The Anatomy and Morphology of the Superficial Peroneal Nerve.

Background Knowledge on the anatomical and morphological characteristics of the superficial peroneal nerve is amenable to further refinement. This cadaveric study aimed to further evaluate anatomical and morphological characteristics of the superficial peroneal nerve. Methods In this study, 10 lower limbs from five fresh cadavers were dissected. The anatomical characteristics of the superficial peroneal nerve were identified. Nerve segments were submitted for histological and morphometric analyses, and nerve thicknesses and number of fascicles were assessed. Results Regarding the superficial peroneal nerve's bifurcation, 80% of the terminal branches were distal to the point of emergence from the fascia. In 90% limbs, two sensory branches were observed immediately after the distal bifurcation of the superficial peroneal nerve. The mean distance from the fibular head to the superficial peroneal nerve's emergence from the fascia was 24.6 cm and mean nerve thickness at this point was 0.3 cm. The mean distance between the lateral malleolus and the main nerve trunk at the ankle was 4.68 cm. The mean distance from the motor branch of the peroneus brevis to the lateral malleolus was 29.3 cm. Morphometric analyses revealed an average five nerve bundles at the broadest nerve diameter (2.6 mm). Conclusion The anatomical and morphometrical characteristics of the superficial peroneal nerve indicate that it may be a safe and useful donor for autologous graft treatment of peripheral nerve injuries. Our morphological study shows a median of five fascicles, and that the thickest diameter of the nerve was 2.6 mm at the emergence from the deep to the superficial compartment.

Analysis of N-acylhomoserine lactone dynamics in continuous cultures of Pseudomonas putida IsoF by use of ELISA and UHPLC/qTOF-MS-derived measurements and mathematical models.

In this interdisciplinary approach, the dynamics of production and degradation of the quorum sensing signal 3-oxo-decanoylhomoserine lactone were studied for continuous cultures of Pseudomonas putida IsoF. The signal concentrations were quantified over time by use of monoclonal antibodies and ELISA. The results were verified by use of ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography. By use of a mathematical model we derived quantitative values for non-induced and induced signal production rate per cell. It is worthy of note that we found rather constant values for different rates of dilution in the chemostat, and the values seemed close to those reported for batch cultures. Thus, the quorum-sensing system in P. putida IsoF is remarkably stable under different environmental conditions. In all chemostat experiments, the signal concentration decreased strongly after a peak, because emerging lactonase activity led to a lower concentration under steady-state conditions. This lactonase activity probably is quorum sensing-regulated. The potential ecological implication of such unique regulation is discussed.

Enantioseparation and selective detection of D-amino acids by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry in analysis of complex biological samples.

The growing scientific attention in the biological function of D-amino acids leads to an increasing analytical interest for enantiomeric amino acid separation, which is still very challenging due to the lack of sufficiently sensitive, high-throughput analytical methods that can cope with often occurring matrix interferences and very low D-amino acid concentrations. Here, enantioseparation can benefit from improved resolution and chromatographic speed offered by modern UHPLC techniques and the precision of MS detection. We developed a RP-UHPLC-QqToF-MS method using pre-column OPA/IBLC derivatization for very precise discrimination of amino acids enantiomers. The method shows a superb sensitivity with limits of detection in the range of several pmol/l. It has neither shown matrix inferences in the tested very complex biological matrices (serum, plasma, urine and gut) nor stability or racemization problems.