The inframammary skin-sparing mastectomy technique.

Skin-sparing mastectomy and immediate implant-based breast reconstruction is technically a challenging procedures for women with large, ptotic breasts. This is usually performed using the Wise pattern incision resulting in an inverted T scar, which is associated with postoperative complications. The other challenge is obtaining adequate coverage of the prosthesis. We describe a technique that avoids the inverted T scar and provides a single horizontal scar with a double dermo-muscular layer coverage of the prosthesis.

Coordination of larval and prepupal gene expression by the DHR3 orphan receptor during Drosophila metamorphosis.

The DHR3 orphan receptor gene is induced directly by the steroid hormone ecdysone at the onset of Drosophila metamorphosis. DHR3 expression peaks in early prepupae, as the early puff genes are repressed and betaFTZ-F1 is induced. Here we provide evidence that DHR3 directly contributes to both of these regulatory responses. DHR3 protein is bound to many ecdysone-induced puffs in the polytene chromosomes, including the early puffs that encode the BR-C and E74 regulatory genes, as well as the E75, E78 and betaFTZ-F1 orphan receptor loci. Three DHR3 binding sites were identified downstream from the start site of betaFTZ-F1 transcription, further indicating that this gene is a direct target of DHR3 regulation. Ectopic expression of DHR3 revealed that the polytene chromosome binding pattern is of functional significance. DHR3 is sufficient to repress BR-C, E74A, E75A and E78B transcription as well as induce betaFTZ-F1. DHR3 thus appears to function as a switch that defines the larval-prepupal transition by arresting the early regulatory response to ecdysone at puparium formation and facilitating the induction of the betaFTZ-F1 competence factor in mid-prepupae. This study also provides evidence for direct cross-regulation among orphan members of the nuclear receptor superfamily and further implicates these genes as critical transducers of the hormonal signal during the onset of Drosophila metamorphosis.

Stable mycoplasma antigen preparations for indirect hemagglutination tests.

In immunological studies of mycoplasmas, the use of glutaraldehyde for the fixative makes it possible to use erythrocytes from commercially available defibrinated sheep blood. It eliminates the necessity of having to screen blood from individual sheep to obtain a suitable source of erythrocytes, as when employing tannic acid for fixation and sensitization. The chemical bonding of soluble mycoplasma proteins to glutaraladehyde-fixed sheep erythrocytes by bis-diazotized 3,3'dimethoxy derivative, benzidine, yields preparations that are satisfactory antigens for performing the indirect hemagglutination test by the microtiter technique. The antigenic preparations are satisfactory for use after storage at 4 or -10 C for many months. Incorporation of 5% glycerine in the final suspending milieu makes it possible to obtain uniform suspensions of the fixed and sensitized sheep erythrocytes after freezing and after repeated freezing and thawing. Proteins from Mycoplasma arthritidis and M. hominis have been coupled to glutaraldehyde-fixed erythrocytes by diazotization. The last mentioned preparation detected the presence of antibodies in titers greater than 1:10 in 37% of 237 pregnant women whose ages ranged between 20 and 30 years. There was no correlation between the presence of specific antibodies in the blood and the isolation of M. hominis from the cervical canal.