Beware of breast fibroadenomas in middle-aged women

On first examination of 8512 Quebec area women from 40 to 59 years of age who participated in the National Study of Breast Cancer Screening, the prevalence of fibroadenoma was 8.3 per 1000. In two women, a carcinoma was discovered within their fibroadenoma--intraductal carcinoma in one and an infiltrating ductal carcinoma in the other. Clinical and histopathologic findings are described and the prognosis and treatment discussed. The peak age of women at the time of diagnosis of a fibroadenoma is in their twenties while for those with a fibroadenoma containing a carcinoma, it is in the forties. For patients under 25 years, excision can be postponed for a few months since spontaneous regression may occur and the risk of breast cancer is small at that age. For older women, treatment should not be delayed.

Cognitive, perceptual, and personal-social development of prematurely born preschoolers

This study was designed to determine possible differences in the cognitive, perceptual, and personal-social development of prematurely and maturely born 3-yr.-olds which might foreshadow later learning problems. The subjects were 40 prematurely born graduates of a neonatal intensive care unit (birth weight less than 2,500 gm, less than 37 wk. gestation) matched on the pair-level with full-term controls on sex, race, post-conceptual age, and socioeconomic background. All subjects were singletons and parity was matched at the group level. No differences were found between the groups on tests of higher mental processes including the General Cognitive, Verbal, Quantitative, and Memory Scales of the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities, and researcher-devised measures of problem-solving competence. No differences in parental reports of personal-social development were noted. Prematures did not perform as well as controls on perceptual performance tasks, and this difference was interpreted as reflecting relatively impaired visual-motor coordination.

Mucous cells of the tracheobronchial tree in the ferret

Mucosubstances in the tracheobronchial tree of the ferret were studied histochemically. The submucous glands contained predominantly neutral mucins. Scattered between these were cells containing sulphated mucins and sialidase-labile and sialidase-resistant sialomucins. Most of the goblet cells in the trachea, as well as those in the bronchi and larger bronchioles, contained sulphated mucins. A smaller proportion of the goblet cells showed sialidase-labile and sialidase-resistant sialomucins. It will be interesting to see whether ferrets can be used to produce animal models for hypersecretory diseases such as cystic fibrosis and chronic bronchitis.

Mucosubstances in the colonic goblet cells of the ferret

Mucosubstances in the colonic goblet cells of the ferret (Putorius [Mustela] furo) were studied histochemically. They contained predominantly sulphated mucosubstances in the proximal colon and only sulphated mucosubstances in the distal colon. The sulphated mucosubstances were of weakly acidic nature. Some deep cells and a few superficial cells in the proximal colon contained sialomucins which were sialidase-sensitive. Neutral mucosubstances were not found in the colon.

Histochemistry of mucosubstances in the lingual glands of the mongoose

The histochemistry of mucosubstances in the lingual glands of the mongoose was studied. Both serous and mucous or mixed glands were present in the posterior part of the tongue. In serous glands, acinar cells and occasional duct cells contained granules which gave reactions for neutral mucosubstances only. In mucous glands, tubular cells, acinar cells and duct cells all contained weakly sulphated mucosubstances. Demilune cells contained neutral mucosubstances. Occasional demilune cells contained weakly sulphated mucosubstances. Carboxylated mucosubstances (sialomucins) were not found in the lingual glands.

Myxoid liposarcoma. An electronmicroscopic study: biological and histogenetic considerations

Ten myxoid liposarcomas (ML) were studied ultrastructurally in an attempt to determine the histogenesis of this neoplasm and structural associations which might contribute to their relatively benign clinical behavior. The findings were compared with normal and neoplastic adipose tissue. Three cell types were observed, i.e., "primitive" mesenchymal cells, intermediate cell types, and lipoblasts at various stages of development. The principle differences between the lipoblastic elements were the number and the size of intracytoplasmic fat vacuoles, the development of basement membrane-like material, micropinocytotic vesicles along the plasma membrane and the quantity and pleomorphism of mitochondria. The tumor vasculature was complex but consistently demonstrated a multilayered basal lamina. This finding has been described in neoplasms associated with a relatively good prognosis. This study demonstrates that the better differentiated lipoblasts in ML share some features with normal brown fetal fat and hibernoma. It is, thus, suggested that ML may be derived from brown adipose tissue.

Mucosubstance histochemistry of Brunner's glands, pyloric glands and duodenal goblet cells in the ferret

The mucosubstance of Brunner's glands, pyloric glands and duodenal goblet cells were studied using the various histochemical methods. The secretions of both Brunner's and pyloric glands were similar in their histochemical reactions. They contained neutral mucosubstances as in these glands in man. The duodenal goblet cells showed variations in their histochemical characters. (i) The secretions of most of the deep cells and the majority of superficial cells contained sialidase-labile and sialidase-resistant sialomucins. (ii) There were a few superficial and occasional deep cells, the secretions of which contained sulphated mucosubstances. (iii) There were some goblet cells, more in the villi than in the crypts, the secretions of which contained a mixture of sialomucins and a sulphated mucin. The sialomucin was mostly sialidase-labile and partly sialidase-resistant.

Histology and mucosubstance histochemistry of ferret lingual glands

The histology and mucosubstance histochemistry of the ferret lingual glands were studied. Both serous and mucous minor salivary glands were present in the posterior part of the tongue. In serous glands, acinar cells and a very few cells of the excretory ducts contained granules which gave reactions for neutral mucopolysaccharides only. The mucous glands, including the duct system, contained mainly weakly sulphated acidic mucin, some neutral mucin but no carboxylated mucin. Occasional goblet cells were present in the excretory ducts of both serous and mucous glands. They contained weakly sulphated mucin.

Incidences of simple and transferable drug resistance in Escherichia coli and Salmonella isolated from various foods: identification of a R plasmid in S. saint-paul

A study of 1,043 strains of E. coli and 22 strains of Salmonella isolated from various foods in eastern France between the dates of June 1974 and December 1976 showed that 164 (15.6%) of E. coli and nine Salmonella were resistant to one or several drugs. Only 18 of the 83 resistant E. coli strains were able to transfer their resistance to tetracycline and some other drug resistance to E. coli K12 in vitro. A conjugative R plasmid has been identified by transfer experiments, incompatibility testing and agarose gel electrophoresis in a strain of multiresistant S. saint-paul.

Histology and mucosubstance histochemistry of mongoose salivary glands

The histology and mucosubstance histochemistry of the mongoose salivary glands were studied. Histologically, the mongoose salivary glands were generally similar to those in other carnivores (dog, cat and ferret). The mucosubstance histochemistry demonstrated considerable variations in the parotid, submandibular and sublingual glands in comparison to the other carnivores. The partoid gland contained carboxylated mucin which was sialidase-resistant. Granules in a few cells also contained sulphated mucin. Both submandibular and sublingual glands contained mainly carboxylated sialomucin which was sialidase-labile except in a few cell, some neutral mucin but no sulphated mucin. The molar and zygomatic glands were similar to those in the other carnivores. They contained both sulphated and carboxylated mucins but no neutral mucin. The carboxylated mucin was sialidase-resistant.

The histochemistry of mucosubstances in ferret salivary glands

The mucosubstances of the major salivary glands of the ferret were analysed using different histochemical reactions. Almost all the parotid acinar cells had sialic acid-containing mucus. There were a very few cells, the granules of which gave reactions for sulphated mucins. Submandibular gland mucus was sulphated in the major parts of the gland. There were occasional cells which gave reactions to carboxylated mucin. The sublingual and the molar glands had tubules which had 2 types of mucous cells. The central cells contained sulphated mucins and the peripheral ones had carboxylated mucins. The mucus in the tubules of the zygomatic gland was predominantly sulphated. In the sublingual, molar as well as in the zygomatic, there were granulated cells scattered among the tubules. Some of these granules were found to contain carboxylated and the others neutral mucins. No sexual dimorphism was observed in any of the glands among the 4 male and 4 female ferrets used in this study.

Regeneration of the islets of Langerhans in the Guinea pig

The regeneration of the islets of Langerhans in the guinea pig was studied after intravenous injection of alloxan. A number of beta cells in the islets was destroyed within 24h after alloxan, but after 48h there was a rapid proliferation of the surviving cells of the islets. This depended on the dosage of the drug as well as the timing. Electron microscopy of the islet at 48h showed that the dividing cells had small electron dense granules and resembled a sub-type of normal A cells, whose function is not yet known. There were also many agranular cells in the islet. These two groups of cells seen in the regenerating islet could be precursor cells, which could differentiate into beta cells. There was no evidence for transformation of duct cells or acinar cells into islet cells. None of the guinea pigs became permanently diabetic. This was probably due to inadequate dosage which resulted in only partial degeneration of the beta cells followed by regeneration and recovery. There was also some regeneration of the liver, kidney and the adrenal cortex following alloxan.

Gross and microscopic anatomy of the major salivary glands of the ferret

The gross and microscopic anatomy of the major salivary glands of the ferret was studied. There were 5 pairs of major salivary glands, parotid, submandibular, sublingua, molar and zygomatic. They were of compound tubuloacinar type and consisted of numerous lobes and lobules. The parotid gland was grossly similar to the parotids in other mammals but histologically it was seromucous as in the carnivores dog and cat. The parotid duct opened into the vestibule of the mouth opposite the upper third premolar tooth. The submandibular gland was single on each side, oval in shape and cervical in position. Histologically it was entirely mucous. The submandibular duct opened at a sublingual papilla in the oral cavity at the side of the frenulum of the tongue. The sublingual gland was the smallest of the major salivary glands. It was single on each side and lay deep to the digastric muscle. It opened by several small ductules into the submandibular duct. It was mainly mucous and did not contain intercalated and striated ducts. The molar gland was located superficially near the angle of the mouth. It was irregularly pyramidal and opened by several small ducts into the vesibule opposite the lower molar teeth. It was predominantly mucous. There were no intercalated or striated ducts. The zygomatic gland was present deep to the masseter and related to the orbit in the infra-temporal fossa. The gland opened by several small ducts into the vestibule opposite the upper molar teeth. It was also predominantly mucous and there were no intercalated or striated ducts.