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Bronchoscopy and Technetium 99m-methyl diphosphonate bone scan can be helpful for diagnosis and may obviate the need for open lung biopsy. Given the high incidence of misinterpretationofMPCaspneumoniaorpulmonaryedemaonchestX-ray and CT scan, 99mTc-MDP bone scintigraphy may be useful for evaluation patients with chronic renal failure when there is a suspicion for MPC. We believe that the tracheobronchial calcifications represent a highly unusual clinical presentation of metastatic pulmonary calcification and a rare cause of chronic cough among patients with chronic renal disease. [Extracted from the article]

Genetic and acquired factors are thought to be interrelated and imperative to estimate the risk and prognosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). HOX transcript antisense intergenic RNA ( HOTAIR) plays crucial roles in gene regulation and is regulated in a variety of cancers. Polymorphisms in HOTAIR have been recently linked to the predisposition to diverse malignancies. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the influences of HOTAIR gene polymorphisms, combined with environmental triggers, on the susceptibility to oral tumorigenesis. Four single-nucleotide polymorphisms of the HOTAIR gene- rs920778, rs1899663, rs4759314, and rs12427129-were tested in 1,200 control participants and 907 patients with OSCC. We detected a significant association of rs1899663 with the risk of OSCC (adjusted odds ratio, 2.227; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.197 to 4.146; P = 0.012) after adjustment for 3 potential confounders: smoking, betel quid chewing, and alcohol consumption. In further analyses where habitual exposure to each of 3 environmental factors was excluded, we found that, in addition to rs1899663, non-betel quid users who carried the polymorphic allele of rs920778 were more prone to develop OSCC than were those homozygous for wild-type allele (TC: odds ratio [OR], 1.472; 95% CI, 1.069 to 2.029; P = 0.018; TC+CC: OR, 1.448; 95% CI, 1.060 to 1.977; P = 0.020). Moreover, in exploring the relationship between HOTAIR gene polymorphisms and the clinical status of only patients with OSCC who were non-betel quid chewers (excluding the advanced clinical stage), we found that rs920778 and rs4759314 were correlated with the development of large-size tumors (OR, 1.891; 95% CI, 1.027 to 3.484; P = 0.04) and increased lymph node metastasis (OR, 4.140; 95% CI, 1.785 to 9.602; P = 0.001), respectively. Further functional assessments link rs920778 to the regulation of HOTAIR expression and epigenetic status. Our results reveal an interactive effect of HOTAIR gene polymorphisms and betel quid chewing on the development and progression of oral cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environmental impact of pentachlorophenol (PCP) has been the subject of extensive research in recent years. Investigations of PCP degradation using both biotic and abiotic methods are extensively reported in literature. Based on some preliminary tests (not shown), an abiotic method was found for oxidative PCP degradation in soil under unsaturated conditions and a neutral pH. Reagents used were heme (a catalyst) and peroxide (an oxidant). From two screening tests (not shown), the heme and peroxide were identified as the most important factors on PCP degradation in highly PCP-contaminated soil. The objective of this study was to determine the optimum doses of heme and peroxide for PCP degradation in soil. Using a statistical method, known as response surface methodology, a quadratic function was fit to the data and used to estimate the optimum doses of heme and peroxide at 0.035 g/2 g-soil and 0.105 g/2 g-soil, respectively, in treating PCP-contaminated soil. The model also was used to determine the region in which the response was within the 95% confidence region of the optimum. The lowest heme and peroxide doses required to achieve a response within the 95% confidence region of the optimum were found to be 0.017 g/2 g-soil and 0.095 g/2 g-soil, respectively. Based on the results of the optimization studies, kinetic studies were conducted to examine the rate and extent of PCP degradation in soil over time. The results showed that about 50% of PCP was degraded within the first 30 min, and up to ∼80% of PCP was degraded within 4 h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One hundred and fifty four consecutive adult patients having cardiac surgery for a variety of cardiac lesions were evaluated prospectively for postoperative jaundice, those with a raised preoperative serum bilirubin concentration (greater than 34 mumol/l or 2 mg/100 ml) being excluded. The incidence of early postoperative jaundice, as defined by a serum bilirubin concentration of 50 mumol/l (3.0 mg/100 ml) or greater, was 23.4%. The jaundice was mild (bilirubin concentration 51-100 mumol/l (3.0-6.0 mg/100 ml] in 26 patients (16.9%) and moderate to severe (greater than 100 mumol/l (6.0 mg/100 ml] in 10 patients (6.5%). Important contributing factors were the preoperative severity of right heart failure (raised right atrial pressure at heart catheterisation) and hypotension or hypoxaemia and the amount of blood transfused during or shortly after surgery. Age, sex, underlying cardiac lesion, whether halothane was used, operative procedure, duration of cardiopulmonary bypass, and presence or absence of hepatitis B surface antigen were not predictive of postoperative jaundice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 65-year-old woman with ocular myasthenia was found to have three tumours in the anterior mediastinum, revealed by magnetic resonance imaging. All three lesions were radically resected. Histologically, one was a mixed-type thymoma, one a thymic lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma, and the third had features of both these types. This appears to be the first reported case of coexisting thymic lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (TLC) and thymoma associated with ocular myasthenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]