Malignancy characterization

Cancer. Cancer is a cellular malignancy characterized by loss of normal controls resulting in unregulated growth, lack of differentiation, and the abihty to invade local tissues and metastasize. Most cancers are potentially curable, if detected at an early enough stage. The ideal antineoplastic agent would destroy cancer cells without adverse effects or toxicities to normal cells. No such dmg exists. 

Waldenstrom s macroglobulinemia (WM) is an uncommon lymphoid malignancy characterized by IgM monoclonal gammopathy and intertrabecular marrow infiltration by small lymphocytes expressing CD20 antigen. Currently, rituximab can be used for the treatment of WM with response rates between 20% and 50% (62,63). 

The leukemias are heterogeneous hematologic malignancies characterized by unregulated proliferation of the blood-forming cells of the bone marrow. These immature proliferating leukemia cells (blasts) physically crowd out or inhibit normal cellular maturation in bone marrow, resulting in anemia, neutropenia, and thrombocytopenia. Leukemic blasts may also infiltrate a variety of tissues such as lymph nodes, skin, liver, spleen, kidney, testes, and the central nervous system. 

MM is a plasma cell malignancy, characterized by accumulation of plasma-blast/plasma cells in the bone marrow. Being of a post germinal origin, MM... 

The neuroleptic malignant syndrome is characterized by hyperthermia (temperature over 103 °F without evidence of infection), altered sensorium, muscle rigidity, and autonomic disturbances, usually profuse diaphoresis, hypersali vat ion, bronchorrhea, and urinary retention. 

O The acute leukemias are hematologic malignancies of bone marrow precursors characterized by excessive production of immature hematopoietic cells. This proliferation results in a large number of immature cells (blasts) appearing in the peripheral blood and bone marrow causing failure of normal hematopoiesis. 

Multiple myeloma is a malignancy of plasma cells that is characterized by an abnormal production of a monoclonal protein. Features of the disease include bone lesions, anemia, and... 

Acanthosis nigricans A skin condition characterized by dark, thickened velvety patches, especially in the folds of skin in the armpits, groin, and back of the neck that is often associated with insulin resistance. Also may be associated with internal malignancy, endocrine disorders, and obesity. 

Many diseases are characterized by the expression of specific proteins1 in some cases, malignant cells yield unique protein profiles when total cellular protein extracts are analyzed by proteomic methods such as two-dimensional gel electrophoresis or matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS).2 High-throughput proteomic studies may be useful to differentiate normal cells from cancer cells, to identify and define the use of biomarkers for specific cancers, and to characterize the clinical course of disease. Proteomics can also be used to isolate and characterize potential drug targets and to evaluate the efficacy of treatments. 

In general, most converters are tested on the bench with the electronic load set to constant current (CC mode). True, that s not benign, nor as malignant as it gets. But the implied expectation is that converters should at least work in CC mode. They should, in particular, have no startup issues with this type of load profile. But even that may not be the end of the story Some loads can also vary with time. For example, an incandescent bulb has a resistive profile, but its cold resistance is much lower than its hot resistance. That s why most bulbs fail towards the end of their natural lifetime just when you throw the wall switch to its ON position. And if the converter is powering a system board characterized by sudden variations in its instantaneous supply current demand, that can cause severe problems to the converter, too. The best known example of this is an AC-DC power supply inside a computer. The 12V rail goes to the hard disk, which can suddenly demand very high currents as it spins up, and then lapse back equally suddenly into a lower current mode. 

Calcitonin is used clinically to treat hypercalcaemia associated with some forms of malignancy and Paget s disease. The latter condition is a chronic disorder of the skeleton in which bone grows abnormally in some regions. It is characterized by substantially increased bone turnover rates,... 

Hypercalcemia of malignancy develops quickly and is associated with anorexia, nausea and vomiting, constipation, polyuria, polydipsia, and nocturia. Hypercalcemic crisis is characterized by acute elevation of serum calcium to greater than 15 mg/dL, acute renal failure, and obtundation. Untreated hypercalcemic crisis can progress to oliguric renal failure, coma, and life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias. 

Classic beri-beri, rarely seen in the United States and Europe, except in alcoholism (P4), is endemic in the Far East because of the prevalent diet of decorticated rice (F6). It occurs in two forms wet beri-beri, characterized by edema and cardiovascular symptoms (G6), and dry beri-beri with peripheral neuritis, paralysis, and atrophy of the muscles. Conditions which may predispose to deficiency by increasing thiamine requirements are pregnancy (see section 2.4), and lactation, hyperthyroidism, malignant disease, febrile conditions, increased muscular activity, high carbohydrate diets, and parenteral administration of glucose solutions. A constant supply of thiamine is required for optimal nutrition because storage in the liver and elsewhere is limited. Thiamine is synthesized by bacteria in the intestinal tract of various animals, but this is not a dependable source for man. 

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