Giant Condyloma of the Cervix: An Uncommon Entity Associated With Low-risk Human Papilloma Virus Infection.

in American Journal of Surgical Pathology (2013), 37(2), 300-4

"Giant Condylomas" of the cervix are very uncommon, and have not been fully characterized in the English literature. We report 4 cases of cervical giant condyloma seen in our practice. Patients were ... [more ▼]

"Giant Condylomas" of the cervix are very uncommon, and have not been fully characterized in the English literature. We report 4 cases of cervical giant condyloma seen in our practice. Patients were predominantly young and presented with a cervical lesion producing bleeding or a mass effect. Biopsy/excision revealed a uniformly bland, exophytic squamous epithelial proliferation with viral cytopathic changes and absence of stromal invasion. Human papilloma virus types 6 and 11 were detected in all cases. Follow-up was uneventful without recurrence or spread. Giant condylomas of the cervix as defined in this report signify a benign albeit extensive variant of low-risk human papilloma virus infection. This term is proposed as a specific descriptor for such lesions and should be considered in the setting of any large well-differentiated exophytic cervical squamous lesion in young or immunosuppressed women. The term "giant condyloma of Buschke and Loewenstein" should be discontinued given the lack of specificity. [less ▲]

Policy Implications of Changing Longevity

in CESifo Economic Studies (2013), 59(4),

Probing command following in patients with disorders of consciousness using a brain-computer interface.

in Clinical Neurophysiology (2013), 124(1), 101-6

OBJECTIVE: To determine if brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) could serve as supportive tools for detecting consciousness in patients with disorders of consciousness by detecting response to command and ... [more ▼]

OBJECTIVE: To determine if brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) could serve as supportive tools for detecting consciousness in patients with disorders of consciousness by detecting response to command and communication. METHODS: We tested a 4-choice auditory oddball EEG-BCI paradigm on 16 healthy subjects and 18 patients in a vegetative state/unresponsive wakefulness syndrome, in a minimally conscious state (MCS), and in locked-in syndrome (LIS). Subjects were exposed to 4 training trials and 10 -12 questions. RESULTS: Thirteen healthy subjects and one LIS patient were able to communicate using the BCI. Four of those did not present with a P3. One MCS patient showed command following with the BCI while no behavioral response could be detected at bedside. All other patients did not show any response to command and could not communicate with the BCI. CONCLUSION: The present study provides evidence that EEG based BCI can detect command following in patients with altered states of consciousness and functional communication in patients with locked-in syndrome. However, BCI approaches have to be simplified to increase sensitivity. SIGNIFICANCE: For some patients without any clinical sign of consciousness, a BCI might bear the potential to employ a "yes-no" spelling device offering the hope of functional interactive communication. [less ▲]

Optimiser la pertinence du parcours patient porteur d'un syndrome du canal carpien

Learning material (2013)

A novel blueprint for "top down" differentiation defines the cervical squamocolumnar junction during development, reproductive life and neoplasia.

in Journal of Pathology (The) (2013), 229(3), 460-8

The cervical squamocolumnar (SC) junction is the site of a recently discovered "embryonic" cell population that was proposed as the cell of origin for cervical cancer and its precursors. How this ... [more ▼]

The cervical squamocolumnar (SC) junction is the site of a recently discovered "embryonic" cell population that was proposed as the cell of origin for cervical cancer and its precursors. How this population participates in cervical remodeling and neoplasia is unclear. In the present study, we analyzed the SC junction immunophenotype during pre and postnatal human and mouse development and in the adult, processes of metaplastic evolution of SC junction, microglandular change and early cervical neoplasia. Early in life, embryonic cervical epithelial cells were seen throughout the cervix and subsequently diminished in number to become concentrated at the SC junction in the adult. In all settings, there was a repetitive scenario in which cuboidal embryonic/SC junction cells gave rise to subjacent metaplastic basal/reserve cells with a switch from the SC junction positive to negative immunophenotype. This downward or basal (rather than upward or apical) evolution from progenitor cell to metaplastic progeny was termed reverse or "top down" differentiation. A similar pattern was noted in high grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL), suggesting HPV infection of the cuboidal SC junction cells initiated outgrowth of basally-oriented neoplastic progeny. The progressive loss of the embryonic/SC junction markers occurred with top-down differentiation during development, remodeling and early neoplasia. Interestingly, most low grade SILs were SC junction negative, implying infection of metaplastic progeny rather than the original SC junction cells. This proposed model of "top down" differentiation resolves the mystery of how SC junction cells both remodel the cervix and participate in neoplasia and provides for a second population of metaplastic progeny (including basal and reserve cells), the infection of which is paradoxically less likely to produce a biologically aggressive precursor. It also provides new targets in animal models to determine why the SC junction is uniquely susceptible to carcinogenic HPV infection. Copyright (c) 2012 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [less ▲]

Lexicografía e informática: sí, pero... / Lexicographie et informatique: oui, mais...

in Ruiz Miyares, Leonel; Álvarez Silva, María Rosa; Muñoz Alvarado, Alex (Eds.) Actualizaciones en Comunicación Social - Vol. 1 (2013)

Laboratory management of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia: proposing a new paradigm

in Advances in Anatomic Pathology (2013)

Novel functional degradable block copolymers for the building of reactive micelles

in Polymer Chemistry (2013), 4(4), 1025-1037

Amphiphilic biocompatible copolymers are promising materials for the elaboration of nanosystems for drug delivery applications. This paper aims at reporting on the synthesis of new functional amphiphilic ... [more ▼]

Amphiphilic biocompatible copolymers are promising materials for the elaboration of nanosystems for drug delivery applications. This paper aims at reporting on the synthesis of new functional amphiphilic copolymers based on biocompatible and bioeliminable blocks. Poly(ethylene oxide) was selected as the hydrophilic block, whereas an aliphatic polyester, i.e. poly(epsilon-caprolactone), or a polycarbonate, i.e. poly(trimethylene carbonate), were chosen as the degradable hydrophobic block. In order to allow a post-functionalization of the micelles core, azide groups were introduced on the hydrophobic segment to provide reactivity towards functional alkyne derivatives by the copper azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC). For this purpose, a functional lactone, i.e. alpha-chloro-epsilon-caprolactone was introduced during the polymerization of the hydrophobic block before being converted into azide on the preformed copolymer. Such reactivity of the block copolymers and their self-assemblies is of prime interest for drugs or fluorescent dyes grafting, so as for micelles cross-linking. The influence of the azides distribution along the degradable block on the micelles post-functionalization ability has been studied by using alkyne bearing fluorescent dyes as model for drugs. The hydrophilicity of the dye on the micelles post-functionalization efficiency has also been investigated. [less ▲]

Efficacité des méthodes de lutte contre le développement de cinq espèces de plantes invasives amphibies : Crassula helmsii , Hydrocotyle ranunculoides , Ludwigia grandiflora , Ludwigia peploides et Myriophyllum aquaticum (synthèse bibliographique)

in Biotechnologie, Agronomie, Société et Environnement = Biotechnology, Agronomy, Society and Environment [=BASE] (2013), 17(1), 88-103

Parmi les espèces invasives connaissant une expansion rapide en Europe, les plantes dites « amphibies » sont particulièrement problématiques. Elles sont capables de former des populations très denses à la ... [more ▼]

Parmi les espèces invasives connaissant une expansion rapide en Europe, les plantes dites « amphibies » sont particulièrement problématiques. Elles sont capables de former des populations très denses à la surface des plans d’eau, se développant à la fois sous l’eau et hors de l’eau. La lutte contre ces espèces, en vue de l’éradication totale ou du ralentissement de l’invasion, représente un défi de taille pour les gestionnaires. Une synthèse bibliographique des méthodes de lutte existantes pour Crassula helmsii, Hydrocotyle ranunculoides, Ludwigia grandiflora, L. peploides et Myriophyllum aquaticum a été réalisée, prenant en considération leur efficacité et leur coût. Des 88 études analysées, il ressort une grande disparité d’effort de recherche (nombre d’études, échelles spatiales des études) entre méthodes de lutte et entre espèces. Néanmoins, l’efficacité des différentes méthodes de lutte est comparable pour les cinq espèces étudiées. Globalement, les cas d’éradication sont rares. Ils sont le résultat de luttes mécaniques ou chimiques, souvent couplées à des interventions complémentaires telles que la finition manuelle. Malgré une forte occurrence dans la littérature, la lutte chimique, moins fastidieuse à mettre en place et moins coûteuse que les autres méthodes, n’a montré des niveaux d’efficacité satisfaisants qu’avec certaines matières actives. De même, la lutte biologique a montré peu de résultats encourageants à ce jour. Il est à noter que certains agents de lutte biologique sont d’ores et déjà considérés comme des espèces invasives en Europe. A contrario, malgré leur faible occurrence dans la littérature, l’arrachage manuel ou mécanique suivi de finitions manuelles a donné des niveaux d’efficacité satisfaisants. Vu les difficultés de lutter contre les espèces invasives amphibies et les dommages collatéraux potentiels sur les écosystèmes, un débat impliquant scientifiques, autorités et gestionnaires de plans d’eau devra avoir lieu afin de poser les bases d’une gestion cohérente à grande échelle. [less ▲]

Dispersion of multiwalled carbon nanotubes in water by lignin

in Journal of Materials Science (2013), 48(14), 4962-4964

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) can be stably dispersed in water with small amount of lignin. One-step dispersion in the 20.0 g/L concentration range is achieved at room temperature with excellent ... [more ▼]

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) can be stably dispersed in water with small amount of lignin. One-step dispersion in the 20.0 g/L concentration range is achieved at room temperature with excellent electrical properties of MWCNT. Lignin is depicted to act as an anti-static agent. [less ▲]