Interaction of metal ions with lupin seed conglutin gamma.

Various metal ions were capable of aggregating and precipitating conglutin gamma, an oligomeric glycoprotein purified from Lupinus albus seeds, at neutral pH values. The most effective metal ions, at 60-fold molar excess to the protein, were Zn2+, Hg2+ and Cu2+; a lower influence on the physical status of conglutin gamma was observed with Cr3+, Fe3+, Co2+, Ni2+, Cd2+, Sn2+, and Pb2+, while Mg2+, Ca2+ and Mn2+ had no effect at all. The insolubilisation of the protein with Zn2+, which is fully reversible, strictly depended on both metal concentration and pH. with middle points of the sharp transitions at three-fold molar excess and pH 6.5, respectively. Conglutin gamma is also fully retained on a metal affinity chromatography column at which Zn2+ and Ni2+ were complexed. A drop of pH below 6.0 and the use of chelating agents, such as EDTA and imidazole, fully desorbed the protein. A slightly lower binding to immobilised Cu2+ and Co2+ and no binding with Mg2+, Cd2+ and Mn2+ were observed. The role of the numerous histidine residues of conglutin gamma in the binding of Zn2+ is discussed.

Art therapy as support for children with leukemia during painful procedures.

BACKGROUND: Children with leukemia undergo painful procedures such as lumbar puncture and bone marrow aspiration. To overcome pain, certain units offer total anesthesia; others offer generic support; others offer no preparation at all. Since September, 1997, we have provided leukemic children with art therapy (AT), a nonverbal and creative modality that develops coping skills. Our goal is to prevent anxiety and fear during painful interventions as well as prolonged emotional distress. PROCEDURE: We treated 32 children aged 2-14 years. The modes of AT before, during, and after the punctures were as follows: clinical dialogue to calm children and help them cope with painful procedures; visual imagination to activate alternative thought processes and decrease the attention towards overwhelming reality and raise the peripheral sensitivity gate; medical play to clarify illness, eliminate doubts, and offer control over threatening reality; structured drawing to contain anxiety by offering a structured, predictable reality (the drawing) that was controllable by children; free drawing to allow children to externalize confusion and fears; and dramatization to help children accept and reconcile themselves to body changes. RESULTS: Children hospitalized before September, 1997, exhibited resistance and anxiety during and after painful procedures. By contrast, children provided with AT from the first hospitalization exhibited collaborative behavior. They or their parents asked for AT when the intervention had to be repeated. Parents declared themselves better able to manage the painful procedures when AT was offered. CONCLUSION: AT was shown to be a useful intervention that can prevent permanent trauma and support children and parents during intrusive interventions.

Carcinoid of the ileocaecal valve: a case report.

The authors present a case of carcinoid of the ileocaecal valve. The patient complained for over one year of mild pain in the right lower quadrant of the abdomen. Colonoscopy had shown hyperaemia on the colic side of the ileocaecal valve which appeared substenotic and biopsy revealed micronodules formed by chromogranin-A-positive neuroendocrine cells. Roentgenography of the small bowel and barium enema revealed a specular filling defect in the caecum and in the terminal ileum near the ileocaecal valve. Right hemicolectomy was performed and the definitive diagnosis was carcinoid of the ileocaecal valve. The tumour had spread to all layers of the intestinal wall and 4/19 lymph nodes were metastatic. The patient refused an oncological examination; however, three years after surgery there are no signs of recurrence. Carcinoids have been included in the APUD system and usually present endocrine activity. The 5-year survival of patients with gastrointestinal carcinoids is 80% when located in the appendix and rectum as against 50% in the stomach, jejunum and colon, because the localisation in the appendix and rectum is marked by clinical signs of appendicitis and rectal bleeding, which suggest diagnostic examinations useful for an early diagnosis. Radical operations according to the rules of oncologically correct surgery are the treatment of choice, while complementary treatments have yet to be codified.

Differential expression of four genes encoding 1-aminocyclopropane-1-caroboxylate synthase in Lupinus albus during germination, and in response to indole-3-acetic acid and wounding.

1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) synthase (ACS; EC 4.4.1.14) is the key regulatory enzyme of the ethylene biosynthetic pathway and is encoded by a multigene family in Arabidopsis thaliana, tomato, mung bean and other plants. Southern blot analysis revealed the existence of at least five ACS genes in white lupin (Lupinus albus L.) genome. Four complete and one partial sequences representing different ACS genes were cloned from the lupin genomic library. The levels of expression of two of the genes, LA-ACS1 and LA-ACS3, were found to increase after hypocotyl wounding. Apparently, these two genes were up-regulated by exogenous IAA treatment of seedlings. The LA-ACS3 mRNA levels were also elevated in the apical part of hypocotyl, which is reported to contain a high endogenous auxin concentration. This gene may be involved in the auxin- and ethylene-controlled apical hook formation. The expression of the LA-ACS4 gene was found to be almost undetectable. This gene may represent a "silent" twin of LA-ACS5 as these two genes share a considerable level of homology in coding and non-coding regions. The LA-ACS5 mRNA is strongly up-regulated in the embryonic axis of germinating seeds at the time of radicle emergence, and was also found in roots and hypocotyls of lupin seedlings.

Radio-hyperthermia for subcutaneous metastasis of hemangiopericytoma of the mediastinum: case report.

Hemangiopericytoma is a rare type of neoplasia originating from the Zimmermann pericytes and can arise in numerous sites. As it is difficult to correlate the histologic aspect with the prognosis, it was considered advisable to take account of other factors such as age and tumoral site. Aggressive surgery followed by irradiation therapy is suggested as the most suitable management. Hyperthermia also was adopted in treating subcutaneous metastasis, but its role has yet to be fully defined.