and were successfully treated. No relapses in the remaining skin bridges were observed in group B. The overall survival was similar in the two groups (A = 64%, B = 63%). However, LN positive cases had a better (p < 0.05) survival when treated by MBO (48% vs 23%).
Plasmodium berghei, infection of hepatocytes by sporozoites takes place rapidly, almost immediately after sporozoite injection into host rats, many sporozoites were also observed undergoing cytolysis ...within lysophagosomes of Kupffer cells as well as other phagocytic cells
A 47-year-old woman had a lesion of the uterine cervix that presented clinically as a protruding or aborted leiomyoma. Grossly the tumor occupied a substantial portion of the cervical and ...endocervical region. Histologically it showed a spindle cell neoplasm arranged in large fascicles that penetrated deeply into the fibromuscular wall of the cervix. The tumor cells had abundant pink cytoplasm that contained considerable brown melanin granules confirmed by Fontana's stain. Cytologically nuclear pleomorphism, hyperchromatism, and giant nuclear forms were observed. Mitoses were also seen. Localized nuclear palisading was present. Electron microscopic examination of paraffin-embedded material revealed numerous premelanosomes and opaque granules that were compatible with mature melanosomes, thus confirming melanogenesis in the tumor. Tumor cells exhibited focal projections, and the connective tissue showed abnormal spacing of collagen. Basal lamina material was noted focally on tumor cell surfaces. Immunocytochemistry showed a positive reaction to S-100 protein and HMB-45 in tumor cell cytoplasm.
A case report is presented of a traumatized vascular hamartoma producing a forearm flexor compartment syndrome; such a case has not been reported previously. The role of minor trauma in this case was ...important. There is a need for a high degree of suspicion in order to make an early, accurate diagnosis. Delayed surgical decompression and resection of the pathologic muscle resulted in a dramatic improvement in sensibility and digital mobility.
Spectral analysis methods are useful for the evaluation of EEG signals. Nevertheless, they refer only to the frequency domain and ignore any potentially interesting phase information. Analytical ...methods based upon the theory of nonlinear dynamics provides this and additional information. We used both methods to evaluate the EEG signals of volunteers performing two distinct mental arithmetic tasks. We extracted the power spectrum, the coherence and nonlinear parameters (dimension, the first Lyapunov exponent, the Kolmogorov entropy, the mutual dimension and the dimensions based upon spatial embedding of the original data as well as their surrogates). We found that 1) the spatial embedding dimension differed from that of the surrogates, indicating nonlinearity, 2) there were differences between the two arithmetic tasks, and 3) the spectral and nonlinear methods differ in terms of the information they provide. Our results indicate that nonlinear analysis methods can be useful despite the fact that they are still at an early stage of development.
Sporoblast and sporozoite formation from oocysts of the avian malarial parasite, Plasmodium gallinaceum, after the seventh day of infection in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes offers an interesting example ...of differentiation involving the appearance and modification of several cellular components. Sporoblast formation is preceded by (a) invaginations of the oocyst capsule into the oocyst cytoplasm, (b) subcapsular vacuolization and cleft formation, (c) the appearance of small tufts of capsule material on the previously noted invaginations, and (d) linear dense areas located just below the oocyst plasma membrane which predetermine the site of emerging sporozoites from the sporoblast. The subcapsular clefts subdivide the once-solid oocyst into sporoblast peninsulae. Within the sporoblast, nuclei migrate from the random distribution seen in the solid oocyst and come to lie at the periphery of the sporoblast just below the linear dense areas noted in the earlier stage. A typical nuclear fiber apparatus occurs in most of the nuclei seen in random sections at this stage although such a fiber apparatus may occasionally be seen in the solid oocyst stage. The nucleus, its associated fiber apparatus, and the overlying dense area appear to induce the onset of sporozoite budding from the sporoblast as well as the formation of the sporozoite pellicular complex and the paired organelle precursor. Several mitochondria are present in each sporozoite, in contrast to the single mitochondrion seen in the merozoites of the erythrocytic and exoerythrocytic stages of avian malaria infection. The paired organelles and associated dense inclusion bodies are formed by condensation of an irregular meshwork of membranebound, coarse, dense material. The nature of small, particulate cytoplasmic inclusions is described.
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