Perigraft seroma is a rare complication of polytetrafluoroethylene grafts especially in the lower limb. It is often difficult to treat and recurrence is common. We present a case of a young woman who sustained a persistent perigraft seroma following a polytetrafluoroethylene graft in the proximal thigh, which was implanted as an alternative to an arteriovenous fistula. The cause was not ascertained and this was eventually treated by complete removal of the graft. This case highlights an unusual complication of polytetrafluoroethylene grafts that are commonly used in vascular access surgery, which can be challenging to treat. The use of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) grafts has recently become an accepted alternative to an arteriovenous fistula in patients plagued with vascular access problems. Thrombosis and infection are amongst the major causes of morbidity reported in patients with PTFE grafts . We repoWe present a 31-year-old female British national of Asian ethnicity who was electively admitted for fashioning of a loop PTFE graft to the right thigh. Intra-operatively, the arterial and venous limbs of the graft were anastomosed end-to-side to the superficial femoral artery and femoral vein respectively. A good thrill and bruit were documented post-procedure.Post operatively, swelling and tenderness was noted around the groin incision extending over the subcutaneous tunnel of the looped segment of the graft. In a fortnight, the thigh remained swollen and tender to touch. Intermittent temperature spikes were noted with a moderate leucocytosis and an elevated C-reactive protein (CRP). This was treated conservatively with broad spectrum intravenous antibiotics and compression stockings. Serial ultrasound scans confirmed a groin collection, subcutaneous oedema of the thigh and good flows in the graft. Two wound explorations were performed for evacuation of perigraft haematomas and washouts. Unfortunately, on each occasion, the swelling resumed.As a means of symptomatic relief, a 14-gauge (14G) cannula connected to a free drainage system was inserted into the swelling. This drained 1.7 litres of serous fluid overnight. In suspect of a lymphatic leak, a pre-operative lymphangiogram was performed and the patient consented for surgery.Intra-operatively, we observed active oozing serum from a 3 cm portion of the arterial limb of the PTFE graft adjacent to the anastomotic site Figure . This coPerigraft seroma is a rare complication of PTFE grafts. The aetiology of this enhanced graft permeability is unclear. It was suggested that the serous component of blood was seeping out of the graft lumen due to removal of the coiled rings on the graft surface. This was disputed by the graft manufacturers. Indeed, the site of serous leakage did not coincide with the position of the rings though it remains doubtful if similar condensations were occurring along the tunnelled segment of the graft. The use of intra-operative Betadine washouts was also questioned as a possible cause of increased graft permeability.We have had two previous experiences with similar phenomena (unpublished). Of those, one was amenable to sealing with topical administration of haemostatic agents. The value of this case, in our opinion, is that it highlights an unusual complication of PTFE grafts that are commonly used in vascular access surgery.The authors declare that they have no competing interests.GT, RL and KMS have contributed to the conception, acquisition of data, analysis, and have been involved in drafting the manuscript and revising it; and have given final approval of the version to be published.Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this case report and accompanying images. A copy of the written consent is available for review by the Editor-in-Chief of this journal.


Commenting on recent research articles which look at the potential health benefits of behaviour change, the PLoS Medicine Editors say that publication of the findings of such research is only one part of the behaviour-change process. PLoS Medicine [A research article by Kay-Tee Khaw and colleagues in this issue of Medicine  quantifiFirst, and most obviously, the results need to be disseminated. This is where medical and scientific journals come in, and where open-access journals, such as those published by PLoS, have such a huge advantage. With open-access journals, you don't need to be sitting in a well-funded institution to read the work; a Google search will take you straight to the paper. Second, individuals need to want to make the changes to their lifestyle that such papers recommend. Although, generally, people do want to do the best for themselves, and especially for their families, it is not always easy for the public to determine what is the “best,” given the barrage of information forced on them every week by medical journals, government reports, the popular media, and so on. And so a third key element in turning research into action is to present the information in an accessible and balanced way. If the advice is too extreme, rather than a grateful public accepting and acting on a set of recommendations, people may choose to ignore the findings. For example, when the World Cancer Research Fund released its “10 Recommendations for Cancer Prevention”  based onBut the final essential step necessary for people to make healthy changes to their lifestyle based on research evidence has to come from society and governments providing the environment—in the widest sense—that enables such behavior change. Advice to stop smoking, for example, needs to be accompanied by an environment that encourages and enables smoking cessation. Observational studies  have shoPLoS Medicine illustrate even more clearly why individuals in isolation often cannot make the lifestyle changes they want. Bennett and colleagues [Two final examples from recent studies published in lleagues  looked alleagues  on the rlleagues So publication of a paper is just the first step in a complex set of processes that are needed to change behavior. We look forward to seeing whether policy makers will act upon Khaw's findings. But perhaps in the meantime it would be wise, for those of us who are able to do so, to make a few New Year's resolutions in the light of these findings.


E. coli cells are rich in thiamine, most of it in the form of the cofactor thiamine diphosphate (ThDP). Free ThDP is the precursor for two triphosphorylated derivatives, thiamine triphosphate (ThTP) and the newly discovered adenosine thiamine triphosphate (AThTP). While, ThTP accumulation requires oxidation of a carbon source, AThTP slowly accumulates in response to carbon starvation, reaching ~15% of total thiamine. Here, we address the question whether AThTP accumulation in E. coli is triggered by the absence of a carbon source in the medium, the resulting drop in energy charge or other forms of metabolic stress.E. coli cells produce AThTP not only when energy substrates are lacking but also when their metabolization is inhibited. Thus AThTP accumulates in the presence of glucose, when glycolysis is blocked by iodoacetate, or in the presence lactate, when respiration is blocked by cyanide or anoxia. In both cases, ATP synthesis is impaired, but AThTP accumulation does not appear to be a direct consequence of reduced ATP levels. Indeed, in the CV2 E. coli strain (containing a thermolabile adenylate kinase), the ATP content is very low at 37°C, even in the presence of metabolizable substrates (glucose or lactate) and under these conditions, the cells produce ThTP but not AThTP. Furthermore, we show that ThTP inhibits AThTP accumulation. Therefore, we conclude that a low energy charge is not sufficient to trigger AThTP accumulation and the latter can only accumulate under conditions where no ThTP is synthesized. We further show that AThTP production can also be induced by the uncoupler CCCP but, unexpectedly, this requires the presence of pyruvate or a substrate yielding pyruvate (such a D-glucose or L-lactate). Under the conditions described, AThTP production is not different when RelA or SpoT mutants are used.In minimal M9 medium, E. coli, AThTP accumulates in response to two different conditions of metabolic stress: lack of energy substrates (or inhibition of their metabolization) and uncoupled pyruvate oxidation. Both conditions prevent bacterial growth. There is no obvious link with the stringent response or catabolite repression.In  E. coli, it was shown to accumulate transiently as a response to amino acid starvation, suggesting that it may be a signal required for rapid adaptation of the bacteria to this kind of nutritional downshift /[ATP] ratio is high and inhibited when it is low. Most probably, other unidentified factors are important for controlling the rates of synthesis and degradation of AThTP. The present study is a first attempt to delineate the exact conditions and mechanisms leading to AThTP production in E. coli. We show that there is no direct relationship between this response and a low cellular ATP content. Unexpectedly, we find that the proton motive force is also an essential factor controlling AThTP production. Finally, the possible relationships with the stringent response are examined.Little is known about the biochemical mechanisms underlying the synthesis and degradation of triphosphorylated thiamine derivatives. No specific soluble enzyme catalyzing ThTP synthesis was characterized so far. In contrast, a soluble enzyme preparation catalyzing AThTP synthesis from ThDP + ADP or ThDP + ATP was obtained from E. coli cells have a high total thiamine content (~1 nmol/mg of protein). Under optimal conditions of growth (in LB medium), thiamine exists mainly as ThDP  and ThMP (3-4%). ThTP and AThTP are found only in traces. We have previously shown that when the bacteria are transferred to a minimal M9 medium devoid of any carbon source, AThTP starts to accumulate and a maximum  is reached after 4 hours. Here, we show that AThTP levels could be maintained for two days . As shown in Table The antibiotics streptomycin and neomycin have little effect on AThTP accumulation in the absence of a carbon source, suggesting that protein synthesis is not required for AThTP accumulation. We also wanted to know whether the appearance of AThTP was specifically linked to carbon starvation or could be triggered by other forms of nutritional downshifts or cellular stress. As reported earlier , there wFinally, it should be stressed that AThTP could never be detected in appreciable amounts in exponentially growing bacteria: its appearance was always associated with a downshift of growth. However, the onset of the stationary phase at the end of exponential growth did not result in accumulation of AThTP (data not shown). This suggests that the appearance of this compound is essentially a response of the bacteria to a sudden nutritional downshift (carbon starvation) or other forms of energy stress (see below) but it does not seem to play a role in stationary phase physiology.It is well known that amino acid starvation induces the so-called stringent response  to nutriE. coli cells accumulate inorganic polyphosphate (poly-P) that activate Lon and redirect their activity towards free ribosomal proteins [E. coli is the same under aerobic conditions, Lon-deficient cells are more sensitive to anaerobic conditions [The BL21 strain is particular in the sense that it lacks Lon protease, a protein important in the physiological response of bacteria to amino acid starvation . During proteins . Whilst nditions . The degnditions . In our We studied the effects of two metabolic inhibitors, iodoacetate and KCN in the presence of either D-glucose or L-lactate Figure . With ioE. coli cells (BL21 strain) were incubated for 20 min in the presence of glucose (10 mM) and increasing concentrations of CCCP  either at 25°C Figure  or at 37-1.min-1, n = 3) and L-lactate  as substrates. These results suggest that the CV2 strain retains a significant Δp even at 37°C, when the energy charge is very low.At both temperatures, CCCP increased the respiratory rate by a factor of approximately 2 with glucose . When highly overexpressed in BL21 cells, bacterial AK catalyzes ThTP synthesis [As ThTP and AThTP accumulate under different conditions and AThTP is never observed in the presence of ThTP, we wondered whether ThTP might inhibit the accumulation of AThTP. In order to check this possibility, we used BL21 strains overexpressing either ynthesis . Both eni (PPi) [In the absence of substrates, accumulation of AThTP was concomitant with a decrease in cellular ThDP, while the total thiamine content (ThDP +AThTP) remained constant Figure . These ri (PPi) . Both ATvs protein-bound ThDP after fractionation on a molecular sieve (TSK gel column). Most of the ThDP in the supernatant was eluted in the inclusion volume of the column. Only about 15 ± 4% of the ThDP was eluted in the void volume, associated with the high-molecular weight protein fraction. As ThDP is generally rather tightly bound to its apoenzymes, this result suggests that most of the cellular ThDP corresponds to a free pool (intracellular concentration of about 250 μM). All AThTP was eluted in the inclusion volume, suggesting that it is essentially free in the cytosol, or at least not tightly bound to proteins.We determined the intracellular proportions of free E. coli appears to be a reservoir for the production of triphosphate compounds under certain conditions of stress. This does not exclude that free ThDP might have other physiological roles.Therefore, the pool of free ThDP in E. coli, AThTP can be synthesized from free cellular ThDP and ADP or ATP. It accumulates  in response to different conditions of metabolic stress that impair bacterial growth: carbon starvation, metabolic inhibition or dissipation of the electrochemical proton gradient. These conditions are associated with different degrees of energy failure, but there is no direct relationship between AThTP production and decreased intracellular ATP levels. It might be argued that AThTP is a kind of ATP storage form. This is however unlikely as the maximum concentrations attained are two orders of magnitude lower than ATP concentrations. Furthermore, hydrolysis of AThTP yields ThDP and therefore, the other product of hydrolysis must be AMP and not ATP.In E. coli cells.Our results show that AThTP accumulation is inhibited by high intracellular concentrations of ThTP. This may explain at least in part, that the two compounds never accumulate together in It is finally demonstrated that glucose and other substrates yielding pyruvate are very effective to induce the fast disappearance of AThTP after prolonged incubation of the cells in the absence of a carbon source. Surprisingly, the same substrates also enhance the appearance of AThTP when the proton motive force is abolished. Those data suggest that intracellular AThTP levels are regulated by multiple factors, including the electrochemical proton gradient, the intracellular concentration of ThTP and an unidentified factor whose synthesis is linked to pyruvate oxidation.E. coli due to the stimulation of adenylate cyclase. The regulation of this enzyme is dependent on substrate uptake systems, but not on Δp or decreased ATP levels [E. coli is not involved in increased AThTP levels during carbon starvation. The fact that E. coli strains deficient in RelA and SpoT activity normally synthesize AThTP suggests that (p)ppGpp and the stringent response are not involved AThTP synthesis. This hypothesis is further supported by the absence of effect of serine hydroxamate on its accumulation.With this respect it is noteworthy that there is an important accumulation of cAMP during carbon starvation in P levels . FurtherAThTP is never observed in growing bacteria, or under conditions where ATP levels are high. This, suggests that AThTP might be a factor involved in the adaptation of the bacteria to conditions of energy stress. However, a low energy charge does only lead to AThTP accumulation under conditions where ThTP is absent.All chemicals were either from Sigma-Aldrich NV/SA  or from Merck  and of the highest purity available. ThTP and AThTP were prepared as described ,24.ppk-ppx::km) were gifts from Dr. M. Cashel . The heat-sensitive CV2  [E. coli Genetic Resource Center . A strain devoid of RelA (MFT702 ΔrelA derived from MG1655) [E. coli adenylate kinase (BL21-AK) were produced as previously described [The BL21 strain, lacking OmpT and Lon proteases, was from Amersham Biosciences. The MG1655 (wild-type K-12) strain and the CF5802 strain , deficiein K-10)  and the escribed .2HPO4, 6 g/L; KH2PO4, 3 g/L; NaCl, 0.5 g/L; NH4Cl, 1 g/L; CaCl2, 3 mg/L; MgSO4, 1 mM, pH 7.0) containing various metabolic substrates in sterile PS-tubes . If not otherwise stated, the bacteria were incubated at 37°C with shaking (250 rpm). The density of the cultures was determined by reading the absorbance at 600 nm (A600). After incubation, the bacteria were sedimented as above, the pellets were suspended in 12% TCA, the precipitated proteins were spun down  and the pellet was dissolved in 0.8 N NaOH for protein determination by the method of Peterson [The bacteria were grown overnight  in 50-100 mL Luria-Bertani (LB) medium . The bacteria were centrifuged  and suspended in the initial volume of M9 minimal medium . The culture was sparged with NThiamine compounds were determined by HPLC as previously described, after conversion to fluorescent thiochromes  and ATP , ATP, AD. Intrace.2 consumption was determined polarographically using a Clark-type electrode  in a 2 mL cell at 25 or 37°C in M9 minimal medium. When a linear basal O2 consumption was reached, either (10 mM) D-glucose, L-lactate or L-malate was added, followed by KCN (1 mM) or CCCP (0.1 - 50 μM).OBL21 bacteria grown overnight in LB medium were transferred to M9 medium without glucose. After incubation for 4 h , the samples were sonicated  on ice and centrifuged . The supernatant was injected (100 μL) on a TSK column  equilibrated in Na acetate buffer  at a flow rate of 0.5 mL/min. Fractions of 1 mL were collected and thiamine derivatives were determined after treatment with TCA as described above.i: inorganic phosphate; (p)ppGpp: guanosine 3',5' tetra- and pentaphosphate; TCA: trichloroacetic acid; ThDP: thiamine diphosphate; ThMP: thiamine monophosphate; ThTP: thiamine triphosphate; ThTPase: thiamine triphosphatase; Δp: proton-motive force.AK: adenylate kinase; AThTP: adenosine thiamine triphosphate; CCCP: carbonyl cyanide 3-chlorophenylhydrazone; GST: glutathione S-transferase; hThTPase: recombinant human thiamine triphosphatase; IPTG: isopropyl β-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside; PTG made most of the experimental work. BL and PW participated in the design of the study and the interpretation of the data. BEM and WZ contributed to the interpretation of the data and were responsible for the respiratory experiments. LB was the project leader. The manuscript was written by LB and PW. All authors read and approved the study.


Every masterpiece of creation, endeavor or enterprise begins with a dream. As the editor in chief of JCD, I represent the collective dream and vision of the FODI. India as a nation is undergoing a scientific renaissance in every sphere of life. Under the dynamic leadership of the President of the Dental Council of India, Padmabhushan Dr. Anil Kohli, these winds of change and reforms in dentistry are propelling Indian dental education, research and clinical care to be at par with the highest international standards.Journal of Conservative Dentistry from a national specialty journal to an internationally renowned peer reviewed journal in the field of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics.We have a dream, a dream to make India a hub for research and development in the field of restorative dentistry and endodontics. We have a dream wherein India is just not a big market for dental products but becomes a cradle for the development of innovative dental materials. We have a dream where Indian teachers and researchers are not just passive followers but are invited on international platforms to set protocols for clinical care and research. We have a dream; a dream to make research just not a part of the post graduate curriculum but a viable and lucrative career option for young professionals. As a first step, we have a dream to elevate our My mission as an editor is in making this dream into a reality. This cannot be a one- man mission. For achieving this, we need dynamic leadership, innovative and indigenous advice, an ideal platform for making this journal international, a critical eye for quality and details and, above all, the joy and enthusiasm to do quality research. Our endeavor here is to make an amalgamation of all these ideas. In this pursuit, we are making the following changes:JCD is online!www.jcd.org.in and will be a site with free downloads of all current and back issue articles.JCD is hosted at JCD will be a nationally and internationally peer reviewed journal.The editorial panel of the JCD would comprise of all the eminent Postgraduate teachers and academicians in the country and abroad.We will strive to make JCD indexed in the PubMed.At this juncture, I would like to thank Padmabhushan Dr. Anil Kohli, Dr. A. P. Tikku and Dr. K. S. Banga for giving me this honor to head the editorial team of JCD, and Dr. Lakshmi Narayanan and Dr. Kandaswamy for their constant moral support and guidance. A special gratitude to my teachers Dr A Parameswaran and Dr Suresh Chandra for making me what I am. I would like to conclude by saying that everyone dreams but few wake up and work towards making their dreams into a reality… But, with your support and god’s grace; the editorial team of JCD will achieve our collective dream.“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams”… Eleanor Roosevelt“We all have dreams, but in order to make the dreams come to reality; it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self discipline and effort”… Jesse Owens“All your dreams can come true if you have the courage to pursue them”… Walt Disney“We all have our time machines. Some take us back, they are called memories, some take us forward, and they are called dreams”… Jeremy Irons


As we enter July 2009, we are pleased to have passed the first 365 days of being an open access, freely available online journal on the World Wide Web and indexed in Pubmed. Currently 49 papers have been published and several more are awaiting publication in the near future. We experience a steady and sound inflow of new manuscripts submitted to the Journal, and are in the position to select those deemed to be of most value, with a rejection rate above 50% at present. Indeed, based on the understanding that management of emergencies, injuries and critically ill patients is multidisciplinary team-work, the Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine (SJTREM) has not only matured and growLondon Trauma Conference available on the website[3rd Scandinavian Update on Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine and the Research Symposium 2009 for the Danish Society of Emergency Medicine will follow soon.The Journal has over the past year received and published original and review papers from several Scandinavian research groups -11. Alsoe website, and theThe success of the Journal is measured also by the number of accessed papers – currently, more than 10 of the published papers have been accessed over 1000 times, even though many of them have been available for only a few months on the Web, and 3 papers have been accessed more than 2000 times each,25,26. TScandinavian Update conference as well as to a wide number of libraries and research institutions. The success of this publication will be repeated for 2009, thus ensuring high visibility both electronically as well as on paper.We strive to ensure high visibility of the Journal, and have for 2008 published a yearbook, which has been distributed to several hundred participants at the editorial@sjtrem.com. We would also welcome the readers' feedback on the Journal – be it positive or negative.Several of the current progresses and developments will hopefully ensure SJTREM a proper index in MEDLINE and indexing in the Journal Citation Report©, which will provide us with an official impact factor (IF) in the near future. We are confident that the time the IF is released it will reflect an already highly visible and dynamic forum for publication in trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine. However, knowing the success of any journal is only dependant on three factors – the authors, the peer-reviewers and notably the readers – we want to forward our sincere thanks to those contributing their efforts, sharing their thoughts and devoting their time to ensure the scientific and educational value of the Journal. All peer-reviewers will be appropriately acknowledged in the paper version of the yearbook. For those of you interested in the yearbook, please contact Kjetil Søreide and Hans Morten Lossius are Editors-in-Chief of Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine


In the reference 27 of our paper published in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2010 [Sci. Total Environ. 2005, 349, 72–80.Chatzis, C.; Evangelos, C.; Alexopoulos, T.; Linos, A. Indoor and outdoor personal exposure to benzene in Athens, Greece. The correct form is:Sci. Total Environ. 2005, 349, 72–80.Chatzis, C.; Alexopoulos, E.C.; Linos, A. Indoor and outdoor personal exposure to benzene in Athens, Greece.


Epitope vaccines have been suggested as a strategy to counteract viral escape and development of drug resistance. Multiple studies have shown that Cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte (CTL) and T-Helper (Th) epitopes can generate strong immune responses in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV-1). However, not much is known about the relationship among different types of HIV epitopes, particularly those epitopes that can be considered potential candidates for inclusion in the multi-epitope vaccines.Gag, Pol and Nef). These rules involved 14 non-overlapping epitope regions that frequently co-occurred despite high mutation and recombination rates, including in genomes of circulating recombinant forms. These epitope regions were also highly conserved at both the amino acid and nucleotide levels indicating strong purifying selection driven by functional and/or structural constraints and hence, the diminished likelihood of successful escape mutations.In this study we used association rule mining to examine relationship between different types of epitopes  from nine protein-coding HIV-1 genes to identify strong associations as potent multi-epitope vaccine candidates. Our results revealed 137 association rules that were consistently present in the majority of reference and non-reference HIV-1 genomes and included epitopes of two different types (CTL and Th) from three different genes (Our results provide a comprehensive systematic survey of CTL, Th and Ab epitopes that are both highly conserved and co-occur together among all subtypes of HIV-1, including circulating recombinant forms. Several co-occurring epitope combinations were identified as potent candidates for inclusion in multi-epitope vaccines, including epitopes that are immuno-responsive to different arms of the host immune machinery and can enable stronger and more efficient immune responses, similar to responses achieved with adjuvant therapies. Signature of strong purifying selection acting at the nucleotide level of the associated epitopes indicates that these regions are functionally critical, although the exact reasons behind such sequence conservation remain to be elucidated. Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), the virus responsible for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), is one of the major causes of death around the world today. There were 2.1 million AIDS related deaths and 2.5 million new infections in 2007 alone with over 33.2 million people living with HIV-1 infection . Although the use of the Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy (HAART) has significantly reduced the mortality and morbidity of HIV patients by chronically suppressing HIV-1 replication, we are far from finding a cure . Other cEnv gene can be presented by both class I and class II major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules and can be recognized by both Cytotoxic T-Lymphocytes (CTLs) and T-Helper cells (Th), as well as by neutralizing antibodies (Ab)  has been shown to interact with CTL, as well as B and T-Helper cells [Immune response to the HIV infection consists of a combination of both humoral and cellular immunity ,15. Furt) e.g., -18). Lik. LikEnv er cells . This, ier cells ). Recenter cells -24. Whiler cells , mutatioer cells -28. Seleer cells -32).+ epitopes (CTL), T-Helper/CD4+ epitopes (Th) and neutralizing antibody (Ab) epitopes. Single and multi-epitope vaccines containing CTL, Th and Ab epitopes have been described [Based on the type of recognizing receptors, there are three types of epitopes, namely CTL/CD8escribed ,34. Inclescribed ,35,36. Hescribed ,38 and rescribed -41, overescribed  and overescribed .Gag, Pol and Nef) that are frequently found in association with each other and therefore can be considered strong candidates for inclusion in CTL multi-epitope vaccines [Recently, we reported a series of highly conserved, co-occurring CTL epitopes from three different genes (vaccines . Howevervaccines -48), incvaccines . For exavaccines  recentlyGag, Pol and Nef. Widespread presence of these epitope combinations across highly divergent HIV-1 genomes sampled worldwide, including circulating recombinant forms, coupled with a high degree of evolutionary sequence conservation likely reflective of substantial fitness impacts of escape mutations [Thus, this study was focused on identifying strong associations between different types of epitopes from multiple genes in search of potent multi-epitope vaccine candidates. Our results identified several highly conserved T-Helper epitopes that frequently co-occur with particular highly conserved CTL epitopes and that these epitopes co-occur in the majority of HIV-1 genomes of different subtypes and groups as well as circulating recombinant forms. Here we report 137 unique CTL and T-Helper epitope associations  that involve epitopes from 14 non-overlapping genomic regions from three different genes, namely, utations  makes thhttp://www.hiv.lanl.gov), which included full length genomes containing sequences from all nine protein-coding genes, one sequence per patient , http://www.hiv.lanl.gov/content/immunology) [Vif, Vpr, Rev and Vpu genes. The majority of the Ab epitopes (75 out of 81) belonged to the Env gene, while the Pol gene had three and the Gag, Tat and Nef genes had one epitope each [Env gene that may differ by as much as 30% between subtypes [http://www.immuneepitope.org/.The sets of CTL, T-Helper and antibody epitopes were collected from the HIV Immunology database  , the mosunology) . A totalunology) , 296 T-Hunology) ,58), conunology) ,60. Althope each -65. It ssubtypes , very feGag gene VIPMFSAL overlaps with the CTL epitope EVIPMFSAL and is present in exactly the same reference sequences). Epitopes of different types that completely overlap with each other without amino acid differences were also included to take into account multi-functional regions . The final set of epitopes consisted of 44 epitopes representing 4 genes, namely, Gag, Pol, Env and Nef, and included 32 CTL, 10 Th and 2 Ab epitopes   were selected for association rule mining. A total of 47 epitopes, including 33 CTL, 12 T-Helper and 2 antibody epitopes, were present in more than 75% of the reference sequences. Among them one CTL and two Th epitopes were completely overlapping with other epitopes of the same type without amino acid differences and, thus, were excluded from the association rule mining to avoid redundancy  among items within a data set . AlthougThe data on presence and absence of selected 44 epitopes in 90 reference sequences (as described above) was used as the input for the Apriori algorithm  implemenGag, Pol and Nef genes for each genome, as well as 90 reference sequences used in the first steps of the analysis. The larger genome set included 650 sequences from the M group, 22 from the N and O groups and 306 recombinant sequences  and the number of nonsynonymous nucleotide substitutions per nonsynonymous site (dN) were estimated in 90 HIV-1 reference sequences. Each codon was classified as (i) non-epitope or as epitope region, if the codon was mapped to at least one type of epitope. The epitope regions were further subdivided into (ii) associated epitopes , (iii) non-associated epitopes , and (iv) all other, variable, epitopes that were excluded from the association rule mining . Pairwise dN and dS values were estimated using the Nei-Gojobori method with the Jukes-Cantor correction . This siGag, Pol, Env and Nef, were discovered, of them 6142 association rules were unique combinations of epitopes .Out of 606 epitopes included in the initial analyses, a total of 44 epitope regions, including 32 CTL, 10 Th and 2 Ab epitopes, were present (as a perfect amino acid sequence match) in at least 75% of the 90 HIV-1 reference sequences and thus were included in the association rule mining. Using a high confidence value of 95% allowed us to focus only on the strongest association rules that involve the most frequently co-occurring epitopes. Using this stringent confidence cut-off, a total of 60626 associations involving three types of epitopes belonging to four genes, Gag and Pol genes, followed by 5.9% and 6.1% of associations involving only the Gag and only Pol genes, respectively. Another 5.4% of unique association rules involved epitopes from the Nef gene, of which almost 60% of rules involved three genes, Gag, Pol and Nef, with the remainder distributed mostly between Gag-Nef and Pol-Nef associations . There were only five association rules that involved epitopes from the Env gene. Four of these five were from Gag-Env and one from Pol-Env associations. Notably, associations with antibody epitopes were limited to these five Env association rules, which can partially be attributed to the high degree of sequence divergence among the Env sequences that can differ by as much as 30% at the amino acid level [The majority of the unique epitope association rules  involved only three to five epitopes, with the largest category comprised of rules with four epitopes (2098 associations), followed by 1719 associations with five and 1145 associations with three epitopes, respectively . However, several "multi-type" association rules comprised of two different epitope types (CTL and Th) and three genes  were discovered  - PKEPFRDYV  - KLNWASQIY  - FLKEKGGL   among a total of 21 CTL and Th epitopes from the Gag, Pol and Nef genes  and four genes  Figure , GHQAAMQGag, Pol and Nef genes in each sequence were concatenated for the purpose of the analysis, and presence of each association rule  was noted. The results showed that most of the epitope-associations were present in the majority of genomes from the global HIV-1 population. In particular, out of 137 epitope associations involving two different types and three different genes (2T-3G), 134 association rules were present in more than 70% of the HIV-1 genomes  , all other epitopes were present in over 85% of the sequences . The http://www.hiv.lanl.gov/content/immunology.These results underscore the importance of these 21 highly conserved epitope regions, as reflected by their substantial presence across the global population of HIV-1. Notably, similar pattern of presence with high frequency was observed when the sets of M group sequences (610), as well as sets of recombinant sequences (263), were considered separately. Interestingly, the latter group had these epitopes present in at least 80% of all sequences. On the other hand, only 7 out of the 21 epitopes were present in more than 75% of the sequences when the N and O groups were considered separately, which may reflect both the high degree of sequence divergence between N, O and M groups ,77, as wTo delineate selective forces affecting the evolution of different genomic regions in HIV-1 genomes, particularly those influencing epitope regions, the number of synonymous substitutions per synonymous site (dS) and the number of nonsynonymous  substitutions per nonsynonymous site (dN) were estimated in all pairwise sequence comparisons of 90 reference genomes. Each codon was classified into one of four categories, either as (i) non-epitope, or as (ii) associated, (iii) non-associated or (iv) variable epitope regions (see Methods section for details). Overall, in all pairwise sequence comparisons and different categories of epitope regions the number of synonymous substitutions per synonymous site significantly exceeded the number of nonsynonymous substitutions per nonsynonymous site, i.e., dS >> dN  Table . This inr = -0.14, p < 0.01), as well as with dN and dS values at other regions within the same genomes  f-86 f84-8 debated . It has  debated ,89). Ind debated ,91. On t debated . In eith debated , with T- debated ,94).Gag) - PKEPFRDYV  - KLNWASQIY  - FLKEKGGL   - PKEPFRDYV  - LVGKLNWASQIY  - FLKEKGGL , epitope LVGKLNWASQIY includes another epitope, KLNWASQIY, as its sub-sequence. These two epitopes are recognized by alleles from different class I HLA loci, B*1501 (B62) and A*3002 (A01), respectively. This not only increases the potential for recognition population-wide, but also increases the likelihood of this region being recognized within the same individual. Moreover, recent studies have shown promiscuous binding of CTL [Env, a highly variable genomic region. Only five association rules included a combination of Ab and other epitope types . Further, this study did not include conformational epitopes, which form a large number of HIV-1 B cell epitopes. However, inclusion of a suitable Ab epitope should be considered alongside the associated CTL and Th epitopes, although further studies are needed to elucidate mechanisms of epitope association and interaction across different types and to identify the most promising Ab epitope candidates.Our results identified several association rules that not only involved two epitope types and three genes, but also were found in the vast majority of HIV-1 genomes analyzed. For instance, the association rule, GHQAAMQML .,103.49,1Gag, Pol and Nef were included in the recent LIPO-5 lipopeptide vaccine trial that showed T-cell responses in ~50% of vaccines [Pol , WASRELERF  and RKAKIIRDY , were not involved in any of the 60626 associations that we discovered, showing that high conservation at the amino acid level does not automatically translate into involvement in association rules and that other factors are also at play. While it is likely that associated epitopes are harbored in functionally or structurally important domains and thus experience strong constraints due to protein-protein or RNA-protein interactions [Notably, a high degree of amino acid sequence conservation is not the only factor that influences identification of epitopes as promising candidates. For example, several epitopes included in the association rule mining, namely, PIPIHYCAPA  used for the analysis of epitope presence.Click here for fileEpitopes included in the study. 606 epitopes used in the analyses. Only epitopes shown to be immunogenic in human were collected from the HIV Immunology database by Los Alamos National Laboratory. Start and End refer to amino acid coordinates in reference HXB2 genome.Click here for file888 non-reference sequences included in the study. 888 non-reference sequences that represent global HIV-1 population  and three genes . Each row separated by borders represents a single association rule and each column represents a single non-overlapping genomic region. Red letters denote CTL epitopes, green letters denote Th epitopes. Epitopes on blue background are those from Gag gene, while those in tan and green backgrounds are from Pol and Nef genes, respectively.Click here for fileSubtype-wise frequencies of 137 2T-3G association rules. Subtype-wise frequencies of 137 unique association rules where epitopes from 3 genes and 2 types (2T-3G) are involved.Click here for fileFrequencies of 21 epitopes involved in 2T-3G association rules. Frequencies of 21 epitopes involved in 2T-3G association rules in different groups of HIV-1 sequences used in the analysisClick here for fileBox-plot of dN and dS values at different categories of epitopes and non-epitopes. Box-plot of dN and dS values at different categories of epitopes and non-epitopes. P-values are based on t-tests, comparing respective values among site categories.Click here for filePlots of pairwise dN and dS values between different genomic regions. Plots of pairwise dN and dS values between (a) Associated epitope regions (b) Variable epitopes that were not included in association rule mining and (c) Non-epitope regions for the M group HIV-1 genome. Noticeably, there were no correlation between dN and dS values from associated epitopes and respective dN and dS values from non-epitope regions or variable epitopes. On the other hand, dN and dS values were correlated between non-epitope regions and variable epitopes.Click here for fileList of 41 associated epitopes and references to published papers that reported epitopes as conserved and/or evidence of escape. List of 41 associated epitopes and respective references that have identified the epitope as conserved and/or provided evidence of escape. It should be noted that the epitope conservation criteria and sets of HIV-1 sequences used to define conserved epitopes varied from study to study.Click here for fileList of associated epitopes and whether canonical epitope sequences were included in the recently tested vaccine candidates. List of associated epitopes and whether or not canonical epitope sequences were included in several recently tested vaccine candidates.Click here for file


Lancet in 1956 [In 1937, after qualifying as a medical doctor and before taking up his appointment as a fellow at Magdalen College, Oxford, Hugh Sinclair visited Herbert Evans, the co-discoverer with Katherine Scott Bishop of vitamin E, and became interested in the possibility that some fatty acid deficiencies might account for the rise in ischaemic heart disease in the Western world . In his  in 1956 ,3. One o in 1956 . In turnrd International Congress on Brain & Behaviour invited me to chair a session on the theme of fatty acids and neuropsychiatric disorders. This supplement is based on the proceedings of that meeting and includes papers co-authored by Dr. Marcelo Bustos, Professor Graeme Bydder, Professor Massimo Cocchi, Dr. Serena Counsell, Dr. Gavin Hamilton, Professor Brian Ross, Dr. Nadeem Saeed, Dr. Lucio Tonello, Dr. Ian Treasaden, Dr. Sofia Tsaluchidu and me. In the first paper [in vivo 31-phosphorus neurospectroscopy phosphodiester peak which indexes the phosphorylated polar head groups glycerophosphorylcholine and glycerophosphorylethanolamine that exhaled ethane is a biomarker of cerebral n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid peroxidation in humans, a finding which clearly may have implications for the use of this non-invasive biomarker in future research. The second paper [in vivo human quantitative study of n-3 lipid peroxidation', which has a surprising result. The fourth paper [In December 2007 the Organizing and Scientific Committee of the 3nd paper , entitlend paper , 'A compth paper , 'Fatty th paper  presentsth paper  describeBMC Psychiatry, with particular thanks to Ros Dignon of BioMed Central, who has been of immense help in putting this supplement together.I should like to express my thanks to the organizers of the conference and to the editor and staff of


Gossypium hirsutum L) is an important crop worldwide that provides fiber for the textile industry. Cotton is a perennial plant that stores starch in stems and roots to provide carbohydrates for growth in subsequent seasons. Domesticated cotton makes these reserves available to developing seeds which impacts seed yield. The goals of these analyses were to identify genes and physiological pathways that establish cotton stems and roots as physiological sinks and investigate the role these pathways play in cotton development during seed set.Cotton (Analysis of field-grown cotton plants indicated that starch levels peaked about the time of first anthesis and then declined similar to reports in greenhouse-grown cotton plants. Starch accumulated along the length of the stem and the shape and size of the starch grains from stems were easily distinguished from transient starch. Microarray analyses compared gene expression in tissues containing low levels of starch with tissues rapidly accumulating starch. Statistical analysis of differentially expressed genes indicated increased expression among genes associated with starch synthesis, starch degradation, hexose metabolism, raffinose synthesis and trehalose synthesis. The anticipated changes in these sugars were largely confirmed by measuring soluble sugars in selected tissues.In domesticated cotton starch stored prior to flowering was available to support seed production. Starch accumulation observed in young field-grown plants was not observed in greenhouse grown plants. A suite of genes associated with starch biosynthesis was identified. The pathway for starch utilization after flowering was associated with an increase in expression of a glucan water dikinase gene as has been implicated in utilization of transient starch. Changes in raffinose levels and levels of expression of genes controlling trehalose and raffinose biosynthesis were also observed in vegetative cotton tissues as plants age. Gossypium hirsutum L) is an important source of fiber for the textile industry. Cotton is a perennial plant that is grown as an annual row crop in much of the world. As a perennial, cotton plants naturally make provisions for growth in the next season by storing starch in stems and roots. Availability of stored starch to support seed and fiber development may impact yield. Additionally, fibers are elongated ovular trichomes that are sites of cellulose deposition which also require photoassimilate from leaves to provide the glucose (GLC) subunits to make cellulose [Cotton  isolated from cotton stems identified increased expressions of genes associated with lignin and starch biosynthesis consistent with starch and lignin production in the tissues investigated . Our goaRoots and basal stems were harvested at two-week intervals from field-grown plants in 2004 and 2005 and greenhouse-grown plants in the winter of 2004. The ground samples were dried and the starch levels determined. Fig. -1 axis, p < 0.05) in starch grains from leaves and stems, respectively, confirmed that transient starch grains from leaves were more ovoid in leaves of this genotype. Taken together these data indicated that the terminal section of cotton stems store starch and there was not a gradient of starch accumulation along the stem, particularly below the terminal stem.Roots had higher amounts of starch than basal stems, therefore we wanted to determine if there was a gradient of starch accumulation along the main stem and root. Starch accumulation in plants was evaluated at first anthesis Fig.  in fieldRNA was isolated from roots and stems representing stages in development that were low in starch or stages in development that were rapidly accumulating starch. Probes derived from these RNAs were hybridized to three microarrays. On the first microarray genes expressed in -4 W and -2 W field-grown lower stems from 2004 were compared, on the second microarray genes expressed in -4 W and -2 W greenhouse-grown lower stems were compared and on the last microarray genes expressed in -4 W and -2 W greenhouse-grown roots were compared. Selected genes that were differentially expressed are shown in Table The microarray data were validated using qPCR to confirm differential levels of selected transcripts in -4 W (low starch) and -2 W (accumulating starch) and extended to 0 W and 2 W field-grown roots from 2004  increased in expression in starch-storing stems  and trehalose (TRE) biosynthesis increased in starch accumulating tissues Table . DiffereWe present work that integrates measurements of starch and soluble carbohydrate levels with analyses of gene expression in starch accumulating cotton stems and roots. Consistent with previous reports there is a rapid increase in the levels of starch stored in the stem and root of cotton plants approximately coincident with bloom of the first flower . This hiRoots were generally higher in starch than stems. Analysis of starch in stems at first anthesis failed to demonstrate a clear gradient of starch accumulation along the stem, particularly below the elongation zone. Starch appeared to be synthesized in a concerted fashion along primary stems below the elongating zone of flowering plants. Analysis of starch grains showed that transient starch in leaves could be distinguished from stored starch in stems and roots based on shape and size. Additionally, starch in stems above the elongation zone appeared more similar to stored starch in stems and roots than transient starch in leaves indicating almost the entire stem stores starch.Microarray analyses were used to investigate changes in gene expression associated with changes in starch levels and were validated using qPCR analyses of expression of selected genes. Statistical analysis of the data indicated an increase in genes associated with carbohydrate metabolism as expected for tissues accumulating starch. Additionally, expression of genes associated with transcription factor activity also increased indicating a potential role for changes in gene expression as stems and roots started to store starch. Some of these transcription factors are likely to play roles in regulating carbohydrate metabolism.There must be an increased flow of SUC from leaves to stems and roots as starch accumulates. Consistent with this requirement was an increase in expression of genes associated with sugar transport in these tissues. Transcripts encoding invertase and invertase inhibitors increase in tissues accumulating starch. Invertase converts SUC to GLC and FRC providing glucose for starch biosynthesis. We also note that the change of expression of sucrose synthase which converts SUC to GLC-UDP and FRC fell just below the two-fold threshold for consideration. Increases in levels of transcripts encoding hexokinases, phosphoglucomutase and isomerases were consistent with the production of Glucose-1-phosphate for starch biosynthesis Table . SUC andArabidopsis leaves indicating it may have functions other than starch degradation [Arabidopsis leaves [ADPGp expression is increased in starch storing tissues. ADPGp catalyzes the conversion of glucose-phosphate to glucose-ADP, which is a rate limiting step in starch biosynthesis . As experadation . Starch s leaves -21.Most of the proteins directly involved in starch metabolism appeared to be targeted to the plastid as expected. One exception was the ADPGp large subunit. The gene model used on this microarray included the 5' end of the coding sequence but was not predicted to be targeted to the plastid even though other plant ADPGp large subunits were. Failure to localize this ADPGp to the plastid may indicate an error assembling this gene or might indicate this gene is located in the cytosol. A cytosolic localization has been reported for some ADPGp .Analysis of differentially expressed genes identified an increase in transcripts encoding enzymes for TRE biosynthesis and RAF biosynthesis. Analysis of RAF levels and the expression of genes associated with the biosynthesis of RAF and TRE indicated that they peak in expression in field-grown stems and roots well after starch ,23,24. TCotton is an unusual crop because it is a perennial that is often grown as an annual row crop. One method of determining how well cotton has been annualized is to measure reserves stored for subsequent regrowth which are unavailable for seed production and therefore wasted in an annual row crop. Starch accounted for about 1.5 % of the dry weight of stems and roots late in boll development. One goal of this research is to identify genes and pathways that could be modified to direct starch into agronomically valuable fiber yield. For example, modification of ADPGp expression reduced starch metabolism in potato . Starch The cotton cultivar STV4793R was grown in Stoneville, MS in 2004 and 2005. The same cultivar was planted in a greenhouse in Stoneville, MS (2004) at two-week intervals and the root and main stems harvested simultaneously. The main stem was divided into approximately four sections of three nodes. The stem sections nearest the root and extending to the apical meristem are termed basal, intermediate, subterminal and terminal stems. Stems and roots were harvested between 8:00 AM and 10:00 AM. Leaves were harvested at 1:00 PM to recover greater levels of starch. Plant material was frozen in liquid nitrogen and ground with liquid nitrogen in a 3 hp Warring Blender  at the highest speed for 3 min. Each sample represented at least three plants and 5 g of the ground material were freeze-dried in 50 mL tubes for 5 days. The freeze-dried material was stored at -20°C.The method described by Hendrix was used to determine the amount of starch in each sample . BrieflyStarch was isolated using a modification of the method described in Ritte et al . Five gr2KI  and visualized with an Axiovision camera  using the Axiovision 4.4 software (Zeiss). Starch grain diameters were measured with ImageJ 1.36 [About 10 mg of starch were suspended in 50% glycerol and dilutions made to allow best separation of individual grains. The suspensions were stained with IgeJ 1.36 . StatistSoluble sugars were extracted from 50 mg of frozen samples (fresh weight) using two extraction with five volumes of MCW  including 10 μM lactose as an internal standard. After extraction, water (0.6 volumes) was added to the combined extracts to separate the chloroform and aqueous phase. Samples were centrifuged for 15 min at 13,000 × g and the aqueous layer transferred to a 15 mL tube and lyophilized. The dried extracts were resuspended in 300 μL HPLC grade water. Neutral sugars were isolated from each sample by passing the solution through a column consisting of AG50W cation exchange resin , polyvinyl polypyrrolidone (Sigma), and AG1 anion exchange resin ; 250 μL, 100 μL and 250 μL bed volumes, respectively (top to bottom), and eluting with 1.7 mL water. Each eluate was filtered through a 0.22 μm nylon HPLC filters . Sugars were resolved and quantified against standards by high-performance anion exchange chromatography with pulsed-amperometric detection (HPAEC-PAD) using a CarboPac PA20 column at 40°C, 50 mM NaOH eluent, and quadruple waveform, as recommended by the instrument manufacturer . GLC and GAL co-elute under these conditions. Values were normalized against lactose. A separate experiment confirmed that these samples did not include molecules that interfered with the use of lactose as an internal standard. Calculations and statistical analyses were done using EXCEL.Total polyribosomal RNA was isolated from the selected tissues by standard methods . The quaDifferential expression of selected transcripts was verified using qPCR. A cDNA derived from 0.5 μg of cotton root RNA was used as a template for the primer combination shown in Table The conceptual open reading frame (ORF) of the ADPGp large subunit was identified using Vector NTI. The protein database at NCBI was queried using BLASTx with candidates lacking the 5'end of the ORF. The plastid localization of these selected sequences were determined using the Chlorop1.1 prediction server .ET planned and analyzed the microarray experiments and wrote the manuscript. JS and GR planned the field component of this work and did the starch image analyses. BA performed and analyzed the HPLC analysis for soluble sugars.


It is my pleasure to share a few thoughts regarding our JISP. A journal is the mouthpiece of any organization. Our journal has gained momentum after the change of guard at the helm as Dr Arunachalam took over as the editor. He is putting great efforts in publishing the journals at regular intervals in spite of shortage of sponsorship. Our society, with various academic as well as association activities, has earned a name of its own and has a positive impact on the dental fraternity. As the president of our society, eminent academician Dr. Dwarakanath has made his intensions clear that he will be focusing on various scientific projects. Our journal will be a platform for the periodontists of our country to publish their research.I wish you all a very happy New Year ahead. We, at ISP, believe in the principle of moving forward in spite of transient ups and downs.I thank all the members of the editorial board for their efforts and wish them all the best.


Dr. K. Sundaram (1926–2008)Dr. K. Sundaram, MD, FNA, FASC, Ex-Director, Biomedical Group, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and the first President of the Association of Medical Physicists of India (AMPI), passed away in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India, on May 20, 2008, following a brief illness due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.th October, 1926 in Kollengode, Kerala. He had his schooling in SIES School at Sion and later joined Elphinstone College, Mumbai. Dr. Sundaram obtained his MBBS degree in 1949 and MD (Obstetrics and Gynecology) from G. S. Medical College  in 1953. He was the recipient of the Prince of Wales Gold Medal and a fellowship for securing the first rank in the MD examination. Dr. Sundaram joined BARC as Scientific Officer in 1957, was later appointed as Head of the Medical Division in BARC, and retired as Director of the Bio-Medical Group in BARC in November, 1986. During the period of 1979–1982, he was Director of the Division of Life Sciences in International Atomic Energy (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria. His fields of interest included radiation biology, cytology, genetics, cancer, immunobiology, nuclear medicine and effects of high background radiation levels , food irradiation, genetics, toxicology, and environmental mutagenesis.Dr. Sundaram was born on 28Dr. Sundaram was the recipient of (i) Homi Bhabha award in nuclear medicine, and (ii) Vyas Memorial Oration award in basic medical research. He was a Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy and Indian Academy of Sciences. In addition, he was (i) founder-President of the Society of Nuclear Medicine (1966–1970), (ii) Examiner, University of Delhi, (iii) Chairman, Nuclear Medicine Committee (1968–78), (iv) Member, Radiopharmaceuticals Committee (1968–79), (v) Consultant, Indian Council of Medical Research, (vi) Consultant, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, and (vii) President, Environmental Mutagen Society of India (1975–78). Internationally, he was (i) Representative of India, United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR), (ii) Member, Committee IV, International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) (1973–77), (iii) Member, International Commission for Protection against Environmental Mutagens and Carcinogens (ICPEMC), and (iv) Member, Editorial Board, International Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Biology.In the first meeting of the AMPI held in July 1976 in the Modular Laboratory, BARC, Dr. Sundaram was unanimously elected as President of the AMPI for the two-year term covering 1976–78. Soon thereafter, Dr. Sundaram and I, as treasurer of the AMPI, went to the Registrar's Office in Worli, Mumbai, for the formal registration of the Association as a society with the Maharashtra Government. The AMPI had several Executive Committee meetings in Dr. Sundarams's office during these formative years. Dr. Sundaram's advice, suggestions, and continuous interactions with the committee members were very valuable. It is probably in the fitness of things that Dr. Sundaram was the first member to be formally enrolled as an AMPI Life Member; his membership number was LM 001.Dr. Sundaram is survived by his wife, Mrs. Parvathy, daughter, Mrs. Chitra, son-in-law, Mr. Srinivasan, son, Mr. Ravi, daughter-in-law, Mrs. Hema, and his grand children.


Head & Face Medicine we are pleased to announce the timely addition of a new subspecialty Facial Nerve to the scope of our multi-disciplinary journal. The Journal Development Committee has decided to create this new section, and the subspecialty's growing importance is reflected by the creation of a new editorial board position. Rainer Laskawi, MD, Professor of Otolaryngology at the ENT Department of the University of Göttingen, has agreed to accept this new editorial board position. We are grateful to Professor Laskawi, winner of the Ludwig Haymann Award of the German ENT Society, for his willingness to offer his outstanding expertise to work with us for the benefit of the journal and the scientific community.As Editors of Rainer Laskawi brings a wealth of experience to this new position. He experimentally studied the effects of peripheral nerve lesions  on the central nervous system, especially on the supranuclear brain structures such as the motor cortex. His research group found fundamental short time changes in the functional cortical reorganization following different types of facial nerve lesions. Using glial cell markers, Laskawi and coworkers could demonstrate structural changes in later stages of cortical reorganization.Botulinumtoxin – Therapie im Kopf-Hals-Bereich.Rainer Laskawi's research interests focus on clinical problems associated with the facial nerve and the salivary glands, and he also studied the clinical use of botulinum toxin in many indications concerning the head, face and neck region. His research group first described the clinical use and effectiveness of botulinum toxin in sweat glands to treat focal hyperhidrosis, a research initiative that was greatly acknowledged by the German ENT Society. Jointly with Peter Roggenkämper (University of Bonn), he edited the volume Sir Charles Bell Society (SCBS), an international multi-disciplinary non-profit organization created at the VII International Facial Nerve Symposium in Cologne (1992), dedicated to collection, dissemination and interchange of ideas relating to the facial nerve. As the President of the SCBS, member of the Scientific Board of the German Dystonia Society, and Section Editor of Head & Face Medicine he holds key positions for encouraging and disseminating multi-disciplinary thinking among students, clinicians, and researchers with a scientific interest in the facial nerve.Rainer Laskawi is President of the Head & Face Medicine is deeply grateful that Professor Laskawi will spend his valuable time to hold this new Section Editor position. His contribution will be important in helping shape the journal's course over the coming years.


It was also eventful for the Indian Journal of Urology. For the first time we organized an independent evening function to celebrate the journal's achievements. It also provided an opportunity to thank all the people who have participated and helped us in our endeavor. The IJU best paper first prize award was bestowed to Dr. S. Sriram for his paper titled “Detection and Management of post transplant renal artery stenosis” at the hands of USI President Dr. Ganesh Gopalakrishnan. The second best paper award was awarded to Dr. (Mrs) P. Rekha for her paper “Histological reclassification, histochemical characterization and c-kit immunoexpression in renal cell carcinoma” by Dr. S.V. Kotwal, the President Elect.The 43The editorial board took this opportunity to acknowledge the contribution of all peer reviewers and Professor Robert Pickard, Freeman Hospital, Newcastle, UK was selected as the best international peer reviewer. While Dr. Gagan Gautam was considered as the best reviewer from India for the year 2009. I congratulate both of them and hope that they would continue to help the Indian Journal of Urology.This issue carries a symposium on “Testicular cancer” edited by Dr. Hemant Tondgonkar, the Head of Urology Department, Tata Cancer Hospital, Mumbai. Testicular cancer is a remarkable success story and a fine example of multidisciplinary management of malignancy.I would like to take this opportunity to personally express gratitude to the outgoing chairman of the Indian Journal of Urology Dr. Mahesh Desai. He has been a source of great strength and was always available in times of crisis. It was his dream to make the Indian Journal of Urology one of the best and to make it visible in the international arena. I hope that he will continue to guide us in future.The editorial board welcomes Professor Dr. Ganesh Gopalakrishnan as the new chairman of the Indian Journal of Urology and we all look forward to working with him.With best wishes.


The existence of a graft-versus-lymphoma effect is well established. When lacking a firm diagnosis, however, the clinician is challenged to to weigh the potential benefits of the graft-versus-lymphoma effect against potential dangers of graft-versus-host disease as well as against generalized  infections.We present evidence for a graft-versus-lymphoma effect in a 64-year-old caucasian woman with a transplanted peripheral blood-stem-cell graft from her Human Leukocyte Antigen-identical sister, and propose diagnostic measures to distinguish between graft-versus-host effect, and against viral disease or drug-induced reactions.We were able to identify an allogeneic graft-reaction against progressive lymphoma alongside an erythema consistent with acute graft-versus-host disease of the skin. Establishing a firm diagnosis enabled us to decide against T-cell suppression (such as by using cyclosporine). Anti-lymphoma activity was favoured, by means of the allogeneic graft, local radiation and immunotherapy. This illustrates the importance of a sound differential diagnosis of erythema after allogeneic stem-cell transplantation, including assessment of viral disease of the affected tissue. The existence of a graft-versus-lymphoma effect is well established. Its clinical significance is less clear and seems to depend on the type of lymphoma and on the disease status . A graft2 fludarabin (30 mg/m2 d-7 – d-4) and cyclophosphamide 60 mg/kg . During conditioning, the lymphoma progressed and histology showed transformation into an aggressive lymphoma. In the course of the disease, the patient rapidly developed new small, callous subcutaneous nodules. Radiation as well as immunotherapy  was administered and immunosuppression discontinued. Unfortunately, growth of the lymphomatous lesions could not be halted by these means. After the patient had engrafted, a progressive erythema, predominantly surrounding the novel subcutaneous nodules, evolved and was followed by massive diarrhea, prompting the differential diagnosis of acute graft-versus-host disease versus viral disease. A skin biopsy in proximity to a subcutaneous nodule surprisingly not only showed a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) positive for Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) but also histologic findings of both lymphoma and graft versus lymphoma -identical sister in the course of a refractory lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma. Conditioning consisted of 7 Gy total body irradiation , 120 mg/mTo summarize, we were able to identify an allogeneic graft reaction against progressive lymphoma as the cause of the observed erythema. We therefore were able to decide against T-cell-suppression, for example by cyclosporine, favouring anti-lymphoma activity by means of the allogeneic graft, local radiation and immunotherapy. We were not able to establish the relevance of a positive EBV PCR detected in proximity to the subcutaneous nodules in the skin. Notably, the skin biopsies stained negative for latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1), making a post-transplantation lymphoproliferative disease less likely than a mere transformation of the indolent into an aggressive lymphoma.This case report illustrates the importance of a sound differential diagnosis of erythema after allogeneic stem-cell transplantation, including assessment of viral disease of the affected tissue with PCR as well as histology.HLA: Human Leukocyte Antigens; PCR: polymerase chain reaction; EBV: Epstein-Barr Virus; CMV: Cytomegalovirus; LMP1: latent membrane protein 1Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this case report and accompanying images. A copy of the written consent is available for review by the Editor-in-Chief of this journal.The authors declare that they have no competing interests.The authors all treated the patient and wrote the manuscript.


Estimates of the number of non-human animals used in research vary between 10 million and 50 million PLoS Biology's current policy  states that:What role, therefore, should editors or publishers play in defining and policing the standards of reporting on animal studies in their journal? Like many journals, The use of non-human primates in research, we specifically require authors to include details of animal welfare and steps taken to ameliorate suffering in all work involving non-human primatesAll animal work must have been conducted according to relevant national and international guidelines. In accordance with the recommendations of the Weatherall report, .”“PLoS Medicine “Speaking of Medicine” blog Is this enough? Not according to a survey Editors and publishers have two equally important responsibilities with regard to any animal study. The first concerns the ethical treatment of animals . We welcome your comments and feedback about these issues in general and the guidelines in particular.


Therapeutic hypothermia (TH) in unconscious survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is now a well-documented part of post-resuscitation care. Implementation of TH into daily clinical practice has been far more successful in the Scandinavian countries than in the rest of the world. Still, many questions remain. One of them is whether prehospital cooling will result in better outcomes. Therapeutic hypothermia (TH) in unconscious survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is now a well-documented part of post-resuscitation care ,2. Imple• Is there a better, safer and more rapid way of cooling these patients?• Does rapid cooling necessarily mean prehospital cooling?• And, will rapid prehospital cooling translate into higher survival rates and better neurological outcomes?In this issue of the Journal, two international research groups within this exciting and rapidly progressing field of critical care medicine have reviewed the present knowledge on prehospital cooling in OHCA ,6. Behrird International Hypothermia Symposium  in Lund, Sweden also presented break-through research in the field, one being intra-arrest trans-nasal cooling with a highly evaporative perfluorocarbon spray. The technique has been shown to improve ROSC rates and secure very rapid brain cooling in animal studies [The Australian trial on prehospital cooling versus in-hospital cooling in OHCA survivors  has been presented at an international medical meeting. The trial now has been broadened to include intra-arrest cooling as well . The recent 3 studies . PrelimiOne concern raised in the current reviews ,6 is the


Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2009, 6: 4Correction to Richard J Bloomer, Kelsey H Fisher-Wellman, Kelley G Hammond, Brian K Schilling, Adrianna A Weber and Bradford J Cole: Dietary supplement increases plasma norepinephrine, lipolysis, and metabolic rate in resistance trained men.  The res


EHP are proud of our work to bring environmental health science to a global audience. This month we are pleased to introduce a new, expanded website that provides information on our International Program, outlines our international outreach activities, and allows readers to easily access all the EHP content that has been translated into other languages. Come visit our International Program website at www.ehponline.org/international and let us know what you think.We at


This is a landmark issue in the history of the Annals of Indian Academy of Neurology. I am delighted to announce that AIAN is now indexed in the PubMed. You can view citations from this journal like any other indexed journal at the PubMed search page. Please note that it may take a few weeks, before all the articles from recent issues of the AIAN are uploaded on the domain. We do appreciate the support and encouragement that we received in this endeavor from the Academy, readers, contributors, reviewers, and the publishers in this regard. We do hope that indexing with the PubMed, Science Citation Index, and other indexing databases would increase the visibility of articles published in this journal and encourage more authors to contribute their manuscripts to us.This issue of the journal is devoted to multiple sclerosis. Professor Rammohan Kottil from Ohio State University, Columbus, had kindly agreed to our request to be the guest editor for this theme-based issue. He has done an excellent job in soliciting articles from scientists and clinicians with vast experience in their respective areas of interest. We are particularly thankful to Professor Kottil for his untiring efforts, despite various other commitments and temporary ill health, to see that the issue has come out very well. We hope that the readers would find these articles very helpful. With this issue onwards, we are advancing the publication time from the end of the quarter to the beginning of each quarter. This would bring each issue to the reader earlier than before and also increase the opportunity for more citations for the published articles. Let me take this opportunity to wish all the members of the Academy and the readers a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.


Someone once said that success is failure turned inside-out. The relevance of those words resonated not too far from our subconscious when, three years ago, the editorial team of the Saudi Journal of Gastroenterology (SJG) sat down to discuss the future of the journal. After 12 years of publishing, SJG was not indexed in any of the major scientific databases and was in a truly dire state of affairs: article submissions were at an all-time low, interest and readership of the journal was flagging and, reflecting a stagnation of purpose, the journal had no electronic version, or an online peer-review system, or a proper scientific publisher.Contrast this with the present situation. Today we stand at the threshold of success. In July 2009, SJG became indexed in PubMed and also became included in Index Medicus/MEDLINE. In their review of the journal, SJG was considered ‘essential’ reading for clinicians in the field and in the region. This is a very prestigious achievement as only six biomedical journals from Saudi Arabia are listed in this index. This also makes SJG the only indexed gastroenterology/hepatology journal from the Middle-Eastern region. The journal is also archived with PubMed Central, making it compliant with the open access policy of the National Institute of Health, USA.In 1994, the Board of Directors of the Saudi Gastroenterology Association (SGA), under the pioneering leadership of its first president, Prof. Faleh Al Faleh,1 appointeThere was no technical help for the journal, no English language editor available, and certainly no wealth of prior experience in journal management. Galley proofs required manual corrections by the editorial team, corrected word-by-word and page-by-page in the most tedious manner imaginable. Grammar, syntax, language, style and even content were all corrected and managed by the editorial team. A determination to succeed was thus the only factor that made the team persevere. Such were the challenges confronted by the editors, from which we can but only take pride in the results they have borne today.There were some bright sparks, though. First there was the enthusiasm of the Saudi gastroenterology community which included amongst them the philanthropy of Dr. Mohammed Al-Mofarreh who contributed financially and scientifically to the journal, and the benevolence of the Dallah Hospital in Riyadh that provided financial and administrative support during the early years of the journal. But the success of a journal cannot be brought about by individual philanthropy and the interest of a few scientific contributors; a scientific journal must harness the potential to reach out to the greater scientific community at large. And then, only then, can it muster the staying power essential within the community of ever-expanding lists of medical journals.It was in this scenario that SJG reached out to Medknow Publications, a scientific publishing house which was both, affordable and efficient, and ideally placed to suit the needs of evolving biomedical journals from the developing world. Medknow Publications did not merely serve as publishers for SJG; they fulfilled a parallel role of an advisory body. By joining hands with Medknow, the journal was immediately launched online thereby improving its visibility, and increasing the submission rate from 32 articles in 2006 to 123 in 2007 and poised to reach 400 submissions this year, in effect representing a twelve-fold increase in the submission rate.[Generally, journals from this region receive submissions from within the region and not from other parts of the world, so the research that we publish is circumscribed by geographical location. While SJG was initially designed to disseminate local and regional literature, this aspect has vastly been superseded by the emergence of the electronic version of the journal. Presently, about 80% of the articles are submitted from outside of Saudi Arabia, with the figure having remained stable over the past three years, thus imparting a truly international flavor to the Journal. For instance, the present issue hosts articles, not just from Saudi Arabia, but also from Iran, Bangladesh, India, Turkey and Kuwait.Simultaneously, SJG has witnessed other changes that are representative of the evolving reality of the publishing world. The journal has embarked and succeeded in putting all issues from its very inception online. This important step has served investigators who have over the years published important work that was not anymore accessible or available. The journal has also invested heavily to improve visibility in many ways. In testimony of its current visibility, SJG ranks first within a Google search for “Saudi journal” indicative of journal visits online, its popularity within the region, and its overall visibility. It boasts of an international Advisory Board that reads as the who's-who in the world of gastroenterology. The present editorial board has a distinctively ‘young look’ much in line with the journal's policy of encouraging a generation of young investigators. In addition, our list of reviewers has also undergone a paradigm shift with almost 80% of our reviewers now registered from outside of Saudi Arabia.Amongst other things, the quality of any journal is dependent on the involvement and interest of its reviewers. In this http://www.saudijgastro.com/showstats.asp?a=tc) and we are hopeful to be included in SCI. Truly, much has been done but, much more needs to be done. The real work begins now and if the passion for success can be a measure of one's achievements, then we, at SJG, are rightly poised to achieve this. As Robert Frost once said: But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep …Finally, our journey at SJG does not end here; it can only begin from here. Our next goal remains to get the journal indexed in the Science Citation Index (SCI) which will provide us with the ‘elusive’ impact factor. The citations received by SJG have increased over the last few years, as can be seen on the journal's website (


The itch to become an editor of a Journal exists in but a few. The reasons vary. It could be the honor or the attraction of holding a prestigious position, a position that gives instant visibility, or because of an inherent journalistic tendency, or a desire to contribute to the growth (academic) of the journal, to quote a few. However, editorship is not a bed of roses. Furthermore, editorship carries with it a trust reposed and a responsibility accepted.By and large there are two types of biomedical publications, one, the non-peer reviewed journals, wherein usually no original research study is published and problems encountered are much less as compared to the peer reviewed journals such as the Indian Journal of Ophthalmology (IJO).The purpose of peer-reviewed journals is to publish original studies and other articles with the sole aim of the advancement of science. It has to stand up to international competition and has to strictly adhere to publication ethics. Peer-reviewed journals are either publisher owned or association owned (such as IJO) and managed without any major help from any publisher. There is a third category of journals as well, which are owned by non-association organizations such as the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). We will be discussing the challenges faced by the editors of Indian medical journals that are peer-reviewed and owned by an association.In an ideal world the sole responsibility of an editor should be to screen and edit articles submitted for publication and to publish only genuine science. However, in the real world an Indian editor is a jack of all trades and has to wear many hats, from that of an editor down to that of an attendant. Some of the activities he/she has to indulge in are:Organize the editorial office;Establish systems for the smooth and efficient running of the editorial office;Generate finances;Process manuscripts;Make decisions;Edit articles;Copyedit, style edit, proof read;Get a reliable, high quality, yet affordable printer;Post journals to members and subscribers;Take care of the maintenance and constant upgradation of the journal website;Subscription management and so on.The Journal is of the members, by the members, and for the members” to paraphrase the famous words of Abraham Lincoln.This is, not the end of their misery. The big question is QUALITY of the Journal's contents. How does one assure, improve, and maintain it? In the present Indian mindset, the best material is first submitted to a high impact international journal and if not accepted, only then is it submitted to an Indian Journal. Unless our members change this bias, a Journal cannot raise its quality. Members must realize that “It is a fact that there is a lack of knowledge of publication ethics among the Indian authors. This is because there is no formal training of research in the undergraduate as well as postgraduate curriculum. As a basTenets of Helsinki Declaration are not One important challenge is to generate funds for the journal. The journal is sent free of charge to all members of the association. There are certain disciplines where finances are easy due to industry support. However, for the majority it may be quite difficult. An editor has to learn or possess the skills to generate funds.Today with each new editor, the editorial office has to relocate leading to problems of finding an adequate office space, appointing and training staff, of providing modern facilities for its efficient and smooth running. There is a lack of professional managing editors who can relieve the editor of routine tasks and allow him to concentrate on policies, innovation, and ensure a high quality of the Journal's contents. Added to this is the fact that most editors are elected. Most lack prior training or experience of working as a member on the editorial board of a peer-reviewed journal.Finally, most editors are honorary editors. It is not the question of being paid for the job, but it means the editor has to continue with his professional activities for his bread and butter and find (extra) time for the additional responsibility. The result is lesser time to relax, less time for the family , stress, and its consequences.Even so most editors do leave their impact on the journal and IJO is no exception. The innovations and initiatives taken in the last five years are given in the


Am J Trop Med Hyg 82: 838–845, the financial support section should have stated that Dr. Ruiz is a member of the Research Career of the National Council of Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET) from Argentina. The journal regrets this omission.In Am J Trop Med Hyg 66: 605–610, one of the author's last names is misspelled. The correct spelling of the sixth author's name is Ippolytos Kalofonos. The journal regrets the error.In


There was an error in affiliation 4. The correct address is: 4 INSERM U 858 and Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France. Also, the following information was omitted from the funding information: "Bernard Masri is recipient of a European Marie Curie Outgoing International Fellowship (FP6-2005-Mobility 6)."


Italian Journal of Pediatrics, the official journal of the ISP/SIP , now publishing on BioMed Central's open access publishing platform. The move to BioMed Central will benefit authors by having their manuscripts published faster with rapid global dissemination. Readers will also benefit from free online access to the journal via the website and a range of full text archives.On behalf of the Editorial Board, welcome to the new  Italian Journal of Pediatrics was included in PubMed Central in 2005. These successful results were obtained thanks to the hard work of several Editors-in-Chief and Editorial Boards, and, in particular, the most recent Editor-in-Chief, Prof. Mario De Curtis. Last year, the ISP/SIP decided to go a step further, and to publish the journal only online. I was honored to be nominated Editor-in-Chief, and to have the opportunity to work with an international Editorial Board of a high scientific level.The journal was founded more than 30 years ago and has been the leading Italian journal of pediatrics for many years, playing a pivotal role in training and updating Italian pediatricians. In 2001 the Society decided to broaden the international visibility of the journal by publishing the journal in English and accepting articles from authors in other countries. Following this, Italian Journal of Pediatrics include:The journal will continue to publish new research in all areas of pediatrics, particularly focusing on assisting young investigators in the field, establishing debate and paying special attention towards pediatrics in developing countries. Topics of particular interest for - practical application of basic research- quality of care in children- national and international guidelines following evidence based medicine- clinical and scientific trainingOver the next few years we shall work to build up a journal with a successful international reputation, publishing high quality research on all areas of pediatrics. In order to obtain these results, we look forward to receiving your high quality submissions, general feedback and suggestions or criticisms for improving the journal.


The section on Capacity Building describes the journal’s work to assist scholarly journals in developing countries  in overcoming obstacles to publication. Closely related to this section is a third area, Journal Partnerships, which describes EHP’s program of fostering scientific exchange through wider dissemination of scientific information to broader audiences.The website contains four main sections. Global Access describes EHP content is provided in languages other than English. Since 2001, a Chinese-language edition of EHP has been published quarterly in partnership with the Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Selected journal content is also available in Portuguese in the Brazilian public health journal Ciência & Saúde Coletiva and in Spanish in the Chilean occupational and environmental health publication Ciencia y Trabajo. A Palestinian medical journal, Annals of Alquds Medicine, also has recently begun translating selected EHP news articles into Arabic.Translated Content offers easy access to the various forums in which


The global nature of the threat posed by new and reemerging infectious diseases will require international cooperation in identifying, controlling, and preventing these diseases. Because of this need for international cooperation, international law will certainly play a role in the global strategy for the control of emerging diseases. Recognizing this fact, the World Health Organization has already proposed revising the International Health Regulations. This article examines some basic problems that the global campaign against emerging infectious diseases might face in applying international law to facilitate international cooperation. The international legal component of the global control strategy for these diseases needs careful attention because of problems inherent in international law, especially as it applies to emerging infections issues.


On January 14, a bright light in the field of cancer research was extinguished with the sudden death of Dr. Judah Folkman. Folkman first introduced the concept of tumour angiogenesis as a key factor in tumour growth and a target for tumour therapy in 1970. Despite the great skepticism accorded his work, he persisted in his studies. His efforts were eventually vindicated and reproduced in numerous laboratories. Indeed, an enormous number of labs continue to work in the field that Judah Folkman initiated, and about a dozen anti-angiogenic drugs are already on the market.cum laude from Ohio State University in 1953, and his md magna cum laude from Harvard Medical School in 1957. While an undergraduate, he worked in Dr. Robert Zollinger’s surgical laboratory and co-authored papers describing a new method of hepatectomy for liver cancer. As a student at Harvard Medical School, he worked in Dr. Robert Gross’s laboratory, where he developed the first atrioventricular implantable pacemaker, for which he received the Boylston Medical Prize, the Soma Weiss Award, and the Borden Undergraduate Award in Medicine.A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Judah Folkman earned his Bachelor of Arts In 1957, Folkman began his surgical training at the Massachusetts General Hospital, serving as its chief resident in surgery in 1964–1965. That residency was interrupted between 1960 and 1962, when he served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda. It was there that he, along with colleague Dr. David Long, first demonstrated the sustained release of drugs from implantable silicone rubber polymers that led to the development of the Norplant 5-year contraception system and initiated the field of controlled-release technology. It was also in Bethesda that Folkman carried out experiments growing tumours in isolated perfused organs, which led to the idea that tumours are angiogenesis-dependent, requiring new blood vessels to survive.In 1965, Folkman joined Harvard’s surgical service, and in 1967, he was promoted to Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School and to surgeon-in-chief at the Children’s Hospital Medical Center, becoming the Julia Dyckman Andrus Professor of Pediatric Surgery in 1968.in vivo bioassays for the various phenomena involved. He elucidated the sequential steps of capillary networks, and he proposed a linkage between cell shape and growth, currently understood in terms of mechanochemical mediation of gene expression by cytoskeletal elements.Folkman’s discoveries related to the mechanism of angiogenesis opened a field of investigation now pursued worldwide. This work elaborated the hypothesis that tumours can grow only if accompanied by the development of feeder blood vessels—that is, angiogenesis—and that malignancy may depend in part on proteins that stimulate vascular growth. His laboratory reported the first purified angiogenesis molecule and the first angiogenesis inhibitor, proposed the concept of angiogenic disease, and initiated clinical trials based on that research. He developed almost all of the methodology for the field, including the first cloning and culture of capillary endothelial cells, and sustained-release polymer technology, together with the dsc (Honoris Causa) from McGill University (among his dozen or more honorary degrees).Folkman’s exceptional achievements have been recognized with numerous national and international awards. On three separate occasions, he delivered the commencement address at Harvard Medical School. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and the Institute of Medicine. Folkman also received a Gairdner Foundation International Award and a Christopher Columbus Discovery Award in Biomedical Research from the National Institutes of Health. He was a recipient of the Wolf Prize in Medicine from Israel. In 1993, he received the Lucian Award and a Judah Folkman was a superb doctor, a brilliant investigator, and a good friend. He will be much missed.


The February 2008 issue created history of sorts by being the first issue in many, many years to be published 15 days before its due date, i.e., it was printed and published on 15 January, 2008. This issue too, will be ready on 15 April, 2008 and, hopefully, should be in your hands by the first week of May.This is just the first step, though. We now need to focus on the quality of the articles and the relevance of the matter that gets published in this journal. As you have seen, we have been publishing small symposia in each issue. This issue is no different; it carries articles on interventional radiology, guest-edited by Dr. Chander Mohan. The August issue will also have a symposium on the same subject, while the November 2008 and January 2009 issues will focus on obstetric ultrasound and the May 2009 and August 2009 issues on breast imaging. Articles on these subjects will be fast-tracked and submissions are welcome.de facto voice for all PET/CT-related articles and issues in this country. Contributions related to PET/CT are more than welcome and will be fast-tracked as well.This issue carries an interesting article on PET/CT in tuberculosis. As you must have noticed, the IJRI is very proactive as far as PET/CT is concerned, and I hope that the IJRI will become the Medical Law Cases - for Doctors’ and we hope to publish at least one interesting report each quarter. Readers are welcome to send their own contributions as well, related to real cases or their comments and views on these issues.A new feature in this issue is the series titled ‘Radiology Medicolegal Cases.’ We have taken this report from a journal called ‘We are also looking for contributors and those with an editorial flair to help us with ‘Abstracts of Current Literature,’ ‘Excerpts from the Blogosphere,’ ‘Industry News,’ etc. Please e-mail me if you have ideas regarding these or other sections that we can carry in the journal; I will be more than happy to have you on board.We were hoping that after the last issue, someone somewhere would have been able to locate the very first issue of this journal. Sadly no one has come forth. I refuse to believe that at least one copy of this issue is not lying in one of our senior radiologists' homes or journal collections. I appeal to all radiologists to try and help find the first issue of the IJR . This will be duly acknowledged.At the risk of sounding repetitive, I appeal to all authors to understand the meaning of plagiarism. As much as 70–80% of all submissions still have significant amounts of copied and pasted material; the commonest excuse the authors give is that they did not know that they are not supposed to copy and paste. Please understand that all articles have to be written in the authors' own words.Finally, this is the last issue that will carry a radiology quiz. This concept was started sometime in the late 90s and I believe that it has finally run it course. The quizzes that are currently being submitted are typically case reports with a poor quiz quotient; also, the quizzes no longer seem to have any relevance. The August 2008 issue will carry the answer to this issue's quiz and that will be the end of this section.