We compared clinical and economic data for hospitalized cases

of SAB in the context of a publicly funded health care system. Methods: A cost analysis was undertaken on an adult cohort of patients from 4 hospitals with SAB diagnosed within 3 days of hospitalization. Primary outcome was direct cost of inpatient care per case, determined at discharge and itemized using a standardized methodology. Results: A total of 435 patients were admitted with SAB; 58 had methicillin-resistant S aureus (MRSA). The median length of stay was similar in patients with MRSA and MSSA. There was no significant difference between the groups for mortality. Median direct medical costs of SAB were $12,078. Patients with MRSA had 1.32 times higher direct costs than MSSA. A similar estimate was derived using a propensity score approach (P = .148). Human health care resources comprised bigger than 70% Selleck AL3818 of total costs per case, whereas antibiotics comprised 1%-2%. Conclusion: Understanding the dynamics of resource consumption is critical to improving its efficiency and the quality of patient care. Our findings suggest that hospital length of stay and care intensity should be the major focus of any resource assessment exercise. Copyright (C) Selleck GDC0032 2015 by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.”
“Microtubules

assemble into arrays of bundled filaments that are critical selleck chemicals llc for multiple steps in cell division, including anaphase and cytokinesis. Recent structural and functional studies, including two papers in this issue of Cell (Bieling et al., 2010; Subramanian et al., 2010), demonstrate how the MAP65 protein PRC1 crosslinks

microtubules and cooperates with kinesin motors to control the dynamics and size of bundled regions.”
“Objectives The purpose of this study was to perform a meta-analysis of randomized trials that compare new P2Y(12) inhibitors with clopidogrel to determine whether they improve clinical outcomes after percutaneous intervention (PCI).\n\nBackground Ticlopidine/clopidogrel prevents major adverse cardiac events after PCI, but no trials have shown an effect on mortality. New P2Y(12) inhibitors are more potent and evaluated in PCI. Whether they decrease mortality after PCI compared with clopidogrel is unknown.\n\nMethods MEDLINE and Cochrane Controlled Trials Register databases were searched from January 1980 through January 2010. Randomized, placebo-controlled trials that compared new P2Y(12) antagonists with clopidogrel in PCI were selected. Data from 8 studies were evaluated and analyses performed for all randomized patients, PCI patients (any PCI), and PCI for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients. All-cause mortality was the primary efficacy end point.

Mortality of patients with PE at intermediate risk was 21 %. The 30-day mortality rate was significantly higher in h-FABP(+) patients compared to h-FABP(-) patients (9 vs. 50 %, p smaller than 0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed h-FABP as the only 30 day mortality predictor (HR P005091 7.81, CI 1.59-38.34, p = 0.01). However, thrl therapy did dot affect the survival of these high-risk patients. Despite, h-FABP was successful to predict 30-days mortality in patients with PE at intermediate risk; it is suggested to be failed in determining the patients who will benefit from thrl therapy.”
“Aim This study investigates

whether a local reninangiotensin system (RAS) exists in mouse colon and whether angiotensin II (Ang II) may play a role in the regulation of the contractile activity. Methods Isometric recordings were performed in vitro on the longitudinal muscle of mouse proximal and distal colon. Transcripts encoding for RAS components were investigated by RT-PCR. Results Ang II caused, in both preparations, a concentration-dependent contractile effect, antagonized by losartan, AT1 receptor antagonist, but not by PD123319,

AT2 receptor antagonist. The combination of losartan plus PD123319 caused no change on the Ang II-induced contraction than losartan alone. Tetrodotoxin, neural blocker, reduced the contractile response to Ang II in the proximal colon, whilst AS1842856 cost the response was abolished in the distal colon. In both preparations, atropine, muscarinic receptor antagonist, or SR140333, NK1 receptor antagonist, reduced the Ang II responses. Ondansetron, 5-HT3 receptor antagonist, SR48968, NK2 receptor antagonist, or hexamethonium, selleck nicotinic receptor antagonist,

were ineffective. The joint application of atropine and SR140333 produced no additive effect. Atropine reduced NK1-induced contraction. Transcripts encoding RAS components were detected in the colon samples. However, just AT1A mRNA was expressed in both preparations, and AT2 mRNA was expressed only in the distal colon. Conclusion In the murine colon, local RAS may play a significant role in the control of contractile activity. Ang II positively modulates the spontaneous contractile activity via activation of post-junctional and pre-junctional AT1A receptors, the latter located on the enteric neurones, modulating the release of tachykinins and acetylcholine.”
“The purpose of this study was to examine anti-inflammatory effect of ethanolic extract of Antrodia salmonea (EAS) in the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW246.7 macrophages and the carrageenan (Carr)-induced edema paw model, and to clarify its possible molecular mechanisms. Inhibitory effects of EAS were examined on cells proliferation, nitric oxide (NO) production, expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) proteins, and activity of antioxidant enzymes.

Furthermore, PARP signaling DCC inhibits Robo2 function before midline crossing to allow a midline approach and crossing.\n\nConclusions: Our results demonstrate that midline crossing is not required for subsequent guidance decisions by pioneer axons and that this is due, in part, to DCC inhibition of Robo2 function prior to midline crossing.”
“This study was conducted to determine whether the optic disc appearance and the visual field

parameters of patients with migraine vary from those of age-matched controls. Twenty-two patients with migraine and 20 control participants were enrolled in the study. The automated visual field tests by Humphrey Field Analyzer (R) and optic disc images by Topcon (R) fundus camera were obtained from each participant. Horizontal and vertical cup-to-disc ratios were calculated by a manual, planimetric technique performed by two independent observers. The visual field indices including mean deviation (MD) and pattern standard deviations

(PSD) were documented. No difference was found in the average cup-to-disc ratio between patients with migraine and control participants. However, MD and PSD of the groups were different. The average MD in the migraine group was -0.86 + 1.21, and in the control group was 0.10 + 1.03 (p = 0.009). The average PSD in the migraine group was 2.11 + 0.68 and in the control group was 1.68 + 0.44 (p = 0.024). LY2835219 In conclusion, this study demonstrated that patients with migraine had decreased sensitivity in their visual fields compared to the control participants. Published by Elsevier Ltd.”
“We describe a case of a 45-year-old woman with progressive chronic kidney disease (CKD), macrocytic anaemia without

fragments or thrombocytopaenia, and thrombotic microangiopathy on renal biopsy. ‘A disintegrin and metalloprotease, with thrombospondin-1-like Liproxstatin-1 supplier domains’ (ADAMTS-13) deficiency was detected, and genotyping revealed single-nucleotide polymorphisms known to be associated with reduced ADAMTS-13 secretion and activity. Congenital thrombotic thrombocytopaenic purpura was diagnosed with unusual features of late presentation and absent neurological involvement. ADAMTS-13 deficiency should be considered a cause of CKD when features of thrombotic microangiopathy are present on renal biopsy.”
“Numerous studies in animals and humans have shown that damage to the vestibular system in the inner ear results in spatial memory deficits, presumably because areas of the brain such as the hippocampus require vestibular input to accurately represent the spatial environment. Consistent with this hypothesis, studies in animals have demonstrated that complete bilateral vestibular deafferentation (BVD) causes a disruption of place cell firing as well as theta activity.

This study compared the abundances of class 1 integrons and antiseptic resistance genes in municipal (M) and swine slaughterhouse (S) wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and investigated the presence of class 1 integrons and antiseptic resistance genes in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolated from wastewater samples. The abundances of intI1 and qacE1 genes in 96 wastewater samples were quantified using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (real-time qPCR), and 113 MRSA isolates recovered

click here from the wastewater samples were detected class 1 integrons and linked antiseptic resistance genes (qacE1), and minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for QAC antiseptics. The intI1 and qacE1 genes were detected in all the wastewater samples, and they were more abundant in S-WWTP samples than in M-WWTP samples. A higher percentage of MRSA isolates carried qacE1 in

MRSA from swine wastewater samples (62.8%) than in municipal MRSA (3.7%). All the MRSA isolates showed high MICs for antiseptic agents. This study provides important evidence regarding the abundances of intI1 and qacE1 genes in municipal and swine slaughterhouse wastewater, and antiseptic-resistant MRSA strains were detected in swine slaughterhouse wastewater.”
“Hepatitis C virus (HCV) belonging to the family Flaviviridae has infected 3% of the population worldwide and 6% of the population in Pakistan. The only recommended standard treatment is pegylated INF-alpha plus ribavirin. Due to less compatibility CP-868596 in vitro of the standard treatment, thirteen medicinal plants were https://www.selleckchem.com/products/DAPT-GSI-IX.html collected from different areas of Pakistan on the basis of undocumented antiviral reports against different viral infections.

Medicinal plants were air dried, extracted and screened out against HCV by infecting HCV inoculums of 3a genotype in liver cells. RT-PCR results demonstrate that acetonic and methanolic extract of Acacia nilotica (AN) showed more than 50% reduction at non toxic concentration. From the above results, it can be concluded that by selecting different molecular targets, specific structure-activity relationship can be achieved by doing mechanistic analysis. So, additional studies are required for the isolation and recognition of antiviral compound in AN to establish its importance as antiviral drug against HCV. For further research, we will scrutinize the synergistic effect of active antiviral compound in combination with standard PEG INF-alpha and ribavirin which may be helpful in exploring further gateways for antiviral therapy against HCV.”
“Background: When females mate with multiple partners, sperm from rival males compete to fertilise the ova. Studies of experimental evolution have proven the selective action of sperm competition on male reproductive traits. However, while reproductive traits may evolve in response to sperm competition, this does not necessarily provide evidence that sperm competitive ability responds to selection.

“
“Introduction: There is a wide range of tumors affecting the orbital adnexa. Key such tumors include lymphomas, carcinomas, melanomas and rhabdomyosarcomas. Several studies have proposed that these histological subtypes differ

in their survival outcomes. In this study RSL3 Metabolism inhibitor we aim to describe the difference in survival outcomes between such subtypes. Methods: The SEER database was used to gather patient information. All 18 SEER registries were used. Patients diagnosed from 1996 to 2005 were included in the analysis. Observed five-year survival rate was calculated using the SEER*Stat software version 8.1.2. Data were extracted into IBM SPSS version 20 to generate Kaplan Meier curve for each group. Results: There were 2180 patients in the SEER databases who met the selection criteria. Lymphomas were the most common histology in adults. The overall five-year

observed survival for all lymphoma patients was 75.9% (95% CI: 73.7-78.1). There was statistically significant difference between observed survival rates of lymphoma subtypes. Carcinomas were the second most common tumors. Their five-year observed survival rate in our study was 60.4%. There was no statistically significant difference between carcinoma subtypes’ observed survival rates in the 20-49 age group, while, in the older age group, Selleck ABT 737 the difference was found to be statistically significant. Rhabdomyosarcomas were the most common tumors in children. The overall five-year observed survival rate for rhabdomyosarcomas patients was 89.8%. There was no statistically significant difference between observed survival rates of rhabdomyosarcomas subtypes. There was no statistically significant difference between relative survival rates according to gender and

treatment received except within melanomas. Conclusion: In adults, lymphomas have better survival rates than carcinomas. Whereas the lymphoma subtype can be used as a determinant prognostic factor in any age, the carcinoma subtype can be used as such a determinant in older age groups only. In children, rhabdomyosarcomas are the predominant tumors affecting the orbital adnexa. Further studies are needed to determine Apoptosis Compound Library nmr if the difference between embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma and alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma observed survival rates are statistically significant. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“OBJECTIVE-To investigate the relationship between fasting glucose levels, insulin resistance, and cognitive impairment in old age. Diabetes is associated with cognitive impairment in older people. However, the link between elevated fasting glucose levels and insulin resistance in nondiabetic individuals, and the risk of cognitive impairment is unclear.\n\nRESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS-We analyzed data from, in total, 8,447 participants in two independent prospective studies: the PROspective Study of Pravastatin in the Elderly at Risk (PROSPER), 5,019 participants, aged 69-84 years, and the Rotterdam Study, 3,428 participants, aged 61-97 years.

This cross-sectional study investigated the prevalence and clinical characteristics of this neuropathy in patients with Type 2 diabetic mellitus treated at hospitals in Korea. Methods Questionnaires and medical records were used to collect data on 4000 patients with Type 2 diabetes from the diabetes clinics of 40 hospitals throughout Korea. Diabetic peripheral neuropathy was diagnosed based on a review of medical records or using the Michigan Neuropathy Screening Instrument score and monofilament test. Proteasome inhibitor Results The prevalence of neuropathy was 33.5% (n = 1338). Multivariate analysis revealed that age, female sex, diabetes duration, lower

glycated haemoglobin, treatment with oral hypoglycaemic agents or insulin, presence of retinopathy, history of cerebrovascular or peripheral arterial disease, presence of hypertension or dyslipidaemia, and history of foot ulcer were independently associated with diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Of the patients with neuropathy, 69.8% were treated for the condition and only 12.6% were aware of their neuropathy. Conclusion There was a high prevalence of peripheral neuropathy in patients with Type 2 diabetes in Korea and those patients were

far more likely to have complications or co-morbidities. The proper management of diabetic peripheral neuropathy deserves attention selleck compound from clinicians to ensure better management of diabetes in Korea.”
“Improved fuel consumption and lower emissions are two of the key objectives for future transportation. Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), in which two AR-13324 mouse or more power systems are combined, can meet these objectives through the capture and reuse of regenerated braking energy and through optimized use of the prime mover. However, more complicated power-management strategies are required for such vehicles. This paper explores the potential of applying to advanced power-management strategies for a diesel multiple-unit (DMU) train. These types

of vehicles have multiple diesel engines that are commonly operated in a homogenous manner. This paper analyzes the potential energy savings that may be obtained through the independent operation of the engines. Two widely investigated power-management strategies that have been developed for HEVs have been applied to a typical DMU railroad vehicle. Dynamic programming (DP) strategies have been applied to the results produced by a single-train motion simulator to identify the optimal instant power distribution between the engines. An adaptive rule-based online strategy based on the optimization results from the DP solution is then proposed and realized using a nonlinear programming optimization algorithm. Both strategies indicate acceptable agreement and show a fuel cost reduction of around 7%, in comparison with the evenly split engine operation.”
“Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a complex disorder secondary to gene-environment interactions, and is the commonest chronic lung disease in infancy.

Our results showed that CS inhibited TNF-alpha-induced NF-kappa B activation and subsequent vascular find protocol cell adhesion molecule 1 and inducible nitric oxide synthase expressions by blocking Akt signals in JB6 cells. Our results suggest that CS may be developed as an effective anti-inflammatory agent in the future. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“An inverse association between adult body mass index (BMI) and risk of endometriosis has frequently been reported. However, the association between body size during childhood and early adulthood and endometriosis is not as well documented.\n\nUsing data

collected from the Nurses’ Health Study II, a prospective cohort study of premenopausal US nurses, that began in 1989, we have attempted to clarify this relationship. Data are updated every 2 years with follow-up for these analyses through 2001. In 1989 women recalled their body size at ages 5, 10 and 20 years using a validated 9-level figure drawing.\n\nDuring 831 910 person-years

of follow-up, 1817 cases of self-reported laparoscopically-confirmed endometriosis were observed among women with no past infertility. After adjusting https://www.selleckchem.com/products/hmpl-504-azd6094-volitinib.html for age, birthweight, age at menarche, parity, oral contraceptive use and adult BMI, we observed a significant reduction in the incidence of endometriosis with increasing body size for all time periods. The relative risks (RRs) comparing the smallest and largest figure sizes to the middle category during childhood (ages 5-10) were 1.18 (95% confidence interval 1.02-1.36) and 0.82 (0.66-1.02), P-trend = 0.0002. At age 20, the RRs for the same comparisons were 1.32 (1.06-1.65) and 0.87 (0.74-1.03), P-trend = 0.04. Additional adjustment by menstrual cycle length and regularity yielded similar associations. The associations were stronger among nulliparous women than among parous women, although not all differences were statistically significant.\n\nIn this large cohort of premenopausal women, there was evidence of a persistent

inverse association between childhood and early adulthood body size and incidence of laparoscopically confirmed NVP-BSK805 JAK/STAT inhibitor endometriosis, independent of adult BMI and menstrual cycle characteristics.”
“Since conventional techniques using periodontal probes have inherent drawbacks in the diagnosis of different grades of gingival inflammation, development of noninvasive screening devices becomes significant. Diffuse reflectance (DR) spectra recorded with white light illumination is utilized to detect periodontal inflammation from the oxygenated hemoglobin absorption ratio R620/R575. A multispectral imaging system is utilized to record narrow-band DR images at 575 and 620 nm from the anterior sextant of the gingivia of 15 healthy volunteers and 25 patients (N = 40).

We investigated the potential therapeutic effect of denosumab, a fully human monoclonal antibody against RANKL, on tumour-cell survival and growth in patients with GCT.\n\nMethods In this open-label, single-group study, 37 patients with recurrent or unresectable GCT were enrolled and received subcutaneous denosumab 120 mg monthly (every 28 days),

with loading doses on days 8 and 15 of month 1. The primary endpoint was tumour response, defined as elimination of at least 90% of giant cells or no radiological progression of the target lesion up to week 25. Study recruitment is closed; patient treatment and follow-up are ongoing. The study is registered with Clinical Trials.gov, NCT00396279.\n\nFindings Two patients had insufficient

histology or radiology data for efficacy assessment. 30 of 35 AL3818 (86%; 95% Cl 70-95) of evaluable patients had a tumour response: 20 of 20 assessed by histology CCI-779 molecular weight and 10 of 15 assessed by radiology. Adverse events were reported in 33 of 37 patients; the most common being pain in an extremity (n=7), back pain (n=4), and headache (n=4). Five patients had grade 3-5 adverse events, only one of which (grade 3 increase in human chorionic gonadotropin concentration not related to pregnancy) was deemed to be possibly treatment related. Five serious adverse events were reported although none were deemed treatment related.\n\nInterpretation Further investigation of denosumab as a therapy for GCT is warranted.”
“With the help of the nonequilibrium Green’s function method, we have investigated the Josephson current properties of a triple quantum dot molecule. It is found that the sign of the Josephson current can be changed from positive to negative with increasing the spin-flip scattering, which leads

to the pi-junction transition. By tuning the system parameters, such as the gate voltage, the interdot coupling, and spin-flip strength, it is manifested that the pi-junction not only can be controlled, but also the oscillation of the Josephson current versus magnetic flux can be changed. The pi-junction is explained in terms of the picture of the current carrying density of states. These results provide the ways of manipulating the selleck Josephson current. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3525996]“
“Objectives: To describe trends in admissions to English hospitals and 30-day in-hospital mortality associated with a primary diagnosis of burns.\n\nDesign: Descriptive population-based study.\n\nSetting: England.\n\nParticipants: Patients admitted to hospital with a primary diagnosis of burns between 1991 and 2010.\n\nMain outcome measures: Age-specific and age-standardised admission rates, and 30-day in-hospital mortality percentages.\n\nResults: During 1991-2010, there were 188,597 admissions to hospitals in England with a primary diagnosis of burns.

Following

formalin injection into the rat unilateral hindpaw pad, the effects of dopamine receptor agonist and antagonist microinjections into the VLO on nociceptive behavior were observed. Results demonstrated that VLO microinjection of the non-selective dopamine receptor agonist apomorphine Citarinostat research buy (R(-)-apomorphine hydrochloride, 1.0, 2.5 and 5.0 mu g) depressed later-phase nociceptive behavior induced by formalin injection; this effect was attenuated by the D(2)-like dopamine receptor antagonist S(-)-raclopride(+)-tartrate salt (raclopride, 3.0 mu g), but not by the D(1)-like dopamine receptor antagonist R(+)-SCH-23390 hydrochloride (SCH-23390, 1.0 mu g). Apomorphine-induced antinociception was mimicked by microinjection of the D(2)-like dopamine receptor agonist (-)-quinpirole hydrochloride (2.0 and 5.0 mu g) into the same VLO site, and this effect was antagonized by raclopride (3.0 mu g). In addition, microinjection of the D(1)-like dopamine receptor agonist R(+)-SKF-38393 hydrochloride

(5.0 mu g) had no effect on formalin-induced nociceptive behavior during the later phase. However, the D(1)-like dopamine receptor antagonist SCH-23390 (2.5, 5.0 and 10 mu g) depressed nociceptive behavior in a dose-dependent manner. These results suggested Prexasertib that dopamine mediated VLO-induced antinociception via different mechanisms in the persistent inflammatory pain model; D(2)-like receptors mediated dopamine-induced antinociception, while D(1)-like dopamine receptors exhibited tonic facilitatory action on nociceptive behavior, thereby blocking D(1)-like dopamine receptors could induce antinociception. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.”
“Production of chemicals, use of products and consumer Tariquidar clinical trial goods, contamination of food as well as today’s living conditions are related to

a substantial exposure of humans to chemicals. Safety of human beings and the environment has to be safeguarded by producers and government. Human biomonitoring (HBM) has proven to be a useful and powerful tool to control human exposure and facilitate risk assessment.\n\nTherefore, the German Federal Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt, UBA) employs two major HBM tools, the German Environmental Survey (GerES) and the German Environmental Specimen Bank (ESB). GerES is a nationwide population representative study on HBM and external human exposure, which has, inter alia, been used to identify lead in tap water, lead dustfall, time spent in traffic, and age of dwelling as exposure sources for lead and, thus, to derive risk reduction measures. The ESB is a permanent monitoring instrument and an archive for human specimens. Retrospective monitoring of phthalates and bisphenol A provides a continuous historical record of human exposure in Germany, over the last decades.

\n\nRESULTS: Forty patients were evaluated. Visual analog scale values with dexmedetomidine were significantly lower than those with propofol only at the 25-35

min assessments (P < 0.05). During sedation, the respiratory rate with dexmedetomidine was significantly slower but Spo(2) was significantly higher than with propofol (P < 0.05). Other clinical variables were similar (P > 0.05).\n\nCONCLUSION: A combination of dexmedetomidine with fentanyl can be used safely and effectively for sedation and analgesia during ESWL.”
“The binding between the estrogen receptor alpha (ER-alpha) and a variety of compounds in traditional Chinese formulae, Si-Wu-Tang (SWT) series decoctions, was studied using a stably-transfected human Emricasan concentration breast cancer cell line (MVLN). In 38 compounds tested from SWT series decoctions, the estrogen-like www.selleckchem.com/products/qnz-evp4593.html activity of 22 compounds was above 60% in 20 mu gmL (1). Furthermore, theoretical affinity of these compounds was certificated using the functional virtual screen of ER-alpha modulators by FlexX-Pharm.

The accuracy of functional virtual screening of ER-alpha modulators could reach to 77.27%. The results showed that some compounds, such as organic acids and flavones in SWT series decoctions could be used as selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) and could be selected for further development as potential agents for estrogen related diseases. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Carney complex (CNC) is AMN-107 an autosomal dominant neoplasia syndrome caused by inactivating mutations in PRKAR1A, the gene encoding the type 1A regulatory subunit of protein kinase A (PKA). This genetic defect induces skin pigmentation, endocrine tumors, myxomas, and schwannomas. Some patients with the complex also develop myxoid bone tumors termed osteochondromyxomas. To study the link between the PRKAR1A mutations and tumor formation, we generated a mouse model of this condition.

Prkar1a(+/)-mice develop bone tumors with high frequency, although these lesions have not yet been characterized, either from human patients or from mice. Bone tumors from Prkar1a(+/)-mice were heterogeneous, including elements of myxomatous, cartilaginous, and bony differentiation that effaced the normal bone architecture. Immunohistochemical analysis identified an osteoblastic origin for the abnormal cells associated with islands of bone. To better understand these cells at the biochemical level, we isolated primary cultures of tumoral bone and compared them with cultures of bone from wild-type animals. The tumor cells exhibited the expected decrease in Prkar1a protein and exhibited increased PKA activity. At the phenotypic level, we observed that tumor cells behaved as incompletely differentiated osteoblasts and were able to form tumors in immunocompromised mice.