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Background. Pulsed dye laser treatment of port-wine stains is safe and effective. However, the pain associated with this treatment is often difficult to tolerate, especially for children. A laser-coupled delivery system known as dynamic epidermal cooling has recently been developed to improve local anesthesia. Objective. To report laser ignition of a commercially-available, hand-held cryogen spray used for local anesthesia, and describe possible mechanisms of the fire; to define the chemical characteristics of other skin coolants suitable and unsuitable for skin cooling with laser treatment. Methods. Case report and literature review. Conclusions. Clinicians must be aware of the thermodynamic properties, potential for skin damage, cost and environmental consequences of commercially available cryogens before considering their use for topical anesthesia with laser surgery.

WorkChoices removes employee protection and strengthens the managerial prerogative, report Sarah Haining and Jan Schapper. Copyright 2006 Sarah Haining and Jan Schapper. No part of this article may be reproduced by any means without the written consent of the publisher.

Tumor-associated hypoxia has been associated with malignant progression, metastasis, resistance to therapy, and poor clinical outcome in prostate cancer (CaP). Prompted by the evidence that hypoxia affects CaP, we studied global gene expression in 100 CaP tissues and 71 samples of adjacent benign tissues. RNA was extracted from cancer cells isolated by laser-capture microdissection (LCM) or without isolation (“bulk tissue”). We found 24 hypoxia-associated genes significantly overexpressed in CaP (p≤0.02), both in bulk tissue and LCM. Among hypoxia-associated genes, the disc large (drosophila) homolog-associated protein 5 (DLG7), hyaluronan-mediated motility receptor (HMMR) and cyclin B1 (CCNB1) were associated with Gleason score and systemic progression. Since the products of HMMR and CCNB1 have been recently identified as molecular markers of CaP progression, we postulated that DLG7 has prognostic value also. To test this hypothesis we measured transcript levels for DLG7 in a 150-pair case-control cohort. The cases (progression to systemic disease within five years of surgery) and controls (no progression within seven years) were matched for clinical and pathologic prognostic variables, including grade, stage, and preoperative serum levels of PSA. The overall prognostic ability of DLG7, as tested in receiver operating characteristic analysis was of 0.74 (95% CL, 0.68 to 0.8), independent of the for ERG status. Overall, our data indicate that DLG7, a hypoxia-controlled gene have a prognostic value in high-risk CaP. To better define the value of DLG7 as a molecular predictor of CaP progression, we are currently assessing DLG7 protein levels by immunohistochemistry. Then we will analyze the association of DLG7 levels with clinical parameters. Introduction of oxygen tension as a variable may constitute a tool for the identification of novel biomarkers for CaP. Present address CRG: University of Mississippi Cancer Institute, Jackson, MS, USA. Support: DOD PC094680 (CRG), PCF Creativity Award (CRG), Mayo Clinic Prostate SPORE 5P50CA091956 (SV-P); Mrs. Adelyn L. Luther, Singer Island, Florida and Mayo Clinic Cancer Center (SV-P). Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 116. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-116

Tumor-associated hypoxia has been associated with malignant progression, metastasis and resistance to therapy. We studied the role of oxygen tension (pO2) in modulating the properties of cultured human prostate cancer (CaP) cells. In air, where oxygen tension (pO2) is approximately 20 kPa, cultured CaP cells expressed lower levels of transcripts associated with cancer and urologic disease; reducing pO2 to 2 kPa made these levels comparable to those in surgical CaP specimens suggesting that hypoxically cultured cells, rather than normoxically cultured cells, express genes at levels akin to those in tumor cells in situ. In human primary CaP tissue, transcripts of hypoxia-associated genes DLG7, CCNB1 and HMMR were overexpressed and associated with Gleason score and disease prognosis; this implies the potential prognostic value of these transcripts. While hypoxia affected the CaP cell proteome mostly quantitatively, it did affect expression of tumor–associated antigens and suggested the potential therapeutic relevance of the hypoxic antigenic landscape. Overall, our results suggest that hypoxia modifies cellular properties of cultured CaP cells towards a phenotype more similar to tumor cells in situ. Introduction of pO2 as a variable can constitute a tool for the identification of more effective prognostic biomarkers and development of better therapy for CaP and, possibly, other tumors. Citation Format: Christian R. Gomez, Stanimir Vuk-Pavlovic, Farhad Kosari, Jan Marie Munz, Claire Schreiber, Gaylord Knutson, Cristine Charlesworth, R. Jeffrey Karnes, John Cheville, George Vasmatzis. Prognostic value of hypoxia-associated genes in prostate cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Advances in Prostate Cancer Research; 2012 Feb 6-9; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(4 Suppl):Abstract nr C43.

Vor 1839, dem offiziellen Geburtsjahr der Fotografie, gehorten alle Bilder grosso modo noch zur Familie der bildenden Kunst und waren mehr Gegenstand asthetischer Kontemplation denn Kommunikationsmittel. Das ›klassische‹ Bild, das Produkt der bildenden Kunst, war im Prinzip ein autonomes Bild, ein Bild, das seinen ersten Zweck in sich selbst hatte und nicht an erster Stelle als Mittel fur etwas anderes diente. Als Medium zur Verbreitung von Wissen z.B. spielte es, auch als gedruckter Stich, Holzdruck, Radierung oder Lithographie, nur eine geringe Rolle.

Huntingtin (Htt) is a protein with a polyglutamine stretch in the N-terminus and expansion of the polyglutamine stretch causes Huntington's disease (HD). Htt is a multiple domain protein whose function has not been well characterized. Previous reports have shown, however, that post-translational modifications of Htt such as phosphorylation and acetylation modulate mutant Htt toxicity, localization, and vesicular trafficking. Lysine acetylation of Htt is of particular importance in HD as this modification regulates disease progression and toxicity. Treatment of mouse models with histone deacetylase inhibitors ameliorates HD-like symptoms and alterations in acetylation of Htt promotes clearance of the protein. Given the importance of acetylation in HD and other diseases, we focused on the systematic identification of lysine acetylation sites in Htt23Q (1-612) in a cell culture model using mass spectrometry. Myc-tagged Htt23Q (1-612) overexpressed in the HEK 293T cell line was immunoprecipitated, separated by SDS-PAGE, digested and subjected to high performance liquid chromatography tandem MS analysis. Five lysine acetylation sites were identified, including three novel sites Lys-178, Lys-236, Lys-345 and two previously described sites Lys-9 and Lys-444. Antibodies specific to three of the Htt acetylation sites were produced and confirmed the acetylation sites in Htt. A multiple reaction monitoring MS assay was developed to compare quantitatively the Lys-178 acetylation level between wild-type Htt23Q and mutant Htt148Q (1-612). This report represents the first comprehensive mapping of lysine acetylation sites in N-terminal region of Htt.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) offers the best textbook example for the exploitation of both Heike Kamerlingh Onnes's major discoveries, namely the liquefaction of liquid helium and superconductivity. This paper will briefly describe how MRI images are acquired, give a historical account about the early days, and then focus on the magnet. It provides a window into the world of physics and engineering of magnet technology and it will chart the magnet design evolution since inception. For example, over the past 20 years, magnet designers have taken 1.5T MRI magnets from a weight of 13tonnes and a length of 2.40m in 1989 to a weight of 3.2tonnes and a length of 1.37m in 2009. The 3T products have also undergone similar developments. Coils experience mechanical forces of order 380tonnes. The cryogenics for MRI magnets have also undergone major improvements. Today's magnets do not use liquid nitrogen and most importantly have zero helium loss, thus needing no refill. Combined with the weight, this makes the body scanner accessible to developing countries and easy to site in any room. Although the future may eliminate the need for liquid helium completely, MRI will always continue to depend on superconductivity.

When sociology emerged as a discipline in the United States after the Civil War and Reconstruction, the nation was struggling with issues of democracy and social justice. The era of Jim Crow was upon us, blacks were being lynched,* women were still without the vote, and there was rural and urban poverty. Farmers and workers in the late 1800s could see the centralization of economic and political power in the hands of limited groups of people. Frustration led to public protests and the development of reform organizations. In this environment, it is not surprising to find that many of the early sociologists were interested in solving or at least reducing the pressing social problems confronting their communities.