Evolution of two unusual radiological findings in a patient with mesenteric ischemia.

Portal pneumatosis has been considered an ominous sign associated with intestinal ischemia, with a mortality rate of up to 90% as long as it is associated with sepsis. However, the prognosis of mesenteric ischemia depends on the etiology rather than the presence of portal pneumatosis. We present a patient with portal pneumatosis that disappeared 24 hours after the first surgery, but irreversible ischemic lesions were established in the terminal ileum. It should be noted that the excretion of the intravenous contrast is mainly through the kidneys, and it can be eliminated through alternative routes such as the bile duct or the mucosa of the small intestine (vicariant excretion), especially in patients with renal pathology.

Management of a hydatid cyst in a center with high prevalence. Descriptive series.

Hydatidosis is a zoonosis caused by the larval stage of the genus Echinococcus. Humans are an accidental intermediate host. The main organ affected is the liver (70%). The incidence increases in endemic regions such as North Africa, Eastern Europe and South America. We present a descriptive series of cases treated in our hospital in the last 5 years. Demographic variables, cyst characteristics, as well as preoperative and postoperative variables are collected.

Enhanced Gene Delivery Triggered by Dual pH/Redox Responsive Host-Guest Dimerization of Cyclooligosaccharide Star Polycations.

A robust strategy is reported to build perfectly monodisperse star polycations combining a trehalose-based cyclooligosaccharide (cyclotrehalan, CT) central core onto which oligoethyleneimine radial arms are installed. The architectural perfection of the compounds is demonstrated by a variety of physicochemical techniques, including NMR, MS, DLS, TEM, and GPC. Key to the strategy is the possibility of customizing the cavity size of the macrocyclic platform to enable/prevent the inclusion of adamantane motifs. These properties can be taken into advantage to implement sequential levels of stimuli responsiveness by combining computational design, precision chemistry and programmed host-guest interactions. Specifically, it is shown that supramolecular dimers implying a trimeric CT-tetraethyleneimine star polycation and purposely designed bis-adamantane guests are preorganized to efficiently complex plasmid DNA (pDNA) into transfection-competent nanocomplexes. The stability of the dimer species is responsive to the protonation state of the cationic clusters, resulting in dissociation at acidic pH. This process facilitates endosomal escape, but reassembling can take place in the cytosol then handicapping pDNA nuclear import. By equipping the ditopic guest with a redox-sensitive disulfide group, recapturing phenomena are prevented, resulting in drastically improved transfection efficiencies both in vivo and in vitro.

A Tri-Band Cooled Receiver for Geodetic VLBI.

This paper shows a simultaneous tri-band (S: 2.2-2.7 GHz, X: 7.5-9 GHz and Ka: 28-33 GHz) low-noise cryogenic receiver for geodetic Very Long Baseline Interferometry (geo-VLBI) which has been developed at Yebes Observatory laboratories in Spain. A special feature is that the whole receiver front-end is fully coolable down to cryogenic temperatures to minimize receiver noise. It was installed in the first radio telescope of the Red Atlántica de Estaciones Geodinámicas y Espaciales (RAEGE) project, which is located in Yebes Observatory, in the frame of the VLBI Global Observing System (VGOS). After this, the receiver was borrowed by the Norwegian Mapping Autorithy (NMA) for the commissioning of two VGOS radiotelescopes in Svalbard (Norway). A second identical receiver was built for the Ishioka VGOS station of the Geospatial Information Authority (GSI) of Japan, and a third one for the second RAEGE VGOS station, located in Santa María (Açores Archipelago, Portugal). The average receiver noise temperatures are 21, 23, and 25 Kelvin and the measured antenna efficiencies are 70%, 75%, and 60% in S-band, X-band, and Ka-band, respectively.

Superior mesenteric vein aneurysm.

A 41-year-old female patient was under study for abdominal pain located in the epigastrium and mesogastrium with no other associated symptoms. There was no record of previous episodes of pancreatitis and she denied abdominal trauma and laboratory tests were normal. A computed tomography (CT) scan was performed.

Adenocarcinoma of the small intestine in Crohn's disease.

The first case of small-bowel carcinoma (SBC) associated with Crohn's disease (CD) was described by Ginzburg in 1956. Since then, only 220 cases have been published in the literature.

Does the Type of Surgical Approach and the Use of Uterine Manipulators Influence the Disease-Free Survival and Recurrence Rates in Early-Stage Endometrial Cancer?

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to compare the long-term safety, disease-free survival, and recurrence rate of total laparoscopic hysterectomy using uterine manipulator and abdominal hysterectomy in the surgical treatment in early-stage endometrial cancer. STUDY DESIGN: This was a cohort study of 147 patients with clinical endometrial cancer (laparoscopic surgery group, 77 women; laparotomy group, 70 women). Data were evaluated and analyzed by intention-to-treat principle, and survival data of stage I endometrial cancer (129 patients; 66 from laparoscopic surgery group and 60 from laparotomy group) were estimated by using the Kaplan-Meier curves. RESULTS: After a follow-up period of 60 months for both laparoscopic surgery and laparotomy groups, no significant difference in the cumulative recurrence rates (7.4% and 13.1%, P = 0.091) and overall survival (97.1% and 95.1%, P = 0.592) was detected between both groups of stage I endometrial cancer. Conversion to laparotomy occurred in 10.4% (8/77) of the laparoscopic procedures. Laparoscopic hysterectomy was associated with less use of pain medication (P = 0.001) and a shorter hospital stay (P < 0.001), but the procedure took longer than laparotomic hysterectomy (P < 0.001). The proportion of patients with intraoperative and long-term complications was not significantly different between both groups. The use of uterine manipulators did not have increased recurrence rate in patients treated with laparoscopic approach. CONCLUSIONS: The laparoscopic surgery approach to early-stage endometrial cancer using uterine manipulators is as safe and effective as the laparotomic approach.

Efficacy of a Coriolusversicolor-Based Vaginal Gel in Human Papillomavirus-Positive Women Older Than 40 Years: A Sub-Analysis of PALOMA Study.

In the PALOMA trial, Papilocare® demonstrated efficacy in repairing low-grade cervical lesions related to human papillomavirus (HPV). This sub-analysis aimed to evaluate its efficacy in repairing these cervical lesions and clearing HPV in women aged older than 40 years. This was a multicenter, randomized, open-label, parallel-group, controlled clinical trial. Patients with low-degree HPV-dependent cervical lesions receiving 6-month treatment with the vaginal gel were compared to those with a watchful waiting approach. Among the 41 women analyzed (aged 47.7 years), 31 presented high-risk (HR) oncogenic HPV subtypes, and 14 had 16-18-31 HPV genotypes. After 6 months, normalized cytology and concordant colposcopy were achieved by a greater percentage of treated women. The difference was significant in the total population (92.3% vs. 50.0%, p = 0.007), and HR-HPV subpopulation (90.5% vs. 33.3%, p = 0.003). In the HR HPVs-16-18-31 subpopulation, the values were 75.0% and 40.0% (p = 0.293). In the total population, 61.5% of treated patients obtained HPV clearance, compared to 50.0% in the control group. Regarding the HR-HPV subpopulation, these values were 66.7% and 44.4%, respectively. Papilocare® demonstrated significant efficacy in repairing low-degree HPV-related cervical lesions and a positive trend to clear HPV in women older than 40 years old in comparison to the watchful waiting approach.

Inhibition of XPO-1 Mediated Nuclear Export through the Michael-Acceptor Character of Chalcones.

The nuclear export receptor exportin-1 (XPO1, CRM1) mediates the nuclear export of proteins that contain a leucine-rich nuclear export signal (NES) towards the cytoplasm. XPO1 is considered a relevant target in different human diseases, particularly in hematological malignancies, tumor resistance, inflammation, neurodegeneration and viral infections. Thus, its pharmacological inhibition is of significant therapeutic interest. The best inhibitors described so far (leptomycin B and SINE compounds) interact with XPO1 through a covalent interaction with Cys528 located in the NES-binding cleft of XPO1. Based on the well-established feature of chalcone derivatives to react with thiol groups via hetero-Michael addition reactions, we have synthesized two series of chalcones. Their capacity to react with thiol groups was tested by incubation with GSH to afford the hetero-Michael adducts that evolved backwards to the initial chalcone through a retro-Michael reaction, supporting that the covalent interaction with thiols could be reversible. The chalcone derivatives were evaluated in antiproliferative assays against a panel of cancer cell lines and as XPO1 inhibitors, and a good correlation was observed with the results obtained in both assays. Moreover, no inhibition of the cargo export was observed when the two prototype chalcones 9 and 10 were tested against a XPO1-mutated Jurkat cell line (XPO1C528S), highlighting the importance of the Cys at the NES-binding cleft for inhibition. Finally, their interaction at the molecular level at the NES-binding cleft was studied by applying the computational tool CovDock.

On the Determination of Forming Limits in Polycarbonate Sheets.

By proposing an adaptation of the methodology usually used in metal forming, this paper aims to provide a general procedure for determining the forming limits, by necking and fracture, of polymeric sheet. The experimental work was performed by means of Nakajima specimens with different geometries to allow to obtain strains in the tensile, plane, biaxial and equibiaxial states for Polycarbonate sheet with 1 mm of thickness. The application of the time-dependent and flat-valley approaches used in metals has been revealed appropriate to characterize the onset of necking and obtain the forming limits of polycarbonate, despite the stable necking propagation typical of polymeric sheets. An analysis of the evolution of the strain paths along a section perpendicular to the crack allowed for a deeper understanding of the steady necking propagation behaviour and the adoption of the methodology of metals to polymers. The determination of the fracture strains was enhanced with the consideration of the principal strains of the DIC system in the last stage, just before fracture, due to the significant elastic recovery typical of polymeric sheets. As a result of this analysis, accurate formability limits by necking and fracture are obtained for polycarbonate sheet, together with the principal strain space, providing a general framework for analysing incremental sheet forming processes where the knowledge of the fracture limits is relevant.

Anal study in immunocompetent women with human papillomavirus related lower genital tract pathology.

OBJETIVE: To estimate the prevalence of anal dysplasia in immunocompetent women with cervical intraepithelial dysplasia. STUDY DESIGN: We did a prospective cohort study, in which we enrolled 166 women with gynecological pathology related to human papilloma virus (HPV) infection. All patients underwent an anal cytology and HPV detection. Statistical analysis with a 95% confidence interval was used for prevalence calculations. A Χ2 test and Fisher's exact one were used to determine differences between groups of qualitative variables. Differences between normally distributed and non-normally distributed groups in quantitative variables were accounted for using Student's t-test or Mann-Whitney's U test, respectively. RESULTS: Out of the 166 patients studied, high risk HPV in the anal canal was detected in 107 (64.46%) cases. The most prevalent genotype observed was non 16/18 high risk HPV, present in 54 (50.47%) patients. There was no a significant association with smoking, use of condom, anal intercourse, or anal benign pathology. However, a significant correlation between the presence of high risk HPV in the anal canal and the antecedent of condylomas was observed (p=0.047) (CI95%: 1.00%-12.58%). Women with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) grade 1 had a significantly increased presence of high risk HPV in the anal canal (p=0.044). Out of the 166 women, 6 (3.61%) had abnormal anal cytology results, and were referred to high-resolution anoscopy. Anal biopsy was performed in these six cases. In 2 patients the biopsy reported low-grade Anal Intraepithelial Neoplasia: 1.20% (0.15%-4.28%). CONCLUSIONS: Women with cervical intraepithelial dysplasia have 1.20% prevalence of anal intraepithelial neoplasia, so that it does not seem necessary to screen this population.

Remote diffuse reflectance spectroscopy sensor for tissue engineering monitoring based on blind signal separation.

In this study the first results on evaluation and assessment of grafted bioengineered skin substitutes using an optical Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (DRS) system with a remote optical probe are shown. The proposed system is able to detect early vascularization of skin substitutes expressing the Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) protein compared to normal grafts, even though devitalized skin is used to protect the grafts. Given the particularities of the biological problem, data analysis is performed using two Blind Signal Separation (BSS) methods: Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Independent Component Analysis (ICA). These preliminary results are the first step towards point-of-care diagnostics for skin implants early assessment.