Correction to: Common findings of blaCTX-M-55-encoding 104-139 kbp plasmids harbored by extended-spectrum ß-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli in pork meat, wholesale market workers, and patients with urinary tract infection in Vietnam.

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake. The legends of Tables 2 and 3, Fig. 1 are incorrect. The corrected legends are given below.

Common findings of bla CTX-M-55-encoding 104-139 kbp plasmids harbored by extended-spectrum ß-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli in pork meat, wholesale market workers, and patients with urinary tract infection in Vietnam.

Extended-spectrum, ß-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli (ESBL-E) harboring the bla CTX-M-55-encoding plasmid (ESBL-E55) has been reported to be associated with urinary tract infection (UTI). The aims of this study were to clarify the prevalence of ESBL-E55 in pork meats and workers from the same wholesale market, as well as patients with UTI from a nearby hospital in Vietnam; we also investigated the plasmids encoding bla CTX-M-55. Sequencing analysis showed that 66.6% of the ESBL-E isolated from pork meats contained bla CTX-M-55, whereas the gene was present in 25.0% of workers and 12.5% of patients with UTI. Plasmid analysis showed that several sizes of plasmid encoded bla CTX-M-55 in ESBL-E55 isolated from pork meats, whereas ESBL-E55 isolated from workers and patients with UTI contained only 104-139 kbp of bla CTX-M-55-encoding plasmids. This indicates that the 104-139 kbp sizes of bla CTX-M-55-encoding plasmids were commonly disseminated in pork meats, wholesale market workers, and patients with UTI.

[Paraclinoid region: descriptive anatomy and radiological correlations with MR imaging]. / La région paraclinoïdienne: anatomie descriptive et corrélations radiologiques en imagerie par résonance magnétique.

OBJECTIVE: The paraclinoid region has a complex anatomy. The purpose of this study was to depict in details its anatomical landmarks and their radiological translations with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MATERIAL AND METHOD: Ten anatomical specimens (20 paraclinoid regions) were prepared, then dissected and further analyzed with MRI in order to describe their important radio-anatomical structures (dural folds, osseous surfaces, arteries and nerves) along with their course and measurements, and the reference points of the carotid distal dural ring. The paraclinoid MR protocol consisted in a T2 high-resolution sequence with thin and contiguous slices acquired in a coronal (diaphragmatic) and sagittal oblique (carotid) plane. Reproducibility in living subjects was evaluated on 15 patients (30 paraclinoid regions). Statistical comparison was made between laboratory and MR measurements obtained on cadavers. RESULTS: A detailed description of paraclinoid anatomy and structures was provided. Its landmarks were satisfactorily identified with the dedicated MR protocol. Reproducibility in living subjects was obtained. No statistical difference was found between laboratory and MR measurements. CONCLUSION: This study provides a precise description of paraclinoid anatomical structures and their radiological correlations. This paraclinoid MR protocol allows locating paraclinoid lesions in comparison with the cavernous sinus roof, which is of paramount importance for the management of paraclinoid carotid artery aneurysms.

Recycling of E-cadherin: a potential mechanism for regulating cadherin dynamics.

E-Cadherin plays critical roles in many aspects of cell adhesion, epithelial development, and the establishment and maintenance of epithelial polarity. The fate of E-cadherin once it is delivered to the basolateral cell surface, and the mechanisms which govern its participation in adherens junctions, are not well understood. Using surface biotinylation and recycling assays, we observed that some of the cell surface E-cadherin is actively internalized and is then recycled back to the plasma membrane. The pool of E-cadherin undergoing endocytosis and recycling was markedly increased in cells without stable cell-cell contacts, i.e., in preconfluent cells and after cell contacts were disrupted by depletion of extracellular Ca2+, suggesting that endocytic trafficking of E-cadherin is regulated by cell-cell contact. The reformation of cell junctions after replacement of Ca2+ was then found to be inhibited when recycling of endocytosed E-cadherin was disrupted by bafilomycin treatment. The endocytosis and recycling of E-cadherin and of the transferrin receptor were similarly inhibited by potassium depletion and by bafilomycin treatment, and both proteins were accumulated in intracellular compartments by an 18 degrees C temperature block, suggesting that endocytosis may occur via a clathrin-mediated pathway. We conclude that a pool of surface E-cadherin is constantly trafficked through an endocytic, recycling pathway and that this may provide a mechanism for regulating the availability of E-cadherin for junction formation in development, tissue remodeling, and tumorigenesis.

[Strokes in South Vietnam: an epidemiologic study]. / Les accidents vasculaires cérébraux au Sud Viêt-nam: étude épidémiologique.

Strokes are a major health problem in Vietnam, but to date, there has been no epidemiology survey reporting data in this country. We collected epidemiology data on strokes using a door-to-door survey in 1994-1995 in three different regions of southern Vietnam (one site in a Hô Chi Minh City and two rural areas in the Tiên Giang and Kiên Giang provinces). Interviewers were medical students and non-medical staff trained in the use of questionnaire based on WHO diagnostic criteria for stroke. Results of the interviews were reviewed and detected stroke patients were examined by a team of experience neurologists. U-test was used for statistical analysis. After age adjustment, stroke prevalence was 6.08 per 1,000 inhabitants. Prevalence increased with age. Mortality and incidence, after age adjustment, were 1.31 and 2.5 per 1,000 inhabitants respectively. Due to the lack of detailed death certificates in these regions, these data must be considered carefully. Arterial hypertension was recognized as the most important risk factor for stroke in our survey.

[Choroidal metastases of a bronchial carcinoid tumor. Review of cases in the literature. A case report]. / Métastases choroïdiennes d'une tumeur carcinoïde bronchique. Revue des cas de la littérature. A propos d'un cas.

Carcinoid tumors are rare tumors with low malignancy. They are most often located in the digestive system and the bronchial tree. They metastasize to the lymph nodes, liver, bones and very rarely to the eye. Choroidal metastases almost always originate from the bronchial tree. Inversely, most orbital metastases originate in the digestive tract. Sometimes they have an orange color useful for diagnosis. We report the case of a woman who developed a bronchogenic carcinoid tumor at the age of 18, and presented five years later with bilateral and multifocal choroidal metastases. There was no other metastatic site. She has been treated with photocoagulation and cryotherapy. From the 25 previously reported cases, one can summarize that these specific metastasis grow slowly and allow good long-term survival.

[Electrophysiologic and mediator characteristics of the reactions of the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus to stimulation of different receptor zones of the skin]. / Elektrofiziologicheskie i mediatornye osobennosti reaktsii neironov arkuatnogo iadra gipotalamusa na razdrazhenie razlichnykh kozhno-retseptornykh zon.

Some electrophysiological and mediator peculiarities of hypothalamic arcuate nuclei-neuron populations, forming skin-receptor projection fields in vibrissae, anterior and posterior extremities were studied. The results obtained indicate mediator polymorphism and different involvement of arcuate nuclei neurons in response to electrostimulation of spatially disseminated skin-receptor areas.

Results of a self-absorption study on the Versapor 3000 47-mm filters for radioactive particulate air stack sampling.

Since the mid-1980's the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has used a value of 0.85 as a correction factor for the self absorption of activity for particulate radioactive air samples collected from building exhaust for environmental monitoring. More recently, an effort was made to evaluate the current particulate radioactive air sample filters (Versapor 3000, 47-mm diameter) used at PNNL for self absorption effects. There were two methods used to characterize the samples. Sixty samples were selected from the archive for acid digestion to compare the radioactivity measured by direct gas-flow proportional counting of filters to the results obtained after acid digestion of the filter and counting again by gas-flow proportional detection. Thirty different sample filters were selected for visible light microscopy to evaluate filter loading and particulate characteristics. Mass-loading effects were also considered. Large error is associated with the sample filter analysis comparison and subsequently with the estimation of the absorption factor resulting in an inadequate method to estimate losses from self-absorption in the sample filter. The mass loading on the sample filter as determined after digestion and drying was approximately 0.08 mg cm; however, this value may not represent the total filter mass loading given that there may be undetermined losses associated with the digestion process. While it is difficult to determine how much material is imbedded in the filter, observations from the microscopy analysis indicate that the vast majority of the particles remain on the top of the filter. In comparing the results obtained, the continued use of 0.85 as a conservative correction factor is recommended.

[Electrophysiological analysis of adrenergic mechanisms of the hypothalamic regulation of male gonads]. / Elektrofiziologicheskii analiz adrenergicheskikh mekhanizmov gipotalamicheskoi reguliatsii muzhskikh polovykh zhelez.

Rausedyl-induced depletion of catecholamine depot leads in pubertal male rats to a sharp decrease in the count of arcuate hypothalamus active neurons and to a reduction of their impulse activity. Activation of impulse activity that occurs under these conditions after testosterone propionate administration is opposite to testosterone response on the part of arcuate neurons of intact animals, thus indicating the predominant role of adrenergic mechanisms in negative feed-back realization in the hypothalamus-hypophysis-gonadal system.

[Effect of testosterone on the background impulse activity of the arcuate nucleus neurons of the hypothalamus]. / Vliianie testosterona na fonovuiu impul' snuiu aktivnost' neironov arkuatnykh iader gipotalamusa.

Experiments on pubertal male rats have shown a decrease in the mean frequency of neuronal impulse activity of arcuate hypothalamic nuclei 1 hour after intramuscular injection of oily solution of testosterone propionate. This is one of the possible mechanisms of decreased liberin-producing function of arcuate nuclei, that underlies the negative feed-back control of male sex glands.

GAIP, a Galphai-3-binding protein, is associated with Golgi-derived vesicles and protein trafficking.

Proteins of the regulators of G protein signaling (RGS) family bind to Galpha subunits to downregulate their signaling in a variety of systems. Galpha-interacting protein (GAIP) is a mammalian RGS protein that shows high affinity for the activated state of Galphai-3, a protein known to regulate post-Golgi trafficking of secreted proteins in kidney epithelial cells. This study aimed to localize GAIP in epithelial cells and to investigate its potential role in the regulation of membrane trafficking. LLC-PK1 cells were stably transfected with a c-myc-tagged GAIP cDNA. In the transfected and untransfected cells, GAIP was found in the cytosol and on cell membranes. Immunogold labeling showed that membrane-bound GAIP was localized on budding vesicles around Golgi stacks. When an in vitro assay was used to generate vesicles from isolated rat liver and Madin-Darby canine kidney cell Golgi membranes, GAIP was found to be concentrated in fractions of newly budded Golgi vesicles. Finally, the constitutive trafficking and secretion of sulfated proteoglycans was measured in cell lines overexpressing GAIP. We show evidence for GAIP regulation of secretory trafficking before the level of the trans-Golgi network but not in post-Golgi secretion. The location and functional effects of GAIP overlap only partially with those of Galphai-3 and suggest multiple roles for GAIP in epithelial cells.

A dileucine motif targets E-cadherin to the basolateral cell surface in Madin-Darby canine kidney and LLC-PK1 epithelial cells.

E-cadherin is a major adherens junction protein of epithelial cells, with a central role in cell-cell adhesion and cell polarity. Newly synthesized E-cadherin is targeted to the basolateral cell surface. We analyzed targeting information in the cytoplasmic tail of E-cadherin by utilizing chimeras of E-cadherin fused to the ectodomain of the interleukin-2alpha (IL-2alpha) receptor expressed in Madin-Darby canine kidney and LLC-PK(1) epithelial cells. Chimeras containing the full-length or membrane-proximal half of the E-cadherin cytoplasmic tail were correctly targeted to the basolateral domain. Sequence analysis of the membrane-proximal tail region revealed the presence of a highly conserved dileucine motif, which was analyzed as a putative targeting signal by mutagenesis. Elimination of this motif resulted in the loss of Tac/E-cadherin basolateral localization, pinpointing this dileucine signal as being both necessary and sufficient for basolateral targeting of E-cadherin. Truncation mutants unable to bind beta-catenin were correctly targeted, showing, contrary to current understanding, that beta-catenin is not required for basolateral trafficking. Our results also provide evidence that dileucine-mediated targeting is maintained in LLC-PK(1) cells despite the altered polarity of basolateral proteins with tyrosine-based signals in this cell line. These results provide the first direct insights into how E-cadherin is targeted to the basolateral membrane.

The epidemiology and disease burden of rotavirus in Vietnam: sentinel surveillance at 6 hospitals.

The disease burden of rotavirus diarrhea in Vietnam was assessed by surveillance of children <5 years old who were hospitalized for diarrhea at 3 centers in the north and 3 centers in the south. Rotavirus was identified in 56% (range, 47%-60%) of the 5768 patients surveyed between July 1998 and June 2000. G-typing of the first 224 strains indicated that only 2% were non-typeable, 9% were in mixed infections, and the remainder were of the common serotypes G1, G2, G3, G4, and G9. In Vietnam, diarrhea accounts for 9880 deaths per year, which is approximately 15% of all deaths among children <5 years old, or 6.5 deaths per 1000 children. If even 50% of these diarrhea-related deaths in Vietnam were due to rotavirus, the number would represent 4%-8% of all deaths among children <5 years old, 2700-5400 rotavirus-related deaths per year, and 1 death per 280-560 children during the first 5 years of life. Thus, the disease burden of rotavirus in Vietnam is substantial, and programs to encourage the use of oral rehydration should be encouraged while efforts to develop vaccines continue.